Vol. XLVIII, No. 9

MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL

VOL. XLVIII, NO. 9

June 14, 2013

41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539

Investigative Report: HVAC Revisted

staff writer shirby wang, schoolloop.com, courtesy ca deca, matt dynin

June 19 Last day of school

June 20 Graduation @ TAK Stadium 10:00 am

August 28 First Day of School

national rankings

iron man 3

tedxmsjhs

Find out why MSJ was ranked 10th in CA and 79th nationwide by US News and World Report.

Opinion

See what the Smoke Signal thinks of the newlyreleased Iron Man 3.

A&E

Read about the speakers at the second annual TEDxMSJHS, which took place on June 9 in C-120.

News

2 News

www.thesmokesignal.org

News in Brief Twitter to combat crime Twitter has become the newest crime-fighting tool for police forces around the world. Spain first utilized the social networking site to post messages and warnings against scams and other crimes. The Spanish National Police Twitter, @policia, is currently the second largest police Twitter account, losing out only to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Drug-related arrests have gone up by 300 in the past year from tip-offs after the police had tweeted about the suspect. Written in a humorous fashion by Carlos Fernandez Guerra, the funny tweets attract the Spanish population and help raise awareness.

reuters.com

Law enforcement agencies around the world have added Twitter to their arsenal of crimefighting tools.

Cicadas inspire Navy technology Researchers in the US Navy have turned to the cicada, a periodical insect that emerges from the ground every 17 years, for inspiration for new technology. Studying the insect’s acoustic abilities may allow the Navy to create technology for remote sensing and underwater communications. Cicadas have been known to be extremely loud, making sounds of up to 100 decibels. Creating a model based on the cicada’s sound-making may provide insight to make loud noise using very little power, which may be applied to ship-to-ship communications and rescue operations.

foxnews.com

The circada’s acousitc abilities are the inspiration for new Navy remote sensing and underwater communication technology.

New coaster at Great America California’s Great America unveiled its newest attraction, called the Gold Striker, on Saturday, June 1. Looming at an impressive height of 108.2 feet, Gold Striker is deemed as Northern CA’s tallest and fastest roller coaster constructed from wood. With speeds approaching 54 mph, the wooden rollercoaster boasts terrifying twists, stomach-dropping dips, and thrilling turns, leaving people exhilarated and amazed at the intensity of the amusement ride. This attraction is sure to draw visitors in throughout the summer.

New teacher contract

news editor nihar parikh

MSJ teachers rally before the May 8 FUSD Board meeting.

By Nihar Parikh & Kerrie Wu News Editor and Staff Writer After more than year of negotiation, the Fremont Unified District Teachers’ Association (FUDTA), representing over 1,600 teachers, and FUSD agreed upon a threeyear contract on May 29, after FUDTA members passed the contract with a vote. The new contract includes a four percent one-time salary increase for all teachers and a 1.5 percent ongoing, permanent salary increase beginning July 1, 2013 for the 2013-14 school year.

An additional 0.5 percent raise may occur, depending upon the amount of funding from the state.

According to FUDTA Organizing Team Chair Tony Bellotti, the tentative new contract’s four percent one-time bonus is welcome, and though the FUDTA negotiated only for teachers,

FUSD elected to give the bonus to all FUSD staff.

The contract, however, failed to meet the teacher’s demands on the reduction of class sizes. The contract sets the goal at a secondary class size staffing ratio of 27.5 to one but leaves room for adjustment up based on specific conditions. Additionally, the calculation of the staffing ratio does not always accurately reflect class sizes, often giving a lower ratio than the actual class size.

Both parties agree that the four percent bonus will take up a significant portion of the district’s reserves. “The cost of the four percent [one-time payment] is about $5.7 million. And yes, that will bring down the level of reserves,” said FUSD Superintendent James Morris.

However, representatives from FUDTA feel the effect will be nominal. “[The teacher’s union] anticipates that the district will still have additional money,” said Bellotti.

The last contract expired June 30, 2012, and the road to a new contract was mired in differences between the two parties. Bargaining began in March 2012, and FUDTA declared a bargaining impasse on March 5, 2013. According to the FUDTA website, at the time, FUDTA pushed for a two percent raise in salaries, a onetime one percent bonus, and some dental care benefits. FUSD offered a one percent raise and a one-time 1.75 percent bonus without any change in dental care benefits.

mercurynews.com

COMPILED BY STAFF WRITERS TINGTING BI, TIFFANY HUANG, PETER XU.

FUDTA also sought decreased class sizes of 24 students in K-3 classrooms and a lower staffing ratio of 27 to one for grades 7-12.

The district proposed class sizes of 29 for kindergarteners and 30 for grades 1-3, with a plan to reduce K-3 class sizes to 24 by the 201920 school year.

The first mediation session after the impasse was March 26, followed by others. On May 8, National Teachers’ Day, FUDTA organized a rally at the FUSD main office. The tentative contract, now approved after the vote by FUDTA members, was signed May 15

by FUSD and FUDTA. Teachers have taken losses of about $7 million in unpaid furlough days since 2009, and the FUDTA hoped to overcome some of that with the new contract. “The district has been very conservative with funds,” said Bellotti. “Even prior to Proposition 30, there was money for lowering class sizes, as well as caseloads for nurses and counselors, for example.”

The district had about $25.8 million, or 10.14 percent of the total budget, in reserves at the conclusion of the 2011-12 fiscal year.

The second interim budget report, approved by the FUSD Board of Education on March 13, 2013, projected a reserve of $22.2 million, or 8.52 percent for the 201213 fiscal year.

A reopener for negotiations to increase the salary may take place in 2014-15; until then, the agreement will be closed. “We think it is a fair settlement,” said Morris. ▪

New principal shares vision

By Jaynelle Gao Staff Writer It has recently been decided that MSJ’s principal for the 2013-14 school year will be Zack Larsen, an alumnus and the current vice principal of MSJ. The Smoke Signal had the opportunity to speak with Larsen, as he shared his vision for the school.

Smoke Signal: We understand that you are an MSJ alumnus. How long have you been working here at MSJ and what made you want to become principal?

Zack Larsen: That’s true, I am a graduate of Mission High School, Class of 1993. So I’ve been working here at Mission for six years, five years as vice principal and one year, my first year here, as an assistant principal. In those six years as a co-administrator, I saw a lot of positive changes happening at Mission and I wanted to continue those changes and expand on them.

I know that our students here have a tremendous capacity to learn but

staff writer jaynelle gao

Zack Larsen, MSJ’s current Vice Principal, was chosen as MSJ’s next principal for the 2013-14 school year.

they have a tremendous capacity as well to benefit and improve the lives of others. So I want to continue to support them and their intellectual quest but at the same time empower them to make measurable change in the world that surrounds them as far as service learning goes. In addition to that, working with the staff and the parents in this community is rewarding because everyone has the same goal, which is to do what’s best for the kids here.

for the may 3, 2013 issue

The creators of Gold Striker claim the roller coaster is the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in Northern CA.

The Smoke Signal

News page 1: Katrina Cherk is a freshman.

News page 1: Robin Van Deusen is misspelled.

News page 2: Peter Geschke’s name is misspelled.

Opinion page 5: James O’Brien’s name is misspelled.

Opinion page 6: Zuhayer Quazi’s name is missepelled.

Centerspread page 12: Steve Yung is a sophomore Centerspread page 12: Darrell Ng’s name is misspelled.

Centerspread page 12: Joanathan Chen’s name is misspelled.

Centerspread page 12: Tej Kalakuntla’s name is misspelled.

Centerspread page 12: Mizan Rahman’s name is misspelled.

Centerspread page 12: Mark Ruppert’s name is misspelled.

Sports page 21: The FroshSoph Track team is mispictured.

SS: Tell us about the responsibilities you have now and the responsibilities you will have as a principal.

ZL: As vice principal, I’m in charge of the master schedule, registration, STAR testing, and AP Chinese and Japanese testing. I oversee the yearbook and the Smoke Signal, not much to oversee there but I am in charge. And I am in charge of the

See PRINCIPAL, NEWS Page 4

Friday, June 14, 2013

Late start Wednesdays

By Peter Qiu Staff Writer

staff writer angie wang

As one of the only schools in the area that does not implement a block schedule or regular minimum day, MSJ plans to implement a new bell schedule slated to come in for the 2013-14 school year. Spearheaded by Vice Principal Zack Larsen, Assistant Principal Carli Kim, Psychology Teacher Tori Ha, and Math Teacher Scott Sugden, the bell schedule will push school days back an hour on Wednesdays by starting school at 9:00 am instead of 8:00 am. School will still end at the same time.

Part of the reasoning behind this schedule change is due to Common Core Curriculum and the associated preparation that comes with such a massive educational overhaul. Teachers plan to use the extra time before school for much needed collaboration.

The four Wednesdays in a month will be used for curriculum councils and department and faculty meetings, of which the latter two are required for all faculty. The last Wednesday of each month is to be used as a flexible or elective time.

Teachers can elect to use this time for inter-department collaboration, administering make up tests, answering questions from students, or just preparing material for the upcoming day. By opening up a window before school for meetings, teachers will no longer have to meet after school; the added meetings will also ensure a smooth transition towards new Common Core Curriculum.

Furthermore, MSJ will have to prepare for an upcoming visit in spring of 2014 from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). WASC is responsible for accrediting schools that continue to develop, improve, and display academic excellence over the years. A WASC accreditation will accredit transcripts as well as high school diplomas.

From a student’s perspective, this schedule change will relieve some stress by offering an extra hour of sleep on Wednesdays.

However, the pushback can come as a hassle for parents who must go to work at a set time every day. The students that aren’t within walk-

See SCHEDULE, NEWS Page 3

Friday, June 14, 2013

The Smoke Signal

Club announces grant recipients

www.thesmokesignal.org

New counselor to join MSJ

See PROJECT, NEWS Page 4

staff writer anna zeng

Current Counselors Merri Blum (left), Julie Andrews (right), and Lindsey Rotter (not pictured) will be joined by Joanna Jensen in the fall.

By Anna Zeng Staff Writer Joanna Jensen, the substitute counselor for Lindsay Rotter, who was on maternity leave, will be a permanent member of the MSJ staff starting in the 2013-14 school year. Due to a district budget update implementing state-wide educational funding changes, the District Board of Education elected to add additional counselors to high schools and middle schools in the Fremont Unified School District as the first of several changes.

On March 13, the District Board of Education updated its budget in anticipation of funding from Governor Jerry Brown’s state budget proposal as well as expanding student enrollment. Governor Brown’s budget proposal includes the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which aims to fix the “inequitably distributed school finance system” by introducing funding based on student demographics and headcount.

With district student enrollment projected to increase by more than 200 students annually in the next two years, the new funding system will enable the district to expand staff to accommodate.

Student receives $1000 scholarship

By Ishan Goyal Staff Writer On May 10, the Olive Hyde Art Gallery held its annual display for graduating FUSD seniors where it gave $4000 in scholarships and provided the students with the opportunity to sell their artwork. Senior Sherry Xiao received one of two honorable mentions along with a $1000 scholarship, while Irvington High School students won the other honorable mention and the first place.

Reflecting back on the event, Xiao said, “It was a really interesting look at the Fremont art community to see what other students were doing.”

The Olive Hyde Art Guild is a nonprofit organization funded by the city to showcase special exhibits and projects. The guild sponsors art education programs in schools and provides scholarships and awards for local student artists. In the past year, the gallery has hosted events displaying Women’s Figurative Art and Ceramics creations.

The Guild’s primary objective is to promote interest in and appreciation for visual arts while encouraging participation in activities involving the visual arts. The Guild hopes to broaden their scope and impact throughout the Northern California art community while bringing together a diverse group of

SCHEDULE| Changes continued from page 2

ing or biking distance must be dropped off at around 8:00 am. If they aren’t able to take advantage of this extra hour, all the time becomes a waste.

Nevertheless, parents have understood the need for this schedule change. The new schedule will hopefully bring more benefits

By Arushi Atluri Staff Writer Project Mission Education (Project ME) is a club at MSJ dedicated to raising money to help improve the school’s current condition and alleviate the effects of budget cuts.

This past month, the club granted the following individuals, departments, and clubs money: Sophomore Haroon Rasheed, Leadership 2’s Green Team, Spanish Teacher Herbert Gomez, Math Teacher Charlie Brucker, English Teacher Katherine Geers and AP Human Geography Teacher Bill Jeffers, MSJ Tech and Robotics, Academic Challenge Club, English Teacher Nina LaRosa, the Smoke Signal Advisor Sandra Cohen, MSJ Speech, and Science Teacher Arshiya Sultana. The money will be used to purchase items such as textbooks, televisions, a graphing calculator, molecular model sets, and much more. “It’s really exciting to be able to benefit the Mission community, and we hope that our impact will help these programs and clubs grow further,” says Project ME President Alekya Rajanala.

Founded by Alumnus Pulak Goyal in 2010, Project ME works in conjunction with Sirona Fuels and Salinas Tallow. Sirona and Salinas are local biofuel companies that take restaurants’ used cooking oil, then use this waste to produce biodiesel fuel. Burning this fuel instead of conventional diesel fuel reduces greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants by 80 percent. Project ME club members and officers work to solicit different restaurants and businesses that are willing to donate their oil to the companies; for every restaurant that the club is able to

News 3

artists. The guild provides scholarships to students pursuing a higher education at an accredited school or college for the study of a visual art.

Students who wished to apply for this scholarship had to meet a series of requirements before they were eligible for the merit, such has having a minimum GPA of 2.50.

The process began with the submission of their portfolio which consisted of four to six pieces of artwork. After submitting the components of their application, the student’s artwork was then displayed and observed by the general public. The event attracted art patrons and enthusiasts. Xiao, who had the honor of actually selling two of her paintings, said, “It was inspiring that people were interested in my work.”

Xiao’s success at the gallery is not unheard of at MSJ. In 2012, MSJ Alumni Daniel Lee and Tian Shi received first place and an honorable mention, respectively.

The MSJ campus is a reflection of the creative and artistic aptitude of MSJ students. A new mural is joining the multiple displays of art around campus. To read more about the new mural, visit www.thesmokesignal.org ▪

courtesy sherry xiao

“Aesop,” partially pictured above, was one of six works submitted by Xiao to the Olive Hyde Art Gallery exhibition.

With this new state-level education funding system, the District Board of Education decided to gradually reduce class sizes in schools within the district for the upcoming school year and add 13 support staff members throughout the district. In the district, the average high school staffing ratio is projected to decrease to 27.5 to one in the next two years, and, due to additional LCFF targeted funding, average K-3 class sizes may drop to 24 to one in the next six years. FUSD’s implementation plan also aims to ensure the safety of students and staff through the addition of counselors in junior high and high schools, as well as three assistant principals for large elementary schools. One counselor will be added to each of the 10 FUSD high schools and junior high schools, helping ease the student-counselor ratio. The current counselors at MSJ, who bear a student-counselor ratio nearly three times higher than the recommended maximum of 250 to one, are ecstatic about the change.

“We’re beyond elated. A caseload of 740 to one is ridiculous; now it will be more like 550 to one, which is still quite large, but such a relief for all of us, as well as for the students,” says Counselor Merri Blum.

“We’ll be much more accessible.”

“Since our primary focus is to do what is best for kids, I’m hoping this schedule allows for a smooth implementation of Common Core State Standards, as well as an opportunity to successfully and thoughtfully evaluate our programs to ensure a sixyear WASC accreditation,”

-Vice Principal zack larsen

than drawbacks. Teachers will now have more time to prepare, and students won’t be half-lethargic from coming to class at 7:00 am to take a test. “Since our primary focus is to do what is best for kids, I’m hoping this schedule allows for a smooth implementation of Common Core State Standards, as well as an opportunity to successfully and thoughtfully evaluate our programs to ensure a six-year WASC accreditation,” says Larsen. ▪ Jensen’s role in the office will be identical to those of the other counselors. Like the other counselors, she will also be writing recommendation letters for students and providing student guidance. The number of students assigned to each counselor will decrease significantly as last names will be redistributed among the four counselors.

“I like it a lot [here]. It’s very interesting and different from where I worked previously in [various] elementary and middle schools,” says Jensen. “Everyone’s wonderful here, I really enjoy it.” ▪

4 News

www.thesmokesignal.org

Friday, June 14, 2013

The Smoke Signal

Proposed changes to K-12 funding PRINCIPAL | Larsen appointed principal

By Laura Chen Staff Writer On May 24, 2013, CA’s Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee adopted a school funding formula in SB 69 which would grant more money per student than would be received under Governor Jerry Brown’s May budget revisions.

Brown proposed to allot $2.9 billion to K-12 education, an improvement from his January budget proposal thanks to higher-than-expected revenue from a better economy and housing market. Under Brown’s revisions, $1.9 billion would be used to pay back budget deferrals, or money owed to school districts from previous years, while $1 billion would be given to districts as a onetime grant towards implementation of the Common Core standards. The $1 billion of new funding translates to $170 per CA student, which would grant FUSD $5.6 million.

Brown’s revisions also emphasized the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which would provide districts that have a majority of high-need students (English learners, students from low-income families, and foster children) with additional funds, or concentration grants.

Because the LCFF raised equity issues with districts that had fewer high-needs students, Senate Democrats developed an alternative that would eliminate concentration grants and instead, increase the base grants for all students and raise supplement grants for high-need students by an average of $545 per student. Under SB 69, FUSD would receive $104 more per student than

it would have given Brown’s May revisions.

