Volume LI, No. 3

MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL

VOL. 51, NO. 3

November 19, 2015

41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539

San Jose State University Professor Clements presents wildfire field studies Chemistry and environmental science students attend meteorological presentation

(Left) Sophomore Ayush Gaggar helps San Jose State University Professor Craig Clements inflate a weather balloon. (Right) Sophomore Lavanya Singh and Clements hold the weather balloon.

By Mallika Gupta & Lucille Njoo Staff Writers MSJ welcomed San Jose State University Professor Craig Clements to talk to MSJ students about his Fire Weather Research program on October 27. Clements helped students apply their classroom learning through presenting his unique work and showing his specialized meteorological equipment.

MSJ students in environmental science and several chemistry classes attended the presentations. Clements held two presentations, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, in C-120 during the school day. His presentations covered the unique work he does in researching the effects of weather on wildfires. In addition, he launched a weather balloon similar to the ones used on the scenes of active wildfires. Students gathered on the field at lunch and had the opportunity to par-

Students organize EasyCTF Teams compete in cybersecurity challenge

By Mustafa Ahmed Staff Writer EasyCTF, a hacking and cybersecurity contest held in the first week of November, targets middle and high school students.

MSJ entered 12 teams in this year’s competition, and Junior Valerie Choung along with Sophomores Crystal Su and David Hou were involved in the organization of the event.

In a CTF (Capture the Flag) competition, participants are expected to solve problems that mimic real-world security

ticipate in the balloon launch by holding it as it inflated and releasing it into the sky. Clements also brought his truck equipped with millions of dollars’ worth of scanning lasers and data recorders to MSJ’s field. Each presentation was concluded with a question-andanswer session in which students had the opportunity to interact with Clements’s graduate student, Chris Camacho, learning more about his role in the research as well. “It was nice to see what college students were doing and how they interacted and worked with professors. It also provided some insight as to what college is like,” said Junior Melissa Zhuang.

The presentation was organized by Chemistry Teacher Ling-Ru Katy Kuei, who believes that ecology and environmental applications need to be integrated into high school science courses, which is something that Clements was able to bring to the students in his presentation. “I think a lot of our students are big on doubling on science and math for

“EasyCTF is a great entry-level competition and I think that it will help expand the CTF community, especially here at MSJ.”

- Junior Jainav Gohel

challenges. As in other CTF competitions, EasyCTF participants were given problems that had many individual subparts to them; their objective was to find a secret message known as the “flag” that would reveal itself upon solving all of the individual subparts of the problem. The challenges presented were designed so that crafty participants would be able to find a way to hack them, allowing these students to engage in legal, hands-on hacking. The competition did not require competitors to be experienced in programming as even those without prior knowledge of computer science or programming were able to foster some of the foundational skills that were required to

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: DEBATE

The Smoke Signal interviewed Senior Shivane Sabharwal, an MSJ student who won the 45th annual New York City Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament.

college – that is great. But a lot of them also feel the lack of a real world connection...So the students need to feel relevancy for what they’re learning, and how it applies to the real world,” said Kuei.

Students were informed about circumstances surrounding wildfires and were able to

“It was nice to see what college students were doing and how they interacted and worked with professors.”

- Junior Melissa Zhuang

analyze trends in the data collected by Clements’ team. Sophomore Lavanya Singh said, “I learned about something I originally thought wouldn’t be that interesting...[Wildfire science] actually turned out to have pretty cool applications and some pretty cool methods of actually studying it [sic]. So it actually kind of widens up career options and makes me more solve some of the later, more difficult challenges. “The experience of a programmer does not necessarily correlate with their experience in cybersecurity,” said Su. According to Choung, the number of people who entered the competition this year exceeded that of last year’s inaugural event, indicating a growing interest in the event and computer science across campus.

“This year I think we reached over 1,100 teams and around 3,000 students registered,” said Choung.

The event was originally scheduled to start on October 3; however, delays pushed back the start of the event to November 3. A denial of service attack, which occurs when people repeatedly reload a website, caused the website to crash before the event’s planned start. The organizing team made some quick fixes to the website’s server and addressed some other minor issues before smoothly relaunching the website at 6 p.m. on November 3.

staff writer lucille njoo

open-minded about choosing a career.” Clements said that the most valuable part of his job is interacting with students. “My goal is to impact these students. I hope I conveyed a passion for science and that you can choose a career and be successful,” he said.

Clements will be returning to MSJ’s campus on multiple occasions throughout the year to work with chemistry teachers to develop hands-on activities for high school classes, in which students may potentially work with real data collected by Clements’ team in the field.

Future presentations may expand on subjects such as solar physics and earthquakes. In regard to future programs, Kuei said, “Everything is still in planning, but we hope to have high quality programs [for the future].” ▪

According to Su, many teams were small in size and others were participating in their first-ever CTF. Su and those involved in organizing the event realized this when writing problems and decided to create easier, more user-friendly problems that contrast with the complex problems often encountered in college-level CTFs. The winner of the competition received $512 from companies sponsoring the competition, and the top-ten teams each received a laptop sticker. According to Hou, a lot of teams did brilliantly and teams from around the nation posted pictures on Twitter suggesting that their members had enjoyed the competition. “EasyCTF is a great entry-level competition and I think that it will help expand the CTF community, especially here at MSJ,” said Junior Jainav Gohel, who participated in the competition. ▪

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: GOLF

The Smoke Signal interviewed Junior Vijay Srinivasan, an MSJ student who represented California in the Trusted Choice Big “I” National Championship golf tournament.

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Thursday, November 19, 2015

Investigative Report: Department Funding

By Ella Chen, Zen Thumparkkul, Didi Wu & Victor Zhou Staff Writers

To broaden students’ understanding of where MSJ departments get their funding and how student donations may be spent, the Smoke Signal conducted an investigative report on department funding and expenditures. This will give readers an overview of sources of department funding, the budgeting decision process, and how common annual purchases are made.

According to Principal Zack Larsen, MSJ gets funds through two ways: MPPFA donations and district funds. The MPPFA asks for a $250 donation per family every year.

Teachers can apply for expenditure requests in the fall, and the MPPFA committee gauges priorities and decides where the money should go. The other source of funding comes directly from FUSD. The district currently has six high schools, and the money is divided among these schools. MSJ received $87,340 in discretionary funding this year. These funds pay for copy paper, furniture and desks, paper towels, cleaning and custodial supplies, and other school needs. After these purchases, there isn’t much money left over. MSJ also offers its facilities for Chinese and Hindi classes, and money from renting out our school results in a contribution to the school from the facilities department of FUSD. These funds can be used for other projects that are focused on facility improvement, i.e. hand dryers and C-120 renovation. This contribution is not enough for major renovations like a new gym or HVAC replacement. Ohlone College offers concurrent enrollment for certain classes offered at the school. The money goes directly to the teachers who teach these specific courses, but the department chair usually manages these funds. The money is based on enrollment, so more students results in more funding. Classes that receive these contributions include C++/Discrete, Multivariable Calculus/Linear Algebra, band classes, and level three or four language classes.

The majority of funding for departments comes from donations. FUSD purchases core textbooks for each departments out of a fund that cannot be allocated for any other purchases.

In order to gather information on department purchases, the Smoke Signal asked the following questions to the department heads: 1. What are some topline expenditures in the _____ department?

2. Could you give us a broad categorical breakdown of the _____ department’s expenditures?

3. Aside from the district and donations, what are other sources of funding the _____ department has? (i.e. funding from Ohlone College, federal government, etc.)

4. Are there any projects or investments this department is saving up for?

5. How does the _____ department decide on its spendings?

HEALTH

MATH

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

AP ENGLISH/ ENGLISH

WORLD LANGUAGE

Most of the Health Department expenses go toward buying supplies such as pens, paper, and educational videos. Other times, the money is used to update aging computers and machines.

The Math Department receives most of its fund from student donations each year, enough to cover this year’s supplies costs. At MSJ, there are math classes that concurrently enroll for Ohlone College credit. As a result, the community college donates a special grant to the Math Department each year. A fair proportion of the funds has been allocated to purchasing markers, pens, and Nspire calculators for all math teachers, as well as replacing old desks and buying new CD programs to create worksheets. This year, 180 new statistics prep books have been paid for by the Ohlone fund.

Because most of the department’s funding goes to replacing and maintaining equipment used in the PE classes, expenses are on a case-by-case basis based on the condition of current supplies. Backup gear is kept in stock in case of emergencies. The Physical Education Department spends most of its funding on replacing and renewing equipment. The other major expense goes to cardio equipment maintenance, which occurs three times a year. They also hope to obtain more treadmills, stationary bikes, and new cardio equipment.

One expenditure in the English Department is the year-end open purchase orders for classroom supplies, for which the department allocates a set sum of funds. Other yearly purchases are replacement novels, workbooks, technology, and professional development. AP English Literature and Composition classes draw from a separate account than the general English Department.

The two main expenses for AP English Literature and Composition classes are novels and Ashland trip expenses such as play tickets, hotel costs, and transportation. Teachers receive FUSD funds for this program.

The Japanese classes at MSJ are known for holding their own festivals and field games throughout the year, so funding for the Japanese program is slightly different than the rest of the department. Even so, some of the funds collected from Japanese classes still go back to the World Language Department for supplies and other various expenditures, although a large part remains to the discretion of the Japanese teachers themselves. Supplies such as art supplies, scantrons, printer cartridges, and paper make up the largest portion of the department’s budget. A portion of the budget is set aside for substitute and other field trip costs. Concurrent Ohlone funds, given to classes that qualify for Ohlone college credit, were used to update and improve technology in Language Levels 3 and 4 classrooms such as iPads for department use.

The district helps the Science Department maintain first aid kit provisions and is also responsible for fixtures such as eyewashes, emergency showers, and fume hoods, as safety standards must be upheld. MPPFA is occasionally able to provide specific items when requested. Outside of general purchases, a full set of classroom equipment (glassware, balances, goggles, etc.) will be brought to furnish N8, a classroom that was recently reassigned to be used for science classes this year. Long-term projects commonly revolve around acquiring appropriate lab-safety equipment and more permanent, but expensive, additions to lab equipment, such as balances and hot plates.

SCIENCE

FINE ARTS

One of the varied sections of the Fine Arts department, Band, receives funding from Ohlone College. The greatest expense of the chorale/choir section of the department are concerts, held at Ohlone. Renting out the theater, paying for dresses, and dry cleaning tuxedos are all heavy expenses paid for by the department. Other expenses for the entire Fine Arts Department include art supplies and entrance to festivals.

