The MArk May issue by Betsy Sergeant Snow

the MArk Menlo-Atherton High School Volume II Issue IV

M a y

2012

May 2012

Outgoing Staff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Haley McCabe ART EDITOR: Maria Ikonomou MANAGING EDITOR: Max Goldenstein CONTENT EDITOR: Jeff LaPlante LAYOUT EDITOR: Nicky Hug PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR: Suzie McMurtry SOCIAL MANAGER: Anna Luke STAFF:

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Advisor:

Table of

May 2012

Volume II, Issue IV

NOTABLE 6| Donut Club

M-Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest and most delicious club.

Peter Berquist Samantha Bloom Sasha Borbrowicz Julie Caldas Leland Callahan Joanne Cho Anna de Benedictis Peter Freschi Filip Grehn Fiona Gutierrez-Dewar Jason Heinen Helmi Henkin James Hoffman Megan Kilduff Simone King Jeff LaPlante Lindy LaPlante Riley Lico Charlotte McMillan JP Nash Katherine Nealis Stephanie Sabatini Miari Scott Lauren Smith Cayla Stillman Quinn Sweetnam Amy Taeaotui Alexandra VlassovaKudrevatykh Betsy Snow

12| Student Stress

how M-A students deal with stress.

24| The Facebook Generation adolescents and social media.

46| Senior Farewell the editorial staff says goodbye!

FEATURES 14| Shakespeare High

The documentary comes to M-A.

22| M-A Spring Fashion

how M-A students express themselves.

34| A Plethora of Testing

why standardized testing is important.

44| Kony 2012? the passing fad.

Incoming Staff EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Fiona Gutierrez-Dewar Lauren Smith CONTENT/COPY EDITOR: Samantha Bloom MANAGING EDITOR: Anna de Benedictis

ART

PHOTOGRAPHY AND SUBMISSION EDITOR: Suzie McMurtry

4| Submission of the Issue see the winner on page 4.

9| Petals Surround These Hollow Eyes art by Maria Ikonomou.

16| The Great Frame Up Art Show

see the student work feautured in the spring show.

CREATIVE

Statement of Intent

The MArk, a feature magazine published by the students in MenloAtherton High Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Journalism class, is an open forum for student expression and the discussion of issues of concern to its readership. The MArk is distributed to its readers and the student body at no cost. The staff welcomes letters to the editor but reserves the right to edit all submissions for length, grammar, potential libel, invasion of privacy and obscenity. Send all letters to themamark@gmail.com.

10| Poop M-A Says comedic brilliance.

6| Cartoons

by Michael Hester and Maria Ikonomou.

9| Unforgettable Years poetry by Jennifer Moran.

22| Regrets

Statement of Theme

The focus of this issue concerns our generation. The advent of social networking sites and the inďŹ&#x201A;uence of technological developments have created new societal standards, leaving student life permanently transformed.

poetry by Davon Coker.

Contents

Cover Art Photography by Suzie McMurtry Digital Design by Maria Ikonomou

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Pen Drawing The Towers Suzie McMurtry

ww May 2012

THE WINNER IS.... sion mis sue b u S Is he of t

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Vanessa Wijaya’s photograph Summer Light has won the title Submission of the Issue for this year’s May MArk. She will recieve a $10 iTunes gift card to reward her efforts and encourage future submissions. Wijaya captured this photo of the picturesque Hawaiian sunset in early April. She explains how the sunset’s “intense colors and composition caught her eye immediately.” Using an editing software, Wijaya then enhanced the colors further to create a complete representation of the “beauty and tranquility of summer.”

PHOTOGRAPHY Summer Light VANESSA WIJAYA

Michael and Maria make cartoons.

Michael thinks. Maria draws. Sometimes offensive.

Nobody likes Wednesdays, so to help you get over the weekly hump, Michael and Maria make cartoons. We hope to lighten your mood and make getting through the week just a little bit easier.

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michaelandmaria.tumblr.com

May 2012

onut Club: “Dish’n out respect,” is only one of the many Donut Club mottos. We have all heard the announcements, rumors, seen the signs, banners, and stickers. The most talked about club at Menlo-Atherton High School is undoubtedly the Donut Club. Yes, many may be shocked to hear of a school with a donut club. Typically school clubs are associated with community service objectives. However, do not let the name of this club mislead you. It too has a humanitarian objective greater than simply spreading sugar, jolliness, obesity, and/or cardiac arrest about the M-A student body. With a large administration, consisting of juniors Conner Mesec (dictator), and executive board members George Baier, Kevin Cole, Michael Hohl, Jonathan Zdusiak, and Ben Prudhome (also serving as treasurer), the club began as an underground

see fifteen foot banner on Green conglomeration of students who wanted to overthrow M-A’s exclusive Top Ramen Club hosted Mondays in Ms. Nersesian’s room C-4. In its early days, the group of students simply brought donuts to Ms. Nersesian’s classroom to enjoy during lunch amongst themselves. News, however, of this alleged group quickly spread and soon students began sneaking in to try to get a hold of the prized pastry free of any charge. In response to these demands, the group decided forming an official club the following school year of 2011-2012 would better serve these desperate sugar-seeking individuals and prevent depraved mooching. This year the executive board embarked on a voracious campaign to increase popularity, boost attendees, and spread awareness of the opportunity to procure donuts for a small one-dollar donation on campus each Monday in room C-4. The club now brings in a whopping five dozen Chuck’s donuts

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The Donut Club executive board (from left Hohl, Baier, Ms. Nersesian in back, Mesec, Prudhome, Zdusiak, Cole)

each Monday. Their weekly advertisements in the Bear News announcements liven up Monday mornings with creative comedic slogans. These advertisements, generated by the Donut Club executive board, have given the club the irresistibly attractive reputation of wittiness. Sophomore Pauli King expressed, “The announcements are really funny! It makes me want to go just to see who writes them.” One announcement remarked “What other club makes your heart work harder? Donut Club, go hard or go home.” With these sarcastic and potentially controversial comments cutting through the daily monotonous news ordinarily ignored by students, it is no wonder the name of this club has become so widely recognized. Student Activity Director, Ms. Todd, even had to ﬁlter out a few of the Donut Club’s announcement submissions at the beginning of the year“as far as making sure they were appropriate,” but as she says since then “they’ve been great!” She agreed that they “get people’s attention, see M-A bike cage

and [she] thinks more people probably listen just to hear the Donut Club, so it helps the rest of the announcements!” Also not escaping notice, is the fifteen foot Donut Club banner that now hangs on the M-A Green. The process of hanging this included “a ladder, some rope, my house….and that glue is nasty! Fabric glue: don’t breath too much of it!” explains club dictator, Mesec. The prime and central location procured for the display of this masterful banner is admirable and certainly attention grabbing for passing students. A flag, stickers, and club signs hosting Cole’s face in mock Shepard Fairey style hang throughout campus as well. Stanford students visiting M-A freshman classes this February voiced their jealousy over such an organization, expressing a desire to begin their own Donut Club at their university. Doubling as a nonprofit organization as well as sweet and

humor supplier, the club raised over ﬁve hundred cans for the M-A Canned Food Drive this year alone. The club also worked at M-A’s Canned Food Drive distribution day. On the whole, the club is very popular. Junior Esteban Samra remarked “I think their announcements are funny and I love the idea of starting the Donut Club!” Despite the appreciation of this club, “many weeks it’s a struggle to hand out all sixty donuts,” confesses Mesec, “so tell people to come!” Essentially, no one can resent a club that provides succulent treats to students on Monday, the dreariest day of the week. With a club that nobly pairs both student interests and community service in a fusion of philanthropic objectives, it will only grow in popularity the following 20122013 school year. The club’s plans for next year according to Hohl are to “expand the community service aspect of it” even further.

For more information about the Donut Club, “like” the M-A Donut Club webpage on Facebook. The link to their official website, http://www2tillson.seq.org/~759296/madonut. html, found on the Facebook page, also provides details in regards to the club’s full history and hosts their documentary film Donut Club Documentary, directed by executive board member Cole. (The documentary is now also viewable in the latest online Bearly News report.) If eating a donut ever ignites any remorse in your health-conscious, calorie-counting teenager mind, what better way to eliminate your guilt than by knowing you’ve supported of a nonprofit club devoted to ending community hunger. So enjoy the sweetness and guiltnullifying satisfaction brought to you by M-A’s very own Donut Club, devoted to “Filling the hole in society one donut at a time.” MA by Fiona Gutierrez-Dewar

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see school ﬂag pole on Green

May 2012

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ART Maria Ikonomou

Unforgettable Years

by Dempy Chahal

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Those perfect days, Those unforgettable years, All lay ďŹ&#x201A;at in my mind, Like an album full of pictures, Pictures of my friends and I , Playing on the monkey bars, Swinging and behaving as a monkey would, Enjoying every moment of our lives, Those perfect days, Those unforgettable years

o f k r o w e m o h d t u o e k a T t Poop M-A Says! h g i n t rs las k i l s a w t I s k o o b e r not g a s e t u n i m 0 1 , s e t u min e y a t s I R P N n o d r a he I e r o f e r e h t , m a 3 l i t un h W u o y n a h t r e t t m be d e s s i m I y r r o S ? g xtin g n i t i a w s a w I , d o i r h pe o G x a M y a w May 2012

by Max Goldenstein and Sasha Bobrowicz

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STUDENTS

• I did homework for like 8 hours last night. • I didn’t do ANY of my homework last night. • It was 10 more minutes 10 minutes ago. • My notebook absorbs drool too well. • I stayed up until 3 am, therefore I am better than you. • APUSH! • I always have the best lunch. • My mom makes my lunch. • Sorry I missed 5th period, I was waiting for food at the Speedway. • I raped that quiz. • That quiz raped me. • Random yelling and freshman babbling. • Junior year is so hard. • Sophomore year is so hard. • Being a freshman sucks. • Ugh, I’m a senior, so hard. • These high school memes suck. • Another rally yay. • No, I’m not going to formal. • My teacher’s a __________. • Does Zito really eat people’s lunches?

