the Epic, Volume 58, Issue 3, December 12, 2022

Housing prices rise in Silicon Valley

“Silicon

The

tory continues on pg. 13 || in-depth

Space tourism lifts of, leaving Earth behind

BY NEHA AYYER

From landing the first man on the moon to searching for life on other planets, space exploration has always been a symbol of America’s international economic and scientific dominance. Although space exploration has opened many doors to discovering other habitable bodies and furthering the study of celestial bodies, it has also led to the emergence of commercial space tourism, which is primarily spurred by recreation rather than research. The implications of environmental damage, safety risks and expensive travel render space tourism a defective enterprise, in which people should avoid investing or indulging in.

Balancing coaching and parenting on the soccer feld

BY SUSANNA TANG

PHOTO BY SUSANNA TANG

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ELIZABETH CHENG

kyrocketing housing prices and declining home listings in Silicon Valley have forced many renters out of their homes and left potential homeowners lost in a market of unattainable residences. Increasing prices and older resident demographics have taken the future of buying property out of the picture for many. Moreover, this housing crisis has significantly contributed to issues like declining enrollment in FUHSD, while disproportionately affecting lower-income and bluecollar workers looking to move into the coveted location.

Vice Mayor Liang-Fang Chao said.

SUN AND APURVA KRISHNAMURTHY

Letter from the Editors

Results from the 2022 midterm election

BY SURYA SARAF

elections are coming to a close, with

House of

propositions

government results as of Dec. 7.

Dear Vikings,

If you were a tree, You’d be an evergreen — Lookin’ this good year-round, Like the Epic’s issues one, two And three.

This holiday season, open the Epic like any Christmas present! We hope your holiday celebrations are out of this world like our Opinion story on space tourism (pg. 5) and Features review on the Star Wars saga (pg. 9). Take a break from the holiday memes on social media by reading our In-Depth story on political memes.

Want to watch a movie with your family over winter break? Visit our website lhsepic.com to read a review on “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” If you prefer drama instead, dive behind the scenes of Studio 74’s play, “Lion in Winter,” on our Youtube channel. Keep up with our advent calendar on our daily Instagram stories (follow us @lhs.epic!)

As always, we encourage you to submit Letters to the Editors, opinions on any published stories this year, and Guest Columns, articles focusing on your individual perspective, at lhsepic.com/ submissions. Selected submissions will be published on our paper and/or website. Have a happy and restful winter break! We’ll be back next year with Issue 4.

Hohoho, Elizabeth Cheng & Amy Liu Editors-in-Chief

In Calif., Incumbents

health, abortion,

Proposition 1: passed

While abortion is legal in Calif., Proposition 1 safeguards it in the state constitution, enforcing a woman’s right to choose. Proponents described women’s reproductive rights as the defining issue of this year’s midterms— one that determines the prosperity of many in the nation.

“This is monumental for Calif.’s political and state history because it allows the state legislature to pass many of Newsom’s progressive ideas,” senior Akul Murthy said. “Stringent political issues can be further swayed by our large blue wave.”

69% of voters favored the proposition.

The House

The 218th seat — which, once occupied, determines a party’s control of the House — was taken by the Republican party on Nov.

16. With a margin of just eight seats, Democrats have lost to the Republicans 213-221. Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped down, giving way to Republican majority leader, Kevin McCarthy.

use

Proposition 28: passed

For decades, STEM and the humanities surpassed the arts in public school funding.

Proposition 28 sets aside $1 million for public schools to fund arts education. School districts must spend 80% of received funds on staff and 20% on supplies and arts education.

“In schools like Lynbrook, kids tend to avoid pursuing the arts,” junior Ayanna Beberg said. “Hopefully this proposition will promote a more welcoming school community.”

64.4% of voters favored the proposition.

Proposition 31: passed

Proposition 31 aims to regulate tobacco consumption and sales by banning flavored tobacco products. It proposes issuing $250 fines for violations and raising state taxes on tobacco to fund healthcare programs. The proposition will make it illegal for most stores to sell flavored tobacco and flavor enhancers, reducing tobacco sales by about $100 million.

“It’s great that this bill promotes reducing vaping and smoking since it’s common among youth,” junior Anshul Singh

63.6% of voters favored the proposition.

The Senate

Democrats control the Senate with 51 seats, maintaining a majority after Sen. Rafael Warnock narrowly beat Herschel Walker in the Georgia runoff election. Additionally, any court justice nominated by President Joe Biden would have an extra layer of support from Democrats.

Calif. anticipates a more progressive future.

Matt Mahan wins San Jose mayoral election

BY VIDUSHI UPADHYAY

Matt Mahan will assume office as mayor of San Jose on Jan. 1, 2023 after narrowly defeating runner-up Cindy Chavez and six other candidates in the mayoral election on Nov. 8. His campaign aims to diminish the homelessness and housing crises in the city and earn the community’s trust.

On June 7, Mahan and Chavez advanced to the general election after both led in the primary election without more than 50% of the votes individually; Chavez had 39.3% and Mahan 32.2%. Mahan won the general elections with 51.3% of the 240,251 total votes, according to county elections data. On Nov.

16, Chavez conceded and congratulated Mahan on his victory. She will continue her role as County Supervisor to keep serving San Jose.

“This change in leadership is exciting for me because it's time we have someone in office who’s willing to challenge the current establishment with the support of the

people,” said senior Nathan Vong, an intern for Mahan’s campaign.

Although Mahan has limited experience as a politician, he has been heavily involved in the community through his two companies and role in city council.

Mahan first joined a startup for the early Facebook app, Causes, which he became the CEO of in 2013. With Causes, users spread awareness and raise money for their chosen nonprofits. In 2014, Mahan co-founded Brigade, a nonpartisan platform for voters to discuss current issues and elected officials. This gave the world its first voter network used by millions during presidential and midterm elections.

Mahan’s business background inspired his advocacy for government officials’ salaries to be dependent on the quality of their work. The City Council rejected this idea when he first proposed it, but one of Mahan's three main priorities is to bring this change and hold the government accountable.

“This strategy should be incredibly

effective and increase San Jose’s progress rate as it will motivate the city officials to fully contribute to their projects and will result in higher efficiency,” junior Gauri Jain said.

In his early involvement with the city, Mahan was a part of seven neighborhood and civic boards, including the City of San Jose’s Clean Energy Community Advisory Commission, and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

Mahan joined the City Council in 2020, and has shown commitment to improving the homelessness crisis and government accountability. He was the first council member to hold a press conference disagreeing with a policy that would give developers permission to build re housing opportunities for residents. Mahan believes this plan was a last-ditch effort by a council that had failed to implement a general housing plan they had passed 10 years ago.

In his first term, Mahan hopes to efficiently implement his homelessness plan, which the City Council chose in the 202122 fiscal year but has been slow to put into action. The plan will prohibit encampments in commonly used public spaces, such as schools and parks, and will also build affordable housing near public transit and

workplaces. He expects this strategy to majorly contribute to cleaning the city and ending homelessness in San Jose.

“We’ll soon start to see more smart housing and better programs for the homeless.” Vong said. “Matt has always been clear on his belief that we should be handling the major issues of our city, like homelessness, as if they were caused by a natural disaster. I believe he’ll bring quick change because that’s what the people of San Jose need now, not later.”

Regarding his thoughts on government accountability, Mahan acknowledges that the San Jose government must be more transparent to maintain a good relationship with its citizens. To do this, Mahan designed a public dashboard of results — a publicly available record of the actions made by the city. Having access to reports of the city’s progress would allow residents to understand the city’s priorities and efficiency.

“His proposals seem like a long shot, but with the support of the city and the people, he could tackle issues that have been plaguing our city for years,” Jain said. “Mahan has a tactical and logical way of approaching these issues, and San Jose could really progress during his term.”

Photo by Apurva Krishnamurthy

It's time we have someone in ofce who's willing to challenge the current establishment.

Nathan

Vong, Senior

Midterm

Democrats retaining 51 seats in the U.S. Senate and Republicans dominating the U.S.

Representatives.

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and state Governor Gavin Newsom have prevailed again. Calif.

targeted

drug

and more. Here is a brief breakdown of the passed state propositions and federal

Mahan’s campaign seeks to diminish the homelessness and housing crises in the city while earning the community’s trust.

ELD students visit Japanese American Museum for WWII history

BY JASON SHAN

After reading Jeanne Wakatsuki’s memoir, “Farewell to Manzanar,” English Language Development students from the American Literature and Writing Sheltered class further explored the historical accounts of World War II concentration camps by visiting the Japanese American Museum in San Jose.

“Farewell to Manzanar” details Wakatsuki’s experiences at the Manzanar Relocation Center through crowded living spaces, riots and poor sanitary conditions. Terri Fill, the American Literature and Writing Sheltered teacher, was inspired to integrate the book into the curriculum after attending a statewide teaching conference.

“I wanted to teach ‘Farewell to Manzanar’ because it connects to California’s history and educates our student body about the United States’ history of discrimination against Asian Americans,” Fill said. “This dark spot in our nation’s history is best told from the people who experienced it.”

Students engaged in class discussions and acted out skits to examine Wakatsuki’s recount. Fill also incorporated other readings to provide broader historical context, including President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 which led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans and President Bush’s letter of apology and reparations.

“The most memorable section was the ending, when Wakatsuki revists Manzanar as an adult,” junior Richard Lim said. “Although she was very young when she was incarcerated, you can just see the impact Manzanar had on her. Wakatsuki recalls every detail, even the smell of the camp and the voices of the other detainees.”

After finishing the book, the class took a field trip to the Jampanese American Museum of San Jose on Nov. 15. JAMsj was established in 1987 as a showcase of Santa Clara Japanese American farmers, but now preserves artifacts of Japanese immigrants, especially from World War II. It is located in San Jose’s Japantown, one of the last three remaining Japantowns in America.

“The purpose of the museum is to collect, preserve and share the history and stories of Japanese Americans,” said Lynda Gomi, tour guide and member of the Board of Directors of the Japanese American Museum. “These stories need to be told not

just by people of Japanese ancestry, but by America in general, because it is our nation’s story too. If we don’t know our own story, we can’t challenge past beliefs and push for change.”

Students viewed various artifacts and sections of the museum, such as sections about Japanese American business owners, activists that were mentioned in “Farewell to Manzanar” and the 442nd Infantry Regiment, composed of Japanese American soldiers, that fought in World War II.

“My favorite part of the tour was visiting the model of the barracks where the Tule Lake Relocation Center internees lived,” junior Zihan Gong said. “It’s as if you could feel the spirit of the hardships they endured.”

Through their field trip, students discovered diverse art borne from a time of tense racial dynamics. Diving deeper into the world of “Farewell to Manzanar,” students observed how Wakatsuki’s experiences were reflected in the lives of countless other Japanese Americans.

“There are a couple of key lessons I want my students to take away from this,” Fill said. “One is that we need to learn from the past and prevent history from repeating itself. The second is to appreciate the power of telling your story. The last is to learn about activism, so that when they encounter injustice, they will stand up against it.”

Upcoming Viking Events

Winter Wellness Week Dec. 12-16

ASB will provide goodies and activities to help students destress before finals.

Winter Concert — Dec. 14-15

The music department’s winter concert is at 7 p.m. in the auditorium.

No school, Mid-year break — Dec. 26-Jan. 6

Coin Wars — Jan. 22-27

Classes will compete to raise the most money for their chosen charities.

Winter Rally — Jan. 27

The Pixar-themed Winter Rally will be during tutorial in the gym.

