Volume XLIX, No. 7

VOL. 49, NO. 7

MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL

March 21, 2014

41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539

Health and Wellness Fair Page 1: • Senior Absences becoming a growing problem • Model un competes at uc berkeley • common core brings changes to standardized testing schedule • health and wellness fair educates students Page 2: • Ro Khanna speaks with the smoke signal about his congressional campaign

• Sleeping and Napping: A Comprehensive Spread • Divergent Review: Divergent comes out in theaters today. Stay posted for the Smoke Signal’s Review.

staff writer arti patankar staff writer katrina cherk

Students practice yoga in the gym at the fifth annual Health and Wellness Fair during their PE periods.

By Katrina Cherk Staff Writer

Senior absences

By Genevieve Huang & Andrea Tam Staff Writers Second semester is underway, and while many students have continued to work hard and stay committed to their studies, increasingly frequent truancies this past year have become one of the faculty’s primary concerns.

The worsening trend in second semester senior absences has become an alarming issue this school year.

The reasons students cite for skipping school include exhaustion or trying to cram in an extra study day before an exam. “Some seniors skip class because they have tests they aren’t prepared for. Some just skip because they’re too burned out,” says Senior Christie Chong. “A lot of people skip either the beginning or the whole day by calling in and saying ‘I’m not feeling well,” says Senior Jacinda Chan.

Parents seem to be backing and excusing their child’s absences. “One of my friends,” continues Chan, “just left whenever she wanted by telling her parents to pick her up because she ‘wasn’t feeling well’ and her parents didn’t mind.” Physics Teacher Jack Fendell said of parent involvement, “Parents will excuse their students. I don’t think it’s right; I never did this for my kids and it sets a bad pattern.”

Senior Attendance Clerk Karleen Densmore said that there definitely is a trend of increased absences in the second semester.

She pointed out that while in previous years she would begin to see this trend after Easter, senior absences began to increase right after winter break during this school year. She also noted that Fridays are the days with the most truancies. “But not much can be done about it,” she said, “when parents call in excusing their child.” The problem is that parents’ versions of the stories often deviate from those

See ABSENCE NEWS Page 2

MSJ held its fifth annual Health and Wellness Fair on March 12, co-hosted by Mission: SOS and MSJ Medcorps. The purpose of the fair was to educate students about physical, mental, and nutritional health through interactive games and activities. In addition, Mission: SOS organized a Surprise Stress Free Day and a staff appreciation breakfast.

MSJ Peer Resource kicked off Stress Free Day with their Happy Day booth set up in the bell tower quad. In the morning, students stopped by

Top: Freshman Vineet Advani and Sophomores Neeha Kotte and Chelsy Simran educate students about Suicide Prevention. Bottom: Sophomore Annie Tang and Junior Kate Xu asked questions about health and fitness, giving out healthy snacks as prizes.

to sample various snacks, including cookies, juice, and fruit. Meanwhile, teachers received a special staff appreciation breakfast, which offered an expansive array of donuts, bagels, coffee, and fruits from Mission: SOS. Students in P.E. classes attended the Health and Wellness Fair, where they visited eight different booths to learn about nutrition, exercise, and various organizations associated with helping others stay healthy.

At the Nutrition Booth, hosted by volunteers from Mission:SOS and MSJ Medcorps, students spun a wheel and answered nutrition-related questions, such as “What effect do trans-fat foods have?” If the student answered correctly, they re-

Model UN competes at Berkeley

ceived healthy snacks such as granola bars and fruit snacks. Other stations also offered snacks as an incentive for student participation, including the Exercise Booth, where students did a variety of physical activities, from push-ups to jumpingjacks.

Health professionals from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) and Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments (SAVE) were also present at the fair. Nancy Brown, a developmental psychologist and a representative from the community sector at PAMF, educated students about

See HEALTH, NEWS Page 2

Standardized testing changes

By Madeline Zheng Staff Writer

A typical Model United Nations conference looks very similar to an actual United Nations conference. At BMUN, teams representing a total of 100 countries took part in a 13-hour session for the given committee. Each session was divided up into three days of competition.

All sessions began with an initial roll call, followed by prepared opening statements from delegates of the different countries. A head chair moderatedevery committee by selecting delegates that made motions to speak. Next came a moderated caucus, where delegates delivered shorter statements and debated the issues at hand. After the moderated caucus, the delegates could choose to move on to an unmoderated caucus to work with delegates from other countries with similar perspectives on the issue. Delegates then drafted and presented resolutions that were either approved or rejected by a majority vote involving the

As spring rolls around once again, MSJ will be implementing new procedures for standardized testing. The procedures will facilitate the transition from familiar Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) testing to the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium tests, better known as Common Core testing.

STAR testing will take place for only four days: April 10, 11, 14, and 15. The bell schedule for STAR testing days remains the same as last year’s testing schedule, but this year only juniors and sophomores will have to take assessments with their first period classes. Sophomores will be required to take only Life Science. Juniors, meanwhile, must take both types of tests—they will complete their grade school careers’ worth of STAR Math and ELA testing and then initiate the shift to Common Core. Many juniors express displeasure towards this double burden: Junior Katherine Tsay, for instance, said, “I think the transition is inefficient and also unfair to the juniors. This places too much additional stress on us during a time when many of us are already too stressed.” She pointed out that Common Core testing will take place on April 28 and 29, as well as May 1 and 2—the week right before AP testing. The bell schedule during Common Core testing will be only slightly different from the normal schedule since testing will only affect juniors.

Common Core testing will utilize technology

See MODEL NEWS Page 2

See TEST NEWS Page 2

MSJ delegation at the Berkeley Model UN Conference on March 7-9.

By Arti Patankar Staff Writer MSJ Model United Nations competed at the annual Berkeley Model United Nations Conference (BMUN) at UC Berkeley from March 7 to March 9. Twenty-two MSJ students had the chance to discuss and debate foreign affairs with other Model United Nations members from over 100 high schools across the globe.

Prior to the conference, pairs of students were assigned a country in the United Nations to represent in a specified committee, which is a general area of discussion. Different MSJ teams represented Ukraine, Myanmar, El Salvador, or Latvia. Examples of possible committees included a Disarmament Committee and a Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee. These teams of delegates then had to conduct research and write a policy paper on their country’s stance and proposal regarding the given committee.

photo courtesy lynnea shuck

2 News

www.thesmokesignal.org

Ro Khanna shares vision

By Iyesha Puri Staff Writer Disclaimer: Rohit Khanna requested an interview with The Smoke Signal.

This is not an endorsement of his campaign.

The Smoke Signal: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Rohit Khanna: I’ve been a long time resident of Fremont and I live in Warm Springs. I’ve been very involved in the local community through We The People in Irvington High School. Also, when I worked for President Obama, I helped bring a grant back to Fremont with the Department of Commerce. I got to help build manufacturing in the area, and now I teach at Stanford, I teach Economics, and I teach at Santa Clara University Law School, and I’m running for Congress from this district.

SS: How do you define your general stance on public policy?

RK: That’s a great question. Well I am very passionate about the economy and I want to make sure that we are teaching coding in the classrooms, that we’re providing young women with the opportunities in science and technology and to pursue careers in the STEM fields. We need to do a better job for getting women into STEMfields. I view very strongly on helping folks prepare for new manufacturing jobs and engineering and high technology. I also want to try to reform Congress and so I am not taking any special interest money.

And the final thing is, I’m really excited and proud that we’ve engaged so many high school students. We have so many students from Mission

MODEL| UN continued from page 1

entire committee.

The delegates’ main objective at any conference is to actively participate in the discussion by giving statements, engaging in the debate, and drafting a resolution. At BMUN, teammates Junior Anand Balaji and Junior Himaja Jangle, received certificates of commendation. Jangle, who is also the MSJ Model United Nations treasurer, said, “Considering that it’s an international conference and we’re competing with people from all over the world, our members performed well and are showing improvement. They are articulating their ideas and getting more involved in the committees.”

Prior to BMUN, MSJ Model United Nations attended the Santa

rokhanna.com

Congressional candidate Rohit Khanna spoke with the Smoke Signal about his views and goals.

San Jose volunteering on our campaigns, going door to door, and I’m proud that we are inspiring a new generation of folks to get involved.

SS: What do you believe the most prevalent issue is today? In general and specific to the Bay Area.

RK: The economy. The biggest issue today is young folks have the opportunity to go to a good college and get a good job. One of the challenges is that the colleges are so unaffordable and I have proposed increasing accessibility, financial aid, lowering the interest rates for student loans, and really fighting to make sure that people have the funds to go to college. I’m still paying off my student loan, so I know how difficult that is. And second, that once they go to college, they get the skills that they are going to need for the 21st century job market. That means learning entrepreneurship, I have been very involved with DECA, and have spoken at the a previous MSJ DECA conference because I think it’s important that young folks know how to start a small business, life skills, and balancing a checkbook, or a payroll. ▪ Clara Valley Model United Nations Conference (SCVMUN), where they brought home a total of 14 awards in the categories of Outstanding Delegate, Honorable Mention, Verbal Commendation, and Research.

BMUN was the final conference of the year for MSJ Model United Nations. In an email to the Smoke Signal, Junior and MSJ Model United Nations President Lynnea Shuck said, “I am extremely proud of our school’s performance at the conferences. From earning the Delegate Scholarship Award (first time ever for our school), to bringing in a record number of awards at the conferences, our members have much to be proud of. This group is sharp, articulate, and tenacious.

I predict even greater success for them in the coming year.” ▪

ABSENCE| Policy continued from page 1 of the student’s, Densmore noted, which means there is an inconsistency on one side or the other. The most popular excuses for absences she has heard of are college interviews and sickness. Another trend in attendance Densmore has observed is when seniors are sick but come to school for one or two periods just to take their test, then go home, having passed their sicknesses on to other students, a cycle she has named the “revolving door syndrome.”

An excessive number of truancies entails several consequences. Assistant Principal Carli Kim explained that when a student accumulates more than 10 absences in records, a letter is automatically generated and sent to notify parents of these excessive absences. If these absences persist, despite having parent meetings and follow-ups for students, a student may be referred to the district attendance review panel. As the Student Handbook states, “[Parents] of any students who have accumulated more than 10 excused absences in a year may be required to attend a conference with a school administrator and provide verification of illness.” Additionally, if a student is absent for more than 10 continuous school days for a reason other than illness, he or she may have to forfeit his seat to another student and be transferred to an alternative learning institution.

English Teacher Patricia Allen said that she has 10 to 12 students with troubling attendance in her two classes, as opposed to the two to three concerns about student attendance she has had in previous years.

The attendance problems she ob-

HEALTH| Fair

continued from page 1 the right to keep health information confidential and PAMF’s Summer Wellness Education and Training for Teens (SWEAT) institute, a program designed to teach students about teen health.

SAVE is a non-profit organization with a mission to help prevent domestic violence and unhealthy relationships. Their booth used a Jeopardy type quiz to inform students about the organization and their services, such as counseling and a 24-hour hotline.

Furthermore, other MSJ clubs and organizations such as the American Cancer Society, MSJ Neuroscience Club, MSJ To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), and Peer Resource participated in the fair. By playing a cancertrivia game, the American Cancer Society helped raise awareness about cancer

The Smoke Signal served were already occurring in the first semester. Many of her students would explain their absences with no more than an excuse of sickness or having a drivers license test. She has personally spoken with frequent absentees, shown them their attendance record, and asked how they could account for their excessive absences. She believes that both parents and the children should be held accountable with consistent investigation into these truancy incidents.

Allen said, “ If not held accountable for their actions, seniors will not be as well prepared academically for college, nor will they have a realistic expectation of how they should manage their time in college, nor will they ultimately develop a solid set of ethics. Moreover, excessive absenteeism erodes morale among those who do behave responsibly and costs the district a goodly amount of ADA [average daily attendance] money.”

Government-Economics Teacher Jaime Richards has developed a teacher committee to deal with senioritis. He says the problem of senioritis has worsened every year he has been teaching at MSJ. He said, “Senioritis causes me to lose respect for students who had previously earned my respect.” Though second semester of senior year is often sensationalized as the time to let loose and play because college applications have been sent out, Fendell said, “Students need to take responsibility for their learning, and there is a correlation between student attendance and their grades. If they are absent and they fail, then they need to accept it. If you get senioritis and get rescinded, you shouldn’t go to that college because that’s not how things work there.” ▪

and its prevention. The Neuroscience Booth educated students about brainboosting foods and the consequences of sleep deprivation. Medcorps organized a Suicide Prevention Jeopardy game and MSJ TWLOHA, an organization supporting those with mental illnesses, informed students about the effects of stress on the mind.

In the gym, students took part in yoga activities to help relieve stress and promote relaxation. “I never knew about the afterschool yoga training, but

Friday, March 21, 2014

TEST| Changes

continued from page 1 as its mode of assessment: students will take online tests on school laptops and computers. They will type up free-response answers, highlight parts of passages, and more. Because MSJ does not currently have the abundance of devices needed to provide each member of the Class of 2015 with a laptop or computer all at once, testing will take place in shifts.

The junior class will be split into approximate halves and one half will take tests while the other attends classes like usual.

