Issue 4, 2010

DANIELLE LERNER—EPIC

Facilities support, from left to right: Suy Hoang, John Ortega, Anthony Sebastiao, Steve Chamberlain, Juan Olivas, Henry Avecilla, Fulgencio Pelayo, Carlos Pelayo and Asefa Asmara. Bottom left: Stacey Liang (12) writes a thank-you note for a custodian. Bottom right: Carrina Dong (11) and Dennis Zhao (12) prepare for student custodial appreciation.

Custodian Appreciation Week by

kathyLI

Imagine coming to school one day to find classrooms with cookie crumbs ground into the carpet from club meetings at lunch, bathrooms with puddles on the floor and no toilet paper and pasta sauce from last week all over the cafeteria floor and tables. We would notice a dirty campus, but often take a clean campus, and the people who keep it clean, for granted.

This year, the Student and Staff Recognition commissioners from the ASB leadership class worked with staff members to organize Lynbrook’s first-ever custodial appreciation week from Dec. 6 to 10, in order to recognize the custodians’ important contributions to the school.

According to Steve Chamberlain, the school facilities manager, we have one daytime custodian in charge of the cafeteria, kitchen and overall campus cleanup; five nighttime custodians who keep the classrooms, gym, locker rooms and restrooms in order; as well as two groundskeepers who take care of the entire campus, including the field DIANA DING—EPIC

see CUSTODIANS pg 2

Funds allotted for CTE classes by

ireneHSU

Instead of tackling logarithms or analyzing Greek tragedies, the students in Megan Hamilton’s class whip up batters and slice onions with culinary ability that can only belong to the Living Skills class. Across campus, Business teacher Andrea Badger’s students take on the concept of consumer demand and wrestle with marketing strategies.

This year, Hamilton’s Living Skills classes (Foods and Advanced Foods) and Badger’s business classes (Principles of Business, International Business), were categorized as Career Technical Education (CTE) classes, meaning that they are no longer being funded from the school budget as regular classes.

In previous years, Lynbrook received funding for its Engineering Technology and Studio Art classes from the Regional Occupational Program (ROP), a smaller section of CTE, because the classes were a part of the North County Regional Occupational Program (NCROP). However,

Living Skills and Business were developed independently from ROP. Despite having similarities to classes already existing in ROP, Hamilton and Badger’s classes were not considered as Regional Occupational Program classes. Therefore, they were ineligible for Regional Occupational Program funding and were funded directly from the school budget.

Lynbrook has recently acquired a total of $30,000 in CTE funds for Living Skills and Business, as well as the two original Regional Occupational Program classes, by taking part of CTE. Last year, the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD), Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District, and Palo Alto Unified School District formed a Joint Powers Agency and broke away from the NCROP in order to better manage the funds distributed between schools and districts.

see BUDGET pg3

Lynbrook hosts first annual Mocase by

noorsherAHMED

Senior Kevin Yeh’s Chinese yo-yos flew in the air, senior Wei-Jan Wang levitated playing cards, and sweet melodies filled the room. The Movember Mocase was in full swing and on the roll.

The concert opened with seniors Cathy Kim and Jessica Huang singing “Grenade” by Bruno Mars, soon followed by a juggling performance by senior Daniel Adelberg.

One of the other highlights of the Mocase was an improv performance by seniors Thomas Okamoto and Adelberg, in which audience members shouted out a genre and Okamoto and Adelberg performed a “first date” skit with the genre theme, which varied from science fiction to Jersey Shore. The Mocase ended with a performance dubbed

NOORSHER AHMED—EPIC

“Musical Movember”.

The Mocase raised around $200, which was added to the money being raised by the Lynbrook ASB for the Movember Foundation, totaling to $1054. Regarding Movember, ASB President Sebastian Liu says, “It was the first time we did it at Lynbrook. As the first year, it was really hard to get started; I mean how many guys will grow mustaches? We’re mostly Asian here. It’s a little hard to get started, but I feel that once the Mo-head came out, it kicked off pretty well.”

The Movember Foundation has run Movember events in Australia and New Zealand since 2004 and internationally since 2007 to raise awareness for men’s health issues such as prostate cancer and depression. The Lynbrook ASB is trying to implement Movember as a tradition.

NOORSHER AHMED—EPIC

From left to right: Annie Ho (11) performs “Falling for You” and Daniel Adelberg (12) juggles colorful clubs.

Electric bleachers to be added for convenience by

michaelPARK

On Dec.15, a major improvement will be made to Lynbrook High School. After years of constant inquiry, the custodians received funds from the Measure B bond to enhance our school’s environment.

With a projected construction time of three days our gym bleachers will be retrofitted to be electronically adjusted. “The fans may not notice, but the custodians sure will,” says Principal Gail Davidson, regarding the convenience of the bleachers.

All the P.E. teachers and sports coaches are happy about the new implements made to the gym due to their ease of use, accessibility, and availabilty.

There will be a key switch on both sides of the gym enabling the teachers and coaches to move bleachers at their convenience, without finding the need to call custodians.

In order to move the bleachers in and out, it requires all five night shift custodians working together to move them. Steve Chamberlain, the School Facilities Manager, says “It’s more for the ease and safety of use. It puts an enormous strain on my men and is very bad for our backs.”

In addition to the retraction and expansion features, the bleachers seal between the different sections making tasks such as mopping and trash picking up underneath the bleachers obsolete.

All the other schools in the district have already installed electronic contracting bleachers, and Lynbrook is soon to join them. Davidson says, “We just want to make sure we have the best and safest equipment, so that teachers and coaches will be able to use the facilities to the fullest.”

Art Reach helps Humane Society CUSTODIANS| School acknowledges hard w

by

suchetaKORWAR

While volunteering at Humane Society of Silicon Valley (HSSV) over the summer, junior Emily Chang made a chalk pastel illustration of one of the animals at the shelter, a German Shepherd named Carly. One of the visitors at HSSV liked Chang’s pastel illustration so much that she bought it and offered to pay Chang to do three more pastel illustrations of her own dogs.

Chang donated the money she made to Humane Society of Silicon Valley, and when she got back to school, she pitched the idea of drawing portraits of the animals at Humane Society of Silicon Valley to Lynbrook’s Art Reach club.

Chang says, “I thought it would be a good idea for Art Reach because it is kind of hard to find good art projects that help the community and I think drawing animals is a pretty fun project.”

Art Reach’s project to help HSSV not only includes drawing portraits of the animals at The Humane Society, but also includes making toys and blankets for the animals at the shelter.

The club started working on the three- part project six weeks ago, and finished and delivered the toys, blankets and portraits of the animals to HSSV on Nov 27.

Art Reach’s thirty members all worked on at least one part of the project over the six weeks at the club’s meetings and at home. To draw the portraits, club members took pictures of adoptable animals from HSSV’s website and choose either watercolor or graphite to create

the portraits.

The toys and blankets were made especially for the cats at the shelter, while the portraits are of adoptable cats, dogs, and rabbits.

Club member junior Annie Yang says, “Drawing the portraits of the animals was my favorite part of the project because I got to draw, something I love to do, and help the animals at the same time.”

The animal shelter is planning to use the graphite sketches and watercolor paintings of the animals and display the portraits in the hallways of the HSSV in order to encourage more pet adoptions. The drawings can also be purchased with a donation to the HSSV when the animal is adopted from the shelter.

The HSSV activity has also sparked enthusiasm in the club. Club president Alice Pang says, “If participation reflects satisfaction, I’m sure our members liked the activity. Not only did we retain a huge number of participants, we gained more through the six weeks we spent.”

While helping The Humane Society and increasing club membership, Art Reach members were able to enjoy giving back to their community through this project.

Chang says, “Volunteering while creating works of art was a good idea for this club, and this was one of my more favorite activities that we did in Art Reach.”