Winter Formal — Jan. 28

The “Secret Garden” dance will be at the Mountain Winery.

Students experience Viking life through the IDC Exchange

BY LILLY WU

Students from all five FUHSD schools gathered at Lynbrook on Nov. 18 for the first Intra District Council Exchange in three years. The exchange students experienced Viking spirit firsthand at Lynbrook’s first-ever Fall Rally as the gym roared with the cheers of excited students.

IDC representatives from each FUHSD school collaborate dto organize the IDC Exchange, an event that invites students from across the district to spend a day shadowing a student at another FUHSD school. As the first of five exchanges this year, Lynbrook welcomed 10 students each from Monta Vista, Cupertino, Fremont and Homestead, for a noteworthy experience.

Students had the option to choose between shadowing a friend or getting matched with a random host.

“My host and I were very good friends from first through fifth grade,” Homestead sophomore Brian Ling said. “We went to different middle and high schools, so we decided to use the IDC Exchange as a chance to catch up with each other again.”

At 7:30 a.m., the exchange students arrived on campus for a breakfast of bagels and a mini presentation on logistics for the day. Goodie bags containing candy, chips and a map of the school were placed on the cafeteria tables as a welcoming gift. They then attended fourth and fifth-period classes with their hosts, often comparing Lynbrook and their home schools throughout the day.

“At Cupertino, a math teacher would typically lecture, then have students work on their own,” Cupertino senior Ria Sethi said. “Here, I felt that the teacher was more interactive and I was able to joke around with her.”

As the event allowed students to shadow hosts from other grade levels, some exchange students got to visit classes extremely different from their usual courses.

“My experience with Lynbrook classes was really good as the teacher kept me involved in their class and made sure I knew what was going on,” Monta Vista junior Nathan Liu

said. “Even though I already took the freshman English and Biology classes two years ago, I took them online, so it was still a good learning experience for me as a junior being in an in-person freshman class.”

The highlight of the day for many students was attending the board game-themed Fall Rally. The freshmen’s theme was Candyland, the sophomores’ was chess, the juniors’ was Monopoly and the seniors’ was UNO.

“From what I saw today, there’s a lot of hype and school spirit at Lynbrook,” Liu said. “There were many people cheering and wearing their class colors.”

Some exchange students had hosts who are part of ASB, so they were able to partake in the behind-the-scenes setup of the rally.

“We got there very early in the morning to set up the balloon arches and later, we handed out thundersticks,” Fremont freshman McKayla Hsu said. “The entire experience was very heartwarming as we had everyone work together to achieve the one common goal of a successful rally.”

Other exchange students part of ASB at their own school were able to experience the distinct approaches different schools have when it comes to rallies.

“As an ASB media commissioner, I wanted to see firsthand how Lynbrook functions on a rally day compared to Cupertino,” Sethi said. “Some distinct components that really stood out to me were the use of projector screens and how there were many opportunities for students to participate in the rally.”

Exchange students went home after lunch with their host and had free pizza and snacks from the ASB den.

“My experience at Lynbrook was great and I am looking forward to hosting my friends at my own school in the future,” Ling said.

To make exchanges as memorable as possible for students, the IDC aims to schedule exchanges on days of special events, though some are also scheduled on normal school days. The next IDC Exchange will be at Homestead High School on Dec. 16, the day of their Winter Black-Light Rally.

Senior and ASB President Sarah Sun welcomed exchange students at the start of the day.

By the News section

Photo by Anushka Anand

“I applied to the IDC Exchange because I have a lot of friends at Lynbrook and really liked the atmosphere here when I came here for volleyball games.”

McKayla Hsu

“I thought that the IDC Exchange would be a great way to see what life is like in other schools as well as make new connections with other students.”

“My experience today at Lynbrook was great. The rally was very fun and I saw a lot of hype and school spirit from Lynbrook students.”

Monta Vista junior

Students learned from Gomi at JAMsj about Japanese American lives during World War II.

After reading the World War II accounts in Wakatsuki’s memoir, Students visited JAMsj to learn more about Japanese American history.

“I would love to do this again because I want to experience various schools and their ways of teaching and learning.”

Ria Sethi Cupertino senior

PHOTO BY LILLY WU

USED WITH PERMISSION FROM TERRI FILL

USED WITH PERMISSION FROM TERRI FILL

CAA breathes life into Miller’s school garden

BY EMILY PEDROZA

Hands gloved and ready to serve a blossoming garden and similarly flowering school community, Lynbrook Conservation Action Association members and Miller Middle School students gather to plant seeds and care for Miller’s garden every Friday. During COVID-19, the garden became overrun with weeds as students were learning from home and could not tend to its needs. Hoping to resolve the garden crisis and create a more sustainably sourced Food Science class, CAA officers commenced their plan to aid Miller students in reviving the garden. The impact of the garden has since spread far beyond its metal enclosures, bringing fresh produce to Miller’s Food Science classes and influencing campus-wide compost plans.

In March 2021, CAA officers reached out to Miller principal Amy Steele to discuss the project. In May, they were referred to Miller English teacher, Kari Emerson, who manages Miller’s garden revitalization project and founded the Gardening Club. She

decided to pursue the collaboration with CAA after seeing students’ interest in gardening.

“When I found out about CAA, I was excited,” Emerson said. “I had the vision, but knew I would be too overwhelmed with teaching, taking care of my dad and coaching cross country, to even get it started. Their help reminds me that I’m not taking on the project alone.”

Through their collaboration over the past three months, CAA and Miller students raised and installed garden beds, removed weeds and fixed the drip irrigation system. They will plant seeds in January and February as spring comes around. CAA and Miller students will begin the revival with small seedlings that will grow quickly, like tomatoes and herbs, to supply the Food Science classes — this way, transporting fees, packaging fees and plastic waste can be reduced.

CAA members visit Miller every Friday for an hour to tend the garden alongside Gardening Club members.

“This garden is an ongoing project,” senior and CAA president Cindy Chou said. “It’s so meaningful because we get to help out our communities and the school that we went to, just a few years ago,”

During the 2021-22 school year, Emerson brought her classes to the garden to help

weed and grow plants during advisory periods.

“The kids were stressed,” Emerson said. “One day I said, ‘Hey, let’s go for a walk.’ We ended up at the rundown Miller garden and we started weeding. They started laughing and smiling and just had a great time. Even though we only did it for a little bit, it made me realize the students love it.”

Emerson hopes to promote the garden project once planting starts in February. CAA and Miller’s Gardening Club have been collaborating to harvest sustainably by using practices such as utilizing torn up cardboard boxes as mulch. After hearing that Lynbrook English teacher David Clarke also cultivates his own garden, CAA reached out for advice. After the garden becomes well-established, CAA plans to take his suggestions to add nutrients to the soil, test different sun exposures and try crop rotation. Eventually, CAA also hopes to introduce native plants in the garden to aid and attract local pollinators.

After they plant seeds, CAA hopes to also reestablish the compost bin system so food waste from the Food Science class and lunch line can be used to add nutrients to

Miller students and CAA members about sustainable agriculture and its role in helping the environment.

“It’s important that we set good examples for younger students by making their environment greener,” senior and CAA member Sana Gupta said.

Along with the project’s focus on supplying sustainable ingredients for classes, Miller’s gardening club members also hope to beautify overall campus life. By maintaining areas around the five planting beds, dedicating sections for flowers and collaborating with the Woodshop classes to build garden benches, students hope to make the garden a charming space where people can relax and spend their free time.

“I think the garden’s going to be really nice,” said Lauren Hassur, a Miller sixthgrader and Gardening Club member. “It takes a lot of work, but hopefully it will make a lot of people at Miller happy; a quiet place

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Through their collaboration during the past three months, CAA and Miller students raised and installed garden beds, removed weeds and fxed the drip irrigation system.

PHOTO BY EMILY PEDROZA

PHOTO BY EMILY PEDROZA

Space tourism lifts of, leaving Earth behind

BY NEHA AYYER

From landing the first man on the moon to searching for life on other planets, space exploration has always been a symbol of America’s international economic and scientific dominance. Although space exploration has opened many doors to discovering other habitable and celestial bodies, it has also led to the emergence of commercial space tourism, which is primarily spurred by motivations for recreational purposes rather than research. The implications of environmental damage, safety risks and expensive travel render space tourism a defective enterprise, in which people should avoid investing or indulging.

Space exploration gained traction during the Cold War as the U.S. and the USSR competed against each other to achieve superior spaceflight capability. From the ‘90s to the early 2000s, a wave of private space tourism companies emerged, in which nongovernmental personnel, such as researchers, launched missions to land on the International Space Station. Modern space tourism has since evolved, with companies developing suborbital flights for private citizens, traveling to space at speeds slower than orbital velocity so that they don’t end up drifting in space, before going back down to Earth in just a few hours. While this may seem innovative, NASA and other government-funded space programs were able to achieve much more than suborbital flights decades ago, and this novel focus on small trips distracts from greater innovation.

orbital voyages are estimated to be $50-$55 million. These costs prevent middle-class and low-income people from experiencing outer space as well, establishing a firm and harsh line on who can explore space and who can’t. The expensive costs of these flights imply that they are essentially a joyride accessible only by wealthy individuals, with billionaires disregarding plentiful issues on Earth to display their wealth.

“Space tourism is a growing industry and we’ll hopefully see affordable prices in the future, but right now space tourism is only a luxury for billionaires and doesn’t really have an impact on the general public,” Aeronautics Club officer Shrihari Arunachalam said.

Rather than contributing to technological advances or research, the goals of space tourism are geared toward enjoyment and entertainment, which neglect the increasing damage done by the industry. Rocket launches contribute to black carbon emissions, damaging the ozone layer. The first stage of SpaceX’s launch emitted about 116 tons of carbon dioxide in just 165 seconds. Virgin Galactic emits about 90 tons of carbon dioxide, while Blue Origin 93 tons per flight.

Avantika Thiruppukuzhi Senior

Current emissions of space tourism account for 6% of total black carbon emissions, which seems insignificant now, but more frequent launches in the near future will become a bigger and completely unnecessary contributor to global warming. Aside from Earth, it also would be near impossible to send millions of people into outer space without polluting Earth’s orbit with space junk.

“Space exploration started with trying to escape Earth’s orbit, and once we achieved that, its focus shifted to creating better ways for sustainability and enabling people to explore unknown territories,” senior Avantika Thiruppukuzhi said.

With reasons for space exploration shifting from scientific to recreational, many private companies, such as SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin have made it their goal to send citizens to the ISS in addition to space exploration. In 2021, “Star Trek” actor William Shatner traveled with Jeff Bezos to space in a Blue Origin rocket. Other celebrities, such as Pete Davidson and Micheal Strahan, have also been on suborbital flights in the past two years. Many celebrities have purchased tickets to expand their work, such as Lady Gaga, who intends to be the first person to sing in space and Justin Bieber, who has proposed filming a music video in space. In the pursuit of their goals, these companies have implicitly endorsed only the extremely wealthy and famous to be able to travel to space.

The cost of space travel is very expensive and will most likely not be accessible to all for much of the forseeable future. Across most suborbital space tourism companies, prices range from about $250,000 to $500,000 per seat for a 90-minute ride. SpaceX’s multi-day

Although space innovation has come a long way since the 1900s, there are still lots of risks when it comes to sending untrained people to space. Spacecrafts that private companies build are not fully safe due to a lack of regulations in the current industry. In 2014, one of Virgin Galactic’s rockets exploded during a test flight due to inadequate safety procedures and training of officials, killing the co-pilot. While the Federal Aviation Administration requires that space companies demonstrate their machines present no risks to people on the ground or the ISS, it does not pose the same safety rules as commercial airplanes.

