Equal facilities lead to equal futures
BY MEADOW SHEN
On
Proposition
PTSA hosts ‘Screenagers Next Chapter’ screening to explore teen mental health pg. 2
Photo and graphic illustration by Vidushi Upadhayay and Eileen
Le er from the Editors
Ho, ho, ho,
We hope you had a warm Thanksgiving! Flip through the pages to learn about the “Screenagers” screening in News; explore the intersection between students and the FUHSD Board in Opinion; enjoy student businesses in Features; delve into Project 2025’s potential effects in In-Depth and touch base with youth leagues in Sports.
As winter break nears, We are thankful for our family and peers. Take a moment to settle down; Have fun in the moment with joy all around.
To students, good luck on fnal exams. We really hope you don’t need to cram.
To staff, enjoy the break you deserve. We, students, won’t get on your last nerve.
Here’s to Christmas, merry and bright
To candy canes, stockings and a silent night
Hot chocolate and festive cheer
Merry Christmas, and have a happy new year! Poem by Lilly Wu.
Happy holidays, Ashley Huang & Alyssa Wang Editors-in-Chief
Campus, community and world events
BY OLIVIA YUAN
Speakers from the American branches of various Japanese organizations visited Japanese 4 Honors students on Nov. 20. Presentations on their respective conglomerates and the world of Japanese corporations were given by Kenji Furushiro, Japanese Chamber of Commerce of North California executive director and secretary; Manabu Ohashi, Marubeni Silicon Valley assistant general manager and Tetsuo Oyama, Skylight America CEO. Students participated in a tower-building team strategy game and a Q-and-A panel that included other Japanese business executives. One of the new event’s goals was to encourage similar visits in the future.
School National Community International
During the week of Nov. 20, several university systems across the country declared that starting in fall 2025, students who meet certain criteria will be eligible for free tuition. For example, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced free tuition for undergraduates from families making under $200,000 a year. It will also cover the full cost of education, from housing to dining, for students with annual family incomes under $100,000. Other institutions rolling out similar measures include Carnegie Mellon University with a $75,000 income threshold for free tuition and the University of Texas system with a $100,000 threshold.
On Nov. 1, Sunnyvale was announced as the location for the Design and Collaboration Facility, the headquarters of the newly formed National Semiconductor Technology Center. The NSTC consortium is a product of the CHIPS and Science Act, passed in 2022 to promote semiconductor research, design and production. The Sunnyvale facility will also serve as the headquarters for Natcast, the nonproft organization designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce to oversee NSTC. It is expected to drive over $1 billion in research funding and create more than 200 jobs in the next decade after it opens next year.
Tens of thousands of protestors gathered outside New Zealand’s parliament on Nov. 18 to oppose the Treaty Principles Bill. The proposed bill would alter the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, an agreement between the British Crown and indigenous Māori chiefs fundamental to modern Māori rights in the country. Supporters say its reinterpretation promotes equality, but opponents argue it would undermine current protections for the Māori against socioeconomic issues they disproportionately face. One of the biggest protests in New Zealand history, the Nov. 18 demonstration was the culmination of a nine-day march by foot.
“Screenagers Next Chapter” explores device-induced anxiety
BY ISABELLA CHIU
The Parent Teacher Student Association hosted a screening of “Screenagers Next Chapter” on Nov. 21 in the theater to open discussions about the effects of the digital age on mental health. Released in 2019, the documentary follows director Delaney Ruston as she formulates solutions to teenage stress. PTSA hosted this screening so students and parents could learn more about mental health and cultivate skills to manage anxiety caused by reliance on personal devices.
“One of the key points of this documentary is knowing what the limits of technology are,” sophomore and PTSA secretary Carson Chan said. “Parents shouldn’t necessarily restrict their kids from using their phone or social media, but both students and parents should be aware of what to do when things get out of hand.”
In September, during the monthly Principal’s Coffee, in which Principal Maria Jackson meets with parents to discuss school updates, parents brought up concerns that their students’ devices were causing them to become more distracted, resulting in a lack of sleep. Teachers noticed similar effects in their classrooms, prompting the school to bring awareness to this topic.
“One of the PTSA’s goals is to facilitate collaboration between parents and the school to support students,” PTSA co-president Joann Martin said. “Part of that is supporting their mental well-being, in addition to their academic and physical well-being.”
After the PTSA chose the documentary, Jackson approved “Screenagers Next
Chapter.” Assistant principal David Erwin and attendance accounting specialist Jena Rajabally partnered with PTSA to contact the Screenagers Project, which manages the documentary screenings.
This particular documentary, “Screenagers Next Chapter,” follows multiple teenagers as they wrestle and overcome the challenges they encounter growing up in a digital age. The flm emphasizes the importance of clear and vulnerable communication. One habit it mentions is using “I” statements to focus on one’s own responsibilities instead of accusing the other person.
“The most important thing I got from the movie is that we need to listen to our
children without judgment and prejudice and make them feel heard,” Rajabally said.
The experiences faced by the students in the documentary resonated with Lynbrook students as well.
“After watching this flm, I want to get off the digital world more,” freshman Chelsea Xin said. “When I see people on Instagram stories looking happy, I’ll just tell myself that it’s not that deep and I don’t have to pressure myself to be like them.”
At the same time, some viewers remarked that electronic use may play a smaller role in stress at Lynbrook than academic competition and pressure.
“Most Lynbrook students face mental health challenges that are related to academic pressure, which wasn’t addressed much in the movie,” parent Airin Adianto said. “However, the key takeaway that students should not spend excessive time on screens is still relevant.”
Academic stress is a recurring theme seen throughout the Lynbrook community, resulting in heightened mental health awareness. “Screenagers Next Chapter” addresses social media and electronic use in the broader context of mental health.
“Our school has established wellness as an area we want to work on improving,” Assistant principal and Wellness Committee lead David Erwin said. “You can see a thread of wellness initiatives throughout Lynbrook such as the establishment of ASB Legislative Council’s mental health committee, the Equity Task Force’s wellness subgroup and the new Wellness Committee.”
After the success of this screening, the school will also present its sequel “Screenagers Under the Infuence” and a Q-and-A session featuring one of the producers of the Screenagers series, Lisa Tabb, on Jan. 29, 2025.
“The flm provides real-life examples from teenagers that both students and parents can relate to,” PTSA vice president of parental education Madhulika Sathe said. “In doing so, it prompts these conversations between students and parents to fnd balance between the negative mental health aspect and the positive benefts of technology.”
Photo used with permission from Mys 712tx
Photo by Olivia Yuan
Photo used with permission from the New Zealand Parliament
Photo used with permission from Raimond Spekking
Assistant principal Erwin introduces “Screenagers Next Chapter,” a documentary on teen device use. Graphic illustration by Angelina Feng
Photo by Isabella Chiu
December 09, 2024
Revamped Viking MUN makes a splash
BY CLAIRE GUO
On Nov. 16, Lynbrook Model United Nations held their yearly fall conference, renamed Viking MUN. Previously an unoffcial skill-building mock conference, this year’s event was a formal conference. It marked the frst collaboration with Fremont High School.
The idea for Viking MUN was sparked when Fremont MUN reached out to Lynbrook MUN in September, hoping to help with Lynbrook’s fall conference. Lynbrook student planners included junior Tanush Agrawal, logistics vice president; junior Amy Tang, outreach vice president; sophomore Aarav Anand, training director and sophomore Ojas Kothari, secretary-treasurer. With Fremont’s help, they expanded the event to become an offcial conference.
“This year, we have actual awards and better committees with more concise topics,” Anand said. “By partnering with Fremont MUN, we were able to advertise the event to the rest of the district, so our membership incresed from previous years.”
also included lighthearted topics. In the Crisis Room, where delegates create action plans like military directives and press releases, members debated fctional scenarios.
“To be more inviting to beginner MUN delegates, we like to choose topics that are easy to research,” Anand said. “For our crisis conference, we decided to take a bit of a different route so our delegates could see how fun a crisis committee can be.”
The event was held in the Lynbrook library and room 701, lasting over six hours. In MUN, students roleplay United Nations conferences as international delegates to practice skills like public speaking and research. Members break into committees that focus on specifc issues. Along with the crisis committee, Viking MUN hosted a general assembly committee.
“I’ve never been really good at public speaking at all,” junior and Viking MUN delegate Sean Kin said. “Even now, I still have instances where I stutter in front of other people. But through attending conferences and presenting in front of people, I’ve learned how to communicate my feelings.”
At the conference, staff members helped run the event by reading crisis notes, which delegates write to gain power or pass directives. Kin and senior Saarang Mallepeddi both participated as backroom members and learned a lot of new things from the experience, despite being longtime MUN members.
Upcoming Viking Events
Winter Wellness Week, Dec. 9-13
Finals Week, Dec. 16-20
Good luck on those fnal exams, Vikings!
Mid-Year Break, Dec. 23-Jan. 3
Lynbrook Idol, Jan. 15-17
Come out to watch some of our talented singers perform at the quad during lunch. Vote for the winner who will sing the alma mater at the winter rally!
Charity Week, Jan. 20-24
As previous fall conferences were beginnerfriendly, Viking MUN
“I had the chance to think from a perspective that I usually wouldn’t think from,” Kin said. “I wanted people new to MUN to see it as a fun activity that they’d love to continue.”
Mallepeddi, who has been a delegate since seventh grade, also gained a new perspective on MUN.
“I’ve been in a lot of crisis committees, but I’ve never actually been on the crisis staff,” Mallepeddi said. “This is my frst time actually getting behind-the-scenes experience and seeing how they run this.”
In the future, Lynbrook MUN hopes to continue hosting and expanding the fall conference. Their next conference, Santa Clara Valley MUN, takes place from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1.
“In the future, we may partner with other clubs and provide opportunities to lead this conference,” Anand said.
A. Freshman Adam Salme and sophomores Anushka Deshmukh and Nicolas Cheng pose for a photo. B. Freshman Katherine Yang in character as Elphias Doge. C. Sophomores T. J. Houston, Rohin Saharoy and Quincy Wu discuss a draft resolution. D. Cheng, representing Russia, raises his placard to give a speech. E. Junior Sean Kin prepares for the start of committee.