In total, FUSD would receive about $9 million, $4.6 million more than the $5.6 million granted by Brown’s May proposal.

Whereas Brown’s LCFF would have been enacted in the 2013-14 school year, SB 69 would not take effect until 2014-15. However, SB 69 is similar to Brown’s proposal in that it emphasizes accountability by removing categorical funding to give districts the flexibility to choose how they spend their money.

The Assembly Committee on Budget also created an alternative LCFF plan which maintains the main structure of Brown’s revisions but decreases the supplemental and concentration grants which would fund highneed students and districts with a majority of high-need students. After considering the alternative plans offered by the Senate and Assembly Budget Subcommittees, the Legislature has until June 15 to submit a final budget to the Governor.

“The Assembly Budget Subcommittee and the Senate Budget Committee came up with their version of LCFF, but this is not yet the final budget. More hearings will be coming in the next few days or weeks and other changes might still come up. Both proposals [seem] to offer more funds for the school district as compared to the Governor’s Revised proposal,” said FUSD Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Raul Parungao. With increased education spending at the state level, FUSD is optimistic. “We remain hopeful that when the final budget is passed, it will finally provide some relief and will allow us to focus our attention on what is really important, teaching and learning,” said FUSD Superintendent James Morris. ▪

PROJECT| 2013 grant recipients continued from page 3

recruit, Sirona or Salinas donates a portion of the profit they make from sale of the used cooking oil directly to the club. The club then distributes the money received through grants. “Any individual, club, or department affiliated with the school can apply for a grant,” says Project ME Public Relations Officer Jeyashri Sridhar, “Once we get all the applications, the officers and advisors review everything, and we decide how the

“It’s really exciting to be able to benefit the Mission community, and we hope that our impact will help these programs and clubs grow further.”

-Alekya Rajanala, 12

funds will be allocated.” Project ME also gets some of its funds through its relationship with Exide Battery Corporation; the club collects used car batteries and delivers them to Exide for recycling. For every battery received, Exide donates $8.75 directly to the club, and this money is also distributed in the grants.

Two years ago, Project ME donated $500 to the English department to buy new books, and this year the club was able to give away $4,325, more than eight times the amount in previous years. “We hope that next year’s officers are able to expand the club and sign up even more restaurants to work with Sirona and Salinas,” says Project ME Vice President Neha Verma, “The goal is to give away even more money than we did this year, and we can only do that

continued from page 2

PE department and the Social Studies department. As Principal, I am also in charge of the master schedule but in addition to that, I’m in charge of staffing, all the departments in general, all the support staff at this school, which is the custodians, secretaries, and maintenance technicians. I’m in charge of MSJ Boosters, which benefits Fine Arts and Athletics, Mission Possible which is an overarching parent group that supports all the programs here at Mission, and ASB along with all funds, accounts, and scholarships at this school.

“I know that our students have a tremendous capacity to learn but they have also a tremendous capacity to improve the lives of others.”

-principal-select zack larsen

SS: What are a few top priorities you wish to address during your time as principal?

ZL: My top priority, I would say, for Mission is ensuring students continue to make academically and socially responsible choices when choosing classes so that they can maintain integrity in their decision making.

Bottom line, what I mean is they don’t feel pressure put upon them to cheat and make choices that could, down the line, really have dire consequences for them. So that’s one of my major focuses academically. I think we are also constantly having to look for what students need to be college and career-ready and taking a look at the courses we offer to ensure that those courses are going to meet those needs. That’s why we have AP Computer Science coming and we also have Project Lead the Way, the hands-on engineering course starting next year, so that we’re responsive in putting students out into the career and college arena ready-to-go. Those are some things academically that I feel strongly about. Ad-

ditionally, facilities. Next year is going to be Mission’s 50th Anniversary so you have a 50-year-old facility that’s had some maintenance but a lot of deferred maintenance, which means nothing has happened. So we’re really looking for the opportunity to address what needs the facility has and we’re going to do that through the community bond, which the school board is supporting, which will be coming up in either November 2013 or June 2014. And identifying the needs that this school has, and there are many, because it’s now 50 years old and was built for about 1500 to 1600 students and we have 2200 students here so we’ve got to look at what infrastructure here needs to be remodeled, changed, or added to support students and what their learning goals are for the next century.

“My top priority, I would say, for Mission is ensuring students continue to make academically and socially responsible choices when choosing classes so that they can maintain integrity in their decision making.”

-principal-select zack larsen SS: What are you looking forward to most for the rest of this year or the next school year?

ZL: One thing is I don’t ever look forward to endings. While I’m very excited to become principal, I’m not excited for this year to end because I always will miss the seniors that are graduating and I’ve just never been one that does countdowns or been excited for an end to come. I enjoy breaks but I don’t look forward to endings. That being said, what I’m looking forward to next year is working with the staff and students to make sure Mission remains a top-notch school for kids and that every student here feels a part of the school and, if not, to look for ways to ensure inclusion and collaboration for all students. That’s what I’d be looking for. ▪

Longevity Quality Dedicated Personal Invaluable One-of-a-Kind Experience Dynamic Talented Faculty Customized

15 Reasons. 15 Years. staff writer arushi atluri

Leadership 2’s Green Team plans to use their grant to expand the garden they have planted near the vandal house.

by putting ourselves out there and recruiting members who know of restaurants that may be willing to sign up.”

For more information and details about how each winner plans to use their grant money, visit www.thesmokesignal.org. ▪

Outstanding Meaningful Insightful Creative Fun Small Groups Results Driven

We continue to provide students a personal educational experience in writing, reading comprehension, analysis, SAT preparation, math and science tutorials Come join us for our upcoming session!!

Mi ll Creek A c A d e m y, L L c

staff writer arushi atluri

Math Teacher Charlie Brucker will use his grant money to purchase Apple Graphing Calculator 4.0 for Mac OSX.

www.millcreekacademy.com Email us at: directors@millcreekacademy.com Phone: 510-353-0400 1544 Washington Boulevard, Fremont, CA 94539

Friday, June 14, 2013

The Smoke Signal

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Opinion 5

jessica zhang, 11

rachel chang, 12 terri shih, 11

STUDENT OPINION

alisha matharu, 10

The Smoke Signal asked guest artists to submit artwork for our fourth annual guest Graphic Opinion spread.

madeline zheng, 10

rachel chang, 12

kathryn shim, 11

christie chong, 11

samantha chiang, 10

christina yu, 10

6 Opinion the

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Smoke Signal perSonali speaking

Mission San Jose High School Est. 1964 Vol. 48, No. 9 | June 14, 2013 www.thesmokesignal.org

You Only Leave Once

By Sonali Toppur Opinion Editor

41717 Palm Ave. Fremont, CA 94539 (510) 657-3600 Editors-in-Chief Frank Chen, Allan Ko News Nihar Parikh, Aishwarya Thakur Opinion Kyle Qian, Sonali Toppur Feature Jin Peng, Jade Shi Centerspread Rachel Choi, Anusha

Rijhsinghani A&E Tanya Raja, Alekya Rajanala Sports Kenny Jacoby, Vishak Menon Graphics Angie Wang, Sherry Xiao

Web Jaynelle Gao, Jonathon Teng Tech Sai Chilakapati, Anna Zeng Business Vivian Jair Circulation Supriya Yelimeli Ads Grace Wu, Lindy Zeng Events Anjali Kanthilal, Kerrie Wu Writers & Photographers Anita Alem, Arushi Atluri, Tingting Bi, Jason Chen, Laura Chen, Leah Feuerman, Ishan Goyal, Catherine Ho, Genevieve Huang, Tiffany Huang, Nina Krishnan, Irisa Lee, Marisa Lenci, Hairol Ma, Peter Qiu, Aamir Rasheed, Hannah Shih, Sanjay Sreekumar, Tammy Tseng, Peter Xu, Angela Wang, Catherine Wang, Shirby Wang

Advisor Sandra Cohen Send letters to the editor to opinion@the smokesignal.org. Letters under 300 words

may be considered for publication and must include a full name and school affiliation.

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

As graduation draws closer I find myself a little surprised at the fact that I’ve finally made it.

It feels like it wasn’t too long ago when I was a slightly smaller version of myself in sixth grade looking over at the high school seniors with awe and amazement. I had some definite and concrete expectations of those young adults. They seemed so much older and wiser than me with their arsenal of experiences, knowledge, and textbooks I could barely fathom carrying.

I had other expectations too. Back then, I thought that all those older kids knew where they were going, and what they hoped to accomplish. After all, they were a very old 18 years of age, which to a sixth grader is pretty much middle aged.

I’m not sure why the younger me thought that I’d have it all figured out by now. However, when I look around I realize that there are more than a few peers who are worrying along with me, wondering whether there is something wrong with us for not having a clear direction or goal in mind. Some of us don’t have that favorite subject we want to pursue with determination. Some of us haven’t found what we’re passionate about. Some of us don’t know what our dream job or dream lifestyle looks like yet.

It strikes me that we aren’t already 18. In fact, we’re only 18. We are young; We haven’t experienced very much depth in our education relative to the

type of immersion possible at college level. We haven’t learned too much of any importance in our classes. We’ve only begun to learn how to think, to question, and comprehend, barely scratching the surface of the endless possibilities that lie ahead of us.

It’s frightening, like entering a tunnel that you can’t see an end to.

But we have to trust that if we keep pushing forward, eventually we come out at the other end. I strongly believe that it’s a series of choices and courses of actions that define our lives, and while not all of the choices we make are going to be the right ones or the best ones, a little confidence goes a long way. We don’t yet know what these choices are, but this is our chance to explore our options and expose ourselves to a diverse group of people each with different perspectives and ideas. This is a time for growth. Before we decide who we want to be, we need to know what the possibilities are.

I hope to start this new leg of my life with a positive attitude, along with the confidence that if I am determined to find my passions, with hard work I can find them. I am humbled to have the opportunity to start this journey.

It takes a lot of courage to take that blind first step, but take that step with strong intention and confidence. This is not the end, but the beginning. ▪ Send letters to the editors to opinion@thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Friday, June 14, 2013

right on Q My Final $0.02

By Kyle Qian Opinion Editor

I had such lofty plans for how I’d spend my second semester, then I took a breath…aaand it’s June. Darn. There goes my plan to get buff while cutting class every day.

From when I first came to MSJ all the way to the end of first semester senior year, I never stopped consulting older friends and peers for advice. Admittedly, most of it was asking for ways to maximize grades, but occasionally they’d share with me more meaningful slices of their life at MSJ and beyond. With that said, here is my brief potpourri of advice for each class.

To the freshmen: that wasn’t so bad now, was it? Hopefully you took your time to relax, because it’s only going to get harder from here. Inevitably you’ll hit some rough patches along the way, just as you will encounter amazing experiences you’ll think back to decades from now. But all that’s okay, because you all grow up along the way. High school may still seem big and scary, but take it from a second semester senior that it’s one of the few times you still have left to try new things with no real consequences. So expand your horizons and find something that clicks; you’ll see what I mean later. Oh, and please don’t spend your summer with an SAT book.

It’s not time for that yet, if ever.

To the sophomores: take it easy next year, seriously. The point of AP tests is to give you a few extra credits for when you get to college, not for showing off how smart or studious you are. Each

day you spend self-studying the AP Econ or Gov tests is a day you could be spending pursuing greater things and expanding your horizon (see note to the freshmen).

In the end, the time you spend learning about yourself and reflecting upon your place in the world is going to pay itself back tenfold.

To the juniors: start those applications early. Ah, who am I kidding? Graduating seniors say this every year, yet incoming seniors procrastinate every year and bond over the experience. It’s like some weird rite of passage. In all seriousness though, work hard on that senior profile and work even harder on those personal statements. This is where the stuff I told the sophomores comes into play. The more time you spend exploring and reflecting, the more meaning you’ll find, not just for the purposes of completing an application, but for personal development that will last a lifetime. In short, you don’t have to have an amazing life, just something amazing to say about it.

Finally, to the Class of 2013: there’s nothing that I need to say that hasn’t already been said, so I’ll keep this short.

Some of you guys I’ve known since my Mission Valley beaver days, and some of you I’ve only met recently. Whatever the case may be, I’m glad you were all a part of my life, and I wish you all the best of luck and…wait we have Facebook now, don’t we? Ah yes, Facebook: making high school reunions simultaneously more and less interesting since 2004. ▪ Send letters to the editors to opinion@thesmokesignal.org

EDITORIAL:

Undressing the Dress Code The Opinion of the Smoke Signal Editorial Board We acknowledge that a school environment does need a dress code and administrators must enforce it as part of their jobs. By no means do we want to get rid of the dress code, but we do want to reevaluate parts of it in order to make the code more reflective of the values of the students, parents, and staff. If we can revise the codes, we wouldn’t need to go to extreme lengths to enforce it.

Measures like handing oversized t-shirts to students would be largely unnecessary.

The FUSD School Code BP 5132 says that student dress should be “conducive to the advancement of their education and dress in a manner that is not disruptive nor a safety hazard to others. Any clothing […] which creates a clear and present danger of imminent commission of unlawful acts on school premises, the violation of lawful school regulations, or the substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school is prohibited.” It also states that dress must support a “serious, business-like, safe environment for learning.”

This reasoning is valid; gang-related clothing could create serious disturbances, walking around with bare feet could be dangerous, and tap plates on shoes could damage school property. However, the majority of the dress code violations that students are called out for don’t seem to create a “clear and present danger” or a “substantial disruption”. In particular, Section 2 of AR 5132 cites that students may not wear sleeveless or off the shoulder tops, shortshorts, or miniskirts higher than mid-thigh.

Many of the clothes that constitute dress code infractions are appropriate in the prevailing

social culture. We see professionals in the field, such as female newscasters, who wear sleeveless blouses as the norm, so students have no reason to believe that this clothing is inappropriate. Because of this, students continue wearing items like sleeveless blouses or shorts that are short but not indecent in spite of the dress code and the staff ’s time and effort is spent policing the students who violate it.

Dress code should be reevaluated to be more reflective of present day student and parent values. If the dress code was updated to match what the majority perceive as appropriate, the time we currently use to enforce dress code could be used more productively. Enforcing a dress code that the students and the parents (who are okay with their children leaving the house dressed in a certain manner) disagree with is a quixotic task. The school’s rules will not be able to reverse the tides of the popular culture.

Instead, the code should be adapted to reflect the changing times and keep the time spent on the enforcement of these infractions in proportion to their gravity.

If we can come to a more inclusive and representative dress policy, as a community we will have more of an incentive to uphold it. The administration should not have to fight against the student body in the way it has been forced to, and the students should not feel that they have to be held to standards they feel are too restrictive based on current practices. ▪

Send letters to the editors to opinion@thesmokesignal.org

staff writer irisa lee

feature editor jade shi

Friday, June 14, 2013

The Smoke Signal

In the 2005 Grand-Jury-Prize-winning documentary Why We Fight, prolific writer Gore Vidal told audiences “We live here in the United States of Amnesia. No one remembers anything before Monday Morning…They have no history.” It’s true— we’re selectively blind and selectively forgetful, even when we don’t mean to be.

Notoriously shameful stories don’t stay in our minds for long enough to induce real change. The story of the garment-factory collapse in Bangladesh late last month is jarring yet all too familiar; we’ve heard the stories about blood diamonds, child labor, and Nike sweatshops—but when news broke about the factory collapse and the consequent death toll that climbed past 1000, we were all shocked. Shocked that the building fell, shocked that so many were either injured or dead.

Many companies were quick to point out that Bangladesh has extremely relaxed regulations and that the government has only allocated a few inspectors for hundreds of thousands of government factories. However, this is entirely the wrong response. We can’t deny that we were somehow aware this was going to happen; in fact, we’re part of the reason that it happened in the first place. We know that the clothes we buy are manufactured by outsourced labor, the working conditions are hazardous, and that the employees are living below the poverty line. Just last spring, Apple came under scrutiny after reports of worker suicides at Foxconn’s

plants in China surfaced. These factories are ultimately the responsibility of the American and European companies that employ these workers to make their imported clothing and products. These companies chose Bangladesh because of the lack of regulations. So far, only one Irish company has promised reparations— other companies refuse to bump up security measures.

Though the government of Bangladesh says it plans to recruit new inspectors, the statement will be difficult to believe until both companies and factories take effective action against the mindset that cutting corners is justified as long as the clothes are shipped out and the money rolls in. “No one turned up at our factory to ask about fire safety after the Tazreen fire,” Bangladeshi garment worker Abu Bakar told the Huffington Post in a reference to the deadly fire that had killed 112 just five months ago.

It is unreasonable to expect a third-world country essentially undergoing an Industrial Revolution to regulate itself. The US went through a similar period of horrible working conditions in the 19th century, and should be empathetic to the issues that Bangladesh is currently facing. When companies such as Disney pull out of a

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country, they are essentially giving up on the nation and its workers. And the people of Bangladesh are sorely in need of these companies, as according to National Geographic, 80 percent of the country’s GDP is made up of textiles exports. It is also obvious that all companies are not going to suddenly pull out, so they must be the ones to effect change.

