Issue 6, 2012 by the Epic

Paint the town red

In response to the viral video Kony 2012, students organize various awareness projects in the community, including a branch of the worldwide event Cover the Night. BY SHANNON CHAI & GLORIA LIN

t is a common phenomenon: a viral video spreads to millions of people around the world in a single night. This time, however, the footage isn’t of a baby biting his brother’s finger. On March 5, non-profit organization Invisible Children, Inc. (IC) uploaded a 30-minute video documenting the various crimes Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and his militant group, Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), have committed, including child soldiering. The video was an instant hit, and within six days it had amassed 100 million views, making it the most viral video in history. As one of the first awareness efforts that has made such an impact on teenagers, the Kony campaign efforts have reached the Bay Area and Lynbrook boundaries. One of the students working on this project is junior Sai Goutham, who is taking advantage of the issue’s popularity to make it more accessible to students so they too can make a difference. Goutham and junior Juliette DelforgeMelia are organizing a Lynbrook version of the worldwide aware-

ness event to take place on April 20 known as Cover the Night, in which participants will leave posters, fliers and stickers everywhere in their communities.“ Overnight, supporters of the movement will plaster their neighborhoods with posters depicting [Kony]. Whereas most people will overlook one poster, seeing the same one in five different locations in a day will probably pique their interest,” says Delforge-Melia. Goutham and other volunteers have been going doorto-door asking for donations around his neighborhood, and plans on asking for donations with the help of a community service club under the Lynbrook High School Service Committee. The donations will be used to purchase supplies for the posters, fliers and stickers. Members of the service club will assist Goutham in collecting funds and publicizing the campaign. Lynbrook’s Amnesty International club is also planning awareness projects of its own. Co-president senior Angela Hu says, “We aren’t completely sure yet, but we’ll most likely be planning an event with a short movie to inform students about the war crimes committed by Kony ... followed by an open discussion and petition signing. Our goal is to make sure that human rights are at the forefront of conversations. Such awareness activities are not occurring at Lynbrook alone; some alumni are also experiencing the effects of the awareness campaign at their respective colleges, however small. At the University of Southern California (USC), the school from which IC co-founder Jason Russell graduated, “everyone did the easy thing [like everywhere else] in a rush of momentary inspiration, and shared the Kony 2012 link,” says Lynbrook alum Jonathan Zhang. All this sharing, however, does not reflect unanimous see KONY page 2

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY IRENE HSU & JOEY LI

A letter from the editors-in-chief

he madness of March is upon us. Join us in exploring the diverse topics that have surfaced this month, ranging from the blind date social experiment (pg. 7) to a male staffer’s stint as a Valkyrie (pg. 14). We thank everyone involved with our stories and hope that this positive connection will continue in the future. As we take pride in exploring all issues relevant to the student body, we might touch on issues that may be seen as controversial or sensitive. This time, we have included a story on the mentality behind pornography, something that is tacitly known to exist but consciously avoided. As this is a sensitive topic, we feel it is necessary to forewarn readers who may be uncomfortable with the story and the graphic involved. Please use discretion when proceeding to the In-

depth section, pg. 10. It is not our intention to offend, but to challenge our readers to take a deeper look at an unconventional topic that is not often publicly talked about. This story has been the focus of a lot of our attention these past few weeks, and our goal was to present this issue in the most professional, sensitive yet thought-provoking way possible. If you’re looking for lighter fare, we still have much more to offer: a discussion of Kony on pg. 1 & 2 and pg. 5, an argument for Lynbrook memes on pg. 4, insight into obsessive-compulsive disorder on pg. 11, and a trip in photos to San Francisco on pg. 16. On behalf of our staff, we hoped we have covered the issues deemed important to students, teachers and parents of the Lynbrook community. We truly value feedback and different perspectives on topics that we have covered. Please feel free to contact us with questions, concerns or letters to the editor at enc_epic@yahoo.com. Happy reading, Candy Chang & Namrata Singh

Federal appeals court hears Proposition 209 challenge BY SUCHETA KORWAR

alifornia’s Proposition 209, which prohibits government institutions from considering race, sex, and ethnicity in public employment or public education, has recently been brought back into the public eye because it was recently challenged in a federal appeals court on Feb. 13. In a high school context, Prop 209 has been preventing California’s public higher education institutions, such as the University of California (UCs) from using race, sex, and ethnicity as a factor in university admissions decisions. Prop 209 prohibits public education institutions from using affirmative action. If Prop 209 were successfully challenged and banned, the UCs and other public institutions would be able to use see PROP 209 page 2

Google consolidates its privacy policy BY NIKITA DHESIKAN What it is: On March 1, Google put its new privacy policy into effect, consolidating 60 separate privacy policies into one comprehensive policy. The new policy applies to almost all Google products, including Gmail, YouTube and Picasa. Through this new policy, Google will create one giant profile of every user, including their web history and personal data. However, Google is not collecting any new information; instead, it is using the information in different ways. Google defends that the information they collect will help create a better, more personal experience throughout Google products.

Privacy Issues: Since Google announced the new policy in January, there has been much uproar from around the world. Some believe that the new policy is a violation of Internet privacy rights while others are concerned about the way the policy is written. “Since they had specific sections about different aspects, I think that Google made itself clear on what users could use their products for. But, I feel that it [the new policy] didn’t say anything about what they were going to do with the information,” says freshman Lingyue Zhou. Like Zhou, thousands of users feel that the new policy is far too vague about how Google plans to use the information. Furthermore, the United States

currently does not have a law which directly protects users’ data on the internet. What to do: Although there have been thousands of complaints worldwide, some students are not concerned. “I really don’t think it’s a big deal. I never read privacy policies and I have never been affected by one,” says sophomore Albert Yang. Others, like sophomore Prachi Laud, feel that the new policy is an invasion of privacy. Laud says, “I feel that the new privacy policy makes it a lot easier for hackers or the public to access my information.” Junior Pranav Singh has already prevented Google from tracking his history:, “I have always had my Google history is disabled, so they [Google] can’t track my browsing. Be-

cause of that, I’m not worried about the privacy changes,” he says.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY SHANNON CHAI

KONY| Students react to controversy of Kony 2012 movement

continued from KONY page 1

upport for Kony 2012. After the initial success of the Kony video, criticism of IC and backlash against the organization and its prevention efforts in general have sparked much reconsideration of its cause. IC has come under fire for spending more of its funds on publicity and film-making than actual humanitarian activism. This has resulted in much criticism of their actions, with students questioning whether the efforts are really worth it at all. Senior Tiffany Nguyen, who originally planned to participate in anti-Kony awareness, decided not to continue her efforts after conducting further research on both Kony and IC. She says, “Because of all the information popping up about the integrity

of Invisible Children, I realized I had made the mistake of not being informed, which is a lesson to be learned, and thus decided not to campaign. Once I realized this, I told the people that had joined my group that doing research was important and that they needed to make an informed decision before jumping into anything.” Goutham, however, believes that any awareness is good awareness. Though he does not support IC, he is taking this opportunity to make a difference. “I want to spread the word [about Kony] so the issue doesn’t fade like other problems have in the past,” he explains, “I was an opportunist—I wanted to use the attention Kony is getting to help solve a problem.“ Because global issues do not normally get so much attention, especially among teenagers, Goutham is determined to

seize the moment. Despite the attention, some students are still confused as to what the Kony 2012 events are about. For instance, senior Richard Wei was puzzled, primarily because he “thought [the controversy referred to] some guy that just announced he was going to run for president in the general election. Then, I googled him and realized he’s some Ugandan army leader, but I couldn’t figure out how 2012 and Kony went together. [I’ve learned that] Kony is killing children or something— at least, that’s what Facebook comments and memes insinuate.” On March 12, IC released a video titled “Thank you, KONY 2012 Supporters” to respond to the criticism. In the video, IC’s CEO Ben Keesey explains the organization’s developmental methods, allocation of funds,

breakdown of financial expenses and short as well as long-term goals of the KONY 2012 campaign. IC also started a new Twitter hashtag, #AskICAnything, to encourage people to message all of their questions to their Twitter account. As Zhang says, “The various criticisms of the event did not disillusion me to the Kony campaign, but they certainly made me consider that there are always multiple sides to an issue, and that people should investigate more before jumping into the bandwagon for a cause, even when it seems so noble.” IC is now trying to encourage more people to take this approach as wel. Cover the Night is scheduled to occur on the night of Friday, April 20. For more on this topic, see “KONY Does Nothing” on page 5.

News in Brief

PROP 209| Challenge dismissed continued from PROP 209 page 1

March Madness Come out to the gym at lunch to watch students battle it out on the basketball court all next week, March 19 through 23. This three-on-three tournament features eight teams competing. The student winners will play against a team of teachers on Friday. Instrumental Concert

A musical display featuring student musicians from the Lynbrook jazz band, orchestra, piano club and more will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium on March 23. Tickets are available for purchase at the top of the quad starting next week for $5 with ASB and $7 without. They will also be sold at the door for $7.

ace, sex, and ethnicity as a factor in admissions decisions. The UCs have been attempting to increase diversity in their schools through outreach programs and scholarships; however, minorities such as Native Americans, African Americans and Hispanics are still under-represented, while Asian Americans are represented relatively well. Worries about racial preferences in university admissions decisions plague a majority of Lynbrook students. Career and College Advisor Rosemary Bulaich reflects, “I have had several successful Asian-Americans come to me because they are worried that they have less of an opportunity to get into a school because Asian-Americans are wellrepresented in the university the students want to attend.” However, Bulaich believes that even if affirmative

action is allowed in public education institutions, there will not be much of an effect. “Proposition 209 was more of a hot-button issue when universities were still growing and expanding. Now, the UCs need to raise tuitions so they recruit out-of-state students who pay higher tuition fees.” Bulaich also cites the UCs’ increasing use of comprehensive review, a new UC admissions policy, as an example of how Proposition 209 will not have a drastic effect on universities’ admissions decisions. With comprehensive review, the admissions board considers a student’s full résumé of accomplishments, which range from academic accomplishment to leadership, musical/artistic talent, and community service. This prevents admissions decisions from being made solely on a student’s academic record and race. Whether affirmative action in public university admissions decisions is banned or accepted, Lynbrook students can see both sides of the

issue. Junior Haziq Siddiqui believes that affirmative action should not be used as a factor, saying “I think that admissions should be based purely on merit so that admissions decisions do not seem arbitrary.” Junior Jonathon Uesato supports affirmative action in admissions decisions, particularly when a student’s socio-economic condition is considered. He says, “I don’t see why colleges shouldn’t be allowed to incorporate promoting societal good as part of their admissions process, if allowing minority or socially disadvantaged applicants improves society as a whole by promoting diversity or encouraging other similarly situated youth.” Although the challenge to Prop. 209 was turned down by a three-judge 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel because the panel did not want to disturb the 1996 rule of its unconstitutionality, the case may be reexamined by an 11-judge panel in the future.

