Volume LII, No. 2 by The Smoke Signal

MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL

VOL. 52, NO. 2

October 21, 2016

41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539

Investigative Report: Environmental Efficiency By Hannah Chou, Joelle Chuang, Katherine Guo & Andrew Kan Staff Writers With looming threats of global warming, growing landfills, and pollution, MSJ has in recent years made strides towards reducing its environmental impact. However, there is still a ways to go. Responses from a student survey show that 76.8 percent of students feel that MSJ is either environmentally friendly in only some areas or not at all, yet 62.1 percent of students feel that it is very important for MSJ to be environmentally friendly. In this investigative report, the Smoke Signal researches what eco-friendly actions students practice and discusses the measures that can be taken to steer MSJ onto the path of becoming more environmentally efficient. Statistics were taken from a cluster sampling survey of students on October 4. The Smoke Signal went to a mix of College Prep and Honors English classes, three classes per grade, to gather a total of 310 responses.

Clubs

Several clubs, each serving the school and community in a different way, contribute to environmental friendliness at MSJ. MSJ Green Club tends the school gardens and promotes sustainable practices during their club’s bi-weekly meetings. MSJ Re-Crayon has partnered with non-profit organization Crayon Initiative and collects used crayon stubs and educates elementary school students about the environment. Last year, they recycled 11 pounds of crayons, and this year, they have already obtained seven pounds of crayons. MSJ Sustainable Science and Technology analyzes how technology can be used for sustainable practices and uses that information to build school projects. According to the clubs, water usage, electricity usage, and student awareness are MSJ’s most pressing issues regarding the environment. MSJ Green Club President Anjana Chandran said, “I believe in getting everyone involved as much as possible because you never know who may have that special spark of change and make a difference.”

Paper Consumption

Nearly half of students think that paper consumption is the most urgent eco-related issue MSJ should improve on. According to Grade Level Secretary Jennifer Schneider, MSJ goes through eight cases of paper each week, with each case containing 5,000 sheets. Teachers and administrators use some of the reams, and the rest are used in the copy center. The paper usage fluctuates depending on the time of year; at the start and end of each year and semester, usage goes up. With the price of black ink at around five cents a page, according to www.qualitylogic.com. MSJ spends around $72,000 annually on ink alone. According to a survey conducted by the Smoke Signal, more than 35.5 percent of students use between 16 and 30 sheets of binder and copy paper each week, and 25 percent use more than 30 sheets a week. However, there are many ways for students to reduce the amount of paper they use. For example, using digital copies of handouts, printing double-sided, and using better printers are all ways that MSJ can reduce its paper and ink consumption. Last year, MPPFA installed automatic hand dryers in several of the bathrooms. These hand dryers have lessened the need for paper towels, but more hand dryers can still be installed.

Number of Students

How many sheets of paper do you use per week?

Recycling MSJ implemented a new recycling program in 2012 in which more recycling bins were placed around the school and in classrooms to promote mindful disposing. More recently, the trash cans have been changed into three-way bins, with one compartment for trash, one for recycling, and one for compost and organic material. Responses from the survey the Smoke Signal conducted show that currently, 84.4 percent of students say they recycle the majority of the time. However, Assistant Principal Jeana Nightengale believes that the How three-way bins have not been entirely effective. often do “The only issue is that sometimes the students you recycle? may not know [how to compost or recycle],” she said. She hopes to better enforce the importance of eco-friendliness as the year progresses, and said, “I think students educating students is the best way for these types of things because even though we adults can do it, they don’t really listen to us.”

Electricity Usage

Electricity is the costliest utility, and the amount used depends on the time of year. According to FUSD Energy Conservation Supervisor Matt McClain, MSJ averages 369,086.4 megajoules (MJ), or $13,328, per month during hotter months, and 18,486.9 MJ, or $667, per month during cooler months. On the other hand, after analyzing statistics from XCel Energy and the CA Department of Education, the Smoke Signal found that the average US school spends $25,038 on electricity monthly. According to the US Department of Energy, around 46 percent of electricity In what area do in schools is used for space heating, 20 percent for water heating, 19 percent for you think MSJ should lighting, six percent for cooling, and nine percent for other uses. improve the most to become Exterior lighting is turned on from 5 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily. Though more environmentally friendly? most of MSJ still uses fluorescent light bulbs for classrooms, incandescent light bulbs for closets, and high-pressure sodium light bulbs for exterior lighting, the district has started to replace these light bulbs with lightemitting diodes (LEDs), which save more energy. MSJ has also collaborated with Pacific Gas and Electric Company to make an automated demand response program in which MSJ can reduce its electricity usage on demand. MSJ Sustainable Science and Technology is currently working with FUSD to replace the current light bulbs with LED ones.

369,086.4

Water Usage In recent years, MSJ has vastly improved its daily water consumption, which reaches a peak during July, August, and September. The school used an average of 25,503 gallons a day during 2015, down from 46,352 gallons a day during 2013. According to the Southwest Florida Water Management District and US Geological Survey, the average school uses 22,284 gallons of water a day, and the average person uses between 80 and 100 gallons of water a day. Steps have been taken to reduce the amount of water MSJ consumes and lower the

school’s influence on the CA drought. Two new water fountains, one in the gym quad and the other in the bell tower quad, were installed in 2015. Each fountain provides a water dispenser for students to refill their water bottles. The new fountains serve to limit the amount of waste produced from disposing plastic bottles and possible leakages from the old fountains. Last year, MSJ Sustainable Science and Technology also planned to install low-flow toilets, which, according to FUSD, could potentially save at least 200,000 gallons of water annually. However, their plans have not been implemented yet, and the project remains a possibility for future years.

MSJ spends

MSJ uses MJ during hot months and MJ during cold months

18,486.9

$667 to 13,328 per month on electricity. The average American school spends $25,038 per month.

Campus Greenery

Last year, MSJ re-landscaped the area next to Palm Avenue, by a generous grant from the Park family, with drought-tolerant plants and reduced irrigation to its 588,065 square feet of fields, according to an issue by the Smoke Signal from last year. Assistant Principal Jeana Nightengale said that MSJ is lucky to have so much greenery on campus. “You guys have a really nice campus, [and] you guys have a lot of greenery, unlike American [High School],” Nightengale said. “I think you guys have the most greenery around. And actually, if you notice, a lot of the plants are drought-tolerant.” The drought-tolerant plants reduced the amount of water and care MSJ had to provide for the original vegetation, thus making MSJ more eco-friendly in this particular area.

GRAPHICS BY CLIPART-FINDER.COM, DNBOBCAT.COM, HP.COM, CLIPARTPANDA.COM, COLONIALHEIGHTSVA.GOV, PIKTOCHART.COM

BLOOD DRIVE RESULT

The recent Fall Blood Drive was a massive success, as nearly 100 students and teachers volunteered to donate enough blood to impact more than 240 patients. Read to find out more about the results of this event!

MORE THAN A DISTRACTION BOARD MEETING

As part of the dress code protest, students who organized the event presented at the FUSD board meeting. Check this out to learn about what happened during the meeting.

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, October 21, 2016

FUSD passes suicide prevention policies and creates Student Stress Committee FUSD creates new policies to address mental health By Stephanie Dutra & Anagha Mandayam Staff Writers FUSD addressed the topic of suicide prevention in the district with the recent establishment of the Suicide Prevention Policy on September 14. The new policy deals with the prevention and aftermath of suicide and educates teachers about the warning signs in hopes to reduce suicidal behavior amongst students. Additionally, the Student Support Services department is putting together a Student Stress Committee to support the wellbeing of the community. Greg Bailey, the head of FUSD Student Support Services, helped establish the new Student Stress Committee, which consists of students, parents, and teachers from across the district. The district used to have a large wellness committee which focused on eight different topics that were addressed throughout the school year. However, the staff at the Student Support Services office felt that a topic as broad as student stress needed to be addressed on its own, apart from the seven other components. The committee will be broken down further into two groups: elementary and secondary. This way, committee members can address the issues related to stress for stu-

dents of different grade levels accordingly. Bailey said, “Initially, [what] we’re looking at is breaking it down into two committees; one secondary and one elementary to really focus on the concerns that the committee has. And then bringing it to the board and senior management’s attention, and really we want [to] have an action plan with this to see how we can best serve students.” Various on-campus organizations work to alleviate student-stress and transform the campus into a more positive environment for students. For example, Best Foot Forward pairs up new students with a mentor to help them have a smooth transition into MSJ. A large amount of stress that new students have is due to the difficulties of adjusting to a new school. The organization pairs up the students in order to eliminate the feeling of being an outsider. Best Foot Forward President Senior Akshita Gandra said, “[It] helps a lot in terms of reducing stress by just making the campus a lot more supportive towards new students.” Senior Vivika Fernes is on the Leadership Team for Peer Resource, an on-campus class that lends a helping hand to students. Fernes said, “I think

All-girls robotics breaks barriers FRC Team 1868 Space Cookies recieved second place at tournament By Heather Gan & Hana Sheikh Staff Writers Juniors Claire Yung, Gaurisha Dewan, and Alyssa Zhu finished in second place at the Chezy Champs 2016 Tournament from September 24 to 25 as members of FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 1868 Space Cookies. Chezy Champs is an annual off-season tournament for teams on

the west coast hosted by FRC Team 254 Cheesy Poofs at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose. In the course of two days, 43 teams competed in qualifying matches, and the top eight teams became alliance leads. During the alliance selection,

FRC Team 1868 Space Cookies’ robot performs a task at the Chezy Champs tournament.

COURTESY CLAIRE YUNG

STAFFF WRITER GLORIA CHANG

Best Foot Forward, school administrators, and FUSD board members discuss mental health at the monthly City Council Meeting on October 10.

[suicide] is a taboo topic; same goes for mental health. Just getting people to talk about it and realizing that there are people going through it, you’re not just the only one going through this mental health disorder.” The board is aware of this situation and Bailey said, “… Sometimes the term suicide will automatically get people to shut down. We don’t want that.” FUSD established the new Suicide Prevention Policy, which will set up a uniform course

of action for all FUSD schools, in order to eliminate this issue. Bailey said, “... We want everybody to be aware of the policy. I’ll stress with the principals to make sure that they do talk about this [policy] as a staff and about what their school’s crisis plan is or what the district’s crisis plan is.” ▪

the leads select two other teams to be a part of their alliance, and opposing alliances battle it out in elimination matches to the finals. This year’s challenge was Stronghold: a medieval tower defense game in which two alliances consisting of three teams select defenses to strengthen their outer works before competing to score points. These defenses are interchangeable walls or blockades decided by teams before each match. Teams attempt to breach their opponent’s outer works and capture their opponent’s tower by scoring boulders into the tower’s window. At the end of each match, the alliance with the higher number of points wins. FRC Team 1868 Space Cookies had a rocky start early in the competition when their robot transmission was not working properly, resulting in immobility for the first three matches. However, they managed to fix the technical issue and had successful matches near the end of qualifications and finals, taking home second place. Yung said, “We learned that even though we started off really badly there was always a chance to improve and if we have more spirit as a team, it boosts our whole team performance.” The team consists of more than 120 members and is affiliated with Girl Scouts and The National Aeronautics and Space Administration. FRC is an international robotics competition for high

schoolers, under For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), a nonprofit organization. Since the creation of the team in 2006, Space Cookies has won numerous awards

To contact Peer Resource, email peerresourcemsj@gmail.com. To contact Best Foot Forward, reach out to a counselor.

“We learned that even though we started off really badly there was always a chance to improve and if we have more spirit as a team, it boosts our whole team performance.” — JUNIOR CLAIRE YUNG every season, and performed well in this year’s game. “Last season we won the Chairman’s award at our Ventura regional, which was in Southern CA. And also at our Silicon Valley Regional, one of our members won this award called Dean’s List Award,” said Zhu. Since Space Cookies is an all-girls team, they plan on working on spreading robotics education to other girls locally. Dewan said, “In the future we want to try to expand more in the Bay Area and hold bigger conferences and encourage more girls to join and try out for STEM fields or careers. ▪

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corrections

for the Sept. 23, 2016 issue News Pg. 1: Abhi Upadhyay is misspelled. Opinion Pg. 3: Lucille Njoo is a News Editor and Zen Thumparkkul is a Graphics Editor. Feature Pg. 7: Ling-Ru Katy Kuei is misspelled. A&E Pg. 15: Deeksha Raina is a staff writer. Photo Pg. 19: Graphic by www.ublog.live. Photo Pg. 20: Jonathan Li’s and Maya Bernstein’s names are misspelled. Senior Getaway photos are by Opinion Editor Anthony Chen. Newark Days Parade photos are by Staff Writer Ella Chen. Graphic by www.pcwallart.com.