Large companies can’t state costs, both on the consumer’s and manufacturer’s side, as a deterrent against implementing changes. For just an extra three cents to the cost of a UK-bought tshirt, consumers can double the salary of a garment worker who currently lives off of $38 per month. Every company can spare at least two or three inspectors to go to these factories undercover to ensure that the conditions are safe for a few months at a time. If the conditions are unsafe, it is the company’s responsibility to work with the factory owners and government to instigate change.

As Americans, MSJ students also have the responsibility to be aware of where our clothes are made and in what conditions. Bangladesh is the third largest exporter of textiles to America, and 98 percent of the clothes sold in the US are imported. We tend to stereotype Walmart as being the prime suspect of unfair labor practices, but even popular, fashionable stores like H&M employ Bangladeshi workers. In fact, both Walmart and H&M

Opinion 7

employed workers at the garment factory that caught fire and killed 112 Bangladeshis in 2011. Although European companies H&M and Zara have signed a safety accord, American companies such as Walmart, Gap, and Sears have refused, which suggests that this agreement may not be helpful at all.

Check the labels on the clothing in your closet, and chances are, at least half of your clothes are made in Bangladesh. Research companies and their labor practices before purchasing clothes, but instead of not purchasing clothes made in Bangladesh, aim your efforts towards changing the companies. As consumers, we ultimately control the companies, and if we don’t act, the companies have no incentive to change their practices. It’s far from impossible for a company to make a turnaround; though sportswear giant Nike hasn’t perfected its practices yet, it became a leader in tackling inhumane conditions when it realized protest efforts were leading to a weak demand in their products.

Never underestimate your own power in these matters. Through protests and rallies, students can increase these workers’ paychecks and improve their conditions. It is up to us to make sure that a tragedy on this scale never happens because of our own ignorance. ▪

cutcaster.com

Jason Collins: Don’t Celebrate Yet

By Nihar Parikh News Editor

On April 29, 2013, Jason Collins broke a glass ceiling. Collins, a journeyman NBA center who ended this season with the Washington Wizards, became the first male athlete in a major professional team sport to come out while still an active player. However, media coverage of this momentous event has brought to light the rather shocking reality of the current state of our nation’s acceptance of the LGBT community.

With the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, election of our first openly gay Senator, and the consideration of the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act by the Supreme Court, we have clearly made progress in the political realm on the societal issue of gay rights. However, more and more evidence is emerging that this progress has been limited to the public sphere. The state of affairs internally within teams, corporations, and homes seems to be much different.

Media coverage of Collins’ announcement has supported this. Most reporters inflated Collins to a hero, highlighting his personal struggle with the issue and his path towards the announcement, but it was clear that there was still ambiguity regarding the most pertinent question, “What will the reaction be in the locker room?” Collins’ response to interviewers always fell along the lines of, “We will wait and see.”

Therefore, we can only define Collins’ courage as a catalyst for change, not a confirmation that change has already oc-

curred. Collins has been elevated to a trailblazer, but in actuality, a much larger base of players, coaches, and fans need to show privately and publicly that they are ready for acceptance for a monumental change to occur.

Unfortunately, this seems easier said than done. In the past two years alone, athletes like the San Francisco 49ers’ Chris Culliver and Atlanta Falcon’s Roddy White, sportscasters like ESPN’s Chris Broussard, and numerous fans have publicly released anti-gay statements and remarks. It is safe to say that the number who have privately expressed an opposition to gay players is exponentially more.

Although not as evident in the “politically correct” media, there is still a social stigma associated with accepting and associating with gay members of society. Supporters of this taboo have constantly defended their stance by emphasizing the unique form of camaraderie present on sports teams. They claim that even though players rarely pass judgment on other players’ actions outside the locker room, they feel unfamiliar with the redefined social boundaries and uncomfortable with innate intimacy of the locker room environment.

The root of this mentality traces all the way back to high school and collegiate sports teams. A permanent solution to this issue can’t be isolated on the highest level; it must be worked into the psyche of our youngest athletes.

Jason Collins’ historic announcement is a step in the right direction for the proliferation of acceptance for the LGBT community in our society at large. But a more concerted, internal response from the sports realm is the only way we can finally make the transition to a changed world. ▪

what are you looking forward to next year?

“I look forward to energetic Wednesdays.”

-Joshua Chan, 9

“I anticipate being an upperclassman! Oh, and that two story building? I can finally sell elevator passes!”

- Claudia Shao, 10

“I am looking forward to going on roadtrips with my friends after college apps are over!”

-Annie Chen, 11

“I am really excited to participate in Army ROTC at SCU.” -Joshua Shao, 12

photos by graphics editor angie wang & staff writer catherine wang

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Friday, June 14, 2013

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TheSmoke SmokeSignal Signal The

Friday,June June14, 14,2013 2013 Friday,

“Be healthy, be strong, and remember you have the power to do amazing things in this world.”

By Aamir Rasheed Staff Writer

- Principal Sandra Prairie

a farewell and thanks to principal sandra Prairie

By Aamir Rasheed Staff Writer

MSJ Principal Sandra Prairie will be retiring after serving five years as principal and nine years as assistant principal. During her career at MSJ, she has worked to implement numerous reforms and improvements that will be forever felt by MSJ. Prairie began her career in education in 1988 at Horner Junior High, teaching the social studies and English courses for the 7th and 8th grade. She briefly served as an Assistant Principal for American High School in 1997 before she was hired as Vice Principal for MSJ in the spring of 1999. In 2008, after Principal Stuart Kew retired, she was MSJ Principal Sandra Prairie will be retiring after serving five years as principal and nine years as assistant princiselected to be theDuring principalher for career MSJ. at Mission, she has worked to implement numerous reforms and improvements that will be pal.

Prairie immediately went to work to improve the schoolforever community. beganposterity. working with Stressed out Students (SOS) and Mission Possible, expanding and lending felt She

by MSJ’s more support to such programs the career Rising Seniors Night, the annualatHealth Fair,Junior and Stress-Free Week. She also established the quarterly Prairie beganasher in education in 1988 Horner High, teaching the social studies and English “town hall meetings” to provide a forofthe 7th and 8th grade.

She brieflydirectly servedwith as an Principal American High School in 1997 platform for allcourses members the MSJ community to communicate the Assistant administration.

Gift andfordonations to the school increased by over 600 percent between 2007 before she was hired as Vice Principal MSJwith in the springand ofparents.

1999. In 2008, after Principal Stuart Kew retired, and 2008 largely because of these efforts to connect morefor directly students she wasduring selected to betenure. the principal forPrairie MSJ. has helped to establish school-wide Wi-Fi, get 100 netbooks for general MSJ has also seen a dramatic expansion in technology Prairie’s Since 2008, Prairie immediately went to work to improve the school community. She began working with Stressed out school use, Students and, more (SOS) recently,and 70 Mission iPads for use in classrooms. On the academic side of things, MSJ will be offering AP Computer Science as well as Project Lead the Way, Possible, expanding and lending more support to such programs as the Rising Seniors and engineering-themed for the 2013-14 school year.

Night, the annual Health Fair, and Stress-Free Week. She also established the quarterly “town hall meetings” to Perhaps one of the most noticeable during these pastcommunity five years has her work with ASB and Mission Possible for the general provide a platform for all changes members of the MSJ tobeen communicate directly with the administration.

Gift campus beautification, which and donations schoolbillboard, increased byC-120, over 600 centthebetween 2007has andleft2008 largely far because of thesethan efforts includes landscaping aroundto thethe electronic near and per around library, which the campus more beautiful before. to connect directlythrough with students and parents.

Prairie’s love for the student population is what has kept more her motivated all these years to make MSJ a better place. When asked for a final message for the student MSJ has“Be also seen be a dramatic thehave technology Prairie’sthings tenure.

Since 2008, Prairie has helped population, Prairie said, healthy, strong, andexpansion rememberinyou the powerduring to do amazing in this world.” to establish school-wide Wi-Fi, get 100 netbooks for general school use, and, more recently, 70 iPads for use in Prairie has left a positive impact on her colleagues, the students of MSJ, and the MSJ community at large during the 14 years she’s been with us. She will be sorely classrooms. On the academic side of things, MSJ will be offering AP Computer Science as well as Project Lead the missed.

Way, and engineering-themed do-it-yourself class, for the 2013-14 school year.

“I have been involved of the school community overthese the years,” saysyears Transcripts Secretary Jean Faust, “andbeautificaI can safely say that Mrs. Prairie is one of Perhaps oneinofmany the aspects most noticeable changes during past five has been the general campus the few that tion, is suchwhich an excellent manager of skill and people.” includes landscaping around the electronic billboard, near C-120, and around the library, which has left “Mrs. Prairie has always been very willing to the campus far more beautiful than before.

Prairie’s love for the student population is what has kept her motivated through all these years with to make MSJ aand is extremely recepgo along changes “Mission has been really lucky to have an better place. When asked for a final message for the student population, Mrs. Prairie said, “Be healthy, be strong, tive to new ideas.

She lets us take pride in shapamazing principal in Mrs. Praire. The amount and remember you have the power to do amazing things in this world.” ing our departments to benefit the students as of effort she has put in has really helped our Prairie has left a positive impact on her colleagues, the students of MSJ, and the MSJ community at large during much as possible.” school get to the level it is at today. I’m sure the 14 years she’s been with us. She will be sorely missed.

– College and Career Specialist Janet we will all miss her dearly.”

“I have been involved in many aspects of the school community over the years,” says Aldinger Secretary Jean Faust, “and – Arvindh Natarajan, 10say that Mrs. Prairie is one of the few that is such an excellent manager of skill and people.”

I can safely “I remember one day sophomore year Mrs. Prairie subbed for our chem class for like 15 min and she was just chatting with all of us about our lives. It was cool that the principal took time out of her day to talk to random high school kids.”

– Guhan Sundar, 11

“Mrs. Prairie has always attended our volleyball NCS games. It's great to see how much love she has for our school and its sports programs and it shows how much she really cares about the students.”

– Charles Nguyen, 12

“Be healthy, be strong. and remember you have the power to do anything in this world.”

- Principal Sandra Prairie’s Principle

Class of 2013

“Mission is like a vacation.

Some people will sit around in the hotel for the next four years, while others will make it the time of their lives. The flight to college will leave in four years regardless of “Don’t whether you had fun or not, and panic about “Whateveryone knows Mission Airlines colleges. Many ever you doesn’t do rebooking (or schedpeople freak out decide to do, ule changes for that matter) So about where to go. Calm whether it be make the most of your time down, recollect yourself, class, a sport, or a here!” and analyze carefully. Choose a hobby, do it well. No -Andrew Chang school not because of its name, matter how insignificant but rather because you are pasyour activity may be to your sionate about it and that it is full peers, if you put dedication of opportunities. Remember, and time into something you’re going to be there for “I you believe it, people will two to four years, so make would take notice” the best of it.” tell myself to -Adam Bao -Steven Chi not get distracted

photos by staff writers irisa lee & aamir rasheed

“Don’t be afraid to push yourself; it’s better to trip and fall sooner rather than later. Even if you can’t be the best, it’s the trying that will help you. Get the easy stuff right--be respectful and work hard “Don’t on that GPA before starting huge be afraid projects/extracurriculars or to get partying with friends!” outside of your -Leah Dickstein comfort zone; that’s what high school is all about! The more risks you “Sleep. take, the more you’ll be able Sleep as much as to learn and grow from your you can because successes and failures. It’s better you’re not going to to learn from your mistakes have it later.” now than to have to face “Get -Patrick Zhu harsher consequences involved later on.” earlier and do -Michelle things that make you Lee step out of your comfort zone once in a while! The grades don’t necessarily mat“I ter as much when compared to would tell the work ethic and habits you myself to diversify create for yourself.” and take more risks.

-Brian Chen There’s so little time junior and senior year, “I’d so I would have wanted tell myself not to take advantage of my time to look into the back then to study the things I’m future so much, and passionate about. And also to make to focus more on the more upperclassmen friends, bepresent. You can lose cause their guidance is invaluable a lot of time when you and most are very willing to be don’t live in the now. No mentor figures.” day but today.”

-Margaret Shen -Noa Kretchmer

senior adviCe

by girls because they are definitely not worth it. I would tell myself to be fearless whenever you “I doubted yourself. Any achievement would you reach for comes with the risk “I’d tell tell myself of disappointment but if you myself not that while it’s fun never reach then you’ll never to sweat the to fool around with lots achieve them! Never doubt small things of friends when times are yourself for a second. I cause in the end it eigood, it’s more important to find would also tell myself to ther won’t matter or it’ll just a few people who both care smile more.” make a hella good story or about me and have the courage lesson you’ll learn from one -Joshua Shao to kick me when i’m being stupid. way or another. Everything So basically, not just a garbage happens for a reason so just can to vent to, but a person go along with it.Tough it who motivates me to imout so you can enjoy it prove myself.” while it lasts.” -Alexa -Wesley Chou Iwatani

“What advice would you give yourself if you were an underclassman?” yaymicro.com, layout by staff writer vivian jair

Friday, June 14, 2013

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rt o F a i d u a l C

photo by staff writer tiffany huang

“Mrs. Fort is a truly amazing teacher, and she has inspired me in so many ways. I have learned so much from her class this year, and I know I will miss her kindness and dedication to teaching.

Thank-you for being such a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Fort! We will miss you!”

- Nancy Xu, 10.

“Mrs. Fort has the best handwriting ever. I will miss her amazing lectures and lessons. She’s always very coherent and explains concepts very well.”

- Ryan Pascua, 12

M R A AW

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Feature 11

“Some of my best memories here involve working with the motivated energy of the students, whether it’s in band, math, or studying for AP’s.”

Math Teacher Claudia Fort, who currently teaches Band and AP Calculus AB and BC, is retiring after more than thirty years of working with MSJ staff and students. Prior to her current job at MSJ, Fort worked at the Navy Department in Washington D.C. and as an operations research analyst with Lockheed Missile and Space in Sunnyvale. She had originally moved to Fremont in 1983 and took what she thought was a temporary job at MSJ. “The great MSJ staff, administration, parents and students inspired me to stay in education,” says Fort. In the past, she has served as Math Department Chair for twelve years and has taught almost every mathematics course offered at MSJ, as well as the AP Computer Science course for the first AP Computer Science Exam.

Fort, who once played with Band Teacher Monica Kraft in a band, has also been involved with MSJ band and orchestra for the past 20 years, often playing the guitar or banjo for musicals and jazz band. In addition, she serves as a chaperone for Band’s parades and events around the world. Fort previously co-ran a competition named Bandfest at MSJ, where students performed in bands at a concert.

Fort, well-known for having an open mind and a dedication to teaching, leaves behind her legacy and an indelible mark on MSJ. “She’s definitely someone I can talk to and approach about anything, not just Calculus. As a teacher, she really cares about what she’s teaching,” says Senior Angie Wang. Fort is a strong supporter of well-rounded students, and enjoys watching students engage in non-academic related activities, such as band, choir, or musicals. Her past thirty years at MSJ are full of memories, and she was, in fact, the first teacher to put up posters with memories from past students on the walls of her classroom.

Throughout her 30-year long tenure at MSJ, she has helped empower females in her mathematics classes, encouraging them to pursue what was once considered an unconventional subject for women. “I hope, as part of my legacy, to let females "Ms. Fort is great and friendly, and she know that they have the ability to see themselves as great mathematicians,” says Fort. will truly be missed. She helped me march She hopes to travel and spend more time with her family "I'll miss seeing her daily and her assisting better in marching band." during her retirement. with the band. She cares so deeply about - Samir Panjwani, 10 teaching and student progress. She's been a "I'll miss Ms. Fort's mothering, wisdom, and great support and educator." insights as to what students tend to be weak - Band teacher Monica Kraft in. I'll definitely miss the experience of a teacher who has been through it all."

- Math teacher Charlie Brucker

R O F N O I T A I C E R ND APP

S R E H C A E T S ’ SJ

A S K N A H T H C U M

M : l l e w e r fa

uang

iffany H T & , g n a MSJ will be u H nevieve saying goodbye to Physical Educahen, Ge Staff Writers C n o s

By Ja tion Teacher Linda Campana as she retires after almost

Linda Campana

“Teachers need to look at their students in a more personal light. Setting new standards and developing a personal touch helps get students to care more.”

40 years of service to the school. She pioneered the physical education program at MSJ and made it her mission for students to relieve stress and make friends through sports. By challenging her students through a rigorous yet fun curriculum, Campana hopes her students will develop new passions for life. Campana’s passion for physical education started when she took her first ice-skating class at age five. She was told that in order to be a good ice skater, one needed grace. This important lesson led to one of Campana’s lifelong passions – dance. As Campana was about to graduate from Arizona State University, her uncle told her about a job opening at Thornton Junior High School. Campana remarked, “never in a million years did I ever think I would get that job.” Nevertheless, Campana was hired and two years later, happened to meet a dance teacher from MSJ. The dance instructor encouraged Campana to apply for a physical education job opening at MSJ. Campana was selected and taught her first class here at MSJ in the fall of 1975.

