Issue 5, 2011

Seniors gain home field advantage by

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The senior class was prepared to undergo two firsts this June: don navy blue gowns and hats and graduate on the West Valley Community College field. However, due to the recent lawsuit filed by Lynbrook Monta Vista United (LMU) challenging the construction of the Track and Fields and Lights Projects, the senior class will instead be graduating on its home field this June.

After 16 months of deliberation, the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) Board of Trustees approved the highly-anticipated Track and Fields and Lights Projects at a Board of Trustees meeting on Dec. 16. The Board finalized the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), a document which explains the effects that the Track and Fields and Lights Projects will have on the environment.

After the finalization, there was a 30 day period when opposing groups had the opportunity to file legal challenges against this project. On Jan. 18, LMU filed a placeholder lawsuit challenging the compliance of the Track and Fields and Lights Projects with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines. CEQA ensures that the project follows a protocol which requires thorough analysis and public input.

LMU has hired an attorney who specializes in CEQA cases. By Jan. 28, LMU must supply the specifics of its lawsuit. This lawsuit results in the delay of the actual construction to the Lynbrook field. Principal Gail Davidson speculates that it would take an estimated six to nine months for the lawsuit to go through, and from there, the school can act accordingly

eeshaKHARE & vickyRO

Their parents were hiding behind the curtains. Their teachers looked at them with knowing smiles. Their peers suspected it, but the winners themselves had no idea.

On Jan. 12, two representatives from the Intel Science Talent Search came to announce the semifinalists. Though the parents of the semifinalists had been notified one week in advance, the news was kept a secret, giving the students a surprise upon hearing their names announced. This year’s four semifinalists are seniors (from top to bottom) Linda Xu, Julian Huang, Andrew Ma and Jennifer Chen. Each semifinalist was greeted by their parents and received an over-sized check for $1,000.

Principal Gail Davidson explains, “As a school, we are very proud of our accomplishments. These students truly demonstrate the values of the Lynbrook vision where they learn passionately, apply their knowledge and contribute purposefully.” She explains how these students serve as role models to the younger classes and says, “After these assemblies, students go to their science teachers and ask, ‘how can I participate? How can I get started?’ This is how you build a program and plant the seed for further exploration. Students know that it is possible to achieve these same goals.”

Xu, who started her project a mere month prior to the competition’s deadline, knows that sometimes thinking of a topic is the easiest part. She became interested in astronomy after gazing into the night sky and seeing the brilliant stars during a science camp this past summer. After formulating a topic, she worked on her project for at least five hours every day. Xu says, “I was pulling an all-nighter E

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see INTEL pg2 GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY NAMRATA SINGH AND DIANA DING

sahilaJORAPUR & laurenTAI

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Majority in favor of weekly Pledge recitation Lynbrook Speech and Debate team present discussion over Pledge of Allegiance by

charuMEHRA & sonikaSUBRAMANIAN

On Monday, Jan. 10, Lynbrook’s Speech and Debate team put together a video that addressed the issue of whether Lynbrook should say the Pledge of Allegiance or listen to the daily ‘This day in history…’ announcement.

The four debaters, seniors Alan Kao, Vikram Kanth, Aditya Majumdar, and Rohit Unni presented opposite sides of the issue, with evidence to back up their arguments.

The idea for the debate originated from science teacher Amanda Alonzo, who brought up the request for review to the Advisory Council (AC). The AC is a board of teach-

ers at Lynbrook that help take decisions regarding the school and its activities, similar to the Legislative Council of students. As Alonzo put it, “I proposed the idea to the AC because the science teachers came to me expressing their concern about the way that the Pledge was being conducted; it was not given enough time or respect.” The AC mulled over the idea during their summer sessions before deciding to talk to Ryan Lawrence, the Speech and Debate coach.

In order to get a more comprehensive view on the matter, Principal Gail Davidson asked him and the members of the debate team to put together a mock debate on the

issue of the Pledge. Davidson said the idea to give the students the chance to get involved in the debate was that of Assistant Principal Ellen Reller.

Lawrence, in turn, approached Speech and Debate copresidents Alan Kao and Aditya Majumdar about arranging a debate. They invited Debate co-captains Rohit Unni and Vikram Kanth to join the debate. The debate was arranged for Jan. 3, the Monday that students came because from Winter break. “We were really hesitant about taking away a tutorial from our students,” says Davidson. But due

see PLEDGE pg2

James Hu wins MTNA by

joySHEN

While most students spent their winter break taking a breather from all the stress and anxiety finals week sets off, junior James Hu felt the pressure intensify. He painstakingly practiced Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto in D” and Haydn’s “Violin Concerto in C” on his violin seven days a week for a shot at $2,000 and a renowned national title.

Out of numerous contestants from all over California, Hu placed first in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) State Competition held last Nov. in San Luis Obispo. The MTNA Competition consists of three rounds at the state, division and national level. Contestants who place first in their respective category get to advance to the next level of competition.

The first place title for Hu last Nov. secured him a spot in the Southwest Division Competition at UC Santa Barbara earlier this Jan. Hu’s efforts were rewarded when he was announced as the first place winner in the Senior Strings category for the Southwest Division. “[Winning the competition] feels great; it makes me happy that all my hard work over the last few months has actually paid off,” says Hu. For the past several months, Hu has been attending practice sessions with different violin instructors in addition to lessons with his regular instructor twice a week. He also continuously listened to tape recordings of his pieces in preparation for the competition.

“Listening to CD recordings inspires me by giv-

ing me a sense of the musical direction and message in the piece. I integrate playing styles from multiple recordings to create my own approach to the music,” explains Hu. Hu has played the violin for nearly 11 years; what started out as a lackadaisical extra-curricular activity has developed into a much more profound form of self-expression.

“I feel like I can express my emotions in a way through music that is unavailable to me in nonplaying time and to non-musicians in general. Music sets me free from my busy schedule, homework, and stress. It’s like being in a different world exclusive to musicians, where we all speak the same language.

Like an inside joke among all musicians almost,” says Hu. Hu feels that the whole experience has greatly impacted him in regards to just how far he is able to push himself and his abilities. “In my freshmansophomore year period of time, I didn’t really know what I was doing. My musical career stalled and I didn’t make much improvement. But in the past two months I’ve really made some good musical progress and I’m inspired to work harder. [The competition] has boosted the confidence I have in my own playing ability, and also [made me realize] the value of hard work.”

In March, Hu will be advancing forward onto the National Competition in Milwaukee, WI, where he will compete against other six other Division Competition winners.

DANIELLE LERNER—EPIC

MTNA winner James Hu (11) practices his violin with passion.

iNTEL|Semi-finalists share their experiences continued from pg 1

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY EESHA KHARE AND IRENE HSU

pretty much every other day.” Her advice to those hoping to be researchers? “Don’t be afraid to look like a panda,” she says, referring to the dark circles under her eyes. As she has shown, the hard work pays off.

The motivation for these students to compete despite the exhausting work necessary comes from their own passion and interest for the topic.

Huang describes his project as an investigation of “how the plant takes in the environmental signals of gravity and light to create one fluid response in the directional growth of the root.”

Although the depth of understanding necessary was daunting, Huang was “eager to experience research in a more professional setting. This topic was extremely interesting to me because of the relatively unknown response to such a universal but intangible concept. The Intel Science Talent Search is a good way for the community to appreciate many of the amazing young researchers in the nation.”

