the Epic, Volume 57, Issue 1 - October 5, 2021

Homecoming hype heightens following rally rivalry

BY LAUREN LIU

T

he term Homecoming is especially appropriate following students’ return to campus after more than a year of remote learning. Students are excited to display their school spirit for Lynbrook’s �irst Homecoming since 2019. With the overarching theme of “The Multiverse: When Universes Collide,” Homecoming also presents a rematch for juniors and seniors after the juniors’ �irst place win at the Welcome Back Rally on Aug. 27.

Spirit shown by each class at the rally was the major deciding factor of the class rankings in the rally judged by four teachers.

In response to the rally, juniors made no major changes to their Homecoming preparations schedule, although they extended decoration meetings to encompass the entire day on the Saturday and Sunday before Homecoming. Since it is the juniors’ �irst year as upperclassmen, it is important for them to display their spirit to the rest of the school. Junior and Decoration Head Sanika Mithbaokar noticed an increase in spirit in her class following the rally, and she is excited for her class’s decorations and dances.

“Homecoming is a way for our class to create something that’s really ours,” Mithbaokar said. “It would be great if everyone was really excited for Homecoming because it’s basically

a re�lection of our own class.”

Class of 2023 held a fundraiser selling Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears for $3 each the week before Homecoming.

While any student can buy them, juniors will be wearing the distinctive headwear as a show of class spirit and unity.

On the senior’s side, class of�icers began incentivizing people to attend planter decoration meetings with pizza and instant noodles, hoping to boost class morale. Additionally, they brought back 2022’s traditional all-nighter, held on the last weekend before Homecoming week.

Huang is excited about the senior class’s backdrop, planters, skit and girls’ dance in particular out of the dances.

“For the Class of 2022, we’re just making sure that our class is all together and we’re all as spirited as possible,” said Arianna Huang, Class of 2022 Secretary and Skit Head.

Along with the freshmen, sophomores are experiencing their �irst year of homecoming this school year due to Homecoming being cancelled during the 2020-21 school year because of COVID-19. Sophomore and girls’ dance choreographer Vipra Bindal enjoyed witnessing everyone participating in girls’ dance improve.

“Our class put a lot of energy and effort and heart into Homecoming, and I think it’s a good reminder of how resilient, strong and amazing our class is,” Bindal said.

Although Class of 2025 encountered some time management dif�iculties while preparing for Homecoming, freshman Qia Zhang was excited for the chance to show school spirit. For Zhang, Homecoming represents a way to start off the year well.

“I’m really excited to see what each of the classes come up with for their d e c o r a t i o n s ,” Zhang said.

“I think we’ll have a really nice week of Homecoming.”

Homecoming week will conclude on Friday, Oct. 8 with a schoolwide rally, after which the winning class will be announced, and a home football game against Monta Vista High, during which the Homecoming court will be announced.

In order to comply with the district’s COVID-19 guidelines prohibiting dances, the annual Homecoming dance will be replaced with Homecoming Fest, which will take place before the football game between the tennis courts and Stober Field.

To determine the Homecoming winner, each class of�icer team nominated one teacher for a panel made up of four judges total, which is similar to the system used for judging the rally. Based on class performances, a timely clean-up and spirit shown during the gauntlet and rally, points are tallied up at the end of the week to decide the winning class.

Despite differences in experience among the classes, Homecoming ultimately represents an opportunity for everyone to have fun and to display school and class spirit.

Through a showdown on Wednesday and Thursday, the rivalry between the juniors and seniors will be resolved — or perhaps deepened — during Homecoming week.

“I’m really glad that we’re having Homecoming this year, even though we have to wear masks,” Huang said. “It’s just nice to be able to do the things that we weren’t able to do last year.”

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY AMY LIU PHOTOS BY MEI CORRICELLO

CUSD school closures impact wider community

BY LINA MEZERREG

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or the last few years, school closures have been a constant source of debate within the CUSD community, but a �inal decision regarding which schools will close is closer than ever. The CUSD administration presented possible solutions and next steps at a board meeting on Sept. 23, with the board aiming for a �inal decision of which schools to close by the end of October 2021.

After the last meeting, a list of six recommendations was released to the public. The three elementary schools up for consolidation are Meyerholz, John Muir and Regnart Elementary, and there is an additional option of potentially consolidating a middle school instead.

“I’d be really sad if John Muir closed down because I made a lot of memories there,” said senior Michelle Zhu, who attended John Muir. “I would want future generations to have opportunities to have the same experiences I had in elementary school.”

CUSD has been considering closing local elementary schools since October 2020 as a last resort to an ongoing problem of decreasing enrollment and reduced districtwide funding.

Enrollment in the district has steadily declined since the 2015-16 school year, with an estimated loss of over 4,900 students across all elementary schools districtwide.

Compounded with the fact that CUSD is already one of the lower funded districts in the Bay Area, it became too dif�icult for the district to continue supporting campuses with fewer students on government funding alone.

“Many members of the community came up to us and mentioned donations and parents pitching in,” said Jerry Liu, CUSD Board President and a CUSD parent himself. “But the honest situation is that the money we need is in the millions, as an ongoing stream of income not just a one time offer.”

The lack of government funding was an especially large concern in the 2020-21 school year when the district budget was cut by $10 million, making school consolidations an increasingly viable solution.

Liu prefers the term “school consolidation” over the mainstream “school closure,” as schools would not be abruptly shut down. Rather, a plan would be implemented to combine elementary schools in the area and rede�ine neighborhoods to allocate more resources for the students.

Measure A was a proposition that would have conveniently served as a stop-gap solution. The proposed plan would have added an extra tax to compensate for the lack of funding from the state, helping the district to continue supporting all elementary schools. It also involved a plan to put a moratorium on school consolidation. Measure A was defeated on May 4, failing to garner the 66.7% two-thirds

vote required to pass. The community voted 59.3% yes to 40.7% percent no.

When considering schools for consolidation, the Citizens Advisory Committee compiled a list of the 10 most important criteria and weighed schools for each one to determine which schools to close.

“The way we decided on the weight of the criteria was by doing a sort of exercise,” Liu said. “Each board member was given 100 points to distribute among the 10 criteria before we averaged it all out. We then published these criteria to be transparent with the community as to why some schools were considered for consolidation.”

Some of the most important criteria presented were the projected enrollment patterns, the ability to support middle schools in the area and the presence of schools in the vicinity that could accept the students and keep neighborhoods together.

It is evident that the talk of possible school consolidations is a very tense one — and one that the district does not wish to elongate. Following the meeting on Sept. 23, the board hopes to reach a �inal decision as soon as the next board meeting on Oct. 8, and by Oct. 28 at the latest.

Once a �inal decision is made, families within the consolidated schools will be contacted around the end of the school year with information regarding enrollment for the following year.

02

October 05, 2021

NEWS

BY EMMA CIONCA

Letter from the Editors Dear Vikings, Welcome back to Lynbrook, and welcome to the Epic’s �irst issue of the 2021-22 school year. the Epic is Lynbrook’s awardwinning student newspaper, and we seek to cover stories that matter to you and our community. We pledge to promote diverse, equitable and inclusive coverage and inform you on community and school news; student perspective on diverse issues; admirable Vikings; signi�icant issues affecting our community; athletics and much more.

We are Mei and Bennie, your Editors-inChief for the 2021-22 school year. This is each of our third years as part of the Epic, and we are looking forward to bettering this publication with the input of our readers.

Outside of journalism, Mei also plays volleyball. She enjoys cooking, hiking and being outside. Bennie is interested in politics and loves watching and reading the news.

During his free time, he likes participating in class events, taking photos of his dog and watching TV. Getting through the past year has been a struggle for us all, and we wanted to acknowledge those who helped our publication move forward: our wonderful adviser Mr. Miller and last year’s exceptional Editorial Board.

We are excited this year to announce our return to print newspapers after a year of publishing online due to remote learning. Our staff is excited to be back in the newsroom and has done their best to create dynamic layouts and content for you all to enjoy. In addition to this print issue, be sure to check our website (lhsepic.com) and instagram (@lhs.epic) for more web-exclusive content such as playlists, podcasts and videos.

Within a community and country with so much to say about pressing issues, we wanted to bring to you staffers’ perspectives and highlight issues that you care about.

As a student-run journalistic publication, we strive to tell both sides of each story, and we hope our publication is able to pique your interest in journalism and what is happening in the world around us. All stories are meant to inform, and we hope that many of our stories will help promote discussions about things happening in our school and community. We strongly believe that students can impact our community, and we hope that our publication can bring up important issues and also spur interest and positive change.

This year, we want our student body to join in the Epic’s mission in telling the stories that matter to our greater community, so we encourage you to submit your sub-200 word opinions on a piece from this issue (Letters to the Editors) and your sub-500 word opinions on issues in our school, community, country and globe (Guest Columns) to us at enc.epic@ gmail.com. We read all submissions, but only ones that we deem timely and relevant to the Lynbrook community will be chosen.

Selected submissions will be published on our paper and/or website.

As for this issue’s stories, be sure to check out the Editors’ Picks! From news, behindthe-scenes of Homecoming; from opinion, a case against outdated dress codes; from features, a Kanye vs. Drake album review; from in-depth, an inside look at Lynbrook’s contact tracing protocol and from sports, a fall sports photo collage.

We hope you are enjoying Homecoming week and are excited for the last three days of Homecoming! Go cheer on your fellow Vikings during the happiest week of the year.

Warmly, Mei Corricello & Bennie Chang Editors-in-Chief

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ynbrook hosted CalGames, an annual robotics competition traditionally organized by the Western Regional Robotics Forum, after Pittsburgh High School cancelled the event due to COVID-19 related concerns.

The event took place from Oct. 1 to Oct. 3 and attracted an estimated 500 attendees. The competition was almost identical to previous CalGames: The only difference was the host school. Since they had the necessary facilities, Lynbrook Robotics decided that it would be a great opportunity to host this year’s games. “[Hosting the competition] was a brand new experience for the entire team,” said Swasti Jain, senior and member of Lynbrook Robotics.

CalGames happens outside of competition season, which takes place between January and March. Unlike a majority of robotics competitions, CalGames is of a smaller scale, and participants are generally from the Bay Area, including many FUHSD schools.

In these fall competitions, participating teams use their competition robot from the previous season. Because the 2020-21 school year was remote and the team did not build a robot, they used their robot from the 2019-20 season.

There are two parts to the competition: an autonomous period, during which competitors are not allowed to touch the robot, and a teleoperated period, during which competitors drive the robot. The autonomous period lasts 15 seconds, while the teleoperated period lasts two minutes and 15 seconds. The goal is to pick up dodgeball-sized balls and shoot them into one of three goals. The low goal is worth less points than the two other

goals, which are higher up. The robot may start pre-loaded with three balls. Since the robot must travel across the competition �loor to pick up balls, it is in their best interest to pick up and launch them as fast as possible. The faster shots are made, the more points can be scored. At the end of the match, the robot must attach itself onto a seesaw-like platform. Scores are primarily determined by the points from the game, but there are special awards for the quality the of robot design as well as other categories.

The competition took place in the �ield house and gym over the three-day period.

While the games took place in the gym, the robotics teams and their robots resided in the �ield house when they weren’t competing.

Lynbrook Robotics set up the facilities on Friday, Oct. 1, and teams had the opportunity to participate in practice matches. Saturday, Oct. 2 was preliminaires, which continued onto Sunday, Oct. 3 where elimination matches also happened. There were a total of 29 teams that participated, with a maximum of 16 attending members per team due to COVID-19 restrictions. Unlike previous years, no spectators were allowed.

“We wanted to get as many people there as possible, especially our new members,” said Sid Kannan, senior and Co-President of Lynbrook Robotics. “It’s really cool for them to see what an actual competition looks like, which is [an] advantage of us hosting here.”

It was a new experience for the majority of the team since most of the logistics were taken care of by WRRF. However, certain logistics, such as setting up the �ield and �inding food vendors, were the responsibility of Lynbrook Robotics. Members of the robotics team reached out to local food truck vendors, who attended the event to provide food for purchase. All event volunteers, many of who were competitors’ parents, received food for free.

“We’ve worked with WRRF in the past, and it seemed like a cool thing we could have done,” Kannan said. “They really needed a host, and as long as we’re able to do it, I felt like we had the capability to make it happen.”

In preparation for CalGames, the robotics team did many work sessions to prepare their robot and improve it to working condition. For the two weeks leading up to the CalGames, work sessions were 15 to 25 hours per week, not including work done individually by members at home. Much of the work consisted of testing and improving the design of the 2020 robot. Kannan describes the four areas of improvement: getting a working climber, improving the ball storage mechanism so it jams less often, cleaning up the wiring on the robot and testing the software more.