ASB Constitution Rewrite Sessions

Want to be a part of rewriting school student body policy? Come out to room 506 during tutorial beginning March 19 to offer your opinion on subjects such as Homecoming, IDC and clubs as guidelines for the new ASB constitution. All students are welcome. FUHSD Open Board Meeting

There will be an open meeting of the FUHSD Board of Trustees taking place in the Lynbrook auditorium on March 20. The meeting will start at 6:15 p.m., and everyone is welcome to attend. Red White and Blue Awards

Lynbrook’s annual Red, White, & Blue Awards will take place on Thursday, March 29 in the auditorium at 7 p.m. Support your friends and peers and celebrate their academic achievements. International Night

Interact International Night 2012 will take place on Friday, March 30 at 6 p.m. in the Monta Vista Auditorium. Acts from all Area 12 FUHSD schools will be performing, and tickets can be bought from an Interact officer or at the top of the quad for $12, or $15 at the door. By Danielle Lerner & Charu Mehra

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY NOORSHER AHMED

Neuroscience to hold a TEDx event BY JESSICA CAO

euroscience club is organizing a Distinguished Speaker Forum from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on March 31 in the Lynbrook auditorium. Their goal is to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Neuroscience club president sophomore Daniel Park explains, “We got the Intel award this year, so it seemed like an ideal time to attract speakers and organize something like this.” In February, he approached Principal Gail Davidson as well as the officers of other STEM-oriented clubs like Math Club and WiSTEM for feedback about participating. There will be three speakers at the event, which will be open to all students and their families. From Neuroscience, one of UC Berkeley professor Dr. Jack Gallant’s post-doctorate students will be speaking about his work in building models that accurately predict how the brain responds to natural vision. Santa Clara University professor Jean Pedersen will talk about her research interest in polyhedral geometry by invitation from Math Club. Science Club is arranging for Stanford professor Chris Contag to speak at the event; Q&A sessions will be held after each speech. In actuality, the Distinguished Speaker Forum is designed to be an informal prelude to a bigger event, a TEDx conference, which is projected to take place in October or November this fall. Last year, Park attended a conference at The Harker School that focused on entrepreneurship held by Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED), a set of global conferences formed to disseminate “ideas worth

spreading.” Park says he was “particularly struck by [former chief evangelist of Apple] Guy Kawasaki’s speech, so [he] thought it’d be great to organize [a TEDx conference] at Lynbrook, but with STEM speakers instead.” Holding a TEDx conference was one of the founding goals of Neuroscience Club. According to Park, planning for the TEDx conference is intensive; this is the reason for warming up with the smaller, much less publicized Distinguished Speaker’s Forum. TED grants free one-time licenses to hold conferences to third-party franchisees that follow a set of strict rules dictating format and duration. Only a certain number of speakers can give speeches during the one-day event; in addition, there must be video footage of the conference. Davidson, although not directly involved with the planning process, is supportive: “There are fantastic ideas shared at TEDx events… big thinkers engaging in important conversations, and Lynbrook students are the big thinkers of their generation.” Currently, Neuroscience officers sophomores Hubert Tsen and Jesse Chou are heading the organization of the conference. Similar to the Harker event, there will be a break between three to four speeches in which refreshments will be served and the audience will get an opportunity to interact with the speakers. Congressman Mike Honda has also shown interest in attending, but other speakers and details are still being planned. “To hold a TEDx conference was one of our goals when we started Neuroscience Club,” says Chou, “We hope people will come to learn more about neuroscience because while it is not as obscure as some branches of science there are a lot of amazing things that many people don’t know about.”

Wind Ensemble and Orchestra to travel to France BY SAMUEL CHANG

he Wind Ensemble and Orchestra classes will tour together in France next year. With a change in curriculum focusing on practicing pieces and arrangements specifically for the trip, the two groups will perform music by French composers at a variety of venues, including Normandy, Paris and the Paris Conservatory of Music. “Performing this wonderful French repertoire in France will serve to enhance the depth of knowledge we experience here in the Lynbrook classroom,” says band teacher Michael Pakaluk. Students unable to go to on the trip due to financial issues will have a chance to receive scholarships. “It is my goal to get 100 percent participation from the ensembles so that we represent ourselves in the best possible manner,” says Pakaluk, “To help ensure this, we are hosting Lynbrook’s first ever Concerto Competition next fall, in which instrumental music students can be awarded cash scholarships to be applied towards their tour.” Even though the France trip will be a clear highlight of next year, students will benefit from the curriculum whether they go or not. Not only will they be exposed to music composed by a variety of French composers, but they will also learn the differences between American and French music. Ensemble members who do not attend the trip will also still be able to participate in a myriad of events and concerts and study the repertoire. In the end, all ensemble students are still encouraged to visit and perform in France. “Students not attending the tour both miss out on the ultimate culmination of the project and a really fun trip,” says Pakaluk.

Y U no like Lynbrook Memes? BY JANE JUN

ood club day, fifth period is in math wing.” “2390 in SAT? Retake!” “Break, Y U no longer?” Recently, a new and unexpected phenomenon has become viral amongst Lynbrook students via Facebook. Students, alumni and teachers alike have started a trend of posting memes on a Facebook group called “Lynbrook Memes,” satirizing Lynbrook life and culture. Despite the rather forward references to specific classes and teachers, the new Lynbrook Memes page is ultimately a fun way for students to bond through shared experiences and relieve stress. The Lynbrook Memes page is not hurtful, though there are those uncomfortable with its occasional profanity and brand of humor. A little bit of profanity is excusable when the intentions are not harmful, and the atmosphere of the page is definitely of good humor. For example, one of the memes says, “Not sure if essay argument makes sense, or I’m starting to believe my own b******t.” This type of self-deprecating humor is not disparaging others, but rather emphasizing the person’s own incompetency. “Personally, I have never sworn before and this is because I believe that swearing disrespects people…However, these memes provide entertainment and these memes never get close to being offensive,” says sophomore Christine Wang. Specific teachers and classes have been mentioned throughout the memes, not all of which were alto-

s both rejections and acceptances roll around, affirmative action is one of the excuses that Lynbrook students use to wave off their rejection letters as unfair. In reality, affirmative action is a step in the right direction in solving the achievement gap seen in higher education. California Proposition 209—passed in 1996—aims to prevent nationality, gender or ethnicity from being considered in areas like employment and college admissions for state government institutions. However, currently, the U.S. Appeals Court is hearing a challenge to Prop. 209, which may be overturned. It has become increasingly clear that colleges base their admissions on more than just their GPA and test scores. Because of these changes, people look for the most ego preserving reason to explain why colleges would not accept them: affirmative action. However, one of the biggest misconceptions is that colleges reserve the right to reject applicants solely based on race, as other factors come into play. Affirmative action exists as the practical gateway in providing one of the most highlymarketed aspects of the college experience: diversity. Especially in the Cupertino Bay

gether positive. This caused a mini-ruckus, since teachers such as math teacher Bob Blaschke and Spanish teacher Michael Esquivel, who “like,” comment on and post memes, saw these posts. In response to memes that target specific teachers, Blaschke posted a meme to show that “[students] should be cognizant. I think the group is funny, and Facebook is a great communication tool, but memes that directly refer to certain teachers are not necessary, unless they are 100% complimentary.” H o w e v e r, it is inevitable that some memes will offend somebody out there, and humor comes at a price. In this case, this humor may even be considered therapeutic. The Lynbrook stress study group and re-consideration of homework policies have long been devising ways to relieve pressure from students. And now, the students have found their own medicine and a healthy way to cope: rather than avoiding and running away from life’s hassles, the Lynbrook community is finding humor in these situations. Through these memes, students are sharing common experiences and relieving stress in a way that is definitely less harmful than other means. For example, some memes satirize the taxing demand for academic excel-

lence put on students by their parents: “2390 in SAT? Retake!” and “ACT? Don’t dishonor family and go take SAT.” When these normally stressful experiences are expressed in such a blatant and humorous manner, students not only laugh but also feel a sense of kinship that they are not alone in trying to meet impossibly high expectations. Besides, even the worst memes have not been too forthright. As Spanish teacher Michael Esquivel, who has seen and liked several of the posts, says, “I think [the Lynbrook memes facebook page] is great because it’s just really funny. And students have shown a lot of restraint to be respectful, even though many teachers won’t see the memes. I’ve seen other schools’ meme pages such as Paly’s and Cupertino’s and they’ve all been more disrespectful.” The memes are generally harmless. People are simply poking fun at Lynbrook stereotypes and situations that every Lynbrook student most likely encounters—not being able to find a computer or chair in the library, for example. In the end, the Lynbrook memes group is just offering a way for students to relieve stress while giving everyone a chance to enjoy a big laugh. It is a great place to take a break from a grueling day of exams and extra-curricular activities. Junior Andy Tsai, who has posted memes onto the group, says, “[The memes]are all good fun, and if any of them seem insulting, then the readers are not getting the satire.”

