News in brief

Staff Writers

cess at the MLK Invitational. Despite being many members’ frst experience with in-person competition, the club received high placements across each division. Walia and Duhoon advanced to quarterfnals in the public forum category, receiving a qualifcation to compete at TOC, a major national tournament held each year in Lexington, Kentucky. President Senior Selina Kao and Secretary Junior Vedesh Kodnani went undefeated in preliminary PF rounds and ended at octofnals. In Informative Speech, an event that allows speakers to educate the audience on a topic of choice, Platform Captain Sophomore Shardul Marathe also proceeded to elimination rounds. “This event helped me improve massively as a debater and each round was a new learning experience,” Duhoon said.

“After several months of not competing, this tournament reminded me why I love debate. Although [we] hoped to advance a little farther, I was really happy to be the top speaker … spending time with the MSJ team and friends across the nation was invaluable.”

-Secretary Junior Vedesh Kodnani

As tournaments continue to return in-person, members are looking forward to getting back to both local and travel competitions. “The highlight was meeting friends from around the country in person, especially those who I have known for years through online debate,” Walia said. To support this transition, offcers are focusing on hosting more events outside of weekly labs and providing more resources to novice members. ▪

“A key takeaway was that people make a community, not the place. Even though we were hundreds of miles from home and where we normally compete, our friends made it feel no different than a normal competitor.”

-Competitor Senior Zaid Vellani

Local

City of Fremont activates Emergency Operations Center

With the local storms causing more damage each passing week, the City of Fremont has made the decision to reopen the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The EOC coordinates with the Fremont Offce of Emergency Services (OES), a branch of the fre department, to provide the public with information regarding the recent storms and other safety updates. They monitor the weather and alert the public if there are signs for any severe weather, and organize rescues of injured people. The overarching goal with this reopening is to give the public a credible stream of information regarding the weather,and to better prepare and protect citizens from the impacts of these storms.

“Now that this year is a very competitive season, I have been forced to step up my game and make sure all my speeches are fine-tuned … I feel as though I’m doing pretty well.”

-Platform Captain Sophomore Shardul Marathe corrections for the DEC. 16, 2022 issue

Niles Antique Co-Op is located at 37759 Niles Blvd.

Web: “Ghost in the Machine (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)” should be written as such

Protests against the expansion of coal mines in Lützerath

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg was briefy detained by German police on January 17 at Lützerath during a climate demonstration. Along with Thunberg, 6,000 others traversed through mud and rain to protest the expansion of the coal mines in Garzweiler which was pursued by electricity company RWE. The extension would destroy the town, and activists have been trying to prevent the mine’s growth for two years. However, recently Germany’s government struck a deal with RWE in 2022, allowing the demolition of Lützerath in order to move the date of RWE’s coal phase-out from 2038 to 2030. “This is a betrayal of present and future generations ... Germany is one of the biggest polluters in the world and needs to be held accountable,” Thunberg said.

On January 19, US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen told Congress that the US has hit its current debt ceiling — the legislative limit on the amount of national debt the US can reach — of $31.4 trillion. To avoid a default and continue fnancing government operations, the US Department of the Treasury is taking extensive measures, such as selling existing investments and suspending reinvestments of the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefts Fund. However, Yellen predicted that the measures will only last until June. In order to raise or suspend the debt limit by June, a simple majority must be reached in Congress, leading to a political battle between Republican and Democrat lawmakers.

Quirky

A customer enjoys a life-size statue of Han Solo made of bread.

Life-size Han Solo made with bread by Californian bakers

Hannalee Pervan and mother Catherine Pervan, co-owners of One House Bakery in Benicia, CA, spent weeks molding, baking and assembling a lifesized sculpture of Han Solo, as he appeared after being frozen in carbonite in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. The 6-foot bread sculpture, named Pan Solo, was made using wood and two types of dough, in order to ensure the sculpture lasts longer. The details of the character are striking, showing Han Solo’s desperate face and his hands straining to escape, and the pair spent weeks working to perfect the details. Hannalee Pervan told the New York Times that creating Pan Solo was especially meaningful, because she caught COVID-19 in January 2021 and largely lost her senses of taste and smell.