Volume LII, No. 7

VOL. 52, NO. 7

MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL

March 31, 2017

41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539

Robotics teams battle at FTC Super-Regionals Team 5220 Roboknights will advance to FIRST World Championship

By Shivani Avasarala & Heather Gan Staff Writers For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Teams 7591 Voltage of Imagination (VOI), 8865 The Intersect, and 5220 Roboknights competed in the FIRST Tech Challenge Super-Regional Competition in Tacoma, Washington from March 10 to 12. VOI finished qualification matches in 14th place in the Olympic Division, Roboknights ranked fifth, and Intersect ranked 18th, the latter two in the Cascade Division.

Founded in 1989 by inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen, the FIRST organization strives to inspire youth to become leaders in science and technology, while developing life-skills such as self-confidence and communication. FIRST challenges are for students of all ages, with FIRST Lego League Jr. for students of ages 6 to 10, FIRST Lego League for students in grades four to eight, and both FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition for middle and high school students. In each challenge, students form teams and build a robot that meet the

annual challenge’s specifications. Teams also reach out to their community by mentoring fellow teams or raising awareness about STEM as a part of the outreach aspect of the organization.

The 2016-17 mission for FIRST Tech Challenge involves a 30-second autonomous period, in which robots perform functions such as detecting a certain beacon color or shooting balls into a center vortex based on pre-written programs. This is followed by a 90-second driver-controlled period, in which two drivers use controllers to maneuver the robot around the field and carry out the final endgame mission, which involves capping a large exercise ball on top of the center vortex.

The FIRST Tech Challenge Super-Regionals Competition divided 73 teams into two divisions, Cascade and Olympic. VOI was in the Olympic division, and Roboknights and Intersect were in the Cascade division. Each team played nine qualification matches, and the top four teams in each division became captains and selected lower ranked teams to compete with in

See FTC NEWS Page 2

Students advance at County Science Fair Eleven students placed and four will advance to state and international levels

By Joelle Chuang Staff Writer MSJ students recently participated in the Alameda County Science and Engineering Fair (ACSEF) held from March 10 to 12 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, winning many awards in multiple categories. Four students also advanced to the state and international levels.

The annual ACSEF showcases junior high and high school students’ projects. The mission of ACSEF is to stimulate students’ passion in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields. Last year, MSJ also performed well, with two state qualifiers, 12 special award winners, and 25 top four category award winners.

This year, Sophomore Anthony Zhou and Senior Jessika Baral were two of the top five Grand Award winners who will attend an all-expensespaid trip to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) from May 14 to 19 in Los Angeles, CA. Sponsored by Intel and a program under the Society for Science & the Public, ISEF is the largest international high school science competition in the world. Competitors will have their projects reviewed and judged by doctoral level scientists, competing for $4 million in awards.

Baral covered artificial intelligence and its integration into cancer therapy in her project titled

See AC NEWS Page 2

Students from Team 5220 Roboknights compete in their first qualifying match.

Hopkins hosts National History Day Eight MSJ teams qualify for the state competition

By Gloria Chang & Helen Wang Staff Writers Hopkins Junior High School hosted the annual Alameda County History Day Competition on March 11, a regional precursor of the National History Day competition (NHD), centered around the annual theme “Taking a Stand in History.” At the regional NHD, eight out of 10 MSJ teams qualified for the state competition to be held at William Jessup University in Rocklin, CA. More than 100 students from MSJ, American High School, Foothill High School, Archimedes Academy, and California Crosspoint High School were high school attendees. Forest Park School, Mendenhall Middle School, Hart Middle School, Gomes Elementary School, and Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley participated in junior divisions.

Funded by FUSD Director of Curriculum

“NHD is important because it emphasizes history in a fun medium … I really like how the majority of the projects always try to connect historical events to the present as well.”

— MSJ History Club Competition Coordinator Junior Sonia Sakleshpur

courtesy annet hammond photography

Sophomore Anthony Zhou poses with his project.

graphics editor zen thumparkkul

& Instruction Linda Anderson, the regional NHD held events for historical papers, exhibits, dramatic performances, documentaries, and

staff writer helen wang

Junior Sonia Sakleshpur performs at the Alameda County History Day Competition.

websites. High school students entered the senior division of these events, competing with other projects created by high schoolers. Junior high and elementary school students competed in the junior and elementary divisions. The categories were judged by two to three judges, and competitors were also interviewed by the judges.

Previously held at the Oakland Museum, the Alameda History Day competition was moved to Hopkins after the number of proj-

See NHD NEWS Page 2

2 News

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The Smoke Signal

Model UN competes at Berkeley

NHD| History Day continued from page 1

MSJ sent 25 delegates to the 65th Berkeley Model United Nations conference from March 3 to 5

By Ella Chen & Anagha Mandayam Staff Writers

sports editor mustafa ahmed

Juniors Shrey Vasavada and Abhinav Gopal represent Portugal in the UN Sixth Legal Committee.

gram chaired the conference, moderating committees and designating awards. Juniors Arpita Gaggar and Kanika Rao earned commendations for representing Croatia in First Disarmament and International Security Committee, as did Juniors Abhinav Gopal and Shrey Vasavada for representing Portugal in Sixth Legal Committee. A delegate team consisting of Freshman Sanjay Rangavajjhala and Senior Ana Singh was named “Outstanding Delegate” and earned research awards for their position paper.

Freshmen Rishi Jain and Ganesh Murugappan also received research awards. Rangavajjhala said, “This conference required an immense knowledge of the subject … I think it is a real valuable experience and helps you both understand diplomacy and see a situation from both sides of the aisle.”

As a club, MUN has been performing well and

attended two major high school conferences this year. The first conference, East Bay MUN, took place at California High School from December 10 to 11. For the most part, delegates attend conferences in pairs, preparing for conferences by choosing a country and writing a position paper on a specific assigned topic from the country’s point of view. The assigned topics are relevant international issues such as child mortality and migrant workers, and the purpose of the position paper is to propose a resolution to address the topic or problem.

MUN President Senior Neha Dubey said, “Our team did really well considering the thousands of people competing. MUN can be very cutthroat, especially when caucuses get heated. The majority of attending delegates were freshmen, and we are really happy with their performance.” ▪

FTC| Competition

AC| Science Fair

continued from page 1

continued from page 1

semifinal and final matches. VOI finished qualification matches in 14th place and was selected by Team 11260 Up-A-Creek Robotics, the fourth seed captain. After losing the first semifinals match, VOI tied the second match and won the third match before losing the final game to Team 11121 4-H Ocosta Robotics 1. VOI finished the competition as Olympic division semifinalists.

Roboknights ranked fifth and Intersect ranked 18th after qualification matches in Cascade division. Roboknights was selected by second seed captain Team 9899 Black Diamond Robotics. After losing the first semifinals match due to issues with their color sensors, Black

“...my team and I are going to put in countless more hours to improve the robot and hopefully win an award at the World Championship.”

— Roboknights software lead Sophomore Jeffrey Lin

Diamond Robotics and Roboknights won the next two matches and advanced to the division finals before losing to Team 4216 Rise of Hephaestus and their alliance partners.

Although Intersect and VOI did not advance to the FIRST World Championship, both teams agreed that

graphics editor zen thumparkkul

it was an rewarding experience. “I loved participating in Supers, and it was an overall super enjoyable experience,” said VOI Team Captain Chester Lo, a former MSJ student who is currently homeschooled. VOI is first in line as a substitute team if an advancing team decides to not attend the championship. Roboknights won second place Inspire Award and second place Control Award, and will be competing in Houston for the FIRST World Championship during spring break.

“I am proud of our achievements at the West Super Regional, but my team and I are going to put in countless more hours to improve the robot and hopefully win an award at the World Championship,” said Roboknights software lead Sophomore Jeffrey Lin. ▪

FOR MORE COVERAGE,

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IN

Federal judge in Hawaii halts travel ban to allow citizens from Muslim countries to enter the US.

NATIONAL

Fremont officially states that it is a “sanctuary city” On March 7, the Fremont City Council Human Relations Commission drafted a resolution that officially stated Fremont’s status as a “sanctuary city.” The decision was made due to recent fears created by the Trump administration relating to deportation and illegal immigrants, and council members hope that this definition will be able to quell some of these fears. The term was unanimously agreed upon by all councilmembers to be used in the document.

BRIEF cnn.com

nbcnews.com

People protest the immigration ban instituted by President Donald Trump.

LOCAL

News Pg. 1: The drop-off loop is estimated to cycle through 200 cars every 20 minutes.

News Pg. 2: Photos by Staff Writers Helen Wang & Hannah Chou.

News Pg. 2: Cristiane Nguyen is misspelled.

Opinion Pg. 6: The average cost of 2014-15 in-state community college is $3,347.

Feature Pg. 7: Thomas Birbeck is an FUSD Math, Physical Education, and Social Science Coach.

Feature Pg. 7: Photos courtesy Chitra Arunachalam.

A&E Pg. 17: The address of the Hayward Japanese Garden is 22325 N 3rd St, Castro Valley, CA 94546.

project categories as well, and seven other MSJ teams won second or third place in their categories.

Participants in the ACSEF gained a variety of skills through their experiences. In addition to the knowledge he gained through his project, Zhou also learned the importance of effective communication during the judging process. He encouraged other MSJ students to participate as well. “Everyone has the capability to achieve great things, but the thought that they aren’t good enough prevents people from even trying,” Zhou said. “You’ll be surprised at what you can achieve.” ▪

“Machine Learning Tool for Accurate, Cost-Effective, and Rapid Prediction of Small Cell Lung Cancer Stage: Significantly Increase Patient Survival in One Minute.” Zhou’s project, for which he received a scholarship from Chevron for, was titled “Development of a Non-Tracking Two Stage Concentrator Using the Simultaneous MultiSurface Design Method,” in which he created a solar concentrator that could reach similar efficiencies as a tracking parabolic concentrator, but at a low machinery cost.

Additionally, Zhou, Baral, Sophomore Jonathan Ko, and Sophomore Saurabh Narain were four of 12 finalists who received the California State Science Fair (CSSF) Qualifier Award. The four will attend CSSF from April 24 to 25 at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, CA, where approximately 1,000 participants from grades six to 12 will compete for prizescorrections totaling $60,000.

Baral, Ko, Narain, and Zhou each won first place for their Sophomore Jonathan Ko poses with his project.

Team Roboknight’s robot performs a task during the competition.

NEWS

corrections

for the MARCH 3, 2017 issue

ects became too much for the museum to host.

However, due to several dedicated NHD history teachers retiring in the district, such as Hopkins History Teacher Charles Jennings, the number of competitors decreased, as students did not do the project as part of the history curriculum.

Projects followed the 2017 theme of “Taking a Stand in History.” Some common topics were civil rights activists, famous suffragists, and anti-child labor advocates. Jennings said, “There are no ifs, ands, or buts about [the theme]. You take a stand, that’s it … I think [the theme] is particularly poignant in this day and age to show how people take a stand and believe in what they do, and they are willing to suffer the consequences for their actions.”

MSJ competitors were also recognized at the event, as eight groups qualified for the state competition. MSJ is also the only school that has a club dedicated to NHD. Regional NHD Coordinator Avi Black said, “Mission San Jose has an exemplary History Day program that makes it a lot easier for me, because there were students who came from Hopkins who started a History Day Club, and they run it on their own. I don’t know any other school that does that, certainly not in Alameda County.” MSJ History Club Competition Coordinator Junior Sonia Sakleshpur said, “I think NHD is important because it emphasizes history in a fun medium … I really like how the majority of the projects always try to connect historical events to the present as well.”

In the future, MSJ History Club will be preparing the competitors’ projects for the state competition from May 6 to 7 in Rocklin, CA. ▪

Federal judge halts revised travel ban A federal judge in Hawaii halted President Donald J. Trump’s revised travel ban on March 15. This ruling prevents the executive order, which would ban refugees and citizens of six Muslim countries from entering the US without citizenship or a valid visa. The order was blocked based upon the judgment that it was still an executive order which discriminated against religion and nationality. The ruling gathered a mixed response from legal experts, with some agreeing with it and others stating that it was a judicial overreach.

courtesy jonathan ko

Compiled by Evangeline Chang, Stephanie Dutra & Michael Ren Staff Writers

INTERNATIONAL

MSJ Model United Nations (MUN) sent 12 delegate pairs and one single delegate to the 65th Berkeley Model United Nations (BMUN) Conference from March 3 to 5, held at the University of California Berkeley. As the oldest conference to date and the largest on the West Coast, BMUN attracted thousands of delegates not only from the US, but also from countries such as Italy, Spain, Canada, China and Spain. Overall, MSJ delegates performed well, with several receiving awards in recognition of their research and debate skills.

Each year, schools are assigned certain countries and committees; students choose which ones they wish to represent during conference sign-ups. This year, MSJ delegates represented Portugal, New Zealand, Croatia, Seychelles, and Cape Verde. Prior to conferences, delegates prepare position papers in which they establish their country’s relation to the committee topic and propose a solution based on their position. At the conference, delegate pairs are given a grade for the research paper they have written. Each conference, delegate pairs are assigned a new country and topic to take a position on. A conference consists of an opening ceremony, committee sessions, and the closing ceremony. MUN committees reflect actual United Nations committees like the World Health Organization, United Nations Security Council, International Court of Justice, and World Trade Organization. During the conference, the delegates go through unmoderated and moderated caucuses to form and debate resolutions in committees.

College students participating in the BMUN Pro-

Friday, March 31, 2017

aljazeera.com

Students protest mass food poisoning outbreak in Upper Egypt schools.

Food poisoning outbreak in Egypt In the Upper Egypt province of Sohag, more than 3,300 Egyptian children were hospitalized due to a food poisoning outbreak throughout many state-run elementary schools. The breakout was one of the worst food-safety hazards in Egypt in years.

Suspicious of the cafeteria food at the elementary schools, officials opened an investigation and found that most younger children were impacted within an hour after eating the spoilt meals, and 3,353 children fell sick. No serious cases emerged from the outbreak, but many were outraged by the situation.

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Smoke Signal

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tanushri’s tangent

The Smoke Signal Mission San Jose High School Est. 1964 Vol. 52, No. 7 | Mar. 31, 2017

anthony’s answer

Manage yourself, not time or responsibilities

Let it go, save a life

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By Anthony Chen Opinion Editor

By Tanushri Sundar Opinion Editor

41717 Palm Ave. Fremont, CA 94539 510-657-3600, ext. 37088 MISSION STATEMENT The Smoke Signal’s mission is to represent the voices of the MSJ community and serve the public by providing accurate, meaningful, and engaging information presented through print and digital mediums.