SOCIAL STUDIES

The Social Studies Department saves up its money to buy more expensive items, such as technology carts. The department holds discussion to determine the models of technology it will purchase, such as iPads or laptops. The greatest expenditure in the Social Studies Department is the purchase of new technology for class use. Last year, the department bought 34 Chromebooks, 34 iPad Minis, and their respective charging carts. The next most expensive category covers classroom needs, such as construction paper, printer paper, markers, and staplers for classroom use.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

The Special Education Department receives funds directly from FUSD for its program. Since the Special Education Department educates students that range widely in degree of disability, the department is divided into six programs to more efficiently cater to the needs of its students. Considering that these needs are very different from program to program, the Special Education Department’s funding and expenditures are extremely diverse.

The funding for each of these categories depends largely on donations and varies between classes. The main expenses of all special education programs include technology, community-based instruction (CBI), and classroom supplies. One of the department’s future projects includes purchasing a class set of iPads for a typically small class of 10.

GRAPHICS FROM CLIPARTPANDA.COM AND PUBLICDOMAIN.COM

corrections

for the OCT. 23, 2015 issue News Pg. 2: Imagine Dragons is misspelled.

News Pg. 2: MSJ has 2079 students.

Graph title should be “AP Computer Science and C++/Finite Discrete Mathematics.” Female students tend to take AP Calculus AB. Centerspread Pg. 11: “Don’t Stop Believin’” is misspelled.

Centerspread Pg. 14: Senior Marilyn Nguyen’s name is misspelled. Dr. Husky’s name is misspelled.

A&E Pg. 17: Shoreline Amphitheatre is misspelled.

Sports Pg. 21: Peter Sönksen’s name is misspelled.

Sports and Photo Pg. 23: Pratik Patel is a senior.

NEWS IN

brief

Compiled by Staff Writers Ashley Chang, Mallika Gupta & Amber Lee

newscenter.lbl.gov Breakthrough Prize laureates receive their awards at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA.

Silicon Valley Breakthrough Prize awards scientists Silicon Valley’s Breakthrough Prize awarded $21.9 million to scientists around the world on November 8. The award recognizes scientists who have made valuable contributions and discoveries throughout the course of the year. The categories include mathematics, fundamental physics, and life sciences. Select laureates from this year’s prize winners presented at University of California, Berkeley on November 9.

usnews.com Students protest school administration inaction in the face of racial tensions.

University of Missouri president and chancellor step down amid race row African-American students at Missouri have complained of inaction on the part of school leaders in dealing with racism on the overwhelmingly white Columbia campus. As prompted by the protests held by staff and faculty University President Tim Wolfe and Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin have both resigned, hoping to further catalyze change on the campus.

washingtonpost.com

China and Taiwan leaders meet to discuss formal government relations for the first time in 65 years.

Leaders of China and Taiwan hold diplomatic talks President Xi Jinping of China and President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan met for the first time on November 7 in Singapore. During the diplomatic meeting, the two leaders discussed how to maintain peaceful relations between China and Taiwan and how to cooperate with each other. There have been conflicts over whether Taiwan is part of China or an independent country, but China-Taiwan relationships have improved in recent years.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

The Smoke Signal

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Opinion 3

GENDER WAGE GAP BROKEN DOWN: DOES IT EXIST?

By Ishika Chawla, Kylie Cheung, Chloe Velasquez & Richard Chenyu Zhou Staff Writers

CA Governor Jerry Brown signed the Fair Pay Act on October 6, giving women more rights and protections to fight against gender-based salary inequality. The Smoke Signal explored the different perspectives on the gender wage gap in the US; read on to learn more!

77¢

Misconception: Compares men and women working similar jobs In Reality: Compares median yearly earnings between men and women across all fields

FAILS TO ACKNOWLEDGE: • perceived lack of ability • need for flexible hours • different professions • lower work experience • effects of maternity leave • hourly vs. yearly salaries

HOWEVER, when controlling for all differences, women are paid 93 cents for every dollar a man with a similar job earns. us census

93¢

DIFFERENT FIELDS AND PROFESSIONS A large reason for the gender wage gap is that women generally work in professions that pay less. According to a 2011 White House report, “only seven percent of female professionals were employed in the relatively high paying computer and engineering fields, compared with 38 percent of male professionals.” Without socially accepted paths or role models that young girls can follow, technology and other lucrative fields are daunting. More feminine fields, like housekeeping or teaching, are historically less paid and discredited. However, the choice of profession isn't exactly a matter of choice at all—rather, in most cases it is determined by societal pressure to enter feminine and often lower-paying jobs, and stay away from more masculine, often higher-paying ones.

NE

OPLE WHO

S

Cultural stereotypes regarding pregnant women and mothers negatively affect their stations in the workplace. Women are far less likely than men to seek paid leave. In 2013, with the Family and Medical Leave Act, pregnant women and mothers were given longer paid leave and more flexible working hours. However, women were given less opportunity for promotion because of the pervasive cultural stereotype that as primary caregivers to their families, mothers are less active in the workplace. The number of female primary breadwinners has increased since 2013, implying a breakthrough against this stereotype, but women, especially single37% mothers, remain more likely than men to live in poverty.

PE

12.5%

payscale.com

MEN

WOMEN

74¢

52¢

HOLLYWOOD

65¢

FINANCE

92¢

MANUFACTURING

96¢

HOUSEKEEPING/ JANITOR

american psychological association

CONSTRUCTION

GOVERNMENT PRIVACY

MATERNITY AND FAMILY LEAVE

50%

DON’T ASK BECAUSE IT MAKES THEM UNCOMFORTABLE.

59-64 cent Wage Gap in Same Profession Men were paid more than females working the same factory jobs, although women were granted safer labor condiEqual Rights tions.

Amendment (ERA) Although it addressed equal pay, the ERA didn’t consider gendered perceptions of fields. It led to the wage gap becoming more a result of how fields of work were assigned by ingrained gender roles than explicit discrimination.

Analysts protesting the existence of the wage gap fairly question why employers don’t replace males with females to save money.

But the wage gap is less a product of conscious decision-making than it is gendered perceptions of who is more qualified. There is also the idea that women will be less active due to their family situations, rooted in historical gender role assignment. Some also argue the gap is a result of women actively choosing different fields. But this undermines ingrained cultural attitudes’ role in steering women into certain fields, which subsequently are perceived as less valuable due to a gender ratio favoring females. This could result in the decrease of salaries and societal respect for fields that become female-dominated, which some analysts have called the devaluation of feminine professions.

Actress Jennifer Lawrence made headlines on October 13 for her passionate essay on women’s wages. Bringing to light the Hollywood wage gap, Lawrence argued that women have less negotiating power than men. One potential factor is the “social cost” of negotiation, when co-workers are reluctant to work with women that negotiate their salaries, while men face little to no social repercussions for negotiating theirs. Lawrence suggests that in a culture that emphasizes female modesty, women are conditioned from young ages not to “ask for more.” Women’s lack of negotiating power limits their ability to discuss their salaries and protest the existing wage gap. Lawrence’s essay has spurred other Hollywood E J O B OF IA T FE women like Sharon Stone to speak out about their OT R G personal experiences with the wage gap.

23 PERCENT OF MEN AND 31 PERCENT OF WOMEN

Equal Pay Act Put a stop to job ads for women being listed separately from those for men.

This often cast women into fields of work paying less than fields of work advertised for men.

COMMON MYTHS

FEMININITY AND NEGOTIATION

ONLY 43 PERCENT OF WORKERS ASK FOR A RAISE.

1963

–President of the United States Barack Obama, State of the Union, April 8, 2014

Labor Specialization To increase productivity, males were often assigned dominant, public roles, and females assigned domestic work.

1923

Classicial Civilizations of 800-600 BC

“TODAY, WOMEN MAKE UP ABOUT HALF OUR WORKFORCE. BUT THEY STILL MAKE 77 CENTS FOR EVERY DOLLAR A MAN EARNS.”

HISTORICAL CONTEXT BEHIND THE WAGE GAP

19th Century

BREAKING DOWN THE “77 CENTS TO A DOLLAR” STATISTIC

39¢

WAGE GAP ACROSS INDUSTRIES: HOW MUCH WOMEN MAKE COMPARED TO A MAN’S DOLLAR

bls.gov

LEGISLATION Fair Labor Standards Act (1938): Intended to ensure equal opportunity for women in the job market, this act establishes minimum wage, requires employers to compensate over-time pay, and mandates labor standards such as break periods.

Equal Pay Act (1963): An attachment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, this act ensures men and women receive equal pay for equal work in terms of salary, bonuses, vacation pay, and benefits. It allows individuals to file for pay discrimination.

Fair Pay Act, Senate Bill 358 (2015): Signed by Gov. Jerry Brown to strengthen CA’s Equal Pay Act, this act clarifies that women must be given equal pay for “substantially similar work” and allows women to compare paychecks with men without punishment from employers.

WOMEN HIRED AFTER THE PASSING OF THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT WERE...

5% MORE

8% LESS

LIKELY TO REMAIN EMPLOYED

LIKELY TO BE PROMOTED

THAN WOMEN HIRED BEFORE. cornell . edu

12% 51% MARRIED COUPLES

OTHER

SINGLE FEMALE

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN IN EXTREME POVERTY (2011)

stanford.edu

FAIR PAY ACT’S PREDICTED IMPACT AND OUTCOMES The Fair Pay Act requires employers to justify pay gaps between workers by citing skill and seniority, making gender-based wage discrimination more difficult. However, the disparity in wages by gender hinges on loopholes in previous equal pay legislation, which could be found in this new act. For example, sexism arguably influences employers’ perceptions of “skill and seniority,” which could be used to justify a different pay. Violations of the Fair Pay Act might be underreported, as workplace sexual harassment toward women tends to be, if women are concerned about losing their jobs for protesting. But most importantly, the Fair Pay Act shows the government is acknowledging the wage gap and taking it seriously. As Economist Claudia Goldin points out, “[The Fair Pay Act] is going to empower women [to speak against unfair pay], so they know there is a law to support them.”

CONCLUSION Arguments against the gender wage gap’s existence fairly point out that the gap is largely a result of differences in career choices men and women make. The 77 cent statistic does not account for factors like profession, experience, and work hours that reduce the disparity when accounted for. However, the remaining gap, though drastically smaller, can only be explained by cultural attitudes, traditions, and discrimination.

But by simply acknowledging it exists, the Fair Pay Act is ultimately a step in the right direction for women currently in the work force, and girls who will be entering it in the future. graphics from clipartpanda.com

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Opinion 5

What are your thoughts on the gender wage gap?

Evang

10

“If there could be like, individual workshops where the companies would organize small projects with small groups working on them, with an equal number of men and women, and they’re all assigned a job that would somehow reflect each others’ strengths and prove that men are good at their things and women are good at their things and [then wages would be] all equal.”

ngV u, 11

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“I do not believe a wage gap exists between women and men in the workforce. If women were indeed paid less than men, then employers would hire more women for a cheaper wage. Employers do not do this.”