“CalGames [was] our �irst in-person competition since early 2020,” said Andy Min, seinor and Co-President of Lynbrook Robotics. “We were excited to �inally be able to compete.

We’ve traditionally done pretty well in CalGames, so we had high expectations for ourselves.”

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY AMISHI CHANDRA AND JASON SHAN

Lynbrook Robotics revives CalGames

Traffic congestion before and after school

BY ELIZABETH CHENG

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raf�ic �low for student and parent drivers before and after school has changed due to Lynbrook’s 2020-21 campus construction projects. Crossing guards and other faculty help direct traf�ic before school, helping drivers, cyclists and pedestrians reach their destinations safely and ef�iciently. However, the student parking lot is often congested, especially right before or after school, with commuters trying to enter and exit.

In 2020, Lynbrook constructed a new roundabout near the art wing to create a loading zone, including a long path for drivers, so the �low of traf�ic never stops.

“The circle by the art corner has really helped with traf�ic because it’s another drop-off area,” Assistant Principal Susan Rocha said.

Due to construction for the softball and baseball �ields, some student parking lot spots near the Guidance and Student Services building were reallocated for staff because the construction closed staff parkings lots behind Lynbrook. Similar to past years, students can acquire permit tags from ASB in order to park in the parking lot near the swimming pool.

For some students, the convenience that driving provides is often cancelled out by the time it takes to enter the parking lot, so they park on roads in residential areas near Lynbrook. Junior Selena Yuan, for example, parks her car near a friend’s house to avoid the heavy traf�ic.

“My friend’s house that I park at is closer than the parking lot,” Yuan said.

“Recently, I’ve been noticing a lot of cars and cyclists entering there, too.”

Before school, crossing guards at the

intersection of Rainbow Dr. and Johnson Ave. help direct traf�ic by having student pedestrians and bikers cross the street one large group at a time, so that cars are not waiting for the constant trickle of singular students across the street. Crossing guards and other faculty in the student parking lot help direct cars to the loading zone at the entrance near the swimming pool, so that traf�ic moves more quickly.

“We put up cones in the parking lot to help the �low of traf�ic, so parents don’t drop their kids off wherever they want,” Rocha said.

Unlike the mornings, there are no crossing guards after school, resulting in students crossing the street one at a time and cars being less courteous with each other. Administration decided not to have crossing guards after school because students are dismissed at times that vary more than when different students begin their school day. Also, the employees cannot work after school because that time overlaps with their work day.

Rocha recommends students to walk or bike to school to relieve congestion in the parking lots or to use the newly constructed loading zone near the art wing, which usually has fewer cars. For students who live farther away, Rocha encourages students to arrive as early as 15 to 20 minutes before school starts to avoid traf�ic.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CATHERINE ZHOU

October 05, 2021

NEWS

Lynbrook’s latest competition is lunch rush

BY CATHERINE ZHOU

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he introduction of free brunch and lunch meals for the 2021-22 school year has greatly increased student interest in school lunch, resulting in a new scene when the lunch bell rings each day: a stampede to the cafeteria from the halls and classrooms around campus.

“I’ll look out the window and see kids start streaming to the cafeteria,” Physics teacher Thanh Nguyen said. “The line loops around the entire quad.”

During the busiest days of the week, more than 800 lunches are served at the cafeteria, but even more lunches are served at schools across the district.

“Our highest participating high schools in the district serve 900-plus meals, and it’s trending upwards,” FUHSD Food Services Director Divya Puri said.

Although long, the cafeteria line at Lynbrook moves relatively quickly. Due to the larger volume of students entering the cafeteria, the food services team implemented a new system for serving meals. Keypads were replaced with several student ID scanners, a small food cart was added near the 500s building and meals are now pre-plated.

“I like how much more streamlined this year’s system is,” junior Sharon Zhu said.

“Once you are in the cafeteria, it takes around

a minute to get food and scan your card.”

Students and staff quickly became accustomed to the new lunch arrangement and the new menu that came along with it.

Many students are satis�ied with the wide array of entrees offered, including muf�ins and yogurt cups for brunch and burgers, pizza, burrito bowls and salads for lunch.

“I feel like the quality of food has stayed about the same from before the pandemic, and given the situation that all the food is free, the meals are adequate,” senior Michael Ma said.

Currently, free meals are paid for by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an extension of the free meal policy established during the pandemic. In June 2021, Calif. announced a universal school meals program that permanently provides meals for all public school students at no cost. When the USDA waiver expires in June 2022, meals provided by Calif.’s public schools will be reimbursed by funds from the new universal program.

Faced with the task of preparing free meals for hundreds of students for the �irst time, Lynbrook’s food service team encountered many challenges.

“With COVID-19, a lot of the supply chain has been interrupted,” Lynbrook Food Services Manager Tom Fernandez said.

“Sometimes we’ll order food and it won’t come, and we won’t �ind out it’s not coming

until the day before we were supposed to have it.”

To combat this issue, FUHSD schools have developed a support system in which schools send supplies to other schools who need it. Cupertino and Lynbrook serve the most meals, so if items are backordered at Lynbrook, the staff call Fremont or Homestead to buy the items from them.

In addition, more work is required to have all the food ready in time, and the staff are busier than ever. Santa Gurrola, the baker and cook for Lynbrook, starts working at 6:00 a.m. to cook most of the food from scratch, while the rest of the team arrives a few hours later to prepare the meals. Everyone specializes in a speci�ic job, and teamwork is effective and enjoyable.

“I like the group of people we are working with, and I actually like to come to work,” said Food Service Assistant Anna Conroy. “You don’t have much time to socialize, but we have each other’s backs and help each other.”

The food service staff agrees that seeing students enjoy the food is the most rewarding part of their job.

“If it weren’t for the students, I wouldn’t be here,” Gurrola said. “By the students liking the food and giving compliments to the food, it makes me feel like we’re doing something good here.”

03

News in Brief Homecoming Week Support your juniors on Wednesday and seniors on Thursday in the quad, and come out to the rally on Friday. After school, cheer on the football team at the Homecoming game against Monta Vista and attend Homecoming Fest by the tennis courts and Stober Field.

FUHSD Orchestra Exchange Concert The annual FUHSD Orchestra Exchange Concert will be held on Oct. 6, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Cupertino High School.

Coffee with the Counselors From 8:00 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. on Oct. 12 in the cafeteria, freshmen, sophomores and juniors can chat with their counselors about Lynbrook resources. Seniors can go to the library to attend a College App Q&A. Lynbrook Fall Concert Listen to Lynbrook band and orchestra perform at Saratoga High School on Thursday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m.

Link Crew Leader Panel Link Crew leaders will share their experiences from classes, clubs and other organizations with freshmen in October at the library study rooms.

No School on Nov. 11 and 12 There will be no school on Thursday, Nov. 11, for Veteran’s Day, and Friday, Nov. 12, for a Teacher Non-Duty Day.

AMY LIU AND DEEKSHA RAJ — EPIC

By Amy Liu Photo by Amy Liu and Diana Kohr

Researching the passage of Research Club

BY SRUTHI MEDEPALLI

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t Lynbrook, the home of more than 80 clubs and even more rejected ones, Research Club’s fast-tracked creation was unique. The club approval process can be notoriously draining, and typically involves a rigorous sixstep process, beginning with the search for an adviser, and ending with a presentation to Legislative Council, a jury of 27 students.

In recent years, students have referred to Lester Leung, former adviser for Science Club, Lynbrook’s STEM coordinator and Chemistry team lead, for information on research fairs and science competitions. And while the Lynbrook and FUHSD STEM programs may appear to be healthy and thriving, a lack of proper resources have affected the ef�icacy of work. The responsibility of managing student communication with research organizations falls on the shoulders of one teacher who accepts the paid position. Especially during the fall of a new semester, the STEM Coordinator has a surplus of work, dealing with both back-to-school dif�iculties and initial submissions to research competitions.

“The amount of interest in STEM from our school is quite high, so there is no way that one person can manage all of that on top of their other duties,” ASB leadership adviser and science teacher Jason Lee said. “We found a deep need for support.”

The Lynbrook STEM program is expansive, encompassing competitions like Science Olympiad and Science Bowl to research showcases like Regeneron and Synopsys.

Student engagement in these programs necessitates a lot of paperwork, communication and logistics.

Research Club began in August 2021 as a support system for Leung and Lynbrook’s STEM program. This year, Research Club will essentially act as a mouthpiece for the STEM Coordinator, helping to disseminate important information on dates and guidelines for students interested in STEM research. Their recent meetings have agendas that include discussing research topics, encouraging members to work on proposals and informing participants about summer research opportunities. But most importantly, this club hopes to foster a community on campus of both experienced and inexperienced science-lovers.

“We’re creating a place where students can explore their interests in various topics of research, gain inspiration for

personal projects, share ideas, work with other students from interdisciplinary backgrounds and receive peer to peer feedback on research ventures,” said junior Anushree Atmakuri, Research Club’s Vice President of Content.

Preceded by a previous organization at Lynbrook called STEMinars, Research Club was a convenient proposal to a desperate staff. STEMinars was an unof�icial Lynbrook club that worked closely with the STEM Coordinator and served a similar purpose to Research Club. It relieved a lot of the responsibility that Leung now handles by increasing student interaction with the STEM process, and after it dissolved over the years, the need for a similar club became evident. By January 2021, Lee and former Assistant Principal Jeff Rosado decided to take the initiative to design a program where students could pitch in to keep STEM running at Lynbrook. In March 2021, a team of �ive juniors approached Lee with a timely club proposal. Lee and Rosado recognized the club as a necessity to Lynbrook, then approached Leung as a possible adviser. Once Leung accepted the position, the club of�icers went directly to Principal Maria Jackson, who approved the idea.

In contrast to the customary formation of a club, the creation of Research Club only required the approval of a few administrators, and the �inal process lasted from March 2021 through June 2021. Typically, a club proposal must go steadily through levels of command: the teacher adviser, Assistant Principal of Activities, ASB Community Link, ASB Vice Presidents and �inally, a two-thirds vote by the Legislative Council. This roughly adds up to the necessary approval of 20 to 30 people from different levels of campus leadership.

The �inal judgement of a club often relies upon an evaluation they get from Legislative Council, which is based on a rubric that all council members receive.

“A club is usually judged on their long-term vision, and whether it can be successful in later years,” said junior Anishka Banerjee, member of Legislative Council. “It also depends on how unique the club is compared to the numerous other ones we already have.”

Time was of utmost importance to the approval of Research Club, as submissions for science fairs such as Synopsys close in October. To minimize the workload of STEM faculty, administration chose to bypass the club

approval process for Research Club. Research Club is still required to pitch their ideas and introduce themselves to the Legislative Council to determine their future on campus.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY AMY LIU AND SAMUKTHA SARMA

04

OPINION

the Epic lhsepic.com

The Pledge of Allegiance: Patriotism or Outdated Routine?

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY TIMOTHY KIM

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lease stand for the Pledge of Allegiance: a statement that makes students instinctively place their right hand over their heart and utter an oath in unison.

Whether they like it or not, American students have the pledge ingrained in them, often without knowledge of its history.

Students have little choice in deciding whether or not to participate in the pledge at a young age, and once they are old enough to think for themselves, it’s too late — the pledge is already drilled into them. This lack of autonomy when it comes to reciting a tired, xenophobic oath should not be normalized.

Rather than keeping it a tedious routine, schools should educate students about the Pledge of Allegiance, so they can make an informed decision about saying the speech.

Additionally, students should not feel excluded based on their decision to participate or not.

Although the words of the pledge seem inclusive, its creation has roots in xenophobia. The Pledge of Allegiance was �irst introduced in the 1890s by Francis Bellamy, a socialist minister, who sought to de�ine true Americanism in response to the surge of immigrants coming into the country at the time. Many Americans in the late 19th century thought that the immigrants coming from southern and eastern Europe — darkerskinned, less likely to speak English and more likely to be Catholic or Jewish — were not like them and could not assimilate into the U.S. “I view the pledge as a tool to indoctrinate people into America, like ‘this is America and the American way of life,’” U.S. History teacher Kyle Howden said. “I also �ind it ironic that you have this thing that is perceived as

BY EMMA CONSTABLE//IN MY OPINION

Exploring new languages with Duolingo

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ive young Guatemalan girls clamored around me with sweet smiles on their faces, reaching for my hands and rushing me over to the shade under a nearby tree.

“Jugar con nosotros?” Maria asked eagerly as she played with my hair.

They had already set the scene: there were six places prepared, with ceramic teacups the size of my palm and a handful of knitted guests waiting patiently in a circle. Although at 16, I was nearly three times their age, I felt a pang of nostalgia for playing make-believe as a child back home. I

somewhat authoritarian in a country that values individual liberty and free speech.”