Support your class by bringing your spare change and dropping them off in your class jar! Remember, you’ll be supporting charitable causes as well while you’re at it.
Winter Rally, Jan. 24
Winter Formal, Jan. 25
Are you a snowfake? Because you’ve got me falling for you. Perhaps you’d go to Winter Formal with me?
Lunar New Year Celebration, Jan. 27-29
and
Science Club brings back student-teacher Science Bowl, formerly annual tradition
BY AMANDA JIN
Reviving a past annual tradition, Science Club hosted a student-teacher Science Bowl match on Nov. 22 during lunch. Amid chattering spectators and playful banter, Science Bowl members competed onstage in a buzzer-style competition against science and math teachers, testing a variety of STEM topics. After the tough match, the students emerged victorious, winning with a score of 188-50.
For the frst half of the match, the student team consisted of sophomore Ian Chen, junior Sohil Rathi, senior Jianyu Wang and senior and Science Club copresident Selena Yang. On the teacher team were biology teacher Nicole Della Santina, calculus teacher Jeremy Dybdahl, chemistry teacher Lester Leung and physics teacher Thanh Nguyen.
The match began with a 4-point toss-up question from the earth and space science category open to both teams. The student team buzzed in frst, answering the question correctly, and were given the chance to answer a 10-point bonus question. All questions fell into the conventional Science Bowl categories: biology, chemistry, earth and space science, energy, physics and mathematics.
“Science Bowl is a fun competition in general,” junior and Science Bowl participant Sohil Rathi said. “It’s a lot more engaging than just taking a test like other STEM competitions. It was interesting competing against Mr. Leung since he’s the one who usually coaches us.”
The teams battled through toss-up and occasional bonus questions. After the end of the frst half, the student team, leading 104-24, substituted in sophomore Ryan Bansal and senior Steve Yang. The teacher team decided to add another member to the stage, physics teacher Anshul Agarwal, to fght the students’ massive lead.
“The students buzzed in very quickly and knew many of the answers before the questions were even fnished,” Dybdahl said. “It was amazing, and we were humbled.”
Even with the competitive atmosphere, the participants laughed off mistakes, and the teachers’ animated
reactions throughout the competition flled the theater with laughter. Finishing the fnal toss-up and bonus questions, the student team ended with an impressive 138-point lead, winning in a landslide.
“It took a little longer than expected and we didn’t get to fnish the round,” Selena Yang said. “But it was still fun, which was our main goal.”
Previously an annual occurence, the student-teacher Science Bowl was held consistently each year despite switching between various locations and advisers. However, the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic forced the club to cancel the matches. Selena Yang and senior and co-president Audrey Na decided to bring back this old tradition.
“We thought members and offcers would have a ton of fun participating in or watching the competition,” Na said.
Planning began at the start of the school year. Though none of its current offcer team participated in the event before its cancellation, they were able to delegate tasks and sort out logistics. At a table before the contestants, junior Evan Liu, senior Thomas Wu and club adviser Kathleen Loia supervised the event, reading out questions and calling on those who buzzed.
Signups for the student team were open to the offcial Science Bowl team, allowing them to both face off against their own teachers in the fast-paced environment and to practice for future in-person tournaments. Competing on a stage in the auditorium and before a live
audience added to the realism of the matches.
To form the teacher team, Science Club offcers approached different science and math teachers.
“It was nice that we got to see the Science Bowl team in their element and watch the teachers in a setting we don’t usually see them in,” Na said.
Following the successful revival of the student-teacher Science Bowl, Science Club offcers hope to bring this back as an annual event and implement some new changes in the coming years, such as by strengthening promotion through Instagram posts and fyers.
“In the future, we hope to expand and open the competition up to all Science Club members to even out the playing feld,” Na said.
Among the club’s different activities and competitions, this event was more lighthearted and built bonds between students and teachers.
“It’s always fun and the students usually destroy the teachers,” Loia said. “When I participated, I learned that refexes matter and the teachers often
Photo
reporting by Taek Kim
B.
C.
D.
E.
Junior Sohil Rathi, senior Selena Yang, chemistry teacher Lester Leung, calculus teacher Jeremy Dybdahl, biology teacher Nicole Della Santina and physics teacher Thanh Nguyen compete to answer questions in the theater.
Photo by Amanda Jin
Photos by Maddy Chang and Claire Guo
The impact of California’s passed and failed propositions
BY STUTI JAIN
California — the state with the largest LGBTQ+ population — began to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004, defying a federal ban on gay marriage, but were quickly shut down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Thus, California passed Proposition 8, which defned marriage as only between a man and a woman. However, in 2013, the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide, nullifying Proposition 8.
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, reversing 50 years of federal abortion protection precedent, State Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblymember Evan Low — both Democrats in the Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus — introduced Proposition 3 to preemptively protect other constitutional rights. The proposition passed with support from 62.6% of voters. As California Amendment 3, it will enshrine samesex marriage in the state constitution while formally repealing Proposition 8. In practice, it will not lead to any new change.
“It’s unlikely that the Supreme Court will overrule its previous ruling on same-sex marriage,” senior and Gender and Sexuality Alliance Club president David Merriam said. “I think it’s a good symbolic step, but I don’t think it’s incredibly signifcant. Safeguarding LGBTQ+ medical care would be a great next step forward.”
Atypical home in California costs twice the national average, and rent is 50% higher than the national average. To make housing more affordable and build public infrastructure, local governments use bonds paid for by taxpayer money.
However, California presents obstacles for governments to borrow this money, as approvals need at least a two-thirds majority from local voters. Proposition 5 aimed to change California’s constitution by lowering the vote needed to approve certain local government bonds to 55%.
Proposed by California State Assembly Majority Leader and Democrat Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, the proposition failed with 55.1% of voters against it. If passed, supporters say it would make affordable supportive housing, and public infrastructure projects such as parks and water management easier for local governments to fnance. The amount borrowed would be repaid through increased property taxes.
Critics argued it was not democratic to allow a third of voters to overrule the wishes of the other two-thirds. They also emphasized the ease that local offcials would have in funding priorities, rather than relying on statewide or federal bonds. However, as the proposition failed, the minimum vote required to borrow money to cover public amenities will remain at a two-thirds majority.
Environmental groups and renewable energy supporters have been pushing for more funding to tackle climate change in recent years. This intensifed after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the $54.3 billion California Climate Commitment initiative in 2022, which was later reduced to $44.6 billion due to budget challenges.
Proposition 4 passed with 59.7% voting “yes,” and will authorize the state to issue a $10 billion bond toward natural resources and climate initiatives. The principal benefactors will be communities impacted by droughts and foods, with $3.8 billion going toward improving water supply and quality.
A signifcant portion of the funds will also be alloted to state projects, local governments, Native American tribes, nonproft organizations and businesses.
“I think people were a little scared, especially since the proposition relates to state debt and authorizing $10 billion,” senior and Conservation Action Association Club co-president Medha Nalakonda said. “But you can’t really decrease the amount of energy and money that you put into such large-scale efforts.”
Although repaying the bond is expected to take 40 years, with annual installments of $400 million from taxpayer money, the proposition is estimated to provide longterm savings by preventing disasters and reducing costs for climate activities.
Ranging between $16 to $19.36 per hour based on city and business size, California’s minimum wages are some of the highest in the United States. This directly refects the high cost of living in the state: a single adult in the cheapest California county would need to make an estimated minimum of $20.23 per hour to comfortably afford the basics.
Rejected by 50.7% of voters, Proposition 32 failed narrowly. If passed, California would have different minimum wages of either $17 or $18 per hour based on employer size, starting in January 2025. In 2026, employees would all earn at least $18 per hour, the highest nationwide.
“Proposition 32 not passing may not seem like a big deal, but in reality, it makes those that live paycheck to paycheck even tighter on cash as prices rise disproportionately to their salaries,” sophomore and Mathnasium employee Maria Yakovenko said.
“Low-income families will also likely be unable to afford things like housing soon due to infation, and it’ll be hard to get raises because career growth opportunities at minimum wage jobs are often limited.”
Proponents emphasized the aid it would provide struggling families, but business groups opposing the proposition argued that infation has already strained them, citing past layoffs caused by unaffordable wage increases.
In an attempt to reduce overcrowding in state prisons by classifying some theft and drug crimes as misdemeanors rather than felonies, California passed Proposition 47 in 2014. However, the proposition has been blamed in recent years for the sharp rise in crime statewide: shoplifting of merchandise worth up to $950 soared 28% over the past fve years, and the total reported thefts were 18% higher during the pandemic than in 2019.
A successful overturning of Proposition 47, Proposition 36 passed with 68.4% voting “yes.” Once implemented, it will issue harsher penalties and change court procedures. Individuals with multiple prior theft convictions will face up to three years in prison for stealing items worth over $950, or causing property damage during crimes involving three or more people. Also, courts will be required to warn drug traffckers that they could be charged with murder if they provide illegal drugs that lead to a fatality.
Proposition 36 is estimated to increase state spending on jail management and courtrelated workloads by hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Many doubted the proposition’s actual effectiveness will be in reducing crime. However, its supporters have highlighted the importance of safer neighborhoods and its ability to lower homelessness caused by drug dependence.
Graphic illustrations by
Bridging the gap between district board and students
Curriculum, funding, district policies and school modernizations are just a fraction of what the FUHSD Board of Trustees ratifes and oversees, affecting every student in FUHSD. Due to their infuence in student issues, the board should offer more opportunities for students to get involved; meanwhile, students should reciprocate this effort by engaging to uplift the district community. In doing so, they will forge a stronger district-wide connection between students and administration.
The Board is made up of fve trustees, each elected to represent an area of the district to address concerns in FUHSD, alongside a student board representative. Together they advance district goals by addressing the needs of the district, such as approving district budgets and construction plans. Decisions such as these require input from those they will affect: the students. Senior Arnav Singhal serves as the current student representative. Carefully selected by the trustees and the Intra-District Council representatives, Singhal represents all students in the district and serves as a vital point of connection between board and students. By communicating with IDC representatives from each of FUHSD’s schools, Singhal listens to student concerns on campus issues and presents them to the Board for discussion.
