37 minute read
K-popping?
BY JASON SHAN
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JASON SHAN - EPIC Graphic illustration by Catherine Zhou and Jasmine Rihal
Students who frequent the quad may find themselves in front row seats to the performance of the Ravens, Lynbrook’s unofficial K-pop dance team. Started during Hocofest when a group of students realized their shared love for K-pop dance, the Ravens aim to bring the world of K-pop to Lynbrook’s campus.
While they came together in a casual manner, the Ravens take their dancing seriously. In addition to frequent group practices during the school day, members are expected to practice individually.
The Ravens performed a dance cover of “Stereotype” by STAYC during the Valkyries Fall Show, a performance they prepared in just two weeks. The Ravens practiced every brunch, lunch and tutorial with an additional three-hour rehearsal the day of the show, totaling more than 10 hours of practice.
“We rehearsed so much in the two weeks prior, so now, we cry whenever the song is mentioned,” Co-President Mina Chao said.
After the performance, the dance crew realized they wanted to spread their love for K-pop and decided to apply to be a formal club at Lynbrook.
“Considering that Lynbrook can be a stressful environment, it’s nice to have a group of people that you can just chill and hang out with,” Chao said.
In the meantime, they have amassed around 40 Lynbrook students on their Discord server, where they take input on what songs to dance to, create channels for communication between dance cover groups, post K-pop news and just have casual conversation. Following their first performance, the Ravens have started preparing three more dance covers to showcase in the coming months.
At times, they encounter challenges with scheduling or members not knowing the choreography, but they provide support to members by preparing resources such as tutorials, “fancams” and honest feedback.
In addition to performing dance covers, the Ravens host random dance plays every
JASON SHAN - EPIC other Friday during lunch in the quad, where choruses of many K-pop songs are queued up for anyone to join in on the dance floor. Both Ravens and other students who participate do not have formal dance training but just want to express themselves.
“We want to make a safe space for everyone who likes K-pop and dance to get together, have fun and improve themselves,” Co-President Maia Bline said.
Maia Bline Co-PresidentThe Ravens performed at the Valkyries Fall Show.CRYSTAL QIAN - EPIC Why I dance to K-pop: “Kpop is more accessible and less intimidating than other dances while still having different levels of complexity and sub-genres.”
JASON SHAN - EPIC
JASON SHAN - EPIC JASON SHAN - EPIC
Abigail Fong
Member
Why I enjoy dancing with the
Ravens: “Everyone’s really welcoming and supportive, even though, as a newcomer, I don’t know them too well. Whenever I come to practice, they know my name and call me over to sit and talk.”
Luthien Wang Member The group hosts random dance plays every other Friday. JASON SHAN - EPIC
My inspirations: “I look up to the group Seventeen a lot, since they hold a lot of meaning to me as they were the group that got me into K-pop. I’m also inspired by my friends since we motivate each other when we learn dances together.”
JASON SHAN - EPIC
Mina Chao Co-President "One of my favorite moments: “There was a Friday when we were able to play our dance songs on the large speakers from ASB. It The group practices often to refine their moves. was a little scary, but we had a lot of fun as many people, even some new people, joined in, so I’m glad that we had that opportunity.”
BY SHARLENE CHEN// MY HOBBY IS...
Embracing my culture through Chinese dramas
Astereotypical binge-watcher, I once watched an entire TV show during finals week. Unlike most other spree-watchers, I spent my hours on a Chinese drama.
I can’t pinpoint the exact moment Chinese entertainment became my guilty pleasure, but I know now that my love for it is an irreplaceable and unique element of myself. Growing up, I would curl up on the sofa every year to watch the annual Chinese New Year’s Eve Program, entertained by top Chinese performers in a four-hour long show. Although surrounded by Chinese language, culture and entertainment, I never considered these traditions my own.
In the summer of 2015, I began watching the drama “Journey of the Flower” after glimpsing an episode airing on Chinese cable TV. Something about the drama captivated me; from then on, every evening at 5:30 p.m., I would shove my dinner down and rush to the TV to watch the episodes. Perhaps it was the swordriding, the forbidden teacher-student romance, the acrobatic martial art fight scenes or the tortuously cliffhanging plot that drew me in. My sixth-grade heart grew emotionally attached to everything the protagonist experienced, from blissful ignorance of the world to the pain of betrayal, all illustrated through lyrical, poetic idioms. The imaginary realm was entrancing in a uniquely oriental way, with traditional hanfu and majestic scenery. This was the first time I had watched any Chinese drama of my own volition, and I was hooked.
