Issue 5, 2017

Students’ motivations to succeed in high school

BY CHELSEA LI AND NANDA PANDIAN

E

very morning, junior Raymond Lau’s alarm rings at around 6:45 a.m. He snoozes it a few times and eventually wakes up at 7 a.m. After dressing, washing and eating, he heads to school, his mind �illed with the tests and assignments due that day. Like many other students, Lau is encouraged to attend school due to many factors, including pressure from parents, teachers, and peers, as well as the promise of a better future after high school.

This hope for a better future may be the biggest motivating factor of all. Although many may not need to draw a slope �ield or balance chemistry equations outside of class, the problem solving, critical thinking and communication skills taught in academic subjects carry on for the rest of their lives. By learning many of these subjects and skills now, students hope to have a broader range of options when applying to college, as well as when establishing a career. Studying diligently, to many, provides a foundation for future successes.

“College is a big factor [in motivating students],” said Lau. “They want to get good grades and try to be as well round-

ed as they can so that they have more choices and opportunities.

Many students in the Fremont Union High School District have established academic goals; most plan to attend college right after high school and have an idea of what career they want to pursue. This mindset drives them to push for higher test scores and grade point averages. Furthermore, pressure from family and peers drives many students to focus on their studies. Maintaining a clean academic record, however, is not the only factor that motivates students to do well in school.

“I think motivation for Lynbrook students comes from different sources. Some students are internally motivated to be the best that they can be or to learn all that they can,” said Lynbrook guidance counselor Malissa Goldstein. “I have heard other students say how they are motivated by their peers, that seeing them work hard is inspiring.”

Apart from obtaining good grades, students are further motivated to do well in school because of the people there. Students

can socialize with their friends, who also encourage them to work hard. Often, students compare their achievements with each other, such as standardized test scores and grades; this competition further motivates students to strive for excellence.

Students attend class because of their teachers as well. For example, many teachers give time in class for students to contribute their own ideas. This motivates them to speak out more in class, as participation counts towards students’ �inal grades. Teachers furthermore encourage students to do well, and make sure they do not fall behind.

“Most of my teachers are really welcoming; they all show up with a smile on their faces when they start the class,” said Lau. “The teachers here at Lynbrook support you; if you have issues dealing with anything, they’re always out there for you.”

Because of Lynbrook’s challenging environment, Lynbrook students are often motivated to work harder than those from other districts, because of pressure from their parents, peers and teachers. This allows them to accomplish more than the average high school student. In 2014, the graduation rate at Lynbrook was 98 percent, higher than the California state average of 81 percent.

Lynbrook announces graduation changes

BY CATHERINE HUANG

O

n Jan. 24, shortly after an interest survey on changing the graduation gown color was sent out to students through Schoolloop, Anne Butterworth, Lynbrook’s Assistant Principal of Activities and Athletics, announced that all graduating students would be wearing navy gowns during the graduation ceremony instead of the usual white for female and navy for males.

Many other high schools across the nation have already responded to the LGBT movement by switching to single color graduation gowns. The representative from Jostens, Lynbrook’s gown company, mentioned concerns with legal issues about asking students to identify themselves as male or female. Butterworth then brought the issue to the administration.

“I started asking the administration team, and they said ‘you should ask the students,’ and I said ‘that’s a good idea,’” said Butterworth. “So I asked a few of the seniors I knew from leadership and ASB and they said ‘you should ask the whole student body.’”

On Jan. 18, Butterworth sent out a survey about the possibility of changing the former graduation gown system to all seniors through Schoolloop in hopes of gathering student input. By the survey deadline on Jan. 22, approximately 70 out of over 400 seniors responded, with the vote split almost evenly between having a change and keeping the colors the same as before. Thus, the decision that all graduating students would wear navy gowns to the graduation ceremony was made collectively by the administration.

“I had some very passionate responses about how [incorporating] all navy [gowns] would make students feel more included in our graduation ceremonies,” said Butterworth. “So taking that into account and the potential legal issues in the future with asking students to identify as male or female, I went ahead and sent out the email letting the students know we would have all navy gowns for graduation.”

The decision encountered severe student criticism once it was communicated to the Class of 2017; over 200 students signed a petition to bring back white graduation gowns,

claiming that miscommunication with the administration caused many of the seniors to be unaware of the survey and the change its responses would bring. “[The administration] made a decision to change the gowns based on a survey that many students were unaware of,” said senior Eunice Kan. “I understand that we want every person in our class to be happy on the graduation day, but this decision ultimately left over 200 people unhappy.”

After receiving this feedback, Butterworth met with the senior class of�icers; together, they concluded that giving each graduating student the personal choice of wearing either a white or navy graduation gown would be a feasible alternative to account for differing student opinions. When this solution was brought up to Jostens, however, a representative explained that it was too late to change the orders. For students who wish to express their individuality, the administration has decided to allow students to decorate their graduation caps. Thus, all graduating seniors will be wearing navy gowns and personalized caps to the 2017 graduation ceremony.

On the other hand, because of this competitive environment, some high school students choose to attend programs at a nearby community college.

These students are usually those who do not share similar goals with that of their peers at school.

“Students are selected for the Middle College program in part because they’ll have greater success and be more motivated in an environment that’s different from the traditional high school,” said English teacher Erin Levin. “In Middle College, students aren’t afraid of doing things that are unorthodox. The students in the college would be much more diverse and the idea of focus changes to focusing on themselves. You take on your own responsibilities. You focus highly on yourself [rather] than comparing yourself with another.”

Students attending schools outside the district may have different motivations.

Their schools may not have adequate funding or other resources to offer such events and academic courses. Thus, they may not prioritize doing their best in school as students here do, simply due to the environment.

see MOTIVATION page 11

BBOY // pg. 13

Cupertino creates new program for safer routes

BY SADHANA SARMA

O

n Feb. 8, parents and of�icials from the Cupertino area gathered at the Cupertino Safe Routes 2 School Parent MeetUp in the Cupertino Community Hall. The meeting outlined the committee’s plan to model a safe transportation system after the Palo Alto Safe Routes 2 School program, and served as a forum for questions and concerns from community residents. Chelsea Biklen, the Cupertino Safe Routes 2 School Community Coordinator, organized this event to create safer routes to school in the Cupertino area before eventually expanding throughout the Bay Area.

For now, the Cupertino Safe Routes 2 School Committee has included all schools within the Cupertino area, such as Cupertino High School and Monta Vista High School.

Biklen predicts that the implementation of this plan will create a domino effect for schools in nearby cities, such as Lynbrook.

“We’re starting to build the networks to outside our city, and are hoping to �ind the same kind of leadership in the cities that encompasses [Lynbrook] as well,” said Biklen.

During the event, Palo Alto Council of Parent Teacher Associations’ Traf�ic Safety Committee Co-Chair Penny Ellison, Palo Alto Safe Routes 2 School Coordinator Rosie Mesterhazy and Biklen presented details about the plan that was put in place in Palo Alto and the success it has seen. The mayor of Cupertino, Savita Vaidhyanathan, also made an appearance, introducing the speakers and emphasizing Cupertino’s passion for implementing this plan.

“We have seen success in other cities, and we are hoping that success breeds success in our community too,” said Vaidhyanathan.

The plan consists of many components that will ensure both the safety and well-be-

ing of students, and most importantly, a healthy lifestyle for every child. According to Ellson, this generation of kids is going to be the �irst in decades to have a projected shorter lifespan than their parents.

“They’re getting less exercise and their diets aren’t as good,” said Ellson. “This is something we need to work on, and integrating exercise into their daily transportation is one way that we can do that.”

Some ways Palo Alto has accomplished this has been through integrating assemblies into school about traf�ic safety, with a great focus on the 3rd grade “biking skills” assembly, which teaches students how to ride bikes and follow traf�ic laws. Assemblies have also been added to the kindergarten, 5th grade, 6th grade and 8th grade curriculums that focus on deepening students’ knowledge of safe behavior on the streets. Cupertino’s goal for the near future is to add a hands-on biking assembly in 3rd grade for three additional schools per year for the next �ive years, as well as parent representatives from each school for Safe Routes 2 School.

Building the infrastructure for safer streets is another goal that Palo Alto has accomplished and Cupertino hopes to follow.

The building of more crosswalks, bike paths and racks will be emphasized, along with the calming of traf�ic, improvement of signals and recruitment of more crossing guards.

With the support of the community, Biklen is con�ident that these goals can all be accomplished. In further attempts to spur interest in the project, the group has provided parents with resources such as maps that highlight suggested walking and biking routes, as well as bike parking. If successful, Biklen predicts that Cupertino Safe Routes 2 School will be able to improve the lives of Cupertino residents as well as those living in neighboring communities.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY NEWS SECTION

Letter from the Editors

GU IAM

ILL

–W

IC

IC IAM

ILL –W O

GU

Stay golden, Shreyas Iyer and Jessica Luo

looking forward to continuing monthly meetings, as well as further developing the organization.

“This is our �irst year, so I’m really excited with what we’ve come up with so far,” said Cheng. “I’m sure that we can expand a lot more in terms of our size. As we can get more people interested in neuroscience, there is a lot of potential that our organization can have.”

EP

Dear readers, We hope you enjoyed your President’s Week Break and had a nice time off.

Check out the news section for stories about the new “Safe Routes 2 School” program to be implemented by the city of Cupertino (pg. 2) as well as events at school such as Silsilay (pg. 3).

Be sure to read opinionated stories on the unethical practice of chimera organ harvesting (pg. 5), and how H-1B visas should not be affected by the recent immigration ban (pg. 6).

Flip to the features section to read articles about a group of students who run a chapter of a charity to help orphans in third world countries (pg. 7), and nutritious alternatives to junk food (pg. 8).

In the in-depth section, read about the psychological aspects of why people are shy and what environments prompt them to be shy (pg. 10).

Keep up with athletics in the sports section with a feature of Lynbrook’s Bboy club (pg. 13), and a recap of the varsity boys basketball team and the new changes they had this season (pg. 15).

This issue spans a multitude of interests, so you’re sure to �ind something you like, whether it be student features or stories on different aspects of our school.

O

n Feb. 5, the Bay Area chapter of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) hosted a speaker event called Wonder: Exploring the Human Mind at the Mitchell Park Community Center. Open to all individuals, the neuroscience conference featured �ive speakers who covered broad topics from linguistics and health to arti�icial intelligence’s impact on society today.