“The Board is always trying to look out for the students’ best interests and to accommodate to the best of their ability,” Singhal said.
Public input during bimonthly board meetings held at the district offce allows community members to voice their district-wide concerns in person or online via Zoom. For school-specifc issues, students will likely be directed to their school’s administration.
“At a recent board meeting, some students shared their concerns about the cafeteria food, and that led to our District Manager of Nutrition Services having a meeting with them,” at-large Trustee Rosa Kim said. “There’s also a student committee named the Nutrition Services Student Committee which helps us implement students’ needs for nutrition, so I asked the manager if those students who have concerns can join the conversations there.”
While infrequent, outreach events such as a student board panel in 2023 allowed students to ask their questions to the Board for immediate answers. During that specifc panel, many students voiced their concerns about the potential removal of the Japanese program at Lynbrook and ASB relations with the district. In addition, the Board holds information sessions designed for students based on need.
“Before our November board meeting
commenced, we had an ethnic studies information session, and I saw many of our students attending the session to learn what the program is going to do,” at-large Trustee Stanley Kou said. “The Board really wants to listen to our students.”
The Board should also increase outreach, so students are made aware of their presence and role. Some examples of this include sending students invitations to and recaps of board meetings, ensuring that students know they can participate in board meetings. The board meeting information is publicly accessible on the district website, but the page is not easy to fnd and lacks information regarding student participation.
“Students might show up, students might not show up,” Area 2 Trustee-elect Pat Carpio-Aguilar said. “But guess what? If something on the email invitation looks interesting for them, they will show up.”
Furthermore, by-area trustees should visit the schools in their respective areas while trustees who are still representing at-large should each be assigned to a school to visit. This is both a symbolic and active measure to let students know that the board members are open to engaging with the students.
“Something that I am working on is visiting other campuses during IDC exchanges to understand a day in the life on those campuses and talking to as many students there,” Singhal said.
The Board can also create formal opportunities for students seeking to work more closely with them. One way to accomplish this is through joint committees on projects in the district. The committee would consist of board members and students representing each school, similar to how the FUHSD Climate Collective operates. For example,
editors-in-chief — ashley huang, alyssa wang
managing editor
— lilly wu
copy editors — qianzi loo, emily pedroza
design editors
— vidushi upadhyay, eileen zhu
adviser
— josh miller
news editor — olivia yuan
when designing a new district-wide curriculum or course, the board can create a short-term group to gather feedback based on their experiences and the opinions of their peers.
“As students receive increasing opportunities to be represented, I would like to hear more from students of diverse groups and profles.
Pat Carpio-Aguilar area 2 trustee-elect
“This can include students who work after school, have a couple of courses that they’re trying to make up during the summer, and have generally been historically underserved or underrepresented,” Carpio-Aguilar said. “I’d like to hear from them to learn how they want to be represented.”
Finally, the Board should host more events that cater to the students they represent. This can be done by implementing quarterly board panels at each of the schools and inviting students to learn more about who the board is and what role it plays in the FUHSD community.
“Integrating board presence in classes is something we can explore,” Area 5 Trustee-elect Danny Choi said. “For example, as an English or social studies class assignment, teachers can assign students to come up with several questions
opinion editors — crystal zhu, david zhu
features editor — claire guo
sports editor
web editors in-depth editor
— alex cotterel
— amanda jin
— meadow shen, yvonne wu
business/pr manager
— taek kim
social media manager — inaaya yousuf
stafers
akash anand
charlotte bolay
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valued contributors: Guojing Liu
that they would want a board member to answer and vet those. The trustees, with advance notice, can visit the class where they can answer those questions.”
While much of the responsibility is on the Board, it is also vital for students to take an active role in fostering such relationships. The Board decides many aspects which affect student experiences, involving athletics and other extracurriculars, changes in curriculum, construction and modernization of school campuses. Students can take a step forward by contacting the board members through the information on the FUHSD Board of Trustees page, delivering their concerns to the board. Without students giving proper feedback to the board, it makes them unable to effectively lead their student community members.
“In one of the school’s government classes, there is a project where students write a letter to their local elected offcials,” Kim said. “I received several from those students who voiced different ideas and concerns. So I shared them with our superintendent and the school’s principal and they arranged a meeting with the students.”
Both the board and the students play an important role in fostering the growth of the district, yet it is ultimately the responsibility of the board to encourage students to take up their role.
“Let’s not wait for the mountain to come,” Carpio-Aguilar said. “Instead, let us go to the mountain.”
the Epic staff voted 32-0 in favor of this stance with 7 abstaining.
rohan kakhandiki
brian lee
gary pan
saavan saraf
jenny suh olivia tu
ethan wong
alexandra wu
cecilia wu
robert yu
Staf Editorial // The voice of the Epic
Graphic illustration by Crystal Zhu
Photo by Inaaya Yousuf
by Crystal Zhu
BY BRIAN LEE // IN MY OPINION
A different prayer in a Buddhist household
The smell of burning incense, lavishly decorated dishes and a living room flled with silent prayers — these were the things that made up my childhood, my culture, my family. Yet for the longest time, I held a disgraceful secret: I am an
BY ROHAN KAKHANDIKI
atheist.
“Come pay respect to your ancestors,” my mother would call out to me, gesturing toward the miniature shrine we built in our house. “Now clasp your hands together, close your eyes and pray,” my father followed up, gently closing my hands for me and pointing at the small Buddhist fgure ahead. I was reluctant, but my father’s warm smile and sincerity made it hard for me to oppose him.
These were my earliest accounts of religion in my household: occasional gatherings at the small shrine, eyes shut and offering solemn blessings to my ancestors. But even though I’ve done the same ritual for years, it never felt right. I prayed only because my parents wanted me to. Before long, I found myself astray, praying to earn my parents’ approval rather than to pay homage to my ancestors.
One summer break, I visited my extended family in Hong Kong — the birthplace of all my familial traditions and values — and I rediscovered how much of my own culture I have forgotten. For the frst time, I watched as my family’s cultural values came alive: the superstitious sayings my grandparents and relatives exchanged at the dinner table and the intricately decorated public shrines I visited. Other times, this meant attending religious ceremonies hosted by my grandparents’, which required
us to gather as a family. I remember watching my parents and grandparents carry out each ritual just as I practiced at home. It was then that I realized these practices weren’t just an extension of my family’s values into a different continent, but rather a way for us to stay connected to one another.
I left Hong Kong having learned an important lesson, that religion was what tied our family together — but that didn’t change my attitude toward religion. I was and still am an atheist. I’ve accepted that my family and I will continue to hold different beliefs. For my parents, religion and praying will forever be their way to connect with their culture and heritage. But for me, it is my way of connecting to my family. Religion and tradition are not things I’m willing to give up easily. After all, it’s what defnes my life in a world thousands of miles away from my heritage.
To this day, my family’s tradition remains unchanged: the incense burns brightly and elaborate dishes and silent prayers continue to color the occasional praying sessions.
“Come pay respect to your ancestors,” my mother calls.
This time, I pray not for my parents’ approval, but for my family’s culture and unity.for my family’s culture and unity.
Who’s better: Batman or Superman? The two titans of DC Comics are often compared, with Batman taking the majority of support. Batman has proven himself to be far more popular; his movies have higher box offce returns, greater comic book sales and more notoriety. But when analyzing the impact of each character, Superman is superior in every way and provides a better example for society.
Batman’s inspiration came from superfcial pop culture trends, shockingly simple compared to Superman’s. Batman made his debut in Bill Finger and Bob Kane’s 1939 Detective Comics No. 27. His conception was inspired by noir crime dramas in the 1930s, such as the television show “I Love a Mystery,” and his frst adventures didn’t show him fghting for the citizens of Gotham, but rather a detectivestyle investigation into the murder of a rich socialite.
Superman had made his debut a year earlier, in the 1938 Action Comics No. 1. The character revolutionized the idea of comic books, providing a new precedent of out-of-the-world characters with extraordinary abilities who protected the innocent. His origin story was immediately iconic: an infant from the planet Krypton sent to Earth before his home’s destruction, adopted by two humble farmers, who taught him to control his alien superpowers and infuenced him to protect the city of Metropolis.
criminals. When compared to Batman, he represented ideals of kindness and compassion.
“Superman’s character has changed less over time,” indie comic book writer Allen Wu said. “It’s interesting because his character is more pronounced by how much darker other comics can be. Now there’s many more mature stories, but Superman has always been this beacon of light, positivity, self-integrity and justice.”
From their frst pages, the characters showed what they represented perfectly. Superman spent his time championing the helpless, representing hope and optimism in the face of prejudice, whereas Batman was created solely for sales with little thought about the social impact he could have. Superman represented change and prosperity in times of strife, while Batman represented popular demand and
commerciality.
“Superman could still be a good role model, but I think he’s less of an inspiration,” junior Patrick Heydinger said. “What Superman does could still beneft the population and inspire a lot of people, but it’s not realistic compared to Batman, whose actions seem more possible for the average person.”
Batman’s winning streak proves the extent of Superman’s patience. In “The Dark Knight Returns,” Superman offers a truce with Batman, but instead of reciprocating peacefully, Batman uses this warning to prepare for a battle immediately. Only fghting as a last resort and giving chance after chance to settle arguments peacefully, Superman’s morality outshines Batman’s.
Even Batman and Superman’s home cities show their competence at heroics.
Superman’s home of Metropolis is much better cared for than Batman’s Gotham City. The home of Batman is continuously represented as a hive of criminals and
The story behind Superman’s conception was deeply tied to historical events. He was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuester, two Jewish writers who had faced prejudice for their religion and drew from their parent’s experiences of prejudice in their home of Russia, imbuing ideas of immigration and alienation in Superman’s story. The character was closely associated with defending the innocent, mainly fghting domestic abusers, muggers and
and “The Batman” shows corrupt police offcers working directly under mob bosses. If Batman wanted to make any permanent change, he would fnd ways to help criminals believe that they can be better than their sins. Instead, he does little to combat these problems, merely threatening criminals with violence if they continue their crimes.
