Issue 7, 2015

DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS Examining California’s newly instated water conservation regulations during the state’s worst drought in history

BY KATHLEEN CUI

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see DROUGHT page 2

SPORTS//

The psychological effects of sports

BY JULIA PARK AND ALLISON YUAN

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n the spring of 2013, the varsity girls’ basketball team was defeated by Wilcox in a tough game. Rather than cowering in shame, however, they were able to improve as a team and triumph over Wilcox in the Open Division Playoffs tournament later on in the season. Although they were discouraged by the earlier defeat, their determination, teamwork and effort led them to victory and instilled a sense of pride, something senior Dolly Yuan still remembers. That feeling of pride is one of the numerous benefits of playing a sport.

One of the many reasons that so many people seek exercise is its personal psycho-

logical benefits.

Though many people think of the toned muscles and enhanced endurance as well as the occasional sprain or concussion in regards to the benefits and drawbacks of playing a sport, the mental and psychological impacts can produce effects just as notable.

The positive psychological effects of exercise produce almost immediately observable processes in the brain.

“As soon as the body recognizes physical exertion, endorphins, which are hormones that produce “feel-good” emotions, are released,” said Dr. Philip Tomporowski, professor of kinesiology at University of Georgia.

“Scientifically, physical activities can make you happier.”

Opiates such as endorphins interact with receptors in the body, reducing the perception of pain by interfering with the transmission of pain to the brain. Endorphins released during exercise can have similar effects to using recreational drugs.

These endorphins can result in euphoric feelings during exercise and helps explain why many athletes do not notice injuries they have sustained until after they have finished exercising.

Sophomore Danlin Lillemark, who is involved in varsity field hockey and JV basketball, recognizes the psychological effects of sports and its positive benefits on one’s mood and energy. see BENEATH THE HELMET page 13

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY KATHLEEN CUI AND JESSICA LUO

s California’s worst drought in recorded history prolongs into its fourth year, governor Jerry Brown passed further emergency water usage restrictions on citizens, businesses, school campuses and water suppliers. These restrictions require cities, towns and school districts to cut water usage by 25 percent, focusing on urban areas while leaving agriculture largely unaffected.

According to the California Environmental Protection Agency, it is now prohibited for citizens to use potable water to wash driveways, allow runoff, use hoses with no nozzles and water lawns 48 hours after precipitation.

Meanwhile, food service establishments will now only serve water upon request and hotels must provide guests with the option of not having their linens and towels automatically laundered daily. Water suppliers, originally only loosely regulated, will be required to impose restrictions on customers’ outdoor irrigation, punctually alert customers of leaks, report on monthly water use and finally report on their means of compliance and enforcement.

Such restrictions result from the drought’s unending severity. While this year’s precipitation is more than last year’s, reservoirs in the Sierra Nevada hold less than they did last spring, with the statewide snowpack at 12 percent of the average compared to the 28 percent that the snowpack held last year. Mountain snowpacks are natural reservoirs that typically hold one-third of the state’s water supply and gradually release water throughout spring.

With barely one-tenth of the expected snowpack, that release will be almost nothing.

As a result, homes and businesses in the Bay Area will be limited to just two days of outdoor watering per week, enforced through the major agencies that supply citizens’ water. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, “Such restrictions mark unprecedented territory for the state, which has historically let local water agencies, with their unique supplies and demands, manage how customers use water.”

Yet fines up to $500 are only some of the many changes to come. With the new restrictions, it is now prohibited for cities to water the median strips that run down the middle of roads.

Hope for Silicon Valley’s homeless

BY CLAIRE SHEIH

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espite the general lack of awareness at Lynbrook, homelessness is a large problem in San Jose. The city is currently grappling with an exponentially growing percentage of homelessness without having the means to tackle the problem. Awareness has been cited as a key aspect of ending homelessness and Lynbrook is an environment in which that awareness is lacking.

“I rarely see a homeless person out on the streets,” said sophomore Marilyn Kung. “I wasn’t aware of San Jose’s large homeless population until recently. I think we live in a sheltered bubble where we aren’t always aware of the suffering that’s going on outside.”

To counter this, Lynbrook ASB members seniors Hana Kim and Kimberly Zee, junior Prashant Pokhriyal and sophomores Joyce Wang and Morgan Wu held an assembly in the quad on April 8 to educate students about homelessness in the Silicon Valley.

“We wanted to increase students’ involvement in homelessness.” said Wang.

“When we learned there were so many homeless people in the area, we were really interested in the cause.”

The lack of knowledge about San Jose’s homeless problem can be attributed to its high income reputation that stems from qualities such as housing the second most billionaires in a single city or having the top math and science high schools in nation. It is home to tech companies like Google, Yahoo! and Facebook, and is the most technologically advanced city in America. Yet the city’s success plays a significant role in its chronic homelessness.

Many people flock to San Jose because of its thriving economy, which causes housing prices to increase and driving many out of the area or out of their homes. The combination of skyrocketing housing prices and inequality have created a staggeringly high number of homeless people in the “capital of Silicon Valley”.

“The homeless problem is especially surprising because I always thought San Jose was a wealthy city,” said Kung.

San Jose’s homelessness

problem has been featured frequently on the news of late due to the closing of “the Jungle,” the largest homeless encampment in the country. On Dec. 4, 2014, more than 300 homeless people were evacuated from their tents in San Jose’s Coyote Creek and placed in temporary subsidized shelters.

Public officials had been under pressure from Coyote Creek inhabitants and water quality regulators to close the Jungle due to waste and debris overflowing from the encampment into local bodies of water. Concerns about the substandard living conditions within the encampment also arose. After reviewing these concerns, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and homelessness response manager Ray Bramson decided to close the encampment.

“The damage that it did to the surrounding neighborhoods and to the environment is unacceptable,” said San Jose Homelessness

response manager, Ray Bramson, in an interview with Mercury News. “The fact that anyone has to live like this is horrible.”

There has been much controversy surrounding this decision. Some people claim that forcibly evacuating the homeless from the Jungle violates their right to live where they want. Others argue that the homeless are better off away from the horrible conditions of the Jungle.

“The homeless people have a right to live where they want,” said Kung.

Others believe that the conditions in the Jungle are too horrible to live in. “Drug use, violence, and even sexual assault occur in the Jungle,” said the ASB commissioners during their assembly.

Another concern about the

closing of the Jungle is the possibility of another homeless camp replacing it. Critics say that closing the Jungle is only a temporary solution, as closing it would not actually reduce San Jose’s large homeless population.

“I think the Jungle is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Kung. “If you want to avoid homeless camps like the Jungle, you need to reduce the number of homeless people instead of just closing the camps down.”

In the meeting, the ASB members encouraged students to spread awareness for the issue, volunteer at shelters and donate.

“We struggled to reach a lot of the students in our school,” said Wang. “But after attending the assembly, more students became aware of how many homeless people there were and how they could help them.”

At the assembly, the ASB commissioners also provided links teaching students how they could further contribute by making $20 backpack care kits and donating do-it-yourself hygiene kits for the homeless.

Twenty-dollar backpack care kits consist of a backpack, warm gloves and scarves, non perishable foods that can all be purchased at thrift and dollar stores for under $20. Students were encouraged to keep these backpacks on hand and give them to any homeless people they see on the streets.

Hygiene kits are ziploc bags filled with toiletries such as toothbrushes, soap and towels that students can send to local food banks to be distributed to homeless across the country.

“When I see a homeless person. I often feel like there’s nothing I can do to help,” said sophomore Andrea Pan. “Donating these kits is a way I can do that.”

ASB members also organized a food drive to help feed San Jose’s homeless.

The school collected over 400 cans of food to donate to Second Harvest Food Bank.

In general, student reactions to the assembly were positive.

“It’s great that Lynbrook is helping the community,” said Pan. According to the ASB members, the assembly and food drive are steps to raise awareness and improve conditions for the homeless, but until San Jose’s homeless problem is fixed, the country’s most technologically advanced city will have to accept that a shocking number of locals live without basic human needs.

DROUGHT| California’s restrictions continued from DROUGHT page 1

Letter from the Editors Dear Readers,

Heading into the end of the year with AP testing and prom upcoming, the Epic takes a step back to reflect on bigger issues. After reading our front-page story on the repercussions of the drought facing Cailfornia, transition to another prominent social issue: our in-depth story on Islamophobia (pg. 11).

For lighter fare, read our features story involving the fashions of two of the Epic’s female staffers (pg. 7) and our sports story on the San Francisco 49ers (pg. 14).

Stay golden, James Wilhelmi and Khaya Bhatia

The hopeful reduction of 25 percent is predicted to save nearly 1.5 million acrefeet of water over the next nine months, according to CNN. Yet California will require nearly 11 trillion gallons of water to recover from the drought, and critics are quick to point out the large amount of water yet to be recovered by Brown’s new restrictions.

Before Brown’s restrictions, California had been the only Western state that did not record its groundwater usage.

The new regulations will impose the groundwater restrictions that have been missing up to this point.

Schools and their irrigation policies have been affected by the restrictions as well, given that public schools are considered state facilities.

According to Steve Chamberlain, Lynbrook’s facilities manager, schools have been asked to “...reduce water usage by 25 percent, report any water leaks immediately and help remind students and staff to conserve water.”