However, in upcoming years, all classes except for future seniors will take this new type of exam. “MSJ currently has two class sets of laptops and we will use loaner laptop sets from other school sites. The district is committed to having the technology in place for future assessments, but we do not yet know if that will mean more site laptops or sets that float from school to school,” said MSJ’s testing site coordinator Diana Brumbaugh. She also mentioned that the new testing schedule is acting as a trial run for testing in future years.

As MSJ shifts to Common Core, students should all expect a more explicit emphasis on technology and analytical skills in testing. Several students are ambivalent about this transition. “I think it’s great that teachers want to know if students actually understand the material as opposed to just reciting information, but I’m still going to miss multiple choice questions,” said Sophomore Austin Pan. According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative website, the primary intention of Common Core assessments runs parallel to the Common Core curriculum objective—tests aim to better assess not only foundational knowledge, but also complex critical thinking abilities. From this year and on, standardized testing will adapt to new procedures in order to sanction a new focus on these crucial skills. ▪ after I participated in the yoga activity during the fair, I found it really interesting and relaxing,” said sophomore Anastasia Ecin. After participating in the exercises, students watched a video created by Peer Resource that encouraged random acts of kindness.

Overall, many students enjoyed the fair, seeing it as an exciting opportunity to learn more about health while playing games and getting free prizes. ▪

staff writer arti patankar

(From left to right) Juniors Avi Patel and Torrey Guan help a volunteer man the booth for Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments (SAVE).

for the feb. 21, 2014 issue

News page 2: Staff Writer Megan Ren wrote the national newsbyte and Staff Writer Anand Balaji wrote the international newsbyte.

Opinion page 5: Staff Writer Kevin Chen took photos for MSJ Voices.

Centerspread page 12: Staff Writer Hanson Wang’s name was misspelled.

A&E page 17: Liang Kuan Lee’s and Alumnus Kyle Lam’s names were misspelled.

Sports page 19: Ubuntu is the name of an MSJ club and the slogan of the Boys’ Soccer team. Staff Writer Aamir Rasheed took the Boys’ Soccer photo. There are eight seniors on the Boys’ Soccer team.

Sports page 23: Arielle Gold is a snowboarder.

Photo page 24: Quote bubbles for the bottom center picture were misplaced.

sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com Obama designated 1,665 acres of Northern California coastline as a protected area.

Compiled by Staff Writers Anand Balaji, Katrina Cherk & Lillian Zhao

Obama protects northern California coastline Holding true to his promise in the State of the Union to preserve America’s natural environment for future generations, Obama designated 1,665 acres of northern California coastline as a protected area. By declaring the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands a national monument, Obama was able to bypass congressional approval and signed the legislation March 11.

nbcnews.com A new strain of medical marijuana may reduce seizures in children.

Medical marijuana used to reduce seizures in children Charlotte’s Web, a strain of medical marijuana low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) but high in the derivative cannabidiol (CBD), has recently been found to drastically reduce seizures in children with epilepsy. Over the past eight months, more than 100 families have become involved with an organization known as the Realm of Caring in search for medical marijuana to help treat their children.

edition.cnn.com The Globe Theatre in London seeks to further the experience of Shakespeare.

Real life Hamlet controversy The Globe Theater is planning to perform Hamlet in every single country in their Globe to Globe two-year tour. Many human rights activists are protesting the performance in North Korea because of the nature of the play. In Hamlet the son kills his uncle in suspicion after his father’s death.

Given Kim Jung Un’s execution of his uncle Jang Song Thaek, human rights activists are protesting that North Korea has absolutely no parallels in its cruel treatment of its people.

Friday, March 21, 2014

the

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Opinion 3

Smoke Signal

Mission San Jose High School Est. 1964 Vol. 49, No. 7 | March 21, 2014 www.thesmokesignal.org

The Cat’s Meow

What Happened to TV? Aliens.

41717 Palm Ave. Fremont, CA 94539 (510) 657-3600

By Catherine Wang Opinion Editor

Editors-in-Chief Jin Peng, Grace Wu News Nina Krishnan, Kerrie Wu Opinion Sanjay Sreekumar, Catherine Wang

Feature Vivian Jair, Anjali Kanthilal Centerspread Tingting Bi, Lindy Zeng A&E Tammy Tseng, Peter Xu Sports Leah Feuerman, Ishan Goyal Graphics Shirby Wang, Anna Zeng Web Laura Chen, Supriya Yelimeli Tech Peter Chew, Peter Qiu Business Aamir Rasheed Circulation Abigail Wong Ads Genevieve Huang, Tiffany Huang Events Irisa Lee, Hairol Ma Writers & Photographers Anand Balaji, Jacinta Chang, Kevin Chen, Alice Cheng, Katrina Cherk, Grace Dong, Purvi Goel, Michael Hsiu, Vivian Liu, Arti Patankar, Melissa Peng, Iyesha Puri, Tanvi Raja, Apoorva Rajanala, Nithya Rajeev, Megan Ren, Hannah Shih, Katie Sun, Andrea Tam, Hanson Wang, Rebecca Wu, Lillian Zhao, Madeline Zheng

Advisor Sandra Cohen Send letters to the editor to opinion@the smokesignal.org. Letters under 300 words may be considered for publication and must include a full name and school affiliation. The Smoke Signal reserves the right to edit for clarity and length.

To advertise in the Smoke Signal, e-mail 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.

Several days a week during fourth grade, I used to scurry home from school, slink through the door, and burrow into the sofa to watch the last twenty minutes of Animal Planet’s Meerkat Manor.

Learning about meerkat behavior and watching the sun set over the Kalahari Desert…ah, those were the days.

Then I stopped watching TV so often.

Recently, my brother suddenly brought up conspiracy theories at the dinner table, describing evidence of Bigfoot and mermaids. “What have you been watching?” I asked him. “Animal Planet.”

I couldn’t believe it. Animal Planet?!

Show me the meerkats! Where are the explorations of behavioral biology and the narrator with the fatherly voice?

While I wasn’t tuning in, Animal Planet and a parade of other informational channels have undergone “channel drift”, transitioning away from their original programming themes to attract larger, more lucrative audiences. Today, Animal Planet is about people, and History Channel? Aliens. Believe it or not, TLC actually used to stand for “The Learning Channel” – and now it flaunts Honey Boo Boo. Channel drift is weakening American educational discourse. By airing shows like Finding Bigfoot and Mermaids: The Body Found, formerly educational networks are sending the wrong message to current followers and future generations.

Discovery Channel, advertising itself as “the world’s #1 nonfiction

K-12

media company”, launched its popular “Shark Week” last year with a fake special speculating the continued existence of the ancient megalodon. The so-called documentary ended with a rushed disclaimer admitting to dramatizing evidence it featured, but a poll by Discovery showed that 79% of viewers believed megalodon is still alive after seeing the show. Most people watch TV for entertainment rather than education, and that’s no problem. But when “informational” channels purposely mix fact with fiction in the hopes of boosting viewer ratings, they are taking advantage of the audience’s trust.

At the same time, though, television networks have the right to air whatever they want to air. The audience is responsible for contributing to these networks’ intellectual decay. We are the ones sending the message that pseudoscience is cooler than science. Movements like channel drift are cyclical: viewer ratings impact what airs, which impacts what’s available to us when we turn on the TV. English writer Clive Barnes once said, “Television is the first truly democratic culture – the first culture available to everybody and entirely governed by what the people want. The most terrifying thing is what people do want.” So long as Americans prefer sensationalized pseudoscience over ordinary nature documentaries, the informational TV I enjoyed isn’t coming back – at best, it’s a diminishing niche market. So goodbye, Meerkat Manor. Hello, Downton Abbey. ▪

Sanjay Says #SSSSSSS

By Sanjay Sreekumar Opinion Editor Three and a half years later and it’s finally happened. It’s time to break away from the familiar “chains” of responsibility and join the echelon of MSJ’s elite. I am a second semester senior. #SSS, however, isn’t nearly as blissful as I just portrayed it. What starts off as a little bit of time off can quickly mutate into “senioritis”, the dreaded path of slipping grades, irate teachers and parents, and, worst of all, being rescinded from the college of your dreams.

Teachers have decided to take the “offensive” this year against slacking seniors.

Led by Government and Economics teacher Jaime Richards, a group called “The Eradicate Senioritis Committee” has already met and discussed various solutions to this problem. MSJ has even created a “Tardy Intervention Program”, a mandatory class after school for students who don’t get to class on time.

Not surprisingly, seniors aren’t as warm to these ideas as the faculty is. In our minds, the administration won’t let us relax.

Teachers are trying their hardest to establish their authority as long as possible, because as we all know, in just a couple months, we don’t have to listen to them anymore.

I probably should join the bandwagon condemning the faculty’s attack on our “inalienable” rights. Instead I find myself right in the middle of this heated debate.

First of all, seniors need to acknowledge senioritis is indeed a problem. Being a second semester senior might mean that the stakes

are a lot lower, but there are definitely stakes involved. Many of us are taking AP courses ,and while we can ignore those classes now, College Board will have the last laugh come May. “Blowing off” classes is also extremely disrespectful to teachers who spent time and effort trying to educate us every day.

Instead of wasting time unproductively, the next six months are the perfect opportunity to explore unexplored aspects of your life. For example, got a book that’s been sitting on the shelf? Now’s the time to read it. Been meaning to get “ripped”? Go get that gym membership. Want to learn more about subjects outside of school? The Internet is sure to be your best friend.

At the same time teachers ought to realize that seniors do deserve time off. We’ve been sitting in the classroom for a long time now and by this time we earn a bit of trust and respect. Try moving away from the gigantic homework packets and other monotonous busy work, and I guarantee more seniors are going to be interested in your class.

Just like how second semester is a great time for seniors to experiment, teachers should try experimenting too. Educational methods like guest lectures, in class games, and research projects serve as unique ways to not only teach information but also actively engage us in it.

“Senioritis” needs to stop being seen as a rite of passage and more like the plague that it actually is. To effectively deal with this problem though, both faculty and students should recognize that “punishing” or “vilifying” the other isn’t the way to go. ▪

NonProfit 33-1016103

Summer program July 2014

 Geometry and Algebra II Crash Courses  SAT I Prep (Math and English)  Volunteering for service learning hours (Tennis, chess players and swimmers are needed)

Last year rates before April 1st!

SAVE $100

WHEN YOU CALL BEFORE 04/15/14

State Tests

2950 Washington Blvd. Fremont, CA

Accredited by

(510) 440 – 0929 www.classicmath.org

Optional text field: used for disclaimers/sponsors (delete text if not used).

38487 Fremont Blvd Fremont, CA - 94536 510-608-0701

4 Ad

www.thesmokesignal.org

Flex FP

The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 21, 2014

Friday, March 21, 2014

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF...

A custodian

To find out what Custodian Wanda Hughes does from day to day, the Smoke Signal went behind the scenes to interview her and observe her daily schedule at MSJ. 6:30am After I arrive at school, I usually go straight to the mini gym to prepare the room for PE classes or wrestlers who will use the room later during the day. I vacuum and sweep the hardwood floor and empty the trashcans. Then, I use hot water from the custodial work room in the P-wing to mop the mats.

problems around campus. For example, if I see students that should be in class loitering in the parking lot, or something on campus that is damaged, I use my radio to call Officer Pip, the administrators, or other personnel to look into the problem. One morning, I found that I couldn’t open a door to the Bwing with my keys. I report problems such as this to Secretary Cathy Claiborne, who would put in a work order for an on-site maintenance worker to look into.

Feature 5

By Tiffany Huang Staff Writer

around the upper region of the school, which includes the B-wing, C-wing, N-wing, and the bell tower quad. I generally empty regular trash cans on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and recycling cans on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is much more difficult to empty the trash after a storm, since the trash cans tend to fill up with water. When it rains heavily, I have to puncture the trash bags to let the collected water out.

8:15am This is when I have my 15 minute break and eat breakfast. During my free time away from work, I enjoy gardening, traveling, and decorating my house. I also enjoy walking, and so I try to walk as much as possible around campus.

campus. I pick up litter left by students from lunch. There is usually the most trouble in the quad area, since many students forget to clean up after themselves. Afterwards, I use a rolling cart to pick up empty boxes at the back of the kitchen to recycle them. In addition, I also pick up lost items that are left around campus and bring them to the office.

2:00pm After taking my afternoon break, I start to clean the classrooms in my assigned area, which is the E-wing. I empty the trash and mop the floors. The bathrooms are cleaned and restocked daily after school, so they’re usually spotless in the morning. Unfortunately, they’re often reported for being messy, but in the end, it’s the students’ responsibility to keep the campus clean. I leave the school promptly at 3:30pm. ■

Hughes drives around campus.

10:20am I empty the trash cans around the lower region of the school, which includes the parking lot, mini gym, M-wing, and Pwing. I also usually sweep the leaves in the bell tower quad, but if the wind is blowing strongly, I sweep the leaves another day.

Custodian Wanda Hughes sits in her office in E4.