NEWS IN

brief

Compiled by Stephanie Dutra, Michael Ren & Bethany Woo Staff Writers

BART.GOV A new BART station will open in Warm Springs on October 22 after several months of delay.

NBCNEWS.COM EpiPen maker agrees to a settlement with the goverment due to its price hike.

ABCNEWS.COM Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos receives his Nobel Peace Prize.

Warm Springs BART station set to open October 22 Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Spokeswoman Alicia Trost said that the Warm Springs BART Station is set to open on Saturday, October 22. The 5.4 mile extension of the FremontRichmond Line is designed to alleviate traffic on nearby Interstate-880 and will become the closest BART station for many residents living in the MSJ area. Fares from the station are expected to range from $1.95 for a trip to the Fremont BART Station up to $12.05 for a trip to the San Francisco Airport.

EpiPen pays $465 million in settlement with government The maker of EpiPen, Mylan, agreed to a settlement with the Department of Justice and other agencies on Friday, October 7. EpiPen is a life-saving allergy treatment which has seen a price increase of $500 since 2009. Mylan agreed to pay $465 million to the government after they were accused of improperly classifying it as a generic drug. Classifying the drug incorrectly led Medicare and Medicaid programs to overpay for the drug. Mylan swiftly agreed to the settlement but has not admitted to any misconduct or wrongdoing on their part.

President Santos receives Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to end war The 2016 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his efforts to end the civil war between the Columbian government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Santos tried to make a deal with the rebels, but the Colombians rejected it. “I invite everyone to join our strength, our minds and our hearts in this great national endeavor so that we can win the most important prize of all: peace in Colombia,” said Santos.

Friday, October 21, 2016

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News & Opinion 3

MSJ hosts first Jumpstart! technology event Students participate in event to learn about emerging technology By Jessica Jen & Jonathan Ko Staﬀ Writers Students gathered on September 30 in the Flex Room to test and experience emerging technologies through interactive booths at the first Jumpstart! event. The event also included a competitive portion, during which teams of students pitched ideas that used innovative technology to solve real-world problems. Students learned about concepts such as the Internet of Things and virtual reality. Hobbyists, company representatives, and AP Computer Science students manned the booths, presenting technology ranging from drones to a potato-controlled game of Pac-Man and even a pancake-printing robot. The event was created through a partnership between AP Computer Science Teacher Charlie Brucker and Innovation Minds, a company that aims to spread innovation and creative thinking. Brucker first began considering this event when Innovation Minds Chief of Staff Hariharan Sezhiyan, then an Irvington High School senior, suggested the idea. “Hari approached me last spring and asked, ‘How would you like to have a gadget expo at your school?’ And my antenna just went up and one thing led to another,” said Brucker. Innovation Minds Chairman and Founder Bala Balasubramaniam worked with them to bring Jumpstart! to MSJ. The event kicked off at 2 p.m., with a line stretching out of the Flex Room as students anticipated the unique experience. After short speeches from Balasubramaniam, Brucker, and Principal Zack Larsen, students split into 10 teams and rotated through the technology booths, where they began to brainstorm ideas involving the cutting-edge technology

they tested. When rotations finished, the teams spent several minutes finalizing their ideas and pitches. Each team then took one minute to pitch their idea to a panel of judges, consisting of teachers from local high schools, professors from local colleges, and employees of technology firms. The ideas covered a diverse range of topics, from universal surveillance to the use of drones in search-and-rescue operations. The judges awarded the Best Pitch award to a team that pitched the idea of a wearable device that would monitor a baby’s vitals in order to keep children safe and anxious parents reassured.

“I think the students at Mission are world-class in the STEM area, and I want to give Mission students every opportunity to lead the technological solutions.” — AP COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHER CHARLIE BRUCKER Jumpstart! was received positively by students and faculty. Junior Annie Chen said, “I thought the event was really interesting considering that there’s so much technology and so many things I hadn’t learned about before.” Additionally, Larsen said, “We should be able to look at how what we are learning and teaching is applicable in the real world.” Brucker is excited by the possibilities this event created, especially the 10 product ideas, which he plans on helping students expand upon. “We have some difficult challenges ahead and technology has to help us get through. I think the students at Mission are world-class in the STEM area, and I want to give Mission students every opportunity to lead the technological solutions,” he said. ▪

(Top) A representative from Innovation Minds works with drones. (Bottom) Students test out wearable technology. MSJ held the Jumpstart! event featuring emerging technology on September30 in the Flex Room. PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITER JONATHAN KO

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“I do believe that they [students] have a responsibility to follow politics because if you don't create your political views now, then when are you going to create them? When you're an adult?”

“I think the influence they have is really limited, because inside their circles, no one can vote, and people older than them, like their parents or older siblings, may already have their own views.”

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“The biggest influence kids have would obviously be on their parents, and if all kids at Mission talk to their parents about the election then Mission families rack up between two thousand to four thousand votes … which is huge.”

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“Our opinions do matter in a sense. Students still go on the Internet. They’re still looking and sharing, reposting, all these stories on Facebook and social media. They’re emailing things and posting videos of the debates. Although they don’t directly influence the vote because they can’t vote, their opinions still sway others.”

“If you look at the campaigns of the presidential election, they’re all looking for volunteers and maybe not specifically high school students, but high school students can definitely help spread the word. They can help canvass in some parts of America. There are a lot of different things high school students can get involved [in] and affect two, three, five, up to a hundred different votes based on the work they do.”

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“I do think that students have a responsibility to follow politics because politics can directly affect the students themselves. For example, propositions such as Proposition 51 can directly affect the amount of money that is given to schools and thus the resources available to educate students at school.”

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“Underage voters who supported Sanders were so influential that the Sanders campaign actually tried getting 17-year-olds to vote, so an underage person’s voice does matter. Also, getting involved in movements, protests, advocacy, meeting members of Congress, and being an informed citizen is everyone's responsibility, and the sooner students start entering the political system, the better.” PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITERS JOELLE CHUANG, ANAGHA MANDAYAM & HELEN WANG

Opinion 4

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, October 21 2016

Police brutality discussion: more than ourselves By Gloria Chang & Julia Park Staff Writers

From Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson to the recent police shooting of Carnell Snell Jr. in Los Angeles, police violence against African-Americans has become a sensitive topic on social media. While potential discriminatory shootings and alleged misuse of body cameras deserve outrage, irresponsible and inflammatory posts on the Internet have hurt both police officers and the victims of discrimination. Despite the temptation to be combative, we must be civil in our search for justice. On September 20 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Keith Scott was shot by a police officer who alleged that the 43-year-old black man possessed a gun. But the resultant violent protests stand in stark contrast to the peaceful vigils honoring Terrence Crutcher, another black man shot by the police in Tulsa, Oklahoma. What caused such different reactions for these two similar deaths? The answer lies in the Tulsa Police Department’s use of body camera footage. While Tulsa County quickly charged Police Officer Betty Shelby with manslaughter and the police department released body camera footage, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released footage only after a week of protest. Even then, the video was difficult to follow and had missing audio. Introduced to police forces two years ago, body cameras seemed highly promising to both activists and police officers. The US Department of Justice has invested more than $23 million in body cameras for state and local departments in hopes of increasing transparency. Indeed, a new Cambridge University study suggests that complaints about police conduct decreased drastically when officers wore body cameras.

But Tulsa is an exception, not the status quo; more often than not, body cameras are accidentally (or conveniently) turned off, and consequences for these breaches of protocol are light. Additionally, laws allow police officers to review footage before filing their preliminary report. This defeats the accountability that body cameras are supposed to provide. When officers have the ability to make their own version of events based on the camera’s limited footage, protesters assume the worst. Due to the inconsistent use of body cameras, people have been believing claims alternative to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s statements. Already, the Facebook video produced by Scott’s daughter offers a different narrative to the official statement. Public opinion influenced by these different accounts can make finding an impartial jury for police officers on trial difficult. On social media, provocative rhetoric and mistrust damages policemen’s reputations. Thoughtless, exaggerated comments on these mediums generalize the actions of a few police officers and disrespect the sacrifices of others. The attacks on the police show that people are more concerned with proving their own political position than examining the problem. Squabbling on social media distracts from reality, turning African-American victims into mere talking points and transforming what should be a civil discussion into an argument about who stands on higher moral ground. For example, many discussions of police brutality, even among MSJ students, revolve around a mere hashtag. But claiming that #BlackLivesMatter is more direct or that #AllLivesMatter is more inclusive does nothing towards solving police brutality; these disputes simply serve to display the

supporters’ own righteousness. People as a society must act in a more constructive way. While it is reasonable to demand better body camera policies or more transparency, change must also come from

within. Discussions on social media must be thoughtful and productive. Although it may be cathartic now to passionately condemn the police officers, demand video evidence, or blame the victim in question, we must reflect

Body cameras by state: 12 states restrict public access to footage. 37 states restrict recordings in areas where privacy is expected.

49 states exempt the police from public records requests. DATA FROM URBAN INSTITUTE

Sentiment towards law enforcement by city

DRUGABUSE.COM Scores calculated through analysis of 766,319 tweets that used keywords that commonly represent law-enforcement. Tweets were assigned a rank on a positive to negative scale by the Alchemy API platform. GPS data made it possible to separate the results by state.

Friday, October 21, 2016

The Smoke Signal

tanushri’s tangent

The Smoke Signal Mission San Jose High School Est. 1964 Vol. 52, No. 2 | Oct. 21, 2016

Destigmatizing teen dating

www.thesmokesignal.org 41747 Palm Ave. Fremont, CA 94539 510-657-3600, ext. 37088 MISSION STATEMENT The Smoke Signal’s mission is to represent the voices of the MSJ community and serve the public by providing accurate, meaningful, and engaging information presented through print and digital mediums. SCHOOL POPULATION 2014 students EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Rishab Ramapriyan, Monica Tang NEWS Ishika Chawla, Lucille Njoo OPINION Anthony Chen, Tanushri Sundar FEATURE Kevin Li, Brian Tseng CENTERSPREAD Ashley Chang, Mallika Gupta A&E Michelle Dalarossa, Sayan Ghosh SPORTS Mustafa Ahmed, Cindy Yuan GRAPHICS Zen Thumparkkul, Victor Zhou WEB Andrew Choi, Carolyn Ge TECH Andrew Kan, Julia Park BUSINESS Ansh Patel CIRCULATION Deeksha Raina ADVERTISING Ella Chen, Richard Chenyu Zhou EVENTS Heather Gan, Amber Lee WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS Shivani Avasarala, Evangeline Chang, Gloria Chang, Amy Chen, Hannah Chou, Joelle Chuang, Stephanie Dutra, Katherine Guo, Ian Hsu, Jessica Jen, Jonathan Ko, Anagha Mandayam, Jenny Miao, Michael Ren, Hana Sheikh, Evie Sun, Helen Wang, Bethany Woo, Vicki Xu, Maggie Zhao ADVISER Sandra Cohen Send letters to the editor to opinion@thesmokesignal.org. Letters under 300 words may be considered for publication and must include a full name and school affiliation. The Smoke Signal reserves the right to edit for clarity and length. To advertise in the Smoke Signal, email ads@ thesmokesignal.org. Advertising that is included on the pages of, or carried within, the Smoke Signal, is paid advertising, and as such is independent of the news and feature content. The Smoke Signal’s right to freedom of speech and press is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. All policies on distribution, corrections, and bylines can be found at www.thesmokesignal.org/about.

