Volume L, No. 3

MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL

VOL. 50, NO. 3

November 14, 2014

41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539

Homecoming 2014

Computer Science Courses Change

Push for MSJ Pool Renovations

CA legislation to increase access to CS courses

MSJ swimming and water polo teams address FUSD board

By Sayan Ghosh Staff Writer

By Ruiwen Shen Staff Writer

In September, the CA Legislature passed three pieces of legislation that aim to increase the availability of computer science courses in high schools across the state, as well as to create a set of standards for such courses. The decision is motivated by the high demand in the job market for candidates with computer programming skills and by the benefits of introducing high school students to the problem solving processes required by computer science, such as thinking algorithmically.

The first piece of legislation passed, AB 1764, grants high school math credit to students taking computer science courses. Currently, a CA high school student must complete at least two math courses to graduate. AB 1764 will allow up to one mathematics course credit for completion of an approved computer science course.

The next piece of legislation, SB 1200, aims to create a set of standards for high school computer science courses. The University of California and California State University systems will have to create a set of guidelines which can approve certain computer science courses to be recognized for admission into their universities. This will allow high schools to create computer science courses that will give their students skills to succeed in further studies of computer science and advanced mathematics at the university level.

The third piece of legislation, AB 1539, intends to create a set of computer science standards for students from kindergarten through 12th grade. AB 1539 requires the California Instructional Quality Commission to collaborate with computer science experts to develop a set of content standards. Existing stan-

Parent Sharon Whaley and Seniors Catherine Ha and Austin Whaley, both swim and water polo team captains, spoke at the FUSD board meeting on October 22 to advocate for the renovation of MSJ’s pool. They brought up many of the pool’s shortcomings and compared MSJ’s pool to those of other schools. Regarding their presentation to the FUSD board, Ha said, “I think that our argu-

“It is a challenge to keep the accomplished programmers in my class challenged, but to also prevent the class from being too challenging for the beginners.”

-Charlie Brucker, Computer Science Teacher

dards developed by the Computer Science Teachers Association will also be taken into consideration.

Currently, MSJ offers only one computer science class: AP Computer Sci-

See CS NEWS Page 3

Senior Homecoming Queen Mansi Shah and Senior Homecoming King Dustin Chiang

staff writer harshita gupta

“I would like to see a brand new pool for Mission, one wide enough and deep enough to play water polo in and hold our own swim meets...[the pool] has never been the priority.”

-Senior Austin Whaley, Water Polo Team Captain

ments were pretty successful. The board is fully aware of what we want done and when we want it done. Going to the meeting was just a way to remind them that we’re not going down without a fight.”

Among their arguments, they listed that out of all the FUSD schools, only MSJ swimmers and water polo players have to pay $3000 per season to rent the Ohlone College pool because the MSJ pool is too small for the water polo team to properly train in and too shallow to dive in. They also discussed the pool’s lack of diving blocks.

Funds to go towards improving special day class However, according to the presenters, the Ohlone College pool is a limited and fairly inconvenient resource. The Junior Varsity teams cannot play any home games because of the time constraints for pool rental. Furthermore, there is a parking fee of $2 at Ohlone, which adds to the already staggering cost for water polo players, and the dimly lit areas leading to the parking lot can be dangerous after dark. The Ohlone pool will also be remodeled soon and will not be available to MSJ swimmers for practice during the fall 2015 season.

Austin Whaley said, “I would like to see a brand new pool for Mission. One wide enough staff writer madeline zheng Personalized Christmas cards made using materials from the Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT). and deep enough to play water polo in and hold our own swim meets. I know I would appreciBy Madeline Zheng products are from donations from the Re- ate it if others fought to get one for me so I Staff Writer source Area for Teaching (RAFT), which speak to make an impact for future swimmers gives Singh’s class supplies such as stickers and polo players… There have been pushes for Special Ed teacher Sujata Singh’s class and shaped cutters. pool changes years ago….but it has never been is spearheading the effort to fundraise the priority.” proceeds that go towards the moderate to “This sort of skill develWhen asked if the swim and water polo teams severe disability special day class that she opment will directly benefit were aware of the captains’ initiative at the board teaches. This special education program was their employment chances in meeting, Junior Ashvath Balgovind, a member implemented last school year and focuses the future.” of the boys’ water polo team, said, “Yes, and not -Sujata Singh, Special Ed Teacher only were the captains pushing for new pools, but on building functional academic knowledge and life skills. most everyone from both polo teams were at the As the colder months approach, Singh Students have already begun making council meeting, and so were the coaches of all and her students plan to sell handmade cards on a daily basis, and they work in aquatics teams (boy/girls polo, and swimming).”

Christmas cards as well as personalized So far, FUSD has not reached a decision rescarves in the few weeks before Winter See ED garding the MSJ pool, but all of the swim and waBreak. The materials used to make these NEWS Page 3 ter polo teams stand in support of renovation. ▪

pg11

pg13

pg12

pg14

Special Ed Classes Fundraise

girls tennis

open arms

hosa rlc

MSJ Girls’ Tennis Team ended the regular season on a strong note, beating every team to become the undefeated league champions.

Peer Resource has begun offering casualstyled peer counseling for students in its new program, Open Arms. Peer mentors are available outside B34 before school on Tuesdays and during lunch on Wednesdays. today

MSJ and Hopkins Jr. High students attended the California HOSA Region 2 Leadership Conference on October 25.

today

today

FOR MORE COVERAGE,

VISIT www.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

2 News

www.thesmokesignal.org

What defines MSJ as being emergency ready?

Investigative Report: MSJ Emergency Readiness

MSJ qualifies as emergency ready when all teachers know how to effectively lead students in the event of any disaster or emergency and students are aware of the protocol they need to follow during emergencies. According to Assistant Principal Jeff Evans, students and staff should be equipped to handle emergencies at any time on campus. All classes must have a disaster backpack with the necessary supplies and medical equipment, as well as access to food and water if students are forced to stay on site for extended periods of time.

By Apoorva Rajanala, Shivane Sabharwal & Hanson Wang Staff Writers

In light of the recent emergency lockdown at Irvington High School, the Smoke Signal investigated how prepared MSJ is for an emergency.

Student Readiness The Smoke Signal released a survey to the MSJ student population in order to receive feedback on how prepared the student population is for an emergency situation. The majority of the responses regarding emergency procedures, including earthquake and evacuation details, were accurate. However, some students commented on the little preparation for emergency situations the MSJ population has been given. The MSJ website posts the handbook detailing the recent changes made to the emergency protocol, but over 80% of students who took the survey stated that they have never read this handbook. With some changes and a greater awareness of the different resources that MSJ students can use to prepare themselves, the campus can soon become well-prepared for any emergency.

YES 23%

Friday, November 14, 2014

The Smoke Signal

Have you ever read MSJ's emergency protocol?

YES

23% said..

77% said..

0

Have your teachers gone over MSJ's emergency protocol?

YES NO

54% said..

46% said..

YES 39% 30

DO YOU THINK MSJ IS STRUCTURALLY SOUND ENOUGH TO HANDLE A MAJOR EARTHQUAKE?

IS MSJ PREPARED TO HANDLE ANY EMERGENCY?

NO 77%

NO 61%

NO

30

60

60

90

90

*Results are based on a survey conducted on Facebook by the Smoke Signal of 148 MSJ students from all grades.

120

120

150

150

Cover neck and head while crouching under a desk 3%

emergency supplies

Stop, drop, and roll Run off campus 5% in the event of an emergency. These supplies are contained in a red Every classroom is equipped with the supplies that will 5% keep students safe and provide for basic medical needs backpack that contain items such as first aid kits and bandages, with food and water also available. Prior to the 2010-11 school year, FUSD joined an incentive program offered by American Express that provides a 1.1 percent rebate on all purchases using its credit card. FUSD has received $264,000 back in rebates from American Express in just three years, all of which was spent on emergency supplies.

According to FUSD Director of Purchasing Bryan Wakefield, the majority of the requested items by schools in the district are food and water, which comes in the form of calorieDO YOU DO toare thealso foot-the largest WHAT rich energy bars and boxed water. FoodEvacuate and water expenditures of the rebate money; districtwide, 45 percent of the total rebate money is dedicated to replenishing IN THE CASE OF A is spent on include first aid, sanitation, search and rescue, shelter, and lighting. ball field 39% food and water supplies, which expire after five years. Other categories that the rebate money In past years, MSJ has obtained nearly $11,000 of supplies through FIRE the rebate program, including a storage container, first-aid kits, and sleeping bags. In addition to small bottles of ON CAMPUS? water, each school has 55-gallon barrels that are filled with water and a water preservative that keeps it fresh and drinkable for 5 years. FUSD estimates that each person will drink half a gallon of water per day, and each energy bar is 3600 calories, and uses these numbers to double check each school’s food and water requests. Assistant Principal Jeff Evans said that MSJ has enough supplies to last 48 to 72 hours on campus.

types of emergencies

lockdown

earthquake

When a lockdown is initiated by the public safety officer, princiis located protocol? in the Hayward Fault Zone, a fault Havethe you ever readSince MSJ'sMSJ emergency pal, or a designee, administrators are to activate the School Safety Plan zone that is capable of generating extremely destructive YES NO specific to the campus of each school. Students need to remember to earthquakes, students should be well acquainted with the 27 people said...

18 people remain calm and listen to any announcement that either the administracorresponding safety protocol in the case of an said... emergency. tion or their teacher gives them while teachers are to lock their classStudents are familiar with the drop, take cover, and hold on room doors immediately, turn off the lights, and direct their students to procedure in which they crouch underneath their desks to preyour teachers gone over MSJ's stay on the ground, hidden from sight. All phone usageHave is prohibited so vent any falling objectsemergency from injuringprotocol? them. After the shaking that phone lines can be open for vital communication between YES emer- has stopped, teachers are instructed to evacuate NOall students gency responders and the school. Students should wait79 forpeople the allsaid... clear to the track, and have to make a judgment about the safest 67 people said... bell and announcement lifting the lockdown. Parents and guardians are route to take. For example, teachers should avoid overhangto check Emergency Information Updates on the FUSD website for ing objects such as the bell tower and should not re-enter any information regarding student releases. buildings.

0

fire

In the case of a fire, students will hear an intermittent sounding of the fire horn that will signal them to evacuate the building and move to the track. There are also fire safety measures in the buildings, such as fire blankets that are located in science rooms, as well as fire extinguishers that are located 50 feet apart from each other throughout MSJ.

images.google.com, graphics by news editors michael hsiu and tiffany huang

corrections for the oct. 23, 2014 issue News Page 1: The Spike Bowl score was 29-16, not 29-13.

News Page 1: Santhi Kuchibhotla’s name was misspelled.

News Page 2: Rosamund Pike’s name was misspelled.

Feature Page 12: A&E Editor Melissa Peng’s name was misspelled.

A&E Page 13: MARVEL’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was misspelled.

Sports Page 17: Tyson Chandler’s name was misspelled.

Special Page 20: Science teacher Robin Van Deusen attended MSJ from 1967-71.

Compiled by Staff Writers Sayan Ghosh, Brian Tseng, and Harshita Gupta

sfgate.com Robots built by high school robotics teams are featured at the festival.

rt.com A faulty tail section is the supposed cause of the crash.

theguardian.com A United Nations report warns of overusage of fossil fuels.

Bay Area Science Festival features robotics exhibition AT&T Park hosted Discovery Days, the concluding event of the Bay Area Science Festival, on November 1.

There, the Bosch Robot Zoo exhibited robots from high school robotics teams (including MSJ’s) as well as from robotics startups. Many booths at the event were baseball related, in light of the Giants’ recent World Series victory and the venue itself. Several thousand people were in attendance.

Virgin Galactic space plane crashes Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane broke apart in a test flight above California’s Mojave Desert on October 31, causing the first in-flight fatality associated with a commercial space effort. The accident is believed to have been caused by a malfunctioning tail section that unraveled prematurely. Further investigation in identifying the actual cause is expected to take up to a year.