STAFF

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

•

• •

• • • •

Take out your notebooks. I heard on NPR... Last night on the news… Only five more minutes of notes You’ll do fine on this quiz. I curved this quiz. The final is cumulative (hahaha) It’s open note... JK!! What’s sexting? You should talk to your counselor about that. Go to the office. I have so much grading to do. No phones in class (proceeds to text/answer phone) This is a hall sweep, you now have five minutes to get to class (insert outdated song) Seniors don’t do anything second semester they are supposed to. We have a dress code? Hello students, this is Mr. Lippi with an important announcement about STAR testing. STAR testing is really important, you should do your best! No vandalism No, seniors, school is important. No, I will NOT friend you on Facebook.

ut ANCES-TREE ike ago ed I hat’s d ng at Goldby Stephanie Sabatini

http://www.notablebiographies.com/AnBa/Arnold-Benedict.html

http://trickumlegis.wordpress.com/category/barbri/

“[Being related to the Harrisons] feels pretty legit and, in some cases, inspiring. It’s like,I’m in the same family line as leaders of our country. Totes awesome.”

Daryn Tinsley

“I ﬁnd it actually amusing that I’m related to [Benedict Arnold]. I know he wasn’t a great person but it just makes me kind of laugh.”

Shelby McDonald

http://www.earlyamerica. com/portraits/franklin.html

Brooke and Paige Muschott

“I think it is cool to be related to Benjamin Franklin, and it’s always a good thing to use when playing 2 truths and a lie because no one believes it.”

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http://presidentialtrivia. bravehost.com/bharrison.html

http://www.notablebiographies.com/An-Ba/Arnold-Benedict.html

May 2012 Photo & Make-up Art Stressed Out Erika Rassmussen, Anna de Benedictis

Stressed Out

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f you are regularly affected by stress, you know that calming yourself down can be difficult. This is when outside resources are critical to keeping balanced. Whether it’s a trusted adult, a family member, close friend, coach, or even pet, it’s important to have someone to talk to about what is bothering you. Student Support Specialist Miki Cristerna explains the process behind approaching stress, “Having people realize what is stress related and what isn’t [is the first step.] After the issue is identified, find how it is effecting the person, where the stress is coming from, 11 and finally make a plan for how to tackle it.” Sometimes these emotions

by Anna de Benedictis

or stressful situations trigger Somatic symp- ently, that is why Cristerna emphasiztoms, which are physical responses exhibited es communication. She says, “By havby the body in response to the stress. Stomach ing a one on one conversation, students are able to identify what aches, head aches, loss or increase in appetite, innotice it, then do some- they’re feeling,” she also crease or decrease in sleep thing about it, but be care- says, “[having] people etc. are all potential physful with yourself- I think available for information ical reactions that can be teenagers are really hard and support is the key of communication.” That’s stimulated as a result of on themselves. why the Support Cenmental stress. Times of inter is always open for creased stress or continual -Christina Walker, Adolescent drop-ins. Cristerna has stress can lead people to de- Counseling Services Therapist her ofﬁce in the Parent velop habits, like hair pulling, nail biting, skin picking, and more severe and Student Support Center where behavioral choices such as self-harming habits, parents of students and the students themselves get information on resourcor eating disorders. Stress can come from all different ar- es (see table) to prevent and cope with eas of life; therefore you may not realize what stress. All sorts of students come to other people walking through M-A halls are go- the Support Center with all different ing through. Their form of stress may be very forms of stress, stemming from neighdifferent from yours and it all affects us differ- borhood concerns, poverty, academic

Re. sources

Stress Fill in the boxes below to ensure that your stresses are counter-balanced with an effective resource.

Did you know about these M-A resources? 1. 9th Grade Homework Center 2. 10-11th Grade After-School Homework Center 3. Conﬁct Mediation Services 4. Gang Awareness and Prevention 5. Substance Use Counseling 6. Violence Intervention Program 7. Youth Development Program 8. 504 Plan 9. IEP (contact Miki Cristerna for additional information and resources at mcristerna@seq.org or visit her in room B-20 ).

Examples of ways to cope with stress: 1. Listen to music 2. Take a nap 3. Yell (not at anybody though) 4. Vent to a friend 5. Confront the problem and talk it out 6. Watch TV (allow yourself to relax) 7. Exercise (play your favorite sport) 8. Take a shower 9. Write in a journal 10. Do art ESSENTIAL: Do what works for YOU.

pressure, access to basic resources it seems thatteenagers and even some adults like health care, body image, family jump to the conclusion that someone thinks trouble, deportation issues, parental they’re “crazy” if they need to see a therapist. issues, and relationship problems. But that is far from the truth. Therapists can Sometimes people need more than just be just another caring person to help and maya caring adult, close friend, or exercise be give answers or techniques to reduce anxiby which to vent; sometimes students ety. But just like all things, therapy may not be need to see a therapist or ﬁnd a form right for you, and that is why if you have another resource or outlet that works for of expression to you that’s great! Art, photography, release stress in a the Support Center sports, biking, meditating, whatpositive environment and positive was created to be youth ever it is, use it. That is another method. There friendly, and accessible, goal of the Student Support Censeems to be many its goals is to try and ter, to help connect people to their solutions because each misconceptions get kids involved [in individual case and each person is different. about therapists Besides the Student Support and stress re- activities] who wouldn’t lease resources. normally get involved. Center, the M-A campus also has ACS or Adolescent Counseling Therapists are always thought -Miki Cristerna, Student Sup- Services in the guidance ofﬁce. On port Specialist the other side of the guidance counof as scary, and

selors are the rooms designated for by Dr. Walker’s use. Walker is a therapist ready to support any who come by, and has four interns: Ildiko Ran, Vinutha Mohan, Claire Mancini, and Marisol Garcia also available for giving guidance. Walker agrees with Cristerna in response to the steps that are important in solving stress, “notice it, then do something about it, but be careful with yourself- I think teenagers are really hard on themselves.” She explains internal motivational stress is useful for deadlines and making decisions but stopping once and a while to ask yourself “is it motivating me, or is it hurting me?” is important for a balanced life. If stress is negatively affecting your life, seeking help or changing habits can be an easy ﬁx to what could 11 become a more severe situation.

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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

1 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Shakespeare High May 2012

The Menlo-Atherton Menlo-Atherton Foundation Foundation for The for the the Future provides critical funding for Future provides critical funding for vital vital programs at at M-A, M-A, but but most most students programs students are unacquainted with the scope are unacquainted with the scope of of its contributions. contributions. As As Cindy Cindy Folker, its Folker, Executive Director Director of of the the Foundation Foundation Executive explains, the “Foundation for the Future explains, the “Foundation for the Future raises funds to pay for key salaries raises funds to pay for key salaries and critical programs that improve and critical programs that improve the educational experience for all M-A the educational experience for all M-A students.” Without the Foundation, students.” Without the Foundation, our school would be stripped down as a our school would be stripped down as a result of state budget cuts and many of result of state budget cuts and many of our favorite classes and trusted mentors our favorite classes and trusted mentors would not be around. Folker notes that would not be around. Folker notes that the Foundation’s “core mission [is] to the Foundation’s “core mission [is] to provide all M-A students with a rich provide all M-A students with a rich educational experience,” which includes educational experience,” which includes “quality options for experiencing the “quality options for experiencing the arts.” Over the years, the Foundation arts.” Over the years, the Foundation has supported signiﬁcant funding for has supported signiﬁcant funding for the arts, paying for classes that have the arts, paying for classes that have included journalism and the launch included journalism and the launch of this magazine. This year, the of this magazine. This year, the Foundation is supporting programs in Foundation is supporting programs in drama, stagecraft, theater tech, guitar drama, stagecraft, theater tech, guitar and choral studies, orchestra and the 9th and choral studies, orchestra and the 9th grade elective wheel. grade elective wheel. the MArk