As for whether this will become a tradition at Lynbrook, Pang says, “The whole thing was really successful, and I know members enjoyed it as much as I did, so hopefully we’ll be able to do something like this again.”

continued from pg 1 and the pool.

Teachers have written thank-you notes to the nighttime custodians, and many students selected by leadership members have written notes to the daytime custodian.

These messages being assembled into personalized booklets by the members of the recognition committee, who have already hung banners for the custodians at the top of the quad and in the staff lounge.

“I appreciate the acknowledgement,” says daytime custodian Henry Avecilla. “It’s great that [the school sees] that what we do around here is important and helpful to all the staff, students and community. I’m honored by the recognition, because my job is just to serve the school the best I can.”

This Wednesday, Dec. 8, was “Hug a Custodian” day, and during brunch students got to give special gift bags of Hershey’s Hugs that were prepared by the recognition committee to the custodians. On Friday there will be a lunchtime “all clean,” in which leadership members will lead students in picking up trash around campus. There will also be a reception for the custodians.

“This week is unique because it’s recognizing the hard work of staff members who have been right under our noses,” says senior Dennis Zhao, a member of the Student and Staff Recognition committee. “We tend to ignore their contributions to the school, and it’s time for the student body to step up and thank the custodians for their amazing work—cleaning up after 1,700 people is no easy job!”

Korsunsky awarded “Keeper of the Flame” Teen Study Afternoons The Cupertino Library will be hosting teen study sessions in the afternoons at the Cupertino Community Hall, which is located next door to the library.

Study sessions are on Dec. 11 and 12, from noon5:45 pm. The library will provide tables and chairs, as well as snacks. These afternoons are meant to give teens a place to study for finals and work on group projects. For more information, contact the Cupertino Adult Reference at (408) 446-1677.

Winter Formal This year’s Winter Formal will take place at the Del Monte Building on friday Dec. 16, the first day of winter break. The dance will be from 7:3011:00pm, and the theme is “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Today will be the last day to buy bids, sold at the top of the quad for $60. Students are encouraged to go, even without a date.

Christmas at the Park San Jose’s Christmas in the Park tradition continues with daily exhibitions. The Christmas in the Park Exhibition has already begun and will continue until Jan. 1st. Exhibits take place daily from 9 ammidnight at the Plaza de Cesar Chavez. Displays include fake snow, a community giving tree and a Santa Claus railroad.

Christmas in the Park will also be hosting a San Jose Holiday Parade on Dec. 5 at 8:30 am. The parade begins at Santa Clara and Market Street. Don’t miss this unique San Jose tradition!

Tech Museum Body Worlds The San Jose Tech Museum is now featuring the world premiere of the Body Worlds Vital exhibit, which showcases real human bodies that are persevered through a process called Plastination and displayed to teach people about anatomy and health of the body.

The Gunther von Hagen’s Body Worlds’ mission is to educate the public about health and anatomy.

The bodies are designed to show viewers the contrast between a healthy body and a body stricken with a multitude of diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. The Body Worlds’ exhibit will be presented at the San Jose Tech Museum from now until March 27, 2011.

Hairspray The Montgomery Theater in downtown San Jose is featuring Marquee Productions’ presentation of the musical Hairspray. Hairspray is an eight-time Tony Award winning musical about the transformative journey of singing and dancing, plus-size heroine Tracy Turnblad as she works to overcome the nation’s prejudices in the 1960s. The show is directed by Kevin Hauge, and will run from Dec. 3-12.

Tickets are available at Children’s Musical Theater San Jose’s website.

Downtown Ice Skating Downtown Ice Skating at the Plaza de Cesar Chavez returns for the holidays, complete with palm trees and Christmas lights. Tickets, which include skate rental and unlimited time on the ice are $15 for adults and $13 for children 10-under. The rink is open Mon-Thu from 5-10 pm, and Fri-Sun from 12midnight. For more information, visit sjdowntown. com, or call (408) 291-0525.

By Shannon Chai, Jane Jun & Yasmine Mortazavi

jasmineMIRESHGHI

cal and multidisciplinary engineering around the world; Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Every year, the Silicon Valley Engineer- which promotes the engineering process of creating and ing Council (SVEC) chooses one outstanding teacher sharing of electro- and information technologies and in Silicon Valley to recognize with the “Keeper of the American Society for Quality’s (ASQ), which focuses Flame” Award, an award given to teachers who distin- on scientific and mathematical education in California guish themselves in maintaining high standards in schools. In the past ten years that she has been teaching at Lynbrook, Korsunsky has mathematics, science and been a mentor for students, technology education. This encouraging them to show year, math teacher Rita interest in mathematics.

Korsunsky was chosen for As Math club advisor this prestigious honor based and Pre-Calculus and Calon her outstanding teaching culus teacher, Korsunsky skills and her ability to enworks closely with her gage students in the subject students, motivating them of mathematics. through the use of humor, Korsunsky was presentvisual tools such as powed with the award on Nov. erpoint presentations and 22 by SVEC president, class discussions, as well Chandru Idnani. F e l l o w as advocating challenge teachers and staff members math tests such as the were there to recognize CAML and Mandelbrot Korsunsky for her achievethat Math club administers ments as she received the every month. award plaque and the $500 In addition, Math Club cash prize.

DANIELLE LERNER–EPIC frequently participates in “The SVEC council chose Rita Korsunksy, with the award, between Principal her for her impressive Gail Davidson and SVEC President Chandru Idnani. competitions around the Bay Area which encourages stuachievements as a mathematics teacher,” says Idnani, “We have been presenting dents to take mathematics out of the classroom and turn it this award to teachers for the past seven years, and I feel into a hobby. They recently attended a competition called that it is a good thing to do for teachers who put so much Power Arml at Santa Clara University, an invitational for time and effort into teaching their students because it re- students from all over the country.

“The competition was a team effort and great opportuminds them that what they are doing is truly great.”

The SVEC is a major organization that oversees many nity to get students more involved in math,” says Korsunof the professional societies within Silicon Valley such sky, “And that is the most rewarding part about being a as American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) teacher; seeing students so interested in math and excited which promotes the art, science and practice of mechani- about solving challenge math problems.”

by

BUDGET|School adopts CTE in place of ROP for extra funding continued from pg 1 The state recently loosened restrictions on the categoricals, of the budget because of the reduced funding for schools.

Schools now have more flexibility to distribute their funds.

However, Principal Gail Davidson states, “Because we had more flexibility, it was to our district’s advantage to manage our own CTE funding instead so we could have [the money] come directly to us instead of from the state, county, district, then school for the ROP classes. [Now there’s] more equitable distribution among our classes.”

Hamilton is excited to use the $10,000 she received a few weeks ago from the CTE program.

“Because space is limited [in the classroom], storage becomes an issue. I plan to purchase rolling carts so we can make the best use of our space. We can also finally expand [the curriculum] by doing labs that require special equipment we haven’t been able to acquire before.”

Lynbrook also received a Perkins Grant of $4000, which it has received for many years, for its Robotics club, Future Business Leaders of America club, and Studio Art. Davidson says, “[FUHSD] is really looking as an entire district as to how we want to manage our CTE funds and classes. [We’re also looking] beyond [in order] to expand and better coordinate the curriculum. It’s fantastic to be able to properly support our culinary arts and business programs, as well as our Robotics club.”

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY NAMRATA SINGH & IRENE HSU

Facebook Flies too High

All-in-one communication system is pointless

In a recent attempt to join the ranks of multi-service providers Google and Yahoo, Facebook has undertaken the project of combining recreation with duty through a new form of messaging.

While creating a system which combines SMS, chat and email all in one under a personalized email address,.username@ facebook.com, sounds ideal, Facebook has actually become the Icarus of the social networking domain. It has flown too high, and fallen—hard.

