16 minute read
• Aletheia’s uncertain future
March 08, 2022 NEWS
03 Astrophysics explores space with astrophotography
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BY SOPHIE AU Story continued from front page. so the officers hosted this activity again this year. Members learned about each nebula and voted on the nebulae they wanted to take photos of.
“Each officer gave a humorous presentation on why their nebula is amazing and the others’ are inferior,” senior and member Ronak Badhe said. “This annual ritual in which there is a light-hearted competition is a great experience and makes Astrophysics Club unique.” The observatory’s 10 global robotic telescopes are used by professional astronomers for research, so the time available for the Astrophysics Club to take pictures is limited, as photos take a couple of minutes to capture. Once the settings are inputted by the user, the robotic telescope automatically adjusts the settings and takes the photos. Astrophysics Club pinpointed the Corona Nebula and Tarantula Nebula among other nebulae, along with the space coordinates in the Equatorial Coordinate System for the robotic telescopes to aim at and take a photo. Nebulae, composed of widely scattered stardust and gas clouds, are dark, so the telescope settings were tweaked to capture clear images. Extending exposure time allows the telescope to gather more light when taking the photo and brighten the image. The club was able to pick filters to color their photos to make them more visible as well.
With camera time left for the club to request more photos, Astrophysics Club is planning to take pictures of exoplanets in mid to late March, when exoplanets become clearer. Exoplanets are significantly darker than the star they revolve around and much further away, requiring more telescope time to increase exposure and produce brighter images. If their results show new data, Astrophysics Club will be able to send it to NASA to potentially be included in their exoplanet watch program and coauthor a paper with NASA on updates on properties of exoplanets.
On Tuesday, Feb. 1 and Sunday, Feb. 6, the observatory uploaded files of Astrophysics Club’s photos, which turned out very clear and colorful. Their experience working with the telescope has been rewarding and has also inspired them to continue to pursue astrophotography. Members will explore photographing more space objects, engaging with astronomy equipment and space research.
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ANUSHKA ANAND
PHOTOS USED WITH PERMISSION FROM ASTROPHYSICS CLUB
Aletheia faces an uncertain future
BY SUSANNA TANG
For the past 11 years, Aletheia, a student publication that publishes anonymous student writing submissions regarding sensitive issues like romance and religion, has provided a platform for those with controversial perspectives to be heard without the judgment of others. However, Aletheia recently caught the attention of Lynbrook’s administrators because it has not followed school rules of having a districtapproved adviser, which means it cannot be recognized as a publication officially affiliated with Lynbrook.
The group’s advisers have always been parents of Aletheia members. Potential parent advisers are interviewed based on their passion for forwarding Alethia’s mission statement of providing students with a platform to share stories with peers and the community anonymously. Comparable with teacher advisers, parent advisers supervise meetings, occasionally state their opinions during discussions and evaluate the appropriateness of topics. The publication meets biweekly at a member’s house or on Zoom to discuss the current issue and to brainstorm ideas for the upcoming publication.
“In order to gain support from and be affiliated with the school, like clubs, journalism and yearbook, it must be advised by a certified employee,” Assistant Principal Yukari Salazar said. “That’s just a rule enforced by our district and ASB.”
Aletheia has traditionally made use of the school’s print center, morning announcements, website, homeroom time and publicized parent donation requests. However, the absence of a permissible connection between Aletheia and Lynbrook may lead to the school preventing the group from accessing these resources.
The creation of Aletheia was inspired by Verdedera, Monta Vista High School’s discontinued student publication, which was advised by Hung Wei, a former FUHSD governing board member and a parent to a Monta Vista High School alumnus. After Wei stepped down from her position as adviser in 2017, Verdedera disbanded. However, only this school year has the district realized the need to set an appropriate structure and to follow volunteer screening guidelines.