Like Huang, Chen took a lot away from working in a professional setting. Her project experimented with DNA primers to expedite and enhance the process of criminal identification, but the challenges presented to her prior to experimentation required the most of her efforts.

Her idea came about at COSMOS, a program that she attended the summer after freshman year. Then during Feb. of her junior year, she contacted a professor in Oakland who was doing an experiment that was similar to her area of interest.

After meeting her mentor in March, Chen realized the lab did not have the materials she needed.

As a result, she contacted several biotechnology companies for donations. Finally in June, she started to experiment with her project.

Because of the long commute from her house to the lab, she had to rent her own apartment and live on her own for eight weeks this past summer.

Although living by herself was difficult, Chen says she was lucky: “There was a Chipotle store nearby. I ate that three times a week.”

Upon finishing her project in November, Chen reflects that her interest in science has grown since the beginning of high school. “I definitely want to keep research in my life, but I don’t want to be limited to a lab. I want to explore the business side of science as well.”

Ma also looks for a future career in science. His project involved the effects of light and plant hormones on plant growth. Though definitely interested in botany, Ma also hopes to explore other branches of biological sciences.

For any student with an interest in science, he says, “A lot of aspiring researchers have little or no research experience and feel the need to know what they want to do, which doesn’t come easily at all. I would suggest trying out different branches because regardless of the study, you get invaluable experience and ultimately, direct your course of research.”

Tomorrow, Wednesday Jan. 26, the finalists will be announced. The announcements will reveal who has earned the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. and compete for a grand prize of $100,000.

PLEDGE|Students vote to keep the weekly Pledge of Allegiance at LHS continued from pg 1 to technical difficulties, the debate was pushed back one week to Jan. 10.

The reaction from the debate had been decidedly mixed for the debaters.

“The staff I’ve talked to have responded very positively. They were impressed by our speaking ability as well as our knowledge content. In terms of students’ reactions, many kids were pretty bored, and I understand why since there was a lot of complicated information mentioned in the debate that only some upperclassmen would have been exposed to through history and government classes.

“Other students were also impressed with our speech and debating abilities and said we did an excellent job, but overall, the students’ reactions were very mixed in terms of the final decision about the Pledge,” says Majumdar.

After the debate, students were given a couple of days to gather their ideas, before they voted on Thursday, Jan. 13.

The results of the staff and student vote were as follows: 46% for This Day in History; 54% for saying the Pledge of Allegiance during announcements; 5% for saying the Pledge every day; and 95% for saying the Pledge once a week.

In a nutshell, the classroom voting results maintained the status quo, keeping things the way they are right now.

However, Reller expressed her disappointment that only about 40% of the staff and students actually voted.

Reller did stress that the voting was a gauge of general opinion to be used by the AC as a guideline for the final decision.

The AC met on Monday, and the result of their decision was not available at the time of release.

Making Lynbrook history: Wind Ensemble invited to State Convention by

Residency Verification Day There will be a mandatory Residency Check on Saturday, Jan. 29 for all sophomores and current 8th graders who will be attending Lynbrook during the 2011-2012 school year. This is required to register for future classes. For a list of what to bring, refer to the documents mailed to homes earlier this month.

Specific times can be found on the LHS website.

If you have any questions, call Assistant Principal Sydney Marsh at 408-366-7711 or email her at Syndey_marsh@fuhsd.org. You may also visit www. fuhsd.org/enrollment for more information.

Sadie Hawkins Dance This year’s “Take me to Candyland!” Sadie Hawkins Dance will take place on Friday, Feb. 4 from 7:30-10:30 PM in the Lynbrook gym. Ticket prices will be $7 with ASB and $10 without until Jan. 28, $10 with ASB and $13 without from Jan 31- Feb. 3, and $13 with ASB and $15 without ASB at the door. All students are highly encouraged to attend the dance. Students must also remember to have their ID cards at the gate in order to be admitted. Girls, hurry and ask that special someone soon!

For the first time in Lynbrook history, the Wind Ensemble band will be playing at the State Convention of Music Educators, a gathering of three music educator groups, held at Fresno on Feb. 18.

The three groups, the California Band Directors Association (CBDA), the California Association for Music Education (CMEA) and the California Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) will be meeting at Fresno for the weekend to attend workshops and to collaborate on music education techniques.

John Felder, the director of Lynbrook’s bands, says, “Being chosen to play at the convention is a great honor and will be a really special event because we get to play in front of music educators from all over California.”

The Wind Ensemble band playing at the State Convention is an honor especially because the band had not submitted a CD to the board of the convention as a try-out.

The board went over the CDs that band directors from around California had submitted and were unsatisfied, so a member suggested that Lynbrook’s band play at the convention.

In addition to never having played at the convention before, Lynbrook’s Wind Ensemble band will be the only

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Middle College Orientation

For the first time, Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) Foundation will be providing test preparations for all students through Family Connections. They will be providing sample tests as well. The link can be found under the “colleges” tab, and under “test preparation” on the left-hand side.

Jazz Choir Concert This Friday, on Jan. 29, Lynbrook’s Jazz Choir will be performing a variety of songs, including jazz classics. The concert will start on 7:30 pm and end at 9:30 pm. Come to the auditorium to enjoy a night of jazz. Tickets can be bought at the door.

By Nancy Nan, Jane Jun, and Sabrina Shie

dianaDING

With the start of the new semester, Lynbrook’s clubs are experiencing a new change in policy. Starting second semester, the Community Link committee removed the community service requirement for all clubs on campus. Previously, Community Link required each club to bring five people to at least one Community Link activity every semester. According to senior Jason Jia, a Community Link coordinator, “We realized there were seven clubs and five people a semester, which makes 350 people a semester to keep track of, so we came to the conclusion that it was too logistically challenging to have a service requirement.”

Some clubs were eager to volunteer for the Link activities, but often times there were not enough spots to host the members. For example, the Speech and Debate club got shut out of the Christmas in the Park activity

For all students interested in modeling for thisyear’s fashion show on May 27, modeling tryouts for will be on Friday, Feb. 4. They will take place afterschool in Rm. 71. Both male and female models are needed, and girls must bring heels. If students wanting to try out are not available at this time, they may contact an In Design officer to schedule an earlier appointment.

Family Connections and Method Test Prep

high school band playing at the event. The band will play a total of ten pieces for 50 minutes at the convention, including Gustav Holst’s “Hammersmith” and Sylvestre Revueleta’s “Sensemaya.”

In order to perfect their performance, band members have been practicing since Oct. Junior Kritika Iyer says, “It is tough to balance homework and the hours of band practice every weekend and on days off, but the practice will be worth it when our performance turns out that much better at Fresno.”

The band has put several hours of practice into the performance over the Christmas and Thanksgiving breaks, and has been practicing every day in class for the convention.

Of the ten pieces that the band will play at the convention, two will be conducted by guest directors who are Felder’s close friends, Edward Harrison of San Jose State University and Larry Souther of Cal State Fresno who have both always been supportive of Lynbrook’s band program.

The convention will be especially meaningful for Felder, whose friends and colleagues will listen to Lynbrook’s band as he conducts it for the first time at the convention.

Felder says, “Playing at the convention will be a great new experience and I can showcase the band’s talents to all the educators at the convention.”