With the arrival of the new Facebook Messages comes even more privacy pitfalls for Facebook users. As if Facebook’s history of being prone to spam, phishing and random bot attacks isn’t warning enough to users hoping to test its new features, Messages will provide even more ways for hackers to obtain private information such as account passwords and family matters.

Freshman Jenny Sung, whose Facebook account was hacked in the past, says, “[After being hacked,] I tried to access my e-mail to retrieve and reset my password, but that was hacked too.

Facebook Messages probably isn’t going be too secure if even my regular e-mail couldn’t be protected.”

In an experiment conducted to highlight Facebook’s lack of privacy, the Epic conducted a simple search for the phone numbers of Facebook users around the nation. No special programs were used in this study: all found numbers were simply the click of a mouse away. Users from states as far away as Massachusetts expressed surprise and concern upon receiving the call: “I’ll take [my phone number] off my profile the first chance I get,” says Boston resident Joanne Erhayel.

Some students like junior Jack Wang,

however, believe that “Facebook is actually tighter on privacy and security [than before.]” However, what they fail to realize is this: once more users begin actively providing Facebook with their contact information, the previous occurence will play out much more easily—though whether it’ll be from an organization as safe as the Epic is hard to say.

The cluttered infrastructure of Facebook Messages will also pose a problem. Texts, instant messages and emails that a user receives from a single person are all placed into a single thread, grouping many irrelevant messages together. This lack of organization is unappealing to many users, including junior Jared Kim, who says, “I wouldn’t use Facebook Messages because I like having my mail categorized instead of all grouped together.”

Not only is Messages inconvenient, but it is also inaccessible for most students. According to a report conducted

by OpenDNS in early 2009, Facebook is ranked second in the top ten most commonly blocked websites at schools and in the workplace. At all the schools in Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD), that is definitely the case.

FUHSD’s Coordinator of Network Operations Scott Harrington says, “The district [has deemed that] categories of content [such as social networking sites are] potentially disruptive to our educational environment...Currently [the district’s] policy is to filter Facebook. There are many other communication tools available that are not tied to social networking.”

Despite Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg’s claims that Facebook is connecting both work and entertainment in an easy-to-use method, it’s evident that, like oil and water, work and play simply cannot mix. With privacy at stake as well, it’s implausible that the two ever will.

the Korean War. Though she and her immediate family were able to settle safely in South Korea, her extended family (and thus mine) still lives in North Korea today.

Similarily, many Koreans you see around campus probably have distant North Korean relatives.

South Korea sends millions of shoes, food cans and other necessities to North Korea every year and hosts family reunions that allow families separated by the border to visit each other. According to cnsnews. com, over 10,000 North Koreans, desperately searching for a way out of poverty and starvation, have defected to South Korea in the past three years.

I am frustrated, therefore, when I hear

people casually comment about the two countries “hating” each other and ceaselessly fighting.

Yes, the bombing clearly suggests that the two countries are far from being political allies. However, this does not mean that North and South Koreans are arch-enemies who are beyond any hope for reconciliation.

That brings me to my next point. I’ve noticed that one visible effect the bombing has had at Lynbrook is an increase of North Korea and Kim Jong-Il jokes.

People are dying and worrying about their families and friends. Let’s try to have a little more respect and be more sensitive about what we joke about.

by

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CANDY CHANG & BRIAN ZHAO

Division ≠ Hate Nov. 23 may have been a normal school day for most students, but half a world away, panic and havoc were coursing through the Korean peninsula as North Korea fired artillery shells onto

the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong.

As a Korean who grew up listening to my parents’ dream of reunification, I was devastated and saddened when I heard the news. Many point to the news in times like these and assume that North and South Korea “hate” each other. However, these assumptions are sadly presupposed.

Despite political tensions, North Korea and South Korea still share the same language, history and lineage. According to Chosunilbo, a Seoul newspaper, 63.8% of Koreans surveyed in 2007 were still rooting for reunification.

My grandmother was born in a town that is now a part of North Korea, but she escaped and crossed the border during

ireneHSU & gloriaLIN

staff editorial

Voice of the Epic

New Community Link is welcome change At the start of the semester, ASB rolled out a new requirement for all 70 clubs: club had to participate in one community service activity each semester. Though created with noble intentions, the new Community Link rule gave way to unintended side effects and unnecessary competition amongst clubs. However, ASB’s recent decision to rewrite the regulations this week will provide the necessary changes to ameliorate the situation next year.

Originally, the rule was created with two motives in mind. The first is the obvious. Senior Gerald Fong who is on the Community Link committee of executive council says, “We wanted to centralize the clubs for a unified effort” to help out the community.

The second is explained by fellow Community Link committee member senior Jason Jia who says, “We wanted to make sure all clubs are legitimate and not just for seniors who want cords.”

Yet the rules have brought out the unethical side of students. Because clubs were given a specific time to start submitting requests for the few sacred spaces at each event, some clubs opted to cheat the system by sending email requests earlier, claiming they had a faster clock.

Fong says, “There is a time stamp on the emails; so, we penalized them for this.” Still, the well-intentioned purpose of this new requirement was undermined by the bad side effects it caused. By pitting the clubs against one another, the original purpose of encouraging community goodness was destroyed.

The previously narrow selection of three activities that clubs could attend in first semester to fulfill their requirement ended up forcing clubs into competition, not unity.

If five people from each of the 70 clubs went to an event, then 350 people would be vying for 30 open spots.

The simple, but highly effective solution Fong and Jia created with ASB is to allow clubs to find their unique ways of giving back to the community through proposals.

Because of the diverse interests covered in clubs, each one can utilize the unique interests of their members. Officers will not need to bribe members with the typical cord requirement warning as members would enthusiastically volunteer at something they care about. They would also be volunteering for the benefit of the community, serving the purpose of the community service requirement.

Similar clubs can cooperate and attend an event together, building up communication and amity. A few clubs working together for a common goal would have a much more powerful and positive effect as opposed to all clubs vying for the same one.

The vicious competition for the same events will also decrease. Vastly different interests represented in the clubs like cooking and break dancing will result in different events for the fulfillment of the community service activity. Fong says, “We don’t want clubs to stress out if they did not meet the requirement this semester because we realized the impracticality since we didn’t provide enough opportunities.”

After all, half of the clubs who did not fulfill the requirement for the semester receive only one strike, and clubs need two strikes before being disbanded. Still, Jia warns that clubs may be disbanded if they do not fulfill the requirement for next semester.

Jia says, “Community Link was a new committee for this year. We had a good idea but implemented it badly.”

With the more thought-out plan for next semester, clubs will not be pitted against one another and will have more options for volunteering in the future.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY SUCHETA KORWAR

“I <3 boobies” is not enough by

yunqingCHEN

The three word phrase is everywhere.

More ubiquitous than complaints about teachers or grades, the statement “I <3 boobies” can be found on bracelets, tshirts and even bumper stickers.

As junior Vivian Chan puts it, “It’s a simple way of supporting a cause. You see the bracelet, you doubletake because it’s slightly obscene, and then you realize that it’s about breast cancer.” The approach seems to be working, at least fiscally.

Although an innuendo-laden slogan may generate funds, it fails in its ultimate goal, which is increasing breast cancer awareness.

Wearing “I <3 boobies” bracelets is a prolonged phase of previous attempts to garner adolescent attention. Events like the “I like it on the ____” Facebook campaign, despite attracting thousands of likes on the Susan B. Komen Facebook page, did not do much to educate individuals about breast cancer.

The popularity of the occurrence went on to catch the attention of CNN, which published an article titled, “The ‘I Like It’ Campaign,” elucidating to all those in the dark in the first paragraph what the purpose of the meme was, and that “part of the reason this meme has gone viral is due

to its heavy sexual connotations.”