Almost 40 years later, Campana’s physical education classes still reflect her incredible passion for teaching high school physical education by incorporating a wide variety of different sports like basketball, swimming, and softball. Students are not required to have any experience, as Campana just wants the students to have fun. Campana said, “I hope my curriculum helps students find a passion that they can enjoy long into college or the future so that they will be happier people.”Throughout her years here at MSJ, Campana has noticed a remarkable change in the demographics here at Fremont. When Campana first started, her goal was to teach skills in her classes. However, with the incredible amount of stress students are now under, Campana now uses her classes as a medium where students can de-stress. In addition, Campana hopes that her classes can help students forge new friendships and develop healthy lives. In addition to teaching physical education, Campana also taught introduction to social science from 1981 to 1986. This course combined one semester of geography and one semester of Russian History. Campana said, “This is definitely the most interesting course I have ever taught. We didn’t have textbooks. We used guest speakers who were weapons engineers to teach the material.” Campana also possesses an extensive coaching history, coaching anything from field hockey to dance, but most notably girls tennis. After teaching, Campana plans to re-explore all the hobbies she did not have time for as a PE teacher. With her free time, Campana hopes to work out more, garden, cook, and rejoin a book club so she can read more.

Campana leaves behind an incredible legacy here at MSJ and a fiery passion for physical education. She remarks: “My husband still can’t believe my level of "You can talk to Ms. Campana not excitement every morning I wake up for work. I just absolutely love my job. Things could not have worked out better when I was first hired.” only as a teacher but as a friend."

As she departs from MSJ, Campana hopes that her experiences teaching here at MSJ will benefit future genera- Anastasia Ecin, 9 "Ms. Campana pulled up my tions of students and teachers. self esteem in PE and she gives me a "Ms. Campana is a great adlot of encouragement." vocate for the young students of MSJ." Ashley Miu, 9 "Ms. Campana makes PE a class to - PE teacher Pete Vaz look forward to every day because of the way she supports us."

- Rutur Samai, 9

photo by staff writer jason chen

Larry polon

“Try to put things in proper perspective and have a little fun once in a while.”

photo by staff writer genevieve huang

Larry Polon, who started a Special Day program at MSJ in the 80’s, has taught the Learning Resource Program (LRP) and the department chair of the Special Education Department, is retiring after 27 years.

A former elementary school teacher, Polon initiated the formation of a Special Day class for students with moderate learning disabilities when he noticed that there were students who needed more attention and specialized aid when it came to understanding certain concepts. After six years in the Special Day program, Polon transitioned to becoming a resource specialist helping students with special needs who required something less restrictive than Special Educatio. He also helped begin a collaborative program in which resource specialists team-taught with general education teachers.

Around campus and among his peers, Special Education Teacher Larry Polon has become known as considerate and resourceful. “[Polon] is a great teacher—he always looks out for the best interests of his students, and is also very resourceful! He was able to make my transition to MSJ five years ago very smooth,” says Special Education Teacher Dolores Rodriguez. “He’s a really good, smart teacher. I’ve had him since last year and I’ve found that he’s very supportive and caring. I’d have trouble with schoolwork and he would be there to give me helpful suggestions,” says Sophomore Eime Marlenne.

The fact that the Special Day program that Polon started almost 30 years ago still remains proves that there is a need for it; when Polon first tried to start the program, he was met with some resistance; “People think ‘We’re MSJ, we don’t have a lot of [students who need specialized aid]. People just didn’t think that we had a high enough demand at our school.” As the only teacher for the program at the time, Polon taught all core subjects to a class of about 27 students while continuously lobbying for more teachers, arguing against the assumption that there wasn’t a substantial demand for the program. His appeals were eventually successful, and there are currently two new teachers in the Special Day program, allowing both teachers to specialize small group instruction and individual tutoring. Under Polon, students with learning disabilities were able to grasp the right learning tools, participate alongside peers with equal footing, and get mainstreamed back into regular education classes. Looking into the future, Polon hopes that the LRP program can become more student-focused; over the years, the program has become more about legal compliance and record-keeping and is less student-centered.

Moments Polon treasures at MSJ are when his students, after graduating, take time out of their lives to come back and visit. “One day the phone rings,” Polon recalls. “I pick up the phone to hear ‘Hi Mr. Polon.

This is Josh—Josh Scott. Do you remember me?’ ‘Of course,’ I said. He was a student I had 10 or 12 years ago whose mother had abandoned him at a young age. He was recently married, living in San Diego, and working on a Ph.D. Moments like these when students come back really make it all worth it.”

“He’s always been very warm and easygoing. He’s got a very calm demeanor, “He’s helped me get my missing work done.

“He explains the questions for me and he’s a good organizer. He helps kids by “He’s elderly but wise, and he often He studies right next to me and helps me get if I don’t understand them and helps getting them organized for their classes.” offers a neutral guiding voice,” the right answers together,” me stay on track with my grades,” - Special Education teacher Gloriana - Chase Caveron, 10 - Pratik Patel, 9 - Kendall Burr, 11 Garcia photos by staff writers jason chen, genevieve huang, tiffany huang, & anna zeng

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photos by staff writers shirby wang, kerrie wu & anna zeng, the smoke signal archives

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Feature 13

By Vivian Jair, Angela Wang & Lindy Zeng Staff Writers

With summer just around the corner, many have already mapped out their summer plans down to the very last detail. For those of you who have yet to begin, do not fret! The Smoke Signal has come up with a list of activities that will fill your summer with immense fun.

Media M arathon s Release tertainm all your pentup en thon yo t by embarkin inner desires f u’ve dre g on eve or enam ry themes for mov ed of. Come u media maraie mara p with Disney m thon spe ov TV show ies or horror fil s, such as nos cific ta s to wat ms. Alte ch rnatively lgic childhood sion ent , you can husiatst via Netflix or Hu s, s of Doct or Who, we recommend lu. For hardco tream re televiwatchin How I Theory.

Met You g It should r Mothe all the season sitting! s r, and Book-w only take a fe Big Ban orms ca and mar g n also m w weeks if do athon a ne ak way all the nove e a summer re in one ading li ls misse st d during the scho ol year.

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Boba Runs Take a break from SAT prep classes and study sessions by grabbing some milk tea from various tea places around Fremont. Not only is it refreshing for a hot day, but you can also catch up with friends amidst all the stress of summer classes. Make it a goal to try all the tea shops around town, as well as all the different milk tea flavors. Some good places to start off are Verde (located in Warm Springs), Tea Island (found within Marina Supermarket), and Fantasia (in Newark next to Lion Supermarket).

Horseback riding to Have you always wanted hills ride horseback through the e for and valleys? Reserve a tim eriexp to you and your friends s tain un ence the Santa Cruz Mo in ms on horseback at Garrod Far -time one a it’s Saratoga. Whether Farms kage, Garrod pac event or a summer lesson Rd. 47 and 226 Garrod riding through the vineyards 70 e be Saratoga, CA 950 oak chaparral forests will sur memorable.

Geocac hing

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22 Arts & Entertainment

Daft Punk Scores

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Pretty Good ‘Gatsby’

Demi “Love”ato

By Aamir Rasheed Staff Writer

To sum it up in a sentence, Random Access Memories is both Daft Punk and not Daft Punk. While the album still contains the repeating, distorted monologues and laid back melodies that mark Daft Punk’s older albums, it mixes in a 70’s retro-funk feel that, while new for diehard Daft Punk punks, does not fail to impress.

The album’s hit single “Get Lucky,” which was released a month prior to the album, teased the new direction Daft Punk was taking with Random Access Memories. While the guitar and piano in the background are pleasant, the initial absence of any electronic elements in the song baffles the listener at first; then we are reminded of “Hard Better Faster Stronger” with auto-tuned vocals at around the halfway mark. This sort of “Yes, we’re still the Daft Punk you know and love underneath all this new stuff ” permeates the entire album.

That being said, the new flavor is decidedly tasty; the album’s achievement as the most streamed album in its first week of release in Spotify history is a testament to that. “Get Lucky” takes the cake for strongest song on the album, but “Doin’ it Right” and “Lose Yourself to Dance” also are very rhythmic and groovy. Even the weakest song on the album, “The Game of Love,” successfully captures a hazy lounge atmosphere that sets the listener at ease somehow. Daft Punk engineers a slightly different, but unique tang to each song.

Random Access Memories is not for the impatient, however. Unlike most modern music, the album denies the instant thrills most contemporary music often supplies us. To enjoy the album, the audience must listen to the album again and again, letting each song seep in and permeate slowly. At the end of this experience, the album feels somehow personalized and unique to you; Daft Punk masterfully captures this aspect with their subtle blend of electronica and trance with soft rock and funk.

All in all, the album is a success.

Much like Daft Punk’s album Discovery, released in 2001, Random Access Memories is not the type of music that’ll be playing on the radio day after day, but Daft Punk fans who learn to love this new flavor will be listening to this album years after its release. ▪ Rating: A-

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By Peter Xu Staff Writer

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By Supriya Yelimeli Staff Writer

Baz Luhrmann’s take on Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby follows the story of Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his lifelong pursuit of his true love, Daisy Buchanan (Carrie Mulligan). The story is narrated

by Nick Carraway (Toby McGuire), who is wooed by the massive wealth of East and West Egg. The conflict between old and new money presides over the fulfillment of Gatsby’s dreams and leads to a startling conclusion.

With a story as cherished as Fitzgerald’s, it is difficult to create a film that will surpass everyone’s expectations. The initial perception of the film is an overdone depiction of

the story that drowns in extravagant scenes, but a further look shows that it truly encompasses the mood of the book to create a thrilling atmosphere. The cast had great chemistry and the roles of DiCaprio and Mulligan, although strange at first glance, worked well in the movie. Edgerton’s performance as Tom Buchanan was one of the best in the movie.

One of the most commendable aspects of the movie was the soundtrack, produced by Jay-Z and featuring music from artists such as Beyonce, Andre 3000, and Lana Del Ray. Modern songs like “No Church in the Wild” by Jay-Z and Kanye West were paired with classic sounds such as “Love is a Drug” by Bryan Ferry Orchestra. The music embodies the feel of the twenties without sacrificing originality.

For someone who has not read the book, the movie could come across as shallow at times. Overarching themes such as the green light that represents Gatsby’s far-away dream were often hit on the head with repetitiveness, taking away from the actual depth of the story. The costumes and subtle acting, however, saved the movie from being an overdone catastrophe.

Luhrmann’s production of The Great Gatsby had a few pitfalls, but overall stayed true to the story. The movie resounded with the atmosphere of the roaring twenties. The modern aspects interwove well with the classic story and created a golden experience that represented timeless dreams while still maintaining relevance. ▪ Rating: B+

Hungover from ‘Hangover’

By Shirby Wang Staff Writer

In Director Todd Phillip’s third and final installment of the Hangover series, the infamous Wolfpack trio is back and ready to wrap up their drunken fiascos that have for so long disgusted or amused their audiences.

This time, the story returns to focus on the uncontrollably wild and childish Alan (Zach Galifianakis) who may finally have the chance to grow up.

This rated-R movie kicks off with the decapitation of Alan’s new giraffe, an extraneously distasteful move that may have turned more than one stomach in the audience instead of eliciting laughs.

The death of his father leaves Alan in a worse mess than before, prompting those around him to come to the life-changing decision to send him to rehab. However, with

the reappearance of sleazy criminal Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong), Alan and his friend high-school teacher Phil (Bradley Cooper) and dentist Stu (Ed Helms), are thrown into a twisted loop involving an abduction and multiple shady deals gone wrong.

Alan is given some much-needed attention as the entire movie revolves around him and his underdeveloped mind and character. Galifianakis performance as strange man-child Alan outshines the rest, and his friends seem to take a backseat to Alan’s antics. Meanwhile, Alan and Chow’s odd friendship is forever fluctuating, and Jeong does not disappoint with his portrayal of a drug-dealing, gold bar-swindling crazy party animal.

Trademark elements of previous Hangover movies, such as drugs, money and prostitutes reappear but fail to bring back the unexpectedly novel humor at the same level that made the franchise so popular to

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begin with. Instead, the movie revisits Las Vegas, in an attempt to also revisit its past glory, but ends up in a tangled mess in multiple cities.

Though Hangover humor has never been tasteful or politically correct, the good moments seem to be even more lacking than usual. Engine-revving action or seizure-inducing parties replace the jokes that the audience long for, but many aspects of previous movies are successfully wrapped up in a comically sentimental manner.

The Hangover Part III has unfortunately fallen into the same category as sequels that never bring back the same luster as the original. For loyal fans of the Wolfpack, The Hangover Part III may be worth the money, but those looking for real humor or a new plot should find another party to attend. ▪ Rating: C+

Demi Lovato’s recent chain of success remains unbroken with the release of her eponymous fourth album, Demi. After struggling with personal problems in 2010, Lovato’s musical style underwent a maturation that is reflected in her more recent work. While Demi retains the artist’s newfound maturity, it strikes a nice balance between her earlier carefree attitude and the more serious tones of her third album, Unbroken.

“Heart Attack” starts the album off with a jolt. Powerful drums set a fast beat that meshes with Lovato’s talented vocals. Singing that she would “have a heart attack” should she fall in love, Lovato differentiates this track from the rest of the love song pack through her ringing voice that rises and falls like the graph of an electrocardiogram. “Made in the USA” hearkens back to the earlier days of the singer’s career with its Miley Cyrus-esque nature in both name and style. Rhythmic and catchy, the song will have listeners jumping up and down, shouting the song’s title alongside Lovato. A sure summer hit, “Made in the USA” takes the audience on a love road trip from the sunny west to the city-lit east.

In the following songs, Lovato leaves the bubblegum pop behind and sobers up. The ballad “Nightingale” brings a gentleness to the album as it starts off softly with only a piano playing in the background.

Lovato’s voice wavers emotionally but not excessively as she searches for her nightingale. In the pop rock “Fire Starter,” Lovato transforms from a romantic into a “James Bond, putting all them guys to shame.” The track’s relentless percussion and electronic riff energizes an already fierce voice, making the song a pleasant change of pace.

The albums final two tracks, “Shouldn’t Come Back” and “Warrior,” are deliberate and solemn.

“Shouldn’t Come Back” is one of her most emotional pieces to date.“Warrior” is an excellent piece to end the album. A moving reflection of her struggles, Lovato sings that she has become a warrior, “taking back [her] life today.”

Demi is an album whose flaws are few and far between; its biggest weakness being that some songs are overshadowed by others. Varied and unique, the album is one Lovato can be proud to have her name on. ▪ Rating: A+

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Arts & Entertainment 23

By Kenny Jacoby Sports Editor & Dr. Burrito. Ph.D. (Pretty Happy Dude)

3

I am a burrito enthusiast. I’ve dedicated much of my life to finding the perfect burrito. Spoiler alert: I still haven’t found it. However, it is still my mission to try every super burrito in Fremont. These are the results of my trials. I gave each burrito a grade of 1-10 in each of four criteria: size, ingredients, flavor, and value. The average of the four scores equaled the total score for the burrito.

5

Size

Flavor

Ingredients

Value

Total

7

9

9

9

8.5

2. Los Cabos

7

8

8

8

7.75

3. Las Palmas

7

8

8

8

7.75

4. Tacos Negris

7

8

7

8

7.5

5. Rock N Salsa

7

8

7

7

7.25

6. La Salsa

6

8

7

7

7

7. Salsa Picante

7

7

7

7

7

8. Super Taco

7

7

6

7

6.75

9. Mexico Tipico Truck

9

6

6

5

6.5

11. Tony’s Tacos

10

5

4

7

6.5

10. Ofelia’s Taqueria Truck

6

7

7

6

6.5

12. Casa de Meza

7

5

6

6

6

13. Rubios

5

7

6

5

6

Restaurant 1. Las Vegas Taqueria

8

7

4

12

9

2

6

13

11

10

Las Vegas Taqueria Las Vegas Taqueria served the best burrito overall. It had the flavor that I desperately looked for, it cost $7.10, it was pretty decently sized, and it had the essential ingredients. ▪

yelp.com, ofeliastaqueria.com, google.com, casademezatacos.com, tumblr.com, title credits to sandra cohen

Arts & Entertainment Updates

By Grace Wu Staff Writer

America’s Got Talent

Popular competition Popular reality reality competition America’s returned, America’s GotGotTalent Talent rewith new with additions the judging turned, new toadditions to panel. the judging panel.

June 4

Alameda County Fair

June 7 The Internship

The County Fair Fair feafeaThe 101st 101st annual annual Alameda Alameda County tures attractions ranging from All-Alaskan tures attractions ranging from All-AlasPig to HottoDog Relays. kanRaces Pig Races Hot Eating Dog Eating Relays.

Owen Vince Vaughn Vaughn team team Owen Wilson Wilson and and Vince up again for The Internship.

The up again for The Internship. The movie follows the two salesmen movie follows the two salesmen through throughtheir theirinternship internshipatatGoogle.

Google.

June 19 - July 7

June 21 Monsters Monsters University University

Berkeley World Music Festival

Berkeley’s World Music Festival on Telegraph Avenue features an assortment of multicultural music.

Monsters long-awaited Monsters University, University, the the long-awaited prequel to Monsters, Inc, follows Mike and and prequel to Monsters, Inc, follows Mike Sulley through their adventures in college.

Sulley through their adventures in college.

June 22

July 30 Backstreet Backstreet Boys Boys

The TheBackstreet BackstreetBoys Boyswill willbe bemaking making their return with the release their return with the releaseofoftheir their new newalbum albumInInaaWorld WorldLike LikeThis.

This.