Space tourism could help spur economic development by encouraging people to invest and creating more jobs in the commercial space tourism industry. Furthermore, the research aids some general scientific knowledge, with applications in daily life. However, these minor benefits do not outweigh the far larger potentials for harm on Earth and in society done by the industry.

“The industry of space tourism contributes a lot of environmental damage,” Thiruppukuzhi said. Also, the funding costs are really pricey, making it hard to initiate.”

Space exploration has evolved greatly in the past few decades, but the rising industry of commercial space tourism is harmful in the long run due to pollution, costs and safety risks. Spending billions of dollars on expeditions for only those with influence to enjoy themselves is not sensible, as there exists a plethora of other pressing issues back home on Earth that could use the money in more helpful ways, especially compounded by the negative environmental and financial ramifications of the space travel.

2012: SpaceX launches its commercial capsule to resupply the ISS

2016:

Christmas macaroni and trees

Contrary to the traditional glittering red and white ornaments and popcorncranberry garland on display at my local Sears, my family’s Christmas tree looks like a five-year-old’s art project, adorned with macaroni-bordered pictures, painted bookmarks and haphazardly cut ribbons.

My family has a long-standing tradition of creating Christmas ornaments to place on the tree. We gather together with our wooden stencils and ceramic ornaments, passing around brushes crusted with Crayola paint to create our perfectly imperfect decorations. Every ornament is branded with our family nicknames and year. For example, when I was 12, mine was labeled with “Tanna 2017,” adding personal flare and serving as a memento to reflect on years later. While our tree may be untraditional, it houses a lifetime of joyful and simple family memories.

When I was younger, I focused on more arbitrary aspects of the holiday, watching the newest “Good Luck Charlie” episodes and drinking hot chocolate. I struggled to understand the significance of our yearly ornament-making, especially if we were going out for vacation on Christmas. But when I moved from New York to India, I began to miss these traditions that once defined the holiday season. Instead, Dec. 25 became like any other day, consumed by Chota Bheem watch parties and continuous rain instead of glistening white snow. More importantly, with the absence of my family’s tree and everyone’s full schedules with Kumon worksheets and meetings, the holiday spirit went dry. There were no more races to the tree on Christmas morning or the desire to bake our favorite strawberry jam cookies, as we stopped celebrating all together. As I lived this alternate reality for two years, I realized that Christmas was more than a new TV show or watered-down chocolate drink; it was about making memories, keeping traditions and spending time with family.

Once moving to California, I could finally appreciate what I had once overlooked. Christmas became the one time every year where my family put aside work and focused on each other. Even if it simply ended up being my sister and I making fun of our parents’ obsession with Tamil movies, I’m able to reconnect and spend time regardless. As I grew up and acquired my own responsibilities, I learned to savor the moments when we convene peacefully without being burdened by impending deadlines and endless work.

Since my parents task me with deciding the theme of the year’s ornaments, I spend my days scrolling through pictures of possible ideas and experimenting with household materials. From painting plastic spoons to fusing together meltable beads, we find novel ideas to ensure our tree never runs short of eccentric decorations. Innovation drips from every branch of our tree, shown through our unorthodox use of bent paper clips to hang each decoration.

Whether it be choosing art materials from Michaels or helping my dad draw mini basketballs on his ornaments, my family’s ornament-making tradition will serve as a reminder of home as I go to college and beyond. I envision future Christmases characterized by slightly chaotic decorations and hot glue, yet at the core, shining with familial love and appreciation.

As I write “Tanna 2022” on my ornament, I will inevitably think of the hardships from the year, but more importantly, I will reflect on the good times I have had with my family and friends, adding another permanent memory to our tree.

TANIKA ANBU//IN MY OPINION

Story continued from front page.

1958: NASA is founded to oversee space activities

Neil Armstrong - frst man to land on moon 1984: Charles D. Walker - frst non-governmental person to go to space 1986: The space shuttle, Challenger explodes re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, killing all 1990: The Hubble Space Telescope is released into Earth’s orbit

1998: Space Adventures, the frst company sends private citizens to space, is founded

Blue Origin is the frst company to recover a rocket and reuse it for second launch

The industry of space tourism contributes a lot of environmental damage.

Overlooked alternative education systems at FUHSD

In addition to the traditional four-year approach, Lynbrook offers students various alternative opportunities like Middle College, College Now and Customized Learning Programs that benefit those who might not thrive in Lynbrook’s competitive academic environment or prefer a more intimate classroom experience. However, these programs often go unappreciated due to a lack of common knowledge and visibility. Students can benefit from learning different options, and FUHSD should take further steps to educate students about how these opportunities may open new doors for student educational experiences.

Alternative education options are vital in supporting students who have unique circumstances. The most popular option is Middle College, a program for students to take college classes and earn extra transferable credits. Students’ schedules are tailored to their academic needs and allow for high flexibility in their class schedule.

“Middle College is an amazing opportunity” junior and Middle College student Halie Yung said. “Our generation has a fixed mindset in terms of what school should be like. It provides a fun way of learning and a lot of options to learn independently with

a variety of classes.”

College Now is another option where students can take college classes at their local community college to fulfill their requirement of 12 additional credits other than the mandatory English and History classes taken at Lynbrook.

Staf Editorial The Voice of the Epic

Students are given a more diverse range of classes compared to Lynbrook’s standard curriculum and experience a realistic college environment.

Another educational path, CLP provides students who struggle with a demanding school environment with a different option to ensure that they graduate successfully. Students are provided with a range of choices such as work, volunteering and night school that allow them to earn their credits and gain knowledge outside the classroom.

“A lot of students don’t find close personal connections at their high school,” said Allison Coy, director of FUHSD’s Educational Options Department. “They now have the ability to find them in smaller programs for educational options.”

Despite the benefits, these options may

pose a disconnect between students in the programs and their peers who take classes at Lynbrook. Students who participate in these programs acknowledge that their scheduled meetings and classes during school hours make it more difficult to be involved and engaged with their high school’s community, from campus-wide events like Homecoming to clubs and social groups. However, students still appreciate the close-knit communities and new friendships that these programs give them instead.

“Middle college has had positive impacts on me,” said senior and Middle College student Sahana Nayak. “I’m part of a tightknit community of students from many different backgrounds.”

By providing additional educational opportunities, FUHSD is supporting students who do not feel connected to their own school, struggle with the competitive environment or want to have a more adaptable schedule. The district also accommodates students in difficult financial situations or who require a different learning environment.

“Students in these programs get a lot more individual attention,” Coy said. “If they are struggling with mental health, academics or attendance, then there is a lot more adult support in Middle College and CLP to support students.”

The district provides annual informational meetings about the programs that De Anza College provides. Although the FUHSD website contains basic information for the individual programs, the district fails to provide a more detailed explanation of how the program functions and how to apply for them.

“The district doesn’t really advertise about Middle College,” Yung said. “I had to find out the important information through a friend who was doing it.”

Many Lynbrook students are generally unaware of the systems in place that they can turn to for educational options. Despite a lack of widespread knowledge regarding nonlinear education, students should be more open to potential opportunities that FUHSD provides for self-growth and improvement.

the Epic staff voted 38-0 in favor of this stance with 2 abstaining.

Race swapping is more than a marketing strategy

BY EILEEN ZHU

Some modern interpretations of preexisting movie franchises switch ethnicities of characters, sparking debate about the justification of race swapping, an increasingly common trend in Hollywood. Although some speculate that media corporations deliberately try to force diversity into casts to appeal to liberal consumers, race swapping is not inherently harmful when the ethnicity of an actor is consistent with the historical or cultural context of the story.

When casting an actor, ethnicity should not be a factor unless the character’s storyline includes an ethnicity’s culture, religion or language. In some cases, a person of color is casted as an originally white character because they simply embody the character holistically better than the other actors who auditioned for the role. Conversely, if the context of the movie incorporates specific cultural or religious elements, it would not be appropriate to swap the ethnicity of the character. For example, the cast of the live action film, “The Little Mermaid,” features Halle Bailey, an African American actress, as Ariel, whose well-known depiction in the 1989 animated film featured her originally as a caucasian mermaid. Some have argued that casting a Black woman as Ariel ruins the movie since

Bailey misrepresents the animated movie, and that media corporations are forcing diversity to carry out their own agendas. These arguments fail to understand that the film is a completely fictional story. Writers imagined and outlined the rules of a fictional world, where changing the race of Ariel does not alter the story.

Furthermore, upon release of the trailer, there was an internet trend of parents recording their Black children’s reactions to Bailey starring in the movie, showing them excited seeing a part of themselves in the main character. In the cases where casting a person of color is deliberate, it is not harmful as it further diversifies the film industry, allowing people of color to gain more representation and positive influence. Diversity is important as it represents the social makeup of real life.

Even if media corporations artificially add diversity as a marketing strategy, there is no denying that children seeing a Disney princess of color encourages them to appreciate diversity.

The notion that race swapping does not do people of color justice in addressing ethnic setbacks actually stereotypes people of color to specific tropes in shows. In “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Namor, an underwater King of a Mesoamerican society, is played by Tenoch Huerta, a Mexican actor. Latinos raised concerns that Marvel casts only dark-skin Latinos with Indigenous

features, such as Huerta. However, others argue that it’s positive that Latinos with dark skin are not limited to portraying villainous roles, and that casting a light-skin Latino wouldn’t be appropriate given that Namor is Mesoamerican.

There are a limited number of movies that feature a person of color where the story is not surrounded by the setbacks of their ethnicity; a character of color should not be limited to such misrepresentative stories.

“Every time I see an Indian dude in a TV show they usually have the strongest Indian accent of all time with names like Raj,” sophomore Sagar Bhatia said. “I think people

of color within movies should be seen and treated as normal people, without exaggeration and misinterpretation of their ethnic background.”

Diverse story tropes, including people of color, shows that they are more than just their stereotypes that come with their race, sexual orientation or any other aspect of themselves. Recent casting choices such as starring Bailey as Ariel or Mindy Kaling, an Indian American actress, as Velma in Scooby Doo, normalizes people of color being featured in ordinary movies and pushes for more inclusivity in peoples’ everyday lives.

The

The Little Mermaid (1989) Animated Original Ariel (voice): Jodi Benson Directed by: Ron Clements & John Musker

Expressed or repressed speech?

Free speech...

BY ASHLEY HUANG

“Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech… or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The First Amendment, adopted in 1791, protects many rights, including the freedom of speech. A subsection of the freedom of expression, this gives people the right to voice themselves without government

dangerous ramifications, the majority of speech is protected.

“The 1st Amendment does guarantee free speech, but there have been various levels of restraint throughout U.S. History,” social studies teacher David Pugh said. “There are currently laws pertaining to hate speech and insurrection but also, movies were censored in the 1930’s and TV in the 1930’s and ‘40’s.”

Freedom of speech is crucial to a functioning democracy that runs on open debate. While censorship limits a diversity of opinions, free speech is the basis for a marketplace of ideas: a system where the best policies will eventually emerge through inevitable competition with worse policies. This concept assumes that there is inherent hierarchy to ideas and applies the economic concept of the free market to ideas and policies. Allowing the marketplace of ideas

attorney on the Lynbrook Mock Trial team.