Susan B. Komen for the Cure’s marketing director Cindy Jones-Myland noted a surge in site visits, but not in campaign donations or awareness. Keep-A-Breast is the continuation of the “I Like It” movement. With thousands of teenagers wearing the iconic “I <3 boobies” bracelets, the organization has turned heads all over

the nation. But, like the “I Like It” campaign, a surge in attention does not equate a surge in awarness.

The bracelets and other paraphernalia have nearly been banned at Miller, as administrators and parents have expressed concern that the bracelets merely sexualize breast cancer, create a false impression of the disease and make it more of a fad.

“They’re like really fail altruistic wan-

nabe silly bands,” says sophomore CJ Ji. “Most of the guys don’t even know what [the bracelets] really mean.”

With that said, the helpfulness of the bracelets is considerably lessened. The money raised from selling apparel design by the foundation goes toward breast cancer, but the consumers themselves are not any more educated about it.

Instead, they are seen with an easily misunderstood phrase on their arms, one that causes the bracelets to lean more towards being recreational than actually raising awareness. As recreational statements, the bracelets are not taken seriously by others, making them something that people will soon forget, instead of a long-term attempt to raise awareness about an issue that matters.

An alternative method to help raise money and awareness is cliché but effective: participate in events that contribute directly to the cause. Attending walks and other events offers perspective unavailable from the signature bracelets. It helps the community (and counts as volunteering), and the individual is informed.

The collective impact of these is far more substantial than anything sexual slogans can insinuate. It’s heartbreaking to see people wearing “I <3 boobies” bracelets without any knowledge of its meaning.

We all think that when we grow up, we’ll be motorcycle parents. We’ll be the parents who let our children roam free and live the life they want to, the life we were denied under the wrath of our helicopter parents.

When I started writing this column, I thought about how I knew I was going to be a motorcycle parent. I would be someone who would let my daughter hang out every night with her friends, someone who would allow my son to play videogames before he starts his homework.

But the more I thought about it, the more it didn’t make sense. Why would I want to decide beforehand that I would not instill the values that my parents instilled in me, which was schoolwork before recreation, work before play?

That was when I decided that I would be a Sports Utility Vehicle parent. Not as fast-paced and daring as a motorcycle parent, and not as hovering and overpowering as a helicopter parent. I would be like an SUV; it would be the happy medium. An SUV is smaller than a truck but bigger than a car, and can drive smoothly but in times of need can attack hardships such as snow and terrain. In the same way, I would try and let my child be independent, but at the same time, be there to guide them and help them through hardships and problems.

My mom always said that raising a child is like tending a garden. In the beginning you have to give it a lot of attention and a lot of care, but as the plant grows taller there is no need to do that much, and in fact, extra care would be bad for the plant.

I have heard stories of friends who have parents that monitor every one of their moves. They have technology that will send the parents every single letter that is typed on the computer, so the parent can track every move. But is that really necessary?

Obviously those parents have not stopped spoonfeeding their children. Those are the children who go on to “reject” their parent’s phone calls, the children who say they are going one place and really going another.

Like my parents were, I would want to be the person who impacts them the most in their life, like the perfect car that has a significant impact on a person’s life. At the same time, I wouldn’t want to be overbearing, because the child shouldn’t have to depend on me constantly (I have places to go, people to see!).

And even though I have nothing against helicopter parents, and I am in no position to comment on the parenting styles of others, I believe that we spend too much time dwelling on the extremes. We need to spend more time finding the balance for parenting, and making sure that kids can be kids and parents can be parents.

Around the world in only six holidays Lynbrook students display cultural diversity through religious practices by

yasmineMORTAZAVI & joySHEN

Bodhi Day

Christmas

Senior Kristen Richardson embraces her Buddhist culture by celebrating Bodhi Day. According to Richardson, Bodhi Day is celebrated as the day Siddhartha Gautama experienced enlightenment while meditating under a Bo tree. Richardson’s exposure to Buddhism began just a few years ago at her Buddhist church. “I went to church when I was younger but stopped for some time. I started going again because I began teaching Sunday school,” says Richardson. Richardson’s church organizes a large celebration each year in honor of Buddha and his spiritual enlightenment. “There’s a big ceremony in the gym. Afterwards we eat Japanese food,” Richardson says. “The food’s the best part.”

During Christmas, Christmas,junior junior Delaney Nicholas Delany Nicholas joins joins her family in a unique stocking stuffing traher family in a unique stocking stuffing tradition. dition.

Each member her family has a stocking Each member of her of family has a stocking handhandmade by grandmother. her grandmother. grandmother made by her “My“My grandmother has has made stockings hergeneration, generation, her her children made stockings forforher and their spouses and then their children,” says Nicholas. “At the top of every stocking is each person’s name, with beaded embroidery. No stocking is perfectly alike.” The gifts put in stockings vary depending on the giver and receiver. Nicholas says, “My aunt will always give us toothbrushes because she’s a dental hygienist. My dad always has to find disgusting food for my uncle, and everybody always gets crazy socks.”

Kwanzaa

Hanukkah

Sophomore Zoë Pennington is one of the few students on campus who celebrates Kwanzaa, a holiday honoring African heritage. Pennington’s family began celebrating Kwanzaa a year after they started celebrating Hanukkah. “My family isn’t religious—we just like to expose ourselves to different cultures,” she says. The family’s exposure to multicultural celebrations began after Pennington’s mom started learning Kabbalah, an old Jewish teaching. The Pennington’s Kwanzaa celebration centers around exchanging handmade gifts with each member of the family. “Besides making each other gifts, we just light the candles on the Kinara [a candle holder] mainly,” Pennington adds.

Senior Daniel Adelberg celebrates the Jewish religious holiday of Hanukkah, also known as the festival of lights. During the eight days of Hanukkah, Adelberg lights the menorah and hanukkiah, goes to parties, attends dinner gatherings and of course, eats lots of potato latkes. Latkes are pancake-like potato and onion delicacies, traditionally eaten during Hanukkah and are one of the biggest highlights for Adelberg. Another important part of Hanukkah celebrations are the parties. Adelberg says, “We do candle lighting with the hanukkiah and sing all sorts of Hanukkah songs.” For Adelberg, Hanukkah is a time “to celebrate with family and close friends and rejoice in the festival of lights.”

Diwali

Eid al-Adha

The Diwali festival of lights, India’s official holiday, is celebrated by much of Lynbrook’s Indian population. Sophomore Anamika Kumpawat is one of the many students at Lynbrook who celebrate Diwali. During the holiday, Kumpawatt’s family hosts a special Diwali party. As part of the celebration, the Kumpawatt family arduously prepares for the gathering by hanging festive lights around the house and making lots of delicious food. Says Kumpawat, “There is a lot of food, lights and music. We light firecrackers too.” Kumpawat’s family also takes part in a traditional pooja prayer. The prayer’s purpose is to thank the Hindu gods and express their wishes for more prosperity, happiness and good wishes to come into their lives, and for the new Indian year.

Sophomore Afeefa Syeda is part of the large Muslim community on campus that celebrates Eid al-Adha. “There’s two types of [Eid al-Adhas],” Syeda explains, “one after Ramadan for its completion and another one to celebrate the end of Hajj, the pilgrimage Mecca. The one that just passed was to honor Hajj.” Syeda and her family wake up early on Eid and go to the mosque, a place of worship, and pray respectfully in the prayer hall. Occasionally, her family will visit the nearby farm and slaughter a goat for spiritual purposes. Aside from getting new clothes, Syeda and her family keep in touch with their relatives and close friends every year on Eid al-Adha. “I love seeing all my friends and being with my family. It’s definitely my favorite part.”

PHOTO PHOTO ILLUSTRATION ILLUSTRATION BY

BY FEATURES FEATURES SECTION SECTION

Holiday Spirit, or Lack Thereof I hate Christmas. Some people label me the Grinch because of my hatred of the holiday, but it comes with good reason. This blasted holiday gives me so much stress it makes the few hairs on my head turn white.