24 Senior Wills

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Friday, June 14, 2013

Senior Wills I, Ada Kwong, bequeath my sabre to Sherlene Hung, my prep books to Adon Kwong, my love of kpop dances to Joyce Pi, my show luck to the guard freshmen, my show smile to Catherine Liu, my dance list to Dream Cafe, and my love of photography to Ashley Lin. I, Adam Bao, leave all of my experiences behind for others to enjoy. This year has been the best year of MSJ that I could ask for - Kelvin, Tiffany, Allen, Shazib, Nicholas, Eric and more; I only wish for you to enjoy the rest of your MSJ years.

I, Aishwarya Thakur, bequeath the News section to Nina and Kerrie (Dig up those IRs!), the MSJTV empire to Jeffrey and Kelsey (I’ll be watching...), and shout outs to my PE buds Andrew, Akshaya, Joani, and Samantha for making me feel young again, and my dance freshies and sophs Priyanka, Divya, Vedika, Abhi, and Pratibha.

I, Albert Lee, bequeath to Andrea Cruz and Katherine Wu my skills of awkward conversation and finding things to do when my favorite people go to college; to Stephanie Chin, a vaccine for senioritis; and to Dexter Cheng, my dumb optimism and my good fortune with standardized tests.

I, Alekya Rajanala, bequeath A&E and all resultant swag to Peter and Tammy, my rock-solid ability to answer my phone to Sonia, ERRC love to Sana and Shayaan, my slacker skills to Mihir, my Time Turner to Anjali, and, of course, the tastiest duckies and every chakkani bike to Appu.

I, Alex Sin, bequeath my legacy of the MSJ Boys’ Tennis Team to Brijen Thananjeyan, Karthik Kribakaran, Preston Chen, Jonathan Chew, and Vayum Arora; my punniness to Samuel Paco Liu; and my passion to learn new things and achieve high goals to Natalie Sin. I, Allan Ko, bequeath the whiteboards and podium of the Smoke Signal to Jin Peng and Grace Wu; Astronomy Bowl to Charlie Tong and Patrick Zeng; TSA-TEAMS to Kerrie Wu and Jonathan Lu; and the scuffs of my tap shoes to the halls of MSJ. I, Allison Cho, bequeath my energy and awesomeness to Molly Zhang and Sydney Hiroto, my interact authority to Sara Lo, Louis Leung, Mina Afnan, and Lillian Zhao, my SAT books to Rachel Suk, the senior class secretary position to Mason Qian, my 2 years of sports committee to Alton Lin, and my greatness to Catherine Lo. I, Alvin Zhou, bequeath my passing skills to Nathan Wang, my love for food to Jonah Lin, and my alter ego Tyrone to Supriya Yelimeli.

I, Amanda Hong, bequeath my undying love/rage of Yearbook to Costanoan v50, my witty humor and sass to Sarah Chang, my photo opps to Crystal Jiao, my professional bowling skills to Mason Qian and Abhinav Shah, and my diligent work ethic to Allen Hong.

I, Amita Kumar, bequeath Nina Krishnan my driving skills and Tamim my bs-ing skills.

I, Amy Ribar, bequeath my good looks to Ryan Ribar, my softball “skills” to Betty Bloch, and my yearbook prowess to Amrin Khurana and Karishma Laungani.

I, Andrew Chang, bequeath Ryan Chen a less painful pair of jeans, Evan Chang the spirit of the “multitask,” Ananya Kumar a ninja panda level-up, Artsy Agarballs three wishes, and Krishna Bharathala sincere thanks for the opportunities he has given me.

I, Angela Dong, bequeath all my possessions and my muscles to Shirby Wang under certain circumstances that require her to buy me a baby geep and unlimited amounts of mint ice cream.

I, Angela Wang, bequeath all my underclassmen friends to Rachel Yeung, raur-ing skills to dino buddy Cynthia Jiang, deep knowledge of everything I know to fellow J1 Hairol Ma, and my MUN officer position to Ryan Chen.

I, Angela Y Xu, bequeath the family name and tradition to Alton Lin, my camera to Clay Shieh (except not really), a life to Darshan Bagivalu and Michael Lin each, and my HS2 privileges to Richard Liang, Brian Cheng, and Samantha Lin. I, Anita Alem, bequeath my robotics love to Saurabh and Dwayne and my French prowess to Zita and Somya, my love for physics equation sheets to Arshi Aggarwal, and all the keth in the world to Anusha Murshed.

I, Anny Huang, bequeath my ability to effectively camp and troll in Mienkamft to Justin Kou, and my organizational skills to Young Chen. (Please use them wisely!)

I, Antara Murshed, bequeath my sister Anusha Murshed more ice cream in the freezer, my expertise in parakeet biology, and my role as queen of the keths.

I, Anusha Rijhsinghani, bequeath the greatness that is the DECA presidency to Ishan and Amy, the solo wall and biggest desk in the backroom to Lindy and Tingting, my impeccable music taste to Supriya, my proximity to the ground to Pranav, my social etiquette to Ruchit and Austin, and nothing to Dustin because he’s perfect.

I, April Tam, bequeath my amazing height to Ceci, Friskie, Pebbles, Sagar, Justin, Ashley, Joshua, Sabrina, Mandy, and Ryan! :) I, Apoorva Dornadula, bequeath my amazing, identical combo locks to my sister and incoming freshmen, Vaishnavi Dornadula. Best of luck to MSJ Tech & Robotics!

I, Ariel Cheng, bequeath my ability to “go up the hill and down the hill” to Brett Whaley, my beautiful sock tan to Doen Lee, my relay hand-offs to Juliana McCuaig and the future 4 by 1 team, and lastly nothing to Amrin Khurana because she is just too perfect.

I, Ariel Tsang, bequeath Rachel Lai with my undying sense of bladder-related humor.

I, Arushi Atluri, bequeath my six-pack and “senioritis” to Sid and Satwik, driving skills to Alisha and Connie, ways with food to Simran, babies to Austin and Annaliese, tanning abilities to Anastasia, goggle tan to Asia and Adviti, speed and endurance to Zexi, and love to swim team.

I, Austine Lee, bequeath my brotanks to Melissa Jiang, my fan girl probs to Vivy Hua, Panera soup to Charlotte Yuan, my nail art skills to Megan Crook, and all of my love to Emil Graversen.

I, Bill (William) James, bequeath the BOY club to my co-founders Omair Ajaz and Yash Datt. Choose members wisely.

I, Blair Akerland, bequeath my southern charm to Cat Ha. My singing skills to Kathleen Nguyen--I mean Taylor, and my southern accent to Anjuli Sandhu.

I, Brandon Au, bequeath Brett Whaley my bet-winning abilities, Eliza Zhu and Vivian Chang the answers to 4 Pics 1 Word, Ben Torrez my “Diva” status, and Juliana McCuaig some non-gangster music.

I, Brandon Law, bequeath my pregame speeches and my incredible lobbins ability to Alex Hancock and Austin Whaley, my standpoint on being a student-athlete to the water polo team, and my muscles to the hardest working freshmen in the school, Ash Balgovind and Adam Hancock.

I, Brandon Wu, bequeath to Kevkev Zeng my hair and incredible parachute folding technique, to Neil Shieh a manual for a pressure cooker and EL wire, and to Anna and Kevin Zeng 0b110010% of Compsci Club.

I, Brian Chen, bequeath my publicizzle skillz and the mess in N8 to Kelsey Lam, ability to purchase 630 DVDs to Jeffrey Chen, and photog skillz to the amazing yearbook V50.

I, C. Kevin Chen, bequeath my twisted sense of humor and penchant for obscure accents to Supriya Yelimeli, Claire Dobyns and Claudia Shao, who have the responsibility of using these gifts to help the speech team stay the quirky, relaxing, and award-winning organization it is today.

I, Caitlin Chiang, bequeath my badminton abilities to the varsity badminton team. To Lydia Li, I leave my thanks, best wishes, and ankle strength.To Samantha Chiang, I leave my fantastic attitude and hope for no UDOs! I, Caitlin Ha, bequeath my car to my sister, Catherine Ha, Yearbook shenanigans/patience to Hannah, Karishma, and Johnathan, all my love and fabulousness to Cade, Harry Pan to Praveena, and to my best friend, Claudia, silence.

I, Calvin Hsu, bequeath the track and field throwing team to Shehzad “Hydraulics” Serang and Elliot “Monsta” Lin, my throwing skills to the Vasans, my tuba skills to Nina Vasan, and my one time used prep books to my little sister Emily Hsu. I, Calvin Leung, bequeath my position as principal chopstick of MSJ Orchestra and lead tortilla of Das Cellos to Richard Liang and Aimee Xu respectively, my sense of humor to Raghu Dhara and Minmin Fu, and to Kenneth Leong and Alison Li my innate talent of pitched (426 Hz) nose-blowing.

I, Carina Wu, bequeath my rice cooker, annotated English books (from Mrs. Allen’s class), and senioritis to Amber Chiang.

I, Cassandra Broadwin, bequeath my impeccable mastering of Chipotle runs to my forever-hungry little brother, Mitchie Moo. I, Cassidy Tarng, bequeath my 4-step to Doen Lee; my amazing singing voice to Claire Dobyns; my speed to Vanessa Morales, John Tu, and Kelvin Zhang; my height to Kathy Liu; my sight reading skills to Joseph Yang and Brian Chou; and my charm to James Kwok, Kevin Chang, and Parry Dong.

I, Catherine Ho, bequeath all my knowledge and crazy driving skills to the BFFL Jessica Kam and Annie Lee. I, Charles Nguyen, bequeath my volleyball my talent, enthusiasm, energy and yellow cards.

I, Chaya Rajeev, bequeath all my textbooks and my optimism to my sister, Nithya.

I, Cherielyn Tsay, bequeath my ability to let loose, have fun, and do some ridonkulous things to Austin King. Good luck, king in disguise. And remember J.Shao, C.Cheng, and I will have our eyes on you.

I, Chris Kim, bequeath my Korean wrath to Zexi Yang, the position of slacker senior to my boy Warren Tian, my suavity to Albert Tran, and my giant rooster to Annaliese Lemler.

I, Ciara Lunger, bequeath the fun, the stress, the pride, the learning experience, the self-discovery, and the musical evenings that come with directing the Syncopasians to the lovely and talented Amber Ma and Jennifer Mou. I, Clare Hsu, bequeath my minion voice to Cecilia Leng who shall continue to be crazy just like me.

I, Clarissa Nguyen, bequeath Darshan Bagivalu with my senioritis and Warband.

I, Connie Voong, bequeath my driving skills to Iman, height to Nieka, swaggie to Shahana, curly hair to Betty, shortstop skills to Savana, my clumsiness to Cierra, my silliness to Alia, and my unconditional love to my softball team.

I, Cory Yang, bequeath the Batcave to Albert Hung, the Matrix of Leadership to Kevin Chan and Jeffrey Chang, the AllSparts to Jim Ouyang and Stephen Ling, my gun show to Jesse Lu and Alan Chuang, and my shortness to Iris Lin. I, Cyrus Lin, bequeath the ownership of Adam Schaps onto Brandon and Destin Trang in B.B.I, my four bracelets to Kevin Li and Alton Lin, the Lin Dynasty of B32 to Samantha Lin, my “Oh halp” moments to Katelyn Liu, and to David Lin, his own room.

I, Darryl Vo, bequeath Biking club. Ride On. Also Impromptu. Keep on playing those instruments. And Michelle, you are a freshman. Too early for senioritis.

I, David Cheng, bequeath badminton sweat and tears to Alan Chuang. To Jesse Lu, I bequeath my parking spot that doesn’t exist. To Dana and Colin, I bequeath the clubs.

I, Dean Luo, bequeath all of my homework points to Michael Liu, my perfect dancing skills to Betty, Mugdha, and Ru, my love for relays to Zexi and Austin, and my senioritis to Vishaal.

I, De’Andre Wallace, bequeath my laziness and senioritis to the junior class who will not take our role as the highest class.

I, Dennis Lee, bequeath HC & MC Weeks and the confetti cannon launch codes to Angela Chen, the Undying Commitment to Kevin Li, my flier-making skills to Mason Qian, and my test prep books to Annie Lee. I, Dillon Cho, bequeath my love of forensics to my amazing Speech team, my dry humor to Rohan Panuganti, my drive for excellence to Christine Arnstad, my many life lessons to Supriya Yelimeli, and my imaginary pet cheetah to my lovely, talented and beautiful little sister, Claire Dobyns.

I, Eamon Jahani, bequeath my chopped off arm to David Lin, all the gossamer in the world to Angela Chen, my grandpa chair to Syncopasians, and my hand-eye coordination, license, and road rage to Hannah Shih.

I, Elaine Hu, bequeath the LEO pride to my babies Cynthia Jiang, Austin Lee, Kathy Liu, and Cari Gan. I hope you guys keep up the LEO spirit and make me proud :’) You guys are amazing and I’m so glad to have met you all.

I’ll miss you <3I, Elaine Lau, bequeath an everlasting patience to the AP Japanese class of 2014, my desire for sleep to Justin Kou, my non-existent wealth to Dream Cafe, cosplay enthusiasm to Jennifer Lau, and kawaii uguu sparkles to all my successful, kirakira underclassmen.

I, Emily Chen, bequeath the ASB Treasurer position and the Student Store, with all its glory and behind-the-scenes work, to Tiffany Chou. I trust you will do a great job, girl! ;) I, Emily Hou, bequeath my legacy of the girls’ tennis team to Akshaya, Sheryl, my freshie Nicole Tran, and my sassy fav, Cat Kang; all my cuteness and SSS mentality to JoJomyanna; and of course, my #swag to Yash Bisen.

I, Emily Nguyen, bequeath my AP/SAT prep books and driving skills to Amanda Nguyen, my non-senioritis, hardworking attitude to Sheryl Cherian, an awesome senior year to Esther Meng, Terri Shih, and Melissa Ng, and my wisdom to Ashley Velando.

I, Eric Chang, bequeath my infinite patience and tolerance to Anvitha Pillati, good looks to Kevin Chang, and anger management issues to Megan Hsiao.

I, Eric Gonzalez, bequeath the football team to a successful season.

I, Eric Lam, bequeath the varsity boys swim team to Anthony Yeung and Emil Graversen. May they continue the legacy of washboard abs and speedo runs.

I, Evan Wu, bequeath my photography skills to the fabulous Ashley Lin, my badminton leadership to Kimberly Kwong, and the remnants of my engagingness to Joyce Qiao, Crystal Cheng, Ceci Leng, Naomi Hong, Michelle Mao, Daniel Zhu and Justin Kou. Stay fabulous my friends.

I, Frank Chen, bequeath the family of the MSJ Speech Team to Supriya Yelimeli, the musicians of Impromptu to Lawrence Luo and Stella Han, and the future staff of the Smoke Signal (with all its awesome glory and greatness) to Jin Peng and Grace Wu. I, Gordon Tom, bequeath the responsibility of continuing the drumline’s success and the duty to H.A. to Jonathan Chew, Neel Sharma, and Michael Liu. I also bequeath the responsibility of taking my place in the drumline to Andrew Kim. I, Grace K. Lee, bequeath Jin Peng the passion and rewarding experiences of being ASB Secretary, and Andrea Cruz and Katherine Wu with everything else I have both on the court and off, with the full confidence and belief that they will be outstanding individuals in the future.

I, Gurnaj Johal, bequeath my awesomeness to Tiffany Zhu and Joan Zhu, my laughter to Rishabh Malhotra and Keshav Rao, my entertaining personality to Sarosh Vachha, Suhail Sidhu, Taylor Jang, Rebecca Wu, Amanda Lo, Jennifer Yin, Emily Kao, Michelle Zhang, Dana Zhang, Esther Meng, Shirby Wang, Calvin Chen, Mohammed Shaikh, Jocelyn Tanaka, Dennis Liu, and Karan Wadhera.

I, Gurubala Kotta, bequeath my sarcasm to Catherine Lo, my TV to Corrina Tse, my C^2 love & dedication to Isabella Gow, running to Jordan, Akila, and Raquel, the “GAL” clique to Andy Lai, and of course, the joys of inside jokes and the Prince Charming laugh to Taylor Jang, Lindy Zeng, & Elizabeth Hu. I, Hannah Chu, bequeath my hovercrafts to Janet Liang, shrubberies to Sylvia Gong, potatoes to David Shi, and eels to Wesley Gong.

I, Hilary Yen, bequeath my cuteness to Ishan, my yokoswag and ratchetness to ZiZi, my hard working skills and party ways to Raghu, my math skills to Bryant, my senior hottie title to Alton, my car and my sucking up skills and ap books to Anita, my dancing skills to Cody, my likes to Austin, my cheerful personality and buffness to Jon, my kindness and diligence to Andy, my sexiness and LOL’s to Alex, and my humor to Jonathan Chen.

I, Ipsita Dey, bequeath my Junior Commission awesomeness to Grace Wu, Apoorva Rajanala, and Medha Verma so that they can do amazing community service projects in their future careers as Commissioners! I also bequeath my love and dedication to the MSJ Debate Team. Go Warriors!

I, Ivonnie Shih, bequeath more sleep to Joann, lots of luck and an awesome senior year to Lindy, Jennifer, Terri and Lily (and memories of ‘fun’ times in calc to Lily), my bladder to Ariel, and all the food in the world (minus the calories) to Tiffany.

I, Jackie Ho, bequeath good luck and terrible singing to my underclassmen and juniors. Stay chill.