UN report warns of climate change The United Nations published a report on November 2, warning that climate change is very real and increasingly unavoidable. In order to avoid “severe, pervasive and irreversible” damage, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommended that the majority of the world’s electricity be produced by green, renewable sources by 2050 and the use of fossil fuels be discontinued by 2100.

Friday, November 14, 2014

The Smoke Signal

50th Anniversary Donations Bin Bins placed in partnership with the Zero Waste Challenge

By Kylie Cheung Staff Writer In honor of MSJ’s 50th anniversary, two donation bins accepting gently used clothes, toys and general household items have been stationed in the gym quad and near the parking lot for the school year since September 2014. Restrictions from the physical education department require the bin in the gym quad to be relocated to a different area on campus determined by campus supervisors.

The donated items are collected on a bimonthly basis for the Zero Waste Challenge, a service learning project by the Chewonki Foundation, an environmental education organization located in Maine that provides money to schools or organizations depending on the total weight of donated items.

The Zero Waste Challenge was developed in an attempt to reduce wastefulness in youths across the nation.The donation bins were in-

ED| Fundraising continued from page 1

an assembly line to piece together various components. Even during production, students are learning: they improve focus and

“I work to weave each of them a path towards independence, and to show them that they can make a living on their own.”

-Sujata Singh, Special Ed Teacher social skills by working together, practice finger mobility by handling small pieces for the cards, and work on organization skills by sorting parts for assembly. Because Singh emphasizes the importance of prod-

stalled at MSJ in the school year of its 50th anniversary to raise funds for the special education department as a reflection of the school’s policy of academic excellence for all.

Thus far, MSJ’s 50th anniversary donation bins have been largely successful, according to the project’s head Stacy Davis, chair of the special education department. “When Zero Waste comes to collect from our bins about twice a month, they’re usually about three-fourths full,” Davis says. As head of the project, she works regularly with campus supervisors to find appropriate campus locations for the bins and see that they are not abused by students. Davis keeps track of funds her department receives from the project and communicates with representatives of the Zero Waste Challenge.

Despite the significant volume of donated clothing and household items since the start of the project, Davis hopes to raise more awareness about the existence and purpose of the donation bins as they remain on campus year-long. Davis and her department are currently developing a school-wide event where used items will be collected by classroom in third period on a certain day that uct quality, students learn that they must keep clean hands and work carefully when assembling the delicate paper cutouts that adorn the cards.

In the general selling process for all products, Singh’s students build on other valuable skills, including publicity abilities and marketing aptitude. They create colorful posters to advertise their products and strive for professionalism in their business interactions. “This sort of skill development will directly benefit their employment chances in the future,” said Singh.

The class’s work so far has garnered a revenue of about $200 from Thai tea and popsicle sales. Although popsicles are no longer being sold and tea sales have decreased due to colder temperatures, Singh projects a winter item revenue of an additional $200 or more. All money is care-

www.thesmokesignal.org

CS| Courses continued from page 1

ence, which is limited to two senior classes. Due to the newly-passed legislation, MSJ may expand its computer science program. Eventually, additional classes of AP Computer Science and a greater variety of computer science classes, such as web development and algorithms/data structures courses, may be offered. staff writer kylie cheung

One of the two donations bins is located in the parking lot.

is to be determined, or within a collection zone located in a more noticeable area set up for students who are unaware of the bins or cannot find them.

Throughout the project, Davis and the special education department have refrained from counting money and intend to utilize the 50th anniversary bins less as a means of developing financial goals, and more to serve as a reminder amongst the student body to give back.The bins will be available for contributions throughout the school year, and Davis hopes that the volume of contributions will only continue to increase as awareness of the project increases. ▪ fully documented and handled, and in using these funds, students glean experience in managing cash. Most of the money is spent on short-term necessities, such as shopping trips, bus tickets, and quality food for snack time—Singh loves to treat her students.

All of her work is grounded in love and practicality. Although all students work to make cards and sell products, Singh pays close attention to the exposure of students’ individual strengths and interests. Some students may exhibit potential in creating crafts and trinkets; other may tend towards marketing products. “I work to weave each of them a path towards independence, and to show them that they can make a living on their own,” Singh said. She and her students encourage everyone at MSJ to visit the special day class in P4 and to support them in their efforts. ▪

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According to Brucker, the demand for computer science courses at MSJ is extremely high. He supports the state’s efforts to expand computer science departments across schools in the state. Brucker also desires to have a larger selection of computer science courses at MSJ, in addition to AP Computer Science. He said, “It is a challenge to keep the accomplished programmers in my class challenged, but to also prevent the class from being too challenging for the beginners.” In the future, in addition to different types of classes, MSJ may have different levels of computer science courses that encompass all levels of experience. Brucker expects the bills passed to help MSJ expand its fledgling computer science department.

CA recognizes the value of providing a fundamental Computer Science education for primary and secondary school students. In addition to the three bills already passed, several others are being written and discussed. In the future, due to these efforts, MSJ may thoroughly expand its selection of Computer Science courses to help students wishing to study computer-related subjects in college. ▪

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News 3

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4 Opinion the

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, November 14, 2014

Smoke Signal

Mission San Jose High School Est. 1964 Vol. 50, No. 3 | November 14, 2014 www.thesmokesignal.org

41717 Palm Ave. Fremont, CA 94539 (510) 657-3600 Editors-in-Chief Tingting Bi, Laura Chen News Michael Hsiu, Tiffany Huang Opinion Alice Cheng, Catherine Wang Feature Megan Ren, Katie Sun Centerspread Katrina Cherk, Vivian Liu A&E Melissa Peng, Andrea Tam Sports Arti Patankar, Abigail Wong Graphics Kevin Chen, Lillian Zhao Web Jacinta Chang, Nithya Rajeev

AnAliceis

Catalyst

By Catherine Wang Opinion Editor

If a high school were to receive a bomb threat, there would likely be a massive evacuation – the campus would grind to a halt for the day.

But what happens when a school encounters a series of unresolved Tech Santhosh Paramasivan, Peter Qiu bomb threats that causes evacuations Business Anand Balaji Circulation Hairol Ma every day for nearly two weeks? In Ads Grace Dong, Madeline Zheng June 2007, Timberline High School Events Tanvi Raja, Apoorva Rajanala in Lacey, Washington was getting desperate. The threats came first Writers & Photographers as an anonymous note, then as Andrew Chen, Kylie Cheung, Sarina Chitre, disguised e-mails and comments on Andrew Choi, Sayan Ghosh, Purvi Goel, a local newspaper’s website. After Harshita Gupta, Pratham Gupta, Chakshu Hurria, Amrith Krishnan, Ansh Patel, Gelsey Lacey police sought federal help, the Plaza, Iyesha Puri, Deeksha Raina, Rishab FBI finally snagged the fifteen-yearRamapriyan, Shivane Sabharwal, Neha old perpetrator by using spyware Shah, Ruiwen Shen, Annie Tang, Monica Tang, Brian Tseng, Hanson Wang, Didi Wu, that identified his Internet address.

Rebecca Wu This case would be closed if it weren’t for the way the suspect Advisor Sandra Cohen was caught – the FBI confirmed Send letters to the editors to opinion@the smokesignal.org. Letters under 300 words on October 28 that it used a fake may be considered for publication and Associated Press story as the spyware must include a full name and school affilialink. The news report was titled tion. The Smoke Signal reserves the right “Technology savvy student holds to edit for clarity and length.

Timberline High School hostage.”

The Smoke Signal’s right to freedom of This is hardly the first time that a speech and press is protected by the First federal investigation gets us thinking Amendment of the Constitution. about online privacy. What’s newly disturbing about the deception, though, is its threat to journalistic credibility.

To advertise in the Smoke Signal, e-mail ads@thesmokesignal.org.

Sending one fake story to one Advertising that is included on the suspect for the safety of a community, pages of, or carried within, the Smoke given such an extreme situation, Signal, is paid advertising, and as such is independent of the news and sounds reasonable. The FBI, after all, feature content. wasn’t crossing legal lines; they did have a warrant to send a “communication”

to the suspect’s social media account. But the operation begs the question, how do we know this won’t happen again on a larger scale?

The FBI could have faked anything enticing to a high school student (from an advertisement to a blog) for the clickbait, but their choice to masquerade as a news source demonstrates a conscious disregard for journalism. What’s more, even if a false story was determined to be the best way to catch the suspect, the FBI could have shown somehow that this investigation was an isolated, extreme case, perhaps by informing and working with Associated Press editors.

Instead, it took a Seattle Times journalist digging up the dirt on a seven-year-old case for the government to admit its methods. It’s not so much what the FBI agents did as how they did it.

Here, the ends didn’t justify the means. In sacrificing its respect for candid journalism, the FBI crossed a line. We might grudgingly agree that law enforcement has a responsibility to withhold certain information in the name of protecting public safety, but botching that information does not protect us. Faking news from the Associated Press challenges the honesty of other news sources, too. In the big picture, journalism’s credibility matters to us not because newspapers seek respect and revenue; it matters because we need integrity in news stories in order to learn from them. And the government should support that. ▪

By Alice Cheng Opinion Editor In Gerald Seymour’s Harry’s Game, published in 1975, Seymour states, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” Today, Seymour’s understanding of the different perspectives, though not entirely true, surrounding terrorism is largely ignored for we believe that there is a clear distinction between who’s a terrorist and who’s not. We associate terrorism with anger, hate, and, most of all, confusion.

When faced with these emotions and violence at the same time, we often jump to the conclusion that the vehemence was caused by terrorism. However, because there is no clear definition of terrorism, we must attempt to understand the issue from multiple perspectives before we decide what to do.

In the recent case of shootings at Parliament Hill, Ottawa, at least one gunman got inside of the Main Parliament Building. Shots were fired, and one Canadian soldier was killed. People were quick to assume that the shootings resulted from terrorism, judging from the religion of the suspects. Often used as a back-up reason when we lack information about motive, terrorism is emphasized because of the paranoia surrounding it.

When we use the word “terrorism,” the implications remain ambiguous.

According to Max Abrahms, assistant professor of public policy at Northeastern University, the overall consensus is that terrorists are defined as agents who take action on civilians to achieve a political goal through, for example, a concessions policy.

However, when we apply this definition to the Ottawa shooting, the pieces of the puzzle don’t fit together. What kind of political goal were the gunmen trying to achieve? How did people come up with the conclusion that they were terrorists?

As inhabitants of the Western world, we see acts of terrorism as vendettas and deeds of revenge carried out on innocent citizens. By fighting terrorists, we believe that we’re fighting hate and crime, but what we as Americans fail to do is place ourselves in the shoes of our adversaries. In fact, according to a political scientist from Ohio State University named John Mueller, the main motive behind the actions of so-called terrorists is to “protect their co-religionists against what was commonly seen to be a concentrated war on them in the Middle East by the US government.”In no way am I condoning the heinous actions of terrorist groups – rather I’m simply stating that we need to face the root cause behind terrorist actions by understanding their perspectives instead of hiding under a veil of paranoia.

Terrorism remains a controversial issue, and too often, we let our emotions, our anger, and our passion preclude rational thinking. Sometimes, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves what we’re doing wrong and how our adversaries view us because of those actions. To develop a better understanding, not only do we need to read the news, but also we must analyze the reasons behind such acts and our bias towards the issue. By shifting our paradigms and understanding the problem instead of simply fighting it, only then can we truly recognize all aspects of the issue at hand. ▪

The Opinion of the Smoke Signal Editorial Board

Editorial: Access Over Excess We’ve all heard the tale of the MSJ student. Sleepless nights. Countless projects. Test after test after test. As much as we like to make fun of it, this “way of life” that stresses hard work and determination has become a major part of MSJ’s identity. It pushes us to challenge ourselves academically and strive for success whenever possible, but often at the expense of our own physical wellbeing. Freshmen and sophomores quickly assimilate into this new mindset, while juniors and seniors experience the full force of it. It’s common knowledge that starting the second half of high school is often a struggle for many students. Those entering their junior year often find themselves unprepared for the workload they face when they sign up for several difficult classes. Balance becomes harder to achieve.