Water restrictions are not a new step

for the district. FUHSD took measures to conserve water last year, when Cupertino High installed a water station that allows students to fill up reusable water bottles, rather than purchasing a new plastic bottle

for every drink.

Such efforts by both students and the entire community draw attention to the work that urban areas have already done to address the drought, even though 75 percent of California’s water usage is spent on farming.

The only additional restriction imposed

on agriculture will be requiring farmers to report more information regarding their use of groundwater. Such light regulations for argiculture prompted angry responses from some climate experts, who complained about wasteful agriculture inefficiently sapping the state’s water supply.

Brown defended the lack of restrictions on agriculture in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “Farmworkers are at [the] very low end of the economic scale here are out of work,” Brown said. “There are people in agriculture areas that are really suffering.”

Cutting water allowances may only deepen their economic troubles, however, especially given the importance of agriculture to California’s produce supply.

Critics of Brown’s restrictions point out that rather than regulating cities, towns and schools--which use only 25 percent of the overall water supply--the state should be regulating ground-water pumping and the planting of water-intensive crops. In response to such suggestions, Brown may be setting his sights on taking away the current privileges that allow farms to buy water at a much lower cost than the rate charged to citizens and corporations.

Studio 74 hosts “A Night With Neil Simon”

News in Brief

BY STEPHANIE LU

PTSA International Day The PTSA International Day will be held in the Quad during lunch on May 1. International Day is meant to celebrate the cultural diversity of Lynbrook. There will be games, books and art on hand to educate students about the many cultures represented within the student body.

Improv Night The Drama Department’s Improv NIght will be held in Studio 74 on May 2 at 7 p.m. Tickets will be sold for $10.

AP Testing AP testing will be taking place from May 4 to May 15. Be sure to check the exam schedules posted around campus for dates, times and locations of each test.

Senior Prom Senior Prom will be held at the San Francisco Hornblower on Saturday, May 16 from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. There is a flat bid price of $125. Sign-ups for luxury buses and photo times will also take place during the ticket sales.

Pops Concert Lynbrook’s annual Pops Concert will take place in the auditorium on Wednesday, May 20, and Thursday, May 21 at 7:30 p.m. The Lynbrook orchestra and band will both be playing in the concert. The concert is open to the public for the price of $5.

by Shivateja Vemireddy

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n April 24 in Studio 74, students from Lynbrook’s advanced and honors Drama classes put on a mostly student-run production titled “A Night With Neil Simon.” The production consisted of a series of short scenes from various plays written by American dramatist and Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner Neil Simon. Rehearsals were done during class, with many of the short acts having only a two-member cast, although there were a couple larger exceptions.

According to the drama students who participated in “A Night With Neil Simon,” the classes had a list of playwrights they might do a show on, and eventually they settled on Simon.

“Because we wanted to do a show that had many characters featuring both women and men, we ended up choosing between Neil Simon and Edward Albee,” said junior Kyle Sung, Edward Albee being another American dramatist and Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner who is best known for his plays “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “The Zoo Story.” According to Sung, the drama classes held a class vote to decide which hgfhgfhwriters’ plays they wanted to perform, and Neil Simon ended up getting more votes by one.

The drama students formed groups of two to four, then chose a scene out of a Neil Simon play to be approved for “A Night With Neil Simon.” While drama teacher Laurel Cohen assisted in directing three of the scenes and sometimes gave advice to the students on how they could improve their scenes, the majority of the work was completed by the students themselves.

The drama students chose which plays they wanted to do, as well as which specific scenes they wanted to perform, then went on to direct and cast their own scenes. They

also chose their own props and music and made their own backdrops. Instead of hiring stage tech professionals and having them operating the from outside of the school, sound and lighting were run by a student tech crew during the production.

Sung played the recently widowed writer George Schneider from Simon’s play “Chapter 2,” and acted alongside fellow junior Arianna Behrens, who played recent divorcee and soap opera actress Jennie MacLaine. In a deftly acted scene of flirtatious persuasion, Sung’s character successfully convinced Behrens’ character to let him into her home, even though both characters clearly still have their recently ended relationships on their minds. The entire scene is characterized by a harmonious blend of comedy and sadness, the hallmark of Simon’s writing style.

“It’s just a night to honor Neil Simon,” said honors drama student and junior Lauren Platzker. “[His plays] are mostly easy to do because he’s comedy, and a lot of what he writes is relatable. For example, my character is a sixteen-year-old girl who wants to be a performer--I mean, what a coincidence!”

Platzker played Nora Morton--whose character is indeed that of a sixteen-year-old girl who wants to be a performer--in a scene from Simon’s play “Brighton Beach Memoirs” with junior Marion Lynch.

“Brighton Beach Memoirs,” a coming-ofage comedy about sexual awakening and a quest for identity that uses material from the author’s own life, is one of Simon’s most notable plays; Platzker’s character Nora is the beautiful older sister of the play’s main character.

A prolific screemwroter and playwright Simon has received more Oscars and Tony nominations than any other writer, and is best known for his vibrant, relatable characters and semi-autobiographical plays, as well as his ability to write stories that are simultaneously hilarious and tragic.

STEPHANIE LU - EPIC

REJECTION CALLS| Junior Arianna Behrens plays Jennie Maclaine, a recently divorced actress recieving calls from many potential suitors

STEPHANIE LU - EPIC

LOVE IS IN THE AIR| Junior Kyle Sung plays George Schneider, a recent widower trying to convince Jennie to let him come to her house

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n the past, people paid for college with the money earned from their summer jobs. Now, with the average college tuition 390 percent higher than it was 35 years ago, this is no longer possible. This unprecedented rise in tuition is both unnecessary and harmful to students and the economy.

Colleges cite a lack of state funding as the reason to raise tuition. But this could not be further from the truth - public investment in colleges is higher than ever, even in inflation adjusted dollars.

In 1960, state appropriations for colleges and universities was $11.1 billion. By 1975, state funding had risen to $48.2 billion, and now, public funding for colleges is a prodigious $81 billion, an increase of eight-fold.

Private universities have even less of an argument to justify their rise in tuition.

Having never relied on state funding in the first place, there is no explanation for the rise in their tuition. As private colleges’ alumni network grows, the number of donations increases. In Emory University, whose endowment is 6.7 billion dollars, there is no reason for them to receive around 200 million dollars per year without cutting the cost of tuition.

The rising price tag on a college education often compels students to attend cheaper universities, often removing their top choices from the picture.

“For many students, it’s hard to justify

JULIA PARK //AS I SEE IT

Rolling Stone: pay the price

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s criminals must serve time and cheaters must accept their zeroes, journalists who practice poor journalism should take responsibility for their actions.

On Nov. 24, Sabrina Erdely, a journalist for the magazine Rolling Stone, published a story on University of Virginia (UVA) student Jackie’s terrifying survival story of gang rape

paying 60k a year for an expensive college when you can pay much less for a more affordable choice,” said Anna Her, a freshman at the University of Chicago.

The tuition increase can also be a factor in wealth disparity. It isolates the lower income bracket, preventing certain students from accessing opportunities that are exclusive to students with higher degrees.

“Rising tuitions gentrifies education in a country that supposedly idealizes equality,” said senior Charlie Huang. “Students who aren’t able to afford these tuitions won’t have an opportunity to obtain qualifications for jobs that require degrees, and those jobs will go to wealthier students who can pay for tuition.”

It would make sense for colleges to charge three times as much for tuition if their quality of education tripled, but the money from tutions does not all go towards education.

“Even though they are charging us more,

the quality of education has stayed roughly the same,” said Her. “ The question is, where is all the money going?”

In public and private colleges, only 28% and 33% of spending, respectively, go towards student instruction. The rest of the money is spent on things colleges would do well to cut costs on.

“Colleges are spending money on things that they say contribute to the ‘college experience’ that don’t necessarily contribute to the actual learning experience,” said Huang.

Colleges also spend a portion of tuition on campus luxuries. Students at Washington State University can soak in a jumbo jacuzzi, and the University of Houston has a five-story climbing wall. These frills do not contribute to a student’s schooling, but still heighten the cost of attendance. Colleges are not country clubs. By cutting costs on luxuries like these, colleges could significantly lower their spending and charge less for tuition.

Perhaps one of the greatest factors behind the rise in tuitions is the rise in administrator salaries, which correlates with the rise in tuition. From 2000 to 2010 the average median salary of top administrators at public colleges and private colleges has risen by 39% and 75% respectively, with inflation factored in, and wages for public and private university presidents have risen by 75% and 171% respectively. Every year, scores of administrators are added to colleges’ payrolls even as they claim to be reducing faculty size due to budget crises. Administrators are needed, but their numbers can stand to be reduced.

“It looks like a lot of the increased tuition is going towards making a profit for the administrators,” said Sriram. “This is upsetting because college’s goals are supposed to be educating us, not turning a profit.”

during a fraternity party. As the graphic details enraged the public, journalists began to question the validity of the piece.

After a thorough investigation by the Columbia School of Journalism, an institution considered a leader in journalism, Jackie’s story was full with glaring discrepancies Erdely and her editors overlooked due to pure neglect. The story was immediately retracted and replaced with a lengthy apology, but Rolling Stone revealed that nobody would lose their jobs due to the incident. Sabrina Erdely, along with her editorial team, should be held responsible for their journalistic oversights by being fired.