I, Jade Shi, bequeath all odd colored dance shoes to Ceci, Joyce, and Catherine. I leave a beautiful new computer and my beloved Feature section in the capable hands of Vivian and Anjali. For my perpetual adslove Grace and my favorite co Jin, I leave all the luck they won’t need as EICs next year.

And finally, a lifetime’s supply of jalapeno bagel spread for next year’s oddball J3s.

I, James Gao, bequeath Andrea Cruz and Katherine Wu my windshield wiper and many sheets of paper for them to write angry notes.

I, Jason Chen, bequeath my high school journey to my amazing sister Tiffany Chen and best wishes to next year’s Smoke Signal staff. Continue with the amazing work!

I, Jaynelle Gao, bequeath my big sisterly love to MSJ Badminton, my ability to go without a backpack to Kevin Chan and Sunny Chen, hugs and kisses to Shen and Megan, and many nights of restful sleep to my perpetually hardworking Laura Chen.

I, Jennifer Liu, bequeath my popularity to Katherine Liu; my swag to Doen; my hurdling legacy to Claire; my strength to James, John, and Kelvin (use it to defeat the Dark Lord); my encouraging words to Kevin; my height to Vanessa; and my wasian pride to Erikka and Kai. I, Jessica Lee, bequeath my funny jokes to Zongning Zhang and Veronica Zhang, my fear of heights to Grace Dong, my nickname “lildancingbear” to all my Yearbookers, especially Hannah Lee and Mason Qian, and my stats knowledge to Crystal Jiao and Abhinav Shah.

I, Jessica Liu, bequeath my tennis willpower and insight to the team, my knowledge and enthusiasm to all my Link freshmen, and my passion to brighten the lives of ill children to Make a Wish Club!

I, Jeyashri Sridhar, bequeath happy endings and fairytale love stories to Praveena Fernes, wish granting powers to Ryan Henderson and Sriya Maram, and horsery, combat boots, and high school-esque song lyrics to Medha Verma.

www.sweetclipart.com, www.photosinbox.com, www.chandlerkieschnick.blogspot.com, Compiled by staff writers lindy zeng, tingting bi, Vivian Jair, Kerrie Wu, Shirby Wang, Genevieve Huang

Friday, June 14, 2013

The Smoke Signal

I, Jocelyn Ha, bequeath my fabulous jokes, ability to avoid SSS, and supreme trumpet princess power to Aaron Ching and Andy Lai; 42% of my Disney obsession to Megan Jose <2; and my band survival skills to my favorite underclassmen, namely Kai Goodman, Cory Lam, and Joshua Liu. I, Jonathan Shao, bequeath my titration skills to Abhinav Shah, Guhan Sundar, and Mason Qian, my Fantasy Football skills to Nathan Wang, my awesome pool skills and madam title to Zexi Yang, and my queerness and positivity to Ashley Hsu. To Ms. Claudia Shao, all my love and support!

I, Josh R Cho, bequeath my stress, frustration, sleepless nights, and undying hope for the ultimate purpose of being in my shoes; a senior free from the oppressive chains of AP tests, SATs, etc.

I, Jubilee Cheung, bequeath to Kylie Cheung “the task of annoying our parents”- to quote Phoebe.

I, Justine Young, bequeath Susan Tran Girl Scout cookies and rap, Flora Fang, my jewelry collection, Sherlene Hung and Ada La, my totally existent Gazette merch, Senpai status, and wifi, Joycie, Bianca, and Catherine my flag, sabre, and rifle. Jacinda and Gracie… my textbooks and very-Cantonese skills to you.

I, Kathy Chang, bequeath Medcorps to Joann Shih and my dancing to all the girls at Rachel’s Ballet – especially my dream senior dance to Sarah Liu and Sara Lo, my Nutcracker role to Kathy Liu, my arch to Samantha Lin, and my presence in every class to Priya Calaimany! <3 I, Kathy Lee, bequeath my stress and responsibilities to Brent Lee. I don’t want them anymore, so take it. May the stress be with you. Love you.

I, Kenny Jacoby, bequeath my middle infield position to Jacob Walter and Mitchell Broadwin (given that their arms are strong enough).

I, Kevin Liu, bequeath Doen Lee and Ryan Liu #betaswag, thereby promoting them to big betas.

I, Kevin Ma, bequeath Edward my laziness, Lillian, Victoria, Lizzy, Jonny my SSS, Alex my sunscreen, and Daniel my “dead cow” stretch.

I, Khanh Nguyen, bequeath all future MSJ Band and Orchestra students the privilege of making stupidly silly jokes for Ms. Kraft.

I, Komal Bijor, bequeath my passion for dance to Kajal Raju so she’ll remember me forever and ever and ever and ever! I love you my cutie!

www.thesmokesignal.org

Seniors Wills 25

I, Michelle Lee, bequeath my passion for presidency to Kelsey and Tammy, my love for the “British Broadcasting Corporation” to Alton and Kevin, and the joys of Senior Year to Katelyn, Roselin, Doen, and Louisa.

I, Sharang Dhodapkar, bequeath my mindset to my sister, Maitreyee Dhodapkar. I want her to be strong and positive and be brave enough to tackle any problem she faces in high school.

I, Michelle Lin, bequeath Crystal Jiao with my “big boy voice”, Katelyn Liu with all of v49 deadline spread sheets, Sarah Chang with my Orange kids, Amber Chen with my SD cards, and Samantha Lin with all our Lin clan pictures.

I, Sheila Afnan, bequeath my weird dance moves to Sunny Chen, Melissa Huang, Cari Gan, Rose Chang, Natalie Sin and Natalie De Forest, and Amy Hoffman (you know which one.) Also, all my sisterly love to Mina Afnan-don’t miss me too much.

I, Michelle Wong, bequeath my flawlessness and intelligence to Terence Hu, amazing tolerance of people to Katelyn Liu so she can easily go through her senior year, and my apparent “noob-ness” to David Lin so he’ll be more noob-y.

I, Sherri Zhang, bequeath Melissa Huang my driving skills and need for sales, Christie Chong my niceness and flabby arms and Amy Hoffman my food.

I, Mili Parikh, bequeath my room, my car, and all my love and wisdom to my brother Shivam Parikh; Relay For Life to Sid Ambulkar and the MSJ Relay Committee; my calculus and physics genius to Austin Fujikawa & Dr. Wayhan; and ISACA to Zeel Shah & Shivani Patel!

I, Sherry Xiao, bequeath unawkward awkwardness to Catherine, Anna, & Christine; sagacity to Michael, Sagar, Abinahv, & Stephen; Smokie Photo to Shirby & Anna; Phoenix Layout to Valerie; NAHS to Gurleen, Cathy, Angela, Amy, Christie, & Jebby; and all my love to my kids, you know who you are.

I, Mohit Kumar, bequeath my chill pills to these juniors: Dennis, Rishabh, Edward, and Diana. Lord know y’all need them. My cinematography skills to Dangvu, perfect attendance to Sean, and my hard work and diligence to Sanjay.

I, Shivani Ariathurai, bequeath my love of the earth to Gavin Poon, Joli Feng, and Lea Woodward. I leave show choir in the hands of Sohini Ghosh, Beth Scrutton, and Daniel Zopfi. Please don’t mess anything up. Love all of you!

I, Monica Liu, bequeath my position as ASB President to Tammy Tseng, my awesomeness to Zizi Zhang, my hugs to Joanna Wu, and my cheetah print case to Izzy Gow. I, Nathaniel Liu, bequeath all my unrequited love for Ms. Kraft upon Brian Wu and all of my SAT books upon my brother, Joshua Liu. I, Neha Nayak, bequeath my ability to attract females to Nishant Nayak and Sougat Pradhan, 176 IQ to Satwik Bebortha and Akaash Nayak, AC sway go Tara Ruff, unconditional love to Peer babies, and indian-ess to Alisha Marry and Anjuli Sandhu.

I, Neha Verma, bequeath STAND powers and awesomeness to Mina Afnan, luck and love to my favorites Priya Khoot, Grace Wu, Izzy, and Yoshita, and a whole bunch of amazingness and [the few] beautiful clothes I own to the best little sister, Medha Verma.

I, Nicholas Ha, bequeath a shirt to Daniel, my punishing duties to Victoria, my endurance to Young Snick, my kick to Edward, a healthy hamstring for Aamir, and my warrior fighting spirit and fish power to all of them and the rest of the cross country and track teams.

I, Siddhanth Sabharwal, bequeath my debate skills and love of collared shirts and sweaters to my brother Shivane. I give my charm and class to Anand, Yash, Anuj, Mudit, and Arvindh.

I, Silvia Zannetti, bequeath my love of silliness, my laughter, and my amazing years in Speech to Claire Dobyns.

I, Steve Wang, bequeath my sprinting and basketball skills to Parry Dong and my intelligence to Michael Hou. I, Steven Chow, bequeath my big brotherly love to MSJ Badminton, my spontaneity to Stephanie Chin, all those late night drives to Kevin Chan, hours of sleep to Zizi, my racket strawberry to Jim Ouyang, and a duck to Angela Zhang and Lydia Li. I, Sonam Mokha, bequeath the responsibility of lighting up the Darkness to my Peer underclassmen- Praveena Fernes, Rachel Grade, Anjali Kanthilal, Juhi Dalal, Jonah Lin, Cade Nauman, Caleb Han, Anjuli Sandhu, Yoon Lee, and Stephanie Chin.

I, Sonia Li, bequeath some cool math experiences to Nancy and the responsibility of making MSJ greener to Stanley and Haroon. I hope everyone has an amazing school year, learns a great deal, meets many awesome people, and tries new things. Mission is what you make it!

I, Kyle Lam, bequeath the box of beets to Mr. Sagar Samantarai and his disciples. May his growl bass be ever powerful; may his box always be full of fresh beets.

I, Nicholas Hoffman, bequeath to Amy Hoffman, my senioritis. To Ashley Yang, common sense. To Justin Kou the caretaking of Anime Club, that its dirty work gets done. To George Wexler, my mastery of firebending. To Phillip Cai my love of books and stalking skills.

I, Kyle Qian, bequeath my quarter-page column space to Opinion editors Catherine and Sanjay, my morally questionable subreddits to Jin, and my shorts-that-come-with-pockets to Genevieve.

I, Nicholas Le, bequeath Brian Ng and John Tu my incredible skills in the art of procrastination and my quesadillas.

I, Stefan Wooding, bequeath my peanut butter to Anna Zeng on the condition that it be spread vigorously over stem-and-leaf plots.

I, Lakshmi Pabbisetty, bequeath my study skills, sense of humor, and favorite possessions to my sister Sweta in the hope that she will find them useful in the future.

I, Nichole Tan, bequeath Stitch and my passion for Key Club to Joanna Wu, my Malaysian pride to Catherine Kang, my stats skills to Amy Xia, Cindy Lee, and Sunny Chen, my weird humor to Veronica Mok and Corrina Tse, my badminton skills to Megan Hsiao, and an onion to Sonia Atagi. Shout outs to Yearbook v50 and Key club! I love you guys.

I, Stephen Tai, bequeath to all of the cool freshmen, sophomore, and junior runners the power of the CROaK! Oh, and a spare pair of legs to run with.

I, Leah Dickstein, bequeath my intensity to Raghu Dhara, the Debate Presidency to Sanjay Sreekumar, my love for knitting to Lindy Zeng and Yoon Lee, and all the soymilk to Jonathan Lu and Flora Fang.

I, Leena Yin, bequeath the Mission Anime empire to Justin and Michael; UP and all its beautiful productions to M.C. and co.; the future of debate to all my “novices”; my physics struggle to Anna; all my stress to Zizi; and my love for music to Lynnea.

I, Leslie Liu, bequeath the beautiful blessings of Youth Alive to Caleb Han, Natalie DeForest, Trisha Nguyen, Claudia Shao, Daniel Jean, and Jacinda Chan, my perseverance to Amber Ma, Nancy Gao, Victoria Ng, and Anna Chen, Tiffany’s “fish” to Joani Wong, and all my love and knowledge to Evan Chang.

I, Lillian Choung, bequeath my AP testing spirit totem cat to Vanessa Kao, the future of CS club to Anna Zeng, and mon vocabulaire francais to Min, Helena, and Hannah. Best wishes to all of you!

I, Lindsay Kageyama, bequeath my ability to sneak eat in Physics class to Katherine “100%” Peterson and my compiled list of Ronak quotes to Ronak Modi himself.

I, Nicholi Reece, bequeath Kevin Li all the powers of tech and Emerald Luh all the purple straws.

I, Nihar Parikh, bequeath my quest for knowledge and my constant quarreling to Kerrie Wu and Nina Krishnan, my love for small metal boxes and nineteen-page packets to Dustin Chiang, my senioritis to Ryan Chen, and my purple hopseed bushes to mother nature.

I, Noa Kretchmer, bequeath my twerking abilities to Chaz Nagata and Julie Kim and my position as assistant director to Maya Zhai.

I, Tanuj Chowdhury, bequeath my $85,000 Honda Odyssey to Bryan McKernon, the continent of Pangaea to China Lau, and my leg and facial hair to Zer Keen Chia. Jerry gets nothing.

I, Rachel Choi, bequeath the amazing Centerspread section to Lindy Zeng and Tingting Bi, my penchant for walnuts to Grace Wu, my random energetic moments to Vivian Jair, and a meaningful and exciting last year(s) of high school to Kerrie Wu, Zizi Zhang, and Yoon Lee.

I, Lynn Huang, bequeath my skills to scream the wrong name to Susan Tran, my skills to yaoi to Jebby Zhang, my skills to push people out of the way to Ryan Chiang, my “special” hairs to Amy Hoffman, my knee to Jay and my elbow to Cody.

I, Rahil Hudda, bequeath my dashing looks to Zeeshan Hudda, my intellectual capabilities to Shivam Patel, my ability to get turnt-up to Kevin Li, my deep conversations to Sid Ambulkar, and my love of speech, my cuteness, and gas pedal to Supriya Yelimeli.

I, Mahima Narayan, bequeath my wisdom and work ethic to Ayush & Avnish, the greatness that is C^2 to Izzy Gow, the title of Head B*tch to Catherine Lo, my Chinese skills to Dustin Chiang, great taste in music to Kevin Li, and Bollywood dancing ability to Satwik Bebortha.

I, Rebecca Wang, bequeath the TSA-TEAMS captainship to Jonathan Lu and Kerrie Wu, my terrible Napoleon skills to Jerry Wu, and my college app luck to Aaron Lin.

I, Meilee Cheng, bequeath to Kathy Liu aka Little Girl my height. To Jebbie my amazing cuteness. To Erikka and Christine my authority as captain and the right to yell at Zuhayer and incoming freshmen. To Cynthia my kung fu powers. To Susan aka Sarah my brain. To Christie and Kevin...cute.

I, Megan Lee, bequeath the legacy of MC TKD to continue to be super swaggin awesome to favie Jacob Pingue, Nile Mehta, and tdk buddies. I pass down all my ramen and Korean gourmet to T Chou, and the #1 spot in the Kimba’s heart to Austin Fujikawa.

I, Melinda Wang, bequeath my amigurumi skills to Lindosaurus and Yoonicorn, ambition to Stanley and Christie, survival instincts to Rina, infinite memory capacity to Berry, and my passion, incredible consistency, navigational sense, and “mother duck guidance” to the entire cross-country and track teams, especially the freshies; miles of adventures await!

I, Melissa Wu, bequeath my ability to relax to Angela Zhang, my confidence to Kevin Chan, my checkmating abilities and work ethic to Ryan Liu, and all my love to the future of MSJ Badminton.

I, Melody Fang, bequeath Andrea Cruz my driving skills, yelling abilities and defense chants during games. I also bequeath you all my SAT and AP books. Have fun!

I, Merissa Chen, bequeath the responsibility of representing ACPA during MC week to Ceci Leng, Joyce Qiao, and Catherine Hou, as well as warm fuzzies, hugs, love, and any test prep material to all three of them and Renee Yen.

I, Swaja Khanna, bequeath my vast knowledge of the useless to Triveni Gore and my love of photography to Vishaal Prasad.

I, Patrick Chen, bequeath my smash and my extraordinary snapping skills to Megan Hsiao. Don’t be bm.

I, Rachel Lee, bequeath H4H to Karen Lee. Also all the seagulls on the bell tower.

I, Lucy Shen, bequeath Girls’ Golf to all you wonderful girls on the team, my total lack of kawaiisugoi to Mission Anime and Dreamcafe, the cash box and my chair-carrying buffness to you amazing theater/UP peeps, and my last minute speedediting skills to the next MSJTV season.

I, Margaret Shen, bequeath Riceballs Winds to Stanley Gu and Lillian Dong, Science Olympiad to Kerrie Wu, and my bookshelves and cat to Amy Shen.

I, Sumedh Bhattacharya, bequeath Jennie Huang the ability to withstand tickling, Chaz Nagata absolutely nothing because he’s perfect, Soukhya Inamdar all my knowledge both inside and outside of school, and Muizz Jivani everything because he’s a mast kalandar.

I, Tanya Raja, bequeath the Arts & Entertainment editorship to the brilliant Peter Xu and fantastic Tammy Tseng, the Mission: SOS presidentship to the awesome Anjali Kanthilal, and all my love and AP test prep books and some of my clothes to my favorite sister, Tanvi Raja.