SCHOOL POPULATION 2005 students EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Rishab Ramapriyan, Monica Tang NEWS Ishika Chawla, Lucille Njoo OPINION Anthony Chen, Tanushri Sundar FEATURE Kevin Li, Brian Tseng CENTERSPREAD Ashley Chang, Mallika Gupta A&E Michelle Dalarossa, Sayan Ghosh SPORTS Mustafa Ahmed, Cindy Yuan GRAPHICS Zen Thumparkkul, Victor Zhou WEB Andrew Choi, Carolyn Ge TECH Andrew Kan, Julia Park BUSINESS Jonathan Ko CIRCULATION Deeksha Raina ADVERTISING Ella Chen, Richard Chenyu Zhou EVENTS Heather Gan, Amber Lee WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS Shivani Avasarala, Evangeline Chang, Gloria Chang, Amy Chen, Hannah Chou, Joelle Chuang, Stephanie Dutra, Katherine Guo, Ian Hsu, Jessica Jen, Jonathan Ko, Anagha Mandayam, Jenny Miao, Ansh Patel, Michael Ren, Hana Sheikh, Evie Sun, Helen Wang, Bethany Woo, Vicki Xu, Maggie Zhao ADVISER Sandra Cohen Send letters to the editor to opinion@thesmokesignal.org. Letters under 300 words may be considered for publication and must include a full name and school affiliation. The Smoke Signal reserves the right to edit for clarity and length.

To advertise in the Smoke Signal, email ads@ thesmokesignal.org. Advertising that is included on the pages of, or carried within, the Smoke Signal, is paid advertising, and as such is independent of the news and feature content.

The Smoke Signal’s right to freedom of speech and press is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution.

All policies on distribution, corrections, and bylines can be found at www.thesmokesignal.org/about.

A few weeks ago, I made a mistake.

While trying to merge into the right lane of a busy road, I misjudged the distance of the car behind me and just went for it, causing that driver to swerve abruptly. He, understandably, was upset — and I would have been too. Talk about a heart attack!

Nevertheless, I had no choice but to keep moving forward. I was immensely thankful that we had avoided an accident, and I considered this good fortune a reminder to always err on the side of caution. But as I heard the driver whom I had ruthlessly cut off rev up his engine, I could picture the steam blowing out of his ears, his foot flooring the accelerator, and his mind racing with thoughts of how absolutely idiotic that Corolla driver must be.

He sped past me and flipped me off, but a few seconds later, he nearly crashed into the curb while trying to take a left turn into a street nearby.

Anger, I quickly realized, can be lethal.

His frustration was a natural response to our interaction, but by letting those emotions cloud his judgment, he threatened himself just as much as a reckless driver did. I found myself wondering whether this driver would lash out at his boss in the same way and risk his job, as he appeared to see nothing wrong with lashing out at another driver and risking his life. Was he inherently an irate person, or was he more like Mr. Walker in Disney’s 1950 short Motor Mania, a courteous and polite everyman who turns into a volatile and demonic Mr. Wheeler when he gets behind the wheel?

Opinion 3

Psychology research suggests that my fellow driver was likely a relatively logical guy who had undergone a Hydian transformation, just like Mr. Walker had. Psychologist Philip Zimbardo wrote in the International Encyclopedia of Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychoanalysis, and Neurology that anonymity, diffused responsibility, and emotional arousal can generate “deindividuated” reactions. In other words, the lack of individual accountability and high stress involved in driving can cause us to act in ways that we wouldn’t face-to-face.

As drivers and learning students, we often forget that our feelings play just as big of a role in moving us around as our hands and legs do. Driving isn’t a mechanical activity, and we have to remember that the vehicles around us are operated by imperfect human beings. We’re too stingy when it comes to granting others the benefit of the doubt — both on and off the road.

While driving, especially, we can only do so much to protect ourselves from everybody else. However, we have complete control over our actions.

Learning to take a deep breath and let “it” slide (whatever “it” may be) is the best way to protect ourselves from the consequences of venting a short-lived frustration.

But if you just have to get angry on the road, try replacing every expletive in your dictionary with something goofy.

It’s an age-old trick that makes losing your temper nearly impossible. A few of my friends have an especially enhanced SAT vocabulary, if you’re looking to hire. ▪

A few weeks ago, I missed class twice in four days to take a break from the constant fervor of school — the commotion of classrooms and hallways, the routine of being assigned and turning in schoolwork, and the constant balancing act of managing time among extracurricular activities. I didn’t want to rest, but I was suffocating.

I was torn between reading applications to the Smoke Signal staff, supporting our Speech team, and rehearsing for the Spring Play. I repeatedly told myself that others were balancing just as many, if not more, activities. I was managing.

“Managing” sums up how most of us are making it through the school year. The entire discourse surrounding how to succeed in high school revolves around the concept of managing. What classes do we take to make a rigorous schedule without tanking our grades? How little can I sleep to maximize the time I can spend working?

Many of us have developed a system that maintains our wellbeing while optimizing our work. At least, that is what I believed. I thought recognizing my own breaking points could keep my emotional and physical health in check. Then came the Monday that changed my mentality.

After hearing about Caroline Tang’s passing that Monday, I tried to put my stress into perspective and understand that others are going through more important things than I am. By third period, however, the weight of the news broke me, and I broke down crying. With the support of my friends and counselors, I was eventually able to compose myself for class after missing fourth period. That week, I missed another period to take a break again.

The reason I bring this up is that we must acknowledge that we cannot account

for everything. As much as we strive to create the perfect high school experience, unexpected events throw us off track, and the closer we push ourselves to our breaking points, the easier it is for the unexpected to tip us over. This is not to make light of Tang’s tragic passing or to dismiss it as simply “unexpected news,” but our reactions to it highlight an underlying issue. When so many students at MSJ push themselves to the edge, how constantly vulnerable are we to tipping over when the unexpected happens? And in light of this, will we finally take a break?

As much as we are told that high school is not a race, it often feels like taking a break means falling behind. This calls to mind Principal Zack Larsen’s recent email, which reminded students to slow things down in their frenzy to do everything as fast and efficiently as possible.

But how? What does slowing down even mean? Talking to my counselors, I learned that slowing down means knowing when to let your body take a break before you break, and reaching out to the people and resources available for us.

In order to reach out, we must first admit to our stresses and insecurities. We must open this dialogue so that those around us can see that they are not alone in their attempt to “manage.” As often as our student body criticizes itself for its aggressively competitive environment, it has not yielded enough change. We can no longer be vague about our attempts to change our mentality. We need personal narratives to specify the new discourse that we are pushing for. So what does “slowing down” mean to you? To me, it means managing yourself instead of trying to manage time or responsibilities. ▪

The Opinion of the Smoke Signal Editorial Board

Mental health: Caroline Tang’s urgent reminder

We are distraught over Caroline Tang’s suicide.

Caroline was a dear member of our community and to many, a missed friend. It is clear that we want to honor her memory: profile pictures, paper cranes, and candlelight vigils can attest to that.

However, we must not confuse grieving her death with addressing the mental health issues that have been prevalent in our community for years. While they cannot be resolved overnight, it is time we reevaluate our outlook on student mental health.

While the school administration has implemented numerous changes in the past, such as latestart Wednesdays, advisory periods, and Stress Less Days, aimed at reducing school stress, there is no denying that MSJ must seek more professional advice and strategies to deal with suicide and mental health. Admittedly, we do have a fair amount of mental health resources readily available on campus –– two school psychologists, four full-time school counselors, a City of Fremont Youth and Family Services Counselor, and more –– but a majority of students are unaware of them, while those who are may be too intimidated or unwilling to approach them.

Our school district could look to Henry M. Gunn High School and Palo Alto High School as examples of how we can move forward to address the mental health needs of our students. Rocked by a teen suicide rate of four to five times the national average, the Palo Alto Unified School District declared the situation a health crisis, called for the Center for Disease Control’s thorough investigation, and followed through with the introduction of wellness centers, freshman transition and counseling programs, and family therapy seminars.

While the school administration may provide some care for our mental health, we must realize that the root of the issue also lies in the standards we hold ourselves to. Between the “I can, therefore I must” mentality of academics, the strain of extracurriculars, activities, and issues with relationships and family members, each student has a unique set of challenges to navigate every day. With the

By Evangeline Chang & Heather Gan Staff Writers

normalization of jokes about sleep deprivation and intense academic pressure, we neglect our mental health, in turn contributing to a more negative and stressful school environment. When we are surrounded by students who take more weighted courses or hold more leadership positions, it is easy for us to perceive ourselves as less capable or less valuable. This leads us to subconsciously compare ourselves to our peers, even when we know that doing so only results in more anxiety and pressure.

On the other hand, our stress also prevents us from paying attention to the well being of our peers. There is no way to tell what circumstances surround each person we encounter, and even those who appear “flawless” may simply be concealing their struggles. We should therefore be more empathetic by initiating acts of kindness and taking time out of our busy lives to check up and genuinely listen to our friends.

Meanwhile, those who know of students with emotional problems should tactfully suggest receiving professional help or refer them to a counselor.

Many students understandably feel uncomfortable seeking these services, while others have concerns regarding confidentiality. The administration and counselors, along with dedicated student organizations such as Peer Resource and Best Foot Forward, should familiarize students with their processes by more frequently publicizing their available services, including the standard procedures they follow when approached by a student.

Caroline’s death serves as a solemn reminder for us to tackle mental health issues together head on.

While these issues cannot be resolved in a matter of days or weeks, a shift in mentality and renewed sense of empathy in approaching our peers and daily activities will go a long way to increase positivity within our school environment. ▪

staff writer heather gan

staff writer evangeline chang

MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES National Suicide Prevention Lifeline/Crisis Call Center: 800-273-8255 Crisis Text Line: text “GO” to 741-741 National Institute of Mental Health Information Center: 866-615-6464 Safe Space: text “SAFE” + location to 69866 for Safe Space

4 Opinion

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 31, 2017

Hate crimes cannot be dismissed as an insignificant issue

By Katherine Guo & Amber Lee Staff Writers

On any given day, there may be a report on national news about buildings scrawled with racist graffiti or attacks motivated by prejudice. However, these events seem far removed from Fremont. Hate crimes should not be dismissed as something that only happens in other communities, as Fremont is not impervious to them.

Under CA law, hate crimes are “criminal acts committed, in whole or in part, because of one or more of the following actual or perceived characteristics of the victim: disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, association with a person or group of one or more of these

“The Fremont Police Department took one hate crime report in 2014, three in 2015, and one in 2016.”

— Fremont Police Department Public Affairs Manager Geneva Bosques

actual or perceived characteristics.” Historically, hate crimes and other similar issues have rarely been brought to the attention of the MSJ community due to the relatively low hate crime rate in Fremont. According to Fremont Police Department Public Affairs Manager Geneva Bosques, the Fremont Police Department took one hate crime report in 2014, three in 2015, and one in 2016.

While full-fledged hate crimes may not occur often in Fremont, microaggressions that we don’t often hear about, such as verbal insults, hate speech, or minor harassment, may happen frequently, and the community ought to take steps to prevent their escalation. Small comments may not seem significant at the moment, but they represent underlying attitudes that are often com-

pletely missed, or worse, swept under the rug as just words spoken in the heat of the moment. These words are the same words that lead to hate crime stories on our social media newsfeeds, TV screens, and phone notifications. With recent trends, these events are no longer just distant stories, but rather a potential reality.

On Nov. 14, 2016, a female hiker’s car was vandalized in the Mission Peak parking lot; the perpetrator also left a profane note which referred to her headscarf as a hijab.

As social tensions rise following President Donald J. Trump’s election success, reports of hate speech and hate crimes have inflated as well. A TIME Magazine article written shortly after the election observed that more than 200 complaints had been filed with the Southern Poverty Law Center in five days. There have also been stories of hate crimes involving vandalism with variations of Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” pointing to a connection between the election and recent hate crimes. Prejudice and subtle discrimination today may escalate into hate crime tomorrow when political rhetoric legitimizes bigotry.

Fremont has not been immune to this trend, and the community has seen a few incidents since the election. On Nov. 14, 2016, a female hiker’s car was vandalized in the Mission Peak parking lot; the perpetrator also left a profane note which referred to her headscarf as a hijab. According to an email from Bosques, the East Bay Regional Parks Police investigated the incident as a hate crime. If we allow prejudiced attitudes to fester in the background, we may end up unpleasantly surprised when this preju-

staff writer evangeline chang

dice turns into events like the Mission Peak vandalism.

An important step to combat the hate crime is acknowledging the issue and calling for action. For example, the City of Fremont released an open letter on Nov. 29, 2016, condemning all hate speech and hate crime, calling for unity, and advising people to report acts of hate to law enforcement.

In addition, the FUSD Board of Education released a Student Safety Resolution on February 8 affirming that students will have access to an education free of discrimination regardless of their identity, such as race or immigration status. These are important statements which emphasize that Fremont’s community must be a safe and tolerant one.

However, the responsibility falls on the individual members of the community to uphold these standards. Passive responses to microaggressions aren’t enough. The community should proactively combat discrimination, whether in the form of full-fledged crimes or microaggressions. We can each take action to change our own mindsets and evaluate ourselves to prevent unintentional

prejudice, as well as promote discussion to bring light to this topic.

Indifference only perpetuates the mentality that hate crime is someone else’s problem and allows perpetrators to take advantage of this apathy to continue committing racist acts. The question of “if ” eventually becomes “when” for the targets of current

The FUSD Board of Education released a Student Safety Resolution of February 8 affirming that students will have access to an education free of discrimination regardless of their identity, such as race or immigration status. microaggressions and future hate crimes.

While joining the next online campaign against discrimination may be a good first step, we can also take action in our daily lives. By both condemning past incidents and actively preventing future crimes, we can stop the roots of hate from spreading and evolving. ▪

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Smoke Signal

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Opinion 5

At certain high schools such as Irvington High School, students must have a year of previous ASB class experience, similar to MSJ’s L2 class, and pass an interview in order to become a candidate for ASB positions.

School Elections

Do you think MSJ should also have a form of class or interview prerequisites that qualify students to run for office?

During ASB and class officer elections, what are the qualities that you consider when deciding

Ra c

o n g, 1 2

“Personally, I look at … whether they have good leadership skills, or if they have been involved in the school. I think the rest of the school looks at popularity and it shouldn’t be like that, but that is just my view. I look at the actual credentials of the person. Usually people post huge paragraphs on Facebook, and I sometimes do take the time to read them.”

N ik rt

arang,

9

Sun, 10 “Honestly, I think a class is way too much for an ASB position, but definitely an interview. You want someone who’s qualified, but a lot of people don’t have the time or they have other stuff to do, and won’t take a class for it … I want to take language classes or something that I’m interested in, not an ASB class I’m only taking because I have to in order to run for a position.”

“I think that an interview would be slightly unnecessary because it becomes obvious to the MSJ community if a candidate is unqualified based on debates and the way that they run the campaign, which is a better way to judge a candidate rather than an interview which is the subjective views of just a few people.”

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, 12 ey

“I pretty much go with my gut ... I feel like ASB elections have become more of a popularity contest than anything else, so I’ve become somewhat cynical about them. Some people run for office as a joke, and I don’t like that and find it annoying. People who are really flamboyant and popular sometimes get elected and that can be painful to deal with.”