Service requirement for clubs removed

Modeling Tryouts for Fashion Show

On Jan. 31, representatives from the Middle College program will be at the College and Career Center. All interested students should come to the meeting during tutorial. Middle College is a program for upcoming junior and senior students who would like to spend a year exploring college courses.

suchetaKORWAR

at downtown San Jose because the event already had too many volunteers from all the other clubs applying to help out. Senior Aditya Majumdar, co-president of Speech and Debate says, “We usually have 250+ members, so getting 5 members to volunteer for an event isn’t the hard part for us. We think it’s a good idea but the execution on the part of Community Link and the volunteering event itself were lacking. However, I think the intent of the policy for clubs to volunteer is pretty solid.”

The goal of Community Link, a new leadership committee formed this year, is to organize events and interact with club presidents and the school administration to bring together Lynbrook with the community. Community Link kept busy first semester coordinating the voter registration drive and holiday food drives.

This semester, the committee is working on a clothing drive for Miller Middle School’s eighth graders’ annual trip to Yosemite National Park.

San Jose bids farewell to plastic bags by

ireneHSU

Ignited by San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi’s plastic bag ban, the “go-green” wildfire has spread to San Jose. Recently approved on Dec. 15, 2010, the bill prohibits the use of plastic bags. Effective in 2012, the bill states that all retailers, excluding diners and second-hand shops, charge ten cents for each paper bag. Customers are encouraged to use their own reusable bags when shopping, an act which will reduce the number of plastic bags used each year. Miko Pennington, parent of sophomore Zoe Pennington, says, “I started using my own bags about a year ago, because I felt bad about using plastic bags. They don’t always get recycled.”

According to the Ecology Center, the Bay Area uses over 3.8 billion plastic bags a year, and the state of California spends about $25 million collecting plastic bags. Only two to four percent of bags are recycled.

Junior Michelle Xu says, “I don’t think that a lot of people know that [plastic bags] are recyclable, but I know my family uses them as trash bags at home. I’ve seen other peoples throw away plastic bags, occasionally even out of a car window. There’s also the ‘Oh it’s just one bag, what could it possibly do?’ factor that I think makes people believe it’s okay not to recycle.”

Plastic bags litter oceans, with a reported 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile of seawater, as reported by the United Nations Environment Programme. Garbage also lumps into large masses, one of the most infamous being the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. According to The Great Garbage Patch, an environmental group spreading awareness of garbage contaminating seawaters, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, roughly the size of Texas, is composed of mostly plastic and other garbage and floats between San Francisco and Hawaii.

For every marine life, there are six pieces of plastic, accounting for most of the deaths of fish, birds, and other sea animals. An estimated 80 percent of the plastic in the patch comes directly from cities.

The ban will affect nearly every retailer in San Jose, and a violation will result in a $500 to $1000 fine. However, grocers will still be able to provide plastic or paper bags for meats, fresh produce and other similar products, since these items often becomes messy.

Contrary to the “free bag” myth, consumers already pay for the bags they receive at stores in their purchases, and pay even more in tax dollars for clean-up efforts along the coastal landscape that are littered with thousands of stray plastic bags.

Landfills have overflowed with plastic, and gutters have been clogged with pieces of plastic.

Other cities in and around the Bay Area have either postponed the ban, made it optional, or are soon to follow suit in the footsteps of San Francisco and San Jose.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CANDY CHANG

CPR should be required in Lynbrook’s curriculum by

shannonCHAI

According to a 2009 survey conducted by the American Heart Association (AHA), 79 percent of Americans are alarmingly incompetent in one vital expertise.

Seventy-nine percent of Americans are potentially unable of properly saving a life.

Seventy-nine percent of Americans are not educated in the practice of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, more commonly known as CPR. CPR is an essential procedure that students should be educated in for their own safety, and that of others; however, CPR education is currently not as prevalent as it should be in our schools and communities.

Tiger, tiger, burning talent On the night of Jan. 8, a friend of mine sent me an article titled “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior.” At first, I thought it was a joke. Then I saw that the author was a Yale professor named Amy Chua and that it had been published in the Wall Street Journal. Apparently, every word printed in the article was true.

For the most part, it’s an explanation of how Chi-

CPR is an emergency procedure used for a person who is either not breathing or whose heart has stopped beating.

People are at risk for respiratory emergencies from simple, everyday tasks, such as eating, drinking and swimming.

A situation where CPR is needed can occur anywhere, at any moment, whether or not someone chokes on a grape at lunch or suddenly cannot breathe after an allergic reaction to a bee sting. Children and teenagers are exposed to many potentially fatal activities, yet proper CPR education is not emphasized strongly enough in schools.

Schools can easily incorporate basic CPR training classes into either their freshmen biology or physical education classes. Both are mandatory for all high school students, and both have related subject matter.

PE teacher Julie Williams, who is also a CPR instructor, says, “CPR and first aid are valuable skills everyone should know for everyday use, so it is a good idea for students to learn them.”

Additionally, the AHA offers easily-accessible online CPR courses and at home training kits, which makes learning even simpler. CPR certification classes are also available at local YMCAs, fire departments, hospitals and other medical centers.

Better awareness and education in CPR will result in a safer school and community. For example, if an accident were to occur in the area, there would be more people available who have basic knowledge on how to perform the Heimlich maneuver or chest compressions.

Sophomore Miranda Ashland says, “I did babysitter’s training when I was in seventh grade, and I think if students

were all educated in CPR we would be able to trust people more because we’ll know they’re more responsible.”

Someone’s life could be saved because of the knowledge and ability of a prepared high school student.

In addition, CPR is an essential life skill that students can perform wherever they may be. Ashland says, “You could take your knowledge of CPR anywhere you go and be prepared all your life.”

It is smart to prepare students as early as possible, so they will always be able to save a life when necessary for the rest of their lives. If people are educated at an early age about the importance of CPR, then all of Lynbrook will become safer, more trustworthy and more efficient.

Each day that goes by is another day full of possibly tragic emergencies, but not if people become more knowledgeable and confident in their CPR skills. People may regret ignoring the importance of CPR if a life is lost that could have been saved by their knowledge.

After all, think about what Ashland had to say: “You could potentially save your best friend’s life.”

nese mothers raise more successful children than Western mothers. It’s also just an excuse for Chua to brag about her kids on a national level. Her view is that there’s only one path to success, and that it is being the best at everything, but more importantly, having a mother like herself to guide children to their “goals.” She holds her children like trophies and calls herself a “Tiger Mother.”

But I say that Chua was lucky. She’s very fortunate to have children with the talent for music. The problem is, Chua’s approach doesn’t always work. She focuses on a very narrow boundary (music and good grades), but does not take into account her kids’ happiness, and completely misses any other talents her daughters might have. What if they didn’t enjoy playing their instruments? What if they were good at something else? No one will ever know.

I’ve known someone who was pushed to success by a “Tiger Mother.” She was constantly pressured by her mom to swim faster and eventually made it all the way to her club’s national team. I recently bumped into her at a meet, and congratulated her on a successful swim. Within five minutes, she told me that she hated swimming, and really

could not care less about her times. It was her mother who wanted it. Her mother believed that she knew what was best for her daughter, but her daughter viewed every hour put into swimming as joyless, and every one of her mother’s urgings as reminders of her hatred.

And as for talent, the only person who has a clear idea of what they want to do and where their talent lies is the person himself. Not even a “Tiger Mom” can know for sure. I remember reading an article on a Chinese-American family, with another “Tiger Mother” and a resentful child. He went to Harvard, before shortly dropping out to pursue his dream of becoming a singer. In this case, the “Tiger Mother” view fails to see the other talents and the child’s happiness. The conclusion ends with bitterness on both sides.