Many words were later added to Bellamy’s original pledge. Congress added the phrase “�lag of the United States of America” to the pledge in 1923 because some foreign-born people could have thought of the �lag of their country of birth rather than the �lag of the U.S. In 1954, the phrase “under God” was added in response to the Cold War and the Communist threat at the time. It was an effort to instill the corruption of communism in the minds of Americans. This addition sparked controversy throughout the country as it was not inclusive of all religions, and it violated the First Amendment, which guarantees citizens the freedom of speech and religion.

While created almost four decades earlier, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance did not become mandatory in schools until the 1930s.

“To me, the pledge itself is a canned way to show patriotism,” AP U.S. Government and Politics teacher Mike Williams said. “It’s also part of the theatrics we engage in, in which we constantly have to announce, in some ceremonial way, how patriotic we are.”

Schools forced students to memorize the pledge to imbue a sense of nationality among them.

However, mandatory patriotism inspires the opposite.

“I don’t support everything this country does,” junior Khushi Nigam said.

“I don’t ‘pledge allegiance’ to anything.

I just live here based on circumstance.”

When students are neither educated nor given a choice about the pledge, they reject the unnatural sense of patriotism they are mandated to display, resulting in further indifference or even budding resentment for their country.

Many students simply lack interest and enthusiasm when they say the pledge.

Students have been so desensitized to the Pledge of Allegiance that they do not seem to care what it is that they are repeating.

“I do say it mostly out of habit because once you have been standing up to say it for around 10 years, it kind of just feels like muscle memory,” junior Allison Hsu said.

At Lynbrook, students continue to absent-mindedly repeat the pledge every Friday morning. Instead of just instructing students to say the pledge, Lynbrook should incorporate lessons about the pledge in history classes or deliver them during homeroom. Every Friday, the morning announcements can also include pieces of information about the pledge before students are told to stand up and say the pledge.

Learning about the Pledge of Allegiance will inspire students to make informed decisions regarding their patriotism.

“I think when the pledge was �irst

introduced, America was not as diverse,” Hsu said. “I don’t think anyone expected it to be as diverse culturally and racially as it is now. And because of that, I think what the pledge meant back then, and what the pledge means now are two very different things.”

It is important to learn the history of the pledge to shed light on the people left out of American history and understand the necessity of change today. In making their own choices regarding their patriotism, students should understand that saying the pledge does not mean that they completely support the U.S. and that declining to participate does not make them anti-American. A lack of education about something as omnipresent as the Pledge of Allegiance illustrates that schools should revisit their curriculum and �ind opportunities for students to engage in more critical discussions of some traditions that are regarded as “patriotic.”

was honored that although I could not speak their language, these girls treated me with dignity and affection. I was a stranger from the U.S., but they saw me as their friend.

I returned home from my service trip to AMI International School reminiscing about my time there, from playing fútbol under the warm afternoon sun to teaching the girls how to make daisy chains. My only regret was that the limited Spanish I had taught myself in the weeks prior had not been suf�icient to understand their jokes and stories. Instead of just heartwarming memories, I wanted to gain a tangible skill from my experience, so when lockdown of�icially began in March 2020, continuing to study Spanish on Duolingo was the one pursuit I had sincere motivation for.

I scheduled my 10-minute lessons in the morning, often while multitasking. After a few weeks, I looked forward to logging into the app and seeing the green Duolingo owl �lash across my screen. If I ever forgot, the owl sent me emails to guilt-trip me, urging me to practice, but I was mainly motivated by the friends I made on the platform who gave me high �ives for completing streaks and leveling up. Days turned into weeks turned into months, until �inally I woke up one morning to a noti�ication

that I’d completed a full 365-day streak.

Although I was using the app casually, without realizing it my �luency level greatly increased. I could suddenly understand snippets of commercials for Spanish wines, and English translations of Spanish lyrics on the radio materialized in my brain. I fully appreciated the giant cat mural in Los Gatos, and I even discerned from a Spanish voicemail that I should check my correo electrónico for information about my car insurance.

However, I was still not con�ident in my ability to speak Spanish in public. The accent and speech patterns were very different from the French I was learning at school, and I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of a native speaker. I also tragically lost my highest streak, over 400 days, in May 2021 due to a busy week where integrals and cell membranes took precedence over learning how to order at el restaurante.

For a few days, I was dejected at having lost all my progress until the Duolingo owl popped into my noti�ication center yet again and urged me to continue my efforts.

After hesitantly completing a lesson, I realized that the vocabulary and skills I had learned were still cemented in my brain. My progress was not de�ined by a number at all.

I immediately recovered the habit following my epiphany and restarted my streak, fueled by the knowledge that I was improving even without immediate results, and after a few more months, I proved how far I’d come. A lady at the grocery store asked me a question in Spanish, and instead of letting shyness take over, I responded con�idently to show her where to �ind los tomates.

During the summer of 2021, I also started learning German. Although the language intimidated me, it equally fascinated me and I was no longer opposed to facing a linguistic challenge. In preparation for my trip to Italy in June 2022, I am also currently learning Italian.

While taking in the culture of the languages I learn on Duolingo is dif�icult, I am grateful for having pursued this activity all throughout and after quarantine.

Learning a substantial number of new languages on my own has helped me discover and better appreciate my intrinsic motivation and love for learning.

Maintaining my streak takes time and diligence, and I still have far to go. However, I am proud of myself for �inding a new passion and holding myself accountable to succeed at something new.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY SUSANNA TANG

BY NEHA AYYER

05

October 5, 2021

OPINION

The dire consequences of Texas’ new abortion law

BY TIMOTHY KIM

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bortion as a right to bodily autonomy women in Texas with extremely limited for women has been threatened by choices when it comes to getting abortions. It a recent law passed in Texas that places a six-week cap on the time a pregnant nearly bans all abortion within the state. woman can wait until the law impacts them, By using incentives to encourage people which is meaningless considering that both in and out of the state, the law allows many women can still be unaware of their anyone to accuse and sue any abortion clinic pregnancies within such a short period of or organization of workers in exchange time. The law also proactively encourages for large monetary rewards. It also strictly citizens both in and out of state to sue any forbids women from receiving safe and legal worker or organization performing any abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, with services remotely adjacent to abortion, no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from appealing to the public through monetary rape or incest. Such an overt infringement rewards.

The 1973 Supreme Court approval of on womens’ freedom of choice is blatantly unjust, and it sets a dangerous precedent for abortion as a liberty for women supported other conservative states, some of which are by our Constitution was resultant of the notorious Roe v. already in the process of Wade court case. creating similar laws.

This landmark Abortion is far from decision effectively new in America and “It’s going to really stated that the has been legalized for stigmatize sexually active government could decades, having gained women and be a major not make excessive particular approval detriment to sociorestrictions on from the Supreme economic statuses.” abortion and its Court in 1973 as a status as a right. liberty supported by the However, Texas Constitution. However, Lucy Barnes, was able to evade Texas’s law proves that Junior this: Although contention still exists governmental over the controversial of�icials could topic between people not directly shut of certain groups — Democrats and Republicans in particular. down all abortion clinics and services in Most Democrats are relatively accepting the state, it could still be done so through of abortion, recognizing its importance in citizens. Thanks to the nature of the abortion emergencies and as a bodily right. Yet many law, government of�icials are now able to conservative states such as Texas are against eradicate the state of abortion services as abortion, painting it as inhumane often due they please, albeit indirectly, through citizens to religious beliefs. Within their arguments, who are encouraged and in�luenced with though, there are several issues regarding bounties through successful lawsuits against any abortion service. violations of basic human rights.

The consequences of this devastating new Many of the people who argue against abortion are conservatives opposed to the law have already begun to show. On Sept. concept of killing unborn babies, claiming 20, Texas doctor Alan Braid was sued after that doing so is immoral and unlawful. admitting to performing an abortion on a Thus, they believe that removing abortion woman who was past the law’s six-week limit, in its entirety would save lives and simply even while fully aware of the consequences eradicate all moral issues. Many individuals of such an action. He performed the abortion who think in such conservative ways because he believed that it was part of his happen to be in positions of governmental duty as a doctor to provide the necessary power, which causes issues not because of fundamental health-care that the woman their beliefs, which they are entitled to, but needed. In response to his actions, however, because they act upon them through the two lawsuits were immediately �iled, one by a felon in Arkansas who �iled not because he creation of problematic state laws.

“We have a lot of older, traditional people in was particularly against abortion, but merely positions of power with a lot of conservative because he wanted to acquire the bounty thinking,” junior Vikram Thirumaran said. for a successful lawsuit. Such a ridiculous “Although they have the right to have their example of a lawsuit shows how dangerous own opinion, people who think differently it is to give every citizen the right to sue from them should also have their voices be abortion doctors and clinics.

Although it is important that a woman heard. The law is not representative of the consults others and carefully assesses her Texas population’s beliefs.”

The enforcement ultimately leaves circumstances before making a decision,

preventing her from getting an abortion is an infringement on her freedom of choice and bodily autonomy, something that a state does not have authority over. A full ban on abortion blatantly disregards any illegal and immoral conditions, such as rape or incest, that a woman may have endured to become pregnant, thus effectively denying her the rights to her own body.

“This law is a blatant attack on personal freedom, which is an important American ideal,” junior Samantha Strand said.

Ironically, many women are not able to afford proper child care while also caring for themselves, which results in a potentially miserable life for both the mother and her child all as a result of an abortion denial or not being able to �ind any legitimate clinics.

“I �ind it ironic because Texas is not doing anything to make the lives easier for these children that aren’t being born into circumstances where their families are prepared,” junior Lucy Barnes said. “If they’re going to be banning abortions, I’d like to at least see some resources be made available to the families that are having children that they don’t want to have. There’s so little that’s being done to compensate for this forced law that has become mandated into the state.”

Such a problematic law will undoubtedly have catastrophic consequences if it is left unchanged.

“It’s going to really stigmatize sexually active women and be a major detriment to different socio-economic statuses because you’re going to see higher birth rates or more unsafe abortions,” Barnes said. “Banning abortion is just going to make things a lot less safe, as there are going to be children being born into communities that aren’t prepared.”

Other conservative states may also adopt similar laws, as seen in Florida. The fact that a con�lict about whether women in America deserve the right to make decisions about their own body exists in the 21st century is not only astounding but also creates room for future issues, as it may harm our nation and slow its progress through the infringement of womens’ rights — concepts that have been established ever since our nation was founded.

As citizens of the United States of America in the 21st century, the unalienable rights of freedom and liberty for women are protected by our Constitution. Thus, the Texas government’s denial of womens’ rights to bodily autonomy is a violation of the ideals our nation was established on. Although it may be reasonable to dislike abortion, it is unconstitutional to deny women the rights to their own bodies, and what they choose to do with them.

Scan for an interactive map!

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ELIZABETH CHENG

CHELSEA LEE // IN MY OPINION

Becoming confident in social isolation

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always remind myself, “Fake it ‘till you make it.”. But I’m no actress. I’ve been �ighting my introversion for years, trying to pretend that I’m an outgoing, charismatic person who is comfortable with who she is.

Yet everyone I knew still saw me as the same quiet girl, reticent and reserved.

Con�idence has been a lifelong struggle of mine. Hiding behind the shield of my father’s legs while meeting my uncle for the �irst time as a 3-year-old, my relatives reasoned I was feeling shy in a new environment with new people. Although these may have been factors, my reaction was really due to my inherent shyness, which was present no matter how familiar I was with the environment or people.

I often hear people saying, “Why are you so quiet?” “Speak up!” But when I gather up enough courage to say something, I hear, “I didn’t know you could talk.” It’s tiresome receiving constant reminders about my lack of participation in discussions and selfcontained personality. Thinking back to my past experiences in class, I realize I listened to my group mates chat without sharing my own thoughts like I wasn’t part of the conversation. I never noticed how absent I was around other people because I always overanalyzed my every move.

Social interaction was one of my greatest anxieties because I was worried about others’ negative opinions of me. But, the COVID-19 pandemic alleviated that distress by allowing me to build up my con�idence without others’ judgments. Hiding behind a computer screen during Zoom classes gave me a break from trying to confront my fears.

The minimal interaction of virtual learning relieved me from being constantly concerned about others, and the extra time I had during remote learning gave me the opportunity to re�lect. I broke down specii�ic factors that made me uncomfortable and talked through my mental chaos with my grandparents, whom I’ve always felt safest with. I realized that the memories I was so embarrassed about were inconsequential in hindsight. It let my own, un�iltered personality unfold in the comfort of my home after being stagnant for so many years.