Here at MSJ, an idea exists that AP courses are the shining example of academic achievement. By taking AP classes, we believe we are demonstrating our intellectual abilities in a way that colleges will surely see on our application. Our suggestion to MSJ? Spread AP courses out throughout high school, and put limits on how many can be taken per year. Give students the flexibility to spread out their course loads as they see fit, and let the administration offer them assistance in fulfilling this goal. This way, students can tailor their schedules without having to adhere to any more unspoken standards. Let us as students be measured not by how many classes we take, but by the select ones that define our interests and give us the balance we need to put an appropriate amount of time and effort in each class. With the chance to experience the rigor of select AP courses in their freshmen and sophomore years, students will also be more prepared for harder classes in their junior and senior years. By having to focus on only a few advanced courses per year rather than possibly facing a large number in one year, students will be able to acquire greater comprehension of the material and a greater appreciation of the applications that AP courses will play in their futures.

Compared to other high-performing schools in the Bay Area, it’s clear that MSJ’s offerings are quite limited.

Irvington High School allows students to take AP Biology starting from grade 10 and permits them to take AP English starting from grade 11. At Monta Vista High School in

Cupertino, CA, AP Calculus AB and BC and AP Computer Science A are all offered to students grades 10-12. Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon, CA offers AP World History to sophomores and AP European History to grades 10-12.

MSJ only offers a few AP courses to sophomores and freshmen: those for statistics and for several foreign languages. The rest are only offered to juniors and seniors. The result of this is that students attempt to cram as many AP classes as they can during their junior and senior years in time for their college applications. While this is an issue that is often joked about and sometimes even glorified as a standard at MSJ, the fight to balance one’s schedule is very much real. We as students respond to this by modifying our lives to adapt to classes that are harder, faster, and of a more advanced level than the ones that we have faced before. To a certain extent, we are at fault. As students, we have to make sure that we are signing up for classes that we can handle, and that we understand the limits of our own abilities. We decide our own workload, and the administration helps guide us along the path we have chosen. However, the administration can only do so much, and it is our responsibility to determine what we are truly capable of and what we are not.

We know that it’s difficult to tell MSJ students to cut down on the number of AP courses they are taking. As students ourselves, we empathize. We laugh at the idea of backing down, even as we yawn and rub our eyes trying to stay awake. Because this culture is firmly cemented within many of us, it will be difficult to change our mindsets. But with the help of the administration, we can help students change their approach to their goals. By distributing AP course loads throughout the four years of high school, we as students will be less stressed, more engaged, and able to focus more on our classes without stretching ourselves too thin. Such is the way that we will experience more success while keeping our academics--and more importantly, our lives--in check. ▪

Send letters to the editors to: opinion@thesmokesignal.org

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Friday, November 14, 2014

The Smoke Signal

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Opinion 5

oter Apathy

By Kylie Cheung and Ansh Patel Staff Writers

52%

Democracy is, by definition, a form of government in which all eligible citizens are permitted to participate equally. It remains a bright beacon in the modern world, where many nations still maintain dictatorships or restrictions on voters. Yet today in the US, fewer and fewer registered voters are voting – the US currently ranks 120th in the world in voter turnout. Why? Are registered voters unaware of election dates, the importance of certain measures, or perhaps how a proposition will affect them? Or is there truth to the Center for Voting and Democracy’s study of how complicated voter registration only serves to deter potential voters? The causes certainly matter, but the more important question is, what are the effects of voter apathy? Is it even a problem within our generation?

At MSJ, we participate in politics at some point as ballots for class or ASB officers are passed out in our read periods, and we bubble in for the candidate who best represents our visions for our class or of MSJ students 18 for the school. or older said that they plan to vote this year.* But how does this translate into real world politics?

Based on a brief survey conducted by the Smoke Signal questioning MSJ students about involvement in politics and testing student knowledge of basic ballot propositions, there is

a clear relationship between voter apathy among today’s adult voters and our student body. As future voters, our ability to shape the future is dependent on not only our knowledge and

preparedness – but mostly, our desire to effect change.

Our generation has come to develop its own strong views about equality and our rights as citizens and human beings. Perhaps fixing whatever evil perpetuated by the government will not be so simple as doing some reading and voting “Yes” on a convenient proposition, but we can only express our indivuality as a generation if we are driven to act upon our beliefs.

But can governments foster this motivation, and encourage research, informed decisions, and ultimately the submission of a ballot? Instead of holding run-off elections, where candidates are eliminated after the first round, the California Bureau of Voters suggests we structure elections around alternative-choice voting. This allows the voter to indicate his first preference choices and alternate choices in the sequence he would prefer them to be. Essentially, it allows the voter’s alternate preferences to be applied to the other candidates, which gives them more control over an election. At times, however, giving voters

Fear vs. society: Ebola which he knew was the only time it could possibly spread.

Washington is contemplating a travel ban to and from places with major outbreaks of the disease, depriving these areas of much-needed help. The nation is obsessed with the mere possibility of a plague, despite there being far higher chances of getting killed in a car accident than getting infected with Ebola, according to The Huffington Post.

The obsessive fear surrounding Ebola, however, ultimately comes down to misinformation regarding the disease itself.

Ebola, in fact, is a relatively difficult virus to catch, much more so than the flu or chicken pox, and it’s mostly localized in West Africa. So why all the attention on a disease that the CDC director described as the next possible AIDS? For one, when dealing with our health, people will naturally assume the worst case scenario because of their fear. This is especially

13% answered correctly

do MSJ students nausea vomiting What are the eyes know their red diarrhea symptoms of facts?* rash ebola?

How is Ebola Transmitted?

78% answered correctly

Ebola is a terrifying disease. It causes the immune system to tear the body apart. It simultaneously creates clots in organs and uncontrollable internal bleeding. With massive organ failure and blood loss, it’s no wonder that Ebola has a 70 percent mortality rate. But Ebola isn’t the only scary disease around. Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), which mainly affects young children, targets their lungs and causes worsening asthma-like symptoms in those with existing lung conditions. It also spreads as easily as the common cold, and if left untreated, can cause paralysis or death.

However, almost nobody has heard of EV-D68, despite more than a thousand cases total in 47 states and the District of Columbia. In contrast, one can hardly open a news site without seeing an article about Ebola. Though Ebola is a cause for concern, why does it garner such widespread, almost irrational, fear?

Fear of Ebola took off after the first confirmed death in the United States. This combined with the shocking ineptitude shown by the Dallas hospital that sent Thomas Eric Duncan home despite a 103 degree fever, intense abdominal pain, and knowledge that Duncan had recently traveled to West Africa did no favors to mollify the fears of an impending Ebola epidemic. Now that Ebola was “here” and we saw it drain Duncan’s life day by day, it became a much more legitimate threat to us, especially since we knew little about whom Duncan infected and how the disease was transmitted in general. Duncan’s death and subsequent ballooning of society’s fear underline the root cause of our fear: the uncertainty of where the silent killer is and who its next victims may be.

Although there have only been four recorded cases of Ebola in the US, people are unreasonably obsessed with it.

Social media and news sites are awash with details concerning the status of its victims and how they might have spread the disease to others. Twitter is filled with comments about latest Ebola victim Craig Spencer and his decision to go out for a night of relaxation after returning from West Africa, possibly exposing others to the disease. This is despite the fact that he measured his temperature often and reported to the hospital the moment he began exhibiting symptoms,

direct contact with body fluids

*Results collected from an online survey for MSJ students, from October 27, 2014 to October 29, 2014.

more power in an election of MSJ students under 18 said may turn they never discuss politics more away with their friends and family. from the polls. In that case, James Morgan, a political journalist of the Boca Raton News, suggests bringing the polls to the people. Morgan argues that tedious authorization processes and poll lines make voting seem like an added burden, not a privilege. Instead, he suggests to send voting sheets to registered voters by mail. By taking the burden off voters, more citizens are almost forcibly exposed to the issues that affect them, which can increase the chances of them addressing the issues.

Despite all the measures that can be taken to bring polls to voters, at the end of the day, it is the voters themselves who have the power to eliminate apathy. At MSJ, seniors participated in a statewide student mock election on October 28 called MyVote, which fostered classroom discussion about propositions and simulated real-life voting. The Social Science Department’s efforts to immerse students in the political process is a step in the right direction, but to fully engage in the issues that our generation faces, students need to be active beyond the classroom.

Whether it’s volunteering with a local campaign or initiating dinner-table discussions, we can become voters who recognize our impact on a local and national scale. ▪

31%

*Results collected from an online survey for MSJ students, from October 27, 2014 to October 29, 2014. images.google.com

By Brian Tseng and Hanson Wang Staff Writers

true considering how Ebola’s symptoms are eerily flu-like.

Knowing this, authorities will take the slightest hint of flu-like symptoms and prepare for the worst. For instance, Cleveland Hopkins Airport recently closed an entire concourse because of a passenger experiencing flu-like symptoms.

We are scared of this disease not because we are likely to get infected, but because we simply do not know enough about it. We see Ebola everywhere on the news. Given that, it’s hardly a surprise that we begin to see Ebola everywhere around us. Updates on those who have caught it and have possibly spread it to others are plastered all over news entities and social media. However, how often do we read the entire article and feel reassured by the fact that protocols are in place to prevent the spread of Ebola? Although we’re confident the monster will likely never get into the house, we can never completely trust a set of guidelines to stop what we perceive as a raging beast.

Much of this paranoia comes from the age-old fear of the unknown, even more of the creatures that hide in plain sight.

Diseases, especially Ebola, prey on this fear, with their ability to hide in your nearest friends and turn your own body against you without your knowledge. Irrational fears are, in this way, conjured about Ebola; even the slightest notion of its presence sparks panic into the surrounding area.

To conquer our irrational fears, we must flip the switch and reveal the monsters as harmless, or simply nonexistent.

We simply need to educate ourselves and think rationally. Fear is the wool that covers our eyes and alters our perception of the truth. One example is the disproportionately large amount of media attention on Ebola over EV-D68. We rarely hear about EV-D68, so we do not fear it, but we know just enough about Ebola to hide in terror when we’re near it. If we simply took the time to learn more about the disease – its history, symptoms, and possible cures, we could reveal the big, bad wolf as a mere poodle – still dangerous if not handled carefully, but nowhere near the menace we thought it was. It does no harm to be prepared, or overly cautious, but we must not allow fear to control our lives. We must educate ourselves about the things we fear in order to overcome them, and then to realize that perhaps they are not so fearsome after all. ▪ images.google.com

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black wednesday

By Brian Tseng Staff Writer

Mr. President Dear I am writing to inform you of the illogical place-

ment of Black Friday immediately after Thanksgiving.

To remedy this, I propose changing Black Friday to Black Wednesday in a new tradition that is far more reasonable and efficient. Now wait – before you dismiss me as a crazy loon, read what I have to say about the matter.

Thanksgiving is the holiday we celebrate as a day of giving, a day of stuffing your face with turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie while watching football on the television, a day when we’re thankful for all that we have. Is it reasonable that the day immediately after, we camp outside stores for hours on end, fight each other for spots, and trample over each other (and unlucky store employees) in an effort to get the best deals before they run out? I think not. Black Friday makes a mockery out of Thanksgiving.

We cannot truly show our sincerity and gratefulness for what we do have when we nearly injure each other the day after in an effort to get good deals on what we do not have.

This is why it makes much more sense to change Black Friday to Black Wednesday. After we’re done nearly killing each other at stores for amazing bargains, we can celebrate the survival of our loved ones and the arrival of gifts, much like the Pilgrims celebrated the harvest the Native Americans taught them to sow. With discounts on apple pie, cranberry sauce, and Turducken, Thanksgiving would become a far less expensive holiday. For those more adventurous in obtaining the components of Thanksgiving dinner, hunting stores could shoot down the prices for camouflage, shotguns, and ammunition.

After stuffing ourselves full of stuffed turkey, we could relax on comfortable leather sofas (30 percent off) while watching football players decked out in new and discounted gear on a half-priced flat-screen television.

I understand if you have reservations about the matter, given that the day before Thanksgiving is not a holiday.