I, Lindsey Dobyns, bequeath my sock monkey, Socks, to my cross country team, my ditziness to my chem lab group, my awesome singing skills to Claire, and my many clips to the girls long distance track team.

I, Maggie Wang, bequeath Joyce Qiao my study-guiding habits.

I, Sonali Toppur, bequeath the beloved Opinion section to Sanjay Sreekumar and Catherine Wang, my everlasting YC love and dance skills to Sneha Patkar and Sarina Chitre, my Harry Potter obsession to Medha Raman, and my DotA skill to Ishan Goyal in the hopes he’ll start playing.

I, Noah Yang, bequeath my track abilities and captaincy to the Friday Funday group, Jon Kan, Brian Cheng, Ibrahim Moinuddin, and Juliana McCuaig, as well as to Ben Torrez and Nathan Lee.

I, Rachel Chang, bequeath to Cynthia Jiang the House of Romanov, Amy Hoffman rib breaking hugs, Christie Chong all the buing buings and kicks to the ear, Jebby Zhang all the butts and corgis and thug lives, and Anusha Murshed the krown of keth and deluxe spicy McChickens.”

I, Maki Tohmon, bequeath my favorite little brother, Koji, my good grades and household chores; Jerome Sun my heart cuz I love him so much; and Charlie Han whom I’ve never actually met the joy of not being asked if you’re my little brother or not.

I, Srushti Shah, bequeath an amazing Senior year to Ishita Shah and Yoshita Suthar. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did.

I, Reid Marion, bequeath the #11 jersey to anyone but Hakeem, my sexy muscles to Ethan Hu, and the title of “White Mamba” to Ryan “shmendy” Henderson.

I, Richard Wei, bequeath to Daniel Zhu my duty to call “LLLLLLLLLLLLEG SWINGS” during practice, to Nicholas Cai a basket of market fresh strawberries, to Aamir my ability not to do too much work, and to the track and XC team my everlasting gratitude for the memories. Good luck guys!

I, Rupam Gupta, bequeath my DECA Presidency to Ishan Goyal and Amy Huang, my pocket squares to Ruchit Majmudar, and my knowledge to my sister Rumita Gupta.

I, Ryan Mark, bequeath whatever speed I have to Ryan Walleman even though he’s already faster than me.

I, Sai Chilakapati, bequeath my golf skills to Bryan Yan, my knowledge to my bro Krishna Bharathala, my DECA vice-presidency to Anaha Raghunathan, and my mustache to Ishan Goyal.

I, Sailakshmi Moorthy bequeath the Little Theatre to Mrs. Roundy and my baby underclassmen, my muscles and tech strength to Harshita Gupta, my painrful hitting skills to Susan Young and my “gift” to Dana Gurion.

I, Sarbari Bhattacharjee, bequeath my inability to see over the dashboard to Raghu Dhara; my incompetence with cars to Arnav Gautam; my college essay writing skills to Arshi Aggarwal and Nisha Subramanian; and a stressful but amazing four years of wandering the halls of Mission to my brother.

I, Shannon Chua, bequeath my passing to the Boys Volleyball team, my whale-ness to the Girls Basketball team, and my matrix to the Girls Volleyball team. I bequeath my love, affection, and the protection of human shields to my boys volleyball kids especially Nathan “Baybee” Wang and Alton “Dongsaeng” Lin. I, Shanta Tran, bequeath the legacy and traditions of MSJ Swimming to Kathleen Nguyen, Vivy Hua, and Cat Ha, Green Team to Tiffany Chou, and all my SAT books and Jarvis to my little brother Albert Tran. I expect big things from all of you!

I, Tiffany Kwok, bequeath my awesome nickname to Susan Tran, my height to SUPER TA Ryan Chiang, my pro Japanese language skills to Kenta Oka, my zipper gray sweatpants to Joshua Chao (wink), and my (last minute crash course) study habits to Amal Nanavati.

I, Uma Palaniappan, bequeath my punctuality to all my 7 AM Warriors for the Peer Resource class of 2013-2014, ERRC to Sana and Shayaan, and amazing senior years to Aaroshi Sahgal, Meridith Hirsch, Catherine Lo, Sid Ambulkar, and Aamir Rasheed.

I, Vaibhav Anand, bequeath all my agarbatti to Vanikaa Keswani. To all my fav underclassman, like Asmita, Snigdha, and Vipula, I give my math skills which will help them survive. To Asassy, I pass my Badminton skills. Mohan Saxena shall receive pinecones and Mansi shall receive Raj. Love you all!

I, Valerie Tsai, bequeath Phoenix to Vivian Jair and Zixin Chen, A La Mode to Louisa Hua, and all my love to Flora Fang and Nancy Gao. I, Vincent Meng, bequeath my mesmerizing good looks to Karen and Chaz, passion/know-hows for LEO Club to Austin, Cynthia, China, & the officers, endless piggy-back rides to Jebby, everything else to my lil bro Victor, and an awesome senior year to the rest of my underclassmen friends.

I, Vivian Dong, bequeath my cello “awesomeness” to Louisa Hua, Richard Liang, and Aimee Xu, RiceBalls to Darren Li, and much orchestra love (yay!) to Mark Cho, Christie Neo, Albert Wang, Sean Li, Aaron Lethers, Samuel Kung and all the other orchies.

I, Walter Yu, bequeath my dashing good looks to Tiffany Chou, my gray scarf to Melissa Huang, my tech skills to Abi and Mason, and my big butt to anyone that needs it.

I, Waylan Khuu, bequeath all my math skills to Rachel Grade, my HCMC knowledge to Angela Chen, my WRX to Sarah Chang (just kidding), and all the purple straws, ice cream and dairy skills to Emerald Luh! Samantha Lin gets all my tinikling skills!

I, Whitney Liu, bequeath my hyperness and excitement to Sruthi, Katherine, and Jennifer, and all my love to Gracie Chan, Jessica Mar, Jessica Cao, and Shalandy Zhang.

I, William Cheung, bequeath my Key Club spirit and service to the ‘13-’14 Members and Board (can I get an OH YEA?!), love and light to Peer, the Handshake to Kevin, my poker face to Hin Hin, and of course, my heart and passion to MSJ Badminton.

I, Yilin Jiang, bequeath all my underclassmen friends to keep any and all memories we shared and the love & friendships we have in MSJ. <3 I, Zarrie Samiezade-Yazd, bequeath the future leadership of Peer Resource to Cade, Yoon, Juhi, Jonah, Praveena, Rachel, Caleb, Stephanie, Anjali, and Anjuli. I entrust the memory of “Carry On” to Kristina, Brian, Tarush, China, and Rachel. I leave the Yazd Dynasty to Hamed and Kadie.

We, the senior clarinetists (Emma Zhang, Clara Yu, Kelly Chu, Jerry Li, Garrett Chan, Nikita Thomas, Andrew Chang) bequeath our authority over the clarinet section to the junior clarinetists (Ananya Kumar, Stephen Wang, Feiyao Li, William Hsu) as well as the candy-buying responsibility. And good lick to next year’s juniors...

www.sweetclipart.com, www.photosinbox.com, www.chandlerkieschnick.blogspot.com, Compiled by staff writers tingting bi, Genevieve Huang, Vivian Jair, Shirby Wang, Kerrie Wu, lindy zeng

26 Sports

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Friday, June 14, 2013

Friday, June 14, 2013

The Smoke Signal

By Kenny Jacoby & Vishak Menon Sports Editors

Instant Failure Few times in your life will you ever see a person as mad as an MLB manager in the midst of a full-on feud with an umpire. Just watch Wally Backman’s famous freakout and subsequent ejection in a South Georgia Peanuts game on YouTube. I would say that 95 percent of disputes between coaches and officials are futile, as umpires are far too stubborn to be swayed by a manager’s menacing words—regardless of whether they are justified. But more often than not, when a coach gets heated enough to get tossed from the game, he had the call right.

I don’t blame managers for getting thrown out of games even though they are well aware that their efforts are probably fruitless. But it’s cases like that of Bob Melvin, the manager for the Oakland A’s, where one must beg the question, is it finally time for the incorporation of full instant replay in baseball?

On May 8, the A’s found themselves down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth against the Cleveland Indians. Oakland’s Adam Rosales was up with the game on the line when he crushed a ball into deep left field. The ball appeared to clear the fence for a home run just before it bounced back on the field, but second base umpire Angel Hernandez gave no home run ruling and instead Rosales was stopped at second with a double. Melvin immediately came onto the field to protest that the call should be a home run, and the umpires gathered to discuss the play and examine the videotape.

From our TVs at home, we could see that the ball hit a handrail just over the left field wall and bounced directly back onto the field.

But when the umpires returned to announce the call, they upheld the decision that it was a double. Needless to say, Melvin was livid. He stormed back onto the field furiously, and was

promptly ejected. The A’s were unable score Rosales from second, and thus, Oakland suffered a 4-3 loss.

The MLB later gave a statement saying that they admit the wrong call was made, but that nothing could be done to change the outcome.

Now come on. We’re not talking about a bad strike call, or a bang-bang play at first. Any one miniscule factor can change a game, but that’s all conditional. A gust of wind can alter the course of a game, but nothing affects the outcome like a game-tying home run.

Get it right boys. It is highly regular for di-

zimbio.com

Oakland A’s manager Bob Melvin (left) argues with Umpire Angel Hernandez (right) about the home run non-call.

vision titles to be won and lost by one-game margins. Last year the A’s won the AL West on the last day of the season with a victory over the Rangers. If the opposite happens this year, who is to say that this game couldn’t have been to blame?

It’s not like the MLB doesn’t have the resources to get these calls correct. If an eight year-old kid watching the game from his couch can make the accurate call a la instant replay, then why can’t the umpires who hold the fate of the games—or seasons—in their hands?

Currently, instant replay is highly limited in baseball. Since its official introduction to the league in 2008, instant replay was implemented solely for the use of determining whether potential home run balls were indeed home runs.

The main ideas behind such limited use of the

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technology is to keep the game from moving too slowly and to maintain the human aspect of the game. But the MLB’s extremely basic incorporation of instant replay has now failed us on the one and only problem it was supposed to solve.

There is some validity to those points, despite their apparent ineptitude. If coaches could challenge a call every time there is so much as a close force play, pickoff, tag-up, or just anytime the crowd expresses its disappointment in a call, the game would never end. Baseball is a game of inches, so close plays are inevitable. And if we eliminated umpires altogether and replaced them with computers (which we could do), the randomness would be lost, and it is that unpredictable nature of all sports that make them so exciting. Every umpire has a different strike zone, and a huge part of the game is adjusting to that zone.

Ball and strikes are subjective, but out and safe is not. Either you’re safe or you aren’t, and that’s that. That is why you should be able to challenge objective calls using instant replay where definitive evidence can be observed. Out and safe, fair and foul, tag or no tag—these all have to be reviewable for the sake of fairness.

Much like in NFL, you can’t review everything, such as penalties and ruled incomplete passes. Similarly, you shouldn’t be able to review judgment calls such as balks, obstruction, and balls and strikes. Baseball should also take after football in that you should only be limited to two challenges a game in order to keep the game moving. And finally, in the way that the NBA and NFL automatically review questionable calls in the last two minutes of play, MLB umpires should automatically review close games in the ninth and all extra innings.

No one can watch a baseball game from home and then try to say that umpires don’t have ridiculously tough jobs. But with all the technology and the dozens of camera angles that are all readily available, there is no reason that the highest officials in the highest level of

Sports 27

the game can’t get the crucial calls right. Pending approval from the umpires union, the 2014 season will expand replay to fair and foul calls and to fan interference at all walls, as opposed to just the home run wall. It is in everyone’s best interest for the MLB to approve these additions and continue expanding instant replay so that the big calls made will be the right calls made, and the sport will be able to meet its full potential. ▪

A special message from Kenny and Vishak:

With this final column, it is time for the

two of us to say goodbye. We had a great time managing the sports section this year and we hope that you, our readers, have enjoyed it as much as we did. These past few months have been filled with ups and downs, but without fail, we were able to put out a section to be proud of month after month. Every issue, our intent was to showcase the brilliance of our fellow students in the field of athletics. When you pick up the paper and find out that the kid sitting next to you in third period is an MVAL champion or an NCS Qualifier, we take pride in knowing that we gave them the credit they deserve. And with that, we would like to introduce our new Sports Editors for the 2013-14 school year, Leah Feuerman and Ishan Goyal.

We are confident that this dynamic duo will continue to carry out our standard of excellence in the year to come!

graphics editor angie wang

28 Sports

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Friday, June 14, 2013

Award-winning athletes

Athletes of the Year

graphics editor angie wang

Ariel Cheng (left) and William Cheung (right)

Athlete of the Year: Athlete of the Year is the most prestigious annual award presented to one male and one female student-athlete at MSJ. These students have exceeded expectations of themselves, their competitors, and their coaches. The Athlete of the Year is someone who has demonstrated phenomenal dedication and performance in their sports careers at MSJ. Senior Ariel Cheng competed in both Elite Gymnastics and Varsity Track and Field for four years. In gymnastics, her strongest events were floor and beam. In track and field, she participated in both the 4x100 relay and pole vault. This past track and field season, Cheng broke her own school record for pole vaulting with a 12 ft. 10 in. vault. She also went onto MVALs, NCS Bayshore, Meet of Champions, and finally States where she placed sixth.

Senior William Cheung has been playing badminton both at MSJ and for a club team.

Cheung started playing badminton when at a very young age, and has been on Varsity at MSJ all four years. Outside of school, he competes at Bay Badminton Center in Milpitas where he plays at the National Junior tournament level.

This past season, Cheung placed second in MVALS and advanced to to take first place in NCS, defeating the competitor who had previously beat him in MVALS.

Linda Campana Scholarship: The new Linda Campana provides $250 for each student-athlete toward their future academic and athletic opportunities, sponsored by Campana, a long time PE teacher at MSJ who is retiring this year.

Shanta Tran has been swimming for MSJ on Varsity for all four years and has been captain for one. Tran is a dedicated swimmer, and has been swimming ever since she was little when she started out on Mission San Jose Aquatics.

Her main events are the 50 free and 100 free.

Tran will be attending the University of San Francisco in the fall.

Terry Yang started wrestling in seventh grade and continued until tenth grade when he suffered a devastating bicycle accident. Since his recovery, he has worked his way back and is now stronger than ever. He came back to wrestling again in his senior year, and continued to perform at a very high level. This year was Yang’s best season, as he continued on to compete in both MVALs and NCS. Yang will be attending Ohlone College in the fall.

White Sweater Award: The White Sweater Award is granted to graduating student-athletes who have lettered in eight or more seasons on Varsity sports teams throughout their high school career. This award is extremely difficult to achieve and highlights athletes who have natural all-around athletic talent.

Senior Kristin Moyer spent high school at MSJ playing both softball and soccer. She played on Varsity for both sports for all four years for a total of eight varsity seasons. Moyer was also captain of both teams for one year. In the fall, she will be continuing both her academic and athletic career at Portland State University where she will be playing Division I soccer.

Senior Ariel Cheng received both Athlete of the Year and the White Sweater Award at MSJ this year. She competed in both gymnastics and track and field for all four years, setting numerous outstanding records and persisting with her love of both sports. Cheng not only set an example with events in her respective sports, but also set an example for student-athletes.

Linda Campana Scholarship Winners

White Sweater Award Winners

staff writers shirby wang and anna zeng

Shanta Tran (left) and Terry Yang (right) with Linda Campana.

Msj in ncs

By Ishan Goyal Staff Writer

MSJ is known mainly for its educational reputation, but the fact it also excels in athletics is often hidden in this glory. This year, MSJ continued to impress, as seven of its eight Spring sports programs competed in the North Coast Sectional (NCS) tournament.

Boys’ Volleyball: Entering the tournament as the 11th seed, the Varsity squad was up against the six seed Dougherty Valley. After a nail biting four sets, Dougherty Valley was able to pull through with the victory after winning the fourth game 32-30. Powerhouse and first seed Deer Valley ended up winning the tournament with a 40-1 record. The MSJ Volleyball program, however, isn’t deterred by this defeat and looks to continue to grow.

Baseball: Up against the third seed California, the only team to have beaten the first seed Granada all season, the Warriors fought hard, but lost 10-0. The team unfortunately did not play its best game, committing several errors and picking up just two hits, while California hammered the MSJ pitching. Despite the loss, the team looks to grow from this defeat and come back stronger next year.

Badminton: MSJ Badminton is notorious for dominating its competition, and the athletes this season succeeded in upholding this legacy. Sophomore Angela Wang placed second in Girls’ Singles, while Freshman Joanna Wu placed second in Girls’ Singles consolation. Senior William Cheung swept his competition and placed first in Boys’ Singles while Junior Jeffrey Chang battled his way to the third round. The combination of Senior Derrick Long and Junior Chris Zhang won Boys’ Doubles, and Sophomores Jim Ouyang and Alan Chuang made it to the third round. In Mixed Doubles, Senior Melissa Wu and Junior Kevin Chan placed second and Junior Yik Hin Wong and Sophomore Shenlum Tang made it to the third round. Overall, MSJ Badminton placed first in NCS with a total score of 90.

Boys’ Golf: Led by Junior Bryan Yan who

Scholar Athletes of the Year

By Marisa Lenci Staff Writer

shot an impressive 82, Boys’ Golf placed sixth in the NCS qualifier round. Although they didn’t proceed to qualify for the Tournament of Champions, the young team looks to grow with this experience and return with new talent next year.