When Aletheia was first founded, cofounder Frances Guo approached Aletheia’s first parent advisers Cindy Wen and Miko Otoshi, hoping to create a safe environment to discuss taboo topics. The nature of the topics, such as academic pressure and classroom environment, could hinder the members from openly discussing in front of teachers.
Since Lynbrook has no jurisdiction over Aletheia, the publication’s future plans can only be made by the parent advisers and members of the group. If Aletheia finds a certified adviser, which is what Salazar urges, their eligibility for the use of school resources will remain.
Without a district-employed adviser supervising Aletheia’s publication, Aletheia will not be able to use school resources, so they will ultimately need to make a decision on whether to disband, apply as a club, find a certified adviser or continue as an entity separate from Lynbrook.
Upcoming Viking Events
No School on March 14
There will be no school on Monday, March 14. Enjoy the three day weekend!
Club Food Day
Support your clubs on Wednesday, March 16 during lunch in the quad to buy varieties of food and enjoy a treat!
CAASPP testing
Good luck to all the juniors who will be taking CAASPP testing from Monday, March 21 to Wednesday, March 23.
Powerpuff
From April 4 to April 8, the four classes will compete in football and dance on the football field for Powerpuff. Make sure to cheer on your class!
Coffee with the Counselors
Freshmen, sophomores and juniors can join the counselors virtually on Tuesday, April 12 to ask them questions for the next school year.
Spring Break
There will be no school from April 18 to April 22. Enjoy a week off from school!
Science and Society catalyzes a new way to learn
BY JASON SHAN
While the typical science class consists largely of lectures and assessments, with labs sprinkled in between, Science and Society approaches science education through hands-on application, allowing students to design products to address societal issues. The new course will be offered to sophomores, juniors and seniors at all FUHSD schools in the 2022-23 school year.
“The rationale behind the course was that a lot of current science courses have curricula designed to get students prepared for a multiple choice exam, as in the case of AP classes,” Monta Vista High School science teacher and course design team lead Kyle Jones said. “We wanted a course that was going to focus more on learning about science and applying it in a meaningful way to real-world issues.” Since April 2020, Lynbrook students who are part of the Sunnyvale Youth Public Policy Institute have been helping to push for Assembly Bill 1922, which, if passed, will mandate climate change education for all California K-12 students.
AB 1922 was introduced by Assemblywoman Luz Rivas in 2020 to reform the California education code. While existing law requires that high school students take at least one biological and one physical science course to graduate, the bill aims to add climate change as a core focus to existing classes.
Although Rivas’s bill was intended to introduce climate literacy coursework as soon as the 2020-21 school year, this goal was impeded by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite consequent stagnation of the bill’s progress, many environmental advocacy organizations have rallied in support of mandatory climate change education.
Among the groups in support is YPPI, which was founded by Sunnyvale students in 2018 with the goal of integrating new programs and legislation impacting the well-being of youths. One of the group’s major achievements to date is the implementation of the HAERT program at Lynbrook in 2019. Their six commissions, which specialize in areas such as mental health, social justice and sexual assault, continue to provide informative resources for the FUHSD community.
YPPI’s Environmental Commission was first introduced to AB 1922 and its mission in 2020. Under the leadership of former commission member and current YPPI President Pranay Mamileti, the commission learned about the bill while researching current environmental initiatives, and were eager to support Rivas’s goal.
“When you know more, you can do more, and you understand all of the different aspects of the situation,” freshman and Environmental Commission member Kimaya Pantvaidya said.
In 2020, the commission began forming a coalition of local green organizations to collaborate with Rivas and her team, but Rivas later announced that she did not plan to pursue the bill in response to the onset of COVID-19.
Two years later, however, the Environmental Commission has resumed increasing awareness of the bill by contacting local youth, parents and administrators to inform them about its goal.