Jeffrey

Li

11

Da

lle Zhao,

“I believe a wage gap does exist. However, it is significantly lower than the commonly reported figure of 78 cents per dollar, as that statistic fails to take certain factors, such as women’s choice of work and working hour disparity, into account. Stats can be misleading and instead of blindly taking them at face value, we should conduct our own research to help gain a better understanding.”

ttanashet Pa t 12 y,

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“I feel like the wage gap is wrong on so many levels because women are extremely capable and can well balance their responsibilities to their job as well as to their household. Men should also have to be responsible for taking care of their home and family. It’s not just a ‘woman’s job’ to cook and clean or look after children.”

G

Ap oo

11

“I believe it does exist; however, it’s hard for me to understand at my age and environment for I’ve never truly experienced it.

Maybe it’s not just because I’m young and inexperienced, but also because I’m a male.”

u

o, 9

rakash,

“I think as long as we’re still human, there will still be a difference between males and females and there’s really no way to resolve that.”

Ga

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Gender Wage Gap

Singh, 12

“I think you have to be careful when actively fighting against it [the wage gap]. For example, I don’t think it would be fair to have equal pay for men and women because it should be pay by ability [sic.]. It’s hard to regulate it too much because it’s a free market, but at the same time you want equality to a certain extent. It’s hard to find that medium ground.”

photos by staff writers ella chen & andrew kan

Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act infringes on consumer privacy

By Andrew Chen & Anthony Chen Staff Writers

The political debate about the balance between security and privacy continues as the US Senate passed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) by a vote of 74-21 on Oct. 27, 2015. If signed in by President Barack Obama, the bill will allow companies to share cybersecurity data with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which can share it with other branches like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Security Agency (NSA).

Drafted to strengthen cybersecurity in America, CISA has come under fire as a guise to expand federal intelligence.

Granted, cyber security is a growing threat. With the disastrous hack on the US Office of Personnel Management that leaked millions of federal employees’ personal information earlier this year and the breach of the CIA director’s email just last month, it is clear that something must be done. To combat the onslaught of new cyber attacks, CISA gives companies a network to share private user data so that others can prevent further security breaches. It also protects participating companies from lawsuits for sharing information. But while the bill calls for security measures that protect the privacy of personal customer information, the government could abuse the freedoms that it grants.

The biggest red flag is that uses of personal information are taken away

from the individual and placed in the hands of the government and participating companies. While companies can choose to join the cybersecurity program, the customers of participating companies will not get to choose whether their information is shared.

Moreover, this information may not even aid the prevention of further cyber attacks. That, coupled with the government’s notorious reputation for abusing security and surveillance, makes it difficult to easily accept the act. CISA stems from a motion of the Senate Intelligence Committee, whose job leans more toward gathering data and prosecuting crimes than preventing cyber attacks. CISA also closely resembles the Cyber Intelligence Sharing Act and Protection Act of 2012, which was shot down for being a surveillance bill under the disguise of a cybersecurity one. But this time, Obama has sided with it, giving his formal endorsement in August 2015.

“I think we have to find a balance between that, because companies do need protection from hackers, and cybersecurity is really important. But I think companies need to be held accountable for our information... as it could be used incorrectly.”

- L ibrary M edia T echnician S helle y H ulseman

Online privacy is often nebulous due to the relatively recent establishment of the web. But even though

citizens’ cyber data differs fundamentally from more tangible possessions, it is under many of the same protections. The government is not allowed to spy on citizens, nor is it allowed to use private information without a warrant in criminal proceedings. While CISA has a provision for companies to redact any personal information from data before handing it over the government, it also has a section that enables the government to bypass this requirement if they feel it is necessary, all without notifying the consumers involved. CISA thus bypasses the constitutional right of privacy—even the DHS agrees.

In a letter responding to Senator Al Franken, the DHS has stated that data received will not be scrubbed of personal information and is “not subject to any delay [or] modification” to allow sharing in “real time.” “I think we have to find a balance between that, because companies do need protection from hackers, and cybersecurity is really important. But I think companies need to be held accountable for our information. Companies need to be held responsible for sharing their information, as it could be used incorrectly,” said Library Media Technician Shelley Hulseman.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association, consisting of corporations such as Facebook and Google, wrote an open letter in opposition to the act because it does not adequately protect user privacy.

Even though companies are currently legally allowed to share cyber

threat indicators for the rights of the companies and their customers, the proposed bill is in clear violation of the customers’ rights, since they have no way of finding out where the information goes and why. This violation is worsened by a general lack of awareness about the act itself. More than not knowing the whereabouts of our personal information, many customers may not even be aware of this act and its potential repercussions.

The prevalence of technology use makes the act’s infringement of privacy a concern for all of us. Participating companies include tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, and IBM, whose reach affects millions of citizens. With Silicon Valley at our doorstep, it is paramount that we all pay attention to our technological privacy. Since it is the community’s information in jeopardy, it is the community’s responsibility to be aware of and protect the privacy of their information. ▪

to the

graphics from piktochart.com

to the

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Thursday, November 19, 2015

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Smoke Signal

Mission San Jose High School Est. 1964 Vol. 51, No. 3 | November 19, 2015 www.thesmokesignal.org

41717 Palm Ave. Fremont, CA 94539 (510) 657-3600 Editors-in-Chief Alice Cheng, Katrina Cherk News Michael Hsiu, Apoorva Rajanala Opinion Grace Dong, Harshita Gupta Feature Chakshu Hurria, Katie Sun Centerspread Neha Shah, Annie Tang A&E Sarina Chitre, Andrea Tam Sports Amrith Krishnan, Rishab Ramapriyan Graphics Kevin Chen, Monica Tang Web Jacinta Chang, Nithya Rajeev Tech Andrew Chen, Brian Tseng Business Shivane Sabharwal Circulation Tanvi Raja Ads Andrew Choi, Sayan Ghosh Events Deeksha Raina, Ruiwen Shen Writers & Photographers

Mustafa Ahmed, Anu Asokan, Ashley Chang, Ishika Chawla, Anthony Chen, Ella Chen, Kylie Cheung, Michelle Dalarossa, Carolyn Ge, Mallika Gupta, Pratham Gupta, Andrew Kan, Amber Lee, Kevin Li, Lucille Njoo, Ansh Patel, Tanushri Sundar, Bindhu Swaminathan, Zen Thumparkkul, Chloe Velasquez, Didi Wu, Cindy Yuan, Richard Chenyu Zhou, Victor Zhou

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Opinion 7

grace’s gray area

harshita hashes it out Programming Isn’t A Foreign Langauge

Don’t Glorify Sleep Deprivation

By Grace Dong

By Harshita Gupta

Opinion Editor

Opinion Editor

“Computer programming is a language, and let’s be honest, it’s foreign to a lot of people,” said Sen. David Givens to USA Today, arguing that school districts should grant foreign language credit to students learning programming. The CA Department of Education announced in October that more high school students graduated with a State Seal of Biliteracy in 2015 than ever before. While this statistic refers to multilingual students in a traditional sense, it’s important to evaluate what being biliteral means in today’s digitized society. Legislation passed in Kentucky and proposed in multiple other states requires students to choose between foreign language and programming to fulfill a single requirement, because of one common word: “language.”

Despite the seeming similarity between the two, programming is not a natural language, and will not help students grow in the same way that a foreign language does. As an ardent programmer myself, I’m all for teaching programming, an invaluable skill, in schools as a part of the core curriculum. However, forcing programming into pre existing slots on a transcript like “language credit” is a lackadaisical way of reforming curriculum.

Engineering might be a new way of quantifying information, but it isn’t culturally nuanced like speaking and writing. Making students choose between engineering and expression as an either-or implies that each of us needs to decide what’s more important: logic or linguistics?

The debate over programming language as a foreign language is driven by a more subtly flawed mentality–one that tangible “skills” are what education is

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about, versus modes of thinking. Judging a subject only by the actions it teaches is an incomplete way of viewing education. Take math–studying statistics is as much about applying regression lines, as it is about intrinsically understanding data.

English is as much about understanding Greek culture through Homer as it is about critically analyzing literature across time periods.

In the same vein, computer science and foreign languages are not just two different versions of the same skill: learning “a language.” Programming is methodical, logical thinking–engineering skills that can be applied to universal problem solving. Foreign language is evaluating the world in different historical, cultural, political, and socioeconomic contexts. When I’m writing code I’m thinking about procedure and logical flow–not just whether to use var or struct. When I’m speaking to my grandparents in Hindi, I’m thinking about how they’ll read between the lines and connect my experiences to theirs–not worrying about verbs and conjugations.

Looking past the surface similarities and considering how the two require a student to think, reveals that grouping programming and language together is superficial.

It’s important that reforms keep in mind what education is really about: qualitative thinking, rather than quantitative actions. Students shouldn’t have to polarize themselves: the kid who takes programming for language, or the kid who takes French. Curriculum reform should be driven by how students need to think about learning, rather than memorizing material without understanding the implications behind it. ▪

“I studied APUSH until 3 a.m.”

“Well, I went to sleep at 5:30 a.m. studying for chemistry.”

“Guys, I didn’t even make it to bed. I fell asleep on the floor by my desk at some point in the night.”

Ah, the contest we all want to win.

Who slept the least? Who studied the hardest? Who sacrificed their well-being the most for that one big test?

This self-comparison fosters a drive to push harder—often beyond one’s limits—as well as a skewed sense of what’s the “smart” way of going through high school. At a school where being a nerd isn’t a bad thing, being so invested in school that we forget to take care of ourselves is sometimes construed as a good thing. It’s great that so many of us support each other’s academic learning and respect others based on their hard work, but we can’t forget that individual health is more important.

Getting four hours of sleep a night isn’t considered “healthy,” yet there’s a sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with forfeiting sleep for school.

When choosing classes in the spring, many of us scoff at the sleep requirement.

A whole nine hours? Preposterous.

The idea that cramming all night before a test will help one ace it and taking all weighted courses will improve one’s college application is a major driving force that leads students to maintain this unhealthy lifestyle, but an often overlooked cause is that we laud those who choose to do so. While we don’t outright applaud sleep deprivation (in fact, we arguably denounce it), it’s the subtle things that show we respect it.

It’s the feeling of awe we get when we hear about another student who made it to a top rank college after four years of AP tests and all nighters. It’s the twinge of pride we feel when we share our own stories of staying up late. Because taking harder courses that require more homework and studying time is associated with being “smarter” and consequently more respected, sleeping less to accommodate these academic commitments seems to follow that association.

This tendency to glamorize the unglamorous leads to a dangerous fate: the high school student with little to no regard for his or her health. Not getting sufficient sleep is unfortunately common for high schoolers, but linking sleep deprivation to respect from our peers and academic success is not doing us any favors. It’s time we recognize that this mindset is harmful to our health.

Instead of celebrating this way of thinking, we should aim to foster a healthier mindset on campus. To do so, we should recognize that sleep deprivation does not translate to success and look up to those who prioritize health over school.

If we can become better role models and advocate a lifestyle that balances sleep with studying, we can help ourselves, current underclassmen, and incoming students recognize what’s healthy and what’s not.

