April 2023

THE CHARIOT

DELIVERING GUNN’S CULTURE AND POLITICS

P6 | BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Uncovering the Complexities Behind America’s Mass Shooting Epidemic

THE CHARIOT

STAFF 22  23

EDITOR IN  CHIEF

Chris Lee

SENIOR EDITOR

Katie LaWer

SENIOR LAYOUT EDITOR

Safina Syed

LAYOUT EDITORS

Stella Manning

Pranav Pabba

Corbin Platti

Isha Sinha

ONLINE EDITOR

Stella Manning

CONTRIBUTORS

Jasper Donnelly

Annabel Honigstein

Stella Manning

Pranav Pabba

Corbin Platti

Dylan Qu

Isha Sinha

Benjamin Vakil

GRAPHICS

Michelle Koo

Aeron Man

ADVISOR

Justin Brown

Cover: Aeron Man

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Dear

Welcome to our final issue of the year—we’re glad you’re here. This past semester brought a lot of changes to The Chariot: our sta size grew significantly, we created a new website—which can be found at gunnchariot.com—and the senior editors involved more sta ers in the story editing and layout design process. This 16-page news magazine contains the fruits of our labor.

No letter from the editor would be complete without some not-sosubtle advertising. The Chariot is Gunn’s social and political magazine, and we publish two full-color issues each year. Our mission is simple: to provide insightful and accessible commentary on important issues to all students. If this objective—or free snacks and candy—sounds appealing,

we’d love for you to join us at our meetings in N-106 during lunch on Mondays. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us at gunnchariot@gmail.com.

This issue of The Chariot contains a diverse array of opinions on a variety of issues, ranging from the mass shooting epidemic in America to the digitalization of education. We hope that our commentary will not only be informative, but also spark key discourse.

With all of this context in mind, I now proudly present our second issue of the 2022-23 school year. Thank you for deciding to pick up this issue and happy reading.

Sincerely,

Chris Lee, Editor-in-Chief

SEMESTER NEWS RECAP SEMESTER NEWS RECAP

Important news stories from the semester compiled by The Chariot.

EGG INFLATION

Inflation and the bird flu sparked an egg shortage in midJanuary that is still impacting Americans today. The current flu is the deadliest strain of influenza for birds, and has a ected at least 57 million chickens, which have struggled to produce the same amount of eggs as they did pre-influenza. Furthermore, recent inflation has resulted in rising costs for fuel, packaging,

labor and chicken feed, thus resulting in farmers being unable to a ord the same quality of nourishment for their chickens.

According to a CNN article published on March 29, a dozen eggs cost $3.30 in February, up 109% from $1.61 a year prior. These higher prices have also led to higher profits for egg producers, according to the same article.

EARTHQUAKES

On Feb. 6, Turkey and Syria were hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and several aftershocks. The earthquake killed over 50,000 people and the two countries have su ered destruction to their infrastructure. The majority of the deaths have come from “pancaked” building collapses, where the top level of a structure collapses onto the

lower ones. Although Turkey passed new building codes in 2000, many structures still do not comply with them. This dynamic has caused public anger at the Turkish government: Turkey has been subject to numerous earthquakes over the past decades, yet many believe that not enough improvements have been made to prevent destruction.

Source: Las Vegas Review

Source: Demioren News Agency

On Feb. 7, President Joe Biden gave his annual State of the Union Address to Congress. The address is a yearly speech delivered by the president to describe the current state of the country. In his speech, Biden emphasized unity and improvement, citing bipartisan legislation such as the infrastructure bill along with low unemployment rates.