Countries that have more repressive governments hurt citizens. For instance, Chinese authorities often censor citizens’ opinions if they contrast those of the Chinese Communist Party. This has been shown by Chinese authorities to violate other rights, including the access of information, and Chinese authorities have the legal right to oversee online content. Not only is this suppression harmful towards Chinese citizens, it also endangers other countries by blocking the flow of crucial information; for example, a lack of clarity around the origin of COVID-19 has contributed to already flourishing conspiracy theories.

“China has had power struggles between an oppressive government and the oppressed people for a long time, and their silence only serves as a catalyst for further conflict,” sophomore Elizabeth Jiang said.

At what cost?

BY SAMIYA ANWAR

Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of American democracy. However, limitations in the case of harmful speech are vital to ensure safety. The marketplace of ideas, often touted as a core argument for defending freedom of speech, is a utopian fantasy rarely ever fostering a “level playing field.” Therefore, privatized information infrastructure and social platforms should continue to be allowed to adhere to their own regulations even if that means censoring certain types of speech.

“I think the marketplace of ideas is becoming more polarized and tribal,” history teacher Mike Williams said. “I think that by consuming specific types of media that never challenges their point of view, it makes it hard for people to accept other perspectives.”

Free speech absolutist Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October, to revamp content moderation systems to be more lenient. In the aftermath of Musk’s takeover, use of gay slurs rose to 3,964 a day, antisemetic posts increased by more than 61%, and accounts identifying as part of ISIS returned. The lack of hate speech policies have allowed racists to express themselves rawly in the public eye without much pushback.

Although the First Amendment’s broad definition of freedom of speech and expression was acceptable in the past, it is now obsolete and in desperate need of revision. The current constitution protects hate speech as long as it does not incite violence. However, most hateful speech leads to violence regardless. The modern standard of dangerous speech comes from Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) and holds that only speech that directly incites lawless action can be prosecuted.

think on public platforms such as social media, there should be mechanisms to reduce hate speech, especially language that promotes objectively harmful ideologies such as white supremacy,”

Junior State of America President Shyon Ganguly said. The extent to which the internet fosters hateful speech is often underestimated. White supremacy groups traffic in racist tropes and build thriving communities of hate. Skewed framing of subjects drives extremists to commit terror attacks. Dylan Roof, who killed nine African Americans in Charlston, S.C., was unsurprisingly an active participant in online white supremacy groups. One could argue that hate speech doesn’t pull the trigger, but this doesn’t mean hate speech doesn’t create a climate where violence is more likely.

“I think in American history, before social media, there have always been crazy conspiracy theories and radical groups,” Williams said. “Now there is a larger forum for this information to get out there, due to social media.“

Since social media platforms are private companies that can regulate speech based on their own preferences, the idea of all users having a level playing field in the “marketplace of ideas” is impossible. As a private corporation, having a biased

and tinnitus pierces my ears as I hammer the drums relentlessly, dripping with sweat while wood chips flake off my drumsticks and cymbals crash all around me. For me, drumming is the perfect release of emotion and unlikely source of relaxation.

that the algorithm amplifies conservative tweets, meaning not all voices are heard equally.

“The diversity of ideas that you see in your day to day life is not represented as well in government,” Ganguly said. “Currently, it is difficult to represent the marketplace of ideas.”

All speech is not equal. In today’s climate, it’s clear that truth cannot always drive out lies, and in these conditions, it is necessary to revise the First Amendment and continue to enforce certain censorship laws to adhere to the modern state of the world.

fundamentals, I decided the best way to learn was by listening and playing along to songs freely, unrestrained by forced practice chasing prestige.

The Iranian government has also historically enforced strict rules regarding the freedom to speak one’s mind. Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, died in police custody on Sept. 16 after allegedly wearing an “improper hijab.” Following Amini’s death, many started to protest against the way the Iranian government used violence to maintain religious cultures. This resulted in the shutdown of multiple social media sites in order to try to stop information spread of the protest, which failed. When censorship was ineffective in stopping the protest, police resorted to violence, killing and imprisoning hundreds of citizens.

As seen through the wave of popular uprisings and unrest in authoritarian leaning countries, putting limits on freedom of speech incites civil unrest and in turn, state violence. From China’s behavior during the COVID-19 outbreak to Iran’s response to Amini’s death, statewide moderation of ideas and free speech has only ever led to unrest and needless violence.

Drumming my troubles away

Coming home after a long day, I collapse on my bed, thinking of what to do to let off steam. It doesn’t take long before I head over to my garage. With the flick of a switch, a stark light illuminates the sleek outline of my drum kit in the corner of the room, and I sit down behind it, closing my eyes as I slip on headphones. Just minutes later, adrenaline pumps through my body

My bond with musical expression hasn’t always been so personal. Like many others, I was encouraged by my family to play an instrument in hopes of fostering talent as a child. The first instrument I learned was piano. Yet through my five years of experience, I never truly enjoyed playing. Despite also trying out violin and classical guitar, I noticed a recurring issue — although I was able to learn the basics, I was always unmotivated so playing felt like a chore.

I was highly skeptical when introduced to the drums, believing they wouldn’t be any different from instruments I’d already attempted. This doubt only grew when I began playing, as I had to learn fairly complex technique and theory in order to even play rudimentary rhythms.

However, once I conquered the

After months of continuous practice, my technical skill and understanding of music theory never evolved past basics I learned as a beginner — even now, I can still barely read sheet music. Yet the liberation I felt by being able to play in accordance with my actual musical interests gave me the drive I had always lacked with other instruments, allowing me to improve at an unprecedented pace.

Though I have played drums for several years now, my passion hasn’t wavered; the discovery of endless genres and styles has constantly renewed my appetite.

Nonetheless, my drumming career hasn’t always been so carefree; the biggest roadblock in my confidence occurred junior year, when I was invited to perform as a guest drummer with a chamber orchestra. Despite lacking knowledge of music theory, I had to compose the drumming parts and integrate

them without overpowering others’ sound, all while maintaining impeccable timecount. I decided to simply focus on letting my playing come through naturally, unburdened by concerns for sophistication. I put faith in my long-practiced approach to play by feel, which better complemented the melodic ebbs and flows of the orchestra.

Music doesn’t always stem from impeccable skill and technique; its core is rooted in soul, or expression of self and emotion. One does not have to be incredibly skilled to convey passion through an instrument. I’m proud to have a connection with drumming while simultaneously living and enjoying the music I’m playing.

Even if I may lack formal technique, I drum because it allows me to explore and express my interests, playing songs with cathartic, deeper significance. I’m glad my approach has been unorthodox. If I’d focused entirely on technique and music theory, I doubt I would’ve come to enjoy drumming as much as I do now — my emotional connection just wouldn’t be the same.

TIMOTHY KIM // IN MY OPINION

PHOTO AND ILLUSTRATION BY AUDREY SUN AND VALERIE SHU

BY JASMINE RIHAL

As the holiday season rolls in, Santa Clara County lights up the night sky with luminous Christmas trees and attractions. To commence

celebrations to bring the festive spirit to the local community.

Christmas in the Park, created by Don Lima in the 1950s in his front yard, was the first holiday display in San Jose. The cheerful Christmas decorations intrigued the community as display expanded each year. Eventually, the decorations became such an important phenomenon that he donated them to the City of San Jose to be displayed at Plaza de Cesar Chavez every Christmas.

“Everyone in Christmas in the Park gets the same experience, and we all get to share the joy of making memories.” Vice President of the Board of Directors Debbie Degutis

The annual tree lighting ceremony was held on Nov. 25, featuring over 500 trees crafted by community members, either to honor a loved one or simple to spread the Christmas joy. In addition to attractions such as kiddie rides and roller skating, light shows synchronized with classic holiday tunes lit up the tree, welcoming thousands

“I love that this event brings people together — we have multiple generations of families that come out to make memories,” said Stacey Holden, President of the Board of Directors.

“It is such a joyful event and we’re proud to be able to bring that to the

The City of Los Gatos also hosted a tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 2 at Los Gatos Town Plaza Park. For over 30 years, this tradition has featured dancers and singers from the community. Every year, Santa is also escorted to the Plaza Park in a vintage fire truck by the Los Gatos Fire Department to oversee the lighting. Afterward, children can take pictures with Santa and the first responders.

“My favorite part of the holidays are all the opportunities to come together with family and friends, sharing traditions,

Vice Mayor of Los Gatos Maria Ristow

said. “The tree lighting is the launch of the winter holidays in Los Gatos and sets the stage for a cozy feeling of community.”

The annual Los Gatos Children’s Holiday Parade took place the next day. Appearances were made by students and staff from Los Gatos High School, R.J. Fisher Middle School, Los Gatos Saratoga Recreation and more. The same vintage fire truck in which Santa was escorted to greet the kids during the tree lighting ceremony also escorted him through the parade.

on Main is another tree lighting ceremony hosted by Main Street in Cupertino. The ceremony offered family entertainment, photos with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, arts and crafts and hot chocolate. Groups around the community, including Cupertino High School’s choir, performed at the event.

that comes into play when planning an event like this, but we’re happy to do it for the community because it is a nice public event,” General Manager of Main Street Cupertino Mike Rohde said.

people to come together and celebrate the holiday season with their loved ones. Unifying the community, these events spread the holiday cheer, spreading festive spirit.

Hua Hsu “Stays True”

BY INAAYA YOUSUF

In his memoir “Stay True”, Class of 1995 Lynbrook alumnus Hua Hsu shares his experiences of being a second-generation immigrant growing up in the Bay Area. Hsu recounts his days at Lynbrook and UC Berkeley and the friendships he made along the way. His writing takes readers along his journey of self-exploration and reconsideration of his identity and relationships, reminding others to live in the moment.

Born in Illinois, Hsu spent most of his early life in Cupertino with his mother while his father lived in Taiwan. He explored many extracurriculars at Lynbrook, but the one that seemed to stick with him most was his work on the school newspaper, the Epic.

“It was fun to have a platform,” Hsu said. “To write your opinion on something and

After high school, Hsu went on to study at UC Berkeley, where he began focusing on his book, “Stay True: A Memoir.” Released in September, the book, rated on the New York Times’ Top Ten, reveals Hsu’s college experience and delves into his friendship with former peer Ken Ishida, who passed away before their senior year. Following the tragic event, Hsu focused on writing to help deal with his loss. In his memoir, Hsu looks back at days when he would write letters to Ishida, with one written soon after his death discussing everything Hsu missed about him.

“I think that writing is a way of freezing time,” Hsu said. “It brought me back to these conversations that I wanted to spend some more time thinking about, that I could no longer have so it did bring me these moments of peace.”

In 2017, Hsu joined the New Yorker as a staff writer, covering many articles and topics such as Asian American experiences and music. Similar to his memoir, Hsu has pieces that go into his past and provide insight into his childhood.

“In his articles, Hsu writes in the typical New Yorker analytical style, whereas his memoir tends to talk more about his feelings,” English teacher David Clarke said.

By writing them down, Hsu was able to hold onto and analyze his younger self and the experiences he went through. Some of these defining moments include his long distance relationship with his father that mostly existed through letters and faxes, and his life changing friendship with Ishida, who inspired him to write for himself rather than for a job.

Throughout the memoir, readers experience interactions between Hsu and Ishida. From impromptu car rides to sharing their dreams, Hsu’s storytelling brings readers along the journey of the boys’ friendship until its untimely end. The attention to detail throughout the book, like music playing in the background of a scene, provokes readers to feel a part of each moment. Although Hsu’s life contains elements of surprise waiting at every corner, he credits these unexpected encounters for shaping him into the person he is today.

