DEVASTATI N
Disaster in Japan triggers student reactions by sahilaJORAPUR & joySHEN
On the evening of March 10, senior Kenta Labur was on Facebook when he saw his friend’s status describing an earthquake in Japan. Labur immediately began watching the news on TV. “They were showing [footage of] a tsunami—something I’d never seen before,” he says. “I was shocked. I was watching with my family and none of us were talking because it was so unbelievable.” A massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 struck Sendai, Japan on March 11, triggering devastating aftershocks and enormous tsunami waves along the northeastern coast of the country. The shock set off countless fires and floods, causing thousands of casualties and massive destruction throughout the nation. Though these casualties have primarily affected those residing in Japan, many others are also feeling the effects of the quake as well. Senior Emily Sato* was one of the people who felt directly impacted by the disaster. Sato has family residing near Sendai, the epicenter of the earthquake. “I haven’t heard from them yet, so I don’t know if they are alive or not. But they’re tough, so I think…” She pauses as she recollects her thoughts, “My mom [told me to] be prepared just in case.”
Junior Mayu Nishimura was able to contact her friend who lives in Sendai. “The supermarkets are out of food and lack water and gas. They really need supplies,” she says. Although the majority of Lynbrook students have not been directly impacted by the natural disasters in Japan, students are eager to help out and contribute to the cause. “We’re in a safe place. If we can’t do anything to help, then it’s really painful,” says Sato. Labur, his twin brother Yuta and senior Jiminy Sugino are selling lanyards for $5 as part of a joint effort with schools throughout the Bay Area to raise relief money for Japan. All proceeds collected will go through the Red Cross to the Japanese consulate. Lynbrook has already received over 100 orders from supporters. Similarly, junior Chesley Mok and sophomore Isabel Yang have partnered with local high schools to sell t-shirts for $15 each. The money raised will be donated to the GlobalGiving Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. Japanese Club, Japanese Honor Society and the Japanese language classes are folding 1,000 origami cranes in order to send them to students in Japan. Each crane will hold a message, providing support and encouragement to the Japanese students. “There’s no word that describes how I feel [about the earth-
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CLAY SONG
AP courses to be revamped by claySONG
For years, students crammed every detail into their memory to prepare for AP tests. Every date, name, location and equation memorized to ensure the highest score possible. Now, most of that is going to change. The College Board recently announced its upcoming revisions in the AP testing system. Scheduled for the 2012-2013 school year, the AP Biology class will be the pioneer of College Board’s new campaign. According to the College Board, the curriculum will now focus more on analytical thinking and labs rather than facts, by asking students to collect, analyze and evaluate data. The number of free-response questions will double; the number of multiple choice questions will be halved. 20 chapters out of the 56 will be cut from the standard textbook. This gives students more time to focus on the important content and gain a more in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the material. As of now, the AP United States History course is being revised. The revamp is scheduled for the 2013-2014 school year; teachers and administrators are still debating which contents can be cut out without affecting oth-
er important events. AP United States History teacher Kyle Howden believes that this is a good change. “The idea is to understand the big picture,” he says. “Many facts on the test and in the curriculum aren’t necessary unless you plan on being a historian.” As of now, the course has an uneven focus on different eras. “If the updates merely shifted the focuses to different eras, then you’re not really relieving the stress level, which is the goal of these changes,” he adds. According to him, the best balance is to understand the material as a whole, while being able to tie different events together. As for the biology curriculum changes, “The AP Biology courses in colleges usually focus on one topic a semester, like botany or molecular science. The curriculum here covers everything in one school year,” explains AP Biology teacher Nicole Della Santina. “We don’t get to go as in-depth into the material as students in college are able to, but the content-heavy curriculum makes up for it.” Many institutions nationwide are unsure whether these changes will still create enough merit to award AP credit. For now, it seems that in general, the credits will still be awarded.
quake],” says Japanese teacher Kumi Kobayashi, “It’s devastating. It’s my country; I was born there. I know many students who are from Japan and who have family there. One of my students recently learned that their mom’s sibling passed away.” To aid the relief cause, Associate Student Body is hosting the annual school-wide Coin Wars event through the week of March 28. *Name has been changed
The Grand Finale by sabrinaSHIE
After 18 years as the director behind Lynbrook’s nationally award winning band program, John Felder, better known as “Doc,” plans to retire at the conclusion of this school year. The reasons behind his decision are simple; Felder hopes to spend more time engaging in other interests, such as composing music, performing and spending time with his grandchildren. Many will miss contributions that Felder had made during his career toward building Lynbrook’s musical reputation. “It’s kind of weird to think of band without Doc. He actually cares about us, so it’s really sad. He’s a good teacher; he always sets high standards and high expectations. He makes you come up to them.” says junior Stacy Joo, a current member of Lynbrook’s Wind Ensemble. Three-year marching band member junior Iris Shao agrees with Joo, saying, “It’s really cool how after the concert, even if we don’t do really well, he stays positive about it, asking us to critique ourselves. He makes us improve.” To inspire students to achieve more with music is exactly what Felder had hoped to do with his career as a teacher. Felder explains, “My proudest achievement is feeling that students took on the understanding of one, why music is important, and two, how to make wonderful music. It’s when students really understand the subject matter in the same way as you do. I don’t have to say, ‘go and practice.’
It’s that they say ‘Let’s practice.’ They take the initiative and that’s what makes me so proud.” During his 18 years on campus, Felder successfully molded a struggling and disordered music curriculum into the tremendously competent band and orchestra programs available on campus today. “When I first came [to Lynbrook] it was a disaster. It was like an animal house. The orchestra was tiny, and they met before school. It was very tough to turn [the music program] around, but little by little, we re-established our goals and standards, the program doubled in size, and we [even] outgrew the old band room. The program got a nice reputation [and eventually] we got to the point where people would invite us,” says Felder, recalling the past. But besides all that Felder has done for Lynbrook, the aspects of teaching he will miss the most are often the simplest ones. “The thing I’ll miss the most is having so many young people say hello to me in the morning. I’ll miss the energy and the optimism of young people, as well as seeing them mature,” says Felder. As for his successor, Felder hopes that the next music director is “young and energetic, but still [has] an excellent musical sense.” Principal Gail Davidson states, “The administration is looking for a music director who is fundamentally an outstanding teacher and is also a music leader who wants to embrace all that is Lynbrook. Our new Music Director needs to be a person who loves to work with students,
loves to teach and has the level of musicianship, experience and understanding required to lead such a dynamic program.” Currently, the position of Lynbrook’s band director, to replace Felder after his retirement, is being advertised to prospective teachers statewide, and there have even been a few applicants from other states. Despite his approaching retirement, Felder continues to focus his entire effort and energy into preparing the bands and orchestras for upcoming concerts such as the Spring Instruemtental Concert and the Pops Concert, as well as guiding the upcoming CMEA performers, just as he has done for the last 18 years.
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY NAMRATA SINGH
Felder to retire after 18 years in music department
Color guard tosses record high performance by saumyaKUMAR
AUSTIN YU—EPIC
Senior Nicole Batino tosses her flag with finesse.