Yes to affirmative action Area, America’s melting pot is not equally represented. According to the 2010 census, 44.8 percent of 18-24 year-olds are Hispanic, 32.6 percent are white and 12 percent are Asian. Here, Asians dominate as the largest represented race and students are not always given the opportunity to form a well-rounded world perspective. Colleges want to breed world leaders, adept not only in knowledge but also in social consciousness. Affirmative action, in this case, is a logical method for colleges to round out their respective schools. Many may see affirmative action in college admissions to be “reverse discrimination” against the “well-qualified majority.” However, affirmative action does not eliminate well-represented students from gaining admissions—high-achieving students from all races still gain admission at top universities. Excellent students from well-represented races are still able to attend excellent univer-

sities that will give them the tools to learn. Senior Kunal Rathi says, “Affirmative action opens the door to way more competition. Even among the poor, there will be enough competition and standards that there will be a lot of strongly qualified applicants.” Affirmative action positively affects minorities as it boosts their chances of receiving an education they deserve. “I don’t agree with [affirmative action] because it brings in a certain bias when students might have the same forte in their studies,” says senior Sravani Mylavarapu. However, statistically, minorities are far more likely to come from single-parent households that bring in very little income. Their compromised situations may preocuppy many minority students, leaving them at a disadvantage in completing their high school education. More privileged students, for the most part, are not distracted by problems such as violence, drug traf-

ficking and vandalism; thus, they are better able to focus and spend more time on their schoolwork. It is only natural, then, that students in more privileged communities will be expected to perform on a higher standard than disadvantaged minority students. When applying to college, the same principle applies. Since the qualifications for acceptance become very easily stacked in favor for students who grew up in more privileged communities, affirmative action is needed to level the playing field. With affirmative action, factors including the socioeconomic status of the community of the applicant as well as the average income of the applicant’s family play a major role in the decision process, thus giving a much-needed opportunity to underprivileged students. Affirmative action allows diversity while offering people with less fortunate backgrounds a chance to pursue a higher education. Rathi says, “Students from privileged families tend to be richer thus have a safety net they can fall back upon. For poorer students, their college degree is literally all they have.” Ultimately, affirmative action only affects admission decisions. A good education comes from being proactive.

BY IRENE HSU & YUNQING CHEN

t is rare to see more than twenty students at once so riled up for a cause. But unfortunately, for such a sudden surge in attention brought to Kony and his crimes, there has been little change in the understanding of the issue. Though it is good that students all over the world are taking interest, the problem is that students only know Kony 2012, not the actual Ugandan situation. By referencing Kony 2012 as a reliable source of information, Facebook groups are turning uninformed students into misinformed students. Most groups claim to be unaffiliated with IC (Invisible Children) and use IC’s posters, pitches and film to publicize their events and many link Kony 2012 “to enlighten everyone.” The video is already under fire for misrepresenting facts and generally oversimplifying the issue. Kony 2012 suggests that the U.S. has done nothing to stop Kony and that the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) is still a strong influence in the region; while this does not condone their war crimes, this is not true. Also, the film misleadingly comes off as a one-track attempt to stop one man when efforts should be made to stop the LRA, not just Kony. Several Facebook groups that publicize Kony 2012 ask for donations, promising that all funds will go towards the cause. However, students hoping to find out how exactly their money will help, and what each group is doing differently, have received disappointing responses. Though moderators of groups have responded that they “are one hundred percent sure [the Paypal account can be] trusted,” they fail to provide specific evidence and reasons. Junior Andy Tsai says, “[The regional leaders] don’t answer our questions. I want to know how they are going to use the money to raise awareness. I’m all for the arrest of Kony and the halting of his crimes, but the Facebook

pages don’t offer any sort of cohesive plan for that.” Such groups and events on Facebook are all generally the same: they ask for donations to spread awareness, when what people really need is a direct plan of action. In addition, the lack of unity in itself is an issue, despite the identical goals of spreading awareness through “painting the town red” with posters funded by donations. The groups are all affiliated with different non-governmental organizations, ranging from the United Nations Children’s Fund to IC to no organization at all. Many students receive multiple invitations to these groups, raising the question of which group to support, rather than how individuals can support the cause. People should not have to face endless confusion in deciding which organization to pitch their support to. Besides, is this sudden surge of interest real? Kony’s crimes, which reached their peak nearly 22 years ago, are only gaining attention now. There are even rumors of his death and of him living in other countries. And while Kony must be stopped, the severe lack of information surrounding the history of Ugandan conflicts and the LRA’s present state prevents students from actually helping the cause. Given the average attention span of a teenager, the interest in Uganda will fade faster than the wash on a new pair of jeans. In a month, will students even remember to participate in Cover the Night? Tsai doubts that they will even remember, saying, “There are other human rights violations all over the world, and this gains more attention and ‘awareness’ because of some video... This whole thing is pretty much just a testament to social networking, not human compassion.” Perhaps the only good thing about Kony 2012 is that students are beginning to look beyond the Bay Area bubble—but they need to realize that it is not enough. There are positive and productive ways to commit to a political cause, and Kony 2012 is not one of them. GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY AUSTIN YU, JANE JUN & EESHA KHARE

Letter to the Editors: In response to Accelerando Dear Ms. Chang and Ms. Singh,

As editors of the Epic, I commend you for the quality of writing and pertinent article topics. I do however take to heart the above article that was written by your staff, Gloria Lin and Brian Zhao, in the February 17, 2012 edition of the Epic. I have been working in the field of special needs for over 25 years. I am also part of a countywide collaborative called the Inclusion Collaborative that has a charge of including people with special needs in all aspects of community life. The group works hard to eliminate barriers and stereotypes that inhibit this process. The article, though not

outwardly offensive, did subtly make light of the group’s name, the Ritards and the connotation to slang saying, “retard” from the term mental retardation. It was explained that the group’s name was based upon the musical term ‘Ritardando’ and that the members were trying to make it funny, however, if one had no music background and understanding, it would be a very offensive term especially to the community of special needs. Recently, the Federal Government has taken a look at the use of mental retardation and has passed legislation to change the terminology now to Intellectual Disability. This was a major breakthrough for the community of special needs from the standpoint that the

term retardation and all versions of its usage would eventually be eliminated. You are editors of a high quality newspaper, and with that comes responsibility for the sometimes subtle connotations that get written and have an even bigger impact in the community outside of Lynbrook. I hope you will take my words to heart, and also in turn become supporters of those in our community who have a special need. Thank you, Howard Doi, LMFT District Manger, Early Start Program, San Andreas Regional Center Member, Infant Family Early Childhood Mental Health Collaborative

TROLOLOL is not LOLOL

OLZ THIS IS A STUPID COLUMN

Ah, I’ve just been trolled. And to be quite honest, it’s stupid, rude and downright cowardly. You see it on Facebook. You see it on Tumblr. You see your friends doing it. Maybe even you do it yourself. And yes, I am referring to the online fad that people call “trolling.” The formal definition of a troll is someone who posts inflammatory or irrelevant things online in order to provoke others into an emotional response. Too many times have I seen people troll others and it has become annoying and just plain idiotic. You might find it funny now, but in the long run, know that trolling can emotionally harm people and make them respond in ways a troll never planned for. In other words, you need to get a new hobby. Trolling is not very different from cyberbullying since both involve insulting peoples’ opinions and beliefs. Despite this, numerous people believe that trolling is okay just because their intentions are not hurtful. Cyberbullying has negative connotations, while trolling, for some reason, is considered funny. However, the two are practically the same misdeed, contrary to what people may think: both involve teasing people about their personal opinions and beliefs. I’m sure you’ve heard of all the tragic stories about teenagers who are cyberbullied and respond in unthinkable ways, such as committing suicide. From the case of Tyler Clementi, a college student who was cyberbullied for his sexual preference and consequently ended his own life, to an everyday thing, like a Tumblr joke, these instances all involve real people trolling others. Clearly, this is definitely a real issue that needs to be stopped; all it takes is a little bit of maturity. People seem to think that a simple “trollface.jpg” will suffice in apologizing for any misdeeds, when it actually aggravates the whole ordeal, since it will annoy the person even further. If you won’t be able to say whatever it is you’re saying to the person’s face, then don’t think about posting it online. In real life—and you have to admit this is true— no one would dare troll others this much. Go ahead and piss everyone off on YouTube in hopes that you’ll get laughs, but you and I both know you don’t have the courage to be so rude in real life. If you posted a defamatory comment on a video, I would like to see you say that to the person face to face. To everyone who hides behind a computer screen, thinking this grants the freedom to say whatever you want, here’s a news flash for you: your reputation online follows you around. If you really don’t care, be my guest; but don’t say no one warned you when people think you’re every bit of a rude person as you pretend to be online. When you slowly start to lose friends because of your unnecessary, excessive trolling, don’t come crying to me. And in the end, you have to admit, the act of trolling is every bit as silly and stupid as it sounds. When you stop and think about it, who wants to be accused of trolling and compared to what is probably the ugliest, fattest, stupidest Scandinavian mythological creature in European folklore, anyway? That’s about as unflattering and humorless as it gets.

Socratic seminars in all subjects will encourage independent thinking BY YASMINE MORTAZAVI

Is it just me or Deja Vu?