The Bay Area SfN consists of high school students of more than 14 Bay Area schools.

During monthly meetings, of�icers and members organize numerous events, from local neuroscience competitions to seminars. They also raise funds to aid patients diagnosed with neurological disorders and educate others on subjects relating to neuroscience. The core team consists of several Lynbrook students, including co-presidents senior Marilyn Zhang and junior Myra Cheng, as well as Director of Operations senior Katherine Xiao.

“Our primary goal [with SfN Wonder] was to be able to connect people from a lot of different schools. At our meetings we always try to have as many people from as many schools as possible, since a lot of other schools don’t have neuroscience clubs and don’t get such opportunities,” said Cheng.

After featuring a speaker at each monthly meeting, the of�icers expanded these meetings to create Wonder through months of extensive planning and hard work.

“At �irst, our idea actually blossomed as a kind of TEDx event, and that’s why it was kind of TEDx-esque, with all the intersections of science and the humanities, but we weren’t allowed to do it because we were a separate organization,” said Zhang. “So we kind of morphed it into something even broader than TEDx.” Vania Cao, a manager at Inscopix, Inc., spoke on the topic of neuroscience studies,

as well as tools used to study neuroscience and the valuable information they provide.

Michael Henry Tessler, a Ph.D. student at Stanford University currently studying cognitive science, linguistics and psychology, brought up the uncertainty of language and the development of arti�icial intelligence.

Dr. David C. Yeomans, a professor at Stanford University, gave a talk about oxytocin, also dubbed the “love hormone.” He spoke on his �indings on how oxytocin impacts several aspects of one’s life, from a higher trust in people to fewer migraines.

“Some of us interned with some of the speakers, and we found their connections to neuroscience particularly interesting, such as arti�icial intelligence,” Xiao said.

Following a short intermission, when attendees were given the chance to socialize and talk to the speakers, Jill Escher, the president of Autism Society San Francisco Bay Area, addressed the attendees on the roots of autism. As a parent of two autistic children herself, Escher discussed how damaging drugs and habits post-World War II affected autistic children today. Alex Kue�ler, a Master’s student at Stanford University, talked about the realm of arti�icial intelligence and how it can potentially rival humans one day.

The event concluded with an engaging panel, where members of the audience were allowed to ask questions about the speakers’ work and the topics that they covered.

In the f u t u re , SfN is

EP

BY JESSICA LI

O

SfN Wonder debuts speaker event

News in Brief

Career Center Opportunity Fair On Thursday, Mar. 23, there will be a Career Opportunity Fair from 12:35 p.m.1:40 p.m. in the quad. Representatives from various different programs will be there with information about summer programs, jobs or internships.

Spring Choir Concert Come listen to the Lynbrook Choir at the annual Spring Choir Concert on Friday, Mar. 24 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the auditorium. Tickets are $5 each, so be sure to get yours before they sell out!

ASB Food Club Day The second semester ASB Food Club Day will be held on Friday, Mar. 24 at lunch in the quad. Be sure to buy your tickets early so you can get as much food as possible.

Cal Invitational Tournament Congratulations to junior Chris Wang for placing �irst at the Cal Invitational at UC Berkeley Speech and Debate Tournament in varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate!

Mock Trial Congratulations to Lynbrook’s Mock Trial team for placing �irst at the County tournament on Feb. 23!

by Mehek Kapur

Lynbrook AISA hosts Silsilay show

BY CHLOE LAI

T

his year’s highly-anticipated student-run show, Silsilay, was held on Feb. 11 by the American Indo Student Association (AISA) with an afternoon show at 2 p.m. and an evening show at 7 p.m. The festive night opened with upbeat Bollywood numbers as well as more traditional Indian folk dancing, Bhangra, choreographed by independent dance teams across the Bay Area along with singing acts. The show closed with a fashion show showcasing guests and performers alike in traditional Indian attire.

Out of the �ifteen teams, Lynbrook had the most performers comprising of three dance teams—Deewani, Bollywood and Jalwa—and the singing trio Sitara. “[Everyone] is focused on giving an amazing performance and through our love for dancing, we bond,” said junior Ritik Batra.

Instead of starting practice in the summer like other teams, the Lynbrook teams began in October. During this time of preparation, each team increased practices from once a week to as much as �ive times a week during winter break and �inally to everyday the week before Silsilay. “‘Deewani’ means ‘crazy’,” said sophomore Abinaya Srikant, a choreographer for Deewani. “[Our dance] mixed the usual crazy elements of Bollywood you see with a short classical excerpt.”

Compared to previous years’ performances, this year’s show was held in February instead of March due to scheduling issues. It did not prove to be a big issue, as practice schedules were simply moved

earlier and became more frequent.

“What makes our show unique is the integrated storyline that goes hand in hand with each dance showcase,” said Parwal.

The story follows friends Ria and Mira, played by Parwal and senior Mira Thekdi, who are transported to a Bollywood movie where the actress Priyanka Padukone, played by junior Malaika Khan, is engaged to Hritik Kapoor, played by senior Srikar Mallipedi. When Hritik falls for Ria, however, Priyanka’s friend, Leela, played by freshman Shubhra Dubey, and Hritik’s friend Rahul, played by senior Harsh Jain, get him back together with Priyanka with the help of Ria and Mira.

Besides the wide variety of dance performances by a number of FUHSD schools such as Monta Vista’s Andaaz and Homestead Bhangra, all proceeds were donated to Project Rishi, an organization that aids in developing Indian rural communities.

“Part of the reason why Silsilay is so great is because we are able to get everybody involved with the Indian culture all while truly making a difference in the lives of many people,” said Parwal.

With such a charismatic show and an inclusive environment that invites all to participate, Silsilay is an experience that reaches out to people of all backgrounds whether they are sitting in the audience or onstage performing.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY NEWS SECTION

Milo Yiannopoulos loses book deal with publisher Why the cancellation of his controversial autobiography “Dangerous” is long overdue

BY ESHANI MEHTA

O

n Feb. 20, a representative from publishing magnate Simon & Schuster announced on Twitter that its Threshold Editions imprint decided to cancel the publication of right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos’ upcoming book Dangerous “after careful consideration.” This statement followed controversy over a surfaced video from January 2016 in which Yiannopoulos appears to condone sexual relations between adult men and boys as young as 13. Simon & Schuster’s announcement came as a surprise to many because of its past support for the book, even after violent protests broke out against him on the UC Berkeley campus on Feb. 1.

Their recent cancellation of the book deal, however, does not excuse the fact that they were willing to overlook his previous hateful comments in the interest of maximizing their pro�its.

Yiannopoulos is well-known for his controversial comments, such as when he claimed that “fat people should be deported,” and that “ rape culture is a fantasy.” Despite his comments, Simon & Schuster continued to support him and the publication of his book. For Simon & Schuster, who paid Yiannopoulos $250,000 for the book deal, the motive was undoubtedly the monetary value of the book, which sold pro�itably even before its actual release. A day after its initial announcement, the large number of pre-sales for the book put it at the top of Amazon’s list of best-selling books.

“I do wish that there were certain publishing companies that would say if your message is hate-�illed or sexist or racist or

PATRICIA WEI//IN MY OPINION

A prized possession: the green card

M

y parents’ green cards are the most prized possessions in our family.

They are the result of seven years of hard work, stress and paperwork. Their green cards signify they are trusted to be contributors to the United States’ growth as permanent residents. Trump’s executive order banning entry to the U.S. from certain countries was shocking because it affected

xenophobic, we’re not the company for you,” said English teacher Maggie Welsh.

“There should be a degree of dignity that a publishing house maintains, if they’re one of the major ones. I hate that they want to do a deal with him be-

R LUST

IC IL

PH GRA

N

CTIO

N SE

INIO

OP N BY

ATIO

many green card holders who have made the U.S. their home for a long time.

Before they got their green cards, my parents used to go on trips to Canada or Mexico every year. I liked to think they were on business trips, �lying �irst class to meet an important client. Instead, they were at the border to renew their work visas. They carried a sleeping bag and loads of paperwork, prepared for the possibility of being denied reentry to the U.S. They took this trip 11 times.

My mom and dad were both on the H1B visa, which meant that as long as they had a valid job and could prove that their company could not �ind an American to hire, my parents could stay in the country.

Border of�icials could use any small detail to deny them entrance back in. For some software engineers like my parents, they would ask them: How much of the project did you code? If the answer was less than 50 percent, they would be rejected.

When I was 4 years old, my dad was hired by a company that agreed to help him apply for a visa, and thus began the seven-year

cause it makes money.”

Simon & Schuster’s support only wavered when the video of Yiannopoulos seemingly defending pedophilia emerged. In the video, Yiannopoulos says, “Pedophilia is not a sexual attraction to somebody 13-yearsold who is sexually mature. Pedophilia is attraction to people who don’t have functioning sex organs yet.” Yiannopoulos later stated in a post on Fa c e b o o k that he believes pedophilia is a “vile and disgusting crime, perhaps the very worst,” but by then the damage had been done.

The resurfacing of this video offered Simon & Schuster an easy way out from all the controversy they had been facing; the company was able to avoid inciting charges of suppressing free speech or having to confront the rage of Yiannopoulos’ millions of followers. Many, however, question the fact that the publisher only drew the line at pedophilia, despite Yiannopoulos’s long history of derogatory comments against minorities, females, members of the LGBTQ+ community and more. Feminist author Roxane Gay, who had previously decided to pull her book from Simon & Schuster after the announcement of Yiannopoulos’s book deal, said on Tumblr, “My protest stands. Simon & Schuster should have never enabled Milo in the �irst place. I see what they are willing to tolerate and I stand against all of it.” Author Mat Johnson asked on Twitter, “So publishing a white supremacist is ok, but pedophilia’s where white publishing draws the line?” Furthermore, author Rigoberto González stated that Simon & Schuster shouldn’t get a gold star for its “disingenuous posturing.”

“I think that indicates that this en-

tire book deal was nothing more than a business proposition,” said senior Shivanee Arun. “If they really cared about the morality of his opinions, they would never have decided to publish his book in the �irst place.

Soon enough, they realized that the pro�it made wouldn’t be worth the con�lict and controversy, so they canceled the book.”

