• The humor and harm of school Instagram pages

Editorial: District perseveres through Omicron spike

AUDREY SUN—EPIC

Students must swab their nose properly to ensure accurate results.

AUDREY SUN—EPIC

AUDREY SUN—EPIC

The swab is placed in a test tube, and results are delivered in 15 minutes. The FUHSD community waits in line for a COVID-19 test at Lynbrook. Testing is paid for by the district, making it accessible for more people.

The new year greeted Lynbrook with a surge in COVID-19 cases, reaching an all-time high in the number of infected students and faculty. While FUHSD’s weekly reported case numbers were in the single digits through the end of first semester, Lynbrook alone had 65 student and staff positives during the week of Jan. 3. In response, the FUHSD community has proven its ability to adapt to rapidly changing conditions through instruction flexibility, contact tracing and resources such as testing and KN95 masks.

Lynbrook COVID-19 designee Susan Rocha has taken up the responsibility of mask mandates, testing centers, conveying the ever-changing CDC and Santa Clara County Public Health Department guidelines through emails and communicating with students, staff and families about isolation protocol. Confusion among students and staff runs rampant during such uncertain times, so it is imperative for the administration to continue their transparent and consistent updates with the Lynbrook community. To learn from experience following the January surge in mind, Lynbrook should brace itself for another possible spike after the February break by expanding the COVID-19 response team to prevent this heavy burden from falling on a single set of shoulders.

Contact tracing has served as a source of reassurance for many students. When a student contracts COVID-19, administration works to identify close contacts, asking teachers for seating charts and students for who they spent lunch with. Teachers and club officers should implement their own contact tracing systems for activities to increase the efficiency of this process. Some staff, such as French teacher Elizabeth Louie, have already done this by creating forms for students who use their room during tutorial and lunch.

The FUHSD administration was cooperative in rapidly implementing CDC guidelines during the first semester and loosened restrictions as cases decreased. Compared to individuals from other schools, the Lynbrook community has been more responsible in adhering to relatively stricter guidelines, with little to no opposition from the student body.

“Before the spike, there were some kids in certain classes who didn’t always wear their masks, but with everything that’s been going on, everyone has been wearing their mask,” junior Diya Dalal said.

To continue combating the crises of 2022, the district should continue to provide resources, such as rapid antigen test kits and KN95 masks, to students. Further information on resources the district has already devoted to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic is available on page 3.

FUHSD is unique in providing campus COVID-19 test centers, which are open at different schools throughout the week and provide both rapid antigen tests and polymerase chain reaction tests for staff, students and their immediate families. While the earlier distribution of rapid antigen test kits to students is standardized and provided by the state, testing centers and staff are paid for by the district and have allowed more students to access proper testing, especially in light of a national shortage of testing resources.

“The talk about a layered approach to protecting against COVID-19 is really important,” Rocha said. “Vaccination is strongly encouraged, but it hasn’t become required. I believe masking is probably the biggest priority, along with testing.”

If a student is infected with COVID-19, they must isolate themselves for at least five days, which leads them to fall behind on schoolwork. By moving curriculum resources online, teachers can help students stay on top of their assignments while isolating, if they are physically up to it. Math teacher Rita Korsunsky has implemented remote testing options on Schoology, a solution that can prevent students from becoming overwhelmed with tests when returning on-campus.

“Our policies toward schoolwork with COVID-19 should have been clearer — like clarifying when an assignment is due versus when it’s assigned and whether projects were excused or given make-up time,” junior Aakash Kapadia said

To educate students on how to use the many resources provided to them, Lynbrook could devote a session of homeroom to demonstrating how to acquire governmentsupplied antigen tests, how to conduct self-tests and what to do in the case of a positive test result.

The school has demonstrated a great level of responsibility and efficiency in ensuring the protection of each student. However, with increasing cases and new variants, a larger group of COVID-19 designees and standardized policies for remote assignments will help Lynbrook be more prepared going forward. While providing resources is a huge step in the right direction, educating students on how to use these resources and respond to positive test results is necessary to ensure the well-being of the student body. *the Epic staff voted 35-0 in favor of this stance, with 1 staff member abstaining.

The humor and harm of school IG pages

BY CHELSEA LEE

Like many recent internet jokes among teens, the popularity of school Instagram pages originated on TikTok before spreading to high schools all over the U.S, including those within FUHSD. A variety of accounts were quickly born from this trend, some with an immense following: @lynbrooksleeps features Lynbrook students napping at school, @fuhsd.bathroomfeet showcases photos and videos of FUHSD students’ shoes and @fuhsdposturecheck displays FUHSD students’ bad posture. Although the anonymous administrators of these pages may only intend to provide students with a quick laugh, they should be aware of negative effects such as cyberbullying and harassment can easily arise from such pages.