1. Gift giving/receiving Everybody wants presents. My family, my friends and my crazy girlfriend. I only make $250 a month slav-

ing away at Kumon, and half of that goes to enhancing my manly image and taking care of my six chin hairs.

The other half isn’t nearly enough to satisfy the demands from all of these people. My girlfriend alone wants some ugly purse that costs $87. I tried explaining to her that instead of buying that plastic sack, I could buy 29 Yu-gioh booster packs, but no go. Obviously her rationale is in question, but clearly you can all see my predicament.

It should also be noted that I never get something that enhances my manliness. (What you see in the picture to the left is what I got instead of Starcraft 2.)

2. Meeting reject relatives/ eating reject food We all have a reject relative in our families, and we all deny their existence. These relatives are the ones that ruin family portraits, constantly post dumb things about us on Facebook and embarrass us in front of our friends.

Personally, I do my best to dodge the reject relatives.

But on Christmas, I don’t have many options in family gatherings, (because everybody is here), so I have no choice but to face the beast. On top of this, everyone insists on bringing an American dish to the dinner, which is usually a giant crock pot of failure. Each relative is

sure that his or her own little Chinese twist on their American dish is genius, and insists on putting ginseng, cow tongue or pig liver in what used to be mashed potatoes or something.

3. All my friends are gone My family rarely goes out skiing or some other funfilled activity, so while everybody is at Tahoe, Reno or some other super exciting ski resort, I’m sitting at home in my 40 degree house (my mom believes the heater is an unnecessary luxury) and refreshing my Facebook page every five seconds, only to see the same post from 45 minutes ago. This is the one time of the year when my Facebook stalking is halted, because there’s nothing to stalk. Well, on the bright side it’s a good time for me to bust out my virtual fireplace DVD. I don’t know why everyone is so obsessed with Christmas, it always sucks for me. I’m more of a Boxing Day fan, because nobody knows what it is, and we don’t do anything during it. xoxo gossip boy, The Jake Lu

BMX super fan Ross Qu is riding solo Danielle Lerner: How long have you been biking?

DL: Where is your favorite place to ride?

Ross Qu: I have been biking for about a year now. I got my bike around November of 2009.

RQ: I prefer riding on the street because it allows for more creativity. You can do different things with the same set up and perform tricks based on the things around you on the street; you’re not limited with props.

DL: What first got you interested?

RQ: What got me interested was that I wanted to get outside more instead of being on the computer, and my friends encouraged me to start.

DL: Do you find that BMX is an unusual sport among your friends?

Qu in midbunnyhop

Qu executes an endo

RQ: No, because the majority of my friends either skate or BMX, just like I do.

DL: Have you ever participated in any competitions? If so, how did you do?

RQ: No, I have not participated in any competitions yet, but I practice biking everyday for about 1 or 2 hours.

of sports?

DL: What do you think makes BMX stand out in the world

RQ: I think that BMX is special because there are different categories like dirt, park and street. Despite this, they are all still very similar.

DL: What is your favorite part about being a biker?

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DANIELLE LERNER

RQ: My favorite part about being a biker is the wonderful feeling you get when you are outside just riding around with your friends and going to different places.

Tangled in a fairytale

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BYBY SHANNON CHAI GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION SHANNON CHAI AND LAUREN TAI

by

sonikaSUBRAMANIAN

Which girl didn’t want to be a Disney Princess as a child? The idea of wearing a beautiful dress and having a handsome guy sweep you off your feet seems magical. Growing up, many children lose that illusion, but Disney’s Tangled serves as a reminder of the good old days.

Tangled is a retelling of the classic tale of Rapunzel with many major twists, pun intended.

Princess Rapunzel, voiced by Mandy Moore, was stolen from her home at a very young age and forced to live in a tower for the rest of her life by her ‘Mother’ Gothel. When she turns eighteen, a thief, Flynn, voiced by Zachary Levi, stumbles upon her great castle.

Together they set off to see floating lanterns that the castle sends out every year in search of the Princess.

Naturally, they must endure many complications and suffer the evil grasp of Gothel and two thugs.

The writers keep the essence of the tale, but add more spunk, making it appealing

for all ages.

Despite many plot changes from the original, it still holds the same clichés that all Disney films hold. However, not only is the story line entertaining, but the voicing is also fantastic.

The actors manage to add some illumination upon cliché characters, making them seem more realistic. The inclusion of dynamic duo Moore and Levie is especially appealing to the audience without removing the tagline of a fairytale.

In addition, they are absolutely hilarious.

Disney doesn’t disappoint when it comes to the special effects. With an array of dazzling effects and a colorful background, the screen is constantly eye-pleasing. But the highlight is definitely Rapunzel’s wild hair, which was completely revamped to become a sort of superpower.

As Disney’s 50th full-length animated feature, Tangled has virtually everything necessary for success. It is a standout movie amongst the many Disney films, with its brilliant imagery and laugh-outloud comedy.

Tangled is a great entertainer for the holidays. It is definitely worth a trip to the theater this holiday season.

DL: What are your goals concerning biking?

RQ: My goals in biking are to get sponsored by a company, and I plan to continue riding and doing tricks as long as I can ride my bike.

DL: What is your best memory from BMX? RQ: My best memory of BMX was the week I got my bike, because it always made me want to go out and hang out with friends.

DL: What’s the most serious injury you’ve ever sustained from biking?

RQ: I haven’t had many serious injuries from biking yet.

I’ve only gotten a few scraped knees from pedal bites and some sprained ankles.

DL: Do you make up your own tricks?

RQ: No, I don’t make up my own tricks.

DL: Where do you get inspiration for moves?

RQ: I get inspiration for moves just by watching the professionals do them. For example, some tricks that have inspired me are the footjam, footjam tailwhip, bunnyhop, 180 bunnyhop and manuals.

DL: Do you have any professional role models?

RQ: Some of the professional bikers I look up to as role models include Nigel Sylvester, Dakota Roche, Aaron Ross and Garret Reynolds.

DL: Why do you admire them?

RQ: I think that it takes a lot of technique and determination to make a successful BMX rider, and they possess those traits. I admire them because they just have a good spirit, and I hope to achieve their level of skill.

Behind the scenes of Winter Formal ASB Social talks about planning the night of the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” by

candyCHANG & janeJUN

Winter Formal comes after three days of finals, as a relaxing end to the first semester of the school year. For most of the student population, the countdown to Winter Formal starts a few weeks in advance. But for the ASB

May to June:

Hunting for a venue

Social Committee, which is tasked with organizing the formal dance, work begins as early as May of the previous school year.

The committee, consisting of social manager, senior Leesa Li and committee members, senior Aliya Karimi and juniors Jocelyn Chen, Katie Chon and Alan Chung, oper-

July to August: Visiting the venue

ates under the motto “We work hard, but party harder.”

Aided by their advisor Tania Yang, Assistant Principal Ellen Reller and School Financial Specialist Judy Boehm, the close-knit group of ASB students and their staff advisors put all their creative energies into planning the annual formal dance.

September to October:

Although school is out and Social The Social Committee begins to plan members have other obligations durfor Winter Formal. The first step in the ing the summer, the Social Comprocess is to book a venue as early as mitee still takes time out of their possible. Since the district wants all The committee starts brainstorming themes and promotional schedules to plan for Winter Forthe high schools to hold Winter Forideas. Some ideas that they toss around are “Oh You Fancy, Huh?”, mal. They use this time primarmal on the same day, coveted ven“Enchantment Under the Sea,” and “Titanic.” They contact Tuxedo ily to check out other venues in ues must be booked far in advance Warehouse for the fashion show that will take place closer to the Winorder to help out with making to the dance. ter Formal date. the final decision in terms of The committee looks for venIn addition, the Social Committee begins filming the promotional location of the dance and ues that are near by Lynbrook, video with the assistance of the ASB Historians and the Rally Commishave an alternative, should have clean, elegant facilities sioners. “Jocelyn knows how to rock the nerd glasses—which are something go wrong. They that are suitable for a dance and actually my dad’s old glasses,” comments Li. The promotional finally decide on the Hisoffer quality, unlimited food video turned out to be a huge success, receiving praise across toric Del Monte in downfor a reasonable and pretty afthe campus. town Sunnyvale. fordable price.