The decision to publish Dangerous has been framed as a free-speech issue from the start, and the book was originally supposed to be “a substantive examination of the issues of political correctness and free speech.” The cancellation of the book deal, however, does not suppress Yiannopoulos’s right to free speech. As Gay says, while Yiannopoulos does have the right to speak his beliefs, “he doesn’t have a right to have a book published by a major publisher, but he [had], in some bizarre twist of fate, been afforded that privilege.”

The free-speech argument was proven to be weak as it is clear that Simon & Schuster was originally willing to overlook his previous comments when deciding to publish his book.

Freedom of speech is not equivalent to freedom from consequences for one’s actions.

“Simon & Schuster’s cancellation of the book deal isn’t necessarily against the First Amendment,” said junior Saniya Doshi. “It’s a private company’s decision to not publish a certain book, which does not mean they are disregarding Yiannopoulos’s freedom of speech. Yiannopoulos is still free to �ind other publishers, self publish, or spread his message through various other platforms.”

The timing of Simon & Schuster’s decision to cancel Yiannopoulos’s book highlights the economic motives of the original book deal. Their refusal to cancel the book despite countless degrading comments toward underrepresented groups proves that this was never a case of free speech; rather, the company was only willing to publish the book if it would make a sizable pro�it.

Yiannopoulos’s book deal was never about promoting freedom of speech and Simon & Schuster should not be praised now for their long overdue decision.

green-card journey.

At �irst, the possibility of becoming a green card holder seemed more of a dream than a reality. During the �inal two years, however, when I was 10, my family eagerly anticipated the arrival of the green cards.

That was when many challenges arose.

My dad’s company restructured, laying off several employees, including him.

Not only did he have to quickly �ind a new job to stay in the country, but if he left the company, he would have to restart the green card process. That would mean another �ive to 10 years in addition to the six years we had already waited.

My dad could not accept this, so he did everything to get another job in the company with another division. When he got it, our family was �illed with relief and joy. To this day, when I feel the odds are stacked against me, I think of my dad’s story and how he gave all he could for that green card.

A few months later, we planned to visit family in China whom we had not seen in over �ive years. We had told everyone about

our trip when an immigration lawyer then informed my dad that, due to a new policy, if he left the country, the green card process would be heavily delayed.

Though my parents badly wanted to see their parents and siblings, they cancelled our �light in order to get their green cards as soon as possible.

Finally, at the end of �ifth grade, my parents received their green card in the mail.

I remember thinking, “They don’t look as green as I imagined.”

That summer, we took our trip to China.

When we stood in line for customs, we were proud to be standing in the U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents line. We had been waiting to do that for seven years.

My mom and dad’s green cards symbolize stability and the sacri�ices they made to live in a country where there are many opportunities for growth and education.

Last year, my dad passed on his sleeping bag to my brother. He still has to take these trips to prove to border of�icials that his contribution is valuable to this country.

Concern over the ethics of creating chimeras

BY MICHYLA LIN

O

n Jan. 26, scientists taking part in The Chimera Project, run by the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, successfully created a human-pig hybrid called a chimera that could be carried by a surrogate sow. While this is viewed by the scienti�ic community as a huge breakthrough, the creation of the chimera resurfaces similar concerns that inspired the 1998 “other stem cell debate,” which expressed concern regarding the moral and ethical issues over the implications of being able to disrupt borders between separate species and to what extent such a creature should be considered human. Modern scientists should understand how ill-prepared society is to handle such a huge unknown in regards to the moral status of the chimera, and how unethical it is to allow the hypothetical bene�its of these experiments to warrant the compromise of any animal’s well being.

Scientists use extracted stem cells to develop new types of treatment for individuals who have damaged tissues that cannot be regenerated naturally by the human body. Similarly, these stem cells are being used to create chimeras in hopes that the resulting creature will be genetically similar enough to humans that their organs can be used to address the shortage of organ donations needed for transplants. New controversies still arise over the combination of animal and human cells.

“Some scientists are completely upset with even a single human cell in a monkey brain,” said Evan Snyder, a neurobiologist who has conducted chimeric experiments. “I don’t have problems with putting in a large percentage of cells—10 or 20 percent—if I felt it could help a patient. It comes down to what percentage of human cells starts making you squirm.”

Scientists have yet to answer several questions regarding the moral status the chimera, such as if an animal is grown with human neurons, or a human heart, would that mean it could have been a human? Or if an animal is grown with a human brain, is it capable of the same cognitive ability and reasoning of a human, but rendered incapable of communicating because it lacks the ability of human speech?

“I don’t think [The Chimera

Project] is something that scientists should value or support,” said freshman Michelle Zemlyak. “I think if you cross those boundaries—the values of what we consider human and the differences between what is human and what is animal—then there is no telling when it will stop, and to what extent it will go in the future.”

Few scientists have stopped to consider that as the border between humans and animals blurs, social practices that depend on a strong distinction will cause moral confusion, as chimeras EVAN SNYDER are essentially being for slaughter NEUROBIOLOGIST raised in the form of organ farming.

Because of these reasons, The Chimera Project has lacked public support and federal funding, relying on private investors to continue their research.

Currently, the experiments can only legally last up until the fourth week of the embryonic development process before they must be removed from the mother pig. Should the experiment be allowed to continue past that stage, scientists would run into several ethical and legal hurdles as the line between whether or not the embryo can be considered

“SOME SCIENTISTS ARE COMPLETELY UPSET WITH EVEN A SINGLE HUMAN CELL IN A MONKEY BRAIN.”

humanlike blurs, raising controversy as scientists have still not considered what the resulting organisms will be like both physically and mentally.

Such experimentation at the expense of animals is not only unethical, but also cruel, as it does not take the well-being of the animals involved into consideration. No amount of human gain can justify the mutilation and suffering of another living creature.

“The possible risks of hurting the animal should be a good enough reason to put in more thought before initiating such experiments,” said junior Shrila Senthil. “I think the idea of [the experiment] sounds unethical enough to know that it’s probably a bad thing.”

Little is known about what will come of the chimera in the future, as far as whether or not it will command the same cognizant ability as us, or even if it will be able to ful�ill its intended purpose as a way to supplement human organs for transplant patients. Despite the possible medical breakthroughs, continued experimentation should be at least postponed if not stopped altogether for the good of the animals involved until more can be discovered about the chimeras themselves and how society’s moral structure will be affected by them.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY JESSICA LI

SADHANA SARMA//IN MY OPINION

Keep your Snapstreaks

I

have never been good at staying active on social media. It’s not that I don’t like or understand it. In fact, I genuinely enjoy using social media and like to think of myself as quite knowledgeable on the subject. Even then, I am still terrible at responding on all mediums. This can prove especially troublesome when it comes to keeping streaks on Snapchat. A streak is formed when you and a friend send each other at least one Snapchat a day, and it keeps a count of how long you can keep this up. The problem with streaks is that their existence makes my already unacceptable response times an even greater issue.

After thinking about it repeatedly, I’ve come to the conclusion that my habits of responding hours later and taking only one photo to send to all contacts with whom I have streaks (the horrendous “mass snap”) originates from a horrible tendency to respond in my head and forget to actually respond. This most often occurs when I am mindlessly looking at my phone as I am doing other tasks.

On Snapchat, there is no way to go back to a message you have already opened, so when the time �inally comes where I realize how many people I have forgotten to respond to, there is no way for me to remember what they had said. Here’s where the “mass snap” comes into play. I am quite guilty of the “mass snap,” even though I know how heinous a crime it really is. Yet, with the never ending cycle of forgetting to respond, there is little other option than for me to snapchat everybody in the last moments before the streaks end.

I remember a time when I was doing some homework and received a snapchat from one of the friends I have a streak with, but I told myself I still had time to respond before our streak would die and that homework was more important. As time went on my hand eventually gravitated toward my phone. I opened my messages one at a time, responding super cleverly to each one in my head, again telling myself that I could respond a little later since I had time before our streak would die. However, after looking through all my Snapchats, I couldn’t remember what each person had said and, had to come up with one response that seemed personal to each snap I had receieved. Upon crafting and sending a sel�ie with the caption: “nice!!” I soon received a response from an angered friend saying, “I ask you for the homework and you respond with ‘nice!!’?!” One would think instances like this would make me more careful, but no. I never change.

Sometimes I think I should just give up.

Even if I do end up keeping a streak, both of us are just anticipating the moment where I goof up and lose it for the hundredth time. Snapchat, however, remains something I cannot give up entirely. The pressure to keep in touch helps create strong bonds with my friends. Both receiving and sending snapchats have also proven to be a great source of entertainment, like when I captured my mom and dad having a hula hoop competition (yes, that really happened), and I have no option but to record the moment and send it to everyone I know. Moments like these are what keep me from deleting the app. Yes, there are a lot of somewhat meaningless snaps along the way, consisting of oh so many gang signs and black screens saying “OOPS STREAKS!”, but those are followed by snapchats that I just wouldn’t want to miss. To all the people I snapchat, I am truly sorry for my weak Snapchat game. If I send you a video of my parents having a hula hoop competition soon, can we call it even?

Possible H-1B visa reforms harm tech industry

BY MEHEK KAPUR

T

he H-1B visa has, in recent years, become a popular way for skilled people from foreign countries to work in the U.S. It offers foreign professionals the opportunity to live and work in the U.S. for three to six years and is quicker to acquire than a green card.

85,000 out of 200,000 applicants are selected each year. With the recent immigration bans proposed by President Trump from various African and Middle-Eastern countries, however, current holders and seekers of the H-1B visa from countries without a travel ban fear that their visas may be denied or taken away from them. A bill to reform the visas, which would cause employers to have to double their pay to foreigners, is also being considered. These decisions would

be a blow to not only holders and seekers of the H-1B, but also to the tech companies that rely on foreign talent.

Within the Silicon Valley, many employees of tech companies such as Google or Apple came to the U.S. on an H-1B visa. According to Fortune, over half of all privately held companies within the U.S. worth $1 billion or more have at least one founder who arrived on an H-1B visa originally. Each founder created roughly 760 U.S. jobs within their companies.

“These immigrants bring ideas and mindsets from all around the world and that’s why the Silicon Valley is such a hub of innovation,” said junior Anushka Srivastava. “It brings in so many different perspectives and incorporated with technology,

it’s what makes this place so unique.”