“It’s easy to get ahead of yourself and to worry about the future, but sometimes you need to stay focused on your present,” Hsu said.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY JASMINE RIHAL AND MAPLE LEUNG

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY JASMINE RIHAL PHOTOS USED WITH PERMISSION FROM HUA HSU

Disney fies Star Wars canon to new heights with “Andor”

BY LARRY WANG

Epic lightsaber duels, cinematic soundtracks and awkward but fan-pleasing dialogue — the Star Wars franchise has long since featured the Skywalkers in nine movies and countless television shows. From George Lucas’s Prequel and Original Trilogy to his “Clone Wars” show, Star Wars has been a fan favorite for decades, revolving around Luke and Anakin Skywalker and their Jedi exploits. That is until Disney acquired Lucasfilm and the franchise. Disney’s corporate attempt to capitalize on the Skywalker storyline with the release of the sequels was poorly-received for good reason: the fans wanted a change of pace.

Disney took the right direction as they featured less prominent characters in spinoffs. Movies like “Solo” and “Rogue One” painted a gritty depiction of living amid squalor and galactic corruption in contrast to the romanticization of the Jedi order in “The Clone Wars.” Shows like “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett” achieved what the Sequel Trilogy never could: building upon Star Wars’ universe of characters, appeasing longtime fans while maintaining a large audience. Yet, the highlyanticipated “Obi-Wan Kenobi” miniseries was met with mixed reviews as audiences believed the expansion of Kenobi’s story was unnecessary and, worse still, created continuity errors.

Disney’s latest installment, “Andor,” enriches Star Wars’s canonical universe, delving into the sparks of the Rebellion without interfering with the Skywalker plot. The 12-episode show revolves around “Rogue One” protagonist Cassian Andor, the eventual hero and savior of the Rebellion. In contrast to previous Star Wars productions, “Andor” focuses on how ordinary people become revolutionaries rather than centralizing the familiar Jedi and heroes who spearhead the Rebellion. Along the way, “Andor” balances the Rebellion’s complexities with the drudgery of life under the Empire through a cast of nuanced, well-thought-out characters. New and original characters, such as Karis Nemik, a devoted young revolutionary who envisions an ideal galaxy without the Empire, provide fresh perspectives. In the heist where Andor and his crew steal massive sums of Imperial credits, Nemik captures the revolutionary spirit — dissatisfaction with the corrupt Empire and its dispelling of native families from their homeworlds. Lasting and prominent figures are introduced too, including Luthen Rael, one of the founders of the Rebellion. Introduced to the audience as “The Buyer,” Rael’s mysterious background helps him evade the Empire while hooking the audience, but it clouds the legacy of his

contributions. In the same way his efforts go unnoticed by the future Star Wars universe, they elude the fanbase, who weren’t privy to his contributions and character until the release of the show. Novel characters like Rael demonstrate that Star Wars has more to offer beyond actionpacked lightsaber fights.

Disney adds another dimension to the politics of the Imperial Senate through the of Mon Mothma, a character briefly introduced in the Original Trilogy. What would seem dull, drawnout filler between action scenes during Mothma’s political meetings is surprisingly tasteful, as “Andor” maintains suspense as Mothma conceals her Rebellion agendas behind the mask of Imperial politics.

As a whole, “Andor” is Star Wars at its finest. It has given unprecedented depth to the Rebellion’s complexities along with adding to an already richly woven tapestry of characters and stories. Star Wars will hopefully continue weaving this tapestry with its upcoming shows: “Skeleton Crew,” “Lando,” the “Ahsoka” television series, and of course, Season Two of “Andor.”

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY MAPLE LEUNG AND KATIE CHIN

Lynbrook Craft Faire vendors share their holiday spirit

BY ANUSHKA ANAND

Marking the beginning of the holiday season, the annual Craft Faire featured a variety of vendors selling handcrafted items. Cupertino shoppers flocked to the faire hosted by Lynbrook Instrumental Music Boosters.

From soaps to scarves, Gillian Ortega, owner of Gillian’s Garage, has been inspired by her mother’s hobby of knitting and craft projects to create her own.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ortega turned to crafting as a way to pass time. Making soap bars takes two days of active work and six weeks of curing, leaving her time to work on other projects, like magnets shaped like screaming pumpkins.

Accumulating a large variety of craft products, Ortega decided to sell them at her third Craft Faire. Ortega brought at least 400 individual products to the Craft Faire, including approximately 200 bars of soap.

Waking up at 6:00 a.m. on the day of the Faire, Ortega and her assistants organized all her items and loaded them into the car, arriving at Lynbrook around 8 a.m.

“Seeing all the people wandering by and asking questions helps me socialize, as I don’t consider myself a very social person,” Ortega said. “I want to make someone’s day if I can.”

Monta Vista alumna Dianne Hawk typically makes quilted houses to gift her friends. She sold these timetaking masterpieces at her tenth Craft Faire.

As a teen, Hawk sewed her own clothes and was inspired to continue quilting by her mother and mother-in-law. Her quilted houses are made of various patterns found in fabric stores which are cut, lined and filled with quilt batting.

After packing all her materials on the morning of the Craft Faire, Hawk and her husband arrived at the gym to set up. Students greeted them, helped them set up and brought food and drinks to them.

“I come here every year because of how this school treats the artists,” Hawk said. “The Lynbrook students just make it more enjoyable.”

Hawk enjoys listening to stories from the customers and noting down any ideas they give them for future house patterns.

“Listening to them tell their own stories makes me want to go and fish out patterns in fabric stores for the next Craft Faire,” Hawk said.

At her eighth Craft Faire, Gloria Othon sold a variety of fruit jams and baked goods, whether it be Grinch-themed cookies or mini blueberry pies.

Inspired by her mother, Othon spends retirement coming up with recipes that she can share with her daughter and grandchildren. Othon started attending the Craft Faire with her daughter around 30 years ago.

Othon began baking three days before the Craft Faire, making her homemade frozen cookie dough and bread. With little time left, Othon spent the night packaging all her items into mini plastic bags before heading off to the Craft Faire.

Many of Othon’s jams and baked goods are sugar-free and allergy-friendly. With about 13 different one-hour recipes, each making around 15 servings, Othon hopes to inspire various students to explore baking.

“It makes me happy when people buy my goods,” Othon said. “I spend a lot of time making and packaging each one.”

Away to treasure memories, the scrapbooks Gina Velez and her mother have crafted since the early 2000s are filled with photos, with unique wedding and holiday themes.

“My mother is my best friend,” Velez said. “Scrapbooking is a great way for us to spend time with each other.”

After returning from her job as a project manager, Velez has used scrapbooking as a way to spend her evenings applying her creative side. It takes her about two hours to make smaller scrapbooks which cost $25 and four hours to create the larger sizes which are $50.

During her third year at the Lynbrook Craft Faire, Velez was excited to sell her 85 scrapbooks as well as hear the stories of those around her. For example, people looking at the scrapbooks of dogs often show her pictures of their own pets.

“I like to think that my scrapbook is sitting on somebody’s coffee table,” Velez said. “Every time they look at it, I hope it

Teja Jampani travels the world, step by adventurous step

BY DEEKSHA RAJ

On the final stretch of his nine-day and 327-mile journey from Oregon to New Mexico, junior Teja Jampani soaks in the breathtaking views of the beaches and mountains, remembering all of the incredible memories he made with his boy scouts troop throughout his journey. Inspired by his Boy Scouts adventures, Jampani takes his love for the outdoors to the next level by embarking on backpacking trips around the country. For days on end, Jampani lives on limited necessaries, rewarded for this material sacrifice by the beautiful landscapes.

“My trips with my Boy Scouts team were where I made the best memories and I’m super grateful for the experiences and my time with nature,” Jampani said.

His trip started in Oregon, where he biked along the coast on Highway 101, covering 40 to 60 miles a day with his Boy Scouts team. The heavy rain that they faced for the first three days taught him to appreciate proper preparation for unexpected circumstances. A trailer filled with especially heavy gear traveled alongside him and the rest of the Boy Scouts.

Another obstacle for Jampani to conquer was the hilly terrain, which he was ready to face after taking multiple preparatory ventures prior, and training to repair certain parts of a bike. These pre-trips included the team going on hikes and bike rides at local spots.

“The terrain was hilly and challenging, but we have done prep-trips and cycle training on how to repair certain parts

on a bike in case one of our bikes has issues,” Jampani said.

In search of a meaningful and rewarding escape from stress, Jampani committed to embark on the journey after receiving additional encouragement from his troop. After this opportunity, Jampani knew he wanted to continue embarking on backpacking trips.

“You are immersed in wilderness, and you can’t see any streets or hear any other sounds except rain, birds and the wind rustling the trees,” Jampani said.

Throughout his trips, he has experienced tons of rainstorms, dangerous lightning and on occasion, scorching hot weather. While extremely frustrating, Jampani uses these moments as learning opportunities and reminds himself to maintain a positive mindset.

“I like to use those moments to tell myself to not say it’s nature’s fault, but it’s just the way you look at it,” Jampani said. “I go with the flow and keep calm.”

After every trip, Jampani feels motivated to backpack in new

locations, wanting to make more memories with his friends and explore more of the world. Not only does he value his backpacking trips for the vibrant views, but also because they let him escape the stress from his life and school. He also appreciates that these opportunities allowed

A. Gina Velez B. Dianne Hawk C. Gloria Othon D. Gillian Ortega E. Dianne Hawk F. Gillian Orteta

E.

B.

A. D.

C.

F.

PHOTOS BY EMILY PERDOZA GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY MAPLE LEUNG

PHOTO BY KATIE CHIN

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY PERDOZA

BY MYLES KIM AND SAM SARMA

On Oct. 20, two fathers took the stage at Los Gatos High School. Looking over the worried faces of students and the sympathetic yet fearful expressions of parents in the auditorium, Brennan Mullin and Jan Blom detailed the lives and untimely deaths of their respective children, lost to fentanyl overdoses. In the summer of 2020, each teenager separately took a pill that appeared to be a Percocet but was actually laced with a lethal dosage of fentanyl. In an effort to protect teenagers from similar tragedies, the Santa Clara County Opioid Overdose Prevention Project and the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District co-hosted the event, one of many efforts by Santa Clara County to educate its citizens and mitigate the fentanyl crisis’ toll on the community.

“Data is showing that we're seeing an increase in fentanyl showing up in communities and society overall all across the United States,” Santa Clara County Office of Education Superintendent Dr. Mary Dewan said. “Part of the increased risk to young people is just the prevalence of fentanyl in our communities.”

Fentanyl is an extremely potent prescription painkiller, with just two milligrams — equivalent to two grains of sand — being a lethal dosage, according to the National Fentanyl Awareness Day website, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency program. It is always risky to consume drugs not prescribed by a doctor or purchased at a pharmacy. In order to cheaply produce controlled substances and increase profit margins, illicit drug manufacturers will often mix the counterfeit powder and pill drugs they produce with less expensive substitutes, such as fentanyl, not taking measures to ensure consumers’ safety. Because these “fentapills” are made to look like their brand-name counterparts, it can be impossible to tell the difference. Once dealers in an area possess the fentanyl-cut counterfeit drugs, they are sold to paying customers, most often through social media and word-of-mouth references in the U.S.

“Fentanyl that is showing up in products not prescribed or sold in pharmacies might be made in a home kitchen or garage, or in a situation where other drugs might be made as well,” Dewan said. “There are no regulations, no standards, no processes. This is incredibly dangerous because even a tiny amount of fentanyl can be deadly, and there is really no way for a person to know if there's fentanyl in that pill.”