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“It, first of all, depends on how these people treat the students because oftentimes I will see that these people will reach out to the younger underclassmen, but, like, are you the type of person who would naturally reach out to other people, and not during just your campaign?”

“Yes, and no. Yes, because if the class is effective, weeding out candidates who would not be as qualified [is important]. But also no, because everyone should be able to run for class officer if people want them. Definitely have a more rigorous election process itself … It would be better to get more information out about the candidates and show the candidates to people in a much more effective way.”

an Ag ar

al, w

whom to vote for?

Am

eer, 9 “I don’t think students need to because I feel like everyone should be able to run and express their ideas and be able to show their ideas to other people. As long as they try to keep their promises, even if it doesn’t work out, [then they are qualified].”

photos by staff writer joelle chuang

Rethinking the rush to drive

By Gloria Chang & Evie Sun Staff Writers

The age of 16 is a step closer to adulthood, the age at which we can obtain a driver’s license. However, the thrill of driving independently comes with weighty responsibility. In order to be safe and mindful, student drivers should be patient, responsible, and mentally aware of their surroundings.

At a glance, a license boasts independence and freedom. Beyond that, the thin ID card allows teenagers to accomplish numerous tasks, such as driving to school, going to stores, and attending bigger events without adult company. In the future, it becomes a ticket to entering age-limiting venues. For now, student drivers find themselves

“People have different plans for different periods [of] time in their lives ... To know how to drive is just another [life skill] that everyone will eventually get to.”

— Junior Bernice Yu in the center of attention, often bombarded by requests for rides. Driving becomes a sophisticated status symbol. At times, the appeal of having a license and car overshadows practicality.

Due to peer pressure, many students feel the need to attain their driver’s license soon after they reach the milestone age of 16.

However, for a variety of reasons, many students have difficulty securing their driver’s license immediately. For example, the cost of car and insurance may be financially straining for families, or students’ priorities may lie elsewhere. Furthermore, students often view obtaining a driver’s license as a disruption of their studies, especially since academics take up a large portion of students’ lives.

Both parents and students may not want to spend excessive time on learning to drive and

waiting in line for Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) tests. For them, those can be dealt with after college admissions and high school graduation. For instance, Sophomore Annie Meng said, “I didn’t start driver’s education until after school began and finished late in the school year, due to spending time studying for all my classes. Even though I finished driver’s ed, I never got the time to go to the DMV since my parents are always busy, as I’m busy with my extracurricular activities.”

On the other hand, many upperclassmen who have yet to obtain their driver’s license are commonly stereotyped as lazy or immature. Junior Bernice Yu said, “I think it depends on individuals on when they want to start driving. People have different plans for different periods [of] time in their lives.

Non-driving upperclassmen are not [necessarily] ‘lazy or immature’ because some of the reasons that the students don’t drive is because their parents won’t allow them to, or probably because their family couldn’t afford high car insurance. To know how to drive is just another [life skill] that everyone will eventually get to.”

A common misconception is that nondrivers are not actively taking the steps to become independent adults, avoiding preparation for the real world. However, obtaining a driver’s license is not an essential mark of maturity. Maturity is indicated by one’s

“Lastly, the most important one [misconception] is texting and driving. You can’t give 100 percent attention [to] the road if you’re half driving and half on your phone, because people are more focused on their phone than they are on driving.”

— School Resource Officer Kelly Robinson

character, not possessions, and even if students who own a car and have a license have mobility and independence, they must still remember to make smart decisions behind the wheel — this “safety first” attitude is genuine maturity. Mature students understand the seriousness and responsibility of turning the steering wheel and stepping on the gas pedal. Drivers put other students at risk when they drive recklessly, such as when they carry passengers with only a provisional license or with no license at all.

The Smoke Signal gathered 159 responses from an anonymous student survey released on Facebook from March 11 to 15. According to the survey, 27.7 percent of students have noticed other students illegally driving daily, while 28.9 percent have noticed it multiple times a day. We need to stop glorifying driving, especially when it reaches the point that we disregard our own safety.

Driving comes with serious responsibility, such as watching out for other pedestrians and drivers around us. Consequences, such as injury and death, remind us about FREQUENCY AT WHICH STUDENTS NOTICE OTHER STUDENTS DRIVING ILLEGALLY NEVER (9.40%)

MONTHLY (13.20%)

DAILY (27.70%)

WEEKLY (20.80%)

MULTIPLE TIMES WITHIN A DAY (28.90%)

PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO FEEL THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO OBTAIN A DRIVER’S LICENSE IN HIGH SCHOOL

YES (79.90%) NO (20.10%)

the importance of safety on the road. School Resource Officer Kelly Robinson highlights the three most common misconceptions about student driving. He said, “[One common misconception is] probably that when you’re at school, you can drive as fast as you want. Also, that you can pile as many people in your car as possible, just to see how many people you can cram in. When you have five seat belts, you can only have five passengers.

Lastly, the most important one is texting and driving. You can’t give 100 percent attention [to] the road if you’re half driving and half on your phone, because people are more focused on their phone than they are on driving.”

Student drivers at MSJ should take a number of cautionary measures to ensure their own safety, as well as that of those around them.

The step toward driving should not be rushed. Students who approach driving with patience and consideration demonstrate true strength and maturity. We shouldn’t forget to hold our responsibility as firmly as we hold the steering wheel. ▪ THE 37.7% OF RESPONDENTS WHO DO NOT HOLD A LICENSE INDICATED THEIR EAGERNESS TO DRIVE ON A SCALE FROM 1-5:

159

OF THE STUDENTS WHO RESPONDED TO THE SMOKE SIGNAL’S

62.3%

ONLINE SURVEY, HELD A EITHER A LICENSE OR A PERMIT. graphics by piktochart.com

6 Opinion

www.thesmokesignal.org

School choice leaves students behind

By Jonathan Ko & Vicki Xu Staff Writers

In the months leading up to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ confirmation, the people of America discussed the topic of school choice to a degree never before seen.

Though DeVos assuredly has good intentions, studies are showing that her take on school choice harms the very people it seeks to help.

School choice is a complicated concept: broadly defined, school choice programs give parents and students alternative schools to their local assigned public school. These alternative schools can be anything from private schools to charter schools to virtual schools. Specifically, DeVos’ concept of school choice prioritizes private schools and charter schools. This much is clear from the American Federation for Children, the national advocacy organization she previously chaired, which aims to “[promote] school choice, with a specific focus on advocating for school vouchers, scholarship tax credit programs and Education Savings Accounts.”

School vouchers, or scholarships, are government funding certificates which help students pay for education expenses at any school.

However, these vouchers are subsidized by public school funds, meaning that the money for each voucher comes from the state’s funding for public schools. That’s right — vouchers would take money away from MSJ and give it to private schools. Along with giving government funds to private organizations that may have questionable oversight, this structure hurts the vast majority; according to the Council for American Private Education, just 10 percent of students attend private schools.

Meanwhile, tax credit programs allow citizens and corporations to mark part of their state taxes to groups that issue scholarships to K-12 students. Those students can then choose to attend public schools outside their districts or private schools, and the state can avoid pay-

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staff writer vicki xu

ing per-pupil education funding for them.

Nonprofit pro-school choice organizations like EdChoice tout test score improvement and better graduation rates thanks to these programs.

This is true for some schools; a 1999 evaluation of Cleveland students by Harvard University, Stanford University, and University of Texas at Austin researchers found better grades and increased satisfaction for voucher recipients compared to public school students.

But this has not been the case for many other districts, who have experienced just the opposite.

Take the Great Lakes school districts, where DeVos’ experiments began in 1989 with the establishment of the Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation. A yearlong Detroit Free Press investigation into the Michigan charter schools championed by DeVos revealed that, if anything, they produce only incrementally higher graduation

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rates and virtually identical test scores compared to nearby public schools. These findings bring up an obvious question — if the results don’t improve, where exactly is all the money going?

These programs do not fail for a lack of trying. Voucher programs have been an excellent theoretical concept since the late 19th century — their effectiveness is, however, ambiguous.

A team of researchers from University of California, Berkeley, Duke University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found in a 2015 study that Louisiana private-school students who attend with the help of vouchers had significantly lowered math, reading, science, and social studies scores. The likelihood of receiving a failing score also increased by 24 to 50 percent.

But it’s not just Louisiana: a 2015 study by Univeristy of Notre Dame researchers found that, in Indiana, “a student who had entered a private

July 3-July 21, 2017

Lawrence Li, Gold Medal Calvin Lee, Silver Medal

(Total of 15 Instructional Days)

(Total of 15 Instructional Days)

@ MISSION COLLEGE

school with a math score at the 50th percentile declined to the 44th percentile after one year.”

That’s a concerning outcome, especially since Indiana’s program is one of the largest in the country. Therefore, the problem isn’t that we haven’t perfected the voucher system, but that the system is inherently flawed.

Part of the reason why parents send students to private or charter schools might be because they believe students will learn more.

After all, National Assessment of Educational Progress data indicates that private school students consistently score 15 to 20 points better than public school students on reading and math assessments. But there’s a difference: private schools are inherently selective, whereas public schools are not. Lower-performing students are often rejected during the private school selection process without much consideration of their circumstances. Private schools are also often accused of rejecting special education students or minorities. Thus, private and charter schools aren’t an accurate representation of students nationwide, and their exclusivity may explain their “superior” performance: only the high-performing kids are selected, leaving the lower-performing students with drained resources as vouchers divert money from public schools.

Of course, this isn’t to say that charter schools are necessarily detrimental to children. Many provide their students with quality education: for instance, Granada Hills Charter High School was named a California Distinguished School in 2011. But on a large level, publicly-funded charter schools and private school vouchers direct funding away from public schools and students who need them the most, which is unacceptable.

As MSJ students, we have the opportunity to learn in a secure school environment. But this is not the case for thousands of kids across the country. In an age that relies increasingly on an educated workforce, we cannot let these groups fall behind. ▪

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Friday, March 31, 2017

- 12 AStar students Alex GU, Alexander HU, in MOSP (top ~50 in US) Andrew CHANG, Andrew PAN, - 41 AStar students David HU, , Henry WANG, qualified for USAMO Jack ALBRIGHT, Joseph ZHANG, J - 21 AStar students oshua JANG, Kevin LI qualified for USAJMO Parth ASAWA, Preston FU, - 57 AStar students in USACO Platinum Raymond FENG, Tae Kyu KIM Division (out of ~150) - Harvard MIT Math 14 USACO 2016 finalists (out of 26): Tournament Winners Aayush Gupta, Amanda Du, Anson Hu, - Caltech Harvey Mudd Avichal Goel, Bryan Chen, Calvin Lee, Math Competition Winners Christopher Chang, Demi Guo, Eric - Princeton University Zhang, Jessica Zheng, Lawrence Li, Suchir Mathematics Balaji, Swapnil Garg, William Hu Competition Winners AND MANY MORE @ http://starleague.us/index.php/achievements “David could not wait going to the A-Star class every time. He improved his academic skills very much and met new friends.

The class days always were his happy days that encouraged him to spend more time on math.”

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Friday, March 31, 2017

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

THE

By Carolyn Ge, Heather Gan, Julia Park & Michael Ren Web Editor and Staff Writers

DIEHARD TRYHARDS Escape the Room HEATHER After seeing all my favorite gamers posting on social media about how awesome escape rooms are, I have been dying to experience one myself. I often get lost in my friends’ houses, so finding my way out of an escape room will be quite a challenge. However, I used to watch a lot of crime dramas and found my way through Pokémon mystery dungeons on my Nintendo DS, so I am sure I will contribute some unique solutions. With Michael’s prior experience and my creativity, we will be a tough team to beat.

MICHAEL

The Smoke Signal sent two pairs of Smokies to take on the Escape Room Challenge at the Real Escape Game, located at 701 N. First St., San Jose, CA. Players are locked in a room and must use the clues in the room to solve a series of puzzles to escape within a time limit. While Heather and Michael decided to work out the enigma of the Mysterious Room, Carolyn and Julia chose the Time Travel Lab. Read on to find out whether the two pairs were able to escape from their respective rooms!

CAROLYN

Having already done an Escape Room Challenge in the past, I think that I’ll be well prepared for any puzzle thrown at me this time around. Admittedly, this could be so close that it comes down to our yet unknown stranger allies, but I can say that I have complete confidence in them. Apart from the fact that I was unsuccessful in escaping the last time I did this challenge, my experience, combined with Heather’s clumsy ingenuity, should allow us to win out in the end.

After this Diehard Tryhards challenge, I’ll be able to cross off an extra item off my bucket list: traveling through time! Although my skills in quantum physics and time travel are admittedly rather limited, I have spent countless hours online attempting to solve a wide variety of logic puzzles that often blow my mind. With my success rate for identifying patterns hovering around 20 percent, Julia’s talent of messing up rooms, and possibly the aid of complete strangers, we’ll hopefully be able to find our way out.

THE COMPETITION

Our team had planned to work efficiently in small groups and communicate clues to other groups. However, once we entered the escape room, our strategical plans were thrown right out the window, along with most of the furniture. Everyone began scrambling around the room, flipping over furniture, and unscrewing chairs in search of riddles, clues, and tools. By the end of the game, the room looked like a hurricane had torn through it.

Although we did not use our strategies, everyone worked together, and we ended up only one puzzle away from escaping.

The major problem that we had wasn’t that we had too little clues — it was that we had too many. Although we were eventually able to correctly organize and piece together all of our clues, it was already too late. Our group worked at breakneck pace after we got rolling, but the deficit was too much and we ran out of time, ending up at the mercy of our Escape Room overlords who opened the door for us.

After being only a single puzzle away from claiming the key to our escape, I will be coming back to redeem myself. I was initially worried that I would not contribute to my team, but when I managed to solve a puzzle, it felt awesome that my creativity was an asset to the team. Although our team entered the room as nine strangers, everyone was enthusiastic and got along really well. I recommend trying an escape room to anyone who wants to try something new with family and friends or just have a fun time flipping furniture.

To me, the Escape Room Challenge has a special sort of appeal to it that can rarely be found in anything else.

Although I’m now zero for two in the challenge, my failures haven’t made me the least bit discouraged in wanting to try my hand at the puzzles again. Getting to work with strangers also turned out to be a great part of the event as Heather and I were able to make some good friends along the way.

Except for the actual escape, I found the experience to be fulfilling every step of the way.

At first, I was thoroughly confused by the sheer number of disconnected clues scattered across the room and the frenzy of upturned furniture that followed almost immediately. However, after we figured out the overarching structure of the puzzle and organized all our hints, our quest to piece them together moved along more efficiently and the time travel lab grew more ominous, but more engaging. One of the highlights was when I collaborated with Julia, my partnerin-crime, to solve a tricky linguistic puzzle.

THOUGHTS AFTER

Feature 7

I fell hopelessly in love with escape rooms after my first run.