With these values at the forefront, the With these values at the the Foundation has set an forefront, inspirational Foundation has set an inspirational event in motion: the screening of event in motion: screening of Shakespeare High, a ﬁthe lm which explores Shakespeare High, a ﬁ lm which explores 11 the transformative power of the the transformative power of the

dramatic dramatic arts arts on on students. students. The The movie movie was screened at the Menlo-Atherton was screened at the Menlo-Atherton Performing PerformingndArts Arts Center Center on on the the evening evening rd of May 22 and again on of May 22nd and again on May May 23 23rd during during the the school school day day for for students students and and faculty. The evening screening faculty. The evening screening served served the dual purpose of enriching students the dual purpose of enriching students and community members who attended and community members who attended and raising money for the Foundation and raising money for the Foundation for the Future. That means more for the Future. That means more Foundation support for the arts at M-A. Foundation support for the arts at M-A. Shakespeare High traces the experiences Shakespeare High traces the experiences of a diverse group of students who of a diverse group of students who participated in a Shakespeare festival participated in a Shakespeare festival and competition sponsored by the and competition sponsored by the Drama Teachers Association of Drama Teachers Association of Southern California (DTASC). Filmed Southern thCalifornia (DTASC). Filmed at the 90 th anniversary of the festival, at the 90 anniversary of the festival, the movie features Executive Producer the movie features Executive Producer Kevin Spacey, Richard Dreyfuss, Mare Kevin Spacey, Richard Dreyfuss, Mare Winningham and Val Kilmer, all of Winningham and Val Kilmer, all of whom participated in the festival whom participated in the festival in their teens. But the true stars of in their teens. But the true stars of the documentary are the students, the documentary are the students, particularly those who have faced the particularly those who have faced the challenges of gangs, domestic violence challenges of gangs, domestic violence and difﬁcult family situations. The and difﬁcult family situations. The honesty, bravery and talent of these honesty, bravery and talent of these students are uplifting, as they take students are uplifting, as they take on Shakespeare and team-building, on Shakespeare and team-building, emerging enriched. Taco, a former emerging enriched. a former gang-banger, becomes Taco, a loyal and gang-banger, becomes a loyal and inspirational leader. Melvin and Galvin, inspirational leader. Melvin and Galvin,

twin twin boys boys whose whose father father murdered murdered their their mother, demonstrate mother, demonstrate phenomenal phenomenal perseverance perseverance and and brilliance. brilliance. Students Students from different ethnic, from different ethnic, economic economic and and educational educational backgrounds backgrounds test test their their limits limits and and succeed. succeed. Making Shakespeare High required the Making Shakespeare High required the energy and passion of accomplished energy and passion of accomplished filmmakers. Brian O’Connell, who filmmakers. Brian O’Connell, who acted as cinematographer and producer, acted as cinematographer and producer, has been in the film business in Los has been in the film business in Los Angeles for many years. He works on Angeles for many years. He works on different types of projects, but finds the different types of projects, but finds the most satisfaction when he is filming most satisfaction when he is filming documentaries. O’Connell knew he documentaries. O’Connell knew he wanted to be part of Shakespeare High wanted to be part of Shakespeare High so that he could work with “positive, so that he could work with “positive, energetic high school students.” energetic high school students.” O’Connell’s favorite scenes to shoot were O’Connell’s favorite scenes to shoot were at the festival itself, because there was at the festival itself, because there was so much ground to cover that he relied so much ground to cover that he relied on students behind some of the cameras. on students behind some of the cameras. Though the outcome was unknown, Though the outcome was unknown, when the boys from PUC (Partnerships when the boys from PUC (Partnerships to Uplift Communities), including Taco to Uplift Communities), including Taco and Tosh, won the Midsummer Nights’ and Tosh, won the Midsummer Nights’ Dream competition, O’Connell turned to Dream competition, O’Connell turned to director Alex Rotaru and said “I think director Alex Rotaru and said “I think we have a movie.” we have a movie.” O’Connell had grown fond of the group O’Connell had grown of the group after filming theirfond team-building after fi lming their team-building campout where “it was quite clear that campout where “it was quite clear that

After viewing Shakespeare High O’Connell hopes that “people will take away the sense of how important it is to maintain funding and support for the arts in our schools.” O’Connell also notes that “if most American students drew a circle of even ten miles around themselves, chances are they would ﬁnd within that area other kids with vastly

different experiences in their lives.” At Menlo-Atherton High School, two miles would probably be enough. Perhaps the reason that Shakespeare High resonates so strongly here is that we can all ﬁnd ourselves in the ﬁlm.

“

Kids who are passionate about doing something they love-whether it is theater, sports, music or something else--and the energy and enthusiasm they bring to those activities, [remains] reassuringly familiar. - Cinematographer Brian O’Connell

”

Screening Shakespeare High at the Menlo-Atherton PAC was an inspired idea. M-A is the most ethnically, economically and academically diverse high school of its size in California. That distinction is our school’s great strength. There are many voices to be heard and a rich spectrum of experience and expression, which is why the arts thrive at M-A. With seemingly endless state budget cuts and economic challenges forcing difﬁcult choices in public education, Shakespeare High is a great reminder of the importance of the arts in our school and our lives. The fantastic news is that the Foundation will maintain efforts to keep the arts a vibrant part of our campus. In fact, according to Folker, the Shakespeare High screening will be the start of a Foundation-sponsored cultural series, broadening community awareness about M-A and attracting more support for our students. Thanks to our Foundation and in keeping with the message of Shakespeare High, at M-A, “everyone MA 11 can join the happy few.”

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most of those kids had never had an experience like that before.” O’Connell interacted with all of the students that are featured in the movie and remains in contact with some of them via Facebook. The experience of making this ﬁlm reinforced his feeling that despite many changes to the world, “Kids who are passionate about doing something they love--whether it is theater, sports, music or something else--and the energy and enthusiasm they bring to those activities, [remains] reassuringly familiar.” O’Connell, Rotaru and other producers were very concerned about what would happen to some of the students after high school, particularly those from large public high schools with less than optimal guidance and college counseling. The ﬁlmmakers felt that bright and talented students were not being encouraged to set their goals appropriately high; some were told not to bother taking the SAT.

by Samantha Bloom Image from: http://shakespearehigh.org/

May 2012

The Creative Self

Place t s

2D INTERMEDIATE

2D BEGINNING

2D Beginning (Photography)

2D AD

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elf-Expression Show ADVANCED

2D INTERMEDIATE

3D BEGINNING & INTERMEDIATE

9 8

Water & Ink Hands Danielle Walsh

Water Color, Pen, &Colored Pencil The Inorganic Stars Kristen Wong

Charcoal Self Portrait Brady Gallagher

Charcoal Charcoal Bag Ilona Hyv채rinen

Photograph Green Brenda Lopez

Photograph Homeless Man Erica Staben

Clay, Art Glaze, & Underglaze Sam Amberchan

Clay, Art Glaze, & Underglaze Kelley Jones

Clay, Art Glaze, & Underglaze Kathryn Carruthers

Clay, Art Glaze, & Underglaze Gabby Grant

Oil Paint Beach Glow Sophia Kivelson

The Creative Self-Expressions Show, held at the Great Frame Up in Menlo Park, took place from April 30 to May 13. It featured artists from Menlo-Atherton ranging from Beginning to Advanced students, each dispaying their artwork in the provided frames from the Great Frame Up. Artwork displayed at the exhibit varied from paintings and drawings to cermaics and photography. There were over thirty participating artists, and twelve overall winners. The Great Frame Up generously awarded $50 and $100 prizes to the second and first place winners, respectively. This art show was a great way for artists at the school to show off their skills and in some cases, be awarded with cash prizes. Congratulations to all of the winners and participants!

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2nd Plac e

May 2012

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ou cannot believe it, your hands are sweaty and your face is red. You are in shock as the waves of students part before you and you walk to the podium. Mr. Zito stands on the stage, beckoning you forward. You have just been chosen as a tribute from M-A to ﬁght for your school in the 74th annual Sequoia Union Hunger Games. The rest of the students stare at you like you are already dead as you walk to stand beside your fellow tribute. Unfortunately, the other tribute from M-A happens to be a freshman, and since freshmen are weak and foolish, he or she will most likely die within minutes in the arena. You are to be transported to the head of the Union where they have a special arena; this year you will ﬁght to the death against tributes from Woodside, Sequoia, Carlmont, Sacred Heart Prep, Menlo, Saint Francis, Serra, and Bellarmine. As a tribute, you will arrive in the Capitol and be showered by fame for a few days before the Games. Since you are from the far out district of M-A, people already expect you to die and the favorites to win and survive are the tributes from Sacred Heart, Menlo, Saint Francis, or Bellarmine which everyone oh-so-affectionately calls “the Preps.” At the Capitol you will spend 11 a few days training and talking with your mentor, who will most likely be

May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor. a drunken idiot who proves to be absolutely no help early on. We here at the MArk highly suggest that you begin to develop deep romantic relations with your fellow tribute from M-A, even if you already have someone back at home. After a few days, you will go in front of the game makers alone to show off your hidden talents. Here at the MArk, we highly recommend showcasing your fabulous talents. Men/ freshmen boys, we recommend you guys show that muscle you have spent hours toning in the mirror, or your impressive talent to eat everything in front of you. Good news for all you lax bros because the arena will most likely be full of sticks and rocks and you will be able to use the wood to create your “lax stick” and use it as a weapon. Girls, we recommend that you show your talents for manipulating men or your ability to actually think, something that most M-A teenage boys actively struggle to achieve. Luckily, all you swimmers will be able to survive if the arena turns out to be aquatic, and will be able to laugh while everyone else drowns. Finally, it is time to enter the arena, and ﬁght for your life. You will have a precious few seconds before the Games actually start to observe what the arena will look like. Ladies, if you happen to be next to a boy from Bellarmine or Serra before the count down is done, quickly try to ﬂirt with him and persuade him to come off the platform where he will be promptly blown up. When the timer goes off, run to the scattered supplies placed around

the starting point and pick up something valuable like a knife, lighter/matches, and a water bottle. If you are feeling ballsy, and want to go all out Rambo, run to the middle of the supply pile, grab a sword, and get your Michael Myers on. Afterwards, spread out away from other tributes, as they are not to be trusted, and hunt down the nearest freshman. Freshmen will hopelessly run around like chickens with their heads cut off, and you will easily be able to kill them. We recommend that you first hunt down the other M-A tribute because they will be the most likely to trust you, who needs teamwork anyway? Stay away from everyone else and let them kill each other while you survive in some hole or tree. After all, being a boss and killing everyone is over-rated. When there are only a few people left, make your move. Grab a sword or an axe (but not a bow because using a bow is for sissies) and finish them off. There is no way around it, guts are going to spill and blood is going to fly but it is the only way to survive. Because we know you have followed our advice word for word, we know you will win and survive, so congratulations! You get to go home and be rich, what could be better? Since we pretty much are the reason you survived we know you will thank us. You are welcome for our great generosity; after all, we helped you through the end of the world and the Hunger Games. Happy Hunger Games M-A. “May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor.” MA

by Quinn Sweetnam and Riley Lico Photo Credit: nu-tips.com

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PHOTOGRAPHY Helmi Henkin

May 2012

Summer 2012 Everyone has their Summer story. What’s yours?