STATE OF THE UNION SUPER BOWL LVII

On Feb. 12, football fans all around the world prepared for the showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, a battle between the two strongest teams in the league. The Chiefs played the Eagles at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Eagles dominated the first half, leading 24 to 14, but fumbled in the second

With these successes in mind, Biden also stated the need to “finish the job” and pass legislation regarding police reform, abortion and aid to Ukraine. With the upcoming 2024 presidential election, some also saw this State of the Union address as the start of Biden’s re-election campaign. Biden has not yet announced whether he plans to run for a second term.

quarter, allowing a Chief touchdown. Patrick Mahomes— the star quarterback—and Travis Kelce—a talented tight end—were a key duo that led the team to victory. The close three-point game was sealed by the Chiefs in their stunning lastquarter performance, winning them their third Super Bowl Champion title. Their last two wins were in 1970 and 2020.

WILLOW PROJECT

The Biden Administration formally approved the Willow Project on March 13, authorizing a vast number of drilling sites in Alaska to begin producing oil. Willow is projected to generate up to $8 billion in revenue through the ConocoPhillips energy company. Though economically sound, the Willow Project’s environmental e ects have sparked several climate

activist protests. Impacts of the project may be felt beyond Alaska, as Willow is slated to release up to 250 million metric tons of carbon emissions over the next 30 years. In response to the backlash, Biden lessened the number of drilling sites and set the Arctic Ocean o -limits.

—Compiled by Stella Manning, Grace Sun and Jolie Zhou

Source: Brookings

Source: Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Source: ConocoPhillips Company

Beyond the Headlines:

Uncovering

the Complexities

Behind America’s Mass Shooting Epidemic

Since Jan. 1, 2023, there have been 130 mass shootings—shootings where four or more people were killed or injured, not including the gunman—in the United States. Approximately once a week, we receive a news notification alerting us that there has been another act of gun violence. Occasionally, we react, concerned and curious to know what happened. But with 130 mass shootings in the span of only a few months, our reactions often get reduced down to a remark such as, “Did you see the news? How terrible.”

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 646 mass shootings during the last three years in the U.S. Perpetual gun violence is an inescapable reality unique to Americans: Britannica states that in 2007, Switzerland ranked third in international gun ownership rates— with 45.7 guns per 100 people—and had 24 gun homicides and 253 gun suicides in 2009. The U.S. ranked first in international gun ownership rates with 88.8 guns per 100 people and had 12,632 gun homicides and 17,352 gun suicides in 2007. The U.S. had 12,608 more gun homicides and 17,099 more gun suicides despite having less

than double the gun ownership rates of Switzerland. Most of us do not comprehend where this issue stems from, and it is challenging to address it at its roots when we are constantly being fed incomplete, outdated and distorted excuses for a gunman’s actions.

The excuse we often hear is “mental illness.” A week after the Parkland shooting on Feb. 14, 2018, that took the lives of 17 people, then President Donald Trump and other Republicans said e orts to prevent future mass shootings should focus on improving mental health. Furthermore, a poll conducted by ABC News and the

Annabel Honigstein CONTRIBUTOR

Aeron Man

CHARIOT

Washington Post found that 77% of Americans believed that better mental health monitoring and treatment could have deterred the Parkland shooting.

The issue at hand, however, is not directly linked to mental illness: According to the American Psychological Association, approximately 20% of U.S. adults met the criteria for one or more psychiatric diagnoses, and nearly 6% had a serious, impairing mental illness in 2020. Moreover, the APA found that even if all mental illnesses were cured, violence would only decrease by 4%. While mental illness is a topic that needs to be addressed, blaming gun violence on it is stigmatizing and does not reflect the full picture.

Racism, hatred and biases are also common justifications for mass shootings in the U.S. On May 14, 2022, Payton Gendron, a 19-year-old white man, entered a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Bu alo, New York. According to Bu alo News, all 10 of the victims who were killed were Black. Gendron pleaded guilty to attempted murder as a hate crime, first-degree murder and 25 state counts of domestic terrorism. NBC News also reported that Gendron’s motive was “for the future of the White race.”