This year, with a smaller team than usual, the Lynbrook Winter Guard team has been working hard and succeeding in various colorguard competitions. Thanks to their better placings, the team has been competing in a more competitive Scholastic AA division this year rather than Scholastic A division. The team has been placing either first or second place in all of the competitions, and that makes it evident that the season for the team is off to a good start. The theme of the show this year is “One Less Bell to Answer.” The show draws inspiration from two of Bacharach’s timeless classics, One Less Bell to Answer and A House is Not a Home. “The Winter Guard is exploring the notion of domestic life and partnership,” says winter Guard head coach RJ Sanjose. “What happens when that partnership is broken or taken away? What memories are left? How do we fill that void?” The theme of the show is also one of the reasons that attribute to the team’s success. “The theme is about home, so everyone can relate to it,” says senior Victoria Liang, “we all are able to interpret it in different ways and that helps us apply that to the emotions and grace that we bring
to our moves and expressions.” This year Sanjose, who in the past was the assistant instructor, is now the head instructor. Sanjose is the one who writes the work for the team, or the movements with the flag, rifle and sabre that are performed throughout the show. “[Sanjose] knows how to make moves look good,” says senior Neesha Nadkarni. “He knows what the judges like, and he knows to to maximize the potential of a small team like ours to make to look the best that it possibly can.” Liang, who has been on the Winter Guard team for four years has seen a difference from her freshman year on the Winter Guard team to her senior year on the team. “Even though we have a lot less people than four years ago, it makes it easier to focus on individuals, and even though we do less than if we had with a larger group, we are cleaner,” says Liang, “We have a more cohesive show thanks to [Sanjose’s] work. He has performed for one of the best high school Winter Guard teams, so he really knows what he is doing.” The Winter Guard will be performing their final two shows at Independence High School on March 26 and April 2.
Spring Instrument Concert Spring Instrumental Concerts will be held on Mar. 25-26 in the Lynbrook Auditorium. The concerts will feature the Lynbrook Symphony. They will begin at 7 pm and will feature the orchestra and band. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $8. Come and support Lynbrook musicians!
Music Hallway Art Gallery is now completed
Robotics Competition
by shannonCHAI
Lynbrook Robotics will be participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition at San Jose State University (SJSU). The competition will be held in the SJSU Event Center and will be open to the public on Thursday, March 31; Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2 starting each day at 9 am. SJSU will be hosting 50 high school robotics teams, including Lynbrook’s Funky Monkeys. Teams will be setting up and competing Thursday and Friday, and the Championship round will be held on Friday. Short Film Festival The deadline to submit a film for the Lynbrook Short Film Festival is April 1. Suggested genres for films are action/drama, comedy, silent/dialogue, animation/alternative and music video. Applicants should notify history teacher Jeff Bale in room 503 that they intend to submit a film and give the edited version to him by April 1. Selected films will be shown at the festival, which will take place on April 8 at 7 pm in the auditorium. For more information, contact Bale or refer to the fliers around school. Red, White and Blue Awards The Red, White and Blue Awards are presented each year to honor students whose work ethics demonstrate the highest regard for the pursuit of both academic and personal excellence and will be held on Thursday, March 31 at 7 pm. The nominees are selected by teachers and then narrowed to one selection per department. Winning students are expected to dress up for this occasion and are encouraged to attend with their families. Different staff members from each department will present the awards and there will be a dessert reception afterwards. Interact International Night The 7th Interact International Night will be on April 1 from 6-9 pm at the Lynbrook Auditorium. The event consists of dinner and entertainment and costs $12 presale and $15 at the door. The proceeds go to Shelter Box, a disaster relief organization that provides boxes that each contain a tent, food, water and supplies to sustain families left stranded by different natural disasters. The performers include Bhangra dance teams, a capella singing groups, belly dancers, guitarists and other talented students from the Fremont Union High School District. By Brian Zhao and Yasmine Mortazavi
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY IRENE HSU
The Louvre Museum in Paris, France. The Tate Museum in London, England. Lynbrook High School in San Jose, California. All share one thing in common: breathtaking art galleries. Lynbrook students and faculty may not be aware, but Lynbrook houses a piece of art history just as profound as in galleries of museums around the world. Hundreds of students walk by each day while hurrying to class, perhaps unaware of the history behind the Music Hallway Art Gallery, which has finally been completed after nine years of hard work. It all began when art teacher Lee Akamichi and band director John Felder suggested combining the efforts of Lynbrook artists and the passions of students in the music department. Akamichi says, “The year we began the project was the same year when there was a real push towards collaboration between departments.” The project has come to an end with the completion of Lois Woolhiser’s painting of American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, top right. From bottom to top, portraits also include those of John Coltrane by Ludovic Lang, Jimi Hendrix by Mallory Rose, and Aaron Copland by Maggie Chu, Tao Li, YuHsien Thou and Amy Wang. All artists have graduated from Lynbrook. Akamichi allowed advanced art students to paint the portraits of famous musicians, now displayed in the
gallery. First, Lynbrook students and staff were surveyed for a list of timeless and important musical artists. Student artists then selected musicians from the list and found pictures of the musicians, beginning painting only with Felder’s approval. However, the art gallery is not merely the students’ hard work. Not only did Felder take the aesthetic aspect of the completed gallery into consideration, but he also designed a blueprint of the hallway, plotting out the exact location of each painting. Felder says, “I made sure that similarly colored paintings were clustered together [and I also] decided which musician would be facing whom, so maybe Ludwig van Beethoven can see the Beatles, even though they lived about 200 years apart.” There were certainly obstacles involved. Akamichi says, “We knew the paintings would be directly exposed to students. What if a backpack scraped past one of the paintings?” As a solution, the Lynbrook Instrumental Music Boosters decided to pay for Plexiglas covers to protect the portraits. Students and staff can stroll through the hall on a busy day and appreciate the gallery. Sophomore Inga Liu says, “It’s inspiring to see these successful musicians right before you walk into class. It makes you think that you can be like them.” Akamichi adds, “Art is everywhere. It’s breathtaking, energetic and colorful. It makes a huge difference in the quality of our lives.”
Future Cove renovation to accomodate student gatherings during school hours by yunqingCHEN & nancyNAN
On Oct. 26, 1965, Lynbrook’s student center was named “the Cove” during one of the first Associate Student Body (ASB) meetings in the school’s history. Almost five decades later, Principal Gail Davidson is working to make the Cove true to its definition. “The idea came about when the school board expressed that it was difficult to find the location of the office. We looked at many locations and finally decided the Cove would be the most convenient place for the new office,” says Davidson. The district and the school first began looking at this possibility in December 2010; however, a month later, an anonymous source dropped off a collection of the first ASB meeting minutes where it was recorded that the Cove was initially created as a student center and recreational area. “After I read some of the meeting minutes, I started watching the way we use it and decided what we should do with it,” says Davidson. “It was almost like voices from the past came and decided [the Cove] would be the student center.” What Davidson has in mind is to renovate the current Cove into the student center that it was originally designed to be. There will be a translucent wall that extends from the storage area, marking, but not entirely
closing off, a newly designated teaching area. This divide will create two rooms in the Cove, one for teams, like the Valkryies, to practice in and one for the students, so the space can be better utilized. Davidson also plans to construct a barrier for storage units. The addition of the wall would resolve the storage problem, as the emergency exits in the Cove are currently blocked by the pads in the storage room. If the proposed storage units were to be constructed parallel to the boundaries between the dance area and the floor and extended inwards to where the mirrors begin, students could place their belongings there. This would not only free the space in the storage closet, but also allow access to the emergency exit. Davidson says, “It is a good investment. There is so much space [in the Cove] that is unused during school hours, but we only use a strip of it. That is space that students could use and enjoy.” Though the plan for renovating the Cove is still in the beginning stages, Davidson has already met with architect Chad Hamilton and sketched out the concept with him. Official blueprints are scheduled to be complete by the end of this year. Davidson also plans to gather a group of administration members, teachers, ASB members and other students to review the project before construction starts next year.