“Cooling down summer with a tank and shorts.”-Sasha Vlassova

“Sunny days and water fights. Beautiful tops and cute shorts. Its summer time.”-Brittany Wainqolo

“summer is what’s really in.” -Cynthia Martinez

Background PHOTOGRAPHY Vanessa Wijaya FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY Suzie McMurtry

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“Summer’s great, the sun’s out and when you go to the gym 8-9 times a week like me, there has be a time where you can show it off you know? Stay golden.” -Flint Mitchell

May 2012

Regrets QUESTION TO THINK ABOUT: It isn’t the thing you do, It’s the thing you’ve left undone Which gives you a bit of heartache, At the setting of the sun The tender word forgotten, The letter you did not write, The ﬂower you might have sent Are your haunting ghosts tonight. by Davon Coker

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Just Another Memory Now

I close my eyes and open them again I don’t want to remember , But I do Like if it was yesterday The warm salty tears running down my cheeks My knees scraping the carpet The same carpet were he encouraged me to take my ﬁrst steps Trying to hold back the door Praying to god But seems like he can’t hear me My shiny eyes looking into my moms furious eyes My shaking hands holding the strong leg that wouldn’t hold back I was begging and yelling “ Daddy , Please don’t go” by Jennifer Moran

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Ink 22 Untitled Andrea Simes

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May 2012

The The Facebook Facebook G G

All Digital Illustration by Maria Ikonomou

Technology of Our Generation by Peter Freschi

Generation Generation

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Teenagers use technology on a daily basis. A simple glance at the Menlo-Atherton student population reveals students roaming the halls glancing at their iPhones, iPods, and other mobile devices, checking countless social media services such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more. People are obsessed with being in the loop with their online friends, even when they are sitting right next to them. Instead of a guy asking a girl in person if she is single, a quick check of her relationship status on Facebook can be a sudden warning or welcome to her desperate suitors. Students also enjoy telling the world about other seemingly private events, like family vacations, and will post sometimes hundreds of pictures depicting their “Summmerrr 2011 take me backk <3” experience. John Giambruno, a teacher at M-A, feels that “[the technology] we have today is much more commonplace, whereas people of [his] generation are still wowed and amazed, and you guys have the Internet at the palm of your hand; when [he] was younger he only had Internet at [his] sister’s house. Nowadays you don’t have to be good at computers to use computers, or even have a computer; in the 80s you had to know special command lines to be able to do anything substantial.” He also said, “I think [the current teenage] generation is not afraid of it, [wheareas] my generation and the older generations tend to have more of a hesitancy, fear or reluctance to [use] it; but my family was weird, today we all are in computer ﬁelds and use computers everyday.” Our generation has become obsessed with making personal information, including photos and videos, viewable by anyone in the world, sometimes without even realizing it. Most sites like Facebook and Twitter have detailed privacy settings that can be tweaked to a user’s liking, but have only been installed when they have been under the spotlight by news corporations and blogs. Giambruno says, “people should totally be more aware [of what they post online, because] more people are going to see it [than they think].” Giambruno continued, noting, “my mom, who’s over seventy, always said to me even before social networks, ‘never write down anything you don’t want to 22 be public’, and that included handwritten letters, emails, etc.

May 2012

their creation of patents that prevent other companies from being able to grow. Since 2001, Google has acquired over 100 companies, often not particularly small investments; Google’s most recent acquisition of Motorola cost $12.5 billion. The result of this activity is that the control of private information is being vastly consolidated. At least for M-A students, as well as students across the world, a major deal breaker for trying the hottest and most popular social media service is price. Because students generally lack heaps of excess money, free online communities draw people in the most. Sites like Google, YouTube, and Facebook use small advertisements often on the sides of media content to promote services that are speciﬁc to your interests, through the use of analytical formulas and other techdollars. nical

If I don’t want it to be seen by everyone, I don’t write it down.” Junior Ilona Hyvärinen agrees, “people should be more careful with what they say on Facebook and other social media websites.” Junior Vivian Qiu thinks, “technology allows for countless outlets and opportunities for people to post and expose aspects of their personal lives, but as long as it is secure and safe it is completely ﬁne.” Though it may come as a surprise to teenagers and young adults, a majority of the more “traditional” Americans fear that vast corporations like Google, Facebook and Apple are creating monopolies in the technological world because of their acquisitions of small-staffed startup companies and

Facebook is valued at 1 million new users join

50 billion

every week.

Facebook has surpassed Google as the

most popular

website in the United States.

1 out of every 12 people in the world is on Facebook. About

70% of Facebook users are found outside the United States in over 170 countries and territories.

With more than half a billion users, there are

more people on Facebook, than the entire

United States population. Statistics provided by NBC’s The Facebook Obsession

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Likes

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by Lindy LaPlante & Cayla Stillman

Over the years, social networking has come to deﬁne our generation, as almost every student at M-A uses one interface or another on a regular basis. Facebook was initially designed as an easy way to connect with friends, but over the years, it has transformed into an ampliﬁer of insecurities and a hotspot for narcissists to post an endless amount of

highly edited “selﬁes.” Junior Peter Siegler commented that, “Those who post a lot are just trying to get attention.” Teenagers post albums, expecting numerous “likes,” and the lack of reaching a certain number can result in anxiety. Some might even go to the extreme of taking down a given photo or posts as a result of not reaching the standard number of “likes”. When asked about the angst resulting from the lack of “likes” on

procedures that the average person does not even know exists, Privacy concerns, anyone? For example, if Johnny watches a lot of cat videos on YouTube, he could be chuckling to himself about a cat climbing out of a box, and he might see a Purina Cat Food advertisement on the side of his video, or he might even be forced to watch a sixty second video advertisement before watching his other favorite cat video! When you think about cat videos, you think, what has our generation come to? How can someone spend hours on YouTube watching a cat playing with yarn, or watching a dog say “I love you” to its master? Did our parents’ and grandparents’ generation spend their leisure time watching pointless three-minute clips? No, they did not.

Technology in Education

Most teachers use SMART Boards to assist in presentations and lectures as a way of making the traditional teaching methods more interactive and academically stimulating for the students. Qiu comments, “Technology in the classroom allows for a little more organization for both teachers and students and thus less confusion and more efﬁciency.” Hyvärinen adds, “I think homework should be done on paper and textbooks, not on iPads. However, SMART Boards help in classrooms and are much more effective than just reading from textbooks; but even so, these technologies don’t make learning any more fun, except when we get to watch movies and do other fun things.” Giambruno reminisces about his childhood, “We had only one computer in our classroom and we would line up, and would be lucky to use it for ﬁve minutes! We would line up to play Oregon Trail!” For the future, it is highly likely technology will become even more prevalent in society. Giambruno fantasizes, “I want a digital butler to wake me up, and tell me what my day is going to be like, and tell me all the news that I want to hear, and nothing that I don’t want to hear. He will turn on all of the lights, as I move from room to room.”

photos and posts, senior Keara Haldeman responded, “I really try not to care about it, but it almost feels like a measurement of how much you are liked. I know that sounds awful, but you want people to approve of your looks and that’s one way to get approval.” Teenagers often feel as though the number of likes and comments on pictures can be linked to not only how pretty they are, but also who they are as a person. Conven-

Not So Funny Now

526 million daily

by Jeff LaPlante

users on average in March 2012.

Ever wonder if your Facebook page will come up when interviewing for a job? Ever wonder if that funny photoshopped picture of you flipping the bird to a political figure you don’t respect will cause you embarrassment during a college interview? Ever wonder if that awkward picture of you in your bikini that is a little too skimpy for grandma’s taste will get you that rejection letter from the college of your dreams? I’m here to reassure you NOT TO WORRY! Most colleges are flooded with hundreds to thousands of applicants so they aren’t concerned with your personal life on your Facebook page (however I would still delete the bikini photo simply for grandma’s sake). Mrs. Kleeman shares a similar opinion. When asked what crosses the line from appropriate to inappropriate, she responds with “If I were a student, I wouldn’t have anything I would not want a parent to see, a college to see, et cetera”. Although most colleges don’t look at your Facebook profile, some smaller colleges with a small student applicant pool do look at your profile. Mrs. Kleeman has spoken to several college advisors with a smaller, younger, staff that can peruse through your Facebook profile with ease for a quick background check. However if the UCs are the only schools you plan on applying to, you don’t have much to wor-

901 million monthly active users at the end of March 2012.

active

ry about. They aren’t going to look through thousands of Facebook profiles. For those of you who privately block your profile to hide pictures and wall posts from people who are not your friends, this method IS often effective. College staff members that do look at Facebook profiles will not go through too much effort to bypass your privacy settings. However, if your Facebook page is contaminated with personal information that you do not want job interviewers to see, you may want to edit them out. “It is much more plausible that job interviewers look at your Facebook profile page than colleges” says Mrs. Kleeman. Mrs. Kranzler says she read an article that some job interviews will make you log into your Facebook profile as you are interviewing for the job, so as to avoid privacy blocks. Mrs. Kleeman believes that, “If there is one place in your life to be conservative or extra cautious, it would be with your personal information on Facebook.” Most of what you put on Facebook wont be seen by a college admissions board or a job interviewer at that internship you really want over the summer. But why risk it? I suggest you think about what you want on your Facebook page, and ask yourself, is a rejection from your summer job really worth a picture that got 10 likes?