Of course, the pandemic didn’t completely resolve my insecurities. Seeing my peers for the �irst time in more than a year at Viking Day, much of my self-doubt rushed back immediately. However, even with the renewal of my concerns, I knew I was stronger this time around. Now, I take opportunities to gradually push myself out of my comfort zone, from chatting with new classmates in class to leading ArtReach club meetings as an of�icer. In these situations, if I’m hesitant to say something, I push the words out before my mind can impede me. If self-deprecating thoughts stack up, I knock them down by reminding myself that none are as important as I make them seem. Little steps, which may seem insigni�icant alone, are what gradually increase my con�idence.

Many of the lessons I’ve learned during my ongoing journey include advice I had heard before, but none truly impacted me until I reached the conclusions myself.

Some lessons I just had to learn the hard way introspectively, and some I am still in t learning. Some lessons I may never learn, but I am alright with that because although I may never be the sociable extrovert I would like to be, I couldn’t be more proud of the immense growth I obtained while progressing through my continuous struggle with con�idence.

06

October 5, 2021

OPINION

Public high school dress codes are out of style

BY RIA PHELAN

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he sexual revolution of the 1900s has impacted the perception of modesty regarding what women wear. Even today, women still face restrictions based on obsolete ideals. At Lynbrook, dress codes aim to promote “proper” attire for school but instead oppress creative expression, discriminate against different body types and contain biases that reinforce rape culture.

Whether it be following the latest trends or designing their own clothes, allowing students to wear what they are most comfortable in is an imprtant for self-expression. Students in high school are capable of exercising sound judgments regarding their choice of clothing.

Oftentimes, women are asked to toss on sweatshirts over “revealing” or “distracting” clothing, which unfairly sexualizes and objecti�ies them in a way that men do not experience. Labeling certain types of clothes as distracting only damages girls’ self-image and projects the blame on them rather than on those who chose to be distracted.

Since the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, many girls have been asked to change due to an exposed midriff or low cut shirt, neither of which were distracting or inappropriate according to students. If dress codes aim to minimize distractions, then students’ opinions on what is or is not

distracting should outweigh the administrations’.

“These dress code violations seem to be a bit overreaching,” junior Shyon Ganguly said. “Of course you can’t have people showing up naked to school, but it seems like the administration is overregulating what people can and can’t wear.”

On her way to class, one student was stopped by a teacher and asked to cover up. The teacher waited to see her put on a jacket.

“A teacher stopped me the other day and said my out�it was ‘inappropriate for school,’” senior Radhika Mehta said. “I honestly believe that if I had asked any guy that day if my out�it was inappropriate or distracting, they wouldn’t care.”

East Side Union High School District relaxed their dress code this year. Aiming to follow movements such as #MeToo, ESUHSD updated and reduced their dress code.

ESUHSD stopped labeling clothes as “revealing,” and instead focused on stopping graphic images, drug references and strapless tops. An ESUHSD teacher con�irmed that the only rationale behind banning strapless tops is to prevent others from pulling down girls’ shirts. Otherwise, students are free to dress as they wish.

“The mentality that women are responsible for if men perceive them as a distraction — or so appealing that they can’t maintain focus or control themselves — is just another way that a rape culture

is maintained,” Evergreen Valley High School teacher Melissa Mar�ia-Roza said.

Dress codes inherently encourage women to cover up anything that could be perceived as sexual. Schools reinforcing this idea leads to self-image issues and places unnecessary blame on women, which can become a problem in the future. By measuring the appropriateness of a woman’s out�it based on how her clothes affect those around her, dress codes contribute to the idea that wearing a certain out�it means she is “asking for it.”

“Every time a young girl hears how she’s dressed and how that makes others, it starts an internal monologue about what could I have done if something happened,” Mar�ia-Roza said.

Trusting a group of high schooler can be intimidating to administrators, but students at many schools, have proven that they do not need a restrictive dress code.

Students at EVHS can now express themselves more creatively without fearing punishment.

“Since the dress code was removed, there have been a few shorter tops, but I don’t walk around campus and feel shocked at the tightness or shortness of what students choose to wear,” Mar�iaRoza said. “Students have been making good decisions.”

Currently, Lynbrook does not allow clothing that is “too short or too revealing,” and an administrator is authorized to speak to students who choose to wear clothing that falls into this subjective range. There is no quanti�iable measure for these standards, meaning a student’s out�it can be deemed inappropriate solely by a staff member’s judgement.

However, the solution is not to enforce speci�ic measurements that discriminate against people of different body types.

Students have expressed that those with similar out�its to themselves, but of different body types, could be either more or less likely to get dress coded. Clothes �it everyone differently, so body type can determine how much of someone’s body is showing.

The trust that the ESUHSD administration has applied should be re�lected in schools everywhere . An exposed midriff should not be considered inappropriate or constitute a change in attire for students at Lynbrook. Lynbrook students are capable of making their own judgments when choosing what to wear and should not be sexualized for their clothing.

The only way to combat these outdated views and reevaluate the image of women in society is to remove school dress codes.

Instead of blaming women and men for what they choose to wear, we must focus on getting to the root of problems that stem from perceptions of gender roles and outdated ideas of what is appropriate.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY RIA PHELAN

Editorial: Club abundance overwhelms campus resources

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uring Club Info Week in September, Lynbrook displayed more than 80 service, competition and interest clubs in the quad. Despite the pervasive sense of excitement on campus, some clubs were struggling behind the scenes. DECA and CSF — two of the largest on campus — had dif�iculties �inding advisers leading up to the week, and there was intense competition among clubs for the limited facilities available. While all clubs are valuable in catering to different parts of the student population, the �inite resources on campus, like advisers and facilities, cannot be ignored. De�iciencies in ASB’s current club proposal and review process enable this current situation, so the number of clubs on campus must be reduced if resources cannot be increased.

Increasing the variety of clubs on campus and ensuring each student has their speci�ic interests represented is an unsustainable and idealistic idea. In execution, it places stress on campus resources and the attention spans of students. With students involving themselves in more and more clubs, many cannot maintain a high level of dedication to each, leading to poorly run clubs with low attendance.

Lynbrook’s many niche clubs, which often target an intricacy within a popular �ield, often have a dif�icult time connecting to the student body because their audience is similarly narrow. For instance, Pre-Med Club rightfully caters to the large population of students at Lynbrook interested in medicine, but it is weakened by the existence of other clubs dedicated to niches underneath this umbrella: Surgery Interest, HEAL, CardioMed, Sports Medicine and Neuroscience.

ASB must be more strict when evaluating club proposals to ensure that new clubs will contribute something unique to campus and not overlap in any aspect with existing clubs. For example, Machine Learning Club,

Staff Editorial The Voice of the Epic passed three years ago, and Data Analysis Club, passed just last year, are both interest clubs targeting students interested in the use of big data. However, the existence of both is redundant, decreasing the number of potential members and unnecessarily dividing the already strained resources on campus such as advisers and facilities.

“We’ve already gotten a lot of proposals for new clubs this year, and as Vice Presidents we’ll be looking more critically at how they will contribute to club culture,” said Calais Waring, ASB Vice President and Community Link Commission Head. “An important element we’ll be looking for is differentiation.”

In addition, demand for a club should be a large factor in determining if a club is approved and if it should remain at Lynbrook.

Presenting to Legislative Council, most club of�icers highlight interest form statistics to prove student demand for the club among the student body, but many times, these forms rarely make it out of the of�icers’ friend groups, which leads to a disparity between the

�igures presented and actual attendance.

Club of�icers must make a more honest effort to collect data unbiased by friendship that re�lects the sentiments of the whole school.

The school can support them by allocating time during homeroom for people to �ill out these interest forms or by making sure everyone hears about them through the announcements.

Waring recognizes the stress an overabundance of clubs is causing on campus resources and assures that Community Link and Legislative Council are looking into solutions.

“This year, we’re trying to reduce the amount of clubs we pass because we’re at over-capacity,” Waring said. “For example, Homestead only has 30 clubs, and whenever a new one wants to get passed, an old one has to be removed. We’ve also shortened the window for club proposals, which has been nearly the entire year in the past, to midNovember.”

Speaking on behalf of the school administration, Leadership adviser Jason Lee recognizes that the current club situation is unsustainable

due to the shortage and overcommitment of advisers on clubs. However, he maintains that Community Link has no target number of clubs.

“We are using club portfolios and club review to ensure club bylaws are met,” Lee said. “We are looking for clubs to meet their requirements and have quality meetings, so their establishment as a Lynbrook club has merit.”

CSF and DECA’s struggles this year arose when their adviser chose not to advise or retire, respectively. Their size made it dif�icult for these clubs to �ind an adviser, which was further exacerbated by the surplus of newly formed and existing clubs. Furthermore, some teachers declined to advise these clubs because they were intimidated by the responsibility and time commitment, including attending overnight conferences.

“It was particularly hard to �ind an adviser because of how big DECA is as a club,” DECA President Jasmine Hou said. “We have a lot of members and are notorious for being very competitive and hard to manage, so a lot of teachers were very hesitant to help out this year. Also, there were a lot of clubs who were also looking for advisers, so it was hard to �ind someone who had time to advise DECA.” Clubs that have existed at Lynbrook for numerous years and contributed tremendously to Lynbrook’s culture should not suffer or get cut by ASB due to a lack of advisers or resources.

The passage of new clubs is outstripping the pace at which ASB can review and cut old clubs on campus, leading the campus to become bloated with similar or overly-niche clubs. If ASB re-evaluates its club proposal and review process to better assess the value and interest level of different clubs, it would alleviate the current stress on the campus’s �inite resources of advisers and facilities. * The Epic staff voted 34-1 in favor of this stance, with 1 staff member abstaining.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY SUSANNA TANG

07

FEATURES

the Epic lhsepic.com

Meet the new teachers at Lynbrook during the 2021-22 school year

BY ANUSHKA ANAND AND DEEKSHA RAJ

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ynbrook welcomes six new staff members for the 2021-22 school year. The teachers are prepared to kickstart a new school year after remote learning during the 2020-21 school year. With subject ranging from History to Chinese, their individual passions all brought them to Lynbrook. Teachers are enjoying getting to know their students and are excited to be a part of the Viking community.

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istory teacher Steven Hsu attended Cupertino high school and returned to FUHSD to teach after college. He is trying to be more involved in students’ lives and is currently advising Lynbrook Cardiomed Club. Hsu hopes that students will relax a bit and explore their own passions.

“The last career you want to �ind yourself in is the one you pursued because people told you. Hsu said. “You don’t want to feel like you spend all this time just to �ind out that it wasn’t your own passion.”

anguage arts teacher Anna Kirsch felt that becoming a teacher was generationally bound to happen. Both her mother and grandmother are teachers.

Her passion for teaching started only after college and fell in love with teaching.

“I want my students to know that I’m always there for them. If they need anything they can just walk in and ask me anything,” Kirsch said.

She is currently an adviser of Lynbrook’s Studio 74 because drama was one of her favorite subjects in high school. She is excited to be a part of the Viking community this year.

GRAPIHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ANUSHKA ANAND AND SOPHIE AU

rowing up in Mexico City, Spanish teacher Ligia Salcedo’s passion for teaching sparked after she realized her love for working with kids. She is currently an advisor of Neuroscience Club and is excited to be a part of the Viking community. As high school is where she learned much of what has shaped her, she hopes to help her students feel a sense of community and belonging in her class as well as immerse themselves in their learning.

“Absorb as much knowledge as you can,” Salcedo said.

udy Schultze, Lynbrook’s new Art teacher, is thrilled to learn about Lynbrook’s culture after a year of distance learning.

She wanted to be an artist from a very young age and loved being around people, so she decided to teach art. Schultze hopes to give her students the high school art experience they deserve.

“I want them to innovate and try things, I want them to come up with their own ideas. It’s exciting just to be able to produce something original, but to take it a step further and develop your own ideas, take things and change them,” Shultze said.

hinese teacher Mei Zhou grew up in Beijing and moved to America about eighteen years ago, where she realized how much creativity can be put into education, inspiring her to become a teacher.

As a teacher, she hopes her students have fun and do the best they can. Zhou considers herself a successful teacher if she and her students can create a safe community and can share their thoughts in Chinese.

“Be �lexible because it is really important to be able to bounce back and adapt yourself.

We have to live our lives to the fullest,” Zhou said.

nglish teacher Daniel Bulone’s passion for teaching sparked during his tutoring job at Chapman University. Bulone completed his masters in creative writing, and he is excited to use the skills he learned to help and educate his students. Watching the students struggle and learn, ultimately growing as students and growing confidence, inspired Bulone to continue teaching.

“No matter where a student is, they can always grow, they can always do things they couldn’t do before,” Bulone said.