Mental health issues and prejudice are undoubtedly motivators for gun violence and mass shootings. It’s essential, however, to consider the true root of this nationwide epidemic: accessibility. At the time of purchase, Gendron was only 18 years old and cleared every background check, as he claimed he just wanted to use the gun for target practice. Although Gendron’s racial bias may have been the motive, a simple gun-purchasing

process provided him the means to act.

The Gun Control Act of 1968 regulates firearms at the federal level and mandates that citizens and legal residents must be at least 18 years old to purchase shotguns, rifles and ammunition. All other firearms can only be sold to those who are 21 and older. State laws are more inconsistent: They deviate in terms of waiting periods, which exist to prevent “heat of the moment” crimes, and background checks, which investigate the purchaser’s criminal and mental health history.

A major threat to the safety of American citizens are “ghost guns” that are untraceable. These largely unregulated guns can be purchased online and lack serial numbers that are used to regulate legally acquired guns. More than 40% of crime guns recovered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in California were ghost guns. In late 2019, 16-yearold Nathaniel Berhow used a ghost gun to kill two students and injure three others at Saugus High School in California. On Jan. 30, 2022, a 14-year-old boy was accidentally shot by a friend playing with the ghost gun he built. Thus, Americans remain unsafe until ghost guns are taken out of circulation, as governments cannot e ectively regulate them.

The National Rifle Association

is one of the most powerful lobby organizations in the U.S. and also contributes to gun violence. It defends the idea that citizens have the right to bear arms with no government oversight, and advocates for loosening the few regulations that currently exist.

The NRA has a notable annual budget of approximately $3 million that is used to lobby congress members and promote pro-gun candidates. It grades members of Congress on their openness to gun laws, which can a ect their approval rankings. Thus, many politicians, especially those from conservative states, are reluctant to support gun control measures due to fear of losing the NRA’s support. This dynamic means that gun accessibility will continue to be a leading cause of mass shootings unless those in power begin to take action, instead of simply issuing empty statements of condolence.

The U.S. has had 131 mass shootings since the beginning of 2023, and we are less than halfway through the year. While mental illness and prejudices are often used as justifications for these acts of violence, accessibility to firearms remains the true root of this nationwide epidemic. The failure of gun regulation systems, the influence of the NRA and the excessive availability of weapons pose a major threat. Laws remain inconsistent, and the emergence of untraceable firearms has only worsened the issue. As our country continues to grapple with gun violence, it is critical to recognize the need for stricter and more e ective gun regulations to ensure the safety of all Americans.

AMERICANS REMAIN UNSAFE UNTIL GHOST GUNS ARE TAKEN OUT OF CIRCULATION, AS GOVERNMENTS CANNOT EFFECTIVELY REGULATE THEM.

THE FAILURE OF GUN REGULATION SYSTEMS, THE INFLUENCE OF THE NRA AND THE EXCESSIVE AVAILABILITY OF WEAPONS POSE A MAJOR THREAT.

THE LiMiTATiONS OF MERiTOCRACY

Why A rmative Action Is Still Necessary To Reduce Inequality and Promote Equity

Corbin Platti CONTRIBUTOR

Every year, millions of high school students across the United States apply to colleges and universities to begin their transition to adulthood. Although crafting the perfect admissions profile is a daunting task for anyone, marginalized students are dealt a worser hand: Limited access to resources, such as private college counselors who can help attain impressive academics and extracurricular feats, means that it is more di cult for these students to create competitive applications. Through a set of policies known collectively as “a rmative action,” schools attempt to level the playing field by assisting historically underrepresented groups. While controversial, a rmative action policies remain necessary to promote equity, and should therefore remain legal.

based discrimination by employers were being implemented. Although these employer laws did not a ect schools, many chose to adopt similar policies in regards to their admissions processes. Schools that made such changes saw their student body diversity increase. For instance, the num-

THE NUMBER OF BLACK STUDENTS ADMITTED TO THE FRESHMAN CLASSES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY AND HARVARD COLLEGE IN 1969 MORE THAN DOUBLED FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR.

brought against a court by Marco DeFunis, who sued the University of Washington Law School on the claim that his acceptance had been denied on the basis of his race. Upon reaching the U.S. Supreme Court, the case was dismissed, since DeFunis was in his final semester of law school at a di erent institution, making the case pointless in the eyes of the judges.

