The Epitaph, Volume 57, Issue 8

The Epitaph Vol. 57 Issue 8 Homestead High School 21370 Homestead Rd. Cupertino, CA 95014

hhsepitaph.com @hhsepitaph The Epitaph The Epitaph @epitaphHHS @hhsepitaph

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Distance learning likely to continue in the fall

By Nika Bondar Since FUHSD’s email announcement to continue remote learning for the rest of the 201920 school year on April 1, decisions have been made about current graduates and the grading system, while uncertainties surrounding the upcoming school year remain.

The 2019-20 school year wraps up with a virtual graduation, a virtual senior awards and credit/ no credit marks for all students.

It is highly likely that the next school year will continue proceeding completely or partially online, FUHSD superintendent Polly Bove said in a phone interview. However, with a number of new features, the online system 2.0 will simulate the in-class environment slightly better than the “emergency learning” style FUHSD implemented in March.

According to a video sent out by the administration, prior to

Photo illustration by Miya Liu GRADUATION MOVED ONLINE: A video with a personalized slide of

each senior will be released at 6 p.m. on June 4.

the virtual graduation, seniors will drive through campus twice: once for cap and gown pick up, which began last week, and once for senior checkout, which has been occurring throughout this week.

Graduation — now a prerecorded video premiering on June 4 at 6 p.m. — will resemble the commemorative graduation ceremony of previous years: the name of each senior will be called as a personalized slide for the student is brought up on the screen.

Although some staff will be present on campus during the cap and gown pickup and senior checkout, Giglio said that, under these special circumstances, seniors will not be able to see all of their teachers in person before they leave the school.

“We will look to see if there’s anything possible when the time and restrictions get listed, we might love to do something later next year or in the summer,” Giglio said.

In addition to a difficult transition for seniors, little information has been released regarding the future of high school education as the financial struggles of the country begin to resonate in the Department of Education.

“I was just on the phone about an issue that might affect property tax, so we’re monitoring that really carefully and we’re very

Amber Tanger named teacher of the year

By Naomi Baron Amber Tanger, US government and economics teacher has been awarded HHS Teacher of the Year this year, after previously being awarded Teacher of the Year by the district in February.

Tanger has been teaching for 18 years. This is currently Tanger’s sixth year teaching at HHS after teaching elementary school for 12 years.

Tanger said she is honored to receive this award and is grateful to have such an amazing staff and administration supporting her. Tanger credits her accomplishments to her “amazing team,” which she feels privileged to work with.

While Tanger is honored to receive this award, she feels that there are many other great teachers at HHS deserving of this award and recognition.

“Being awarded and even nominated is a huge honor.

Homestead staff has so many remarkable teachers that go above and beyond for their students to make them successful,” Tanger said. “There are so many other teachers that also deserve this award.”

Assistant principal Denae Nurnberg was part of the election committee that made the final decision on who to select

as Teacher of the District back in her students and teaching inFebruary and said she is glad to disputably shines through. see that Tanger has again been “She’s been such a great commended for her continuous teacher and someone who’s great work. supported me throughout the “She can give a student a hug year and has given me a lot of while at the same time holding love,” senior Roee Karni said. them accountable for their work “She cares deeply about her and drawing clear boundaries,” students and their well being Nurnberg said. “She is an im- and wants them to succeed.” pressive teacher of content, but Nurnberg said the adminismore importantly, a teacher of tration shares this sentiment. skills and works tirelessly to help “Mrs. Tanger is an outstudents develop skills that will standing teacher who has a carry them into adulthood.” heart of gold,” she said.

Tanger said the best part about teaching is the deep connections and interactions with students she is able to create and have.

“I truly enjoy watching my students grow and mature over the years and then seeing them become successful,” Tanger said. “I try to stay in contact with my students after school. I love seeing their successes and notifications of marriage and babies and becoming Photo courtesy of Amber Tanger adults.”

Tanger’s love and TEACHER OF YEAR: Tanger wins teacher compassion toward of the year after winning teacher of the district

concerned,” Bove said.

FUHSD is a Basic Aid or Community Funded district, receiving funding directly from local property taxes.

“The ADA [Average Daily Attendance] schools will be hit much harder than we will but we feel confident that we have a solid financial revenue coming in as well as a healthy set of reserves so we should be okay for the 20202021 school year,” Giglio said.

Nevertheless, with the knowledge gained about remote learning through the last three months, teachers and administrators continue building on the new normal, Bove said.

“All the teachers are working really hard to do their best to make sure that next year is going to be more robust [and] more curriculum is going to be taught,” Bove said, “and they’re planning right now for it.”

The curriculum will be modified to accommodate students transitioning between levels of the same subject, Giglio said. In addition, there are still nuances to be worked out regarding how content-heavy classes will return to letter grades, as well as how the assessments will be administered to ensure academic integrity.

As classes and clubs are proceeding under the distance learning conditions, a major aspect of school that will remain missing

with distance learning is after-school sports.

“There will be no after-school sports unless school reopens again and it’s been deemed safe to proceed with,” athletic director Steve Lavelle said. “Until further notice we are in a state of postponement.”

It might seem as if the prolonged quarantine is effectively unwinding the high school social fabric, but in reality, many teachers have reconnected with their true motivation, Giglio said.

“Kids who were falling through the cracks before are having more contact with adults on campus than they’ve ever had, since there are more opportunities for support,” Giglio said.