etting older is a sad thing. Sure, you get to be mature and drive and go on blind dates, but there are still some things that I dearly miss about being young: not having to worry about school or that thing called responsibility. Part of growing up, I suppose, is learning that the world isn’t all sunshine and roses like it used to be up till the fifth grade. And part of it is realizing that it’s a world of unoriginality. I know, I know, talking about getting older is pretty unoriginal in itself, but it’s a sad day when the bliss of enjoying a movie with massive explosions and men with fists like cinderblocks comes to an end. It’s true. You know you’re getting old when you can predict the major plot points of a movie without actually watching it. The soldier’s best friend will stay alive as long as he doesn’t flash a picture of his sweetheart onscreen. If he does, he’ll be dead within the next ten minutes. He could have had the biggest gun and the keenest eye, he could even be the most careful of the group (oh, even worse), but once the picture of sweet Mary Jane comes out, in goes the bullet square through his chest. But maybe it’s not cliches that an older, more mature person should worry about. Maybe what’s more worrying is all that kitschy predictability that you get in Hollywood these days. Let’s look at last year. 2011 set a new record for Hollywood, but in that year alone, 27 sequels were released. Of the top ten highest grossing films of last year, only one, The Smurfs, wasn’t a franchise movie. Yep, the only “original” movie on the list was a movie about little blue people that was based on a television series from the 1980s which was in turn based on a comic strip that’s been published since the fifties. From Belgium. While we’re looking at it, why don’t we check out the highest grossing movie of all time, Avatar. For all its record-breaking work, let’s face it—James Cameron seriously ripped off of Pocahontas (which in turn was based on real historical events). The invading army? The infiltrating young man who happens to fall in love with the native tribe’s princess? The buildup of trust, betrayal, and climactic battle? Please. I’m a 90s kid. I don’t blame big filmmakers for making the movies that they make. That’s how they earn a living. I can even understand the money they’re making as well. We like the fodder, the visions of utopian pleasure that bearded men with horn-rimmed glasses have painted for us on the silver screen. I get it. We all need a little break from the grind of life. But can’t we take a little break from our unimaginative souls? Everything about our culture, from video games to Youtube comments to phones and memes to even music, has become one giant loop of unoriginality. Ever since the iPhone released back in 2007, it’s been the same five years of large two hundred dollar black phones (granted, mom and dad, I wouldn’t mind having one). Kanye West regularIy samples older music and comes up with hit singles year after year. Modern Warfare 2 had a good run and now every shooter looks and plays almost exactly the same as it does. And the strangest part is, I like it. WE like it. Perhaps our kids’ kids will see things as people gradually are seeing things now. Perhaps we don’t have to view our culture as a photocopy of the past, but rather a blueprint for the future. We can build on conventionalism and make it relatable to our generation—not our parents’ generation or even the one before that. They’re not the future, we are. Yet, I miss the days of the new ideas, the new stories and just how new everything used to be when I was younger. Or maybe it’s just that I’ve gotten older.

iscussion. This method of learning is neither new nor revolutionary; Socrates understood the power of seminars thousands of years ago and today socratic seminars are used frequently in Lynbrook humanities classes. Introducing discussion to math and science classes as well would be extremely beneficial to the overall curriculum. Literature teacher Andrew Seike has always based his classes around discussion. He says, “I became a teacher for the discussions, not for the worksheets and assignments.” He asks questions that guide students to discover answers by themselves. “It’s very organic,” Seike says. However, the organic learning he speaks of does not have to just stay in humanities classes. In all subjects, discussing concepts allows students to actively discover the material by themselves. This year, physiology and biology teacher Amanda Alonzo has introduced Socratic seminars to her curriculum. For example, her physiology

classes recently used the knowledge they had learned in class to discuss the question, “Should insurance companies pay for gym memberships?” The danger in seminars is that only a small group of students will participate, but Alonzo uses a rubric and the key rule is that everyone must speak. She says, “Seminars allow students who are not super science goers to have an opportunity to think like a humanities or liberal arts student while using science content.” That’s not to say that seminars would turn science and math classes into humanities classes. Discussion requires students to think about the actual application of the content they are learning. Especially in science, there are many ethical issues (stem cells, evolution, health care, the list goes on) that are important as well as interesting, and should be discussed as students learn more about them. Discussion also helps the students like senior Christopher Kim. Kim has never really enjoyed science classes—until now. He says, “Alonzo’s socratic seminars made science more interesting. When we sit qui-

etly during a lecture, we form ideas and questions in our heads. When these are not shared, they die and become uninteresting.” Science is related to everyday life in many ways, but lectures, worksheets and textbooks are not successful at showing students how the subject matter is relevant. Teachers, who know the importance of their subjects, should come up with questions that prompt discussion. When planning for seminars, Alonzo asks herself, “Is this something that students can relate to? How can I make this meaningful to students?” When it comes to math, some students are skeptical. For example, freshman Thomas Varjavandi says, “So- cratic seminars in math might be weird. It depends how it would be organized.” However, math teachers could show students a problem before teaching the techniques to solve it. In a discussion, students could come up with different methods of solving the problem by themselves and make their own discoveries. Textbooks, worksheets, lectures and powerpoints have their place, but once in a while teachers and students should gather and discuss what they are learning.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY SAM CHANG

Students should take AP tests not for credit but for review BY JESSICA CAO & ALICE ZHANG

or weeks during third period, announcements had reminded students, “Don’t forget! AP registration is due March 1.” However, this has roused complaints from seniors, since by the time registration ends, they are still anticipating college admission letters. The majority of seniors do not know if the college they will be attending accepts certain AP exams for credit until after non-refundable fees are paid. Nevertheless, students should focus on the positives and stop dwelling on the possibility of studying for naught. Seniors assume that they should not take AP exams because of the wasted effort if scores do not count for course credit. However, according to CollegeBoard’s statistical research, “Most four-year U.S. colleges and universities grant credit and/or advanced placement for qualifying AP Exam scores.” If students are still anxious, they should search up the schools to which they sought admission and study their respective credit

policies beforehand. Increasing lack of space in classes makes it harder to earn enough credits to graduate on time. Students should not balk even if they are unconfident about their ability to do well on $95 exams. At U.C. Berkeley, course expenses add up to around $14,000 per year, or several hundred dollars per course. People should focus on their majors and take classes they are interested in rather than forcing themselves through a math or history course they decided not to take the AP exam for. Some students argue that they should at least be given a refund, if their college happens to not grant credit. However, pushing the registration procedure back is impossible. Says assistant principal Kathleen Sullivan, “The procedure just sweeps along. Once the registration has been completed, we go about ordering exams, renting facilities and hiring proctors, just a day or two afterwards.” These arrangements must be made many months prior, and waiting for even another month is risky. Besides, studying for and taking the test will be a good

assessment of how much students have learned. Regardless of whether there is credit or money saved, students should use AP exams as an assessment of their knowledge and be proud of the high-achieving academic legacy they have l e f t b e hind.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY OPINION SECTION

COMPILED BY THE FEATURES SECTION

In a conquest to discover which traits rule supreme in the dating game, ten reporters were assigned on a blind date social experiment. Each staffer was required to uphold a given persona while finding out what kind of shampoo their date uses, their fourth grade math teacher and whether or not he or she possesses any hidden talents. To top off the challenge, each staffer was asked to obtain a goodbye hug. Check out the Epic’s Facebook page for more blurbs.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY FEATURES SECTION

ike every other high school stunt, the blind date was something I signed up for after succumbing to peer pressure. But like all other high school stunts, after giving my feeling of stupidity time to simmer, I realized that the date could actually be fun—and if not, well, at least I would have my guard up in the future if I ever had to use eHarmony. I was challenged to act blunt on my date with Vishal at Pasta Pomodoro; however, I myself am not a blunt person. I sugarcoat everything when forced to confront people with my true feelings. The most critical thing I said all night was, “You are ten minutes late” when he came to pick me up—but even that was answered with a heart-felt apology that I could not respond to with any sort of negativity. I outright asked Vishal about his shampoo, and he was caught offguard, as to be expected. The answer was Suave, for men. He responded that his 4th grade teacher was Mr. Pham, who traumatized him and forced him to replace his “unmanly Velcro shoes” with shoes with shoelace. As for his hidden talent, he is amazing at parking. Accolades to Vishal.

was pretty nervous about my blind date because I had no idea what to expect. During the date, it was kind of intimidating to be in charge of the conversation and steer it towards topics that would answer the challenge questions (curse you, matchmakers.) The challenge aspect of the date was pretty much a failure for me. I got my hug, but was only able to find out the answer to one of the questions, and forgot to take a picture as well (I even brought a camera!). My challenge characteristic was “anti-feministic.” Any guy with a remote interest in selfpreservation would realize that acting anti-feministic on a first date, or even in general, is obviously not the greatest idea, but I tried my best. From the very beginning , I had known that I would not be successful in keeping up my persona throughout the date. Regarding the challenge questions, I tried to steer our conversations towards fourth grade teachers. It did not work out, for Ashley changed the subject and asked me which elementary school I went to. I was not able to find out anything about her fourth grade math teacher. I ended up just not bothering with the shampoo question, because it seemed a little weird to say, “Hey Ashley, your hair looks really nice today. What shampoo do you use?” I had brought the camera to compelete the picture portion of the challenge, but for some reason. It never occurred for me to use it.

ecause I have two sisters, I have established many skills in catering to women’s needs and understanding how to accommodate them. I like to believe that I am a gentleman, which was why during this blind date my task of being chivalrous was right up my alley. I opened doors, ordered our food and pulled out her seat. I remember her telling me, “I’m not going to just let you do everything for me. I will pay you back somehow.” Flattered by her comment, I told her there was no need and successfully lived up to my gentleman persona. We decided to meet in front of Panera Bread. During our date, I found out that she is a dog whisperer, can dance like a black girl and sings in the shower. While walking to her car, the wind blew her hair in my face. I asked her what shampoo she used and she answered in a very perplexed tone, “The coconut herbal essence?” Then we saw a man walking his dog and got him to take a photograph of us to commemorate the event. I gave her a hug and sent her off on her way.

initially felt super nervous about my date at California Pizza Kitchen; the blind aspect of the date made everything seem more intense than it actually was. In the end though, the date turned out to be more like two friends hanging out. The main challenge I faced was keeping up with, as well as looking, my part: a prim-and proper young lady. I had to carefully choose what kind of clothes I wore, and even made sure I sat up super straight, ate in small proportions, really emphasize the table manners, and critically thank before I talked throughout the date. I forgot about the photo aspect of the challenge until we went into the mall; however, it was near closing so we had to really scout for a

person to take the photo for us. Luckily we ran into a person leaving work and he was kind enough to take the photo for us. As for the questions, I had to slowly ease them into discussion. I asked Jefferson about how his sport was going, and he told me about swimming. I then asked him (awkwardly) about the shower situation and whether he brings his own shampoo to school. He started to get suspicious, but then told me he mooches off of other players so he does not use a particular brand. I later found out his hidden talents are being able to eat a lot, and having superior long-term memory.