Read more about the new teachers on lhsepic.com

08

October 5, 2021

FEATURES

Oliver Ni contributes to his community through coding

BY KATIE CHIN

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hile the Lynbrook app is an essential element of the school’s community, many may not know its origins. The creation of the app was spearheaded by senior Oliver Ni, who pursues all things computer science, from developing and running a Discord bot with over 2 million users to creating an online platform to host high school math tournaments.

Ni �irst learned to code through Khan Academy in fourth grade. In sixth grade, he discovered his interest in web development when his mom complained that the school’s announcements were too dif�icult to keep track of. Ni wrote a program that takes announcements from the school’s website and consolidates them for easier access.

“It was that moment when I realized the sort of impact I can make on other people with programming,” Ni said.

Since then, he has channeled his passion in computer science into helping the people in his community. In tenth grade, along with Lynbrook alum Michael Zhao and senior Joe Lin, Ni came up with the idea for a Lynbrook app.

Development started in 2019, and the app was released during the 2020-21 school year.

Ni also inspired the AP Computer Science department to switch from the development environment Eclipse to Visual Studio Code. Ni had heard friends criticizing Eclipse for its limited capacity and decided to begin working with VS Code.

Through VS Code, he built an extension that allowed students to download and turn in their homework. Originally, only a couple of Ni’s friends used the extension, but prior to the start of school this year, the CS department decided to implement his extension into the class curriculum.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY KATIE CHIN AND EMMA CONSTABLE

As a TA in the CS classroom, Ni is often called upon to help improve the extension and create new content for the class.

He always returns quickly with a solution in hand.

“It’s exciting when you’ve got students that can not only do stuff at the level that he can but also is really eager to do it and it makes it really fun,” Computer Science teacher Mr. Fulk said. “A common theme of teaching at this school is that what you can do is really what you can imagine.”

Ni gathers inspiration for new projects from the problems he encounters in various aspects of his life. When trying to host a math competition with his friends, Ni could not �ind a centralized platform on which they could hold registration.

It was then when he created the competition platform that is now used for prestigious high school math tournaments such as the Stanford Math Tournament and the Berkeley Math Tournament.

From playing Genshin Impact to going out for boba, Ni loves to spend time with his friends. Like many teenagers, Ni enjoys gaming in his free time. During the pandemic, he and his friends often played Pokecord on Discord and were devastated when it was shut down. Ni soon realized that he could build a similar game, which he later named Pokétwo.

This Discord bot allows users to catch and trade Pokémon as they chat on Discord. While it was initially built just for his friends, Ni realized his game had a much larger fan base that he had not yet tapped into.

“Now, we’re on almost 600,000 Discord servers,” Ni said.

“And I think we have 2.3 million registered users, which is pretty impressive.”

Ni describes himself as very social and values making genuine connections with people. He has found coding to be a great way to make friends and to give back to others.

“I’ve met with a lot of people, which I think is one really valuable aspect of CS, because it’s not really just something by yourself,” Ni said. “Making things and building things, maybe should be something that you do with others.”

When approaching a project, Ni primarily focuses on what he wants to do and does not let a lack of knowledge in the area hinder him. Working on a project he is passionate about pushes him to learn and enjoy his experience.

Ni’s pursuits in computer science are driven by his inexhaustible love and curiosity for coding, and he encourages students to follow their own dreams.

“CS is just something I really enjoy. I have a lot of fun doing it,” Ni said. “I think if you’re not having a lot of fun doing something, then you might want to reconsider doing it.”

“Shang-Chi” punches its way into cinematic history

BY ANWEN HUANG

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ith thrilling graphics and an action-packed plot, Marvel’s latest superhero installment, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” breaks crucial barriers in representation for people of color in Hollywood and is overall a captivating watch that satis�ies the viewers.

The �ilm stars Canadian actor Simu Liu as ShangChi, a martial arts master who confronts his foggy past as he discovers and interacts with his father’s mysterious Ten Rings organization. With twists and some purposeful omission of character backstories, the tale keeps the audience enticed as Chi explores his identity. Chi must manage the turmoil of protecting his mother’s village while facing his father’s misguided attempt to save her.

A mixture of guilt, tangled betrayals and the undying strength of love builds toward engrossing climaxes, where intricate �ight scenes bring a surge of energy that is impossible to turn away from. As Chi and his father reckon with their past choices, the audience rides the exhilarating wave of complex emotions. The journey is also interspersed with comedic elements, such as Chi’s unique contrast between superhero prowess and his job as a valet driver, which keep the plot lighthearted and entertaining.

Aside from the captivating storyline, the �ilm’s biggest highlight by far is its stunning computergenerated graphics. From a luminescent water droplet forest to a land of mythical creatures, dream-like realms are rendered in wondrous detail and envelop the viewer scene after scene, adding to the movie’s �lair. Exquisitely crafted creatures like nine-tailed foxes, shimmering dragons and mucoid demons instigate both fear and awe in the audience. The animation of their movement and the careful attention to lighting further enhance a sense of reality that keeps the viewer entranced.

But as epic as the story and imagery may be, they are con�ined to a stereotypical superhero arc: The generic sequence of discovering an impending problem and training to face it renders the movie extremely predictable. Once past the midpoint, events lose their surprise appeal and can easily be anticipated by the viewer. The ending is poorly �leshed out and entirely preventable, but in the effort to drive the rigid hero storyline, characters overlook blatantly obvious solutions.

Several characters are also rushed to become heroes, unrealistically mastering a multitude of skills in a short time while other characters remain undeveloped throughout. At times, the imposition of a classic savior narrative is reduced into corny dialogue, which detracts from the emotional appeal that many important scenes warrant. Although riveting, the conclusion is a mix of fantastical elements that are almost too good to be true.

Already, the �ilm has been making waves. Released on Sept. 3, it broke the box of�ice record for a Labor Day Weekend opening and became the second largest pandemic opening.

More importantly, it takes a crucial step toward Asian representation in Hollywood. It boasts a 98% Asian cast and is the �irst Marvel �ilm headed by an Asian director, bringing recognition to the talent present across often overlooked racial groups.

It is also the �irst Marvel �ilm to feature an Asian lead. With almost half of the dialogue being spoken in Mandarin, it is a genuine and heartwarming attempt to honor a culture on a level beyond stereotypes. This is a glaring contrast to the original 1970s comics series from which the �ilm originates, which catered to white audiences with stereotypical depictions of Asians as either power-hungry mystics or kungfu masters. For many Asian-American viewers, the watch will be particularly enjoyable with the small cultural details it incorporates, such as traditional phrases and costumes.

On a separate front, the �ilm also breaks barriers with a lack of female romantic interests. While most hero-esque

�ilms cast a female role who is chased and wooed by the male protagonist, “Shang-Chi” instead features a friendship in which both male and females contribute equally to the end goal. A myriad of female characters, the most prominent of which include Awkwa�ina’s Katy and Meng’er Zhang’s Xu Xialing, are dynamic and stand strong without male companionship.

The lack of sexualization in costumes often symptomatic of superhero movies is yet another empowering change.

Overall, “ShangChi” is an enthralling experience that transports viewers into the depths of action and imagination despite some �laws in the plot. In an industry riddled with discrimination and sexism, the �ilm’s release and success is a bellwether signaling change for the better.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY EMMA CONSTABLE

09

October 5, 2021

FEATURES

Certified Lover Boy versus Donda: Lineup of the Year

BY SAMIYA ANWAR AND TANIKA ANBU

D D

rake and Kanye West, 10-year-old rivals started off on the wrong foot when Kanye allegedly removed Drake’s verse in his song “All of the Lights.” Their feud reignited this year when both artists came out with competing albums within a week of each other and the two continued to �ight in the public eye: Kanye doxxed Drake; Drake leaked Kanye’s diss track “Life of the Party.” Their tiresome rivalry may seem like it will never end, but it will certainly be remembered in the annals of music history.

rake’s highly anticipated sixth studio album Certi�ied Lover Boy was released Sept. 3, and despite its commercial success, the lyrics in the album are predictable and shallow. Drake envisioned his album as a heartbreaking combination of toxic masculinity and acceptance of truth, but fails to dive any deeper when discussing his experience with his self proclaimed toxic masculinity.

It is evident upon further listening that the album is �illed with the classic Drake formula: sob stories about his complicated relationship with women. “Girls Want Girls” features rapper Lil Baby and describes Drake’s relentlessness when hitting on lesbians, through a now infamous bar, “Yeah, say that you a lesbian, girl, me too.” The lyrics bewildered fans and social media trolls alike, both agreeing that Drake is too old to be writing lyrics this outlandish in his songs.

“F*****g Fans’’ describes Drake’s inability to stay loyal in a relationship, rapping “ Most times it was my sel�ishness and your helplessness that I took advantage of.” Instead of sounding heartbreaking as intended, the lyrics are super�icial. “TSU” describes Drake’s relationship with a stripper who needs �inancial support and he raps, “We used to do pornos in the studio but now you got morals and s***.” Again, his lyrics come off disingenuous and immature.

The angelic chimes of “TSU” are diminished

by Drake’s continually strange lyrics as he tries to paint himself as the stripper’s savior.

Drake’s track list includes too much variety to attribute to a single theme. On “Way too Sexy” his tone is boastful and cocky, while in “Race my Mind,” he sounds monotonous while harping about failed relationships. “Knife Talk,” featuring rapper 21 Savage, discusses Drake’s gang af�iliation, in a strange divergence from the album’s overarching theme. In “No Friends in the Industry” and “7am on Bridle Path” Drake whines about how he feels undervalued in the music industry and throws shots at rival Kanye West, proving a lack of self-growth as well. The album comes off patchy rather than as a united body of work.

Many prominent artists are featured on the album, ranging from Kid Cudi to Jay-Z. “Fair Trade” is a fan favorite, featuring Travis Scott. Travis has an alluring verse while Drake raps about how he is losing friends in the industry. “IMY2” is made brilliant by the famed touch of Kid Cudi, leaving the listener wondering, “what does Drake contribute to the song?” Similarly, in “Love All” Jay-Z sets the tone and carries the song.

Musically, the album has a strong pop in�luence, but overall, it was bland, uninspiring, undoubtedly not enough to make up for the lack of worthwhile lyrics.

Drake has the same zoned out sound on every song and relies on his many features to add authenticity and essence to the music.

Although Drake claims that he is currently in his golden age, it’s safe to say that his peak was back in 2016.

D

onda, Kanye West’s tenth studio album, dropped on Aug. 29. A chaotic timeline leading up to the album drop included mysterious Instagram posts, well-attended Apple Music listening parties and multiple missed release dates. Legendary artists featured on the album, such as Playboi Carti, Travis Scott and the Weeknd, helped the album gain much attention. Following the precedent he set with JESUS IS KING, Donda marked another clean album from Kanye. Despite the controversies and delays, Kanye’s implementation of vocals, hip hop, rap and gospel influences brought the entire album together, making this album worth the wait.

Following the release of his 2019 album, JESUS IS KING, fans understand the importance of religious content in Kanye’s lyrics and music.

In Donda as well, Kanye, an openly devout Christian, based the majority of his songs on the reformation he experienced after opening his heart to God. “God Breathed,” “Praise God,” “Lord I Need You,” “Jesus Lord Pt 2” and several other songs in his album contain gospel- driven lyrics and vocals. While his references are hard to understand at times for a non-religious audience, the lyrics seem to share a story, one that fans are interested in. Even at Kanye’s Apple Music live event, references and motifs pertaining to Christianity and Jesus prevailed as he sang around a church with intentions to mimic a Sunday Service.

Donda features a variety of musical genres, ranging from drill to gospel. His song “Off the Grid,” featuring Playboi Carti and Fivio

Foreign, is a conventional, high-energy rap song that is invigorated by the drill beat switch before notable New York drill rapper Fivio Foreign’s verse. Right off the bat, Playboi Carti’s high pitched vocals compliment Kanye’s rapid rapping and the electric soundtrack fading away to Kanye’s voice repeating the hook “off the grid” adds a unique element to this song. Throughout the song, beat drops are thrown left and right, leaving fans at the edge of their seats with goosebumps on their arms.

Another one of Kanye’s songs, “Lord I Need You” he sings melodically, in contrast to his typical rapping style and uses choir-like vocals in the background to compliment his voice in a way that moves the song forward.

The most streamed song on Donda according to Spotify is “Hurricane” featuring Lil Baby — one of the few artists present on both Certified Lover Boy and Donda — and the Weeknd. “Hurricane” starts with the Weeknd’s voice and a soft, reverberating echo leading to the apex of the Weeknd’s verse. His mellow and soothing vocals compliment Lil Baby’s and Kanye’s rapping on the following verses. This contrast entices fans to listen more, as it feels like a musical story of two sides, instead of the monotonous, boring rapping of Drake on his album.