7:30am School is almost starting. I check that all of the tables in the wings are put down and ready for students to use. I also unlock the A-wing bathrooms and doors to the wings for student access. I make sure that everything is running smoothly and report

Hughes loads trash bags into the golf cart.

8:30am During this time, I empty trash cans

Club Spotlight: MSJ 3D Printing

By Rebecca Wu Staff Writer

Passed by council in December of 2013, MSJ 3D Printing is one of the newest clubs to join MSJ. After seeing the amount of interest received in a 3D printer borrowed from Paton Group through its educational outreach program, Seniors Eric Deng, Albert Wang, and Andrew Chin made a proposal to the school administration and Math Department last year to purchase 3D printers for the school, receiving a $4,500 grant that was spent buying three Type A Series 1 printers and replacement parts.

The club meets every other Thursday during lunch in Math Teacher Charles Brucker’s room, B3. To learn about the club, the Smoke Signal sat down and spoke with MSJ 3D Printing’s president, Senior Arshi Aggarwal.

msjhs3d.weebly.com

From left to right: A 3D printer. Two 3D printed objects.

Smoke Signal: What is 3D printing?

Arshi Aggarwal: 3D printing is pretty selfexplanatory. It is a process of adding on material to build models of things. The material we use is PLA, which is a corn-based plasticlike material.

SS: What is this club dedicated towards?

AA: The mission of the club is to create awareness about 3D printing and its capabilities. 3D printing can be used in a lot of different industries such as medicine, dentistry, food, architecture, and engineering.

SS: What do meetings consist of ?

AA: During meetings, we teach the members how to use AutoCAD, which is the design software that we use. We also have guest speakers come in to talk about their work and what they’ve done with 3D printing. Occasionally we have debates to create awareness on what 3D printing can do and hold discussions on ethical issues such as organ printing and how 3D printing can affect jobs in the future.

SS: What goes into the process of 3D printing something and about how long does it take?

AA: You can design an object on AutoCAD or SolidWorks or any software that creates an STL file. The file is then sent to the printer, which uses the design to control its motion. Depending on the size of the object, it can take different amounts of time to print.

But for your average base, it takes about six to seven hours.

SS: Who is allowed to use the 3D printers and how often are they used?

AA: We always have something printing on every printer. One of them is located at school and two of them are located with our officers. You need to become a Master User to use them, so we know that you are capable of and are liable for using them, because each 3D printer at MSJ costs $1,200.

To become a Master User you have to have taken a written test along with a hands-on test from Mr. Brucker.

SS: In what aspects do you think this club will benefit MSJ? AA: MSJ students will be able to learn more about this new technology, which is fitting for such a math and science related school.

Since 3D printing is a technology that can be used in so many different fields, it’s good to be exposed to it now in high school.

SS: What are your main goals for this year?

AA: Our goal is mostly to just get into a routine so that the club runs smoothly. We want to be able to know if people are capable of using the software, whether they like using the software, and whether they like listening to guest speakers, etc. We just want to know what the members want.

SS: Who is welcome to join the club and what experience is needed?

AA: Anyone can join the club, and you don’t really need any experience either. I didn’t have much experience either when I started the club; I gained most of it over these past few months. Our officers will be here to teach you about the software and the 3D printers every step of the way. ■

1:00pm Lunch has ended, the time of the day that accumulates the most trash and litter on

Hughes retrieves supplies from the custodial supply room. photos by staff writer tiffany huang

Joshua Ho

Senior Joshua Ho, writer for technology website AnandTech.com, has recently returned from a trip to the Mobile World Conference (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain. The Smoke Signal had the opportunity to inquire about his experiences as a technology journalist.

staff writer peter chew

Smoke Signal: What spurred you to start reviewing and writing about technology?

Joshua Ho: I started writing about technology because I would read about it and I would want to talk to other people about it. The internet was really the place to go because that was where the discussion was happening, for better or worse.

SS: What kind of events and topics do you write about?

JH: I mostly focus on mobile phones. Much of my writing either focuses on the end-device like a smartphone or tablet, or on the individual components such as the display or [integrated circuits].

SS: Why did you choose to write for the website AnandTech?

JH: I chose to write for AnandTech because it was the one website in my eyes that was focusing on the technology at the greatest level of depth. Really though, I was approached to be a writer rather than the other way around. In a nutshell, after sophomore year I started spending a lot of time writing on the Android subreddit, and at the beginning of senior year, the senior smartphone editor offered me a job based upon the writing that I had posted.

SS: What do you emphasize most in your type of writing?

JH: In the kind of writing that I do, there’s definitely a strong emphasis on looking

By Peter Chew Staff Writer

closely at the underlying technology that many publications simply don’t cover. Quite a bit of this is because the writers at AnandTech have a background in science, and learn journalism on the job rather than the other way around.

SS: What kind of unique opportunities does your job offer?

JH: There are definitely a great deal of opportunities that such a job opens up because it’s possible to go to places like Mobile World Congress and get to know people within the industry that can really affect the direction that the industry takes. Sitting down to talk with a CEO or having dinner with a product manager is definitely an interesting experience.

SS: Are there any particular challenges writing for a tech publication?

JH: One of the biggest challenges when it comes to writing for a publication like AnandTech is always trying to learn more on the subject, whether it’s CPU architectures or battery chemistry, especially when going to the level of depth that is needed to write a good article. Much of this is because companies closely guard such details, and other parts are because I don’t have sufficient background to really grok the underlying science. Within the next four or so years, I’m sure that the second situation is much less likely to happen though.

SS: What is the most rewarding aspect of your work? Talk about a good experience that stood out to you.

JH: The most rewarding aspect of my work is being able to reach a huge audience, especially when it comes to trying to correct common misconceptions.

I think one instance that really stood out to me was posting a piece on [mobile phone] displays and seeing it spread throughout the Internet. I didn’t really think it was going to receive that much attention but somehow it was featured on places like John Gruber’s blog, and actually Engadget picked it up as well a few months later…it provided a serious, nuanced look at [the importance of] pixel density. ■

6 Ad

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

HS2 FP

Friday, March 21, 2014

Friday, March 21, 2014

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Feature 7

By Jacinta Chang, Purvi Goel, Irisa Lee, Nithya Rajeev Staff Writers

START Welcome to Fremont! Of course, most of us don’t need welcoming - Fremont is our home. We have seen or visited many of our greatest attractions from Central Park and Aqua Adventure to the Mission San Jose and even our own mountain, Mission Peak. But what about the hidden gems of our area? The Smoke Signal presents some smaller destinations that even “Fremont kids” might find worth visiting.

Nil es District has plenthe Niles Canty of attractions to offer, and of them. The one ely yon Railway is definit rything from eve ngs Railroad Museum bri tion of the ple com the construction to the d to life. roa rail l nta original transcontine towards Frozen in time, red gea is Ardenwood H While the museum ishistory toric Far m remai the ut abo n educating the public s just as it w 10 lic 0 as pub ag g sin o. rea inc T he farm boa of the railroad and sts several op es ti tak on e rid s in tra fo nic r guests - fr awareness, the sce om doing Sunol. old-fashion farm ch families from Niles Canyon to ores to riding horse-drawn a railroad, anyo ne can live in the pas t for a while.

Ardenwood Histori c Farm is al so the site of the George Wash ington Patterson H way A 94536 ou il se, an attrac a R n C o , tion w t y h ich impresses on an many with it Niles C evard Frem el ab s orate Victori ul an-style arch ion Bo s is te ict M ure and gard 1 ens. The hou 3700 has undergo se ne remodelin g several times, bu t still holds tr ue to Ardenwo its authentici od ty .

Tyme for Tea is a tearoom located 34600 Historic Fa rm Arden in the historic Niles district. Unwood /George P a Blvd, like most other tearooms, Tyme Fremo tterson’s H nt, CA o for Tea offers a Victorian-style 94555 use tea service, with everything from assorted tea sandwiches For those looking more into Fremont’s history, to antique furniture scattered the Museum of Local History is the place to visaround the room. Fremont it. The museum, run by non-profit volunteers, is one of few cities with an has preserved the history of the old-fashioned tearoom like Washington Township (which conTyme for Tea, and this is sists of the current cities of Fremont, definitely one of the gems Union City, and Newark). It also now of the Niles District. features exhibits, historical books, and documents on life from 1840s to pre-World 3750 T y m War II. From learning about the earliest e 1 Nile f s Blvd or Tea schools in the area to filmmaking in Niles, a , Frem ont, C visit to the museum is just one step in finding A 945 36 out more about our town’s rich diversity.

hidden gems expect to ever At the heart of the Silicon Valley, one wouldn’t Don Edwards . fauna be completely surrounded by flora and n’s first urnatio the San Francisco National Wildlife Refuge, que feeling. re-es natu a ban wildlife refuge, provides us with opment devel ry, centu Following the Gold Rush in the mid-19th ressman Cong ased. incre on more sensitive parts of Fremont n and actio took d, name is Don Edwards, after which this place these rve prese to decided to create the refuge in order as well wetlands. Visitors can now go wildlife viewing e. refug the as learn more about the history of

fuge life Re d il W tional 55 Bay Na ifornia 945 o c is c l n a a C r , San F emont wards lands Rd, Fr d E n The Shinn Historic Park, a o D sh 1 Mar place which most Fremont residents drive by but don’t stop at, stands proudly on its 4 1/2-acre plot of land. The park is named after the family who founded it, the Shinn family, who also played a role in leading and starting the Alameda County Water District and Washington Hospital, respectively. The Victorian-style farmhouse on the Historic Shinn Ranch stands much as it did 150 years ago, the redwood embellishments sleek and shining, the paint gleaming, the surrounding trees neatly trimmed. It is no stranger to fire or earthquakes, but has stood unrelenting since 1865. The house is open for tours on most days, and is a common area to hold photoshoots, picnics, and even weddings.

y Company California Nurser CA 94539 evard, Fremont, 36501 Niles Boul

190

tory al His A 94539 c o L f mo nt, C Museu eet, Fremo Str Anza

Sh 1251 inn Historic Peral ta Bo Park and uleva rd, Fr Arboretum emont , CA 9 4539

The California Nursery Company, once one of the largest and most well-known nurseries in California, is located in the Fremont area. Originally founded by John Rock in San Jose, the nursery relocated to a property in Niles. Rock specialized in hybridization and developed hundreds of varieties. He eventually donated many trees and plant specimens to the city of Fremont. Today, the property has been transformed into a historical park, where visitors can see the preserved nursery buildings and artifacts and the trees and plants maintained since the California Nursery Co. closed. Two nurseries are still in the area, but the park and museum are a must see for anybody interested in horticulture and agriculture.

photos by staff writer irisa lee, pageresource.com, mlbyrf.wordpress.com, msauer.mvps.org, 4.bp.blogspot.com, commons.wikimedia.org, ssloan.net, fremontica.net, yelp.com, layout by feature editors vivian jair & anjali kanthilal

8 Ad

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 21, 2014

Friday, March 21, 2014

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Arts & Entertainment 9

Emblem‘B’

By Anjali Kanthilal Feature Editor X Factor Season Two contestants Wesley Stromberg (20), Keaton Stromberg (17), and Drew Chadwick (21), better known as Emblem3 (E3) came to the City National Civic in San Jose to continue their #Bandlife tour.

The building held hundreds of adoring fans, mainly teenage girls. Though the venue was barely a third full, the screams of the fans filled the halls, calling for the concert to begin.

The first of two opening acts, Jackson Guthy opened promptly at 7. He was quick to get the audience pumped, but seemed to be losing his voice during his show. Halfway through, he apologized to the audience for skipping over his piano solo and song because he no longer wanted to hurt his voice. Not only did Guthy’s performance end early, he seemed to let his backing vocalist sing the bulk of his lyrics. This didn’t trouble the audience much, though, as there were still two more groups to perform.

MKTO, composed of Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller, hit the stage with a bang, calling out for San Jose to “make some noise” in each of their songs. With lights flashing on every beat, MKTO’s energy pumped the crowd for E3’s big arrival.

After both opening acts, the lights came up for some time. During this brief period, MKTO and Jackson Guthy ran across the stage a few times – in tutus, shirtless, and other outfits, to excite the crowd.

Entering on skateboards with the base pumped up all the way, E3 started with “I Love LA.” After noting the audience was filled with girls, lead singer Wesley Stromberg went on to say how glad he was to be back home in California. After a few more songs, and lots of skateboarding across the stage, E3 changed the tone up a bit with “XO.” They incorporated body rolls and dance moves making the crowd go wild.

The youngest of the band, Keaton, slowed the pace down leading into an acoustic set after

emblem3.com

“3000 Miles.” Their band returned for “Tequila Sunrise.” For “Girl Next Door,” the boys brought up four girls from the audience and had them dance and sing on stage with them.

As the concert came to the end, E3 performed “True Friends” calling up and introducing their best friends on stage. While they sang, their friends skateboarded in the back, engaging the audience with their multitude of tricks. To end, E3 played “I Wish” and quickly left the stage. When the lights stayed off, the audience called for an encore and E3 returned more energetic than ever, singing their top hit “Chloe,” and ending with their very first original song, the one that got them started on the X Factor, “Sunset Blvd.” Nearing the end of “Sunset Blvd,” a shirtless Drew ran and launched himself off stage, crowd-surfing through the screaming fans. After some goodbyes and thank you’s to the band and venue, E3 departed.