Beyond the flying capes and superpowers

A look into the deeds of common heroes Jae Lee, Soumya Kandukuri and Jeffrey Bale BY NIKITA DHESIKAN & JANE JUN

unior Soumya Kandukuri took a fully funded trip to Cambodia through the American Youth Leadership Program, which focused on sustainable development and environmental conservation as well as being a better global citizen and leader. “Our goal was to look at their [Cambodian’s] past and their present, as deforestation has been affecting their country a lot, and try to understand what sorts of

enior Jae Lee has been volunteering at Milal, a daycare for disabled children, for about six years. When she first started in sixth grade, she was matched up with an autistic kid with a mild case of ADHD. As she began to mentor him ev-

ery Saturday, he overcome his inability to talk to people and make eye contact. Each Saturday, Lee spent the entire day assisting him with school work as well as social problems. Although Lee is taking a break right now, she says, “It feels really great when you see them achieve their goals,

problems they have and how we can solve them,” says Kandukuri. While visiting major Cambodian landmarks and small, undeveloped villages, Kandukuri and the other students encouraged ecotourism and interacted with the native people to become more enlightened of

their hardships and in the future, raise awareness. “The trip wasn’t about college motivation... We were just a group of really motivated people who wanted to make a difference in the world,” says Kandukuri.

n July, history teacher Jeffrey Bale jumped over a fence to conduct CPR on a father and a young daughter who had been drowning in the deep end of the condo pool. A certified CPR trainee, he was able to revive both the father and the daughter after 16 chest compressions.

Bale received much recognition, since the rescue was covered by multiple local news stations. However, Bale says, “It’s not just me. It was a community effort, and I saw people coming out of their houses from all around the neighborhood when the incident happened.” He elaborates, “The heroes were my parents who taught me to act in times of an emergency, the man who actually saved

especially when you know that you have been a part of it.” In addition, she believes that it has greatly changed her outlook on life. She says, “This experience definitely taught me about reality. It took me out of the little bubble that I was living in.”

the two victims from the bottom of the pool, and all the concerned neighbors who came out wanting to help.” This emphasis on community-effort and helping others is not just a one-time event; Bale constantly teaches etiquette in his classes and recognizes students personally by frequently attending after-school events such as sports games to cheer them on.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CLAY SONG

BY JOY SHEN

or some people, it’s natural—the glossy hair, flawless skin and pearly whites. For others, these sought-after features require more of an effort to obtain. With magically colored pencils that give your eyes an extra “pop,” and smooth liquid substances that mask your face of all imperfections, modern-day makeup possesses enough sparkle and shimmer to tip over the evergleaming diamond’s reign as a girl’s best friend. Although store-bought beauty products may successfully cover up blemishes or lengthen eyelashes, certain ingredients found in staple beauty items have been known to cause harm to their users. With society constantly pushing for environmentally friendly goods, beauty products have also jumped on the bandwagon, with many healthconscious shoppers beginning to find alternate, natural, ways to ob-

tain a flawless complextion . Incorporating common household items into her beauty regimes, senior Rashmi Raviprasad enjoys using natural ingredients to enhance the performance of over-the-counter products. She states that, “As a girl with layers of thick, dense hair, my scalp tends to accumulate a lot of dead cells [which is commonly known as dandruff] and dirt.” Eventually, she came across a natural treatment for dandruff while researching online. “I [began to] mix coconut oil and lemon juice and massage it into my scalp before washing it,” says the senior. The combination of coconut oil and lemon juice has been scientifically proven to keep both the scalp and hair moisturized, as well as improve the circulation of blood flow to one’s scalp—ensuring one’s hair to be properly nourished. Raviprasad is not the only student on campus who utilizes household items to her health advantage. Recently, junior Stacy Jeong began to experiment with organic face masks. “I take plain yogurt and lather it all over my face to get rid of my acne,” says Jeong. Yogurt’s naturally acidic quality helps draw out oil from the surface of one’s skin, and destroys bacteria from inside the pores as well. In addition, the application of yogurt as a facial mask works to improve the overall complexion of one’s skin by supplying the skin

with numerous vitamins and minerals. Junior Zoe Pennington has also attempted to create her own lip balm by using household items after watching tutorials on YouTube. Pennington wanted to see if commercial balms were different from ones she could make at home. “In terms of application they both felt the same on my lips, but the fact that I knew exactly what was in [the balm] I made at home was more reassuring [than using a store-bought balm].” Although some may still prefer the convenience of over-the-counter products, the world-wide push towards environmentally friendly, natural goods creates limitless, “do-it-yourself ” possibilities for healthconscious shoppers.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY JOY SHEN & SARAH TARTER

DIY: Students create home made beauty products

Nothing but tricks up his sleeves Senior Tyler Hsieh discusses his inspiration in taking up the art of yo-yoing On the intricacies of high school and philosophy

AUSTIN YU —EPIC

LOOPS AND TRICKS | Hsieh performs a unique trick which displays one of the many geometric as well as abstract possibilities that exist in the art of yo-yoing.

BY DANIELLE LERNER

n childhood, most kids dabble in a variety of hobbies: chess, toy racecars, stamp collections and the like. Senior Tyler Hsieh, however, has taken his yo-yoing pasttime beyond elementary school days, intensifying the seemingly simple toy to compete in state championships. Hsieh first began yo-yoing in seventh grade, inspired at first by class of 2011 alumnus John Chow. Hsieh says, “From there, I started watching YouTube videos, and I wanted to try to be as good as [the people in the videos] were.” Within ten minutes, he was able to consistently land the yo-yo on a string, joking, “there wasn’t really much of a learning curve for me.” Over the past five years, Hsieh has practiced by emulating videos, building up his trick inventory to approximately 400 tricks.

Hsieh owns three types of yo-yos: a looping yo-yo, a wing shape and an oversized yo-yo, each used for different tricks. The cost of the three yo-yos range from $10 to $500. Hsieh regularly maintains his yo-yos by using trumpet valve oil to lubricate the bearings inside and prevent rust. While he does not replace them, he sometimes sells or trades his yo-yos. About six months ago, Hsieh began entering in competitions. He placed fourth at a regional competition this year, and attended state championships in Sacramento last year. Hsieh recounts that the state championship was “pretty intense because the prize pool [was] pretty big ($5,000), and people flew from all over to get there. It was a really good experience being with the community [of yo-yoers] and absorbing the talent from other people,” Hsieh says. Despite his success, Hsieh admits that

it is difficult to balance yo-yoing with his other activities. With homework from five classes and being an active member of the Lynbrook marching band, Hsieh has seen his yo-yo practice time dwindle all the way from two hours a day to only about an hour a week. He says wistfully, “Yo-yoing is always a second priority to school and to music, but I try to make time for it whenever I have the opportunity.” Hsieh receives many mixed reactions when people find out about his hobby. “Lots of people say ‘I used to do yo-yo too!’ or ‘That’s unusual...’ They usually picture something different from what I actually do,” he explains. And what does he do, exactly? “Yo-yoing is my stress reliever. Being able to be alone and do whatever I want with the yo-yo is amazing. The fact that I am not limited to any rule is my favorite part about yo-yoing.”

its characters and animations. Once again, Hollywood has twisted Seuss’s original moral message into some crude form of entertainment fodder. Just think back to the film adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas: a simple story criticizing American materialism is reduced to a melodrama between Cindy Lou, the Grinch and an invented childhood sweetheart. In The Lorax’s case, almost every major character in the film is used to repeatedly scream “Be an environmentalist!!” at the audience. For the most part, I felt as if I were watching some school educational video, in which the moral of the story is painfully visible in spite of the movie’s feeble attempts to disguise it. In The Lorax, 12-year-old Ted (voiced by Efron) and nature lover Audrey (voiced by Swift) are employed to do this job. With cliché and uninspired dialogue, the audience is only able to find relief from bombardment by morals when watching the bears, birds and fishes of the Treffula Tree forest—that is, during the parts without dialogue. At least during these scenes

(all of which are available through the trailers), the cute quirks synonymous to the yellow minions in Despicable Me could be seen. And yes, I am aware that this film is aimed towards younger audiences. Yet, this gives no excuse for an animated film to be so obvious. Just look at films like Wall-E or Spirited Away. These films successfully manage to tell a meaningful and worthwhile story, all without reducing the audience, young or old, into a crowd that cannot wait to exit the theater.

The Lorax speaks for nothing but the trees BY SABRINA SHIE

hen I first heard that The Lorax would be playing in theaters, I sincerely hoped that it would be different from previous Dr. Seuss adaptations. After all, the trailers had looked decent. The voicing cast, including Danny DeVito, Zac Efron and Taylor Swift, seemed capable. And most importantly, it had been produced by the same people that had brought together Despicable Me, with all of its lovable minions and cries of “It’s so FLUFFY!” But, this optimism soon disappeared. In its original format, The Lorax is supposed to be Dr. Seuss’s message advocating environmentalism and denouncing consumerism, told through the interactions between a man named the Once-ler and the Lorax, an orange-mustached creature who speaks for the trees. In order to build up his “Thneed” business, the Once-ler begins cutting down the Lorax’s beloved Treffula trees. Only after every Treffula tree has been cut down does the Once-ler realize the damage he has done. By doing this, Dr. Seuss cleverly teaches children about environmentalism. The movie, however, barely disguises this moral with