Besides stunning visuals and even better stories, Chinese dramas educate me. Wuxia, my favorite genre by far, depicts the fictional adventures of martial arts heroes. More effective than my weekly Chinese classes, wuxia helped me understand the core Chinese values. In wuxia dramas, the older the character, the more powerful their martial arts are, resulting in 70-year-olds leaping gracefully from tree to tree or defeating enemies with a single flick of their wrists. I was perplexed. Shouldn’t their bodies have deteriorated? Over time, I realized this reflected the Confucianism values of filial piety, or respecting elders. From modern or war dramas, I learned much of mainland China’s slang and practices. Schoolyard dramas explained China’s college entrance exam system.
Most of my drama-watching occurs during late nights. To not disturb my sleeping family, I turned off the volume and only read the subtitles. Initially, I struggled to understand or even read fast enough, but after reading subtitles for a while, my eyes fluidly breezed over every line. This subtitle-reading expertise led me on a new adventure: reading a Chinese novel. Though tired of asking my parents “what’s this character?” every 10 seconds, I pushed myself through every complicated sentence. I made it through, and to this day, it is one of my proudest achievements. I’ve long since evolved from the girl watching dramas 24/7, but I’m glad I encountered this hobby and further developed my understanding of my culture.
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495 LYNBROOK STUDENTS WERE SURVEYED FOR THEIR OPINIONS PHOTOS USED WITH PERMISSON OF ASB SOCIAL AND SRUTI ELANGOVAN
1. MUYI LIN CROWNED LUCY BARNES QUEEN IN A KNIGHT-THEMED ASKING. 2.FARHAAN KHAN RACES AS MARIO IN A SAFEWAY SHOPPING CART AGAINST YIXUAN WONG AS HIS RIVAL BOWSER. 3. SOPHIA ZHENG MARCHED INTO THE QUAD WITH A MEGAPHONE AND BALLOONS TO ASK OLIVIA BU TO WINTER FORMAL. 4. IN HIS MARIOKART-THEMED ASKING, FARHAAN KHAN RECRUITED 13 FRIENDS TO SAVE AVISHI REDDY AS PEACH AND ASK HER TO WINTER FORMAL. 5. KYLE WYATT DELIVERED ROSES AND A POSTER ASKING “SPEND SUN TIME WITH ME?” TO SARAH SUN.
BY MEERA NAMBIAR AND SAM SARMA
“YES!” As formal dances return to Lynbrook’s campus, asking culture has returned with balloons, crowns and Mario Kart with shopping carts.
After Winter Formal and with Junior Prom around the corner, askings are on the minds of many students. The return of school events and an increase in the number of couples on campus have generated excitement around askings leading up to Winter Formal and proms.
“Askings are a fun high school experience,” said junior Lucy Barnes, who was asked by senior Muyi Lin.
In one of the first public askings of the year, Lin wore a king costume from the drama department and rode into the quad on a scooter, surrounded by friends dressed as knights. Economics and Government teacher Jeffery Bale introduced Lin with a megaphone.
“Now, I speak my dream to thee,” Lin said. “How about Winter Formal with me?”
The scene ended with Barnes being crowned queen. The two won the Winter Formal asking competition organized by ASB Social, but Barnes feels that askings are not about the contest.
“I don’t think the contest was a driving force,” Barnes said. “It was more that people wanted to show their genuine affection and appreciation for someone and be like, ‘This is my person.’”
While askings are primarily about the couple, they can become enjoyable for all when involving a community of friends and teachers.
“I think it’s a great way to bring people together and provide something fun to campus,” Bale said.
Bale recalls one of his first years teaching when he had his own experience, requesting another teacher to co-chaperone prom with him as friends.
“Some students were trying to get me and another single teacher to go and chaperone together,” Bale said. “So, I did an asking where I made her a book that was delivered to her classroom. It was huge, and all the students felt involved.”
When senior Farhaan Khan asked junior Avishi Reddy to Winter Formal, he recruited many of his friends to set up a Mario Kartthemed asking for Reddy. Khan, dressed as Mario, raced against senior Yixuan Wong, dressed as Bowser, in shopping carts decorated like karts. The race was officiated by junior Esha Dasari and included classic Mario Kart items such as green shells and banana peels.
