Volume LII, No. 9

2016-17 Year in Review

MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL

VOL. 52, NO. 9

MPPFA Projects

Traffic Loop Changes

Universal Performers performed The Importance of Being Earnest as their annual school play in late March and early April. New Drama Department Teacher Morgan Goldstein brought 20 years of performing experience and directed the play.

As the 2016-17 school year comes to an end, the Smoke Signal takes a look back at some of the milestones that defined another eventful year.

Robotics

3D Printing Designathon

Teams RoboKnights, Voltage of Imagination, and Intersect, participated in the FIRST Tech Challenge Super-Regional competition from March 10 to 12, where RoboKnights qualified for the FIRST World Championships. Voltage of Imagination and Intersect placed 14th and 18th, respectively.

3D Printing Club held their third annual 3D Printing Designathon on April 9, during which students from across the Bay Area learned about 3D modelling. Participants also competed in various design challenges to win awards.

ENTS M E OV R MP I L

This year, a new mural was painted near the C-Wing and gym quad. Depicting unity and multicultural diversity, the design features children playing on a map of the world, a literal interpretation of the idea that the world is a playground.

The designer of the mural, Sophomore Toshali Goel, said, “The children playing together, oblivious to the stigma and stereotypes placed by society around people of other cultures and backgrounds, represents the ability we all have to forget these societal restriction and embrace our differences as one people.” In addition, two murals about healthy lifestyles that students had started last year in the B-Wing DECA Cafeteria were This year, DECA members were recompleted. quired to take a sixth or seventh period marketing class taught by Government Teacher Belinda Eugster folTSA lowing the changes MSJ Technology to Career Technical Student Association Education rules. More (TSA) sent 10 members than 100 MSJ students to participate in the TSA attended the Silicon Valley California State Conference Career Development Conference held in Bakersfield, CA this year. Many from January 6 to 8 in the San Jose Marriott Conventeams won first place in their various cat- tion Center, with 61 top-eight finalists and 26 top-three egories, qualifying for the national tourna- finalists. In addition, more than 48 members qualified ment which will take place in June. Overall, for the International Career Development Conference they won 11 medals with only 10 members. from State Career Development Conference.

Competitions

Students also excelled in various science competitions throughout the year, with Summit Diplomats in the Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge, Grand Award winners in the Alameda County Science and Engineering Fair, finalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology, and finalists in the Regeneron Science Talent Search.

STE M

Rachel’s Challenge

On January 10, the school held the Rachel’s Challenge assembly, which told the emotional story of the Columbine High School shooting in order to spread awareness against bullying and inspire students to spread kindness, respect, and positivity. Rachel’s Challenge urges everyone to continue Rachel’s legacy and by starting a chain reaction of kindness.

ARTS

New Murals

SC HO O

A new traffic pattern was enacted this school year in advance of a traffic loop off Mission Boulevard planned by FUSD and funded by Robson Homes.

Testing for the new traffic configuration began on May 1 and is still in process.

If the trials are successful, the two new drop-off loops (in the horseshoe and in the student and staff parking lot) will remain as they are. Otherwise, the lines will be painted over and traffic will return to its previUniversal ous state.

MPPFA funded several new projects on campus. Landscaping near the N-Wing lawn was redone to include a new pathway. The career center was refurbished with enhanced internet, new carpet, and improved furniture. The A-Wing cafeteria was also remodeled and converted into a flex room with movable desks, whiteboards, and new TVs. Furthermore, 35 iMacs were purchased for the library and 110 Chromebooks were added to the flex room.

By Ian Hsu, Jenny Miao, Michael Ren & Richard Chenyu Zhou Staff Writers

ME NTAL H LTH EA

Advisory

This school year, a new advisory schedule was implemented. Every Thursday, students were able to go to either math, English, physical education, or health classrooms, or to the arts, social studies, sciences, and world language classrooms on alternating Thursdays. Teachers whose classrooms were not open during advisory were given time to collaborate or meet with students. The gym, library, Career Center, B-Wing Cafeteria, and new Flex Room were also available for use. Students could use the time to collaborate, finish work, attend guest speakers’ talks, or participate in activities like Yoga or Ultimate Frisbee.

Performers

June 9, 2017

41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539

Mental Health Panel

CLU BS

On May 16, MSJ’s Mental Health Committee organized a mental health panel for all English classes. Held in C-120, the panel featured students, alumni, and mental health professionals. The panel discussions provided insight on mental health from various perspectives, touching on the stigma surrounding the issue while also allowing students to ask anonymous Fall questions. The CommitMSJ sports teams had a successful tee also held a secyear, with many teams placing highly ond panel for in their respective league. parents on During the Fall season, June 5.

Girls’ Golf took first place at MVALs and NCS, qualifying for the Meet of Champions.

Cross Country and Girls’ Tennis also had successful seasons with first place finishes at MVALs.

TS R SPO Spring

In the Spring, Boys’ Volleyball initially had a slow start to their season.

However, the team improved and was able to reach the quarterfinal round of NCS by the end of the season. Badminton continued their streak, taking first place at MVALs and NCS. For more spring post-season updates, see page 23.

Winter In the Winter season, Boys’ Soccer and Boys’ Basketball showed a large improvement over previous seasons. Cheer and Wrestling similarly placed high in their respective regional competitions.

layout by staff writers gloria chang & andrew kan. photos by staff writer gloria chang, the smoke signal archives, courtesy annet hammond photography, aileen hsu, msj tsa

EXPERIENCE THE NEW RIDES AT CALIFORNIA’S GREAT AMERICA

The Smoke Signal visited Great America as part of a Media Day event to experience the newly upgraded amusement park.

SZECHUAN SAUCE SQUAD SIZZLES WITH SPICY TRACKS

Read about Seniors Jeffrey Liu, Kane Tian, and Alex Yin, who are partners in the rap group “Szechuan Sauce Squad,” which is gaining recognition among students at MSJ.

FOR MORE COVERAGE,

VISIT www.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

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Mental Health Committee hosts first mental health panel Students, alumni, and professionals speak about their experiences with mental health

By Stephanie Dutra & Evie Sun Staff Writers MSJ’s Mental Health Committee, a newly-formed student-organized committee that brainstorms how to combat mental health, hosted their first Mental Health Panel on May 16 in C-120. At the panel, current students, alumni, and mental health professionals spoke about their experiences with mental health.

Formed this year, the Mental Health Committee it is led by Junior Mallika Gupta and Seniors Lucille Njoo and Michelle Zhang, and advised by English teacher Nina LaRosa. The committee held the panel to reduce the stigma around mental health and let students know that they’re not alone in their struggles with mental health. The speakers at the event included Juniors Emily Chang and Brandon Do and Senior Ana Singh. In addition, the panel featured

Students listen to guest speakers as a part of the mental health panel discussion.

mental health professionals Dr. Amanda Morrison, a clinical psychologist from CSU East Bay, Roshelle Ogundele from Stanford University for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing, and Dr. Helen Hsu from the City of Fremont Youth and Family Services.

The Committee also invited MSJ alumni, including Class of 2016 Alumnae Didi Wu, Harshita Gupta, and Deborah Wu and Class of 2013 Alumna Noa Kretchmer, to present their experiences and opinions on mental health.

During each panel, the six speakers began by explaining why they decided to participate in the panel, with half of the speakers additionally sharing their personal stories regarding mental health. All students were given index cards to privately write down any questions that they had for the panelists, and members of the committee collected the cards throughout the panel to ask the panelists anonymous questions from the student body.

Members of the Mental Health Committee prompted discussions regarding mental health, including the stigma around it, how to treat and cope with it, and other questions that sparked personal narratives about mental health issues. The speakers addressed a variety of topics, ranging from academic stress and anxiety to clinical depression and bipolar disorder. Senior Ana Singh, who spoke about her experiences with anxiety and depression during her junior year, offered advice about dealing with mental health at the panel. She said, “If you do have mental illness, don’t hesitate in reaching out — you can talk to friends, counselors, school psychologists, teach-

Students, alumni, and professionals discuss their opinions and experiences with mental health.

ers — really, everyone’s just there to listen to you, so the worst thing you can do is to just keep it to yourself.” In addition, Morrison said, “I guess what advice I have is to not beat yourself up and think that you’re alone in experiencing mental health issues. I think most people know this now, but maybe not, but about 50 percent of people in their lifetime will experience some kind of mental health issue.”

The Mental Health Committee will now become a permanent part of MSJ. By hosting the mental health panel, the committee hoped to provide new perspectives and insights that would ignite a discussion within the MSJ community so the students and the school become a part of the solution for the mental health issues at MSJ. “We hope that, through

this panel, students would be able to engage in an actual discussion, and the reason we asked for them to come with their English classes was so that they went to this panel together, so they could continue on these discussions after the event was over because mental health is something that all of us are working on for ourselves,” said Gupta. The Committee also hosted a second panel aimed towards parents, as well as those who didn’t have the opportunity to attend the first one, from 6 to 8 p.m. on June 5 in C-120. “We hope to continue doing events like this next year, and we hope to make the Mental Health Panel an annual event [so that] students will be able to hear the stories of people who struggled with mental health,” said Njoo. ▪ photos by staff writer stephanie dutra

Speech team hosts annual speech showcase Speech finishes the year with their seventh annual showcase on May 19

Speech held their seventh annual Speech Showcase on May 19 in C-120 at 6:30 p.m. The event was hosted by Vice President Senior Angela Shalizi and Secretary and Interpretation Captain Senior Keval Parikh, who began by welcoming the audience and covering Speech’s extensive achievements from this past year. The team competed at the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions and the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions, had finalists at States, and qualified to Nationals.

Shalizi and Parikh explained the various competitive events Speech offers, such as interpretation events and oratorical events. President Senior Anthony Chen said, “The purpose of the Showcase, besides fundraising, is to give our parents, classmates, and

teachers a glimpse into what we do in Speech.”

The first performer was Sophomore Brendan Shih, who did an original expository piece titled “Cows.” He incorporated handmade graphics and vision boards in this funny yet informative speech on how cows are affecting our world. Sophomore Rahul Iyer performed a dramatic interpretation of “Aftermath,” by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen.

“Aftermath” explored how actions during the war in Iraq had consequences that changed the lives of millions of Iraqis. Iyer said, “Back in September, I found this book called Aftermath. I really liked the ideas it portrayed, so I decided to cut it and use it as my piece. I wanted to do a piece on injustice in the Middle East, and the Iraq War fit that perfectly.” To end the first half of the show, Chen and Alumnus Abhishek Singh did a duo interpretation of “The King of Comedy, ” by Paul Zimmerman. This chill-

ing piece follows amateur comedian Rupert Pupkin, who tries to advance his career by following Jerry Langford, a world famous comedian.

After intermission, Sophomore Samir Banerjee cracked jokes and danced his way around stage in his humorous interpretation of the satirical comedy film, “The Producers,” by Mel Brooks. His performance left the audience in good spirits and caused laughter across the room. As the final piece of the evening, Treasurer Junior Rohan Srinivasan and Freshman Swetha Naidu performed a poignant duo interpretation piece, “Do They Wear High Heels in Heaven,” by Erica Orloff. Srinivasan and Naidu’s performance, which won second place at States, centered around a single mother with terminal breast cancer, Lily, and her optimistic best friend as they struggle to come to terms with Lily’s disease.

Chen said, “Most of the pieces at the showcase are the pieces that our teammates have used to compete over the past season. We selected the performers and their pieces from the most successful competitors this season, based on how entertaining it would be for the audience and how well it would represent what we do on this team.”

The team’s performances were well-received by students, parents, and staff. Sophomore Shivang Shelat said, “My favorite part of the performances were probably the intensity of some of the actors and actresses that performed. The emotions that they could evoke simply with the layers of their voice enticed the audience.” Additionally, Sopho-

MSJ Speech members dedicate roses to friends, family, and team members at the conclusion of the showcase.

NEWS

corrections

for the MAY 5, 2017 issue

IN

President Donald J. Trump meets with Pope Francis in Vatican City.

NATIONAL

New elementary school construction planned The construction of a new elementary school in Fremont is proposed to begin during this summer and be erected by the beginning of the next school year in 2018. The new school will b e located in the Warm Springs/South Fremont Community Planning Area. As of now, specific details about the institution have not been decided. However, the FUSD Board of Education has established an advisory committee to choose the school’s name, colors, and mascot. The committee will present their selections to the board at the end of this school year.

BRIEF cnn.com

fremont.k12.ca.us

A new elementary school will be constructed in Warm Springs in summer.

LOCAL

News Pg. 1: The map image is courtesy of WTrans.

Opinion Pg. 5: Marlyn McGrath is misspelled.

Centerspread Pg. 12: Ankita Hooda and Vinit Majmudar are sophomores.