That’s not to say Chua did not put in effort to raise her kids. However, there are different methods of success, because the “Tiger Mother” method can easily backfire. If her daughters did not have the talent in the area that she had pushed them towards, the end result would have been a different story.

staff editorial

Voice of the Epic

Pledge against the pledge We have been saying the Pledge of Allegiance since we were in kindergarten, an influential time period when the biggest words that we knew were “jump” or “learn.” As we got older, the Pledge became mundane, an oath that we took because we had to, or because we did not know any better.

But the more aware we become, the more weighty the words are.

Take, for example the words, “I pledge allegiance.” They seem harmless enough, yet pledging allegiance to the government of the United States means that students swear to be loyal to all decisions the government make, regardless of rationale.

In theory, students have a choice.

The Educational Code only mandates one “patriotic activity” that students have the choice to opt out of. But if a student who is conscious of his or her choice decides to opt out, the issue of peer pressure becomes a factor.

We are taught that the Pledge is a patriotic activity that is used to express our pride in our nation’s honorable values. That, of course, instantly implies that anyone who chooses to sit down during the Pledge is unpatriotic and indirectly anti-American. We must find another acceptable way for everyone to enjoy the freedoms of America.

More importantly, we have our First Amendment right

to freedom of speech. But when there is such prejudice surrounding the Pledge, how is it possible to choose whether or not to stand or sit down? By standing, one may betray one’s moral ideals; by refusing to stand, one is painted as anti-American.

Some say that removing the disputed words “under God” would solve its problems. The word “God” is an ambiguous term that many declare has Christian connotations. If the term does relate to Christianity, it would be breaking the same first amendment right that pro-Pledgers use to support their argument.

It comes down to this: the Pledge of Allegiance makes sense to citizens who have a liberal definition of “under God.” It is not fair to the students who want to opt out to make them feel uncomfortable for having their own beliefs.

Lynbrook should have removed the Pledge from the daily announcements.

The Epic is not saying that the Pledge is promoting any particular religion or government agenda; it is merely too controversial to force any one side to bend to the other.

By removing the Pledge, students who do not want to rise would not be judged by others. Students would, of course, be welcome to say the pledge on their own time.

3D films fail to hold up expectations by

claySONG

Movies have come a long way since the first motion pictures, yet not all advances mark a bright future. Now it seems that almost every film, from no-show-shmoes to Oscar-blockbusters, has a 2D, 3D and IMAX version.

And they all have a glaring fault: none of them are original.

Avatar is basically the Pocahontas story, except on another planet; True Grit is a remake of the 1969 film by the same name; and others, such as the Harry Potter or Twilight series, are merely based off of books.

Movies coming out now either lack character development, plot development, originality, or all of the above. And what they lack for in depth they make up in 3D “wonder;” it seems that the only way Hollywood can make money is by either producing remakes of old classics or jolting up the amount of visual effects used in a film. Take the recently released movie Yogi Bear. Although the original cartoon had died years before our generation, Hollywood decided to remake it and then attract audiences with the fancy tech of 3D. It is true, however, that some movies are better off in 3D, such as Avatar or Step Up 3D. But sometimes film companies can take it too far. George Lucas, producer and creator of the Star Wars series recently announced that the entire saga (all six movies) will be re-released back into theaters, but, of course, in 3D. This, unfortunately, is quite pathetic.

The movies were fine in 2D. Would 3D or IMAX make the experience any better?

Freshman Andrew Song points out, “Usually there really aren’t any major experience differences between the 3D, IMAX,

and 2D versions. The 3D doesn’t pop out enough, and in the end, is just not worth the money.”

For example, in a typical 3D movie, the hero will end up killing the villain in the final scene, but since the movie was fast– paced and the screen was too big to see everything all at once, the scene can hardly be called “memorable.”

So if Hollywood can’t find a good movie proposal, it simply turns another film into 3D or IMAX. Many people argue that this is because Hollywood has exhausted all “fresh” ideas: they’ve covered spies, kung fu, war, aliens, horror, superheroes, giant robots, and apocalypses of all sorts. These trite films mark the decay of Hollywood.

Junior Deniz Oktay, however, argues, “3D can be a little overrated. But it is just another technological step towards future movie experiences.” Hollywood is probably just going through a phase right now, and although it is true that 3D and IMAX could be stepping stones towardssomething revolutionary, these experiences just don’t currently seem to be worth the money.

After all, the first animations were not so hot but have since improved to give viewers movies like Up, Toy Story 3, Shrek and Ice Age. But in the long run, besides a few movies like Avatar or maybe Star Trek, films in general will be picture-perfect in their original formats. Except if there are any 3D, interactive Megan Foxes.

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ARK michaelP

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY FEATURES SECTION

Hey can you get a job please?

Traditionally, I prance home after fifth period, excited to throw my backpack down, check my Facebook and proceed to play Maple Story. Lately, however, I have witnessed a new plague on Facebook so horrendous it rids me of my appetite to kill orange mushrooms in Maple Story; an infectious wave of “I need a job plz :(” statuses have conquered my newsfeed. (No, I don’t

think the new Facebook profile is that bad, or worth whining about.) After seeing all these lingering claims demanding a job, Gossip Boy is here to debunk all the myths about jobs that’ll be sure to make you think twice before sending out that résumé!

Myth 1: Facebook Status = Job “I need a job plz :(.” I never understood the purpose of this status update. Odds are most of us don’t have hiring employers added as friends on Facebook. Even if any of us did, the employer would read the status as: “I need a job, teenager-toolazy-to-type-out-please, colon parenthesis.” Unfortunately, most employers don’t follow e-jargon, and won’t hire you for your ability to make up for their lack of knowledge in internet lingo.

Myth 2: $8/hour is a lot of money To those who think being employed automatically results in a large amount of cash flow, the truth is that a minimum wage job won’t promise you any Coach handbags or mounds of Nexon Cash in the near future. As soon as your parents find out you are earning your own income, they’ll immediately deny you for allowance or purchases on your silly bands, cup noodles or your un-

limited texting plan. You’ll be quick to realize that your parents will have you pay for all your own purchases, ranging from luxury items slowly to everyday necessities. Case in point: Gossip Boy pays for binder paper, and Mrs. Gossip Boy has to pay for her own Q-tips.

Myth 3: I have time for work Many of us jump at the opportunities to work, not realizing that the four hour time block reserved to work will get in the way of the AP Lit study guide or AP Bio Powerpoint. While you were originally going to start it at 11 pm the night before, that starting position has been pleasantly shifted to three in the morning. But hey, sleep is for the weak, and I know you would have watched How I Met Your Mother until sunrise anyways.

For those of you who still chose to follow the trend of working part time through high school, congratulations. Your parents will be so proud of you, and at all their dinner parties, will share that you have joined the work force as a minimum wage, no-skills laborer. xoxo gossip boy, The Jake Lu

Senior Daniel Huang steps beyond his game by

austinYU

A seasoned video game veteran who has competed in California’s most popular video game tournaments including the Cyberathelete Amateur League (CAL) and the European Team Fortress 2 League (ETF2L) cup, senior Daniel Huang takes his passion for games one step further than most couch gamers while still managing his daily dose of the average Lynbrook student’s workload.

Huang’s journey into video games began long before his glory days as a CAL-I finalist. “Unlike most children in kindergarden,” Huang recalls, “I didn’t start playing games on a stationary or handheld console. The first video game I can remember playing was a side-scroller called ‘Biohazard’ with which I had loads of fun.”