Approximately 80% of monthly active Facebook users are outside the U.S. and Canada.

Facebook is available in more than 70 languages.

100

monthly active users who used Facebook

488 million

mobile products in March 2012, and more than 500 million

mobile monthly

active users as of April 20, 2012.

During March 2012, on average 398 millionusers were active with Facebook on at least six out of the last seven days.

125 billion friend connections on Facebook at

More than

the end of March 2012.

On average more than

300 million photos uploaded

to Facebook per day in the three months ended March 31, 2012.

3.2 billion Likes and Comments

An average of

generated by Facebook users per day during the ﬁrst quarter of 2012. More than 42 million Pages with ten or more Likes at the end of March 2012.

tional wisdom dictates that girls tend to over analyze the number of likes and comments they receive more than boys; as sophomore Mark Evans put it, “I don’t understand the competition girls have and how hurt they get over the small number of likes on pictures.” He later joked, “All they have to do is take a picture with pretty much no clothes on, and then edit it until they look good.” To some teenagers,

the number of “likes” corresponds to their perceived popularity. Freshman Carolyn Hunt said, “Most girls care about how many likes they get on Facebook; personally, I think people care because it displays social stature.” Facebook represents social pressure for some students because it is always accessible. This can be damaging to some students because if they experience social

pressures at school, they are likely to be worse online. Due to their ability to hide behind their computer screen, students tend to be more vicious and hurtful online. Facebook has attracted the attention of a vast number of students at M-A. Whether they are insecure or overly conﬁdent, they always seem to ﬁnd their way back onto Facebook.

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statistics provided by Facebook’s Newsroom

May 2012

acebook acebook

eatures eatures

InInFebruary Februaryofof2004, 2004,Mark MarkZuckerberg Zuckerbergcreated created Facebook. Facebook.Since Sincethen, then,countless countlesschanges changeshave havebeen been made, made,creating creatingthe thesocial socialnetwork networkweweallallknow knowand and use usetoday. today.Statistics Statisticsprovided providedbybyGroSocial GroSocialInc. Inc.

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 04.11

09.15

The Inbox Network Pages

11.29

Facebook hits 150 million users f

Ability to use cropped/tagged photo as proﬁle picture

Proﬁle Modiﬁcation

Facebook Firefox Toolbar

01.07

01.15

Navigation &

News Feed Launches

100

04.06

04.20

02.09

Chat launches, allowing real-time communication with friends

Status prompt changed to Your Name is ... Ability to update status from phone via SMS

The “Like” button is added

04.24

08.26

Facebook hits 200 million users

Facebook hits 100 million users f

06.22

Video uploadable on Facebook, with mobile integration

f65

08.20

Facebook hits 250 million users

updates on Twitter

08.15 iPhone.facebook.com

launches

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11.06

Facebook Pages launches for public ﬁgures, bands, etc.

12.19

22 Friend List

07.21

Relevant ads are delivered to Facebook users

Launches

Digitally Illustrated by Maria Ikonomou

09.10

09.15

Integration of the “@” symbol in status updates, allowing you to target your status updates to another Facebook user

Video chat built into Facebook

08.23

Ability to approve or reject photos that you are tagged in Location option added to publisher

Facebook hits 300 million users f

08.18

Facebook Places and Check-Ins launched

10.14

Facebook data integration into Skype

11.03

11.17 Facebook is integrated into the Xbox Live experience

09.22

New Timeline proﬁle introduced

07.15

Facebook Pages to publish Facebook

Create a group chat instantly

Facebook hits 500 million users

09.03

07.10

07.06

New Chat sidebar to see the friends you message most

06.16

The “Like” button is added to Facebook comments

65 million people using Facebook on mobile devices

Facebook hits 30 million users

02.10

Over 100 million people using Facebook on mobile devices

200 million people using Facebook on mobile devices

200

10.10 f

100

Facebook for iPad launched

10.19

Messenger app launched that includes support for iPhone, Blackberry, and Android

by Max Goldenstein

Like most other teenagers who haven’t been living under a rock for the past few years, I am a proud member of the social media website, Facebook. I do all the things people my age do, chat with my friends, connect with people I know from all over the country, and post the occasional status that talks about how hard it is being a upper-middle class white kid. From time to time I will have to deal with the occasional de-friending or deletion of the picture of me at a “social gathering” with a “red cup” in my hand, but nothing seems to spark my interest anymore. However, this lack of interest is not Facebook’s fault in any way. The fact is, I am getting tired of myself. Sure, I could post photos of my latest trip to Hawaii and show how ripped I am, or write in my journal about how my comment on someone’s status got more “likes” than the post itself, but that’s so 2011 Max Goldenstein. But enough about how much of a social media butterfly I am. So what am I to do on the Facebook to pass the time? It is quite simple. While people are updating their Facebook lives, I have gone on to create a new Facebook life. Call me God? No, just ingenious. For you see, I have created a Facebook for Jake Goldenstein (my dog). Opening up Jake’s Facebook account brought back all of the fun of creating a Facebook account in the first place. Personal Interests? Going on walks! Education? Dog School! Religious affiliations? Dogma! How cute is that? The jokes are endless! But really the most important part about all of this is that my friends think it’s hilarious. Everyone loves getting posts on their News Feed that say “Eating some puppy chow, yum yum!” or “Licking my butt, yum yum!” The countless pictures of my dog sitting on a chair or carrying in a dead bird really seem to brighten people’s day. However, this

new Facebook fun does not end here. After making Jake Goldenstein a profile, I figured, why not try something bigger. I mean, #YOLO right? Instead of another animal to add to Facebook, I have created a whole new person! By photoshopping pictures and falsifying information, I can live my own double life through someone who only exists on the internet. Finally, someone can like my statuses and comment on my wall. Plus, since this made up person is a girl, I have been in a relationship for the past few months. And you know what they say: “When it rains, it pours.” I have already gotten one new friend who is interested in meeting me in exchange for my social security number. Don’t worry though, I am playing hard to get ;). But all this addiction to Facebook has really interfered with my social life. My friends keep asking me to hang out but it is just too hard to manage my internet life, as well as two others, despite the fact that one is actually just an animal. Not only do I have to update a quirky status for myself but I need to think of something clever for this fake person AND my dog. Plus, all the other guys in my grade keep chatting my fake girlfriend asking if she wants to go to a “kick-back” or something. Creating all of these fake personas has really increased my character. While some people only have one personality, I get the ability to be someone else (and an adorable animal!). Although I may be losing all of my friends, at least I have one non-sentient friend and one friend that I own and feed. I mean, who needs anyone else, these are friends that I can control and influence because they are bounded to me. My relationship with Facebook is healthy, and I think I will be the last one laughing when everyone has a direct USB connection from their brains to Facebook.

Created: February 2004 Founded by: Mark Zuckerberg Users sign up for the social networking site, and are then able to create a personal proﬁle, add other users as Facebook “friends.” and exchange messages, both private and public. Users can join common-interest user groups, “like” fan pages, and join networks in categories such as workplace, clubs, and school. Users can also add photos, post links, and update their statuses. They can “tag” their friends in said posts.

Created: March 2006 Founded by: Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Evan Williams, Biz Stone Twitter is an online social networking service and microblogging service that allows users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters. These posts are known as “tweets.” Described as “the SMS of the Internet.” Registered users can post tweets through the website interface, SMS, or a mobile app, and unregistered users can read tweets.

Created: September 2011 Operated by: Google Inc. Google+ is a social networking and identity service that integrates social services such as Google Proﬁles. New services include Circles, enabling users to organize people into groups for sharing, Hangouts, places used to facilitate group video chat, and Sparks,a front-end to Google Search, enabling users to identify topics they might be interested in sharing with other users. Google+ is available both as a website and on mobile devices.

Created: April 2007 Operated by: Tumblr Inc. Tumblr is a microblogging platform and social networking website that allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog. Users can post text, photos, quotes, links, chats, audio, and video to their blogs. These posts can be accessed from the “Dashboard” interface, where the option to post content and posts of followed blogs appear.

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en d

More Faces on Facebook

May 2012

“The story of Mark Zuckerberg is that he's incredibly socially awkward, and he runs the biggest social networking site in the world.” Cara Swisher technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal

“The biggest transition that will take place in the next couple years is...Facebook moving from just being a destination site to being the technology that powers the social web in general.” Chris Hughes Facebook’s co-founder

“This is becoming infrastructure. For a lot of the plan as we do move the internet onto cell phones and Facebook goes with it, Mark Zuckerberg sees a Facebook in the future that's completely unlike the one that you and I operate in today. “ David Kirkpatrick author of The Facebook Effect

“The Facebook story is a great example of how if you’re building a product that people love, you can make a lot of mistakes.” the MArk

Mark Zuckerberg founder of Facebook

33 quotations provided by NBC’s The Facebook Obsession

Beyond the Playground by Haley McCabe

Our generation is more connected than

can intervene. In fact, intervening in cyber bul-

ever before, with 97% of adolescents admitting to

lying has become one of the administration’s top

spending time on social media sites and 845 mil-

priorities this year.

lion active monthly Facebook users. This online

“If a student brings us information,

interconnectedness has bridged the gap between

or we hear from parents that there is cyber bul-

different continents and different cultures, open-

lying, we will intervene as soon as we possibly can.

ing lines of communication across oceans through

If we hear about it that morning, we are going to

the simple click of a button.

intervene that morning,” says Administrative Vice

But despite the endless advantages of such global

Principal Karl Losekoot. The Administrative Vice

communication, many adolescents are harmed

Principals, including Losekoot and Simone Ken-

by the anonymity of the internet. It is easy to say

nel, are responsible for investigating all bullying

something otherwise taboo behind the glow of a

cases, as well as doling out punishments to the

computer screen or the security of an anonymous

bully.

message.