The idea of a rmative action was introduced by then-President John F. Kennedy during the Civil Rights Movement, when laws prohibiting race-

ber of Black students admitted to the freshman classes of Columbia University and Harvard College in 1969 more than doubled from the previous year. The following decade also saw an increase in Black students’ attainment of four-year college degrees.

As similar policies became more prevalent within higher education, some schools began to face backlash, especially from white students who claimed to be victims of reverse discrimination. The matter was first

Since then, the Supreme Court has reviewed a rmative action multiple times, making minor adjustments to how colleges are allowed to implement these policies. In 2022, Students for Fair Admissions—a non-profit dedicated to taking legal action against “racial classifications and preferences in college admissions”—sued a governing body at Harvard and the University of North Carolina for their a rmative action policies. Students For Fair Admissions claims that both institutions violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which states that “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color or national origin, be excluded from

CHARIOT

participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Both cases were heard on Oct. 31, 2022, but the verdict will not be released until June 2023.

In 2017, The New York Times found that the proportion of Black and Hispanic students at elite schools was nearly 10 percentage points lower than their makeup of the U.S. college-aged population. Banning affirmative action would only broaden these disparities, making it more di cult for historically underrepresented groups to climb the socioeconomic ladder.

Furthermore, the diversity that a rmative action brings to college campuses benefits all students: College is a transition into adulthood, and learning how to understand and communicate with those from di erent backgrounds is crucial. In a 2012 statement, the American Council on Education stated that “Education within a diverse setting prepares students to become good citizens in an increasingly complex, pluralistic society.” The merit of higher education may lie in getting a degree, but opportunities for personal growth should not be ignored.

Some have argued that a rmative action negatively impacts cer-

tain groups, such as Asian and white Americans. According to census data from 2021, 61% of the Asian American population who was over 25 years old had a bachelor’s degree. That same metric for white, Black, and Hispanic populations was 41.9%, 28% and 20.6% respec tively. Median household income tells a similar sto ry: White and Asian Ameri cans remain at the top making close to $90,000, whereas Black and Hispanic Americans make around $53,000. Even after decades of a rmative action, Asian and white Americans continue to exceed Black and Hispanic Amer icans in educational attainment and access to high-paying jobs. Even if af firmative action has created increased competition for White and Asian Americans in the college admissions process, it is clear that neither group has been

fects should not be ignored. A tive action is necessary in the status quo, as it pro motes equity and corrects decades of discriminatory practices. As we work to eliminate the disparities we see to day, however, it is natural that equi ty-promoting policies will become less necessary, and discourse surrounding a rmative action should continue.

COLLEGE IS A TRANSITION INTO ADULTHOOD, AND LEARNING HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND COMMUNICATE WITH THOSE FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS IS CRUCIAL.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IS NECESSARY IN THE STATUS QUO, AS IT PROMOTES EQUITY AND CORRECTS DECADES OF DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES.

Should Gunn Have Lanes and

Should Gunn Have Lanes and Pathways?

lanes for all students.

I have always considered myself “good” at math, and some of my most prominent childhood memories involve mathematics. For example, in first grade, I kept a notebook where I would calculate and list Fibonacci numbers, making it up to over 20 digits. Although math was always intuitive for me, I struggled with maintaining interest in the subject at school because its progression was too slow. While extracurricular math enrichment was always an option, I never had the bandwidth for much of it because of focus issues stemming from ADHD. Recently, while attempting to be placed into a higher math class, I encountered PAUSD’s draconian policies surrounding math placement, where I was squarely told that I was not allowed to skip. That experience has convinced me of the need for more accessible and flexible math

PAUSD has an unfortunate culture of rejecting openness and cooperation—to put it in other words, it’s their way or the highway. This dynamic manifests in the mathematical educational framework of our district being harmful for students.