A few accounts have become wellknown among the FUHSD community, with follower counts ranging from a few hundred to more than 2,000. Most, if not all, of the posts are sourced from students who photographed or filmed others, often without the subject’s knowledge or consent, which violates their privacy.

“There have been a few times when people messaged us to take a post of them down, which we did immediately,” an administrator of the @fuhsdposturecheck account said. “We have learned to try our best to only post pictures submitted by what looks to be the person in the picture’s friend, not zoomed-in photos of someone far away.”

Some account administrators make efforts to respect the wishes of photo subjects by communicating on their account biographies that people may request for photos to be taken

down. Although this is a start to protecting the online privacy of students, permission for sharing photos should not only be requested after the picture has already been posted, as it is not enough to save subjects from embarrassment from the account’s audience. Subjects may not even have the chance to request for their photo to be taken down if they are unaware it has been posted. The image could be in the hands of anyone with access to view the page and be shared with others beyond that circle. If the subjects do not come across the post or if others do not notify them, an unwanted photo could “For some students, it be on the internet forever. may be inappropriate or unsafe for them, but for “For some students, it may be inappropriate for them and they might feel unsafe, but for others, it others, it may be a comic may be comic relief,” freshman Reagan relief.” Markert said. These pages can easily compromise Reagan Markert, Freshman individuals’ internet safety and have led to serious consequences for students at other high schools. According to the Branham Bear Witness, Branham High School’s official newspaper, several students have been suspended and received police reports after similar instagram profiles were accused of cyberbullying and sexual harrassment on campus. Since Branham Principal Cheryl Lawton’s announcement on the issue, several Instagram pages Branham community have deleted their posts or taken down their pages. For school Instagram pages, the line between humorous and hurtful content is often blurred. Account administrators and students should assess the possible consequences of their actions and maintain respect when running or interacting with these accounts, as they can easily develop into centers of cyberbullying or harassment if managed irresponsibly.

February 01, 2022 Comparisons in parent WeChat groups are toxic

BY NICOLE GE

With college decisions in full swing, parents boasting about their child’s accomplishments have once again taken over WeChat groups created to convey class-specific information to Lynbrook parents. These conversations happen not only in groups for the senior class but also in those for underclassmen. Although these parent chat groups are good places to receive school-related news, they enable a harmful dynamic in which parents compare students’ accomplishments which causes students to feel insecure and lacking.

The groups are active with discussion ranging from school events to recent news. Parents also share information about their own children, like what classes they are taking or what achievements they have attained. The chats can inflict feelings of inadequacy and inferiority in students if parents take their findings in a negative light and convey them to their child.

“It seems like they expect so much out of me when they mention other classmates’ achievements and expect me to do the same,” freshman Alice Wu said.

Constantly seeing other parents showing off their child’s achievements in the chat may cause parents to believe that their child is below average in their grade. New, unrealistic expectations are made for the child as parents are unaware that they are comparing their child’s performance as a whole to glimpses of other students’ best.

“Some parents like to brag about how many APs their child has taken and how many clubs they attend, as if it’s easy to do,” said Cindy Wang, a parent of two Lynbrook students. “It makes me worried that my children aren’t smart enough.”

As college decisions approach, conversations about college admissions occur in the WeChat group for the Class of 2022. While waiting for results to roll in, anxious parents deliberate over what classes or extracurriculars are needed to be accepted into certain colleges.

However, these discussions are also common in chats with the parents of underclassmen. Such premature and aggressive comparisons of students give students an unhealthy amount of pressure that will only lead to poor self-esteem. Parents in Lynbrook WeChat groups should avoid comparing their child to other students in hopes of pushing their child to work harder, as incomplete comparisons can instead negatively impact students’ mental health.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY NICOLE GE

Students deserve a modern literature curriculum

BY LAUREN LIU AND LILLIAN FU

Earlier this year, sophomores read In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez which follows the lives of four sisters in the Dominican Republic. The addition of Alvarez’s book is one of many recent actions implementing an overdue shift toward a more diverse curriculum for high school literature classes that have long been dominated by white male voices.

Literature classes aim not only to instruct students in analysis and essay-writing but also to impart perspectives on the human experience through assigned readings. Thus, the traditional homogeneity of these readings has reinforced the marginalization of minority voices. When mainly taught books written by deceased white men, the narratives of more diverse voices are cast aside or are perceived as less important.

“We would like each course curriculum to move toward a 50-50 look in terms of diverse voices,” English department lead Joanna Chan said.