There are many other similar visas to foreigners within the tech community that are in danger of being taken away, including the J-1 visa for summer work travel, the E-2 visa allowing investors to enter the U.S. and the OPT visa which lets international students remain after graduating from college.

“All of the potential that the H1-B visa holders bring to the U.S. in terms of development and design, it’s really just phenomenal.” said Sujeet Vasudevan, an engineer who originally immigrated to the U.S. on an H1-B visa. “A workforce from out of the country is de�initely needed on an ongoing basis to address the needs of the market.”

If these visas were taken away, it would affect the local and national technology community drastically. Many large companies such as Google, Apple and Facebook �ill positions in their

companies with foreign workers who, when compared with American engineers, bring fresh perspectives with different talents. If the bill is to merely reform, not ban, H-1B visa passes, corporations will be required to pay foreign workers twice as much; instead of a starting salary of $60,000, they’d have to have a starting salary of $130,000. This would force companies to either pay an astounding amount for foreign workers, something that would make their pro�its take a dive, or give those jobs to American workers who may not be as quali�ied.

If H-1B visas were removed or reformed, it would be to the overall detriment of the U.S. Although it may open up more space for American workers to �ill jobs, it would drastically hurt the economy, take opportunities away from foreigners and deprive companies of the talent brought to them by foreigners who have a different skill set from American workers. These visas can bring a fresh perspective to companies in today’s fast-moving modern age.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY MICHYLA LIN

Senior gown dispute reveals a gap between staff and students

T

he controversy over the administration’s decision to implement all navy graduation gowns evolved into a heated debate between the administration and senior students, with many students petitioning against the administration’s decision. The emergence of this problem, which originated from the legality of having students identify their gender through the color of their gowns, re�lects a problem on a much larger scale—the gap in communication between the administration and the students.

The administration sent out a survey to Lynbrook seniors through Schoolloop in order to solicit their opinions on whether or not they would like to switch to all navy gowns. Out of the 453 seniors, less than 70 seniors responded to the survey, with the vote split 50/50.

“I interpreted the lack of response to the survey—less than 70 people out of 400—as that it must not have been a big deal,” said Anne Butterworth, Assistant Principal of Activities and Athletics. “I know that if something is a big deal here then students talk about it, so my interpretation was that it didn’t matter that much to people.”

In addition to the unresponsiveness of students, those who responded in favor of the change proved to be much more emphatic about their reasons for switching to all navy gowns, illustrating that many students valued the administration’s proposal for greater inclusion within the student body. As a result, an email was sent out stating that all students would now be wearing navy gowns.

Staff Editorial The Voice of the Epic “I received such passionate responses about ‘thank you’s’ and how important it was and how honored people felt that we were thinking about inclusivity since sometimes on campus [those that supported the change] didn’t feel included,” said Butterworth. “I was surprised by those student responses, because I didn’t lay out in the email about the gender inclusivity in the survey, so when students were able to express, in words, how that made them feel better, that was really important.”

This controversy essentially stemmed from the administration and the student body failing to adequately communicate with each other. The administration did not clearly state the importance the survey, as they did not clarify whether or not serious change would be implemented as a result of the survey. As a result, many students easily brushed the survey aside, thinking that their input would not have a great impact on the situation.

“I think the administration should have brought more awareness to the survey because following the decision, many of the students didn’t even know there was a survey,” said senior Eunice Kan. “Even then, according to the administration, the results of the survey was 50/50 which meant that changing the gowns to all navy would have upset half of

the people who took the survey. The administration should have come up with more solutions to the problem so the Class of 2017 could decide on which one was the best.”

The students, however, did not provide this input when the survey was sent out due to a lack of frequent use of the school-issued email, and only 15 percent of the entire senior class responded to it, demonstrating a need for improvement on their part as well.

“This situation has brought up questions because Schoolloop is our primary way of being able to communicate with students,” said Butterworth. “We do not have access to everybody’s personal email, and I’m not sure how to �ix this but I’d like to hear the student solutions of how to best communicate with them.”

To prevent similar issues from happening in the future, important decisions such as this one should be presented to classrooms by allotting time during homeroom for students to take surveys regarding certain issues. Similarly to how ASB asks for surveys about the Sadies dance and new classes for next year,

these surveys will prevent a lack of participation, and will thus allow the data collected to be more accurate in terms of wholly representing the student body.

Lynbrook administration should also clarify the importance of future surveys to ensure that the students are adequately represented and that enough information is collected for the board to make an informed decision. Students must also develop the habit of frequently checking their school emails, as it is their responsibility to be aware of the implementation of potential changes and to voice their opinions if they wish to see changes made in the system.

By enforcing these solutions, it will be possible to effectively close the breach in communication between the administration and the students, and thus reach a compromise or consensus that accurately represents Lynbrook. *the Epic staff voted 28-0 in favor of this stance

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY OPINION SECTION

Home of Hope games for education I

n India, where 35 percent of the rural population is illiterate and opportunities are hard to come by for the most impoverished children, $1,000 can mean much more for education than it does in America. It can provide a child with a high school education, which often means the difference between the ability to rise and stagnancy in social class. Lynbrook Home of Hope’s (HOH) mission is to help such underprivileged children by raising money for their education, dollar by dollar.

Run by junior Rahul Khare and sophomores Amol Singh, Amritanshu Ranjan, Arjun Kaushik, Arnav Gupta, Ashwin Pasupathy, Gaurav Vipat, Hansen Lillemark, Rohan Goel, Roopak Phatak, Swethak Annamaneni, Varun Agrawal and Sakin Kirti, Lynbrook HOH is a chapter of Home of Hope, a California-based nonpro�it that aids communities in India. According to its website, Home of Hope’s mission is to “provide educational opportunities to empower disadvantaged and underprivileged youth to become self-sustaining adults of tomorrow.”

The students became interested in creating Lynbrook HOH when Kirti was contacted by Home of Hope’s founder, Dr. Nilima Sabharwal. Kirti then asked his friends to join in.

“There is a big social divide between the rich and the poor in India, which most kids don’t notice. When I travel to India and see how some kids are not allowed to

go to school, it always amazes me because it’s the law to go to school [in America],” said Kirti. “I’m thankful that I am able to go to school, and I want to make sure that underprivileged and disadvantaged youth are also given the skills and encouragement they need to become self-sustaining adults.”

To raise money, Lynbrook HOH hosts a League of Legends tournament around winter break in February e a c h y e a r.

To u r n a ments were h e l d on Feb. 18 and F e b .

25 this y e a r.

A p proxim a t e ly 70 people participated, each contributing a $5 fee to Lynbrook HOH. Lynbrook HOH also hosts booths at local festivals, such as the Cherry Blossom Festival, where they display posters and run carnival games to fundraise and raise awareness about their cause.

Lynbrook HOH raised $1,500 in total last year, and it is aiming to reach $3,500 this year. All funds help children in India, espe-

cially disabled children, orphans and girls, who may not have as many opportunities as others because of negative perceptions of these groups in society.

“If you look at the situation children in India are in, a lot of these kids don’t even have clean water or a running septic system. A lot of them sleep on the streets. Some of them eat out of trash. What Home of Hope is trying to do is trying to establish orphanages and such, where children c a n sleep a n d drink w a t e r,” s a i d Khare.

“The orphanages also do their best to provide the kids with educational opportunities, such as access to computers, textbooks and teachers. Often, special education is given to those with disabilities.”

Additionally, students from the U.S. who raise money for Home of Hope are given the opportunity to personally provide aid in India. Once every two or three years, they can travel to India to work with Home of Hope GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY JUSTINE CHEN

BY MICHELLE LUM

there. Members of Lynbrook HOH intend to one day participate in this program.

“I’m raising money here, but there’s just a different feeling about going to another country and with your own two hands, personally helping someone,” said Kirti. “I would get a sense of accomplishment, and I would be able to see exactly how life in a third world country is. I would feel so proud to be able to see where the money we raise goes.”

Lynbrook HOH hopes to expand to more of the local community by reaching out to students at Fremont Union High School District schools. Additionally, it is planning on organizing walkathons at elementary schools in the Cupertino Union School District in May, where all proceeds would go toward their cause.

“This organization actually hits home perfectly with a lot of us here. Not only does it have a great cause, helping disenfranchised youth, but in addition to that, it’s helping places where we have family and where our ancestors have come from,” said Singh. “We visit India every couple of years, and we see the immense inequality of wealth and education there, and so, to know that we’re making an impact in a place in the world that needs it, is very, very special to us.”

In this world where so much importance is placed on knowledge, gaining an education is invaluable. By providing a means for disadvantaged children to receive an education, Lynbrook HOH brings hope for a better future.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY FEATURES SECTION

How to prepare for a successful future after Lynbrook 3. Develop a routine Rather than doing your work during the ungodly hours of the night, getting your work done the day it’s assigned prove to be more fruitful. Write down your upcoming events in a calendar, and make sure you have an idea of what your day wll be like. Don’t blow off your agenda by saying “I’ll do it eventually,” until eventually becomes never; instead do it as soon as you can. Your pro�iciency at procrastination isn not something you would want to write down on your college applications alongside all your other accomplishments.

BY SRINIDHI SESHADRI 1. Get organized Many adults credit organization as part of their strategy in being successful. As you near adulthood, the number of things that you need to get done may appear to increase rapidly. To keep yourself in check, make to-do lists on your phone or use some sticky notes somewhere outside of your English class.

Either way, you can gain that satisfaction of crossing something off a list when you reply to that email you’ve been putting off forever.

2. Establish a budget Becoming an adult requires handling money and other �inances. That might sound great right now but once you realize that you only have a few dollars left to feed yourself and you’re still a month away from your next paycheck, you might not feel the same way.

Although setting a budget does not sound fun, it’ll de�initely help you out. Instead of spending all your money on daily trips to TeaTop and Chipotle, take some time out of your morning to pack a homemade lunch.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY KELSEY LU

4. Set realistic goals Another way to prepare yourself for adulthood is to set realistic goals. Don’t treat your life goals like your New Year’s resolutions and forget about their existence. For example, don’t make ‘running a marathon’ your goal for the month if the most running you’ve done recently is from your car to �irst period when you’re late. Also, make sure to take breaks between your period of hard work, but keep in mind “one more episode” of your Net�lix marathon can lead to ten.