All together, Kanye West’s album Donda further develops the religious influence on Kanye’s production and sees him venturing into new genres. His contributing artists and variety in musical composition makes this the best Kanye album.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ANUSHKA ANAND

BY BENNIE CHANG

Polled into politics

A

t the beach, showers of silky sand and armies of sculptured cliffs have allured adventurers, swimmers and casual water waders for centuries. The breeze of savory oceans and goose-bumped skins are almost indistinguishable from the continental drift of sand as innocent echoes call for the water like nymphs — almost as if they have eternally existed.

At the beach, though, I see leagues and millennia polish shards into powdered dust

and boulders into smoothed pebbles of tranquility. I feel voices build sandcastle paradises. Slowly, softly, but surely.

For me, politics spells out clean, sans serif, like CNN’s section title “politics.” Vibrant, lively and impactful, our government captured my heart and enthralled me to dive into its vass boundless seas. During middle school, I scuttled home with my squealing roller backpack to scour the internet for the latest political news. Politicians became my imaginary friends, and I hoped, too, to become theirs.

2016 and beyond: Americans saw Trumpism reshape politics and government become synonymous with partisanship. The Mueller report, Kavanaugh con�irmation and Jan. 6 insurrection stressed divisions, but more signi�icantly rede�ined truth, a concept so simple yet surprisingly, understandably convoluted. Trust eroded with truth.

While hope around me plummeted like rocks, my soul demanded the currents of political love to �low and erode the feelings of madness. Childhood memories of political possibilities and goodness clung to me, as effervescence guided me back to dreams — momentous ones of public service, but also

stepping stone hopes of meeting those who sparked my mad passion. Politicians, I determined to meet. Moreover, I sought to highlight the unseen good that occurs behind the backdrop of Washington’s political drama and to help others realize the endless possibilities that our raucous democracy holds.

With joyous Christmas music on rewind, I spent 2020’s holiday season reliving years of memories digging through countless Google search pages for idolized public of�icials’ emails and, more desirably, their schedulers’.

In the process, I discovered thousands more and introduced myself to them with Wikipedia synopses. With stacks of spreadsheets, I drafted personalized emails and tossed them into the ocean of Gmail, analyzing which message, length, wording and even sent time yielded the most responses. While most of my personalized emails sunk, forgotten and unacknowledged, a few �loated into the hands of new, palpable friends.

One was the unlikely Congressman Paul Gosar, the House’s sponsor for invalidating Arizona’s 2020 electoral votes. Prepared with pointed questions about his controversial beliefs, I begged to leave the meeting composed and not furious from a Zoom �ight. Sitting in

my living room at the end of the hour-long conversation reminded me that behind a (D) or (R) are people who also love eating breakfast, working out and spending time with loved ones. People may passionately disagree but must not lose the decency of respect.

As I dream about politics now, I still visualize the thin print of CNN’s “politics.” Its beauty is brittle like the font and imperfect like its s’s. However, if America can have earnest conversations, starting with an inclusive understanding of others’ perspectives, our politics can attain beaches’ beauty, one built by time and not inherency.

At the beach, I throw myself in beds of sand. With my eyes closed, the mellow sun glows through my eyelid as I bask in its light.

Protected within my palms is a pebble. Eroded after tumbling through years of honest discourse, it’s lost its ragged edges. Before I leave, I walk to the edge of reality where the water meets the half baked wet sand. I skip the pebble with a slider, as it �lies back into the ocean. Maybe tomorrow, someone else will pick up that tiny stone and be reminded of its story, the story of our nation: chipped but destined to be ocean-polished.

10

IN-DEPTH

the Epic lhsepic.com

BY AMY LIU AND MEERA NAMBIAR

C

alifornia sea lions, great horned owls, harbor porpoises, Canada geese, western gray squirrels — from the depths of the San Francisco Bay to the peaks of the Santa Cruz Mountains to Lynbrook students’ backyards, the Bay Area is home to a myriad of wildlife.

The Bay Area hosts many ecosystems of diverse �lora and fauna. Close to the ocean, coastal grasslands are nourished by the sea breeze and stay green until midsummer, while inland grasslands are much drier and contain a diverse range of plant communities.

In the coastal range and the central valley, oak woodlands line creek beds. The Northern coastal scrub, an ecosystem found near the coast, consists mainly of bushes, poison oak and berries. Additionally, the Bay Area wouldn’t be the Bay without its aquatic regions: the lakes, marshes and Paci�ic Ocean.

These habitats allow the Bay Area to support nearly 500 species of mammals, birds, �ish, amphibians and invertebrates.

“We’re fortunate here in California to have some of the most beautiful open spaces, and we have a really diverse range of different environments and habitats that are very close to the Bay Area,” Environmental Science teacher Bev Baller said. “Obviously the coastline and the marine ecosystem here in the San Francisco Bay is incredible, but within just several hours drive, you have the forest of the Redwoods, the mountains of the Sierras and the deserts of Southern California.”

The most frequently seen wildlife in the Bay Area can be found in a typical backyard: squirrels, raccoons and crows. The house �inch, a small songbird, is the most common bird out of more than 600 bird species in California. Less common birds, like the California quail and the bald eagle, can be observed in the woodlands and lakes, respectively. In county, state and national parks, hikers occasionally spot black bears, mountain lions and mule deer. Commonly found in the Central Valley, the garter snake, the most prevalent of the 23 reptile species in California, slithers about.

The coast is home to many different species of marine wildlife. California sea lions, which are commonly spotted at Pier 39, can also be found in coastal parks. Harbor seals and waterfowl reside in marshy areas such as the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Along the coast, great white sharks and a variety of whale and dolphin species, including gray whales,

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY IN-DEPTH SECTION

humpback whales and common dolphins, can be observed.

“Whales have always been one of my favorite marine animals because they’re really big and you never see any living thing of this size anywhere else in the world,” Marine Wildlife Club Vice President Hank Hsu said.

Unfortunately, these diverse habitats and wildlife are threatened by climate change and other anthropogenic in�luences. On the coasts, warmer temperatures are causing various problems, such as rising sea levels and the “Paci�ic Blob,” an event in 2013 and 2019 when a large area of the Paci�ic Ocean developed unusually high temperatures. Due to warm waters, krill and crustaceans, major food sources for many marine animals, are unable to survive until adulthood. Other species, such as salmon, become stressed and more prone to disease at warmer temperatures. Ocean acidi�ication, plastic pollution and sewage runoff are also human activities that are negatively impacting the oceans and their wildlife.

“Pollution is a big issue,” Baller said.

“When we put pollutants in the environment and the animals ingest them, it’s not just hurting the animals. It’s also going to come through into our food sources and hurt us eventually.”

On land, increased summer temperatures have resulted in less fog, endangering species that prefer cooler weather. Additionally, less precipitation has reduced vegetation growth and disturbed food chains. Recently, countless animals have lost their habitats to wild�ires and urbanization.

Fortunately, there are ways for students to help protect the Bay Area’s diverse wildlife. Students can restrain from feeding wild animals, since human food doesn’t �it in their diet; the animals will become reliant on humans, rendering them incapable of �inding or hunting for their own food. Other simple acts include picking up litter on the ground, avoiding plastic products and using eco-friendly alternatives. For those who are passionate about nature, volunteering and educating others about the environment can go a long way in preserving and improving the beauty of local ecosystems.

“At the end of the day, harming wildlife does go back to affect us, the animal cycle and ecosystem cycle,” Animal Services and Protection Club of�icer Maple Leung said.

“We are the ones harming them and taking their habitats. The least we can do is to learn and educate ourselves about how we can protect them.”

October 5, 2021

IN-DEPTH

11

COVID-19 contract tracing keeps students and staff safe

BY SOPHIE AU AND MYLES KIM

on their whereabouts up to 48 hours prior, as COVID-19 is contagious as early as 48 n the �irst day of school, Lynbrook hours before the test results come back. This con�irmed its �irst positive case of includes the student recalling everyone they COVID-19. Since then, the school has interacted with in class and during lunch, reported four additional cases, including clubs, extracurricular activities and sports. both students and staff. Despite COVID-19 Close contact lists are now established: outbreaks at schools across the country, Students or staff who have been within six there has not been one at Lynbrook or at feet of the affected student for a total of 15 any FUHSD school, which is in part due to minutes within two days before the case Lynbrook’s rigorous contact tracing, mask- con�irmation is considered a close contact. wearing and vaccination policies.

Most of the time, the close contact is con�ined In contrast, other states like Florida to close interactions, but if there was too and Texas have taken a much more relaxed much movement in a particular class, the approach to controlling the spread. Both whole class may be considered a close states implemented contact.

Families mask mandate bans, are considered close which have led to contacts as well. clashes between school ““I think that the Lynbrook Once the districts and their state close contact list community is doing a governments.

They is established, fantastic job of really also both have opposed different emails following the guidelines.” public health measures are sent to close that are designed to contacts depending Susan Rocha, protect students and on vaccination staff, which has greatly status. Being a close Assistant Principal contributed to the contact does not climbing case numbers directly translate in Florida and Texas. to quarantine; Less than two months most of the time, into the school year, the limited quarantine time or COVID-19 tests number of reported COVID-19 cases among are enough. Each close contact receives students in Texas has surpassed the total individual instruction to ensure that they number of cases reported in the entirety of have not contracted COVID-19. the 2020-21 school year. However, state data Administrators recommend that close is incomplete and is likely an undercount. contacts test immediately if the student is The student case numbers in Florida follow symptomatic. Asymptomatic students do not a similar trend, with the state recording need to test immediately, but are required 31,752 new pediatric cases in the week of to test six days after exposure. If the student Aug. 16. tests negative for COVID-19, they can return Schools in the district follow guidelines to school immediately; if the student tests from the Centers for Disease Control and positive, Rocha then pinpoints their close Prevention, the California Department contacts by conducting interviews, either by of Public Health and the Santa Clara in-person or virtual means, with the positive Department of Public Health to determine student and their contacts before moving to how to operate safely. All three agencies state the next step: administering COVID-19 tests that in-person instruction is safe for students and potential quarantine days based on a and staff when proper safety guidelines are series of conditions. followed. Wearing masks indoors, regardless If the close contact is vaccinated of vaccination status, is required by Santa and asymptomatic, they may remain on Clara County. Additionally, all three agencies campus; however testing is recommended stress that getting vaccinated is still the most immediately as well as �ive days after the effective approach to staying safe. exposure.

In addition to these rules, FUHSD also If the close contact is vaccinated but developed its own guidelines for handling symptomatic, they are required to isolate and COVID-19 cases. During the second week of take a COVID-19 test immediately. If the test school, FUHSD guidelines were updated to is positive, a quarantine of 10 or more days require masking for outdoor activities, which is imposed. For negative tests, the individual differs from the guidelines of the CDC, CDPH may return to campus 24 hours after being and SCCPH. There are de�inite concerns from fever-free and demonstrating evidence of many parents around safety protocols, but improved symptoms. the vast majority of parents are thankful For close contacts who are that their children are back in school and unvaccinated and asymptomatic, learning. procedures are different between “We had a safety protocol process, but students and staff. If the close we had to scale it up really quickly,” said contact is a student, it is FUHSD COVID-19 designee and Associate determined through Superintendent Trudy Gross. Her task interviews if they and involves making sure that FUHSD is adhering the COVID-positive to county, state and federal guidelines to student were both keep students safe. wearing masks. If Since Aug. 23, FUHSD has followed the they were both Aug. 12 CDPH public health order, requiring masked, the that all school staff show either proof of close contact vaccination or test weekly. The CDPH has student may given school districts in Calif. two months remain on to comply with the order, the �inal deadline c a m p u s being Oct. 15. a f t e r With a single COVID-19 case often g e t t i n g infecting several other people, another t e s t e d , important safety measure is contact tracing, but a by which administrators identify individuals who were in close contact with the positivelytested individual and issue COVID-19 testing and quarantine requirements as necessary.

Assistant Principal and COVID-19 Designee Susan Rocha spearheads Lynbrook’s contact tracing program. When students experience COVID-19 symptoms, they call the of�ice, and their information is conveyed to Rocha, who follows up with the student in order to determine the next steps.

Students or staff who test positive for COVID-19 usually call-in to the COVID-19 Designee — Rocha in this case. After a student calls in, contact tracing involves interviewing the positive-tested student

O

modi�ied quarantine — in which the student may go to class, but is prohibited from participating in other extracurricular activities — is implemented.

If both students were unmasked during the exposure, the basic 10-day quarantine procedure is implemented only if they are untested. If the student decides to test, it may shorten or prolong quarantine depending on the result. Additionally, the home quarantine may be shortened to seven days if a test taken on or after the �ifth day of the last exposure is negative. For school staff, the procedures are the same as for students, except that masks do not determine the outcome of their decision.