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By Tanushri Sundar Opinion Editor When my peers started to pair up, I was confused. Dating was a topic that had never been touched upon in my home, so when my friends effortlessly expanded their social circles to include boyfriends and girlfriends, I felt like I had missed some sort of a memo. Over time, I came to believe that if I ever found myself in a romantic situation, I’d be doing myself a disservice by distracting myself from what really mattered — school. I didn’t understand teenage romance, so it was easy for me to scorn it as unnecessary and unrewarding. But however short-lived high school relationships may be, I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge. The predominant culture in our community emphasizes a straightforward and successful academic education, but in doing so, it neglects a strong social education. Dating is too often a controversial and taboo subject, as many of our parents didn’t experience the “typical American” teenage life and understandably won’t see any benefits to romantic relationships in high school. Although we cateogrize dating as an inappropriate distraction from school and extracurriculars, it’s also a valuable way for us to practice deep, interpersonal interaction, which helps us make long-lasting and healthy relationships in the future. Dr. Miriam Kaufman, pediatrician and associate professor at the University of Toronto Medical School, told The New York Times that teenagers in healthy relationships gain “improved social skills, knowledge about the opposite sex, new interests like sports or

hobbies.” She continued, “Maybe the more they [teenagers] learn about relationships, the better their future ones will be.” Romantic feelings serve as an incentive for us to practice communicating our emotions and listening to others’ opinions. We initiate deeper conversations, ones about our families, dreams, and interests, and experience a new sort of exhilaration that comes from caring for another person. It’s paradoxical that at MSJ, parents often categorize students as too immature for these experiences but still expect students to sell themselves to colleges as mature, independent individuals who are ready to tackle the world’s biggest challenges. We don’t consider the fact that for most people, it’s normal adolescent behavior to develop feelings for a peer. It’s an important part of maturing, and we shouldn’t feel foolish or inappropriate for doing so. Furthermore, the stigma against highschool relationships often pushes those who want to date to act in secret, and this further removes them from their families, a necessary support system. At the very least, parents should be open to discussion about dating. Our community heavily prioritizes academic excellence and success, but we must expand our view of intelligence to incorporate emotional skills and interpersonal skills. In the long run, our relationships with other people make our lives more meaningful than achievements and prestige do. ▪

The Opinion of the Smoke Signal Editorial Board

From learning history to making history Millions of Americans will head to polling stations around the country on November 8 to cast their votes for the 45th President of the United States. With each ballot cast, a historical shift of seismic proportions hangs in the balance. By the end of the day, the country will either have elected its first female president or a unique outsider candidate without past experience in elected positions, as well as the several down-ticket contenders for seats in Congress. Regardless of how people vote, their decisions will impact the future of the country and earn places in history books for decades to come. For three out of our four years we are required to take history and social studies courses such as World History, US History, and American Government. When we study ancient civilizations and distant wars in these classes, we often do not consider history as something we can relate to and learn from for ourselves. When learning about history, we should prioritize analysis and discussion over the rote memorization of dates and numbers. Facts are important to a certain extent, but by themselves, they do not make history worth studying. For example, comparisons between our current election and that of 1968 reveal a number of parallels. The situations are far from identical, but like 2016, the year 1968 (Nixon v. Humphrey) featured widespread protests, discussions about race relations, and popularity of certain fringe candidates (George Wallace). Simply learning about who won an election, such as the 1968 election, ultimately teaches us nothing and does not help us better understand the circumstances and reasons surrounding the result. We should also examine the election’s ramifications for society in the following years. The problem

is that in school, we often learn about isolated events without the context of our current lives. For example, the significance of the Manhattan Project, which directly led to the development of the first nuclear weapon, is hard to truly comprehend without factoring in the present-day proliferation of nuclear weapons in countries around the world. Ideally, we should be able to analyze such circumstances and surround them in context. Doing so gives us much better insight into the historical implications of the present day, especially as our current political situation adds chapters to history. Historical events of huge significance, such as that 1968 election, are often reduced to compressed bites of information that may be memorized word for word, but not for their content. As students, this may get us through our classes just fine. However, as citizens, we have a collective duty to actively seek meaning in and learn from history. Writer George Santayana famously said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” After all, what really sets us apart from our predecessors? We may be making technological advances year upon year, but apart from that, we aren’t objectively superior to our 20th century predecessors in any way, and we certainly aren’t more morally advanced either. The educated decisions that we make during times like these shape the history that students will study in the future. ▪

Opinion 5

anthony ’s answer

Drawing the line: try something new By Anthony Chen Opinion Editor

The “Inktober” drawing challenge flooded my social media feed with impressive drawings. I was somewhat disappointed that I wasn’t aware of this activity earlier, so that I could have participated as well. I told myself that I would do it next year rather than starting late this October. After giving my decision some more thought, I discovered how much this flawed mentality has influenced me and a large portion of the MSJ community. Too often do we decide to stick to what we have been doing instead of trying something new, and coming up with excuses for our decisions is always so easy. “I found out about it too late.” “I already have other things to do.” “I can always do it next time.” When we constrain ourselves to that mentality, we miss out on too many opportunities. On MAZE Days most upperclassmen are busy running booths or talking to friends instead of visiting other club booths to learn about the collection of more than 80 clubs we have on campus. The most common incentive for people to attend the first meeting of a club they do not know is free food. Why do we need such additional incentives just to try out a new activity or to meet new people? This reluctance to experiment with new things could hinder us from enjoying our high school experience, and Homecoming Week is no exception. Changes in rules, lack of the football game, and Homecoming moving to September instead of October were among the many complaints circulating around campus. We have come to

take the status quo for granted and lash out at anyone who threatens our current situation, to the point of ridiculing anyone unaware of our traditions, such as the Senior Lounge. Trying out new approaches and activities has already proven its worth on campus. The Homecoming Extravaganza, a new take on the traditionally indoor Homecoming Dance, was met with generally positive feedback and rejuvenated students’ interest in future school dances. Instead of blindly following what we’ve done in the past because it’s convenient, we should be experimenting with new ideas to see which are viable and which are not. This willingness to experiment and explore is beneficial not just to a community collectively, but to individuals as well. The recently introduced advisory period features menus and signups for various activities. Instead of always going to the same room or signing up for similar activities, trying out new topics of interest helps capture the full experience and value of having an advisory period in the first place. So often we hear people complain about how mundane school is because we have to take the same classes, see the same people, and do the same routines every day. Trying out and exploring things that actually intrigue us, no matter how trivial they may seem on a résumé, is the source of that much-needed variation in our daily lives. So excuse me while I go practice my drawings. Maybe I’ll be ready in time before October ends. ▪

By Evangeline Chang & Bethany Woo Staff Writers

STAFF WRITER EVANGELINE CHANG

STAFF WRITER BETHANY WOO

6 Opinion

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, October 21, 2016

International affairs should be an elective By Shivani Avasarala & Vicki Xu Staﬀ Writers

When Georgetown University Geopolitics Professor Edmund A. Walsh founded the university’s School of Foreign Services in 1919, he recognized the need to educate students on international affairs and prepare them for a global society. A century later, countries are increasingly dependent on one another, and their ever-shifting interactions have gained significance in our daily lives. High school students will soon be responsible for taking part in decisions that incorporate international affairs. It is only right that they, like college students, have access to a school curriculum that accounts for this subject.

Especially at MSJ, where the majority of the student body is comprised of second-generation immigrants, international ties cannot be dismissed. Continually diversifying communities necessitate discussion of issues beyond those of the local or even national level. According to Pew Research Center, the foreign-born population in the US has grown from 4.7 percent to 13.1 percent since 1970. Especially at MSJ, where the majority of the student body is comprised of second-generation immigrants, international ties cannot be dismissed. The current lack of emphasis on international affairs, however, comes from the curriculum design. Current social studies classes cover influential topics in history, but are not required to include discussion on international affairs. The California Common Core State Standards do not touch upon incorporating study of international affairs and related events. Although teachers do try

to include these in class discussions, setting aside class time and instructional units is difficult, especially for Advanced Placement courses. Social Studies Department Chair Jason Cain said, “[AP teachers] have very strict guidelines, so there’s not a lot of leniency as far as what else they can fit into their curriculum.” Still, students should have access to an additional educational platform, such as an elective or supplementary class, to engage in dynamic thought and apply their knowledge to global issues. In a 2004 poll of 3,500 students ages 11 to 16 by Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute, 79 percent of responders wanted to know more about what is happening in developing countries and 54 percent believed they should learn these issues in school. The fact that young people, including high school students, want to learn more shows that they are willing to take on such discussions. However, these discussions are limited by the curriculum standards that do not allow teachers enough freedom to delve into such subjects outside of those detailed in the guidelines. One way to provide this discussion is to add a new elective course entirely. Due to the ever-changing and complex nature of international affairs, such a curriculum would take considerable time and effort to implement, but would help prepare students to take on global challenges. In the meantime, it is up to students and teachers to continue to integrate international affairs into everyday discussions as time allows, if opportunities to do so arise. Confronting recent controversial topics, such as the Syrian refugee crisis or ethnic cleansing in Sudan, may seem a daunting task, but discussion can grow from simple comparisons. For example, study of the Ber-

STAFF WRITER VICKI XU

lin Wall can be examined in junction to current wall-building efforts in Calais, France. Events leading up to the French Revolution can be compared with the Euromaidan,

Confronting recent controversial topics, such as the Syrian refugee crisis or ethnic cleansing in Sudan, may seem a daunting task, but discussion can grow from simple comparisons. a period of political and social unrest in Ukraine in 2013-14, that led to a revolution with effects still felt today. Students can join clubs that deal with international affairs as another easily-accessible option. On campus, Model United Nations, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Ethnic Race Relations

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Committee (ERRC) all offer ways for involvement in the global climate. From ERRC’s promotion of cultural understanding at MSJ, to Model United Nations’ international-themed competitive events, and UNICEF’s work helping provide humanitarian aid to residents of developing countries, students can feel connected to the international community. In a world where information passes between nations so effortlessly, students have opportunities to become globally competent. However, they can only act on international issues if they are adequately acquainted. Ultimately, having the global perspective is crucial for productive and in-depth interaction with others of different cultures. Students are willing to take on these discussions; let’s encourage them by giving them the resources to do so. ▪

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Friday, October 21, 2016

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Feature 7

l a n o i t i d a Tr

halloween Recipes

By Deeksha Raina Staff Writer

The Smoke Signal compiled a few Halloween treats that are sure to satisfy anybody’s sweet tooth this fall. Caramel apples

Servings: 6 6 mid-sized apples 1 bag (approximately 14 ounces) of unwrapped soft caramels 2 tablespoons milk 6 Popsicle sticks or wooden chopsticks

Candy Corn Rice Krispies

Servings: 24 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal 6 cups mini marshmallows ¼ cup butter Red and yellow food coloring 1 cup candy corn

1. Microwave butter until melted. 2. Add in marshmallows and microwave for two minutes, or until the marshmallows are completely melted. Mix well. 3. Separate into three bowls. In one bowl, add a few drops of yellow food coloring. In the second, mix together a few drops of red and yellow food coloring to get orange. Leave the third mixture white. 4. Add the cereal and candy corn to each mixture and mix well. Taking the orange, yellow, and white portions, press together into a candy corn-like shape. 5. Let set until they cool completely.

Student Spotlight:

HUMDAAN &Rayyaan Mustafa

COURTESY HUMDAAN MUSTAFA & RAYYAAN MUSTAFA

The hackathon began with an opening ceremony that formally introduced attendees to the brothers, the organizing team, and their mentors. Humdaan and Rayyaan then helped students set up their computers with the required software, Sublime Text and NetBeans. A total of four workshops — basic web development, programming in Java, coding in JavaScript, and using GitHub — were available for novice programmers.

PHOTOS BY GRAPHICS EDITOR ZEN THUMPARKKUL

Teacher Spotlight: jaime Richards By Jessica Jen & Richard Chenyu Zhou Staff Writers

By Gloria Chang & Hana Sheikh Staff Writers

Senior Humdaan Mustafa and Sophomore Rayyaan Mustafa hosted Karachi Code, the first-ever hackathon in Karachi, Pakistan. The event, attended by 37 students ranging from ages 15 to 24, was held on July 20. After contacting the US Consulate of Karachi, they planned the event to inspire high school and college students to explore STEM-related careers. The brothers decided to share their computer science interests internationally when they discovered that they would spend their four-week vacation in Pakistan stuck indoors at their uncle’s house. Having attended numerous hackathons and helped to organize Bay Area tech events such as CodeDay, they were able to plan the hackathon within three months. A local restaurant sponsored them with sandwiches and brownies, and they constantly communicated with the consulate that endorsed the event to ensure that the venue received necessities, such as the desks, chairs, and a projector for the event. The consulate also helped invite students who participated in previous consulate-endorsed events, and the brothers’ Pakistani cousins further advertised the event at their schools.

1. Remove the stems of the apples and press the popsicle sticks into the apples. Chill apples in freezer until needed. 2. Place the caramels and milk into the bowl and microwave for three minutes. Mix well after every minute. 3. Roll apples in caramel sauce and refrigerate for approximately 15 minutes to harden the sauce.

Social Studies Teacher Jaime Richards will soon release his third book, Missing Pieces. The Smoke Signal interviewed him about the ideas behind his book.