Centerspread Pg. 13: Shreya Hegde’s name is misspelled. Kanchan Raju is a freshman.

A&E Pg. 17: Icy Blue is located at 43360 Mission Blvd., Suite 120, Fremont, CA. Special Pg. 21: The Southern Law Poverty Center reported that 867 cases of harassment or intimidation were filed within 10 days of President Donald J. Trump’s election win.

President Donald J. Trump visits Pope Francis President Donald J. Trump traveled to Vatican City to meet with Pope Francis and officials on Wednesday, May 24. The two discussed terrorism, the radicalism of young people, and world peace. Despite their opposing world views, the two pledged to work towards peace together and exchanged gifts.

As reported by The New York Times, Francis presented the president with a medallion engraved with an olive tree. Francis said to Trump, “It is with all hope that you may become an olive tree to make peace.”

Senior Anthony Chen and Alumnus Abhishek Singh perform a duo interpretation.

more Arunav Gupta said, “The showcase is, in my opinion, one of the most well-run events on the Mission campus … the performers were outstanding. I would definitely come back and watch it next year.”

The showcase ended with an annual tradition in which each performer dedicated a rose to someone who had supported and cared for them throughout this year. The ceremony was accompanied by both humorous and heartfelt anecdotes as the flowers were distributed to friends, parents, and fellow Speech teammates. ▪ photos by staff writer maggie zhao

Compiled by Shivani Avasarala, Amy Chen, and Heather Gan Staff Writers

INTERNATIONAL

By Hana Sheikh & Maggie Zhao Staff Writers

cbc.com

Same-sex marriage supporters wave rainbow Taiwanese flags.

Taiwan rules on marriage laws On Wednesday, May 24, the Taiwanese Constitutional Court ruled that laws that limited marriage to be strictly between a man and woman violated the constitution. The court also gave Taiwanese legislators a period of two years to modify current laws or enact new laws accordingly, which could make Taiwan, which already has a large LGBTQ+ community, the first country in Asia to allow same-sex marriage. Legislators are currently advocating the importance of gay rights, and pushing reform into the existing laws.

Opinion 3 www.thesmokesignal.org

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tanushri’s tangent

The Smoke Signal Mission San Jose High School Est. 1964 Vol. 52, No. 9 | Jun. 9, 2017

anthony’s answer

North Korea: the biggest country in Africa!

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MISSION STATEMENT The Smoke Signal’s mission is to represent the voices of the MSJ community and serve the public by providing accurate, meaningful, and engaging information presented through print and digital mediums.

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

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

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

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

I stepped into my favorite lunch stop thinking only about the giant burrito that I would soon sink my teeth into. My stomach had been growling throughout fourth period. I needed to eat.

“One super vegetarian burrito please!”

As the cashier wrote down my order, I stared hungrily at the rows of cheese, tortillas, and vegetables in front of him, estimating how long it would take before my meal would be ready. However, I was soon snapped out of my daydream.

“Do you know where North Korea is?” the cashier asked abruptly.

“Hm?” “Just curious. I read that only about 53 percent of people with a postgraduate degree can correctly identify North Korea.”

This is a concerning statistic, but I was so deep into my burrito daydreams that I didn’t care. My answer was brief and indifferent. “I’m sure I could point it out to you on a map.” I exchanged a smile to end the conversation and walked away, but I couldn’t help but overhear the cashier ask the man behind me the same question.

“Oh definitely!” he said. “We took an intensive geography course when I was in high school. I also learned a lot about Asia while stationed in Vietnam.” They effortlessly slipped into conversation — one so interesting that I wasn’t only shamelessly eavesdropping but also reflecting on my own response. What conversation had I sacrificed because of my tunnel vision, and what valuable lessons had the cashier collected by braving through awkward interactions with dozens of customers?

The more I listened to the cashier ask his question, the more I admired his gesture. He hadn’t read about geographic illiteracy and moved on. Instead, he at-

By Anthony Chen Opinion Editor

tempted to remedy it by asking a simple question to everyone who came his way. Not all of the customers were as engaged as the older gentleman — the rude ones were hopelessly entrenched in their own world, and the polite ones usually didn’t care. But I looked out for the few who responded quickly, the ones who were curious and eager to learn from those around them. I wanted to be like them.

I assumed that the tunnel vision that consumed my high-school experience would disappear once I walked across the graduation stage and entered the “real world,” but this interaction showed me that self-centered habits only carry over and compound in the long-term. As a soon-to-be graduate, I clearly see that four years of trying to make it through each class, assignment, and test cultivates a crippling “me-first” attitude that holds us back from the little experiences that enrich our lives. In my case, I was so caught up in trying to get my food as fast as possible that I neglected the interesting food for thought that the cashier offered.

The next day, I made the cashier’s mission my own, determined to compensate for my prior indifference.

“Do you know where Sudan is?”

“Just curious. I read a statistic in National Geographic that 54 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 didn’t know it was a country in Africa.”

Most of the time, I was blown off, but in the rare occasion I met someone with sincere engagement, I wondered whether they’d remember our conversation in the future. Here’s to hoping that we start a chain reaction. ▪

The Opinion of the Smoke Signal Editorial Board

Maintaining an optimistic outlook on change The Mission experience is often filled with complaints. Overwhelming academic pressure, subpar facilities, unappetizing cafeteria food — the list goes on and on.

But this defeatist attitude means that we tend to overlook the positive changes that have taken place at MSJ over the past few years. We as a student body should instead adopt an optimistic perspective about the future by recognizing the encouraging changes and striving to build upon the positive aspects we already have.

The progress that has taken place at MSJ over the years is often forgotten and taken for granted. We should acknowledge the sympathetic administration that has implemented programs such as late start Wednesdays, provided better resources for mental health support, and abolished unpopular traditions such as class ranks on official transcripts. Many of these changes were enacted following the Stanford Survey of Adolescent School Experiences in previous years, which in itself shows school officials’ desire for positive change. MSJ isn’t plagued by outof-touch administrators who only look to further their own agendas, and for this, we should be appreciative.

Despite attempts by administrators and other members of the community to shift dialogue away from academics, they still pervade our daily conversations, with teachers often becoming the center of the blame. It almost becomes an “us versus them” mentality as both sides struggle to come to terms with the others’ actions. However, we have to acknowledge that most teachers are constantly trying to understand our perspectives and our cultures. Disagreement is inevitable and certainly acceptable, but students should

recognize that the faculty are continuously learning, just as we are. Improvement is a collective effort, and both sides are expected to contribute.

None of this means that MSJ is without its problems. Cheating, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unreliability, and traffic headaches continue to prevail despite attempted reform efforts.

But students often feel a sense of complacency when approaching these issues.

Many believe that because these faults have lingered for years, they’re never going to be fixed. We have to realize that this mentality is contributing to the persistence of these problems. While some people would rather maintain a pessimistic attitude until they graduate, that helps neither them nor the rest of the school in the long run. We’re aiming for progress and that requires a variety of ideas, which can only be turned into real solutions if we assume a hopeful and innovative outlook about the future.

We’re instinctively impatient, but change takes time, especially at a school that has an environment that is clearly different than most others. Being appreciative of existing changes and maintaining an optimistic attitude is the least we can do to make the school we call home a better place for everyone. ▪

As the Smoke Signal conducted its special coverage on identity, I have begun to consider how my own ideologies and identities interact with each other — how my experiences as an Opinion writer, a political campaign fellow, and an Asian-American student have shaped me to become open-minded but skeptical, and how that conflicts with my cultural heritage and religious beliefs.

As a child of Taiwanese descent, I was raised in a household that followed Taiwanese customs heavily influenced by Buddhism. However, as an Asian-American, my experiences in the US have also understandably allowed me to see those customs from an outside perspective as well. While many, including my parents, would consider this flexibility a privilege, it has also become a source of doubt and confusion, especially when it comes to my family’s Buddhist faith.

Am I to take the teachings of Buddhism for what they are simply because I was raised that way? Call it a product of our oftentimescynical generation, my multicultural origin, or anything else, but I find myself hesitant to put absolute faith into many things.

While campaigning for Congressman Ro Khanna throughout high school, I was slowly introduced to our country’s politics. The growing divide in our political spectrum have encouraged people like Khanna to stand up for bipartisan discussion and solutions, and I have similarly adopted the idea that issues should be viewed from multiple perspectives.

Being a student journalist has also taught me to be an observer rather than a participant in events and issues.

When those experiences have shaped a majority of my values, it is hard then to ignore the fact that there are so many religions, and it is even harder to say that one is closer to the truth than the rest. Given this indeci-

Do you think students are comfortable talking to or seeking help from their teachers?

sion, my intellectual curiosity wants me to delve further into different religions and learn more about them before I make a decision on where I stand on the subject.

However, religion at its core is not a science — it is a faith. Will knowing more about different religions truly aid me in deciding where to put my faith? Is it even morally justified to ask devoted religious practitioners to teach me about a religion that I do not yet have any intention of adopting?

I am reminded of a former English teacher’s lesson about how you can never truly learn something unless you become immersed in it as a participant and not as a researcher. This lesson continuously nags at me and tells me that my entire approach to religion could be misguided. The reality is that I know next to nothing about religion.

Does it require absolute faith to learn and practice? What does it mean to religious people to have a faith at all?

If writing columns over the past year has taught me anything, it is that, contrary to what my column name suggests, I don’t have all the answers. This ignorance it has instilled in me a renewed desire to actively look for these answers. Admittedly, my past four years in high school have featured a lot of sitting in classes, fulfilling prerequisites, and advancing in set pathways of classes.

College will hopefully be a time for me to look for answers to my own questions and not just the questions that others have given me to answer.

I am writing this now as my final column because I would like to encourage everyone to do the same, whether you’re going to college or resuming high school next year. If you have any doubts about anything, go and search for the answers. At least every aspect of me agrees that that is the way we learn. ▪

Studentteacher interactions

et H a n Jan ,1 1

“No, because students think that teachers are biased based on how smart they are, and they’re afraid of which question to ask their teachers — like whether or not it’s going to make them seem smart.”

A

41717 Palm Ave. Fremont, CA 94539 510-657-3600, ext. 37088

Opinion 5

Q&A: finding answers to my own questions

By Tanushri Sundar Opinion Editor

il pr

Huang, 12 “I think it depends on the teacher. Most of them are pretty open to having students talk to them but some teachers make the students afraid of talking to them. It hinders their ability to learn well because they can’t get help from their peers and their teachers. They don’t get their questions answered properly.”

If not, how do you think this divide affects students?

on Yun Jas ,9

“Funnily enough, I think that the divide brings classmates together as they ask each other questions and go through classes together.”

n

Ri

Friday, June 9, 2017

Vu

ong, 12

“More often than not, having that divide tends to make students’ academic performance decrease.

Both from my personal experience and my friend’s personal experience, because they’re too afraid to approach their teachers and have clear communication, they misinterpret in class. When they take tests or do labs, they do it incorrectly and are too afraid to clarify it.” photos by staff writer deeksha raina

6 Opinion

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Friday, June 9, 2017

A new approach: Understanding the cheating dilemma

By Jessica Jen & Vicki Xu Staff Writers

There’s no doubt about it: cheating is connected to the MSJ identity as strongly as the Bell Tower is.

From the Stanford Survey of Adolescent School Experiences, a whopping 90 percent of MSJ students have cheated at least once in the past year. This figure, though gigantic, isn’t so surprising. After all, the clusters of students who gather during Read, passing periods, and lunch to copy homework and solicit test questions have nearly become a part of MSJ's scenery. Stories of test-laundering rings and calculator trafficking from years ago linger in hallways and on Snapchat, with not so much disgust as reverence for accomplishing such elaborately dishonest feats — or pity for getting caught.

At MSJ, courseload difficulty and grades are near fetishized in an abstract pursuit of a highly-ranked college. Honesty is dispensable if achievement, however petty, is at stake.

However, this is not specific to MSJ, nor is it anything new. The Educational Testing Service found in the late 1990s that high school cheating increased by more than 50 percent since the 1940s, and judging by our current results, the number hasn’t gone down. Indeed, in 2015, Rutgers Business School Professor Donald McCabe found that 95 percent of more than 70,000 high school students surveyed participated in some form of cheating.

But there’s no dearth of initiatives created to combat this phenomenon. McCabe founded the International Center for Academic Integrity in 1992 to promote academic honesty among students. Honor pledges abound in

colleges and now high school. Districts have considered setting up surveillance cameras to monitor students’ academic behaviors. Still, none of these seem to have efficiently combated the problem. Why, for all our good intentions, does cheating persist?

The answer is that we’ve become a society that prioritizes prestige and achievement above all else. Only look around at the Silicon Valley, with its myriad millionaires and ambitious entrepreneurs, to see how much we value wealth and fame. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it becomes an issue when integrity is sacrificed. At MSJ, courseload difficulty and grades are near fetishized in an abstract pursuit of a highly-ranked college. Honesty is dispensable if achievement, however petty, is at stake. If honesty is as important to us as we may like to believe, there should be far fewer cheaters, and the act itself should not be considered so lucrative.