This is the story of what I believed for the majority of my high school experience, but after three long years of believing the less I sleep and the longer I study, the smarter I’ll be and the cooler I’ll be, I’m ready to put my pencil down at 10 p.m. and get those nine hours of sweet, sweet sleep. ▪

the Opinion of the Smoke Signal Editorial Board

Editorial: A Culture of Entitlement

staff writer kevin li

staff writer bindhu swaminathan

“Can you believe that some teachers aren’t doing letters for early application deadlines?” Imagine the incredulous tone a typical student might take to this supposed irrationality. At MSJ, we often hear seniors complain when a teacher does not meet their high expectations when it comes to the college application process. While this message is for seniors applying to universities that require teachers to write letters of recommendation for them, students of all grade levels should keep in mind that the issue at hand speaks to a larger problem— the sense of entitlement common within our student body.

We are millennials, people born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s. Millennials are commonly characterized as optimistic, open, and innovative but we’re also described as lazy, shallow, and narcissistic.

According to Joel Stein from Time Magazine, who calls us the “Me Me Me Generation,” “What millennials are most famous for besides narcissism is its effect: entitlement.”

This sense of entitlement millennials are associated with is definitely present at MSJ. It fosters the mentality that teachers should be sacrificing their time off to aid in our college application process by writing letters of recommendation. However, this expectation is not rooted in any fact; AP Statistics Teacher Jan Frydendahl, a previous Union negotiator for teachers’ rights, said that per the teacher contract, “It’s part of our professional responsibilities, but there’s nothing anywhere that says teachers must write letters of rec.” In short, letters of recommendation are favors from our teachers, not part of their duties.

Logistically speaking, with a graduating class of 548 students and only 92 teachers, each teacher would have to write about 12 letters of recommendation if every senior needed two letters for private school applications. However, not all 92 teachers teach upperclassmen classes, which further decreases the number of possible recommenders. Frydendahl—who writes 25-35 letters of recommendation per year—said, “The teachers of 11th grade honors classes are disproportionately affected, so that would

be AP Stats teachers, Precalc Honors teachers, the AP science teachers, and the English 11H teachers.” Moreover, most teachers need an hour or two per letter, which is time a teacher could instead be spending as well-deserved time off.

It is not feasible for a teacher to accept all requests for letters, yet we unfairly criticize teacher policies about which schools they are willing to submit letters to and the methods they use to limit the amount they have to write. Complaints about teachers who will not submit non-Common Application, National Merit, or early admissions letters are common. Likewise, when we criticize “first come, first serve” policies, we neglect the fact that choosing students based on merit through applications or similar methods only adds to a teacher’s workload. Overall, we fail to recognize that whether or not a teacher chooses to write letters of recommendation at all is his or her choice, and as students, we are not justified to question or gripe about his or her policies.

Every member of the faculty at MSJ who chooses to go beyond just the bare bones of his or her duties and take an extra step for others is doing our student body a favor. Teachers are not obligated to give us favors such as letters of recommendation, yet we continue to complain about and criticize their specific policies. This elevated sense of entitlement is not preparing us for the “real world” past high school. While teachers may be understanding and lenient to our demands today because they genuinely want to help us, our future coworkers and managers will not be.

It is up to us to change our mentality regarding privilege and entitlement, to ensure that we clearly see the line between favors and duties. Instead of complaining, we should be appreciating others’ efforts to go beyond the requirements in order to help us. ▪

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Opinion and Feature 9

Sesame Street paves the way to greater acceptance

By Anu Asokan & Tanushri Sundar Staff Writers

Sesame Street introduced a new character, Julia, in an online storybook and in print materials on October 21. Julia has fiery orange hair, bright green eyes, and wears the colorful clothing typical of Sesame Street characters. What makes Julia so monumental is that she has autism. In a culture that often overlooks people with disabilities and portrays disabilities in an unflattering way, Sesame Street may bring “more social acceptance and [autism] away from the negative light,” says Special Education Teacher Tai Chung.

Previous media representations of learning disabilities have been both unrealistic and insensitive. In a study conducted

by Communications Professor Carol Pardun at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, researchers reviewed close to 4,000 film and television scenes and newspaper articles. They found that disabled people were overwhelmingly portrayed as pitiful and weak. So what differentiates a realistic portrayal from a reliance on stereotypes? Chung says, “If you’re trying to get a laugh out of [someone’s disability], then it’s not okay. If you’re bringing it to the forefront and saying ‘this is what’s happening,’ if you’re educating,” it is both considerate and realistic.

Sesame Street’s Julia flaps her arms when excited, gets upset over loud noises, cannot make prolonged eye contact, and sometimes doesn’t respond immediately.

However, she is in no way depicted as a pathetic victim. Her characteristics serve to educate, not entertain, as they have been created with three years of research and numerous consultations with experts from the Yale Child Study Center. They’re

intended to raise awareness of autism among children.

So far, public reception of Julia’s behavior has been favorable, but there are concerns that Sesame Street is glamorizing autism by showing mostly positive characteristics. For example, Julia has not had a meltdown or seizure, and her curiosity and intelligence are emphasized. Howev-

“SESAME STREET AND AUTISM: SEE AMAZING IN ALL CHILDREN” INITIATIVE With an increasing number of children diagnosed with autism, this new initiative intends to teach children how to interact with those with autism and reduce the negative stigma surrounding the neurodevelopmental disorder through online tools, printed story books, and a mobile application featuring Julia.

“...sitcoms like South Park dechildren are pict students with disabilities In 2012, about Today, estimated to one in in a negative light. They’re very one in have autism.* simple, they really focus and children had autism. hone in on the stereotypes... *From studies by Centers For Disease Control and Prevention The signs [symptoms] are obvi- trying to create a character with common, ous, but if you play on it and... recognizable autistic behaviors who is as you’re trying to get a laugh out of it, sensitive and fun-loving as other children.

I don’t think it’s okay. But if you’re Sesame Street has ensured that Julia is multi-dimensional—she has her own bringing it to the forefront and emotions, desires, and quirks. Her dissaying ‘this is what’s happening,’ ability is not central to her character, yet and if you’re educating, it’s okay.” she is still a representative and educational

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- S pecial E ducation T eacher T ai C hung er, autism has a wide spectrum, and she is not obligated to show every single possible trait of an autistic child. Sesame Street makes clear with its slogan, “see the amazing in all children, celebrate the uniqueness of each and every child”, that disability is not a defining characteristic. Sesame Street is using one example of someone with learning disabilities, but not all autistic children are identical to Julia—the way not all neurotypical children are duplicates of Elmo. Sesame Street created Julia to promote the positive qualities about autism and reduce the bullying and ostracism of autistic children. With autistic children more than five times as likely to be bullied as their neurotypical peers, Sesame Street is

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figure. What prevents the creation of more characters like Julia is the difficulty in developing disabled characters. Producers must devote time, effort, and money to research traits and portray these traits without offense.

“Now it’s one out of 68 [children who have autism], so by the next generation, it can go down to one in every class.”

- S pecial E ducation T eacher T ai C hung

Sesame Street’s autism initiative is on track to success. If Julia is popular as a character, younger children can develop an acceptance of mental disabilities instead of believing misconceptions. Chung commented, “In 2010, I remember the

statistics were one out of 112 children have autism. Now it’s one out of 68, so by the next generation, it can go down to one in every class.” With disabilities more prevalent in schools, it is time that the mainstream media represents disabilities fairly and more often. If Sesame Street broadens Julia’s audience by broadcasting her character on television, and if other media follow Sesame Street’s footsteps, the way we view mental disability will change. ▪ graphics from pbs.org

What kind of Black Friday Shopper are you?

second, you quickly fill up your virtual shopping cart to its maximum capacity.

Dealing with all the shipping boxes simultaneously arriving at your house later on is another day’s problem.

While everyone else hits the stores in person, you’re holed up at home on your couch, scouring Amazon, eBay, and other shopping websites for the best deals. With your fingers flying over the keyboard and clicking the mouse a 100 times per

the turkey vulture

THE CYBER SHOPPER As Thanksgiving rolls around, it’s time to start gearing up for the holiday season and the shopping frenzy that accompanies it. This profile list is bound to come in handy as you’re preparing for the types of shoppers you’ll be squaring off against on Black Friday.

Why fight through masses of crazed shoppers when you can scavenge from the remains? You’ve learned that there are often choice pickings to be found after the initial By flood has swept past. Maybe there aren’t any t h e of the best bargains left, but no deal is a t i m e bad deal on Black Friday. You might Thanksgiving not end up finding everything rolls around, you’re you want, but anything is already camped outside worth avoiding the the store, eating turkey and morning stammashed potatoes from the comfort pede. of your tent. Intense preparation and past experience have given you intimate

By Amber Lee & Brian Tseng Staff Writers

THE EARLY CAMPER

the drag-along

There’s no point to risking life and limb for cheap products on Black Friday, right? Unfortunately, your family members think otherwise. They always drag you out the door to go shopping as you’re still stuffing the last of your Thanksgiving meal into your mouth. knowlOnce inside the store, you usually edge of get separated from your famthe best deals, ily and end up hiding in the and you’ll spend bathroom to escape the the night hunched over shopping mobs. blueprints, plotting the most efficient path from the entrance to the cashier. Lack of sleep is but a small price to pay for amazing savings. graphics by staff writers ashley chang & amber lee

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Senior Alisha Nanda, along with Seniors Vivian Zhao and Elsie Yi, started working on TileWarp, an Android game in January 2015. They released the first version of the application in August 2015. TileWarp is aimed at all ages and can be used as a fun game as well as a brain sharpener. The team is currently working on further marketing, development, and testing.

tilewarp.weebly.com

Disclaimer: Students featured in this article responded to a survey published online. The views, products, and services of these student projects are not necessarily endorsed by the Smoke Signal.

By Andrew Chen, Sayan Ghosh, Mallika Gupta & Shivane Sabharwal Staff Writers

The Smoke Signal asked student entrepreneurs through Facebook and our website to tell us about businesses or products they have created. All valid entries were published; read on to learn more about the projects students have started during high school!

gawd.com

Pictured is the current team.

Sophomores Alexander Wing, Michelle Ng, Elvin Huang, and Savvy Gupta created GAWD Incorporated, a national nonprofit, in August 2015. Students of GAWD school branches from around the country are given the opportunity to assist rising nonprofits with their graphics and web design needs by completing projects for these organizations. The team is currently working on creating branches in various states, along with a web project for Yuelu Foundation.

Also pictured are IT Director Eric Cheng and Secretary Alex Tseng.