STAFF WRITER HANA SHEIKH

Experienced programmers began their projects immediately, and all attendees worked in teams to freely build websites, apps, and games with the guidance from mentors, who were university students or computer science tutors. When the participants completed their final products, they presented what they had created to the mentors, who judged them based on creativity and skill. Projects that students coded included a simplified version of Facebook, games for iPhones, and even a portal for businesses to create orders and keep inventory online. The judges awarded certificates to the winners of the best website, best game, and best app. To conclude the hackathon, the consulate’s Cultural Attaché Adam Jagelski addressed the students with supportive words. In reflection of the event, Humdaan and Rayyaan said that they expected to have problems regarding language barriers, but they did not encounter many during the planning and hackathon itself. They were able to communicate effectively, despite the differences between the Pakistani students’ English and their own, and resolved additional language issues by speaking Urdu. After such a success, Rayyaan said, “I particularly enjoyed doing this event ... Living in the Bay Area, we’ve started to take things for granted, and people in underdeveloped countries don’t have access to all these opportunities. [The hackathon] made me feel good about giving back.” In the future, they hope to hold similar hackathons seasonally in Pakistan, possibly starting with the upcoming winter. ▪

The Smoke Signal: What do you talk about in this book and how is it related to your past books? Jaime Richards: I had a newspaper column for 12 years, and 'What It Takes' was the title of the column. The idea was finding people who were successful at something and asking them how they became successful. That was the idea behind the column. What does it take to live successfully — how one defines that is different than other people — what does it take to be happy, what does it take to live a good life. What I found was a lot of those things that they were saying weren’t published in any specific place. It was more like, 'This person said this is what you need to do.' By hearing all these different people talk about what it takes to be happy, what it takes to live well, I thought that someone had to put that all together into a book. SS: What inspired or influenced you to write your newest book? JR: I think a lot of it is just personal stuff, things that I wish I would have known or have been taught younger that I ended up learning the hard way … And then, what really changed me, was I started asking people out in the world, not in school, successful adults, not just in education, what did you need to be successful … I kept hearing things that weren’t part of any curriculum. Over and over, they’d say, 'You need to get along with people. You got to be able to make friends and talk to people, make contacts.' There’s no class for that. You can get straight A’s in school and never really talk to anybody … [It’s] other stuff, outside of the work world, not just college, things we really need to be taught. Some people get it from their parents … I didn’t know a lot of stuff because it wasn’t like my parents didn’t teach it to me, but they didn’t know themselves. How were they supposed to teach me when they didn’t know? That was my inspiration.

STAFF WRITER RICHARD CHENYU ZHOU

SS: What do you hope readers can take away from the book? JR: I hope that they’ll read it and say, 'Yeah, that will help me live better. I’ll be happier, be more successful.' I also hope that they’ll teach it to other people. It’s not my stuff … These things have come from incredible people [whom] I’ve met over my lifetime. SS: How should MSJ students apply the ideas in your book to their daily lives? JR: The one that I would focus on the most is called “How to Build Social Capital.” It’s the idea of how to make contacts with people, make friends, develop relationships. I think we don’t take it as seriously as we should. I’ll use the analogy of you have a choice of going out with a friend and talking over coffee at Starbucks or doing your homework, which would be the right choice? Most Mission kids would say, 'You do your homework and then if you have free time, you go,' but I say it’s the other way around. It’s more important to talk. People think I’m crazy but in the long run, that’s what will make you happier and more successful. If you had to choose, blow off the homework and spend the time with your close friend [who] needs you. It’s easy to blow the coffee off. The fact is that it’s harder to do that and then maybe squeeze the homework in later. It should be flip-flopped. ▪

8 Feature

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The Smoke Signal

THE

By Mallika Gupta, Cindy Yuan, Ian Hsu & Bethany Woo Centerspread Editor, Sports Editor, and Staff Writers

DIEHARD TRYHARDS take on the

CINDY

Friday, October 21, 2016

As we creep closer to Halloween, the Diehard Tryhards battled tooth and nail in three grueling events. Competitors displayed their prowess in Halloween baking, costume designing, and pumpkin carving while racing against the clock in a spook-tacular attempt to become the ultimate Halloween Triathlon champion.

Halloween Triathlon

MALLIKA

IAN

BETHANY

Arts and crafts really aren’t my things. I’ve always struggled with trivial tasks such as cutting straight lines, and I'm usually not a very active participant during Halloween either (I haven't carved a pumpkin since fourth grade!) However, I am confident in my ability to improvise quickly when things go wrong, as they often do, so I think I won't fare too poorly in competition.

As a curious child in India, I grew up idolizing the idea of Halloween, worshipping everything from the jack-o-lanterns to the prospect of a pillowcase full of candy by the end of the night. Now with three years of Halloween experience under my belt, I have evolved into quite the connoisseur. And nothing, including three pesky competitors, can possibly deter my enthusiasm.

Halloween is a holiday I’m mostly uninvolved in; I haven’t gone trick-or-treating in eight years. However, I have continued to carve pumpkins, keeping my skills sharp! I’ve spent a fair amount of time in the kitchen and am expecting a boo-tiful creation. Although I’ve never attempted to make a costume, I’m confident my creative thinking will pull me through.

I'm definitely going to need to take a creative approach to this challenge. Traditional costumes, pumpkin carving, and dessert making might lead to a huge mess, so I'm going to be smart about it and tackle each round with my own strengths. And besides, if I happen to be lacking in neatness or skill, I'm sure that my unique concepts will be able to make up for everything and anything.

Despite having never baked anything, I’m certain that my experience with DIY costumes (praise my stinginess) and pumpkin carving will blow my competition out of the water. While they might boast more experience, there can be no match for my multitude of excursions into the cave of Halloween-themed YouTube videos. Armed with a glue gun, safety knife, and a whole lot of sugar, I am certain that my skill and ingenious ideas will ensure me the win.

I hope to come out swinging in the pumpkin-carving event and compensate for my inexperience in costume making. Baking and pumpkin carving will be unpredictable. Even if I plan well beforehand, there’s no telling what will happen during the the actual event. The biggest obstacle for all three will be time management. The ability to work quickly but still produce high quality results will be crucial. Overall, I expect this to be a thrilling competition.

THOUGHTS BEFORE

As a child, I was a dedicated trick-or-treater who lived for Halloween. However, I’ve never really been great at arts-and-crafts activities like carving jack-o’-lanterns or Halloween costumes, and even making a decent, corner-to-corner fold on a piece of paper has required Herculean efforts on my part. But needless to say, I’m not going down without a fight. I am well aware that my enemies are cunning and winning this competition will not be easy. Because both Mallika and Bethany have creative flairs, they may use this to dupe me in any round. But as Cindy is an experienced Diehard Tryhards veteran, she’ll be the one I’ll watch out for the most. Regardless, I’ll be fighting them every step of the way — whatever I lack, I’ll make up for with effort and stone-cold determination.

BAKING

CREATIVITY

TASTE

PRESENTATION

CREATIVITY

4.5

EXECUTION

TASTE

PRESENTATION

I am not good with baking at all. In fact, just two minutes into the competition, I had somehow managed to wound myself while attempting to open a can of pumpkin puree, rendering myself handicapped for the rest of the competition. Thankfully, the recipe I had prepared was an entry-level, no-bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle. With the help of a stand in, it was assembled in no time, and it tasted quite delicious as well.

CREATIVITY

I was determined to not let an injury hinder me in the pumpkin carving competition. I had planned a “firefly in a jar” design, scraping the peel and meat of the pumpkin into a jar outline while the candlelight acted as a fuzzy firefly. But without any fine motor skills, I found myself struggling immensely. The end product turned out to be a sad lumpy jar and a faintly glowing “firefly”.

4.5

CREATIVITY

TASTE

PRESENTATION

Considering the amount of nervous excitement I entered this event with, I think my creations turned out far better than expected. I would say my baking session went rather smoothly. My beautiful ‘‘Pumpkin Pasties’’ are proof that passion for Halloween, accompanied by devotion to Harry Potter can always win out over lack of baking experience.

3.5

EXECUTION

As expected, my well-tuned motor skills ensured that I flew through the subsequent carving session without any hiccups. Along with being prepared with an eye-catching design, I made sure to milk my home-field advantage for all it was worth. Seeing as I emerged with all ten fingers and a beautiful jacko’-lantern, I would say I have this round in the bag. After all, you can never go wrong with Smokie Love and Harry Potter.

CREATIVITY

EXECUTION

TASTE

PRESENTATION

I was confident my baking recipe would be unique and creative. I baked pumpkin spice whoopies pies: Two fluffy pumpkin cookies with a maple spice creme in between. However, the complicated recipe consumed too much time. My cookies didn’t have time to cool and melted the creme, making it a bit more fluid and drippy than I had intended, but they still tasted delicious.

PUMPKIN CARVING

CREATIVITY

As an ambitious person, I was excited to attempt carving a heart with “Smokie” inside of it. However, gutting a pumpkin without tools wasn’t as thrilling. Can’t say I enjoyed the squishy orange flesh, slimy hands, or seeds in my hair. Two of my letters broke, but improvising with toothpicks saved the day! Overall, I’m proud of my creation and hope to be pumpKING of this event.

Despite my best efforts at baking a pumpkin pie, I was unable to create the perfect pie I had imagined it would be. Having prepared a recipe beforehand, I dutifully followed it to the letter; however, much to my dismay, my pie turned out to be something like pumpkin pie-flavored paste in a pie crust. Although the texture was lost in the process, the taste was still genuine. So all things considered, I think I was able to pull off an acceptable pie.

CREATIVITY

EXECUTION

Despite my complete lack of experience with pumpkin carving, I was able to finish carving my pumpkin within the designated time limit. After surviving a long battle unharmed with the flimsy safety knife provided, I regret to admit that my fingernails did not survive the war unscathed. Having neglected to bring a spoon, I was forced to dig out the insides with my bare hands, getting pieces of pumpkin guts under my nails in the process. PHOTOS BY FEATURE EDITORS KEVIN LI & BRIAN TSENG

Friday, October 21, 2016

CREATIVITY

3.5

EFFORT

APPEARANCE

The Smoke Signal

My design was a glow-stick figure ideal for night time trick-o-treating (because what’s the use of a great costume if nobody can see it at night?). I assembled a stick figure outline using glow-sticks and attached them to black clothing with zip ties, safety pins, and tape. Unfortunately, I had severely underestimated the time limit, and my lack of fine motor skills once again hindered me. In my haste, the costume ended up disjointed and, frankly speaking, a mess.

EFFORT CREATIVITY

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DIY COSTUMES

4 4

APPEARANCE

As I placed my trust in the Wizarding world once again, I was certain that my costume of Dobby the house elf would carry me to victory. However, I think my building overconfidence, coupled with the tighter time constraint definitely hindered my ability to truly transform into the free elf. Nonetheless, I’m certain that I have left my opponents far behind in the rankings, where they can begin scrubbing the pumpkin guts off my kitchen tile.

CREATIVITY

EFFORT

APPEARANCE

CREATIVITY

Food is always on my mind, so my costume was a jelly bean bag! I used a gigantic clear bag with the Jelly Belly logo, filled it with colorful balloons, and cut holes for my limbs. I was concerned blowing up balloons would consume my time; however, swimmer lungs prevented my speed from taking a dive. I finished with eight minutes to spare. My costume was of a pretty simple, but hopefully its uniqueness and cuteness will compensate.

Feature 9

EFFORT

APPEARANCE

With the end of the triathlon in sight, I decided that I would leave this competition in style — literally. To give my vampire costume a traditional and aristocratic look, I elected to don formal attire. However, when it came time to put on my fangs, the straws I had been planning on kept slipping out of my mouth. Being pressed for time, I gave up on on the straws and decided to refine my clothing to look sharp enough to make up for the fangs.

THOUGHTS AFTER Overall, my best performance was definitely in dessert making. My other two events did not go smoothly at all despite my grand plans, reflecting my utter lack of artistic capabilities. This triathlon definitely wasn’t a true testament to my real potential as my small handicap hindered my true skill. It was still a fun experience testing out various ideas, but given my general incompetence in arts and crafts, I wouldn’t try this again.

Looking back, I’m pretty certain that I won’t be needing a candle to light my beautiful jack-o’-lantern, given that I absolutely torched my opponents. However, this triathlon was nowhere near a cake walk. With each event getting more stressful than the prior tasks, there were plenty of times when I thought victory might slip through my fingers. Nevertheless, I am extremely proud of the end result, and had a blast battling my fellow Smokies.

This triathlon has put my time-management and improvising skills to the test. For the pumpkin-carving event I was successful in carving a complex design, but didn’t fare as well in the baking competition and went overtime. I finished the costume-making leg with time leftover, but the quality of my costume suffered. However, I did have a fantastic time racing against friends!

Surprisingly, my own results were the opposite of what I predicted. Lacking any prior experience whatsoever, I thought I would fare poorly at pumpkin carving and costume making against experienced opponents. However, I did better than I expected and even had extra time in both events. On the other hand, though I followed the recipe to the letter, my pie seemed to be cursed with the wrong texture. But all things considered, I’m proud to say that I gave it my best shot and didn’t go down without a fight.