At this point, the committee also orders the Winter “We visited the The venue is an extremely Formal favors as well as invitations. This year all Villa Ragusa as well important aspect of Winter orders were done from the magazine catalog, but it was definitely Formal, as the environProm Nite. not up to par with ment, to students, will The Social Committee also starts reour wants, and the be the main factor in cruiting Lynbrook staff members Del Monte exdetermining whether or to be potential chaperones of ceeded it by far not the attendees and the formal, because parboth aesthetically guests will enjoy their ent chaperones are not and logistically,” night at the dance. allowed to oversee comments Li. Winter Formal.

Brainstorming ideas

November:

Converging the plans

AUSTIN YU—THE EPIC

Concept: The committee finalizes the theme, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” with some feedback from the ASB class.

Logistics: The Social Committee begins ticket sales. Ticket costs for each individual include but are not limited to: unlimited drinks and food for the night, renting of the venue, DJ, security, party favors and invitations.

They get in touch with the district-approved DJ, who is contracted by the school. The Social Committee sends out a Winter Formal Song Request List on Facebook. They use it to compile a playlist, which is then given to the DJ. Confirmed songs include: “Fancy” by Drake, “Get Low” by Lil Jon, “Any Girl” by Lloyd Banks, “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” by Chris Brown and “Ghost Ride the Whip” by Mistah FAB. Backdrops are finalized with Genesis Photography, and planning for the food and drinks, floor plan and linen selections is finished.

Promotion: The committee works with the Public Relations Committee on promotion; different methods include the Winter Formal promotional video, posters, Facebook, announcements and the Winter Formal Fashion Show. Girls in the Fashion Show wear their own dress choices, while the guys wear tuxedos from Tuxedo Warehouse, which have been rented out for free. The committee is also stressing the fact that a date is not necessary for Winter Formal—going as a group can give students the same experience.

From left to right: Aliya Karimi (12), Katie Chon (11), Jocelyn Chen (11), Leesa Li (12). Bottom: Alan Chung (11)

December: Finalizing and waiting for the event By this time, everything is pretty much ready to go. Today, Dec. 10, is the last day to buy bids for the dance. Then, bids will be counted and invitations will be sent out to attending students.

Winter Formal is the end result of many months of behind-the-scenes preparation. ASB Social Committee spends hours both outside and inside of school to make the formal, as Li describes, “magical, definitely worth it, once in a lifetime, memorable, indescribable, mind-blowing and fun.”

In addition, Li also explains, “The Formal is the only dance [in which] all four grades can attend so everyone should take advantage of this amazing opportunity.”

Passion for Charity eeshaKHARE & laurenTAI

Many tend to think of winter as the time to help others; however many students at Lynbrook interact with charities all year round. “The reasons that students volunteer are just as different as the students; there are remarkable students who volunteer because of an innate desire to do so.

These are the kids who are really impassioned,” reflects Rosemary Bulaich, of the College and Career center.

Passion can start small like the situation of Key Club president, junior Anika Dhamodharan. She devotes her time participating in this year’s adopted project, Project Shine: a goal dedicated to unite people with special needs by creating friendships. “Last year, I went to the Kiwani’s Special Games, which is a sports competition that Key Club members nationally hold for kids with special needs.

It was amazing to see how our work really impacted them and their lives.

I enjoy being part of something bigger, making a difference at an international level.” Her motivation to participate in this project comes from knowing that her part contributes, and she can see the direct results.

Passion can come in different forms: sophomore Soumya Kandukuri puts in endless hours of dance practice for the One School at a Time charity, a non-profit organization created to build infrastructure for underprivileged schools in India. Each year, the charity holds a competition where it invites dancers, singers and musicians to a friendly competition in hopes of raising money. Competing in OSAAT made her realize, “many underprivileged kids in rural India would never get an opportu-

nity to learn dance or music, because their families struggle every day just to pay for their schooling. It’s ironic that we worry so much about having homework, whereas needy kids in India dream about getting an education.” Her passion to perform with this charity comes from the connection she feels with kids in India who may want to learn arts as well. Freshman Susmitha Bhat, who performs with the same charity, uses her vocal power to bring money to the schools.

A feeling of mutuality is achieved as she improves her skills and learns new songs while the organization raises money and benefits from her singing. Four years of performing has changed her outlook on school, “to be more appreciative of the learning system that we have.”

Passion can start from initiative.

Giving to an established charity is one thing, but starting one is another.

Seniors Pavan Upadhyayula, Akshay Nathan, Vinay Nittur and Ashwin Raman started Rise Against Poverty, an organization that raises money to change material circumstances for students in impoverished districts of India. They chose to help poor villagers in Asia because their families come from there. Upadhyayula comments, “Our motivation arose from a little bit of self-reflection. We realized that our parents are lucky ones who were able to transform their goals their passion for education into a quality lifestyle for us, their children. We decided that [an education] shouldn’t have to be such a struggle.”

Whether it be for contribution, connection or self-reflection, these students show desire to help others out. Ultimately, it is the experience from which they benefit.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CLAY SONG

by

Prolonged computer use can lead to numerous aches and pains

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY NANCY NAN

by

ireneHSU

You are the average Lynbrook student. You spend a few hours actively using the computer each day, either: a) digging through your friends’ Facebook pages, b) Wikipedia surfing or c) puzzling over an essay due tomorrow. During these hours you are in front of your computer, you burn about half as many calories as you do from running. But from these hours of tapping away at your keyboard, your body is reacting just as seriously as it would from intense exercise—but in a mybody-is-failing-me way, rather than an I’m-building-muscle way.

1. Head: Due to the constant refocusing of your eyes, headaches can develop, and eventually lead to migraines. Some screens or eye glasses cause glares which can also intensify headaches.

2. Eyes: Your eyes are the most obvious source of suffering from prolonged computer use. Eyestrain, double vision and myopia are symptoms of computer vision syndrome, which is from intense focusing on the screen, which is not as sharp as print. Adjusting the brightness of your screen may alleviate the strain on your eyes.

3. Upper back: The angle your screen is at, as well as the height of your desk, can affect your shoulders and neck. Soreness and pain may result, and from holding your neck and shoulders in such a position for a lengthened amount of time, you may cause inflammations in your tendons. Aches and pains will become more acute if not addressed.

Investing in an adjustable monitor could potentially reduce neck and shoulder strains.

4. Spine: Most people sit hunched over, leaning towards their screens to see clearly, a position which puts stress on the spinal cord.

Displacement of the spinal cord disrupts the activity of your respiratory system and your circulation. Thus, it is important to correct the height of your chair and your desk to relieve pressure on the spine.

5. Wrist: The most common syndrome from computer use is carpal tunnel syndrome, which results from tendons of the wrist rubbing together. Because of the overuse of the wrist when using the computer, carpal tunnel syndrome is a repetitive stress injury; nerves can become trapped in the wrist, and cause tingling and numbness in the arm. You may develop tendonitis, the inflammation of stressed tendons, if your wrist pains are not properly addressed.

6. Legs: Blood circulation becomes ineffective and insufficient when your legs are inactive for periods of time. The pins-and-needles feeling, as well as acute numbness, will result. It is important to keep your feet flat on the ground when sitting at your workstation.