Swimming: Boys’ Swimming placed 15th in NCS with a total score of 43, while Girls’ Swimming placed 13th with a total score of 76. Both teams made a name for themselves in competing right alongside powerhouses such as Campolindo and Carondelet. Despite losing several seniors, the program continues to foster new talent with numerous athletes planning on attending the Junior Olympics for their respective events.

Boys’ Tennis: In a close match against sixth seed Foothill, the 11th seed MSJ lost in the first round 5-2. Miramonte won NCS with an overall record of 27-0. With only a few seniors leaving the team, the boys look to bring back most of their members next year and have another successful year.

Track: Several MSJ Track and Field athletes performed extremely well in NCS. Freshmen Christine Arnstad, Elizabeth Hu, and Erikka Linn placed 21st in the 3200 meter run, 16th in High Jump, and 19th in High Jump respectively. Sophomores Justin Nguyen and Brett Whaley placed 19th and 22nd in Pole Vault. Junior Julianna McCuaig placed 9th in Triple Jump and Senior Ariel Cheng won first in Pole Vault. Cheng advanced past NCS and won sixth in the state. MSJ track looks to continue this pattern of success in future years. ▪

courtesy msj badminton

MSJ Badminton secured a first place finish in NCS for the 10th consecutive year.

graphics editor angie wang

Grace Lee (left) and Michael Choi (right)

Scholar Athlete of the Year: Scholar Athlete of the Year is an honor awarded to two student-athletes at MSJ who have proved extreme dedication both academically and athletically. The winners of this prestigious award must have a minimum 3.75 GPA. Senior Grace Lee has been playing basketball for four years at MSJ, with three years on Varsity and two years as captain of the team. With help from Lee during her years on the team, the Girls’ Basketball team has gone farther in NCS than any other team in Girls’ Basketball history at MSJ. She will continue her academic endeavors next fall at UC Berkeley.

Senior Michael Choi has been a competitive swimmer ever since he can remember. He started swimming for Mission San Jose Aquatics when he was six years old and spent his four years at MSJ on the Varsity Swimming team. Choi’s main events are the 100 fly and the 200 medley relay and this season he was able to Choi will continue his academic endeavors at MIT this coming fall. ▪

graphics editor angie wang

Kristin Moyer (left) and Ariel Cheng (right)

Powderpuff Game:

Seniors’ defense holds off Juniors

By Hannah Shih Staff Writer

staff writer aamir rasheed

On June 7, senior and junior girls competed in a powderpuff football game at Tak Fudenna Stadium. Powderpuff is a relatively new MSJ tradition, started two years ago by alumna Emily Sutedja. However, it has already been established for years at other high schools such as Irvington, American, and Washington.

The term “powderpuff ” refers to any typically male sport that is played by females instead. Traditionally, powderpuff football is played as flag football, limiting the physical tackling and shoving that characterizes male football games.

In the game, the Juniors played against the Seniors, with fellow junior and senior football players coaching. Juniors Nathan Lee, Tamim Sarwary, Ben Torrez, and Ryan Walleman coached the Juniors, and Seniors James Gao, Eric Gonzalez, Shane Keenan, and Ismail Shafi coached the Seniors. Both teams practiced several days per week in the last few weeks in preparation for game.

A huge crowd of both students and parents filled the bleachers at Tak. After announcing the names of the players, the teams were ready for the opening kickoff. Both teams came out strong and were evenly matched in the very defensive game. Senior Quarterback Alysha BeDell led the offense and ran a few plays before conceding a turnover to Juniors on fourth down. The Juniors’ offense featured an impressive screen pass right before committing two fumbles on the next two plays. The Ju-

niors were forced to punt away to Senior Kristin Moyer, who brought back an 18-yard punt return but was stopped by Junior Rachael Platt.

Again, the Junior defense kept the Seniors in check and forced a turnover.

After another stop by the Seniors on defense, the 20-minute first half ended in a scoreless tie. Juniors Ben Torrez and Nathan Lee led the halftime cheer, accompanied by three cheerleaders.

After a kickoff by Junior Calyne Lewis to start the second half, the Juniors ran an impressive drive, but were stopped before they moved into scoring range.

The Seniors got the ball back but Junior Nina Krishnan quickly got it back with a skillful interception. Junior Julianna McCuaig kept the momentum going with a long run which resulted in a new set of downs, but the series resulted in another change of possession. Senior Kylie Moltzen kept the Juniors at bay from the linebacker position with an amazing six sacks.

Back on offense, the Seniors started off their drive with a solid gain by Moyer, a quarterback run by Bedell, and a short gain on a completed pass to Moyer. Then, on the next first down, the Seniors ran a trick play and BeDell successfully completed a touchdown pass to Senior Grace Lee. Moyer converted the extra point, and the Seniors led 7-0. Although the Juniors fought valiantly after, they were unable to recover control over the game and fell to the strong defense of the Seniors.

After the game, Gao said, “While we had really [high] expectations, I think our team met most of them. As an overall effort for [having only] three weeks practice time, it was a great game.”

Star player Moltzen said, “We really pulled together as a team, and had a lot of heart. We were just trying to get that touchdown and we finally got it.” With their powerful defense and offense, the Seniors dominated the second half of the game despite formidable attempts by the Juniors, and won the annual powderpuff football game by a final score of 7-0. ▪

Friday, June 14, 2013

The Smoke Signal

Runners Bid Farewell

By Hairol Ma Staff Writer

SS: What is your favorite memory from coaching?

LA: Probably my two favorite memories are in 2006 when three of the two milers I coached went 1, 2 & 3, and this year when Freshman Elizabeth Hu, Sophomore Nicholas Cai, Juniors Taylor Jang and Lindy Zeng, Seniors Gurubala Kotta, Lindsey Dobyns, and Nicholas Ha all qualified for NCS. The other thing I will always cherish is the opportunity I had to coach my son and later coach with him.

courtesy linda addison

With more than 50 members, MSJ’s Track and Field team is one of the largest teams on campus. Consisting of a wide array of eventstriple jump, pole vault, and discus, to name a few-coaches work hard to manage their separate events. This year, Distance Coach Linda Addison is retiring after her many years of hard work and dedication.

Smoke Signal: How long have you been coaching Track and Field?

Linda Addison: I started coaching Track and Field ten years ago. It was pretty cool to come back and coach at the same school where I ran cross country and track so many years ago.

SS: What will you miss most about coaching, and what is the best part?

LA: I will miss the amazing athletes that I have had the privilege of working with over the years. I will also miss the other coaches.

Coach Singleton, Coach Jones, and Coach Kemp are all wonderful people and have become good friends. The best part of coaching is watching an athlete that can hardly run a mile, discover what they are capable of doing.

I love to hear from former MSJ athletes that I worked with, that they still love running and that it will forever be a part of their lives.

SS: How has the Track team done this season? Were your goals achieved? What were the MVAL results for Mission?

LA: The team did really well this year, with most athletes achieving their personal best times for the season. My goal for most seasons is to try provide a place where the athletes can set and achieve goals and hopefully develop a love of running. All four divisions finished pretty much in the middle of the league. The encouraging thing is how well a lot of our freshmen and sophomores did this year at league finals. We had two freshmen girls who were varsity MVAL champs: Elizabeth Hu in the 3200 and Erikka Linn in high jump.

SS: What is most rewarding about coaching?

LA: I find watching the growth of the athletes, not only as runners, but as leaders and team members rewarding. I see every year friendships that start because of running that turn into lifelong bonds and friendship.

The older athletes welcome and mentor the younger ones.

SS: What are some tips you have for prospective track coaches?

LA: The only tip I would give to a new coach coming into Mission is to get to know your athletes and realize the same approach doesn’t work for everyone. Mission students place a lot of stress on themselves to achieve academically, so some prefer that track be a little lower key. ▪

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Sports 29

ultimate frisbee tournament

By Leah Feuerman Staff Writer

On May 20, MSJ’s second annual Ultimate Frisbee Tournament began at the MSJ soccer fields. The tournament was started last year

by L2’s Sports Committee, and is led this year

by Junior Alton Lin and Seniors Allison Cho, Melody Fang, and Milad Moghimi. A total of nine teams signed up for games that took place over the course of several weeks.

This tournament was different from other school-wide tournaments that took place earlier in the year (such as three-on-three basketball and volleyball) in that Ultimate Frisbee is not a team sport that is played competitively at the school. “We chose Ultimate Frisbee because it was a sport that allowed a lot of players on a team, and you didn’t need previous experience to play,” said Fang.

Ultimate Frisbee is a sport that incorporates elements from football into a relatively lowcontact sport. Teams pass a frisbee between each player in order to advance up the field, and a team scores when the frisbee is caught by a player in the end zone. Ultimate Frisbee is most often associated with intercollegiate sports, but there are also high school teams in some areas as well as professional leagues.

Teams had up to 10 players and paid a $3 entrance fee per player. Half of the profits went to gift cards for the winning team, and the rest of the money went to benefit ASB.

Each team in the MSJ tournament was given a three-game guarantee. The team Keelum & Friends immediately rocketed to first, going undefeated into the finals with three wins under their belt. Thick Rick and Los Humping Banditos, however, were not going down without a fight. After losing to Keelum & Friends in the first round, Thick Rick clawed its way back with a three-game win streak in the consolation bracket. They then faced the Ridisculous Frisbeasts in the semi-finals, where they won by a score of 4-1. Their victories allowed them to face Keelum & Friends in a rematch for the championship, which took place on Tuesday, June 11.

For the results of the Ultimate Frisbee championship game between Thick Rick and Los Humping Banditos and Keelum & Friends, visit www.thesmokesignal.org. ▪

staff writer leah feuerman

The Ridisculous Frisbeasts in a game against Thick Rick and Los Humping Banditos.

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30 Sports

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, June 14, 2013

Playing for College

Shannon Chua Sport: Volleyball College: Case Western Reserve University Major: Undeclared Chua started playing volleyball in middle school at Hopkins Junior High. She played for Endline Volleyball Club for four years, and Golden Bear Volley Club for two years. She was on the MSJ Girls’ Volleyball team for four years, spending one year on Junior Varsity and three years on the Varsity team. Chua was awarded MVAL All-League Second Team Outside Hitter in her junior year and received MVAL All-League Honorable Mention Setter in her senior year. Chua often goes back to Hopkins to help the Girls’ and Boys’ Volleyball team. Chua will be attending Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, playing in NCAA Division III.

James Chen Sport: Tennis College: Swarthmore College Major: Undeclared Chen started playing tennis for fun when he was nine and began training at Tompkins Tennis located in Fremont. He joined the MSJ Tennis team and played on Varsity for all four years of high school. He plays singles and was the only one who made it to the second round of NCS for singles. He goes by the motto “train hard, study hard.” Chen will be attending Swarthmore College, which is part of NCAA Division III, in the fall and will continue to play college tennis at the Centennial Conference.

Brian Sun Sport: Tennis College: University of Chicago Major: Undeclared Sun has been playing tennis for nine years and has been on the Varsity Tennis team since freshman year. In his freshman year, Sun played number 1 Singles and got to the semi-final round of NCS. In addition to playing for the school team, Sun has played both regional and national tournaments. He was among the top 50 in national rankings in the Class of 2013. Sun will be attending University of Chicago, which is a NCAA Division III school.

By Catherine Ho, Sanjay Sreekumar, & Lindy Zeng Staff Writers

The end of the school year means an end of a journey for MSJ's wonderful student athletes. A select few, however, are planning to continue their athletic careers in college by playing for their school's team. The Smoke Signal had a chance to interview some of these seniors and find out more about their careers at MSJ and what they plan on doing in the future.

Shannon Chua

William Cheung

Brian Sun and James Chen

Blair Akerland and Ian Fuller

Garrett Chan Sport: Swimming College: University of California, Santa Barbara Major: Biology Chan has been swimming for 10 years, mostly for the Flying Fish School but also for MSJ the past two years. At MSJ, Chan set the new school record for the 200 Medley relay this year at NCS, and at MVALs, he placed in the top three for the 100 Fly, 200 Medley, and 200 Free. Some of his other accolades include winning most improved swimmer for MSJ last year, and swimming competitively at the North American Challenge Cup, Western Championships, and the Junior Olympics. Chan will be competing in Division II at UCSB.

(From left to right) Garrett Chan, Maki Tohmon, Eric Lam, and Austine Lee

Maki Tohmon Sport: Swimming College: Pomona College Major: General Biology Tohmon has been swimming since she was one year old and has been competing for ten years.

Tohmon was a co-captain of the 2012 MSJ swim team and was MVP in the 2011 swim season. Tohmon swims the 500 Free, 100 Fly, 200 IM, the butterfly leg of the 4x50 Medley Relay, and the 4x100 Relay for MSJ. Next year, she will be swimming for Pomona College, an NCAA Division III school.

Tamara Aboumrad Sport: Soccer College: University of California, Berkeley Major: Undeclared Aboumrad has been playing soccer for 13 years. She currently plays for Pleasanton Rage, but her diverse soccer experience has included playing for Fremont (MVU), MSJ Varsity Soccer in her freshman year, and the Region IV team. She was an invitee to National Camp but had to turn down the opportunity because of an injury. Aboumrad tore her ACL, meniscus, and MCL in her freshman year and came back in just five months after reconstructive surgery. Aboumrad will be playing for Cal Berkeley, which is part of the NCAA Division I sports program and the Pac-12.

Ian Fuller Sport: Water Polo College: California Baptist University Major: Undeclared Fuller started playing water polo when he was 14. He has played for many teams, including the Ohlone Renegades Club for two years, West Coast Water Polo Club for one year, and Stanford Water Polo Club for one year. Fuller has played four years of high school polo, one year on Junior Varsity and three years on Varsity. He has been selected for 1st Team All League twice and 3rd Team NCS once. He plays whole set, otherwise known as center, and will be playing for California Baptist University, a NCAA Division II school, on an athletic scholarship.

Blair Akerland Sport: Water Polo College: Santa Clara University Major: Business Akerland brings eight years of experience to the water polo team at Santa Clara University, a NCAA Division I school. Akerland has played varsity water polo at MSJ for three years; during those years, she was twice the MVP and NCS participant. In addition to water polo, Akerland was on the varsity swim team for four years. She has been MVAL All-League a total of five times.

Eric Lam Sport: Swimming College: Arcadia University Major: Sports Psychology Lam first started swimming for Flying Fish year round when he was seven and will be finishing his last year with the team over the summer. In high school, he swam for MSJ as a Varsity team member for all four years, focusing on backstroke and individual medley. He was captain of the Varsity team his junior and senior year. He plans to continue swimming for Arcadia University, which is NCAA Division III.

William Cheung Sport: Badminton College: University of California, Berkeley Major: Undeclared While badminton is not an NCAA-sanctioned sport, the club/intramural badminton program at Cal is one of the best in the nation. Cheung plays Varsity Badminton at MSJ and was NCS Boy’s Singles Champion every year from sophomore to senior year. He will be attending Cal on a 2013 NCS/Yonex Scholarship. This award recognizes badminton student athletes who have demonstrated commitment to school and community investment through volunteerism.

(From left to right) Tamara Aboumrad, Kylie Moltzen, and Kristin Moyer

Kylie Moltzen Sport: Soccer College: Southern Oregon University Major: Environmental Sciences Moltzen has been playing soccer since she was four years old. In addition to playing on MSJ’s Varsity Soccer team all four years of high school, she has played on club teams across the Bay Area. Moltzen has been awarded NCS Scholar Athlete in all four years and was named “Most Inspirational” on the MSJ Soccer team in her junior and senior years.

Moltzen was Second Team All-League in her sophomore and junior years and First Team All-League in her senior year. Moltzen will be attending Southern Oregon University, which is part of the NAIA Conference, on a Western Undergraduate Exchange Scholarship.

Austine Lee Sport: Swimming College: University of California, San Diego Major: Undeclared Lee was recruited by UCSD, a NCAA Division II school, last summer. She has been swimming competitively for almost twelve years and swims year-round for Mission San Jose Aquatics.

She has also been on MSJ’s Varsity Swim team for her freshman, junior, and senior years. During her time on the MSJ Swimming team, she has set many school and MVAL records. Her events include the 50 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, and 200 individual medley. She was seeded third for the 50 free at NCS in mid-May. Kristin Moyer Sports: Soccer College: Portland State Major: Undeclared Moyer started playing soccer at the age of five in Fremont and Oakland. She continued playing soccer for MSJ, playing many positions, including center midfield. The soccer team placed first her freshman year, fifth her sophomore and junior year, and fourth her senior year. Moyer was recruited by Portland State to play NCAA Division I soccer and given an athletic scholarship. She will be able to play all positions, but will probably focus on playing center midfield or center defender in college.

photos by graphics editor sherry xiao and staff writer shirby wang. athletics.case.edu, bulletin.arcadia.edu, ecac.org, facebook.com, logotypes101.com pe.pomona.edu smaworks.com, soccernation.com, sportslogos.net, thepacwest.com, wikia.com, wikipedia.org. layout by sports editor kenny jacoby.

Friday, June 14, 2013

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photos by graphics editor sherry xiao & staff writers nina krishnan, hairol ma, aamir rasheed, shirby wang, supriya yelimeli & anna zeng