FUHSD to host job fair

BY ERIC WU

Trips to India

O

ver Christmas break, I had the “pleasure” of going back to the motherland to attend my cousin’s marriage.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love the opportunity to see my friends and family again and India is a beautiful place (sometimes) teeming with culture and personality, but the process of getting there is the bane of my existence.

For me, the “adventure” begins well before I even board the plane. You see, I have a lot of relatives; about enough to make up an entire village or the Indian equivalent of a redneck trailer park. I doubt that my parents know half the people in the village, but word spreads far and fast when people hear about American relatives coming back to visit.

Requests to bring candies, authentic “American” chocolates and toys pile up, but buying Ghirardelli for an entire village is infeasible. So, we go for the closest thing to real authentic “American” chocolates at our local Costco and buy those giant bags of chocolates en masse to distribute to the masses. As for the toys, there is the “Indian Circle of Life” which we can thank for meeting those demands at a fairly cheap price. Usually, India exports cheap, plastic toys to the U.S. which are then sold at dollar stores all over. The point of this cycle is to buy these types of toys and bring them back as gifts for the children. The point of it isn’t that they’re made in India, they can be made anywhere as long as they don’t cost a lot. After buying all those gifts, the next challenge is �itting them into a few suitcases and still keeping them under 50 pounds.

Each person typically gets one carry-on bag and two checked bags for these long �lights.

And for a family of four, it is still a struggle with 12 available bags. If you see a family at the check-in booth of an airport opening up their suitcases and throwing stuff away or stuf�ing them into their backpacks, they are probably going to India.

Once we somehow actually make it onto the plane, there’s a 20 hour �light standing between you and a mosquito �illed “vacation.” International �lights are cool; they have the latest movies and tons of apple juice and soda.

However, there are a couple problems with me and airplanes; I am 6’4” and suffer from extreme motion sickness. My legs are so long that the person in front of me basically has a massage chair. And sometimes, they get a little too relaxed and recline their seat all the way back and cut off what little blood �low I had left.

If that wasn’t bad enough, just sitting in a moving vehicle makes me want to throw up. Closing my eyes and taking deep breaths helps me feel better but crying babies and obnoxious seat neighbors who hog the shared armrests or recline their seat all the way back make it very dif�icult to relax.

After an eternity, I look up and see that only 30 minutes have passed and there are still 19 and a half more eternities to go.

While in India, I was plagued with mosquito bites and food poisoning but I got to see my relatives, so it was worth it. I would say, however, that the best part of the entire trip was the KFC. I am vegetarian, so I would say that the KFC’s here in the U.S. are somewhat limited in their options; but (oh boy) in India, they have this one vegetarian burger that was so good...until that gave me food poisoning too. My cousin’s wedding was pretty fun, though.

Peace out, Shiva Vemireddy

O

n Mar. 22, a job fair will be held at Homestead High School’s cafeteria from 4:30p.m. to 6:30p.m. The event is being organized by Lynbrook sophomores Kuhu Mathur and Emily Zhang, three Homestead students and FUHSD Foundation Board Member Sansui Tandun. The fair will feature various jobs ranging from retail work at local businesses to tutoring at educational facilities, where students can gain valuable work experience.

Tandun proposed the idea of a job fair to the Foundation Board at the beginning of the year, hoping to use his experience as a father and a recruiter for Apple to organize it. When his children were in high school, Tandun helped them build their resumes in order to apply for their �irst jobs. As an Apple employee, Tandun travels to many universities recruiting prospective students who may be interested in a future at the company.

This year, Tandun hosted workshops at several Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) conferences where he recruited Mathur and Zhang. Along with the three other Homestead student recruits, the team of �ive students and Tandun planned the job fair with a vision of creating an event where students in the FUHSD district could be exposed to opportunities in the real world.

“What we wanted to do was help students gain career experience,” said Tandun.

“When I proposed the idea, the Board was very open to it. One of the events we really wanted to organize was a job fair.”

Being on the team itself has also been an enlightening experience for Mathur and Zhang. Interacting with businesses has been a new experience that will help in both their future professional lives.

“As part of the work that I do along with the rest of the team, I’ve outreached to various companies and people in the Bay Area,” said Zhang. “This has allowed me to

improve my communication skills and build strong connections with students and organizations within the community.”

Mathur strongly encourages students from all around FUHSD to take advantage of this opportunity and �ind real work experience with the businesses and organizations that will be present at the fair.

“Getting a job can really help students get out of their comfort zone, doing something other than being in school,” said Mathur.

Before attending the fair, Mathur also recommends that students be well prepared in order to get the most out of the experience.

“Students who plan to attend should bring their resumes, or start creating one,” said Mathur. “[They] should also know what they want or have in mind what kind of opportunities that they are looking for.”

In the future, Mathur and Zhang hope to not only organize the event successfully, but expand their impact on the community through workshops, speaker events and larger job fairs.

ESHANI MEHTA—EPIC

Healthy food substitutions

BY KELSEY LU

M

arch is a time when people are either struggling to keep up with their New Year’s resolution of being healthier or have already broken it. Though there are many ways to eat healthier, the so-called “healthiest” foods and recipes may either be too expensive or too time-consuming to prepare. There are many substitutes for junk foods that are healthy yet delicious. All it takes is an open mind and motivation for clean eating.

Breakfast A typical bowl of milk and cereal might be tasty, but it’s also full of empty sugar and carbs. A simple substitute for this meal is overnight oats, a quick and simple breakfast food that contains less sugar than cereal and is also customizable. Oatmeal itself is a great breakfast food with its soluble and insoluble �ibers and other important minerals. To make this dish, put oats in a liquid of your choice, such as milk or water, and

Breakfast

refrigerate overnight. In the morning, these oats will be ready for you to eat on your daily commute. If you want a healthy substitute for white sugar to adjust your oats for taste, add some fresh fruit, brown sugar or honey.

Entree Though a bowl of steaming white rice is a staple in many homes, it lacks nutrients as well as calories. A great substitute for white rice is quinoa, which is high in protein and contains more �iber than many other grains.

It also contains iron, lysine, magnesium and manganese. Adding fresh vegetables like kale or baked cauli�lower will provide your veggies for the day, and adding black beans or white meat will help you get the protein you need. Add a pinch of salt for that �inishing touch!

Snack Eating a bowl of chips while watching television sounds relaxing, but chips contain low nutrients and are high in cholesterol. A healthier alternative for this crunchy, salty snack is popcorn! When I say popcorn, I means plain popcorn with your choice of

Entree

Snack

toppings: some examples are a sprinkle of salt or a drizzle of dark chocolate. Popcorn is one of the only snacks that is made up of 100 percent whole grain and packed with �iber, antioxidants and vitamin B. Also, a cup of plain popcorn contains only 31 calories.

Dessert Even if you’re full after eating an entire meal, there’s always room for dessert. Thinking about the calorie and sugar overload a typical dessert contains might make it harder to take a big bite of that creamy ice cream. A great alternative for sugary desserts is Greek yogurt bark.

Greek yogurt is an excellent source of calcium, potassium, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12 and contains more protein than milk.

The probiotics in this yogurt help boost your immune system and can relieve stomach aches. You can easily make greek yogurt bark by spreading the yogurt onto wax paper and adding fresh fruits or other toppings, then freezing the bark overnight. It’s a simple dessert recipe that’s great for hot summer days.

dessert KELSEY LU—EPIC

Ever since its launch in 2000, the Adidas Superstar sneaker has found its place among celebrities, fashion bloggers and on the streets.

Its popularity comes from its versatility as an easy-to-style sneaker. While the brand’s most popular style remains the white canvas Superstar featuring Adidas’s signature black stripes, buyers are also able to customize the colors of the stripes, shell toe, lining and more. With a basic silhouette, Superstars can be easily styled more athleisurely with leggings and a tank—or if you want to amplify your streetwear game, a leather skirt and chunky sweater. Many men choose to wear their Superstars with joggers and a sweatshirt under a jacket, or simply with jeans and a button up shirt. Superstars can be paired with all items of clothing for a casual touch, but if you don’t like their striped look, you can always opt for another one of Adidas’s popular fashion shoes: Stan Smiths.

outfit details: • v-neck olive tee • gray slim joggers • Adidas Superstar sneakers in original white

Leggings are often overlooked in a wardrobe. Plain and black, they can be worn everywhere, with the same pieces—crop top, leggings and Converse, or with gym shoes and a tank. Besides this basic route, another easy way to wear leggings is to style them with an off shoulder draped top and lacedup �lats. You can also dress them up with a nice blouse, a stylish bomber jacket and heeled booties. It’s the same formula with a top, pants and shoes but makes for a more interesting out�it casual enough to wear to school as well as easy enough to dress up for a night out. For colder mornings, pair them with an oversized sweater or a trench coat to achieve a cute yet cozy look. Leggings are also extremely comfortable, so you’ll never feel the need to rush home to change out of that uncomfortable out�it during that night out. There’s no need to sacri�ice comfort for style!

outfit details: • canary yellow offshoulder top • charcoal leggings • electric pink laced up flats

New looks to try out for spring 2017

BY CHLOE LAI

B

race yourself, spring 2017 is coming! This is a new season to refresh old trends in

your wardrobe with pieces you commonly wear, such as leggings, button-down shirts, boots or sneakers. With barely a month until the sun comes out and temperatures are warm enough to ditch your thick sweaters

and coats, here are some pointers for different ways to wear items you probably already own. Just because it is a new time of the year, doesn’t mean you have to abandon your old wardrobe and spend all your hard-earned al-

Over the last decade, masculine elements have integrated themselves as an important aspect of women’s fashion, with the “borrowed from the boys” look steadily gaining popularity hand-in-hand with the athleisure trend. Commonly worn by men either plain with jeans or as a jacket over a shirt, the buttoned up shirt is a classic that can be dressed up or down. For women, a favorite is a partially buttoned chambray shirt paired with a skinny scarf and midi skirt with suede pumps. This is a fun combination because instead of going for a skater skirt or mini, midi skirts have a cute A-line cut that stops under your knees. If you have an especially long dress shirt, wrap a thick belt around your waistline for a makeshift dress. You can also wear a dress shirt with a pair of ripped jeans, slightly tucked in for a put-together casual look. Paired with suede pumps, the whole out�it gives a very feminine and ladylike touch.