Just denouncing cheaters as hurting other people is a feeble appeal to cheaters’ consciences. They already know they hurt others. In curved classes, their ill-acquired grades skew the curve unfairly each time. In the world at large, they function to the detriment of people around them — the uber-wealthy dodge taxes and avoid contributing to society; corrupt politicians siphon money from campaign donations for personal use; and,

“Factors significantly correlated with cheating behavior:

A

B

C

D

E

A B C D E

Less able to meet parent expectations Less teacher support Finding less value and meaning in their schoolwork Putting less effort into their schoolwork Finding schoolwork less enjoyable More physical stress-symptoms More academic worry"

graphic and statistics by stanford survey of adolescent school experiences

on society, so appealing to their ethics will not work.

Thus, more important than trying to guide cheaters from their errant ways is to treat the root causes of cheating, not the cheat-

Better-engaged students are more likely to retain information, and thus be more confident in their abilities to master the material.

They are then less likely to cheat.

ers themselves, who are merely products of a larger culture. Students cheat believing they can save energy on assignments or assessments while still achieving satisfactory results.

By not putting forth maximum effort, they send the message that they are not engaged In committing to dishonesty, in the assignments, or the assignments are not cheaters accept their impact on so- worth their time. This leads to a toxic cycle ciety, so appealing to their ethics in which normally honest students are drawn will not work. to dishonesty, feeling their efforts are undervalued or otherwise simply trying to catch up infamously, Bernie Madoff swindled mil- to the impossible bar set by cheaters. At its lions from investors in his Ponzi scheme. core, this sense of entitlement to a grade is These are conscious decisions to make, and tangled up with insecurity. What other way cheaters know the outcome. In committing to succeed in a community where academic to dishonesty, cheaters accept their impact achievement seems to be the currency of so-

cial standing? After all, a plurality of Stanford Survey respondents indicated that they were most proud of their academics.

Clearly, the problem lies in mindset. Surveillance cameras and stringent rules do not solve this problem — they may suppress cheating, but cheating does not go away, because the environment remains unchanged outside of the classroom. Students and teachers must work together to solve the underlying issue.

One strategy involves the students’ and teachers’ concentrated effort towards increasing the relevancy of classroom material. For example, continually making connections between classroom material and the outside world improves engagement, and more engaged students see a renewed sense of purpose in their educational pursuits. They are then less likely to forego that sense of purpose by cheating.

Also, respect for teachers and instruction is important — it lowers the likelihood of sacrificing academic integrity.

For the long term, we must start thinking about awarding mastery over performance, progress over achievement. But ultimately, until we stop justifying the ends by the means, our culture of cheating isn’t going anywhere. ▪

Friday, June 9, 2017

The Smoke Signal

Student Spotlight: AMBER LEE

By Jenny Miao Staff Writer

Freshman Amber Lee recently received the highest award in Le Grand Concours, an annual national French contest. The challenge tests students on reading comprehension, writing, and listening comprehension in French. As a French 2 student, Lee became a Platinum winner and earned the national top score in her division. The Smoke Signal interviewed Lee to find out more about her accomplishment, as well as her goals for the future.

The Smoke Signal: What inspired you to start learning French and why do you enjoy it?

Amber Lee: I always thought it was a beautiful language and several years ago when I went to Canada and was surrounded by a lot of French people I really wanted to learn. When I had the opportunity I decided to take a class. I started learning last year. I enjoy learning French because it’s fun to be able to practice a different language.

sations with more people and I can practice my speaking.

SS: How did you prepare for the National French contest?

AL: I prepared by taking several practice tests.

Besides the class at school, I didn’t really do much additional practice.

SS: What kind of advice would you give to beginning French-learners?

AL: I’d say to just practice, and I feel like if you’re really passionate and motivated to improve, you improve. I think if you enjoy it, there’s really only a brighter future ahead of you. It also really helps to have someone you can speak to and have conversations with, like a friend or a teacher. I feel like that really makes learning and practicing French a lot more fun and enjoyable. ▪

SS: What is your French study schedule like?

How do you practice reading comprehension, writing, and listening?

AL: I study French a lot like how I study my other subjects, but sometimes I practice by making up sentences. Sometimes I also listen to French songs or watch French cartoons whenever, just for fun.

SS: What challenges have you faced learning French?

AL: I find that sometimes it’s difficult to be able to form sentences when I’m talking so I think what could really help me is if I have conver-

SS: What kind of advantages does learning French give you?

AL: I feel like an advantage is that I’m able to understand French that I see sometimes outside the classroom, and I think that’s really cool. I really enjoy French; it’s kind of like a hobby and it’s just something I’m really passionate about.

SS: How has learning French made a difference in your life?

AL: It has given me something I enjoy and now I have something that I like to practice. I feel like it’s one of my favorite subjects so it always gives me something to look forward to at school. I think I practice French more than I practice any of my other subjects.

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Feature 7

Graduation

By Vicki Xu Staff Writer

with Siri

“Hey, Siri, you got a moment?”

“OK.”

“Is it normal — you know, as a high school senior and

all — to want to hold on to the present but want to, like, speed through high school at the same time?”

“I am not a high school senior. However, I try to be satisfied with what I have. No need to be siri-ous all the time!”

“Dude, I do too, but if you step back after a while and look behind you, it’s like — did all this time really pass by or did I imagine it? It was all so fast, like, am I really graduating?”

“Who, me?”

“No, not you. I just wish I had more time to chill with my friends, now that it’s almost over.”

“Here are some suggestions for ice cream shops in Fremont.”

“No Siri. Anyway, it’s cool thinking that I’ll be starting anew in college. I’ll be with a completely new set of faces, in a totally different place, and I’m a little excited for that. What did I even mean when I said that?”

“Searching up definitions for —”

“Ugh, why am I even talking to you?”

“Same to you.”

“Whatever. I feel better now. Thanks, Siri.”

Freshman Amber Lee

staff writer jenny miao

“You’re welcome.” graphics by wired.com

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Friday, June 9, 2017

Friday, June 9, 2017

The Smoke Signal

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THE

DIEHARD TRYHARDS go Paintballing DEEKSHA

RISHAB As someone who’s had their fair share of Nerf wars, laser tagging, and video games as a child, I can’t wait to bring my sharpshooting skills to this new terrain: paintball. I plan on using the classic strategies of camping and sniping from behind the various structures. The key to this strategy is finding a location that offers the perfect balance of offensive and defensive advantage. Filled with a mix of excitement and anxiety, I’m ready to load up my gun and step out onto the game field!

By Rishab Ramapriyan, Shivani Avasarala, Evangeline Chang & Deeksha Raina Editor-in-Chief and Staff Writers

For their last epic adventure of the 2016-17 school year, the Diehard Tryhards took a shot at paintball at Santa Clara Paintball, located at 2542 Monterey Road, San Jose, CA. Read on to find out how well they survived this experience!

EVANGELINE

I’ve never personally played paintball before, but I have several friends that play it fairly regularly. Armed with an arsenal of their tips and tricks, I felt convinced that I wouldn’t be too far off the mark. My sure-fire strategy was to charge out, guns blazing, and confidently fire at the opposition. As long as I stuck to my guns, I was sure I would be successful. Even so, I couldn’t help but feel just a little nervous as the day of our game approached.

Feature 9

As far as I’ve always known, paintballing is intense. I had once heard from my cousin, a previous member of the military, that they used paintball guns as training, so when this opportunity came around, it was difficult to pass up. I’ve done my fair share of research, so I am confident in my skills and prepared to be bombarded by pellets of paint traveling at 92 meters a second. When it come to plans, I say, “What plans?” All one needs to know is that if all else fails, run for your life.

SHIVANI At this point, I’m feeling a surreal sense of confidence for someone who has absolutely no experience with paintball. For some reason, I have the reassurance that my extensive skills with shooting toy guns and attacking bugs with rubber bands will make up for my utter lack of experience. Or maybe this is just the pre-trauma high I usually get before I end up in situations like these. Either way, I’m sure that I’ll figure things out when the time comes and I’m caught in the middle of the crossfire.

THE COMPETITION

Donning my face mask and protective vest, I realized this game would be much more intense than I ever expected. Playing our first game: Capture the Flag, I have to admit that it was definitely intimidating, especially when surrounded by other, more professional-seeming players. However, progressing through different games, I started to gain confidence and reoriented my strategy. As my sleeves became splattered with the neon-green paint, I took a more defensive approach by crouching low to the ground behind the large boxes and crates. While I’m not sure if I actually hit any opponents, I proudly fired a good amount of paintballs across the field.

As soon as the first round began, I jumped right into the action and began firing away.

In my excitement, I may or may not have shot two of my teammates by accident, but I did manage to successfully get a few people on the other team out. Sadly, in the process, my index finger on my left hand was hit in the same spot three separate times. The little pellets of paint stung much more than I thought they would, so I was much more careful for the next couple of rounds, sniping away at the opposition from behind blockades to give my poor index finger a rest.

Here I was, wrapped like a burrito, wearing three shirts, two hoodies, and two pairs of jeans, and yet upon the first shot I was still stunned by how much those little paint bullets stung. For the first few rounds I tried to stay towards the back, hiding by one shelter, firing a bit, then sprinting to the next closest one. Once the games began to make more sense, I tried my best to grit my teeth and get out there onto the field as much as possible. Honestly, it reminded me of Splatoon in real life, with the acid-green paint flying everywhere.

Walking onto the playing field with full gear, a mask, and a loaded gun made me feel like a true badass, despite my questionable skills.

Somehow, however, as pellets were flying past me as I ran through the battlefield, I learned to take advantage of my weaknesses. My short stature made me an impossible target and allowed me to ambush our enemy by hiding behind shelters 99 percent of the time, and then blindly shooting into the air for the one percent of the time during which I was not afraid for my life. I honestly don’t know if my tireless efforts ever got anybody out, but I felt happy enough just knowing that I fired a gun a couple of times.

THOUGHTS AFTER After leaving the action-packed paintball field, I have come to miss the adrenaline-pumping paintball experience. As a novice to this activity, I may have let my over-cautiousness slightly limit my enjoyment. But still, I cherished both the intellectual and physical challenge that each new game presented — from crafting ideal strategies for varied scenarios to honing the agility required to survive the onslaught of paintballs. Armed with this first exposure to the activity, I eagerly await my next shot at paintball. I am confident that I will surely dominate the next time we play!

1ST

Though I wasn’t quite the deadly, gun-slinging sharpshooter I envisioned I would be, the experience was still exhilarating. After I got over the initial sting of the paintballs, managed to avoid shooting myself in the foot, and changed up my initial strategy, I found myself really enjoying each of the different games we played. I’ll definitely be going back to play some more in the future and this time, I’ll be bringing out the big guns.

After all the paint-splattering chaos, frantically running for shelter, and mindlessly aiming and shooting the air, I believe it’s safe to say that I am not built for paintball.

It was a thrill to be on the field with a giant sniper-like gun, but I was too caught up in trying to run to shelters and did not completely take advantage of my paintballing experience. For the time being, I think I’ll stick to first person shooter games until I improve my skills.

Now that the storm is over, it is safe to say that my initial surge of confidence was the only skill that pulled me through those intense times. As I sat outside the playing field between matches, I began to reminisce and recount the numerous emotions I felt during that 5 minute match. It’s decided; my desire to win has persuaded me to pursue paintballing on a regular basis. I don’t know whether I’ll ever be a leading player, but hopefully I can prove my latent but dead on aim once in a while!

RANKINGS

2ND

3RD

4TH photos by feature editor kevin li

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, June 9, 2017

expectations expectations reality

Summer Adventures:

Expectations vs. Reality

By Zen Thumparkkul & Amber Lee Graphics Editor and Staff Writer

reality

Every summer, students look forward to exciting summer programs, adventurous outings with friends, professional internships, endless video game matches, and so on. As the end of school approaches, students’ expectations of an unforgettable summer turn into reality. This issue, the Smoke Signal documents the grim truth behind summer resolutions.

expectations

expectations

reality

reality

graphics by graphics editor zen thumparkkul & staff writer amber lee, hdwallpaperspulse.com

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Friday, June 9, 2017

The Smoke Signal

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Student Spotlight: MSJ Syncopasians

By Bethany Woo Staff Writer

Feature 11

SRO ROBINSON REPORTS

by Officer Kelly Robinson The final countdown until summer break has begun! During this time of year, the city of Fremont tends to see an increase in automotive burglaries and car thefts. Here are a few safety tips to keep in mind now and throughout the summer as you travel from place to place: - Be sure to lock your car doors and roll up your windows once you have arrived at your destination.