However, why leave Black Wednesday as a day of work?

Many preparations go into the planning of Thanksgiving, so would it not be best for there to be a day beforehand to shop for nicer table settings, or for that matter, a nicer table? If relatives come over, it’d be far more convenient to clean out the house before Thanksgiving, instead of throwing all the junk into the closet when you hear the door ring. Black Wednesday could be a time to get reacquainted with distant relatives, bonding while designing plans for the most efficient shopping route possible.

“We cannot truly show our sincerity and gratefulness for what we do have when we nearly injure each other the day after in an effort to get good deals on what we do not have.”

To sum up, Black Wednesday, though a radical change, would clearly be a change for the better. No more would we have this hypocritical gratitude for the things we have when we obviously want to buy more.

If we bought all the things we wanted before Thanksgiving, only then we could truly be grateful for the gifts that fortune and department stores have blessed us with. Then everything would make perfect sense – until Christmas that is, but that’s another issue altogether.

Most respectfully,

A Store Employee Who Doesn’t Work on Wednesdays

Trinity Advice

Feature 7

day in the life of:

Mission Man

By Gelsey Plaza Staff Writer

The crowd goes wild as Mission Man races to center stage, embracing the fame and glory that comes with being the school’s brilliant mascot. Mission Man pumps up school spirit and invigorates MSJ’s warrior pride. But what is a typical day like for him when he is not called for duty? Let’s take a peek at a day in the life of Mission Man.

coffee runs

It is that time of the year for the seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte. Of course, just like MSJ students, Mission Man wants to savor this unique holiday flavor; it serves as a satisfying early morning treat before school.

helping peers

By Peter Qiu & Rebecca Wu Staff Writers

The Smoke Signal, in its second installment of advice from students, teachers, and alumni, creates a guide about effective study habits, the definition of good students, and high school relationships.

Mission Man cares for his peers. If he sees a student who needs some assistance, he is more than happy to help.

Effective Study Habits “When you sit down to study always make sure to set a goal for that particular study session. That way you have an endpoint to work towards. Otherwise, you won’t know when you’re going to stop studying because you have no finish line, and not having a defined place to stop makes it extremely easy to get distracted. Studying is like a journey. When you know where you are going you go straight from point A to point B. As opposed to not knowing where you want to go, you might make a pit stop at Facebook or a restroom break at Youtube. Eventually you’ll get there, but what should have taken you a few hours may end up taking you days.”

-Derek Fan, 12

best when Some people work ir work and the on ly on in they plug s, while ulu take out all other stim work in y the en others thrive wh stress at Tre s. on ssi se group study into on ati str fru as a challenge; turn ve ha u yo t tha exhilaration. Know and , int po me so at s to take break worki ng with that you shouldn’t be , if you’re rds no fuel. In other wo hard. rk wo rk, going to wo

ping pong break

What Makes a Good Student?

“I write recommendations for students that I know. I know about their personalities, interests outside of school, and they take the time to converse with me. These students do more than show up and get a grade. They have a social relationship with the teacher in addition to a professional one.”

-Freddy Saldaña, Math Teacher “I think the qualities are the same for both parts of the question. Work hard, pay attention and participate when possible. Hard work is the most important. I’m happier writing a rec. letter for a B student who busts their butt than an A student who slacks. Push yourself, never settle and don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know something.”

-Bill Jeffers, Social Science Teacher

The biggest trait tha t teachers seem to look for is good participation in a stude nt. Even if you are able to get the grade without having to pa rticipate, this won’t help the tea cher get to know you an y better.

Teachers have doze ns of other students asking for recommendation letters, so yo u have to be considerate of that, too.

Lunch is the favorite time of day for many students.

Mission Man needs a break from academics, too. Why not play some Ping-Pong?

workout

High School Relationships college, you’ll be Once you go off to new people and of meeti ng all sorts ntity. The person find ing your own ide mi les differyou are today wi ll be u wi ll be in a yo n ent from the perso akups, just bre of ms few years. In ter heals all wounds. remember that time th experience, and It wi ll get better wi e heartbrea k rie it’s nice to expe nc you are surroundnow when at least d family. ed by your friends an

High school relationships are fine and can be fun! It’s nice to have someone to talk to 24/7 that cares deeply about you. But my advice is to keep the friends you already have #1. It’s never worth it to place a significant other over the rest of your life.”

-Youngjin Yun, Alumnus Class of 2014

It’s time for that after school workout. images.google.com

iphotos by staff writer gelsey plaza

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EPIC MEAL TIME: WHAT TO ORDER? START: POTLUCK

Pretty high. I like hanging out with people like me.

You’re at a potluck. What are the chances that the people around you share your interests?

Very low; I stand out from the crowd. Moreover, I find it fascinating to meet different people and hear their unique perspectives.

Thanksgiving Menu

By Amrith Krishnan & Monica Tang Staff Writers

TREE STREET

There’s no point in eating out unless it’s at a five-star restaurant with your signature steak cut.

VACATION

It’s finally Thanksgiving break, and your parents are planning a vacation. You have the option of going to Italy or Lake Tahoe. Where do you choose to go?

ITALY

STRANDED?

IN N’ OUT In N Out with the buds. There’s nothing like spending some quality time with your best friends.

LEARNING

Learning about the Puritans and their way of life when Wrestling with wild Hitting a coconut tree they first established the animals - might as well at strategic points. Why colonies of 1856 and underput all that weight-liftwaste more energy than stood the social importance ing to use. necessary? of giving thanks for bountiful harvests.

MENU:

ATHLETE

OUTDOORS

Nature Lover Deep Fried Macho Meat Bacon Supreme WHAT IS IT? a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a

THE ATHLETE

WHAT IS IT? a giant deep-fried sourdough cornucopia stuffed with Tofurkey and surrounded by a moat of creamy, cheesy butternut squash soup.

YOU ARE: Inspired by the Hunger Games arena from Catching Fire, this comfort food brings you home to the beauty of Mother Earth. Warmhearted and outdoorsy, you spend your free time traveling and reveling in the delicious scent of fresh air. Who needs friends when you’ve got a herd of animals by your side?

Leaning Tower of Stuffing

WHAT IS IT? the most uniquely fabulous ice cream sundae

THE INDIVIDUALIST

the world has ever seen YOU ARE: With your quirky sense of humor and bubbly attitude, you are a fascinating person to talk to. You refuse to blend in with the crowd and definitely succeed at it. Keep on flaunting your outgoing and daring personality and give people something to admire.

Loaded Quintuple Cheese Mashed Potato Casserole

stuffing, encased in a humongous tortilla wrap to resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa YOU ARE: When it comes to not playing with your food, you are a total rebel. While other people’s Thanksgiving dinner plates usually sport tossed salads and neatly chopped turkey, yours are covered in mashed potato and gravy volcanoes and cauliflower-olive sheep. Artistic and creative, you are passionate about music, photography, drawing, design, etc. and are an all-around fun person to be around.

WHAT IS IT? garlic mashed potatoes decked with five cheeses,

THE GENIUS Pumpkin Fudge Cream Pie

sour cream, green onions, butter, and bacon YOU ARE: This ingenious dish is loaded with the best of the best, just like your brain. Witty and eccentric, you love to debate, solve logic puzzles, and impress the world with your extensive knowledge of SAT vocabulary. Just remember to leave out the sesquipedalian words every once in awhile so that people can get on your level.

Caviar-Stuffed Hors-D’oeuvres WHAT IS IT? caviar-stuffed bruschetta on a bed of deviled

WHAT IS IT? a flaky, golden-crusted pie filled with layers of

the girl/boy nEXT dOOR

pig, covered with layers of bacon and then deep-fried YOU ARE: Hardworking and always out and about, you need some intense Thanksgiving power food to fuel your muscles.

You relish the competitive and fun atmosphere of sports, but are a laid-back and humorous person when out of the spotlight.

Chili Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream in a Frosted Cookie Bowl

WHAT IS IT? a colossal pile of herbed sausage and vegetable

the artIST

G/B NEXT DOOR

The true meaning of Thanksgiving isn’t indoors, but outdoors under the trees shedding their crisp, golden leaves.

genius

Tofurkey Cornucopia with a Butternut Squash Soup Moat

Artist

LOVE & APPRECIATION Expressing our love for people we hold dear and sending our appreciation to fellow human beings.

Now that you know what to order, it’s on to taste-testing!

These five-star dishes speak for themselves.

THE NATUre LOVER

CHIPOTLE

It’s a Friday night and you get to choose The cool Mayan art on the walls is super interesting to look at while eating! the restaurant. Where do you eat?

What is the true meaning of Thanksgiving?

INDIVIDUALIST

COSMOPOLITAN

RAMSEY

LAKE TAHOE You’re stranded on an island.

How do you get your food?

Feature 9

What do you get when you cross Epic Meal Time recipes with a Thanksgiving feast? The Smoke Signal presents this daring cross in a menu that mixes ingenuity and insanity, outrageous enough to satisfy the voracious appetite of any teenager.

You can walk two routes to get to school. One is lined with trees and benches, and is usually quiet during the morning. The other is on the main road, where you usually see your friends drive by.

Which route do you take?

MAIN STREET

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eggs covered in mascarpone cheese YOU ARE: The coarse flavors of a typical Thanksgiving dinner aren’t enough to satisfy your sophisticated palate. When you aren’t sampling fancy dishes, you keep yourself up to date with the latest news and discuss classy topics such as philosophy and literature instead of trivial celebrity gossip.

decadent pumpkin fudge and whipped cream YOU ARE: Reserved and uniform on the outside but charmingly sweet at heart, you are the epitome of a best friend. It is nearly impossible for people to not adore your kind and easygoing personality.

THE COSMOPOLITAN graphics by staff writer hairol ma

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“Great debut performance by the Class of 2018.”

-Siddharth Chittaranjan, 11 “A nice first glimpse, I look forward to watching more. The airbands were great and the skit was entertaining!”

-Lucas Song, 10

re we er s d an eth e airb ut tog esom so r i e p “Th y well ad aw ’re all h r ve they d they 2 d in, 1 an es! An aL h t an mix !” am S e t cu

By Hairol Ma & Annie Tang Staff Writers

MSJ students flocked to the amphitheater on Monday, October 27, where the air was filled with anticipation as the Freshmen Avengers took the center stage. Students crowded onto the grass and sat amongst waving balloons, awaiting the freshmen’s interpretation of Marvel’s popular Avengers movie.

The decorations were sparse and consisted of mostly balloons, but the fresh men still filled the amphitheater and N-Wing with a sea of blue. The stunningly detailed backdrop depicted different characters from the Avengers in what almost seemed like professional brushwork.

Over the years it has proven difficult to paint people on backdrops, but the freshmen did an incredible job, accentuating the features of the Hulk and Iron Man remarkably. Unfortunately, the backdrop was too short to cover the entire mural. A cityscape spanned the N-Wing railway, although it didn’t stand out due to its size.

Despite the backdrop being extremely well done, the rest of the decorations were lacking in quantity and variety.

Initially, the voice-over recordings and actors were out of sync, however the freshmen improved significantly

as the skit progressed. While they didn’t give the other classes equal opportunities to cheer for their respective characters compared to the freshmen’s own class, they did incorporate the Hulk as a unity character to bring the classes together. It was also difficult to identify the sophomore character at first, since the colors on the costume were ambiguous and lacking in yellow. However, the costumes made it easy to recognize characters from the movie. The voice-overs were also very expressive and conveyed proper emotions behind their words. The skit was generally choppy and hard to follow, but it improved towards the end as the plot became clearer. Although the transitions from skit to airband could be cleaner, overall the freshmen pulled off their performance very well. The freshmen made sure to cheer enthusiastically, especially with the help of two fellow classmates who continuously ran up and down in front of the amphitheater to rally the class.

The Class of 2018 presented four coordinated dancing airbands and two singing acts at this year’s

Homecoming. The first singing duo, started off strong, despite the technical difficulties they faced, executing several impressive riffs and capturing the attention of the crowd. After a short and slightly confusing dialogue between the Avengers, the freshmen transitioned smoothly into the boys’ dance, which included a considerable number of members swaying their hips while decked out in tie-dyed shirts and sunglasses.