“A lot of times it ends up being mediaAccording to the i-SAFE National As-

tion or a conversation. Sometimes it does become

sessment Center, over 50% of teenagers have sent

a disciplinary matter that might even include a

hurtful messages to their peers online, and 47% of

suspension or even police action if harassment is

adolescents have received them. The phenomenon

involved” says Zito.

of online harassment, coined “cyber-bullying,” is

Ms. Sophia Kalamaras is the head of M-

defined as the use of a mobile device or the Inter-

A’s conflict mediation services, the program that

net to send or post a threatening, harassing, or em-

allows bullies and victims to discuss their prob-

barrassing message to another. These messages are

lems in a secure environment. Her goal is to pro-

sent with malicious intent.

vide students a safe place to talk about and hope-

At Menlo-Atherton High School, cyber harass-

fully resolve whatever root issue is causing the

ment is not taken lightly. Principal Matthew Zito

conflict. She explains that the conversation that

says, “we obviously don’t support cyber bullying

happens during conflict mediation is less about

and will intervene when suddenly it will create a

who is at fault, but more about resolving the con-

disruption or has spilled over into the school en-

flict and allowing the students to move on from

vironment.”

the issue at hand.

Zito explains that cyber-bullying is very

“I follow a process I learned through the

damaging to adolescents because it “is hidden, it is

PCRC (Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center)…I

very easy for it to go undetected.” Because this type

interview each student individually first because

of bullying can stay hidden online and never sur-

everybody has their own story and their own per-

face, many “people are forced to suffer in silence,

ception of what happened,” explains Kalamaras.

or are forced to think that this is just something

“After that, if they agree (I am never going to bring

that happens,” when in reality, no one should be

in two students that are angry or are not in a place

subjected to harassment.

to deal with the matter), I will bring them in.”

The assumption that the administration

The conflict mediation process is criti-

cannot get involved with bullying that is taking

cal to allow both the victim and the bully to move

place off campus is untrue. If the bullying causes

on and coexist safely in the school environment.

a student to become so upset or depressed that he

Kalamaras has also set up a Cyber Safety page on

cannot focus on schoolwork, the administration is

the Menlo-Atherton High School website that

allowed to intervene. Even if the bully does not at-

provides information about cyber bullying and

tend M-A, the administration can get involved if

how to report it. On the site there is an anonymous

the bullying is effecting the school environment.

tip line that allows students being bullied to anon-

They have a very broad jurisdiction in which they

ymously report a bully and explain their situation

How YOU Can Stop Cyberbullying tips provided by mabears.org 100

Avoid sharing your passwords. While we all trust our friends, letting others use our accounts does not let us monitor what is being said. A message sent innocently by a friend from your account or your phone can easily be misunderstood. If we didn’t send the message, we may not be able to defend it. without revealing their name. Ms. Kalamaras explains that a student “can click on and just say here are my concerns, because it can be scary to come to the office.” This way, a student can report a bully in much less threatening environment from the safety of their own home. The administration has lofty plans for educating the school population about the adverse affects of cyber bullying, as well as getting the students involved in the educational process. This year, the administration

Everything you share in privacy can become public. No matter how safe or private information may seem, one wrong click on someone’s name or a send button can allow information to spread rapidly to unexpected recipients. Remember, everything you send over the Internet or over a phone can become public information.

has created an anti-cyber bullying Task Force, a group of administrators, teachers, and guidance counselors, who are leading this project.

Don’t respond to negative messages.

By the next academic year, the Task Force hopes to look into writing lessons, similar to those of last year’s Teen Truth Live program, and proctoring them during SSR. The lessons will include information on the definition of cyber bullying, how to prevent it, and how to report it.

If someone sends you a message you dislike, let them know without insult, and if it’s not a friend, don’t respond at all. Responding to an insulting or disrespectful message with further insult does nothing to ﬁx a problem, and may only make things worse.

The Task Force is also looking into gathering a group of students to create an anti-bullying video, starring M-A students and their experiences with bullying. Kalamaras explains that this video will “connect to M-A and [is] not just some random video from another school or with students that you don’t know. It will be faces you recognize, places you recognize.” The Task Force hopes that through the bullying experiences in the video, they can convey to the M-A student population how real and hurtful cyber bullying can be. They plan to include an assembly to compliment the other ele-

Save harassing and hurtful messages as evidence. If you don’t respond to a bully when a response may be what they are looking for, the bullying or hurtful messages may stop. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Saving harassing and hurtful messages may assist you in getting help with the situation. You can use these messages to provide information to school personnel, or other trusted adults, that can help in ﬁnding a remedy to the situation.

ments of the program. The assembly will ideally include a panel of students willing to speak to the school about their experiences with bullying as well as a showing of the anti-bullying video and a discussion about the adverse effects of cyber harassment. This program is a huge undertaking for the administration, but they hope that it will help inform students about the truly damaging effects

Block bullies. We all know we can’t help others until we help ourselves. Respect yourself enough to know that you do not need to listen to what a bully has to say. If need be, block them from your phone or social network. You do not have to feed into trash-talk from anyone!

of their words online.

volved in advertising yourself or paying attention to every little thing that your friends are doing seems rather distracting.”

Turn off technology at night. It is easy to stay plugged in to our technologies 24 hours a day and 7 days a week; however, we all need a chance to kick back and unwind. Every human being needs ample sleep and rest to function at 100%. Remember, we can always check our messages when we wake up and after a good night’s rest, but for the most part, we do not need to reply to messages in the middle of the night. Give yourself a break; get some well-deserved rest! Step up! Help a friend or peer. Often, we hear over the news or on the radio of drastic incidents where students have severely hurt or scarred others through bullying. Be a leader, and don’t stand by if you see someone getting hurt. As you’d want someone to help you, step up and inform a trusted adult of any bullying you witness. This site offers you a place to 33 step up and voice your concerns without feeling like a snitch.

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Losekoot warns that “Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with friends, but it is dangerous. The potential to be overwhelmingly in-

May 2012

OR One question almost everybody asks about the SAT and the ACT is, “What’s the difference?” The question may cross your mind: “Do I really need to take the SAT?” The answer is no, you don’t need to, but you should take either the SAT or the ACT because one or the other is required to get into the University of California, the CSU, and most four-year colleges. “There really aren’t any downsides to taking the SAT or ACT,” Ms Kleeman states. In fact, most colleges (when you give them both the ACT and SAT scores) will convert the ACT into an equivalent to the SAT, and will take the higher score.

The main difference between the SAT and the ACT is that the SAT assesses critical reading, math, and writing, while the ACT offers an English, reading, science, math and an optional writing section.

With the SAT, there is ¼ point off for guessing incorrectly versus the ACT’s non-penalty for a wrong answer. “In my 18 years here,” Ms. Kleeman begins, “I’ve only met two students who only took the ACT.” Only about 843 colleges give students the option of applying without standardized testing. (To see which colleges give you that opportunity, go to: www. fairtest.org.)Feel free to walk into Ms Kleeman’s ofﬁce to pick up a sample test of either (or both) the SAT and ACT. One thing to keep in mind (juniors) is that test scores are never the most important factor in college admission.

by Katie Nealis

3 hours, 45 minutes

3 hours, 25 minutes (including the 30-minute optional writing test)

Structure

3 Critical Reading, 3 Math, 3 Writing (including essay), 1 experimental (not scored but included as a regular section)

4 test sections (5 with optional writing test), English, Math, Reading, Science, Writing (optional)

Reading

Critical Reading, 50 Reading Comprehensions (short and long passages with questions), 17 Sentence-Completion questions

Time

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If you are planning to apply to a UC (University of California) or a CSU (California State University), you must take the SAT or the ACT. Many students take the SAT more than once, because scores generally improve the second time, and colleges take the higher score. “One thing I hate is when students think they need to take the test over and over again,” Ms. Kleeman says, but these tests are critical, and they can open doors to colleges.

Passages with 10 questions per page

Math

Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II

Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, and Trigonometry

Essay

First thing you do. 25 minutes, factored into overall score. Topics are broad in scope.

30 minutes, not included in composite score, Topics are relevant to high school students (optional).

Science

None

Analysis, interpretation, evaluation, basic content, and problem solving

Scoring

Total score ranges from 600-2400, based on adding scores from 3 sections

Composite score of 1-36, based on average of scores from 4 subjects

Sending Scores

You have the option to decide which total score is sent, but many colleges require all scores.

You decide which composite score to send.