Giglio said that, in many ways, this unexpected situation has led people to exercise their empathy, initiative and empowerment to rediscover themselves and the community surrounding them. “[Some examples include] teachers helping other teachers and parents sending in nice notes or dropping off food,” Giglio said. “Our lunch ladies make thousands of lunches a week and are out there bringing smiles to peoples faces as well as food, adult [education] teachers have just made homemade masks for everybody. Just cute things like that [show] the ways we’ve come together.”

Next school year will start in August New health policies, teaching methods considered

By Allen Zhang

HHS expects to open in August like originally planned despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s previous suggestion, FUHSD director of communications Rachel Zlotziver said in an email. On April 29, Newsom said the 2020-21 school year might start as early as the end of July or the beginning of August, the LA Times reports.

Depending on the guidance given by the Santa Clara County Office of Education and Public Health Department, HHS may reopen as normal, continue distance learning or incorporate some hybrid of remote learning and face-to-face instruction, principal Greg Giglio said in an email.

The hybrid model may introduce a staggered schedule, which would feature half of the

students attending classes in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. Alternatively, students may be required to come into school on certain days and log in remotely on others, NPR reports.

“That may be a way to accommodate the need to have much smaller class sizes, so campuses can reopen with social distancing provisions in place,” California superintendent of public instruction Tony Thurmond said in a Facebook Live session.

While French teacher Madeleine Stanwood said she would love to have a completely normal

Continued on page 2 See: School reopening plans

Illustration by Shreya Partha

6 FEET APART: School may look drastically different when we return, with

desks being spaced farther apart, for example.

PAGE DESIGN BY SEOYOUNG HWANG AND MIYA LIU

2

News

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Online virtual mindfulness room opens for mental health support Creative activities help students cope during shelter in place

By Seoyoung Hwang Distance learning and lack of social interaction, due to the ongoing shelter in place order, may leave many students feeling overwhelmed and stressed, school therapist Sarah Loyd said.

To help relieve the stress that members of the HHS community might be experiencing, Loyd created a virtual mindfulness room, similar to the physical mindfulness center on campus.

This virtual mindfulness room is a place for students, staff and families to find tools and strategies for managing their feelings, Loyd said.

The mindfulness room offers different activities such as puzzles, games and meditation videos.

The goal for the website is to let students take time off their work, enjoy different activities,

and receive mental support, Loyd said. “[We hope students] can utilize it as an adjunct to the coping skills that they already have or utilize coping skills they may not have before,” Loyd said in a phone interview. “And there’s also a link to wellness requests that goes straight to our mental health team.”

Junior Van Pham said she actively uses the virtual mindfulness room and commends the work put into it to create a fun and relaxing environment.

Pham said that by indulging in the activities available in the virtual mindfulness room, she gains a sense of relaxation.

“The mindfulness center made me feel joyful and happy,” Pham said in an email. “The free drawing apps were aesthetically

School reopening plans Continued from Page 1 start to the year, she recognizes that it is highly unlikely.

Stanwood said she believes distance learning is the safest option.

“A hybrid option would be complicated and confusing, and would still put many people at risk,” Stanwood said in an email. “I can’t envision a scenario where students are able to return to their classes … the classrooms aren’t large enough, the furniture can’t be far enough apart, there isn’t enough staff to reasonably cut class sizes, and the teacher and students’ safety cannot be guaranteed.”

When school does reopen, safety precautions will also be implemented. Depending on guidance from the Public Health Department, HHS may enforce policies such as “checking temperatures daily, asking students and staff to wear masks, creating designated times for hand-washing and increased deep cleaning of high-touch surfaces on our campuses,” Zlotziver said.

Giglio also said FUHSD will continue to encourage students and staff to stay home if they do not feel well.

Stanwood said she plans to wear a mask and will ask students to do the same. Stanwood also said she plans to wipe all furniture in her classroom with disinfectant between each class and will separate the furniture as much as possible to ensure the safety

of her students.

Regardless of which plan is installed, FUHSD has committed to providing letter grades for all students next year, Stanwood said.

“Teachers will need to offer assessments that clearly indicate what students know and are able to do in relation to the course objectives,” Stanwood said, “and assignments will need to be much more mastery-based than completion-based.”

Thurmond said the decision on whether or not to reopen schools will be made on a district-by-district basis. FUHSD is leaning against an earlier start date because it will con ict with the plans for a remote Summer Academy, Zlotziver said.

Stanwood said she believes the school time lost due to O I -19 does not warrant an earlier school start date.

“Because of our district’s rapid transition to online learning…

[HHS hasn’t] lost as much learning time as [other] schools and districts have,” Stanwood said.

As of now, these plans are tentative and are likely to change as the start of the school year approaches, Giglio said. However, FUHSD’s main priorities have remained the same.

“Our focus for the upcoming year is on ensuring student and staff safety first,” lot iver said, “and maintaining high levels of learning and engagement no matter which scenario we find ourselves operating under in the 2020-21 school year.”

Editors & Reporters Nika Bondar Editor-in-Chief Sahil Venkatesan Editor-in-Chief Saanvi Thakur Managing Editor Naomi Baron Senior News Madhavi Karthik Junior News Shreya Partha Senior Opinion Leila Salam Senior Lifestyles Karuna Chandran Junior Lifestyles Saanvi Thakur Senior Entertainment Amber Birrell Junior Entertainment Nitya Kashyap Senior Sports Raymond Rhanbise Junior Sports Miya Liu Creative Liaision Elaine Huang Senior Design

Senior Social Media Junior Social Media Senior Multimedia Junior Multimedia Copy Editor Business Manager Reporter Reporter Reporter Reporter Reporter Reporter Reporter Reporter

Allen Zhang Anika Karody Miya Liu Seoyoung Hwang Allen Zhang Yukari E. Zapata Jackson Faria Christine Kim Macy Li Jane Park Dan Penalosa Bryan Ruiz Ritaja Subrahmanya Jack Xu

pleasing and calmed me down.”