FINAL RANKINGS

OVERALLGS3RDGS

OVERALLGS1STGS

OVERALLGS2NDGS

OVERALLGS4THGS

PHOTOS BY FEATURE EDITORS KEVIN LI & BRIAN TSENG

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Friday, October 21, 2016

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By Carolyn Ge & Cindy Yuan Web Editor and Sports Editor

Centerspread 11

“It was really

fun and I think it’s a A Hawaiian-themed amphitheater covered in blue greeted stugreat opportunity for us to dents and staff as they arrived on campus on the morning of the first express school spirit. They day of Homecoming Week. The school buzzed with anticipation, eagerly waiting were all really nice. I loved the for the Class of 2020 Freshmen Ohana’s first Homecoming performance. concept of Lilo and Stitch; it Blue and white balloon chains lined the railings while class-customized surfboards stood was like bringing back a propped against the pillars in the N-Wing. The backdrop on the stage depicted Lilo and Stitch standing piece of our childhood.” before an ocean, gazing into the sunset, and additional surfboards leaned against the sides of the stage to — Trisha Sethuraman, 9 give the impression of beach scenery. The freshmen added a creative touch to their decorations with directional signs spelling out Hawaiian destinations, taped to poles around the amphitheater. Decorations were topped off with blue and white streamers wrapping around the railings. The freshmen kicked off their performance with their lyrical airband, which smoothly transitioned into the skit. As the cast appeared on stage, they were welcomed with enthusiastic chants from all of the classes. The seniors were represented by Jumba and Pleakley, the juniors by Nani, the sophomores by Lilo, and the freshmen by Stitch. The plot delivered a spin-off of Lilo and Stitch while centering it around “I believe MSJ. One of Jumba’s many volatile experiments had escaped from the Intergalactic Federation and that the terrorized MSJ, planning to ruin Homecoming. The protagonists dealt with conflicts while pursuing the freshexperiment, ultimately coming together as a family to successfully capture it. Commendable props such men as a large cardboard block of cheese and expressive acting complete with intense facial expressions led class put in a great deal to enthusiastic responses from all classes. While Stitch wasn’t the most of effort into their active character, he fulfilled his purpose of unity at the end when the deco/airbands. I really like their characters reconciled, and he declared, “Ohana means family, and backdrop. I thought it was pretty family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” artistic, but The freshmen showcased their talent through Lyrical, Bollymaybe I’m wood, Hip-Hop, Jazz, and singing airbands. The opening Lyrical just bad at art. airband impressed the audience with graceful moves and skillFor airbands, I refully executed stunts to upbeat songs such as “All Time Low” by ally liked the singing part Jon Bellion, setting the bar high for remaining airbands. Bollybecause everyone sang along” wood followed with a large number of energetic dancers flood— Jeffrey Yeung, 12 ing the stage. Even though it was a slow song, the crowd continued to express their support by swaying along. The Hip-Hop airband excited the crowd with its sharp, dynamic moves. Even though half of the backdrop fell during their performance, the dancers had captivated the audience, which continued to cheer loudly throughout the performance. The next singing airband delivered an acoustic rendition of “Payphone” by Maroon 5, incorporating a refreshing element with a bass singer and rapper. The last airband was a jazz performance featuring empowering music choices such as “Salute” by Little Mix and “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyoncé. With an energetic finale dance consisting of all the performers, the freshmen concluded their first ever Homecoming performance memorably.

“Their skit was really lengthy, but they were really excited during it, so it really brought out the energy of the audience. I loved Stitch. I love the jazz air band. I thought they were really flexible and cool. The decorations were really cool, I loved the balloons. They were very spirited.” — Divya Rangavajjhala, 11

“The airbands all had incredible amounts of energy and were super hyped. The skit was easy to understand and all the actors knew their lines perfectly and used the appropriate facial expression. As far as deco goes, the big 2020 numbers were a nice touch.” — Anuja Konda, 10

PHOTOS BY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MONICA TANG & FEATURE EDITOR BRIAN TSENG, GRAPHICS BY WALLPAPERSCRAFT.COM, COURTESY ANTON LIN

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Friday, October 21, 2016

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Centerspread 13

“I think the juniors did a really good ob. Their airbands were super fun to watch and their deco was on point. The tunnel might have been my favorite, and they were also very loud. ithvik oppurapu,

By Sayan Ghosh & Amber Lee A&E Editor and Staff Writer

By Mustafa Ahmed & Michelle Dalarossa Sports Editor and A&E Editor

The Class of 20 gave an energetic and spirit filled performance with various decorations spread across the amphitheater as well as an engaging skit and a compelling assortment of airbands. The minute the bell for lunch rang on Tuesday, eptember 20, students from all over the school rushed to the amphitheater to watch the Toy Story ophomores. The performance began with a live band onstage performing a medley of eon Trees songs, including verybody Talks and nimal. The entire audience could be heard singing along and the band uickly got the crowd on its feet, dancing and clapping along with the music. The band then transitioned into the eagerly anticipated skit. The skit focused on detailing the conflict between the villain, otso the ear, and the other toys Freshman essie, ophomore Woody, uniors r. otato Head and rs. otato Head, and enior uzz ightyear. t also featured arbie and en, both of whom were involved in a romantic subplot that later served as the source of a plot twist. n addition, the use of props and several smaller rolling backdrops helped enhance the performances and engage the audience. laborate and accurate costumes as well as voiceovers that sounded similar to the actors of the original movies contributed to the uality of the skit. t ended with a triumphant Woody uniting the characters and the classes they symbolized, leading his fellow toys to safety and victory. The sophomores’ decorations were both simple and detailed. ellow and white paper airplanes and balloons hung from ropes that stretched across the skyline. The backdrop was well designed and featured intricately drawn figures. The middle panel, which featured a drawing of ndy’s bedroom, accurately portrayed its details. The sophomores also decorated trash cans and created cardboard aliens, a toy claw machine, and even a train that were mounted on the railings of the amphitheater. From Hip Hop to ollywood to op, the sophomores incorporated many diverse airbands into their performance. One performance that stood out was a group composed of five singers, who surprised the audience by singing a medley of ollywood songs. nother airband performed an upbeat version of the famous Toy Story theme song, ou’ve ot Friend n e, encouraging the audience to stand up and sway to the beat. The final airband sang a mash up of the pop songs, Cheap Thrills and on’t et e own, after which all the sophomore participants went on stage and performed a choreographed dance to Closer to conclude their lively and vigorous performance.

think that the sophomores had a ton of energy and good spirit. Their decorations were put together really well, and all of their performances really brought light and showed everyone e pressing their different talents. artik arang,

thought their deco was really good and their backdrop looked amazing. Their skit was really cute and their actors were on point. y favorite airband was probably ollywood. —Ariana Chen, 12

We definitely had a lot more spirit than last year which was good, and we were more unified. I felt that we had a lot more creative stuff, and overall we had a really good variety this year. ucas Huang, 0

The Class of 2018 took their homecoming on September 21 out of this “I really liked their skit the most, world with their Star Wars themed and their fighting scene the decorations, spirited airbands, and most. thought their Hip Hop engaging “Return of the Juniors” skit. was really good, and ollywood. Black balloon streamers stretched allroom was amazing and it across the amphitheater and clevwas really fun because everyerly-made Imperial fighter planes one was screaming. decorated the handrails of the sur— Aneri Parikh, 11 rounding walkways. There was a huge galaxy-print “2018” sign with models of Imperial walkers The airbands today were very coordinated and surrounding the numbers. smooth. also really loved the 20 letters painted The words “May the force be with you” like a gala y and the backdrop. Overall, the spanned the front of the stage in big block letters, and uniors did a great ob today. achi Tolani, 0 the Star Wars logo hung from the stage rafters. The entire stage wall was covered by paintings of Storm Trooper masks and a grayscale backdrop of the Star Wars protagonists in a spaceship, with the phrase “Return of the Juniors” along the top. As students filed into the amphitheater, the juniors kicked off the show with an instrumental band playing the familiar Star Wars theme song, followed by upbeat singers who pumped up the audience. The skit started with the characters—Senior Obi-Wan Kenobi, Junior Luke Skywalker, Sophomore Han Solo, and Freshman Leia Organa—walking onstage accompanied by music alluding to each grade level’s theme. Yoda tells the characters that as the top students in their classes, they must go on a mission to destroy the Death Star. The climax of the skit comes when Luke confronts Darth Vader, who tries to persuade Luke to join the dark side. However, Luke withstands the temptation. He and his friends destroy the Death Star, symbolized by breaking a black piñata hanging from the roof. An intense fight scene was incorporated into this part of the skit, with students performing martial arts combat as the thought it was pretty good. audience cheered them on. One notable prop modeled Han Solo’s The unior class definitely had a lot of spirit. Their dance spaceship and the characters’ costumes were creatively designed. airbands were good as well as the fighting The skit had several moments celebrating class unity as well as one. thought their skit was pret a memorable recreation of the famous Darth Vader death scene ty creative. really liked the part of their deco from the original trilogy. where they pulled the string and all the confetEnergetic airbands were interspersed throughout the perforti shot out. mance. The Bollywood airband drew cheers and applause from manda Wang, 2 the crowd with a variety of Bollywood hits. The Jazz airband mesmerized the audience with jaw-dropping moves and excellent coordination, synchronized to a mashup of several popular hits. The Ballroom airband also featured some excellent stunts as audience members enthusiastically chanted the music. The performance hit another high note towards the end when a musical group sang the hit songs “One Dance” and “Cheap Thrills,” accompanied by hundreds of MSJ students. Overall, the junior homecoming performance was well-executed and memorable. Throughout the show, the juniors showed their spirit, from waving a flag labeled with the number 18 to yelling “One-eight, dominate!” As the skit ended, the juniors in the audience joined the performers onstage for a final class chant.

thought the airbands were pretty good. They had a lot of boys participating, especially in ollywood. They had some microphone problems but everyone was cheering even when the speakers went out, so thought that was great. Wynne heng, PHOTOS BY WEB EDITOR CAROLYN GE & OPINION EDITOR TANUSHRI SUNDAR, GRAPHICS BY MOVIESTILLSDB.COM, COURTESY KRISTINE YUAN

PHOTOS BY SPORTS EDITOR MUSTAFA AHMED & STAFF WRITER DEEKSHA RAINA, GRAPHICS BY STARWARSCANNONPOLITICS.COM, COURTESY CLAIRE MI

14 Centerspread

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Friday, October 21, 2016

“I think it was pretty awesome. By Andrew Kan & Richard Chenyu Zhou “I thought there was such a “I think the “As a senior, I I know a lot of seniors, and large variety of deco and that Staff Writers performance think that we rethey were all really pumped was really nice. The seA group of boisterous sewas really good, it ally pulled through up. The airbands were niors definitely showed was really pumped not as a class, but reniors met students as they fun to watch and the a lot of spirit especialup, and I think the ally as a family. I was imwalked down to the amphithedeco was cute. I ly when everyone dances, especially the pressed with the progress ater on September 22. Red and was screaming so went on stage Tahitian and the Ballroom, that we made with decoramuch I almost white streamers, balloons, roses, at the end.” were really cute. They were tions, considering the fact that lost my voice.” and graduation hats lined the sky— Jessica really energetic and really into we pretty much made all of them — Alison Wang, 9 line and nearby walkways. A High it so I really liked it. And I was the night before. Airbands were exTso, 11 School Musical bus filled with pictures able to sing along with the songs tremely well-rehearsed and energetic, and T-shirts from past Homecoming and dance along with it because it displaying strong group dynamics and performances and rows of lockers were was so pumped up. I loved it! I think completely redefining what it means to perched close by, and a large 2017 sign stood the deco was really good too, except for be performers. Furthermore, not only did we the balloons, but the backdrop and everyhype up the senior class, but the other students on the hill next to the library. Two singing airthing really represented High School Musical.” as well as staff were able to enjoy the show.” bands and a short basketball game started — Evelyn Yun, 10 — Melvin Lin, 12 off the performance with the crowd on its feet. In the skit, which references the High School Musical series, Senior Troy struggles to decide between playing at the MVAL basketball game and singing at the Homecoming performance with Sophomore Gabriella. At the same time, Junior Sharpay, upset that she will have to compete against Troy and Gabriella for a Homecoming performance spot, attempts to stir up trouble. The characters go through several misunderstandings and reconciliations before finally becoming unified. Troy decides to sing during Homecoming and gives an outstanding performance, while Sharpay realizes that class unity is more important than her selfish desires. Throughout the performance, the 12 unique airbands, including New Style Hip-Hop duo Sleazy Crew, Haka, and Tahitian, ensured that the audience was always full of energy. Each one kept the crowd standing and cheering. The performers were all extremely synchronized and coordinated, and most of them had elaborate costumes. For example, Color Guard was dressed in red, and featured plastic rifles as well as red, white, and golden flags in its performance. In addition to their main performance on Thursday, the seniors showed their spirit all week. Seniors gathered daily in the senior lounge to play music and take pictures. They also displayed their zest on spirit days, such as toga day, superhero day, and senior citizen or nerd day, coming to school dressed in fun and creative costumes. During the performance itself, the seniors’ spirit never slowed. Students enthusiastically chanted, “You wish you were a senior, hoo hah” every time there was downtime between performances, often prompting other classes to shout their own chants. During airbands, the crowd pulsed with energy, often swaying with the beat and singing along to the songs. Performers kept the audience on its toes and made effective use of a selfie stick that never failed to cause the crowd to erupt into cheers. The senior class gave a strong performance full of good memories. For the finale, all the seniors in the crowd rushed onto the stage and celebrated their last Homecoming performance. They showed that they really were all in this together and embraced the Homecoming unity spirit.