“I chose Mario Kart because it was a joke between us,” Khan said. “It was one of the things we talked about before we started dating. Avishi joked, ‘Oh, I’m really good at Mario Kart. I’ll beat you at Mario Kart.’ It was just a thing we had. So I thought it would be a cool theme for the asking.”
Khan’s sign read, “Be the Peach to my Mario,” and Reddy cheerfully agreed. However, not all askings are a fairy tale. Oftentimes, students say yes to an asking even when the feelings are not reciprocated. The presence of an audience and the grandeur of an asking could pressure someone into saying “yes,” even if they are not comfortable going with that person. The fear of making the other party feel bad, in public or in private, can also contribute to a “yes” answer. When the response is “no,” the result is often embarrassment.
“When you do it with so much hype and in public, and it is not appreciated, it amplifies the rejection,” Bale said, speaking from personal experience of witnessing askings gone wrong.
Not all askings had a grand scene like Lin and Barnes’s or Khan and Reddy’s. Private askings, such as freshmen Yamani Huang and Richard Yuan’s, can be short and sweet.
“It was kind of funny because Richard asked me in Chinese, and I thought that was pretty cool,” Huang said.
The welcomed arrival of askings on campus have made one thing clear: Lynbrook askings go all out. Whether through a large public display or a few sentimental words, askings are something to look forward to every year.
LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX, BABY
BY ELIZABETH CHENG AND JASMINE RIHAL
There is no topic as severely stigmatized as sex. It’s everywhere — books, movies, TV shows, music videos — yet it is often still an uncomfortable subject for many high school students.
Although everyone experiences sexual education in elementary, middle and high school, there are differences in Lynbrook students’ perception and experience with sex, from choosing abstinence until marriage to embracing sexual experiences earlier on.
Sex allows couples to express intimacy and commitment, relieve stress and experience pleasure. However, it can easily become enveloped in shame, social stigma and insecurities. A lack of open conversations with parents or misconceptions from dramatized media can lead to these negative perceptions of sex.
In California, the age of consent is 18, so even if minors have sex to which both parties consent, the law does not deem the act consensual, as minors are considered unable to recognize the weight of such a decision. In some other states, the age of consent is 16 or 17. Many teenagers in the U.S. still choose to have sex despite these laws: According to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey administered by the CDC, around 39% of American teenagers under the age of 18 reported having had sex. However, if both parties are under 18, it is uncommon to face statutory rape charges because both of them are considered to be the criminal and the victim.
“I think the age of consent [in California] should be lowered to 16 or 17 because people don’t listen to it anyway,” junior Gina Sadar* said.
Sexual interactions between certain minors are not mandated to be reported because the age of consent law is different from reportability laws. For example, a sexual relationship between a 14-year-old and a 13-year-old must be reported, but not one between an 18-year-old and a 14 year-old. However, the legality of a sexual interaction does not immediately justify it, as every individual matures at their own pace.
“Whether the situation is mandated to be reported or up to clinical judgment depends on the ability of a person to voluntarily make the decision and not have it be coerced in a power differential,” Lynbrook’s school-based therapist Jenna Starnes said.
One reason why teenagers may choose to have sex in high school is because they feel pressured by their partners. A fear of a significant other leaving can lead to someone having sex before they are ready, as some use sex solely to maintain the relationship. It could also come from other forms of peer pressure, such as the belief that everyone else is having sex.
“Sex starts becoming toxic when people start thinking that you need to have sex with someone so that they stay happy and will stay with you,” junior Teresa Aurora* said.