After discovering his exceptional skill in online shooters such as Call of Duty 4, Huang was eligible to participate in numerous online tournaments including ESports Entertainment (ESEA), Team Warfare League (TWL) and most notably, CAL-I, the top of the CAL gaming leagues. Huang and his team of four were then able to make it to Austin, Texas, for the North America CAL-I final. They finished in third place, which is currently their most prestigious achievement. During that particular tournament, Huang achieved a personal best when he dominated the opposing team in a 4v4 match that took just 15 seconds.

Huang finds it difficult to to play video games during the school year, especially when he’s so committed to Marching Band. However, Huang explains, “I keep on top of things in class so I can do my homework more quickly and free up times to do things that I enjoy.”

As his high school days near an end, Huang still looks to continue playing video games but doesn’t plan on going professional: “To be a professional player you give up a lot of things like education and a social life. I’m definitely not willing to go that far.”

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY AUSTIN YU

Chocolate store Dolce Bella is a very sweet discovery by

claySONG

The minute one enters through the doors, one instantly feels the friendly atmosphere, is welcomed by the manager and guided through the large menu.

Originally a small family business, Dolce Bella Chocolates and Cafe recently expanded into the local area. It is mainly an Italian-styled café with a menu including cheese plates, coffee, tea, wine, hot chocolate, pastries, soup, salads and paninis.

The food in general is light in flavor. The cheese plate, which consists of three types of cheese, is served with honey, fruits and home-made crackers and bread. A chicken pesto panini, served with focaccia bread and a babygreen salad, followed suit. The bread was soft and had a crispy crust, and the chicken was tender and moist. Although the flavor was not very strong, the panini itself seemed to melt in my mouth and give off a savory tinge; the salad it came with complemented its moderate flavor with a slightly sour but satisfying taste. As the café offers a wide selection

CLAY SONG—EPIC CLAY SONG—EPIC

of chocolates ranging from caramelfilled chocolate to creative “Chocolate Frogs,” Dolce Bella has just about anything for any chocolate lover. I was only able to get the Chocolate Frog, Lavender, Tahitian Vanilla, Passion Fruit and Mocha, since each individual piece costs $1.75. The Chocolate Frog was a solid piece of chocolate with two separate white chocolate eyes. Although there isn’t anything special about the taste, it is still a creative and fun piece.

The Lavender is a chocolate shell filled with white chocolate ganache infused with lavender flower. It is soft, creamy and blended perfectly with lavender to give it a rich and unique taste.

The total ended up being around $33; $10 for the cheese plate, $8 for the panini, $8.75 for five pieces chocolate and $4 for the hot chocolate. Although it is on the pricey side, the food is definitely worth it, especially if you’re looking for a small snack or place to

relax. The quality is also very good, as manager and owner Brian Henderson claims, “Virtually everything we serve is made from scratch. We use ingredients freshly grown in our garden and shape and design each chocolate ourselves by hand.” The result is fresh and delicious food.

Clockwise from top: Store front; Chocolate Frog; Passion Fruit; Lavender; Mocha; Tahitian Vanilla; cheese plate; crackers and bread; chicken pesto panini.

My mom wakes up at 5:30 am every morning to do yoga. She breathes in different rhythms, plugs half of her nose and only breathes out one side and presses different pressure points on her hands that will affect different parts of her body. Whenever she asks me to do these, I laugh her off, because I know that rotating my wrists at a 90 degree angle will not get rid of my headache and cold. She claims that people battled Diabetes, overcame cancer or decreased their blood sugar from doing yoga.

I give her the same look that I give my sister when she tells me she looks better than me. Yeah, it’s just not happening.

The gym always seemed like a better option for me to work out; at my gym they offer different classes—Zumba classes which are a Latin-infused exercise class, otherwise known as a way for middle-aged adults to relive the dancing days of their youth. They offer spin classes, where the teachers live by the motto “beauty is pain.”

They also chant a simulation of a beautiful ride up in the mountainous regions of the country, while on the other hand, you stare at yourself sweating in the unflattering mirrors. I frequented these classes only because they helped me burn a lot of calories in an hour and I was so nice that I would never want to hurt the teacher’s feelings by leaving classes early.

Then came the rainy Thursday afternoon, when I was frazzled due to the immense amount of time it took me to find parking, and on top of that, every single machine was taken. Because I had eaten a large meal that day and I was determined to burn off the excess calories, I only had one option—to join the ongoing PiYo class.

When I heard the name I chuckled, what in the world was a “pee-yoh?” It turned out to be a combination of pilates and yoga. “I got this in the bag,” was my first thought, because being Indian made my natural talent for yoga practically course through my veins.

I grabbed a mat and shrugged off the thought that a million people before me exercised on it. We started off with a simple meditation lying on our backs, and I glanced around, confused at how this elementary task was supposed to help me burn calories.

But after seeing everyone with their eyes closed, I hurried to follow.

It was weird at first, with the hectic gym buzzing around me and me lying down like a beached whale in the middle of the floor. But slowly I could feel my shoulders relaxing, the stress releasing itself. The instructor took a sharp transition to a sun-salutation, which was a long combination of different critical yoga poses which was supposed to bring about relaxation…The teacher’s shrill voice yelled out different poses.

Down dog, warrior pose, alligator pose, up dog, inverse Namaste, I was struggling to keep up with the movements. We repeated this set six times, and when we stood up and were asked to touch our toes, I was surprisingly able to reach lower than I ever could before. (I also saw how incredibly untidy my nails were.)

I felt happy; tired, but happy. I was calm, I lost all of my stress and I felt better than ever before. From that point on, I embraced each pose, each breathing exercise, each meditation activity.

And when I left, it didn’t matter how far my car was, or how much work I had to do that day—I had the power to think with a clear mind

Jennifer Guo

Point of Information Take a passion for debate and a knack for digital designing and you get the website Point of Information (POI, www. pointofinformation.org). Managed by junior Robert Ying, seniors Aditya Majumdar and Alice Lin, POI is a website dedicated to high school parliamentary debaters. Mujamdar explains, “one of the purposes of starting the website was to help get parliamentary debate more nationally oriented and recognized, since right now it’s pretty limited to the West Coast.” Currently, there are approximately 1,000 frequent users. Due to the fact that the website was created more as a place for debate resources, the main focus of the website was navigation and using fonts as graphical elements. “We have a strong focus on typographic art throughout the site,” says Ying. The website was coded in 2008 using text editors, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.

The team has recently shifted from darker colors to a whiter screen with teal-accent fonts. “We’re also thinking of adding more interactive features so people can check in more often,” says Mujamdar.

For junior Jennifer Guo, creating digital art began with pencil and paper.

Over the years, however, Guo shifted to using a Bamboo tablet. Guo now uses it for drawing anime characters, both for her enjoyment and that of others. Since eighth grade, Guo has been offering her skills up for service to players of game Gaia Online looking to have custom drawings made. “Usually, [customers] come because they look at what I made other people and decide they want something of their own, like a drawing of their character,” she explains. Though she has received praise for her work, Guo asserts that there is still much to work on. “There are so many people better than [I am], and I’m not that good at pushing my limits to get get better, so I need to work on that,” she says. “I want to be able to make [human] proportions more real, draw proper backgrounds like scenery, use more interesting mixed colors and learn to make smooth animations.”