- Do not leave any items of significant value (example: iPads, laptops, or purses) in your car, within plain sight.

- NEVER leave your car running while unattended.

staff writer bethany woo

MSJ Syncopasians, performing during Relay for Life: Sophomore Amy Chen, Junior Brandon Do, Senior Andy Zhou, Junior Emily Jean, Senior Lucille Njoo, Junior Mallika Gupta, and Freshman Anita Sun.

MSJ Syncopasians is an 11 member acapella group founded in 2008 by alumnus David Wu. Co-leader Andy Zhou said that the first generation of Syncopasians was slightly disorganized as a new and inexperienced group, but that through the years the group has developed well and improved rapidly, with each generation learning new techniques and skills from the previous one.

On June 24, the Syncopasians will perform as part of the Grand Prix performance at the prestigious concert venue Carnegie Hall. The opportunity was given to the group after they placed first in the Vocal Division at the SF Asian Youth Talent Show 2016. The judges — who were also musicians — gave the singers a positive critique. However, the group was unable to attend the Carnegie Hall performance last year, and instead are journeying to New York City this year for the performance. The Syncopasians had to pass through an auditioning process in order to

A-Star Math Olympiad Camp 8-10/12

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be a part of the concert. The majority of entries were instrumentalists and solo vocalists, with MSJ Syncopasians being one of the few a capella groups. The list of songs they will be performing include “Can’t Sleep Love” by Pentatonix, a well-known American a capella group, “Paradise” by Coldplay, and either “Closer” by The Chainsmokers, or a medley of the soundtrack from Disney’s “Moana.”

Since this is a much larger venture than their usual productions, the Syncopasians have created a GoFundMe on Facebook, and are planning to perform at school and around the community to help raise funds to help members financially.

The student-led group is co-led by Senior Andy Zhou and Junior Emily Jean. During the song selection process, the two research online and look into pieces that pique their interests. If the song is not already a capella, Syncopasians will arrange a version, meaning that they listen to the song and write their own

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Until next year… SRO Robinson out!

different voice parts for it, altering the music so it becomes doable as an a capella piece. The co-leaders then teach the members their different parts and coach them in creating different sounds and techniques.

Other shows that the musicians made appearances in this year are Relay for Life, Interact’s LTG Banquet, MSJ VAMS’ Thanksgiving and Christmas concerts, Peer Resource’s Charity Fashion Show, the Multicultural Assembly, and other local concerts. Syncopasians is planning to hold an endof-the-year concert open to all students and the public to raise awareness for what the group does and to showcase members’ abilities.

A key aspect that Zhou emphasized was that Syncopasians is more than a

July 3-July 21, 2017

2016 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI): Lawrence Li, Gold Medal Calvin Lee, Silver Medal

(Total of 15 Instructional Days)

2016 AMC 8 Perfect Scores 14 AStar students got AMC 8 Perfect Scores

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musical group; it is also a family. He said, “... it really is like a family. Everyone gets along together, we all jam together, make music, hang out, [and] sleep over at people’s houses.

It’s just a really fun experience and something everyone can enjoy.” ▪

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

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

(Parent of DAVID YANG, Two-Time International Math Olympiad GOLD MEDALIST)

For curriculum, registration and discount details: Contact us: bayarea@starleague.us Website: www.starleague.us 4701 Patrick Henry Dr. Suite #18, Santa Clara, CA 95054

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Friday, June 9, 2017

After four years at MSJ, the Class of 2017 will be transitioning into the next phase of their lives, whether it be entering the workforce, attending a fouryear or two-year college, taking a gap year, or other paths. To celebrate their achievements, the Smoke Signal compiled a list of post-graduation plans seniors voluntarily submitted in their Economics classes.

The Smoke Signal reached out to the Class of 2017 class officers and various faculty members for advice, well wishes, and any last words they would like to offer to the graduating class. This coverage includes a letter addressed to the seniors by their class officers, commemorating their years together, as well as faculty responses addressing their views on graduation and any advice they have for navigating adulthood.

Dear Class of 2017, It seems like a miracle that we all have met each other through being born in the same year and happening to live in the same ten mile radius. Of course, when any group of human beings convene, a hint of camaraderie sprouts and, along the road as you have that same group meet together for six straight years, they become a “class.”

Class of 2017, as we head off into our separate paths, always remember this: it’s the bonds you make with others that make you special. The wonderful things we’ve created are no sole product of any one of us.

Interests are kindled by inspiration. Passion is ignited by desire to improve our

own and others’ lives. Class of 2017, knowing the amazing people around us has, in many ways, propelled us to do what we do. Homecoming after homecoming, we’ve seen that happen.

Perhaps after a grueling period of college decisions, we find ourselves thinking that we aren’t good enough, smart enough, or special enough. Remember that one of the follies with college applications and similar processes is that they focus on strictly the individual. They overlook the scintillating ripple we each create in the vibrant web of personalities around us.

Forget personal achievements and stats. There is so much more about you that reaches beyond yourself.

Class of 2017, as we face into the trials of tomorrow, we hope you never forget your ability to affect those around you. While our four year voyage comes to an end soon, we hope the spirit we’ve all crafted together — the spirit to engage oneself, participate, and create — lives on in the future communities that you come across. We live not for the pursuit of glory but for making a mark. That begins and ends with those around you.

Thank you Class of 2017 for your service, dedication, and, most of all, selfintegrity. We are truly honored to have served you along this journey as your class officers. A bittersweet farewell, it is!

Yours truly,

Kate Lin, President Emily Shiang, Treasurer

What is something you admire about the Class of 2017?

“One thing that I really admire is they’re so easy to talk to and I had so many good and fun conversations with a lot of the people in this class. I get reminded of myself a lot when I see a lot of the students this year, just how they are with their friends. I see them having fun and going out to lunch — more so than my seniors last year. It kind of brought me back to that nostalgic stage of kind of seeing myself both — personality and work ethic — in a lot of the seniors this year.”

— Social Studies Teacher Spenser Peterson

“I think that they have shown incredible resilience over some really tough things that have happened, not just in our school, but in our country at large.

They’re going to be taking on some tough challenges, and I think they’re ready for it.”

— Social Studies Teacher Rachel Tevlin

“I think it’s not really specific to the class of 2017, but I would say for your generation, I think there is a lot more optimism than I have. The challenges that [students] have to face in the world are so much more challenging than what I remember facing when I was your age. [This] sense of ability and optimism even in the face of all these challenges, i think that is something worth being respected for.”

— English Teacher John Boegman

Eric Zhu, Vice President Kousheyo Kundu, Secretary

What is a parting message you would like to give to this year's graduating seniors?

“Just simple advice. Take time every day to smell the roses. Life goes very fast. Don’t be afraid to try something new because you don’t want to wake up a few hours before you leave this planet having many regrets because you were too scared to go for it.

That’s horrible. So don’t be afraid. Whatever scares you, try to overcome it and just do it. If you’re scared of something, sometimes there’s a reason and it’s healthy. But often times it’s because you lack some confidence, so go for it. Learn about it and become better at it and you’ll overcome that fear and anxiety.”

— French Teacher Valerie Aidan

“As you make your life choices, think of the neediest as well as yourself.

We need to stop just thinking about ourselves, and start thinking about the communities we live in, that help us be who we are. We should see the interconnectedness of things instead of the isolation a culture based on individualism solely produces.”

— English Teacher Brian Rath

“Dear seniors, what a privilege it has been for me to be part of your lives for your final year in high school. You are an incredible bunch, and your daily charisma has made my job not feel like a job. As you set your sights to college work and future careers, remember that financial gain can make you feel comfortable, but true happiness only comes from giving of yourself to a cause, to your family, to humanity in a greater sense. Give, give, give . . .”

— Calculus Teacher Iulia Rusu

photos by staff writers amy chen, hannah chou, helen wang & vicki xu, courtesy kate lin. compiled by staff writers shivani avasarala, amy chen, hannah chou, katherine guo, helen wang & vicki xu

Fr i day ,June9,2017

TheSmokeSi gnal

WWW. THESMOKESI GNAL. ORG

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Co n g r a t u l a t i o n s

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, June 9, 2017

Friday, June 9, 2017

The Smoke Signal

After four years at MSJ, the Class of 2017 will be transitioning into the next phase of their lives, whether it be entering the workforce, attending a four-year or two-year college, taking a gap year, or other paths. To celebrate their achievements, the Smoke Signal compiled a list of post-graduation plans seniors submitted through forms distributed in their Economics classes.

Featured below are plans for the seniors who voluntarily shared their plans with the Smoke Signal.

www.thesmokesignal.org

Centerspread 15

This spread is a representation of students who willingly submitted their forms by May 16, 2017.

Art Center College of Design Francesca Liu

California Polytechnic State University, Pomona Jiti Sarkar Gordon Thein

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Prerna Aneja Chelsea Chan Connie Chou Hetav Gore Sanjana Gundala Vikrant Mannemela Tulika Mohanti Ruchika Shukla Brian Wu Philip Yang Andy Zhou

San Jose State University [Con't]

Nicholas Pynchon

Ashley Chen Sabrina Chen Julia Chin Elaine Fu Shruti Hooda Eric Jair Anna Lan Wilton Lee Xinyue Liu Ashley Mehta Suraj Patel Gia Pham Nadine Renteria Jeffrey Shih Armen Singh Joseph Yang

Chapman University

Santa Clara University

California Institute of Technology Vignesh Varadarajan Christine Yu

Chabot College

Puja Harikumar Melissa Zhuang

CSU East Bay Trisha Wasson

CSU Long Beach Ashlesha Sathe

De Anza College Kenneth Leung Kamini Menon

Dominican University of California Harsheen Tasser

Harvey Mudd College Georgia Pope

Humboldt State University Tom Scrutton

Las Positas College Eera Amin

Loyola Marymount University LyAnn Choi Lucille Njoo

Ohlone College Chaitanya Amin Albert Chen Ping Li Giana Medeiros Pavitman Sandhu Vishavinder Singh Shichuan Sun Cittlaly Zepeda

Pepperdine University Avneesh Sawhney

Saint Mary's College of California Vaibhav Shah

San Francisco State University Julian Kim

San Jose State University Neville Bosco

Hayley Arima Kristie Chiang Amber Wang

Sonoma State University Maleni Morales

Stanford University Chris Wang

UC Berkeley

Kunal Agarwal Mustafa Ahmed Ivy Chan Anthony Chen Caroline Chen Sarah Chen Rustum Chhor Vincent Chiang Anirban Datta Neha Dubey Anup Hiremath Shubha Jagannatha Mayuri Jayaraman Andy Jiang Armaan Kalyanpur Shayna Kothari Jeffrey Liu Alyssa Lo Meredith Mao Leon Ming Ansh Patel Apoorva Prakash Ana Singh Erin Tan Monica Tang Stephen Tian Jeanine Tso Jennifer Tsui Vivasvan Vykunta Amanda Wang Jocelyn Wang Andy Wu Trevor Wu Vineeth Yeevani Jacqueline Yeung Jason Yin Kevin Yu Charlotte Yuan Michelle Zhang Jemmy Zhou Eric Zhu

Johns Hopkins University Kevin Li

King's College London Ajay Dulai

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Caroline Chen Sabrina Liu Brian Tseng Jennifer Yu

Rushil Chakrabarty

Rushalee Nirodi Rohan Saxena Jennifer Wei Ryan Choi Siddarth Durai Michelle Gore Xuran Jing Tanuj Kalakuntla William Shih Navya Tanniru Venkat Uppalapati Jayashri Viswanathan Andy Wu Angela Wu Irene Yin

UC Irvine

Anshul Bhanot Truman Cheng James Chong Makenna Fong Sophia Huang Jason Tan Cynthia Tsao Justin Wang Brenda Wu Mitchell Wu Nancy Zhai Kathleen Zhou

UC Los Angeles Tanish Ambulkar Prachit Bhike Stephanie Doan Justin Lau Angela Wang Joshua Xian

UC Merced

Anuj Nanavati Danny Tonthat

UC Riverside

Kartikeya Anand Simran Bhullar Carlye Chan Karina Chopra Sarah Easow Ethan Huang Allai Kaushik Kenny Li Saurjya Mukhopadhyay Keval Parikh Timothy Vu John Wu

Sarah Chang Erik Wong

Rachael Tang William Zeng Lyon Zhang

UC Santa Barbara Anthony Bowser Anjana Chandran Marina Dalarossa Michelle Dalarossa Sandeep Gade Zahra Gill Grace Huang Olivia Lee Kyle Lim Samuel Ling Vishal Ramana Shiv Salwan Shruthi Satyanarayana Steven Shi Stephanie Tu Rin Vuong Andrew Yan Kelly Yu Cynthia Zhang