On the other hand, freshman Elise Vambenepe said she does not think the virtual mindfulness room provides solutions to her stress and doesn’t like the idea of spending more time on a screen.

“The whole point of [relaxing] is to take time off the internet and your computer,” Vambenepe said in a phone interview. “Sure, it’s different from Instagram, but it [still requires you to look at a screen].”

Though the virtual mindfulness room still exposes users to screen time, Loyd said she thinks it is important for everyone, students, teachers and staff, to take a break from their work, and participating in the activities the virtual mindfulness room offers is one way to do that.

“This is a weird time in our

Illustration by Van Pham VIRTUAL MINDFULNESS CENTER: Artwork created by junior Van

Pham using Bomomo Art application provided by the Mindfulness Room.

existence, and I don’t think any of us were prepared for it,” Loyd said. “We’re doing what we can to

cope and get through this until we can get back to [our] semi-normal [lives].”

Campus construction continues

Empty hallways allow library renovations and construction to be ahead of schedule

By Madhavi Karthik and Ritaja Subrahmanya

Despite shelter-in-place orders, construction of the Guidance Student Services (GSS) building and other projects on campus are permitted to continue as Santa Clara County has deemed schools an essential facility.

After months of delay, the library was re-carpeted in April, library media teacher Randy Berner said in a phone interview. The carpeting was originally scheduled to be installed over December break.

However, carpet color issues pushed the date back until spring break, Berner said.

There are also plans to get new furniture over the summer.

“We [will] have four new display units [for books, which] are going to match our new circulation desk,” Berner said.

Because of the pandemic, however, some supplies have become difficult to obtain for the construction of the GSS building, facilities manager Toby Mockler said in a phone interview.

“We had to source a couple of things from different suppliers than we generally use,” Mockler said. “[But] nothing really has put us off track.”

Once construction finishes, most of the administrative staff will move into the GSS building while the first oor of the

Photo courtesy of Greg Giglio

EASY TO NAVIGATE: The GSS building will be a more open environment for staff and students.

A building will become classrooms.

Since campus is closed to the public, construction has been able to progress at a faster rate with fewer disruptions, principal Greg Giglio said in a phone interview. Construction of the GSS building is set to finish ahead of schedule in mid-July. While the construction process has sped up, safety precautions were set up to lower the risk of exposure to O I -19, Mockler said.

Sanitizing stations have been implemented throughout the construction site and workers must wear gloves and

masks. The maintenance staff also created new procedures for the library, Berner said.

All staff are filling out a form every time they go in [to the library],” Berner said. “The form talks about what kind of doors we’ve touched and what areas of the library we’ve been in.”

Mockler said he is excited for the final result of the modern design of the GSS building.

“The [GSS] building is going to be beautiful,” Mockler said. “It’s going to be a wonderful space ... I think it will really brighten up the school.”

Graduating Seniors

Mission Statement

Advertising

Jacqueline Beaufore Melody Chen Karen Li Shruti Magesh Katelynn Ngo Sara Shohoud Andrea Sun Dexter Tatsukawa Renee Wang

The Epitaph is a non-profit publication at Homestead High School, 21370 Homestead Rd., Cupertino, CA 95014.

The Epitaph is a forum for student expression and not subject to prior review, in accordance to Education Code 48907. The staff is comprised of HHS Journalism students. Views expressed do not necessarily represent views of the school, its staff or the district.

Editorials are opinions of the editorial board.

The Epitaph welcomes letters to the editor but reserves the right to edit submissions. Letters should be limited to 300 words.

Include contact information. Unsigned letters cannot be published, but names will be withheld upon request. Send via homestead. epitaph@gmail.com, or drop letters in the newsroom or the office mailbox.

If the Epitaph has made an error, please send corrections to homestead.epitaph@gmail.com. The corrections will be published in the corrections box for the next issue.

To reach the Epitaph staff in C102 call (408) 522-2572 or fax (408) 738-8531

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If your target market is between the ages 14 to 18, contact The Epitaph at epitaph.ads@gmail.com, and we can make it happen.

Adviser Natalie Owsley

PAGE DESIGN BY CHRISTINE KIM AND SHREYA PARTHA

Opinion

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

3

The unforeseen side effect of shelter in place Staff Editorial

efore the O I -19 pandemic, we were completely engrossed in our own lives, focusing on ATs and AP tests or earning that A to improve our GPAs. We were focused on finding the perfect prom dress, or meeting up with friends after school. These things were our normal. ut on March 1 , everything changed. uddenly, school was no longer school. eniors lost their chance to walk at graduation. uniors lost their prom. ophomores lost one of the most critical semesters of their high school careers. reshmen lost the chance to fully e perience their first year of high school.

With all this loss, academic and social pressures are no longer the most important issue. And we finally reali e that coronavirus has affected more than our academic lives it has also affected our mental health.

Prior to school shutting down, we still had our teachers and friends to support us if we needed it. ut after the shelter-in-place order, we not only lost our support systems, but we also lost the reassurance of normalcy in our lives.

Now that the sense of normalcy and the reassurance

Illustration by Shreya Partha LOSING SUPPORT SYSTEMS: The COVID-19 pandemic is a difficult time for all of us, but there are several unconventional outlets available.

of support has been stripped away, our mental health is suffering. ocial support is an important factor that can affect mental health, according to the . . National ibrary of Medicine. osing that social support in the midst of a pandemic has, naturally, caused us to feel more lonely.