In this modern age of technology, Lynbrook artists are riding the wave of

DIGITAL ART by

aliceZHANG & gloriaLIN

Frank Wang Starting digital art two years ago, sophomore Frank Wang has come a long way. Wang developed his good eye for design through creating advertisements for organizations, including banners for a BMW dealership and cover art for a client booklet for Utopia Software Solutions. Wang received the chance to design for organizations after impressing many of his friends’ parents. Upon being commissioned, “I try to establish a firm understanding behind a company’s background and history before starting any actual work,” he says. From there, Wang formulates ideas, waiting until he has developed a clear idea before finalizing the project with programs like Adobe Creative Suite, Cinema 4D, Vray and Realflow.

Wang describes his style as simple and contemporary: “I [prefer] minimal color, high-contrast elements and detailed textures, simplicity and deliberate composition are key.”

Crystal Xiang Once more of a traditional artist, freshman Crystal Xiang has expanded her horizons to include the digital world. “I’ve always liked to draw, and so I like to explore all the different kinds of media. Digital art was just something I found fun.” As she improved, Xiang got a wallet-friendly software program for art called Paint Tool Sai and a tablet, a stylus-activated pad upon which the artist draws. Xiang’s art focuses mainly on fan art.

Having started digital art just two years ago, she is still unsure about where her skills will take her. As for now, Xiang is surveying all the digital art world has to offer. “My style is very indefinite because it’s always changing.

I want to get better at anatomy and dynamic poses [and] try animations sometime.”

GRAPHIC BY INDEPTH SECTION

All roads lead to Lynbrook: transfer students share experiences by

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Sophomore Kara Kim’s family moved from San Diego to the Lynbrook area this year as Christian missionaries in hopes of preaching a different Christian philosophy. She was excited to come to Lynbrook to “hopefully be a light as the church was in San Diego.” She considers herself as open-minded, and she says, “As far as I know, northern Californians seem to be pretty liberal as well, but I’m not completely sure of Lynbrook people, particularly because the students are not given the ultimate choice of what they want to do with their life.”

Kim’s struggles are not unique to other transfer students who come to Lynbrook. Moving to a new school often involves adjusting to changes in the demographics, social circle and academic lifestyle.

Sophomore So Masuoka moved from Potomac, Maryland, after his father’s employer transferred his family to the Bay Area. Masuoka observes that the school is much less ethnically diverse, yet he explains that because he is Asian, he fits into this environment. He explains, “However, I feel that Asians tend to be more competitive which in turn, makes me more competitive too. Although my study habits have not changed because I am more relaxed about my grades, most students want to get the highest ‘A’ possible, which I find ridiculous.”

After changing many schools, junior Greg Choi attended Oregon Episcopal Boarding School, where he was a residential student because his parents live in Korea. “I learned to become more independent,” Choi says. At first, this new independence translated to his wasting more time on the computer, his parents gave him a reality check and he learned that “freedom is something I learned not to misuse.” His parents decided that he should move to California where they had a family friend who could monitor and make sure that Choi was on track to meet his goals for junior year. Leaving friends was challenging for Choi as he explains, “there are very tight groups and people stick together, [and] it is hard to

be accepted into that closed ring. So far, the friends I have made at Lynbrook are only people who sit next to me in classes.”

For many students, often in the English Language Development (ELD) program, language is usually a barrier. Freshman Neha Narayan moved here from Fiji just over a two weeks ago because of her grandfather wanted her family to move closer to him. She explains, “Although I know how to speak in English, here the teachers and students speak very fast. As of now, most of my friends are people whose second language is English.” However, she is confident that adjusting to the English language will be easier when she starts speaking English more both in and out of school.

Some new students know other students already at the school, which makes the social transition easier. Sophomore Jun Yi has already made many friends as a transfer student from Cupertino High School , but has also had to adjust to the rigorous academic lifestyle of Lynbrook. Yi explains that Lynbrook is more challenging, with more homework, research papers, tests, grammar lessons and more, but he says, “I am glad I moved because I am learning so much more with the student-teacher interaction and the school keeps me busy.”

As for Kim, she has already successfully invited a few peers to her church and explains, “Although I moved here as a missionary, I would not consider myself to be ‘recruiting’ people…I try to be a testimony and be a light to others. At this point in high school, basically all students care about are getting good grades and maintaining good social lives. The mundanity of school could also play a part in students’ school lives, so I hope that I can show that there’s more to life than school.”

These adjustments that accompany being the new kid on the block might not be easy, but Masuoka says that they’re worth it because he says, “I feel as though I fit in easily, build friendships, and really reap the rewards of attending a school of such high standards.”

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GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ALICE ZHANG

by

kathyLI

Perfectionism is a double-edged sword—it really can make or break a person. Anyone can call themselves a perfectionist, but what is perfectionism, exactly? Ancient philosophers like Aristotle described it as the persistence of will in obtaining the optimal quality of being. In modern psychology, perfectionism is the belief that one should always strive to attain perfection.

The term “perfectionist” encompasses a wide range of traits, so perfectionists themselves do not always share the same opinions on whether perfection can be reached. Junior Nina Kamath, who is known amongst her peers for her perfectionist habits, says, “I try to achieve perfection, even though it’s impossible to be attained in every facet of life, because it’s an inborn mentality.”

Self-proclaimed perfectionists, like Kamath, are those who have not been medically labeled perfectionists. In its pathological or disease form, perfectionism is the unhealthy belief that any work or out-

put that is less than perfect is unacceptable.

People afflicted with it are unable to feel satisfaction because they never seem to do things well enough. “When one sets the benchmark at perfection, there will inevitably be frustration,” explains Lynbrook student advocate Dawn Bridges.

Kamath has experienced this downside of perfectionism, and she says, “It depresses me sometimes because I can’t achieve the goals I set for myself.” However, the mentality is not without its benefits. “Although on the surface it seems like there is no reward or compensation for my hard work, there is the inner satisfaction that keeps me going from day to day,” says Kamath.

Perfectionism can be centered to an activity as well. As a 3D art teacher, Charlotte Kruk often sees students who exhibit per-

fectionist qualities. “For a sculpture artist, it’s generally a great attribute to be a perfectionist,” she says. “However, it can be a hindrance when desire for perfection is too extreme, causing a student to get stuck and leaving no room for that ‘happy accident’ or ‘chance’ that sometimes occurs along the path of process. And yet, if I had to rate one over the other, it’s better to be too detailoriented than to show a lack of understanding of the importance in the details.”

Karen Ouyang, a sophomore, admits to being one of those detail-oriented people. “I don’t believe the pinnacle of ‘perfection’ can be reached,” she says, “but that doesn’t stop me from relentlessly refining my work. While I focus on the overall quality of my work, I also like to have everything written immaculately.”

Ouyang falls into the psychological category of normal perfectionists, who by definition derive a sense of pleasure from the labors of their painstaking efforts. “The satisfaction of seeing the products of my effort is my biggest motivation,” comments Ouyang. “For example, after I finish my math homework, it makes me happy to see all the symbols and numbers that I had carefully carved into the paper. Of course, sometimes I get really upset at myself for spending so much needless time on an assignment.”

Time is certainly one of the biggest pitfalls for a perfectionist. Ouyang says that the biggest consequence of perfectionism is its limit on her time to relax. “I would very much like to sleep for longer hours,” she concedes, “but I spend those hours making sure I’ve done everything to the best of my ability instead.”

So what ultimately decides whether perfectionism is an advantage or a handicap?

“Finding balance is the key,” says Ouyang.

It is up to perfectionists to make the most of the drive to be flawless, and when they do, they can reach extraordinary heights.

LIGHTS... continued from pg 1

CEQA consultants worked to ensure that Lynbrook’s project proposals followed all CEQA guidelines.