If the close contact is unvaccinated and symptomatic, the only procedure is to isolate for 10 or more days after the appearance of symptoms and for 24 hours after symptoms improve. The quarantine can be shortened to seven days if a second COVID-19 test taken on day 5 of the quarantine comes back negative.

Despite taking all COVID precautions and getting vaccinated, junior Jeffery Kao tested positive in early September.

“I was quarantined for 10 days,” Kao said. “The only requirement was that in quarantine, I wasn’t required to test during or before returning to school.”

Kao’s parents �irst noti�ied the school two days before he of�icially tested positive.

He was questioned by Rocha to determine close contacts, then went into isolation. Kao falls into the vaccinated and symptomatic category, but since he contracted COVID-19 outside of school, he was not required to test at all. Instead, he was only required to quarantine for 10 days, and he was able to return to class a week-and-a-half later.

All positive cases and close contacts who tested positive or have felt symptoms have been relatively proactive in adhering to COVID guidelines and rules.

“I think that the Lynbrook community is doing a fantastic job of really following the guidelines,” Rocha said.

Beyond following strict guidelines, the minimal issues with COVID-19 at Lynbrook may be attributed to the high vaccination rate in Santa Clara County. In the county, 88.1% of residents above the age of 12 have received their �irst dose, and

82.9% of all residents are fully vaccinated.

Additionally, in August 2021, the district sent out an Informed K-12 form for voluntary vaccination status submission of students.

Although it does not paint a complete picture of the student population, it still displays valuable information to the community.

“63% of students in the district have told us they are vaccinated,” Gross said. “I know that it’s higher than that, as not everybody has �illed out the Informed K-12 form.”

The high vaccination rate is also re�lected in the county’s positive case numbers. Besides the recent spike in August 2021 due to the delta variant, the county has seen pediatric and adult cases of COVID-19 stagnate in recent months. Currently, its 7-day average is 249 cases, substantially lower than the average of 1,242 in January 2021.

The weekly cases in the district follow a similar trend to the overall case rates in the county. In the week of Aug. 16, the district recorded two staff cases and �ive student cases for a total of seven positives. That number peaked in the following week with one additional case, before falling to four in the week of Aug. 30. In the week of Sept. 20, FUHSD reported �ive cases across all schools.

With high vaccination rates and an exhuastive contact tracing system, FUHSD has been able to maintain low case counts and keep students in school.

“By and large, people are happy with the procedures and want their kids at school, but my experience when I’ve talked to students is, they’re happy to be back at school,” Gross said.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY TANIKA ANBU

12

October 5, 2021

IN-DEPTH

Vocal fry: Exploring the controversial stereotypes

BY AMISHI CHANDRA AND LILLIAN FU

V

ocal fry — when someone drops their voice to their lowest register and fry their vocal cords — is commonly associated with the Valley Girl accent, made prominent by celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry and Hannah Simone.

There is a great deal of scrutiny surrounding the speech habit, but upon further inspection, much of it is characteristic of the misogynyriddled criticism that falls upon femaledominated habits and activities.

When a person speaks, their vocal cords naturally close to create vibrations as air passes between them, and these vibrations produce the sound of a person’s voice. In contrast, people relax their vocal cords, taking in a low amount of air to produce slower vibrations and a l o w ,

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY LAUREN LIU

creaky sound when using vocal fry.

Vocal fry’s �irst prominent appearance was in Britney Spears’s 1999 song, Hit Me Baby (One More Time). The sound was heavily criticized when it �irst appeared, and it is currently an emblem of the Valley Girl stereotype, a negative caricature of ditzy and materialistic upper class girls from California.

Regardless of whether or not they actually �it this stereotype, the sound of a woman speaking with vocal fry immediately invites prejudice. Anything she tries to communicate is sabotaged by that initial perception.

“Words themselves actually only contribute about 7% of the content or the message conveyed,” said Nicole Tsent, Lynbrook speech and language pathologist.

“About 38% of the message is conveyed through vocal elements which relate to tone, rate of speech, how loud you speak and intonation.”

Although most often associated with women, vocal fry is also common among men. For example, male rock singers like Kurt Cobain and Mick Jagger are well known for using vocal fry in their singing. But while

the creaky voices of young women evoke an image of super�iciality and low intelligence, the gravel tones of their male counterparts suggest a sense of manliness and authority.

One reason for this may lie in the difference between the ways men and women use vocal fry. A study done by the Centenary College of Louisiana discovered that men who used vocal fry employed it about 25% of the time, while women only used it in 10% of their speech. Men tended to use it more consistently through each sentence, while women used it mainly near the end. Furthermore, the already deeper pitch of male voices make their dips into their lowest register less perceptile than the dips in higher pitched female voices. As vocal fry is more easily perceived in women, the trend becomes associated mainly with females.

Another reason for the difference in societal perception of male versus female vocal fry may be the double standard imposed on women. Double standards based on gender are numerous and often systemic in modern society; for example, the sexual double standard between men and women objecti�ies women while simultaneously condemning them for expressing sexual liberty. Men, on the other hand, are applauded for their promiscuity.

Vocal fry may be another manifestation of this inequality. Women who use vocal fry are seen as shallow or weak of character, while men who follow the same trend are seen as con�ident and individualistic.

“I don’t think anyone should be criticized for it,” senior Bhuvana Mukkalama said. “And we shouldn’t set standards that men need to have this kind of voice and women need to have this kind of voice to be taken seriously or to be found attractive. I just think people should be able to be happy with their voices without having to change it.”

This difference in reception reveals how society may expect more of women while making allowances for men. In general, image matters more for women: Their physical presentation, everything from clothing to makeup that enhances their attractiveness, invites harsh judgement from all angles while simultaneously being crucial to their acceptance in society. From their professional to private life, appearance plays a substantial role in how well women are received, while men are not held to that strict of a standard.

Style of speech is just another factor of appearance, and similarly, it is judged in the same way.

“No. 1, the �irst thing we look at is appearance,” Tseng said. “Then, speaking ability in the sense of, ‘Does a person speak with pitch, tone or rate that is appealing and able to be followed and understood?’ is de�initely second.”

However, vocal frying sometimes may not be a conscious choice, like in the instance of social mirroring. Listening to key �igures who use vocal fry can lead a person to imitate their behavior unconsciously. In fact, a majority of people who use vocal fry do it unintentionally, and people generally only use it to sound more laid back and authoritative like these celebrities.

“I noticed that Kim Kardashian talked funny at times ,” Mukkamala said. “But she does it to the point where it just becomes normal to hear and she’s identi�ied that way.

I do it purposely, like if I’m trying to be funny.”

For many young women, speaking with vocal fry is simply a form of self expression picked up from the public �igures they follow.

The scrutiny and bias that this choice garners is wholly unwanted and largely rooted in the misogynistic values present in current society.

SPORTS

the Epic lhsepic.com

13

Lynbrook’s first female reciever: Kasturi Kirubaharan

BY JASMINE RIHAL

L

ynbrook has a new player on JV football: freshman Kasturi Kirubaharan, the �irst ever female wide receiver on the team. Lynbrook has had a handful of female football kickers in the past, but Kirubaharan is the �irst to play the wide receiver position. Although football is traditionally a male-dominated sport, there is now an increasing amount of female representation within high school and college football.

Receivers are an integral unit on the offense, and their primary role is to catch the ball thrown from the quarterback and run it across the �ield toward the end zone. In a game, the receivers typically have to outmaneuver the defense’s cornerbacks, safeties and linebackers. In her �irst year of playing football on the team, Kirubaharan is looking forward to learning more about the sport and setting an example for other girls with an interest in football.

Kirubharan’s love for football was sparked at a young age when she played football with her cousins, and she continued to play with her friends whenever she had the chance. When she discovered that girls could try out for the football team, she seized the opportunity, picking the receiver position because that was what she normally played with her cousins and friends.

“When I catch the ball, it just gives me a really nice feeling,” Kirubaharan said.

Unfortunately, Kirubaharan has not had the chance to play in a game this season because the of�icial JV program was canceled due to a lack of players. Nevertheless, she has been practicing diligently with the rest of the team to further her passion for football.

No high school in the U.S. has an of�icial girls tackle football team, so girls who want to join are directed to the boys team. When trying out for the boys team, there is no guarantee that they will earn a spot. At Lynbrook, the coach allows anyone to try out for any position, but the end goal is to place players in a position where they can be successful. Everyone has to participate by attending

trainings and events, regardless if they play.

Being in the minority on the team, girls who participate in football may experience more anxiety than the rest of the male players, often resulting in struggles to grow as an athlete. Fortunately, at Lynbrook, the team treats Kirubaharan as their equal and ensures that she always feels included. On the football team, Kirubaharan is accompanied by seniors Tammi Trujillo and Srinidhi Sathish, who also share the experience of being girls in a male-dominated sport.

The coaches have made strong efforts to ensure that inclusivity is at the forefront of the team’s priorities.

“She’s part of our family,” varsity football coach RJ Davis said. “We become role models and lead by example. One of the most important things that I promote is family.”

Many female football players, including Kirubaharan, wish that there was a separate girls team that would allow them to play among themselves. They believe that it would foster a safer playing space and promote opportunities, like scholarships, for aspiring female athletes. In California, girls only make up 0.5% of football players in high school; one reason for this small percentage may be the fact that some girls are initially uncomfortable joining a team that does not already have many or any girls.

Coach Davis also believes that a girls football team should be created, as the amount of female involvement is steadily increasing.

“If that’s the direction that we’re gonna go, why not make it accessible?” Davis said.

Although society has portrayed football as a male sport, a rapid upsurge of girls entering the football �ield has constantly challenged that stereotype. Lynbrook’s �irst female receiver — Kirubaharan — demonstrates that in breaking loose from gender norms, girls can play any position that they want.

JASMINE RIHAL —EPIC

Student-athletes required to wear masks to play indoor sports

BY AUDREY SUN Breathing properly is essential for student-athletes to achieve their highest athletic performance. While masks are still required for Lynbrook athletes competing in indoor sports, outdoor sports, such as tennis and �ield hockey, have lifted the mask mandate.

During the 2020-21 school year, student-athletes completed a daily symptom form before and after practices. If a team member tested positive for COVID-19, Lynbrook was easily able to identify exposed athletes by tracking the daily check-in form. Aside from daily symptom checks, studentathletes also completed a PCR COVID-19 test two to three times a week before their games. However, these procedures have been completely removed as of August 2021, and the only requirement Lynbrook currently implements is wearing masks while playing indoor sports.

“I would prefer to not wear masks during strenuous exercise and, instead, get tested every two to three days, similar to the procedures we had last year, ” junior volleyball player Sruti Elangovan said.

Although many Lynbrook athletes dislike wearing masks while exercising, most prefer wearing surgical masks over cloth masks and N95 masks because surgical masks are comparatively more breathable while being able to block out germs, bacteria and viruses. Being single-use only also makes them easier to dispose of after every practice, which is preferable to washing sweaty cloth masks.

“I don’t like wearing cloth masks when playing because sometimes cloth masks �it you so perfectly that it makes it harder for you to breathe,” sophomore �ield hockey player Halie Yung s a i d .

“Surgical m a s k s w o r k better

for me because they’re more breathable and block out more bacteria.”

According to Santa Clara Public Health guidelines, masks are not required during outdoor activities. Outdoor sports, such as tennis, allow players to social distance and provide constant air�low.

“Most of the team takes off their mask when playing, but when they’re not playing or outside the court, they usually put their masks back on,” sophomore tennis player Anne Sakai said. “Compared to last fall season, we are now allowed to take off our masks during practice, which makes running a lot easier.”

C o nve r s e ly, masks are required indoors because in an enclosed setting, such as the gym or �ield house, the virus can easily accumulate and spread. Although masks help to prevent the spread of COVID-19, wearing them during practices heavily impacts athletes’ performance. Wearing masks while exercising can lead to shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, headaches and the

deterioration of muscle strength, which can signi�icantly impact athletic performance.

“Wearing masks de�initely hindered my athletic performance,” Elangovan said. “It was hard for me to see where the ball was when it was underneath my mask, which made it harder to move and pass the ball.”

Furthermore, it is a hassle to remember to bring and change masks every day before practices and games.

“There are already 1,000 things to worry about when you’re on the court and playing volleyball, but worrying about masks just adds to the list and doesn’t make things easier,” Elangovan said.

Lynbrook athletes have mentioned that wearing masks not only negatively impacts their athletic performance but also impedes effective communication, which is crucial for team sports. This includes talking about game strategy on the court and cheering for teammates off the court.

“We’re already trying to cheer as loud as we can, but because of the mask, sometimes people on the court can’t hear us as well,” Elangovan said.

“Sometimes when the coach is trying to tell me to do something or serve a spot, I can’t always hear him.”