In fact, after the 200 A

pandemic, researchers found that being uarantined was associated with higher rates of negative mental health symptoms, according to the olumbia niversity Medical enter.

The effects of the disease have put an incredible amount of mental pressure on us and it s critical to accept that. osing our support systems has made us reali e how much

we took them for granted and now that we don t have them, we re facing a greater mental burden than school ever was.

Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations, according to the , and we re going to react to this situation in our uni ue ways.

It is important to remember, however, there is no tangible solution to improve our mental health because mental health itself is not tangible. inding ways to remain socially connected like participating in a car parade to celebrate someone s birthday or using aceTime to communicate with friends can help temporarily alleviate the mental pressure. has also provided a valuable resource in the virtual Mindfulness enter, which provides access to engaging activities like guided meditations, hotlines and apps that you can download on your phone.

Eleven weeks into shelter in place and with no end in sight, we must remember school is not our only priority.

Mental health may have been in the back of our minds before the pandemic, but now, more than ever, is the time to give the highest importance to our mental well-being.

Women’s bodies are not the problem

Abortion bans during pandemic inherently wrong y

aruna

handran and Madhavi

Amidst the novel O I -19 outbreak, lawmakers in several epublican states including Te as, Ohio, Alabama, ansas and entucky ruled to ban abortions, according to orbes.

This ridiculous decision is taking away women s right to choose.

Nearly 1 million people make the decision to end their pregnancy in the . ., meaning a huge portion of . . citi ens are directly impacted by changes in abortion policy, according to the New England ournal of Medicine.

Governors from states like Te as have claimed abortion procedures are nonessential, according to The New ork Times. They are blatantly ignoring e perts, showing how little they value women s health.

It is ludicrous that abortions are falling into the category of nonessential services. elaying abortion procedures can cause added hardship and stress to women during already trying times, according to orbes.

According to the American ivil iberties nion, one 24-year-old woman found out she was unable to have an abortion due

arthik

to state restrictions a few weeks after she lost her ob.

My only option at that point was to go out of state or delay my abortion and possibly be forced to have a baby,” she said. er rights had been stripped away from her and she had no say in the matter.

After the recent abortion bans, many women have been forced to travel unreasonable lengths to undergo procedures, according to NP . r. ristina Tocce, medical director at Planned Parenthood in the ocky Mountains, told NP a patient had to travel 16 hours ust for a procedure.

This is frustrating as a provider because it seems to be putting patients at additional risk of being e posed to the coronavirus themselves,” Tocce said.

A pregnant woman should not have to travel so far in the middle of a pandemic ust to access a basic human right.

According to NE M, politicians advocating for closing abortion clinics claim they want to make sure medical staff have enough personal protective e uipment to handle the coronavirus. ut this is illogical be-

cause they will need to use PPE when they help women with labor. In fact, delivery probably leads to more patient contact, according to NE M. awmakers in epublican states are taking advantage of the coronavirus and forcing their pro-life beliefs onto the public.

They need to stop using the pandemic to push their anti-abortion agendas, so we can actually focus on stopping the real problem affecting millions of people worldwide the coronavirus. uring this harsh battle to strip women of their access to an essential right, one ruling gives hope for the future On April 21, Te as Gov. Greg Abbott s e ecutive order to ban abortions e pired. uckily, since abortion clinics have been in compliance with this new order, the state ban is no longer in place, according to the Te as Tribune. This is a huge win for abortion rights. epublican lawmakers are using a global crisis as an opportunity to determine what women should or should not do with their bodies. They must be stopped.

THE IMPATIENT PATIENT y

enee Wang

Newspapers thrown away, stacks of old issues yet to be picked up. ate nights at school, struggling to piece articles together. inding the magic in student ournalism isn t easy to the untrained eye.

The most tangible effect of student ournalism is the newspapers we produce a direct platform to students, representing our creativity and commitment to reporting.

Our responsibility is utili ing this platform for students who do not have a voice. alancing these components is overwhelming, but it is the moments of humanity — like the impromptu drone tutorial given by a 1 -year-old boy I interviewed — that make the hours of hard work worth it.

As orace Greely, editor of the New ork Tribune said ournalism will kill you, but also keep you alive.

Many in The Epitaph can attest to this. Although we are stressed and chasing deadlines, there is comfort knowing that the people you work with, who on the outside can be so different, feel the same eal for ournalism.

The Epitaph broke ground in 1988, receiving The Press reedom Award for covering a story about an I positive student — the first of its kind in a school newspaper. ince then, we have covered school shootings, vaping, student initiatives, accomplishments and much more. rom the outside looking in, it is hard to see why we devote so much time to the stories we write and pages we design. What I find most fulfilling about student ournalism is not the topics we cover, but the consistency of our staff. or 8 years, we ve never been short of talented reporters, editors and designers.

That is the magic of student ournalism.

Infographic by Karuna Chandran and Madhavi Karthik

PAGE DESIGN BY JACKSON FARIA AND MADHAVI KARTHIK

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Opinion

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Black communities: death by police is common Normalizing oppression only kills

By Saanvi Thakur

THE MELODIC LINE

By Melody Chen

A few weeks ago, I had a sudden urge to look back at the first column I had written for The Epitaph in September 2018 The gift of unwrapping the present.” I reali e then that all 18 of my columns will just be archived under the section a teenager s musing.” Looking back, I would have made many changes to my column.