Chiropractor Dr. Hank Hu suggests that students should “get up and around” every thirty minutes to an hour to “increase blood circulation and give your muscles a break.” A break every half an hour will get the average Lynbrook student far, and keep the average body safe and sound.

Young, diverse and ready to win Girls’ Basketball shows high potential at Sandi Stober Tournament by

janeJUN

The ball is tossed and senior Jordan Day immediately tips it off to sophomore Jacqueline Hudepohl, who passes to freshman Renee Huang—with a single fluid shot, Huang scores Lynbrook varsity’s first shot in the Sandi Stober tournament.

The Sandi Stober Girls’ Basketball Tournament at Lynbrook, lasting from Nov. 28 to Dec. 4, was an eight team tournament for both JV and varsity girls’ basketball teams. High school teams from Andrew Hill, Notre Dame, North Monterey County, Independence, Palo Alto, Kipp and more came to compete at the Lynbrook gym.

The Lynbrook varsity team performed well, winning 54-15 against Independence and 43-38 against North Monterey County, and losing to Westmont 43-48 at Championships.

“The intensity with which we played was very good,” says Girls’ Varsity Basketball Coach Jeremy Kitchen. “We were aggressive, and continued to push throughout the whole tournament.”

A strength of the Lynbrook girls’ varsity’s team throughout the tournament was their passing. The girls were “unselfish and willing to give up their shot to give to a teammate with a better shot.”

Another forte was their defense.

“Even in our loss to Westmont, we did very well defensively, especially on their post player,” says Kitchen.

Top left: Senior Tammy Luan, Top right: Freshman Annie Cheng, He also says the one thing the team needs to Bottom left: Senior Jordan Day, Bottom right: Freshman Paige Song

work on is their shooting strategy, as the shooting was inconsistent and risky during the tournament. “[The Sandi Stober Tournament] was the first time we really competed together as a team, and I think it has helped us a lot. We’re getting more accustomed to the transition of starting a new season and playing with a new team; we’re starting to build chemistry in our playing,” says Hudepohl.

The Sandi Stober tournament had two major purposes. The first was to raise money for the basketball team; the tournament is a great fundraiser because everything was run by volunteers and schools paid to come participate. The team expected to raise approximately $1000 to $1500 from this tournament, which will be used to pay for future tournaments, purchase equipment, and more. The second purpose was to commemorate Sandi Stober and educate participating players about her contributions.

Sandi Stober was a former Lynbrook field hockey and basketball coach who led her teams to 10 CCS championships and 20 league championships. She played a key role in the enactment of Title IX, which gave female athletes equal opportunity to participate in high school sports as male players.

The girls’ varsity basketball team played will be playing Santa Teresa High School today at 7 pm. During winter break, both the girls’ varsity and JV basketball team will be participating in the Half Moon Bay Tournament and El Dorado Tournament, which are located in Half Moon Bay and Placerville respectively.

Kitchen says he is “cautiously optimistic” for the upcoming season and that playing three days together as a team had been a “huge step in the right direction”.

The team currently consists of three freshmen, three sophomores, two juniors, and four seniors.

There are only four returning players in the varsity team this year, which Kitchen described as “unusual”. This is very unlike last year’s team, which had girls who had gotten accustomed to playing together for many years.

Regarding the team, Kitchen says, “What makes this year’s girls’ varsity basketball team different is that the team is relatively young and very diverse. Now it’s all about putting that talent together into one cohesive team. Since most of the girls are new to the team, they haven’t gotten used to playing with one another yet. But we certainly have a lot of athletic talent this year and I think the team has a lot of potential.”

Boys’ soccer tries to build experience despite lack of interest by

nancyNAN

The boys soccer team kicked off their first games of the season with a 0-1 loss against Santa Clara on Nov. 30 and a 0-1 loss against Cupertino on Dec. 1.

The boys struggled with many problems even before their first game. One of the most challenging problems was the lack of experience on the team.

The boys first suffered the loss of 17 seniors who graduated last year who had contributed to overall leadership and made up an integral part of the team.

Lackluster participation at tryouts placed more pressure on the team. Senior Joseph Lin says, “There was a very minimum amount of players trying out for varsity this year, and there wasn’t too much competition for it, so we had a lot of slots open for players to fill in.”

After tryouts, it was revealed that only two players that

were on varsity last year and five players overall from both varsity and JV would be coming back this year, creating yet another problem for the team.

Senior Jeff Brouillette, one of the five returning players, says, “Since so many seniors left last year and only a few people with experience came back to the team, we’ve had some problems adjusting. However, we have a lot of talent and our games have been pretty close, though, so we just need to come together and have good teamwork.”

The lack of interest for soccer at Lynbrook was also a problem for the team.

Lin is the only person in his grade that plays club soccer, and in other grades, few or even no students participate in soccer outside of school.

Lin says, “I’ve always been disappointed in the lack of interest in soccer. There’s a passion missing here at school for the sport and honestly, after watching the Fédération Internationale de Foot-

ball World Cup this summer, where we all saw such great games, you can’t call it a boring sport anymore. However, I feel like nobody gives it a chance, but I can understand because it’s not an easy sport to learn. You really have to stick with it and stay committed.”

Lin is a strong advocate for club soccer and believes that it makes a difference on the field.

“I play on the De Anza Force and it’s really great,” Lin says. “Club soccer allows for players to play in extremely competitive environments; after all, we can only get better if we play with people better than ourselves, right?

However, the problem with soccer is that you don’t truly learn the game if you’re in the American Youth Soccer Organization or recreational leagues, so many people don’t participate. But without a doubt, having that passion or “spark” that you might from playing club soccer makes a player exponentially better.”

Despite these problems, the team has been working hard these past few weeks to increase moral and team bonding.

Brouillette says, “The rest of the season might be rough if we don’t work together, but there’s no doubt that we’ll be able to play well if we work together as a team.”

Do hustle and heart set Lynbrook apart?

year, this teacher forgot 1.Into tiehishisjunior swimsuit right before his 100

attended Lynbrook High and com4.She peted as a varsity cheerleader when she

senior year, this teacher won 2.During first place in four different track events

coached a soccer team comprised 5.She of eight and nine year old girls for

a result of a soccer injury, this teach3. As er participated in Nordic skiing from

was asked to compete at varsity 6. He level wrestling as a sophomore. Unfor-

yard breast-stroke race. Unfortunately, his suit dropped almost immediately upon entering the water, causing much embarrassment to this teacher, and much amusement to every other person on the pool deck.

at a dual meet. These events included hurdles, the two mile, high jump and triple jump. He won two of these events, high jump and triple jump, with distances of three feet and 27 feet respectively. Then again, he was the sole competitor in those events.

her sophomore year to her senior year of high school. After finding the sport of Nordic skiing difficult, this teacher and her friends would often run off to a nearby friend’s house while the rest of the team was completing a run. After enjoying a TV episode, this teacher and her friends would then trail behind the rest of the team once the team had almost finished the run. Despite this, none of her teammates ever noticed this teacher’s frequent absences.

was only a freshman. That same year, this teacher, along with her teammates, placed fifth at the national level. After this eat, this teacher and her teammates went on a trip to Disneyland to celebrate.

three years. During the championship game, the entire team sprayed their hair bright pink, the same color as their jerseys. This flagrant color, as well as their team’s “crunch berry” chant, intimidated the other players, and led to their victory.

tunately, the placement was not due to skill, but to the absence of an available varsity player. At his first game, this teacher was able to win his match— but only with the help of his wrestling friends hollering instructions and advice from the sideline. Not only that, but the newspaper printed a picture of his win. They had spent years wrestling; this teacher had only played one game, and had managed to be featured in the local newspaper.

No, not really. Proof? What does BA mean to you? Bachelor of Arts?

I’m sure all the baseball junkies would be eager to remind us that BA can also stand for batting average.