Meanwhile, Metropolis manages to keep its crime rates under control, earning the moniker of the “City of Tomorrow”. It wasn’t always this way; many comics such as “Superman: Secret Origins” depict Metropolis as a drab society, devoid of hope or kindness, with lower class individuals clawing at each other to climb to the top. After Superman’s arrival, the people of Metropolis are inspired by Superman’s relentless pursuit for a more compassionate tomorrow despite their originally cynical nature.
Many are drawn toward Gotham’s nihilistic tone, favoring this realistic portrayal over a utopia like Metropolis. Batman’s rise in support is based on this attraction to corruption and imperfections. Compared to him, Superman’s apparent perfection and boy scout-esque personality seems basic and uninteresting.
“Heroes should be role models,” Wu said. “They can help us learn lessons by communicating certain themes. Some of these repeated virtues and sayings, like ‘be kind’ or ‘have less prejudice,’ can feel cliche when reading, but they still have a lasting effect and impact on readers.”
Overwhelming support for Batman over Superman shows how optimism is viewed in modern society. People have come to dismiss the idea of hope as cheesy, but iconic fgures such as Superman could help the idea of optimism resurface, and let future generations not just want, but believe in a better tomorrow.
“I think a hero is supposed to inspire people to do good and be better” junior Hashim Mahmood said. “Fighting physical evil isn’t always enough; a hero should inspire people to be their best self and to form good morals.”
Photo
Graphic illustrations by Inaaya Yousuf and Crystal Zhu
Equal facilities lead to equal futures
BY MEADOW SHEN
“Proposition 2 lays the groundwork for a more inclusive and effective education system, where students and teachers alike can perform at their best in an environment that supports safety, innovation and collaboration,” FUHSD director of facilities and bond Roger Silveira said.
Currently, schools in the United States rely heavily on property taxes to fund education, which lead to disparities in school quality between different socioeconomic regions. California schools are fnanced through the Local Control Funding Formula, which allocates a base amount of money to districts based on attendance and additional funds by need. As the formula is dependent on attendance instead of enrollment, higher rates of absence among schools with low-income students puts them at a disadvantage when receiving state funds.
According to American University’s School of Education, affuent districts are typically smaller yet receive roughly $23 billion in total nationwide more than underserved districts. In most districts, roughly 80% of the funds are spent on administrative salaries, health, retirement benefts and operational costs. The limited funding left for updating school facilities poses a challenge for low-income districts
to continue modernization projects. Proposition 2 proposes a more equitable distribution of school funds, lending more fnancial aid to less-affuent districts.
“Quality education can help you advance in your career by providing a lot of valuable connections,” senior Irene Chung said. “The more you invest in education, the easier it is to move up in your career.”
Supporting students’ well-being is of utmost importance, underscoring the need to foster a safe, positive learning environment through equitable school funding. Inadequate and aging school facilities resulting from underfunded school districts have proven to have detrimental effects on students’ mental health, safety and academic performance.
Increasing funding helps improve students’ academic achievement as more money can go toward obtaining better textbooks, teaching material and learning resources. Funding also supports the repairing and renewal of aging infrastructure or heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that improve the overall safety of campuses. At Lynbrook, adequate school funds support the renewal of campus spaces such as the Voyager building and the recently ongoing construction plans.
While Proposition 2 marks a good stride toward addressing this faw in our
current funding system by distributing funds based on need, initiatives like this should continue to be implemented in support of low-income students.
“Updated facilities like labs give students the opportunity to experiment and innovate, applying skills that go beyond traditional learning,” Chung said.
Modern school facilities also prepare students with skills to enter the technologically-advancing job market. By 2031, an estimated 72% of jobs will require a postsecondary education, showing the increased importance of adopting specialized skills and knowledge.
Funding allows schools to provide cutting-edge curricula and resources, such as 3D printers, robotics and coding labs that can better prepare students to pursue careers in emerging felds such as artifcial intelligence, biomedical engineering or data science. Given the importance
“Investment in modernizing schools sends a powerful message to students and communities: that their education and well-being are a priority,” Silveira said. “This boost in morale can inspire greater effort and participation, helping to break the cycle of underachievement.”
Student reading stamina raises educational questions
BY ANNA CEN
Every year, high school students scour short passages and clipped paragraphs for theme and structure during the SAT. However, these brief blocks of text that many standardized tests and school curriculums have adopted in place of longer reading sections fail to promote the most important aspect of reading: analyzing and retaining information. Instead, these questions push a formulaic and shallow reading approach on students that decreases reading stamina and overall literacy.
The shrinking emphasis on the ability to interact with texts and books as a whole in school curriculums degrades literacy and reading stamina among students. In 2024, the College Board reported that only 40% of 12th graders received a National Assessment of Education score that met the college readiness benchmark, an almost 5% decline since 2019. This concerning dip among students poses many questions about the impact it will have on the future of education, including the standard of literacy and readiness for college education.
The lowered reading standard in standardized testing plays a huge factor in the declining literacy rates. As the
SAT shifted to be completely online in 2023, reading sections that were several paragraphs long have been cut down to merely one to three short blocks of text. The number of text-based questions provided has also decreased. In a generation where attention spans are already diminishing, the change from longer paragraphs to shorter blocks has made it the norm for students to solely focus on categorizing information in short passages.
“I think that’s a disservice to students that standardized tests are being geared towards shorter passages because it’s lowering the bar for what’s expected in terms of concentration, comprehension and critical thinking,” English teacher Maggie Welsh said. “It’s lowering the expectations for a generation of students that are bombarded with short, quick messages from things like social media. Our tests shouldn’t reinforce that.”
The way that many reading questions are now framed in standardized tests and curriculums only encourages students to dissect short, similarly phrased paragraphs, emphasizing the habit of rapidly consuming texts rather than examining them. Fortunately, Lynbrook currently provides content that ensures students are able to develop
reading stamina. However, decreased emphasis on reading interpretation leaves students unprepared for in-depth analysis of longer passages. For skills such as theme development and character analysis, longer texts and detailed analysis are needed.
“I think shorter passages are catered and necessary for some test situations,” English teacher Joanna Chan said. “But is it effective to teach themes like empathy or how to be a better person? Shorter passages are not necessarily helpful for getting greater ideas on theme, which is what I think literature is for.”
This shift from longer texts to shorter passages also leaves many students unprepared for college curriculums, where professors often assign students much longer chunks of text.
“A lot of people I know study for the SAT by reading short passages, so when they get to AP English classes, they struggle,” said Audrey Na, senior and president of Students for Literacy. “The passages are much longer, and many students have diffculty getting through the text because they’re not accustomed to the length.”
Although this method could be considered a more effcient approach to analyzing text, it disregards the most important factor of reading: being able to learn and retain information from literature. Reading longer texts allows people to explore their interests, improve writing skills and analyze deeper topics. As a way to practice analyzing and absorbing information, students can fnd longer passages when studying or simply read a novel for fun. School curriculums can emphasize the importance of reading stamina in literacy.
“I think it will be benefcial to have a balance of short and long passages in testing and school curriculum,” sophomore Chander Lolayekar said. “This could help students develop both effciency and stamina. It’ll also help with deeper analysis of texts, which would prepare students for future academic and real-world situations.”
Graphic illustration by Rebecca Cai, Anushka Deshmukh, Olivia Tu, Inaaya Yousuf, Crystal Zhu and David Zhu
Graphic illustration by Isabella Chiu, Irene Hwang and David Zhu
As curriculum passages shorten, students lose reading stamina and interest towards reading.
Epic FEATURES
Student businesses provide postsecondary training
BY ANGELINA FENG AND EILEEN ZHU
From handcrafted soap bars to tie-dye shirts to homemade smoothies with unique seasonal favors, students in the special education department build organization, creativity and problem-solving skills through their business ventures, making valuable memories in the process.
SLtudents in the Training for Transition class — a program developing on-the-job training skills for students in special education — run a smoothie shop where they practice workplace readiness.
“A smoothie shop was something I had been inquiring about for three years,” Training for Transition teacher Megan Miller said. “It was a team effort with many people at the district and here at Lynbrook that put their heads together and said, ‘Yes, we can make this happen.’”
Miller works with six to eight students, assigning them tasks such as measuring fruit, chopping ingredients and blending smoothies. As they practice hands-on skills, the students partake in workplace routines, reinforcing the importance of punctuality and taking initiative to ask questions.
“I’m hoping to encourage and boost student confdence in a workplace-type setting,” Miller said. “It’s really about trying to provide a real-life opportunity for students to apply what they’re learning in the class in terms of workplace readiness to a safe space.”
Initially open only to staff, the smoothie shop has since expanded to all Lynbrook customers via the ASB store. So far, the shop has sold steadily, with staff and occasional student sales. As the students got into the fow of their shop, they brainstormed seasonal specials: a “Frosty the Snowman” drink for winter and a pumpkin spice-favored drink for the fall.
ast Christmas, the Student, Opportunity, Achievement, Responsibility program expanded to include a tie-dye business aimed to fund class trips and providing a second business for students to gain motor and planning skills. The SOAR Program hopes to prepare students for an independent life after high school.
“One priority is ensuring the students focus on their vocational skills,” paraeducator Andrea Garcia said.
“Since this is a postsecondary program, the main goal is giving them as much independence as possible.”
To create the shirts, the students start by covering white shirts in soda ash, which improves the strength of the color. They then tie up the shirts to create individual dye designs with full creative freedom and fnish by ironing on the shop logo. These steps have been expanded to include bandanas, tote bags and socks, and through this process, the paraeducators have observed growth in their students’ understanding of expectations and focus.
“A moment that stands out to me is seeing the reactions after products are fnalized,” Liz Driscoll, a paraeducator in ACT 2,said. “We can tell how happy consumers are with the work that the kids are doing.”
Currently, tie-dye items are primarily sold to the Lynbrook staff, but plans are underway to make them available through the ASB store. They can also be purchased at the Holiday Craft Faire or through Fremont High School’s Educational Options program. To prepare for the holiday season, the team is currently experimenting with new types of items such as lanyards and crewnecks to expand their inventory
The Academic Community Transitions 2 program launched a sugar scrub, hand soap and hand sanitizer business in 2017, where students gain confdence in their work by creating these products.