With the storks starting their yoga routines in preparation for the mass delivery of admission letters the next two weeks, my prospective college major has been on my mind more than usual. Thinking back to philosophy, one of my starving-artist-collegemajors (along with art history and German studies), I have been taking time during Gossip Girl commercial breaks to sit back and let the thoughts flow. Here are a couple philosophies and idioms I realized have been true throughout high school: The early bird gets the worm Although this is probably true in almost every aspect of life (except for the students who start AP Lit study guides early only to find that two questions have been taken out a day before it’s due), procrastination has probably been the worst curse on mankind after the invention of the Shake Weight. Whether it’s being first to order the coveted caramel and chocolate Samoa goodness, applying early decision to colleges or sitting in line for The Hunger Games premiere, running against the clock always pays off. I’m still working on perfecting my suave entrance as I walk into AP Stats late every day, but hey, some lessons take a lifetime to learn. Antithesis to Murphy’s Law Contrary to what all the naysayers and Debbie Downers believe, everything that can go wrong, usually won’t go wrong. Remember when there was a shiver of fear across America when Donald Trump decided to run for president? That didn’t happen. Although our generation has a knack for reblogging everything peachy and rosy and adding a sarcastic twist, Prince Charming has not fallen off his horse and autotuned music may not be as bad as it is hyped to be. Don’t count your chicks before they hatch Unlike beauty, the future is not in the eye of the beholder and is as unpredictable as Gale intruding on Peeta and Katniss’ love. Whether it be some girls (and guys’) disappointments at not being asked to prom by the Adam Levine doppelganger or even a singer from his The Voice crew, never be too confident about securing anything from an officer position to an “A” after finals with a 89.4% grade. We’ve all read about Antigone, Macbeth, Odysseus, Icarus (#sadlyfe) and the rest of the gang, so if we’ve learned anything from literature other than the fact that owls foreshadow bad things, we know the danger of being prideful and having false hope. A little bit of creativity goes a long way Whether it be innovative methods to fend off the little devils known as seagulls (so far my options consist of A. run away B. throw apple at seagull C. wave arms to look bigger and the currently being developed option D, throw Pokeball at target) or creating new memes for the Lynbrook Facebook page, creativity is shaping our future world, and will always pay off. Imagination at Lynbrook, in fact, is at its best during March and April, when creativity blossoms from heart-shaped polar graphs in pre-calculus to elaborate prom askings, complete with pipe cleaner flowers. Even if creativity involves taking risks like hot-gluing Monopoly pieces to your prom dress, you’ll never know how fashion forward you are until you try! However, if you find yourself blushing even redder than a Weasley, just tell people you tried out for the new fashion show on NBC or became Lady Gaga’s fashion apprentice. In the end, with or without guiding philosophies in high school, the wise words of Hannah Montana ring true: “Life’s what you make it, so let’s make it rock!” Cheerio & Adieu, Alice

Y H P A R G O N POR stry

BY GLORIA LIN & MICHAEL PARK

sk any male teenager, and he’ll tell you that “every guy has watched it before.” Ask that same teenager if he’s seen it before, and expect a sudden change in subject. The reasons for viewing such content are as school psychologist Brittany Stevens puts it: “we find the hidden aspects of our lives more attractive.” And for most people who watch the sexually explicit visual content known as pornography, that is often the case. The prevalence of pornography and its controversy is an issue that stretches far beyond Lynbrook boundaries. According to research site Top Ten Reviews, every second, 28,258 users are viewing pornography, including minors who, by law, are not supposed to be viewing such content. Aside from sites like Google and Facebook, pornography websites are the URLs with the most hits overall—with over 40 million porn sites circulating the Internet, this should come as no surprise. Sexually explicit content is always only a click away. Pornography is often seen as immoral, and its viewers unprincipled. Stevens explains that in America, it “has become part of our culture to hide sex and make it taboo, which makes it more interesting to teenagers.” In other words, if sex were more open, pornography wouldn’t be as big of an issue. The reasons behind watching porn often go much deeper beyond simple pleasure, and the issue is handled more conservatively at Lynbrook. Though American society is open to sexual topics, the Lynbrook population is mostly comprised of students who have culturally conservative backgrounds. Sophomore Andrew Lee, for instance, says, “I definitely don’t think porn is something that students should be watching or thinking about, because it’s not morally correct and appropriate. If I found out a friend watched it, I would initially be disturbed by it, but.... their problem, their life, not mine.” Supporters of this mentality have numerous justifications for their beliefs; for one, junior Jeff Luan says, “I think that porn, aside from not contributing to an existing relationship, generally results in a person’s social interactions with a person of the opposite sex becoming really meaningless. Depending on what you see, you’ll get these unrealistic expectations of relationships that are going to cheapen what love really is.” Senior Kyle Brooks, however, believes that things need to be put in perspective. “I’ll be honest,” he says, “There are some sick people out there doing some weird things. [But] sex is a natural and completely normal part of our lives.” Porn is, from the perspective of freshman Jesse Wang, “one of those things that people don’t really talk about, but you kind of know it’s there. I’m pretty sure everyone is ashamed of watching porn, but when they’re alone, they think no one’s watching, but God is.... Everyone acts like porn is unacceptable, but most of those people do watch it.” This mentality comes from Wang’s personal experiences; as a past porn watcher, he had difficulty quitting until “God helped [him] through” and he began reading the Bible more frequently, listening to Christian music and praying. “There’s a lot I still don’t understand about God, but sometimes when I know I’m about to sin, I’ll stop and pray to Him to help me,” he says.

Wang also says that despite the fact that pornography is something most people don’t like to talk about, getting more involved in his religion has made it more comfortable for him to talk about his past addictions. While other cultures are more open regarding sex, making pornography less of a taboo issue, much of it also depends on one’s own interpretations. Senior Chang Chun Hwang says, “They do say that the more repressed you are, the more deviant your interests get.” Other students such as sophomore Daniel Lu* express their interest in pornography calling it “a great industry and [something that] should be a normal thing for people to watch, not something that should be frowned upon. I think porn is awesome and people should explore it more.” Curiosity is inevitable, and because the topic is so taboo, many people like senior Alexandra Cong wonder “how people can be so okay with watching porn and think it’s... normal but they’re so shocked and horrified by actually being close to someone like that.” She says, “I think porn is so common at school that people view it in an unhealthy way, accepting it for being normal even though... it’s a lot more vulgar than meaningful sex.” Marriage and family therapist Raelene S. Weaver chalks this up to natural curiosity about sexuality and raging hormones, especially for minors. “Some people watch porn to enhance their sexual experiences, and some to play out fantasies. People can become addicted to porn like any other addiction. When the addiction begins to negatively influence an individual’s job or homelife, then it may be time to seek help. The reality is that many porn stars end up turning to drugs in order to cope with the work they are expected to do, and many suffer from low self-esteem or self-worth.” At the same time, insight on porn by its viewers reflects an attitude of desensitization to the explicit content. Brooks says, “Everybody has watched porn sometime in their life. I don’t see anything wrong with it but people just make a big deal about it. As long as you don’t become addicted to it, it’s just like watching a movie.” The more people are exposed to the content, whether it be pictures or videos, the less likely they are to be shocked or surprised by what they see. And while it was once difficult to obtain pornography, sexually explicit content is now easy to come across, often times without even having to look for it. In fact, some have become so used to what is often referred to as pornography, they no longer see it as pornographic or even controversial. Tumblr user senior Katherine Huang, for instance, often shares images that may be viewed as pornography but she sees as “art.” She says, “I guess it’s really how you look at it. I never really thought of it being a form of pornography, but people enjoy things in their own special way.” Despite any initial feelings of guilt or shame associated with reblogging porn, gradually, Huang became numb to any such emotions, saying, “I used to wonder why people would take nude pictures and put it on the Internet, but I guess it’s just how society works now.” In the end, what one is offended by depends solely on how one defines offensive content: in other words, porn is what one makes of it. * Name has been changed

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY IN DEPTH SECTION USED WITH PERMISSION OF AUGUSTINE MULLCIK

indu r la ol -d on lli bi d an st re te in o bo ta a on ns io in op Open

An unwanted outlet: OCD BY

IRENE

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EESHA

KHARE

or the average person, the thought of a wrinkled piece of paper leaves no more than a smudge of impression. But for junior Yuqing Zhu, the thought eats away at her until she finally succumbs, reaching out to smooth the paper, even if it is not her own. In fact, there are many things in her everyday life that pull at her attention. For example, she is compelled to flip the switch in her room, upon entering, on and off three times—her lucky number. Zhu has a symmetry and balance-based form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The common belief is that people with OCD are overly neat and meticulous; however, it is only a small part of having the condition. According to the International OCD Foundation, OCD is an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted, distressing, and repeated thoughts called obsessions that drive them to certain rule-driven and automatic rituals called compulsions in order to reduce anxiety. There are around ten kinds of compulsions, including washing and cleaning, ordering and arranging, hoarding and even self-mutilating; each person has a different kind, or even combinations of OCD compulsions. Obsessions never go away, but depending on how well the afflicted person is doing, compulsions may decrease. Sophomore Vibhav Altekar also has OCD related to symmetry; once on an airplane, he was typing on his iPod Touch when he saw that the letters, “LOL” were auto-capitalized to “Lol,” which he saw as a visual imbalance. He says, “I was so freaked out that I just left my iPod in the plane when we got off—my mom was mad when she found out, but it wasn’t something I could control.” Junior Michael Luo, who also has OCD, says, “It doesn’t make any logical sense, but because using these strategies makes you feel better, you become addicted them.” Obsessions can spiral out of hand as rituals take up to one hour a day, disrupting daily life and causing severe distress. For example, after completing his homework, Luo would dou-

ble-check to make sure that he hadn’t missed any assignments. He says, “Sometimes, I felt like I didn’t check right, so I would check again. I felt like I had to be cautious, but, doubting myself so much made me lose confidence.” Zhu engages in a different, but similarly repetitive activity; she had always prayed before going to bed, but at one point, her prayers had become longer and longer until she had to type them up so that she wouldn’t forget the wording. If she didn’t recite the prayer in its exact words, she would have to start all over. This took up an hour every night before she was able to overcome this obsession. Biological or environmental factors such as stress or illness can cause OCD. Zhu, for instance, experienced an escalation in distress after a trip to China left her with severe jet lag. She says, “I was always afraid of insomnia, so not being able to sleep triggered something. After that, if I didn’t act on my compulsions, I felt like I would never be able to sleep again.” On the other hand, Altekar doesn’t remember how his OCD was triggered or how it stopped influencing him so much since both occurred in earlier stages of his life. He does remember, however, that once in second grade, he hit a classmate because their books were arranged strangely—a small book underneath a large book. He says, “At the time, I assumed that everyone else saw things the way I did.” He has since learned to not allow his OCD to affect him so much; he says, “My mom messes things up on purpose sometimes and tells me not to touch them; I know she means well, but sometimes I don’t understand why it’s wrong to just arrange it and act on my compulsions.” His OCD still continues to affect him in school. He says, “When I was taking 3D Art, I saw other people build things that were distorted or unaligned; I just got really distracted and a little freaked out. Art and writing are really difficult for me because they’re so abstract. There’s no formulaic manner to do things.” Luo believes that his OCD and obsessions stem from a childhood trauma. On the first day of kindergarten, he says, “I only knew three English words, and