Overall, E3 held their own, with on-spot vocals and spontaneous interactions with the crowd. Though the base was turned up too high, and background music was louder than the much of the vocals, E3 gave an unforgettable performance. ▪ Rating: B+

emblem3.com

parade.condenast.com

Miley Cyrus Performs with a “Bang”

By Grace Dong Staff Writer These days, the only things going for Miley Cyrus are her flashy performance, loud energy, and incessant twerking. Her 2014 Bangerz tour, following last year’s album under the same name, traveled to the SAP Center in San Jose on February 25. The show, predictably, veered onto a road far, far away from Cyrus’s Disney Channel Hannah Montana days. Highlights included Cyrus riding away on a giant hot dog and getting a little too personal with her midget background dancer (in a bed).

The show opened with a little known, but promising Indie rock singer, Sky Ferreira.

Ferreira garnered little audience appreciation, especially when mid-song, she cut off for no apparent reason. The second opening act fared much better, as the audience went crazy for Icona Pop. The duo visibly raised the audience’s energy level, as by the end of their set, a majority of the audience was jumping out of the seats belting, “I don’t care, I love it!”

The table was set for Cyrus to make her usual ostentatious entrance. Cyrus’s fanbase was deafening with their ecstatic screams, only increasing in a volume when a monster size figurine head of Cyrus rose up. Her “head’s” mouth slowly fell open to gaping proportions and out slid Cyrus’s signature tongue, as a literal slide. The excitement in the audience was tangible as Cyrus entered from her “mouth” dressed in an outfit that has been deemed typical Miley Cyrus, a checkered crop top and a pair of underwear, complete with a cape of red and white feathers.

The concert opened with “SMS (Bangerz)” followed quickly by “4x4,” both pounding party songs equivalent to the flurry of dancing bears and twerking girls onstage. Vocal wise, she left much to be desired, but performance wise, Cyrus definitely executed. A cleverly set up background screen provided wild dancing cartoons and graphics, perhaps beneficial as it clearly distracted from the substandard music quality: trashy lyrics, obnoxious beats, and general clamor Cyrus calls music.

Bangerz holds back on the “bang” aspect of the show for the next set of songs, beginning with “My Darling.” The lights dimmed and the intimacy increased as Cyrus’s first evidence of singing talent emerged. The stadium was lit up with waving phones as fans swayed side to side to the gentler beat. The next leg of the show reverted back to the stranger side of things as songs “F.U.” and “#GetItRight” were accompanied by Cyrus getting very familiar with her backup dancers in an enormous bed.

“Adore You” once again slowed down the beat as Cyrus belted out the lyrics with emotion and a hint of her Hannah Montana talent.

However, more eyes were glued to the “Kiss Cam” behind her as the cameramen scanned the crowd for kissing couples: girlfriend-boyfriend, boyfriend-boyfriend, and girlfriend-girlfriend. The best vocals of the night came when Cyrus and her band moved to a raised platform out on the arena floor. The following acoustic set featured Cyrus’s covers of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” and OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” Not overshadowed by hip thrusting and flashy lights for once, Cyrus’s vocals shone through loud and clear and her fans never missed a beat as they sang with her.

Unfortunately, Cyrus quickly returned to her garish songs as her pleasant vocals were replaced by dancing teddy bears and a giant hot dog. Her exit was clear as she boarded her hot dog with the help of her mustard bottle foot attendant and rode away into the darkness.

Chants for Cyrus to return echoed through the crowd and when the first notes of her hit single “We Can’t Stop” were heard, the crowd absolutely exploded. Cyrus followed that with two other hits, “Wrecking Ball” and “Party in the USA,” ending with a definite bang as confetti and sparks rained over her fans.

Countless strange things were present at this concert, but bottom line is, her fans love her and Cyrus delivered a performance that will be extraordinarily hard to forget. ▪ Rating: B

10 Special

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 21, 2014

MSJ. People are always saying that it’s because of the Mission mindset, and I think that does have something to do with it. But then everyone is always blaming the Asian parents, or the students, or the expansion of technology that leads to the loss of integrity in the students. And that’s not true. Mission has an elevated level of cheating -- but contrary to popular belief, there is no finger you can point at any particular person. Students blame parents for undue pressure. Parents blame teachers for not enforcing stricter discipline. Teachers blame students for hiding the cheaters. It’s a problem, and while I don’t know if it’ll get better anytime soon, I believe that the staff should adopt a benefit-ofthe-doubt policy. Although the administration does work on an “innocent-until-proven” basis, I’ve heard stories of friends who have received zeros on their finals based on just a suspicion of cheating. And while cheating on tests should be disciplined more strongly, cheating on homework really doesn’t deserve a referral (as some teachers have been known to give).

And, as controversial as this may sound, I for one, would much rather have cheating be the main problem at my school rather than drugs, alcohol, or sex, and if living with the Mission mindset is what it takes to do it, then so be it.

”

“

Managed to pass a class just by cheating. It wasn’t hard to just take a picture of it and copy it every read period. Made my year a whole lot easier. Although I didn’t really learn anything from the class and completely failed the final. Cheaters never prosper, remember that

“

.”

If a student obtains the test answers from another on the day of the test, he is cheating.

However, what if the student, call him Chuck, obtains only the test questions and figures out by himself how to solve it? One definition of cheating is that one student gains an unfair advantage over his classmates. In that case, because Chuck knew the question, he could focus on preparing for it. Everyone else had to know everything; he only had to know those facts. This definition seems to be lacking, because although Chuck gains an advantage, he learned the material by himself. Why should that be vilified?

The idea of a personal grade has shifted focus from checking learning to separating peers. At the same time, without a grade, there is no incentive to learn. On a semi-related note, I think that the best tests are the free responses, albeit the difficulty of grading them. These can’t be copied; they force students to think and put their thought processes into words. Material is material, but critical thinking is the most important, at least from a practical standpoint: no real life problem is ever going to fit sleekly into an apparatus of rotely memorized facts.

”

“

It is very disappointing to hear that there are so many cheating incidents at this school. As parents, we are also deeply concerned, and want to know why. From our observations from some of the classes our child took at MSJ, it is sad but true that some teachers are not doing enough to encourage learning and honest hard working.

It’s a known issue that MSJ teachers don’t spend time grade student’s homework and give feed-backs. They just simply put more weights on the test in their grading system in order to differentiate the students. Furthermore, teachers are not willing to put efforts to write new version of tests each year, and not even having multiple version of tests for each period. They keep reusing the old tests by not returning the tests to the students. They thought this would prevent cheating, however, actually what they did is just to promote the cheating.

Students do not want to put efforts on their homework as they know teacher won’t really read it or won’t give their feedback early enough for them to prepare the tests. Students don’t want to put efforts on preparing the tests either as they know the teachers won’t put efforts on preparing the tests. Since the tests are being reused so that students could find many ways to get the tests from either tutoring center or other students.

In addition, there are so many MSJ teachers do not teach in the classroom, they just ask students to learn by themselves and ask questions if they have.

They don’t really care how much students are actually learned. They just blindly give them over-challenging tests to limit the number of students to get A. Under such high pressure and competition, it’s hard to avoid cheating.

Last but not least, when teachers find out cheating on one test, they not only punish the cheating student, but also punish the other honest students by simply cancel the test for all the students. This is really an un-acceptable approach because it truly hurts the students who studied very hard on their test and achieved good score. Those honest students may choose to cheat next time when they feel there is no difference on the results between hard work and cheating.

”

The Smoke Signal ASKed For Letters From All Teachers Through An E-mail Request. Teachers were also randomly Selected by Department And Asked to Answer More Focused Questions On Cheating. All responses are anonymous, and references to real students, teachers, and courses have been omitted.

“I only give homework for their benefit, if they don’t do it, they don’t do well in class.

“Going

”

online to look for sample questions in my opinion is a thin line. Mostly it has to do with intent. If the student is honestly looking for sample questions because the items provided in class do not seem to be enough for them, that is one thing. I would think they might want to ask the teacher for recommendations before looking online but sometimes they don’t.

What I do have a problem with is when students specifically look for questions that go along with a particular textbook or source they think the teacher is using for a test bank. We have had instances in which students will memorize the first few words of a free response question in order to find more for future tests. To me this is intent which = cheating.

“

”

I understand the pressures that lead a student to impulsively look at someone’s test or to plagiarize. It’s a shortcut that is very tempting. What’s difficult to accept is the cottage industry that cheating has become.

Elaborate, multi-stage plans to circumvent test procedures, networking efforts to exchange or share test information, habitually getting excused from school on test days to take the tests after getting insider tips, or trying to profit from helping others cheat...these things destroy my faith in humanity. I see miniature Bernie Madoffs being incubated, people with no moral compass to tell them their myopic self-interest may eventually end up quite literally ruining the lives of others.

”

“

C.S. Lewis said it best -- ‘Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.’

”

Administration

“Cheating has become such a problem at

The Smoke Signal Asked for Letters from parents on MSJ Talk, an online Forum USed by MSJ Parents. All responses are anonymous, and references to real students, teachers, and courses have been omitted.

Teachers

The Smoke Signal conducted an openended, online poll asking for students’ stories, experiences, and opinions regarding cheating. The poll was open to members of the MSJHS 2013-2014 Facebook group. All responses are anonymous, and references to real students, teachers, and courses have been omitted.

Parents

Students

.

The Smoke Signal Interviewed Adminstrators, Asking them about their Thoughts on Cheating. All responses are anonymous, and references to real students, teachers, and courses have been omitted.

“

It’s happened since the beginning of time in high schools and it has happened here. I don’t have any specific data to say...between the time I began as an administrator here and now to say that cheating has increased or decreased or stayed the same, but anecdotally I can say that with increased pressure for students to be successful and get into top tier colleges that the pressure is definitely there and along with that pressure comes sometimes people who make choices about academic dishonesty....in order to ensure that they get the A or get into the college.

I don’t believe in a 100% punitive approach, meaning that any time there’s an incident of cheating that students are punished for it, but because before you get to that punishment level I think there has to be an outreach and education about how academic dishonesty is really robbing the student of a learning opportunity.

They have to believe in the value of learning, and learning for learning’s sake. I think that’s a job teachers and administrators both [have] to look for methods we can employ here at this school site to talk about integrity and the importance of doing your own work and ensuring that students are aware and families are aware that success is not defined by straight A’s.

You know we can say “don’t” and “no” and “you can’t” a hundred times, but is that as effective as someone intrinsically believing that cheating and academic dishonesty is going to harm them?

I don’t want to decide by myself in isolation, I want all students, teachers, parents, and counselors and administrators to be part of the decision and part of the dialogue about how we combat this because I’ll tell you there are plenty of students who aren’t pleased that they see their friends cheating and I know that we have students here with resources and ideas about how to combat that and I think they’re one of the most valuable opinions we could seek.

”

Friday, March 21, 2014

The Smoke Signal

Special 11

www.thesmokesignal.org

While much of the cheating done at MSJ happens online or at home, there are still instances in which students will walk by acts of academic dishonesty on campus without noticing. To investigate the issue of on-campus cheating, the Smoke Signal launched a series of undercover lunchtime observations to find the extent of the problem. Four journalists patrolled the entirety of the school campus on three separate days and recorded any cheating-type actions they observed.

Undercover Investigation: Campus Observations Investigation procedures with those that they observed. Cheating incidents were classified into the following categories: discussing test questions, copying homework from an online source, copying homework from another student, and possessing test photographs. Reporters were asked to conceal their identities and instead pretend to be taking a walk or talking to a friend while recording data.

The reporters selected three dates to conduct the investigation; one was selected randomly and the last two

were chosen because there were tests being administered on those days. The dates were chosen in this way to offer the number of cheaters on the day without tests as a standard for comparison against the number of cheaters on the days that had tests.

During the data collection days, reporters went out in their specified zones with either a notebook and pencil or their phone to record the different types of cheating they saw around campus. If a reporter suspect-

ed an act of cheating was occurring, they would get as close to the subject as possible without arousing suspicion. The investigations lasted the entire duration of the 35-minute lunch period, allowing reporters to cover the entirety of their zones at least three to four times. After compiling the gathered data, the reporters found some very surprising results.

28

KEY red zone

instances of academic 0 dishonesty observed

0

purple zone

8 5 2

12

4 0 0 0

Discussing test questions

7

blue zone green zone

Providing homework to be copied

12

Copying homework from online source

During the three days of observation, 62 students were found copying homework during lunch. Of those students, 15 were found copying their assignments from an online source while the remainder was seen copying their assignment from the work of other student(s). While no students were found with photographs of test exams, there was an incredible spike in the amount of test-related cheating during day three of our investigation (the day with three simultaneous exams). On that day alone, 13 students were found discussing one of those three exams. Three were discussing the difficulty of the test (not pictured in graph) and the remaining 10 were heard directly referencing and preparing for specific questions from the exam.