UC Santa Cruz

Josh Bhowmik Kira Chan Hannah Chi Victor Dong Vaishnavi Dornadula Grant Fu Ethan Hu

Case Western Reserve University American University Emaan Jafar

Amherst College Sarah Tam

Arizona State University UC Santa Cruz [Con't] Matthew Lee Manthan Mallikarjun William Neo Gus Person Preetham Ramesh Ronak Sharma Chhavi Singal Jeffrey Yeung Jason Yu

University of Redlands Jonathan Kretchmer

University of San Francisco

Columbia University in the City of New York

Austin College

Cornell University

Sanjana Rasamsetti

Baylor University Nishat Vemuri

April Huang Emily Shiang Kane Tian

Dartmouth College

University of Pennsylvania

Princeton University Ashley Chang

William Tu

Purdue University Tanya Chadha Sai Dwibhashyam Brian Huang

University of Texas at Austin Kiran Raja

University of Toronto

Rice University

William Yeung

Rishab Ramapriyan

Swarthmore College Twan Sia Jason Wong

Tufts University

Vanderbilt University

Radhika Joshi

Brandeis University

Earlham College

Vineet Raju

Fendy Gao Anish Shourie Sunny Wang Max Wu Aaron Zhang

Emory University

University of Colorado Boulder

Butler University

Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

University of Connecticut

Carnegie Mellon University

George Washington University

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Bryn Mawr College

Elena Jin Tanushri Sundar Deeksha Raina Claire Wu

Archit Arora Pavi Bhatter Valerie Choung Christina Di Ali El-Sadany Angus Fung Meixuan Qu Advaith Sethuraman

Emerson College

Ria Tomar

Sarah Deng

Vivika Fernes

Harvard University Catherine Zeng

Indiana University Bloomington Vineet Advani Vikas Retineni

University of Washington, Seattle Shareen Chang Zikai Song

University of Arizona

Khushbu Patel

Mark Choi

University of Richmond

Derek Bai Sarah Chong Hanlin Wang

Christina Jiang

University of Oregon Yao Liu

Melissa Dalarossa Michelle Qin

Boston University

University of Southern California

Christopher Ha An Tran

James Barrie

Arthur Chen Jessica He

Brown University

University of the Pacific

College of William and Mary

Jainav Gohel Humdaan Mustafa

Ralphyn Pallikunnath Tiffany Tse Stephen Tselikov

Aaron Chen Ariana Chen Lydia Chew Akshita Gandra Kousheyo Kundu Kai Lin Carl Luo Anthea Xiao Alex Yin

Jonathan Chen Andrew Liao

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Shawn Yip

Northwestern University

Abhinay Aeruva William Bei Rahul Chatwani Ella Chen Tomas Choi David Hsu Faith Huang Anthony Jiang Justin Lu Vik Ramana Seema Saini Jadon Wong YC Xing Daniel Xiong Stanley Zhang

University of Michigan Ann Arbor Alisha Agarwal Sayan Ghosh

Northeastern University

UC San Diego

Derrick Liu Neha Malhotra Laila Rahman Howard Shan Angela Shen Ashank Verma Simran Vinaik

University of Massachusetts Amherst

New York University

UC Davis

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [Con't]

Ping Hsu

University of Chicago

Andrew Choi Keshav Kundassery

Virginia Commonwealth University Jay Bisen

Wellesley College Kate Lin

York College Kevan Mathis

Karan Sharma Kosh Kumar

Pujith Bezawada Sayan Bhattacharjee Shohan Bhattacharya Shaswata Chatterjee Aayushi Gupta Zaki Khan Jonathan Li Brendan Liu

To Practice Art Alex Fung

compiled by staff writers shivani avasarala, amy chen, hannah chou, katherine guo, helen wang & vicki xu

16 Phot o

WWW. THESMOKESI GNAL. ORG

TheSmokeSi gnal Fr i day ,June9,2017

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Arts & Entertainment 17

By Shivani Avasarala, Joelle Chuang, Jessica Jen & Evie Sun Staff Writers

With summer fast approaching, students will have ample time to enjoy live music at an enjoyable venue. The Smoke Signal has compiled a variety of six Bay Area concert venues to consider visiting.

June 13: Future, Migos, Tory Lanez and Kodak Black August 4: Vans Warped Tour August 26: OneRepublic, Fitz & the Tantrums and James Arthur

June 27: brit floyd july 21: Monsta X “Beautiful in the US” august 10: petit biscuit

June 24: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds june 30: tycho august 9: hans zimmer

Located in Saratoga, the Montalvo Arts Center is a non-profit public center dedicated for arts. It consists of an arts and cultural center, a hiking trail, and a mansion, Villa Montalvo. James Duval Phelan initiated the original construction of the mansion in 1912 and later donated the property to CA. The center is currently a cultural hub for artists around the Bay Area, and provides enriching programs for people to share creative ideas and experiences.

Montalvo arts center

june 22: moonchild June 23: alice smith

June 16: nick crimson june 24: seu jorge july 7: duran duran

The new parish

The New Parish was founded recently in January 2010 by Namane Mohlabane and Michael O’Connor in hopes of creating a music venue that caters to Oaklanders. The New Parish is a generally smaller venue, with only two-stories and an interior design with brick walls and a small stage. The venue has showcased many different genres of music and is a platform for rising and independent artists to perform their music in front of a smaller, more intimate crowd.

One notable performer was Adam Stephens, singer and guitarist from Two Gallants.

The Fox Oakland Theater welcomed its first audience in October 1928. The theater is famous for its large dome, terra cotta detailing, elaborate paintings, and golden statues. It reopened in February 2009 after closing in 1965 due to a low attendance rate. Showing both movies and live performances, the Fox Theater is now a popular venue in Oakland. Notable performers such as Bob Dylan, Green Day, and Van Morrison have had concerts at the Fox. In 2012, former President Barack Obama made a speech for his campaign at this theater.

Fo x oaklandtheatre

Greek Theatre

Located on the University of California, Berkeley campus, the William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre is the longest-running outdoor amphitheatre in the country. Its construction was financed by the notable William Randolph Hearst, whom the venue was named after. The amphitheatre opened on Sept. 24, 1903 with a student performance of Aristophanes’ “The Birds.” The Greek Theatre hosts the annual Berkeley Jazz Festival along with numerous concerts and speeches.

The Warfield, built in 1922 in San Francisco, is named after the owner Marcus Loew’s old friend David Warfield, who was a renowned silent film actor during his time. The interior of the theater is full of elaborate marble, chandeliers, and murals. Big names like Charlie Chaplin, Prince and David Bowie have performed on the Warfield stage, which has also been the venue for countless public events and a set for movie scenes.

The warfield

Shoreline Amphitheatre

Located in Mountain View, Shoreline Amphitheatre was opened in October 1986 over the site of a garbage dump. Some of the most notable artists to perform at Shoreline Amphitheatre are the Spice Girls, the Backstreet Boys, and the Grateful Dead. The Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert takes place here every October. All profits from this concert go directly to the Bridge School, which helps to educate individuals with speech and physical impairments.

june 12: gregory porter august 11: the b-52’s

layout by staff writers stephanie dutra & hana sheikh

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The Smoke Signal

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Arts & Entertainment 19

C R I T I C S’ C O R N E R M u si C: logic, D P R | F ilm : g ua r d i a n s o f t h e ga l ax y 2 , kin g arth ur

Under the radar

DPR

By Amy Chen Staff Writer After leaving South Korean boy group C-Clown in 2015, Sydney-native Christian Yu, or Yu Barom, founded Dream Perfect Regime (DPR), a Seoulbased independent multi-genre audio visual group that creates and edits content for a variety of artists, including DPR Live, the only musician under DPR. In April 2016, DPR released Eung Freestyle, a rap featuring Live, SikK, Flowsik, Punchnello, and Owen Ovadoz. The music video, which currently has more than 17 million views on Youtube, quickly took off after a Youtube Red commercial highlighted it. Other videos produced by DPR include the music video for “Body”

by Mino, and “Borders” by Amber from f(x). In addition to music videos, DPR has produced a series of conceptual videos which can be found on its website, incorporating smoke, galaxies, and other aesthetic elements to create a mesmerizing experience for viewers.

Live released his first album, Coming to You Live, on March 15. The album consists of seven songs, five of which have accompanying music videos produced

by DPR Visuals. The music videos, which feature Dean, Jay Park, and other big names in South Korean rap, have garnered support for DPR from international fans for its eye catching visuals and chill beats.

The combination of crisp rap and aesthetic graphics creates a mesmerizing audio visual experience that appeals to lovers of rap, R&B music, and all things aesthetic. ▪

Book Bites

guardians of the galaxy 2

Music review logic

imdb.com

By Anagha Mandayam Staff Writer Directed by James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the next movie in Marvel’s Guardian’s of the Galaxy series. Three years after the release of the first one, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 presents us with a storyline similar to the first.

The movie begins with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) protecting sacred batteries for an alien race called the Sovereign.

As they prepare to leave the planet after successfully protecting the batteries, they discover that Rocket has kept some batteries for himself.

Once this comes to the Sovereign leader’s attention, the Guardians flee the planet, fighting the Sovereign army. At a moment where it seems as though the Guardians can’t defeat their army, a mysterious third party comes to their rescue. They land on a nearby planet and Peter soon learns something about his past and the mysterious third party who saved

the Guardians. The rest of the movie depicts the Guardians’ journey which leads them to discover more about Peter’s origin.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is thrilling and suspenseful and makes sure that the audience is invested in the story. We are reacquainted with the characters we fell in love with in the first movie and hope to see them outsmart their opponents again. Every action scene is filled with humorous commentary and a catchy old school soundtrack with songs like “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra and “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac. The second movie lacks a clear narrative.

After the first plotline of fighting the Sovereign race, a second, minor plot is introduced, suddenly shifting gears to Peter’s past. Just as we become acquainted with the second plot, the first plotline suddenly reappears. After some shifting back and forth, both storylines reach a simple resolution abruptly. In addition, the movie briefly explores the unspoken relationship between Gamora and Peter, initially introduced in the first movie. Although their chemistry was strong in the first movie, their rela-

tionship becomes hazy in the second movie and is still unclear at the end.

One strong suit of the movie is the humor and acting. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 keeps the audience laughing with its witty jokes and sarcasm, setting the series apart from other more dark and brooding Marvel movies. Pratt, as per usual, charms the audience and delivers a stellar performance in all scenes. Because the plot focuses a great deal on the story of Peter, the other Guardians have a smaller role in this movie than the first one.

The first Guardians of the Galaxy movie gave us something new in terms of Marvel superheroes. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 followed the same formula to give us a copy of the first movie, although humorous.

However, even though parts of the movie can drag on, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is worth a watch and will have you laughing all throughout. ▪ Rating: B-

king arthur: Legend of the sword

By Hana Sheikh Staff Writer

Student Recommendations

Title: Beacon 23 Author: Hugh Hovey Rating: Medium Genre: Science Fiction In the 23rd century, reliable beacons in outer space maintain the system of ships traveling through the Milky Way. However, when beacons start failing, safe travels through space cause encounters with aliens and war.

“It is a surprisingly poignant tale about isolation and the human psyche, set during an interspecies war.

It asks some questions that we might well ask ourselves today.” — Dilawar Naqvi, 11 Title: Buried Onions Author: Gary Soto Rating: Hard Genre: Contemporary Young Adult Eddie is a 19-year-old struggling to survive in Fresno, CA after his loved ones die. He tries to turn his life around and move on, but the violence of the city keeps holding him back.

“It was a strange book, but it was a pleasant book to read. It was pretty entertaining to read even the mundane parts of the book, because knowing the author, everything probably had a secret meaning.” — Jordan Sun, 9

Staff Recommendation

Title: The Complete Fiction of Nella Larsen: Passing, Quicksand, and the Stories Author: Nella Larsen, Charles Larson, Marita Golden Rating: Medium Genre: Historical Fiction This is a compilation of all the works of Nella Larsen, a celebrated Harlem Renaissance writer.

“I really like the historical fiction genre as well as hearing anecdotes, and this book brilliantly encompasses both the historical accuracy and the emotional personal story aspect that I crave.” — English Teacher Tiffany Stelle

imdb.com

By Maggie Zhao Staff Writer Based off of the age-old legend of magic and might, Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword falls flat and devolves into an endless montage of repetitive fighting scenes. The movie was released in US theaters on May 12.

The movie begins as the King of England, Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana), is overthrown by his jealous brother Vortigern (Jude Law).

Uther’s son, Arthur Pendragon (Charlie Hunnam), is sent adrift in a boat and grows up in the back alleys of Londinium. Arthur, among thousands of men of his age, is sent to try to pull the legendary sword, Excalibur, from a stone. He succeeds in pulling his father’s sword from the stone, revealing his true lineage and powers.