As students in the San Jose area, we’re pretty lucky that we have so many local teams: the Sharks, the Giants, the 49ers, the Earthquakes, and, until the 2009 season, the Dragons (Major League Lacrosse for all the sports-ignorant folks out there). Big problem: the fan-base at Lynbrook is dismal at best, with only a few hardcore sports fans.

I’m not asking everyone to stock up on chips and guacamole and buy a 42-inch HDTV, I’m simply asking everyone to give sports another chance because there’s a lot to gain from watching and playing sports.

Probably the most obvious benefit is it encourages exercise. For once, we’d all be able to go to the park for a game of touch football or soccer again. A lot of students would rather spend a weekend tossing a virtual football in Madden 10 than actually going out to play some real football. But think of it this way, what feels better: sitting on your behind, “running” a touchdown, and watching a couple of virtual cheerleaders prance around? Or actually running a touchdown yourself and getting that warm, fuzzy feeling inside?

Exercise leads to another benefit of watching sports: stress relief. Again, would you rather read about sacromeres and myofibrils or would you rather see muscles in action? A common excuse for sports ignorance you can expect from a Lynbrook student is the lack of time. But honestly, taking just 30 minutes out of your busy schedules to watch a sports game or play sports shouldn’t be too hard and it would do a lot more good than powering up the Xbox, PS3, or Wii. One final lesser-known benefit of watching sports: you get smarter. According to studies performed by the Human Performance Lab at the University of Chicago (yeah guys, it’s in the top 10 colleges so you know you can trust UChicago), listening or watching sports, specifically, the act of listening to the announcer’s play-by-play announcements helps train your mind as it visualizes each play in the “mind’s eye.”

So the next time you sit down for a game of Madden 10 or NBA Live 10, reconsider and turn on the TV to tune in to some actual sports, or even head out for a game of your own.

ANSWERS: 1. ELLINGTON 2. KITCHEN 3. WILLIAMS 4. BADGER 5. SMITH 6. MARTELL

Boys’ basketball team prepares for tough season ahead by

namrataSINGH

The gym was filled with anxious and excited fans, as the boys made their way on the court this past Monday. All was quiet when the whistle was blown, and then began 32 minutes of pure excitement and good old Lynbrook basketball.

The boys’ basketball team is facing one of the toughest seasons they ever have because of their move up to a higher league. They will be playing some of the top teams in the area.

With new teams and a higher level of play, the boys know they are in for a challege, but that does not seem to affect their ambitious mindset. “I know we’re going to have a tough time this year because of harder competition, but we have been practicing with a lot of intensity so that we can become a better team and be successful in the playoffs,” says junior Brandon Yamauchi.

The roster this season is filled with talented returners and newcomers who will be key to the success of the upcoming 2010- 2011 season.

The boys have started the new season off the right way by receiving the title of Consolation Championship of the 2010 King’s Academy Tournament.

Starting off with a tough lost against Half Moon Bay, the boys fought back and came out with a win against Saratoga last Friday and Santa Clara last Saturday.

The Vikings played an exciting game this past Monday against Mt. Pleasant. The game was close with both teams taking the lead througout.

The boys pushed forward and tied the game up by fourth quarter. After an intense five minues of overtime, the Vikes came out with a well deserved win of 53 to 49.

This week was a big one for the Vikings, and their hard work will continue on tonight and tomorrow night as they play against other teams in our area at the Lynbrook Varsity tournament right here at home.

The team, as well their supporters are looking forward to a tough but none the less exhilerating season.

Junior Brandon Yamauchi leaps up for a shot.

‘More than just a testosterone-infused display of brawniness’

Top: Lerner runs through a warm-up exercise by jumping over the various members of the wrestling team. Above: She executes a double-leg takedown on senior Jeffrey Young. Bottom Left: Lerner struggles through a pushup. Bottom Middle: The team touches their toes to complete their daily routine of situps. Bottom Right: Lerner vaults over sophomore Kyle Williams during leap frog, with junior Jordan Servito following behind.

I stood outside the massive blue doors, staring at the sign labeled in white: “Wrestling Room.” Since my parents refused to purchase me a suit of armor for protection, I walked into the room armed with only my brute strength and “Super Jew” t-shirt.

I was greeted with some initial confusion, but nevertheless enthusiasm, by the eight members of the varsity wrestling team. I was told that we would begin with some conditioning to help the boys fit their respective weight requirements. After some prompting from coaches Alan Vinciguerra and Nate Martell, the team began practice at precisely 3:42 pm with some laps around the room. As I was jogging, I found myself beginning to ease up, thinking, “Well, this is nothing I haven’t done before.”

Tennis and soccer had well prepared me for running. Apparently I thought too soon, as we then launched into leapfrogs and leg hops. After a couple failed attempts (resulting in bruised heads for many of my temporary teammates), I was finally able to vault over people with little effort. Before I could triumphantly celebrate my success, however, I had to learn how to perform a penetration step, which is a lead-off step forward to offer a transition into other moves. Once I had adequately mastered (I use this term loosely) this, I thought I was ready to begin wrestling.

Wrong. After many more disastrous sequences of somersaults, cartwheels and bridges (hey, I never said I was a gymnast), we got into a circle for some stretches, sit-ups and pushups.

By now, I had grudgingly learned to expect seemingly normal exercises to be increasingly

painful and intense. Pushups definitely followed this pattern. At the end, I collapsed on the mat, and could barely get myself up to get a drink.

Finally, with my muscles already exhausted, it was time to wrestle. After strapping on protective headgear (thank goodness!) over a cap for my hair, I was ready to roll. After watching demonstrations from some of the boys, I stepped in to perform my debut single-leg takedown. I soon realized that wrestling is much more than pure strength. It took me a good ten minutes to learn how to properly lever my body in order to inflict the most damage on my opponent.

Once we had covered single-leg, double-leg and trip takedowns from neutral position, it was time to learn how to escape from these situations myself, beginning in the down position. Basically, I was just trying to get up off the ground and back into neutral position, standing facing my opponent. Now let me tell you, struggling out from under a guy who has at least 50 pounds on you in not easy. Keeping the same guy in place on the floor is not a task to be taken lightly either. However, it’s safe to say that after some help from the team, I felt that my chances of winning in a fight had significantly increased.

In the end, after using up half a bottle of IcyHot, I discovered that wrestling is more than just a testosterone-infused display of brawniness. It is also a measure of perceptiveness, in anticipating what your opponent will do next, and figuring out how to lever your body and that of your opponent to your advantage. These guys do more than just throw each other to the floor; they spend hours learning difficult techniques that contribute a sense of elegance to the sport.

Still, I would recommend a suit of armor!

AUSTIN YU—EPIC

THE SIGNS OF CHRISTMAS BY ALICE ZHANG

LYNBROOK HAS ISSUES BY CLAY SONG

‘TWAS THE HOUR BEFORE FORMAL...BY GLORIA LIN

San Jose Holiday Parade: Bringing the Holidays Home by

danielleLERNER

On Sunday, Dec. 5, downtown San Jose was alive with the sound of hurried feet, drum beats and loud horns. The festivity was part of the annual San Jose Holiday Parade, which represented a variety of culutres. Clockwise from bottom right: a Hispanic woman dressed in traditional clothing waves at the crowd, a mariachi band singing â&#x20AC;&#x153;Feliz Navidadâ&#x20AC;? behind her. Representatives from the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team also took part in the fun. Red Cross officer Sunny Shin (11) carefully holds a string attached to a gigantic Yogi Bear balloon. The Lynbrook marching band, led by Colorguard, was among the first to make an appearance. Jane Kwon (11) holds her holiday-decorated flute upright with great concentration. Viewing the myriad of attractions in the parade, it is easy to see why it has been a favorite tradition for almost 30 years running.