The classics — Shakespearean plays and The Great Gatsby — will always hold value, but countless culturally influential pieces of modern literature still never touch the classroom. Modern books address the problems of a world that high schoolers must grapple with, and a more conscious literature curriculum would prepare them for that eventuality.

“It’s useful to learn about the uptightness of the Puritans, but it’s more useful to learn about the racial issues that we’re dealing with right now,” senior Helina Li said.

The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez, which the English Department has recently added to the American Literature course, is one such book that deals with the topic of immigration, which is especially relevant for Lynbrook students, a majority of whom come from immigrant families.

Lynbrook’s majority non-white population makes relating to the protagonists of some assigned texts difficult. A colorful cast of characters who reside in settings reminiscent of the modern world guarantees more student investment in literature. The English department is working to include mirror texts, works in which the characters’ experiences and demographics allow students to relate easily. For example, Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert is set in the San Francisco Bay Area and follows a Chinese-American high school student.

Added to the freshman course this year, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz tells the story of two teenage boys grappling with the realities of growing up and discovering themselves. The novel features Mexican American and LGBTQ+ main characters, representation that allows students to read about people like themselves and introduces different perspectives to those who do not identify with the protagonists. “Books are like cultural change,” sophomore Sandhana Siva said. “They give us insight into different themes that could be applied to our own situations.”

In order to speed up the long process of approving a new piece of literature, the English department is trying to choose books that have already been approved by the district, such as Sáenz’s novel.

Adding new books to the curriculum means that some texts must be replaced. Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, may be one of those books due to the controversy surrounding its use of the n-word and racial stereotypes in the portrayal of the character Jim. Currently, the English department is discussing whether or not to keep it in the curriculum. The possible removal of texts like this one can clear the way for works that better represent Asian Americans.

“We read books to learn about that era and its themes,” Li said. “I feel like some books like Huckleberry Finn didn’t address the issues of their era very well.”

The current literature curriculum, with a balance of older classics by white men and modern ones by diverse authors with diverse characters, shows a marked improvement compared to those of previous years. As the literature department continues to modify and improve the courses, they should look to include more LGBTQ+ and South Asian representation.

BY TANIKA ANBU // IN MY OPINION

Being brown in a small white town

My story started in a city North of New York City called Poughkeepsie. The concept of diversity there was so foreign that a local news reporter featured me and my friend for wearing traditional Indian dance costumes. Yes, I made it into the newspaper for being brown in a small white town! From preschool to third grade, I was surrounded by kids who I could never connect with, forcing me to live a dual life: a cultural one at home and a white-washed one at school.

Whether it was hiding my hands decorated with mehndi or telling people I was eating pancakes when they were actually dosas, I was embarrassed of my culture. Luckily, I had an escape: a tightknit group of Indian family friends. We often celebrated holidays, such as Holi, Navarathri and Diwali, together.

I partook in the basic Indian art forms that every other brown girl tried — carnatic singing and bharatnatyam. These activities kept me close to my heritage, as I was able to foster new friendships with students from these classes and perform works of art that I enjoyed. I remember sitting on my dance teacher’s sofa, chatting with my friends and eavesdropping on our moms’ gossip sessions. In dance shows to temple gatherings, I had found my community.

At the end of third grade, I moved to India to be closer to family. Naturally, I thought I would fit into my new environment. What Indian kid could not fit in in India?

Not me. At school, my American accent stuck out; at my cultural classes, I could not bond with the other students; and at family gatherings, everyone viewed me as American. Although I eventually found friends at school, I began to feel disconnected from my culture as I lacked the sense of community that I had fostered in Poughkeepsie.

Meaningful holiday celebrations became a thing of the past. Instead of celebrating with lifelong family friends, we spent our Holis and Diwalis with random families from our apartment complex. Conversations that were usually filled with laughter and life became meaningless small talk revolving around weekend plans or what we ate for dinner. My sense of community shrank.

Once again, I moved. This time, I landed in California. Even with a predominantly Asian and Indian population, I still felt lost culturally. During Holi and Diwali, there were no more competitions on who would shower first to wash all the colorful powder off their body or who would be able to hold the sparklers the longest — we had stopped celebrating altogether. Without a group of friends, I lost interest in my cultural activities and dropped out of dance.

Through the hardships of moving and adaptation, I realized it was the people who helped me embrace my culture and develop my sense of community. After every move, my family struggled to find the group we once had to celebrate the way we used to. Now, with most of my friends being from school, I strive to build a community that I feel at home with. By surrounding myself with close friends and family, I am starting to regain my sense of community and cultural connection. Whether it is attending a friend’s Golu for Navarathri or praying for Ganesh Chaturthi with newly acquainted family friends, I am taking small steps toward reviving the culture I thought I lost.