Copying homework from another person

Data

To conduct the investigation, the campus was divided into four zones that were determined based on their relative amount of student traffic during lunch; one reporter was assigned to each zone per day, and rotations between different zones occurred on each new day of investigation. Reporters walked around their assigned zones during lunch and recorded any acts of cheating they observed while remaining inconspicuous and avoiding conversation

7 2

0

*Journalists included cafeterias within their observation area, but did not include classrooms. The library and career center were included in the red and blue zones, respectively.

0% green zone

No instances of academic dishonesty were observed in the green zone.

29% blue zone 13% purple zone 58% red zone

Total number of instances of academic dishonesty observed:

83

analysis An interesting bit of qualitative analysis is that when it came to catching people copying homework, reporters usually found the person working by himself or herself or with one other student. However, when it came to cheating involving exams, reporters more often caught students discussing the test in groups of around four to six.

Reporters also found that a majority of cheating incidents were concentrated in particular areas on campus. For instance, during the entirety of the three-day investigation, reporters did not find a single act of cheating in the half of campus that lies between the library and the football field (the green zone). On the other hand, 58% of the observed acts of cheating occurred in the red zone (particularly within the library) as compared to 13% in the purple zone and 29% in the blue zone. In total, over the three days of investigation, reporters identified 83 cases of academic dishonesty.

Perhaps what surprised the reporters the most was how openly students were engaging in acts of cheating among their peers. A prior assumption would be that students might commit cheating offenses away from crowds; that was not the case. Almost all of the students engaged in cheating did so in a crowded environment in full view of the undercover reporters and other students. For example, one act occurred in the row of library computers directly in front of the librarians’ desk, where four students made no attempt to hide that they were copying lab data.

It should be mentioned, however, that for every student the Smoke Signal did “catch� in an act of cheating, there were several others that were doing their own homework and studying honestly for various classes on their own.

While this investigation is by no means an exhaustive examination of cheating at MSJ, the observation details indicate that cheating is an important problem that happens right in front of us every day. layout and graphics by news editor kerrie wu

12 Special

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 21, 2014

By Kevin Chen, Michael Hsiu, Vivian Liu & Megan Ren Staff Writers

The Smoke Signal conducted an online survey with various questions to collect information on possible factors that may prove to be reasons why students cheat. The survey was administered with voluntary response sampling and had a sample size of 358 MSJ students. The results were compared with similar questions from the FUSD Secondary School Survey (SSS), which was administered in 2012 and had a sample size of roughly 16,000 students. To address where the pressure to obtain good grades originates, the online survey included the following statements from FUSD SSS, “My parents put a lot of pressure on me to do well in school” and “I put a lot of pressure on myself to get good grades” and asked students to indicate the degree to which they agreed.

Friday, March 21, 2014

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Special 13

To assess MSJ’s opinion on cheating, The Smoke Signal conducted several anonymous surveys. From March 3 to March 7, the online student and teacher surveys were open for polling.

The student and teacher surveys recieved 358 and 41 voluntary responses, respectively. On March 6, writers visited 16 social studies classrooms with a different student paper survey. A total of 439 responses were recorded on paper.

Those surveyed could not see other responses.

On May 11-12, 2007, Stanford University held its fourth annual SOS (Stressed-Out Students) Conference, inviting 25 school groups, including MSJ, to attend workshops detailing ways in which schools could adopt stress-limiting techniques to improve the mental and physical health of students. From the Stanford SOS Conference came the idea of beginning Mission: SOS, MSJ’s own effort to use community research to identify student stressors and implement changes such as eliminating class ranking in school culture through the collaboration of students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Founded in 2007 by previous Principal Sandra Prairie, retired Counselor Merri Blum, former Math Teacher Cary Masatsugu, two parents, and three sophomores, Mission: SOS continues to work with the Stanford SOS Research Team and student body to improve MSJ’s academic environment.

The Stanford University SOS research team administered two surveys, one in 2007 and the other in 2010, to compare the characteristics of students and their attitudes towards conditions in MSJ. These surveys were installments of the “Stanford Survey of Adolescent School Experiences: Mission San Jose Report” and were compiled with a sample size of 1,122 students in 2007 and 735 students in 2010.

The research team ran several statstical Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests to examine whether groups of students, split by gender and grade-level, have significantly different mean scores. On both the 2007 and 2010 surveys, results indicated that students in higher grade levels tended to cheat more despite the considerable decrease in the number of survey respondents that admitted to cheating in 2010 compared to 2007. In addition, ANOVA tests on gender indicated that males cheat more than females. While no cause-and-effect relationships can actually be drawn from these statistics, it is important to note the similarities and differences between student responses to the Stanford research team surveys and the recent Smoke Signal surveys and the correlations that they offer.

layout by centerspread editors tingting bi & lindy zeng

14 Special

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 21, 2014

Undercover Investigation: Tutoring Centers

tutoring centers are not necessarily essential. tutoring centers are for those kids that may need a couple more percent on their grade to get them to that “a” grade. tutoring centers are not facilitating cheating, they are just helping the kids that need help. when teachers cannot or will not help, tutoring centers are the ones that can help students. if they are facilitating cheating, that is not good. but the idea of a tutoring center as a place to better augment learning or to get more practice is a great idea. having tests materials is not good, but often times most of the tutoring centers use that as their claim to fame and therefore are able to recruit more people. this lets them make more money. if a teacher does not teach and expects students to think and take tests at a high level, most of the time tutoring centers are the only option.

-10th grader

12

MASH

15

Privately tutored by high school student

83

Licensed Tutoring Center

87

Previous worksheets

159

I do not attend a licensed tutoring center

Licensed Tutoring Center

7 Other Disclaimer: The Smoke Signal, while acknowledging that a significant advertising base comes from tutoring centers, did not consider this fact when determining which centers to visit within the designated six mile radius. The decision was made to withold names of centers in keeping with the anonymous nature of all other information we gathered for this report.

Private Tutor None Other

It is important to keep in mind that the results of the undercover investigation may not be absolutely representative of the amount of academic dishonesty that goes on in tutoring institutions. It is entirely possible that the instructors might have been more forthcoming with our resources if our reporters had signed up for the course. It is also possible that the two instructors who admitted to using past tests were exaggerating the extent of their resources to convince our reporters to join their class.

The Mission district has a large number of tutoring centers and while several of them do place a high value on integrity and learning, there are a few that are giving MSJ students an unfair academic advantage.

While tutoring institutions can be invaluable academic resources for struggling students with a desire to learn, they can also be hotspots for cheating and academic dishonesty.

conclusion

Previous Tests/Quizzes

Never received any information

Privately tutored by high school student

205 19

128

MASH

69

1C. Have any of the tutoring services mentioned above ever offered you any information/materials that could be considered cheating? (Check all that apply):

”

1.B. Do you consider obtaining help from any of the tutoring services in 1.A. an unfair advantage? (Check all that apply):

77

7 Other

50

of the respondents, 17 percent said that they have received previous tests and quizzes from a licensed tutoring institution. 14 percent admitted to obtaining past worksheets and homework assignments from their tutors.

46

None

62

The Smoke Signal’s online survey also revealed some interesting information on the student body’s interaction with tutoring services.

Out of a total of 358 respondents, 45% said they attended Math and Science Help (MASH), a licensed tutoring center, private tutoring sessions, or another tutoring service. 17% of respondents (62) said that they have received previous tests and quizzes from a licensed tutoring institution. 14% admitted to obtaining past worksheets and homework assignments from their tutors.

21

Private Tutor

196

tutoring centers basically propagate the same atmosphere going around in Mission and really prey off parents’ fears. although they have good intentions the reason for the ridiculous amount here is just because of monetary interests, not some humanitarian founder.

-11th grader

”

1A. Do you obtain tutoring services from any of the following? (Check all that apply):

358 total respondents

student voices

it’s an industry built around cheating. paying to get a child ahead, by any means necessary. in their race to outdo each other, cheating is inevitable.

-10th grader

“

my opinion on tutoring centers in the msj community is that most of them cannot offer enough hands on help for the students as they are too large to keep up with students individually. the alternative is getting a private tutor which is more expensive but offers more one-to-one help and as a result, the student learns the material better. so i think that the larger tutoring centers should either divide the classes of tutoring by grade or by subject (not generic like science and math, but like chemistry/biology, precalculus/calculus, etc.) to help solve this issue.

-11th grader

survey results

“

Each tutoring center responded differently. Of the 11 centers that were contacted and interviewed, two blatantly admitted to be redistributing MSJ test material. The directors at these two centers said that they offer “practice tests” to their students to prepare them for the test. One director stated that his practice tests were copies of tests that students had brought in. The other stated that his practice tests were a compilation of test problems that students had remembered and brought to their tutors.

Other tutoring establishments, however, were adamant in insisting that they did not have any academically dishonest material.

When asked whether classes would provide previous test questions, the director of one center said, “No, I think that’s cheating,” adding that the center would not share such information even if the instructors had access to it. An instructor from another center, when posed the same question, said that the tutoring institute was based on “honesty, integrity, and conceptual understanding.”

student voices

findings

Of the 11 centers that were contacted and interviewed, two openly admitted to distributing past MSJ test materials.

In order to eliminate bias, all reporters followed a standard procedure with their assigned tutoring centers. Reporters posed as students struggling in advanced classes offered at MSJ, and began their infiltration by scheduling meetings by phone with the directors or teachers from each of the tutoring centers to request information about the center before signing up for a class. At the meetings, reporters brought at least one parent to accompany them in order to facilitate a more open discussion with the tutoring center director.

The meetings began with reporters asking a few preliminary questions regarding what each tutoring center had to offer. After these initial inquiries, conversations became more flexible. Throughout the meetings, reporters asked questions like “What kind of an edge does this particular center offer?” and “How does this center teach school-related material?” as they worked towards the key question: “Does this center offer exam materials previously used by MSJ teachers?” The reporters created an extensive flowchart with seven unique questions in order to react appropriately to any way the conversation might shift.

procedure

At an extremely competitive school such as MSJ, many students often find themselves struggling to keep up with their peers. A large portion of these students turn to outside tutoring centers in search of additional academic help. In recent years, concerns about the academic integrity of the MSJ area’s tutoring centers have heightened among the school’s parents, students, and teachers, especially in regard to the distribution of current MSJ tests. As part of its investigative report into cheating, the Smoke Signal went undercover at 11 tutoring centers within a six mile radius of MSJ to determine the validity of the widely circulated claims regarding the actions of these centers in the unauthorized distribution of testing materials.

graphics by feature editor anjali kanthilal, layout by news editor kerrie wu

Friday, March 21, 2014

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Q:Why Do We Cheat?

Special 15

By Peter Qiu, Megan Ren, Hanson Wang, & Lillian Zhao Staff Writers

“Hey, can I get some hook-ups?” With this simple six word question, we are exposed to a practice as old as the human

race itself: finding shortcuts. In a recent Smoke Signal survey, 30 percent of students who responded admitted to cheating at least once on an exam in the past year. So what accounts for such widespread cheating? In this article, the Smoke Signal will examine numerous reasons that factor into why MSJ students cheat.

A Environment

According to the numbers recently reported in US News and World Report, MSJ ranked 10th among CA high schools and 79th in the nation, and our school boasts an eye-popping 84 percent AP participation rate. Unfortunately, academic pressure has spawned an abundance of cheating, and morality has gone askew. Students have psychological and academic fears resulting from the pressure. Grade bullying lurks behind every conversation, test scores have become associated with an individual’s worth, and college has become the pinnacle of life. School isn’t an opportunity anymore; it’s become a duty, a game to trick an “A” out of, and cheat codes are all too popular.

C Human Nature

B Time Management

With so many parents of MSJ students coming from academically rigorous backgrounds and sharing the idea that their children should match, if not surpass, their parents in ability, students face intense pressure to get better grades than their peers and even their parents. The pressure is further heightened by the multiple challenging classes which students at MSJ take, particularly as they near their junior and senior years. When asked why they cheat, 45 percent of students who took the Smoke Signal’s classroom survey checked “not enough time” as a reason, surpassing the more commonly expected reason of “grades” by two percent. There are a variety of factors that may cause this shortage of time, including but not limited to: students taking too many difficult classes, teachers assigning too much homework, poor study habits, or becoming overloaded with extracurricular activities. Either way, this statistic highlights the fact that cheating is closely associated with time management, for students may feel the need to cheat in order to avoid late hours and long nights. Students might also ask their classmates to give them their homework to copy for convenience, grades, or simply because they forgot to do it. According to the survey, 88 percent of students who responded marked that they’ve seen other people copying homework, and 59 percent said that they’ve done it themselves.

But this doesn’t explain why some students cheat over and over again, almost on a daily basis. Human nature seems to fall into somewhat of a rhythm: timidly take a step, don’t get caught, grow your courage, distance yourself from the consequences, and slowly develop apathy to a weighing conscience. In fact, 60 percent of the students who admitted to having cheated on an exam in the past year indicated that they do not regret their actions. Over the course of four years, students may see more people around them giving in to this cycle of cheating and become more likely to try it out for themselves due to the increasing academic stress. There’s another angle to these events in which the students who cheat begin receiving inflated scores on tests and assignments, thus further increasing stress and competition for those who don’t cheat. The previouslyhonest students may then feel compelled to cheat just to keep up with their classmates, and this complication can eventually manifest itself in other friend groups, producing an exponential growth pattern in cheating as more and more people are affected.