Later, Arthur helps a resistance movement as they plan a trap for Vortigern, and in the resulting fight, he is able to unleash the power of Excalibur. Arthur soon realizes that he is the only one able to stop Vortigern from plunging England into chaos and despair. In the final battle, Arthur battles against a Vor-

tigern on the equivalent of magical steroids, in order to fight for his rightful place as the born king.

In a few places throughout the movie, Ritchie creates visually appealing scenes, often centering around the sword Excalibur.

Ritchie’s fight scenes feature hightech computer generated imagery (CGI) that is able to conjure images of fantastical monsters as well as emphasize intricate details within action scenes. In addition, sprinkles of Arthur’s sarcastic humor throughout the movie offer a muchneeded relief from the endless fighting scenes. Arthur’s character is cocky, yet charismatic, and his quips lighten otherwise serious moments.

Unfortunately, the shortcomings of this movie outweigh its strengths.

The movie relies heavily on montages and collages to tell the story. This creates a frantic, fast pace, which is only emphasized by the abundance of fighting scenes in the film. In addition, the movie largely consists of shallow, one-dimensional characters.

While Arthur has some degree of character development, nearly every other character in the movie is little more than a prop. In a few instances, the side characters provide

humor and a touching display of the bonds of friendship, but mostly these characters are left in the background.

King Arthur has a very simplistic plot centered around Arthur’s reclamation of his birthright. Hence, the overwhelming majority of the two hours of the movie is filled with fight scenes, which quickly becomes repetitive and unfulfilling. In fact, some plot points in the movie are never fully explained at all. For example, in order to unleash Excalibur’s potential, Arthur must travel the Blacklands. However, the film offers very little description of what the Blacklands are or what their significance is, and the entire journey is compressed into one montage. Similarly, many other details of the plot are disregarded and unexplained.

While King Arthur: Legend of the Sword could have put an interesting modern twist on an ancient story, a lack of attention to plot, half-baked supporting characters, and an excess of breakneck-paced action scenes make this film largely underdeveloped. ▪

By Jonathan Ko Staff Writer Maryland rapper Logic generated well-earned buzz when he announced he would be releasing a third studio album named Everybody. Through his previous discography, Logic made a name for himself as a talented wordsmith with solid bars and delivery. He has been seen for years as an up-andcoming rapper with unfulfilled potential, showing flashes of brilliance but not standing out otherwise. To the great disappointment of many, Everybody does nothing to lift the rapper out of mediocrity. The album is rarely thought-provoking and even less frequently insightful, a half-baked broth of platitudes patched together with a nonsensical set of skits to create an experience that can best be described as unfulfilling.

The first track, “Hallelujah,” sets the stage dramatically for the rest of the album, declaring, “This is for every race, this is for every color, every creed. Music does not discriminate.”

The album then proceeds to not expand upon that statement at all, instead repeating the same bland ideas over and over. Songs like “Everybody” and “AfricAryaN” discuss racism and how it has uniquely affected Logic’s life as a biracial rapper. If this album had been a profound coming-out story where Logic revealed his experiences with having a white mother and a black father, this message would perhaps be beautiful or even revolutionary. As it stands, Logic has cumulatively spent hours on his previous songs discussing the exact same experiences. To make matters worse, his analysis of his experiences is astonishingly simplistic; for example, on the song “Take it Back,” Logic offers little insight, simply stating, “All this prejudice has got to go” and “I just want to spread the message of equality.” Logic’s description of his own experiences also does nothing to flesh out any wider racial truth, seeming instead like a self-indulgent tirade against the prejudice leveled against the rapper.

Similarly, songs like “1-800-2738255” and “Anziety” discuss Logic’s own struggles with suicidal tendencies and anxiety, and urge the listener to stress the positives instead of the negatives. Once again, the message falls flat because Logic fails to extrapolate past his own experiences or bring any fresh perspective to the table. The story of the album is, over and over, one of repetition.

As a purely sonic project, Everybody is passable in its own right. Logic’s bars remain tight and his rhymes are textbook, resulting in a solid sound throughout. An especially striking line is, “Yes I got the gift to gab for sho — Will have to get the gat? No, no.” The album is masterfully produced, with bouncy synths and bass lines serving as several of the few redeeming traits of the album.

Overall, the album seems to whisk together a quilt of different hot-button issues with simple, broad strokes. Everybody tries so hard to be high-minded, but the effect is just pretentious. In the end, Everybody’s 71 minutes of music can be boiled down to a simple, childish message: “Why can’t we all just get along?” ▪ Rating: C+

Rating: Cdefjam.com

20 Arts & Entertainment

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, June 9, 2017

TV and Media Influence on Viewers

By Hannah Chou & Bethany Woo Staff Writers In our rapidly developing society, technology has invaded every aspect of life. Entertainment and the media have transformed due to advanced special effects and computer graphics that make it much more accessible. With the growing film industry, directors and producers can convey specific messages to their audience, influencing viewers’ thoughts and behaviors. Although this manipulative ability may seem unavoidable as media is a part of daily life, it is up to the audience to determine if they will let themselves be swayed.

Within mainstream movies, themes of violence and sex have become increasingly common in all genres. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, an average American youth will witness 200,000 violent acts on television before they reach the age of 18. Of cartoon programs that use violence, 67 percent juxtapose it with humor, and only five percent show long-term consequences of violence. Strong and subliminal messages imply that violence is an acceptable response to a variety of different situations.

Films and the media may be major contributors to the negative influences in our society, but they are also capable of changing our perspectives on certain controversial issues and opening our eyes to the world’s situations and problems.

A study by psychologist Albert Bandura concluded that watching violence in movies made children less sensitive towards others, more likely to be aggressive, and more fearful of the world. Because children’s values and beliefs about society are still being formed, there is a risk of them mimicking the behavior and ideas they observe in movies and developing narrow-minded perspectives on societal issues.

One example of these cases is body image. The media presents models with perfect bodies and

courtesy national archives and records administration

flawless facial structures. It is uncommon to see an unattractive woman or man as the main character(s) in films, music videos, and even advertisements. The media cultivate the idea that beauty is defined by specific and ideal characteristics. People use the material from movies to draw conclusions about society’s structure, functions, and their own identities, causing them to adopt certain behaviors or values from the seemingly harmless entertainment.

Films and the media may be major contributors to the negative influences in our society, but they are also capable of changing our perspectives on certain controversial issues and opening our eyes to the world’s situations and problems. For example, movies such as awardwinning Moonlight and Argo not only use special effects, filmography, and captivating storylines to entertain the audience, but also convey mes-

sages that reject stereotypes and destigmatize subjects that are prone to misunderstanding and prejudice. University of Dayton Political Science Associate Professor Michelle C. Pautz said to the New York Times that movies “can be a great mechanism for conversation and reflection, [and can] help us understand societal opinions, help us understand institutions, and even demystify aspects of society.” Although films that bring these controversial topics to light cannot completely solve society’s current problems, presenting them as a “packaged deal” can make people feel more comfortable discussing these sensitive topics in reference to the movie.

The evidence provided of the audience’s vulnerability to be influenced by films should discourage directors and scriptwriters from sending messages that support violence, stereotypes, and objectification. However, view-

By Hannah Chou & Jenny Miao Staff Writers

By Jessica Jen & Hana Sheikh Staff Writers

ers can also limit what they watch and the effect of movies and media on their behaviors and thought patterns by using scrutiny and discretion. For example, the majority of movies are rated (i.e. PG, PG-13, R) along with a brief description of the reasons for the given rating. Reviewing these ratings can help people decide the amount of precaution needed to view certain films. Additionally, while watching more gruesome movies with bloody and violent scenes, we can remind ourselves that the actions and situations in the movie’s plot are fictional and that the use of such extreme physical force should not be normalized. Using selectiveness to determine the ideas and concepts we accept from the media, we can distinguish truth from fallacies and prevent ourselves from believing manipulative tactics. ▪

Friday, June 9, 2017

The Smoke Signal

Athlete Spotlight: Winnie Xu

By Ella Chen Staff Writer

Aside from rigorous academics, many students are also competitive athletes in multiple sports. The Smoke Signal reached out to Sophomore Winnie Xu, the lone diver on the diving team and a pole vaulter on the track team.

The Smoke Signal: When did you begin diving?

Winnie Xu: I started diving the summer before the eighth grade. I used to do gymnastics for ten years. A lot of the time, gymnasts switch over [to] diving, especially after injuries. I tried diving after an injury in gymnastics, and I really liked it.

SS: What is it like being the lone diver on the MSJ team?

WX: Last year, there was only one other diver on the team, so I got used to the small team size already. This year, it’s not too much different. Being the only diver gives me a chance to meet other divers from other schools when I go to tournaments. For me, that’s really fun.

SS: How have the skills you developed helped to progress your career?

WX: From gymnastics, I’ve developed a good air sense. That’s what helps me when I do flips. Because of this, I moved up the levels pretty quickly in diving. Each year, you upgrade skill difficulty in your diving flips. This year, I’m in the 16 to 18 age group and hopefully, I can upgrade my skills further for next year.

SS: What has motivated you to pursue this sport?

WX: I really enjoyed gymnastics when I was in the sport. My main motivation comes from wanting to compete on a college team in division-level diving. I plan on improving as I move up skill difficulties on my flips. The overall score of a diver comes from the difficulty level of the dive multiplied by the judge’s score on execution. So a higher score comes from a more difficult dive. I am always trying to upgrade the skill level of my dive to reach higher overall scores.

SS: Do you plan on pursuing diving in the future?

WX: I probably don’t plan on pursuing diving after college. By then, most people are training for the Olympics. But even if I stop after college, I hope to continue diving as a hobby.

Currently, I’m diving for the Stanford Diving Club, and I have been since eighth grade.

The club offers a Master’s Program where you can continue diving for fun even after college.

I am interested in pursuing this opportunity.

SS: What is it like balancing track and diving?

WX: I am also a pole vaulter on the track team. It’s especially hard to balance track and diving because they’re in the same season. I have track practice after school from Monday to Thursday. During the season, I have to go to extra weekend diving practices to make up for the time I spend on track.

SS: What are some difficulties you’ve had to overcome?

WX: One difficulty has been improving each year. For pole vault, I’m trying to improve in height to beat my personal record from last year. That way, I might quality for NCS. Diving is both a mental game and a physical challenge. Moving up age groups means pushing myself harder at practice to develop new skills and upgrade the difficulty level of my dives. ▪

Sophomore Winnie Xu

staff writer ella chen

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Legal Performance-Enhancing Drugs can be dangerous

By Ansh Patel Staff Writer

Though most professional athletic leagues and prestigious athletic competitions have taken extensive measures to ban athletes from taking certain performance-enhancing drugs, many substances from injectable peptides to painkillers still remain legal. While these are not as dangerous or influential as the banned substances, legal performance-enhancing drugs often have serious, lasting effects and can be a gateway to using more dangerous substances.

The motives for taking performance-enhancing drugs vary among athletes and their sports. While some use reparative drugs to recover from injury, others take adrenalineinducing drugs for a boost during competitions that require added effort that an athlete may otherwise not be able to give. However, most drugs that achieve these purposes, such as erythropoietin and anabolic steroids, have long been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and these bans are rigorously enforced through regular drug testing on all athletes.

The most common legal performanceenhancing drugs are very popular among athletes of all sports. Drugs like telmisartan, meldonium, and T3 liothyronine fall under the World Anti-Doping Agency’s monitoring drug list, which outlines drugs that are legal for athletes to consume, but their intake must be carefully monitored and regulated.

The three drugs serve a wide range of purposes from inducing weight loss to treating high blood pressure. These functions are obviously useful for bodybuilders and professional fighters who need to constantly maintain a certain weight and be able to quickly lose or gain body mass, or for athletes who need to take medication to counteract high blood pressure.

Nevertheless, it is important to recognize that all these drugs have their downsides. Misuse of drugs can be dangerous and even fatal, but that

doesn’t stop athletes and coaches from actively seeking any substance that could increase performance. For example, Alberto Salazar, a head coach for the Nike Oregon Project, only recommends his athletes to doctors who regularly prescribe legal performance-enhancing drugs.

While it can be argued that the increased use of these drugs would create uneven and unfair competition, the most direct harm is to the athletes, who are putting their bodies at great risk by taking substances to alter their bodies. Jon Mannah, a player on the Australian National Rugby League, died in 2013 after the drug GHRP-6, a peptide drug not on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances, sped up his cancer. To further show the extent of the problem, the drugs were given to him by his own teammates and coaching staff, who wanted better performance from the player.