The other three dancing groups consisted of all girls who participated in various styles of dance. The jazz air band and the hip-hop airband incorporated front walk-overs into their choreography, which were well-received by the crowd. The routines were well practiced and planned out, evident in the freshmen’s synchronization during the dances. The music mixes the freshmen put together were excellent and successfully pumped up the crowd, prompting cheers for each group. The Bollywood airband maintained an energetic atmosphere, although it was significantly longer than the other airbands. Although at times the airbands seemed dragged out and a bit slow, it was understandable due to their brief skit. Overall, the quality of the airbands was very impressive for a first performance.

With a strong performance for their first Homecoming, the freshmen

have left MSJ with much to anticipate for their upcoming years.

photos by staff writers andrew choi, harshita gupta & chakshu hurria

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Centerspread 13

“I absolutely love love LOVED the juniors’ performance today...

Their performance was solid, with fluid transitions, talented actors, amazing airbands, and of course, the great crowd that was extra responsive to the skit.”

-Kristie Chiang, 10

“I felt the sophomore homecoming was really great and they put a lot of effort into it.

I liked the Bollywood the best, because it was really in sync.”

-Matthew Saleem, 11

“The decorations around the amphitheatre simply blew me away. But it wasn’t just that. The actors, the dancers, the singers all did such an incredible job and you can tell each and every one of them put in such a great amount of effort. Class of 2017, you guys killed it.”

-Christina Qian, 9

“I enjoyed watching the skit! The juniors definitely put in a lot of effort into their Homecoming!”

-Sonya Jain, 12

“Overall I thought the juniors did pretty good! I enjoyed it and I’m sure many others did too. I especially liked the choreography for some of the dances... it turned out to be really nice Great job juniors.”

-Karen Zhu, 9

“I liked Bollywood a lot, it made me feel like I wanted to dance!”

-Justin Yue, 11

By Chakshu Hurria & Apoorva Rajanala Staff Writers

Upon arriving on campus on Tuesday morning, students and staff were greeted with a variety of yellow decorations, intermixed with different props from the Despicable Me movies. In the decoration of the campus, which included the intricate transformation of mundane trashcans into fiery minion rockets and regular railings into representations of locations from the movie, the class demonstrated its attention to detail and artistic ability. However, as a whole, the decorations lacked pomp and thoroughness.

Loud and proud, the Class of 2017 cheered and chanted to get the crowd pumped for the upcoming performance. Although the sophomores faced technical difficulties in the beginning of the skit, the singers confidently continued to involve the excited audience in their performance.

The hip-hop dancers lacked power, but the Class of 2017 continued to cheer on their performers.

Once technical difficulties were overcome, the skit began to piece itself together and brought the audience into the tale of the stolen serum, P.X. 17. The drama continued when the sophomore character revealed the location of the serum to a romantic interest, who was secretly affiliated with the Kennedy Titans. The flaring skirts and lively coordination of the Bollywood performers pumped up the crowd, dancing to popular songs from both classic and modern Indian movies. It was clear that even the giant stuffed minion could feel the excitement in the air as it bounced among the sea of bright and spirited sophomores.

Although the skit’s plotline did not focus on unity between the classes for the majority of the performance, it eventually succeeded in promoting camaraderie among classes, as the audience geared up to watch the characters retrieve the stolen P.X. 17. The skit was accentuated by clever props, such as the use of silly string as a weapon against enemies. The high-spirited boys smoothly transitioned into a fight scene, which then continued the skit’s engaging plotline. The segue into the next airband, an unexpected Tahitian ensemble, was smooth and clever; the characters were dancing on the dance floor to complete their mission. Tahitian performers were in sync, although they appeared to lose the interest of the crowd due to some repetitive choreography.

While the sophomores had great spirit, the other classes had little opportunity to show their own class pride.

Implementing the creative, new idea of a K-Pop airband, the Class of 2017 displayed its openness and diversity. Although spearheaded by a dynamic leader who enthusiastically executed the choreography, the rest of the K-Pop dancers were unable to follow in her footsteps. Additionally, the backdrop, although creatively designed, did not place enough emphasis on the skit’s main characters and left the audience squinting to make out its details.

The skit ended with a dance which included all of the Homecoming performers. Even though this dance lacked coordination, the Class of 2017 managed to end its Homecoming performance on a positive note.

Overall, the sophomores needed more energy, but they successfully united to form a lively legion of minions.

photos by staff writers sarina chitre, harshita gupta & neha shah, images.google.com

By Rishab Ramapriyan & Hanson Wang Staff Writers

Streams of black balloons loomed over students as they settled in for the junior Homecoming performance, based on the movie Now You See Me. A large card house formed a tunnel over the walkway connecting the amphitheater to the horseshoe.

Chants of “One six, don’t mess with this!” pervaded the campus as lunch drew nearer and nearer. The juniors’ spirit rose to a crescendo and roared as their skit’s characters took their first steps onto the stage.

The decorations emphasized the usage of the cards in the theme, with packs of cards fanned out into circles and hung from string along with vibrant depictions of cards on the backdrop. Die and boards spelling out “Now You See Me” hung above the audience, with string curiously attached to the bottom of the dice, leading the audience to anticipate what was going to happen. The decorations in general weren’t particularly creative, but they connected with the theme. The Class of 2016 focused more attention on their skit and airbands. “The closer you look, the less you see” was written in large letters on posters hung on the stage, but the closer we looked, the more we saw of a masterful skit by the juniors.

The performance opened up with an energetic singing trio, accompanied by a guitarist, keyboardist, and drummer. Although the keyboard accompaniment overpowered the singers’ voices, the amplitude balance was eventually restored, resulting in a more harmonious sound. The crowd sprang up to dance to the beat as energy radiated through all of the classes. Their unity airband was quite an inspiring touch, incorporating performers from each of the four classes. The juniors pulled off a relatively smooth transition into a high-energy fight scene, featuring highly skilled martial arts performers. The fight scene incorporated numerous elements that sparked cheering from all of the classes. Minutes later, the jazz funk airband captured the attention of the audience with their brilliant moves and upbeat dancing. In a somewhat choppy transition from the skit, the Bollywood airband took the stage and were highly energetic and very well coordinated. Parts of the dance still had a few rough transitions, but overall they pulled off a great performance.

The skit’s plotline followed the tale of four magicians framed for stealing MSJ’s athletic funds. Although the voices were unique and easy to follow, the skit was fragmented at times due to constant interruptions by airbands and awkward transitions between scenes. The ending of the skit was more difficult to understand, as the voice-overs were drowned out by the audience cheering for the previous airbands. However, the acting of the characters was in sync with the voice-overs and kept the skit running smoothly. In all, the skit kept all four classes involved throughout, as the script incorporated many lines that each class cheered for.

The hip-hop airband, ending a great showing by the juniors, featured a great variety of song choices, and the dancers were in sync with the beat of the music. The dance also revealed a surprise opening of the die, where fake money began to fall, contributing to the development of the theme.

The performance finished with a dynamic and spirited urban style dance, which had the audience cheering on their feet. The Class of 2016’s effort into perfecting Homecoming showed as they gave an explosive performance. The airbands were the highlight of the entire performance, showcasing a dynamic variety of skills, music, and dance moves.

At the end of the performance, all of the classes stood up and cheered in unison, showing that the juniors did, indeed, make themselves seen.

photos by staff writers sayan ghosh, harshita gupta & gelsey plaza

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“I liked their skit and their decorations were really nice.

I thought their Bollywood airband was particularly good.”

-Elsie Yi, 11

The Smoke Signal

“Their decorations were very realistic, and you could tell they put a lot of time and effort into it. The airbands were really amazing. I loved how everyone was so coordinated had so much energy, and were really able to pump the crowd up. Overall, the seniors did a great job!”

-Ralphyn Pallikunnath, 10

Friday, November 14, 2014

“I think that since they had more of a literary meaning to the Great Gatsby their decorations made more sense and had more meaning.

I also loved special voice effects and the deep meaning of the skit. I really loved the girls hip hop airband, it got me super excited and pumped up!”

-Kanika Rao, 9

By Chakshu Hurria & Apoorva Rajanala Staff Writers

On October 30, MSJ students walked on campus and were greeted by a scene straight out of the 1920’s, complete with intricate chandeliers and archways. Scattered across the lawn were cardboard cutouts of flappers and dapper men. Along with the well-designed backdrop and overhanging red and white balloons, the Class of 2015 decorations clearly showed off their “1 5 Pride.”

The seniors started off strong with several back-toback singing airbands that had all classes on their feet, clapping along to the beat. As the skit began, the hours of rehearsal were evident as the actors stayed in near-perfect synchronization with their respective voiceovers. The voiceovers themselves were well-executed and extremely creative such as Freshman Tommy’s squeaky yet adorable voice. Moreover, the main characters of the skit proved to be enthusiastic throughout their performance with their exuberant movements, facial expressions, and high-quality costumes.

Senior Nick, along with the three other main characters, embarked on a journey to convince the infamous Jay Gatsby to revive MSJ’s Spirit Rallies, which were connivingly stopped by the Kennedy representative, Daisy.

Although the underclassmen and the juniors did not have much to cheer for, the four classes put aside their differences to unite with Gatsby himself.

The storyline of the skit was easy to follow despite the fact that all sounds was cut off in the middle of the skit. Although the seniors were riled up by this unfortunate event, they took their class spirit to the next level by remaining positive and loud throughout the technical difficulties.

The Class of 2015 also showed their diverse sets of talents throughout their various airbands.

Highlights included both hip-hop airbands, the Bollywood airband, the ballroom airband, and the fight scene. The first hip-hop airband incorporated acting into their choreography, including a short but sweet duet section and plenty of selfie action. The Bollywood airband pumped up the crowd with their exciting music and complex, yet synchronized dancing. The male dancers in the Bollywood airband especially showed off their energetic moves. The ballroom airband featured the dancers in attire that personified their Great Gatsby theme. The girls sported bright red dresses, black heels, and the famous flapper headband, while male dancers wore iconic red suspenders and white collar shirts. The ballroom airband pulled off gravity-defying stunts accompanied by their impressive footwork. The stellar fight scene displayed the intricate, fast-paced choreography and the high level expertise of the martial artists.

Although the airbands were all crowd pleasers, the skit itself seemed short and rushed in comparison. However, the transitions between the short scenes were seamless and efficient. In addition, several airbands were incorporated into the plot and enhanced it.

The seniors ended their last Homecoming performance with a jaw-dropping all-girls hip-hop airband. Not only were the choreography and music energizing, the dancers executed the complex moves flawlessly and closed the performance with a bang. To end the amazing performance, they released red and white confetti, streamers, and balloons into the audience and swarmed onto the amphitheatre stage for one final chant. The Class of 2015 seniors stayed true to the lyric, “a little party never killed nobody.”

photos by staff writers andrew chen, harshita gupta & pratham gupta

Friday, November 14, 2014

The Smoke Signal

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Coping With Stress

Feature 15

By Grace Dong, Harshita Gupta, Iyesha Puri & Annie Tang Staff Writers

High school can often get overwhelming and stressful due to schoolwork, relationships, and the countless pressures teenagers experience. Circular advice like “don’t stress” and “take it easy”, however impractical that may sometimes seem, can be heard around campus all the time — so the Smoke Signal has compiled some tips that are realistic yet simple, and can help alleviate stress on a day-to-day basis for the average MSJ student.

So, what is stress?

The stress response is the body’s way of protecting itself during events that are threatening or that upset bodily balance. When working properly, this response boosts focus, energy, and alertness. However, beyond a certain point, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to long-term health, mood, productivity, relationships, and quality of life. It is important to realize when stress levels are persistent and too high, and to lower these levels in healthy and productive ways.