Clicking “Like” could save a life Despite criticism against lazy activism, collective action works if applied on a worldwide basis by gloriaLIN
Hundreds of likes on a Facebook page can only mean one thing, and it’s not a photo of a man who closely resembles a thumb. Since the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the Middle Eastern protests, social networking has become a common tool for spreading awareness of worldly issues. Despite concerns that social networking only encourages lazy activism, it has given people around the world the ability to help an area in need of relief even when they are thousands of miles away. Spreading awareness of disaster relief causes and passing messages through the Internet has long been labeled as lazy activism; however, social networking has actually done much to inform people around the world of what is going on. Says junior Liz Liao, who first learned of the natural disasters in Japan through a friend, “I usually hear [about current news] through Facebook, Tumblr or instant messaging.” Liao, however, is not the only one who heard of the issue via a social networking site. Other students have been able to both pass and receive messages more easily online than they would have been able to by any other communication tool. Junior Kombeze Ataie says, “Obviously
more than a few people don’t care or will bother to read what I have say or the articles and videos I post on Facebook, but anyone who thinks sites like Facebook and the like didn’t have any effect doesn’t know what is going on at all.” It is clear that through these instances, social networking sites have done much more than they are given credit for. Not only do they constantly notify users of major events, but they also allow such occurrences to be easily shared and discussed. However, social networking websites such as Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter go beyond spreading the word on the latest events. Such sites have allowed web users to expand beyond traditional forms of aid by asking for donations through different channels. Seniors Kenta Labur, Yuta Labur and Jiminy Sugino have found Facebook and Tumblr to be especially useful in raising awareness for their fundraising charter devoted to selling lanyards and donating the proceeds to those victimized by the crisis in Japan. Says Sugino, “I used Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr to get the word out there, and now Lynbrook has the most lanyard sales out of all schools so far.” By publicizing the project online, the seniors received over 100 orders of the lanyards, which are white with the red words, “Stay Strong Japan” from Lynbrook alone.
Constant reblogging of Tumblr posts promoting the lanyards, combined with an event page on Facebook where students may make a purchase, have given this project an extra needed boost to make a successful impact on the Japanese. For Internet users who cannot afford to make a personal donation, they may lend a hand by promoting promises from other perusers of the World Wide Web to donate money or ask others to keep certain issues in mind. Sophomore Katie Walker has used her Tumblr to reblog posts promising to donate money to countries such as Egypt, Libya and Japan for every number of reblogs and likes the original poster receives. She says, “I reblog [these posts] because I don’t exactly know where I can donate money and by [reblogging], I feel like I’m contributing at least a little bit.” While sitting at home and liking pages are often labeled as too “passive” to make an impact, in our technology-driven society, it is often the best way to promote causes that are worthy of support. As teenagers, it is difficult to make an impact on society; social networking gives students a chance to contribute to something that is at least more worthy of support than a page devoted to people resembling appendages will ever be.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY NOORSHER AHMED & SUCHETA KORWAR
Spirit for everyone It is that time of year where we have to show our “school spirit” by filling out activity points sheets, which reflect how many activities we participate in at school. Besides the fact that only one ASB commissioner handles the sheets for the whole school, activity points sheets do not reflect school spirit, but rather
how busy we are during our brunches and lunches. School spirit should be measured by participation in activities that benefit the Lynbrook community as a whole. Points should be focused on how students spread their spirit. Nearly all students are involved in at least one activity and in order to build spirit at our school, students who participate in these activities should attend and support other activities also. Then, the spirit will be reciprocated to other activities and become prevalent in the school’s atmosphere. If a musician attends a swim meet, that swimmer will come to support the musician. Eventually, we will have a “Circle of Life” chain reaction going. Similar to Homecoming week where points are awarded to each grade based on how many students dress up for skits, students should be rewarded based on how much they participate for spirit days or support their peers by attending their activities. For example, if an art student attends Improv night, he or she will receive activity sheet points in exchange for the ticket stub from the production. Another idea is for each grade to have its own community service project to work on for its four years at Lyn-
brook. Points can be given depending on how much the student contributes to the unique class project. For example, Lynbrook classes can sponsor a project similar to Kenya Dream, put together by the Cupertino High School class of 2010, and students can be awarded points based on contribution to activities or fundraisers in the project. This would not only benefit the Lynbrook community, but also channel our energy into something worth fighting for, showing that our school spirit can be extended to our local community. The activity points sheet should also reflect special moments captured by clubs and teams. For example, if varsity players decorate the locker room for junior varsity players or if the drama department showcases a production for the birthday of the band director, people who participate should get awarded points for benefiting the Lynbrook community. Is school spirit really about signing the attendance sheet at billions of clubs? Activity points sheets should focus more on the unique activities we do which truly make our school stand out.
staff editorial
Voice of the Epic
Students snub Food Club Day ticket stubs Loud marketing, long lines and last-minute bargains have traditionally characterized Lynbrook’s Food Club Days. Although hectic at times, the stampede of people spilling out of classrooms toward the quad is a good indication of the enthusiasm students feel toward this event. This semester, the enthusiasm was matched by ASB’s club commissioners as they implemented a new ticket system. Unfortunately, while the new policy is ambitious in its vision, its practicality is questionable. The problem does not lie in bad planning; instead, the problem is that the ticket system is not a smart way to do business. Tickets have a minimum value of 50 cents each. Many clubs have to haggle with prospective customers as lunch draws to a close; if negotiation is limited to reducing prices by 50 cents each time, there are only two choices: sell at a great loss, or do not sell at all. Another unappealing aspect of the ticket system is that on food club day, tickets are only sold in five dollar increments. Clubs will lose potential customers who only need one or two more tickets to purchase something. There are no refunds for tickets, either; while this is understandable when considering accountability and logistics, it is harder to swallow because with cash, there would be no reason for refunds. In some aspects, the new policy was an improvement. According to Assistant Principal Ellen Reller, “The cash system put a heavy burden on the financial technicians. And the forty or so bags of money at the end of lunch were a safety and accountability issue.” Although the ticket system does streamline accounting and enable club presidents to turn in reports on earnings earlier, there is no real meaning in these two
improvements if clubs do not see Food Club Day as a viable fundraising option. This past Food Club Day, the Spanish Club, which sold Chipotle, purposely bought fewer burritos because of the new ticket system. Even so, the club ended lunch with a loss so large that the officers had to pay for the cost out of their own pockets. “People didn’t buy it because sixteen tickets sounds so much more expensive than eight dollars,” says Ramya Selvam, the president of Spanish Club. If the food item in question was a mediocre product, there might have been more room for argument. But Chipotle has historically been one of the best; last semester, Model United Nations sold out of Chipotle ten minutes into lunch and made a profit of $214.50. Even though the ticket policy is not the right way to go, ASB has made the correct move in asking for feedback from all the club presidents. Reflecting on the results, ASB Club Commissioner Sofia Rojasova says, “I think any change to a long-used system is a bit of a jolt at first and will not only create both positive and negative reactions, but also take a while for kinks to be worked out and the whole student body to become fully aware of and comfortable with [it].” In this case, it is not about getting students used to a new system, but implementing the system that actually achieves the goal of the Food Club Day. The event is a fun opportunity for clubs to fundraise, for students to learn a little about marketing and business, and for everyone to enjoy a wide selection of food. Sometimes a break from tradition is necessary, but this is not one of those times. Let the hagglers haggle, the buyers buy and the seller sell. Let us return to cash.”