First, their mistakes were all easily avoidable. The first mistake was that Erdely based her whole story on the words of one alleged rape victim, Jackie. When Jackie refused to provide names of the rapists, the editors should have known to halt production until the rape was confirmed. In attempting Insti-

tutional journalism necessitates that both sides must be presented a chance to respond.

The editorial team never confirmed the existence of a party on the night Jackie claimed to get raped, which was false. In doing so, the blame cannot fall on one person, for the editors should have urged Erdely to gather more sources and get confirmation, refusing to publish without such verifications.

Similarly, in publishing the story without proper fact-checking, the article tarnished the reputation of UVA fraternity Phi Kappa Psi, in which the alleged rape occurred. The fraternity chapter house was vandalized and destroyed, and members had to go into hiding due to death threats. Erdely’s journalistic oversights also hurt the elite university--UVA witnessed a slight decrease in applications for admission for the first time in twelve years. Rolling Stone’s catastrophic mistake of publishing a story which was filled with discrepancies put students in danger and

sullied the reputation of fraternity groups as well as the university. It makes no sense that no one would be held accountable for such a large-scale journalistic failure.

Finally and most importantly, the story increases the possibility of victims restraining from stepping up in fear of similar errors in reporting of the rape or similar reactions from the public. Similarly, as stated in the Columbia School of Journalism’s report, this journalistic failure may deter future journalists and rape survivors from taking on risky investigations of rape, which will simply prove the extent of Rolling Stone’s mistake.

By refusing to own up, Erdely and her editors are, by default, refusing to recognize and take ownership of its mistake. An apology will not mend damaged reputations. There’s nothing that can be done now to alleviate the tragic aftermath of the faulty article, but the least Rolling Stone could do is acknowledge their oversight and take full responsibility.

Picking the right subjects Students should be able to choose courses related to the field they want to pursue

BY RENUKA BELWALKAR

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UHSD’s current educational curriculum limits students’ potential to succeed by restricting the number of classes one can take. Students must take several core classes--four years of english, three years of history and two years of math and science--in order to graduate.

They do not have the freedom to choose classes except for electives, which is also restricted because students are only allowed to choose them after their necessary course credits are achieved. If students are passionate about one particular subject, they should not be forced to take the necessary course credit.

If students at Lynbrook High could choose every single class in their schedule, they would be more interested in education and learning because students are involved in what they are passionate about. Even if students decide to change their interests in college, general skills learned in high school through education will be applicable to any type of field later on. Freshman Andrew Lin has a deep interest in math and feels the same way about being allowed to choose his own subject.

“I feel like we’re being put in a mold of classes we should take, and if I could take whatever classes I wanted to, I could build on my interests and on what I really enjoy,” said Lin. The core curriculum that Lynbrook implements makes it difficult for students who desire more freedom in the classes they choose. Students who know exactly what they will study in the future will benefit from getting a head start on their interests. Currently, Lynbrook does not allow students to take more than one

class per subject in their first six choices of curriculum.

“The current school system is gearing you toward those subjects such as math and science because you’re required to take those classes,” said junior Jackie Chou. “For someone who’s interested in something other than that, they have to spend more time for being interested in a subject that might not be that well-funded and supported by your local school.”

Because of the school’s class requirements, Chou feels that he has to take extra classes during the summer to get more exposure in the subjects that he is interested in.

If the FUHSD allowed students to earn more than 70 credits per year, it would provide students the opportunity to take more classes of their choice and learn more of what they are passionate about.

“The board is currently reviewing this policy and considering to make some exceptions, especially for athletes who are already taking seven classes, so they can get credit for their sport,” said Lynbrook counselor, Malissa Goldstein.

Schools like John F. Kennedy High School in Fremont allow students to take eight classes, including five electives starting in junior year. Since this is not the case at Lynbrook, students find it increasingly difficult to get more exposure to the subjects they are truly interested in.

Allowing students to take multiple classes as per their interests would help students enjoy learning, save time, and get a head start in their interested field.

FUHSD should allow students to take at least eight classes, with 80 credits, and students should be given the opportunity to select which classes that interest them starting from freshmen year, since they already have had exposure to them in middle school.

STEPHANIE LU//IN MY OPINION

Embrace your vulnerability

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eing vulnerable is scary, but it’s also the most necessary part of building close interpersonal bonds. For me to show vulnerability to someone requires a certain degree of trust--it shows them I understand that the other person won’t go spilling my secrets. And in return, the other person gives me something of their own.

I don’t mean you should just turn around and tell the guy standing behind you at Starbucks about your dog dying, or about that time your mom walked in while you were busy. But even little things, like telling somebody about your favorite book, require some vulnerability on your part.

Showing vulnerability, no matter how slight, is always a risk--in showing vulnerability, you’re exposing yourself, willingly handing over ammo that another person could potentially shoot you with later on. The people you trust the most are the people who can hurt you the most as well for that very reason. At the same time, being vulnerable is the only way for deep connections to develop. Two people who never share anything beyond the most superficial of memories or opinions are also never going to share anything beyond the most superficial of relationships.

But again, vulnerability is scary. We go through a lot of trouble to limit any instances of vulnerability--I mean, when we’re younger, we try to beat up our crushes out of fear that they’ll figure out how we actually feel. Even things like text messaging and social media are, to some extent, methods of concealing vulnerability. When we use text-based communications, we cut down on a multitude of difficult, potentially awkward necessities that occur in face-to-face interactions--facial expressions, body language, voice tone. In doing so we lose the nervousness of allowing them to pass judgement on us, but we also lose the solidarity that being awkward with someone else creates. I mean, there’s a reason people will flirt shamelessly over Facebook messages, and then ignore each other when they get actual face time at school. The funnier, cooler people we are online, where vulnerability is barely an issue, doesn’t last when the inherent difficulties of face-to-face talks come up.

That awkwardness--that show of vulnerability--is absolutely vital at first, and yet we avoid it as often as we can, settling for easy conversation for fear of judgement. If you were cynical, you could say that most people aren’t deep enough to handle talking about things other than the weather, but I’ve found that to be untrue on a fairly regular basis.

Nearly everyone is down to listen to you talk about your family problems, or your love life, or your life philosophies--so long as you give them some fair warning, I guess--and I can almost guarantee that they won’t go spilling your secrets to everybody else.

It’s a lot easier to think that other people aren’t deep enough to handle intense, personal conversations than it is to take that first step and tell them something about yourself.

But take it from me--the payoff is worth it.

Speaking from personal experience, the few times I was brave enough to open up about deeply personal, difficult issues to people I’d previously seen only as slight acquaintances, I ended up connecting pretty deeply with the people I was talking to. And it wasn’t just a matter of me pouring out my own feelings and having a great therapy session. Once you get the ball rolling, people tend to reciprocate the vulnerability you show them. The basic principle is, I give you some of me, and you give me some of you. It’s a little weird, and a little difficult at times, but that vulnerability is what ultimately leads to some of the best relationships you’ll have.

Fast Fashion: the art of copying dresses

BY FREYA LIU

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hroughout the year, major fashion designers showcase their new collections on the runways of New York, London, Milan and Paris. Their fabulous designs are then sold at extremely high prices to a band of elite followers. Soon after, however, these expensive designs are replicated using cheap materials and sold at equally cheap prices. Suddenly, in a phenomenon known as “fast fashion,” high fashion has become accessible to the average middle-class consumer.

As a result, designers who spend months working to create a fashionable masterpiece end up seeing cheap replicas of their work only weeks

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CLAIRE SHEIH

after its debut, detrimentally impacting the merit of high fashion.

Zara, Topshop and Forever 21 are at the forefront of the fast fashion retailers that flourish from constantly revamping their inventory at extremely low prices. Though buying an article of clothing that closely resembles the haute couture of the elite at low prices offers instant gratification to the buyer, the growing popularity of fast fashion chains harms the entire fashion industry.

Instead of coming up with cheap copies of elite couture, fashion retailers should work to produce their own unique style.

The extravagant prices of design couture are deemed acceptable to the average shopping enthusiast partly because they keep the chic group of designer label wearers exclusive. But this is only a small reason for the price constraint.

The original versions of the designs are created using only the highest quality fabrics and take up to months for a sketch to become an article of clothing, which fast fashion retailers are unable to skillfully replicate.

Some sympathetic fashion houses do attempt to cater toward the less affluent. The secondary labels of fashion houses lines satisfy those who are not as wealthy but are still willing to splurge occasionally. For example, “Miu Miu” by Prada offers less expensive-but still pricey--high fashion.

Fast fashion has invaded the industry, offering truly affordable and chic clothing.

They take the designs seen on the runway and mass-produce the newest trends at highly affordable prices in as little as two weeks.

On the surface, the concept of fast fashion seems like a major benefit for those who love to buy new clothes--a fast turnover rate means a wide range of styles that people can pick and choose from without racking up a huge debt. With fast fashion chains continually restocking their inventory, however, shoppers have acquired a wasteful mentality toward the products they buy.

Junior Sarah Lee, an aspiring fashion designer, is strongly opposed to fast fashion as well.