“Our short-term goal is to save up money for community-based instruction,” paraeducator Eugene Pak said. “Long-term, the skills our students develop and practice are ones they will take with them after graduation.” Driscoll, who began the business, spent months refning scents, oils and measurements through trial and error Over time, the unique products were spread by word of mouth, and the business began attracting customers.
The students are completely hands-on with the process of making their products — they scoop sugar; add oil, food coloring and essential oils; mix the ingredients; package and label.
“We wanted a vocational task that our students could do to earn money for bigger outings,” Driscoll said. “When we frst started this business and went to a craft fair at the district offce, staff were surprised to see that our students were out selling and promoting products they had made themselves. It was a very proud moment for the staff to show that our students are capable of anything.”
Initially starting with sugar scrubs, the students now make hand soaps and hand sanitizers as well. There are now four to fve paraeducators who oversee the business, while the students participate in all other aspects of making the products.
“We hope our students are seen as so much more than individuals with challenging behaviors — they are capable of so many amazing things,” Driscoll said.
Anas Gadelrab and Shreyas Anand find joy in styling hair
BY CHARLOTTE BOLAY AND YVONNE WU
Anas Gadelrab
The smell of hair products pervades his senses as junior Anas Gadelrab works on his latest work: a low-taper fade. Each client he comes across is unique, meaning he must deploy his diverse skillset to adroitly shape, style and cut all textures and lengths of hair.
Gadelrab was inspired to begin his journey in cosmetology after seeing his friends struggling with their hair. They shared their troubles with fnding the proper hair care products to ft their hair textures as well as suitable hairstyles to ft their overall appearance. In the beginning, he watched YouTube videos and followed popular haircutting Instagram accounts online.
“I felt that I could do better than those videos, so I just decided to start cutting hair,” Gadelrab said.
Quickly, he moved on to working with human subjects, starting with his brother. It was a tricky experience, yet he was able to learn quickly by watching tutorials while he worked. Gadelrab’s journey toward his current mastery in cosmetology was one of trial and error.
“I messed up the frst couple of times, but the more I practiced, the more I improved,” Gadelrab said.
Since then, he has dedicated hours to honing his skills to cater to a steadily growing clientele.
rst time senior Shreyas Anand cut a client’s hair, he was excited and nervous at the same time. Anand had previously practiced cutting his own hair; however, the task of cutting someone else’s hair required an even more
“I wanted to see how it would turn out, but it was scary
Anand started his business, Cuts by Shrey, or cutsbyshrey on Instagram, due to the shortage of open barber shops amid COVID-19. He gained knowledge about the art of hair-cutting through YouTube tutorials and experimenting on his own cult, and Anand made
“I mostly learned from the internet, and there was a lot of trial and error,” Anand said. “I gave However, Anand persevered, and when his skills became more advanced, he e business allows customers to choose how
Graphic illustrations by Alexandra Wu Photos by Angelina Feng and Eileen Zhu
Turning life into a movie with Jack Dang
BY ROBERT YU
Monitor and LED microphone in position, senior Jack Dang steadies his webcam in an RGB-lit room. After designing every step of his action plan and the culmination of countless hours, Dang was fnally ready to update his YouTube channel on his life as a student abroad, drawing in viewers from both the United States and Vietnam.
Dang has been creating YouTube content ever since he was 8 years old. Living in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam at the time, he was inspired by his cousins to start recording Roblox content. His frst videos included toy reviews, Roblox playthroughs, commentary and even water balloon fghts with his cousins. Seeing steady progression in his editing skills and confdence, he eventually started to push his boundaries, creating cartoon edits. Specifcally, he edited clips of the cartoon “Gumball,” making both serious and meme edits. These edits rapidly went viral, amassing over 100,000 views apiece,
with his most popular reaching 670,000 views. Dang accredits these early videos to his passion for content creation.
“Watching my views grow because of these edits has been one of the proudest moments of my life,” Dang said. “It
really motivated me to pursue content creation in other ways.”
Moving from Vietnam to California in 2021, Dang’s family experienced the brunt of currency exchange, which heavily affected his family’s fnances, leading to a pause in his content creation journey. As his parents moved from white-collar to blue-collar jobs, he moved from house to house. Concerned for his family’s wellbeing in America, Dang was inspired to pursue business and fnances. Without knowing a word of English and without the comfort of his old YouTube channel, Dang found excitement in experimenting with business.
Around campus, students are seen wearing his clothing brand “Tora Desune,” which features a cute hand-drawn Japanese stuffed animal named Tora.
The intricate art of book matchmaking
BY ERIN FITZPATRICK
Twice a year, there is a tradition that brings books to students in a uniquely personal way. Working together, Students for Literacy Club offcers and the school librarians create curated book packages for students by thoughtfully considering each student’s book preferences and matching them with books they believe the student will enjoy. Behind each recommendation is a labor of love that leaves a lasting impact across the campus.
Before December break, teacher librarian Amy Ashworth, library media specialist Susan Lucas and Students for Literacy Club offcers release a form to the student population consisting of questions about book preferences. One of the frst questions asked to students is if they would like to receive a digital book recommendation list or a physical book to take home. This question determines whether the librarians or the club offcers will be the ones doing the book-matching. Offcers of Students for Literacy handle all reading list requests and delegate the book-matching requests between offcers, so that each offcer ends up with about 21 book matches. On the other side of the operation, the librarians handle the physical book requests and split the load between their two-woman team.
When deciding on a book to match a particular student, the librarians factor in as many of the questionnaire components as possible.
“
One of the ways we narrow it down is by looking at any particular hobbies or interests they mention.
Susan Lucas library media specialist
“
Many times, the librarians will also look into past book checkouts to see if there are any patterns in reading habits and suggest books that the student is likely to enjoy.
The librarians also like to push students out of their comfort zone, suggesting books that students may not have picked up on their own. By recommending titles outside of familiar genres, students are able to explore new themes and authors, fostering an appreciation for diversity and inspiring them to do the same outside of the matching.
“I personally love to recommend ‘Howl’s Moving Castle;’ I know many people have seen the movie but haven’t read the book,” Ashworth said. “I like
fantasy, dystopian and mystery books, so it’s easy to make recommendations for books in those genres.”
This personal touch allows the librarians to connect with the student population, sharing their own reading preferences. This approach to bookmatching helps create a more engaging and supportive reading environment.
On the other front, Students for Literacy offcers create book recommendations similarly to the librarians; the only difference is that they do it digitally. They utilize online resources to recommend three books with similar genres or ones they think ft with the common theme of the requesting student’s past book reads.
“I either suggest books that will push them out of their comfort zone or books I personally enjoyed reading,” senior and Students for Literacy co-president Audrey Na said.
The process of reviving, reviewing and recommending the books is long and tedious. The librarians and club members spend several days completing these recommendations to meet the winter break or summer deadline. Despite the hard work, it’s a rewarding experience for both groups to see students discover new books and hopefully get more excited about reading.
Neatly tucked inside each paperwrapped book is a handwritten note from the librarians, which serves as a marker to identify the returning book as one sent out as part of the match program.
“Oftentimes if I’m checking a student’s book in and I see the note I’ll ask them how they liked the book,” Lucas said. “Most of the time, the response is very positive.”
The book-matching program at Lynbrook is more than the joy that comes from sharing and expanding on literature; it builds a sense of community through the personalized exchange of stories that all students love. As this tradition continues, it fosters an appreciation for the hard work that the librarians and Students for Literacy put into expanding literary journeys.
It’s been really fun giving out book recommendations and hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to do that more often.
Audrey Na senior and Students for Literacy co-president
Graphic illustration by Jenny Suh
Photos by Robert Yu
Graphic illustration by Anushka Deshmukh
Photos by Erin Fitzpatrick
Students fll out a questionnaire on their book preferences.
Librarians or SFL ofcers pick out the perfect books.
Students receive the books with handwritten notes and wrapping.
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Scan for the full story.
Senior Jack Dang has curated a YouTube channel featuring his personal and business journeys.
Futurism and fascism’s enduring legacy in the modern technological world
BY ALEX COTTEREL AND ALEXANDRA WU
In November 2023, for the second time, Elon Musk unveiled a new model of Tesla’s long-awaited Cybertruck, faunting the design that was intended to aesthetically capture the quality of its speed and tough skin, saying, “Finally, the future will look like the future.”
The visual appeal of the electric truck and modern tech leaders’ reverence for speed, strength, disruption and innovation encapsulates a future envisioned by Italian poets and artists in the early 20th century.
The Futurism movement, led by Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, started in 1909 with the publication of the “Futurist Manifesto,” a radical cultural movement that glorifed the ideals of speed, technology, machinery, war and progress and advocated for a rejection of history and the aesthetics of the past.
Although this movement was manifested through art, literature and architecture, Fascism’s core values were intertwined with political ideologies such as fascism, a political movement which was rising to popularity at the same time. Its members championed and participated in the political upheaval of the early 1900s. Today, similar ideologies and priorities are echoed in the values and beliefs of some leaders of the modern technology industry.
“It seems that technology is allowing everyone to think less about other people and instead [focus] on advancing technology even further,” junior robotics student Suzanne Das said. “We’re becoming a lot less helpful for one another; we’re losing our touch, our relationship with [other] humans.”
Musk, for example, has infuenced the tech world through companies like Tesla and SpaceX, often stating their goal as part of a vision to advance the human race. Musk’s drive to populate Mars and revolutionize transportation with electric vehicles aligns with the Futurists’ vision of technology as a tool for reshaping the future, similar to how the Futurists saw disruption as the catalyst for societal change. Like the Futurists, Musk and other Silicon Valley leaders often downplay concerns about technological innovations’ social and ethical implications and instead focus on
“The magnifcence of the world has been enriched with a new beauty: the beauty of speed… a roaring automobile, which seems to run on machine gun fre, is more beautiful than the Nike of Samothrace
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
“Futurist Manifesto”
came alongside a rejection of the past, as the Italian Futurist thinkers resented Italy’s legacy as the home of Roman, Renaissance and Baroque styles, a sentiment mirrored by today’s tech leaders who often preach an ignorance of historical lessons in favor of forward progress.