Days later, I’m still reminiscing about the low-budget yet ingenious props, the cleverly crafted clues, and my enthusiastic fellow escapees. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to complete the last two steps, despite being trapped in a time travel lab. Even so, I am quite proud of our team for getting so far. My only regret is forgetting to ask for the contact information of the sweet little girl and resourceful grandpa whom I solved wwwwwwww most of my puzzles with.

JULIA I may be a clueless, clumsy human who can’t find her way through her own neighborhood without Google Maps, but I’m a true master of escape rooms. After all, thanks to rewatching BBC Sherlock countless times, I was just a few minutes from successfully escaping on my previous attempt. My strategy is to search for all clues by creatively taking the room apart; this is where my talent in messing up my room becomes useful.

Then someone smart — like Carolyn! — will inevitably find a pattern that can help us escape.

As expected, mass chaos ensued as soon as we entered. But unlike my last attempt, the room was a lot sparser, which made it more difficult to figure out whether something was a useful clue or decoration. Thankfully, Carolyn and I were a dynamic duo, with me solving a number of sub-puzzles (only an escape room can convince me to solve math problems for fun!) and Carolyn linking those clues together. Although we ultimately failed to escape, the other fantastic families in the room helped us arrive at the exciting, eerie phase of the escape — the activation of the machine — in no time.

There truly is no better feeling than finally solving one puzzle, shouting out the answer, and then hearing a teammate shout excitedly because that solution had just helped them solve their own puzzle. Although I’ve technically lost both of my attempts to escape from the room, I’m still a fan of escape rooms and the intricate, engaging mysteries they’ve presented to me. Not only that, the venue will soon build another cinematography-themed room, and everyone knows that the third time’s the charm!

THE TEAMS

photos by web editor carolyn ge, staff writers heather gan, julia park & michael ren

8 Feature

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

DearDiary : Book Character

By Helen Wang Staff Writer

Day 1 Dear Diary: My reader just received her book! I’m so excited to embark on another literary journey with an enthusiastic student. To think of all the memories we will share together, of her experiencing all of my adventures. She’ll like this book for sure; I am the main character! As the hero of this action book, I journey and fight various monsters, and even though my book seems a little run-down and beat, it’s because of the plethora of students who enjoyed my story, discussed it with fellow students, studied with it, and wrote analyses about the various themes. The long list of names on the back of my front cover proves it.

Her name, the newest one on the list, written in fresh ink … Nancy! Diary, it’s going to be another fun ride, hopefully. However, it does feel awfully stuffy in this backpack. Day 8 Dear Diary: Day 5 I was Thoreau-ly impressed when Nancy brought me Dear Diary: back out again. However, she only halfheartedly flipped I need you to help me get out of this purgatory. I’m through the first few pages before putting me back positive that her teacher assigned at least the first seven down. Wait … is that Sparknotes I see on her computer? chapters, yet here I am, stuck with crumpled binder paper Diary, I sincerely hope she doesn’t do well on her test. and candy wrappers. Nancy, you are going to fail your She doesn’t deserve it at all. As a code hero, I’m still hurt, next reading check quiz if you keep this up! even more than what Medusa did, and you could bet she was hair-raising.

Day 6 Dear Diary: Day 9 As the sun also rises, I have also gotten my first breath Dear Diary: of fresh air. Nancy dug around in her backpack to pick Making use of my time, I decided to run through my up my book. I caught parts of her conversation: “I’m own book for her. However, I couldn’t seem to get my so going to fail this pop quiz! … What’s on the quiz? vigor back like I used to. Neither the raging armies I You better tell me!”. Nancy, you are definitely not my best faced, nor lovers and friends turned against me could reader. I’m so frustrated just standing here in the begin- light up my passion to overcome adversity and become ning of my book, reading over my own narration. the best literature hero ever. But who am I without a reader?

Day 7 Dear Diary: Day 10 Is it me? Is my journey fighting monsters and my in- Dear Diary: ternal conflicts really that boring to this lost generation?

After running through the plot so many times, I I mean, it has its prose and cons, but it is referred to think my side characters have gotten bored. I even made as a “classic, must read!” Even though she doesn’t flip friends with a few of my so-called enemies! You see, through my story, I get to experience it again and again. even werewolves and vampires have a good side. You And again. Diary, what do I do? Nancy has been neglect- know what, diary, I don’t even think about Nancy anying me again. Actually, I don’t need her like she needs me! more. Let her take her test, not knowing what she missed I’ll just go back and memorize my story, I guess. out on!

Friday, March 31, 2017

SRO ROBINSON REPORTS

by Officer Kelly Robinson Slow down there students. Before you hop behind the wheel of vehicle, knowing the rules and regulations of the road is vital to the safety of you and others on the road.

The number one causing factor of collisions in the City of Fremont is speeding. It is always better to make it where you’re going alive and safe, rather than not at all. The Fremont P.D. Traffic Unit is out doing daily patrol of areas where drivers are known to drive at excessive speeds.

Receiving a speeding ticket can result in increased monthly insurance rates, along with a hefty fine.

While driving in the school parking lot, remember the speed limit is 5 mph. Drivers can still receive citations on school property. To avoid the temptation to speed, plan your trip and give yourself ample time to reach your destination.

Some Common Fines: Use of Phone while Driving (other than hands-free device) citation: $150 to $300 Speeding citation: $35 to $360 Driving with No Insurance citation: $100 to $500 *Listed offenses can exceed these amounts upon repeated occurrences.

Day 12 Dear Diary: As Nancy placed me back into the basket in English class, she gloated that she got an A on her test. She doesn’t deserve that scarlet letter! Diary, I’m seriously contemplating whether or not to retire as a story. Even with newfound friends, I don’t think I can live a life meant to help students like Nancy. I am run-down and beat, right? As this never-ending cycle continues, I vehemently hope that students like Nancy will appreciate characters like me. ▪ graphics by onlygfx.com, clipartfest.com

Student Spotlight: Crew L.A.F, which consists of Seniors Ashley Chen, Tiffany Li, and Ha Vy Nguyen, is a self-taught dance group that performs on many stages, not only at MSJ but also at countless other schools for benefit shows. The Smoke Signal spoke with Crew L.A.F about their dance experiences, inspirations, and some advice for aspiring dancers.

staff writer deeksha raina

From left to right: Seniors Ashley Chen, Tiffany Li, and Ha Vy Nguyen

SS: When did you form the group and dance together?

TL: I went through a rough patch in 2015, and so when 2016 started I was using dance as a way to distract myself.

But I was interesting in performing, so I asked Ashley, who shared the same passion as me, and we formed a little group first, but we felt like two people on stage was pretty empty, because the stage was really big. So in April, we spontaneously asked Ha Vy, and we performed more and more.

SS: Why do you enjoy dancing?

TL: I enjoy dancing because it is a way to freely express myself. I don’t really dance to impress, I dance because I like it, so much that I am passionate about it. You know how usually everyone has something they are good at? I feel like that is what dance is to me.

AC: I didn’t really have a way to relieve stress, so dance was an outlet for my stress. It is also really fun to learn and experience new styles.

CREW L.A.F

By Joelle Chuang & Deeksha Raina Staff Writers

HN: For me, I enjoy dancing because it is a form of exercise and I can dance with my friends and it is really fun. We also meet new people. Also, I enjoy trying out different styles of dance I have never done before.

also really nervous because we put it together in a really short amount of time. The venue was so packed and everyone was so supportive for every single act and we felt like our eardrums were going to burst. It was so scary, but when we went out and performed, everyone was so SS: Is there anyone that inspires you and why? supportive. There wasn’t a moment where anyone wasn’t AC: There is this one dancer, Sorah Yang, who is an screaming, and it was such a touching moment. We were alumni from here. I feel like she’s all about girl power so happy that we almost cried, and we got good food and she’s Asian too. You usually don’t see girls popping afterwards and almost cried again. that much because it’s more of a stereotypically guy style of dance, but to see someone like her being able to pull SS: What advice would you give to aspiring, young dancit off so well, perform, and have workshops around the ers? world is really inspiring to me.

AC: It can be scary, but be confident in yourself and HN: The person that inspires me is Yoojung Lee from take the first step towards achieving your goal. When 1MILLION Dance Studio. She comes up with really you’re just starting out it may feel like you’re not getting cool choreography and can pull off a lot of different anywhere, but with time you’ll start improving. Don’t be styles. Even in other people’s workshops, she can pull afraid of failure because it happens to all of us. Don’t let [their choreography] off and sometimes I think that she someone bring you down because you have way more can pull it off better than the choreographers. I want to potential than what others may think of you. Be yourbe like her. self. If you want to dance, run after it and don’t let your TL: So I have three. The first one is Hyerin Jang. She chance slip away. changed her style so now I’m not really into her style, TL: If you want to dance, do it. If you’re passionate but around three years ago, I saw her on YouTube and about something, go after it. Dancers start from square made [dance] covers to most of her dance videos. I one and gradually build their way up and it’s hard. You’ll loved the way she dresses, she’s very confident, and she go through a lot of obstacles and choreography block just screams girl power. The second person is Scott For- and frustrations but it’s okay, everyone does. A lot of syth. I found him a year ago, and his moves are so sharp, people will want to see you fail, but don’t ever let that get it’s crazy. He dances to a lot of fast music and I’m so in your way. Dance for yourself, dance to express, and inspired by him. The third one is Franklin Yu. He was yeah sometimes you can dance to impress but never let part of ACA [UCLA Hip-Hop dance team] and I first that be your main motivation. So, if you want to dance, saw him when he performed Tennis Court Flume Re- do it. Move your body. Learn some routines. Do what mix. His musicality was amazing and he’s just always re- makes you happy. ally smooth and that’s why I began tutting and matching HN: Just do it. You never know until you try. I think more to the beats. a big problem that beginners go through is how people look at them and if they’re good or not. You’ll go SS: What was a memorable performance for you guys through thoughts like, ‘What if I’m not good enough?’ and why?

Many of the same thoughts went through my head. I All: Area 2 Interact show. started dancing towards the end of my junior year, which AC: It was pretty recent actually, around two weeks ago is pretty late compared to most of the dancers here at on Saturday [Feb. 25, 2017].

Mission, so I felt that I was pretty inferior to everyone TL: We got there a little late for rehearsal, and this girl else. But performing really helped me with my confiopened the door for us and she told us, ‘Oh my god, I dence and motivated me to try many new things as well. saw you guys perform yesterday; you guys are so good!’ If you really want to dance, then go out, push yourself to She introduced us to everyone setting up and we were so learn, and don’t let anyone bring you down. ▪ embarrassed because that’s never happened before. We were flattered and didn’t know what to say, but we were

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Student Spotlight:

TYPES OF APRIL FOOLS’

Pranksters

jonathan kretchmer

By Evangeline Chang, Amy Chen & Amber Lee Staff Writers

April Fools’ Day is coming up, and the Smoke Signal singled out seven different types of people on this day of pranks. From the Punchline, the constant victim of ridiculous pranks, to the Mastermind, the genius responsible for that car on the roof, you will inevitably encounter these various April Fool’s Day archetypes. Who knows? With this guide, maybe you’ll be able to identify and avoid the most devious tricksters, or you might even find yourself identifying with one.

1.

5.

2.

Feature 9

By Bethany Woo Staff Writer

7.

4.

6.

Senior Jonathan Kretchmer

courtesy jonathan kretchmer

A recent composition by Senior Jonathan Kretchmer, “Jubilant Overture,” was performed by the Mission Peak Wind Symphony on Monday, March 13 at the Chabot Center. Kretchmer has been composing musical scores for five years. The Smoke Signal interviewed him about his passion for music and his journey, achievements, and aspirations as a composer.

3.

1. The Bystander: Nothing is more entertaining than seeing others fall victim to some good old pranking.

The Bystander will always avoid April Fool’s Day chaos by being especially wary of where the Jack-in-the-Box may be hiding, or the Mastermind’s crafty pranks. They’re never the star of the show, but they can be found 2. The Wannabe Joker: 3. The Disappointment: watching prank schemes from the sidelines, When it comes to pullThis is it. This is the year laughing at other victims’ expenses. Pass ing pranks, every day is April the Disappointment will finally the popcorn — it’s time for some Fool’s Day for the Wannabe succeed in pranking someone. Sure, quality April Fool’s entertainment.

Joker. Life is short, so why miss last year, they told a friend who told a out on all the fun and games 364 days friend who told a teacher what they were a year? Better watch your back; nobody is planning, and the year before they woke up late safe from the arsenal of wicked tricks that the for school and missed their plan entirely, but mayWannabe Joker has up their sleeve. An unstoppabe it’ll work this year. Or maybe not. Probably 5. The Mastermind: ble force of mischief, they show no remorse not. Hey, at least people will laugh when The Mastermind has for the chaos they create. Though they may they mess up. Anyway, it’s the journey been preparing for April lack the green hair and blood red lips, that counts, not the product, or at Fool’s Day since March. Of this relentless trickster is bent on least that’s what they’ll tell themplaying jokes until they’ve earned last year. This is it. Their plans are selves. the same notorious reputadrawn out, materials are gathered, tion as the real Joker. and a committee of co-conspirators have been rounded up. The whole school’s 6. The Punchline: going to see their prank. They only re4. The Skeptic: The one day that the gret that they’ll never be able to claim The Skeptic anticipates Punchline fears the most evtheir fame. No one will ever figure your trick, before you even trick ery year is the first of April. Try out their complex scheme, but them. In fact, the Skeptic anticias they might, they never manage to watching people’s reactions pates your trick even if you aren’t planmake it through all 24 hours without will be satisfying enough. ning to trick them. They’re ready. They suffering from a jump-scare, eating Oreos know it’s April Fool’s Day, and their guard filled with toothpaste, getting prank-called, is up. No one can be trusted anymore. What? and having their car plastered with sticky notes, Their socks are untied? They’ve heard that one 7. The Jack-in-the-Box: all multiple times. Of course, they provide five times before, and they aren’t falling for a On April Fool’s Day, evan endless source of entertainment for single one of your tricks. April Fool’s Day eryone needs to be wary of everyone else. It’s not easy being the was fun for them when they were the Jack-in-the-Box. They lurk Punchline, and nobody envies this five, but now people are just acting behind doors and bushes, anticiunfortunate soul when April childish. pating the moment anyone walks by to Fool’s Day rolls around. jump out in front of them. This tends to trigger many reflexes of bravado from their targets, such as screaming or running away. The Jack-in-the-Box can’t seem to find any other pranks to pull, so every year they consistently launch themselves at innocent passerbys. This strategy may be super effective the first few times, but it’s getting old.

graphics by staff writers evangeline chang, amy chen & amber lee, istockphoto.com

The Smoke Signal: How did your passion for music begin?

Jonathan Kretchmer: My sister played piano for a few months when I was six, and obviously younger siblings always want to do everything that their siblings do, so I started playing piano with a teacher. I kind of just kept going from there and added on more instruments. I think right now I can play about six or seven: piano, two types of saxophones, drums, and different percussion. I can play the flute — badly, but I still can, and guitar.