According to the National Fentanyl Awareness Day website, the majority of drugs in the illicit market now contain some amount of fentanyl, with an estimated 250 to 500 million pills containing fentanyl in circulation in the U.S. at any given time, not accounting for powdered substances. A commonly shared sentiment regarding drug use is “don’t use alone,” due to the prevalence

of fentanyl and the possibility of it being mixed in the used substance. Drug users may test the safety of a substance by seeing how an experienced friend takes it first. Since the distribution of illicit fentanyl with other drugs is so uneven and unpredictable, the first person to take unregulated drugs could be unharmed and the next could die of an overdose. At least one other sober person should be with someone using to be able to help in an emergency. Signs of opioid overdose include cold or clammy skin, a blue tint to the lips and nails, pinpoint pupils and unstable or loss of breathing and consciousness.

In the event of an opioid overdose, airways become constricted, which can result in oxygen deprivation and death. Naloxone, commonly known by its brand name Narcan, is a fast-acting overdose reversal medication that works through either a nasal spray or injection to quickly open the airways, restoring breathing in two to eight minutes.

The Santa Clara County Opioid Overdose Prevention Project, an organization aiming to educate and provide resources to youth in the county, offers free Narcan kits and instruction for use at three distribution centers located around the county daily from 1 to 2 p.m. People can also receive a kit and instruction from their local clinic at their convenience.

As of Dec. 2022, SCCOOPP has supplied 36 high schools out of 66 schools in the county with 28 kits of nasalspray Narcan each and provided training for the school staff. By choosing nasal-spray over injection, SCCOOPP officials hope that anyone will feel ready to administer the life-saving drug in an emergency. At Lynbrook, students can access Narcan at the health clinic in the GSS building. On college campuses, easy access to Narcan kits is being established in the form of vending machines, where students can swipe their student identification to receive free Narcan.

Santa Clara County prompted to take action

Both countries have increased funding for Border Security and Law Enforcement to punish street-level dealers and pursue manufacturers. The DEA in tandem with the CDC, other federal agencies and nonprofits have boosted information campaigns, warning the public of the dangers of fentanyl. For instance, the non-profit organization Song for Charlie, which seeks to inform the public about the dangers of fentanyl, partnered with the DEA to recognize the first National Fentanyl Awareness Day on May 9th 2022.

“We need to ensure that any new laws do not imitate drug-war tactics, such as incarcerating individuals who have used them,” Deng said. “Dispensing naloxone and fentanyl testing strips can save lives.”

The Fentanyl Crisis: 53%

“I tell my patients to keep naloxone handy, and show their family and friends how to use it,” said Stanford Clinical Assistant Professor, of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Dr. Huiqiong Deng. “The risk is very low; it can possibly result in opioid withdrawal, but ask anyone who has been revived, they will thank you.”

One of the most widespread ways that the SCCOOPP reaches its target audience of teenagers and young adults is through extensive online marketing. With attentiongrabbing slogans like “Fentanyl takes friends,” and “Don’t use alone,” campaigns on social media apps like TikTok and Instagram, along with other means of broadcasting, like radio, have amassed millions of views.

State governments are also rushing to prevent deaths; Senator Dave Cortese, representing Senate District 15, encompassing Santa Clara County, plans to introduce a bill in the 2023-24 legislative session that would prevent fentanyl overdoses through widespread information campaigns, the creation of Behavioral Health Advisory Councils and providing schools with Narcan kits and training on how to mitigate the many effects of fentanyl. Santa Clara County’s pilot Fentanyl Working Group program, as well as the SCCOE, are working in tandem with Cortese to craft the legislation.

At the federal level, Canada and the U.S. have worked together to mitigate the crisis through their Joint Action Plan on Opioids.

The opioid crisis as it is known today has three waves. The first wave was when pharmaceutical companies, like Purdue Pharma, overprescribed synthetic opioids such as OxyContin to patients, who inevitably became addicted. At the peak of opioid prescribing in 2012, over 255 million prescriptions for addictive opioids had been written nationwide. The second wave began when state and federal agencies started to clamp down on overprescription which led many to turn to the black market for a substitute: heroin. Drug overdose deaths skyrocketed; according to the CDC, between 2005 and 2016, the age adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving heroin went up from 0.7 to 4.9. The third and most recent wave was in 2014, when black markets in the U.S. and Canada were flooded with synthetic fentanyl as dealers saw an increasingly cheap and easy way to rollback production on heroin. Today, illicit drug manufacturers take to producing fentanyl, even in their own homes, mixing it with other drugs for cheap production.

The pandemic has only exacerbated the crisis with an increase in overdose deaths due to a combination of social isolation, anxiety and a lack of access to health services. The CDC observed that at the height of the pandemic, unprecedented overdose deaths in low-income and minority communities were significantly higher compared to white neighborhoods. Additionally, according to the National Fentanyl Awareness Day website, 86% of youth ages 13-17 report feeling overwhelmed, and 79% report that anxiety and stress are common reasons for self-medication.

The three rules of thumb with drug use in the age of fentanyl are as follows: Don’t source drugs outside of pharmacies or doctors’ prescriptions, never do illicit drugs alone and always carry naloxone; in Santa Clara County, it’s free. Ultimately, everyone can play a role in preventing overdose deaths; from state and federal governments providing a framework for treating and rehabilitation for addicts, to local governments providing educational campaigns and naloxone doses for the public; to individuals educating themselves to learn how to save lives.

“We're really investing in our school districts and our school communities to make them really focused on wellness and to save lives,” Dewan said. “Ultimately, whatever happens, it is a shared responsibility. It's the individual, it's the family, it's the community, it's the school and the county. It's really all of us.”

of all nationwide overdose deaths is caused by fentanyl

“We need to ensure that any new laws do not imitate drug-war tactics."

Huiqiong Deng, Stanford Professor

PHOTOS AND GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ASHLEY HUANG

Political memes emerge as potent messages

BY AMISHI CHANDRA AND MAPLE LEUNG

During the 2020 vice presidential debate, a fly landed on former Vice President Mike Pence’s head, causing the buzz of the debate to continue on the internet for weeks after it ended. Twitter users quickly made the scene into a meme, joking about how the fly was a way for Donald Trump, the presidential candidate, to tell Pence what to say.

On Feb. 23, Ukraine’s official account posted a political cartoon after the first explosions were heard in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The tweet, and many others, have since gone viral, gaining 1.7 million likes.

“Our generation deals with everything in a very satirical manner,” senior Esther Shih said. “When I log onto Twitter, I see memes about the most recent event.”

The term “meme” was first coined to describe a type of genetic disease. They have evolved to become a significant aspect of the internet that encompasses a variety of jokes, from captioned images to pranks. Yet memes in the past few years have become politicized and targeted.

Many people receive their news through memes, with their online interactions reflecting the increasingly polarized views on political events. Political marketers and campaign organizers often take advantage of such meme culture, as going viral is a quick way to attract young audiences and elicit negative emotions toward other candidates.

In 2012, former president Donald Trump tweeted, “Let’s take a closer look at that birth certificate,” as an attack on former president Barack Obama, implying Obama was not born in the U.S. These attacks were rewarded with viral social media interaction, and the tweets were made into memes in a matter of minutes, giving Trump more publicity with audiences who otherwise would not have seen his tweets.

“Deeply troubling things usually build on themselves and become viral, creating addictive content,” said Carmen Acevedo Butcher, adjunct professor and lecturer of “The Meme and the Human: Digital Literacies” course in College Writing Programs at UC Berkeley. “I’m also very, very worried about that.”

warped views on the perception behind political events. It’s been linked to signs of fatigue among teenagers and increased distrust for other traditional news sources.

55%

Of U.S. adults reported sharing a political meme from June to Sept. 2020

According to The Harris Poll and Fast Company

In a largely information-heavy society, pop and political culture is dominated by the use of memes to share information. According to YPulse, 50% of 13-35 year olds send memes at least once every week and 30% once every day. This constant intake of information has heavy psychological impacts on users. A study done by Frontiers Psychology illustrates that reliance on sourcing information from social media can cause users to experience

“It’s essentially psychological operant conditioning,” Butcher said. “Even if you know social media is harmful, it gives you pleasure and users always find themselves going back.” After interacting with specific memes, the algorithm behind social media sites will then push that user to engage with likeminded peers. This selective exposure to similar content widens political fragmentation. It’s also a key segue for politicians to target specific audiences through the collection of user data, such as how Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting company, harvested the data of up to 87 million people, impacting the 2016 elections.

Meme culture continues to rise given the boom in popularity of new features such as Tiktok, Instagram Reels and “video memes,” appealing to younger audiences.

Politicians and companies are beginning to monetize content like memes in order

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY SURYA SARAF

The dark past and looming present of antisemitism

BY KATIE CHIN AND CALVIN ZHOU

Social media has been set aflame with controversy over disparaging antisemitic comments made by rapper Ye and basketball player Kyrie Irving. Termed “antisemitism” by Wilhelm Marr in 1879, hostility and prejudice against Jewish peoples have existed since biblical times. In today’s society, antisemitism manifests itself in the perpetuation of misinformation through malicious remarks by public figures on social media.

Ye, born Kanye West, has been recently voicing a slew of antisemitic comments on Twitter. On Oct. 9, Ye’s Twitter was blocked following his tweet “death con 3 on Jewish people.” This antisemitic statement sparked public outrage, and in response to the comments, Ye clarified that his remarks were in regard to Jewish record labels that he defined as the “Jewish underground media mafia” and their alleged control of the entertainment industry. On Dec. 1, Ye went on to explicitly admit his admiration of Hitler and the Nazis in a podcast interview.

“In the case of Kanye, there might be an element of mental illness, but that does not excuse it,” said Maurice Samuels, Director of the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism. “It's especially dangerous because he seems to have liberated a taboo against the expression of those antisemitic thoughts.”

On Oct. 27, Brooklyn Nets basketball player Kyrie Irving promoted the film “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” on social media. The film contains heavy antisemitic tropes including the denial of the Holocaust and a conspiracy about an international Jewish organization

that controlled the world. Immediate public backlash ensued, yet Irving continued to support the film’s controversial messages.

“For me personally, hearing comments like that about your group is especially shocking and makes your stomach turn a little bit,” school counselor Shana Howden said. “We all need to speak out against all forms of it, because words do matter and what people say matters.”

Historically, antisemitism was largely backed by social Darwinism, which outlined theories of racial inferiority. During the Holocaust, Hitler used false prejudices to shape the Jewish population into a scapegoat for Germany’s losses in World War I. Following the Holocaust and defeat of the Nazis, the expression of antisemitism was markedly inhibited. However, in recent years, the world has seen a surge of accusations of Jews trying to control the world, a common antisemitic notion.

“A lot of the contemporary tropes and claims of antisemitism have medieval roots, and are so deeply entrenched,” said John M. Efron, Koret Chair of Jewish History at UC Berkeley. “Not all but many of these accusations have been modified over time but in essence have remained basically the same.”

The rise of modern-day antisemitism has largely stemmed from the rise of nationalism and political polarization, the spread of misinformation about Jews and the tension between the Christians and Jews of America. In 2017, a group of Christian nationalists protesting the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue in Virginia chanted “White Lives Matter” and “Jews will not replace us” as they marched the streets, highlighting how antisemitism has been intertwined with other forms of hate

including xenophobia and anti-Black speech.

Historically, misinformation has proliferated through texts, pamphlets and newspapers. The fabricated 1903 text “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” falsely accuses Jews of plotting to accumulate power by starting wars and gaining global economic and political dominance. Similarly, conspiracy theories that Jews were behind the 9/11 attacks and more recently, that Jews masterminded Covid-19, have spread through social media and other online platforms.

