HOMECOMING ENZO CALBATIC
E ONG — EPIC
AUDREY WONG AND NICOLE ONG — EPIC
SADHANA SHAR
MA AND SRINID
HI SESHARDRI
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RACHEL WU — EPIC
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ince Lynbrook’s first Homecoming took place in 1968, the tradition has become one of the defining highlights of the school year. Decorations, skits, dances, a football game, a dance and usually, a rally come into play in this annual display of school spirit. With the changes to the campus and this school year, however, the long-running tradition was shaken up a bit. Amid the spectacular skits, dazzling dances, elaborate decorations, football game and dance came adjustments due to construction, scheduling issues and other factors. For instance, the pickle ball courts replaced the currently torndown quad as the stage, while the first Homecoming parade replaced the typical Homecoming rally, which was scheduled to take place a couple of weeks after Homecoming week. To ensure a successful Homecoming, each aspect, from decorations to skits and dances, must be coordinated and planned in detail. With new and long-standing challenges arising along the way, classes and Lynbrook staff alike must battle their way to Homecoming week. During the final week leading up to Homecoming week, those involved in creating the class backdrop and various decorations usually stay up late to finish painting and putting things together, ultimately transporting them to Lynbrook the night before the class performance. Furthermore, those participating in dances wake up early in order to attend practices before school.
BY RISA MORI
A
A AND NICOL
BY JESSICA LI
The reality of local housing for teachers
Homecoming was not, however, always like this. Fifty years ago, Lynbrook Homecoming simply involved a football game, a rally, Homecoming princesses accompanied by male escorts (there were no princes yet) and a Homecoming dance. As Lynbrook Homecoming became more prominent, classes also started decorating the school with planters and a backdrop, setting up gauntlets, performing skits and participating in dances. In 2003, to push back the freshman Homecoming day since it fell on a Jewish holiday, teachers began their own tradition of acting out skits of their own. Although Homecoming is found at almost every high school across America, even high schools in the FUHSD district celebrate Homecoming differently. While Lynbrook and other schools celebrate with themed skits, dances and decorations, schools such as Monta Vista High School do not have class gauntlets, while Homestead High School does not feature skits or dances at all. In addition, other schools outside of the district may only have a football game and a dance. What remains the same, though, is the goal of Homecoming: to welcome back alumni and unify the school. This issue, we welcome you to dive deeper into the world of Homecoming. From the changes and challenges faced this year to the history of Lynbrook’s Homecoming and comparisons with how other schools celebrate this event, relive the memories and experiences of a tradition fifty years in the making. see HOMECOMING pg 10
mid protests, the San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD) proposed to build affordable housing for teachers and other employees at its Sept. 27 board meeting. While some community members are concerned over the plan’s negative impact on home values and taxpayers, the district’s proposal addressed a concern of many Bay Area school districts: providing affordable housing for teachers and staff in the costly Silicon Valley market. The proposal targets the housing shortage within the community and retain employees who have long commutes. The SJUSD identified nine district-owned properties on which it could build several hundred new units of affordable housing for teachers and other school employees. Some of these properties include schools such as Leland High School, which the SJUSD is considering tearing down and relocating to renovate aging school buildings and make way for housing. Following news of the proposal, many community members reacted negatively to low-income housing in a prosperous area, as it would lower the value of their homes and tear down the well-established schools. A petition against the SJUSD Board of Trustees, who drafted the plan, received more than 6,000 signatures within a month. The SJUSD is not alone in its efforts to create affordable housing for teachers. The Los Altos School District Board of Trustees is seeking to set aside $600,000 that could create up to 120 below-market units in Palo Alto that teachers could afford. For this project, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors have already set aside $6 million, as well as a $3 million contribution from the city of Palo Alto. Housing shortages drive out employees, potentially decreasing the quality of education available at schools by turning away experienced teachers. The affordable housing issue is a reality at Lynbrook as well. According to special education teacher Miguel Alderete, in the last decade, Lynbrook teachers have continually been pushed outside the area, as they can no longer afford the rising housing costs. “When I first got hired here in 2002, there were five, six teachers who lived in the neighborhood,” Alderete said. “Now, there aren’t many teachers in the Lynbrook attendance area, and no one has a house unless they got it through family or are married and have dual incomes. Pretty much everyone here now lives outside the community, and some teachers even live in Santa Cruz.” As housing prices have risen in the years following the 2008 financial crisis, Lynbrook teachers face the dilemma of earning too much to qualify for low-income housing, but too little to afford market-rate rent and home prices in the Lynbrook attendance area. see TEACHER HOUSING pg 14
MARCHING BAND // pg. 16