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY OPINION SECTION
(App)lying faith using new technologies can also be useful tools for enhanc people’s understanding of the scripture. It is widely recommended by pastors to study annotations and read different translations of the Bible, and apps offer In the past several years, smartphone applications have bea rich supply. come a major trend; it is common to see students walking around The Bible teaches that the Word should be closely integrated campus, phone in hand, gaming rigorously, checking their mail, in every aspect of believers’ lives. Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “man or even watching a movie. Recently, a new branch of smartphone does not live on bread alone but apps has sprouted forth: “faith” on every word that comes from applications such as the eBible the mouth of the Lord.” This or the TouchWord Lite, which means that Scripture should be are downloadable Bibles. Though always at hand, and the fact is these apps have been criticized for that phones happen to be exactly their informality, they are benefiwhat teens always have at hand. cial for many believers. Many students around campus Some people claim that it is find encouragement from the “unholy” to have sacred religious apps during school hours, and text as an app on a phone, arguing they claim it helps them with that Bibles should be kept purely their faith throughout the day. in book-form out of respect. HowJunior Daniel Kao says, ever, the Bible was originally writ“[Having the Bible on my smartten on scrolls, and it wasn’t until phone] is convenient... It allows many centuries later that people me to read the bible or encourage started binding the scripture into people throughout the day. Bebooks. Changing the methods of fore I had a smartphone, I carried presenting text does not make the a Gideon’s Bible in my pocket, words themselves less sacred. but after a while it got beat up. Senior Debbie Kim says, My phone won't wear out as "God wrote the Bible in easily.” ordinary man's tongue, As smartphones are and the Bible is supbecoming more and posed to be easmore assimilated into ily accessible to people’s everyday people. Apps and activities, “faith” the Internet can applications will be used to make it truly help people ineasier for people to corporate their faith really connect with into every aspect of Scripture.” GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY NOORSHER AHMED & YUNQING CHEN their lives. Religious apps
by janeJUN
Tracing through patterns of the past Lynbrook teachers share rare glimpses of their past jobs by aliceZHANG
DANIELLE LERNER—EPIC
Disc Jockey Michael Esquivel Esquivel used to be a disc jockey at an ice-skating rink, where he DJ’ed everything from “Country and Oldies Night to Christian Music Nights, and from private frat and sorority parties to allnight lock-ins.” Esquivel reminisces, “As a result of this job, there are two songs that I never ever want to hear again: The Macarena and YMCA. At least once a day I had to get the crowd to do the hand motions.” Despite the belabored song playlists, he says that overall, it was his favorite parttime job of all time.
Security Guard Bob Blaschke Blaschke was a part-time security guard while studying at the University of Colorado. His usual duties consisted of guarding the University Memorial Center, the school’s central plaza. The highlight of the job? Serving as a bodyguard for a day for actor and University of Colorado alumnus Robert Redford, who starred in popular films such as The Natural and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid that young adults such as Blaschke enjoyed. “It was fun to meet him, since he was much more of a famous person then—we got to follow him around and attend him to a reception,” says Blaschke. He got to do it with his three friends, two on the side and one in the back, and had a star-struck few hours. “It was an honor to guard a VIP,” says Blaschke.
LAUREN TAI —EPIC
YUNQING CHEN—EPIC
Lee taught incarcerated juveniles how to read at the Alameda County Juvenile Hall while completing her college studies and continued this part-time commitment into graduate school. Inspired by statistical studies that show students who are proficient at reading at a third-grade level are less likely to deal drugs and be involved in crime, Lee dedicated her time into helping the juveniles have a brighter future. “It was pretty exciting to teach them,” she mentions. “It was encouraging to see them move from a fourth-grade to a ninth-grade reading level in just a few weeks.” Doing this part-time job allowed Lee to change her perspectives. “They’re not as bad as people think,” she says.
Haywood drilled holes and planted gelignite, an explosive material similar to dynamite, in southern France during his gap year after getting his graduate degree in Wales. The firm he worked for was responsible for flattening out land to build homes. One of his most memorable experiences was pushing back a cliff that overlooked a vineyard. Scaling the cliff with a jackhammer, his box of gelignite and blasting cap in hand, he drilled inside the cliff sideways with his feet propped against the cliff. It was challenging, but he says that it was “nice, and since we were in a vineyard, we got lots of wine.”
DANIELLE LERNER—EPIC
Explosives Expert Darryl Haywood
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY SHANNON CHAI, GLORIA LIN & CLAY SONG
Juvenile Hall Teacher Esther Lee
A collection just for kicks Michael Park: Which was your first pair? Brandon Yamauchi: My first pair of shoes is probably my Jordan Retro 4s from my cousin as a birthday gift. He collects shoes and got me interested in collecting as well.
Be a trophy child
MP: Do you have any stories behind these shoes? BY: One time, I found out that a new pair of Jordans was being released. I went to the mall the night before they were released. When I got there at midnight, there were 17 people already in line, and the store didn’t open until 8 am. I wanted to get one to wear and one to keep, but I found out only one pair of shoes could be purchased per customer; so, my mom waited with me in line for eight hours to buy another pair. I love my mom! MP: What is your rarest pair of shoes? BY: My rarest pair of shoes is my Space Jam Jordan 11s from my uncle. I already had a pair, but I wanted another to keep. I knew my uncle had three pairs, so I begged him to sell me one. We were at a Chinese restaurant when he pointed at the menu and said, “If you eat three of these, I’ll sell the shoes to you for $100.” When I looked at the menu, it turned out to be cow liver dumplings. Little did I know, one order had eight dumplings, so I had a total of 24. It was one of the worst experiences of my life but it’s worth it now. DANIELLE LERNER—EPIC
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY AUSTIN YU
by ireneHSU
Since the 1930s, fairytales have been adopted into animated features and movies, all depicting poignant tales of beautiful princesses woven with pity, admiration and budding romance. Jane Eyre happens to be a fairytale of its own. After a miserable childhood, Jane (Mia Wasikowska) is hired by Mr. Rochester (Michael Fassbender). Even after a lukewarm beginning, friendship and romance blossom between the two austere characters. However, this is destroyed when Jane uncovers Mr. Rochester’s haunting past. She is forced to redefine her morals, which are clearly defined already. But as an adaptation of the novel, Jane Eyre has a heavy responsibility to stick to more than just the classic structure, which the director, Casey Fukunaga, and his crew bear admirably. The script does not stray far from the original story, and manages to build good suspense while simul-
taneously building the relationship between Jane and Rochester. Even the casting is accurate— Wasikowska is naturally a plain, yet elegant Jane, who comes off as an extraordinary figure in her keen intellect and solid morals; her counterpart, Fassbender, emits pure fierceness and severity from his gestures. The two weave in and out of the gothic elements skillfully brought out by Fukunaga, gliding through the dreary atmosphere and harsh simplicity that stay true to Charlotte Brontë’s original themes. Although there are letdowns in certain developments of the plot and characters, these are expected of any adaptation and thus are of no real consequence. Readers of the book know that Jane’s past greatly shapes who she is; however, the motion picture seems to mention her childhood as more of a passing thought, and focuses more on her relationship with Rochester, but after all it is of the romance genre. Jane Eyre is ultimately a mustsee for both fans of Brontë’s work and anyone else interested only in a break from reality and a dive into a spectacular fairytale.