SS: What artists or composers are role models for you?

JK: One of my favorite composers is George Gershwin [an American composer and pianist during the early 1900s]. A lot of music that he writes has a lot of jazz influence which I like because I really like jazz. I also really like [Claude] Debussy and [Maurice] Ravel. They’re both composers from the impressionist period, and I really like how they approached their compositions.

SS: What program(s) or software do you use to create your sheet music?

JK: I use Finale. It’s one of the top tier composition programs used by professionals and amateurs alike. I like it because it offers pretty much complete customizability when it comes to fonts, formats, and instruments. It’s also much less expensive than its main competitor, Sibelius.

SS: Could you briefly explain the process you undergo to compose scores?

JK: A lot of the time what I do is I will sort of play around on the piano and I’ll find a melody or a something that I like. Then if I remember it — I play a lot of things so I forget some of it — if I remember it it means that it stands out to some extent to me. Then I’ll put it into the program and develop it into the ultimate piece that it becomes.

SS: How many different pieces have you composed, and have you performed them?

JK: I’ve seriously composed from start to finish two pieces, for Wind Ensemble [Mission Peak Wind Symphony]. I am currently working on a symphony for a full orchestra.

I’ll be done with that in probably a few months.

SS: What piece of music are you most proud of? Why? JK: The piece of music that I’m most proud of is my most recent piece, which is called “Jubilant Overture.” It’s about a three-minute long piece for Wind Ensemble . I’m most proud of it because it’s much more close to the kind of music I want to write, but also I’m really proud of it because it’s going to be performed by the Mission Peak Wind Symphony. I haven’t performed many of my big, like larger scale pieces because putting all that together takes a lot of time, but I have performed many of my piano pieces at recitals and things like that put on by my piano teacher.

SS: How and why was your piece selected to be played?

JK: I asked if I could write a piece for the group to be played. They obviously want the students to be a big part of it because the whole group is made of students from schools around the district. I think they were enthusiastic about it, by them allowing me to do that is a pretty big step.

SS: What are your future plans and biggest goals/dreams related to composing music? Do you plan to continue composing in college?

JK: Next year I’m going to college, so I plan on majoring in music composition. But if I had to, in a perfect world, pick something I’d want to do, it would be writing music for movies. ▪

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C R I T I C S’ C O R N E R M u si C: E D SH E E R A N , n av | F ilm : t h e SH AC K , BEFOR E I FAL L

Under the radar

THE SHACK

nav

By Ansh Patel Staff Writer Punjabi-Canadian artist NAV (Navraj Singh Goraya) has taken the hip-hop community by storm. The Toronto rapper and producer launched his music career making beats for various artists. Though he was relatively unknown at the time, his time as a producer set him up for his career as a rapper. In 2015, NAV began working on his own tracks, producing and rapping over “Ten Toes Down,” “The Man,” and five other songs that he uploaded to SoundCloud. Within the next year, each of these songs reached more than 2 million plays, and his 90,000 followers on SoundCloud proved he had a solid fan base.

Though his music was making noise and generating buzz within the rap industry, NAV remained relatively quiet. He didn’t announce he had signed with any label or come out for any interviews and kept his fans in the dark. However in 2016, NAV earned co-signs from prominent artists and celebrities, including a feature on Drake’s OVO Sound Radio.

The hype around NAV continued to build up towards the end of 2016 after his appearance in Travis Scott’s latest album Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight on the track “Beibs in the Trap.”

Carrying this momentum into the new year, NAV announced on February 16,that he had signed with the record label XO and dropped a new single “Some Way” featuring The Weeknd, the label’s founder. Through the label, NAV distributed his self-titled album on February 25, cementing his place in the music industry. ▪

Book Bites

Music review ED SHEERAN

imdb.com

By Bethany Woo Staff Writer Based on the New York Times bestselling novel by William P. Young, The Shack is a heart-breaking film of great tragedy, forgiveness, and love. Directed by Stuart Hazeldine, it follows the journey of Mackenzie Phillips (Sam Worthington) –- nicknamed “Mack” -– as he struggles to find closure after his family suffers a terrible loss.

The film begins with a nightmare of Mack as a child trying to protect his mother from his abusive father. Despite his harsh upbringing, Mack is able to raise a happy church-going family with his wife Nan (Radha Mitchell). Although Mack does not feel as deep of a connection with the faith compared to his wife and children, his life is still filled with joy. However, when Mack’s youngest daughter Missy (Amélie Eve) is brutally murdered by a serial killer called “Little Ladykiller,” the pain and self-blame Mack experiences pushes him further from his faith and divides the family. One day, Mack receives an unstamped letter in his mailbox, telling him to go to the shack where Missy was

killed. There, Mack encounters God in person and begins the process of healing the wounds from losing his child, as well as the scars hidden from his own abusive childhood.

Thanks to the Hazeldine’s effective use of weather conditions, lighting, and music to set the atmosphere in between flashbacks, viewers are able to interpret the characters’ emotions without the use of dialogue. A black, stormy night reflects Mack’s anguish, fear, and pain, inflicted by his father. A stark contrast is established between Mack and his family through the positive dialogue, body language, and light background music.The film’s take on the Holy Trinity of Christianity is creative and unique. Upon arriving at the shack, Mack is led from a frozen forest into a bright, flamboyant jungle, where he meets the Holy Trinity: God, or “Papa” (Octavia Spencer), Jesus (Aviv Alush), and the Holy Spirit, or “Sumire” (Sumire Matsubara). The embodiment of God as three warm, humorous, and loving humans breaks the idea that God is an estranged and distant entity. As his three companions open Mack’s eyes to how his hatred and guilt have engulfed his life, they reveal an alternative path to release his pain and

find joy in life, which Mack struggles to follow.

The dialogue, plot, and character development rely heavily on Christian beliefs and moral standards. Although this creates an opportunity for nonChristian audience members to form a better understanding of the religion, many of the references to Biblical stories and verses can be a cause for confusion and detachment from the storyline and characters. Moreover, the depth of the hurt and despair expressed by Mack can be overwhelming, as the audience is hit with wave after wave of sorrow, with no respite through comic relief or lighter scenes.

Overall, the movie has a powerful and moving storyline that uses intense character development to explore the depth of fatherly love and the layers of emotional suffering that comes with the loss of a loved one. Despite being steeped with Christian ideology, The Shack will leave a deep impression on people of all backgrounds and religions. ▪ Rating: A-

BEFORE I FALL falls flat

By Ian Hsu Staff Writer

Student Recommendations Title: The Prince of Tides Author: Pat Conroy Rating: Medium Genre: Realistic Fiction A brother seeks to help his sister recover from a recent suicide attempt, revealing to her psychologist a shocking childhood plagued with domestic violence, rape, schizophrenia, and even murder.

“It’s a fantastic book that showed me how real domestic violence is and how it can affect a person for the rest of their life.” — Mingjia Wang, 10 Title: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Author: Stieg Larsson Rating: Medium Genre: Thriller A Swedish magazine publisher loses a libel case and accepts a commission to investigate a serial killer in exchange for evidence of crimes committed by the company that sued him for libel.

“I think this book is a great read because it’s detailed and straightforward.

The female lead is really admirable for all her actions.” — Carolyn Qian, 9

Staff Recommendation Title: The Little Prince Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Rating: Easy Genre: Fantasy The Little Prince, an innocent explorer from a faraway planet, brings with him tales of great wisdom to Earth. The Little Prince is a story filled with enriching hidden meanings and symbols.

“I have read it so many times that I know some parts by heart. There is a lot of interpretation in this book, and you can read it at a child’s level or at a very high level.” — French Teacher Herveline Sartori

imdb.com

By Stephanie Dutra Staff Writer Innumerable clichés and stereotypical high school dramas typically craft a lackluster film, and Before I Fall is no exception despite its redeeming qualities late in the film. Director Ry RussoYoung’s adaptation of Lauren Oliver’s young adult novel Before I Fall follows the story of popular high school senior Samantha Kingston (Zoey Deutch) on Cupid’s day, highlighting her shallow worries and cruel treatment of others prior to her dying in a tragic car accident that night. However, she wakes up the next morning and finds that she is caught in some sort of a time loop, having to relive the same day until she learns a crucial lesson that saves the lives of others.

Kingston primarily spent Cupid’s day at school with a friend group strikingly similar to the renowned “Plastics” from Mean Girls. Her posse consists of Lindsay (Halston Sage), Ally (Cynthy Wu), and Elody (Medalion Rahimi), all of whom exhibit a sense of superiority and casual cruelty to their less popular peers, bullying characters like the social outcast Juliet Sykes (Elena Kampouris), which later results in tragic consequences. The first half of the movie is slow, with no real sub-

stance or plot development. Kingston just spends her time with her unlikable friends, being disrespectful to her peers and worrying about shallow teen drama like her plans with her jock boyfriend Rob (Kian Lawley) later that night, making it difficult to sympathize with the characters when tragedy strikes.

At a party that night, the group runs into Sykes and after a cruel exchange of words, a fight breaks out, causing Kingston and her friends to leave the party early in the stormy weather. While driving back from the party through the mountainous roads, the car crashes into a truck, killing Kingston and her friends. She wakes up the next morning and relives that day over and over, not knowing why, but understanding that she should try to do something differently. An explanation for why or how she repeats the day over and over is never offered, introducing an avoidable element of confusion to the film.

She takes this opportunity to act more kindly to her friends and family, before acting catty and unappreciative the next day to no avail. The plot lacks any sort of gradual development, as she just does whatever until the repetition clues her into who she has become.

Once she comes to this realization, the second half of the movie is much more redeeming, as it touches on im-

portant messages and life lessons that not only teens, but also people of all ages, should follow. The only character that really seems to develop, however, is Kingston, as her friends gain a slightly kinder attitude, but nothing of greater significance.

Russo-Young’s debut in mainstream films may not have been the most impressive, but considering the trite plotline, she made it more appealing with pleasing cinematography and by managing to avoid an annoyingly-repetitive plot in spite of the film featuring a repetition of the same day. The acting keeps the story engaging, and the sincerity and comedy that Kingston’s role brings makes the film slightly more enjoyable. As a teen film smothered with clichés and unnecessary romantic subplots, it is easy to dismiss the film as just another mediocre young adult film. With its redeeming qualities and life lessons, however, Before I Fall offers a more entertaining and worthy watch — although one has to suffer through the slow and disappointing first half in order to have the opportunity to appreciate the movie’s true content and lessons. ▪

By Ella Chen Staff Writer After three years of inactivity, pop and acoustic singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has returned with his latest album, Divide, on March 3. The album incorporates ethnic instrumentals that are a novelty in comparison to prior albums. However, Sheeran’s soaring vocals fail to impress in a rather cliché track list that capitalizes on catchy, but basic melodies.

Divide follows the same mathematical trend as Sheeran’s past two albums, which are respectively named x and +. Sheeran started off as an indie artist who released EPs on his personal label. Over the years, he gained mainstream recognition as his internet and celebrity fan base grew.

In 2010, the Loose Change EP debuted Sheeran’s first single, “The A Team,” garnering him critical accolades and pushing him into the international limelight.

On January 6, before Divide was released, Sheeran released the album’s two surprise singles, “Shape of You” and “Castle on the Hill.” The first was an instant bestseller, likely because of its rhythmic underbeat and mainstream pop appeal. The latter features predictable drumbeats and nostalgic yet formulaic lyrics recalling youthful times. Even so, the album was highly-anticipated, and fans immediately pounced when it was released.

Sheeran kicks off the album on an upbeat note with “Eraser,” in which he tries his hand at rapping to an acoustic background. With a relatively harder bass than other songs, “Eraser” reflects on Sheeran’s career and his disillusioned perspective of fame. The following track is the single “Castle on the Hill,” which adds to the upbeat air. Yet soon after, the album transitions into a slower romantic ballad, “Dive,” whose background instrumentals are very similar to Sheeran’s past hit, “Make It Rain.”

As Divide progresses, slow songs transition awkwardly into fast-paced tracks. Moreover, the ballads resemble former songs and ‘90s boy band tunes. The incorporation of ethnic sounds falls flat, especially in “Barcelona” and “Galway Girl,” because the melodies border on cheesy and ineffective with conventional lyrics that croon about finding love overseas. For the most part, the track list is an ungraceful mixture of repetitive beats and musical genres that lack personal complexity and depth. The album lies within the boundaries of radio pop, and its lyrics fail to convey nuanced emotions past broad, sweeping clichés about love and longing.

As a whole, Divide has an undeniable commercial charm. Its unsophisticated, easy-to-digest songs will leave listeners humming the melodies but forgetting the words after the first run-through. The album falls short of expectations in that it is neither innovative nor unique. Divide is an easy listen, but overall, it is unfulfilling and leaves the listener expecting more. Even with his notable husky voice, Sheeran settles within his comfort zone with an unmemorable album not characteristic of his indie roots. ▪ Rating: C+

Rating: C+ usstores.edsheeran.com

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By Amy Chen, Katherine Guo, Jonathan Ko, Julia Park & Vicki Xu Staff Writers

This issue, the Smoke Signal reached out to several notable MSJ alumni and covered their journeys after high school graduation. For a full transcript of their quotes, please visit www.thesmokesignal.org.

Vikrum Dave Aiyer, a 2006 graduate of University of California, BerkeSarah Ching is a graphic designer at ModCloth in ley, served as the Chief of Staff for the US Patent and Trademark San Francisco, blogger at www.theorangepatagoOffice in the US Department of Commerce in the Obama adnia.com, and freelance photographer on the side. ministration. He began his career as a deputy press secretary She recently graduated from California Polytechfor the Capitol Office of Representative Ed Markey and has nic State University, San Luis Obispo in June 2016 since worked in a variety of government-related positions, as an Art and Design major with a concentration including White House Senior Adviser for Manufacturing in Graphic Design. She does design work for variand Innovation Policy at the National Economic Counous companies and organizations, photographs cil and Deputy Chief of Staff for the Under Secretary of proms and graduations, and has also partnered Commerce in the Obama administration. In 2015, with Urban Outfitters and Model-Musician SamanForbes Magazine named Aiyer as part of tha Mariko. Ching first became interested in graphthe 30 under 30 list for Law & Policy. ic design and photography during sophomore year He currently lives in Washington of high school after she managed to interview the D.C., where he volunteers for Art Director at Seventeen for a career paper in her Enseveral nonprofits, such as glish class. She further explored these fields as a memBig Brothers Big Sisters, Refber of the Costanoan Yearbook. In the future, she hopes ugees International, and to travel and photograph clients all around the world.

Komen Foundation.