Sex can transform from a form of intimacy into a strain on the relationship when the two partners are not on the same page about why they are choosing to have sex. “If both parties feel secure and good about having sex, then cool,” Starnes said. “If there’s a difference in how people are approaching sex, like if one person views it as a way to be more intimate but the other person views it as an act of
pleasure, then there’s an imbalance in vulnerability. That’s where we see the negative effects of sex.” The state requires CUSD and FUHSD to provide comprehensive sexual education for seventh and ninth graders in order to better educate the students. Schools follow guidelines set by the California Sexual Health Education Act and the California Healthy Youth Act, which outline qualifications for educational material regarding Sex starts becoming toxic medical accuracy, age when people start thinking appropriateness and that you need to have sex more. with someone so that they “We’re taught stay happy and will stay about sex and told that with you. Teresa Aurora* Junior it’s a good thing; it’s how humans work,” senior Ethan Morris said. “But there’s this underlying meaning in how we’re being taught that you shouldn’t have sex because it can be bad for you.” Both districts have continued to use the Positive Prevention Plus and Health Connected programs, respectively, despite the curriculum being heavily criticized in recent years for not being inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community. FUHSD’s sexual education curriculum provides freshmen with videos, workshewwets, readings and other resources on consent, contraception, birth control, STDs, dating, sexual violence and inclusivity. Despite this, some students feel that Lynbrook has not provided enough resources regarding what to do if a student became pregnant. “A lot of public schools offer free contraception or pregnancy tests, but Lynbrook doesn’t,” Sadar* said. “They don’t educate people about what to do after [sex], and the school doesn’t support people who’ve gotten pregnant or want an abortion.” The district’s sexual education has taken steps to discuss the importance of consent and how it can impact a relationship. In 2020, students learned about the nature o f GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY LILLIAN FU AND SHARLENE CHEN consent from guest speaker Mike Domitrz from Center for Respect in a presentation titled “Can I Kiss You?”, and the presentation was overall well-received by students.
The presentation touched on consent regarding sending nude photos online, commonly known as sexting. Despite being a common practice, it is illegal for anyone, including the subject of the photo and the photographer, to possess child pornography, which is defined as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. “Some couples choose to send nudes, especially in a long distance relationship,” Aurora* said. “For girls, we often feel like if we don’t send our partner the pictures, they might break up with us. It can make the relationship dependent on nudes, which isn’t healthy.” Recent U.S. studies show that 70% of 15 to 17-year-old boys have watched pornography at least once. Many teens are now using explicit or pornographic sites to learn about sex, which can create false narratives about sex. “When people see such content [like pornography], they create this image in their mind that sex is supposed to be rewarding in a different sense than it actually is,” Sadar* said. “People make the whole thing about sex to prioritize your own pleasure, but it’s more about the journey than the destination. Porn is really animalistic and dehumanized, and it sets unrealistic expectations.” Lynbrook has a high percentage of first and second- Identifying toxic relationships BY AMISHI CHANDRA AND RIA PHELAN
Butterflies and queasy feelings often accompany new relationships. The desire to be with one’s partner is overwhelming yet exciting, and the possibilities for the future seem endless. However, healthy relationships sometimes buckle due to psychological factors and harmful habits, which can negatively influence future relationships.
Students often meet their first love in high school or college, which can substantially influence their mindset when forming connections in the long run. Along with excitement, relationships bring lessons of intimacy, trust and heartbreak. However, some young people are faced with struggles when their partner unexpectedly takes advantage of them.
Often called the honeymoon phase, the first few months of most relationships are considered the best and smoothest. Partners are constantly learning new things about each other, which keeps the
LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX, BABY
excitement of getting to know someone new alive. Gradually, partners begin to trust each other more and reveal more personal emotions, giving their partner more power and influence over them. When this power is wielded in an overbearing or imbalanced way, however, a relationship can quickly become toxic and harmful.
“The biggest indicator of a toxic relationship is when one or both partners are walking away from serious conversations or interactions with each other feeling worse about themselves,” Lynbrook’s school-based therapist Jenna Starnes said. “When you start thinking, ‘Am I the crazy one?’, you may be in a toxic relationship.”
For example, in pressuring their partner to change their career goals or to work out through body shaming, individuals can discourage their partner’s healthy ambitions. Gaslighting, or invalidating one’s feelings, can also become common as one partner will do anything to undermine the other’s feelings or perceptions of reality in an effort to manipulate them.
Large age gaps, especially in high school, can mean different levels of experience and maturity between partners. The older partner often knows more about navigating a relationship and will therefore take the lead in activities and decisions. However, if they begin to dismiss their partner’s feelings or ideas, the power dynamic becomes unbalanced and unhealthy. This puts them in the position to define their relationship and groom their younger partner into following their requests. Coercion for sexual activity is one of the most common signs of a toxic relationship. While some teenagers are eager to explore more intimate activities with their partners, others may feel pressured to engage in intimate acts regardless of their emotional readiness. Although intimacy can strengthen a relationship, both partners must have clear communication so both parties feel comfortable.