Senior Keshav Rao is one of the four creators (the other three founders do not attend MSJ) of PeerEditr, a project started at MIT Launch Summer Incubator in 2014. This web application allows students to give and receive feedback on projects such as essays and blog posts, and is currently part of the University of California Berkeley Free University Incubator. In the next few months, Rao hopes to further develop the application with help from free venture programs.

cubixmc.com With two other seniors nationwide, Senior Charles Han runs Cubix Community. The business hosts and builds an online gaming community, and provides a Minecraft server. Experimenting with the idea since 2012, Han relaunched his business in January 2015 and has been working on creating a business website and upgrading servers. Currently, Cubix Community is going through their third major rework and expects to come out with a new version soon.

peereditr.com

Thursday, November 19, 2015

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website not provided

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Feature 11

Senior Lorenzo Hyer is the founder of Hyer Graphic Design, a company that designs a variety of digital artwork to fit a multitude of client needs. Hyer began a painting business in fifth grade and began doing more digital artwork this year.

So far, Hyer has designed MSJ apparel such as beanies and is currently designing jerseys for the baseball team. In addition to work for the school, Hyer has worked on fashion and designed cover art for DJs.

Pictured are active members.

Senior Miranda Zhou started Expanding Learning Frontier in September 2014 with Seniors Amy Li and Yuhan Ling, and Sophomores Victor Yau and Joyce Wang. Last year, eight high school students went to Fushun, China (which was heavily damaged by a flood in 2013) to teach English and donate Samsung tablets to elementary school students. The team is currently planning another similar trip for the summer of 2016.

rarebasedart.blogspot.com mineoutfit.com

Senior Mohammed Abdulwahhab aims to create a consolidated source in which aspiring programmers can learn beginner to advanced languages. Abdulwahhab contacted a few of his close friends and started creating tutorials for various programming stacks. They have already created more than seven tutorials with five to six tutorials added every week.

Their eventual goal is to have the resource, Infinite Loop, used in MSJ’s AP Computer Science and C++ classes.

Senior Priyanka Saba is the creator of a new line of clothing that uses interchangeable parts, allowing the consumers to customize their clothing. Saba’s goal is to increase variety in one’s wardrobe without having to purchase more pieces, saving the consumer money and closet space.

She began designing the product her freshman and sophomore year and began the current version in March 2015.

Saba plans on expanding the product line to create more layers for her clothing designs and adding an interactive application on her website.

Freshman Abhi Upadhyay started Blaze Game Studios with Freshman Cyrus Vachha in 2013. He has helped create three apps that are published on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store and a course that was used to teach Hopkins Junior High School students about game programming and design. The team at Blaze Game Studios is currently working on creating more games and informational material.

blazegamestudios.com

infiniteloop.tech photos by staff writers andrew chen, sayan ghosh, mallika gupta & shivane sabharwal, courtesy mohammed abdulwahhab, charles han, alisha nanda & alexander wing

12 Centerspread

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“A couple of years ago, Peer Resource introduced this idea of a ‘happy card’ where each student was given an index card to write what he/she liked so that if she ever felt sad, anyone who noticed could ask for the happy card from a teacher and help cheer her up. One day, something was bothering me and I spent the class period sulking. My English teacher asked me to see her after class and used the happy card to give me a mini-Snickers bar. It was such a small gesture, but I will never forget that.”

Shefali Sastry, 12

By Ashley Chang, Andrew Kan & Bindhu Swaminathan

poem on thesmokesignal.org

PE Teacher Thomas Thomsen

The Smoke Signal

“I am thankful to all my wonderful students. I am especially thankful for the motivated students whose enthusiasm to learn has a contagious effect on me and other students. It is always heartening to hear from alumni students who take time to keep me posted on their academic progress in college and beyond. My day is made when I hear from them about their achievements, such as getting top score in MCAT, creating apps for crop disease in Africa, or working with blind children in India. Their commitment to keep learning keeps me motivated and inspired. Their ongoing feedback compels me to do my best with my current students.”

AP Chemistry Teacher Sailakshmi Kumar

“When I was a confused helpless freshman last year, I met an english teacher . . . [who] believed that despite the high pressure on each and every one of Mission’s students, no student should have to stress more than was necessary.

Her willingness to help her students made her a very approachable person, and one who was able to keep calm and focused while under pressure.

Her strong will and her enthusiasm when it comes to helping others inspired me and helped me believe that everything would be all right, no matter what path I chose in life . . . Her ‘no stress’ policy and her enforcement of a ‘hate free’ classroom really allowed me to learn to appreciate what I already have and what I could achieve. With her help, I was able to jumpstart my lifelong journey of ‘mastering my own fate’ and ‘captaining my soul’ towards success.”

Jerry Qin, 10

“This poem* was written and read at a wrestling banquet by one of our girl wrestlers about five years ago. She graduated from Annapolis last year and is now serving our country. It is a poem I look at and read every now and then to remind me of the impact we as teachers and coaches have on these young adults. More importantly, this poem reminds me of the impact her poem has had on me. The message in this poem helps me to give my best to our student-athletes each and every day.” *Find the

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Staff Writers

Often times, we don’t have the opportunity to express our thanks. Fortunately, the Smoke Signal collected stories of gratitude from the MSJ community to highlight positive impacts people have made on each other’s lives.* *Find the continuations on www.thesmokesignal.org

“My math teacher has been one of the nicest, most genuine, and most influential teachers I have had. He truly cared about his students and gave everyone the benefit of the doubt, never losing his faith in humanity. When I walked into his precalculus class two years ago, I was nearly overwhelmed by the incredible projects he had displayed all around. He always showed us fascinating pieces of technology in real life and in videos, and took the time and effort to bring in highlighted articles about developments in STEM. Over the course of that year, I went from not knowing anything about my future, to really seeing myself working in STEM. Thank you . . . for your encouragement towards not only me, but all of your students.”

Lindsay Yang, 12

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Centerspread 13

“As a freshman I wasn’t really looking forward to four years of studying and I didn’t really have a clue as to what I was gonna do after high school. But after the first semester of Honors Bio [with this teacher] I realized, without a doubt, I want to work in Biology. He provided such a user-friendly experience, from his interactive lectures where he constantly kept students on their toes by asking them questions and not drawling on for 54 minutes, to his detailed and informative worksheets on photosynthesis and respiration. Not only was he a very good teacher, he was very accommodating and understanding with the students. He tried his very best to make sure we learned everything we were supposed to. He even edited the student created study guide which we had in the . . .

Honors Bio facebook group. My experience in his class will be one I remember for life. Thank you!“ Yaseen Hakim, 11

“Years ago there was a student on campus with a physical handicap who had to use a scooter to get around campus.

I knew that this senior was not able to afford a prom bid but really wanted to go. I arranged to have two tickets for him and went to present them in one of his classes. He was touched but I also said he would need to find his own way to the event. I could tell this troubled him and he said his parents might not be able to get him there. A big strong football player who overheard this leaned over and told this student, ‘Don’t worry, you can come with us.’ This football player was a very popular student and he reassured the senior that he would accommodate the student and whoever he wanted to bring in their limo. I did not think about it again until I was at the Senior Ball and I saw the long line of limousines pulling up to the to the curb at the Academy of Science in San Francisco . . .”* Campus Supervisor Brandi Speier

“When I first got to Mission San Jose High School, and it was the Class of 2008 graduating, the graduation was a really good one, it was about 115 degrees, but kids brought with them hundreds of like inflatable things, beach balls, anything you can imagine that was inflatable, and blew those up while they were sitting in the graduation sitting area and threw them all around . . .”* Principal Zack Larsen

graphics from clipartbest.com, clipart.me, clipartpanda.com, clker.com, demandware.edgesuite.net, envato.com, goldvote.org, psdmockups.com, shopify.com, stbrendanschool.org, wordpress.com

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THE

DIEHARDthanksgiving TRYHARDS TAKE ON

ANDREW

KYLIE

I am both scared and excited to take on the challenge of cooking again.

I helped—well, was forced to help —my mom out in the kitchen back in elementary and middle school. Ever since high school started, I have let my parents take care of the preparing and cooking. I hope I still have the skill and knowledge I had two years ago.

I’ve been a vegetarian for the past seven years, and to prepare myself for going vegan in college, I occasionally try to convert traditional dishes into vegan cuisine in my kitchen. Sure, in the process I’ve almost burned down my house and ultimately discovered that some dishes just aren’t meant to be vegan, but my motto in the kitchen remains: “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”

Thursday, November 19, 2015

By Kylie Cheung, Andrew Kan, Lucille Njoo & Richard Chenyu Zhou Staff Writers

The Smoke Signal staff celebrated Thanksgiving with a cook-off between pairs of writers.

Each pair worked together to prepare a traditional and a quirky dish, which were rated by peers based on taste, presentation, creativity and execution.

LUCILLE

I’m no five-star chef, but I have a few years of experience cooking under my belt. Though I can cook many things from a variety of cultures, I have never cooked anything out of the ordinary or unconventional, so the idea of a quirky Thanksgiving dish makes me balk a little.

Nevertheless, I’m sure this will be a fun learning experience!

RICHARD

To be completely honest, I’ve used more fire extinguishers and sponges while cooking than I have used spatulas and pans. Nevertheless, I am ready to bring my excitement and what limited skills I may possess to the kitchen.

Thanksgiving cooking, bring it on! I’ll decipher your turkey and cornbread mysteries after I’m done with this.

THE DISHES TRADITIONAL

QUIRKY

TRADITIONAL

QUIRKY

ROASTED TOFURKY WITH VEGAN GRAVY, VEGETABLES, AND GARLIC MASHED POTATOES

TORTILLA-CREPES WITH NUTELLA SPREAD, STRAWBERRIES, AND SLICED ALMONDS

TW0-HOUR ROASTED CHICKEN WITH HOMEMADE PLUM JAM AND GRAVY

COCONUT CHICKEN GREEN CURRY WITH THANKSGIVING STUFFING

We prepared a roast from tofurky product made of soy and wheat with peppers, carrots, and ginger boiled in vegetable broth, all topped with homemade vegan gravy and a side of garlic mashed potatoes.

Instead of using tortillas for burritos, we used them to prepare sweet and simple mini crepes with Nutella hazelnut spread, sliced almonds, and strawberries.

Our juicy, tender roast chicken with sweet and tangy plum jam and aromatic gravy is sure to please even the most ravenous of diets. The combination of herbs, spices, and fresh fruit is a match made in heaven.

We decided to spice things up a notch and make Thanksgiving curry casserole.

Our pungent coconut chicken curry and savory stuffing go wonderfully with cornbread, so heap it on.

PRESENTATION 4.5 EXECUTION

4

Overall

CREATIVITY 4.5 TASTE

4

4.3

PRESENTATION 3.5 EXECUTION

4

Overall

CREATIVITY 4.5 TASTE

4.5

4.1

PRESENTATION 3 EXECUTION

4

Overall

CREATIVITY

3

PRESENTATION 3

TASTE

4

EXECUTION

3.5

3.5

CREATIVITY

4

TASTE

3.5

Overall 3.5

AFTER COOKING I still cannot believe that my cooking was not an absolute disaster. After our first two attempts at making vegetable gravy failed, I thought that we would never be able to make something remotely edible.