“The most influential thing about attending MSJ was “In public services, there’s nothing like X job leads to Y being surrounded by motivated students. I learned job leads to Z job. You end up amassing different exfrom peers who were willing to help and share how periences, adding more arrows to your quiver. Don’t they succeeded but also a lot from teachers who bebe afraid to meander a little.” — Vikrum Dave Aiyer lieved in not only teaching their subject but also how to be good person in the world.” — Sarah Ching

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Centerspread 15

“If you’re looking to make a career in art, don’t ever stop being curious — curiosity is what feeds the idea machine. If you post art online, don’t get too caught up in what’s popular or trendy.

Make something that represents you.” — Sophie Diao

Sophie Diao is a Google Doodler and freelancer for the animation industry. Diao, a former Smoke Signal Editor-in-Chief, majored in Character Animation at the California Institute of the Arts after graduating from high school. In the summer following her junior year of college, she interned with the Google Doodles team and returned to the company after graduation to work full-time. Some of Diao’s clients include Cartoon Network, Dreamworks TV, Warner Bros. Animation, and Disney TV. In addition to her job at Google and her freelance work, Diao also takes personal commissions. Her portfolio, as well as her Google Doodles and a vignette cartoon series titled Tiny Troubles, can be found at www.sophiediao.com. Diao’s work can also be found on her blog at www.sophiediao.tumblr.com.

“If anything, being at MSJ gets you ac“It’s incredibly important to set goals for yourcustomed to working significantly hardself. They help guide your path. Take advaner and smarter than the average person. tage of high school and college to discover new That’s an invaluable skill that can’t be taught, interests, passions, and goals.” — Kylan Nieh you need to live through it.” — Richie Zeng

A 2014 graduate of University of California, Berkeley, Kylan Nieh was Richie Zeng majored in Electrical Ennamed to Forbes Magazine’s 2017 30 Under 30 Enterprise Tech List gineering and Computer Science for becoming the youngest LinkedIn senior product manager at at University of California, Berkeley, age 23. However, he grew up with different aspirations: for most then dropped out two years later to of his childhood, he dreamed of becoming an Olympic gymco-found his own startup, Wearhaus nast. An elbow injury prevented Nieh from reaching this goal, Inc. Zeng currently serves as its Chief Exbut he still participated in the 2012 London Olympics as a ecutive Officer. The company specializtorch-bearer. In college, he taught a leadership and pubes in producing Wearhaus Arcs, which are lic-speaking course at the University at California, Berkehigh-end Bluetooth-style headphones that alley Haas School of Business. He also served as President low the wearer to sync music with nearby friends. of Very Best in Youth Foundation, a Nestlé-sponsored Its mission is simple: “Just like your musical taste, the program dedicated to spotlighting select teenagheadphones you wear should be an expression of ers’ exceptional contributions to society. Curyour style and personality,” Zeng said. He held a sucrently, Nieh oversees the development cessful Kickstarter campaign in 2013, raising $247,379 with of the LinkedIn Students app, which an original goal of $50,000. Wearhaus Inc. recently raised serves soon-to-be college graduanother $4 million with help from venture capital firms Tellus ates.

International, Xiaoxiang Capital, and China Southern Media.

Noa Kretchmer is an aspiring actress and has had roles in three productions, including MSJ: The Musical and the TV series Tomorrow’s Thespians. After high school, Kretchmer attended six semesters at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Hollywood. She took acting, voice, accent, and combat classes, earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts and training her for the entertainment industry. Kretchmer performed at The Little Theater throughout high school and attributes her motivation to become an actress to her directors, Anne Riley and Tanya Roundy, as well as former English Teacher Patricia Allen. Along the way, Kretchmer learned to find the joy in the little things, overcome insecurities, and perse“Since I held myself back so much as a teenager I spent “I think with how much the world is changing with the in“Have a dream, work as hard as you can to vere to acquire her dream job. the early part of my career saying yes a lot. I said yes to a lot achieve it, but realize that career paths aren’t alternet and social media that networking and street smarts of opportunities and that is how I had the opportunity to do ways straight and narrow. There will be twists and turns is the other half of it. There have been countless situations on-air reporting, writing for various publications, interviewand opportunities that never could have been expectthat have changed my life and career because of peoing people I respected. So I guess the biggest lesson learned is ed or never even existed when you were in high school ple I have met or places I have been.” — Cena Barhaghi “The biggest thing I had to learn this: if you feel pulled to try something, DO IT!” — Natali Morris that will appear as you go on your journey.” — Matt Faust before diving head first into such an unforgiving, difficult, and dark industry was learning to find joy in the little things.

Find joy in failing at an Cena Barhaghi is the co-founder and CreAfter graduating from MSJ, Natali Morris went on to receive a bachelor’s Matt Faust is the current Editor-in-Chief of audition. Find joy in sitative Director for Pink + Dolphin, a premidegree in Journalism from California State University, Hayward and Electronic Arts (EA) Brand Content and ting for hours, memum streetwear brand based in Los Angeles. a master’s degree in sociology with an emphasis in mass media was a former Smoke Signal Sports Editor. orizing lines. Find He, along with his friend Neima Khaila, came from University of Southern California.

Morris is a TV broadcastFaust received his Bachelor of the Arts dejoy in everything, up with the idea for the brand in high school.

The er who currently works as the anchor of Code Forward, an gree from University of California, Santa Barand joy will find pair originally released limited amounts of clothing MSNBC online-only show that covers recent developments bara.

During college, Faust wrote as a Sports you.” — Noa seasonally, and the clothing often sold out quickly in technology.

She is also a regular technology contribEditor for the Daily Nexus, University of California, Kretchmer due to the small stock they had.

In 2016, the compautor for CNBC and has appeared previously on ABC, Santa Barbara’s student-run paper. After college, ny brought in nearly $20 million in sales, a stark contrast BBC, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, Fox Business News, Faust worked a variety of jobs, as a reporter for the to the original principal of just $400 on a credit card. ToG4TV, The CW, and Univision. In 2013, Morris hostAssociated Press, a freelance reporter for ESPN, day, the brand is known for its gender-bending clothing, ed a live Skype panel with former Vice PresiInc., a financial analyst at Visa, and Vice President which is available in limited quality and caters to welldent Joe Biden and Domestic Policy Adat FleishmanHillard, a public relations and marketknown celebrities including rappers Chris Brown and Wiz visor Cecilia Muñoz about immigration ing agency based in St. Louis, Missouri. In August Khalifa. Citing Bay Area streetwear brands, Barhaghi reform. Morris runs a blog at www.

2014, Faust began working at EA, where he leads said in a 2013 XXL Magazine interview that he wants natalimorris.com, where she reguglobal content strategy across brand channels, exeto “show them [young people] that they can become larly posts about parenting and cutes the EA brand story across multiple channels, and young entrepreneurs and start their own businesses.” managing personal finance. leads internal communications strategy for the company. photos courtesy cena barhaghi, sarah ching, sophie diao, matt faust, noa kretchmer, richie zeng, forbes.com, natalimorris.com & uspto.gov

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Cheap versus Complex Entertainment

By Amy Chen & Maggie Zhao Staff Writers Many blockbuster films offer cheap entertainment in exchange for a quick buck for directors and producers, but these pale in comparison to the upscale selection of works created for a greater purpose beyond cheesy comedy and touching romance. Despite lacking flashy camera effects and snazzy costumes, these masterpieces serve a greater purpose of enlightening and inspiring viewers and hold a far greater value than their simpler alternatives.

Despite the impact cinematic masterpieces have and the respect the industry offers them, these works often go underappreciated by the general public. The winner of this year’s Best Picture Academy Award, Moonlight, which has a 98 percent Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes from top critics, has an audience appreciation score of 82 percent, 4 percent lower than that of The Shack, a movie directed by Stuart Hazeldine with a 21 percent Tomatometer score by top critics.

However, other factors at play contributing to the low audience appreciation rate include Moonlight’s limited release, meaning the movie was only available at select theaters when it was originally released.

Both films entertain while addressing serious issues, but The Shack preaches sermons only engaging to a select group of people whereas Moonlight explores sexuality and race and the struggles that these issues encompass, while appealing to a universal audience. Many struggle with watching Moonlight due to its serious content, but those who do watch the film find that it broadens perspectives and provides a unique insight to viewers through a personal and touching story. The distinction between “good” and “bad” movies exists, and it’s an important one.

Despite lacking flashy camera effects and snazzy costumes,

these masterpieces serve a greater purpose of enlightening and inspiring viewers and hold a far greater value than their simpler alternatives.

This difference is not only present among movies. Books, plays, and music can also vary greatly in the expertise and thought that goes into their creation. Students often question why the books they read in class seem to be so boring or difficult to get through. When reading for pleasure, it is easy to turn to an addictive series, like Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and dismiss every book deemed “classic” or featured on the district’s recommended selection of literature. But each book selected for the classroom is there for a reason. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens is often labeled as too lengthy and tedious, but it teaches readers about the follies of innocence and immaturity and demonstrates the importance of choosing acquaintances wisely. Classics are chosen to educate, expand the minds of our youth, and share a set of ideas that will help us grow and develop into moral adults. Similarly, pop hits that reach the top of the charts are catchy and well-liked despite a lack of lyrical depth. Songs with more complex and weighty lyrics, such as “Mad World,” by Gary Jules, often fail to garner widespread attention and appreciation. Other pop songs, such as “Closer,”

by The Chainsmokers, which repeats the same few phrases a dozen times throughout the song, tend to become more intensely popular, thanks to their addictive, though truly meaningless, tunes. While pop hits are generally centered around partying and romance, more profound songs use music as a platform to discuss issues.

Classics are chosen to educate,

indiewire.com

Mahershala Ali portrays a drug dealer named Juan in Moonlight

expand the minds of our youth, and share a set of ideas that will help us grow and develop into moral adults.

Of course, there are numerous movies and songs with impactful ideas that are well received by the public. Disney’s Zootopia made more than $300 million in their family friendly movie that addressed racism in our society. “How to Save a Life,” by the Fray, reveals the necessity in reaching out to friends with depression and the impact that a simple action can make. This kind of entertainment enlightens audiences and leaves a lasting effect on their perspective of the world.

Cheap entertainment, on the other hand, rarely leaves long-term impact and stands more as a temporary solution to boredom or idleness. On a stormy night

P r ic e

or right after a breakup, many people may turn to cheap entertainment for comfort.

But when the movie has ended, the viewer returns to his or her regular routine; nothing has changed.

This isn’t to say that cheap forms of entertainment have no value at all, but choosing content with more depth will have a much greater impact in the long run. Complex entertainment effectively utilizes its platform to spread valuable insight and generate discourse about important social issues. However, the content’s reach is stunted by a lack of appreciation from the general public, limiting the effect the content’s message has. In essence, while cheap entertainment is good for amusement, the importance of appreciating and supporting insightful and meaningful content cannot be overstated. ▪

Am

The prices of the dishes offered at Soo Ja Bistro are fairly high, ranging from $10 to $27. Extra sides, such as cheese or avocado, cost an additional $1; extra ramen or kimchi costs $2; and an extra burger patty costs $3. Beverages range anywhere from $2 to $15. Though a sufficient amount of food is provided for the pricey cost, the overall taste and quality of the dishes may not be worth the extra dollars.

SO

usion BIS F JA

The mood, modern layout, and special interior decorations help create a comfortable atmosphere for the restaurant. The music, a mixture of Korean and American Pop, and the three flat-screened TVs, which plays shows of any customer’s choice, add an upbeat and carefree feel to the restaurant. The lighting varies throughout the day and contributes to the overall atmosphere of the restaurant. The restaurant is a bit small, but nevertheless comfy.

Rating: 4.5/5

O TR

O

Rating: 3.5/5

biance

By Hannah Chou & Jenny Miao Staff Writers

Soo Ja Bistro is a Korean fusion restaurant that recently opened on 6038 Stevenson Blvd. The restaurant offers a menu ranging from traditional Korean dishes to foods fused with different cultural elements. After its grand opening, the Smoke Signal decided to try the many dishes this Korean eatery has to offer.

Food

A few of Soo Ja’s dishes retain the traditional Korean flavoring, while many others offer a mix of Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, and other cultures’ flavors.Certain dishes were delicious, such as the crispy seafood pa jun and the savory bulgogi. However, some foods, like the bibimbap (a medley of beef, rice, and vegetables), were a little bland. Soo Ja’s japchae definitely lived up to its name as the number one sought after dish during Korean holidays. The mango beef tacos and Soo Ja fries had unique tastes and were delicious as well.

Rating: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4/5

Service

The numerous dishes ordered were all served fairly quickly, and the waiters were always ready to help in any situation. The servers were also friendly and eager to engage in small talk with the customers, even stopping by tables a few times just to inquire if everything was alright.

Overall, the quick and efficient service made the time spent in the restaurant go by smoothly and enjoyably.

Rating: 5/5 photos by staff writers hannah chou & jenny miao, graphics by vecteezy.com, shutterstock.com

20 Arts & Entertainment and Sports

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 31, 2017

Intro to Podcasts

By Jessica Jen, Deeksha Raina, Michael Ren, & Hana Sheikh Staff Writers

spo

on

Technology

ts

Sports podcasts can be found for all types of sports, and mostly highlight collegiate or higher levels of play. Podcasts are run by players, former players, coaches, and journalists alike, all of which are able to offer a more nuanced view of the sport or the sport league in question. One particular podcast is The Bill Simmons Podcast, by sports columnist Bill Simmons. Although the podcast is predominantly NBA-centric, other sports are also discussed with guest speakers, including players, coaches, and journalists.

Episodes can be found on SoundCloud, and are released in one hour segments one or two times a week.

r

Intro duc ti

Podcasts are audio or video files released in episodes, similar to radio programs.

Audiences tune in for entertainment or enrichment on a variety of topics. Podcasts can be downloaded onto personal devices for offline use, which makes them convenient for listening while on-thego or multitasking.

To tune in to a podcast, people can visit an online platform, and then download episodes via a podcatcher, a program that downloads media in various file formats from an online feed. Listeners can then return to the files at their own convenience.

Another option is to subscribe to podcast feeds and download directly from the sites.

m

Visit www.thesmokesignal.org to read an exclusvie interview with Social Studies Teacher Jaime Richards about his podcast, Missing Pieces

ic Listening to a music s u podcast provides two benefits

compared to live streaming and regular broadcasts: more relaxed timing and higher quality. Podcasts can be edited before audiences access them. The editing takes time but the music reaches the audience faster than if it were to play on a broadcast. A popular music podcast is National Public Radio’s All Songs Considered, which includes both music and music-related feature articles. All Songs Considered plays songs ranging from “Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones to “I’m Set Free” by The Velvet Underground.

Listeners can also find new music genres or learn about featured musicians such as Elliott Smith. Music podcasts are a balance between live and broadcasted music, with some unique aspects included as well.

Podcasts on technology introduce new products, analyze trends, and discuss current events emerging from the tech industry. They are hosted by entrepreneurs, industry experts, and employees or founders from leading firms. A popular podcast, HBR Ideacast, has episodes that run for 20 to 35 minutes and are released weekly by the Harvard Business Review. The episodes cover upcoming events in the business world, how to improve workplaces, evolution of companies, and management skills. Episodes can be downloaded on iTunes or found on www.hbr.org.

itics l o P

Political podcasts usually cover recent events and political news with an informative or satirical tone.