Following a toxic interaction, partners often attempt to reconcile through mechanisms such as love bombing — when a partner attempts to influence a person through demonstrations of attention and affection — without concrete changes in their behavior. Fights and mistakes are improperly reconciled through affection or loving gestures instead of a confrontation of the issues at hand.
Positive endings to negative events confound the issue and allow the negative cycle to be repeated constantly with no plan for improvement. The attachments of a relationship render it much harder to leave toxic partners, and there are a multitude of reasons why people choose to stay with partners who they know are not good for them.
“It’s hard to see what you’re in from the inside, and you need somebody on the outside looking at it with you,” marriage counselor Jeni Woodfin said. “Find a therapist or find a friend. If you feel safe and comfortable, you can establish boundaries and try to correct the toxic relationship to get it into a more healthy place.”
It is important to learn how to recognize and prevent toxic relationships because they can render damanging emotional and mental effects on both partners. The impact is sometimes latent, but more often, it shows. Many people suffering from toxic relationships experience elevated anxiety, a breakdown of their willingness to trust others and even changes in the ways they act and behave. A study conducted by the New York Times demonstrated that
generation American students, so many parents are from backgrounds in which romantic relationships and sex are never discussed or even not allowed at all. For some families, sex is a taboo topic, so it is common for students to hide their relationships and sexual activity from their parents because of a lack of open conversations. teenagers who suffer from dating abuse are subject to long-term effects such as drinking, eating disorders and violent behavior. “I think it is very important to know your own boundaries in a relationship,” junior Angela Chung said. “If you know it affects your school work, then you should end the relationship. Sometimes, I have struggled in being persistent in doing my work because of friendships. People should make sure that school comes before relationships — relationships happen a lot in life.” Toxic relationships are a major problem among teenagers, but their severity is often overlooked. According to The New York Times’s teen dating violence statistics in 2019, one in three girls have been sexually assaulted in high school. Additionally, one in ten teens have been physically abused by their romantic partner. Among those abused, 33% did not tell anyone about their experience. Moreover, 81% As couples at Lynbrook seek intimacy, it is vital to have open conversations about sex to maintain a healthy relationship. “Sex is one of those taboo subjects because people have different judgements on it and there’s so many societal stances,” Starnes said. “It’s not just sex — it’s sex with all these sticky notes and labels and layers to it.” *Names kept anonymous for privacy Identifying toxic relationships of parents don’t believe toxic relationships are a 1 in 10 problem. “I see kids get really distracted by relationships, and their grades might change teens have been a little bit,” Woodfin physically abused by said. “Some even get their partner anxious and depressed. Sometimes they don’t have anyone to turn to which leads to bigger problems. That’s where I come in.” Emotional vulnerability is not easy to embrace, and many high school students who are in toxic relationships live in denial. When people are pressured by their partners, they often justify the actions by convincing themselves of the actions’ validity. By ignoring red flags, many lose their sense of reality. “When you are in a toxic relationship, it’s easy to make excuses for your partner,” Starnes said. “The what-ifs go on and on — ‘they had a hard past,’ ‘maybe if I did this differently,’ ‘I can fix this.’” Studies on teenage relationships have demonstrated that intimate partner violence sets the stage for emotional and physical problems in subsequent relationships and increased chances of becoming victims of other abuse throughout life. Youths who are subject to dating violence “I think the first relationship, if it goes badly, can discourage people from future relationships, or they start to think that this is what a normal relationship is supposed to look like,” Woodfin said. “They will try to recreate the toxic relationship with their next person and so on.”
Recognizing the attributes of a positive or negative relationship can prevent toxicity. Healthy relationships come from trust, respect and open communication between partners, requiring effort and compromise from both parties. There is a balance of power in a healthy partnership: Partners respect each other’s independence, can make their own decisions without fear of retribution or retaliation and share in decision-making. “The biggest thing for a relationship to be successful is communication because that’s what you are promising the other person when you get into a relationship,” Pisupati said. “That way, you can solve any problems together before it gets toxic.”
Fortunately, students can spot the signs and prevent such relationships before they impact their lives irrevocably. Taking the right first step and identifying red flags will help ensure a healthy relationship. Places to get help include counseling websites, national hotlines, school counselors and even parents. Reach out to any of the sources listed below to get help for yourself or a friend.