Because their effects may not be as deadly or drastic as banned substances, many athletes mistakenly underestimate any harmful effects of legal performance- enhancing drugs, which may lead to unwanted, detrimental consequences. At the end of the day, athletes should tread with caution and consult a qualified doctor when dealing with any form of legal medication or drugs. ▪

newhealthadvisor.com

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Sports 21

Boys’ Golf excels

By Hannah Chou Staff Writer Boys’ Varsity Golf traveled to Sierra View throughs they had; for the past two years they Country Club in Roseville, CA on Monday, May came short of earning a spot in the NorCal 15 to participate in the NorCal Golf Champi- Tournament. Cain believes that the key to placonships, where top sectional teams in Northern ing second at the tournament was the overall California compete to earn a spot in the Califor- focus and discipline of the team. “Everynia Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Boys’ one playing [at there level] was the key. There Golf Championships. The team placed second wasn’t [anything] big [missed hits], they manat the tournament, with Sophomore Aaron aged courses they’ve never played before very Chen winning first place out of 144 golfers and well, and they didn’t make a lot of big misSenior Vijay Srinivasan placing in the top six. takes, so we were able to play a solid round.”

Boys’ Golf will now advance to the CIF State After playing for eight hours in intense heat, Championships as the sole representative of the Boys’ Golf team became one of the three NCS, marking the first time the team will com- golf teams that will advance to the next round.

The state tournament, which was held on pete in the State Tournament in at least 15 years.

This season, the Boys’ Golf team was the May 31 at the Poppy Hills Golf Course in Monundefeated champions of MVALs and second terey, CA, featured the top golf teams across at the NCS Tournament. Although they wanted the entire state of California. Regardless of how to further improve their fundamental skills, they the team performed at the NorCal tournament, focused more on gaining course experience. they still believe that they have much to work “This year, we focused a lot more on course on. When asked about what improvements they time and learning how to manage the course,” would like to implement, Cain said, “Just conGolf Coach Jason Cain said. “We figured that sistency. We did leave a lot of strokes out on practice on the [golf] range was something we the course at that tournament, so we just [want could do on our own, but course time and being to] try to improve on what we’ve already done.”

Boys’ Golf placed fourth out of the able to watch each other and figure out what exactly course management meant was something six teams that competed at the State tourwe really needed to do, and that’s what we really nament. “I was very pleased as to what managed to accomplish.” Currently, the com- they were able to accomplish,” Cain said. ▪ petition in the Boys’ Golf MVAL is relatively lower in comparison to other sports due to the fact that it is still developing, but the team did not let the lack of competition affect their performance. “We went into the season knowing that the league was more in a rebuilding phase, so we weren’t going to get a ton of competition with the MVAL teams,” said Cain. “We went in there knowing that we needed to improve each and every week throughout the entire season, which we did. We finished off the league very strong, and we took that momentum into the NCS tournament ... and we played well courtesy jason cain enough to make it to the NorCal Tournament.” Junior Ethan Chen, Senior Vijay Srinivasan, Junior MontgomThe team’s advancement to the NorCal ery Hirsch, Coach Jason Cain, Junior Rohan Dalal, Sophomore Tournament was one of the major break- Aaron Chen, Sophomore Alan Chen pose with their awards.

22 Sports

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, June 9, 2017

College Athletes

By Hannah Chou, Heather Gan, Katherine Guo & Richard Chenyu Zhou Staff Writers

As the 2016-17 year comes to a close, the Smoke spective sport at the collegiate level. The Smoke book group on May 9 for athletes to voluntarily ed by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, May 17 were then

Signal wanted to spotlight senior athletes that will be playing their reSignal released a Google Form in the MSJ Class of 2017 Facesubmit their college sports information. The students who respondinterviewed about their personal experiences and goals for the future.

Radhika Joshi

Senior Radhika Joshi fell in love with squash in seventh grade after a family friend who owned a squash club encouraged her to try it. There are fewer local squash facilities and coaches on the West Coast than on the East Coast, so Joshi travels to Santa Clara or Redwood Shores every day to practice. Joshi always wanted to be on an athletic team in college and after playing squash on a national level, she decided to pursue it at the collegiate level. During her collegiate years at Tufts University, she hopes to make new friends and continue to grow as a person and a player. To students who are interested in competing in sports at the collegiate level, Joshi advises them to not focus on recruitment and to just enjoy the sport.

After starting track and field in her freshman year, Senior Sarah Tam met a track coach who convinced her to take the sport more seriously. Tam started with high hurdles and sprints, and now competes in 300m hurdles, 100m dash, and long jump. Although Tam trains at facilities in Tracy and Menlo Park, she finds time to balance school and sports. In addition to time management, competing in track and field has also taught her self-confidence and the importance of hard work. She encourages aspiring athletes to set personal goals and be willing to put hard work into the sports they love.

At Amherst College, Tam plans to make new friends, improve her times, and take advantage of the athletic facilities the college offers. While she does not plan on continuing track and field after college, Tam is considering pursuing a career related to fitness and athletics.

Jessica He

Senior Jessica He began swimming when she was 5, after her mother, an Olympic medalist swimmer, registered her for swim classes. Through swimming, He learned many valuable skills, including time management, which was one of her biggest challenges. As a student athlete who practices starting at 4 a.m. three times a week, He manages her time very well by limiting social media and hanging out in order to finish her schoolwork. She aims to continue balancing swimming and school at Columbia University. Although she does not see herself continuing swimming after college, He hopes to try coaching.

He advises anyone who is hoping to compete in sports at the collegiate level to not give up, because all the hard work will be worth it in the end.

Senior Lyon Zhang started swimming lessons in kindergarten after he nearly drowned himself and his mother in a pool during preschool. Through swimming, he has learned that friends and other support systems are always crucial in every field, not just swimming.

One notable obstacle he faced was during sophomore year, when his times plateaued for a while.

However, he pushed through the challenge and learned that setbacks are part of everything. Ever since he started swimming fast enough to swim at the collegiate level, he has set his sights on swimming past high school. For younger athletes, he urges them to always communicate with their coaches and work closely with teammates, even in individual sports. At Northwestern University, he hopes to captain his team and qualify to NCAA’s. In the long run, he also hopes to swim in the Olympic Trials.

Khushbu Patel

Senior Khushbu Patel was always interested in volleyball, which prompted her to tryout for the team in her freshman year. Although Patel started her volleyball career late in comparison to other players, who started in middle school or earlier, her relative inexperience drove her to improve and perfect her skills, thus leading to become the Varsity athlete she is today. One of the main skills she developed was teamwork, in which she had to learn how to work with people she normally would not encounter in a different setting. She initially was not considering pursuing collegiate volleyball, but when Earlham College began sending notifications to recruit her, she decided to take the opportunity to advance to the next level of her volleyball career. In college, Patel hopes to have a lasting impact on the team by supporting her teammates and keeping the energy high.

Coming from a soccer-oriented family, Senior Maleni Morales starting playing soccer when she was 8 years old after her cousins prompted her to join. By playing soccer, she gained leadership skills and learned to push through obstacles, ranging from injuries to arduous recruiting processes. From a young age, she has always wanted to play soccer past high school. She advises younger athletes to always have patience while practicing. At Sonoma State University, she hopes to bring her team to the NCAA championships and perhaps even win there. After college, she plans to play soccer either by playing professionally in Europe or passing down what her coaches have taught her over her career.

Watching her brother’s fencing classes inspired Senior Elena Jin to begin the sport in sixth grade, and after a few group lessons at a fencing club, the coach saw potential and offered her mother free private lessons for Jin for half a year. Through constant practice and determination, she was able to hone her skills and win first place at a national tournament in her sophomore year. Her victory led her to consider pursuing fencing at the collegiate level. Now as a college athlete, she hopes to contribute to the team’s performance and, on a more personal level, qualify for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships at the end of the season.

Although she is not planning to continue fencing professionally after college, she hopes to still be involved in the fencing world.

Senior Kevan Mathis began his baseball career by playing Little League baseball throughout his childhood before joining MSJ’s baseball team in his freshman year. Through baseball, he has learned the importance of trust, teamwork, and perseverance. After a disappointing season his sophomore year, Mathis pushed himself to improve over the summer, and his work paid off as he became the Varsity captain in his senior year. His passion and love for the game motivated him to pursue baseball in college. At York College, he aspires to improve his stats and become a team player. He is looking to play professional baseball after college, and wants to give back to the community by coaching and supporting local teams.

Tufts University

Columbia University

Earlham College

Elena Jin

Brown University

Sarah Tam

Amherst College

Lyon Zhang

Northwestern University

Maleni Morales Sonoma State University

Kevan Mathis York College

photos by staff writers hannah chou, heather gan, katherine guo & richard chenyu zhou, courtesy radhika joshi, sarah tam, earlham.edu, en.wikipedia.org, mfmu.bsc.gwu.edu, thefire.org, twitter.com

Friday, June 9, 2017

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Sports 23

By Andrew Kan, Michael Ren & Helen Wang Staff Writers

In the spring sports season, six teams did especially well, advancing to the North Coast Section (NCS) and beyond. The Smoke Signal looked into each of the teams and their stories.

Track and Field

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Badminton has continued its streak as NCS champion for the 14th year in a row, sending seven entries to the CIF NorCal competition where the team placed first in girls’ singles, second and third in girls’ doubles, fourth in boys’ singles, and second for mixed doubles.

The team lost many strong seniors, but several underclassmen stepped up to take their place. One standout player was Sophomore Joelle Chuang, who did well despite not playing club badminton. In addition, this season “... [the juniors] had to step up and guide the freshmen and sophomores,” said Captain Junior Danice Long. In the future, Long hopes the team will remain humble and work hard to maintain high rankings.

With the addition of new coaches this year, the track and field team was able to greatly improve in all sections. The sprints and hurdles team, with the help of more specialized coaching from Coach Singleton, was able to send many runners to NCS. The distance team also had a strong showing, with key runners breaking their personal record. “Our new coach [Jahdai Bolds] pushed us all to be our best and helped us really enjoy the sport while becoming better at it,” said Varsity Distance Captain Junior Avery Smith. Although track did not place well at NCS, a number of individuals qualified for the Meet of Champions.

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Boys’ Volleyball ranked third in MVALs, qualifying for NCS and ultimately making the second round of NCS. Going into the season, the team wasn’t confident, as many seniors had graduated. However, there were underclassmen that performed extremely well. Captain Senior Louis Cai noted middle Junior Oscar Wang as a cornerstone for the team, as well as outside Freshman Andy Tong and libero Sophomore Wesley Hiroto. Unfortunately, the team lost three players before NCS began. Cai said, “It’s our role to be students first, and I can understand [their actions].”

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Boys’ Golf

With a full returning team, Boys’ Golf dominated the league, winning first in MVALs. They went on to place second at NCS (after placing fifth for the past two years) and qualified to the CIF NorCal tournament. At NorCals, the team again placed second and qualified for the CIF State tournament. This year, the team only kept the top 12 players after tryouts, due to new MVAL restictions. According to Coach Jason Cain, this helped the team become more mature and gain more experience handling the course and managing their score. Captain Senior Vijay Srinivasan said, “It’s good to finally qualify for states, and I believe it is the first time the Boys’ Golf team has ever done so, so it’s really exciting.”

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This season, Boys’ Tennis placed second in MVALs and made it to the quarterfinals of the NCS team tournament. The entire team played well and many players also competed at NCS in the individual singles and doubles tournament. With the help of new Coach Mike Jan, the team focused on establishing a culture within the team and building team camaraderie. Next year, when players will have had more experience and training, the team expects to at least make the finals of the team tournament. Jan said, “Our team developed a family culture this year. We have all the potential in the world, and the sky’s the limit for us.”

Coming into the season, the swim team had many new swimmers as well as new coaching staff, so the teams were forced to work harder to maintain their ranking. Despite this, most teams placed first at MVALs, with Senior Lyon Zhang also qualifying for the state level competition through NCS. The team hopes to continue their success, although Boys’ Varsity Swimming Captain Senior Christopher Ha noted that this might be more difficult than before. “[Other teams] will most certainly prove a huge challenge to us, especially as we lose more year-round swimmers, so we’ll have to work a lot harder to keep up with other teams,” said Ha.

10 layout by staff writer hannah chou. photos courtesy louis cai, catherine chen, danice long, gordon thein, nishit vasavada & american junior golf association

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Friday, June 9, 2017

The Smoke Signal

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Unity

Special 25

Personal unity:

For the fourth installment of the Smoke Signal’s identity coverage, we provide a look into the school atmosphere and student attitudes toward unity — the different aspects of identity that make up who we are.

How do you reconcile different aspects of your identity such as nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, etc.?

“Living in America but having Indian culture is somewhat restricting because I can’t do some things that some of my classmates consider a normality. There are times that I wish I didn’t have these restraints, but whenever I go to India or there’s an Indian festival, I’m reminded of how much I love my culture and that means more to me than being able to do what my classmates do.”