PHOTOS BY CENTERSPREAD EDITOR MALLIKA GUPTA & SPORTS EDITOR CINDY YUAN, GRAPHICS COURTESY ANITA CARRAHER

Friday, October 21, 2016

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Arts & Entertainment 15

By Ian Hsu, Jenny Miao, Helen Wang & Maggie Zhao Staff Writers MSJ has many YouTubers that upload a variety of content, from sports to beauty to technology and more. As this social media platform increases in popularity, more people are joining as both viewers and uploaders. The Smoke Signal interviewed six popular MSJ YouTubers who responded to an online survey to get their perspective on their YouTube careers and future aspirations. The YouTubers were chosen based on the number of subscribers they had, how long they had been running their channel, and the diversity of their content. digital imaging and ceramics teacher donny Hui created his channel to inspire people and

Sports/Exercise: ElevateYourself

help them achieve more than they think they can. He STARTED his channel, ElevateYourself,

Digital imaging and ceramics teacher Donny Hui

as a tool for his business, which provides volleyball instruction, personal training, and fitness training. After Hui started posting more volleyball instructional videos

Created: Jun. 12, 2012

online, it “went crazy from there” as his audience and subscribers increased. Hui has

Number of Subscribers: 43,084

come a long way and, one day, he hopes to be able to work on his channel full-time. Hui’s

Elevate Yourself, a channel created by Ceramics

favorite thing about YouTube is the comments and emails he receives from inspired fans.

Teacher Donny Hui, is a volleyball tutorial page

As a word of warning to YouTubers, Hui advises, “If you try to do it for money, you will

dedicated to helping amateurs and competitive

get burnt out and you will not grow,” recounting a mistake he learned from his personal experience. After volleyball season finishes, Hui plans to post more workout and

players alike advance their skill, experience, and

instructional videos and continue to motivate people in whatever they

technique. He posts lessons on volleyball tech-

pursue through his videos.

nique, strategies, eating habits, and compilations of volleyball play. Two years ago, camera-shy SENIOR Meredith Mao decided to step out of her comfort zone and filmed her first YouTube video. She created a channel that mirrored

Beauty/Fashion: Meredith Mao Meredith Mao, 12

her interest in beauty and fashion, hoping to inspire people with her content and make

Created: Dec. 9, 2012

them smile. In the future, Mao plans to add more vlogs to her channel to keep better

Number of Subscribers: 290

track of her life and look back on how far she has come through her videos. Mao’s fa-

Meredith Mao’s channel has fashion

vorite part about YouTube is the creativity that YouTube’s open platform allows for, as well as connecting with people from OTHER places. Mao’s advice for other YouTubers would be to “be yourself, and don’t try to copy what [content] other people make.” Watch out for upcoming seasonal lookbooks and makeup tutorials

hauls and outfit videos, as well as personal vlogs of her travels and fitness routines.

on Mao’s channel.

Music: Emily Jean

G r ow-

Emily Jean, 11

ing up in a musical family,

Created: Aug. 10, 2010

Junior Emily Jean created a musical channel to share her

Number of Subscribers: 522

singing and spread her passion for music. Her goal for the channel is simply to make others happy with the music she puts out. In the future, she also wants to

junior Emily Jean sings covers of

work on putting more of her personality into her videos. Jean attributes much of

American pop songs and often fea-

her success to her supportive friends who help promote her music. Her favorite

tures herself playing the guitar or

part of being a YouTuber is seeing the positive effects her music has on others. As

the piano to accompany her singing.

advice to any new YouTuber, Jean said, “Don’t be afraid of what people are going to say. Keep making videos and being interactive. Know what you want.”

Technology: Antonalog What started out as a hobby turned into a full-blown tech channel. After consistently making videos, people started sharing and posting on Twitter, and Freshman Anton Lin’s channel grew steadily to where it’s at today. Lin hopes to expand his channel to 50,000 subscribers

Anton Lin, 9 Created: Nov. 27, 2011 Number of Subscribers: 7,163

by the end of next year. The channel’s goal is to inspire and influence viewers to make better deci-

Antonalog is centered

sions when buying technology. Since starting his channel, he has become more comfortable with

around technology. The

speaking to viewers. Lin feels that the best part of being a YouTuber is interacting with the tech community, whether with his viewers or with other

Gaming: RoyalTwinkie

YouTubers.

channel features reviews and tests of smartphones and gaming technology.

Stephen Tselikov, 12 and Yoobin Seo, 12 Created: Sept. 13, 2012

Inspired by other gaming YouTubers SUCH AS PewDiePie, Seniors Stephen Tselikov and Yoobin Seo created RoyalTwinkie in hopes of making a

Number of Subscribers: 17,258

difference in the gaming community. The channel started out unorganized

RoyalTwinkie frequently

with random videoS. Eventually, with hard work, dedication, and endless

streams live feed of SENIORS STEPHEN Tselikov and YOOBIN

hours streaming and editing every single day, Tselikov and Seo somehow managed to “pull through.” With massive improvement in editing and speaking, the duo hopes to advance their organization and consistency,

Seo playing video games

and in a year reach 100,000 subscribers and another 200,000 subscribers

such as Minecraft, MinePlex,

for their second channel, Stoobin. They love the interaction with viewers,

Roblox, and Hypixel. They

and hope RoyalTwinkie can improve people’s lives and

also feature YouTube challenges and tags. After receiving several requests to start a blog for her recipes, Junior Jessica Wang decided to start her YouTube channel, Sugar Crystal Kitchen, to bring her recipes to the world. While the channel started out small, Wang soon began collaborating with other YouTube stars and rapidly gained popularity as she quickly became noticed by fans. She currently has over 1,250 subscribers and continues to be on the rise. “My hope is that I can hit over 5,000 subscribers by the end of next year,” Wang said. She encourages anyone who views her channel to try out and use her recipes.

bring them happiness.

Culinary: Sugar Crystal Kitchen Jessica Wang, 11 Created: Oct. 4, 2014 Number of Subscribers: 1,313 Sugar Crystal Kitchen features tutorials on sweets, with everything from sorbets to sticky rice. Visually appealing and concise, this channel is not only practical for food-lovers but also intriguing to watch for all audiences. PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITERS IAN HSU, HELEN WANG & MAGGIE ZHAO

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Friday, October 21, 2016

The Smoke Signal

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“My counselor was organized, had flexible scheduling for meetings, and was very active in the application process. We were always on task and he answered all questions at the end of the meeting and went over every section of apps before submitting. He always replied quickly through email. Also Karen was a really good editor and helped me greatly with my college essays.” –W. C. “It is an unforgettable life time experience to work with IvyBoost and my mentor. As first generation immigrants, my parents and I really do not know about college and financial aid applications. IvyBoost’s counseling is just like a lighthouse

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Friday, October 21, 2016

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Arts & Entertainment 17

C R I T I C S’ C O R N E R M u si C: Bon Ive r , G r i z | F ilm s : d e e p wate r h o r i zon , Mas ter min d

Under the radar GRiZ

By Ella Chen Staff Writer Grant Kwiecinski, more popularly known as GRiZ, is a Michigan-based DJ who specializes in funk, electronic soul, and dubstep. He is known to play his saxophone in many of his songs, but perhaps the most notable of his growing achievements is his insistence on making sure that his music is available for free to the public. All of GRiZ’s albums, singles, and mixtapes are available to download from his website, Soundcloud, and Spotify. GRiZ launched his career in 2011 with the release of his first album, End of the World Party. He created his own label, All Good Records, to promote his music, and by 2013, he had garnered enough interest in subsequent album releases to be electronic music website The Untz’s “#1 Breakout Artist of the Year.” His music often incorporates element of gospel, soul, jazz, and even southern rock. On September 23, GRiZ released his latest album, Good Will Prevail, which features vocals from rising music contemporaries such as Muzzy Bearr, Eric Krasno, Son Little, and Leo Napier. The DJ describes this album as his “best work yet,” crediting the news as the source of inspiration for his growing desire to share a positive message with the world. The introductory track “Wicked” sets a heavy electronic tone that continues consistently as the tracks flow into each other. However, the ending song “Driftin’,” is much mellower and provides the perfect closure to the track list. As a frequent user of social media, GRiZ keeps his fans updated with his musical progress through consistent Snapchat stories and daily Facebook posts. He posts snippets of his latest collaborations in video releases so his fans, affectionately dubbed GRiZFam, know what to look forward to in the future. ▪

deepwater horizon

Music review bon iver

By Amy Chen Staff Writer Deepwater Horizon, directed by Peter Berg, will pleasantly surprise viewers expecting a purely action-based film with its breathtaking aerial shots and numerous touching moments. The film was released on September 30 and is based on an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred in April 2010. The explosion of the oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, resulted in the largest offshore oil spill in US history and the death of 11 workers. Because the film is based on a true story, the plot is understandably predictable. Fortunately, despite its inevitable outcome, the action-packed film manages to keep the audience engaged with scattered, startling explosions and a talented, well-rounded cast. Mark Wahlberg, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O’Brien, and Kurt Russel portray workers of varying ranks on the oil rig and come together

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to escape the Deepwater Horizon. The film’s message warning against the dangers of corporate greed can be found in the main villain of the film, Donald Vidrine, a company executive who ultimately causes the explosion. The film takes artistic license in its portrayal of the calm before the storm. The mood of the film gets progressively more frantic, successfully building suspense as it nears the climax. It also has sudden, frequent mood changes from peaceful to hectic, flashing between scenes of characters oblivious in dormant parts of the oil rig and the catastrophe just on the other side of the rig. This effect makes the film more interesting, but occasionally leaves the audience wondering what the director’s original intentions were. In times of pure catastrophe, characters interject with random tidbits about their personal lives that have no relevance to the plot. Whether these bits of information are plot devices to emphasize the

direness of the situation or a weak attempt to develop the victims of the explosion, they certainly detract from the realistic feeling the film desperately tries to exude. Overall, the film production is that of a high budget movie. Its cinematography is creative and well thought out, with unique shots that, along with the soundtrack, draw viewers in and assist in setting the proper mood for the situation at hand. The special effects are incredibly realistic, except for the stray explosion every so often. For those who can ignore the awkward mood changes and predictable plot line, Deepwater Horizon is an enjoyable film and a worthy tribute to the lives lost in the Deep Horizon oil rig explosion. ▪ Rating: B-

masterminds is less than masterful

Book Bites By Joelle Chuang Staff Writer

Student Recommendations Title: I’ll Give You the Sun Author: Jandy Nelson Rating: Moderate Genre: Young Adult

I’ll Give You the Sun is about two close twins who are separated and their stories of family, pain, and first love, and their journeys to find each other again.