“Whenever I buy clothes from Forever 21, I feel like it’s such a waste of money,” said Lee. “I know I’m going to throw them away after wearing them once or twice so I may as well spend more money buying something nicer and something that I would wear for a

long time.”

Since most fast fashion consumers tend to have multiple items from these trendycheap stores, it poses a larger environmental impact when clothing is continually being discarded.

Fast fashion not only negatively impacts and consumers and the environment, but also affects the integrity of the fashion industry. Fast fashion designers are notorious for copying the designs of other fashion designers.

Though the original prints, patterns, color arrangements and unique combinations of elements are protected, the basic designs that could potentially be the work of any designer are not.

To protect their work, many designers have to pay large amounts to have their patterns registered with the Copyright Office, but the application process alone often takes months--a ridiculously lengthy time that is usually longer than the amount of time the clothes stay in style. Even after getting registered, however, fashion designs are often not safe because clothing design is not a part of U.S. copyright laws.

“It’s very hard for fashion designers to sue for plagiarized design because of the nature of the Copyright Office and their laws,” said Schwartz.

European fast fashion retailers such as Topshop and Zara cannot replicate designs as easily as U.S. fast fashion retailers because clothing design is included in the U.K.’s copyright laws.

They must create their own interpretations of popular trends, whereas U.S. retailers can easily imitate designs due to the lack of stringent copyright laws. Europe has become the destination of respectable high fashion because European fashion retailers are forced to create new styles--promoting more creativity and more variety of styles to choose from.

As all designers strive to create only the highest quality apparel, they are able to create cheaper lines with higher quality than that of fast fashion retailers.

So rather than spend money to buy a piece of clothing that will last only a couple months at most, shoppers should spend about the same amount of money to acquire more timeless “staple” pieces. It is the best outcome for all parties involved.

Re-legitimizing Lynbrook’s clubs one by one

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hroughout the years, Lynbrook has experienced a proliferation of both service and interest clubs. The ASB commissioners’ recent club visitations have revealed several disorganized clubs run by unmotivated officers and suffering from an overall lack of membership.

The character of poorly-run clubs that continue to function without much activity add to a mentality that there are in fact too many clubs on campus and there is no need for any more. In some ways, then, the increase of inactive clubs reduce the legitimacy of all clubs and denies potential interest clubs the opportunity to be successful.

Lynbrook currently has 74 active clubs, and this overwhelming number has created the perception that there are too many clubs on campus and no more new ones should be passed. To become a club, a proposal must be approved by the ASB officers and then voted on by the Legislative Council, which is made up of third period class representatives. For junior Akhil Bhandaru, the perception of having too many clubs is a possible reason that his proposed club, Lynbrook Economics, failed to be passed.

“Although I can say with 100 percent confidence that our club was different from business clubs such as FBLA or DECA, the Legislative Council may not have thought so,” said Bhandaru.

The current voting system also denies many clubs the opportunity to exist and thrive

Staff Editorial

The Voice of the Epic simply because many legislative representatives are not invested in their potential to benefit the Lynbrook community.

“When your vote is making a club permanent, I definitely think there’s a bias when comes to passing new clubs, and that makes it difficult for new clubs to get their roots down,” said ASB Clubs Commissioner Chelsea Pan. The mentality of having an abundance of clubs is difficult for ASB to solve because the goals of the ASB club commissioners clash with that of the execution agenda.

Senior Kimberly Zee said, “As an ASB Club Commissioner, it’s really difficult for me to go find clubs to disband because we’re really there as support--we don’t want to disband clubs.”

It is not so much a question of “want” as it is of necessity. Even with ASB commissioners visiting clubs once a year, the problem of disorganized clubs has only been stalled, not solved. At the core of the club disbanding process is the three-strike system. The idea is that clubs need to meet specific deadlines to turn in club constitutions and portfolios--any late or missing submission will result in one strike. After three strikes, the club is reviewed for dis-

bandment by ASB club commissioners. The system, however, requires some level of enforcement in order to work.

“We’re really lenient with the [threestrike] rule,” said Zee. “Earlier this year, for example, we extended the club portfolio deadline because a lot of clubs didn’t turn it in on time.”

The leniency, however, leads to club presidents becoming lax in following the club guidelines.

“Most of the club presidents do not take it seriously,” said Wang. “They think it’s nearly impossible to get three strikes, that once you’re a club you’re never going to get disbanded.”

In order to improve the mentality of these club officers and ultimately reduce the number of illegitimate clubs, the Clubs Commission should be stricter in regard to enforcing club deadlines and club visitations. Although they are trying to be constructive, in this case the policy will not be effective--leniency will only give officers of illegitimate clubs more leeway. While being an enforcer may seem like an unappealing job, being too lenient only causes more eventual damage, because it will prevent potentially legitimate clubs from having an opportunity to grow.

THE SWITCH

BY KRISTEN WONG & KATHLEEN CUI

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his challenge was started as a way to convince the two most extreme dressers on the Epic staff to switch closets for three days and see what happens. Kristen, who had no idea what yoga pants were before the challenge, regularly dresses in soccer jerseys, soccer pants and sporty tees. Meanwhile, Katheen gets the majority of her inspiration from Pinterest outfits and popular Youtube gurus, so the change to baggy sweats and formless shirts was equally shocking.

Day 1

Day one of the challenge. The beginning of my public torture. To my pleasant surprise, the first day was not as embarrassing as I had expected, partly because my outfit consisted of jeans and a nice jacket. Jeans, although on the fashionable side of my wardrobe, are still in my comfort zone and at least I felt some degree of normality throughout the school day. People more or less gave me the same looks or ignored me altogether. Perfect. My kind of day. Personally, though, the clothes were a bit too stiff for me and I ended up feeling uncomfortable and longing for my soccer sweats and baggy sweatshirts.

Day 3

Day 1

Day 2

Good news: I learned a new word today. A cardigan is a sort of knitted sweater that is essentially the girl’s counterpart to a guy’s hoodie. Bad news: I felt ridiculously awkward in my clothes. All I can say about the cardigan is, whoever invented the thing must be a billionaire because almost every other girl I see at school is wearing one. To be honest, it’s not the most functional article of clothing out there, but hey, don’t question the status quo, right? The root of my awkwardness was less the cardigan than the black leggings that I had to wear. Don’t get me wrong, the leggings gave me an increased amount of flexibility in comparison to yesterday’s skinny jeans, but the feeling of them on my legs was less than enjoyable. I basically felt like I was wearing no pants. Even under the hot sun, I felt exposed, bare, like a clueless defender who just got nutmegged.

And so, I had to endure the cold, just like I had to endure the compliments and remarks on my outfit that made me more and more uncomfortable.

I never thought I would see the day, but, well, it happened. I wore a dress to school.

While all of you think about the sheer consequence of that statement, I will say that my day was absolutely, positively embarrassing. God, the number of remarks I received throughout the day--it was either “Wow, Kristen, lookin’ good!” or “OH MY GOSH. SNAPCHAT. FACEBOOK. INSTAGRAM. NOW.” or “Man, what happened to you? Do you have a concussion?” I just wanted to crawl up into my hermit cave and leave society once and for all. I bet Thoreau never had anybody judging his clothes while he was out in the woods.

Day 2

Day Two was followed by the same soccer pants and a purple sweater. I gave off the soccer-mom vibe, though fortunately someone asked me if my sweater was from Pink, so it must not have been too bad. I noticed a declining consciousness of not only my outfit and soul, but also my organization in general. The hours did not pass fast enough, and I began to care less about my appearance in general--including hair, makeup, accessories and so on. It seemed as if my clothing was a representation of how put together I was as a person, and the entire day felt fairly draggy--as if I couldn’t wait to get out of the clothes and change into something of my own, or to return to the individual and I typically am.

On the first day, I was allowed to take my pick from the number of clothing articles supplied by Kristen. With soccer pants and a longsleeved tee, the day wasn’t too bad until I realized that I looked like a mid-life crisis soccer mom. My suspicions were confirmed by the laughs and points from a group of senior boys wearing the exact same pants as me. Let’s just say they were jealous of how nicely the baggy, shapeless fabric fit my figure. Fortunately, given my fairly wide range of options, Day One was not as bad as expected.

Day 3

Definitely the worst day of the challenge. Dictator Kristen was considering making me wear shin guards with the outfit, though fortunately I escaped the talons of that particular scheme. I was assigned to wear soccer shorts, though Kristen’s were too small and uncomfortable in places that should be comfortable. I was still required to wear a soccer jersey and the De Anza Force soccer jacket, along with keep my hair in a ponytail. Additionally, I was asked a total of six times by six different people if I even knew who the Chelseas were. I did not.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY FREYA LIU

Balancing age and beauty Blake Lively combines youth and vigor in “Age of Adaline”

BY MEERA KRISHNAMOORTHY

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he Age of Adaline revolves around a woman named Adaline, who, due to a made-up scientific phenomenon involving lightning and snow, stops aging just before she hits 30. When the movie begins, Adaline has lived in the body of a 29 year old for over 70 years, using the pseudonym Jennifer Larson because she is unwilling to disclose her condition. Adaline’s life coasts until she meets and begins to date Ellis, a rich, handsome bachelor played by Michiel Huisman. Their relationship, already on the rocks because of Adaline’s trust issues, is further complicated by the return of Adaline’s old lover, leaving Adaline to decide whether she wants to continue keeping people out of her life or find someone with whom to share it.