D Technology

Aside from the traditional stereotype of looking-over-a-classmate’s-shoulder-during-a-test type of cheating, the number of ways in which a student can find and distribute advantageous materials is rapidly increasing as well. The current generation of students has grown up with information literally available at the tips of their fingers. With something as vast and omnipotent as the Internet, it is inevitable that its resources will be used for both right and wrong. The Internet is a public domain, so some students are able to locate test materials beforehand, making it easier for students to cheat and harder for teachers to find out. Furthermore, many students do not find their teachers’ punishments serious enough to be a deterrent. Some students may even decide to simply take their chances, because when teachers were asked if they’ve ever seen students cheating and let it slide, 17 percent of teachers answered “yes”.

When evidence is sparse, adamant and indignant students might be let off the hook, and when caught and punished as per the school policy, the student receives a zero on the assignment or exam. Compare this to the consequence for the same infraction at the university level, immediate expulsion; clearly, these consequences are not of the same caliber.

The contributing factors to cheating are similar to a Gordian knot in that no matter what angle it’s sliced, it’ll always be tangled.

From students to parents and from teachers to adminstrators, each group contributes to the matter. All of this has combined to foster the MSJ environment, filled with all sorts of pressures. In the end there is no single cause which can be pinpointed as “the” reason.

There is only a multi-faceted problem in need of a multi-pronged approach.

EDITORIAL: What should MSJ do about cheating?

The Opinion of the Smoke Signal Editorial Board How do you respond to an issue as complex and pervasive as cheating? This was the question we faced as writers and editors of the Smoke Signal. In the process of this Cheating Investigative Report we realized that an answer to such a question is as complex as the problem itself. We began with an openminded approach to gather as much information as possible from all the stakeholders in-

“The question that should come before ‘How do we stop cheating?’ is ‘Why do we cheat?’”* volved. We realized that we may have only scratched the surface of the problem, but here we have attempted to provide many ways of looking at the issue of cheating at MSJ. The first step to solving a problem is actually acknowledging that it exists. For years, we have understood that cheating exists at MSJ, but relatively little has changed.

Maybe it’s because we believe cheating is inevitable or an issue small enough to ignore (despite a tremendous amount of data to the contrary), but it seems that the real problem

“I didn’t feel the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment, because I didn’t really know the information, and I didn’t deserve the grade. I felt like I had been cheated, even though I was the one who had cheated. The worst thing was that I had been rationalizing with myself and had persuaded myself into doing something that was wrong.”

isn’t ignorance; we know the problem exists, it is just that it is far too complex.

We may be apathetic about cheating because it’s understood that cheating exists in some form everywhere. Accepting this inevitability is much easier than the alternative of confronting the problem head on. We also have to consider whether we really want to expose these “skeletons in the closet.” On the other hand, there are concerned students who come forward and expose cheating, only to encounter backlash. This peer pressure discourages students from acting against apathy.

Cheating isn’t just hard to deal with; it’s

“It’s terrifying how you can enter this school thinking that you’re above all of this cheating business and leave thinking that at times, it can be justified.” hard to understand. There are so many factors that make a student cheat that it’s nearly impossible to pinpoint what needs to change. What drives these factors, however, is the flawed assumption of the ideal MSJ student. The ideal MSJ student earns perfect grades, stands out in extracurricular activities, receives respect from peers, and, most importantly, will get into a “prestigious” college before graduation. People who don’t fit this ideal are marginalized, not only by other students and parents, but by faculty themselves.

At MSJ, being “mediocre” carries a tremendous negative stigma, and the definition of “mediocrity” is skewed.

Tolerating a certain level of cheating can have tremendous negative consequences in

the long run. We can pride ourselves on a #79 US News and World Report national ranking, but such rankings are meaningless if our student body shortcuts their way to the goal. We can boast of our students’ academic prowess, but if our students are ill-

“It’s seen as a given, and you’re at a disadvantage if you don’t cheat.” equipped to actually pursue their passions and learn, then we have failed as a community. Furthermore, by arguing that cheating happens in the “real world” anyway, we are condoning cheating as an inevitable part of students’ futures.

Cheating isn’t an unsolvable paradox. A high-performing, competitive environment doesn’t inherently mean that cheating will increase. Schools such as the California Institute of Technology and Harvey Mudd College pride themselves on their collaborative environment, despite the academic pressure many of their students face. There are many reasons why such schools have very low rates of academic dishonesty despite their “MSJ-like” qualities (such as an extensive honor code and more trust given to their students), but these environments prove the point that a rigorous education and cheating don’t have to go hand in hand.

While MSJ is a rigorous environment that emphasizes success, the problem is that our culture emphasizes a very narrow definition of success and downgrades the value of learning. Students motivated to learn because of their interest in the class should not be burdened by purely quantitative

measurements of grades. At MSJ, “learning for the sake of learning” sounds idealistic because we’ve boxed ourselves in with a preconceived notion of success. To combat cheating, we need an environment in which honest students can succeed academically without having to compete with cheaters.

Achieving this learning environment will require much more than what we already have in place, but understanding the mindset behind cheating is a promising place to start.

Our goal has been to report from as many angles as possible in the hopes that each stakeholder, be it students, parents, teachers, or administrators, can better understand the causes and consequences of cheating at MSJ. We need to acknowledge that ultimately students have to assume responsibility for their actions. Throughout these pages we analyzed many of the reasons why and how students cheat, but at the end of the day, cheating is a choice, not a requirement. With the combined efforts of all our stakeholders, we believe we can work toward mitigation, if not elimination, of this problem of cheating at MSJ. We hope that through our coverage, you, the reader, have gained a better understanding of cheating’s impact on our community. ▪

*The following quotes have been selected from anonymous testimonials submitted by Smoke Signal editors.

Send letters to the editors to opinion@thesmokesignal.org

16 Ad

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 21, 2014

Friday, March 21, 2014

The Smoke Signal

Lea Michele: ‘B’ Louder

www.thesmokesignal.org

Arts & Entertainment 17

Mr. ‘B’-body & Sherman

By Tanvi Raja Staff Writer

Growing out of her television persona, Lea Michele’s release of her debut album Louder demonstrates her growing presence in the music industry. “It’s more than just an album to me. It’s a piece of my life that I’m so glad is here for me to have for the rest of my life. Now that it’s coming out, it’s unbelievable,” said Michele. Although she is gradually creating a new image, the breakthrough artist does not forget her Glee roots, experimenting with a variety of vocals, ranging from Broadway-esque to pure pop.

Tracks such as “Cannonball,” “Don’t Let Go,” and “Louder” stand out as the up-tempo tracks in the album. “Cannonball” is the anthem song for rising above and overcoming obstacles. As the lead single, it will most likely become “that overplayed song” on most radio stations soon. Progressing into the album, the title song “Louder” displays Michele’s singing talent through intense vocals. However, another quick hit, “Don’t Let Go,” is easily forgettable and unnecessary to add to the album’s content. Characterized by echoing production and synthesizers, these songs remain standard, but not unique or special.

However, Michele displays her huge voice in ballads such as “Burn With You” and “You’re Mine. “Burn With You,” dedicated to the late Cory Monteith, starts out slow and slowly morphs into an intense chorus. “You’re Mine” has a hazy beat which pairs well with the orchestration background. These listings bring differentiation to Michele’s album.

Michele has developed and matured greatly from Rachel Berry in 2009, which can easily be seen through Louder. However, her debut album has also shown that there is huge room for improvement.

Her amazing vocal talent was not broadcasted as well as it could have been, instead hidden by cheesy love songs, similar to those listeners have heard a million times before. The few tracks that did display her talent are the highlights of the album.

All in all, Louder is not bad for a debut, but we look forward to seeing what else Lea Michele has in store for her audience in the future. ▪ Rating: B

rollingstone.com

Helios ‘B’rings The Fray Back

By Lillian Zhao Staff Writer

By Melissa Peng Staff Writer

Mr. Peabody (Ty Burrell), the canine Mr. Peabody and Sherman is titled after, starts the movie by introducing himself as the inventor of the fist-bump, a Nobel Prize Laureate, and a genius in virtually every imaginable area. A devoted father as well, Mr. Peabody invents and uses a time machine, the WABAC, in order to better teach history to his adopted human son Sherman (Max Charles). The father-son duo and Sherman’s love interest Penny (Ariel Winter) flutter through the annals of human civilization in the WABAC, making stops in the French Revolution, ancient Egypt, and various other iconic historical periods.

Mr. Peabody is by far the star of the film. Burrell’s dry intonations lend themselves well to the subtle humor and masterful pun delivery that characterize Peabody. Throughout the

dreamworksanimation.com

movie, audience members will find themselves chuckling, groaning, and sometimes shaking their heads in abject defeat as they’re flooded with a torrent of puns. Peabody also has a fair share of wry sass and, to the glee of younger audience members, poop jokes. Also charming are the wacky adventures the trio shares. Our heroes routinely find themselves in seemingly inextricable situations, whether it’s Penny getting engaged to King Tutankhamen or Sherman inadvertently ripping the space-time continuum. It’s entertaining to watch Mr. Peabody’s gargantuan intellect save them in one clever escape sequence after another. The spirited, plucky soundtrack embodies the lighthearted humor of their historical escapades.

For all its strengths, Peabody lacks genuine heart. The emotional conflicts between Sherman and Mr. Peabody as well as Penny and Sherman

are stagnant for the first half of the movie, with little development until their sudden resolution. As a result of its flat characters and underdeveloped emotional storyline, it’s hard to be completely invested in the movie, no matter how clever or swashbuckling the adventures in the WABAC are. Even the climax, when Mr. Peabody and Sherman finally obtain closure, just feels absurd and sentimental.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman, however, is what it is: a fun series of escapades meant to entertain both young and old audiences. In this regard, the movie is a success. The trio’s adventures, although repetitive, make the viewer want to be a part of Mr. Peabody’s family as well, sitting next to Sherman and his father as they surf the sewage system of the French Revolution, fight in the Trojan War, and dodge ancient Egyptian booby traps. ▪ Rating: B-

derground car race.

Movies adapted from video games never seem to succeed, from Super Mario Bros. to Mortal Kombat, as the interactiveness and unpredictability of actually playing the game isn’t present in the movies they inspire. Sadly, predictability summarizes the film as the screenwriting Gatins brothers rely on the same stereotypical characters and plot that plague most action flicks. The poor nice guy, trying to continue running his family car shop, falls in love with the hot British girl who knows all about cars-every testosterone filled man’s dream. The evil, black turtleneck-wearing, wealthy villain who is doing everything wrong, from stealing the girl to killing the best friend, is finally vanquished by the protagonist.

There are no unexpected variables in the equation, and the answer is clear from the start. The audience is one step ahead of the movie the entire time.

However, if the audience looks past the plot, when the actors are behind the wheel, the movie does live up to all expectations. With Koenigsegg Ageras flipping off bridges and a destroyed $2.92 million dollar Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, one of only three in the world, the exotic cars can be checked off the list. The movie makers really did dig deep to find unique cars, relying not on the typical muscle cars that star in action movies, but instead introducing vehicles of a higher caliber. The actors did many of their own stunts as well, with Aaron Paul learning to stunt drive and Kid Cudi, who plays Benny, learning to fly helicopters and planes for his role as well. With more famous stars and perhaps a few more plot twists, Need for Speed could have been a movie the public should be racing to go watch. However, unlike its stars, don’t risk breaking any laws to see this film anytime soon. ▪ Rating: C-

Need For Speed Trails Behind

By Hannah Shih Staff Writer

Need for Speed, directed by Scott Waugh, seeks to capitalize on the driving movie trend that other franchises like Fast and Furious and Refn’s Drive have started and continued. Based on the high-budget video games of the same name published by Electronic Arts, the movie features all that its heavily promoted trailers and the video games themselves promise: expensive cars, girls, action, and of course, explosions.

All this action is propelled by smalltown mechanic and street racer Tobey Marshalls (Aaron Paul), who is seeking revenge against the ruthless ex-NASCAR driver Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper) for killing his best friend and framing Marshalls for it. Coupled with love interest Imogen Poots (Julia Maddon), Marshalls races across the country to beat Brewster at his own game: at the ultimate high stakes un-

theneedforspeedmovie.com

The Fray’s fourth album, Helios, has been much anticipated in hopes that the album will match or surpass their debut from 2005. The album, once again, revolves around life’s problems and issues with their signature emotional and frank lyrics.

However, this time they’ve managed to deliver predictably classic “The Fray-type” songs and dabble in new waters such as alternative rock, tribal, and electro-pop.

The album kicks off with the piano ballad “Hold My Hand” which seems to be reminiscent of Coldplay. Their second track and single “Love Don’t Die” has a catchy bass line worked in with some rock & roll drumming and guitar riffs. This song manages to sound more like a crossbreed between Matchbox 20 and Adele than anything from a previous Fray album. “Give it Away” pushes even more out of The Fray’s comfort zone. The bass line and guitar manage to complement each other in order to give off the impression of funk, disco, and rock. The album mellows out near the end with “Break Your Plans” and “Same as You” by reverting back to their 2005 and 2009 hit song styles.