“It’s a very sweet book that explores By Evie Sun the relationship between twins separated by unspeakable tragedy. The writing Staff Writer is chock full of imagery, and carries the Directed by Jared Hess, Masterplot along well.” — Vicki Xu, 10 minds falls into the category of a “mindless comedy.” With a cast feaTitle: Robot Dreams turing comic geniuses such as KrisAuthor: Isaac Asimov ten Wiig, Zach Galifianakis, Kate Rating: Moderate McKinnon, and Owen Wilson, Genre: Science Fiction this heist comedy offers substantial Robot Dreams is a collection of 21 short promise in the laughs department. stories about the future of technology, However, it instead relies on crude the evolution of robots, and human ma- humor and innuendo to sustain its turity. audience’s interest. “It is my favorite book. Every time Based on the true story of the you read it you figure out something new. It is like seeing an old friend and 1997 Loomis Fargo heist in North finding out something new about Carolina, Masterminds follows the rithem. You just see different layers of diculous adventures of David Scott it every time you read it.” — Rachel Ghantt (Galifianakis), an average, clumsy man who works as a vault suSun, 10 pervisor at the Loomis Fargo Bank. Due to his gullibility, he is lured by Staff Recommendation his crush at work, Kelly Campbell Title: The Peripheral (Wiig), into committing what would Author: William Gibson be known as the second-largest allRating: Difficult cash robbery in US history at that Genre: Science Fiction The Peripheral is about Burton Fisher, the time. With assistance from Kelly main character, who is unable to test a and her high school friend Steve new game. His sister Flynne takes over Chambers (Wilson), Ghantt managfor him, unaware of the fact that the es to break into the vault and steal game may actually involve murder. $17.3 million. Ghantt immediately “I would recommend The Peripheral be- flees to Mexico following the heist, cause it uses quantum entanglement to but not before he blindly hands show the relationship between the 99 the money over to Chambers, who percent and the one percent.” — En- spends a portion of the loot to hire glish Teacher Brian Rath

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a hit man to hunt Ghantt down. The film is set in rural North Carolina, and it plays on the stereotypical “trailer trash” family. All of the characters speak with an exaggerated Southern drawl, and David Ghantt drives a dumpy truck with a wooden plank as a door. He lives with his fiancée, Jandice, and her oxygen-bound mother, in a run-down trailer home. Right off the bat, audience members are hit with a large dose of slapstick humor, as Ghantt awkwardly shoots himself in the pants with a target rifle. Although a couple of episodes had everyone in the audience laughing (one of which involved snake-eye contacts and a blonde wig), the film does not evolve from the lewd dialogue that accompanies the beginning of the movie. The plot itself is simple and predictable. Held together by farce and visual gags, Masterminds lacks depth and development. The first half of the film flows more smoothly than the second half, in which Ghantt flees to Mexico. The middle of the movie drags as fillers and special effect gags attempt to keep the audience entertained. With about 45

minutes to spare, the film takes an abrupt turn and closes on an awkward note. In a film burdened by forced humor, one particular redeeming factor stands out as genuinely funny. David’s fiancée, Jandice (Mckinnon), plays a smaller role in the film, yet her dialogue and acting is golden. Her vacant and eclectic character provides a hilarious contrast to the witty, put-together Kelly Campbell. When asked by the engagement photographer about how the two of them met, Jandice remarks that Ghantt was the pall-bearer at her first boyfriend’s funeral. She deadpans, “That one’s dead, and this one’s alive.” With its frequent innuendo and cheap antics, Masterminds appeals to older teens and adults. Even so, one can only laugh at so many potty jokes before the effect starts to wear off. The heist comedy seeks to entertain, and it accomplishes just that. Unfortunately, it does not have much else to offer. ▪

By Evangeline Chang Staff Writer After five years, Bon Iver finally released their newest album, 22, A Million on September 30. The album premiered at Justin Vernon’s Eaux Claires Music Festival and contains a variety of indie and electronic styled songs, which are quite unique compared to Bon Iver’s previous albums. The album has a regal aura and strong feelings conveyed through each of the ten tracks. Bon Iver is a band that was founded in 2007 by Justin Vernon, an American singer and songwriter. Since then, they have only created three full-length albums. Their previous albums, including Blood Bank and Bon Iver, Bon Iver, had an indie folk style. 22, A Million takes a stylistic turn towards music that has more instrumental parts and fewer lyrics than pieces from their other albums. By doing so, the pieces in the album sound even more emotional. The tracks have much heavier musical effects, including jazz tones and synthetic sounds. For example, compare “Skinny Love” from their previous album For Emma, Forever Ago, to “715 - CR∑∑KS” from 22, A Million, their new album. The first impression one could have while listening to 22, A Million would be that the names of all the songs are simply bizarre. From “21 M◊◊N WATER” to “____45_____,” and even a song called “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄,” these names embody how unique this album is. In multiple songs, Bon Iver even had made-up words included in the lyrics, which has happened before in some of the band’s other works. In general, the album sounds very surreal. The use of harmony and synthetic effects, unlike previous works, gives the album a whimsical feeling. Many of the songs, such as “22 (OVER S∞∞N)” or “29 #Strafford APTS” give off a nostalgic, sad or bittersweet feeling. None of the tracks are very lyric-heavy, and the words used in the songs can be slightly repetitive, but they add depth to the music. All the pieces in 22, A Million are a unique style of music, incorporating indie folk and electronic music. On Bon Iver’s official website, Trever Hagen, a friend of Vernon, had written about the origin of the album 22, A Million. Hagen writes that the number 22 is significant and has reoccurred many times in Vernon’s life, so it holds a deeper meaning than just a number in the album name. The tracks within the album itself are artistic representations of his relationship with himself and also symbolize different cultures and friendships. 22, A Million does not include many tracks, so if you are looking to explore a new genre of music, this album is perfect for you. What draws people to 22, A Million are the emotion and connection felt while listening to the album. The relaxing music in this album, such as “33 ‘GOD’,” “21 M◊◊N WATER,” or “00000 Million” makes listeners feel at ease, and it is quite relaxing to listen to. For anyone interested in listening to an unconventional style of music, check out 22, A Million. ▪ Rating: A-

Rating: C+

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The Smoke Signal

Food Truck Festival By Amber Lee & Richard Zhou Staff Writers

First established in 2011, Fremont Street Eats takes place from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays from May to October. The outdoor event is located on a section of Capitol Avenue between Fremont Boulevard and State Street. The Fremont Chamber of Commerce works with Food Truck Mafia to bring new food trucks every week and host additional entertainment such as live music and movie screenings on certain days. The Smoke Signal set out to review three out of nine food trucks, each one serving a different cuisine with a unique variety of dishes on the menu.

Friday, October 21, 2016

overall Ambiance: 4.5/5

Although the entire festival spans a short section of the street, the environment is pleasant and welcoming. Food trucks lined the curb, and tables and chairs filled the space divided by a row of trees running down the middle of the road. The number of people increased as the sun set, but the event never felt uncomfortably crowded. Twinkling lights strung along the street added a charming touch in the dark. Live music in the background and families strolling down the street contributed to the positive, relaxed vibes.

creative waffle sandast food and upgrades it into akf bre e rag ave es tak ffle Wa ludes sandwich stuffings Stuff My d combinations. The menu inc fusions of chicken and foo ed ect exp un h wit ed fill us wiches ter and jelly to more adventuro ranging from classic peanut but ize their own sandwiches, choosing from an array of tom served hot, jalapeños. Customers can cus se, Orange-You-Hungry, was cho we h dis e Th gs. ffin stu gly well. The different waffles and plemented each other surprisin considering com ts ien red ing nt ere diff able and the waffles and de our dish. The price is reason ma tly mp pro and ly nd frie re employees we ellent quality of the food. the heaping amounts and exc

fle Stuff My Waf rating: 5/5

Capelo’s Barbecue serves a variety of meats as well as sandwiches and tacos. Although there was only one employee taking orders and the line moved slowly, the employee was pleasant and attentive. An added bonus was the complimentary butterscotch candy, which was a great after-meal snack. The barbecue pork ribs were well-cooked, with tender, savory meat that slid off the bone easily. Tangy barbecue sauce brushed over the surface complemented the pork ribs without covering up the flavor of the meat. The dish was slightly pricey at $8.00 for three ribs, but each rib contained a sizable amount of meat and was definitely worth it for the superb taste.

Capelo’s Bar becue rating: 4/5

3Geeks specializes in cheesesteaks and seafood, a combination that while initially off-putting, manages to be both flavorful and fresh. Serving classics like their Fish and Chips next to specialty house dishes like their Clam Poboy sandwich, 3Geeks adds a unique twist on blending seafood into traditional dishes. The Bacon Popcorn Shrimp was hot and crispy on the outside, with juicy meat inside. Bits of bacon added pungent highlights to the dish, while sauce drizzled over the top provided the perfect finishing touches. However, at $6.99, the pricing can be a bit expensive for the small portion of food served.

3geeks rating: 4/5 GRAPHICS BY BADGERHILLBREWING.COM

Friday, October 21, 2016

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Sports 19

Wrestling wins State Academic Team Championship By Shivani Avasarala Staff Writer The Wrestling team was awarded the State Academic Team Championship by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) for the 2015-16 school year. The team represented the North Coast section with an overall team GPA of 3.81, and ranked 25th out of 32 teams from 10 sections across CA. Representing more than 722,000 studentathletes, CIF is a nonprofit federation that aims to foster student growth, equality, and academic development. To further develop this goal, the CIF State Academic Team Championship Program was instituted in 1996 as a platform to recognize and reward sports teams with the highest overall GPA, based on the unweighted 4.0 GPA scale. Section offices across the state nominated teams across all sports with high athletic and academic achievements, and recommended them to the state office where final winners were determined. After a challenging and rewarding season, Wrestling accepted this award for the third time in the team’s history. During the 201516 season, the team persevered through both athletics and academics with this acknowledgement. Individual team members faced obstacles such as controlling their weight and attending rigorous daily practices, but were able to gain discipline and determination through having to balance wrestling and school. The greatest contributing factor to their achievement proved to be their strong mentality and mindset. Wrestling Head Coach Thomas Thomsen said, “They [team members] meet a lot of adversity in terms of having to practice hard every day for two hours, going home and doing homework and what they need to do for school, and getting up the next day and following the exact same schedule over again, for a three

STAFF WRITER SHIVANI AVASARALA

Current wrestling team members pose with textbooks next to their award flag. From left to right: Sophomores Aaron Mendoza, Flora Chang, and Alice Drozd, Junior Lance Renteria, Sophomore Nikita Dhaliwal, Juniors Isaac Wang and Jared Pingue, Senior Shawn Pham, and Junior Colin Trang.

or four-month period. Not a lot of people can do that.” Team members also learned valuable life lessons along the way, including striving to do their best and working hard for everything they are going to accomplish. Winning the State Academic Team Championship motivated team members to persist in dedicating time and effort into wrestling.

It also served as a turning point for returning student-athletes hesitant to compete this upcoming season due to the difficulty of seriously pursuing a sport and managing time. Regarding the significance of this achievement, wrestler Junior Isaac Wang said, “Winning the award as well as doing well in season proves to other people and to us that we can be good

students and good athletes at the same time.” The team received a congratulatory banner to be put up on display in the school gym. With this award on their record, Wrestlers plan on improving its skills along with its female team in preparation for the upcoming winter season. ▪

New coaches: Michael Jan and Tiffany Stelle By Ansh Patel & Helen Wang Staff Writers

Tiffany Stelle started cheerleading in high school and continues to pursue her passion for the sport by coaching the MSJ team. The Smoke Signal interviewed Stelle to learn about her plans for the cheer team and how she plans to adjust to the new year. The Smoke Signal: Please tell us about your background as a cheer coach. Tiffany Stelle: This is my first year coaching high school. I’ve coached cheer for youth leagues, and I was a cheerleader at Irvington High School for four years. SS: What do you think the current MSJ Cheer is lacking? TS: One of our weaknesses is our skill level. We have a much younger team and many of our stunting cheerleaders graduated last year. We’ve had to rebuild the skills, teach new flyers and bases, and really kind of bring everyone from a zero base to a knowledge of cheerleading [sic]. SS: How do you plan on strengthening the team this year? TS: I currently plan on growing the cheerleading program. We started with six girls at the beginning of the year, and we’re now at 16 girls and two guys. Because of that, we’ve been able to divide up into Varsity and Junior Varsity, which hasn’t happened here in a while. So one of my biggest initiatives is trying to grow the program and getting more community involvement. SS: How has the absence of the MSJ football program affected the cheer team? TS: Since we don’t have a football program, we figure that this is a good time to branch out and try new things. We’re performing at the Veterans Day Parade and a Niles Parade. We’re also looking for volunteer opportunities for our cheerleaders to work with youth leagues and earn service hours. We’re also trying to get involvement in promoting Mission’s name for building a sense of commu-

nity and letting people know that the cheerleaders are here to help. So far this year, we’ve gone to a summer camp at University of California, Davis and we’ve competed around the Bay Area and won numerous awards. SS: What is your coaching philosophy and how has it changed over time? TS: My coaching philosophy is to encourage the students to reach their full potential, not focusing just on the negative, but also on the positive and letting students know what they’ve done well and how we can continue to foster that behavior and skill level. SS: What do you hope to accomplish with your position as cheer coach? TS: We plan on supporting all of our sports during their senior nights. We’re also going to try to branch out into some local competitions. We have a competition on December 4 at James Logan High School and some other local tournaments that we’re trying out for the first time. ▪

Michael Jan, an MSJ alumnus and current teacher at Washington High School, has played and coached tennis since he was at MSJ, and now returns to MSJ to coach Boys’ Tennis. The Smoke Signal interviewed Jan and asked about his career, his perception of the MSJ tennis team, and the change in culture since he left MSJ. The Smoke Signal: Please tell us about your background as a tennis coach. Michael Jan: After playing tennis here [at MSJ], I actually coached at the Fremont Tennis Center for a number of years and I eventually ran their summer program there, so I became one of the team leaders there. I ran that for about four to five years and continued to play tennis even though I was in the high-tech world. Then, when I became a teacher at Washington [High School], I wanted to continue coaching, so as a result, I took the role of assistant coach. I’ve been doing that for about three years now. SS: What do you think the culture is at MSJ and how does it compare to the culture when you were here? MJ: The culture kind of evolved to what it is now. It is now stronger in academics and it was pretty strong before but there is now a higher emphasis on that and there is a higher emphasis on excellence in all areas for a lot of these students. My role, I feel like, is to be a role model to my players. I want them to grow to become the adults that they want to be. Second of all, in terms of tennis, I want to help them to balance their lives as well too, because I know that there is a big emphasis on education, which is good, but I think now there are a lot of colleges that are looking for students that are very balanced. So you need academics, but you also need something else like music, sports, or something like that, and I want to be the one who can help these kids to balance that.