“The only thing that matters is the future,” Anthony Levandowski, cofounder of Waymo, a company that develops self-driving cars, said in an interview with the New Yorker. “I don’t
even know why we study history. It’s entertaining, I guess — the dinosaurs and the Neanderthals and the Industrial Revolution, and stuff like that. But what already happened doesn’t really matter. You don’t need to know that history to build on what they made. In technology, all that matters is tomorrow.”
Similarly, Umberto Boccioni, a leading Futurist artist, portrayed speed and industrial progress in his pieces. For Boccioni and others who shared the same views, the rejection of tradition was seen as the crucial step to moving on from the past and embracing the new technological age of society. The Futurists’ focus on speed and progress created a clear vision of the future where forward-thinking was the only thing that mattered for societal progress, which made the past seem irrelevant. Unlike Levandowski, some prominent tech fgures have maintained a fascination with certain fragments of history. However, this fascination stems from their fxation on certain aspects of history they wish to imitate in modern-day society for proft.
“I don’t think that a lot of technologists are learning from history,” said Dr. Ryan Skinnell, a professor at San José State and author of several books on rhetoric. “Maybe some are, but they’re just very selective about what history they’re willing to learn. Zuckerberg, for example, is a big Rome guy. He loves to talk about Rome. He talks about how if we could get technology to work the way that we want it to work, we could usher in a new Pax Romana. Zuckerberg never talks about the fact that the Pax Romana required all sorts of war and violence. He just ignores parts of [history] that don’t align with value. I think the same is true of Musk.”
The history that these tech moguls choose to ignore could warn them from following the same path as the Futurist movement. Unlike other infuential art
modern day. Even those who express the same beliefs remain distanced from the movement due to the stigma that comes with its close ties to fascism. Futurist thinkers publicly voiced their support for fascism — a political movement that aggressively embraced nationalism, authoritarianism and modernism.
“Both [the Futurist and Fascist] movements are rooted in disgust. They thought in terms of the beauty and the sublime and if we could just get the best of everything, then we can wipe away all that poverty and disease [happening at the time.] If you listen to them talk and read the things that they write over and over and over again, sort of underneath all of it is this disgust [for the old ways of doing things.]
Dr. Ryan Skinnell professor at San José State
“Just as Marinetti wanted to reform Italy through a disruptive, technological lens, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini advocated reforming Italy through an authoritarian lens. Both ideologies paradoxically aimed to restore Italy to its former glory while reshaping the country in the image of militarism and modernity. Both movements rejected the past by glorifying the future and wanted to break free from traditional norms and social structures. Fascist leaders aimed to push their countries forward through radical social and economic policies that often disregarded individual rights in favor of national unity and strength, while Futurist ideologies preached the breaking of artistical norms as the only acceptable way of making art.
The Futurists’ association with fascism and their focus on progress without considering the past offers a cautionary example. Modern tech leaders, like their Futurist predecessors, prioritize technological advancement, but the historical context of such movements suggests the importance of considering ethical implications alongside progress.
Graphic illustrations by Anna Cen, Alex Cotterel, Saavan Saraf and Robert Yu
WWII Rent Freezes -
During World War II, federal rent freezes prevented landlords from raising rents. As the war efforts consuminged housing construction materials, the freezes ensured affordable living spaces were still available for tenants recovering from the Great Depression. They were phased out in 1951 as immigrants and returning soldiers fueled a fresh housing boom.
Executive Order 11615
- President Richard Nixon’s 90-day price freeze aimed to suppress infation. In California, it revived successful fghts for rent control, resulting in policies that have been kept in cities like San José and San Francisco. These changes account for infation and higher landlord income.
Post-WWII New York City -
When postwar prices and demand soared, New York implemented temporary rent controls. High rents lingered in New York City, so the city kept them for decades. However, the increasingly unproftable rental units were later abandoned as developers built non-rental properties instead.
Poposition
13 and the Ellis
Act
- Some state laws indirectly impact rents. Proposition 13’s property tax cap reduced expenses for landlords who then raised rents to increase profts. Meanwhile, it also reduced tax revenues, leading many cities to scale back public housing. The Ellis Act lets landlords take rental properties off the market more easily, reducing housing in cities like San Francisco.
Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act - The statewide law at the center of the rent control conversation in California, Costa-Hawkins prevents rent controls from being imposed on housing units like single-family homes built after February 1995. In some cities, the cutoff date is even earlier. Since then, critics have repeatedly proposed propositions repealing it, but their charges have been met with equally ferce pushback. This year’s failed Proposition 33 was supporters’ latest attempt at its elimination.
Assembly Bill 1482 - AB 1482, the Tenant Protection Act, was one of the frst statewide rent control laws in the nation. It caps rent increases at 5% plus infation or up to 10% under specifc conditions, with opportunities for city governments to apply even stricter rent caps. To combat rent hikes, AB 1482 also requires landlords to have a valid reason when evicting tenants. The bill expires in fve years.
Amid state housing crisis, rent control remains contentious in 2024
BY QIANZI LOO AND OLIVIA YUAN
Ahousing crisis has plagued California since the 1970s, fueling numerous legislative attempts to curtail a dire lack of affordable housing over the years. On the 2024 California general election ballot, Proposition 33 was an effort to place a stricter statewide restriction on rent increases. Voters ultimately rejected this proposition, refecting the complexity of discussions around affordable housing policy.
Today, 56% of renters in the state are rent-burdened, meaning that over 30% of their income goes to rent and utilities. Around six million more Californians fall into this category today than in 1970.
Rent control laws regulate the amount of rent that landlords can demand from their tenants, usually by limiting how much rent can be increased. The laws effcacy has long been debated.
Rent control discourages the building of new property. Generally, it’s a shortterm solution, but it doesn’t increase the supply of housing.
David Pugh social studies teacher
Proposition 33 on this year’s state ballot is the third unsuccessful attempt in recent years to give local governments more control over rent regulation. The proposition was rejected by 60.0% of voters, similar to the results of Proposition 10 in 2018 and Proposition 21 in 2020. Conversely, in mock elections held by Lynbrook social studies and economics teachers in their junior and senior classes, 359 of 598 students, or 60.0%, voted for it.
“Housing in California is too expensive,” senior Snehil Kakani said. “If Proposition 33 did pass, more people might be attracted to come live here. The people who are already living here could have used their extra money to provide for themselves and their families and have an overall better quality of life.”
Proposition 33’s supporters, who include labor and tenant organizations, emphasize the high cost of rent and tenants’ urgent need for immediate economic relief. They favor granting local governments more power to restrict rent increases.
Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation — the main sponsor behind Propositions 10, 21 and 33 — compared rent control to public utilities. The government regulates public utilities, which protects consumers from unfair practices by private entities when they prioritize proft over public interests. Weinstein claims that rent should be regulated like a public utility; current rent protections are insuffcient and give landlords too much power, and Proposition 33 provides a solution
to the problem by adding more regulation.
“Rent control is a very appealing immediate solution to the housing crisis,” senior Arnav Shah said. “Since we’re in an area so affected by the crisis we obviously want to support more immediate solutions to it.”
The proposition is also supported by many urban planners who analyze displacement and gentrifcation, in which existing residents are pushed out as wealthier inhabitants move in, as rent control allows renters to afford and stay in the same communities over a long time.
However, opponents state that rent control disrupts community demographics. They argue that tenants who can’t afford to move out of cheaper rent-controlled units end up occupying properties unft for their needs, leading to ineffcient housing distribution. For example, if a large family lives in a small apartment to save on rent, they diminish their quality of life while taking up a unit that may be better suited for a solo tenant. According to a 2018 Brookings Institute analysis, this encourages developers to build higher-end non-rental properties that attract wealthier inhabitants, displacing poorer residents and gentrifying the area.
“Overall, price controls are too holistic to support stratifcation,” social studies teacher Jeffrey Bale said. “You don’t want the average person on the street who can afford apartments to get low-income housing — it is okay to have a higher rental charge if you live in an area where people make more money.”
The proposition’s critics include many in the real estate industry. They claim that laws like Proposition 33 lead to long-term housing scarcity — a consequence that, according to supporters, pales next to sky-high rents and homelessness rates today.
“Some supporters say, ‘Rent control’s not a very good way to keep rents low, but a bad way is better than no way,’” said Kelly Snider, a real estate developer and San José State University urban and regional planning professor. “‘So let’s do the bad way and help as many people as we can while we work on the good strategies, which take a lot of money and time.’”
Among economists, the leading consensus is that despite lowering rents in the short term, Proposition 33 doesn’t address a fundamental supply shortage. They predict that by reducing profts from rental properties, rent control discourages developers from building new units
40% in the California general election voted in favor of Proposition 33.
According to the Washington Post
and landlords from maintaining existing ones. Alternatively, reducing some regulations on new construction has been shown to encourage developers to build more rental properties. Some say lower rents are worth the sacrifce of convenient requirements, like parking spaces per unit. San José has recently encouraged the development of accessory dwelling units, or ADUs — small homes attached to larger main houses — that are cheaper for renters and more space-effcient for the city.
Despite speculation of a housing market burst, economists say the Bay Area is currently fairly stable. A market burst occurs when, after a period of rapid growth, overvalued prices plummet with a sudden drop in demand. But the rise in local rents is a result of a supply shortage, not frantic buying. A September KQED article found that Bay Area rents were cooling, and the average rent in San José decreased by 0.84% from September to October. These are signs of a steadier housing trend, not an incoming market collapse.
With Rep. Ro Khanna and Sen. Adam Schiff, both state Democrats, winning their respective campaigns, Californians can expect various changes to the housing market. Khanna’s initiatives include building more mobile homes. Schiff’s housing plans include expanding Section 8, a federal voucher program that assists lowincome households with rent.
“Programs that help specifc groups of people by providing subsidies to help pay for the rent are nice,” business teacher Andrea Badger said. “With rent assistance, the landlord is still getting the full value of the rent, so they are motivated to keep renting out that place — the goal being that ultimately, the tenants take over the rent.”
As the curtain falls on Proposition 33 and elected offcials prepare to draft new legislative proposals, rent control seems destined to remain steeped in division.
“Rent control does help prevent displacement and gentrifcation, but it comes at the big cost of depressing the likelihood of new construction,” Snider said. “If you think that cost is worth it, then you’re for rent control, and if you think that cost is not worth it, then you’re against rent control. There is no clearcut answer.”