“Antisemitism has become one of the principal ways in which people can organize socially and politically in order to express their resentment of large-scale social, cultural and economic change,” said Paul Franks, Professor of Philosophy and Judaic Studies at Yale University. “It simplifies things for people, if they can say that the Jews are controlling everything.”

Misinformation can spread easily through social media platforms, such as promoting a film on a page, and given Irving’s and Ye’s large youth fanbase, can quickly cultivate itself into a popular belief. The impact celebrities have on youth is particularly profound, with many looking up to these figures as inspiration and taking their comments seriously.

Public backlash to these comments has been rapid due to the nature of social media, with organizations and individuals taking swift action to either condemn or stand behind an individual. For instance, many have disapproved of brands that cut all commercial ties with Ye and Irving, which has implications such as the loss of popular clothing and merchandise lines. Others support such decisive measures, as they believe the perceived

punishment for hate speech or other discriminatory comments discourages future incidents.

“We have a research lab on social media and hate and we saw that a lot of people were denouncing these remarks, but some were also saying, ‘Now there are consequences against them, so that's the proof of the Jewish control,’” said Gunther Jikeli, Associate Director of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism at Indiana University Bloomington.

In today’s society, antisemitism is rooted in increased nationalism and religious tensions. The rise of antisemitism has been driven by the proliferation of misinformation regarding Jewish people on social media and commentary by public figures such as Ye and Irving. Commentary from these figures has perpetuated the spread of antisemitic views in their audiences, especially their impressionable young fanbase, which has sparked public outrage and swift action from organizations to cut ties with these individuals. Although frequent appearances of antisemitism in media and pop culture have alarmingly normalized the antagonism of Jewish people, they have also empowered individuals and organizations to step up and combat the injustice.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders is pictured with his hands crossed during President Joe Biden's inaugaration. Many represented Sanders' viral pose as a comedic symbol, shown in the Gangnam Style edit above.

Housing prices rise in Silicon Valley

house,” English teacher Evyenia Ene said.

Story continued from front page.

This issue can be attributed to declining availability during a time of peak demand. With the tech industry at the epicenter of Silicon Valley, the surrounding area becomes an agglomeration of individuals working such jobs, heightening its allure. The rapid employment boom in the industry has subsequently increased the population within this condensed area, escalating the demand for housing.

“Here you are paying for the land,” said junior Vipra Bindal, an intern for real estate business Pacific Point Group.

“The value of the property mostly comes from the land that it is on because of what it is in proximity to, rather than the actual structure.”

Yet leveraged by the varying property tax per house, homeowners are more inclined to stay in their current residence. Under Proposition 13, long-time residents enjoy the luxury of paying the property tax of their home’s initial selling price rather than that of the contemporary cost. If older homeowners were to purchase property elsewhere, they would have to pay the tax of the current price, a less appealing scenario as homes have significantly appreciated in value, rendering the property tax much greater. Although Proposition 13 is meant to benefit older residents, this proposition inadvertently decreases supply on the market.

“Many Bay Area residents who retire do not choose to sell their houses because they understand the worth of their

The high ranked school districts within Silicon Valley have been a constant driving factor for eager families looking to move in.

The presence of competitive schools have significantly increased the allure of the area and overall demand. However, as seen in recent years, housing prices near FUHSD schools has remained stagnant. As the age of homeowners increases, many of their children graduate, yet they choose to stay in their homes. This can be linked to declining enrollment across FUHSD. Younger families are not able to move into the area, meaning less students are able to enroll in higher quality schools in the area.

While the majority of the Cupertino population owns their own property, 39% of households in Cupertino are still renting. However, ever since the pandemic in 2020, rent prices have been plummeting because many tech workers have transitioned into working remotely and have moved to cheaper areas to reside. From 2019 to 2021, Santa Clara renting prices have decreased by 5.8%. Although the pandemic has impacted the renting market in the Bay Area, it is slowly climbing up to pre-pandemic prices since many people still strive to live in Silicon Valley given its award-winning school districts and tech opportunities.

“As demand grows, supply stays the same, so the prices increase,” Bindal said.

In light of rising mortgages in the postpandemic world, individuals are unable to purchase homes. In order to wind down the record-high inflation, the federal government has increased interest rates, thus boosting mortgage rates drastically. For instance,

the average 30year mortgage at the beginning of 2022 was around 3% but has now risen to an average of 7%. It is increasingly difficult for individuals to pay off mortgage loans, barring them from being able to purchase property and heightening unaffordability within Silicon Valley. As higher interest rates were implemented to decelerate the economy, supply within the market lessened, thus stunting the overall growth of the market.

With the large presence of tech workers, areas tend to become increasingly affluent, creating a baseline of incredibly high prices. This not only discourages affordable housing but also prices out families. According to a study done by the San Jose Spotlight in July 2022, sellers often closed deals at about 5.6% over the asking price.

Those with disposable income have the ability to comply with excessive financial demands, inadvertently encouraging high rent or selling prices. Yet, bluecollar and low-income workers are disproportionately disadvantaged by the housing crisis. With the wage gap continuing to widen, those on the opposite side of the socioeconomic spectrum have a difficult time integrating into these areas. Most of these individuals work service jobs in the tech sector, meaning they may have lost jobs during the pandemic and weren’t able to stabilize their income. With housing prices on the rise, lower-income workers may not be able to keep up, pricing them out of the area and unable to find homes. In fact, the same cities that are housing the wealthy are seeing a surge in homelessness.

“Inflation worsens the widening income disparity since every salaried worker essentially takes a pay cut while investors multiply their fortune.” Chao said.

Silicon Valley has a lot of tech companies so they are willing to pay for higher housing prices.

Liang-Fang Chao, Cupertino Vice Mayor

Balancing coaching and parenting on the soccer feld

BY

Raised in countries where soccer is integral to culture, Leonardo and Claus were both surrounded by the sport growing up and wanted to recreate their childhood milieu for their children.

Leonardo’s 17-year coaching career began with Livia’s older brother; watching her family succeed as soccer players, Livia also developed a passion for soccer and requested to be coached by her father as well. Since then, Leonardo has accompanied Livia through all aspects of her soccer career, coaching almost every team she has played for.

“He’s a really good coach,” Livia said. “He’s really involved in the sport and he always fosters strong and successful teams.”

Claus’ first day as a coach ironically occurred at Samantha’s first game. The official coach of Samantha’s team at the time did not show up to the game, leaving Claus, the only parent spectator who was familiar with the sport, to coach the game.

“His fun personality on the field really excited the sport for me,” Samantha said. “Ever since, he’s been as involved as he could be in my athletic journey — this season is the first full season in which he’s not my team’s head coach.”

As Livia and Samantha entered their first high school soccer season as freshmen in 2019, their fathers followed them onto the field after being offered the coaching positions by former varsity head coach, Art Zimmerman. Wanting the experience of coaching older athletes in a more competitive environment, Claus gladly accepted the offer. Leonardo didn’t initially intend to coach at Lynbrook — in fact, he thought that Livia’s high school season would allot a threemonth break from coaching for him, as club coaches are usually on break during high school seasons.

“But when Coach Art offered me the job, I decided to take it because I really wanted to build a strong team for my daughter,” Leonardo said. “I wanted the team to know that, 10 years from now, they will not remember their losses and wins — they will remember special moments of their friendship.”

Nevertheless, the coaches’ persistent careers have set forth various challenges in dehazing the line between being a coach and a father. Leonardo and Claus make every effort to avoid favoritism on the field

Matthew Tanaka braves the waves

BY VALERIE

and to reinforce team rules for their daughters.

“We keep our family-related discussions at home or on the sidelines and off the field,” Samantha said. “I listen to him like I would to any other coach, and he treats me like any other player.”

Claus maintains the neutral coaching atmosphere by having his players nominate captains and MVP awards, which would otherwise be the coach’s responsibility. Leonardo’s intimate bond with Livia often allows him to channel greater emotions on the field.

“Sometimes I tend to be even harsher on Livia,” Leonardo said. “We have a very good relationship, so when I’m talking to her during games or practices, she understands that it’s not her father, but her coach who is speaking. Sometimes she even calls me ‘Coach Leo’ instead of ‘dad,’ which really helps create the separation between my roles as a coach and as a father.”

Having been coached by their fathers for their whole lives, Livia and Samantha have faced similar pressures that come with being a “coach’s kid.”

“The extra pressure actually motivates me to work harder,” Livia said. “One of my biggest fears is people thinking that I’m on the team just because my dad is the coach. I

always try to put 110% of my effort into my performance to prove that I actually deserve my spot on the team.”

At home, Livia and Samantha are exposed to more transparent commentary from their fathers. Both Leonardo and Claus review game footage with their daughters, openly analyzing their performance.

“There’s also the post-post-game talk in the car,” Samantha said. “As we leave a game, my dad begins to fully collect his thoughts, and I get to hear his unfiltered reflection of the game.”

Leonardo and Claus both believe that their coaching would remain the same even for a team without their daughters. As side jobs, Leonardo has served as a coach at Conestoga College for two years and in the De Anza Force Soccer Club for four years, granting him confidence to say that his coaching style is consistent for every team.

“Having my daughter on my team obviously gives me extra motivation,” Leonardo said. “But without her, I would still be coaching the same way.”

Claus has coached Samantha for the entirety of her 13year soccer career, with the 2022-23 season being his first season away from his daughter, as she has been promoted to the varsity team.

“Now that I have the experience of coaching a team without my daughter, I can confirm that I’m not coaching the current JV team any differently than I did when she was on the team in prior years,” Claus said.

Being in each other’s company at home and on the field every day, the father-daughter pairs have been able to strengthen their bonds through their mutual passions for the sport. Both pairs enjoy watching professional soccer together on television and playing soccer at the park with their families.

As Livia and Samantha prepare to graduate, they hope to preserve their bonds with their fathers over soccer, whether it be discussing the latest soccer news together or playing pickup soccer during college breaks. Leonardo and Claus both love the environment and support they receive from their teams and plan on remaining as Lynbrook’s girls soccer coaches.

“We’re really fortunate to be able to turn our biggest hobby into a job that we can do with our daughters,” Leonardo said. “It lets us do two of our favorite things simultaneously — play soccer and spend time with our kids.”

On the weekends, sophomore Matthew Tanaka can be found rising from bed at dawn to catch waves on his longboard. Only a brief 30 minute drive away, his favorite spots include Manresa State and 38th Avenue Beach.

At the age of seven, Tanaka learned to surf from his mother when his family moved from San Jose to Santa Cruz, a coastal town where the sport’s popularity allowed him to be fully immersed in the sport as he joined his middle school’s surf team.

“My mother had been surfing in Japan for more than 20 years, and she wanted to teach me her passions,”

It took Tanaka a few years to successfully grab a wave for the first time, as surfing requires both strength and experience. Being relatively light also meant that he was more easily affected by powerful waves. The first steps of paddling out to meet a wave required endurance and strong arm muscles, which Tanaka had developed from learning to swim at a young age. Once the wave’s surge passed under, standing up on the board with proper form was also challenging: standing too close to the front of the board would make him fall, and being too close to the back would add too much weight and allow the wave to

“It’s all about finding that middle ground,” Tanaka said. “Even now, I sometimes screw up because I get so panicked

when I get a wave.”