BY MEI CORRICELLO
California is the face of progressive legislation and leads the national fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Yet the heart of the state, the Bay Area, is less accepting of the LGBTQ+ community than it appears, with a large Asian American immigrant community that perpetuates both subtle and overt forms of homophobia based in cultural tradition.
As a result, affected teenagers struggle to discover and embrace their identities, which negatively impacts their mental health. In fact, LGBTQ+ Asians are three times more likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual peers, according to the Trevor Project, an organization committed to saving young LGBTQ+ lives. In order to provide a supportive environment for all Asian American youth, we must acknowledge and correct our internalized homophobia. Eastern countries often perceive homosexuality as a western concept. Several Asian languages lack respectful LGBTQ+ terms, which makes their coming out journey more strenuous and uncomfortable than non-Asian peers’. Beyond being foreign or unfamiliar, homosexuality is publicly denounced or criminalized in many immigrants’ home countries. For example, same-sex marriage is illegal in China and India. Gay sex is outlawed in Singapore, with an appeal to the law being denied just last year. Even when immigrant parents truly intend to accept their children, they may fall victim to another form of homphobia: denial, out of instinctual fear of systemic and personal discrimination against their kids.
“Some parents are scared that conversations about sexuality will turn make their kids more likely to be gay, so instead, they shelter their children and force them into a very heteronormative mindset,” senior Suanna Zhong said. “Without that exposure, kids blindly live by their parents’ traditional values, perpetuating a cycle of homophobia.”
However, many of these cultural values did not exist before Asia was introduced to western influences. In ancient times, homosexuality was acceptable, if not sacred. Some Chinese leaders, particularly those of the Han dynasty, identified as homosexual or bisexual, and numerous Indian deities were gender-fluid or transgender. It was not until eastern countries experienced western influences that homosexuality became taboo. With homophobia now deeply ingrained in several eastern cultures, we must reaffirm their initial values of acceptance for future generations.
Sex, sexuality and romantic relationships are rarely discussed in many Asian households, leading to children feeling ashamed for questioning their sexuality. Mental health is also off-limits in this regard, so countless Asian-American LGBTQ+ teens do not receive therapy that could aid them in discovering clarity and self-
acceptance. In this stifling environment, teens experience extreme isolation and are driven to suppress their emotions. Western culture encourages speaking up, loving oneself and pursuing individuality, but Asian culture emphasizes following the norm and serving one’s family. Many immigrant parents dream of putting down roots in the U.S., which traditionally includes a healthy and extensive family line. They want their sacrifices to amount to successful children and grandchildren, which many misguidedly believe cannot be achieved through same-sex or transgender relationships. While most of their homophobic tendencies were instilled in them by previous generations, immigrants and their children carry the responsibility of dismantling the stigma and carrying out our country’s core values of freedom and expression. “Lynbrook is an incredibly diverse school, so there are many people whose parents have immigrated here to start a better life,” Gender Sexuality Alliance Vice President Neha Krishnan said. “Although this is amazing, it also means we brought over some of the inherently homophobic cultural values from before, and we need to address them.” Krishnan is Asian American, identifies as lesbian and goes by all pronouns. Coming out to her parents was a difficult decision for her, but Krishnan has no regrets, as it was taking a toll on her mental health. Although her parents were initially unaccustomed to the LGBTQ+ community, they have made it clear that they will love and support her no matter what. We must recognize that homophobia is not a removed issue. It takes different forms among the Asian American immigrant community but is present even in outwardly progressive communities like the Bay Area. “There is definitely homophobia at Lynbrook, but it’s hard to pinpoint because of how normalized it is,” Krishnan said. “It’s also difficult because it can look so different from what we see in the media. People don’t mean to be directly homophobic, but lack of education and the culture of just ignoring homophobia can make it seem that way.” To lead the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, we must practice Friendships, what we preach by educating ourselves, holding each other accountable and reflecting on our actions in the Bay Area. Clubs like GSA meet regularly as a safe space to raise positive awareness for LGBTQ+ issues on campus. fnstas and FOMO “In closed-minded environments, you never get to explore your sexuality, which is kind of scary, but also really fun,” Zhong said. “It was a big part of my own teenage experience.”
BY: SOPHIE AU AND ANIRUDH SESHADRI
Alike. A comment. A text.
Social media enables students to create bonds with peers and communicate with friends, but it can also be a toxic space that enables cyberbullying and increases the volatility of relationships.