After all, I overused descriptions, was overly obsessed with puns and even misused a Star Trek reference. But, I realized that defeats the purpose of the column itself; I cannot recreate a thing of the past.

A journalist once said that if you piece every article in the world from the beginning of time, it would not only circle the Earth five times, but would only tell a quarter of the human story. I am not even close to wrapping up The Melodic Line, nor will I be in years or decades. The news never draws to an end, and by default, opinion never holds back. Even then, the human story continues to baf e and prey on us even more. We wonder why politicians are sugar-coating their words; we wonder why we forget to empathize when a tragedy extends too far from our line of understanding.

There is a saying that journalists tend to overthink, and I can wholeheartedly attest to that.

As journalists, we are microscopic compared to the stories we produce and tell. That is what makes journalism so beautiful we get to control the direction of the narrative and yet be knocked off ground by the force of the story.

And so, I urge everyone to take in the expanse of the human story. Whether it be following a news story that interests you or watching a TED Talk, get a taste of what s happening around the world and see how it makes you feel a couple years from now. elieve me it hits different.

y age 2 , young adults are out roaming the world, looking for opportunities and discovering what their futures hold. For some, that s living in their parents basement and for others, it s the path to success. ife s uncertainty is what makes being 2 so unpredictable, but even uncertainty has its limits.

At 2 , it was the last year Ahmaud Arbery would learn life lessons or be able to dream about walking his future daughter down the aisle at her wedding or what it would be like to grow old with his soulmate.

It may seem like I am using a lot of clich s to describe Arbery s story, but it is difficult to piece together a story that will never be completed.

On eb. 2 , Arbery went out for a seemingly normal run but instead was shot to death by Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael, according to The New York Times.

When police identified Arbery s killers, the district attorney stopped authorities from making an immediate arrest because he knew the killers, according to AJC. I first heard about Arbery while scrolling on Instagram and saw a video of Arbery s murder.

It s terrifying to think that scrolling through Instagram is the only way I will learn about black communities being targeted by law enforcement.

Arbery s case not only provides a glimpse into how vulnerable black communities are, but also the oppression they face. The fact is, African Americans have faced oppression all throughout history.

Police brutality is only one of the many ways African Americans are oppressed. African Americans are constantly targeted, but

the fact that law enforcement has also become biased is what s most concerning.

In the U.S., African Americans are 2. times more likely to be killed by police than white people, according to CityLab. Unarmed black people are 1. times more likely to be killed by the police when compared to unarmed white people, according to MappingPoliceViolence.

Law enforcement exists to protect members in our community, regardless of their background. Police are supposed to

Illustration by Shreya Partha PROTECT BLACK COMMUNITIES: Skin color should not stop us

from protecting each other.

uphold the idea innocent until proven guilty.”

However, police bias continues to be a problem. The police are supposed to be there to keep us safe from people we fear, not become the people we fear.

Racial bias is a dehumanizing issue, and the fact that it is still present in law enforcement shows how awed our system has become.

Arbery is only one prevalent example of oppression through law enforcement. There are other cases such as Breonna Taylor, who was killed by the Louisiana police for no reason, and Kenneth Ross, Jr. who was unarmed but was still fatally shot to death

by Los Angeles police.

These cases warn us as a society of our near future, where we will be normalizing oppression.

Justice for Arbery and every other victim of police brutality has to be fought for so we can set a precedent for future cases. We should not be normalizing death in black communities.

Now is the time to wake up from our skewed reality and remember that we are all Americans living in the same country, facing the same adversities. It is time to come together to remove the oppression that has divided our community for so long.

China is not responsible, merely a victim

Placing liability on China is a distraction from our own faults

By Shreya Partha ive months in. Over 188 countries infected. And only one country to blame, right?

Since January, China has been fighting against the coronavirus and has made remarkable progress, according to a Washington Post op-ed written by the Chinese ambassador Cui Tianki.

However, it seems that no matter how much China works to reduce the amount of new coronavirus cases, politicians and media outlets have an irrational mindset to always blame hina.”

Take our own president for e ample. On April 18, he posted that China has the most deaths from the coronavirus, not the United States. He repeated the assertion the next day, saying that China had underreported the number of deaths, and that the virus could have been stopped in China, before it started,” according to The New York Times.

Our president is de ecting attention from our government s response to the coronavirus by pinning the blame on China, no matter whether or not they deserve it.

For some people, China has to be wrong, regardless of the facts, Cui said.

When the virus first appeared, China took initiative and locked down Wuhan in a decision that was heavily criticized for violating human rights.

Pictures comparing Wuhan marketplaces before and after the shutdown circulated the internet — some riddled with people and others resembling a ghost town.

provide is baf ing.

However, there still remains people who aim to do just that.

President Trump has discussed stripping hina of its sovereign immunity,” aiming to enable the U.S. government to sue China for damages, according to The Washington Post.

It s completely ludicrous that he thinks he can sue China and ask for compensation for damage they didn t have control over.

Trump s reasoning is also incredibly awed as he claims to have seen evidence that substantiates the theory the coronavirus originated at the Wuhan Institute Illustration by Shreya Partha of Virology, even though several U.S. intelligence agencies conSTOP BLAMING CHINA: While the Chinese government had its citizens’ cluded that the virus was not best interests in mind, other countries saw it as a human rights violation. man-made or genetically modiBut, that exact situation is hapApril 14, President Trump fied, according to The Guardian. pening in major U.S. states like decided to free e nearly 00 If Trump s own intelligence New York and California, yet most million in public money for the agencies could not find evidence Americans accept the situation.