Adaline is Blake Lively’s first leading role; though initially, Lively’s performance is stilted and awkward, she warms up to the role and does a good job coming across as an old soul in a youthful body, affecting a Katherine Hepburn-esque voice and donning oldfashioned updos. Adaline’s past, however is not displayed in great detail in the film -- a shame, given that she lived through one of the most exciting centuries. The only possessions that she has to show for over 100 years of living on Earth are a wealth of trivia knowledge and an expensive wardrobe. This lack of a proper backstory makes it seem as though Adaline is content with her condition.

Harrison Ford’s performance as one of Adaline’s former flames changes this. His wonderful chemistry with Lively exceeds her chemistry with Huisman, her actual love interest in the movie, and the emotions he dis-

NorCal language for dummies

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he school year is nearing its end, and once again another class of graduating seniors will be sent on its merry way. For the many seniors going to out-of-state colleges, in addition to skyhigh tuition rates you will find that there are some startling differences between wherever you’re headed and our beautiful home state of California.

Perhaps one of the most important of these differences is language--depending where you are, some words or phrases that might seem common or everyday here could get you strange looks, or even stir up a mob out for your blood. So without further ado--the 5 phrases you should not take out of California.

1. Hella Bet you didn’t see this one coming. The one-size-fits-all word that can be used to describe pretty much anything, “hella”, somewhat surprisingly, isn’t common to the vocabulary of any non-Californian, and the adjective’s use will probably get you a confused look from the majority of the people around the country.

But here’s the kicker: “hella” is strictly a NorCal term, so even if you’re going to school in southern California, you’re out of luck.

In fact I’d say that you have to be more careful about your language in SoCal than pretty much anywhere else--it honestly seems like the people there are waiting for you to drop a “hella” in their presence so they can then deliver a prepared 2-minute lecture about how any colloquialisms other than those found in SoCal are linguistic abominations.

2. PMT There’s good news and there’s bad news to this one.

The good news is that you’ll only have to worry about this one on the east coast, where they call it bubble, or sometimes, boba milk tea (a huge distinction, I’m aware). The bad news is that you won’t have much luck finding these drinks pretty much anywhere else. At least you still have a summer here, right?

3. Sus Originally, it was a term short for “suspect,” but a small group of people at Lynbrook transformed it into a word that can pretty much mean anything.

Go figure. Just use this word with its original context, and you should be able to avoid any awkward social situations that might arise.

4. Sketch You can try your luck with this one, if you’re using it to mean “shady” or “unsafe.” I’ve personally had mixed outcomes using it, as there were a fair few people who thought I was referring to a drawing somewhere.

For best results, use “sketchy”, as that term is likely to be in the vocabulary of most.

5. Hey Along with phrases such as “loser” or “Taylor Swift”, addressing anybody with this phrase constitutes a supreme insult almost anywhere else in the Englishspeaking world, and its an easy way to make sure that there’s one more person in the world that hates your guts.

Expect a fight to be immediately scheduled at an early hour in a nearby public park with any non-Californian on the receiving end of this phrase.

plays on screen when remembering his time with Adaline and discovering why it ended are raw, real and very affecting.

He alone proves that Adaline’s condition, while every actor’s dream, is actually a curse-- she could never experience a real relationship because she would never be able to grow old with her significant other Much of the supporting cast gave excellent performances; the acting, however, could not overshadow its many problems. Many critics have commented on the preposterous nature of Adaline’s story, and I could not agree more. The screenwriters should have included elements of magical realism, instead of trying to create a scientific explanation for her lack of aging. And while one of this movie’s strengths is that it is not overdramatic, the plot’s pace was too slow and would have picked up with more emotional scenes. Finally, the use of narration to comment on the plot was unnecessary and at times, annoying. “The Age of Adaline” can only be enjoyable if the audience is able to connect with the characters, and the narrator keeps them at arm’s length.

Ultimately, “The Age of Adaline” is a chick flick with better acting and cinematography. Lively, Ford and Burstyn are a pleasure to watch, and the shots of San Francisco interspersed throughout the movie are beautiful, but people who crave strong plots will be disappointed.

ART ILLUSTRATION BY AUDREY ZHENG

How to come clean about a test

BY SHIVATEJA VEMIREDDY

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t has happened to all of us--we got a bad grade on a test and had to find a way to tell our parents that we failed. Trying to hide it only makes it worse in the end, so use these methods to tell your parents and get it over with.

The Bait and Wait As soon as you find out your score for the test, text your parents telling them that you failed.

If your parents receive the bad news before you get home, they will have probably calmed down enough to have a reasonable conversation with you about your grades by the time you arrive. You could also take a little longer to get home just to give them more time to simmer down.

STEPHANIE LU-EPIC

The Low Expectations The beginning of The Sandwich is like asking your parents for money. You butter them up by asking them about their day and possibly a massage. After the massage, tell them some good news, like how you aced a test in another class. While they are still surprised, quickly drop the bad news and bring up some other good news. By doing this, your parents will be too happy with you to give a severe chastisement.

The Sandwich If you know you are going to get a bad grade, try to lower your parents’ expectations.

Drop hints about how hard your class is and by the time the results come out, your parents won’t be as surprised as they would have had you not lowered the bar. If you failed a test recently, however, they might have lower expectations--in which case the work is done for you.

The Straight-forward If you have no other options, go with the straightforward approach. This might seem like the most painful method, but it is the least stressful out of all your options.

Trying to hide your grades will only blow up in your face in the end, so get it off of your chest. Just tell your parents the bad news and be honest with them, and they will hopefully understand. Believe it or not, they were kids once too!

Going against the tides Seniors Aster Pang and Julia Wang win big at Scholastic Awards

BY SANA SHARFUDDIN

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ynbrook has been nationally recognized for accomplishments in science, technology, engineering and math, but seniors Aster Pang, Julia Wang and Alexander Romanovsky are proving that Lynbrook is also home to award-winning artists. Out of 1,800 applicants,Wang, Pang and Romanovsky were honored as medalists in the national Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, a prestigious scholarship program in which students from grades 7 through 12 submit their artwork. Students who win national-level honors are eligible for scholarships from a network of arts institutes, universities, colleges and summer programs. Wang was awarded a gold medal for her painting “Whose flaw?”, while Pang was awarded a silver medal for her drawing “Multiply.” Romanovsky won a gold medal for his photograph “Just a Number.”

Wang began participating in the Scholastic Art and Writing competition in her freshman year, knowing that it would be a good opportunity to put her skills to the test if she wanted to pursue art in the future. This year she competed in the painting category.

“My interest in art continues to inspire me to be a part of this competition. I re-entered it this year because I wanted to see how good I could possibly be on a more objective level,” says Wang.

Pang, however, had not competed in the competition before. After hearing from a friend that the prize would be a $10,000 four-year renewable scholarship, she submitted her work in the art portfolio category.

The winners’ inspiration came from their experiences in different art summer camps. Wang attended the InDesign summer program at Savannah College of Art and Design, in which she created a masterpiece as

her final project in the course. With watercolors and a 16-inch by 20-inch board, Wang drew a self-portrait in which the depicted girl erases her skin to make it paler.

“In many Asian countries, paleness is viewed as more attractive,” said Wang. “My drawing was a personal observation to see why that makes someone attractive all of a sudden over other factors. I want to show people that it is pointless to change yourself for someone else’s standards.”

Pang worked on the concept of her drawing “Multiply” at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. Drawn with gouache, graphite and ink, the drawing portrays an image of dogs being chased. Pang drew inspiration from the novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding.

“The main concept of the drawing is to show that a pack without a leader falls apart.” said Pang. “For those that read “Lord of the Flies,” you would know that in the novel, the boys became savages without a leader, which is what I am trying to depict.”

While Wang completed her project in 12 hours and Pang finished hers in six, both girls struggled with innovation and creativity throughout the process. During her initial brainstorming session, Wang had difficulty deciding on the topic for her artwork.

“The hard part was coming up with the idea,” said Wang. “I was open to all sorts of options, and I didn’t know which route to take. It was hard to decide on what to do.”

Pang faced a similar challenge while creating her piece. She agrees that the concept behind the drawing posed as her greatest obstacle.

“This piece was a part of a series, and I struggled to narrow down the concept of it,” said Pang. “After doing a bunch of thumbnail sketches, I was able to create a clear and coherent concept.”

The hard work and long hours of dedication were put to the test when they submitted their projects.

Neither, expected to win.

“When I submitted, I told myself it wasn’t about winning, but how others perceived my painting,” said Wang.

“When I saw my name on the winners list, I was surprised.”

Unlike Wang, who did not

set winning as her p r i o r i t y, Pang submitted her work to win the scholarship for her college education.

“It was nice to be recognized in the competition. I will compete in other competitions at college,” said Pang. “Competitions are a great way to get recognition and awards that often include money or internship opportunities.”

Although both artists are thrilled with their accolades, neither is about to rest on her laurels. Wang enjoys painting when she has time, and will continue with her passion as an art student at the University of California, Los Angeles. Pang shares similar dreams, and is currently deciding between the California Institute of the Arts and the Art Center College of Design.