Family and Friends

Recreation: Music, Art, Reading When feeling stressed, just snuggle in bed and listen to music. Music has a calming effect on the nerves. Combining music with relaxing fragrances lulls the body into a peaceful and restful mood. A fast beat can stimulate brain waves to resonate in sync with the beat, bringing sharper concentration and more alert thinking. An alternative to music is creative expression through art. Creative activity increases serotonin in the brain, which improves mood. When practiced freely and without the pressure of an end result of certain quality, art can lower heart rate and blood pressure and trigger feelings of calm and peace.

Let loved ones in when things get overwhelming, and tell them what is wrong. Let them help, and do not feel pressured into handling everything alone – there are always people who care.

Even if they cannot provide direct help, spending time with other people is one of the best ways to step away from everything going on. Isolating and worrying when stress sets in is letting that stress win — so do the opposite, and do not be controlled by it. Spend time with positive people, laugh, and let loose for a while. Seek out funny friends who are impossible to stay somber around; after all, laughter can be the best de-stressor. Cool off and get back to work with recharged batteries.

Healthy Food

Mindset

Avocados are high in potassium, which lowers blood pressure.

Leafy greens like spinach contain magnesium which helps with headaches and fatigue by balancing the stress hormone, cortisol.

Fish like salmon and tuna have Omega-3 fatty acids, which prevents surges in stress hormones.

Complex carbohydrates like whole wheat bread provide long term energy sources that prompt the production of the feel-good chemical, serotonin.

Low fat and skim milk provide vitamin D, vitamin B, and calcium to relieve tense muscles. Drinking warm milk before bed can lead to a more peaceful slumber due to increased serotonin.

Antioxidant-rich fruits such as raspberries and blueberries are low in calories but help strengthen the immune system against the effects of stress.

Foods to reduce stress

Maintain a regular eating schedule. When there is a mountain of homework left and three exams the next day, it is easy to put off meals, but as a result, metabolism and energy levels suffer. Even if there is no time for a big meal, allot regular time slots throughout the day to eat smaller snacks.

Avoid using food as a stress reducer. Overeating tends to lead to weight gain, and actually causes more feelings of hunger. Snack on hard, crunchy foods instead.

Foods like nuts exercise the jaw muscles to relieve tension and provide short-term calories for energy.

Cut back on caffeine. Caffeine tends to disrupt sleep schedules and lead to more fatigue the next day. Instead of relying on black coffee at 8pm to help push through an all-nighter, try drinking decaffeinated coffees or teas before noon to maximize productivity throughout the day.

Try to keep mealtimes separate from work times. When multitasking, it is difficult to enjoy the meal and easy to overeat. Take a little time to relax while eating to increase efficiency later. Once in a while, enjoy a comfort food such as chocolate, frozen yogurt, or milk tea to relieve stress purely through enjoyment of indulgence.

Counselor’S CORNER: Thoughts on...

Smoke Signal: What would you say to someone who is losing self-confidence in him/herself from a few poor performances on tests or quizzes?

Lindsay Rotter: I would say talk to the teachers. Sometimes the student goes into the test feeling confident and realizes during the test that they don’t know the material or they just blank out. Test anxiety is a real thing. We have tutoring centers here on campus, but I would say talking to the teachers is very important.

SS: Students often invariably compare themselves to their peers, and have a hard time taking it easy. They think, “If someone else is doing it, I should be able to do it too,” and they beat themselves up over not being able to do something. How would you suggest they deal with that?

Lauren Todoroff-Anaya: I think it’s very much easier said than done, but to really just try and focus on yourself, and not worry about what other people are doing.

The most important thing is realizing that what it takes for you to be successful might be completely different from what it takes me or somebody else to be successful. To compare those two realities, is definitely like comparing apples to oranges.

Sleeping and napping SS: Getting the right amount of sleep is something MSJ students constantly struggle with, so how would you advise students to sleep better and make the most out of what they do get?

LR: I think what students really need is a cut-off time. Realistically, students need to go to bed at 10PM; 11PM at the latest. And I know everybody laughs at me when I say this, but to be honest with you, teenagers need at least eight hours of sleep at night. You need to have a cut-off time, and when that 11 o’clock hour comes, you need to tell yourself, “No. Sleep is more important at this point.” Time management is huge. We’re happy to help with that if students want to come in. We have a time management grid that we can work with students on. Sometimes students don’t realize how much time they’re wasting on certain things outside of school, in terms of maybe social media or things that are distracting online when they’re doing research.

SS: How would you suggest that students get better sleep?

LT: First and foremost, I think some MSJ students take naps when they get home. These are students that are staying up until two or three in the morning, and so they come home from school and they’re exhausted. I would recommend avoiding that nap at all costs. It’s actually not good for your brain and your development. If you absolutely have to, you can take a quick 30-minute power nap, maybe 40 minutes at the most, but you should really try to avoid naps at all costs, that’s what counselors recommend. That way, you’re home, taking a quick break, getting right to your homework and getting things done as early as possible so that you’re getting eight or nine hours of sleep. The reason people don’t sleep that well is because they are napping, and they’re disturbing or disrupting their sleep patterns. So, I think avoiding that nap would be huge. Also, you should not be using any technology right before bed, because they say that your brainwaves are too active with the light in your face if you’re on your phone or with the TV in your face. So making sure that you’re doing more calming activities before bed, like reading a book, or something along those lines.

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Friday, November 14, 2014

happening at msj:

50 anniversary th

The Smoke Signal

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T-Swift Shakes It Up

By Adele Shen Staff Writer

A&E

Updates

By Didi Wu Staff Writer

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Not Yet Rated | 12/17/14

Directed by Peter Jackson, the conclusion to the The Hobbit movie trilogy, the Battle of the Five Armies stars Ian McKellen as Gandalf; Martin Freeman as Bilbo; and Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug.

For fans of the original Lord of the Rings (LotR) books and fantasy lovers, this movie is a must-see as it is likely to be the last film adaptation of the LotR series.

By Deeksha Raina Staff Writer

Taylor Swift’s new album, 1989, gives listeners a glimpse into Swift’s life and troubles. Released on October 27, 1989 is Swift’s first official fully pop album. The album takes the listeners through Swift’s mindset on both romance and life.

Through her music, Swift describes her struggles with love and life.

The album opens with “Welcome to New York,” which is symbolic of the whole album. Just as New York is new and full of opportunities for Swift, this album showcases an original side of Swift and teases fans with the new directions her songs seem to be heading. Through this song, Swift emphasizes her recent shift towards pop music as a positive growth.

Swift’s next two songs whisk away the audience to a whirlwind romance. The heavy beats and staccato quality of “Blank Space” highlight the reckless feeling of a fear-

acclaimmag.com

less love. The song segues cleanly into the next one, “Style.” Together, the two songs showcase the happiness of a budding relationship.

Swift later also sings “Wildest Dreams,” a whimsical, breathy song about being remembered by someone special. Swift even has some advice of her own to give to the boys in “How You Get the Girl.”

The relationships take a turn for the worse in “Out of the Woods” and “All You Had To Do Was Stay.”

The former, though a tad repetitive, uses lower tones during the chorus to highlight the seriousness of the dying relationship, while the latter song flies to new heights with the pitch, seemingly representing the panic that comes with ending a relationship. The next song, “Shake It Off,” is the feel-good song of the album. Swift shows us her carefree mentality and fun-loving personality through this upbeat party song.

She metaphorically shakes off the sadness and melancholy attitude

from the previous two songs in the album.

Alas, the good feelings from “Shake It Off ” only last a little while, and soon enough, Swift begins lamenting about her regrets in “I Wish You Would.” The negative ambience continues on in “Bad Blood,” which is, arguably, the most “pop” song on this album.

The topic turns more personal towards the ending of the album.

In the song “I Know Places,” Swift bemoans her lack of privacy and says the paparazzi, “are the hunters, we are the foxes. And we run.” The closing song, “Clean,” is a perfect song to close the album with. This song is about letting go of the past and moving on.

All in all, 1989 proves that Swift’s foray into pop music was the right choice, showher diversity and talent.▪ Rating: A

Interstellar Gets Four Stars

Reach me

PG-13 | 11/21/14

Reach Me, by Director John Herzfeld, is a drama/comedy movie starring Sylvester Stallone and Kyra Sedgwick.

The story revolve­ s around the lives of various people who have been inspired by a former football coach’s self-help book to change their lives for the better.

The VELVET UNDERGROUND

the velvet underground reissue| 11/24/14

To commemorate its 45th anniversary, the American rock band The Velvet Underground will be releasing a super deluxe reissue of their third album. A six-disc set, four discs of the reissue will consist of compilations and mixes of its third and fourth albums. The last two discs are composed of recordings of two concerts the band performed at in 1969.

SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL HIP-HOP DANCEFEST

Palace of Fine Arts Theater | 11/14/14-11/16/14

The DanceFest presents 17 hip-hop groups, both local and international.

The festival is specifically dedicated to recognizing the artistry of hip-hop dances, as dancers attempt to showcase the purest form of hip-hop possible. Since its inception in 1999, the DanceFest has been well-received by many and is highly anticipated.

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comingsoon.net

By Anand Balaji Staff Writer Interstellar, the latest entry in Christopher Nolan’s incredibly successful directorial career, hit theaters worldwide on November 7. Millions of fans had been placing high expectations for this film, expecting it to surpass Nolan’s previous projects like Inception or the Dark Knight. While the special effects and visuals for the movie are undeniably brilliant, a faulty storyline and a hugely unsatisfying final act make it difficult to call Interstellar a great film.

The story begins in the near future when the human population is struggling to survive on Earth after prevalent dust storms and a virus called “Blight” destroy crops and food.

Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), the protagonist, is a former NASA pilot who lives in farm country with his two children Murph (Mackenzie Foy/ Jessica Chastain) and Tom (Timothee Chalamet/Casey Affleck). When Cooper stumbles upon a secret NASA facility, he is convinced by the leader of the project, Professor Brand (Mi-

chael Caine), to embark on a journey through a wormhole to find another hospitable home for human life. Cooper journeys with three other astronauts, leaving behind his children and not knowing when, or if, he is coming back.

The strongest aspects of the film are definitely the special effects and cinematography. Nolan’s directing is getting more refined and the effects in Interstellar are certainly more compelling than any of his previous films.

The sequences of action that take place in space make viewers feel as though they are actually in the cockpit of the spacecraft with the characters.

The scene in which the astronauts enter the wormhole is superbly executed, employing unique camera perspectives and special effects to distort the spacecraft and give the impression that the dimensions are bending. Perhaps the most memorable part of the film occurs when Cooper has to dock his ship to a damaged space station that is spinning out of control. A powerful and dark score by composer Hans Zimmer

highlights the mounting intensity and the chaos of the scene keeps the audience on edge for the whole time.

While the visual techniques pioneered by Nolan are groundbreaking, a weak resolution to a very promising story immensely hurts the quality of the film. The final act of the movie makes an attempt to very quickly explain the solution to an immensely complicated problem and by the time the credits roll, the audience is left scratching their heads in disbelief. The story is just a little too ambitious and the ending messy, leaving several loose ends on the table.

Ultimately, Interstellar is a strong cinematic achievement that successfully translates the experience of space travel onto the big screen that is definitely worth seeing. After watching the film, you can’t help but wonder that if Nolan had been given a better script, Interstellar could have been the masterpiece he was striving for. ▪ Rating: B+

17

‘C’alvin Harris

celebration

Mission Possible PFA is putting together an event for MSJ’s year-long 50th Anniversary celebration on December 2, after Thanksgiving Break.

Principal Zack Larsen came up with this idea and PFA Chair Roshini Kingsley spearheads this project. This event will take place at about 6:00 PM and will consist of a ceremonial lighting of the three legs of the bell tower with thousands of green and white lights and a movie from the ‘60s. People are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets, and there will be refreshments like tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies, as well as pizza for sale. Choir will be singing some holiday songs, and L1 and L2 have been requested to help with publicity and management of the refreshment table. All students are invited. ▪

Arts & Entertainment

By Shivane Sabharwal Staff Writer After his hit single “Summer” dominated the charts during the entire – you guessed it – summer, Calvin Harris released his fourth studio album, Motion, to keep the party going.