Tanaka had most of his surfing-related injuries, like being slammed into the sand and losing his breath, when he was young and inexperienced. In one competition, he was stuck in a rip current and pulled too far out into the water, but fortunately paddled back to shore unscathed. Facing no shortage of trials with competitions, Tanaka was also once forced to compete with a shortboard on short notice despite only having experience with longboards.

Tanaka participated in a few local competitions as a middle schooler, but his surfing career came to a pause when he moved to Japan at the beginning of seventh grade. Unable to surf there because of the poor wave quality, Tanaka was homesick and missed surfing. When Tanaka’s family moved back to San Jose in the summer before his 9th grade year, he was able to dive back in and reconnect with his past.

“I was pretty surprised when I found out that he surfs,” sophomore Abhiram Bhavaraju said. “He’s the first person I’ve met who does it and I was really impressed.”

Now, surfing not only gives Tanaka enjoyment but is also a way for him to stay in touch with his childhood.

“Surfing just lets me relive old memories and experiences,” Tanaka said. “It makes me feel like I’m 10 years old in Santa Cruz again.”

Story continued from front page.

PHOTO BY SUSANNA TANG GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ALYSSA WANG

PHOTO BY SUSANNA TANG

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY EILEEN ZHU AND INAAYA YOUSUF

Seniors and varsity soccer players Livia Inojoza and Samantha Strand have been coached by their fathers their whole lives.

World Cup Qatar 2022 reveals FIFA corruption

BY NICOLE GE

As the ball brushes past the goalkeeper’s fingertips and curls into the back of the net, cheers erupt across the stadium. Supporters celebrate together with their country’s soccer team, inciting patriotism and joy. This magical moment is unique to the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial soccer tournament in which countries compete for the title of the world’s best soccer team. However, the increasing public awareness of FIFA’s underhanded corruption and the mistreatment of several groups in Qatar overshadows the credibility of this tournament.

For decades, FIFA’s executive committee, commonly referred to as Exco, was the main decision-making body who decided each subsequent host country for the World Cup. It consisted of 24 officials, including major leaders and senior officials. To be eligible to host the World Cup, countries need to win a majority of votes from the members of Exco. Countries desire to host the World Cup because of the tournament’s prestige and its economic benefits. However, the lack of set checks and balances in FIFA’s hostcountry-deciding system inevitably led to corruption: the media discovered that four Exco members were bribed in the decision for Germany to hold the 2006 World Cup, and similarly two were bribed for South Africa to hold the 2010 World Cup.

In 2010, Qatar entered the bid to host the 2022 World Cup. Qatar reportedly bribed four Exco members with up to $5 million to ensure that they would receive the majority of votes that would allow them to host the World Cup. They proceeded to invest over $200 billion in infrastructure, an unthinkable sum of money compared to the meager $3 billion that South Africa invested.

“I feel like from this year’s World Cup, people have become more aware of the corruption in FIFA that has been going on for a very long time,” senior Stefano Pinna Segovia said. “It’s now gotten into the deep end, and FIFA is now open to hosting the World Cup in North Korea in the future.”

Qatar is also considered a controversial location to host the World Cup because

of constant allegations of human rights violations. Qatar has become one of the richest countries in the world after their discovery of nearby oil rigs and natural gas reserves in the late 1900s. To rapidly execute huge infrastructure plans, Qatar relies on a constant supply of migrant workers who now represent 80% of the country’s population. The process of recruiting these workers showcases the unethical side of Qatar; workers are required to pay illegal recruitment fees upfront, as well as medical tests, passports, flights and a visa to receive their job contract, causing them to fall deeper into debt. Once these workers enter the country, they do not actually get the promised job and salary and are forced into the kafala system — a restrictive immigration system that ties the migrant workers’ immigration status to their employer. The employer sponsors the worker, granting themselves an unreasonable amount of control over workers. The kafala system is the primary reason that Qatar can exploit workers and violate their human rights.

Employers are able to control the time employees get off work, their job contract statuses and even whether they can leave the country by confiscating passports. Because Qatar promised to build 12 commendable stadiums within 12 years, hundreds of

thousands of workers were recruited to execute the plan. Thousands became construction workers, where many faced atrocities ranging from verbal abuse to work-related deaths on site. Workers were also forced to live in overcrowded rooms in unsanitary conditions. Migrant workers were given the most dangerous jobs and were forced to work for 14 hours a day in the grueling desert heat.

“If you look at reports, the majority of those who died and had a working visa had no autopsy done,” history teacher Nhat Nguyen said. “The deaths are instead reported as being due to ‘natural causes,’ which is unusual as it is extremely suspicious for many young, healthy people to suddenly die.”

In 2020, Qatar finally enforced a minimum wage for employers to pay their workers and gave workers the right to terminate their job contract. However, the damage to the migrant workers’ lives had already been done, as the new laws were implemented ten years after the beginning of construction.

Qatar’s hostility toward homosexuality has also incited controversy among fans. The country considers homosexuality illegal, causing LGBTQ+ fans to feel unsafe and cautious entering Qatar in support of their country. Repeated instances of beatings and

sexual harassment against LGBTQ+ groups have been reported in Qatar, causing distress for the community.

Captains from countries such as England and Germany had planned on wearing an “OneLove” armband to convey a message against discrimination of any kind, particularly against LGBTQ+ communities. However, FIFA decided that wearing this armband would result in a yellow card given to the captain, putting the whole team at a disadvantage. Furthermore, FIFA decided to ban Belgium’s away jersey because it featured the word “Love” with a rainbowpatterned trim on the shirt, which would cause potential conflict between FIFA and Qatar.

Some other unconventional bans enforced by FIFA include bans against partying and drinking in Qatar. FIFA’s last-minute decision to ban the selling of alcohol in stadiums fully highlights the extent of which they are willing to cater to the demands of the host country, rather than their fans. Nevertheless, it is understandable that one must respect culture and religion when entering a foreign country.

“It is their country, so people should respect their religion,” Nguyen said. “For example, prior to going into somebody’s house, you need to know and follow what kind of etiquette they expect you to have.”

However, many fans will continue to watch the World Cup unaware of the controversies surrounding FIFA and Qatar. The ignorance and lack of coverage of the atrocities behindthe-scenes ultimately keeps FIFA in power, allowing future atrocities. The best course of action is to help fans realize the potential consequences of hosting the World Cup in authoritarian countries.

“I agree that the World Cup is a joyous event that demonstrates the extent of human capabilities and provides excellent entertainment to fans,” Nguyen said.

“However, it is important for people to realize that the two to three weeks of fun comes with years of abuse as well as human cost. We should try to push for changes so that we can enjoy it without feeling ashamed of how it came to be.”

GRAPHIC BY INAAYA YOUSUF

DAEUN CHUNG

BY

S

Although Wang did not initially prioritize track and field in his freshman and sophomore years, his fierce competitive spirit led him to a new goal of becoming one of the fastest sprinters on the enior Ella Tao found her passion for volleyball at 10 years old when her father signed her up for her

enior Allen Wang committed to University of Chicago after devoting six years to track and field, having a personal record of 11.25 seconds in the 100-meter dash event.team. With a new mindset, his performance accelerated starting his junior year.

Before the 2021-22 season, Wang sat out for a combined duration of six weeks due to back pain and a groin strain. Maintaining a strong mentality during his break, Wang was able to eventually set his personal record in the 100-meter dash event at his last home meet of the 2021-22 season.

Wang’s junior year records and competition results instilled in him the confidence to begin his recruitment process

Ella Tao commits to University of Puget Sound volleyball

first volleyball lesson. Continuing her sevenyear volleyball journey, Tao will be playing for Puget Sound University’s volleyball team as a defense specialist starting in 2023.

“Volleyball is one of the only sports where all the players come together after each rally,” Tao said. “It just makes me feel so special to be part of such a welcoming community.”

Tao has had one constant challenge: her height. Since most of the tall front row hitters and blockers have higher reach to the ball, Tao had difficulty finding ways to attack

against blocks as a shorter hitter. With tremendous dedication, she developed strategies to overcome this challenge and appreciates her unique skills and perseverance that led college coaches to want her to be on their teams.

In March, she started to email college coaches to invite them to her tournaments. Seeing its great athletic and academic programs, Tao finally committed to Puget Sound.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ANUSHKA ANAND USED WITH PERMISSION FROM ALLEN WANG AND ELLA TAO

Intramural sports foster more inclusivity

BY SARAH ZHANG // OPINION

F

Intramural sports entail recreational sports events between students of the same school. They typically involve official rules, rosters and referees, similar to competitive sports, but can be simplified to fit a high school setting by mimicking voluntary sports clubs.

“I’m not great at sports, but recreational athletics would be an enjoyable opportunity to meet new people and develop more teamwork skills,” junior Sophie Liu said.

Lynbrook already has the facilities necessary for several sports, including table tennis and basketball. Many of these sports are already popular, proven by the number of students who play Spikeball in the quad and basketball courts on a daily basis.

rom the baseball field to the swimming pool, Lynbrook fosters determined and passionate sports teams. However, students who may not have the time or expertise to join these teams are left without many options. Intramural sports are a fitting solution to those who wish to try a new sport or participate in sports on a regular basis in a less rigorous environment.“Playing Spikeball introduced me to many new friends,” senior Jenner Lim said. “I want to organize more games with underclassmen rather than being limited to one group.”

Furthermore, the benchmarks that authorize athletes to compete on school teams are laxed in the case of intramural sports, allowing a larger demographic to participate in sports, regardless of athletic ability. Thus, students have the opportunity to improve their skills in an easygoing environment.

Daily exercise has undeniable benefits toward physical and mental health. According to the CDC, a session of physical exercise can improve sleep, enhance cognitive function and reduce stress.

Several clubs, past and present, have organized casual sports competitions. The martial arts club, for example, occasionally holds martial arts matches, as does the breakdance club. Before the Athletes Unlimited club was disbanded, they worked to design three-on-three basketball tournaments based on March Madness.

Some claim that facilitating intramural sports programs become complex when taking into account interest, access

to equipment and supervision. However, intramural sports can be easily revised to fit the situation. Students can don pinnies instead of team uniforms and games can occur during lunch instead of late into the evening. During sports seasons, these events can occur outside to avoid conflict with practices.

Intramural sports foster inclusivity for students with diverse interests and are a great way to be part of an encouraging community.

“Kids do have a desire to workout and be competitive,” Assistant Principal and athletics A.P. Eric Wong said. “Intramurals could be a unique way to bring together Lynbrook students, but will take dedicated student and staff leaders to organize.”

editors-in-chief amy liu elizabeth cheng

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY DEEKSHA RAJ

anirudh seshadri copy editors sruthi medepalli timothy kim

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adviser

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in-depth editor

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social media manager jasmine rihal stafers alyssa wang amishi chandra apurva krishnamurthy ashley huang audrey sun calvin zhou daeun chung deeksha raj eileen zhu emily pedroza inaaya yousuf larry wang lilly wu maple leung nicole ge qianzi loo riki murase samiya anwar sarah zhang surya saraf tanika anbu valerie shu vidushi upadhyay

small print: the Epic is the official newspaper of Lynbrook High School and is a student-run open forum not subject to prior review, as protected under the California Education Code. Views expressed in the Epic do not necessarily reflect or represent those of the administration or faculty of this school or district. Letters to the Editor, guest columns and other materials to be considered for publication are welcome. Visit lhsepic.com/submissions for the guidelines and submission form.

valued contributors: Yunhee Hong and Sanghoon Kim.

Allen Wang commits to University of Chicago track and feld

in May 2021. After talking to coaches from several colleges, touring the school campuses and researching the colleges’ undergraduate programs, Wang finally chose University of Chicago.