BY VIK WAGHRAY & BRIAN ZHAO

hether it is thirty-three thousand or four hundred, it doesn’t matter: both of these numbers indicate success for Lynbrook entrepreneurs. Working alone since early 2011, senior Dennis Cui created a smartphone application that received 33,000 downloads before he took it down for modification. His product: NameCard, a digital business card that automatically updates changed contact information, thus making it more convenient for users to keep in touch with one another. Despite the impressive number of downloads, Cui hasn’t made any money at all; however, making a profit was not his immediate goal. “You get a lot more users when it’s free rather than pay-to-use,” explains Cui. “Right now, there’s the barrier of having to change customer habits, as most people currently use physical business cards, but other people will start using it if there is a large user base.” Cui had the advantage of running a costfree business, and he also received help when it came to publicity: he was allowed to put it on his parents’ website, one of the top 10 most popular cell phone sites in the world. Two of Cui’s classmates also took the non-profit route, but their product was something completely different. “We wanted to make a product everyone would enjoy but would also make a lot of money. A bake sale, for example, would leave out the people who are health-conscious, and you would only make $0.25 per cookie,” explains Andy Yang, the left brain and business side of the two-person clothing company Thisguise. His counterpart, friend and artist Kingston Xu, came up with the new name after their unsuccessful initial run as Manifest. Their startup problems were mainly financial; although they had plenty of ideas, they could not afford a screen-printing machine and had to resort to making iron-on shirts that lacked the quality and professional look they desired. Leaving their project dormant for the summer, the two decided to restart at the beginning of junior year. In Xu and Yang’s case, there was an additional cost to launching their business other than that of time. The two saved up their allowances – helped by Yang’s hobby of buying and selling electronics online – and eventually bought a screen-printing machine to test out prototypes. Alternatively, the two could have gained funds through a loan; a student-start-

I felt like an outcast. I was so scared that I [excreted] in my pants. I may not feel like it is traumatizing now, but the memory is still in the back of my mind. When high school started, it was another new environment, so I guess I automatically adjusted to that by being more cautious, forcing me to become obsessively organized, to address my own fears of failing at school and being behind everyone else.” Overcoming OCD isn’t merely a matter of willpower; when recalling the obsession with flipping the light switch, Zhu says, “When I got to seven [flips], I realized that not only was what I was doing irrational and time-consuming, but seven wasn’t even my lucky number! I know what I’m doing doesn’t make sense, but I can’t stop it.” OCD can be treated with medication and therapy; nonetheless, school therapist Dawn Bridges advises, “We all have insecurities, but if a student feels like he is more prone to worry than his peers, then it is important for him to be aware of the amount of stress he places on himself.”

AUSTIN YU—EPIC

ed agency in the Bay Area can supply an interest-free loan of less than $1,000 to aspiring young entrepreneurs. Mission San Jose senior William Kim, founder of Happy Day Microfunds, is more than willing to supply financial backing if students are willing to take the initiative to start a business. A lack of ideas, not capital is what he believes to be the problem. In his own experiences, “The biggest problem is that very few teens are willing to take part in it.” Kim has already given out $300 to Lynbrook students. Unfortunately, inspiration alone doesn’t guarantee a failure-free path to success. Even after producing a quality product, Xu and Yang still had to face what may be the biggest problem to any entrepreneur: sales. In a surprising move, the two decided to donate their profits to charity. “We wanted to make people feel good about spending money,” says Xu. After they announced on their Facebook event that they would be donating all proceeds to charity, orders began pouring in—60 of them, some of which were from complete strangers. Having not anticipated such success, the two managed to find a t-shirt printing company to sponsor them, and finally ended up donating $400. Xu and Yang don’t mind that their business venture didn’t result in extra money in their pockets. For them, satisfaction comes simply from knowing that other people value their work. “It’s just great to know that people are wearing your product,” says Yang. Even when not all stories are those of success, these entrepreneurs all have regrets. “I released at too early of a stage,” says Cui. “A month after I released, a large company copied my idea, and they were able to make improvements faster than I could.” For Thisguise, their problem was the opposite: “We kind of grew out of making t-shirts for a while at the end of sophomore year,” reflects Yang. And like their motivation, the two found that the market can be just as volatile. “Fashion is ephemeral,” says Xu, explaining why they haven’t replicated their success. “We could be hot at one moment, but we might not be at the next. And unlike regular art, designing can’t just be self-expression; that has to take a back seat to looking good to a large audience.” Despite how difficult starting up a business may be, all of these entrepreneurs still urge other students to take the risk. Kim concludes, “That fine distinction between ‘OK’ and ‘weird’ is very far away from what you may think. It’s better to charge forward rather than seek the approval of others because if you keep fearing it, you won’t get anywhere. Just put yourself out there!”

SARAH TARTER—EPIC

AIMING FOR THE STRIKE ZONE | Junior Chris Ma pitches to a Prospect batter on March 5. The baseball team has been limited this season by their small pitching rotation, but came out with a 7-2 win over the Panthers.

Baseball team powered by experience BY SARAH TARTER

he members of this year’s baseball team are full of optimism and enthusiasm. The common opinion amongst the team and coaches is that there are many talented players, and qualifying for Central Coast Section (CCS) is well within the realm of possibility. It is expected that this will be the most victorious season in a long time. “Lynbrook hasn’t had a very strong history of getting into CCS playoffs, but this is my eighth year coaching here and I think that with this team, we have a pretty good chance of making it,” says coach Ken Wallis.

The team’s high hopes are largely due to the fact that the majority of the players are returning varsity players that have experience playing with one another. “We have good chemistry,” says senior Marcus Yee. “Everyone on our team is friends on and off the field so there aren’t any cliques.” The team is composed of nine seniors, six juniors and one sophomore, so almost everyone on the team has played together at one point or another, making it easier to develop connections with one another. “We have a lot of players who have played together for many years, dating back to little league,” says senior Harrison Wang.

While it may come in handy to have a team completely composed of upperclassmen, the team will experience a major disadvantage due to the fact that their home field is under construction. “Our field at Lynbrook had a lot more resources to practice with in comparison to the Miller [Middle School] field,” says senior Alay Parikh. “We can’t get the same amount of time on the field because of time restrictions Miller has placed on our usage of the field.” The lack of an adequate practice field as well as defensive weaknesses are the team’s greatest obstacles, but the players hope that their strengths, such as strong batting and

efficient base running, will outweigh their weaknesses. “We are an overall really good hitting team, [but] I think we need to limit our errors in the field and keep developing our pitching,” mentions junior Gabe Rosales. Aside from qualifying for CCS, the team’s goal is to put in a substantial amount of effort all season long and develop a good work ethic. “Everyone on the team is pretty motivated, and I think the players are really starting to see that they need to come in and work hard during every practice in order for us to be successful,” mentions Wallis. The next game will be at Miller Middle School on March 27 against Gunn.

Badminton employs individual training Swimming revamps practice methods BY JESSICA CAO

ith approximately 100 players, the Lynbrook badminton team is the largest team on campus. Even though students are divided into varsity, JV and training teams, they are still hardpressed to get any individual attention during practices. This year, two systems have been established in which students have the opportunity to improve their skills. One of them is training individually with the assistant coach: “Evan Blomquist comes in on Fridays and works one-on-one with players who have the potential for CCS, as well as proactive players who arrange things with him,” says coach Karen Christensen. Typically, ten to twelve players work with Blomquist on Friday afternoons. Competing players have priority, but the training team players can also sign up for these Friday sessions. However, Blomquist will be re-organizing it so that people not necessarily working with him can still come in for an extra afternoon of practice. Sophomore Anna Her, former JV captain and a first-

year varsity player explains, “General practices usually encompass everything and have to accommodate a lot more people. Evan’s training is more comparable to the training I do outside at my gym because it targets my weaknesses and I get a whole court to work on a specific skill.” In addition, there will be a system in which varsity players work with the JV and training team players as hitting partners on a rotational basis. “It’s new because before it was optional so only a few seniors would occasionally come train with us, but this year everybody on varsity has to participate at some point,” says Her. In lieu of entirely exclusive practices, varsity players will be required to sign up for a time slot during which both JV and training team players will get to play with more advanced opponents. Facing tougher opponents is meant to help players improve more quickly. In the end, however, it still comes down to the players themselves to strive for selfimprovement. States Christensen, “It is the more motivated players who request help and who end up improving the most.”

BY NOORSHER AHMED

fter a fairly good season last year, most of the Lynbrook boys’ swim team’s fastest swimmers graduated to move on to college. This heavy loss to the team is greatly affecting them this season, calling for changes in the team’s strategy. “We still have two swimmers left from the All American Relays and we still have young swimmers who will help us in a few years— just not this year,” says coach Jerome Chung. The swim team accepts that this year, the varsity team will struggle, so the team is training younger athletes for the future by developing its swimmers with an emphasis on strength. To do this, the team has engaged in intensive weight training rather than the traditional “dry land” exercise which included running and other aerobic activities. Their new weight training regimen is divided into three parts: the core, the arms, and the legs. The core workout includes planks and scissor kicks and conditioning with medicine balls. For the legs, the swimmers work on the leg press and leg curl. Fi-

VIK WAGHRAY—EPIC

PLOWING AHEAD| Junior Larry Zhang swims the butterfly during the team’s meet on March 9.

nally, for the arms, they bench press and do lateral pulldowns along with a variety of other exercises with the weights. “We’re not very big, so we have to maximize what we’ve got and build up strength. As the season progresses, we’ll be using less and less weights and focus on core,” comments Chung. All in all, the boys’ varsity swim team will hopefully improve their outlook through weight training, but the junior varsity will probably be at the top of their league, giving hope that future varsity teams will be much better. The next swim meet for both teams is today against Palo Alto.