Despite all these changes in their style, The Fray still excels most at their ability to write thought provoking lyrics, and “Keep on Wanting” reaffirms this with its motivational message to “open up, you will find the way to go, just take the cup, you may be stronger than you know.”

Lead singer Isaac Slade’s voice stays soft and smooth throughout most of the album, but changes to gritty in a few tracks such as “Hold My Hand.”

In the background, the piano, guitar (from rock to acoustic to clean), and synthesizer alternate as one of the key components to the track.

It is likely that collaboration with other writers and The Fray’s new producer, Stuart Price (The Killers, Madonna) contributed to the new flavors. Overall, The Fray daringly teased new musical combinations and emulated familiar sounds. They managed to present a heavier sound whilst preserving their signature style. With so much diversity in Helios, it’s hard not to find at least one track that speaks to your taste. ▪ Rating: B+

thefray.com

18 Ad

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 21, 2014

Prep Courses for the

SAT & PSAT 300 POINT SCORE INCREASE GUARANTEE! • • • •

Fremont Newark San Jose Cupertino

• • • •

San Ramon Palo Alto Los Altos San Mateo

www.exceltest.com (510) 490-7000 info@exceltest.com

“Excel Test really cares... it’s extremely helpful in that it gives you the opportunities, resources, and advice needed to improve your skills and scores. This program helped me out so much, not just with the SATs and SAT Subject Tests, but with college admissions, choosing a major, and improving my overall test-taking and study skills.”

Jamie

Columbia University

“Excel was a good program because its method of teaching isn’t typical; it’s engaging and entertaining, and that way I was actually excited to go class. The teachers are always willing to help a student and are very friendly.”

Collen

UCSD student

INTRODUCING

LOCATIONS

(800) 913-PREP

www.exceltest.com

SAT Summer Intensive Course

• • • •

32 Days 8 100% Real Exams 128 hours 6 months of FREE Exam Club • 8 different locations

AP and SAT Subject Exams are approaching fast!

We offer prep courses and tutoring in the following: AP Subjects: • Calculus AB/BC • Chemistry • Biology • Physics B/C • US History • World History

SAT Subject Test Subjects: • Math Level 2 • Chemistry • Biology • Physics • US History • World History

Contact us for more information on schedules, locations and tutoring!

Friday, March 21, 2014

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Arts & Entertainment 19

Twitch Plays Pokemon

By Aamir Rasheed & Hanson Wang Staff Writers

Trainer Stats (Taken from a sample of 141 students)

68% of MSJ students followed Twitch Plays Pokemon Red Version.

55% of MSJ students participated in Twitch Plays Pokemon.

MSJ students following Twitch Plays Pokemon watched the Twitch stream for:

27% 60%

7%

6%

None 0-30 min 30 min-2 hours 2+ hours

MSJ’s favorite Pokemon on the winning team:

H A I L

A L L

Lord Helix (Omanyte) 26% 32% of MSJ students follow Twitch Plays Pokemon Crystal.

MSJ students think Twitch Plays Pokemon’s popularity will die out in:

14% 45% 27% 14%

1 week

1 month

Before Year Ends

Never

“A wild Pokemon has appeared! What should Bird Jesus do?”

At this instant, thousands of commands suddenly stream in: left, right, A, B, down, down, left, right, B. This isn’t one person randomly pressing buttons; it’s Twitch Plays Pokemon, a widely popular interactive game experiment where hundreds of thousands of users input commands into a modified Game Boy emulator running Pokemon Red Version.

Actually playing the game is simple: enter a command in the chat, and about 20 seconds later, it is processed into the game, which is streamed live onscreen. There are two modes of gameplay, anarchy and democracy. In anarchy mode, every user command is processed, whereas in democracy mode, the command with the most votes in a 30 second time period is processed.

The games events’ also spawned a subculture where each of the six Pokemon on the team played a different role in the story. One is “Lord Helix,” the Pokemon, Omanyte, which is the protector of anarchy. The erratic and unpredictable gameplay also comes with obvious difficulties. Trolls and programmed bots intentionally enter “B” to stop a Pokemon from evolving and “down” to jump over a ledge and force the character to renavigate a particularly challenging area. Players eventually triumphed, however, finally defeating the games’ final boss, the Pokemon Champion, after more than 16 days of continuous play. They then moved on to Pokemon Crystal on March 2.

Twitch Plays Pokemon has taken the internet by storm, racking up almost 40 million views. At its peak time, the game had 120,000 players simultaneously playing, and an estimated 658,000 unique players are estimated to have participated. The game’s unique subculture coupled with the unlikely but steady progress through each obstacle has united the hundreds of thousands of gamers, which included Mission students. The Smoke Signal reached out to the students to learn more about the presence of online phenomenon at our school.

MSJ Trainer Voices We asked the trainers of MSJ:

“What

is Twitch Plays Pokemon to you?”"

“I have no clue what that is, it sounds like a guy with a twitch playing Pokemon.” - Samir Panjwani, 11 “Praise the Helix Fossil.” - Andrew Liu, 10 “Pokemon online! Pokemon on mobile! There are no words to describe how awesome is...but it wastes a lot of battery.” - Albert DangVu, 9 “A return to childhood.” - David Chen, 10 “It’s a stunning social exercise where we learn not only about others around us but also about ourselves as we partake in an unforgettable journey through the unknown, where no other man has tread before.” - Nathan Fong, 11 “It’s an interesting twist that makes you feel like the game is controlling you instead of you controlling the game.” - Larry Liu, 12 “The pinnacle of human progress.” - Allen Wan, 11

Students can experience Twitch Plays Pokemon themselves at www.twitch.tv/twitchplayspokemon. bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net, edge-online.com, iconfinder.org, imgur.com, msjasb.org, otakustore.gr, layout by a&e editor peter xu

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

NR 4/4/14 Captain America (Chris Evans) and the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) discover that the world is at risk, and set out to expose the villainous scheme. However, a formidable enemy, the Winter Soldier, awaits.

Rio 2

G 4/11/14 Blu, Jewel, and their three kids try to survive in the Amazon after they’ve been hurtled from the comforts of the city. Blu tries to adapt to the new situation and meets many friends and adversaries along the way.

With Light and With Love

A&E UPDATES BOX

By Alice Cheng Staff Writer

Restaurant Review:

Woods 4/15/14 Woods, a New York folk-rock band, is releasing their new album that, according to their press release, features a “singing saw, heavier emphasis on percussion, and a saloon piano.”

Retro Hash

Asher Roth 4/22/14 Asher Roth, an American hip-hop recording artist, will release his second studio album on April 22, 2014. The album will feature catchy songs like “Pot of Gold.”

Mango Garden

clker.com

When it comes to being the hottest Singaporean restaurant in town, the newly-opened Mango Garden in Warm Springs takes the cake for both spiciness and popularity. From pineapple fried rice to Indian mee goreng noodles, its extensive menu embodies the diverse crossroads influences on Singaporean cuisine. Mango Garden has a wealth of vegetarian options and is a great family restaurant. Decorated with vibrant green walls and seats, comfortable lighting, and tropical paintings, Mango Garden has a warm buzz and hospitable atmosphere that enhances its dining experience.

Service 5/5 Service at Mango Garden is attentive, especially for such a new and thriving restaurant. The wait-staff keep water glasses full and even serve complimentary dishes such as spring rolls and taro snow. Overall, with its abundant group seating and hearty southeast Asian cuisine, Mango Garden has the potential to remain a staple for family and friend get-togethers. Although the menu could be more specialized to provide consistent attention to fewer items, Mango Garden lends the opportunity to explore a fascinating corner of the world through food.

BAY AREA DRIVING SCHOOL Driver’s Education & Training Tel.

510-489-6933

BayAreaDriving.com

ONLINE & CLASSROOM Driver’s Ed First 25% of Online Driver’s Ed is FREE *FREE Pick-up & Return for Driver’s Training*

By Laura Chen & Supriya Yelimeli Web Editors One of Mango Garden’s most popular appetizers is roti prata ($3.25), and rightly so. The gently fried Indian pancake is complemented well by a curry dip that piques the appetite. The fried tofu in the tofu salad ($6.95) could have been crispier, but the satay chicken ($7.95) is a more popular appetizer option that customers have recommended.

One of Mango Garden’s specialty main dishes is their Penang sizzling chicken ($11.95), a stone-plate of chicken simmering in a sweet, savory, and slightly spicy shrimp sauce. The pineapple fried rice ($9.95) could have been tastier with a grainier rice texture and without peas and carrots, and the Indian mee goreng noodles ($8.95) bordered on too flavorful, but both dishes mastered the elusively tender consistency that good shrimp requires. Nevertheless, the portions are generous and friendly to the wallet.

Whereas Mango Garden may have compromised quality in some of their other dishes, they do not skimp on their namesake. The mango snow ice dessert ($4.95) is a shaved ice cream layered with fresh diced mango and a drizzle of condensed milk. The complimentary taro snow came with fresh taro as well.

Food 3/5

Ambiance 4/5 The decor at Mango Garden is designed to appear like a mango grove, with wall to wall murals of mango trees and several themed art pieces. The restaurant is brightly lit and inviting, especially with the generous group seating and pleasantly crowded ambiance. The color scheme is a bit too bright at times, with nearly neon green chairs and lighting fixtures, but the overall warmth of the atmosphere sufficiently makes up for this.

Overall 3/5 photos by web editors laura chen & supriya yelimeli, hasloo.com, clker.com, layout by a&e editor tammy tseng

20 Ad

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 21, 2014

Friday, March 21, 2014

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Ad 21

22 Sports

www.thesmokesignal.org

By Leah Feuerman & Ishan Goyal Sports Editors

Keeping some matters off the courts “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black.

And I’m gay.” As the 2012-2013 NBA season came to an end, Jason Collins published a story in Sports Illustrated that included this quote and became the first openly gay athlete in any of the four major American sports leagues. Following his declaration, Collins experienced an emotional 10 month long journey until he was finally signed by the Brooklyn Nets from free agency this past February. Since then, both the

sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Jason Collins in an interview with Sports Illustrated on becoming the first openly gay player in the NBA.

media and fans have sensationalized Collins’s return and have joined his cause to support the LGBTQ community. Figures such as President Barack Obama even lauded Collins’s decision saying “I couldn’t be prouder of him.” While it’s great that even the NBA has agreed to donate proceeds from Jason Collins jersey sales to LGBTQ causes, its disturbing that the media and fans are focusing so much on Collins’s sexuality rather than his talent.

cleveland.com Michael Sam, an openly gay NFL player, lifting the Cotton Bowl trophy and receiving a standing ovation at a University of Missiouri basketball game.

At the end of the day, a player’s sexual orientation or even personal beliefs should be kept off the court. When Collins made his first appearance as a Net with just three minutes left in the fourth, the sellout crowd went crazy.

In their minds it was the first time an openly gay player would be getting the chance to hit the court. In reality, it was just another player returning after 10 months in free agency as a support player to the injured Kevin Garnett.

The rebound and steal Collins secured in his brief appearance were celebrated by analysts as if Collins had dropped a triple double in his first game back.

Dallas Mavericks general manager Mark Cuban said in an interview with CBS Sports “I think it’s no big deal and that’s exactly the way it should be. He’s been playing in the league forever. The guy’s known.” Cuban’s objective viewpoint shows how it is imperative for media to focus on the fact that Collins is a basketball veteran; his skill set doesn’t change with his sexuality.

Unfortunately, in this society, making such a radical announcement leads to unintended

Hop A“board” with the Landcruizers

By Peter Qiu Staff Writer

(From left to right) Juniors Sebin Yoon, Geofree Tze, Abby Choi, and Albert Chang

MSJ’s official longboarding club, MSJ Landcruizers, has been spreading the eclectic activity of longboarding all across campus. The club was created in 2012, meets the first Friday of every month in B3, and currently has Juniors Albert Chang, Abby Choi, Geofree Tze, and Sebin Yoon as officers, along with seven other members. But what exactly is longboarding?

“Some say it’s just skateboarding but with a longer board, hence the name, but not exactly,” said Choi, who is President and has been longboarding for a little over a year. “It may seem similar to skateboarding but is really different.

With thicker wheels and a longer wheelbase, the ride is more stable and faster. Different styles range from just cruising around to hardcore downhill to extensive sliding. Tricks on skateboard can also be done on longboards.”

Choi, who also snowboards, said it feels just like “snowboarding on land.”

Members of Landcruizers regularly meet up outside of school for some casual longboarding. They may “bomb hills” or organize “slide jams,” which, in laymen’s terms, mean riding speedily downhill while rotating the board 180 degrees. Riders with a bit more experience can tackle numerous longboarding tricks, such as coleman slides, stand-up slides, or 180 shuvits. Since longboarding offers all the perks of skateboarding but at higher speed, riding and

staff writer peter qiu

carving hills offers a rush that is hard to match.

The economical side of longboarding can’t be denied either. Tze said, “Longboards are fast and portable, so they’re a great way to get around.” As college approaches, longboards could become especially useful in getting from class to class.