Every Saturday morning, my mother goes out to have breakfast with the rest of the Chinese mothers in the area, and of course, the main purpose of this gathering isn’t to socialize or to eat breakfast together, but to brag about their kids. Lately my mother has been getting the short end of the stick because there aren’t any prestigious universities that have decided to harbor me for the next four years. As a result, I’ve had to resort to other methods to garner motherly pride. 1. Escape to the movies While most of us tend to neglect our parents on social outings, bringing the parents to a movie getaway is not only fun, but will also make your parents feel like you are worth keeping around. When deciding on your movie of choice, steer away from anything rated PG-13 and up, not only because of content that is awkward to watch with your parents, but also because those movies tend to have more complicated plots. If your parents are first generation immigrants, you’ll be swarmed with “who is that, what is going on, why did he get shot and why is he kissing her?” type of questions for the duration of the film. In addition, this is probably not the time to show your mom how easy it is to hop into three movies afterwards, and how to get into R-rated movies. Lastly, you probably don’t want to pick a movie where the main character is saving the world, or inventing Facebook because you’re just going to be a disappointing son or daughter in comparison. 2. Clean your room When my mom’s friends come over, they typically scowl when they enter my room. I guess most middle-aged women don’t appreciate seeing twiceworn boxers and the remains of what was once a salami sandwich. Personally, I have never understood what the problem is with having my most precious goods present in my room; perhaps it doesn’t fit in with feng shui rules or something. I’ve learned that it’s more beneficial to cover my room in self-created acceptance letters, or my neighbor’s trophies. 3. Win an award While many of our fellow peers have been winning prestigious awards from Intel for their science projects, I have yet to receive any recognition for my various projects. I don’t understand why amplifying the volume of flatulence isn’t worthy of national recognition. Obviously the next best thing to do at this point is to create an alternative, and hype it up to my parents. Lately, I have been collecting gold star stickers and telling my mom that I have been winning a national merit based award known as the Golden Star Award for Extremely Mediocre Activity. My mom loves the name because of the somewhat large words. While she and her friends have absolutely no idea what the award means, they assume it is prestigious. Please don’t tell my mom what is really going on because I’d probably be excommunicated from my home, and she would forever deny my existence. I hope that with these simple steps, all of you will become the center of all your parents’ dinner parties, which will justify that the money your parents spent on you was money well spent. xoxo Gossip Boy The Jake Lu
I heart Lynbrook by anthonyDING
“School spirit” is a phrase generally evocative of painted faces, earsplitting cheers and bleacher-filled crowds. At least, it was defined that way by many Lynbrook students who responded to the Epic’s surveys. What is important to remember, however, is that school spirit is a lot more than sports games and rallies. School spirit also encompasses academics, service, extracurriculars and much more. As a college-bound senior, I have been through more than my fair share of college interviews, and a question I’ve asked every single interviewer has been, “How is the school spirit at your university?” Before you judge me by the lame questions I ask, consider this: the responses I’ve gotten have ranged from “dismal” to “amazing,” but the response that truly caught my attention was one from a particular interviewer who told me that school spirit at his alma mater was not entirely apparent from the outside. Instead, each and every student worked in his or her own way to contribute to the school and to show their appreciation for their school by striving to succeed in their respective clubs, activities and subjects. To him, school spirit did not necessarily mean big game attendance and die-hard fandom. Now there’s a novel idea. Let’s face it, Lynbrook isn’t exactly known for its game attendance. A contributing factor could be the fact that our football team doesn’t even play on our own field. Despite our excellent sports teams, student attendance at games is not something we’re excessively proud at here at Lynbrook. I’m sorry to say I haven’t been to a single sports game this year—I know, shocking. In my defense, I think there are at least a handful of other students out there who haven’t been to a single Lynbrook match this year. I would also like to say that, were it not for my unfortunate doctor’s appointment last week, I would have had a perfect attendance record this semester. I’ve borrowed at least 20 books from the school library, which I frequent often, participated in two sports teams, track and field and water polo and participated in a slew of club activities in my four years at Lynbrook. Even the small things we do to show that we value Lynbrook and that we appreciate and take advantage of what it has to offer are forms of school spirit. Granted they’re not as obvious as packed bleachers or screaming fans, but they demonstrate spirit nonetheless in a different way than meets the eye. I love the activity points sheets and I think it’s great that I get rewarded for the activities and spirit I show for my school, but when students start scrambling to get their sheets signed for the sake of getting those rewards—yes, I’m guilty of this too—we lose sight of the original intention of the point sheets. Really think about school spirit and how it’s shown at Lynbrook. Sometimes we accuse our peers of skimping out on school dances and not coming to sports games. While that may be true, they perhaps are involved in math competitions, art contests, service clubs, you name it. There’s more than one way to show school spirit. It’s fitting that I’m writing on this subject as an exiting senior after four long years at Lynbrook. After four years of exciting rallies, of spirited Homecomings, of unforgettable dances, of cutthroat competitions, of clubs, of service and of sports, I’m both sad to be leaving but also glad to have attended a school with such a unique spirit. I’m sure that many before me have come to Lynbrook expecting the clichéd “high school life” seen all over TV and the movies and left Lynbrook with a surprising yet eye-opening experience. But I guess you can’t truly understand something unless you’ve experienced it. So go out, have fun and be spirited!
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On football nights, the bleachers are fil of parents and friends. The stands at water filled with more parents and students from brook parents and students. But it’s not sch er, it’s the traditional notions of school spi One of the newest additions to the defi comes from the changed system of scoring was implemented for this school year. In judging packet on the school website, t Homecoming is stated as “the opportunity school staff and alumni to come together show pride…in a positive and unifying m vens says, “We worked on a new system well each class realized that.” The increase school unity is displayed through dressing ing items to the local collecting drive. Ste new changes that the committee may imp the community service component in com Though often overlooked, some of the the school belong to Cheer. “Cheerleaders good performance at rallies, we sacrifice t our sports teams, never failing to wear sch dedicating our sweat and tears, in the nam times feel like people don’t actually know effort and detail we put into what we do,” s senior Ashley Huang. However, in the end, unity in this school makes up for it. We al
lled with a meager handful polo games are sometimes m other schools than Lynhool spirit that’s dead; rathirit that have gone away. finition of Lynbrook spirit g for Homecoming, which n the official Homecoming the purpose for Lynbrook y for students of all grades, r to raise school spirit and manner.” From there, Stem that would quantify how ed emphasis on a collective g up for classes and donatevens says that one of the plement include exploring mbination with the skit. e most spirited members of s practice hard to put on a time and money to support hool colors on Fridays, and me of the school. I somew or appreciate how much says varsity cheer member , she says, “the support and ll feel like we are a part of
something bigger than ourselves, and that is school unity.” For the majority of poll-takers, rallies were included in the spirit definition. Associated Student Body Historians work with rally commissioners to create the rally promotional videos. Historian senior Alick Xu says, “We have a bunch of [rally] rehearsals right before and there’s always technical problems so we always have to work for the rallies…we always have to make sure the tech works, the microphones, the speakers. And while the rally is going on, we’re always behind the scenes checking the music, microphones and lights.” Rally commissioner senior Elena Park explains that a lot of effort and time goes into having a skit where people will be entertained. She says, “I have to be very spirited and energetic myself…as long as you encourage people by yelling and being happy, then it just rubs off on other people [and] it’s contagious.” Park chose to be a rally commissioner and spread spirit because she says, “I like bringing people’s mood up and being a commissioner is a great way to do that because you can bring a hundred people’s moods up not just one person’s.” Lynbrook spirit is embodied in the myriad of student organizations, and especially in clubs that provide service back to the school. National Honor Society (NHS) is currently undertaking a mission to engage the Lynbrook community in efforts for construction of the new Viking boat. NHS is collaborating with PTSA and other student organizations to fundraise $12,000. NHS adviser Jenny Dumas is working on finalizing a donations request letter which will be sent out to the Lynbrook community, as well as distributed to the clubs on campus. While drafting the letter, Dumas says, “I thought about what we would do, how to get people motivated, what [the boat] stands
for, why it’s important. The Viking boat is fitting [because it’s like] setting sail, and that’s one of the things that students see when they walk on campus. It represents that voyage of your four years. We’re the Vikings so it promotes school spirit.” Principal Gail Davidson agrees that it is the collective effort of raising money to build a Viking boat that brings out the spirit of the Lynbrook community. School spirit also extends to cover academic and club achievements. Lynbrook has several high-achieving clubs around campus that do their part daily in contributing to school spirit. “The speech and debate team has a strong culture that transcends class divides. The goal is to do well, and the activity really requires high levels of cooperation to do well at that students don’t really have time for interclass rivalry,” says senior Alan Kao, president of Lynbrook Speech and Debate. Speech and Debate, a club with members and captains of all grades, has recently been very successful and Kao agrees that the club members feel proud to represent Lynbrook during competitions. When asked about whether he believed academic clubs contributed more to Lynbrook spirit than sports teams, Kao responded that it is difficult to compare the two. “Both are equally demanding in their own separate ways and deserve to be recognized,” he says. Regardless of class, activity or even interests, the entirety of Lynbrook has been constantly contributing to the school. Lynbrook may not demonstrate school spirit in a more traditional sense—think face paint, packed bleachers during football games and intense cheering. But through passionate application in sports, service to both Lynbrook and the surrounding community and academic interests, Lynbrook has set itself apart as a spirited school.