PAUSD actively discourages students from pursuing more advanced math. While it is possible to skip one year of math in middle school, it requires an obfuscated validation testing process that is—to put it bluntly— designed for failure. The deliberately obscure testing procedures, lack of rubric and syllabus, irrelevant questions and undue grading scales exacerbate demographic disparities, since students whose families lack the significant wherewithal needed to pass the validation tests are held back from their full potential. I experienced this firsthand in middle school, since despite being an all-around capable student, I was not given the organizational support—which the district was obligated to provide—to help me succeed.

When parents attempt to advocate for their students, school o cials tacitly dismiss their concerns. In fact, after communicating with sta earlier this year, an assistant principal suggested that I drop my current math class—condescendingly implying that I didn’t need to take any math class

at Gunn if I was not content with the one given to me. This rigid approach to math education leaves our district a year behind neighboring ones, such as Los Altos, Menlo Park City and Mountain View Whisman, that o er geometry in middle school.

Instead of taking the sensible approach of allowing students to take the classes they want, PAUSD tries to justify its radical policies by insinuating academic consensus on math delaning, when none exists. They would rather cite agenda-oriented consultants and cherry-picked data—including figures from the San Francisco Unified School District, which was found to have fudged data in their math programs according to an analysis by Families for San Francisco.

The fact is, forcing heterogeneous classes in regards to math interest and ability does not increase equity. Instead, the students who quickly understand the concepts become disillusioned as they are systematically under-challenged. Likewise, those who need more time and attention to understand the same material inevitably get left behind. Some talented students can get outside enrichment, but many can not. Some struggling students have access to tutors, but many do not. This dynamic creates a deep divide in the classroom, limiting students’ ability to collaborate, which is crucial in mathematics.

Benjamin Vakil CONTRIBUTOR

Michelle Koo

Have More Math Pathways? Have More Math Pathways?

I have always underestimated my math abilities. Although I could have pushed myself to take harder classes, I chose to take the pathway that would have me take Algebra 1 freshman year. Halfway through the course, however, I realized that I wanted to challenge myself more, and thus decided to take a geometry class over the summer, since it would allow me to take Algebra 2/ Trigonometry A sophomore year. The program compressed a year of geometry into a few weeks and was highly demanding— most of the students— who like me, wanted to pursue a higher level of math—dropped out

While this anecdote is specific to my experience, switching math lanes is stressful in general. For instance, although all students have the option to move between the advanced and honors lane, it is their responsibility to learn the missed topics, which are often the hardest ones, such as quadric surfaces in Analysis H. The substantial division between advanced and honors

at Gunn makes self-teaching the curriculum nearly impossible. For instance, if a student were to take Advanced Placement Calculus BC after taking Introduction to Analysis and Calculus, they would struggle in the class, since Analysis H devotes more time to the fundamentals of calculus. Merging the advanced and honors lanes into one would reduce the stress and di culty of changing between the two.

The California Math Framework builds on a foundation laid in 1985 that describes the required math standards. The framework advocates for fewer lanes so that students in lower ones— who tend to be students of color—can take more di the opportunities they a

In my experience, students in a higher math lane often choose the lane because of a previous interest in the subject. Placing students from lower lanes in the same environment may encourage a similar interest. Merging the lanes may also push students to pursue a math-related field, even if they

had never considered doing so before. Although reducing the number of lanes would minimize the amount of personalization, students would still have a choice between pursuing the skip or merged pathway. It is important to note, however, that switching into the skip pathway is di cult, and may not always be the best solution. A perfect solution isn’t always easy to find, but the problem is clear: Having many math lanes creates more division in an already competitive environment, and there is no easy fix without

Isha Sinha CONTRIBUTOR

Michelle Koo

MichelleKoo

Searching for Answers: Digitalization

complex programs.