With the evolution of social media platforms, friendships have extended beyond chatting occasionally online to keeping streaks on Snapchat and FaceTiming. Some friends are more active on social media than others, and communicating with them more through these platforms can lead to closer relationships with these friends than others. Still, others find that this does not create a difference in their friendships.
“I think what it does is it strengthens all those bonds,” freshman Aaditya Jain said. “Because with your close friends, you’re always talking with them. But with people who aren’t that close, you can still reach out to them, you can still talk to them.”
In addition to keeping up with existing friends, students can meet more people who share interests, commonly through online cooperative games or streaming. Social media has also allowed some to stay close to their childhood friends, who may longer be going to the same school as them, or reconnect with them after a period of absence.
“I meet a lot of people online — for me, it’s from Discord and video games,” junior Stefano Pena Segovia said. “I know people from North Dakota whom I’ve never talked to in person, but I know them through Smash Bros.”
Although he has never met them in-person, Segovia and his gaming friends are all familiar with each other’s faces, as they turn on their cameras to greet each other.
Other students who are not as outgoing online can make new friends through mutual friends, which they may be more comfortable with.
“If one of my friends is already friends with someone else, then it’s easier for me to go and talk to that person,” freshman Nidhi Parthasarathy said.
Services on social media, such as “discover people nearby” on Instagram and mutual friends on Facebook, have allowed students to amass followers, many of whom they do not know on a personal level, while carefully curating an Instagram profile that represents themselves in the best light.
“I think it relates to how our generation has been brought up with social media,” Jain said. “Many people feel it’s a necessity to have a lot of followers and nice photos on their Instagrams to base self-worth [on].”
People also tend to share photos of gatherings and parties with friends and classmates through Instagram and Facebook. When friends find out about gatherings that they were not invited to, it can make them feel left out or wonder why they were excluded.
Fear of missing out, also known as FOMO, is a widespread issue across all social media platforms. Beyond obsessively keeping up with their feed to stay in the know about social gatherings, friends and acquaintances alike request to follow finstas, a portmanteau of “fake Instagrams,” of those they know to ensure they do not miss out on interpersonal drama. Someone with a large social media account often runs a smaller private account designed for obscurity, where they can express more personal sentiments and are free from expectations to uphold the personality cultivated on their main account. Being accepted or denied when requesting to follow a finsta suggests whether a person is close enough with the owner to be privy to these thoughts, creating an additional dimension of friendship in the already complex world of high school relationships.
On these accounts, people feel free to spam, post lesscurated photos and fill captions with random rants that are directed toward someone, which can be a form of cyberbullying and gossiping. Finstas become places for friends to talk behind each other’s backs, where they can vent about the object of their frustration without the tension that accompanies a real life confrontation. Offline, they may be friendly, but below the surface, there may be drama that is left unaddressed.
“Personally, I feel like finstas are alright to have and use in moderation,” junior Paulina Chin-Wong said. “I do not have one, but I have friends who do. For my friends who have them, they use them for specific social cliques. For example, one of my friends whom I go to dance with uses her finsta to vent about class, body aches and pains.”
Finstas can also serve as a space for friends to get closer and for individuals to share more personal experiences. It can be a comfortable platform that helps individuals set limits with people on their main account by taking a break from viewing their friends’ posts without awkwardly unfollowing them.
“There’s some things that you don’t want to post to all of your followers — but that you also want to post to some people,” Jain said. “It’s like having a close friend group you tell stories with.”
When used appropriately, social media is a vehicle to connect with p e e r s in one’s community a n d strengthen friendships.
Feburary 01, 2022
Lynbrook’s Librarians
AUDREY SUN—EPIC
BY AUDREY SUN
Shelving books, checking out devices and providing research resources are all daily responsibilities of Lynbrook librarians Susan Lucas and Amy Ashworth. For Lucas and Ashworth, respectively, being a graphic designer and getting a master’s degree in French have paved the way for them to pursue their career as librarians.
Every day, 1.6 million travelers fly in and out of airports around the world. However, some people go to the airport for a different reason: plane spotting. Plane spotters flock to airports to observe, track and snap photos of all types of aircrafts.
Plane spotting as a hobby did not gain traction until the 1950s, and apps like FlightAware and Flightradar24 have made the activity increasingly popular and more accessible. Many airports today have designated plane spotting terraces; beaches and parks serve as great spotting locations as well.