MJ: I don’t know where the team is exactly right now, but I want to win the Mission Valley Athletic League, and I want to bring MSJ back to NCS [North Coast Section]. When I was here, we made three out of the four years … winning second place both times, third place another time. My cousin actually singlehandedly won the NCS; he’s in the Mission Hall of Fame. This is my school, this is where my family has developed its own tennis legacy, and I want to keep that going. SS: Do you have any advice for current team members or people interested in joining the tennis team? MJ: So, for current team members and for people looking to join, keep practicing hard, keep doing your thing, be excited about what’s going to come. The team has been a little bit unstable for the past couple years, and I’m here to bring stability and they should be excited about that. It’s going to be a fun environment for the kids to really grow together, build teamwork, and just have fun winning. ▪

SS: What do you hope to accomplish with your position as a tennis coach? Cheer Coach Tiffany Stelle

STAFF WRITER ANSH PATEL

Boys’ Tennis Coach Michael Jan

STAFF WRITER HELEN WANG

20 Sports

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, October 21, 2016

Cross Country excels at Stanford Invitational By Michael Ren & Evie Sun Staff Writers More than 100 teams from across the Bay Area attended the Stanford Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, October 1. Varsity boys’ and girls’ teams competed in the Division Two Boys and Division Two Girls races on a five-kilometer (5K) course looped around the Stanford Golf Course. The weather was optimal for running with minimal wind and warm conditions, and it aided the team in achieving their stellar results. The boys’ team placed 10th overall in their race. “The boys’ team competitively placed very high, making us one of the best teams in our league,” said Cross Country Head Coach Jack Marden. MSJ’s performance allowed them to finish first out of all the participating Mission Valley Athletic League teams, with James Logan High School following close behind. Captain Senior Tom Scrutton said, “Overall, everyone did really well. For a lot of our team it was their first time running this particular race, so it was a new experience for them.” The boys’ team’s top finishers were Junior Shrey Vasavada at 29th place, Sophomore Nitin Sagi at 32nd place, and Freshman Arnav Arora at 33rd place. Their respective times for the 5K were 16:34.2, 16:37.1, and 16:37.6. During the race, the three runners worked together by pushing each other’s pace, which helped them achieve their outstanding race times. “Having three guys within about five seconds of each other at such a big invitational is really good. Both [Sagi and Arora] are improving and they’re really young, so next year we’ll have a good chance too,” said Vasavada. The rest of the boys’ team also posted great times. The Varsity girls’ team placed 17th overall, but due to the absence of two key Varsity runners, the team did not score as well

COURTESY JOHN HOTCHKISS

Junior Shrey Vasavada leads teammates Sophomore Nitin Sagi and Freshman Arnav Arora.

as they have at the past Stanford Invitationals. Regardless, each of the remaining runners put out her best effort and scored well individually. “We just went out and ran our own race, and even if we were several places behind the place that we expected to be, it was fine because it was such a huge invitational,” said Captain Senior Lydia Chew. This year, the Varsity girls’ team also welcomed Freshman Rachel Lau, who ran her first 5K race at the Invitational. The top finisher in the girls’

race was Junior Avery Smith, who improved by a minute from last year’s Invitational with a time of 20:05.00. “My goal was to break 20 [minutes] in this race for the 5K, and also run it a lot better than I did last year, and give more. I feel as though I accomplished that, even though I didn’t break 20 [minutes]. I was really close, and I feel that I gave it everything I had,” said Smith. The runners on the Varsity team never cease to strive for excellence, and their hard work was clearly reflected in their

performances at the invitational. The next major competition for the team is Mission Valley League Finals on Thursday, November 10, which the team hopes to win. Marden said, “I always find myself surprised because Mission kids are so dedicated to the things they’re involved in; they put in their very best effort. And I do find that surprising because oftentimes, you might not expect that out of someone their age, and they do it.” ▪

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Friday, October 21, 2016

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Sports 21

Spotlight: MSJ Wushu Competitors By Stephanie Dutra, Katherine Guo & Jonathan Ko Staff Writers

MSJ is home to a number of students who regularly practice Wushu, a form of martial arts that combines the different practices of traditional Chinese martial arts and elements of performance. Wushu is comprised of several disciplines, including contemporary Wushu, Chang Quan, and Tai Chi. During Multicultural Week, MSJ hosts a number of Wushu performances, with World History Teacher Karl Hui practicing Tai Chi and a group performance that features both forms and sparring. Juniors Wallace Lim and Jasmine Syu and Senior Alyssa Lo are among the most prominent competitors — not just at MSJ or in the Bay Area, but throughout the world.

History of Wushu

Wushu dates back to the early Bronze Age, when contests of strength were common. As tribal warfare died down, Wushu spread from the troops to the rest of the population. Once China became unified, Wushu became a form of entertainment as part of contests of strength. Later, it led to the development of advanced combat weapons for the military, such as the double chain whip, nine-section whip, and three-section staff. When Confucius rose to prominence, he advocated for the common man to be trained in Wushu for self-defense and health. In modern culture, Wushu is perhaps best known from the big-screen exploits of Jet Li and Jackie Chan.

Jasmine Syu Syu first became interested in Wushu after watching her older sister practice. She eventually became a full-fledged student at the age of 7. Though she initially competed exclusively in contemporary Wushu, she has recently begun training in internal Wushu, or Tai Chi. Syu competed at the US Team Trials and qualified to be on the Adult US Wushu Team. Last summer, she competed at the Pan-American Wushu Championships in Texas. Speaking about how Wushu has shaped her life today, Syu said, “You have to know how to have pride in what you do, no matter what happens, and seek out constant self-improvement.” In the future, Syu hopes to continue representing Team USA and start a Wushu team at whatever college she attends.

Wallace Lim Lim joined the Wushu community at the age of 7 when his friend dragged him to a trial session, where he was inspired by older students training to be black belts. Lim competes in contemporary Wushu, more specifically Chang Quan, and recently started training in Tai Chi. He placed at various local competitions and larger tournaments including the 6th World Traditional Wushu Championships in China during his freshman year and the recent 11th Pan-American Wushu Championships in Texas. Concerning the impact Wushu has had on his character, Lim said, “[It] taught me how to express my emotions and present myself with confidence.” Lim hopes to make the Junior and Adult US Wushu Team and join a college team in the future.

Alyssa Lo Lo was first introduced to Wushu when she was 7 years old, but started competing at the age of 12. She mainly trains in Taolu, which consists of set routines that showcase certain skill sets. Lo competes in the Chinese Martial Arts Tournament every summer at University of California, Berkeley and the Pan-American Wushu Championships. More recently, she competed at the World Junior Wushu Championships in Bulgaria at the end of September, in which she placed fifth in Girls Jian Shu and 12th in Girls Chang Quan. Lo said, “Wushu is really special to me because it has taught me discipline and modesty, which carry into my daily life.” Lo hopes to continue Wushu at college and represent Team USA.

PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITERS STEPHANIE DUTRA, KATHERINE GUO & JONATHAN KO, GRAPHICS BY CLIPARTS.CO, PNGALL.COM, GOLDAGE.CO

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Friday, October 21, 2016

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Photo 23

Varsity Outside Hitter Senior Christine Yu spikes the ball, contributing to a 3-0 set win against Newark Memorial High School on October 11.

Varsity player Junior Dante Tanjuatco shoots for the goal in the October 11 game against Moreau Catholic High School.

boys’ waterpolo

girl’s volleyball Christine Yu, 12

Dante Tanjuatco, 11

girl’s tennis

•Fa ll•

Varsity tennis player Freshman Ellyn Xu, returns a serve during the MSJ vs. American game held on Thursday, October 6 at Fremont Tennis Center.

Natalie Lai, 9

Sports Photos

Ellyn Xu, 9

By Anthony Chen, Joelle Chuang, Heather Gan, Anagha Mandayam, Jenny Miao, Evie Sun & Vicki Xu Opinion Editor and Staff Writers

gymnastics

Varsity Elite Gymnast Freshman Natalie Lai performs her floor routine on October 6 at Washington High School.

Oscar Hu, 11

Cheer energizes the crowd at the Homecoming Kickoff Assembly with their synchronized dance routine.

Cheer Rachael Tang, 12

Tara Conti, 11

girls’ waterpolo cross country Runners Juniors Oscar Hu and Tara Conti compete at the Irvington vs. MSJ cross country meet held on October 5.

Varsity player Senior Rachael Tang, prepares for a high toss in a game against Moreau Catholic High School October 11. PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITERS JOELLE CHUANG, HEATHER GAN, ANAGHA MANDAYAM, JENNY MIAO, EVIE SUN, & VICKI XU

24 Photo

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Friday, October 21, 2016

Rosabel Wu, 11

By Ian Hsu Staff Writer

Fall Leadership Conference MSJ Interacters traveled to Independence High School on October 10 to attend the annual Interact District 5170 Fall Leadership Conference where they attended lectures by keynote speakers, participated in activities, and bonded with other Interacters from across the Bay Area.

Emily Zhang, 10

Advait Marathe, 10

Junior Rosabel Wu introduces the 2016-17 Community Project, Circle of Love, for Interact District 5170. The goal of the project is to serve others in the most compassionate way possible by spreading self-love and improving mental health.

Anthony Bowser, 12 Sophomores Emily Zhang and Advait Marathe, and Kennedy High School Sophomore Cindy Chiang pose for a picture with the Area 5 sign during the closing ceremony.

Stephen Tselikov, 12

Seniors Anthony Bowser and Stephen Tselikov participate in the community-bonding activity "Ripples." PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITER IAN HSU

Paraeducator Krystal Sanchez

Paraeducator Hsiulin Li

Special Education Teacher Sujata Singh and Paraeducators Krystal Sanchez, and Hsiulin Li display their self-made beverages. The lemonade stand helped raise funds for the Special Education Department.

October 3 | Special Education Department Lemonade Sale Prerna Aneja, 12

Brandon Do, 11 Special Education Teacher Sujata Singh

September 30 | Talent Showcase at the Bell Tower Quad

Juniors Brandon Do and Jonathan Nguyen perform a card trick for Senior Prerna Aneja. The duo opened the first MSJHS Talent Showcase on September 30, a Friday event run by ASB Activities Coordinator Senior Ali El-Sadany.

Kayla Louie, 9

Assistant Principal Jeana Nightengale

Jonathan Nguyen, 11

a month in

photos

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Month in Photos,â&#x20AC;? a new photo series to be continued on www.thesmokesignal.org, features a collection of special events occuring throughout each month at MSJ. Read on for a recap on major happenings during this past month.

Freshmen enjoy donuts at the "Freshmen Surprise," an event at which Principal Zack Larsen (not pictured) and Assistant Principal Jeana Nightengale served Krispy Kreme to the freshmen in C-120 during read. The event was funded by the Mission Possible Parent Faculty Association. Michelle Lan, 9

September 27 | The Freshmen Surprise PHOTOS BY GRAPHICS EDITORS ZEN THUMPARKKUL & VICTOR ZHOU & STAFF WRITER IAN HSU