Undoubtedly, memorization is a hallmark of education, with students going through thousands of mathematical theorems, vocabulary terms and significant dates throughout their academic tenure.

The utilization of memorization has become a target of critiques, most of which point out that memorization doesn’t facilitate true understanding of the subject matter. Some even contend that memorization is a deficiency, something that doesn’t belong in a teacher’s toolkit.

But memorization does and should play a role—it is a fast track past the labor of comprehension. In programming, abstractions—similar to prebuilt functionalities—are often used. The internal workings of the abstraction don’t matter, and by memorizing various sets of abstractions, program

Similarly, working knowledge also revolves around abstractions: which abstractions are available for use, how the abstractions should be utilized and how to extrapolate from pre-existing abstractions. Abstractions provide a convenient interface to interact with, without a need to understand the fundamental concepts underlying the overall mechanism. In terms of productivity, the memorization of abstractions has inherent value as lump sums of knowledge that can be employed immediately. By this token, it doesn’t matter whether or not one understands the inner workings of an algorithm, theorem or machine, as long as the context for usage is clear. For instance, only a small minority truly understand the workings of cars, computers and phones. Although these devices are abstractions for most of the general public, it doesn’t matter, since they can still be used e ectively.

On its own, the usage of

other people’s tools, methods and ideas has rarely been an issue, and more often than not, the process is essential for progress. The problem arises when people become solely reliant on pre-existing abstractions and incapable of drawing independent conclusions.

In today’s digital era, the extremes of discovery and memorization have been pulled closer to everyone. Anyone can search for an answer to a question instead of sifting through massive databases to analyze di erent ideas and generate new ones. In education, this phenomenon is amplified by the ubiquitous presence of digital resources such as Chegg, YouTube, Quizlet, and more recently, ChatGPT.

Despite its potential to enhance the possibility for discovery and independent thought, digitalization often has the opposite e ect, particularly among younger generations. As the path of least resistance, the internet has the potential for impact and serves as a powerful medium to quickly pick up concepts and implement them. The sets of compartmentalized knowledge and abstractions are, for those who are curious, empowering in almost every endeavor.

But the web isn’t a place to intelligently promote development—

Pranav Pabba CONTRIBUTOR

THE PROBLEM ARISES WHEN PEOPLE BECOME SOLELY RELIANT ON PRE-EXISTING ABSTRACTIONS AND INCAPABLE OF DRAWING INDEPENDENT CONCLUSIONS.

Answers: Navigating the

of Education

it’s a place to answer questions. For instance, digital tools such as ChatGPT and Bard have made previously obscure ideas and abstractions accessible by anyone.

With adults, the vast stockpiles of information on the internet can be utilized e ectively. In general, they have the ability to use the information to derive answers and to form independent thoughts. There’s always searching for answers, but the search can serve as a route for some higher abstraction, and often does. For students and children, however, it becomes a habit to search for answers to a critically restrictive degree. It’s no longer searching for information to support some larger conclusion—it’s searching for the conclusion itself. For many students, the search has become the first choice. For many more, the search has become the only choice.

detail of the abstraction. All of this, students can memorize. Instead of an information deficiency, students face an information overload.

Most often, information is cumulative: New knowledge is built o of old ideas, and higher-level abstractions are generated from lowerlevel ones. Education is a space not only for learning abstractions, but also for developing a certain mode of thought that allows for the creation of complex ideas from simpler subcomponents. In its current state, education is illequipped to espouse this type of thinking, especially in a digital world. If students are assigned homework, they can search for the answer or ask an AI for a summary. If students are assigned a test, they cram concepts in their heads, assisted every step of the way by the internet. As students gain more options, they deprive themselves of intelligent self-reflection. In a world awash with easily accessible answers, independent thought is drowned out, cast o as hopelessly irrelevant and time-consuming. The act of drawing conclusions has become devalued, and the opportunities for individual analysis and thinking have all but disappeared.

independently starts at an elementary level, grappling with topics that could be learned by searching them up, but aren’t. Developing synthesis at a basic level scales, and it proves to be valuable down the line.