— Ayushi Malhotra, 9

“I try to make sure that I’m happy with my identity. For example, if my religion doesn’t agree with my sexuality, I would consider which is more important to me. Is my religion more important, or is being happy with myself more important? … You have to take into account which aspects of your identity are more important to you and have those be a main part of yourself.”

— Riya Chopra, 9

“As an Asian female living in a predominantly Asian area, when I look around myself, considering myself as an outsider or someone ‘different’ has never been that large of an issue, and for that I am eternally grateful. Yet, the minute I look at my phone or even glance at a magazine cover that seems to change almost immediately. I am not afraid to say that it has taken a good portion of my life to understand that just because the societal constructs in which I am privy to have never fit me, that doesn’t make me ugly or less than desirable. Society is flawed and always [has] been, and it has taken me a long time to realize that just because the mirror is flawed or cracked, it doesn’t mean I am flawed or less than whole. I am my own person, and every aspect of my identity is what makes me, me. I can’t expect others to see me as whole if I can’t even see myself as whole or perfect in my own way.”

— Kimberly Chen, 10

“I’ve never had any problems with my identity in terms of nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. But in terms of religion, I’m growing up in a family where not believing in God is looked down on. However, growing up in a school that teaches various sciences and encourages the quality to question and explore everything, I find it hard to believe that there is God. I always had been shy to express my opinions on religion with my family and often practiced religion out of fear that my family might be disappointed by me because of my atheism. This shyness often would leak onto things that I wouldn’t otherwise be shy to discuss. But I came to conclude that to really be who I am, I shouldn’t be afraid to tell my family my opinions about religion. I also had learned that I wasn’t being the real version of [myself] with my family if I didn’t unite the religious aspect of my identity with all other aspects.”

— Karan Kumar, 10

“It’s not necessarily about reconciling differences but more about finding similarities between different aspects of my identity. Similarities are a better definition of who I am. Sometimes you can’t reconcile differences that are too different. Sometimes differences are made to be different. But uniting similarities in your personality is a better method.”

— Kevin Wu, 11

“I accept myself as who I am. I don’t really think any less or more of myself based off of any of my characteristics. Identity, by definition, is something that you live with your entire life.

Pieces of you come together because they are all connected to the same being — you! Therefore, I don’t see a need to reconcile different aspects.”

— Eric Zhu, 12

Unity in our community Can you describe a time at MSJ when you saw people unite despite their differences unrelated to age or grade level?

“In all of the different clubs and sports and Multicultural Week, [I see people unite despite their differences]. I got to try out for Tahitian, even though I’m Indian, and Tahitian isn’t really part of my culture. The clubs, the sports, and all of those activities really unite people.”

— Riya Chopra, 9

“Every school-wide activity from homecoming to stress-less days to Multicultural Week is an attempt for individuals at MSJ to break the barriers of identity and demographics to unite despite their differences. It fosters a healthy school community. These can be found at every level down to simple interpersonal interactions.”

— Samir Jain, 10

“In my sophomore year, when I was on stage and I was singing ‘Hakuna Matata’ as Timon, when everyone was singing ‘Hakuna Matata’ with me, that was the most unified I’ve ever seen the school. They were all on their feet. Everyone: seniors, juniors, freshmen, and my class, they were all on their feet. And I was being the one to sing that song for everybody was probably one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. That was unity.”

— Brandon Do, 11

“Personally, I feel that everyone is very united during Link Crew and Homecoming Week. During Link Crew, the juniors and seniors make the incoming freshmen feel welcome at MSJ. During homecoming week, everyone is very excited and supportive of the other classes.”

— Ayushi Malhotra, 9

“A few years ago I had this friend who was one of only a few Indian girls on a robotics team that was pretty much otherwise East Asian. But they worked really well together and eventually ended up winning something in a competition so I think that wanting to accomplish something can really be what unites people.”

— Alan Hsing, 11

“At the Peer Resource Benefit show and at the Mental Health Panel, I saw people being incredibly supportive when speakers took the stage and shared their most vulnerable moments.

Everyone shared those emotions, regardless of age, gender, race, or religion.”

— Emily Chang, 11

graphics by pixejoo.com. layout and coverage by opinion editors anthony chen & tanushri sundar & feature editors kevin li & brian tseng

26 Special

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Unity

The Smoke Signal

Friday, June 9, 2017

An introduction

By Julia Park & Richard Chenyu Zhou Staff Writers

Over the last several months, the Smoke Signal has covered different facets of identity. Be it the gender and sexuality we identify with, the race and nationality we were born with, or the religion or spirituality we believe in, every factor comes together to shape our personal identity. In ourselves, these aspects of our identity may conflict or enrich each other, or even both simultaneously. Similarly, the interactions of individual identities shape the community. The actions we take can either ostracize groups of people or promote unity.

In this issue, we bring together all aspects of our identity to celebrate our unity, both within oneself and within the community. The Smoke Signal conducted a cluster sampling survey on May 16 and 18 of eight English and social studies classes, 2 from each grade level. A total of 186 students responded, and their responses are illustrated in the graphs below.

How does unity relate to your personal identity?

“Uniting in the face of adversity is the only way things can be changed and one of the few ways a message can be conveyed. By ourselves we are weak, but together we are a force to be reckoned with.”

— Kimberly Chen, 10

“Unity is definitely related to personal identity in that it makes people more willing to voice their opinions. If you feel like your words are going to be accepted, than it’s more probable that you will actually be willing to speak out.”

— Alan Hsing, 11

“Unity means a sense of community, not just in the things that you do but the people who support you in the things you do.

It’s a community with people who care about you as a person, not just people who care about what you do. Essentially it’s the sense that if you go out of your way to help people, they will go out of their way to help you.”

— Kevin Wu, 11

“Unity is a large part of personal identity since it lets people develop I think. People that are more unified are also stronger. Think about a single stick versus a bundle of sticks. There’s that concept that comes into play where united we stand and divided we fall.”

— Ping Hsu, 12

On a scale from 1-5, how important is each of the following aspects to your personal identity?

Nationality

Gender

Race/Ethnicity

Sexuality

Religion/Spirituality

On a scale from 1-5, how much do you think our school community acknowledges and discusses the following aspects of unity?

Nationality

Race/Ethnicity

Gender 1

MSJ’s community demographic has a wide variety of overall diversity in the above aspects of identity.

2

3

Sexuality 4

Religion/Spirituality

5

MSJ’s community makes an effort to purposefully promote unity among different groups of people.

MSJ’s community makes an effort to purposefully promote unity among different groups of people.

graphics by pixejoo.com. layout and coverage by opinion editors anthony chen & tanushri sundar & feature editors kevin li & brian tseng

Friday, June 9, 2017

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Special 27

By Amy Chen & Heather Gan Staff Writers

staff writer heather gan

staff writer amy chen

Promoting unity: taking tangible steps

By Amy Chen, Stephanie Dutra, Heather Gan & Michael Ren Staff Writers

As humans, we naturally have misconceptions or biases against others who are different from us, whether it is their religion, sexuality, ethnicity, or race. In the MSJ community, we frequently address these prejudices, but rarely discuss tangible ways of bringing people together.

This idea should be doubly stressed at MSJ, where out of 186 students surveyed from eight different English classes, 44 percent of respondents reportedly had no opinion on whether or not the MSJ community was purposefully promoting unity among its student body.

The results of the Smoke Signal’s survey regarding discussions of identity at MSJ reveal that in particular, the barriers of religion and sexuality must be more openly addressed, with 46 percent of students placing low priority on religion, and 34 percent of students placing low priority on sexuality. By limiting our discussion of these topics, the stigmas surrounding them are only exacerbated. Despite their undeniable importance to our identities, students and others alike might choose to take the “safe route” and avoid the subject in fear of offending others. As a community, we cannot choose to take this safe route. Simply showing tolerance and acceptance toward these subjects does not suffice; we must also create an environment where we are proud of our identities while simultaneously respecting each other’s.

When promoting unity, getting other people to understand our perspectives is the hardest part of the battle. While confronting people who hold prejudices, it’s easy to dismissively dub them a homophobe, racist, or xenophobe instead of taking the time to discuss our opinions with them. After all, why bother introduc-

staff writer heather gan

ing them to the community they despise when it’s easier to assume that everyone racist or bigoted is inherently so and unwilling to change? As it turns out, simply telling someone that their views are wrong doesn’t solve anything.

Instead of bridging a gap between people, these insults and labels only further alienate one’s audience. In 2013, Lafayette College professor Elizabeth Suhay conducted a study of inflammatory comments and their effects on political views. Suhay discovered that negative liberal comments only serve to anger conservatives and further polarize their views. To effectively minimize prejudice, we should instead share parts of our identities with other people to guide them toward understanding the different circles we belong to.

Former Stanford University Psychologist Tiffany Brannon and Assistant Psychology Professor Greg Walton examined cultural engagement in relation to prejudice through a series of experiments.

One such experiment involved Asian and Caucasian participants collaborating with a Latin American to design a music video for a Mexican pop band. These participants showcased a reduction of bias towards Latino people after getting to know the Latina peer and designing the video. Interacting more with marginalized groups and their cultures directly results in more positive intergroup attitudes. Walton said, “What’s empowering about this research is that too often people feel like they need to hide their cultures, but this suggests that bringing it out, having people being engaged in it, can improve attitudes and make a more pleasant environment on the whole.”

Even simple welcoming gestures can unite a community. Amanda Saab, a Muslim woman from Detroit, Michigan, is defeating the stigmas people have against Muslims through her cooking.

After watching then-presidential candi-

date Donald J. Trump call for a ban on Muslims entering the US, Saab, who was a contestant on MasterChef in 2015, realized that many people do not know Muslims and judge Muslims based on how they are portrayed in the media.

Saab asked herself, “Have I played a part in that? Have I not reached out to people and given them an opportunity to meet me?” Saab decided to stop the hate people have for Islam by using her talent for cooking and inviting strangers over for dinner, where guests get the opportunity to ask Saab about her religion while trying Middle-Eastern food. Saab’s efforts have been effective, and many of her guests have left dinner with a new perspective of the religion.

“Let’s start at a basic fundamental need that we all need, which is nourishment and let’s not only nourish our stomachs, but let’s nourish our minds,” said Saab.

As seen through Saab’s dinners and Brannon and Walton’s experiments, ending prejudice begins with inviting someone to see a new perspective. People have misconceptions and biases based on what they see on the surface, but giving them an inside look on what lies beneath may help them reconsider.

While Brannon and Walton’s experiment is not easily recreated, anyone can invite people over for dinner or a traditional party and introduce them to their circle. Although these acts may seem small, each one of them is a step towards ending prejudice. The better we get to know each other, the more we learn to embrace each other’s differences and stand together as one. ▪

graphics by pixejoo.com. layout and coverage by opinion editors anthony chen & tanushri sundar & feature editors kevin li & brian tseng

28 Photo

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Friday, June 9, 2017

Joshua Kingsley, 11

Family interview collages compiled by history students were put on display in the Flex Room.

Vikshar Athreya, 11

Sabrina Shih, 11

Emeline Tu, 10 Ben Lee, 10

The Multicultural Week hip hop dance team perform their original choreography for “Ultralight Beam” by Kanye West.

Christine Yu, 12 Luna Jing, 12

SPRING E PO Rin Vuong, 12

Andrew Wei, 11

Juniors Joshua Kingsley and Vikshar Athreya use Gatorade to extract DNA samples as part of an AP Biology field experiment.

By Joelle Chuang & Helen Wang Staff Writers

MSJ held its third annual Spring Expo on May 25 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., showcasing the achievements of countless clubs, classes, and organizations.

From math riddles to karaoke to club introductions, students, parents, and incoming freshmen participated in a variety of informative, engaging activities.

Anthea Xiao, 12

Japanese students entertain crowds with their rendition of “One Love” by Arashi.

PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITER JOELLE CHUANG & HELEN WANG

Color Run

Kayal Rajkumar, 10

By Hana Sheikh Staff Writer

Austin Chen, 11

Arunav Gupta, 10

L2 L2’s Fundraising Committee hosted the third annual Color Run member on campus from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on June 3. After receiving Junior Arthur white shirts to wear for the run, participants ran a Kwong surprises a course along the school fields and track, where runner with colored powder.

L2 members showered runners with colored chalk powder. In addition, the event featured music, drinks Arthur Kwong, 11 sold by the Student Store booth, and a Creative Sips boba truck.

Shyam Sethi, 10

Junior Austin Chen and Sophomores Arunav Gupta and Shyam Sethi finish off the course together.

Erin Tan, 12

Sophomore Kayal Rajkumar escapes a color throwing station.

L2 members Senior Erin Tan and Junior Bernice Yu hand out shirts to the participants before the run begins.

Bernice Yu, 11

PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITER HANA SHEIKH, GRAPHICS BY WALLPAPER-GALLERY.NET