Art has been a way for Wang to relax, reflect and express herself in various ways. After spending years of dedication on this hobby, she believes that art is a language on its own.

“I love art because you’re able to put your opinions out there while letting other people have opinions of what you create,” said Wang. “Art is, and always will be, a whole new language to me.”

PHOTOS USED WITH PERMISSION FROM FUHSD

The gut instinct:

Why following your instincts leads to success

Intuition Bee

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ART ILLUSTRATION TO INDEPTH SECTION

BY JESSICA LUO

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ife revolves around a series of decisions, whether they are made painstakingly slowly or within the blink of an eye. More often than not a snap decision may prove to be more accurate than expected, thanks to the brain’s preprogrammed system commonly known as intuition.

Intuition originates predominantly from the limbic brain, a part of the brain that regulates emotions and judgment.

Coupled with the reptilian brain, which controls instinctual actions such as breathing and walking, these two parts work together to make decisions. Because intuition is not from the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that allows humans to think logically, many people regard it as unimportant or secondary.

“It’s more prevalent in our decisionmaking unconsciously,” said Lynbrook psychologist Brittany Stevens. “Because it’s not always so overt, people don’t realize how frequently it factors into our decision-making.”

Contrary to popular belief, intuition is not just a “feeling” based purely on shifting emotions. Intuition is a process, one that utilizes information that is already stored in the brain to create a decision or an opinion as educated as possible in the shortest amount of time. The brain looks for past experiences that correlate with the situation at hand and draws upon them to form a quick judgment.

Typically intuition is recognized under circumstances in which an individual is given a time limit or is under extreme pressure, which is why it is often incorrectly considered as irrational and rash.

Intuition in academics Intuition, however, does not only activate under drastic situations. Sophomore Matthew Hase-Liu, who frequently participates in math competitions such as the American Math Competitions (AMC), relies on his intuition when given

a particularly hard problem.

“Sometimes you can relate [the problem] to past problems you’ve seen before, so even if you don’t know how to solve it, you can recognize a similar problem,” said Hase-Liu. “My intuition is just as accurate [as my rational thinking], if not more.”

Because problems on the AMC are multiple choice, Hase-Liu applies a few different methods to determine his answer. Along with the well-known “process of elimination,” after numerous tests he came to understand that his intuition could also be used.

“People’s minds are irrational--even if you think you’re thinking logically, it doesn’t actually help you. Going by your gut gives you a better answer,” said Hase-Liu. “On tests, if I don’t know the answer, I’ll just go by my first guess. I’ll never second guess myself.”

ition, like where your opponent is going to kick--mind games and all,” said Chai.

But intuition isn’t just a “mind game”-its alarming accuracy and efficiency has enormous potential. Dr. Kelly Turner, author of Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds, believes intuition plays a large role in making decisions related to recovering cancer patients. Furthermore, intuition’s near-perfect timing allows individuals to “predict” unforeseen dangerous situations.

In an online article published by Learning Mind, a professional automobile racer described a near-death experience. As he was turning the corner of the racetrack during a race, he unthinkingly braked, something racecar drivers rarely do. Immediately after stopping, a massive

Intuition in athletics To an athlete, intuition plays an important role in determining direction and quick movements. Junior Kirsten Chai, who plays goalie on the varsity girl’s soccer team, recalls moments in which her intuition prompted her to act faster than she would have otherwise.

“Once you’ve been playing [soccer] long enough, it just becomes a movement,” said Chai. “I usually use [intuition] when it looks like [the opponent] is about to take a shot.

I’ve made some crazy saves, ones I never thought I would make.”

In a typical soccer game, the amount of time between when an opponent aims and when an opponent shoots is so limited that Chai usually has no choice but to trust her gut instinct.

“During penalty kicks, it’s all about intu-

car crash occurred in front of his car.

In hindsight, he realized his brain had recognized signals of an upcoming accident before he had become fully aware that something was wrong. The crowd, which would usually have been cheering him on, was unusually silent. Although his rational thought process had not yet become aware of the dangers of turning, his intuition sent warning signals through his body, prompting him to stop before driving directly into the accident.

Though intuition is part of our subconscious, its accuracy and reliability make it a powerful tool to the human mind. “[Using intuition] happens all the time, whether or not we’re conscious of it. It’s a product of habit,” said Stevens.

“It is so much more powerful than people give it credit.”

didn’t follow my intuition one time. Now I won’t be able to fish a single admission letter from colleges. How, you ask? How did my disregard of a gut feeling lead to a traumatic failure that obliterated my only hope at a chance for higher education? I’m glad you asked.

At 11:28 am on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, I sat in a room crouched over a notecard, hand shaking and sweating profusely. The professor was about to ask the next question in the Brain Bee, a neuroscience competition. Despite my firm belief that I would be eliminated first, I had somehow clutched through every question, climbing my way to top three. At that point, the $150 prize, allexpenses paid trip to Washington DC, and advancement onto the National Brain Bee were too close to let someone else take in front of my eyes.

While my wild fantasies of being congratulated by Obama and touching his glorious hand were running through my mind, I had missed the question. I asked for a repeat, only to be struck dumbfounded by a true or false question regarding the use of calcium channels to prevent Parkinson’s disease.

I remembered reading about dihydropyridine blockers, but was not certain on whether they were calcium channels or sodium channels. My intuition told me they were indeed calcium channels, but my brain decided to lead me in a journey down the path of wrong ideas leading to complete and utter failure and despair.

I initially wrote down true, but being the ridiculous overthinker I am, I then approached the question from a non-standard angle: statistically. I recalled that out of the many questions they asked, there had been three previous true/false questions, and all of them true.

Technically, the events were independent so there was still a 50% chance of the statement in question being true, but since humans had created the questions, the events could not have possibly been independent.

I mean, if I were creating the questions, I wouldn’t make them all true. So statistically, there was a much higher chance of the statement being false, and thus a much higher chance of me advancing to nationals.

In my meticulously calculated confidence, I crossed out my “true,” quickly scribbled a false, and turned in my answer whilst beaming with pride, certain of my answer. Sure, I had never taken Statistics, but I knew pretty much everything there was to know about it, right?

Oh, how foolish of me to ignore the gentle tug in my stomach that begged me to write “true” instead. The other two competitors both got the question wrong and, no surprise here, so did I. Had I listened to my intuition and relied on my conscience to make a decision for me, I would have won, allowing myself to daydream about meeting Mr. President some more (shoutout to junior Harim Lee for being the first Lynbrook student to win regionals). I couldn’t hide my dissapointment; I allowed myself to wallow in self-pity whilst eating ice cream to soothe my terribly damaged soul.

All in all, my disregard of a strong intuition left me defeated in the battle towards the $150 prize money. Don’t ever doubt your gut feeling; you’ll feel ostentatiously smart for a minute, only to be beaten up, crushed, torn to pieces and left to die on the side of the street that says “Failure.”

Islamophobia: Through the eyes of the innocent How the media misconstrues Islam’s image and what Muslims are doing to fight it

BY DHIRAJ NALLAPOTHULA & IRIS ZHAO

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anatical. Violent. Oppressive. Medieval.

For someone flipping through television channels or reading news reports, it would be easy to see Islam as less of a religion than a doctrine of fear. After all, words like “terrorist” have a tendency to inspire images of brutality. These adjectives do not describe Islam, however, but rather a skewed perception and judgement of Islam that is sometimes promoted by the media.

In Western culture, “...Muslims and Arabs as well as other non-Western religious and ethnic groups have long been perceived and treated as inferior, less civilized and less cultured, which ignores the rich history in many other parts of the world,” said Columbia University Political Science professor Brigitte Nacos. “These prejudices have long informed entertainment media, especially Hollywood motion pictures.”

Ultimately, these negative Islamic stereotypes have given birth to what has been popularly called “Islamophobia.” According to Nacos, Islamophobia originated principally from public and media reactions to a swell of Muslim extremist terrorist attacks with an anti-Western agenda, including the East African Embassy Bombings in 1998 and the September 11 attacks.

Over the past decade, tragedies such as the

Charlie Hebdo attack, the Boston Marathon bombing and the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have only strengthened the anti-Islam sentiment, in turn perpetuating some Western media outlets’ “...portrayal of Muslims only in the context of negative events,” said Nacos. Despite this portrayal, Gallup polls have shown that 78 percent of Muslims “reject attacks on civilians,” the most out of any major religious group.

In addition, Nacos said, “What is forgotten and rarely, if ever reported is that far more victims of Jihadist terrorism are Muslims, not Westerners.” These negative portrayals popularized by Western media have established a prevalent double standard in the realm of religion and crime.

“When a Muslim-American commits an act of violence in a public space, it is typically reported as terrorism,” said Nacos. “When a non-Muslim-American does the same, it is typically called a crime.”

The localized result of Islamophobia is microaggressions against members of the Muslim community. For senior Maleeha Syeda, “Discrimination occur[s] occasionally from time to time… but it occurred a lot when I first entered Lynbrook. I was one of the few people wearing scarves so I did stand out.”

At times, people have expressed disbelief over the fact that she was Indian, instead believing her to be from “Islamia.” Because of

her religion, Syeda says, “People fail to notice that I am a regular Indian-American just like every other Indian-American.”