World Health Organization, ac- backing up his accusation, then For some people, even if China cording to The New York Times. he doesn t have ground to stand makes all the right decisions, just Cutting funding toward the on when suing them for a virus the fact that China made them is World Health Organization is they clearly did not create. enough ustification to retaliate. a completely irrational move Just because blaming China There is nothing that sets us because it puts millions of lives at is the easiest” or most conveapart or puts us above them. The risk. This decision was not taken nient” option doesn t mean it s Chinese government is trying to lightly by other political leaders, the correct option. Like every protect its people, even if the rest especially former President other country, the disease is new of the world has made it seem Jimmy Carter who said he was to China. They did not cause it otherwise. distressed,” and called the and saying they did is inaccurate When China provided con- World ealth Organi ation the and blatantly inhumane. stant updates about the outbreak, only international organization It s also not acceptable to use other countries labeled objective capable of leading the effort to them as an excuse to postpone facts as disinformation and pro- control this virus,” according to taking care of our country. It s paganda, according to Cui. The New York Times. critical for these political leaders, For many countries, placing We cannot blame China for especially President Trump, to the blame on China is an easy the pandemic. They were merely understand that they did the best way to divert attention from their the first victim and to even they could and de ecting blame own lack of preparedness, ac- think about asking the victim onto China is just a distraction cording to Project Syndicate. for a compensation they can not from our country s own faults.

PAGE DESIGN BY KARUNA CHANDRAN AND LEILA SALAM

Lifestyles

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Summer Academy solutions: FUHSD moves program online

5

Staff adjusts program to ensure students receive purposeful education

By Karuna Chandran As the state continues to operate under stayat-home orders, new problems arise that schools have to face. One of the most impactful changes for is the ummer Academy program going virtual.

The biggest thing is that we need to move a program that we had in person in classrooms and shift all of it online,” assistant principal of ummer Academy ackie orso said. ummer Academy is mostly for students who want to recover credit or become eligible for A-G re uirements, orso said. The Academy covers the main academic classes like English, algebra and biology. owever, it also includes enrichment programs such as a summer intensive geometry class and a college essay workshop.

In order to move it to an online format, one of the biggest changes was the schedule itself. osh Maisel, the primary administrator of the program, said in a phone interview they had to cut the program from four hours a day down to three hours, with breaks in between.

We re trying to prioriti e the critical skills and habits,” Maisel said.

In order to be effective, ummer Academy has to teach students a course in si weeks that is normally a year long, so they can earn five credits per summer semester.

Maisel said program administrators try to focus on giving students the skills they need to succeed rather than specific assignments.

In an English course, for instance, you might read To ill a Mockingbird,” but To ill a Mockingbird” is not the curriculum the analytical essay is the curriculum ... it s those skills that are the curriculum,” Maisel said.

orso said there are several things the program administrators have done to make sure students are able to succeed this summer.

We ll have small groups, so that the teacher doesn t have to be thinking about 0 students they can ust focus on 10,” orso said.

Teachers and administrators, like iviana Torres, the summer academy principal, are collaborating to ensure the program runs smoothly.

We are working to empower teachers and create policies that are clear to help address the difference in student needs,” Torres said in an email.

The goal is for teachers to be able to converse with their students effectively, she said.

I am modifying curriculum as much as possible to be super e ible,” ames atti, who is teaching Inclusion English during ummer Academy, said in an email.

Teachers themselves are editing their class structure for the summer, atti said.

When teachers and students earn each other s trust and learn to communicate, it makes the rest of the educational e perience more powerful and positive,” Torres said.

In general, the staff that teach at the ummer Academy are very e perienced, Maisel said.

A lot of the teachers are coming back year after year, because they see it as an opportunity for them to learn and to grow,” Maisel said.

Overall, this change affects staff as much as students, and the administration is doing what they can to make it a smooth e perience.

We are ust trying to make sure that the learning that we re offering in our program is meaningful and something that s interesting and engaging for students,” orso said.

“We are working to empower teachers and create policies that are clear to help address the difference in student needs.” -Viviana Torres

Photos by Miya Liu SWITCH TO VIRTUAL: Online schooling is now the only option for pro-

grams such as the Summer Academy.

The powerful impact of books Saving the book industry

By Madhavi Karthik The first time I reali ed my love for libraries was in elementary school. There were what I thought to be countless shelves filled with books from every genre I could imagine.

I would go to the school library at least once a week and ask the librarian for a book recommendation. All of the books she recommended I fell in love with. ooks such as the Petal Pushers” series, rindle” and many more contributed to my love of reading.

Now, no one can go to the library to find a book to keep themselves busy.

Not too long ago, I was browsing ouTube for book recommendations to pass the time during uarantine, when I came across a video called ow coronavirus is hurting the book industry.”

I was surprised because I had heard about the pandemic hurting restaurants, but not the book industry.

I wanted to research more about this topic, and I found an article discussing the importance of public libraries in the nation closing due to the pandemic. According to Wired, libraries have been utili ed as shelters for homeless people during the day.

I never imagined libraries as more than places to read or study, and as it turns out, there is a large number of people who have made libraries their home. owever, libraries are not the only establishments in the book industry that have been impacted. Indie bookshops have suf-

fered financially due to O I -19.

According to the American ooksellers Association, many independent bookstores have been concerned about sales due to cancellations of events such as author visits. eading this made me reminisce about my local bookstore, inden Tree hildren s ooks. I spent hours there perusing titles. omething about the uietness of customers browsing for books is so comforting.

I ll admit, I ve bought my fair share of books from Ama on so I could have them delivered uickly, but after reading about what indie bookstores are going through, I had to support them during these tough times.