¼ point subtracted for each wrong answer

No penalty for wrong answers

Wrong Answer Penatly

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May 2012

Take a Look at our Books! Every student at M-A has visited the M-A library at some point in their high school career. Some visit occasionally to pick up books for a class, while others frequent the library every day to study or ﬁnish up homework. “The library has 26,562 books available to students in print, audio, and e-book editions,” librarian Diana Beers explained, “and we do not charge overdue ﬁnes.” With such a selection accessible for free, it seems that many students would be using the library

Book Title

Goth: Undead Subculture

Salt: A World Histor�

Interracial Dating

306 GOO

338.2 KUR

306.73 NAS

In Search of Lake Monsters

The Chemistry of Fragrances

The Complete Book of Running

Furniture: Past and Present

001.9 COS

547 PYB

796.426 FIX

749 BOG

Confessions of an Alien Hunter

What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew

RATS: OBSERVATIONS ON THE HISTORY AND HABITAT OF THE CITY’S MOST UNWANTED INHABITANTS

576.8 SHO

820.9 POO

599.35 SUL

Dewey Decimal Number

Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World 361.2 CRI Ice: The Nature, the History, and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance

551.31 GOS

Letters of Recommendation by Nicky Hug The bell signaling the end of lunch rang and I meandered into my ﬁfth period class, anticipating the end of the day, hoping to just make it through the last two periods of school without hassle. Yet as I stepped into my class, a class I had been in for three quarters already, and saw my teacher, a 33 teacher I had had for three quarters already, something clicked. Something changed deep inside me; I realized something about that teacher. It was so

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as a reading material resource. Surprisingly, only 35% of the student body visits the library to ﬁnd books to read in their free time. Additionally these students usually have an idea of what book they want to check out, and stick to a certain part of the library. However, if one takes the time to look through the shelves, they may be surprised at what they ﬁnd. Luckily, the MArk staff has done the dirty work for you. Listed here are some books to check out, no pun intended. MA

Wild Minds: What Animals Really Think

591.5 HAU

Everything You Need to Know When a Parent Doesn’t Speak English

A History of the World in 6 Glasses

303.48 LAK

394.1 STA

new to me, but at the same time I had known it all my life. The glimmer in the corner of their eye, the way they smiled, their hair, it all called to me, making me feel a way I had never felt before. In that moment I realized that this teacher, this magnificent teacher, had to be the one to write my letter of recommendation. That was early in the first month of the 2012 calendar year; I was yet a young Junior, a naïve young buck looking to make a name for myself in the college world. My first SAT had yet to be attempted, no APs taken, wide-eyed and ready to go. A letter of recommendation hadn’t

by Helmi Henkin

crossed my mind, but in that moment it was all I could think about. But how to ask? How to approach this teacher who held my college fate in their hands? I had to plan; I had to plot. I spent months planning; countless nights were spent huddled over notebooks tracking the teacher’s movements; where they went in between classes, what they ate for lunch, which teachers were their friends. Finally I settled on a date, a time, to enact my mission, and began setting it in motion. The night before, I didn’t sleep. I knew the plan back to front, I had my clothes all picked out, I knew I was prepared, and still

Summer Recipes to Try Summer is creeping up and your friends and you have planned the best summer kickback. You have every detail planned out, except for the food. What are you going to feed your guests with? A simple pizza will not cut it and neither will take out. If you want your party to be remembered and thought about for the rest of the summer, you need to spice your meal up! If you are not a top chef, do not panic, because I have some recommendations that are so delicious, they will send your friends and guests into a frenzy to get those recipes.

Frozen Chocolate Covered FuitKabobs

Bong Bong Gi Chicken

1 recipe of No-Poach Chicken 2/3 cup Szechwan Peanut Sauce 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro

Packs of assorted chocolate chips Rasberries Strawberries Blueberries Kiwi Blackberries Pineapple

Put a pot over a low ﬂame. Add chocolate to it and let it melt, stirring utnil smooth. Cut the bigger fruit into desired shapes. Skewer the fruits. (your chocolate is melting while you are doing this) Take the chocolate and either dip or cover the chocolate in a desired pattern. Put screwers into freezer until chocolate is frozen.

...Without an iPhone

1 can of black beans 1 can of black-eyed peas 1 can of shoe peg corn 1/2 jar of jalepeno peppers 1 small jar of pimentos 1 cup of celery (3 stalks)

1 red onion 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup apple cider 1/4 cup vinegar 1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Chop jalepeno peppers, pimentos, celery, and red onion ﬁnely. Rinse and drain beans, peas, and corn. Place all ingredients in bowl On the stove: bring to boil sugar, apple cider vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Only let boil a little bit, just enough to melt sugar. Let liquid cool slighlty and mix with the other ingredients Bring to a party and earn the name "bean dip master.” *I usually drain some of the liquid after it has been poured over the beans, etc. Let it sit in the fridge for awhile ﬁrst so they can coat all of the ingredients and then decide if you want to take some liquid out. MA

If you look around M-A, you’ll notice countless students playing Draw Something and Tiny Wings while others conveniently text simultaneously listening to music. The Apple revolution has swept the world, bettering the lives of millions, though leaving many such as myself behind. I refuse to conform to the new world dominated by iPhones, contented with my internet-less Verizon wireless phone that I’ve been using for three years, yet still do not know the name of. I’m not going to lie, envy wells in my soul every time someone plays Tiny Wings on the bus or checks the March Madness scores slyly during class. M-A junior wishing to remain anonymous decided to rub in my face the academic beneﬁts of his iPhone saying, “I wouldn’t call it an academic beneﬁt as much as a cheat code on basically every quiz and test, everything you need is at your disposal.” Fellow nonconformist Nick Garcia describes his biggest struggle, “I’m really angry my Motorola doesn’t have the app SnapChat, I’d have babes sending me provocative photos on the daily.” The apple revolution isn’t such a bad thing, maybe I’m just jealous. My biggest struggle is that when I need a shoulder to cry on, Siri isn’t there for me. MA

by Leland Callahan

I couldn’t sleep. This day was too important, this day would define my college fate determining whether I got into an Ivy or a community college. After a night of no sleep, it was finally time. I performed my morning routine just as normal; coffee, shower, and dress. I made my way to school, sweating profusely try as I might to remain calm. I had to wait four periods before it was time to ask, but it was all I could think of. Maybe my teachers in those classes taught, maybe they didn’t. For all I know, they were speaking Mandarin, my mind was only on what was going to happen at lunch. When the bell finally rang at 12:50, I rushed to the teach-

In My Opinion

er’s classroom, hoping it was empty, hoping we would be alone. I arrived, out of breath, and luckily it was just the two of us. I saw his mouth open, asking what I was there for, but I heard nothing. I took a deep breath and blurted out the pre-prepared speech I had memorized for months. Did I bother to pause between words? Not really. Did it matter? Not to me. When I was done, one look at his face told me all I needed to know. Defeat and failure weighing on my soul, I turned and walked to the door. As my left foot crossed the threshold, he called out, “Wait!” I turned, a solitary tear running down my cheek. “I would be happy to

write your letter of recommendation,” he said, a thin smile appearing on his face. I fell to my knees, bursting into tears, crying out in joy. He may have helped me up, he may have calmed me down, for all I know he may have helped me walk out of the classroom. All I know is that he would write my recommendation. And I was happy. MA

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Life

No-Poach Chicken: 1 large fryer, about 3 pounds chicken 1-inch piece of fresh ginger 1 cup chopped green onions, (cut in 1-inch pieces) 1 teaspoon peppercorns Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in a pot and cover with water. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring the liquid to a boil and cover. Turn off the heat and let sit, covered for 2 hours. Strain and remove the meat, discard the bones. Toss the chicken in the peanut sauce. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Black Bean Dip

May 2012

KONY 2012 by Joanne Cho

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Almost all of the M-A student body along with millions of people worldwide have seen or heard of the Kony 2012 video by the Invisible Children charity organization. The video went viral with over 50 million views within a period of just four days. But what is Kony 2012? It is a viral campaign aimed at making Joseph Kony, the head of the Lord’s Resistance Army, famous. It is not to celebrate him but to expose his atrocities to the world with the hope of capturing him and putting a stop to his terrible acts of murder, abduction, and human trafficking. In order to do so, Invisible Children launched an online video explaining the initiative which was created by film maker, Jason Russell. Many people wanted to show their support of the ‘Stop Kony’ movement by attending the ‘Cover the Night’ event on April 20, 2012. However, the movement died down as fast as it went viral, resulting in an insignificant number of individuals working to make Kony famous in their towns. Sophomore Kelley Eason says that she “knew about the Invisible Children organization for a while but it only recently became well known just because of a YouTube sensation.”

Eason feels that Kony 2012 is a serious campaign that has attracted the attention of too many people that are not serious about the movement. People may have just jumped on the Kony bandwagon to join the hype, not fully committed to the campaign. Jason Russell’s recent outburst of unusual behavior has sparked many different opinions on the level of professionalism present in the campaign. According to the Hufﬁngton Post, Russell had a public meltdown due to his “exhaustion, stress, and dehydration.” Elizabeth Sherwin, co-president of the Save Every Slave club at M-A, shares her support for the campaign by saying that she “personally believe[s] that what Invisible Children is doing is really important… and Kony needs to be caught.” Although Russell and the movement mean well, Sherwin admits some disappointment that “his actions do not reﬂect well on the organization.” Nevertheless, Sherwin, Eason, and the millions of video viewers, said that they admire the efforts of the Invisible Children organization and will continue to support the Kony campaign until he is caught and his terrors are brought to an end. MA

PHOTOGRAPHY Untitled Vanessa Wijaya

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PHOTOGRAPHY Out to Catch a Group of Dreams Mao Mei Sonkin

May 2012

STAR TESTING by Simone King and Nicky Hug

Standardized testing, commonly referred to as STAR Testing, is a way to evaluate a school’s accademic abilities and achievements. However, what many students want to know is: Does STAR Testing really matter?