I was always on my toes; in any moment, I could chop off my fingers or watch something on the stove burst into flames.

The most stressful part was definitely watching the Smoke Signal staff taking and eating my food. None of the staff became sick, so I can say that my cooking was a great success.

After three hours of cooking, we managed to successfully prepare three dishes with no major curveballs. If I’ve learned anything from this experience, it’s that the list of ingredients you need for a dish is only half the story. You can’t just throw all of your ingredients into a pot, disregard instructions, and expect a masterpiece to just emerge (which is, unfortunately, what we did with our vegan gravy the first two tries). I guess cooking is a lot like life: The whole – instruction-following and all – is worth a lot more than the sum of its parts.

I knew cooking could be fun, but I hadn’t realized how exciting it could be to take risks and create novel dishes – and get to know someone in the process. Richard and I experimented a lot with ingredients; we mostly relied on instinct and frequent taste tests, using what mismatched ingredients we had at our disposal. We spent hours upon hours cooking, learned a lot of lessons the hard way, and at the end of the day had no shortage of messes, but all in all the cooking was exciting and worthwhile, regardless of who wins.

It would be an understatement to say that this was a learning experience. It’s a miracle that our food was even edible after all our mistakes and miscalculations. From eyeballing all our spices in the curry to spilling our first batch of cornbread batter all over the counter, I represented our team name with pride. For my first cooking experience, I got to deal with a little bit of everything. If mistakes are really the stepping stones to success, then I’m well on my way to being a five-star chef.

photos by graphics editor kevin chen & staff writers kylie cheung, andrew kan, lucille njoo, & richard chenyu zhou

Thursday, November 19, 2015

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Arts & Entertainment 15

C R I T I C S’ C O R N E R MusiC: one ok rock

Under the Radar

| ELLIE GOULDING

| Film: SPECTRE | OUR BRAND IS CRISIS

spectre doesn’T meet expectations music review

one ok rock

ellie goulding

By Anthony Chen Staff Writer Japanese alternative rock band ONE OK ROCK performed in San Jose as the opening act for All Time Low’s Back to the Future Hearts Tour on October 26. It cites American rock bands such as Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, and Sleeping With Sirens as inspirations for its music.

Pronounced as “one okay rock” in English and “wan-oku-roku” in Japanese, its name is a reference to “one o’clock,” the time at which the band members used to practice. Formed in Japan in 2005, the band comprises Takahiro Moriuchi (vocals), Toru Yamashita (guitar and backing vocals), Ryota Kohama (bass guitar), and Tomoya Kanki (drums). ONE OK ROCK has since released seven studio albums in Japan, the latest of which, 35xxxv, was released Feb. 11, 2015.

The new album was also released under Warner Bros. Records in the US as a deluxe edition sung entirely in English that featured an alternate album cover and two new tracks.

Throughout the releases of new albums, the band’s musical style has evolved, incorporating Good Charlotte’s hard rock style with later experiments of different musical elements, such as Linkin Park’s nu-metal raprock combination. The lead singer Takahiro, better known as Taka, is also featured in songs of American artists, such as Simple Plan’s “Summer Paradise” and Against the Current’s “Dreaming Alone.” This has led to an “Americanization” of ONE OK ROCK’s music style. Fans are calling 35xxxv the most American album of ONE OK ROCK yet, which is evident from the fact that it was the band’s first album to be released in the US, and that it was produced under American producer John Feldmann, who has worked with other American bands such as All Time Low, Sleeping With Sirens, and Panic! at the Disco.

To promote its new album, ONE OK ROCK has been performing in the US for its own 2015 “35xxxv” North American Tour as well as All Time Low’s Back to the Future Hearts Tour. ▪

By Carolyn Ge Staff Writer After winning notoriety with chart-toppers such as “Lights” and “Burn,” British singer Ellie Goulding releases her third studio album Delirium with hopes to elevate her music to a whole new level. Goulding strays from her unique style and overflows her lengthy album with mainstream pop tracks.

The opening numbers instantly bore the audience with a lack of originality and style. However, “On My Mind,” the album’s lead single, captivates listeners with energetic synths and an infectious beat. The frequent chanting of “Why I got you on my mind” creates a somewhat awkward chorus, but nevertheless, Goulding still executes the entire song with liveliness. “Codes” is another standalone song that still manages to impress. Lively pulses create an animated energy as she sings about the difficulties of deciphering signs and messages that seem to follow one direction, but really lead to another.

The tracks that fill up the middle of the album don’t leave lasting impressions since Goulding is half-chanting, half-singing the titles over and over for the majority of the songs. However, towards the end, songs such as “Scream It Out” and “I Do What I Love” showcase Goulding’s voice at its most powerful moments. “Scream It Out” juxtaposes Goulding’s light, airy soprano with her stronger side, striking the perfect balance between the verses and the chorus. Goulding experiments with a departure from the style of her other music with “I Do What I Love,” and it turns out to be a surprising success. She effectively communicates the theme of freedom from others’ opinions with her lyrics. Goulding chants, “I do what I love and I love what I do. Stop me, stop me, I’m stopping you” with a clear, sharp voice.

At the initial announcement of her third album in September, Goulding said, “Part of me views this album as an experiment—to make a big pop album. I made a conscious decision that I wanted it to be on another level.” Before Delirium, Goulding occupied her own musical niche, separating herself from the crowd of pop artists. With the creation of Delirium, she infuses powerful lyrics and catchy rhythms into her dynamic tracks, but she still cannot compete against pop giants such as Taylor Swift. Although the pop aspect of her songs is clearly evident, most of them don’t quite have the captivating zeal that she aims for. The majority of her tracks are filled with countless reiterations of the same phrases and lack a climax. The length of the album makes it difficult to sit through as by the end, it ends up sounding like a confused blur of love lyrics.

The standouts in Delirium, such as “On My Mind” and “Scream It Out” deserve individual recognition for memorable aesthetics and lyrics.

However, many filler songs leave listeners feeling unsatisfied and bored.

Overall, the album is worth a listen, but it does not induce the passionate fervor that the title promises. ▪

graphics from imdb.com

By Anu Asokan Staff Writer Spectre has a lot to live up to— with over fifty years of James Bond movies preceding, it treads the fine line between staying true to the original Bond and creating a novel and creative film. A few obvious plot holes and cheesy dialogue take away from the excellent acting and cinematography, but overall, Spectre is satisfying and wholly immerses the audience.

The traditional opening scene sets the tone for the rest of the film: the camera angles and focus are flawless. The scenes ae cleanly cut and avoid common and boring angles.

For example, the heart-pounding first scene smoothly melts into the title scene. Such a sudden transition could easily have gone wrong, but the soundtrack suits every moment and plays a vital role in keeping the audience engaged. In terms of artistic quality, Spectre has been masterfully created.

James Bond (Daniel Craig) has regained much of his classy sarcasm, but no thanks to the dialogue. The lines are predictable and corny, but Craig’s skillful acting keep the audience laughing over Bond’s snarky

behavior. Spectre is filled with this iconic and ironic humor, as when Bond falls several stories down during an explosion but casually lands on a worn-out sofa instead.

James Bond is as alluring as always—stubborn, smart, and suave.

He does what he wants, when he wants. Craig exudes this confidence perfectly and stays classy even in the silly scenes that Director Sam Mendes should have cut out.

When an angry, scared widow slaps Bond after her husband’s funeral, the last thing we expect or want is for her to fall into the arms of an assassin she’s known for a few minutes. Here is a woman running for her life, and she willingly blurts out confidential information after a few kisses from Bond. Similar unrealistic and unnecessary scenes pop in, and the romance between Bond and the main Bond girl, Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), is forced and illogical. Open laughter and jokes filled the theater during a passionate love scene because it was so absurd.

Thankfully, the dozens of creative and sometimes hilarious plot twists keep viewers on the edge of their seats. The twists are true surprises and are neither predictable

nor ridiculous. Spectre also nods to Bond’s past, bringing up major people and events from his history, like deceased fiancée Vesper Lynd and villains Bond has killed.

But Spectre doesn’t address the million-dollar question: with both sides unboundedly violent, using the same technology, and with often identical goals, what differentiates good from bad? Both the Secret Service and criminal organization SPECTRE have such similar methods and hierarchies that the audience must simply trust Bond. Even worse, a two-hour-long build-up is followed by an anticlimactic, inadequate, and thoroughly unbelievable ending. The movie’s explanation for why the secretive, ever-growing SPECTRE exists is utterly uncreative and nonsensical.

However, disregarding the unreasonable conclusion, Spectre is a fine film. The impeccable acting, cinematography, and soundtrack put Spectre on the list of best Bond movies. Spectre will keep you waiting for the return of James Bond. ▪ Rating: B-

OUR ‘B’RAND IS CRISIS

A&E

Updates

By Chloe Velasquez Staff Writer

Disney in Concert: The Nightmare Before Christmas davies symphony hall 11/25, 11/27, 11/28

The San Francisco Symphony will perform the score of Tim Burton’s famed film, The Nightmare Before Christmas. The score, written by Danny Elfman, will be conducted

by Joshua Gersen and will retell the tale of Jack Skellington and his journey throughout the holiday season.

Jingle Ball 2015 oracle

arena

|

12/3

Selena Gomez, Calvin Harris, Demi Lovato, and more will be performing on December 3 in Oakland’s Oracle Arena for iHeartRadio’s annual Jingle Ball tour. The Jingle Ball tour is set to occur in 11 cities this year with a lineup that promises to bring much excitement for the upcoming holiday season with music’s biggest pop artists this year.

One Starry Night masonic auditorium |12/5

The One Starry Night concert, hosted

by Star 101.3, features five-person acapella group Pentatonix, well-known for its Grammy-winning Daft Punk medley, and indie-pop band Echosmith, best known for its hit song “Cool Kids.”

Rachel Platten, an upcoming pop singer-songwriter, and Jamie Lawson, acoustic singer/songwriter, will also perform.

By Kylie Cheung Staff Writer A fictionalized adaptation of the 2005 documentary of the same name, Our Brand is Crisis presents audiences with a glimpse of the rivalry and scheming of Latin American presidential campaign trails. Along the way, Director David Gordon Green manages to garner audiences’ support for a cast of cutthroat, not-so-saintly political strategists like campaign-veteran Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) as she takes a trip to Bolivia to lead the campaign of aloof and unpopular candidate Pedro Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida). Bodine’s rivalry with fellow political strategist Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), leading the campaign of the race’s charismatic front-runner Victor Rivera (Louis Arcella), dominates the fast-paced, at times dramatic, comedy. But simultaneously, Bodine’s discomfort with the moral bankruptcy of her line of work develops with eerie subtlety.