I finali ed a list of books I wanted and purchased them from Powell s ooks, an independent bookstore based in Portland, Oregon. The books were delivered after three weeks, but the feeling that I had supported an important cause was well worth the wait. ooks have an une plainable impact on my life. They bring tears, they make me laugh and they ve always been there for me. efore the shelter-in-place orders were announced, I was swamped with schoolwork and failed to cherish the time I had in libraries.

I miss wandering between bookshelves, looking for the perfect stack of books. ooks have been a sanctuary for me, and in the future, I won t take them for granted.

PAGE DESIGN BY RITAJA SUBRAHMANYA AND YUKARI E. ZAPATA

“I never imagined libraries as more than places to read or study, and as it turns out, there is a large number of people who have made libraries their home.”

6

Entertainment

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Disney parks reopening: morality vs. profit

Disney should not reopen; saving humanity is more important

By Shreya Partha

Celebrity Spotlight

By Saanvi Thakur It’s become so common to see your friends repost different Instagram posts about social issues that our world is facing. Every single time you open social media, a new social issue is put in front of you to worry about, which becomes a never ending cycle that only stops when you make the decision to go on that social media cleanse.

Even though there is an immense amount of anxiety present, social media is one of the best ways to gain awareness about a social issue. But then comes the problem of who you should follow and what issues you want to learn more about. There are so many different activists and in uencers each of whom has a story to share, but the question is: who should I follow?

In an ocean of inuencers and activists, Shaun King is one who stands out. Over the years, King has created different organizations, such as Real Justice PAC and Flip The Senate, where he fights for different parts of our communities that are unable to stand up for themselves. The power of social media is not taken advantage of very often, but the few times it is, King is the reason behind it. Recently, Ahmaud Arbey’s murder case was taken on by King and within a few days, there were different celebrities reposting Arbery’s story, solely because of King.

King is also a big inspiration to me and is someone I look up to.

As an activist for many different social issues, it s always difficult to balance being an activist and my personal life. King posts constant reminders on his Instagram that it is okay to feel overwhelmed, which helps break your feed by adding more positivity.

If there’s anyone you should follow on social media, it’s King. The way he uses his platform to support others is only the tip of the iceberg of all the good he’s done.

Disneyland.

To some it is the happiest place on earth, others know it as the place where they go broke.

But for everyone, it’s a universal symbol of entertainment — from the parks and movies to the streaming platform and cruises, Disney is a franchise tailored for amusement.

After over a decade of spectacular growth, the entertainment conglomerate has been devastated by the O I -19 pandemic.

Its 14 theme parks, which combined had an annual attendance of over 1 7 million and delivered record profits in 2019, are now padlocked, according to The New York Times.

Amidst the pandemic, the Shanghai Disneyland reopened with controlled capacity on May 11, according to hanghai isney Resort.

The park has instituted new measures and procedures, including limited attendance, advanced ticketing and reservation and social distancing, but these procedures may not be enough to prevent a second wave.

Illustration by Shreya Partha

LIVES AT RISK : Disney reopened parks during the pandemic to make up

for lost funds as a result of prolonged closures.

Even so, the biggest question is the morality of the situation.

Yes, Disney is struggling and opening parks would be great for profit however, it isn t morally just to open parks now and put thousands at risk.

Disney’s executives, however, believe that there is enormous pent-up demand for public activities, pointing to the 40,000 people who swarmed a California beach when it reopened last

month, according to The New York Times.

In terms of the rest of the world, it’s just putting everyone at risk of another relapse. Although China is doing relatively well in terms of new cases, reopening the parks is just a money v. morality matter.

From a personal standpoint when I’m living in such a vulnerable community infected with the disease, it’s so sickening to think

that these people would risk putting so many lives at risk.

I do not believe it’s worth the risk simply to keep a business a oat. There are better ways to pay management their dividend — increasing their range on Disney+, promoting their online Disney stores or even providing discount codes to increase sales.

People are dying. From the disease that has taken over our world, people are dying. Sons, fathers, mothers, daughters, sisters and brothers are all gone, leaving their family and friends devastated.

It’s not over yet. Lives are still at risk and people are stuck at home.

We shouldn’t be condoning the reopening of Disney parks and we definitely shouldn t be excited for it.

Reopening the parks will only put the rest of the world at risk of a second wave. A second wave of people dying. A second wave of being stuck at home. A second wave to solidify that we failed the first time.

Exposing all the Indian aunties in the world ‘Never Have I Ever’ touches on issues Indian teens face

By Saanvi Thakur As an Indian immigrant, wearing a lengha and eating a ladoo while standing in line at Safeway is one of the many unique memories I have of growing up in the Bay Area. I never really fit into the Indian communities because of the toxic auntie culture, in which I am under constant scrutiny for my clothing choices, choosing to wear makeup and for everything else remotely deemed “not Indian.”

It gets agonizingly tedious to grow as a person when family members keep reminding you about Indian standards that you have to follow. For example, covering up when there are men around, focusing on education and being obedient are some of the illogical things we are told to abide by.

As an Indian-American, the question “Am I Indian enough?” is something that is always on my mind. It seems as though every time I visit India, I know almost nothing about my birth country, but when I come back home, everyone is asking me questions about my culture. The truth is, I can not provide the answers to questions I don’t know myself.

I think one of the main reasons I rarely had an intuition to learn more about my culture is the lack of representation. I thought that since I barely saw an Indian actor or actresses in Hollywood showing pride for their lineage, I had no reason to be interested in mine.