As digitalization rapidly takes over the duty of conveying abstractions, the encouragement of independent thought becomes all the more important. Education can include digital elements, but it has to be designed in a pointed and intentional way that ensures that students have the chance to form their own thoughts, isolated from the buzz of the internet.

The concern isn’t whether or not students properly understand concepts—there are hundreds of thousands of resources dedicated to walking students through a concept and explaining each excruciating

Sometimes, individual analysis isn’t a critical factor in the success of an undertaking. At the frontier of human knowledge, however, independent thought becomes crucial. In a situation where the answer can’t be found on the web, people should be able to fend for themselves. Learning how to think

Even as information expands to cover every path of inquiry, and AI is able to come to conclusions beyond the scope of human knowledge, independent thinking will still play a role. In order to preserve this valuable skill, something in education has to change. There has to be accessibility to the vast digital community, while at the same time, preservation of unique thought.

As to questions of where to strike the balance, educators will have to think on it—and perhaps ask ChatGPT.

IN A WORLD AWASH WITH EASILY ACCESSIBLE ANSWERS, INDEPENDENT THOUGHT IS DROWNED OUT, CAST OFF AS HOPELESSLY IRRELEVANT AND TIME-CONSUMING.

Aeron Man

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Dylan Qu CONTRIBUTOR

The sidelines of hip hop are heavy with spectators— people in the crowd plug in, turn on and cop out. Hip hop is brought to you in four parts without commercial interruption, and consumers become further separated from the artists and culture as time passes. The barrier widens, the product rises to the surface and the ideologies of divergence and challenge are left behind. Breaking is reduced down to street gymnastics, while its strong community and deep history get ignored. Gra ti artists forget their etiquette and start writing in places they shouldn’t, like school bathrooms. The purpose of gra ti is not to make a janitor’s life harder, and there’s no reason to write something that will immediately be removed. There absolutely is a di erence between reclaiming and beautifying a public space and destroying a bathroom. Homophobia plagues a community that is supposed to endorse self expression and human rights. When an event titled “Battle of the Year” posted a pride flag on Instagram, a flood of comments complained about how hip hop had existed without the presence of social and political issues for many years. Even a quick 20-second internet search could prove otherwise. But how could these ideas so vital to the community be forgotten?

Everyone knows about the internet. It’s a central part of our lives, but if someone was asked to explain it, they probably wouldn’t be able to. A similar dilemma exists with hip hop: Everyone knows and loves Kendrick Lamar and MF DOOM, but many overlook the culture that they come from. The four elements of hip hop are MCing (rapping), DJing, breaking and gra ti. MCing and DJing challenged the public’s idea of what music should sound like, breaking rejected many traditional ideas of dance and gra ti defied what was acceptable as visual art. All four of these elements

o er chances for artists to create with what they have. Hip hop is a catalyst for breaking norms, but as people separate from the culture, the central themes that are so important get neglected.

If the problem is that the audience is disengaged, then the solution seems pretty simple: to re-engage. This fix, however, is not as easy as it sounds, especially in Palo Alto. The break community is di cult to engage with in Palo Alto because it either does not exist or is highly elusive. Community is necessary for involvement, but when there is no involvement, there is no community— in other words, it’s a self-perpetuating cycle. Though a seemingly daunting task, the cycle has been broken before: Palo Alto used to have a strong breaking scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s. There are videos of people crammed into the Mitchell Park Community Center watching a 2v2 battle. A surface-level explanation for why such a large community fizzled out is that tech does not mix with hip hop, but there are plenty of dancers in San Jose that major in computer science and work for big tech companies.

If there is no external force preventing the cultivation of hip hop in Palo Alto, then there must be an internal force. The internal force, to be blunt, is laziness.