Students give personal insight into their worlds of limited colors by gloriaLIN
Give junior Christopher Kim a choice between royal blue or purple, and it may take a while for him to respond. He claims that the former is his favorite color, but has difficulty distinguishing it from the latter. He, however, does not mind or complain about this struggle. As someone who is colorblind, Kim claims his life is much like that of any other student’s, and does not see his colorblindness as a disability. Kim first realized he was colorblind through a test conducted by his first grade teacher. The results, which revealed that he “was the only one [in his class] showing slight signs of colorblindness in multiple aspects and…would have to practice distinguishing colors to get better at it,” came as a surprise to Kim and his family, despite the fact that his grandfather was colorblind. As the youngest and only grandchild out of more than 20, Kim and his family did not expect to have any more colorblind family members; however, Kim adds, “I think it’s really cool how colorblindness came to only me out of [my 20 cousins and I], through a man who had seven daughters and no sons.” Colorblindness, which is defined as “anomalous or deficient color vision” according to Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, is far more common than one may initially believe. One article entitled Computerized Simulation of Color Appearance for Dicromats by research scientist Hans Brettel states that one in twelve people are colorblind and about eight percent of American men have been diagnosed with the condition. It is extremely uncommon for a person to be completely incapable of seeing one or all colors; as senior Shaun Orvell, who is colorblind, states, “People who are colorblind still see colors, but sometimes they just look different [from] what other people see. We don’t see in black and white.” For most people, colorblindness means that certain colors appear duller than they actually are; only 0.005% of people are truly colorblind, meaning that they can only see in black or white. Upon publicly acknowledging that they are colorblind, many students have found that for the most part, they are treated like ordinary people. Senior Ji Ahn, who has difficulty seeing red and green, and distinguishing green from black when they are close to each other, says, “[To be honest], colorblindness has never really affected me in any way except for a few times when I got made fun of for saying something was red when it was green.” When teased or confronted with people who are insensitive about his situation, Ahn says, “Usually I try to explain the difference between blatantly obvious color differences, and try not to get mad. In these situations, I just explain my condition and shrug it off.” The condition, however, has been known to prevent
people from obtaining a few jobs. As a college student at the United States Naval Academy, physics teacher David Taylor was told he was colorblind after taking a test which revealed his color vision deficiency. He says, “In college at [the] United States Naval Academy, a color vision test revealed my color deficiency. It did not allow me to command ships, so I decided to leave the Naval Academy.” However, Taylor adds that this shouldn’t be a concern unless one is set on a career in the military; other such careers include air traffic controlling, piloting and some forms of electrical and electronic engineering. Besides hindering them from pursuing certain careers, colorblindness has also caused quite a few mishaps for those who are colorblind. Senior Jason Huang, who has trouble distinguishing yellow and green, found that his colorblindness came in the way when he was a class officer three years ago and had to purchase yellow paint for his class’s Homecoming skit. At the time. Huang was unaware of his condition. He says, “As a freshman class officer, I was assigned to get some paints, including yellow paint. I went out and got what I thought was yellow paint and took it to a meeting, but was told it was green instead. To me, yellow looks green and green looks yellow.” Kim adds, “If you were sitting near me in art class and we [had] a painting assignment, you would probably find me constantly asking nd what the color of the particular part in the picture is and searching around for the bottle that is labeled with the same color [to complete the assignment].” In addition, Kim states that being colorblind has given him quite a couple disadvantages in driving: “I always thought that the green light in a stop light was white. I still kind of think so actually; if anything, it [looks] like it could be white with a hint of grey [to me]. I can’t forget all of the endless arguments I’ve had with…people [about this.]” However, he says that this does not really hinder his driving: “The color of the green is nowhere near the bright red beaming at the top of the signal so I don’t really have to depend on the order of the colors to judge whether it’s safe to go or stop.” Overall, most students with colorblindness or colorblind symptoms agree that the condition is nothing to be worried about. Many have found ways to deal with it or have developed attitudes to show that they are completely comfortable with being colorblind. As Kim puts it to conclude, “[If you are worried that you may be colorblind,] enjoy it, get some laughs from it and if you really don’t like it then I guess you can stare at picture books all day and try to teach yourself the difference between green and brown. [However], it’s always fun to think that the grass is always browner on the other side.”
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY KATHY LI, CLAY SONG & ALICE ZHANG
Debunking the myth of the starving artist by joySHEN & austinYU
GRAPHCI ILLUSTRATION BY CLAY SONG & kathy li
“It’s a part of our culture to be able to be proud of what our children do and today, [with] our economy, our parents are mostly concerned [with making sure] you can live on your own,” says studio art teacher Lee Akamichi. According to Akamichi, a majority of Lynbrook parents feel uneasy about their children pursuing a career in the arts because he says, “art, for them, is like unemployment.” However, similar to how technological careers have progressed jobs in art-related fields have also become areas of limitless possibilities. Senior Jasmine Yang’s dream is to pursue a career in fashion after she graduates, however; her parents do not fully support her decision. She has been pressured by her parents to pursue a career in the medical field ever since she was young. Yang says, “My parents think that the fashion industry is unreliable in terms of earning enough money to live on. They say that in a tough economy, I would be better off with a more dependable career. I have talked to them about this and although they do not support me completely by letting me apply to fashion schools they are allowing me to double major it at another college.” With the state of our economy progressively declining, the cost of college tuition has become exorbitant. More people are seeking scholarships as a source of relief from elevated prices. Many colleges are willing to give full scholarships to potential art majors because, as Akamichi explains, “Admissions people are begging you to separate yourself. Test scores aren’t doing it: everyone’s got great test scores.” For these reasons, Akamichi is teaching his studio art course in a more portfoliodriven manner. As more students in the studio art class began submitting portfolios along with their college applications, various schools, in return, began offering more scholarships to the students. In 2002,
after Akamichi noticed that his studio art students received a total of $112,000 worth of scholarships, he began keeping track of the financial packages and scholarships his students were receiving. Breaking the million dollar barrier in 2004, the two million dollar mark in 2009 and the five million dollar barrier in 2010, the progress became evident as more and more four year scholarships were offered to these art students. Senior Brandon Chai is one receiving scholarship offers from various schools he has applied to this year. “Though art schools are definitely expensive, thanks to the strong Studio Art program here at Lynbrook run by Mr. Akamichi, there are plenty of scholarships and awards available to students,” Chai says. Even with many colleges offering scholarships, many parents still feel reluctant to allow their children to pursue a career in the arts. “Even though the engineering field and other technological career paths are very difficult to pursue and highly competitive, many parents still feel more comfortable with their kid majoring in something around those areas because it’s something that they know personally,” says Akamichi. However, Chai and Akamichi believe that parents may become more accepting of an art career once they realize that art is more than just spattering paint on a blank canvas. “The truth is art is everywhere we look: in the chairs we sit in at school, the phones we use, the textbooks we read, the commercials we see on TV, and the video games we play. Somebody had to design each of these things, from the way they look and function to the story they tell,” says Chai. Chai’s parents support his plans on majoring in either Game Art and Design or Computer Animation after he graduates. “My parents have looked past the myth of the starving artist and have embraced the great potential of the career I plan on pursuing in the rapidly growing film and gaming industry,” says Chai.