My personal favorite: ankle boots! We saw them bloom last year, and this new year is no exception. With such a wide range to choose from, it’s impossible not to like ankle booties.

There are moto style boots that are a little edgier with a thick heel and more boyish cut, and there are elegant stiletto heels as well for those who prefer a touch of luxe. This �lattering cut can be worn with anything from miniskirts to pants to shorts to maxis. On a casual night out, you could wear a triangle bralette under a mesh tee with distressed jeans and ankle boots or tailored shorts with a tube top under a trench coat. Ankle boots go with virtually anything, so you can just toss on some leggings and an oversized sweater and be well on your way to school, or put on a simple skater dress with leggings underneath for a girl’s night out.

lowances on new items. With these layering tricks, style suggestions and new ways to wear your old favorites, rock your closet with a new twist!

outfit details: • ankle boots outfit details: • maroon button-up • triangle bralette • mesh tee • white v-neck tee • distressed jeans • blue gray jeans • choker • chukka boots

ART ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHLOE LAI

Exploring the science of introversion A deep look into the typical qualities and causes of shyness

BY NOELA BAE AND DIVYA NELAKONDA

include the inability to quickly warm up to new environments, the avoidance of stranglittle girl hides behind her mother, ers or authority �igures and the incapacity to reluctant to leave her side on the expand comfort zones. “[There is a classmate I know who] keeps �irst day of preschool. She clings to her mother’s jeans, hoping to avoid to himself a lot. He stays alone, does not talk the thirty pairs of eyes staring directly at too much and is often scared about what othher. This steadfast reluctance of hers is an ers think of him,” said junior David Malagon. expression of shyness, the apprehension “I think this is because shy people don’t felt when approached by others. Shyness know how to act around new people, espeis exhibited by people of all ages and is cially in a classroom environment; they don’t found in several forms, including hesita- want to have people think they’re weird or tion, self-consciousness and nervousness. too awkward.”

Contrary to popular belief, shyness can be Shyness cannot be attributed to a single cause but is rather the result of a advantageous in particular social climates. multitude of events that often stem from Though at times their lack of participation in childhood experiences. Too much criti- conversation can come off as being distant, shy people tend to be cism and teasing at a more attentive listeners. young age, for example, may prompt chil- “WE ARE JUST KIND OF NATU- Having paid such close when they do dren to believe that RALLY PREDISPOSED TO WANT- attention, choose to speak, they others dislike them.

Inconsistent parent- ING TO BE IN CONNECTION are able to hold higher conversations. ing and lack of parent- WITH OTHER HUMANS. AND quality child interactions may WHEN WE DON’T HAVE THOSE Shy people also tend to further contribute to CONNECTIONS, IT CAN ABSO- be more empathetic; children’s shyness: in- LUTELY LEAD TO PHYSICAL AND the sensitivity that shyness often entails can consistent parenting EMOTIONAL ISSUES.” contribute to a better may cause children to feel insecure and MADISON DENNIS understanding of human a lack of parent-child VOYAGER’S THERAPIST emotion and a more compassionate state of mind. interactions may in“From what I’ve seen, �luence children to perceive themselves as irrelevant. Child- people who are more introverted and spend hood experiences such as these often more time alone tend to be more observant account for low self-esteem and inferior- people,” said Voyager’s therapist Madison ity complexes, both of which are direct Dennis. “They also can have a lot of selfawareness because they spend that time causes of shyness.

A common misconception about the really re�lecting on themselves. They have cause of shyness is that it is an inherited those qualities that they bring to the table, trait. There is no direct evidence that sup- which I think is often not valued enough in ports this claim, but there is suf�icient our society and should be valued a lot more.”

Furthermore, it is possible for many shy evidence that humans can be born with inhibited temperament, a common aspect people to eventually open up to their peers of shyness, which is the tendency to ex- and family. In these cases, shyness acts as a perience distress when confronted with vehicle that allows individuals to barricade unfamiliar situations. According to Dr. Je- themselves from social interactions with othrome Kagan of Harvard University, 15 to ers around them.

“I know someone who’s shy and when 20 percent of infants are born with this I �irst started talking to them, they backed behavioral trait.

While shyness varies from person to away from me. As we started to create a lot person, there are general commonalities of conversation, however, I got to know them that shy people share. Such similarities a lot better and how much more open they

A

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY MICHYLA LIN

for an extended period of time, feelings of loneliness may induce several negative mental and physical consequences, such as the rise of stress hormones and blood pressure, undermining the management of the circulatory system.

“As humans, we are just kind of naturally predisposed to wanting to be in connection with other humans,” said Dennis.

“And when we don’t have those connections, it can absolutely lead to physical and emotional issues. But it looks different in everybody.”

As individuals are provided with increasing social opportunities throughout their high school years and beyond, coming out of one’s shell may be quite dif�icult, as opening up to new people in unfamiliar situations is a challenge that many face. It is therefore worthwhile to consider both the advantages and downsides of shyness and examine how it is caused.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE LUM

could be,” said sophomore Indali Bora. “So being shy was like a shield before getting to know them.”

While shyness can be a positive quality in certain situations, it often proves to have consequences as well. Shy people face cognitive obstructions and are often unable to think or speak clearly in front of unfamiliar people. Consequently, they may come across as aloof or snobbish due to their unwillingness to partake in small talk, which increases their unapproachability. Additionally, the self-awareness that shy people typically possess can often cause them to over-analyze their behavior, which can lead to an eventual loss of self-con�idence.

In certain extreme cases, a lack of social activity that results from shyness may eventually lead to isolation. Human beings are considered social animals, and when they realize that they are deprived of relationships, they may face loneliness. If present

Defying authority figures and conformity An investigation of the characteristics of teenage rebellion

BY ESHANI MEHTA AND WILLIAM GUO

T

eenage life is not without its trials and tribulations as children transition into adulthood. This phase is infamous for the turbulent nature that some teens adopt and is often called the “rebellious phase.”

The most common types of teenage rebellion are against adult authorities and against conformity.

Rebellion in the early years of high school typically manifests itself as a way to create a sense of independence from authority and allows individuals to experiment with identity.

As teenagers progress toward adulthood, rebellion is often one last attempt for liberation from dependence

on parental authority.

“I think teenage years can be a really interesting set of years in terms of growth and development,” said guidance counselor Shana Howden. “It’s almost the �irst time since you’re very young that you actually grow in your level of independence. I think that combination of the increase in freedom and the increase in independence in addition to all of that growth and change brought on by puberty and adolescence can bring on some of those rebellious behaviors.”

From telling a white lie to running away from home, people express rebellious behavior in different ways. Both at home and in school, students become more likely to question authority and feel the need to rebel against situations

AURELIA YANG — EPIC

or rules they do not agree with.

“Often times a teacher will say that there is a certain mode of doing something that he or she believes is best,” said senior Danlin Lillemark. “If I think there is a better option, I’ll do that instead because I want to do what works for me.”

As their level of independence grows, teenagers feel more capable of making decisions for themselves, and no longer �ind it necessary to consult their parents or other authority �igures when they are determined to do something.

“I got a tattoo because I thought that it encapsulated a theme in my life well, but I still haven’t told my parents,” said senior Foccacia Aston*. “The relationship that we have is pretty good, and they’re pretty accepting of most things.

In this case, they were pretty adamantly against the idea but I got it anyway because it was my body, and I liked the message behind the tattoo. I thought it was my personal decision because it didn’t affect them, and it wasn’t something they should have jurisdiction over.”

Teenagers also start to develop their own values as they are exposed to new environments and situations, and are no longer content with blindly adopting their parents’ beliefs. This is especially true when parents try to impose strong opinions onto their children. A study published in the British Journal of Political Science found that parents who are insistent that their children adopt their political views inadvertently in�luence their children to abandon those views once they become adults. This research can be applied to views other than political ones as well.

“Certain things to my parents are obscene so things that they aren’t familiar with, like relationships, they just reject completely,” said junior Raj Mehta. “I obviously differed with them on that, and eventually they found out. I respect my parents for their views, and that was especially true when I was a kid because I held their expectations up so high. As I grew up, however, I found myself challenging them more and more.”

Though acts of de�iance typically stem from one individual, they can affect all aspects of life, from relationships to personal well-being. Parent-child relationships are usually most affected by teenage rebellion; breaking parents’ rules and refusing to listen to reason can

result in the loss of parental trust.

Extreme rebellious behavior such as substance abuse can also impact one’s personal health and well-being.

Not all rebellious behavior, however, has a negative impact. Rebellion, to some degree, is a way for teenagers to try new things, connect with new people and grow in terms of maturity.

“Rebellion helps you think differently and makes it so that you don’t have to conform to everything,” said Lillemark. “Like Mark Zuckerberg dropping out of college to create Facebook, doing unconventional things can lead to accomplishments.”

There are measures that both parents and teens can take to ensure that such behavior does not result in dangerous outcomes. Jane Nelsen, the author of Positive Discipline for Teenagers, explains that teenage rebellion can often be combated by having joint problem-solving sessions, where both parents and teens identify issues and brainstorm mutually agreed solutions. Nelsen also states that children usually come back to parents’ values if they have been treated with kindness, �irmness and faith during their rebellion phase.

“I’m a big proponent of talking everything through,” said Howden. “My advice for parents is to treat teens with that respect. Not that parents have to explain every decision to their child, but must understand that the teen is part of the family, and you want them to understand where a decision is coming from, so everyone feels respected, and hopefully the relationships are stronger that way.”

Understanding the causes of teenage rebellion and learning how to communicate effectively to avoid such behavior from reaching extremes can help stop this natural phase from making long-lasting effects on a family’s relationship.

Although rebellious behavior can sometimes lead to dangerous consequences, small acts of rebellion are natural in teenage years and can be combatted by communication and empathy on behalf of both parents and teens. *name kept anonymous for privacy reasons

MOTIVATION| Factors that perpetuate activity continued from MOTIVATION page 1 “I’ve brie�ly taught in Independence High School, and there was one boy who chronically came late because he was working a night shift at Safeway, and there was an another girl who had to take care of her baby,” said Levin.

“Their priority was family, not educational achievement.

Here at Lynbrook, our sacri�ices and priorities are different. Most students here don’t carry those kinds of responsibilities, so they are freed up to focus on academics.”