The easy way into hip hop is not learning about its history and skimping over the heritage of this generation’s artists. It’s not as impactful, and the underlying themes are ignored at the expense of hip hop’s culture. The harder, more meaningful way into hip hop is participation. It can mean anything from listening to older music and reading about famous MCs to going to jams in San Jose. While much of hip hop history is not easily searchable on the internet, there is still a lot to learn from the readily available information. The best way to partake in hip hop is not to sit in front of a TV, but to sit in the driver’s seat. As Gill Scott-Heron put it, “the revolution will be live,” and hip hop

also.

should be

IF THERE IS NO EXTERNAL FORCE PREVENTING THE CULTIVATION OF HIP HOP IN PALO ALTO, THEN THERE MUST BE AN INTERNAL FORCE. THE INTERNAL FORCE, TO BE BLUNT, IS LAZINESS.

Source: Alex Lvrs/Unsplash

Carbon Cure: Concrete and the Climate

Jasper Donnelly CONTRIBUTOR

Over the past few years, evidence of climate change around the world has become increasingly clear. An example that is applicable to Gunn students is the recent extreme weather in the Bay Area. In fact, the entire state of California has weathered a number of atmospheric river events within the past few months. NASA’s definition of an atmospheric river is a “vast airborne corridor of water vapor flowing from Earth’s tropics toward higher latitudes.” Although atmospheric rivers have existed for a long time, they are projected to get worse in the coming years as a result of climate change.

A study conducted by a University of California, San Diego research team corroborates this conclusion, noting how “atmospheric rivers are already boosted by the changing climate.” As warming continues, the research team expects “a shrinking wet season but increasing rainfall from more potent atmospheric rivers.” Furthermore, both the NASA and UCSD research teams advise state governments— particularly those in the west coast, as they are uniquely a ected by atmospheric rivers—to take action regarding climate change to prevent further extreme weather.

One of the biggest contributors to climate change is greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. When examining carbon dioxide emissions, many turn to transportation as the main culprit. After all, airplanes, trucks and cars—which are mostly powered by fossil fuels—are very

visible and used frequently. A 2020 report from the International Energy Agency, however, showed that while aviation accounts for about 2.8% of total global carbon dioxide emissions, concrete manufacturing accounts for

CONCRETE MANUFACTURING ACCOUNTS FOR AT LEAST 8% OF TOTAL GLOBAL EMISSIONS, AS CONCRETE IS THE SECOND-MOST USED RESOURCE GLOBALLY.

at least 8% of total global emissions, as concrete is the second most-used resource globally after water. Despite the widespread inattention to this industry, these statistics demonstrate just how large the threat that concrete manufacturing poses to the planet.

Luckily, a few researchers are paying attention to this process. A company called CarbonCure—a relatively new company in the industry—has created

a technology that is able to capture the CO2 that is formed during the concrete-production process and reinject it back into the concrete. From there, it reacts with calcium ions from cement to form a mineral, calcium carbonate, which becomes embedded in the concrete and trapped forever. Even if the concrete is later demolished, the carbon dioxide will never be released back into the atmosphere.

While revolutionary for the climate, another advantage of this technology is that it appeals to those hesitant to greener solutions due to their sometimes higher cost. CarbonCure technology can easily be retrofitted into existing facilities, and it also increases compressive strength, meaning that the concrete needs to be replaced less often.

As climate change worsens, it is important to implement pragmatic solutions and technologies such as CarbonCure.

COLLEGE CLIMATE CRISIS

POLICY BOUNDARIES STEM

PERSONALIZATION TRUTH

STEM CARBON CURE BIAS

RACE PROFILING AMERICA

PRIVILEGE JUSTIFICATION

CULTURE HONORS STRESS

EQUITY PERSPECTIVE CRISIS

TALENT STUDENT OPINION

EPIDEMICS ENVIRONMENT

SELF PROTECTIONS NEWS

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION LIES

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