60%
of a sample of Lynbrook social studies classes voted in favor of Proposition 33 in a mock election.
Graphic illustration by Anna Cen and Robert Yu
With former President Donald Trump’s second term on the way, Project 2025 is a realistic template for the sweeping changes that could be made to the country. The document spans over 900 pages, detailing proposals for healthcare, immigration, taxes and — notably for students — a complete reimagining of the country’s education system.
Project 2025’s policies would include cutting funding for federal education programs, denying LGBTQ+ identity, restricting abortion and carrying out the largest deportation effort in American history. The manifesto is a product of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that rose to prominence under former President Ronald Reagan’s term.
Potential
eff
ects on public education
Project 2025 has a clear view of American education: an ineffcient, “bloated” federal government has taken rights from individual states and families while dumping money into failed equitydriven programs. The plan wants to eliminate the federal Department of Education in an effort to redirect power back to states.
This would include cutting federal programs like Head Start and the Community Eligibility Provision, found on page 482 of the document. Head Start provides free group learning to low-income children ages 3 to 5 years old. CEP requires schools with 25% of their students below an income threshold to offer free meals, serving 31% of students across the country. Project 2025 would replace CEP with a program that gives meals directly to low-income students, not entire schools: something the government currently avoids because of the stigma students can feel for being the odd one out. In California and eight other states, free meals are universal regardless of income and would be protected from a national repeal of CEP.
Critics of Project 2025 say ending long-standing federal programs could reverse years of progress. Head Start is a key source of daycare for many rural families across the country. The program provides education to over 800,000 children each year. Title I, another program Project 2025 plans to phase out, provides funding for low-income school districts. Eliminating it could affect 2.8 million of the nation’s poorest students and lead to the loss of 180,000 teaching positions nationwide and 16,000 positions in California, according to the Center for American Progress, a liberal research and advocacy organization.
The list continues with a section titled “Department of Education” by Linsey Burke, the director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage
PROJECT2025
of Education, which was created in 1979 by former President Jimmy Carter, collects national data on school fnances, demographics, mental health and more. Rep. Rosa DeLauro claimed that eliminating the Department of Education would be “a direct attack on teachers and public education.”
“Not all schools are like Lynbrook,” social studies teacher Mike Williams said. “But even though we have funding, unbalancing the federal government will always trickle down to California. We could see a limit in access to funding for public education.”
For Project 2025, reducing federal funding for public schools is part of a greater plan to steer families away from them.
Political effects on immigration, health and taxes
Education is just the tip of the iceberg for Project 2025. The Heritage Foundation also proposes massive changes to healthcare, immigration and taxes. On page 457, Attorney Roger Severino, an author of Project 2025, advocates for a ban on mailorder abortions, prohibiting taking the abortion pill after 49 days of gestation as well as increased surveillance and reporting on women’s abortions. Abortion pills accounted for 63% of U.S. abortions in 2023, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization dedicated to reproductive rights. Surgical abortions can cost up to $1,150, while chemical abortions cost up to $950, according to Planned Parenthood. Project 2025’s restrictions are stepping stones toward what The Heritage Foundation hopes will be a national abortion ban. On page 450, Severino affrms that “life begins from conception” and “abortion is not healthcare.”
Medicare, another aspect of healthcare, would undergo the Medicare Advantage plan, privatizing the program and restricting the choice of the elderly to certain networks of physicians and hospitals. Project 2025 would also place a lifetime cap on the length of time Americans can be enrolled in Medicaid, which the New York Times estimates could kick 20% of current qualifers out of the program.
Project 2025 also advocates for a ban on genderaffrming care, which includes puberty blockers for minors and gender transition surgery. According to the National Institute of Health, 25% to 35% of transgender men and 28% of transgender women have received gender confrming surgery. The Supreme Court is already echoing Project 2025’s conservative promises. As of Dec. 4, it is expected to uphold a Tennessee law that would deny transition care to transgender youth.
Trump and Project 2025 are in full agreement on mass deportations of illegal immigrants. Project 2025 further advocates for stronger Customs and Border Protection and stricter asylum laws, arming the border with “military personnel and hardware,” according to page 167. Wall construction at the border would become a priority.
Immigrants in detention centers could
July 2023, there are 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, all of which are at risk of deportation. However, according to The Guardian, there is a possibility that the plan would not be viable due to the expenses involved.
I think that the plan would affect students and the immigrants, especially in California. When you cast a net that wide, you can catch a lot of people who should not be caught in that net.
Ishmael Tarikh DeAnza College political scientist
Political effects on the government
In July 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that a president could not be indicted for crimes related to his or her power after Trump was accused of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. The controversial decision came after a string of questions over the limits of presidential power, which Project 2025 answers by calling for “aggressive use of the executive branch to return power… to the American people.”
Russ Vought, the author of this quote, is now Trump’s pick for the head of the Offce of Management and budget Cabinet. Vought proposes expanding presidential control over the FBI and Department of Justice, which Project 2025 claims would restore and nourish “law and order.” This allows potential infuence over criminal justice cases, as well as cases involving the president. It has also raised alarms after Trump made over 100 threats to prosecute his political opponents in court.
Many critics such as the ACLU are alarmed by the unchecked power the president can possess and the ability they would have to pass favored policies.
Graphic Illistration by Erin Fitzpatrik
Parental influence in shaping student athlete success
BY ETHAN WONG
Parents are powerful fgures in their children’s growth, vividly evident from their encouragement from the sidelines during games. Their infuence goes further than what is seen in the moment but begins much earlier. Their guidance, motivation and unwavering support build their child’s mental fortitude. These defning moments help the athlete stay grounded, calm and ready to take on the pressures of the game.
Having family attend sports games is crucial to the success of student athletes. Seeing empty bleachers might leave players feeling discouraged, negatively affecting their performance. In comparison, bleachers full of supportive family members can signifcantly boost team morale, putting the team in a positive headspace where they can succeed in the face of challenges.
“Within a team, there’s already quite a lot of encouragement, but having your parents encourage you and cheer you on, it’s the cherry on top.
Michael Lee junior and varsity water polo player
“Although cheering at games is crucial, ensuring students make it to practices and games on time makes the team complete, positively impacting the other teammates as well.
“Whether it’s getting them to practices, tryouts or
auditions, parents make sure that their kid is there,” physical education teacher Ray Wright said. “One of the biggest supports parents can give to their child is to ensure their consistent attendance.”
Parents’ presence isn’t only felt at the competitions, but also in the background. With injuries frequent among athletes, parents play a vital role in the recovery process. They help their children come back from lower points in life by being an anchor and source of comfort. Parents also provide support by fnding ways to improve student performance during games.
“My parents attend every game and record them so I can review them and improve,” junior and varsity water polo player Jayden Yang said. “They also cook meals tailored to give me the energy I need.”
Advice and guiding words from parents provide athletes with mental encouragement that is crucial for them to build confdence to help them tackle the challenges they face.
“My parents give me a lot of support — especially when I don’t feel confdent in myself — by helping me realize that I can push through it,” sophomore and varsity tennis player Natalie Tan said.
Parents’ unconditional love serves as a foundation of trust for their children to express their emotions during periods of burnout and high stress. A single
small comment can brighten their day or add support, and it goes to show how impactful their words truly are.
“It’s helpful to know that there are people who believe in you, and know you’ll do better next time,” Lee said.
Although the landscape of sports is always changing, the presence of parents and their support has lasting impacts on student athletes. Parent support helps children succeed not only in the playing feld but also as future individuals.
“My parents have their own expectations of me, which pushes me,” said junior and varsity cross country and track and feld runner Nathan Kato. “But in the end, it’s all support; they’re supportive of me and understand even if I don’t do my best.”
Preseasons are the blueprint for success
BY MADDY CHANG
As the start of each sports season approaches, athletes face a crucial period of practice that could de ne their performance for months to come: preseason. Although this time is commonly thought of as a grueling, meaningless period of conditioning, it serves as the backbone for all teams. Physical strength, mental preparedness and lasting team dynamics are all developed during this time, making it more important than people o en give it credit for.
e physical demands of every sport are intense, and the last thing any athlete wants to do is dive into hard workouts unprepared. During the season, coaches o en want to jump immediately into practices that will match the intensity of their games, where some athletes risk injury by pushing their bodies too hard, too fast. e ideal preseason length is o en said to be six to eight weeks, according to football coach and physical education teacher Joseph Luo — not too long so as to prevent overuse of muscles, but not too short in order to allow for enough conditioning time.
“Preseason has a huge impact on our success.We always remind ourselves that the actual races will be shorter and easier than preseason workouts. Knowing we’ve done more diffcult things in training helps us push through during competitions.
Nithya Kangala junior and varsity cross country runner
In preseason, athletes are able to take their time to gradually build up their endurance. is approach allows for time to re ne techniques and adjust small issues — something coaches may not have time for during the time crunch of in-season play.
“ ose who have high goals tend to bene t from preseason the most,” head track and cross country coach Bernie Ramos said. “For example, many athletes have a history of injuries on hamstrings or shin splints. If they spend the o -season
trying to work on their weaknesses and get stronger, there’s a good chance we can minimize the chance of an injury happening.” is slower build-up, without the pressure from regular competition, reduces the risk of injuries. Without the rush to prepare for regular season matches, preseason sessions o er consistent conditions that include scheduling exibility, less competitive pressure and a greater likelihood for coaches to cancel practice in bad weather. In this setting, players can focus entirely on tness and technique, building muscle memory through repeated practice. Athletes also have more time to receive individualized feedback from coaches in this setting. According to a study by the Journal of Sports Medicine, preseason decreased injury rates by almost 50%, showing how this additional preparation can help athletes.
“During the regular season, we’re focusing on which team we’re facing that week,” Luo said. “In preseason, we’re thinking about things like, ‘How can we run a little bit faster? What technique do we have to work on? Pre-season is also about more than
a time to build strong teamwork and trust with your teammates and coaches for the season ahead.”
Preseasons vary by sport, with teams like track holding year-round uno cial practices, spending the majority of the o -season doing strength work and stretches and gradually building up to more intense workouts. In contrast, teams like soccer and basketball spend around two months before their season starts on conditioning and scrimmages. For teams like badminton, players are able to access student-run open gyms throughout the entire year.