Because of COVID-19, athletes are adapting to new guidelines everyday.

The mask mandate is a prime example of how Lynbrook athletes are continually impacted by the receding pandemic, as it hinders their athletic performance and ef�iciency to communicate among team members.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY EMMA CIONCA

14

October 5, 2021

SPORTS

Fall sports teams foster unique relationship

GRAPHIC BY CHELSEA LEE PHOTOS BY EPIC STAFF

BY SAM SARMA

F

all sports are back in season, and teams are more united than ever, both on and off the �ield. From wearing uniforms to school before a home game to bonding with pasta parties, teammates are doing more things together than simply playing sports. The end goal of building relationships outside of practice is fostering a good team dynamic on the �ield. In August 2021, the fall season — the �irst full-length sports season since the COVID-19 pandemic — began with boys and girls water polo, girls tennis, �ield hockey, football, girls volleyball, girls golf and cross country.

Lynbrook sports’ team spirit is �irst visible when taking a look around campus before a home game: Football players are in their jerseys and �ield hockey players are in their plaid skirts, or “kilts.”

“We’re proud to be on the team, and we like to show it off,” said senior and varsity football player Jalen Johnson.

Started by the legacy of Sandi Stober, �ield hockey traditions are long-standing. Players wear matching bracelets called bear scares and chant “Rah hockey!” in the quad on home game days.

“We’re all just having fun,” said junior and JV �ield hockey player Avni Mangla. “The idea of our whole team coming together and getting to know each other is what makes �ield hockey special. There’s no divide between grades; we’re all just girls who want to play.”

Girls water polo was recently featured on the Instagram of JOLYN Clothing, a popular swimsuit and active wear brand among water polo players, whose Instagram boasts over 260,00 followers. The team members took a photo positioned in rainbow order, each wearing a different color of a JOLYN swimsuit, which was later reposted by the brand.

Six out of eight fall sports teams this year are also showing pride through their respective team Instagram accounts.

“Last year was one of the best seasons we ever had, but we didn’t take any photos or videos to remember it by,” said junior and varsity volleyball player Sruti Elagovan. “This year,

I wanted to change that, which is why the Instagram account came. It helps us bond because we’re more attentive towards funny moments in practices and games, and once the season ends, we’ll have something to look back at. I don’t think the season would be as fun without it.”

Cross country, girls tennis, girls volleyball, �ield hockey and girls and boys water polo all post witty content and updates on their Instagram accounts as a glimpse into their team dynamics.

“It’s run by most of us,” said junior and varsity boys water polo player Joseph Zou. “It’s a way of showing how JV and varsity can both be on the same page. We take pictures of each other during the games and post them on Instagram for people to see.”

Through this platform, boys water polo and �ield hockey have also shared a healthy rivalry.

Just as important as showing team spirit is bonding before games. Some Lynbrook sports do this through team dinners, also known as “pasta parties,” “pasta fests” and “pasta feeds.”

In this tradition, the team gathers together the night before a game or race to prepare by eating fueling foods. Another tradition for some girls teams, including tennis, volleyball and �ield hockey, is “secret sister,” in which teammates exchange gifts anonymously before each home game, and the gift givers are revealed at the end of the season.

Secret sister is one tradition that girls volleyball has developed a unique system for. Using a “Secret Santa” app called Elfster, players create wish lists and send each other anonymous messages, easing the struggle of keeping it secret. They have also allotted a budget for an entire season’s worth of gifts.

“Elfster gives me more of a chance to actually talk to my secret sister,” said junior and varsity volleyball player Sruti Elangovan. “I give her additional surprises, and when she learns I’m her secret sister, I think this will help us become closer.”

One especially spirited team bonding tradition is boys water polo’s annual onesie pool day, in which the team swims and plays water polo while wearing fuzzy onesies.

“Traditions like this bring everyone together as friends and as players as well,” said freshman and JV boys water polo player Deniz Genc. “I think that makes a big impact.”

According to the Association for Applied Sports Psychology, team dynamics are made up of two components, social cohesion and task cohesion. Task cohesion measures the effectiveness of teamwork at completing tasks, and social cohesion measures the support and relationships among team members. For an effective team dynamic, both elements are important, and they affect one another.

“If you don’t like your teammates, then you’re not going to want to go to practice, and you’re not going to want to play with them either,” said junior and girls varsity water polo player Lauren Yee. “You’re going to hold a grudge and it could really change the outcome of everything.”

Even for individual sports like cross country, team dynamics play an important role in athletes’ performances.

“If you run with people during normal practice runs, then you can talk and get to know each other,” said freshman and cross country runner Annie Peng. “You don’t get tired really easily. When you run by yourself, you’re just focusing and really tight. Together, you motivate each other when one person gets tired.”

When players become close with one another, a team’s chemistry on the �ield can improve dramatically. Players develop an understanding of where another player is on the �ield and what they may be doing. The ability to observe and predict other players’ behavior allows for ef�icient teamwork and lessens the stress a team can experience.

“When you’re close with somebody as a friend and teammate, you don’t have to speak to them, you just know what’s on each other’s mind,” said senior and varsity football player Jalen Johnson. “That connection really helps in games.”

15

October 5, 2021

SPORTS

Freshmen should receive PE credits from sports

BY NICOLE GE

M

ost student-athletes can earn �ive PE credits from a sports season. However, freshmen cannot and may only earn elective credits, which are easily ful�illed requirements. It is unfair for freshmen to put in the same amount of time but not receive the PE credits they deserve and need for graduation. Shouldn’t time spent building physical �itness be treated equitably regardless of grade?

With freshmen not able to earn their �ive credits through each sports season, they are forced to continue sports throughout high school or take another PE class, which prevents students from pursuing other interests. Therefore, the district should remove the policy that allows students to only earn 10 PE credits per year.

All freshmen are enrolled in PE 9 and are set to earn 10 of the 20 PE credits required to graduate. After freshman year, students

either must participate in two sports seasons in their remaining years of high school, or take one more year of PE. After ful�illing their 20 total credits, additional credit earned from sports or PE classes are applied as elective credits instead.

“It is a district-wide policy that students cannot earn more than 10 PE credits in one school year,” guidance counselor Nikki Dang said. “The only exception to this rule would be if the student was a senior and needed more than 10 credits to meet the 20 credit PE requirement.”

A sports season requires a considerable amount of time, even more so than PE, with an example being basketball. While PE is about four to �ive hours a week, a typical basketball season consists of four two-hour practices per week, in addition to two games a week, each game about an hour long. The total time spent during the season amounts to more than twice the amount of time spent in PE. Even though a sports season only lasts one-third of a school year, not receiving any PE credit would be unfair given the amount of time invested in the sport.

Sports requiring such a huge time commitment also causes course selection limitations for students. Amnah Khan, a sophomore who played in both girls basketball and �ield hockey in the 2021-22 school year, reasons that freshmen should receive PE credit as sports prevent many students from taking the classes they are interested in or the

ones that require lots of time to succeed in due to a packed schedule.

“After playing two sports and being told freshmen only earn elective credit, I was upset because sports programs should equate sports credits,’’ Khan said. “Allowing students to satisfy the PE requirements earlier would give them extra space in their schedules to take the classes they wish to take.”

Another reason the policy should be removed is because of the inequity of the policy. Although all athletes are investing the same amount of time for sports, freshmen are still unable to receive any sports credit . Freshman Sarah Wei, who plans on participating in girls basketball next winter, argues that sport PE credits should not be determined by grade level.

“We should get the PE credits because we’re still putting in the work, and the upperclassmen get PE credits for doing a sport,” Wei said.

Alternatively, some students may �ind the policy excusable as it limits how fast students can accumulate PE credit to encourage students to stay �it. Although this policy could temporarily help students to keep in shape, eventually physical �itness can only be maintained if students are motivated to do so. As freshmen are already required to take PE, students already learn how to work out and stay healthy, so it should be up to them to make their own decisions as it will help them become more independent.

Being unable to earn PE credits for playing sports as a freshmen means it will take longer for students to ful�ill their PE requirements. Earning PE credit in freshman year could reward freshmen for their effort in sports and allow students to take other classes that they may enjoy in the future.

Annual Lynbrook boys and girls golf face-off tradition resumes

BY ANIRUDH SESHADRI

T

he Lynbrook girls and boys golf teams played among themselves in a friendly competition on Sept. 25 at Los Lagos Golf Course. Unlike previous years, when the boys and girls teams competed against each other, they collaborated in mixed teams for the competition. Interteam scrimmages like these help prepare golfers for future competitions by honing their skills, building con�idence and bonding with their teammates.

Throughout the summer in 2021, the girls team practiced individually and with other schools. They also took lessons from professional golfers, such as Berne Finch, at San Jose Municipal Golf Course.

“He was the coach that I started with from the very beginning,” said Jibin Lee, junior and team captain of one of the mixed teams. “I basically learned everything from him, from short shots to full swings. Right now, we’re going more into trick shots that you hit when you’re in weird situations like being right behind a tree or right up at a fence.”

In fall 2021, the girls team had their �irst scrimmage against Wilcox High School on Sept. 2.

“The scrimmage against Wilcox was really fun because Wilcox was part of the lower leagues, and the game was not too competitive and very casual,” Lee said.

On the other hand, the boys team competed in tournaments during summer 2021 to prepare for the Central Coast Section competitions. The CCS is a large athletic organization for high schools in the San Mateo, Santa Clara, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties that organizes athletic leagues and competitions for more than 770,000 high school students.

“Most players have been practicing by themselves,” senior Anton Ouyang said. “But a couple of players may be

starting to play more tournaments this year compared to past years. Tournament experience is really valuable because it is completely different from playing regular weekend golf matches with your friends.”

In past years, the boys and girls golf teams only played matches against each other, with the girls team always emerging victorious. Teachers, such as retired math teacher Patrick Ellington, also had opportunities to play, making the competitions more entertaining and enjoyable. While this competition was different from previous years, both teams bonded over their desire to practice using techniques they learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to prepare for competitions later in the year.

Initially, both teams had planned for a traditional boys versus girls golf tournament; however, after deciding the players for the game, both teams realized that there were more boys than girls. To make the match fair, they created mixed teams.

“Last season, we got a taste of

victory by going undefeated against the lower divisions, and then going on to CCS,” junior Nishad Wajge said. “So hopefully, we can build off on that this year and do well at the game.”

Similar to past golf tournaments, the mixed match had 18-holes. The game consisted of two teams of eight people; taking players from both teams, four groups of four people were then formed. Each group played at a different tee time, the starting time of their round.

“I was very pumped up because my friend Jibin and I were team captains,” said Molly Runyon, senior girls golf team captain and captain of one of the mixed teams. “Although we still rooted for each other, it was different because we were also trying to beat each other.”

Before the game started, the players felt nervous but eager to interact with each other, as the boys and girls had not engaged in much collaboration or playing time together in the past.

Despite any nervousness, the players had a thrilling game.

Runyon’s team barely won with a score of 534-557 against Lee’s team. Players enjoyed meeting and playing with new sets of golf opponents. However, at certain times, some players did experience issues with putting, the action of swinging a golf ball gently with a club when only one or two strokes are needed to tap the ball in the hole.

“We started at around 3 p.m. and �inished around 7:30 p.m., and it was pitch black,” Runyon said.

“When we were putting, we had to shine our phone �lashlights at the ball to see where it was.”

Both teams enjoyed the tournament and look forward to learning from each other and building a sense of community.

16

PHOTOESSAY

the Epic lhsepic.com

Viking athletics kicks off a new year of competition

BY SHARLENE CHEN AND LILLIAN FU a.

b.

c.

d.

g.

e.

f.

j.

a. h.

i.

PHOTOS BY EPIC STAFF a. The boys water polo team attempts a goal during a scrimmage in practice. b., h. Girls field hockey players manuever around defenders in a game against Los Altos. c. Football advances down the field with a long pass reception against James Lick. d. Lynbrook Valkyries perform at the first rally of the year. e. Girls cross country races in the SCVAL opener meet. f. Linemen line up for a play in a football game against James Lick. g. Girls tennis competes against Los Gatos. i. Boys water polo practices defending the goal. j. Boys cross country competes in the SCVAL opener meet.

2021-22 editors-in-chief mei corricello bennie chang news editor amy liu

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copy editors youqi huang crystal qian

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small print: the Epic is the of�icial newspaper of Lynbrook High School and is a student-run open forum not subject to prior review, as protected under the California Education Code. Views expressed in the Epic do not necessarily re�lect or represent those of the administration or faculty of this school or district.

Letters to the Editor, guest columns and other materials to be considered for publication are welcome. They should be sent to Room 611, Josh Miller’s box in the main of�ice or enc.epic@gmail.com