Despite the set’s location in all-American Louisiana, the film presents a seemingly authentic image of all the colors and bustle of a Latin American

graphics from imdb.com­

landscape, displaying breathtakingly natural rural scenes and impoverished but tightly-knit communities alike.

Composer David Wingo’s range of Latin American music selections develop the film’s setting even further.

The movie also portrays a host of weighty issues of modern relevance, including the power of grassroots political organizing, the enduring struggles of indigenous people, ongoing controversy over globalization and industry privatization, and even police brutality. Screenwriter Peter Straughan makes clear his sympathy for Bolivia’s poor and seems to justify protesters’ distrust of globalization and political machines. However, instead of developing a clear stance on any specific political issue, Straughan depicts these conflicts as natural aspects of politics.

The film is driven by Bodine and her peers’ humorous yet savvy exchanges, as well as darker, more human moments, which make it easier for audiences to connect with them.

As fierce as Bodine is, Bullock’s visible comfort with her role, as well as her character’s all too human struggles with mental health, present her as re-

latable and sympathetic.

It’s unfortunate that Bullock’s ability to convincingly act out the familiar highs and lows of depression is underutilized, as, throughout the film, character development and plot centralization are too often sacrificed for flashy, unnecessary twists and clever banter. To quote Bodine, “A man’s strengths and weaknesses flow from the same well.” The fast pace that makes the film fun also renders its plot at times messy and out of control. Rising and falling action as well as climax and resolution are nearly impossible to identify. Ultimately, while Bodine’s values are barely developed throughout the film, they abruptly become the focus of the confusing and unsatisfying ending.

For its plot shortcomings and indistinct direction, Our Brand of Crisis isn’t the next great classic you’re looking for. But nonetheless, it’s a humorous, engaging journey through a campaign trail recommended for savvy politicos or anyone seeking fast-paced, clever comedy. ▪ Rating: B

Rating: B-

graphics from arkansasmusicpavilion.com

allmusic.com

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Arts & Entertainment 17

chocolate fudge s’mores

By Ashley Chang & Tanvi Raja Staff Writers

Do you love cake but can never finish one?

Mug cakes have been gaining popularity due to their easy directions, small serving size, and charming presentation. Here are five delicious recipes, tried and tested, that are perfect for the chilly fall weather. Each recipe makes one cake. Happy baking!

chocolate fluffernutter Ingredients: -4 tbsp white sugar -4 tbsp self-rising flour -3 tbsp cocoa powder -3 tbsp melted butter -3 tbsp peanut butter -3 tbsp milk -1 egg -Marshmallow fluff

Directions: 1. Add the white sugar, flour, cocoa, butter, peanut butter, milk, and egg into a microwave-safe mug.

2. Mix the ingredients with a fork until smooth.

3. Microwave for two to three minutes. The best way to know if the cake is done is if it quickly settles after rising.

4. Top with a spoonful of marshmallow fluff.

Ingredients: -3½ tbsp melted, unsalted butter -1½ oz chocolate chips -3 tbsp graham cracker crumbs -1 egg -2 tbsp white sugar -½ tsp vanilla extract -¼ c whole-wheat pastry flour -⅛ tsp baking powder -2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder -A pinch of salt -Marshmallow fluff 1 large marshmallow

Directions: 1. Add 3 tbsp of melted butter and 1 oz of chocolate in a bowl. Microwave for 25 seconds.

2. Stir the remaining melted butter and 2½ tbsp of graham cracker crumbs together in a second bowl, and pour the mixture into a mug.

3. In a third bowl, whisk the egg, sugar, vanilla, flour, baking powder, cocoa, and salt. Pour in the butter and chocolate mixture and stir thoroughly.

4. Pour half of the batter into a microwave-safe mug, add a scoop of marshmallow fluff, and pour in the rest of the batter. Microwave for one minute and 30 seconds.

5. Put the marshmallow on top of the cake and microwave for 10 seconds. Top with remaining graham cracker crumbs.

gingerbread cake Ingredients: -4 tbsp of all-purpose flour -¼ tbsp of baking powder -1 tbsp of dark brown sugar -3 tbsp of skim milk -½ tbsp of vegetable oil -¼ tsp of ground ginger -⅛ tsp of ground cinnamon -½ tbsp of dark molasses -A pinch of salt -Whipped cream -Caramel sauce

Directions: 1. Put all ingredients except whipped cream and caramel sauce in a microwave-safe mug.

2. Whisk batter until smooth.

3. Microwave mug for one minute. If required, add 15 more seconds.

4. Top with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

strawberry vanilla

Ingredients: -1 tbsp butter, softened -1 large egg -½ tsp vanilla extract -2 tbsp granulated sugar -¼ c all-purpose flour -1 tsp baking powder -½ tsp cinnamon -2 to 3 tbsp strawberries, diced

Directions: 1. Mix all ingredients except strawberries in a bowl until batter is smooth but not runny.

2. Add strawberries.

3. Spray microwave-safe mug with cooking spray to prevent sticking.

4. Pour batter into mug.

Leave at least half the mug empty because the cake will rise.

5. Microwave on high for 70 seconds. If required, add up to 20 seconds.

Check out thesmokesignal.org for two online recipes: chocolate salted caramel and moist chocolate cake.

LYRICAL - FRI. 6:30 - 7:30 JAZZ - MON. 7:30 - 8:30 HIP HOP - MON. 8:30-9:30 HIP HOP - FRI. 7:30 - 8:30 HIP HOP - SAT. 1:30-2:30 BALLET - FRI. 4:30 - 5:30 BBOY/GIRL - WED. 7:30 - 8:30 CLASSES FOR ALL AGES & LEVELS

photos by staff writers ashley chang, ishika chawla, deeksha raina, tanvi raja & zen thumparkkul graphics from www.notcot.org

Tutoring Gurus

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Arts & Entertainment 19

graphics from sweetclipart.com & vectorportal.com

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Meet the New Coaches

Sports 21

By Mustafa Ahmed & Michelle Dalarossa Staff Writers

French Teacher Fodé Doumbia has played soccer all his life and coached all levels and ages of the sport since he was in college. The Smoke Signal interviewed Doumbia and asked him about his coaching experiences, his time on the French professional soccer team, Les Marseilles, and his goals for this year’s teams.

World History Teacher Brian Soria is the new Varsity Baseball coach. Soria was the team’s assistant coach last year and is looking forward to taking the helm this year. The Smoke Signal interviewed Soria to talk about his plans for the team this season and beyond.

Smoke Signal : How did you get involved

Smoke Signal : Tell us about your past

with professional soccer?

Fodé Doumbia: Well, when I was in college, I was already playing for a first division team in Senegal, which is the equivalent of professional, but the difference is that you don’t get paid, we were just playing. I was in college playing for the college and also for a local team. Recruiters came from France and offered me a position, but the team manager did not want me to go.

But I refused to stay, so in the summer, when people were not paying attention, I snuck out and went to France. I did the training for the summer, pre-season training and everything, ready to start the season, and when, in Senegal, they found out that I was in France, the government just wrote a letter to the French government telling them I was there illegally, and they deported me. For me, I would go and then settle things, take care of things, and as soon as I got to the airport, they took my passport. I was upset, I refused to play for them [the college team] so I stayed two years without playing high-level soccer and I lost a lot. After the third year, when I came back, staying two years without playing high level was really critical. I lost a lot. And I understood, afterwards, what those people wanted, what they wanted was my interest, but I was too young, I did not understand it, and I was really stubborn.

SS: What’s one of the hardest things about coaching soccer?

FD: I believe that in coaching, there is technique, tactic, physique, and mental[ity]. The mental part is the hardest part to coach.

SS: What is the most rewarding thing about coaching?

FD: Changing the life of youngsters. I have a lot of kids who have made it in school, they wouldn’t have made it if not for soccer. So soccer was the bait to get them working in class, do what they wanted to do.

SS: What are your goals for this year’s season?

FD: Win everything. Win. Everything. I am ambitious, very.

SS: If there’s one thing you want this team to take away from this season, what would it be?

FD: Be successful in class and on the field.

SS: What’s the most important thing you have learned from playing soccer and coaching?

FD: Soccer has determined a lot in my life. The most important people I’ve known is through soccer [sic]. I know that soccer is a unifier. It is also a peacemaker. I think if soccer did not exist, I would be very miserable. I’m lucky soccer is in my life. ▪

SS: When did you start coaching soccer?

FD: When I came back [Senegal], I started teaching. Every school I was teaching I would coach there and since my teams were doing good, some other bigger teams were calling me to coach for them, so I was coaching at the school I was teaching at and also I was coaching the local team.

SS: What level and ages of soccer have you coached?

FD: I’ve coached club, almost all ages, all genders, in club. I’ve coached college, community college, I’ve coached ODP, Olympic Development Program, and high school.

P

T

O Sx

R PO

SS: What will be your main goals as Head Coach?

BS: My main goal coaching has always been the same. I’m there to make the players better or try to help them become better players, better students. Winning is great; if it happens, I’m all for trying to win as many games as I can but my main focus is helping players improve with their skills. As long as the players get better every year, I’m pretty happy with that. Usually individual improvement leads to team improvement.

SS: What do you plan on doing this year to foster improvement?

BS: I think just having better practices every day. From what I hear, in previous years the practices weren’t very well-run, a little unorganized, and I’m planning on changing that so that the players can get more out of practice. I think that there was a lot of practice time that was wasted, and so I plan on trying to fix that and hopefully they will take advantage of it and they’ll start seeing improvements. ▪

staff writer michelle dalarossa

New Stadium Will Score

By Ansh Patel Staff Writer The Golden State Warriors’ decision to build the new San Francisco arena, a multi-purpose indoor stadium located near Pier 50, is an exciting development that brings the reigning champions closer to the heart of the Bay Area.

Local fans are waiting eagerly to welcome the stadium into the city because of its proposed economic and social benefits.

In fact, since the Warriors stadium will, luckily, be completely privately funded, it will not rely on public subsidies to aid in its construction or maintenance. Because the stadium will not burden taxpayers with a direct cost, the city of San Francisco can expect to benefit exponentially from the new development.

Jordan Rappaport writing for the Journal of Economic Perspectives conducted a study and confirmed that sport stadiums come with positive externalities, giving potential for cities to generate revenue by charging a “sin” tax on cigarette and alcohol sales within the stadium, building shopping centers around the stadium, and generating civic pride through a common sports team.

However, the stadium initially received backlash from the University of San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital surrounding the area, which expected a spike in traffic, noise, and pollution, adding on to the increased congestion that comes along with events at AT&T Park. Essentially, the new stadium drives revenue for the team at the expense of a decreased access to emergency care for patients. However, the added revenue generated for the city from the stadium would be used to mitigate these problems. The University of California San Francisco reached a deal with the Warriors which would include a $10 million Mission Bay Transportation Improvement Fund which will be put towards traffic control through personnel deployment and construction of new lanes.

On top of that, the Warriors have agreed to

S

SS: How would you describe your interest and passion for baseball?