Freshman Hibah Tanveer has also been treated differently for being Muslim, recalling an instance when someone asked her what religion she followed. “I didn’t want to give him that information because if I say the truth, something would go wrong.” When she told him her faith, he “[asked] if I was a part of or interested in various terrorist groups. I didn’t think asking those questions was necessary because it doesn’t define who I am.”

The effects of this biased rhetoric has extended to the government, including what former Muslim Student Association (MSA) co-president Safwan Siddiqi says is “...blatant discrimination in airport security. Multiple times, TSA members have taken me for ‘random security checks’ for which only I and other Muslims had ‘coincidentally’ been selected for.”

At Lynbrook, Siddiqi and fellow co-president Numair Baseer founded the MSA in order to educate the Lynbrook community on the truths of Islam and pull back the curtain they feel that Western media has

cast over the religion. Baseer then worked with Siddiqi to establish the MSA to “build a bridge between the Muslim and non-Muslim community.”

Regardless, the negative image that certain facets within Western culture have painted of it represents a significant obstacle in allowing the world to accept it as a religion and not as an oppressive and fundamentalist system.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY INDEPTH SECTION

Exploring the difference between loneliness and solitude

BY PRASANN RANADE

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY SHEFALI VIJAY

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oneliness. The word carries with it a host of connotations, from the “loners” of middle school to feelings of shame and unworthiness. In fact, even though the term describes the feelings of some solitary people, social pressure plays a key role.

In high school, surrounded by social media and social pressures, those students left out increasingly feel isolated--the precursor to loneliness.

At the heart of the issue lies the inescapable truth that humans are social animals, wired at a biological level to belong to groups.

In fact, according to psychologist Abraham Maslow and his “hierarchy of human needs,” belongingness and intimacy ranks third, after basic needs of shelter and food and below needs of self-esteem and self-actualization.

Groups and clubs in high school provide a way to fulfill that need, especially during the key years of adolescence. To provide insight into adolescence, psychologists look to another common name, Erik Erikson and his stages of psychosexual development.

During a person’s adolescent period, from ages 12-18, he or she faces a conflict between self-identity and conformity, exacerbated by social issues like peer pressure.

“Loneliness and this social pressure is

a by-product of the phase of adolescence, when identity formation is the big concept,” said school psychologist Brittany Stevens.

Middle school, in particular, lays the foundation for feelings of loneliness, in part through the introduction of social cliques, based around the idea of excluding others.

“The word ‘loner’ in middle school is a big term: If you didn’t have friends or hang out with people, regardless of the reason, you’d be a ‘loner’,” said sophomore Harsh Jain.

The accumulation of this social and media pressure to conform leads people to a sense of fear of being lonely. In fact, in contemporary society, this fear has a name--monophobia--and has been diagnosed as an actual anxiety condition.

Loneliness to such an extent reflects the long-term impact of such a mentality, but

without enough attention to a key difference-the feelings of being alone and solitary as compared to being lonely.

To be alone is to simply be in a state of relative physical isolation from others. In being lonely, the sum of social pressures and selfidentity concerns is applied.

“Loneliness is feeling as if no one understands or relates to you, but being alone is a choice,” said literature teacher Joanna Chan.

That choice of being alone influences an individual’s perception of his or her state.

Simply being alone carries with it undertones of solitude and serenity, of having time for introspection and meditation.

This positive frame of solitude, thus, contrasts with the negative feelings of loneliness. In that sense, the presence of quiet time

can counteract feelings of excess loneliness.

“The concept of reframing where loneliness is viewed as solitude and self-reflection is very powerful, by changing the underlying perception of being alone,” said Stevens.

This contrast highlights the way solitude and loneliness are defined with respect to only the individual or to social groups, respectively. In fact, this definition of loneliness with respect to others represents how students can feel lonely even in social situations, surrounded by others.

“For some people, even in a big crowd, they can feel alone, like they can’t interact or connect to anyone near them,” said Chan.

That idea of emotional connection represents the crux of the feeling of loneliness and represents how reframing it as solitude can overcome these negative feelings.

Letter to the Editors: Alumnus encourages short population

I

n the story “The Impact of Height on Success” published in Issue 5, staff writer Julia Park addressed the challenges of being short in a society that indiscriminately favors tall people. Park is right that “Above average height is linked to larger paychecks, greater self-esteem and more leadership potential,” but students already know about this.

I want to show you a different side of this story. Drawing from my experience being short, I am going to teach you how to be an outlier.

Compensate, compensate, compensate Making the most of limited resources is the best way to make up for a few inches. I have noticed that highly successful people do not sulk on their weaknesses; rather, they brand themselves by their strengths. Capitalize on your intellect, personality, or whatever may be your forte, so that people define you by your strengths, not by short stature.

Participate in a confidence-building activity Activities such as sports, public speaking, and theatre will force you to go beyond your comfort zone. During my time at Lynbrook, I played on the soccer team and participated in Model UN. While soccer taught me to compensate for my height using speed and skill, Model UN helped me find my voice and command respect from others. Both experiences empowered me with self-esteem and became assets as I moved on to college life. Use the social experiment that is high school to learn how to face adversity with fortitude.

Find role models Read about people who have

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turned adversity into advantage. My personal inspiration is the diminutive Lionel Messi, arguably the world’s best soccer player, who maneuvers past towering defenders to score goal-after-goal for FC Barcelona. These role models will show you that physical disadvantage is no excuse for not following your dreams.

fuse to accept difficulties at face value. For me at least, if nothing else, being short has taught me how to stand up tall.

Shouvik Mani Lynbrook Alumnus, Class of 2014

Defy expectations The problem with our society is that we set arbitrary expectations. We expect tall and short people, leaders and followers and men and women to look and behave in certain ways. Unfortunately, people often break when they cannot live up to these unrealistic standards. I have found that the sooner you let go of society’s expectations, the sooner you can start enjoying life.

Don’t let any shortcoming dictate the way you lead your life, regardless of what studies have to say. Challenge the status quo, test your own limits and re-

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY JULIA PARK

BENEATH THE HELMET| A look into the effects of sports on the brain continued from BENEATH THE HELMET page 1

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRAION BY FRINA REDOLOZA

“Sports uplift me--I feel more energized after a workout,” said Lillemark. “When I’m stressed from school work, I just go for a run and I feel much happier almost instantaneously.”

Similarly, playing a sport also has the effect of reversing the damage caused by stress. Stress atrophies the hippocampus among other parts of the brain, which explains why stress makes one forgetful.

Exercise, however, provides benefits such as improved cognitive function and elevated mood, thereby reversing the detrimental effects of stress.

“Sports is a way for me to relax from doing all the work I have,” said Yuan. “When I’m playing, I don’t think about anything school-related, so I’m able to clear my mind and work more efficiently afterwards.”

Over time, the brain experiences an increase in overall amount of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine that create positive feelings.

Having low levels of such neurotransmitters can result in clinical depression, so an increase in these substances correlates with a happier individual.

“Regular exercise is known to improve feelings in nonclinical populations and to help those with some clinical disorders, such as anxiety or depression,” said Tomporowski.

“Individual bout of exercise improve moods and reduce levels of generalized anxiety.”

In addition to providing a mood boost, exercise improves mental abilities, facilitating the process of learning. During rigorous physical exercise, the heart is required to pump more blood to carry to the muscles. Consequently, blood flow to the brain increases, enhancing focus, concentration and alertness.

“Our findings show that chronic and acute participation in physical activity, particularly aerobic activities, is beneficial to brain function and cognitive health,” said Dr. Charles Hillman, a neurocognitive kinesiology researcher and professor of kinesiology at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign.

“Physical activity has been related to greater integrity of brain structure that supports attention and memory.”

Studies have shown that the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus--which control learning, attention and memory--have greater volume in those who exercise regularly than in those who are sedentary.

Interestingly, these structures of the brain take the longest to mature and therefore grow significantly throughout the teenage years, signaling the importance of sports during adolescence.

Of course, downsides to playing sports do exist. Although sports provide many positive psychological effects, playing sports in excess can lead to a state of physical and mental exhaustion called burnout.

A burnout is characterized by emotional isolation, decreased motivation, low self-esteem and performance decrements in athletes, and is often caused by factors such as high expectations and extreme competitiveness.

Athletes experiencing said phenomenon were reported to have lower levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter which plays a major role on the reward center.

“I wanted to quit and just take a break,” said junior Angela Sun, who experienced burnout freshmen year during swim season. “I was a mess. I was trying to decide whether or not to switch teams or just quit completely and I didn’t really know who to talk to deal with this situation.”

Experiencing a burnout often results in athletes forming ill feelings toward sports. Multiple negative psychological effects may ensue and the athlete may feel pressured to stop pursuing the sport, or eventually may give it up completely.

Additionally, injuries acquired during physical activities can cause psychological damage, such as lower self-esteem, poor academic performance, and strains in family relationships.

Many serious injuries disable the athlete from being able to participate in their sports, which can create mental distress.

Athletic trainer Alex Viveiros explained that athletes are psychologically affected by injuries especially heavily if they define themselves by their athletic performance.

“The goal is for athletics to be an add-on, so that it helps build character and improve social and emotional life.