Lynbrook thrives on restricted budget by noorsherAHMED
& suchetaKORWAR The dark clouds surrounding ominous terms such as teacher layoffs, a smaller staff size and course cutting that have been around school districts throughout the state are not likely to reach the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) and Lynbrook High School soon. The passage of Measure B in last year’s May vote saved Lynbrook from a projected two million dollar cut of expected funds. Measure B, a renewal for a $98 parcel tax passed in 2004, will continue to fund courses and programs until the 2016-2017 school year. Currently, Lynbrook is financially stronger than other schools like it, and Measure B is the difference between a stable Lynbrook and a Lynbrook slashing academic courses and programs. Principal Gail Davidson says, “the parcel tax from last year puts us in a good solid position. We have not had any furlough days for teachers and no pink slips were given out on March 15.”
In addition to the parcel tax, the collaboration on the budget with teacher unions and classified union maintains and increases Lynbrook’s financial security. Davidson says, “The cooperation between the district, teacher’s union and classified union here is better than any other district I know. What results is a high level of efficiency in the way funds are allocated to different programs. There is no fund wastage and funds are monitored very carefully.” Lynbrook’s residency verification also keeps Lynbrook’s finances stable. Because Lynbrook does not receive funds on a per-pupil basis, more students illegally attending Lynbrook cause funds to be cut up into smaller portions. Davidson says, “Our residency process really helps us save every dollar we can. However, the district lost $6.8 million dollars this year. The FUHSD is a “Basic Aid” district, meaning that it gets most of its revenue from property taxes, about $76 million per year that forms 88 percent of the district’s total revenue. Of the 1331 school districts
in California, 124 districts are Basic Aid. The rest of the 1007 districts are Revenue Limit districts which receive a fixed amount of money. Because of the economic downturn, the state has greatly reduced funding for Revenue Limit districts. In order to operate the Revenue Limit districts, the state of California has adopted a “fair share” policy in which Basic Aid districts give money to the state which then redistributes the money to Revenue Limit districts. The “fair share” policy took $6.8 million dollars this year and will take $2.6 million dollars next year from our district. Despite the “fair share” policy that takes money away from the FUHSD’s budget, the district’s balancing has remained stable because of the renewal of the parcel tax, the cooperation amongst the district, teacher’s union, and classified union, and the thorough residency verification. Davidson says, “We’re as financially secure as any school district in the state, but no school district is completely secure in California. But the parcel tax really has saved us.”
INFOGRAPHIC BY DIANA DING
A whole new ball game LHS baseball team begins season with advantages
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY AUSTIN YU
Junior Michael Lee winds up to pitch the ball at the first home game against Monta Vista on March 15.
Sex appeal is not a sport! Last month my cousins came back from a vacation in Spain and brought with them the best gift I could ever have asked for: a three by four foot poster of Cristiano Ronaldo, shirtless. Now he is plastered in my room so that I have a reason to get up in the morning every day. Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely not one of those girls who has never watched a soccer game in her life, and chooses her favorite athlete based on how chiseled
and defined his abs are. I love soccer and I love Real Madrid, not because of the many genetically-gifted players they put on the field, but for the pure skill and statistics involved with the team. That aside, let’s get real for a second: I am noticing that sports and sex appeal are starting to go hand-in-hand. Think back to summer 2010. World Cup fever had hit the globe at full force, and with the large amount of skilled players came an enormous amount of mediadriven sex appeal. Vanity Fair released a spread with Cristiano Ronaldo, Landon Donovan, Ricardo Kaká and many more international soccer stars all wearing underwear with their respective flags printed on, and nothing else. These players are all extremely talented, yet for some reason the only thing that was being showcased in that spread was “what their mamas gave them.” Players like David Beckham aren’t even that good in terms of skill, yet with his underwear modeling contract, hot pop star wife and seductive cologne commercials, he will always have more attention than other lesser known athletes who are 10 times as good.
by kathyLI
Whoosh! Almost in the blink of an eye, a student in a blue jersey slides onto home base. For the Lynbrook baseball team, the spring sports season brings new developments and aspirations. One of the team’s key changes and advantages is a stronger coaching staff. Returning from last year are 2006 Lynbrook alumnus Adam Khan, who mainly works with the pitching staff, and Joe Simas, who doubles as Head Varsity Soccer Coach. This year’s staff also includes two new assistant coaches: Rigo Lopez, an ex-Division 1 catcher for the University of San Francisco and a supporter of Lynbrook’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Tyler Wormuth, a past pitcher and shortstop in Nebraska. Both Lopez and Wormuth are experienced players and help the team out a lot; for example, by running practice when the head coach is unavailable. Despite facing some difficulties like being a relatively young and small team—there are only two seniors and fewer players than in most years—as well as losing some good pitchers from last season, all of the members are working hard to overcome those challenges. Head varsity coach Ken Wallis plans to introduce new training strategies for the team, such as “spending more time in the weight room this year and focusing on the areas we need to work on the hardest, like batting.” He also says, “I try to let the players have a lot of input as to how we can be most effective at practice. I want them to develop a sense of ownership in the process.” The team has also been focusing on playing consistently. “We aim to execute what we’ve practiced during games,” says junior Michael Lee. “Our pitching is still inconsistent, but we’re working hard and improving every day. It helps that all the members have positive attitudes.” This year’s team, consisting mainly of juniors who have played together since their Little League days, has good chemistry and works together well. “We’re more confident than in previous years,” says junior Harrison Wang. “We know each others’ strengths and weaknesses, things you can’t find out until after you play three years with your teammates.” Junior Alay Parikh adds, “This year’s team is made up of well-rounded players, and that will help us as we don’t have to rely on only one person but rather on each other.” The team looks forward to the Spring Break Tournament at Atascadero High School in Southern California, as well as their Third Annual Baseball Celebration Weekend on April 1 and 2, which will include an alumni baseball tournament and a banquet to honor retiring JV coach Chris Sullivan. They are also anticipating upcoming games against Fremont, Milpitas, Gunn and Santa Clara.Most importantly, the team hopes to qualify for this year’s CCS playoffs. Co-captain junior Allen Yu says, “We have more talent and speed, which makes up for our lack in size. With members who are skilled both offensively and defensively, I feel that we are becoming more competitive.” Coach Wallis echoes Yu’s optimism and says, “This year’s team is filled with high expectations of improving our performance over the last couple seasons. Only one time in Lynbrook’s history has the team made it to CCS. If we continue with the hard work we have put in to date, continue to improve on batting and pitching, stay healthy and catch a few breaks, I really think we could qualify.” Then there are the extremely gorgeous female athletes, such as Danicka Patrick. I’m not even sure what her official occupation is, race car driver or model. When I searched her name on the Internet, I found two pictures of her in a racing uniform and several pages of her in a swimsuit. It does make me a little sad that these days a woman can’t just be a good athlete; she also has to be the one to rip her shirt off after a game-winning goal, or the one who does a sultry center spread in the March issue of Sports Illustrated. Maria Sharapova’s outfits seem to be getting tighter and shorter every time I see her play. Although sex appeal helps athletes gain fame, it is for all the wrong reasons. Athletes should be recognized for their skills and unique talent, not for what they look like. I’m not trying to say that athletes should keep their great facial structures, hot bodies and great hair-dos to themselves, because I am certainly not complaining. All I’m saying is that people should educate themselves in the actual sport before educating themselves in anatomy of all the players. The fame and recognition of an athlete should be on the basis of skill rather than sex appeal.