BS: Apparently, I’ve always been interested in baseball, even when I was really little.

My dad has had a slow-pitch softball team since before I was born and I guess when I was one or two years old my mom used to bring me and sit me in the stands and everyone would be amazed because I would sit there next to her for the whole game.

I would watch and not move, so people thought that there was something wrong with me because two-year olds don’t do that. Of course I don’t remember that but they have pictures of me in the living room in a diaper, swinging a plastic baseball bat at a balloon and running around like the bases are loaded.

on hitting this year than I think there’s ever been. We don’t have a lot of good pitching, and if you don’t have good pitching, you’re going to have to hit to compete. There will be a larger focus on hitting this year.

SS: What is your coaching philosophy?

BS: I think one of the big differences between the previous years and this year is I focus on the hitting part of the game. I tend to be a pretty good hitting coach and the previous years I guess we haven’t been good hitters here at this school. I think it’ll work well with this school because the students here tend to be very book smart, intelligent, and I think if you talk to players from that point of view; going up and taking very smart at bats and being smart at the batter’s box, I think we’ll take well to it. There’s going to be a larger emphasis

ON

I IN

involvement in baseball.

Brian Soria: Last year I was the assistant coach for the JV Baseball team. Of course I played high school baseball and a couple of years in college. After college, I played in summer league teams where there were all these former college players and former professional players. I’ve gotten a little bit older now and I’ve had foot surgery and so I don’t really play baseball anymore. I still do some slow-pitch softball every once in awhile. My baseball playing days are over.

cap the number of home games that occur on the same days as San Francisco Giants games at a total of 12 days, marking the first time an NBA franchise has reached such a deal.

Many opponents have also directed their attacks at the Warriors themselves. Those against the stadium argue that a majority of locals turn a blind eye to how stadiums are financed and how they force themselves into cities. They go as far as to claim that major franchises consistently find ways to circumvent those who understand the consequences of hosting a team.

However, in this case, the city required voter approval before the Warriors would be able to commence construction, thus giving a voice to the people most affected by the stadium. As of June 2014, San Francisco voters approved the stadium’s construction by passing Prop B, Voter Approval of Waterfront Construction. Now that the Warriors, UCSF, and the fans have all come to an agreement, construction can begin and is expected to be finished by the 2018-19 season if everything goes according to plan.

By considering voters’ arguments and working with locals, the Warriors have proved that because of the stadium’s unique business plan that allows the city to increase revenue nearly free of cost, the stadium may, in fact, be able to solve for the very detriments that its opponents claim it creates. Therefore, the benefits associated with the stadium would outweigh the alleged harms. ▪

nba.com View of projected stadium to be constructed at Pier 50 over the next 4 years graphics from clker.com, freevector.com, 4vector.com

staff writer mustafa ahmed

Girls’ Volleyball Prevails

By Andrew Choi Staff Writer

Varsity Girls’ Volleyball improved its record to 10-4 by emphatically defeating American High School in all three sets at a home game on November 5.

Prior to the game, the team honored Seniors Megan Roche and Michelle Vo in its annual Senior Night, with both players and coaches thanking Roche and Vo for their commitment to the team throughout the last four years.

The game started out well for the Warriors with the team taking an early 5-4 lead in the first set. MSJ never relinquished the lead, with some exceptional serves by Roche combined with several powerful kills by Sophomore Michelle Zhang leading to a strong 25-19 first set win.

The team sustained its quality run in the second set, receiving some lucky bounces off of the ceiling to add to its dominance. MSJ steadily increased its lead in the set and finished off American vigorously with a 25-17 win. Captain Junior Cynthia Zhang coordinated the offensive onslaught for the Warriors by calling the team’s plays with swiftness and tactical accuracy.

MSJ continued to show off its mastery in the third and final set by maintaining a lead throughout the entire match. On multiple occasions, the team had up to a 10-point lead, but American chipped back at the deficit and won some late points for a 25-16 Warriors win.

Coach Donald Hui said, “The team usually tends to not do as well in the third set, but I’m proud that today we were able to focus and finish off the game strongly. Megan [Roche] played really well today, both defensively and with her serves.”

Sophomore Michelle Zhang, who plays outside hitter, said, “Volleyball is a team sport and not an individual one, so we were able to dominate by working together. The entire team is really looking forward to continue playing well at NCS.” In a very close match, the team lost their first game at NCS against San Leandro, but the team is highly optimistic about their season next year. ▪ photos by staff writer andrew choi

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Thursday, November 19, 2015

The Road To NCS

By Pratham Gupta, Andrew Kan, Deeksha Raina & Cindy Yuan Staff Writers

Cross Country

As the fall sports season draws to a close, five of MSJ’s top sports teams moved on to compete at North Coast Section (NCS). Cross Country, Girls’ Golf, Girls’ Tennis, Girls’ Volleyball, and Boys’ Water Polo teams each represented MSJ in their sections. Take a look at what each team has accomplished this season, and how they have worked to achieve their goal of competing at this prestigious tournament.

Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity Cross Country have both had very successful runs this year, with Girls’ Varsity champions of the league and Boys’ Varsity placing third. Although both teams had rocky starts to the season, they bounced back quickly to establish solid ties among each other and powered through the rest of the dual meet season. The focus this season was mainly geared towards team bonding amongst the many new Varsity athletes. The current Varsity Boys’ team is young in the league, with no graduating seniors, two juniors, four sophomores, and a freshman. They hope to build off experience gained this season and reach for higher goals next year with all seven returning runners. The Varsity Girls’ team boasts a very strong team bond amongst the three seniors and four sophomores. Their team chemistry has greatly contributed to their success in races, and all seven runners often finish within one minute of each other, which is considered a very tight margin. This season has seen the development and improvement of multiple talented underclassmen that proved critical to both teams. Both teams will go on to compete at the NCS Meet of Champions on Saturday, November 21, at Hayward High School.

“We’re very fortunate that so many young people have stepped up, and they’ve come together a long ways.” – Cross Country Head Coach Jack Marden

Boys’ Water Polo

Boys’ Water Polo won 11 out of 12 matches this season with their only loss being against Washington High School.

The team looked strong going into the season with many returning seniors. After playing in the off-season together, many of the players were now much more comfortable with each other. The team had looked strong at the beginning of the season, and it became progressively better as the season continued. The team was able to play to each other’s strengths, allowing everyone to have their own niche on the team and making it more wellrounded. Though they had trouble starting games, the team always managed to persevere and close the game out. The highlight of this season was defeating James Logan High School in the first half of the season 9-3. This victory gave the team confidence and led them to beat their major rivals, Washington High School and James Logan High School, in the second half of the season. The team’s first and only NCS match took place on November 5 at 8 p.m. at Acalanes High School. The MSJ Boys’ Water Polo team was seeded 12th in NCS and the Acalanes team was seeded 5th. The MSJ team put up a good fight, but the Acalanes team was more seasoned. Despite playing consistently throughout the season, the team lost 18-6.

“We came into the season stronger than we have in previous years. We all have played in the off-season and felt comfortable with each other.” – Boys’ Water Polo Captain Senior Michael Conn

Girls’ Volleyball

Girls’ Volleyball ended their season second in the league with 10 wins to four losses. Although they initially struggled, losing six out of eight games in the pre-season matches, the team pulled through and was able to defeat all the teams who they lost to in the pre-season round except Logan.

Head Coach Donald Hui attributes the team’s rocky start to a lack of confidence in themselves and an individual-centered mindset. It took several position changes and intense training before the team began to improve. By mid-season, however, the team began playing better and winning much more frequently. One key moment was when the team played against Logan. In order to ensure that everyone was playing with as much focus and dedication as possible, Hui subbed out all the starters and replaced them with the second bench. Although they did not win that game, this tactic helped bolster the enthusiasm and determination of every member on the team.

Overall, the team was able to bounce back and end the season on a positive note, eventually qualifying for NCS. Though they lost their first game at NCS, it was a very close match against San Leandro and the girls are determined to come back even stronger next year.

“I think we really learned to work together as a team and not as individual players. We learned to value discipline over athleticism and trust the process instead of focusing on the result.”– Girls’ Volleyball Captain Junior Isis Chu

Girls’ Tennis

Girls’ Tennis had an extremely successful season, winning all of their 14 games. Each game had seven matches and the team won a total of 94 out of 98 matches played. This is the second year in a row that Girls’ Tennis has been undefeated in the league. Co-captains Seniors Nithya Rajeev and Courtney Yu credit the team’s success to the enthusiasm of its members. The members have been very supportive of their teammates, always cheering for them during matches. Although there were several close calls, all the team members came together and cheered for the players, leading to victories. Rajeev and Junior Stephanie Doan have been voted as 1st Team AllLeague for singles, along with Junior Jayashri Viswanathan and Senior Nicole Tran for doubles. Sophomores Arabhi Thananjeyan and Courtney Tran were voted for the 2nd Team All-League category for doubles, with honorable mentions going to Junior Jenny Xie and Sophomore Nika Sison for singles. Girls’ Tennis qualified for the team rounds of NCS. The team won their first NCS game, but lost their second game to Amador Valley High School. Additionally, Tran and Viswanathan will be advancing to individual NCS tournaments in the doubles category.

Girls’ Golf

Varsity Girls’ Golf won 12 out of 13 matches this season. The team was led by Co-captains Seniors Emily Gosti and Hannah Choi. They placed second at the NCS qualifier, losing by one stroke. This season was extremely beneficial for the team as a whole, many members underwent improvements and further refined their strategies and techniques. The team ensures that even while their polishing their skills, they have a masterful control over the basics of the game. The team had a very dynamic and spirited approach to the game this season, being extremely focused and on task throughout competitions. The team placed fifth at the Poppy Ridge Golf Tournament. NCS was on November 2 at the Boundary Oak Golf Course in Walnut Creek. MSJ placed fifth out of the top 16 teams in the North-Coast CA. Gosti came in the top 10 individual golfers and advanced to Northern California CIF golf tournament, which was the last step before state finals.

“I thought we had a very successful season, I was pleased with the performances of the girls this season. I was proud of the way the team handled themselves during NCS and exceptionally pleased by Emily’s performance.” – Girls’ Golf Head Coach Jason Cain

“Every player worked extremely hard, on and off the court. When people weren’t playing, they were cheering their teammates on, which is so so so essential to playing well. We were successful because we were so supportive of each other no matter what happened on the courts.” – Girls’ Tennis Captain Senior Courtney Yu courtesy emily gosti, andrea hancock, john hotchkiss, donald hui & nithya rajeev

Thursday, November 19, 2015

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Photo 23

photos courtesy deborah chen, amber chiang, iris lin & brian wu, graphics from nobacks.com, tolivebeautifully.com, yopriceville.com

24 Photo

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Thursday, November 19, 2015

photos by staff writers anu asokan, anthony chen & tanushri sundar