GRAPHIC BY SPORTS SECTION

How to be Jeremy Lin

he upcoming season for the boys tennis team is all about finding a beat through the initial imbalance. Without five expected seniors from last season, the team is relying on primarily underclassmen to continue its legacy of competitiveness. Rather than losing cumulative experience, the new players bring a sense of strong determination to the courts. The young talents seek to dominate the team this year, and for the rest of their duration at Lynbrook. Comments new player, sophomore David Hsu, “There’s a higher standard for years to come. We have two more years to keep going

up and improving our skills, so next year’s freshmen are going to have to meet that standard.” As a nationally ranked player, Hsu proves a valuable asset. This will be his first year joining Lynbrook’s team, playing singles #1. Says the boys tennis team coach Albert Poon of Hsu, “He’s ranked high, and the rest of the team expects him to lead the team.” These new players are strikingly similar as well: all naturally singles players. Thus, another imbalance in the team emerges: a weaker doubles line-up. Says junior Nikhil Ganesh, “As good as the players are individually, as a team [we’re having] trouble finding a solid doubles line-up.” Poon has been experimenting with different combinations of

BY MICHAEL PARK

aving finished last year’s season with a perfect league record, the varsity boys’ volleyball team is adjusting to their move up from the El Camino League to the De Anza League. Facing teams ranked much higher than their previous opponents and a shorter season, senior Darren Shim says, “The teams in the De Anza League are of a much higher caliber and in order to win, we need to focus on our teamwork.” The boys are off to a great start, having won their first scrimmage against Gunderson with a score of 3-0 and finished second in the Campbell Volley Classic Tourney, yet are still behind on practices. Captain Bryan

Le says, “We have been scrambling to keep up with other schools that have had more open gyms and practices. Last Friday, the team’s hard work at practice was apparent as they defeated Saratoga to a final score of 3-0. Seniors Bryan Le and Kevin Tu (pictured left) played exceptionally well, Le with 13 kills and two blocks and Tu with 12 service returns and four aces. Middle blocker Aaron Huang had three kills. “Even though we are going through tougher teams, we have built up good team chemistry and there are no arguments about playing time,” says Huang. With a record of 6-1, the team is looking forward to an exciting season of great games and chance of making it to CCS. The team will face Mountain View today at home at 6:45pm.

SAM CHANG—EPIC

doubles players, saying, “We are still looking to set the perfect match.” However, the doubles players have improved dramatically and Poon looks to solidify the line-up soon. At their first league game against rival Monta Vista on Tuesday, Feb. 28, the boys tennis team suffered a 2-5 loss, besting the previous year’s 0-7 loss. Monta Vista is rumored to be Lynbrook’s biggest rival this year, rather than the expected Saratoga. Although Ganesh is hesitant about qualifying for CCS, the season still looks promising. “The season is looking very good this year, if not the best of all the three years I’ve played,” he says. Hsu agrees. “No doubt, we’ll be a strong force this year.”

SAM CHANG—EPIC

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT| Senior James Hu prepares to drive the ball during practice at Deep Cliff on March 8. The boys’ golf team has a current league record of 1-3. Their next match is Wednesday March 21 versus Wilcox.

DANIELLE LERNER—EPIC

JACOB ANTONY—EPIC

“We’ve had our setbacks because of many experienced seniors leaving, but we are definitely improving and will come back stronger than before,”says James Hu (12) optimistically.

“Most of us haven’t played together, so the more comfortable we become as a team the better we’ll play. If we keep up our hard work we’ll be able to make it pretty far this season!” says Katie Chon (12).

SCOOP IT UP| Senior Katie Chon fields a groundball during practice on March 12. The softball team will be participating in the Charlie Miguel Tournament today at Twin Creeks.

“It’s been hectic because we have to practice at Miller and we have to move things around, and it takes more time to do everything,”says Ethan Chiou (11) of the track season so far. The team lost its first meet. The next meet is tomorrow at Saint Francis. AUSTIN YU—EPIC

BY ALICE ZHANG

et me guess: you were part of the horde of people caught by the global wave of Linsanity. What’s not to admire in the Linspirational story of Jeremy Lin, an Asian American basketball star no one saw coming, rising from zero to hero? People root for Lin because they hope to achieve similar greatness from humble beginnings. After spending hours poring over articles on Lin, I realized that anyone can become the next Linsation—just follow this Linvincible formula. 1. Lin was a top student; his 4.2 high school GPA was Harvard-worthy. However, even with his Linpressive Ivy League qualifications, he was undrafted by the NBA and later cut by both the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, becoming the ultimate underdog. What you can do: Work hard, persevere and aim high. Cliché for you Linbrook Lintellectuals? The caveat is to aim so high that you can’t gain immediate success. Make the world wait before you hit it big so as to retain your underdog status. 2. Lin surprised everyone by being a great basketball player, even when college coaches from Stanford and UCLA didn’t see enough talent to recruit him. Then, he gained more recognition for helping the New York Knicks improve immensely, even beating the L.A. Lakers and Dallas Mavericks and setting many records. What you can do: Get really good at something, but practice in secret to shock everyone later. Next, go work for a struggling company, so you can bring them back from the brink of bankruptcy or failure and be hailed as a savior. You may even earn some hefty Lindorsements. 3. Lin also became an instant Linsation for being the first ever American NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. His success in the NBA, which is dominated by Caucasians and African Americans, is even more Lincredible in light of him being an economics major at Harvard. What you can do: Enter a field in which you clearly stand out. Be the only female in a male-dominated industry or vice versa, or be the youngest ever to do something; just defy expectations. Also, pick up skills in an area vastly different from what you study. Impress the world by doing the Linpossible. If you do all this, prepare for an onslaught of attention. Because if Jeremy Lin’s story is any Lindication, you’ll be the next subject of these Linfamous puns.

JOEY LI—EPIC

JUMP, JUMP| Junior Ethan Chiou jumps over hurdles during a March 2 meet at Los Altos. The track and field team has been doing well despite being forced to practice at Miller due to construction at Stober Field.

A Viking’s dance dance revelation Brian Zhao goes undercover as a Valkyrie. The mission? Bust a move or look good tryin’ BY BRIAN ZHAO

RUSSIAN ROULETTE| Brian (below) continues his initiation by partaking in the classic Valkyrie kickline, complete with high kick and expression, despite his limitations of flexibility. Always the trooper, he holds his head high and continues.

SAM CHANG—EPIC

STRUTTING HIS STUFF | An avid fan of the dance team, Brian (right) strikes a pose in an attempt to channel his inner Valkyrie for the first time, practicing his balancing act before he humiliates himself in front of the ladies.

hristians die and go to Heaven. Vikings die and go to Valhalla, which is filled with beautiful female angels. On Thursday the 8th, while in the Cove, I seriously considered changing my religion. The Valkyries are one of the best things about Lynbrook. They are graceful and always smiling, which gives me hope because most girls I look at make angry faces at me as soon as we make eye contact. My adventure began with me standing awkwardly outside the Cove along with the other Valkyries. I kept a healthy distance away from them and didn’t dare open my mouth. That did not make me scared or feel out of place, yet, I still had one fear: that these girls would look at my dirty black sweater, baggy sweats and stringy facial hair and mistake me for a homeless gentleman. The first thing they did was strip (their sweatshirts, sweatpants and shoes). Still, that caught me completely off-guard. The girls were spread out all over the room, and because the room had mirrors on every wall, there was nowhere I could look without seeing them. So, I kept my eyes on my feet until everybody was on the dance floor. We started off with stretches. I was forced to raise my eyes so I could figure out what to do. Instead of flowing to my muscles, all my blood rushed to my face as I turned watermelon red, and I started cramping. Before, I had thought that the stretches would be the easiest part of my day. I soon realized that when skill wasn’t needed, endurance was. I had neither. We first did a stretch in which we lay on our backs and made a “V” with our legs in the air. Then we did a stretch where we made an “A” with our legs, then an “L.” I guess we were supposed to be spelling out the team name, but I gave up and collapsed on the ground after

“Y.” My calf, lamb and foal muscles were all throbbing with pain. After 40 minutes of stretching, we had a water break, and then it was time for some actual dancing. I was prepared for the worst, but I expected they would go easy on me. Unfortunately, they showed me no mercy. In the very first routine, senior Shany Sun, the leader of the Valkyries demonstrated a karate chop, a head spasm, a breakdance move on the floor and an eight revolution spin. Eight! I can’t even count that high! My subconscious blocked out the rest of the afternoon in order to protect my fragile ego. I can assure you from the flashes of memory that still haunt my mind to this day, however, that the other exercises were a complete and utter disaster. I spent most of the time shuffling awkwardly to the end of the line; it was like PE class all over again. We ended with a kickline (literally, a line of people who kick). I apologized profusely to the two unfortunate girls on either side of me, and after the kicking, I went home to drown my sorrows. All in all, the Valkyries were even more amazing up close than they are viewed from a dark set of bleachers. Despite my prior assumptions, I have to say that I was most impressed with their mental aspects. Their discipline, the professionalism with which they carried themselves and the quiet confidence with which they spoke and executed their dance moves made me strongly believe that they would be successful in the future, no matter what field they went into. Now that this mere mortal has descended back from heaven, I guess I can only look forward to admiring their gracefulness at the next rally. I’m happy that Lynbrook has the Valkyries. Praise Thor!

JESSICA CAO—EPIC

TIME TO TWIRL| Brian attempts a pirouette for the first time in the Cove’s foreign territory.

JESSICA CAO—EPIC

STRETCH FOR SUCCESS| Valks captain Shany Sun demonstrates a stretch as Brian tries to follow along.

JESSICA CAO—EPIC

WHY HALF OF CALIFORNIA FAILS THE CAHSEE BY BRIAN ZHAO

WHERE IN THE WORLD? BY JESSICA CAO

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Perched 922 feet above the city, Twin Peaks is a magnet for tourists and landscape photographers. Getting to Twin Peaks is quite simple: get on the winding road.

In the center of San Francisco is a small, culturally diverse district packed with restaurants with delicious food and a myriad of graffiti-covered walls. Haight is a famous hotspot for hipsters, hippies and history enthusiasts alike.

s e o k n a t t he c i p c E

If you love to shop, then Pier 39 is the perfect place to visit. Having everything from mouthwatering seafood to cavity-inducing salt water taffies, punny clothing to cute sea lions, this small pier makes everything a shopaholic can dream of a reality.

ity

the

BY SAM CHANG & AUSTIN YU

Started by the first wave of immigrants in the 1850s, Chinatown is the place to go for an authentic experience of Chinese culture in the States. Shops, food markets, and a musician playing the erhu are samples of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the streets of this 164-year-old town.