Davidson states, “I feel like the depth and extensive nature of the CEQA we went through is so great that it’s hard for me to imagine if there is any aspect to sue.” LMU did not to respond to inquiries.

PTSA President Deborah Ward expresses similar sentiments as Liu. “I am disappointed that a few neighbors were unable to accept a decision that more than met them halfway in addressing their concerns regarding the Track and Fields and Lights Projects at Lynbrook.

It is their right to file a lawsuit, but I feel confident that FUHSD has done everything correctly and that ultimately the new fields with lights will be built.”

ASB President, senior Sebastian Liu, who is an activist of the project, reflects on the heavy delay by saying, “We are fully prepared and ready, and we have an attorney to support us, so I trust that things will go smoothly in terms of the lawsuit.”

However, the delay of the construction may end up being a blessing in disguise. “It’s nice to know that although we don’t yet have the new track, we’ll be the last class to set foot on this one.”

FIELD...

ACTION? LAUREN TAI—EPIC

Mike Zhong (10): (Marching band) “It was inconvenient to practice with so little lights. We practiced at Lynbrook and used the portable lights, but it was too dark. Having lights would be a dream come true.”

LAUREN TAI—EPIC

Shirley Kiang (10): (Cheerleading): I’m pretty sure everyone would appreciate having [games] at Lynbrook. And then of course, you’d feel a bigger pride while playing on your own school field.”

The Track & Field an four high d power ligh Lights Projects w USED WIT H PERMIS ill fe ts, new ble SI achers, as ature completely ON OF FUHSD redone fie troturf, an lds, d much m ore.

LAUREN TAI—EPIC

Sebastian Liu (12): “The new field will provide students with a new sense of pride, especially for our sports teams. It will give Lynbrook teams more room to practice and give them more options.”

SAHILA JORAPUR—EPIC

The projected design for the new field will have a new entrace structure.

by

candyCHANG AUSTIN YU—EPIC

The wrestling team addresses common misconceptions about the sport “Most of everything that people say about wrestling isn’t fit to appear in a high school newspaper,” says senior Garett Weng. But what can appear in a high school newspaper is enlightening. Wrestling is not only for Hulk look-alikes; it is not a two-person brawl on the ground, either. The truth is much more complex than that, and it is time to pin down some of the bigger misconceptions.

Fiction: Coaches starve their kids and make them sweat out extra pounds to keep them within their weight divisions.

Fiction: Wrestling is like what you see on TV, complete with the wrestlers punching, choking and throwing appliances at each other.

Fact: There are laws in place that make this illegal. As head coach Alan Vinciguerra says, “We don’t starve our kids. We teach them to eat correctly—for both wrestling and their daily lives. We tell them to eat multiple small meals a day, because starving has the opposite effect— your body will slow down your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight.”

Freshman Jared Jacoby agrees, saying that wrestlers only have to go to extremes if they “don’t try to stay the correct weight and eat unhealthy food.”

Fact: According to Vinciguerra, the wrestlers on TV “aren’t professional wrestlers—they’re professional actors.”

In high-school wrestling, there is no punching, no choking and no throwing things around. “It’s almost funny to watch [the ‘wrestling on TV],” says Jacoby, “because once you’ve actually wrestled, you realize just how ridiculous it is.”

“Wrestling isn’t about the fighting,” says Vinciguerra, “but about self-defense. In most violent situations, you end up on the floor. If that ever happens, and you know how to grapple correctly, then you can protect yourself.”

Fiction: Wrestling is all about physical strength.

Fact: “Don’t be strong, be intelligent,” says Vinciguerra. “Wrestling is a very intellectual sport. It’s like chess in that you need to predict your opponent’s moves and do it before they do it to you.”

In fact, Lynbrook wrestlers are not required to lift weights as part of their training, although not prevented.

Instead, training focuses on cardiovascular and strength.

On the mat, is not who is stronger, but smarter.

Weng offers his own perspective on the kind of strength necessary in wrestling. “Even though being physically ready is important—conditioning, losing weight—the bigger battle you have to win is the mental challenge.

Can you not get psyched out and focus on the match?”

Fiction: Wrestling is not a sport for women.

Fact: “I’m extremely glad to say that women’s wrestling is no longer a side show,” says coach Bill Fatjo.Girls’ wrestling is a CCS and CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) sanctioned sport. Lynbrook itself has had quite a few girl wrestlers in the past, and there is currently one girl on the team.

Although there is still an understandable amount of hesitation among girls to join wrestling, due to the rather strong boys-only impression that many have about the sport, there are always exceptions.

In addition, girl wrestlers do not have to be bulky tomboys that seem more like males than females. Says Fatjo, “They can be as girly as any girl outside of wrestling, but once they’re here, they’re here to work, and they’re here to kick butt.”

Girls’ soccer strives to maintain high level of play by

brianZHAO

“We hope we will not let our level go down.” Senior Michele Hauer’s words were meant not only to encourage Lynbrook’s underdog team to work harder, but also for them to continue their high level of play.

Lynbrook’s first three league games seemed like a continuation of their 0910 season, during which the girls did not win a single league match.

Sophomore and returning player Theresa Moffet says, “I was really discouraged, I was afraid the rest of high school would be like this.”

Although the team started the 2011 season with losses 2-4 to Milpitas, 2-3 to Fremont and 0-1 to Saratoga, it was not due to a lack of team spirit, work ethic or talent.

For a defensively oriented team, the Lady Vikes now average 14 shots on goal per match. The girls scored more points against Milpitas than in their previous two games against them combined.

The girls held a 2-1 lead over Fremont before they were rattled by a questionable call. And the girls went neckto-neck with Saratoga, the number one team in the league. “Everyone, including the other team, was surprised we held them off until the last 30 seconds,” says junior Nancy Yang.

Instead of letting the high stakes

affect their performance in their next the first year, work harder because they match, however, the team chose to want to prove themselves.” Since they channel their frustrations into moti- will stay on varsity for several years, it vation and won against Wilcox, 1-0. also gives them time to develop and imSophomore Emily Novakovich, who prove as athletes. scored the winning goal in a free kick, If the girls continue to work hard says, “Now, our goal is to beat all the and employ their new offensive mindteams we lost to.” set, more victories for Lynbrook seem Even if that most recent victory had imminent, especially when the injured not occurred, the team still has many players return to full health. reasons to be optimistic.

“I cannot wait until we are able to “Last year, we thought we were bet- get a second chance against these teams ter than we were, so we didn’t try as when they come home,” concludes hard,” says Hauer, explaining why Lyn- Coach Art Zimmermann. brook finished last in the league in 2010. The Vikings already exhibit teamwork, and this cohesiveness allowed several goals to been have made from defensive positions.

The fact that the team is a young one, with 15 underclassmen and only six seniors, may also prove to be a blessing in disguise. Assistant Coach Stan Moffet explains, DANIELLE LERNER—EPIC “Younger players, on varsity for Junior Nancy Yang dribbles the soccer ball down the field.

Hip, hip, hooray for the obnoxious fan I had never been a very enthusiastic fan.

Until about a month ago, the sole sporting events which I had ever attended were two homecoming football games. I know, lame!

Recently, though, I have discovered the wonderful and exciting world of Lynbrook basketball games, which I had always heard about, but never actually attended. So, three weeks ago, I decided that enough was enough: instead of spending Friday night watching Alfred Hitchcock movies with my folks, I was going to a quad game!