But one of the biggest problems is when an athlete defines his self-worth by how well he does in athletics,” said

Viveiros. “That’s when they will be psychologically affected by small injuries or a bad turnout in games.”

Furthermore, similar to the mental stress of school work, the physical stress of intensive training in sports can undermine an athlete’s immune system.

According to a study by researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, an increase in volume or intensity of exercise correlates with a lower ratio of immune helper cells to immune suppressor cells.

Along with injuries, concussions and other cranial injuries sustained during vigorous play can produce lasting effects that continue to affect athletes for decades.

Short-term effects of concussions include confusion, vomiting, disturbed sleep and amnesia. The long-term effects, however, can be more severe.

For decades after a concussion, the brain exhibits abnormal brain wave activity, as well as deterioration of motor neurons and passageways.

Over time, the damage from injuries becomes compounded, resulting in motor problems typical of Parkinson’s disease patients as well as memory and focus problems. In a

way, too much exercise undoes all the benefits that moderate amounts of it can bring.

Among many drawbacks of playing a sport, the one that possibly affects Lynbrook students the most is the time lost due to after-school sports.

Most sports at Lynbrook begin around 3 and end anytime between 5 and 6. These three hours of rigorous exercise take away a significant portion of time which would be used to complete for homework or other extra curriculars without sports.

“By the time I get home, shower, and eat dinner, it’s well past 7 p.m.,” said Lillemark. “I have to give up resting time to finish homework and study for tests.”

Despite the decrease in free time, most athletes will agree that the benefits of playing a sport considerably outweigh the drawbacks.

“When you play a sport, it’s like getting a second family-you make so many friends in a whole different community and socializing with those friends takes me away from stress from school work,” said Lillemark. “In the end, I’m so glad I’m active in so many sports teams here at Lynbrook.”

Athletics Unlimited holds second annual World Cup tournament with futsal instead of soccer

WORLD CUP

BY SHIVATEJA VEMIREDDY

A

KATHLEEN CUI—EPIC

KATHLEEN CUI—EPIC

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CLAIRE CHIANG AND STEPHANIE LU

thletics Unlimited is hosting its second World Cup for all students from April 27 to May 1.

The World Cup has teams of up to eight playing futsal, an indoor version of soccer with five players per team on the field at a time.

The World Cup was designed to be an event that allows students to relieve stress and just have fun.

Unlike Spikefest or March Madness, the amount of students per team is much higher, meaning that there would have to be a significant amount of interested players.

“We tried to publicize more to people who wouldn’t normally play soccer or futsal,” said Athletics Unlimited Vice-President and junior Mukund Hari. “A problem we faced last year was low attendance, so we put up posters, top-of-the-quad signups, and announcements in hopes of increasing participation because the World Cup doesn’t have the same recognition as Spikefest or March Madness yet.”

Choosing futsal, as opposed to soccer, was also a plan to increase attendance. “People don’t want to go all the way out to the field to watch soccer,” said Hari.

“That is why we chose futsal, so we could have the World Cup take place in the gym.”

A team for futsal also requires less people than one for soccer, allowing fewer players while still having eight teams.

Participants like sophomore Trevor Aquino concurred with club’s decision to choose futsal. “It

would be too tiring if we played soccer,” said Aquino.

“It is a lunch-time activity, so its main purpose is for people to have fun, making futsal a wise choice.”

On the other hand, juniors Shivani Rangwala and Elin Chee feel that soccer would have been a better choice for the competition. “While playing futsal, if you slip and fall, it would hurt more than falling on grass or turf,” said Rangwala. “Also, there are more people on a field at a time for soccer, so it is more fun.”

“Soccer requires a lot more teamwork,” said Chee.

“In futsal, one person can carry the team, while in soccer, you need everyone.”

The Athletics Unlimited officers tried to make the competition less competitive to attract students who do not normally play soccer or are wary of spending a whole season playing the sport. They limited the number of varsity players that could be on a team, so recreational players can play for fun rather than for competition.

“Last year, we had some trouble with the rules being changed a lot,” said Aquino. “This year, however, the officers didn’t change the rules and I felt that there were much more people participating and watching.”

Athletics Unlimited is trying to get students to spend time with their friends while playing a sport they can enjoy. “The World Cup is novel, there is no other tournament like it,” said Mukund Hari. “We are promoting sports for everybody by organizing events like Dodgeball, the Super Bowl and now the World Cup.”

“I really enjoyed the overall atmosphere of playing in the game. All the people shouting and cheering on the side really pumped me up.”

TREVOR AQUINO // SOPHOMORE

“I’m really happy I participated this year. After not playing soccer for a few months, getting together with my friends to play futsal was a lot of fun!”

ELIN CHEE // JUNIOR

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ALLISON YUAN

Wanted: new 49ers management

BY SHREYAS IYER

I

t’s the end of April and as all true football fans know, this means draft season. Day after day of endless mock drafts, strategic breakdowns and combine results analysis consume our very thoughts, up until the day that our beloved team makes its selections. My team, the 49ers, just had a disappointing year to say the least. But with a loaded defense and a revamped offense, there was no reason why this team would not be able to make the playoffs next year.

Heading into this year’s draft, though, I’ll be spending more time speculating about my chances of pulling an A in Chemistry Honors than doing anything draft-related. The 49ers have quickly become its laughingstock due to a slew of inept management decisions and untimely personnel issues.

The blame rests solely on the franchise’s incompetent management team, with owner Jed York and General Manager (GM) Trent Baalke somehow managing to ruin what was once one of the most promising teams in football. Following the ill-advised decision to fire head coach Jim Harbaugh in December and hire a little-known coach in Jim Tomsula, York

and Baalke drove a wedge between themselves and 49ers fans this offseason, thus creating a mass exodus of star talent.

The personnel losses will be near impossible to make up.

First off, the heart and soul of the team, running back Frank Gore signed with the Colts. Next, future Hall Of Fame linebacker Patrick Willis announced his retirement at the ripe old age of 30 and reports were released indicating the potential retirement of workhorse defensive end Justin Smith.

All-Pro lineman Mike Iupati signed with the Cardinals and to top it all off, jack-of-all-trades fullback Bruce Miller was arrested for domestic abuse, adding to the criminal reputation the 49ers have been creating under Baalke and York.

These events all happened on one day. One. Day. The “Quest for Six,” at this point, appears to be a quest for six wins rather than a sixth Super Bowl. Ownership must take the fall for this. By letting Harbaugh walk for an unheralded defensive line coach and “company man” in Tomsula, Baalke and York told their coaches that they have no say in the team.

By allowing their players to rack up a high amount of criminal activity, they tell their players that they are fostering a team culture of violence, selfishness and unprofessionalism. And

worst of all, by destroying a winning culture for the sake of their pride, Baalke and York tell their fans that they don’t care about the team’s chances of winning another Super Bowl, but rather care more about their personal accomplishments.

Baalke and Harbaugh’s seemingly inevitable clash of egos should never have come to that point. As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Instead of firing the man that brought three consecutive NFC Championship appearances to the bay, Baalke needed to realize the real reasons for the lost season-poor line play, an injured defense and most importantly quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s lack of progression.

York, whose job was to manage the delicate relationship between GM and coach, utterly failed in his task. York needed to realize what really mattered for the franchise--winning games, not raising his power, fame and status.

The 49ers’ season starts on Sept. 14, when the Minnesota Vikings travel to Levi’s Stadium on Monday night. Baalke’s and York’s seats have never been hotter. Either win with this team, or face the punishment--thousands of angry fans, a belittling media and perhaps worst of all, the risk of losing the team’s status as one of the premier franchises in the league.

“I hope that the underclassmen of Lynbrook aspire to spend time in other activities such as clubs and sports and enjoy their time at Lynbrook, rather than stressing out about grades so much.”

“I think it’s important to explore everything high school has to offer as an underclassman: explore clubs, classes, new friends, everything.”

STAY IN SCHOOL (AND OTHER VALUABLE ADVICE FROM SENIORS)

BY STEPHANIE LU

A

n unfamiliar campus is overwhelming enough; the foreign setting, combined with the frantic resumebuilding of high school, as well as the huge selection of extracurriculars, is enough to send any new Lynbrook student into a serious panic.

We’re always told to listen to our elders, but how many of us have elders we’d actually listen to­­—at least in high school? Some of us have cool upperclassmen friends or siblings to guide us through high school, but let’s be honest; most of us don’t.

Luckily for all those underclassmen out there reading the

Epic, this issue’s photoessay centers around advice from some of Lynbrook’s graduating seniors to the younger generation of Vikings, whether they’lll still be at school next year or are just coming to Lynbrook.

Clockwise from top right: senior Ian Pearman speaks on the importance of enjoying the high school experience and not stressing out too much about grades, senior Alexa Burn talks about exploration in the early years of high school, senior Jane Lee explains the significance of high school relationships (platonic or otherwise) during and beyond high school, and senior Rahul Iyer talks about the value of putting your all into a few endeavors, rather than half-heartedly joining multiple extracurriculars.

“Invest in your human relationships and surround yourself with positive people you love, because they’re the ones who will carry you through these four years and stick with you even after high school.”

“I suggest that you don’t just randomly join a bunch of clubs; instead, join clubs you want to do stuff for. Don’t half-ass things—whole-ass things.”