Sophomore Jonathan Chen started spotting in seventh grade and has continued to pursue the hobby.
“I’ve always liked planes since I was young,” Chen said. “I got into photography when I was around 7 or 8 years old, so a couple of years ago, I thought, ‘Why not combine the two?’”
Although there are few planespotters at Lynbrook, there is a larger community of planespotters across the Bay Area.
On most days, Chenchecks Jet Tips and Flightradar24 to track the movement of any special aircrafts with new decals or liveries, which are special stickers or paint jobs, respectively. On a whim, he might decide to go plane spotting if a certain aircraft piques his interest.
“Every time an airline wants to promote something through a promotional special or advertisement, those
Before becoming a library media teacher, Ashworth was a library media specialist, performing clerical and technical duties in the library. These included provid“Anytime I go into the library, I feel peaceful and calm, but at the same time, excited about the possibilities of reading everything around me,” Lucas said. ing technical support, assisting library users and working Lucas became a graphic designer after college. with students. While earning her master’s degree in French “When I was doing graphic design, it was like matching and raising her children, she needed a part-time job to pay people to designs, which I enjoyed,” Lucas said. “Similarly, for her master’s program. In 2018, being a librarian allows me to match Ashworth’s sister recommended her people to books and predict what they for a job opening at Lynbrook because might like or what they might find inAshworth was already credentialed, teresting.” and Ashworth accepted the offer. Before coming to Lynbrook, Lucas
“I love working in high schools,” was a librarian at her daughter’s eleAshworth said. “I love the age group mentary school. She volunteered at because they’re all mature enough to the school library to closely monitor function well.” and take care of her son with special
Ashworth’s flexible work schedule needs. At the time, volunteering in the allows her to work at her own pace. library was the only job that allowed Her responsibilities include shelving Lucas to be at the school weekly. books, publicizing library events, pro- “I started volunteering every viding teachers with research resourc- week for a few years and really enes and working with the technology joyed helping and spending time with team to update and distribute new the students in the library,” Lucas said. technology at Lynbrook. “I felt like I could be involved.”
Ashworth is also the adviser of the Students for Literacy Lucas continued volunteering in her daughter’s class, club, which recently planned its December book match. and soon after, her daughter’s school offered her a position
“Matching takes time, so I read a lot of young adult fiction as a librarian. As Lucas’s children grew older, she moved on [to] be a good reader advisory librarian,” Ashworth said. “It to working in high school libraries. In 2018, Lucas started also takes time if a person has lots of specific preferences, but working as a librarian media specialist at Lynbrook and has it’s a challenge I don’t mind. It’s fun.” enjoyed her experience so far.
Ashworth’s role has helped develop the library, her love “Lynbrook students are not only studious but [also] confor books and her relationships with students on campus. scientious,” Lucas said. “I’m really impressed with how en-
When Lucas was growing up, her mother took her to the gaged and interested Lynbrook students are in the learning Saratoga Library every week. After a few years, it became a process.” habit for her, and she grew comfortable with the library’s calming environment. Anytime I go into the library, I feel very peaceful and calm, but at the same time, excited about the possibilities of reading everything around me. Susan Lucas, Library Media Specialist
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That’s no bird....it’s a plane
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planes typically have some sort of special decal or livery on them,” Chen said. “Those are the planes that you’re trying to go for.”
Weather is another factor that affects how well the photos turn out. Chen finds weather that is somewhat overcast during sunrise or sunset the most favorable. Chen leaves for the airport 30 minutes before the plane is scheduled to depart or land, then stakes out a good spot for photos. Using liveatc.com and Flightradar, he tracks where and when the plane will land and positions himself accordingly. Once he has photos of the planes, he heads home to edit the photos, a process that takes 45 minutes.
Chen keeps track of the different types of planes he spots using his Instagram page @jonthespotter, which has garnered more than 700 followers. His photos have been featured numerous times on the San Jose and San Francisco airports’ Instagram pages.
“I decided to create [an account] because I didn’t know where else to post my airplane photos,” Chen said. “I wanted to share them with other people, not just keep for myself to look at.”
Chen has also had the chance to plane spot at airports abroad, notably in Taipei, Taiwan.
For Chen, grabbing a camera and a ride over to the nearest airport is all he needs to relax after a long day a at school.