From the start, it seems that this album is going to be no different than his previous works, full of electronic dance beats, synthesizers, and a single phrase repeated multiple times to create the chorus. It’s almost as if the same song is being repeated 15 times. Motion would be even more repetitive were it not for some of its features. Rapper Big Sean drops a couple of verses on “Open Wide,” Ellie Goulding lends her vocals to “Outside,” and alternative rock band HAIM adds their own touch to “Pray to God.” These well-known artists provide the much-needed variety to Motion, but the songs still employ the same formulaic electronic buildup before exploding into a torrent of synth beats and bass. The single exception to this structure is “Ecstasy,” a slower track that is complimented by a guitar rather than computer-generated electronic beats. The song is out of place juxtaposed next to his other tracks, and it seems that Harris was trying to show how “the state of ecstasy” is divorced from the feeling his club beats produce.

Although Harris is a producer known for his beats rather than the vocals of his tracks, it’s worth noting that he can also carry a tune. His hit single “Summer” might be formulaic, but his voice is a fitting complement to the instrumental. The rest of the tracks like “Under Control” and “Outside” feature the same soul-searching, mawkish vocals that are more like fillers to provide separation between the beat drops, rather than contributions to the actual song.

The lyrical quality is mediocre at best, given that the lyrics do not actually contribute substantively to the song.

Thus, the album consists of, for the most part, ready-to-please radio wonders that may be played at a wild night at the club. But given that Calvin Harris earned a record $66 million last year, we can’t blame him for producing what the public has come to love. The album’s overwhelming orthodoxy suppresses the occasional creative element in the album like “Burnin’,” a song that isn’t accompanied by the usual soul-searching, distant vocals that are present in most tracks of Motion.

Overall, Harris produced an album perfect for a house party or a club. The songs themselves are crowd pleasers that would have been better off released as radio singles rather than bundled into a single, largely unimpressive LP. ▪ Rating: C

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allmusic.com

18 Arts & Entertainment

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, November 14, 2014

By Purvi Goel, Tanvi Raja, & Pratham Gupta Staff Writers

For ages, desperate fans have struggled to find something to fill the void in their hearts caused by the absence of the world of Harry Potter. Thankfully, her highness J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. have recently announced the new movie trilogy Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (FBAWTFT), the first of which will be released on November 18, 2016. Taking place almost 70 years before Harry attends Hogwarts, FBAWTFT follows the adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York’s secret community of witches and wizards. Join the Smoke Signal as we guide you through everything you need to know before what is sure to be a monumental event.

Readers were first introduced to FBAWTFT in the Harry Potter series as the name of the textbook for the Care of Magical Creatures class.

In 2001, Rowling wrote the book under the pseudonym Newt Scamander, the protagonist in the film adaptations, for the Comic Relief Charity. A supplement to the Potter universe, it is covered with hand-written comments by Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley and includes a foreword from Albus Dumbledore.

Newt Scamander (protagonist), born in 1897, was a magizoologist who worked for the Ministry of

Magic in the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. His contributions to Magizoology earned him an Order of Merlin, Second Class in 1979, similar to a Nobel Peace Prize in the Muggle world. Scamander has a grandson named Rolf, who married Luna Lovegood. Currently, he is said to be living in Dorset, England with his wife.

There are still two years left before FBAWTFT comes out, but information is already starting to drip onto the Internet. Here’s what we know so far.

Director David Yates, well known in the Potter universe for helming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows Part 1 and Part 2, will be returning to direct the film.

He previously won the Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing for his work on Harry Potter and we can thank him for adding the more sinister edge to the final films. If he keeps up that trend, we might predict a somewhat dark, mature FBAWTFT.

David Heyman, who produced the eight Harry Potter movies, is returning to produce this trilogy. Heyman is lauded for adapting the books into movies that stayed, for the most part, true to their source material. We can expect that he’ll bring the same wit, charm, and Potter-flair to this project, and he’ll stick to Rowling’s story. Our Potter universe is safe in his experienced hands.

J.K. Rowling is trying her hand at screenwriting, following a successful tryst into writing crime novels and adult fiction. She’ll be writing all three screenplays for the adaptation. She recently tweeted the hint:

“Cry, foe! Run amok! Fa awry! My wand won’t tolerate this nonsense.”

The words are an anagram that spell out: “Newt Scamander only meant to stay in New York for a few hours.” Is the film set in New York? Or is New York just the locale for one of Scamander’s quests? Only time will tell.

We hope the Smoke Signal gave you a proper introduction to this new addition to the Harry Potter series. While we don’t have any Time Turners to lessen the dreaded wait, join us in grabbing our wands, fastening our cloaks, and counting down the remaining 732 days until FBAWTFT hits the big screen!

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Friday, November 14, 2014

The Smoke Signal

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Arts & Entertainment

19

By Andrew Choi, Hairol Ma, & Deeksha Raina Staff Writers

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20 Sports

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, November 14, 2014

bringing you our ‘a’ game wong

By Abigail Wong Sports Editor

our standard of justice is tarnished...

We can’t help but be enamored by the glorious victory laps, the rousing postgame interviews, and the talk show flattery that accompanies our love of professional sports. However, the heightened status of renowned athletes is the degradation of civil justice in our society.

Pardons from die-hard fans and excuses from esteemed organizations are integral ingredients in the social poison. The acceptance and even glorification of athletes’ criminal behaviors are results of the idolization of professional athletes.

Hope Solo’s captain armband didn’t seem to weigh her down when she increased her shutout record to 76 in a 3-0 win against Mexico on October 27, nine days before she was tried for two counts of fourth-degree domestic violence. Solo was an alleged instigator of assault against her nephew and sister, leaving them with face and head injuries. For the US women’s soccer team to allow her to be a national representative after being accused is a disgrace to our concept of justice. Even though there has been no definitive judgement in court, her presence can be interpreted as a flexibility toward the accused, one that defies the laws’ role to protect the people.

nbcnews.com

Oscar Pistorius on trial for the death of Reeva Steenkamp, his late girlfriend.

Oscar Pistorius was once a household name and in fact still is but for vastly different reasons. Pistorius, the first ever double-amputee sprinter to compete in the Olympics, was accused of culpable homicide and sentenced to five years in prison, a much lighter weight to carry than potential murder charges. Many South African authorities have outwardly expressed their dismay, stating that Judge Masipa incorrectly applied the law. Fame has become a shield, protecting not only famous athletes’ reputations but their fervent supporters’ esteem.

The glorification of criminal activity has also gained dangerous popularity. On a recent ESPN report, Keith Olbermann showed Halloween costume pictures of children and men in Ray Rice’s jersey, grabbing the hair of a female doll referring to Janay Rice, Ray Rice’s wife whom he had assaulted in an elevator in September of this year. One photo even included a woman wearing Rice’s jersey with a black eye. The insensitive sense of heroism in domestic violence portrayed by these sports fans is vile, and sick humor is not an excuse.

We naturally support what we believe is noble and dismiss what we believe is dishonorable. This mindset, whatever merits it may bring to one’s self confidence or social status, is the basis of inappropriate loyalty to famous professional athletes who have committed serious crimes. However, to prove that an athlete would have been convicted of a greater crime if judged by a blind standard and to eliminate society’s careless glorification of crime is still not a clear-cut task. It involves a straining effort from all people of all walks of life, but for the sake of the true victims of delinquency, may we help lift their heavy burden. ▪

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versus

patankar

By Arti Patankar Sports Editor

we are spectators and fans, not judges...

In light of the recent scandals in the NFL involving domestic abuse and violence, there has been an understandable uproar in the sports community. Because of their lifestyle in the spotlight, a famous athlete’s every move is scrutinized - for example, when Philadelphia Eagles running back, LeSean McCoy, left a small tip at a restaurant, people demanded an explanation. It seems trivial to chide a player over a tip and this instance brings up an important issue – who are we, sports fans and spectators, to think that we are in the position to judge and condemn athletes?

As a Kobe Bryant fan, I seem to hear the same statement again and again. “He should be in prison,” critics hiss. “He is a rapist.” But if they don’t know the whole story, how can they decide whether or not he should have been convicted?

Our fixation with athletes’ lives comes in part from the selective information that inundates our lives. Media explode in a frantic frenzy whenever an athlete does anything, thus intensifying our obsession with judging celebrities of every kind. We tend to join a bandwagon of, “Did you hear [insert famous athlete’s name] did that?” More often than not, these trifling statements seem to be about a player’s personal life off the court or field.

When more serious accusations are thrown into the equation, we demand action.

And while this sentiment may be justified, as in the case of the NFL scandals, we need to consider the implications of our notions. We can be conscientious advocates for justice but we should not expect to make decisions regarding consequences. That should be left to the courts.

Take the case of Brian Banks. Banks was a linebacker in high school about a decade ago. He was being scouted by colleges and it looked like he had a bright future ahead. But Banks’s life took a startling turn when one of his female classmates accused him of kidnapping and raping her. He was expelled from high school, his prospects of going to college were destroyed, and he sat behind bars for five years. After he was released from prison, he met up with his accuser at her request and managed to get a recording of her admitting that he did not kidnap or rape her. And finally, after years of battle, Banks was exonerated.

latimes.com

Brian Banks was exonerated in 2012 after being accused of kidnapping and rape.

Banks’s story puts things in startling perspective. There is no doubt that our justice system is capable of taking action, but even that action may seem unfounded and unfair.

Before we make any rash evaluations based on the limited information we have, let’s step back and reconsider. When we hear about athletes committing heinous crimes, we can voice our dissent. We can and should expect better. But this doesn’t mean that we get to choose their fate. Let’s leave the decisions up to evidence and context. Let’s leave legal justice to the courts. ▪

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Sports 21

Unique Ways to Get FIT Your body is a shrine. Whether you’re a freshman, a senior, or a senior citizen, keeping this shrine in tip-top shape should be a primary goal of yours. It doesn’t matter if you want to make massive gains and become a hunk of muscle or if you dream of the day when you have a toned body, nothing is impossible with the right motivation.

If you want to get buff but don’t have weights at home or access to a gym, don’t worry. You can use water cans or fill some empty milk cans with water and use them as free weights!

Let’s say you’re a gamer. Let’s say exercise requires an ungodly amount of motivation, and life just seems much better in front of the computer, often for hours on end. There’s no reason why exercise and gaming can’t mesh together to form a beautiful paragon of physical fitness. Use the game as motivation to exercise. Stephen “Snoopeh” Ellis, a professional League of Legends player, combined the two perfectly in “Get Fit with Snoopeh”, where he did ten pushups for every in-game death. Judging from his fitness, we believe that this is a legitimate source of motivation to at least jump start your road to exercising. When you notice improvement in-game, increase the amount of exercise per failure. Now, regardless of how you fare in-game, you’ll definitely improve in real life.

By Santhosh Paramasivan & Peter Qiu Staff Writers

Exercise may seem monotonous, but the Smoke Signal has compiled some unique ways to get and stay in shape.

If you believe greenleafed vegetables, clean carbs, and healthy protein are the kryptonite that hinders your superman body, we recommend that you try visualizing the very nature of eating in order to motivate yourself to maintain a healthy diet. Remember that your digestive system is a veritable monster of acids, muscles, and calcium enhanced crushing tools.

A round of Dance Dance Revolution or Twister can make you lose all of those calories you gained from the pumpkin pie earlier in the day. What’s even better is that you’ll be having so much fun and sweating just as much as you did from the pushups, but you won’t have sore triceps the next morning.

Even if you don’t own such games, you might have some favorite music you’d like to secretly dance to in your room.

You could read the Iliad while planking or curl the AP Chem textbook while studying! Thetis may have forgotten to dip all of Achilles in the river Styx, but Achilles didn’t forget to do his dips. When he was sulking with Patroclus, he didn’t sit around all day doing nothing. You can bet that he was getting to demigod levels of strength and arm wrestling river gods.