“During open gym, I run training sessions that players can sign up for through Slack,” sophomore and varsity badminton team captain Vignesh Jami said. “People o en come in to open gym with their friends and play with each other, which is especially helpful because you’re able to pair up with potential doubles partners.”
Teamwork is another key component that evolves during preseason. Having more time during practice helps build more connections between players, and coaches o en focus more on this aspect of the sport.
Graphic illustration by Brian Lee
Observing an ongoing soccer game, a parent supports their daughter from the sidelines.
Photo by Vidushi Upadhyay
No-cut teams increase opportunities in school sports
BY GARY PAN
Among Lynbrook’s competitive sports teams, nocut teams foster inclusive communities, vital yet often overlooked parts of the school’s athletics. These teams do not cut students, providing students opportunities to collaborate, exercise and develop as athletes, regardless of skill or background.
At Lynbrook, some no-cut teams that don’t require tryouts are cross country, track and feld and swimming. Other no-cut sports teams, like water polo and foor hockey,
require tryouts to determine JV and varsity members. While sports such as cross country, track and feld and swimming have historically been no-cut, other sports are no-cut due to fewer students trying out.
Students lacking sports experience can participate in a no-cut sports team without worrying about getting cut. The low barrier to entry allows students to explore different sports to fnd one that they love.
“The great thing about no-cut sports teams is that students don’t know they’re good at the sport until they try it out,” cross country coach and social studies teacher Luca Signore said. “Students dread tryouts because the fear of rejection is prevalent, especially at Lynbrook.”
No-cut sports teams are often composed of members from all grades and genders, in contrast with a varsity sports team which is usually made up of experienced upperclassmen. No-cut sports foster the development of diverse communities.
All Lynbrook sports teams employ a strike system to ensure that students remain committed, including no-cut sports teams. Not participating in meets and games along with three unexcused absences for practices can result in removal from a team. This allows no-cut sports teams to be inclusive while keeping only the students who are
willing to commit to the team.
“I’ve been doing cross country since sixth grade,” senior and girls cross country team captain Jennifer Chua said. “It has helped me build mental strength and commitment because I have to run every day, even if I don’t want to. I’m able to apply that discipline to other parts of my life.”
Bridging the gap between cut-sports and traditional physical education, no-cut sports are a middle ground, granting equal opportunities for students to exercise and participate and providing an alternative to taking a PE class.
A mainstay of the school since the school was founded in 1965, Lynbrook’s football team has transitioned to a no-cut sports team due to a lack of sign-ups. Despite these setbacks, the no-cut nature of the team has given the sport the number of players needed to have a team and host its yearly homecoming game.
“High school sports are a great experience for everyone to take part in,” senior and football captain Nathan Ye said. “You improve in many aspects, not just in the sport, but off the feld as well. You bring what you learn in sports to everything in life such as academics. Most of all, you meet a lot of great friends.”
Featuring favorite athletic footwear
BY KIERAN HAU
Whether breaking records or breaking ankles, the shoes athletes wear play a crucial role in their performance. Each brand offers a distinct combination of features, making it essential for athletes to choose wisely when shopping for footwear. Factors like cushioning, breathability, design, durability, weight and other unique qualities all infuence an athlete’s decision. Over time, sports teams and athletes have developed strong preferences for specifc brands that best meet their needs.
Records high with Vaporfly
For cross country athletes, lightweight shoes with a strong energy return are a top priority. These qualities not only enhance overall performance but also make longdistance running more energy-effcient.
“The most popular shoes are defnitely Nike Vaporfy,” junior and cross country runner Noah Hong said. “They’re pretty aggressive and have the best energy return overall.”
Kicking with comfortable kicks
While teeth or durability are often valued higher when buying soccer cleats, sophomore and varsity soccer player Dale Liu prioritizes ankle support, and therefore prefers Adidas Predators. Despite being a common quality in cleats, not all brands have what each athlete seeks. In Liu’s experience, Adidas most fttingly accommodates his preferences.
“Adidas is the only brand that makes these types of cleats with the sleeves and avoids really hard ankle rims,” Liu said.
Ankle supports in soccer cleats are sleeves that rise out of the rim of the shoe, providing a layer around the ankle that cushions and protects from discomfort.
Energy return refers to a shoe’s ability to recycle the energy exerted by the runner and propel them forward. This can be a game-changer for long-distance runners who rely on conserving energy over the course of a race.
“I’ve worn other cleats in the past without this sleeve, and it would hurt my ankle when I went around in them,” Liu said. “That’s why I always like to buy the Predators because they’re really comfortable.”
Spiking down across town
Within the lines of a volleyball court, players are expected to effectively react to the volatile paths and maneuver to return the volleyball.
Aggressiveness, another important factor, describes the way a shoe promotes proper running form, a factor controlled by the materials and geometry of the shoe. Vaporfy shoes have a continuous curve throughout the whole sole, giving the feet a forward rolling motion after impact with the ground and making steps more fuid.
“Different types and brands of shoes have various amounts of grip, allowing you to move quickly around the court and stop as needed,” sophomore volleyball player Rucha Kore said.
There are various popular shoe brands in volleyball, including Nike, Adidas and Way of Wade. Players also choose basketball shoes instead due to similar qualities.
“Quality matters a lot. For these shoes, you wear them a whole season, but you don’t really change them that often,” Kore said. “Once you buy a specifc brand of shoe that you like, you typically get the same brand every time. That’s why right now, I use Nike. It works well. I love everything about them.”
Graphic illustration by Rohan Kakhandiki
Graphic illustrations by Stuti Jain Photos by Kieran Hau
Fall sports score recap: “My favorite moment from this season was...”
Scores are reported as wins-losses-draws when applicable.
“… our senior night, which was bittersweet. Four amazing years with the team few by; I’ll miss the team and
“...the informal pre-meet team dinners, weekend runs and fnally playing taboo and pushup poker on weekends before meets,” senior Steve Yang said.
“...beating Santa Clara High School in leagues after losing twice before and giving it all to win and secure fourth place,” senior Tanay Ubale said.
“...scoring at homecoming. It was awesome because we still fought and showed Viking pride where we could,” senior Nathan Ye said.
“...senior night. The underclassmen’s speeches were heartfelt, making us all tear up. I loved playing this season with these girls,” senior Felicia Huang said.
“...senior night playing against Cupertino High School. We played well twice, had fun and bonded at pasta parties with walks and talks,” senior Nitya Singh said.
“...seeing our team support each other on and off the court, especially lining up on the sideline to cheer on our teammate’s match,” senior Kylie Liao said.
“...preseason boba bonding, carpooling and music; getting to know the newbies better was fun and nice since we didn’t last year,” junior Jennifer Sahil said.
Youth Sports: From playground to field of competition
BY IRENE HWANG AND DAVID ZHU
Young players huddle in the center of the baseball feld, adjusting their too-big helmets and worn cleats while they strategize about the next inning and encourage each other Proud parents fll the bleachers and excitement pervades the air as the sun casts a warm glow onto each athlete. Although youth sports have evolved from pastime activities into gateways to success, they have remained an integral part of American children’s lives.
The early days of youth sports
Youth sports culture in the United States developed when states started to mandate school attendance in the mid-19th century. At frst, youth sports were purely entertainment during breaks in a student’s schedule. Although these games were informal, teams were established and matches played according to the sport’s rules.
Prominent organizations encouraging young people to pursue active lifestyles, such as the Young Men’s Christian Association founded in 1844, aided the growth of youth sports and simultaneously built a tighter sense of community among the youth and their families.
“Although it wasn’t super competitive, going to the YMCA fostered my love for sports along with cementing fundamental skills for playing sports in the future,” freshman Justin Jung said.
Pushing toward competitive play
During the 1940s to 1960s, youth sports continued to grow in popularity and competitiveness, alongside the spike in population after World War II. The Civil Rights Movement sparked discussions about equality, leading to the passing of Title IX in 1972, requiring gender equity in educational settings and programs, including youth sports. Title IX offered girls the opportunity to participate in athletics which were once exclusive to boys.
Youth sports go public
The Great Depression dealt a signifcant blow to publicly funded youth sports, leading to the rise of “pay to play” leagues in the 1930s, requiring fees for participation. During the 1920s and 1930s, more interscholastic youth sports leagues were established characterized by strict training regiments.
In 1939, Carl Stotz founded Little League Baseball and Softball, since then it has become the most recognizable youth baseball program in America, achieving international prominence. Today, approximately 2 million youth play Little League across all 50 states and in more than 80 countries.
53.8%
of youth, ages 6 to 17, participate in sports in the United States.
According to projectplay.org.
In the 1970s, the National Collegiate Athletic Association brought an increase in university scholarships for student athletes. Moreover, coaches became a guiding fgure for the youth, improving the skills of the players, communicating with parents and guiding them to potential careers.
“Parents and players often expect the coaches to point out every little thing the players do wrong, but one of the frst things my coach taught me was to depend on myself to make corrections and problem solve,” sophomore and table tennis player Justin Liu said.
“Little League helped me develop my skills while having fun,” junior and former Little League player Cameron Chao said. “It taught me how to be a good teammate and the importance of hard work.”
The lasting impact of youth sports
Today, youth sports are among the fastestgrowing athletic industries globally. Over 53.8% of youth aged 6 to 17 participate in sports, with youth leagues and teams ingrained in American culture. Schools often maintain long-lasting sports teams and traditions. At Lynbrook, 44 competitive teams represent a thriving athletic program.
Despite its widespread appeal, youth sports face challenges for their costly fnances. Sports have become expensive due to continuous infation, the cost exacerbating the economic divide, discouraging equity in sports. Despite these challenges, youth sports continue to offer signifcant benefts, including opportunities for exercise, teamwork and community building — skills essential in later life.
“The relationships you build in youth sports are extremely valuable,” physical education teacher Ray Wright said. “My coaches were like father fgures, teaching me how to act right — to not throw fts when things don’t pan out, to shake other’s hands frmly and to look them in the eyes. These are lessons I’ve passed onto my own kids.”
Graphic illustrations by Amanda Jin and Gary Pan Photos by the Epic staf