“We have a campaign running on social media to help spread the word, and we’re using all of our connections,” senior and Environmental Commission Chair Sannath Mathapathi said. These connections include regional branches of the Audubon Society and the Sierra Club as well as fellow nonprofit Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, all of which habitually collaborate with YPPI to disseminate information to local youths. The commission has also been collecting signatures on a letter requesting a $200 million investment in climate education to provide projectbased learning opportunities as well as interdisciplinary coursework. Written on behalf of major organizations in addition to YPPI such as the YMCA and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the letter argues that as the climate crisis worsens, future generations will require a fluent understanding of climate change and the ability to make well-informed decisions to address it. The letter has collected more than 500 signatures, and YPPI continues to support the overarching climate literacy education bill to expedite its progress during the pandemic.
“Most students are probably going to complain because it’s more coursework, but it’s going to have a positive impact in the long term,” Mathapathi said. “We’re going to see a shift in how Californians vote if they’re more educated on what’s happening to our planet.”
If AB 1922 is passed during the 2022 legislative session as Rivas and fellow Assemblymembers hope, the new requirements for K-12 science curriculums are projected to go into effect in the 2023-24 school year.
Scan the QR code to read the full story on lhsepic.com
Course will cover six units including addiction, space mining and energy.
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY KATIE CHIN
Students advocate for climate literacy in schools
BY EMMA CONSTABLE
e u p h o r i a
The fne line between raising awareness and glorifcation
BY ELIZABETH CHENG AND KATIE CHIN
Note: This story contains references to content that may be triggering for those who have experienced trauma or are sensitive to topics concerning sexual violence, substance abuse, self-harm or mental illness. Humanizing drug addicts and dealers
Director Sam Levinson based much of the show on his own experiences with drug abuse to inspire empathy for drug addicts. However, Euphoria’s trademark colorful and glittery interpretation of drug use has come under great scrutiny. Although Euphoria’s portrayals of addiction can mislead and entice viewers to mimic the behaviors, the show breaks stereotypes by humanizing both drug addicts and dealers. It also depicts drug addiction’s wide range of consequences, which in turn, discourages drug abuse. Euphoria challenges stereotypes about drugs that are usually misrepresented in the media, such as the idea that drug abusers are simply reckless and lack self-control or that drug dealers have no sense of morality. Rue’s addiction stems from trying to cope with her anxiety. Fezco, Rue’s drug dealer, shows genuine affection when he chooses not to sell drugs to her. While drug dealing is often unethical and dangerous, Fezco’s choice to protect Rue’s well-being by denying her the drugs, despite his ability to profit from the transaction, breaks the stereotype that all drug dealers are immoral people. “When you think of a drug dealer, you usually think of someone who’s really dangerous, but Fez is a good-hearted guy,” junior Navya Anand said. “It encouraged me to think more about why someone might be engaging in the drug industry.” The experiences of Euphoria’s characters effectively portray addiction’s heavy consequences. While Season 1 includes scenes where drugs are characterized as a happy escape with few negative consequences, Season 2 emphasizes the widespread destruction addiction can cause. In Season 2, viewers see Rue suffer from withdrawal effects as she first flees rehab and then an intervention. Her addiction is so severe that she then burglarizes a house for drugs. Afterward, Rue can barely talk properly or sit up straight due to her withdrawal, displaying the crippling effects of drug abuse. The discouraging tone that Euphoria conveys when depicting drug abuse, especially during Season 2, positively influences viewers to avoid similar mistakes that characters make in the show.
However, the show portrays characters being high using bright colors and glitter, and while in line with the aesthetic sensibilities of the rest of the show, it can still be misleading, especially for audiences who are not mature enough to watch the show or who are already considering drugs as a coping mechanism. Whether Euphoria helps raise awareness and empathy or encourages unhealthy behavior through glorification depends greatly on the viewer’s maturity and mental state.