As a rookie fan amongst many expert student spectators, I was surprised and astonished at the level of enthusiasm and pride many Lynbrook students have for our basketball team. A select group of students, though, have such an excess of spirit that their gametime manners border on the line of obnoxious.

I have named such students maverick-fans.

Anyone can cheer or boo at the right times.

Anyone can stomp a drum-roll in anticipation of a free-throw. But maverick-fans go above and beyond, exceeding all expectations until they become, well, almost abominable, and it is these limitless spectators that make games so fun!

The maverick-fan is quickly set apart from the crowd due to his despicable,(but oh so entertaining), free throw etiquette. He uses gruesome and juvenile tactics to garner the attention and laughs of those around him.

Picture this: All is quiet as a member of the opposing team steps up to the foul line. The player centers his attention, bounces the ball a few times and sets his eye on the basket.

Just as he is about to shoot the ball, the maverick-fan brings his hands to his mouth, and lets out an atrocious farting noise not heard since our third grade days. How disgusting!

How immature! But at the same time, how entertaining and brave!

But alas, horrid free throw etiquette is just at the beginning of the maverick-fan’s agenda. To the thrill of the audience, he proceeds to make use of even more juvenile tactics later in the game: most memorable and controversial, perhaps, are his witty jokes that compare opposing team members to shrunken grandparents, little siblings and pets. For example, the maverick-fan may say: “Wow number 23, my grandpa who has had surgery in both knees and uses a walker runs faster than you!”

Recently, though, maverick-fans have been getting a bad rep. Their acts have been labeled as rude and unsportsmanlike. Although they may be rude, maverick-fans are not unsportsmanlike. They raise the stake of basketball games and make them more exciting; like a professional game. Speaking of professionals, pro players constantly get sworn at, laughed at and made fun of. At a high school level, similar behavior should be perfectly acceptable so long as it is kept lighthearted and not mean. Farting before free throws is funny and gets the audience’s attention, and players should be able to deal with a little distraction like that. Jokes that compare players to grandpas are also acceptable, because everyone knows that a six foot varsity player is not comparable to a five foot tall grandpa. So let the maverick-fans be, because they’re the ones that make games worth attending.

Getting in sync with synchronized skater Jenny Wen BY

nancyNAN

Nancy Nan (NN): When did you first start skating (singles and synchro)?

Jenny Wen (JW): I started singles when I was nine but I quit skating in my freshman year. I started synchronized skating in the beginning of 8th grade.

NN: What got you interested in skating?

JW: I’m not sure. A lot of my friends started taking lessons at the time, so I decided to give it a try.

NN: How do you juggle synchronized skating with academics and your other extracurricular activities?

JW: As an individual skater, I have to make sure that I know the footwork sequences and the formations well. As a teammate, I have to try my best to stay in line with the rest of my team, and I often help my teammates when they need help. In synchro, you can have the best skills out there, but if you don’t stay with the rest of the team, then you can’t call yourself a good synchronized figure skater.

NN: Besides skating competitions, what other events as a part of synchronized skating do you participate in?

JW: We skate in numerous holiday shows each year in rinks all around the Bay Area.

My favorite event is when we get to skate during the intermissions of one Sharks game every December.

We have also skated for the opening of Downtown Ice in San Jose and Pleasanton.

Besides skating, we do a lot of volunteer activities together like teaching children from low-income families how to skate or collecting donations for coat and blanket drives before Sharks games.

NN: The synchronized team consists of skaters with different technical levels, so how do you deal with that?

JW: In synchro, there are hardly any jumps, so even if some skaters are at lower levels, it’s not that big of a deal as long as they know the footwork well and can skate fast enough to keep up with the team. Sometimes, we have a few members of the team perform difficult jumps. When that happens, we have to work our program backwards, so the skaters who know how to jump end up in the right spots.

NN: What do you have to do in order to prepare for a competition?

JW: It involved practice. Besides that, three pairs of false eyelashes, bright red lipstick, heavy make up, and very painful French braiding.

NN: Are you planning to continue skating in the future?

JW: Yes. I’m hoping to join a skating club in college or start one if it doesn’t already exist.

There is an ice rink near most of the colleges that I’m interested in, so I’m really happy about that.

DANIELLE LERNER— EPIC

JW: Synchronized skating can be time consuming during seasons when we have a lot of ice shows or weekday practices. During those times, I try to do work whenever I have time. I would bring my books with me to the locker rooms, and I would do my makeup and get dressed quickly, so I could get some homework done. However, I did end up giving up singles because I had too much on my plate.

NN: What kind of roles do you have in the skating team, as an individual skater and as a teammate?

Girls’ basketball powers through first half of the season BY

janeJUN

Lynbrook and Mountain View girls’ varsity basketball teams played a neck-toneck game on Jan. 19, scoring 17-12 for the first quarter, 30-31 for the second quarter, pulling forward with a score of 37-36 at the third quarter, and finally finishing triumphant at 62-49.

“It was a good game for all of us,” says freshman Paige Song. “We maintained a good attitude, our shots were going in, and we had better communication than usual.

Since we lost to Mountain View twice last year, this was a good victory for us.”

After a month’s worth of patient training and assiduous preparation, the girls’ varsity basketball team officially started their league season January 5, losing 3140 to Palo Alto, losing 35-40 against Gunn, and winning 40-38 against Los Gatos. The

team also won their game against Monta Vista last Friday.

Regarding the team’s progress in league so far, girls’ varsity basketball coach Jeremy Kitchen says, “The team this year has very good resiliency; the girls always believe that they’re never out of a game and that they can always win, even when the game doesn’t seem to be going in their favor.

The girls come together as a unit—there is no selfishness; as long as the team succeeds, everyone succeeds.”

Due to the difficulty of the league, “every win is a good win.”

The team, with three freshmen and three sophomores, is considered to be a very young varsity team. However, Senior Jordan Day says , “while some may see this as a weakness, our younger players have really stepped up and proven their skills, making our team just as strong, if not stronger, than any other team in our league.”

One of the strongest assets of the team is its defense. Day says, “We’ve been taking better shots, and playing stronger defense, which is really improving our performance

in games. We’ve also been working better as a team, knowing where each player is on the court and who is open for a shot.”

Increasing the intensity of the practices will also help the girls finish strong this season. The five-person shell drill, which works on defense, improves the girls’ response on the court. The team has also been working a ball-handling drill, which forces players to think on their feet.

Kitchen expects all remaining games this season to offer tough competition and adds that developing rhythm and identity in offense will be the key to success . “It’s not so much about the opposing players.

What’s going to make the difference between finishing midway and finishing top of the league is going to depend more on being able to be disciplined all four quarters of the game and getting rid of slight mental errors,” he says.

HOROSCOPE CRISIS BY ALICE ZHANG

COOL STORY BRO BY GLORIA LIN

GALACTIC SHOWDOWN BY CLAY SONG

Playing to a Different Beat by

danielleLERNER

With all its variety, music is often heralded as a universal language.

Many students choose rather unusual instruments as outlets for their creativity. Clockwise from top right: Eliza Tsai (11) strums her lute, a stringed instrument from the middle ages. Jaydeep Singh (11) plays the dohl, an Indian drum often used in Bhangra music. Medha Korwar (9) plays the harmonium, a piano and accordian hybrid. Jennifer Huang (12) wears artificial nails in order to play the guzheng, a Chinese harp. Tanmay Bangalore (11) displays his versatality on the Indian sitar. These vastly different instruments represent culture and personal identity for students, proving music to be a common value.