For those who come from low-income families, their parents often cannot afford to provide them with higher education after high school; thus, college attendance is not guaranteed.

These students may have a desire to get out of their hometown, and make their own living. Some may not be motivated to maintain their grades, or even attend school, due to their �inancial situations. Because of their environment, their motives for attending school and forging relationships are different.

“I can say from personal experience that families sometimes struggle with so many hardships that, sometimes, meeting basic life necessities is the priority,” said Goldstein. “For these students, the idea of going to college may be a dream, but may take second to trying to survive.”

While in America schooling is commonly seen as the main-

stream route toward success, in certain countries it is regard- their studies. High school is seen more as a mean for acceped as perhaps the only path for a prosperous future. Students tance into a top university rather than a learning experience. in other countries experience varying levJunior Katherine Kim comels of pressure; the factors that motivate pares her experiences going to them to do well in school would differ as school in Korea with Lynbrook. a result. For example, in Asian countries, “FAMILIES SOMETIMES STRUG“We can decide our classes, and students’ choices are limited, as there are GLE WITH SO MANY HARDSHIPS you can listen to the ones you want few seemingly “prestigious” universities. THAT, SOMETIMES, MEETING to learn,” said Kim. “[In Korea,] the “Everyone’s more dedicated to studying are the same in every BASIC LIFE NECESSITIES IS THE schedules in China,” said junior Catherine Jin, who has grade, you all have to learn the same lived in Beijing for most of her life. “Get- PRIORITY. FOR THESE STU- thing, even if you’re not interested. ting a good score is your only way to col- DENTS, THE IDEA OF GOING [Colleges] basically just look at your lege. You have to do well in the �inal exam TO COLLEGE MAY BE A DREAM, grades so you only have to study hard.” or your future is going to be very dark, as BUT MAY TAKE SECOND TO TRYBecause everyone’s backgrounds difno company is going to accept people befer, there will always be a reason for why ING TO SURVIVE.” low a certain degree. In Lynbrook, people their educational experiences would be study for their self development versus MALISSA GOLDSTEIN different compared to another’s. Eduin China, that’s like their only way out.”

GUIDANCE COUNSELOR cational opportunities vary from comFurthermore, in many Asian countries, munity to community and motivating students have limited choices in terms of oneself to build relationships and study courses and extracurriculars. Grades are hard depends on one’s living conditions heavily emphasized and are of utmost importance regard- as well. Although every student occasionally wishes to sleep ing college acceptance, so instead of exploring non-academic in and forget about school for a while, these factors motivate opportunities, students are encouraged to focus wholly on students to make the most out of their high school experience.

Exploring the workings of the sleep cycle

BY PATRICIA WEI

As the mind relaxes during sleep, the body does not stop working. During sleep, the body works to clear the mind by repairing used neurons and exercising neural connections. Sleep allows the brain to function socially and emotionally while a person is awake. In a single night, the brain is capable of entering several different stages of sleep to repair organs, build cells and store memories. In these stages of sleep, the brain enters different states of activity, affecting both the mind and the body.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY PATRICIA WEI

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY THE SPORTS SECTION

Breakdance club gains attention with their gravity-defying moves

BY MEERA BALAJI

C

lad in white tee shirts and Adidas soccer pants, the members of Lynbrook Bboy Club held a captivating performance at the blacklight rally in January 2017 that captured the attention of the student body. From changing formations to astonishing dance moves, the club has gained more exposure through their rally performance. While Lynbrook is home to many different clubs, Bboy Club is rather unique, as it focuses solely on break dancing and creates a friendly environment for members to practice and learn.

Through performances during Club Info Night and rallies, the club has become a prominent dance club on campus.

Many see these dance moves, inspired by moves from martial arts and gymnastics, as impressive feats, since they require strength and �lexibility.

Junior Ravi Varma is one of the of�icers of Bboy Club, and he has been excited to see the club gain popularity this year.

“This year we wanted to reach out more and get more involved. We did a performance at this year’s Blacklight Rally,”

said Varma. “During our meetings, people usually come, turn on the music, and just start going at it.”

To show how much they have grown as dancers, club members hold dance battles on each others’ birthday, where the birthday dancer will battle with seven other people; the dancer with the best routine and moves wins the competition. During meetings, students learn new dance moves alongside their fellow members and improve what they have already learned.

“People either want to further perfect a move, or learn a new one,” said Varma. “Working closely with my friends all trying to achieve the same goal, and helping each other in the process has de�initely been a life-changing experience. Everyone’s just so chill and helpful because everyone can empathize with each other.”

Club president Albert Lin has played an active role helping members learn and compete. As a senior, Lin has seen the club double in size since his freshman year.

“The club has grown in passion,” said Lin. “As the freshmen improve, they start bringing good vibes to the meeting.”

MICHYLA LIN – EPIC

FEELING THE BEAT| Senior Tyler Ong freestyles to funk music during a breakdance club meeting.

HARSH JAIN//IN MY OPINION

Patriots pull through

N

obody believed me, yet it happened.

The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl. To many, the game may have seemed like just another team winning the Super Bowl, another overhyped and extravagant halftime show, and another opportunity to eat junk food, but to me it was more.

Back in 2015, I wrote an article about the hardships that the Patriots faced with the National Football League (NFL), constantly being accused of things that they didn’t do.

In that article I said that despite everything the Patriots faced, they would eventually go

The club attends competitions within the Bay Area, competing with other high schools, or in local competitions. Last March, they competed in the Cypher Cup Series, a local competition in San Jose where members could compete against other break dance enthusiasts. This allows them to showcase many of their talented members and to build the con�idence of newer members as well.

“The personal experiences that really stay with me are the competitions I went to and the people I became friends with,” said Lin. Their future performances at rallies and club promotion days are also anticipated by the student body, as they usually gain members after performances. Lin himself joined after seeing dancers at Club Info Day in his freshman year.

“A lot of people really enjoy the diversity that Bboy Club brings to the rallies,” said Lin. “I hope that we can do it again next year.”

Bboy Club is looking forward to a show at Monta Vista High School in May 2017, and a small competition between members at the end of the year.

MICHYLA LIN – EPIC

MICHYLA LIN – EPIC

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT| Freshman Tim Zhou practices a freeze, which consists of halting all body motions.

to the Super Bowl. They did, and they won.

The Patriots’ 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons was way more signi�icant than just the greatest comeback in the history of sports. The Patriots and their fanbase were �ighting the consequences of De�lategate, a scandal which resulted in the suspension of the team’s star quarterback, Tom Brady, for four games of the 2016-2017 season. This had put the team on edge, and many critics didn’t know if the Patriots would be able to play on the same level as they had in the past.

I, however, had no doubt that the team would come back better than ever before.

The whole De�lategate scandal, in my opinion, was messed up to begin with. In the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship game in 2015, one of the players on the opposing team took a Patriots game ball to the locker room after intercepting a pass from Tom Brady and said that the ball felt underneath the league mandated pressure per square inch (PSI) level.

This event was then further investigated by the NFL and ended up in a lawsuit against Brady, as he was accused of being primarily involved in the de�lation of the balls. De�lat-

FREEZE FRAME| Freshman Nick Nguyen attempts to perfect a freeze in a vertical position while at a club meeting.

egate was long and unnecessary, and put the NFL in a bad light; furthermore, to get back at the Patriots, the NFL suspended Brady for the �irst four games of the 2016-2017 NFL season. With Brady out of the picture for four games, the rest of the league hoped that the Patriots would �inally be dethroned.

After being humiliated for allegedly removing the air out of footballs, it was time for the Patriots to show the world that they didn’t need underin�lated footballs to win, and they could do it without their star quarterback for a fourth of the season. This was when the revenge tour for the Patriots began.

The Patriots ended a dominant regular season with a 14-2 record, and breezed through the playoffs, beating the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers. They then moved onto the Super Bowl to face the Atlanta Falcons, who touted a formidable young defense, and the number one scoring offense in the NFL. To those who may have missed the historic moment, the Patriots came back in the Super Bowl after being behind by 25 points to the Falcons.

During halftime, when the score was 283, I received several negative Snapchats and

messages from salty friends who had wanted the Patriots to lose. The previous largest comeback in a Super Bowl was 10 points. Despite all of that, true Patriot fans like myself still had hope; we still believed in our quarterback Tom Brady--whose nickname at The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, was the “Comeback Kid”--to bring us back and win the Super Bowl.

The Patriots’ entire season followed this underlying theme of adversity and hope. At the onset of the season, many pundits didn’t expect the Patriots to go deep into the playoffs due to various injuries and setbacks.

There were low expectations for Tom Brady and his ability to perform at a high level at the age of thirty-nine, which in most sports is considered extremely old.

Though the Patriots were constantly challenged throughout the season, they never seemed to waver as a team. The Super Bowl LI was a �itting end as it showed the world why you can never count out the Patriots, and more than that, it showed the world why you should never give up on anything you do.

With all that, I can proudly say, as a Patriots fan, that we did it.

Bradley Chen swims toward success

BY JUSTINE CHEN

A

ALL PHOTOS BY MICHYLA LIN

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY SPORTS SECTION

s he nears the pool wall, senior Bradley Chen prepares to somersault into a �lip turn, readying himself for the last stretch of the race. With the water rushing against his body, Chen kicks forward, matching arm to arm with his opponents in the neighboring lanes. Surging forward with the last of his energy, he reaches the wall just a second before his opponents, lifting his head above the water.

Chen began swimming competitively at the age of eight. Although he initially began because his brother was already involved in the sport, it gradually became his passion, and a major part of his life.

“I started to get pretty good,” said Chen.

“I realized that I could get even better if I invested more time and practiced more.”

From the start of his swimming career, Chen has trained with the internationally ranked swim team, De Anza Cupertino Aquatics (DACA). He practices for at least three hours everyday from Monday through Saturday, in order to prepare and condition for monthly swim meets, which ultimately contribute to qualifying for mid-season taper meets and the end-of-season meet; this year’s mid-season meet being the SI Senior Classic held from Feb. 17-20, 2017 in San Diego. Although Chen did not perform as well as he had expected at the meet, the results allowed him to see areas that need more work and improvement before the end of the year’s meet. Throughout Chen’s years of swimming, he has competed in a myriad of events including the Western Senior Zones Championships and the California CIF Swimming and Diving State Championships.