“If you’re younger and more impressionable, or maybe not in a great mental state, the normalization of certain things in Euphoria, like drug abuse, can be problematic because you’re going to begin to think such behavior is normal,” Anand said. “If you’re younger and more impressionable, or maybe not in a great mental state, the normalization of certain things in Euphoria, like drug abuse, can be problematic because you’re going to begin to think such behavior is normal.” Navya Anand, Junior
Destigmatizing sex work
Euphoria, known for its excessive, explicit sexual content, has been criticized by concerned parents and adults for intentionally marketing graphic content to impressionable teens. The series faces the age-old controversy of oversexualizing women through the male gaze. It primarily focuses on the sexual aspects of teenage girls, as Euphoria’s female characters are often dressed in revealing
clothing or shown completely nude. Despite the seemingly bawdy nature of the show, many argue that Euphoria destigmatizes sex and sex work, a considerably taboo topic. “I think the show normalizes sex because it’s so casual and it happens a lot,” sophomore Briana Nguyen said. “But I also think there’s some nudity that was uncalled for.” Through camming, a form of digital sex work, Kat comes to love herself and her body, taking ownership of her sexuality. By finding strength and confidence through her endeavors, she helps shed the societal stereotypes surrounding similar work. Kat’s experimentation with sex work reflects the challenge teenagers face in finding their individuality. “Teenagers try on lots of different identities throughout adolescence to try and Validating mental health and domestic violence
Most episodes of Euphoria are preceded by a disclaimer and phone number from the National Alliance of Mental Health, which warns audiences that certain scenes may be graphic or triggering. Scenes include characters struggling with mental illness, such as Jules cutting herself with an empty can or Rue’s panic attacks at the dinner table. Despite the inclusion of these potentially triggering scenes, Euphoria’s emphasis on its character’s mental health issues and their effects emphasizes seeking help and prioritizing mental well-being. Characters’ use of drugs to cope with anxiety and depression, especially by Rue, further displays the severity of mental illness and why it must be treated. In a world where people battling depression are often seen as lazy or those who are fighting anxiety disorders are viewed as weak, Euphoria demonstrates how these mental illnesses are as real and valid as physical ones. Though adorned with dazzling visuals and a vivid soundtrack, Euphoria’s glamor is often darkened by frighteningly violent scenes. While again not appropriate for young audiences, Euphoria brings awareness to domestic and intimate partner violence. Maddy, who is involved in an abusive relationship with Nate, grapples with the consequences of his violence and struggles to cope in an unhealthy relationship, scared and refusing to turn Nate into the police after he physically assaults her. Alexa Demie, who plays Maddy, has spoken out on Euphoria’s portrayal of abuse, defending Euphoria for its positive steps toward raising awareness for domestic violence. By highlighting the consequences of toxic relationships and illustrating the presence of abuse in teen relationships, Euphoria educates teens about the false sense of normalcy and loyalty developed through them. “There is domestic abuse and partner violence that happens at the high school level,” Stevens said. “If a show is choosing to portray it, they’re choosing to portray something that people really do experience.” figure out who they are and what feels right,” school psychologist Brittany Stevens said. Euphoria’s depiction of relationships also alleviates stereotypes surrounding the LGBTQ+ community. As the community finds more representation on screen, Euphoria emphasizes the struggles those within the community face. Jules, a young trans woman, grapples with her femininity, while Cal and Nate Jacobs both struggle with accepting their sexuality. The show offers a sober and realistic representation of the depths and consequences of homophobia in society by shining a light on the harsh realities that the LGBTQ+ community faces, which can inspire audiences to commit to creating a more educated, mature environment for youth in their own lives.
Euphoria’s controversial nature has raised questions about whether the show fosters awareness for mental health issues and the stigmatization of sex and drugs or glorifies unhealthy behavior. Through the show, mature audiences can learn from the consequences of characters’ mistakes, such as the widespread destruction of drug addiction or the severity of mental illness. Nevertheless, the show may still normalize harmful behavior for the more impressionable and less mature, so it is important to take caution and ensure a mature and safe mental space before watching the show.