They often feature journalists, politicians, or analysts and are usually upwards of 30 minutes.

Popular political podcasts include Keepin’ It 1600 and Pod Save America, hosted by Jon Favreau, Dan Pfeiffer, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor, and FiveThirtyEight Politics, hosted

by Nate Silver and the FiveThirtyEight team. FiveThirtyEight Politics focuses more on the quantiEducational podtative aspect of politics while casts can be found for all Keepin’ It 1600 and Pod Save manners of subjects and levels, from America have more of an elementary to collegiate levels. Popular analytical spin. podcasts include Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse

Education

Tyson’s Startalk Radio and Radiolab, led by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, both of which are predominantly focused on science discussion combined with a mixture of comedy and pop culture references. Although educational science podcasts are the most common, ones for other subjects can also be found, such as Hardcore History or the literary Longform Podcast.

graphics by dreamstime.com

Friday, March 31, 2017

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Sports 21

Crocker Relays goes swimmingly

By Heather Gan Staff Writer

Swimmers from MSJ competed at the Tom Crocker Relays, hosted by Newark Memorial High School and attended by all seven schools in the league, on Saturday, March 4. The meet was held in honor of Coach Thomas Crocker, a former swim coach for Newark Memorial High School. The Tom Crocker Relays, originally named Townships Relays, are unique in that they have no individual events and focus on relays. The meet has standard events, such as 4x50 yard and 4x100 yard freestyle relays, but because it is not an official league meet, it also includes unusual events, such as 4x50 yard individual medley, 8x25 yard freestyle, and 8x25 yard kickboard relay. The MSJ team accomplished their goal of winning the meet and finished with Varsity Girls, Varsity Boys, and Junior Varsity Boys taking first place, and Junior Varsity Girls finishing in third place.

The meet was scored using a point system where each first place win in an event was worth a certain amount of points, and every place below first was worth fewer points.

Both Varsity Girls and Varsity Boys won the meet by accumulating the most points from winning most of the events, including the standard events of 4x50 yard freestyle and 4x100 yard freestyle. “Only Washington and Irvington could keep up,” said Boys’ Varsity Captain Senior Christopher Ha. Girls’ Varsity Captains Seniors Ariana Chen and Jessica He and Coach Shelley Wenzel all agreed that the 8x25 yard freestyle and kickboard relays were the highlights of the meet.

“Normal meets do not have 25-yard events so the freestyle and kickboard relays were a great chance to get people going back and forth,” said Wenzel. These events mainly consisted of juniors and seniors, and MSJ won both the Girls’ and Boys’ relays. “The 8x25 relay

was fun, because I love short events, and I only get to race it once a season,” said Varsity swimmer Junior Wynne Zheng, who was on the winning 8x25 yard kickboard relay team.

Despite focusing on winning, Varsity and Junior Varsity swimmers not only bonded within their own teams, but also with swimmers from other schools. The meet was also a good opportunity for Junior Varsity swimmers to gain some experience before the first league meet. Since it was one of the few meets that every team in MVAL attends, swimmers from different teams kept the meet casual by doing entertaining things that are usually not done at league meets, such as wearing caps sideways and regular glasses while racing. “It is supposed to a fun meet and a great way to start off the season with all the teams in the league competing together,” said Wenzel.

Overall, MSJ dominated the meet, but the team won fewer relays compared to previous years, losing a few events to opposing schools.

The biggest upset was Junior Varsity Girls taking third place behind Irvington High School and James Logan High School, who tied for first place. This is the first time the Junior Varsity Girls team has lost a meet in 33 years. “It was kind of a wake up call that we needed to try harder at practice,” said Junior Varsity swimmer Sophomore Sunny Sun. Despite this shortcoming for the Junior Varsity Girls’ team, the whole team has high expectations for the new season.

Moving forward with a new coaching staff, the team hopes to continue its legacy of winning MVAL and qualifying for NCS and States. ▪

Sophomore Thalia Lightstone swims freestyle.

Sophomore Jasper Wu and Freshman Hanlin Chen dive into the pool to begin their race.

photos by staff writer heather gan

Boys’ Tennis suffers loss to Logan

By Andrew Kan Staff Writer Boys’ Tennis competed against rival James Logan High School on March 15. The game ended in a 1-6 loss for the Warriors, continuing their losing streak against Logan from last year.

MSJ and Logan have long dominated Boys’ Tennis in MVAL and have been rivals for over 20 years. Last year, the team lost to Logan in both season games and were thus unable to qualify for NCS. This year’s teams remain similar to those of last year’s as neither team last year had any seniors. The team looked promising, with many talented freshmen making the Varsity lineup, whereas Logan’s team was relatively unchanged. The game was the season’s first MVAL match between the two teams, both of which were already 2-0.

Determined to not lose again, Boys’ Tennis had prepared a clear plan going into the match. According to Boys’ Tennis Coach Mike Jan, the majority of Logan’s strength is its top three singles players, so the Warriors looked to focus its strength into doubles to counteract that. Jan said, “With our doubles matches, we were hoping to outpower [Logan]. We are strong overall. But we know that they are stronger on singles, and weaker on doubles.”

As Jan predicted, the top three singles players were swiftly defeated, each losing 0-6, 1-6.

The Logan singles players demonstrated their skill with near-perfect consistency, power, and positioning, and MSJ soon trailed behind 0-3.

The other four matches were much more evenly matched. Each one of them was close, and it was difficult to discern early on which team would win. Every game was filled with rapid serves, well-placed volleys, and intense backand-forth rallies from both sides. At last, Logan broke the stalemate as Singles Player Sopho-

staff writer andrew kan

Freshman Pranav Tirumalai attempts to slice the ball.

more Shashank Eeda, took a 6-2, 6-3 loss.

Despite knowing the team had already lost, then three double teams continued to play intensely. Doubles Pair Juniors Dustin Do and Jae Kim lost their first set by a small margin, 4-6. In the next two sets, they channeled their frustration to focus on finishing points quickly and at the net. They soon took over the pace of their match and achieved MSJ’s only victory, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0. In the closest and longest match of the day,

Doubles Pair Sophomores Gautam Gudavalli and Ian Wong played patiently and tried not to attempt too many overly aggressive shots. Despite their effort, they had difficulty communicating, and they eventually lost 6-3, 3-6, 5-7.

In spite of the 1-6 defeat, the team remained optimistic. Jan said, “The matches were close.

We just did not close it out today … Overall I am pleased with the effort, but we need a little more practice to get over the hump.”

The team looks to continue improving and not lose any other matches. Jan said, “We just really have to focus more, and practice on the little things to take us to the next level.” ▪

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Sports 23

By Anagha Mandayam, Jenny Miao & Vicki Xu Staff Writers

Winter sports include Girls’ and Boys’ Basketball, Girls’ and Boys’ Soccer, Cheer, and Wrestling. In the Winter Sports Assembly, each sport announced its nominee for Winter Athlete of the Season. Here, the Smoke Signal spotlights these nominees and their accomplishments.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL : Michelle Lin Captain Junior Michelle Lin began playing basketball out of curiosity in fourth grade, when she discovered she enjoyed the sport, and has pursued it ever since. While this year’s team is relatively young and had a more difficult season, she is confident that the team will become more effective in future seasons. Lin loves the collaborative nature of basketball. Taking inspiration from everyone around her, she said, “I think that if I am going to play basketball, I might as well play hard ... so that I won’t look back in the future and regret not playing my hardest.”

WRESTLING: Michael CrawFord Captain Junior Michael Crawford began wrestling freshman year. After originally joining the football team, some upperclassmen suggested he try out wrestling, and he loved it. His journey has been a wonderful learning experience so far this year. He is always striving to improve, his biggest motivation being his opponents whom he has lost to. Along with being captain this year, Crawford went on to place fifth at the MSJ invitational and seventh at NCS. Crawford said, “I don’t really have plans to wrestle in college for now, but we’ll see.” His one piece of advice for his team is to constantly work hard in the room and to never give up in a match; with dedication like that, anything can be accomplished.

CHEER: Jiti Sarkar After watching several MSJ games and being captivated by the energetic cheerleaders, Captain Senior Jiti Sarkar joined the cheer team in her freshman year. Though she has had some difficult experiences, like becoming captain only as a sophomore, Sarkar has learned to become more confident and more herself.

On her greatest accomplishment, Sarkar said, “Over the summer, we went to cheer camp at [University of California, Davis]. There, I was an All-American nominee and was invited to cheer at events like the [London Varsity Spirit Tour], the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, Citrus Bowl, and others.”

BOYS’ BASKETBALL: Austin Chang Winter Athlete of the Season and Captain Junior Austin Chang has played on both school and club teams since fourth grade. This year was one of his best seasons, with twice as many wins as last year. Because working together is key in basketball, Chang’s teammates are his greatest motivation.

For this reason, he hopes to hold more bonding events next season, so team members can get to know each other better. Regarding sports, he said, “This is something you signed up for yourself, you put your time and effort into it, and no matter what you do you’ll be successful.”

GIRLS’ SOCCER: Maleni Morales Captain Senior Maleni Morales started soccer at just 8 years old, when she decided to try it out with her friends. Morales has been the Girls’ Soccer captain for two years. On some of this season’s difficulties, Morales said, “There was a period of time where we had to adjust to our new coach. There were also a lot of injuries and illnesses that we faced. I’m so proud of my team for learning to be resilient over the season.” Her biggest accomplishments include winning First Team All-League four years in a row, and winning Most Valuable Player this year. Morales will be playing with the Sonoma State soccer team this fall.

BOYS’ SOCCER: Vishal Ramana Throughout his entire 13-year journey in soccer, Captain Senior Vishal Ramana’s his greatest motivation is his family. As every season progressed, Ramana enjoyed getting to know his classmates and his team felt more like another family at the end of the season. As advice for younger players, Ramana said, “To always have fun while [you’re] playing. Sure, winning is important, but laughing on the field in the middle of the game is much more memorable.” His biggest accomplishment and most memorable game was against Washington High School, when MSJ came back from a 1-3 score, winning the game with a score of 4-3.

photos by staff writers anagha mandayam, jenny miao & vicki xu

24 Sports

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 31, 2017

Athlete Spotlight: Emily Lu

By Ella Chen Staff Writer Always on the lookout for talented student athletes, the Smoke Signal sat down with Junior Emily Lu, a competitive and decorated synchronized swimmer, and interviewed her about her swimming career.

The Smoke Signal: How did you start your career as a synchronized swimmer?

Emily Lu: I first got into it when my mom’s coworker told us about her daughter pursuing the sport. She said it was like gymnastics in the water and there are usually less injuries, and at the time, I really wanted to do gymnastics. I was in fourth grade and attended two weeks of gymnastics lessons before I switched over to synchronized swimming.

SS: What is the appeal of synchronized swimming?

EL: I love the team involvement aspect. A team has eight people, and a combo has 10 people.

For me, it’s a form of artistic expression. When I’m in the water with my team, I feel a sense of connection with them as we move to the music.

Junior Emily Lu pushes a lift.

courtesy emily lu

SS: What skills have you developed over the years? How has your career progressed?

EL: I swim with the Santa Clara Aquamaids, and there are different divisions for certain age groups. I compete team, combo, and duet.

I’ve really learned to balance school and swim, since I am gone for six hours every day afterschool. On Saturdays, practice ranges from four to eight hours, so I really have to manage my time wisely. Also, I have learned to listen to people’s opinions and compromise because synchronized swimming is a team effort. Sometimes, coaches come up with choreography ideas, but swimmers also offer input to design a performance. When I first started out, I wanted to have fun, because I was mostly going to local and regional tournaments. But once I became more competitive, I went to national and international meets in Greece, Puerto Rico, China, Russia, and Canada.

SS: Why have you continued to pursue this sport?

EL: I love it. Sometimes, my parents want me to quit because it’s so time consuming, but I can’t imagine my life without swim.

I’ve learned to balance; I can get my exercise in and spend time with my teammates, who are like sisters. Whenever I go to practice, my stress goes away and I can just focus on swimming and being in the water.

on represented the actual Netherlands team.

SS: Are there any particular role models that you look up to?

EL: Yes, I really look up to my coach Sonja.

She’s from the Netherlands, and I find her so inspiring. She has been to the Olympics twice, representing the Netherlands, but she gave up her life back home and moved to train in the United States. I admire how hardworking she is, because at first, she didn’t even make the actual Olympics team. She trained as an alternate and later

SS: What are your future goals as a synchronized swimmer?

EL: If I get offered, I’d like to swim on the collegiate level. I don’t think I’ll pursue the US Olympics team, but I don’t want to give up synchronized swimming altogether.

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Junior Emily Lu

SS: What was your most recent tournament?

How was your performance?

EL: My last tournament was in Arizona for West Zones. My club won first for every category. Regarding my performance, my duet won third place.

SS: Tell us about your most memorable

staff writer ella chen

swimming experience. What other tournaments will you be competing at this year?

EL: At the beginning of freshman year, I competed in Greece for the Mediterranean Cup, and my club actually represented the US there. We met swimmers from Russia, Spain, and Greece and saw how they trained. It was so amazing to see athletes I looked up to and admired there. My favorite memory is when we made podium at the tournament and I got to stand alongside the Russian and Spanish teams who got first and second place. For future tournaments, we will be going to Age Group Nationals in the first week of April. Since a lot of seniors are graduating, we are not sure if we have a full team to compete at the US Open this summer, but we are trying to go. ▪

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Smoke Signal

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Special 25

Gender and Sexuality

L GBTQ+ Issues

By Hannah Chou, Stephanie Dutra & Richard Chenyu Zhou Staff Writers

gay-straight alliance MSJ’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) is a student-run organization that serves to provide a safe place for students to meet and discuss issues regarding their sexuality and end homophobia and transphobia. In a community where people are often unintentionally homophobic, GSA offers a nonjudgmental place where LGBTQ+ students can be assured that their identity will not be questioned.

input from gay-straight alliance co-president senior james barrie The Smoke Signal: What is the purpose of the GSA club?

James Barrie: GSA first and foremost is a safe place for the LGBTQ+ community to congregate, assist each other, and get helpful resources. It is also an advocate group for the LGBTQ+ students on campus as well as a discussion center for both LGBT and ally students.

SS: What is the impact GSA has on the MSJ community?