Staying in shape may be a daunting goal, but like hiking up a mountain, you start from the bottom and have to work your way up. Similarly, getting fit shouldn’t be intimidating because of the final goal, as you should break this goal into small steps.

homecoming game coverage

By Anand Balaji Staff Writer

After a week of spirit and celebration, MSJ students gathered on October 31 at the brightly lit Tak Fudenna Memorial Stadium to watch the annual Homecoming game. There was a sizeable turnout on the MSJ side of the stadium with the MSJ Marching Band, Color Guard, Cheer Squad, and roughly 80 spectators all ready to support the Warriors. Though the crowd cheered loudly throughout the evening to invigorate the Warriors, the final score was still a definitive 14-69 in favor of Kennedy High School.

While the spectators had high ambitions for the team, the MSJ’s past performance during the season indicated that the game was going to be an uphill battle. The Kennedy Titans were the leaders in the Mission Valley Athletics League (MVAL) with a 4-0 record going into the Homecoming game while MSJ was ranked sixth out of seven teams with just one league win.

In the early minutes, Kennedy dominated the game with a quick touchdown after just six minutes of gameplay. This was followed by a strong MSJ drive with first down catches by Juniors Adil Bari and Elliot Tu. However, at less than 10 yards to Kennedy’s end zone, MSJ fumbled the ball and the Titans quickly followed up with their second touchdown and two-point conversion to make the score 0-16. MSJ quickly turned the tide of the game however, when Senior Raymon Mays made a 20-yard catch to score MSJ’s first touchdown of the evening. This was followed by an excellently executed trick play where Junior Hansie Ponnikannan set up for a kick before Senior Jake Walters took the ball

and threw it to Bari for a two-point conversion.

The second quarter started with an onside kick

by MSJ that invigorated the crowd and gave possession back to the Warriors. The rest of the first half, however, was plagued with fumbles, incomplete passes, and missed tackles that ultimately left the score at 8-48 at halftime.

During halftime, Homecoming Court entered the stadium in horse drawn carriages accompanied by their parents. The new queen, Senior Mansi Shah, and new king, Senior Dustin Chiang, were crowned. After the presentation, MSJ struggled to shorten the lead in the third quarter. The Titans had two touchdowns that widened the gap to 8-62. However, with just minutes left in the quarter, Mays caught an incredible 60-yard pass from Walters to put MSJ’s final touchdown on the scoreboard. The fourth quarter saw one more touchdown for the Titans finishing the game at 14-69.

While the Warrior’s offensive and defensive play was full of missed opportunities and unfortunate errors, there were moments of brilliance by MSJ and the perseverance and determination of the players throughout the game was undeniable.

When asked about the game, Walters said, “We came out of the gates driving the ball down the field but shot ourselves in the foot a few times when we had opportunities to score or gain momentum. Overall we could have played better but there was no quit in our team.” Senior Ainsley McClure agreed saying, “When this team … focuses on how to make up for these mistakes, we will be a team who can compete with just about anybody.” ▪

photos by staff writer harshita gupta

22 Sports

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Girls' Volleyball Game Coverage The Varsity MSJ Girls’ Volleyball team added another win to their undefeated record this season after an intense match against Newark Memorial High School. After a few tough losses in tournaments played in the beginning of the season, the Warriors picked up the heat and have remained undefeated in league: a feat that no other girls’ team in the league has been able to accomplish. The Newark vs. Mission game, played on October 28, displayed the Warriors’ powerful game play this season.

Junior Yvonne Chen said, “ The first set was good. We were a bit nervous to play against them [Newark Memorial High School], because they had a strong offense, but we kept our composure and believed in our abilities to work together as a team. We were up most of the time, but that didn’t stop us from pushing for points. I think our momentum from our first set led us to win the whole game.” The first set ended 25-19, with MSJ stealing the win with a substantial lead.

to a stable 5-5. Sophomore Cynthia Zhang lightly hit the ball over the net in a hole left by the Newark Cougars, a strategic play that demonstrated the Warriors’ ability to think on their feet. Freshman Michelle Zhang came back in at the second time out and was able to bring the score to game point with MSJ in the lead. The Warriors took the win with 25-24, a very close set that left spectators on the edge of the bleachers.­­

Friday, November 14, 2014

By Sarina Chitre Staff Writer

Yvonne saved us in game three and game four and gave us those big leads with her amazing serves. Adrienne and Vicki were our two go-to hitters tonight and they [Newark Memorial High School] couldn’t stop them.”

Petersen, who is a team captain, said, “We are finally going to be able to go to NCS. Out of the four years that I’ve been here on Varsity we haven’t been able to do that and it’s super exciting and I’m thrilled to keep playing with my team.”

Star hitter, Tong, said, “We focus a lot on teamwork, and I think we have a very high skill level this year so we are aiming for NCS.”

Warriors attempt to spike the ball over the net against Cougar defense.

MSJ players await a serve from Newark.

The Cougars started the second set off strong with a few notable spikes, however, the Warriors were able to bring it back and get the score to a tie at 7-7. Senior Vicki Petersen and Sophomore Isis Chu hit strong attacks that the Cougars were unable to block. Newark called for their first timeout at 11-7, and came back strong after regrouping, tying the score 13-13. Petersen made an impressive, cross-court spike, and Freshman Adrienne Tong hit a noteworthy attack, yet the Warriors were still down by two. MSJ called their first timeout at 23-21, and unfortunately, they lost this set by two points.

The Cougars took the win on the second set of the game with 25-23.

The Cougars started the third set off with a two point lead. With Chu on the quick set, the game was brought back

Finally, the last set of the game began. A win for the Cougars in this set would lead to a fifth game, while a win for the Warriors would mean MSJ would take home the gold. With MSJ in the lead, Chen came in and hit powerful running-start serves for the entirety of the set.

Continuously impressive serves, sets, and spikes brought MSJ to an outstanding 14-7 lead. With Tong in for the spike, and the Warriors packing some serious heat, the Cougars took a timeout to figure out new tactics to fight back with.

MSJ exemplified their skills at working together efficiently with a strong set and Tong going in for the attack. The Cougars tried to block the attack and counteract the effect by forming a “roof ” with their palms, but had no luck as the ball soared over them and hit the floor. The Cougars managed to get three more points in, but there was no competition for the Warriors at 24-10. At 25-11, MSJ not only stole the win on the fourth set, but on the whole game, leaving them 11-0 undefeated in league.

Girls’ Volleyball coach, Coach Donald Hui, said, “ Now that we are playing every team the second time around, everyone’s playing twice as hard and it’s getting harder for us to earn our wins but we are still coming out on top. I can be pretty hard on these girls and even if I yell at them, they know what to change and what to do. Yvonne came huge today;

MSJ Girls’ Volleyball cheers after winning a point.

The MSJ Girls’ Volleyball team is a force to reckon with.

After beating Kennedy High School on November 6, they are officially undefeated MVAL champions and will be heading to NCS. The team has been unstoppable this season, and they are definitely making all of MSJ proud. ▪

MSJ acknowledges Newark Memorial after a win in four sets, continuing its undefeated streak. photos by staff writer sarina chitre

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photos by staff writers kylie cheung, harshita gupta, rishab ramapriyan, shivane sabharwal, neha shah & ruiwen shen

24 Special

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Friday, November 14, 2014

By Grace Dong, Hairol Ma, Monica Tang & Didi Wu Staff Writers

1965

1

1964

first homecoming court

MSJ was founded

The football team won, of course, we screamed ourThe first documented selves hoarse.

Homecoming court was in 1965. At - Sharon Gellerman Murphy, Class of 1974 that time, there were official coronation procedures in which the selected Homecoming One of my favorite years was when we Queen, Varsity Princess, and Frosh-Soph Princess dressed up in togas our senior year and did our skit/dance to [the song] dressed in formal attire and received their crowns.

“Shout” [by] Animal House (1978). I Instead of a Homecoming King, a “Mr. Mission” was crowned am not sure that was a tradition then. We were just going with alongside the Queen. The coronation was followed by a coronation our theme. Our class would ball, a more formal version of today’s Homecoming dance. practice and practice. We would all spend the night 1965 Homecoming Queen Mary Pyzer at someone’s house the night before our big In 1968, individual classes day.

- Sherri Hicks, built floats, which were judged Class of 1984 during MSJ’s Homecoming parade which stretched from MSJ to Washington High School.

Feeling the effects of Homecoming withdrawal? Never fear; in this issue of the 50th Anniversary series, the Smoke Signal brings back the events of Homecomings past! These photos capture how Homecoming has changed and grown throughout the decades.

1 first rallies

1967

Official Homecoming festivities first took place during the 1967-68 school year at the end of October. Throughout the week, each class showed their spirit with class rallies and decorated the campus with colorful posters. Students held lighthearted fundraising competitions such as the “Gorgeous Gams” contest, in which students voted for the male student with the best legs. On Friday, the student body gathered for an all-school Homecoming assembly, where each class presented their short skit to conclude Homecoming week. Juniors chant “Juniors are Dynamite”

1

first airbands

"

I was The Rally Commissioner for the Class of 71 and we had the first night time rally at MSJ. It was a blast. Great years with wonderful memories.

- Nancy Faria, Class of 1971

1968 Students showcase their floats.

1

From the 1960s to 1980s, Homecoming was mostly about the skit and decorations, but in 1988-89 school year, the first Homecoming airbands were incorporated into class skits. Airbands included dances and musical performances, which often featured students lip syncing to popular songs.

Junior dancers with a “time travel” theme strike

1

1986

first green & White assembly

Although the earliest all-school Homecoming rally took place in 1974, it was not until 1986 that the first official Green and White Assembly was held. At the assembly, various spirit teams, such as the Letter Girls and Varsity Cheerleaders, performed to get the crowd pumped up before the football team made an appearance.

at their class rally.

1988

MSJ Letter Girls perform at the rally.

In 1990, MSJ had its first all-school outdoor spirit rally. Classes chanted, “We’ve got spirit! Yes we do! We’ve got spirit. Yaba daba do!”

a finishing pose.

New Regulations

"

1993

The 1993-94 school year brought many changes. New regulations, such as the creation of a parent committee and written guidelines for skits and airbands, were imposed to promote appropriate behavior. Other changes included implementing extended lunch periods for Homecoming activities, giving each class a day of the week to perform, and moving all performances from the gym to the amphitheater.

Juniors dance to “Macho Men” in the first outdoor Homecoming performance.

1990

"

first floats

First Outdoor Rally

1

Students enthusiastically show their spirit.

1997

Floats Are Banned

The “Safari Sophomores” float is one of the last to be made for Homecoming, since floats were permanently removed after 1997, when one float caught on fire.

The Safari Sophomores win first place.

2013

We used to build floats. It took up a lot of time and was a bit stressful but it was really cool to see the finished product. I always liked it because it was like a giant arts and crafts project.

- Erin LaMoyne, Class of 1999

pre-recorded voiceovers

Characters for their respective classes have always elicited loud, seemingly nonstop cheers from each class. Because this often resulted in prolonged performances, prerecorded voiceovers replaced live voiceovers in the 2013-14 school year.

1

Homecoming as we know it 2014

2014 is the first year MSJ returned to its tradition

Homecoming was definitely the highlight of each year. I remember my senior year, every corner of campus was The Wreck-it Ralph Sophomores perform decorated, and there wasn’t a single wing their skit using pre-recorded voice-overs. that wasn’t completely covered in red. We were also one of the last years to be allowed to have a senior lounge, which was especially awesome. It was the one day we were allowed, as seniors, to assert our dominance! In all seriousness, homecoming was all about building class spirit, and through the various restrictions that have been put into place, I don’t think homecoming is the same.

- Vikram Paranjpe, Class of 2009

of an outdoor, all-school Kickoff Rally.

I’ve come to realize that homecoming at MSJ was really a unique experience that brought the whole school together. I loved every part of it, from preparing for the Tahitian airband to the homecoming dance at the end of the week. Really, nothing can compare. I’ve never felt such a sense of community before, even until now. I wish I could go back to MSJ just for the memories of homecoming!”

- Stephenie Yuan, Class of 2011

"

MSJ’s student body gathers on October 24 for the Kickoff Rally in the amphitheatre.

courtesy of costanoan yearbook, coverage led by staff writers grace dong & hairol ma, layout by staff writer grace dong and opinion editors alice cheng & catherine wang