Choi said she first became interested in longboarding when she saw YouTube videos and encourages others to do the same. For those who are interested, the learning curve is luckily forgiving and persistence, as always, is the key. Choosing a board may be difficult, but expensive isn’t always better; a decent longboard is, as Yoon said, “cheaper than two AP tests.” Choi said, “Get a board that matches the style of riding you want, not a popular board that many people have.” Longboard styles include Drop-Through, Cruiser, and Commuter, which differ in their respective flexibility, stability, and ease of use.

Whether for sport or hobby, casual rides or competitive races, longboarding is an activity open to any interested individuals, and the Landcruizers are willing to take in any prospective cruisers. Having spread the longboarding love for two years, their passion for longboarding is wonderfully expressed by Albert Chang, who said it’s pretty much “the most fun you can have with a plank of wood.” ▪

The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 21, 2014

consequences. University of Missouri defensive end Michael Sam came out as gay in February and Sports Illustrated immediately published an anonymous piece quoting NFL insiders who said his decision would affect his draft pick. The controversy has also carried itself within the teams themselves. San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver sparked off-field controversy last year by saying gays weren’t allowed in his locker room. Three-time World Series champion Curt Schilling fired back on Twitter saying “I’ve never understood this issue with gay players? Who cares?” The dispute over LGBTQ athletes could even be found in the recent Sochi Olympics where Russian President Vladimir Putin enacted antigay laws.

The source of this problem may be the internalized conception that male athletes are symbols of masculinity so the idea of one being gay comes off as absurd. Regardless, a player’s sexuality and what he or she does at home is one thing and how he or she performs on the court is another. Mixing the two only results in media sensationalism and unnecessary tensions. ▪

Andrea Ayad: Female Wrestler

By Katie Sun Staff Writer AA: I really fell in love with how much hard work and dedication you have to put in to become at all successful. It was the hardest thing I had ever done, and I think that and just the straight-up dedication everyone had to the team helped me want to be part of it every year.

staff writer katie sun

SS: How did you do at CIF this year?

AA: At the state tournament I won my first match by pin in the third round, but then I lost my next two and did not end up placing.

Senior Andrea Ayad overcame fierce competition to qualify for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Girls Wrestling Championships. The Smoke Signal recently had a chance to speak with her about her wrestling journey.

SS: How did you do in the past?

AA: My sophomore year I lost both my matches against very experienced seniors, and my junior year I qualified for state, but did not wrestle in the tournament.

Smoke Signal: How did you get started in wrestling?

Andrea Ayad: My mom wouldn’t let me do water polo my freshman year, and I heard “join boys’ and girls’ wrestling” over the intercom and decided to try it. I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into, but even on the first day I could see something in it. Coach Thomsen would call it “getting bit by the wrestling bug”, and that’s pretty much what it was like; I simply just got hooked.

SS: Where and how often do you train?

AA: We practice in the wrestling room, every school day right after school for about a minimum of two hours. This usually consists of a closed room, no windows, with the heater on and running around and wrestling about 40 very sweaty guys. The training would be extremely intense and I will admit it was a struggle trying to keep up with all the guys.

SS: What do you enjoy about the sport?

SS: What other competitions have you participated in?

AA: I have participated in the NCS tournament all four years. I got 7th my freshman year, and then I got 4th my sophomore year, 3rd my junior, and I got 1st this year in the 101 weight class. This year I just went to some JV boy tournaments and some small girl tournaments, I placed top 3 at all but one.

SS: Do you want to wrestle in college?

AA: I think I’d enjoy doing it in like a club or something, because it’s been three days without it, and I’m already having withdrawal.

SS: How do you think wrestling has helped you?

AA: Wrestling on this team really has made me incredibly dedicated to whatever I’m involved in, but it also helped me to never give up, no matter how hard things get. I think I just really found myself through this sport. ▪

Friday,March 21, 2014

The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Sports 23

Blaming the Referees

By Apoorva Rajanala Staff Writer

COMPETITIVE ARCHER Andrew Chin

By Hairol Ma Staff Writer For most of us archery is the stuff of legends (of Zelda, perhaps?) or reminiscent of Katniss Everdeen, but for Senior Andrew Chin it’s a part of his daily routine. The Smoke Signal takes an inside look at Chin’s career.

dividual nature of the sport, I find enjoyment in just interacting with others, coaching them, and watching them shoot. Also, the process of teaching myself and observing my progress without having a coach has been very fulfilling.

Smoke Signal: What inspired you to begin archery?

Andrew Chin: I took up archery because my older brother participated in it. After watching him practice, I decided that I wanted to try as well. At the time I wasn’t involved with other sports and I figured it would be a fun thing to do.

SS: Have you competed/placed in any competitions?

AC: I actively compete in tournaments ranging from club and state events to Indoor Nationals and the World Archery Festival. Of these, I have placed second and third in various outdoor state tournaments.

SS: How often do you train a week? Is it very time consuming?

AC: On average, I practice about two hours a day for five days a week. On top of that, I’ll spend time analyzing my form, experimenting with different setups and techniques, and reading material on the sport pretty often. Depending on my work load and schedule the exact time spent practicing and training may vary, and I will occasionally visit an outdoor range to practice longer distances.

SS: Is there anyone you look up to as a role model?

AC: There is no single person I look up to the most, but I do have people that I like to reference as models for form, achievement, and inspiration. Some archers I will try to examine and learn from and others I use as motivation to do better. During one state tournament, I shot next to a man with one arm and one leg who went on to win the 2012 Paralympic gold medal, and he has been a good example of what is possible given determination and perseverance. ▪

SS: How long have you participated in this sport?

AC: I started about four years ago with no intention of competing. After a year, my brother went to the state indoor tournament, and I decided to go as well. I enjoyed it and since then have dedicated my efforts to competition.

SS: What’s the most rewarding experience you’ve gotten from archery?

AC: Of all my experiences, introducing the sport to my friends and getting them involved has been the most rewarding. Despite the in-

courtesy andrew chin

Boys’ Tennis:

Andrew Chin lining up his arrow and bow with stellar form.

Sandy Tompkins & Nemanja Sijacic

M

SJ

MSJ’s boy’s tennis program is welcoming Sandy Tompkins and Nemanja Sijacic as their new team coaches for the 2014 season.

Both coaches come from the Tompkins Tennis Academy (of which Sandy Tompkins is a cofounder) and have between them more than 20 years of coaching experience. When asked why they decided to take on the task of running a high school tennis team, Tompkins said, “We are taking this opportunity to give back to the community. We heard there was a need for a coach and because we are based in Fremont we thought this would be a good opportunity to help a local team.”

Sandy Tompkins began coaching over 15 years

ago when she founded the Tompkins Tennis organization with her husband Richard. Since then the program has coached thousands of students and trained 30 students to top 10 rankings in their respective United States Tennis Association (USTA) divisions. Nemanja Sijacic grew up playing tennis in Serbia, where he was a ranking junior, and has coaching experience with high school teams, having coached Los Gatos High School’s tennis squad. During practices, Sijacic handles technique and match training while Tompkins is in charge of conditioning. She said, “Conditioning is one of the most important parts of the game...If you can’t get to the ball, then you’re not going to win many matches.”

The coaches’ specific goals for the season are to make the team more competitive and bring some of the seriousness and intensity that is used at Tompkins Academy to the MSJ team. Tompkins stressed the importance of maintaining frequent “tennis journals” in which players should take notes afBy ter every practice on aspects of An their game that they can iman d prove on. Another new Ba Sta laji & technique that the ff W A SS: In terms of intangible coaches plan to b rit aspects of training and compeers igai employ is l Wo tition, what do you believe will be havng the key to the team’s success? (i.e. teamwork, hard work, etc.)

S.Shir: I believe it’s communication and team bonding. Communication is a big part of life with professors, employers, co-workers, parSS: What ents and peers. The message I want to pass on prompted is that with the right alchemy of physical, menyou to take up this tal, emotional, and even spiritual communicacoaching position? Do tion, we can achieve a lot this season. More you see yourself pursuing a importantly, they will have developed a very coaching career in the future? useful skill that will further help them succeed S.Shir: What prompted me was the in life thought of being able to give MSJ volleyball what it gave to me. Honestly coaching is just SS: What are your goals for the season? a hobby. I enjoy the competitive atmosphere S.Shir: Ever since MSJ put up its first MVAL of the sport, but I want to pursue a career in championship banner in 2008, it has been the physical therapy. ▪ succeeding years’ duty to not only defend that title but also take NCS. Hopefully this year we can achieve just that.

’S

Boys’ Volleyball: Samai Shir For its upcoming spring season, MSJ’s Varsity boys’ volleyball team has a new coach: MSJ Alumnus Samai Shir. Shir graduated from MSJ’s class of 2010, and is currently a participant in the NCVA men’s adult volleyball league. The Smoke Signal contacted Shir to talk about his connection to MSJ and his aspirations for the boys’ volleyball team.

Smoke Signal: Did you ever think that you would be coaching the MSJ’s Varsity boys’ volleyball team when you were in high school?

Samai Shir: Playing volleyball for MSJ in high school, I never thought I would be head coaching for this program, and I have to say it’s a great pleasure for me to be back in the gym where I had my best moments of high school.

SS: How has your experience as a player at MSJ affected your current outlook as a coach?

S.Shir: It is definitely a different perspective of the sport. I feel and see things from the same outlook my coach did coaching me, versus when I was a player when I just saw the game from my point of view. It is a good thing because I can integrate the best of both worlds.

During the winter Sochi Olympics at an ice hockey game between Russia and USA, the Russian team blamed the American referee for not paying closer attention to the winning goal, as well as having a bias towards the American team. The goal, which would have made the score 3-2 in favor of Russia, was disallowed with five minutes on the clock after officials ruled that the net had come loose from the ice before the goal was scored. One of the Russian players said, “Of course, it would have been more effective to have a different judge.” In most controversial and competitive games, one of the teams and its fans tend to put blame on the referee, in hopes of changing the outcome.

For example, during the summer Olympics of 2012, a controversy about the official medal count came up. During some sports, such as gymnastics, the judging varied, and was based off of what appealed to the judges. Judges and referees had been accused of being unfair, resulting in two different medal countings-the official International Olympic Committee (IOC) medal count, as well as the “real” medal count. The IOC count had China with the highest total medals, while the “real” count listed USA as the top. The controversy continued because officials argued over the judges ruling and how fair the calling really was. In several other occurrences as well, the referee is blamed, especially during a close score. However, what teams, athletes, and fans fail to realize is that referees have been trained and hired for a specific reason—to make sure that rules and regulations are followed during a game. In order to become a referee, one must go through testing about how the game is played, as well as study how to remain neutral while on and off the field. However, it is human nature to make mistakes, so there is a certain amount of cushion space that a referee needs to be given.

All sports have rules that must be interpreted and applied with absolute consistency

Ne

w

Co

ac

he

s

wherever the game is played. Teams and fans need to trust the referees to do their best and work towards creating a fair environment for both teams. In order to do this, referees must be prepared for all kinds of situations and sometimes have to make decisions on the spot, disregarding any personal bias. Regardless of the situation, the teams need to trust that the referee was doing his job correctly. One must remember that referees have been professionally taught to do what they do and are the best qualified for their position, even if they occasionally make a mistake. “When I am right, no one remembers. When I am wrong, no one forgets,” said Doug Harvey, a former Major League Baseball umpire, in an interview with ESPN. Unfortunately, Harvey’s words are true.

Referees are rarely mentioned unless they make controversial decisions that upset one side or the other. But having that job requires that they do their best to maintain a high level of professionalism and fairness. No matter the score or situation, referees are taught to remain neutral and make fair decisions.

As fans and athletes, we need to understand that referees are also human, and are prone to making mistakes. However, as they were professionally trained for their jobs, referees are ready for any situation and will be responsible for the decisions they take and the calls they make. ▪

graphics editor shirby wang

ing an off-the-court training regiment for each player. These schedules will be worked out by the coaches to give the players direction on what to work on weekends and days without practice (technique, conditioning, endurance, etc.). Sijacic also stressed the importance of mental fitness saying, “Right now the technique is okay but we really need to focus on consistency with these players. A big part of that comes with mental toughness and being able to trust your abilities.”

The ultimate goal for Sijacic and Tompkins, however, is to build the foundations to make MSJ a lasting powerhouse in high school tennis. Tompkins says that her mission for these next few years is to “build a program that people can be proud of and get our students motivated and pumped up to win.” These coaches are here to stay for the next few years and are doing all they can to prepare our Warriors for victory. The team’s next match will be on March 25 at Moreau Catholic High School. ▪

(From left to right) Sandy Tompkins & Nemanja Sijacic

Boys’ volleyball coach Samai Shir at practice.

photos by staff writers anand balaji & abigail wong, clker.com, layout by sports editor leah feuerman

24 Photo

www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 21, 2014

PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITERS JACINTA CHANG, KATRINA CHERK, VIVIAN LIU, HAIROL MA, & LILLIAN ZHAO, LAYOUT BY GRAPHICS EDITORS SHIRBY WANG & ANNA ZENG