Introducing one of tennis’s top five Freshman Kenneth Tao talks tennis with the Epic reporter Joy Shen tournaments each month and practice every day also. JS: Is your dad your coach? Or do you have a private coach? KT: No, my dad isn’t my coach. I have a private coach. He was a professional tennis player who ranked in the top 100 in the world. He teaches tennis at the Sunnyvale Tennis Center. JS: What’s your favorite part of the game? KT: Uh…winning. *laughs* I guess...when I win a very hard match against someone I know I should have lost to. JS: How does it feel to be a freshman playing in the Singles 1 spot on the Varsity team? KT: It’s not that bad actually since there are three other freshmen on the team, and I know a lot of the upperclassmen too. Also, being Singles 1 gives me the chance to play really good matches against strong opponents. JS: Don’t mind me asking, but how tall are you? Has your height affected your game in any way? KT: I’m 5’4’’ and no, not really. During our first school match I was playing against a guy who was 6’4’’. It was pretty intimidating but I ended up winning. JS: How many national championship titles have you won? KT: I haven’t won any championship titles in sigles, but I’ve won two doubles national champpionships. One was the Irvine National Championship and the other was the Hardcourt Supernational. JS: What was your most memorable game? KT: Last November during the Irvine National Championships. I was playing a doubles match and we were losing by a lot at first, but we ended up making a huge comeback and won the championship in the end. JS: So, I hear you’re ranked pretty high in your age group? KT: Yeah, I’m ranked 5th in California in the 14 and under division. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOY SHEN
Joy Shen: So how did you get involved with tennis?
JS: How does the ranking system work?
Kenneth Tao: My parents both played for fun and I saw professional tennis on T.V. It looked fun and I just wanted to join in.
KT: Well, it all depends on how far you get in tournaments. Everything is based off of a point system and the further you advance in a tournament, the more points you get. At the end of each month, the points are totaled up.
JS: What does your practice schedule look like?
JS: What are your thoughts regarding playing tennis in college?
KT: Well, since it’s school season right now I play a match everyday and during the weekends I practice with my dad. When it’s off season for school I play around two
KT: Yeah,Right now I’m not sure what tennis is like at the college level, but I hear it’s similar to high school. My goal is to hopefully play in college.
On Monday, the gym echoed with sounds of squeaky sneakers and rubber bouncing on the wood floor. A crowd gathered to watch as two teams desperately battled it out in the final minutes of lunch. After quick victories by Team Awesome, The Dominators and Fantastic Five, students watched in awe as Steve Team and Team Jennifer went head to head, trading threepointers and layups generously. With varsity basketball players, juniors Brandon Yamauchi and AJ Zavala [pictured top left] on opposing teams, the level of play was set very high. With two minutes left, Team Jennifer was leading 10-9. The game ended in an upset after a three-pointer from Yamauchi, with Steve Team closely beating Team Jennifer with a score of 12-10. On Tuesday, the second bracket of the tournament saw Team Tina facing off against Shen Jin Bing. Sophomore Daniel Sun [pictured top right] was the driving force of Shen Jin Bing, facing off against varsity player, junior Alan Chung. Both teams did not hesitate to take risky shots from well beyond the three-point line. Those risks paid off, as with only a few minutes to go, the score was tied 13-13. Both teams tried to drive for the basket, resulting in many failed rebounds. At last, Sun ended the game with an outside shot, and Shen Jin Bing prevailed 15-13 to move on to the quarterfinals. Following the elimination of eight teams, the remaining half entered the quarterfinals on Wednesday, eager to advance to the semifinals. As opposed to the previous rounds, where there was clearly a standout game in which teams played to the death, during the quarterfinals every match was of equally long duration. Despite a good perfomance by junior Chris Flanagan [pictured middle left], the Dominators didn’t live up to their name. Eventually, a strong finish by Team Daphne beat out the Arkitecs 15-9. The victory ensured Team Daphne, the only all-senior team, a spot in the semifinals, joined by Team Awesome, Steve Team and Shen Jin Bing. Going into the semifinals on Thursday, Team Awesome faced off against Steve Team, while on the opposite side of the gym Team Daphne played Shen Jin Bing. Despite only having three players and no substitutes, Team Awesome managed to utilize its height advantage to overpower its opponents. Senior Bhaumik Kotecha [pictured middle right] countered junior Daniel Shin’s quick drives with long, outside shots, enabling Team Awesome to move on to the finals. On the other court, Team Daphne’s quick, accurate passes proved to be too much for Shen Jin Bing; the clamoring for rebounds eventually resulted in Team Daphne’s victory. In the finals, after a stalemate at 2-2 for the first half of the game, Team Daphne went on a scoring spree led by seniors James Estrada and Luke Van Poetsch [pictured middle right with junior Gavriela Fine and senior Jordan Day] to beat out Team Awesome 15-2 for the March Madness title.
PHOTOS BY DANIELLE LERNER & AUSTIN YU
From left to right: seniors Luke Van Poetsch, Pepe Gentry, Shaun Orvell, and James Estrada. Bottom: Jordan Day
On Friday, the madness was not yet over for Team Daphne as they were set to face the teachers. Playing five-on-five and full court, both teams were determined to win. The teachers started out strong, with math teacher Jeremy Dybdahl winning the jump ball over senior Pepe Gentry. The students were soon able to regain possession. However, the staff, with four substitutes, did not lose strength. English teacher Rick Hanford continuously utilized his height to block shots, while girls basketball coaches Cynthia Ting and Jeremy Kitchen skillfully made outside shots. Despite this, Team Daphne turned the game around, with senior James Estrada making a series of layups to take the lead. In a comical moment, Dybdahl stripped the ball, broke away down the court, and, in his excitement, missed a layup. With just over one minute to go and the students leading 23-17, the teachers tried desperately to score, but to no avail. Time expired, and Team Daphne ended the tournament triumphant.
TIRED OF ADVERTISEMENTS? BY CLAY SONG (11)
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APPLYING REAL-LIFE LESSONS BY KATHY LI (11)
© 2011 The College Board
One Act plays bring the drama by danielleLERNER & austinYU
On Thursday, March 17, the auditorium stage was brought to life through a myriad of individual one acts. Each short play was performed by members of the Advanced/Honors Drama class, under the guidance of Laurel Cohen. Clockwise from top left: Neha Venkatesh (10) and Manasa Hari (12) act out an immigration interview scene. Zia Syed (11) and Kenneth Mendonca (12) talk animatedly about an innovative lightbulb, contrasting Thomas Okamoto’s (12) lamentations to Sarah Ku (12). Patrick Smith (10), playing Santa Claus, grabs ahold of Jerry Wang (10), chastising him for being naughty. Overall, the One Act Festival provided many entertaining, creative performances, showcasing the admirable skills of the drama department.