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very year when springtime arrives, it brings along many exciting new things such as seventy degree weather, holidays, spring break and of course the beloved STAR Testing. Students have built up a relationship with these standardized tests ever since the second grade, and have either grown to love the break they allow from everyday school, or hate their tedious nature. Every year at least one student will ask the famous question of “Why do we have to take this?” or “Does the STAR Test even matter?” We at the MArk, we are here to ﬁnally clear up the controversy regarding the importance of these exams. As many know, the STAR Test is the annual assessment for the state of California that stands for Standardized Testing and Reporting Test. It is an evaluation of each individual California school system that must 33 be taken by everyone in grades two through eleven after 85% of the school

year has passed. M-A does the testing by two weeks of alternating block days, allowing for students to take the STAR Tests in class, rather than interrupting other classes that do not require testing. The first week is dedicated to the English test, the second is math, and on a modified Monday of the second week students in grades nine through eleven take either history or science while seniors attend a meeting about Senior Week. As many teachers have told their students over the years, the STAR Test has been mostly for the benefit of the school’s funding. This means the better the test scores, the more money the school receives and vice versa: if the school does badly overall, less federal funding is given. While this does not seem to directly influence students, it has a trickle-down effect. Less funding results in staff cuts (think Mr. Priest or Mr. Nigara), less textbooks for students (imagine carrying your books to and from school every day), and cuts for extracurricular activities (how would you like Prom 2014 to be in the gym?). However, these consequences seem to students to be more long-term, things that will not happen until they are long gone, and on some level they are right. But more immediate consequences are forthcoming with the decision, effective this year, to put level of STAR Test proficiency (advanced, basic, proficient etc.) on students’ transcripts, transcripts that are sent to colleges. In recent years, the administration has shifted between the carrot and the stick in attempts to motivate students to perform to maximum potential on STAR Tests. When threats of less funding went ignored by students, prizes and treats were implemented. Now students who work hard on the STAR Tests have the

chance of winning a gift card the day of the test and are entered into raffles for larger prizes such as iPod Nanos. Whether this method, first adopted during the 2011 testing season, was successful or not, the decision has been made to upgrade the stick by devising a more immediate, and seemingly dire, consequence for students. With scores appearing on their transcripts, the administration believes students will begin to finally take the STAR Tests seriously. However, many are calling into question the true consequence of these scores. Will colleges even look at them? And if they do, will they know what the scores mean? Many colleges are located out of California where the STAR Test does not exist. Also, when compared to other standardized testing scores (SATs, ACTs, or APs) will the STAR Test scores even be taken into consideration? Many students, especially those in upper-echelon classes, feel that ultimately the STAR Test scores will have little effect on their admission to college. In the end, students still have the choice of whether they would like to take the test seriously, but the administration is hopeful that the appearance of the scores on transcripts will boost the effort put into the standardized test. STAR Tests, whether directly or indirectly, impact the school, and the better the scores, the better off the school is. Sure the tests are tedious, especially for juniors, for whom it only adds to their stress in the spring semester, but in the long run they serve to aid the school that has given so much to its students for four years of their lives. Doesn’t it seem right for the students to give something back? What better way than by ensuring federal funding by doing well on a relatively easy test? MA

S c p s l v m

M-A Sports

G HIGHLIGHTS

by Jimmy Hoffman and Lawson Joos

Senior Andre Delagnes ended his high school wrestling career with an amazing season, as he reﬂects, “I went thirty-four and four in the season, I won PALs and CCS and won two matches at the state tournament. I was pleased with my total performance this year but my two losses at state were only by a few points and I wish I could go back and put in a little more effort.”

Senior Charlotte McMillan comments on a great waterpolo season, “Despite losing some of our best players last year, our team played very well together and we made it to the CCS ﬁnals.”

Sophomore Duncan McGinnis, one of the lead scorers on the Varsity lacrosse team reﬂects on the season. “The lacrosse team had a great year, we all played really well and we won the championship against Menlo!”

Richard Cornew, a senior on the M-A football team, comments, “We had a great season. We made it to CCS Finals and we played 33 well together as a team.” the MArk

Sophomore Nick Fratt, the number one singles player on M-A’s tennis team, looks back on the team’s great season. “Our team played really well together. The tennis team has gone undefeated for the past four years in league and the seniors did a great job at leading us.”

May 2012

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PHOTOGRAPHY A Windy Night in Chicago Mao Mei Sonkin

PHOTOGRAPHY (lower left and right) Vanessa Wijaya

THE DEFINITION OF SUMMER by Filip Grehn

o to the beach on a nice day, roll down the windows of the car and sing-a-long to the obnoxiously loud music

orget about time, day, and school

PHOTOGRAPHY Vanessa Wijaya

ake Up (not because of alarm), go out in the garden, listen to music, and lay in the sun.

emind yourself in the morning that you don’t have anything that you have to accomplish on that day

ave a bonﬁre on the beach, hang out with friends, make s’mores and sing songs by the ﬁre

tay out withfriends late at night in the warm summer evening

o to an outdoor concert or festival with your favorite artists

ake a roadtrip down the Californa coast with your best friends

tart a rockband in your garage, even if you usually don’t sing or play any instruments 44

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May 2012

the MArk

Acrylic Gandhi Andrea Simes

Summer A+

A New Bearly News videos A Prom was cool! A

Farmer’s Markets at Lunch

Boys Lacrosse beats Menlo to be league champions

The MArk staff reflects on M-A trends of 2012.

Low Mark

AAP Environmental Science is being offered to the Class of 2016 B+ Spring Break being earlier than last year B KONY 2012 BSAT at PALY being cancelled due to a ﬁre alarm malfunction C+ Humanities Wheel Cancelled C Spring rally after the game C This year’s Holocaust Museum for the sophomores

STAR testing grades on transcripts C-

High School Memes C-

Prom on a Friday D+ Locking the parking lots at lunch DDept. of Education budget cuts F

l i fa

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High Mark

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May 2012

Each year, people from all over the country ﬂock to San Francisco for the Outside Lands Music Festival, a three-day event that celebrates music, food, wine, beer and art. This year the festival will be held from Aug. 10-12, at its usual venue, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Many famous musical acts perform each year. This year the lineup includes a variety of talented performers, including Stevie Wonder, Skrillex, Norah Jones, Passion Pit, and the Foo Fighters. The full lineup can be found at http://lineup.sfoutsidelands.com/. The festival, which was held for the ﬁrst time in 2008, is known for drawing huge crowds and providing appealing attractions for everyone. Even with three days, it is nearly impossible to experience all that the festival has to offer. Other festival attractions include a massive wine tasting tent, local circus

performers, comedians, a playground, art galleries, more than ﬁfty different food vendors, and much more. However, such great attractions come at a steep price, with general admission tickets averaging $225, and VIP tickets $495. Even so, the festival usually sells out each year, and is a huge success every time. Last year, there were an estimated 60,000 people in attendance each day. Sophomore Olivia DelRosso, who has gone to the festival the past two years, said, “Though the tickets are expensive, it is so worth it. There are so many great bands and food venues, and the people in the crowd are really nice. It was an amazing experience.” In past years, the musical acts have included greats such as Arcade Fire, Deadmau5, Kings of Leon, Slightly Stoopid, and Radiohead. by Charlotte Lee (M-A Bear News)

Digital Art Lauren Smith (Artwork derived from http://www.sfoutsidelands.com/home/

The festival was held at Bayfront Park which bordered the beach in the downtown Miami business district. It was roughly eight to ten blocks long. There were over ﬁve stages that had their own separate themes and the most popular acts were on last. The festival featured all types of Electronic Dance Music from Europe and America. High energy, loud music that is meant to be experienced in a dense atmosphere with big speakers and lights. Cultivated around the original warehouse sounds but has now evolved into mainstream friendly music. Calvin Harris’ track We Found Love was played like 5 times by different DJs. The crowd at Ultra Music Festival was a living, breathing creature that grew as the night became later. There were over 135,000 attendees, domestic and international. The kind of people that attended the festival were largely into rave oriented shows with elaborate visuals and sound systems. My favorite performer of the 2 days I attended was Gesaffelstein, a french techno DJ with a very different style than the rest of the artists. He played on one of the smaller

stages with only 300 people hovering around which made it really personal and memorable. To perform, he used two digital decks, a mixer, and headphones- the standard setup for most DJs. The set was only an hour long but he came out and delivered a set that was truly remarkable in terms of technicality and creativity. The festival was almost all DJs with a few exceptions. The artists that did not DJ had a live stage setup with keyboards, drums, and synthesizers and much of the music was played on the spot instead of pre-recorded tracks. Some of the stages were tents that synchronized video with audio and others were just outside stages which resembled more of a classic stage. The main stage was a seven-story structure of video, strobes, and speakers. I spoke with one of the engineers of the event and he said that there were 5,000,000 watts of sound from all of the stages. Truly one of the most spectacular music events in the US and I highly encourage anyone to attend this festival once in their lifetime.

by Lauren Smith

”

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“

Recorded as the second largest electronic festival, Ultra Music Festival has grown in popularity and in size over the past 13 years of its existence. Just one out of the 135,000 attendees at 2012’s Ultra Music Festival, M-A senior Jordan Sontag, shared his second experience at the festival with the MArk.

senior editor May 2012

the MArk

fare well 44

ith graduation only a few weeks away, we have already stepped out of our editorial positions and written our last articles. The end of our time on The MArk staff can only be described as bittersweet, as all of us are excited to go off to college, but are also a bit nervous to start the next unfamiliar chapter of our lives. As an original member of The MArk staff, I am excited to see where the next generation of MArk editors take the magazine, and hope to see an award in the near future. But I think I can speak for all of us when I say we are mostly excited to assert our independence and finally leave for college. I, Haley McCabe, will be studying at Boston College next fall. Max Goldenstein will attend UC Santa Barbara, Jeff LaPlante will study at Lehigh University, and Maria Ikonomou plans to support the banana slugs at UC Santa Cruz. Although it will most definitely be difficult to adjust to the new college lifestyle, we are all ready to move away from the Bay Area and experience something new. So with this we say goodbye to M-A and The MArk readership, good luck surviving without us!

fare the MArk

With Love, Haley, Maria, Max and Jeff

recycle MAKE YOUR MARK.