JB: GSA mainly wants to keep people on campus safe and healthy. Contrary to popular belief, there are LGBT students on campus and they are as valuable as the rest of the community here at Mission. We want to provide a space to help that segment of the community with their problems and give them a network of students like them. By helping these students we’re hoping to keep the whole community here healthier.

transgender/ gender-neutral restrooms Schools across FUSD have begun implementing genderneutral restrooms. Currently, MSJ does not have an official gender-neutral bathroom in the office; instead, staff members can use any bathroom regardless of the gender the bathroom plaque indicates. The gender-neutral bathroom between the B-Wing and C-Wing requires a key from the staff in order to be used. In 2015, a unisex bathroom was installed in Washington High School for student use. American High School is also implementing gender-neutral restrooms in their new buildings. The intentions behind the implementation of these gender neutral bathrooms are good, but according to GSA members at their meeting on March 14, implementing gender neutral bathrooms is only the first step in creating an equal environment for people of all genders and sexualities. In order to truly understand how the policy will affect LGBTQ+ people, society as a whole must empathize with their struggles and recognize that simply implementing a policy will not immediately solve the cultural stigma against using a bathroom different from one’s perceived gender.

However, the Trump administration repealed Obama’s transgender bathroom order in a recent executive order, revoking protection for students to use bathrooms based on their self-identified gender. The executive order further alienates transgender and gender-nonconforming students. Although it may or may not change the attitude of the MSJ community, it makes it harder to achieve equity for all genders in an already cisnormative environment.

“Sometimes people think they [supporting] certain political positions and other stances [makes them] immune to being transphobic or homophobic when in actuality they do not. Even people who advocate for preferred pronouns and such don’t do [so] in real life.

Even though [the] surface culture is accepting, it’s not always the truth.”

sexual education The Sexual Education curriculum at MSJ tends to be primarily directed towards cisgender students and barely touches the surface of LGBTQ+ issues. FUSD adopted a more LGBTQ+ inclusive college textbook, Your Health Today, but according to a previous Smoke Signal article on sexual education published on June 3, 2016, “there has been controversy over...‘Your Health Today’ that has been deemed obscene by some parents because it included references to sexual games, fantasies, and toys.” Due to the fact that the health curriculum deals with sensitive issues about the human body and identity, the curriculum is constantly under scrutiny and is harder to change and develop to suit the modern society.

Featured below are some current issues surrounding the LGBTQ+ community both at MSJ and beyond. The Smoke Signal attended a Gay-Straight Alliance meeting on March 14, 2017 to collect input from members regarding these issues. Selected excerpts from their responses are featured anonymously below.

importance of straight/ cisgender allies The lack of LGBTQ+ visibility and positive representation can discourage queer students from speaking about their experiences and normalizing queerness. Therefore, allies, or straight and cis individuals who support their LBGTQ+ peers, are essential for LBGTQ+ people to feel accepted and be open about their identity without fear. However, being an ally means more than being politically in favor of the LGBTQ+ rights movement; it also means personally maintaining a safe environment for queer students and responding to their true identities with love and acceptance. Learning that a close peer is an LGBTQ+ student may be surprising due to society’s heteronormativity and cisnormativity. However, when student allies recognize that there is a substantial LBGTQ+ community on campus and encourage them to speak up, they can help make MSJ a safer environment for all identities.

“There are a lot of people who are allies but when people [subtly] throw homophobia with slurs and what not, it’s very uncomfortable. MSJ is pretty different, more of an implicit homophobia, not direct. [It] makes it much more nerve-racking because you don’t know who is homophobic; [you’re] scared of how [you] will be received if [you] don’t know who will be receptive.”

trans athletes According to a CA state assembly bill approved in 2013, students are permitted to participate in any sex-segregated school program or activity, including sport teams and competitions, and use facilities, such as locker rooms, based on the gender they identify with. In the US, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protect students’ rights to use whichever facilities they identify as. According to Athletic Director Thomas Thomsen, MSJ is generally accepting towards LGBTQ+ athletes participating in the school’s athletic programs and use of facilities because of the nature of sports itself. “I think sports and athletics has always been inclusive of any type of individual that wants to come out and participate in any of our athletic teams,” Thomsen said. “Athletics in general has always been pretty inclusive with a lot of the issues that maybe the population has not adopted yet, and I think that’s how people understand why there are sports.”

“The Asian majority both helps and hurts the community. The stigma in Asian cultures against homosexuals makes it harder to come out, but also the drive for academics makes it less focused on sexuality over grades.”

donating blood The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has certain regulations regarding an LGBTQ+ person’s eligibility in donating blood. Originally, men engaged in sexual activity with other men (MSM) were subject to a lifetime deferral from blood donation due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic that occurred in the 1980s, a policy opposed by both the American Medical Association and the American Red Cross. However, according to the American Red Cross website, FDA changed the MSM donation policy on Dec. 21, 2015 from a lifetime deferral to a 12 month postponement period. There is no deferral for women engaged in sexual activity with other women nor for transgender donors, but FDA requires all donors to identify their gender as either male or female. layout and coverage by centerspread editors ashley chang & mallika gupta & sports editors mustafa ahmed & cindy yuan

26 Special

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 31, 2017

By Jonathan Ko, Julia Park & Evie Sun Staff Writers

In its last installment of the special coverage series, the Smoke Signal discussed personal experiences and issues concerning race and ethnicity. Through demographics, personal stories, and graphic opinions, it aimed to open up the dialogue on racial issues and celebrate racial diversity present in the MSJ community. Similarly, the Smoke Signal’s second installment will explore issues surrounding gender and sexuality. It can be easy to assume that everyone at MSJ is heterosexual and genderconforming because this is what society considers the default. This effect is amplified by closeted students who may feel uncomfortable coming out in a potentially judgmental environment. This coverage hopes to recognize the diverse sexual orientations and gender identities on campus and encourage MSJ to become a more supportive, inclusive community. This coverage will feature LGBTQ+ topics relevant to MSJ, personal stories, and statistics gathered from a survey of the student body.

To better understand MSJ’s environment for the LGBTQ+ community, the Smoke Signal conducted a cluster sampling of students in eight English and Social Studies classrooms, two from each grade level. Out of the 262 students surveyed on March 10, 2017, 190 responded. While the following feedback illustrates an overall positive atmosphere surrounding the LGBTQ+ community at MSJ, the Smoke Signal also interviewed GayStraight Alliance Co-President Senior James Barrie for his thoughts on the survey results. The statistics gathered and presented here unveil student attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community and resources offered on campus.

The Smoke Signal: Do you think these survey results accurately depict the environment at MSJ? James Barrie: I would mainly disagree that the survey results accurately portray [what our] community here at Mission is like. Mainly that if you went inside a GSA meeting and gave the same questions you [would] see a lot more people disagreeing with the community here being accepting or that LGBT topics are approachable. I think it’s that people only know the surface at Mission, like people have that one gay friend who I’m cool with or talk to a lot, but they don’t see a lot of what we go through every day and what we struggle with.

SS: Based on the survey results, how would you describe the MSJ community’s knowledge on gender and sexuality issues?

JB: I think it’s very limited, mainly because a lot of school curriculum doesn’t involve LGBT top-

A woman who is romantically and sexually attracted to other women (Social Justice and Advocacy Department at the University of Florida)

A person who is romantically and sexually attracted to other people of their own gender; “gay” is usually used by men, but not always (Social Justice and Advocacy Department at the University of Florida)

One’s innermost concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither — how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. One’s gender identity can be the same or different from their sex assigned at birth (Human Rights Campaign)

An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth (Human Rights Campaign)

A person who is romantically and sexually attracted to two (or all) gender

(Social Justice and Advocacy Department at the University of Florida)

External appearance of one’s gender identity, usually expressed through behavior, clothing, haircut or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or feminine

ics. Like for example, even in an AP US History course, you don’t get a lot of LGBT coverage. You don’t get a lot of Stonewall or the AIDS crisis — maybe a blurb, but not a lot. It’s a metaphor for what you see at Mission since no one is really educated, no one really knows, not that many people come to GSA meetings.

We’ve had a good spike and increase in members, but that’s still a lot of people who aren’t getting the message. People might be like yeah, I support gay people, I support trans people, that’s a right they should have, but like the biggest thing I notice is that people throw around slurs on campus. They don’t even know that it’s wrong. So if someone is throwing out an fslur in a conversation they might think it’s fine. But someone who is LGBT or identifies as that and is near them thinks ‘Crap, this is not a safe situation to be in anymore.’ We have a lot of that around campus.

Individuals who experience fluidity in their experience of sexuality or gender and therefore do not identify strictly as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender; the term “queer” can also include those who do not identify as either gender (www.Liberateyourself.co.uk)

A pronoun or a set of pronouns that an individual would like others to use when talking to or about that individual (GSAFE)

(Human Rights Campaign)

Of, or relating to, or being a person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Conveys a wider, more flexible range of gender expression, with interests and behaviors that may even change from day to day (www.GenderDiversity.org)

Refers to behaviors and interests that fit outside of what we consider ‘normal’ for a child or adult’s assigned biological sex (www.GenderDiversity.org)

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Special 27

The following quotes are voluntary submissions that the Smoke Signal received from LGBTQ+ members of the MSJ community. These were sent in following our presence at the Gay Straight Alliance meeting on March 14, 2017. We indicated that if members wished to make additional comments they were welcome to reach out to us through our email.

“Fear and anger. Those were two of the dominant emotions I remember feeling when I faced the coming out process. I was so afraid that the people who loved me would love me less, would find me disgusting or disturbed when I revealed my secret. And I was so angry that there was one more aspect of my identity that would put me at a disadvantage in our society. I had been dealing with sexism for years, and now I had to navigate homophobia! And while some of my fears were confirmed in very painful ways, and continue to be whenever I stumble across the ignorant or fearful, I also now associate very positive feelings with being queer. After all, I finally get to live as my true, whole, authentic self in this world. And in embracing and expressing my full self, I have also experienced inexpressible love, support, and beauty. I am filled with more understanding and compassion. So while I still feel afraid or angry at times, I also feel very grateful to be a beautiful, strong, queer, femme woman in this world. I hope that someday, everyone appreciates and acknowledges me in the way that I deserve. This is my hope for all of us.”

— Teacher

Dear Editor, I write in response to Timothy Prickett’s letter titled “MSJ and the LGBTQ+ Community.” As a recent MSJ graduate who identifies as LGBTQ+ and who went through her coming out process during high school, I commend the Smoke Signal for highlighting a seldom-discussed aspect of identity and isolation at MSJ. I remember being terrified when venturing anywhere near the GayStraight Alliance room, the fear of being “found out” when I attended mock wedding, and the self-loathing and misery when a then-admired adult told me that my identity was irrelevant because they “didn’t want to know what happened in my bedroom.” I am still haunted by homophobic statements that some of my best friends made in my presence, not knowing that although I didn’t “look” gay, their statements shot daggers of ice through me. In hindsight, my struggle with my identity affected nearly every aspect of my MSJ experience – from feeling like I didn’t belong during boycrazy sleepover gossip, to having crippling anxiety over school dances and Valentine’s Day matching surveys. MSJ is far from perfect, and has a long way to go in ensuring that its LGBTQ+ students feel safe and loved.

My high school days of terror often feel like a distant past. Today, I attend an institution where every one in seven people I meet will identify as LGBTQ+ (13-16 percent). I go to Queer Advisory Council meetings at Harvard’s Office of BGLTQ+ Student Life, join the social and political meetings of various queer student groups (Harvard has more than I can name) every week, speak on LGBTQ+ panels, drop the phrase “my girlfriend” without concern, and haven’t ever “come out” to anyone here – there are no presumptions to begin with. I am blessed to be in a place where diversity of experience is celebrated, not hidden.

To all the MSJ students who, like high school me, are terrified of who they are, who secretly watch subtitled movies with rare LGBTQ+ representation, and who spend months deliberating which friends to tell and which not to – it gets better :) Whether or not you end up in the liberal northeast like I did, life after high school is better, as you become more comfortable with yourself it gets better, and as the world grows up and changes, it gets better. You are brave, strong, and deserving of love and happiness.

To MSJ students who identify as straight and/or cisgender, be an ally! Accompany a friend to GSA meetings, don’t assume preferred gender pronouns, and don’t make heteronormative presumptions. Take incentive to learn inclusive language and educate yourself on how best to, as Timothy said, “protect each other, no matter what our sexuality, race, gender, or religion is.” MSJ often tries to seem “perfect,” pushing its problems under the carpet (or in a closet!), but leaving homophobia and transphobia unaddressed only makes them worse. It is nerve-wracking at first, but when you call a classmate out for using “gay” as a derogatory term, check your hetero/cis-normative thinking, and respectfully address the cultural component of MSJ’s deepest stigmas and fears, you’re one step closer towards building a community to be proud of.

The tl;dr? Be an active, outspoken, and empathetic ally. You never know which of your closest friends will be forever grateful to you for it.

In gratitude and solidarity, Harshita Gupta MSJHS C/O 2016 Harvard University C/O 2020

“A lot of people either don’t know that asexuality and demisexuality exist or just don’t believe it’s real. It’s a part of the community that’s easily overshadowed and forgotten. I wish that people would stop telling me that being ace or demi isn’t a real thing, and I wish that other people wouldn’t have to be confused and a little lost like I was before I came across the term for my sexuality purely by chance.”

— Anonymous

“I’m nonbinary and I think I’m genderfluid as well?

Sometimes, I want to wear feminine clothes, but I don’t. It’s mostly because I’m not out to parents yet, but it’s also because I’m scared of how my peers will react. During Halloween I wore an apron that made me look like I was wearing a red and black dress, and people looked at me and said like “what the f*** are you wearing?” I feel that there’s more stigma (is that even the right word?) against guys in skirts than girls in pants. And to most of the school, I count as a guy. So even if dressing feminine will help me feel a bit more comfortable in my own skin, the reaction from other people more than outweighs it.”

— Anonymous

“It’s difficult to correct people when they use the wrong pronouns because pronouns seem like a trivial matter to cis people. To correct someone on pronouns is to admit that you’re made vulnerable by this trivial thing. And a lot of the time the question you get is: why does it matter anyways?

And you explain. Pronouns might just be words, but they reflect how you’re viewed by the other person. When someone calls me she, it tells me that they see me as a girl. If I’m already out to them, I start asking myself what I’m doing wrong. I scrutinize my body language, my clothing choices, my face, and my body. It’s nerve-wracking and bad for self-esteem. But cis people don’t understand that, so when you ask them to change their pronouns for you, you feel nitpicky and too demanding.”

— Anonymous

“I feel justified saying that it’s very anxietyprovoking to be LGBT+ and out at Mission. People want to be supportive but actually talking about these issues is a very taboo subject at this school. There’s a mindset of ‘It’s ok to be gay, just not where we can see you.’ If you try and talk to people about what you’re going through there’s always going to be someone calling you gay derisively or throwing out an f-slur. It’s this kind of pervading atmosphere that makes LGBT+ students here afraid to come out. I was really afraid myself, because I didn’t know if people were going to react badly or if that derision would come from someone close to me. Even now, over a year out of the closet, I still don’t feel comfortable discussing LGBT-related issues that effect me. The hardest thing a person can do is love their whole self, especially if they have been ashamed of one part for a long time. Having a strong, supportive community is the first step in that process.”

— James Barrie, 12

layout by centerspread editor mallika gupta