Chen excels in the freestyle stroke and his favorite event is the 500 yard freestyle. His fastest time is 4:36.53 minutes, just six seconds short of the school record.

In addition to DACA’s competitive team, Chen is a fourth year member of Lynbrook’s boys varsity swimming and diving team.

Unlike DACA, the school competes in meets against three other high schools, called triple dual meets, where all participants attempt to qualify for CCS at the end of the season. Each

year, Chen has worked determinedly toward placing in the top eight in the CCS meet. In both his sophomore and junior year, Chen placed seventh in his respective events.

“What’s most admirable about Bradley is his dedication to the sport,” said teammate senior Ryan Tang. “He stuck with the sport while a lot of people like me haven’t necessarily stayed committed to swimming on a club team.”

While the two teams differ in some areas, both have allowed Chen to form lasting relationships with his teammates and coaches.

“The coach knows your stroke and past performance experiences,” said Chen. “They work very closely with you.”

Other than training in the water, swimmers maintain their strength and physique by dryland conditioning. Designed to enhance different muscles that are not necessarily focused on while swimming, dryland targets two goals: injury prevention and performance improvement. Dryland programs are designed to develop core strength and stabilization, improve one’s cardio and build up muscular endurance.

Despite being a non-contact sport, injuries in the shoulders and lower back and shoulders can occur. Although Chen has not incurred any injuries throughout his swimming career, he believes that dryland training is highly bene�icial in developing core strength and stabilization, improving one’s cardio and building up muscular endurance.

Not only is physical training necessary for swimming, but mental training is a key component to the sport as well. Maintaining focus and control before and during a race is equally important as swimming quickly in a race. Overcoming setbacks such as not achieving a time wanted for an event are critical to improvement.

“When you meet a setback, all you can do is to just keep swimming,” said Chen.

Chen has of�icially committed to Carnegie Mellon University and is excited to be a member of the Division III college men’s swimming and diving team.

“I’m eager to swim at a collegiate level,” said Chen. “It’ll be fun to �ind out what that’s like.”

Boys soccer shoots past season’s obstacles

BY JOCY HE

comeback against top teams.

“As a team, we wanted to just win as many games as we he Lynbrook boys varsity soccer team got off to a could. This year, we played really well, especially toward rocky start this season but successfully returned the end of the season,” said sophomore Denver Yu. After several losses, they went on to defeat Milpitas with wins against strong competitors. Through the dif�iculties, the team has strengthened their skills and Wilcox, and tied with perennial league contender Fremont. The team also successfully defeated Lynbrook’s and have learned valuable experiences.

The team is made of 25 players, led by captains biggest rival, Cupertino, with a score of 2-1 on Feb. 2. They senior Noah Pennington, senior Trevor Aquino and ju- then defeated Milpitas again on Feb. 7 with a score of 3-0 and scored a victory against heavyweight Monta Vista with nior Eric Macpherson. The captains a score of 2-0 on Feb. 11. Unfortunately, motivated and uni�ied the team by Lynbrook suffered defeats against Gunn being excellent role models. on Senior Night by one goal and against “They earned our respect and “WE’VE REALLY LEARNED Fremont by two goals to end the season. they were always willing to help us HOW TO PLAY WITH EACH Overall, they had a total of six wins and out,” said senior David Lee. “They OTHER AND EVERYONE’S �ive ties. were very good representatives of STYLE AND WE UNDERThe team improved throughout the our team and [were] everything we STAND AND COMMUNIseason, bonding and gaining valuable could ask for. experiences. These successes were a At the beginning, the team expeCATE WITH EACH OTHER.” result of the team’s dedication and carerienced several setbacks. The playNOAH PENNINGTON ful guidance from their coach Joe Simas. ers struggled through balancing athSENIOR Simas has been a coach at Lynbrook for letics with academics and several 25 years, and has led the team through team members experienced injuries thick and thin this season. during the beginning of the season.

“I’ve been here a long time and I’ve Due to these trials, they had some losses, including a 7-1 loss to Saratoga and a 3-1 loss to seen a lot of talent coming through,” said Simas. “This year we had strong players and every year is a new learning Cupertino in the opening week of the regular season.

“Now we’ve really learned how to play with each experience.”

With future players from JV expected to come up next other and everyone’s style so we understand and communicate with each other better,” said Pennington. year, the varsity team promises to contend for a title next “We’re all out there because we love soccer and we year. Despite the ups and downs, the boys soccer team have grown as a team and improved their skills throughwant to represent Lynbrook.”

Despite their unstable start, the team made a quick out the season, making this season a memorable one.

T

MICHYLA LIN — EPIC

Boys basketball scores a successful season

F

ollowing changes made to practice rules and coaching staff as well as a renewed attitude, the Lynbrook boys varsity basketball team has had a rewarding season, with an overall record of 16-10. Their most recent game, during the second round of the Central Coast Section (CCS) Basketball Championships, took place on Feb. 23 against Aragon High School. The game was a close match, but ultimately resulted in an unfortunate loss for Lynbrook, with the �inal score being 68-57.

The varsity team is composed of two sophomores, �ive juniors and six seniors. One memorable game this year was the Lynbrook Winter Classic, the �irst major tournament this season. Lynbrook hosted and won the tournament, in which seven other teams, including a team from the Melbourne Grammar School in Australia, were invited to participate.

“Last year we came up just short in the championship game [of the Winter Classic], so this year it felt good to take home the trophy,” said Assistant Coach Richard Appler.

A typical day at practice usually includes some weight training or conditioning, which the team has focused on more this year. Players also drill and compete against each other in practice games that simulate the conditions of a real game, which gives them experience that can apply to actual games.

“Pretty much anything at practice can be expected to have some form of consequence and this made us want to compete harder, since nobody wants extra conditioning,” said team captain Andrew Destin.

Many changes have been made this season; the team welcomed new assistant coaches, Richard Appler, the former coach for the boys JV basketball team, and Colin Wan, whom the players were familiar with through playing on the JV team

or participating in basketball tournaments outside of school.

Both coaches have an extensive experience with the sport.

Appler played at the high school level for Mountain View High School while Wan played professionally in Taiwan.

“Both bring a knowledge of the game that [Head Coach Jeremy] Kitchen can springboard ideas off of, and I believe it has really strengthened our team, making us even more prepared for games,” said Destin.

The team has also established new rules this year. For example, during practices, team members have to be able to make a three-point shot more than 70 percent of the time in order to obtain a shooting license, which is necessary for players to attempt a three-point shot in an actual game.

Coach Wan had also showed the team videos of basketball teams from other high schools to help

WILLIAM GUO—EPIC

BY HSIN YEN HUANG

them with preparing for games.

“This year’s win total has exceeded the total from previous years, which is a result of clear goals,” said Kitchen. “The team is committed to work toward goals and push themselves harder and the new staff is helping with that.”

Although the team has been able to maintain an impressive record, they have also faced challenges this season, such as a series of losses in the middle of the season that resulted in a lack of motivation. Since basketball is a long season, at times players had dif�iculty in combating mental and physical fatigue; however, the team’s bond and perseverance has helped them push through discouragement.

“I feel like in a lot of ways we’ve underachieved because there were games we could have won easily but we lost,” said junior Joseph Liow. “But overall, this is one of the best teams we’ve had compared to previous years as we �inished with a winning record.”

The team has bonded over the season and takes pride in their shooting abilities. Their resilience helps them continue to play their best in games, despite the setbacks they faced.

“As a team we are shooting just under 40 percent this year, which at the high school level is well above average,” said Appler. “Combine that with the incredible vision some of our players have and it results in an exciting style of play.”

The team had their eyes set on the league title but due to a series of tough games, they ended up placing �ifth in the Santa Clara Valley-El Camino League.

Nonetheless, the season was a rewarding one and they look forward to next year.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIION BY THE SPORTS SECTION

Picture these pre-prom photoshoot locales

BY MICHYLA LIN

W

ith junior and senior prom fast approaching, students are scrambling to �ind the ideal dress or tuxedo for a magical night out. One aspect of the event that may be overlooked is pre-prom — when prom attendees gather to enjoy beautiful scenery and take photos. The eye-catching views perfectly capture the splendor of your out�it in the glow of the midday sun. You’ll

at least �ind a picture to complement your Instagram feed or a new pro�ile picture.

As prom is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students to dress up and look their best, photos taken prior to the event are just as important as the event itself. Choosing the proper location is essential for showcasing your hard work—after all, you’ve spent considerable time getting ready for the night, and what better way to show off your out�it than a photoshoot? If you’re going with friends, take this time to

MEMORIAL PARK | CUPERTINO, CA Located on Stevens Creek Boulevard, Memorial Park is an ideal location for an outdoor photoshoot.

Blooming cherry blossoms line the back of the Cupertino community center, providing a neutral, muted background that brings out your out�it. The quiet and serene environment is a stark contrast to your usually hectic world, allowing you to relax before the big night. After your photoshoot, you can choose from a variety of food options, including Islands, Boudin, and Mod Pizza, before dancing the night away.

THE TOWERS | CUPERTINO, CA The Towers are a perfect destination at the intersection of Stevens Creek and N De Anza Boulevard in Cupertino if you prefer a clean architectural background. Sharing the same plaza, you can get boba with your friends at Happy Lemon Premier, or get a sandwich at Le Boulanger. If you are looking for a heartier meal and are willing to walk a little ways down the street, you can reach another plaza where Arirang Tofu & BBQ and the Curry House are located for dinner.

make memories before entering your last years of high school, or, if you’re a senior, before heading off to college.

Of course, be sure to hit up a restaurant to complete your pre-prom experience. Here are some locations to consider for your photoshoot.

Honorable Mentions: Hakone Estate & Gardens, Arizona Cactus Gardens @ Stanford, Japanese Friendship Garden, Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum.

ROSE GARDEN | SAN JOSE, CA The San Jose Municipal Rose Garden is a romantic outdoor location to take pictures with your date or friends. The �ive and a half acre garden features a variety of beautiful blooming roses, especially during the spring season. The roses and towering redwoods surround a sparkling fountain in the center of the garden, providing you with a more elegant and sophisticated vibe for your photos. Restaurants you can hit up on the way back include ViVe Sol, Tanto Japanese Restaurant, and JangsuJang.