I never saw Indian actresses in any of the shows I watched on Disney or Nickelodeon. Even in the Bollywood movies I watched, the Indian actresses had light skin and the movies itself never portrayed what it felt like to be an Indian immigrant in America.

“Never Have I Ever” is a coming of age series on Net i , but it’s more than just another random Net i release that went viral and gained attention.

The show’s main character, Devi, played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, is an Indian-American living in California who tries to find the balance between being an American teenager and staying connected with her South Indian roots. “Never Have I Ever” is one of the first shows that has gotten close to actually depicting my own experiences.

This is the first show I have ever seen where I can actually relate to the character and it feels

Photo courtesy of Netflix INDIAN REPRESENTATION NEEDED: Indian communities need

more recognition in society.

as though we, as the youth of the Indian community, have finally received representation in the entertainment industry.

Before the release of “Never Have I Ever,” I had yet to see a Indian girl play an Indian role that wasn’t hidden under a fake, alternate version of being an immigrant in the U.S.

“Never Have I Ever” is one step in the right direction in terms of representation and will allow future generations to feel more accepted for who they are, whether that is being a part of the LGBTQ+ community or wanting to extend beyond the precedented norms.

music in may All photos courtesy of Billboard

Music suggestions for the month of May range from Drake’s new album to Halsey’s new single.

PAGE DESIGN BY SAANVI THAKUR

Sports

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

7

Future of HHS athletics

Fall sports will not return under current conditions

By Nika Bondar In my opinion, the 20202021 school year will be a year of in u as games, sports and seasons will be canceled altogether or be rescheduled constantly as HHS negotiates between open campus and remote learning,” athletic director teve avelle said in an email.

As the O I -19 pandemic continues, so does remote learning, and although classes, clubs and even school-wide events such as rallies and senior awards night have all been moved online, one crucial aspect of our high school community has been left be-

hind school sports. nfortunately, as long as social distancing prolongs through the school year, after-school sports will be off-limits, avelle said. There are a number of possibilities as to what will be done with fall sports. There is a chance they will be canceled completely for ne t year, avelle said.

Or it could be that some of those fall sports will be played during winter or spring season if it comes down to that,” avelle said. ophomore Mallory Mitton played field hockey and soccer prior to the pandemic. Although her college career does not depend on her athletic performance, Mitton is very discouraged, as losing the ability to play sports would mean losing a big part of her identity, she said.

“If contact sports are canceled then I d definitely Photo by Sahil Venkatesan attend more meet-

ings and after school activities that clubs hold,” Mitton said, as previously playing sports used to take up the ma ority of her time. ike many determined student athletes, sophomore Nicholas Bilsborrow said he continues to e ercise during uarantine.

It s not the same as with a team. Especially a team sport like water polo, you need to be able to practice with your team to improve with them,” ilsborrow said. Aside from that, I am worried that training on my own, I am not as motivated as I would be if the season was still going on.” ortunately, the cancellation of the water polo season will not have any lasting effect on ilsborrow s plans.

Water polo is more of a side thing, rather than something super important to me,” ilsborrow said. I was planning to receive PE credits, but I am not worrying about credits because I also do swimming, so as long as we are not in lockdown for two more whole years I am good.”

Although discouraged by the current situation, both Mitton

and Bilsborrow said they are determined to return to their lives as athletes sometime in the future.

I would definitely go back to playing sports in my senior year ,” Mitton said. Not being able to play sports next year I would be really sad, but I definitely want to go back again senior year. That way I could also have my senior night and play with all my friends again.”

Scan the QR code to watch videos and read an article on how students are staying active during quarantine!

Spotlight on Cody Owens

Getting to know the new HHS athletic director

By Allen Zhang Athletic director teve avelle will be stepping down from the role at the end of the 2019-20 school year after two years splitting time between teaching English and serving as the athletic director, avelle said in an email. ody Owens, avelle s replacement, hails from M , where he works as a football coach and history teacher.

Owens comes with a lot of coaching and teaching experience and will no doubt help HHS athletics be a winning and rewarding program for all athletes,” avelle said.

I spoke with Owens to learn more about him as well as find out his goals for the upcoming school year.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How long have you worked as a teacher and a coach?

A: I ll be going into my si th year full-time teaching World istory and American tudies, and I have coached football at M for the past four years.

Q: Do you plan on teaching history while

working as the athletic director?

A: urrently, I am scheduled to teach two classes at M and spend the rest of my time as athletic director at , but that may change I could be working at full time.

Q: What part of becoming the athletic director are you most excited about?

A: I think it will be fun to interact with many different sports. I have coached football for many years, but I m e cited to be involved with athletics for the whole school and implement some techni ues from M at . It s an e citing opportunity and a new challenge in life. It s e citing to take over a school with good athletic programs and a lot of parent support. I m glad that the opportunity came about and that I accepted the offer.

Q: Changing gears a bit, did you play any sports in high school or college?

A: I grew up playing football and played all four years of high school along with one year of baseball. I was playing in college, but I ended up having a couple of in uries. I had to get my rotator cuff rebuilt and a minor back

surgery for an in ury I had, so that ended athletics for me.

Q: What is your favorite sport to watch?

A: I m a huge football fan and a big combat sports fan, but I like all sports. I tell students that your opportunity to be an athlete is so short in life, so get involved as much as possible.

Q: What’s your favorite football team?

A: I m a huge Pittsburgh teelers fan. My whole family is from Pennsylvania, so I ust grew up in a cult of the teelers.

Q: Do you have a message for studentathletes at HHS? A: I would tell students to remain optimistic and continue to work hard because we don t know what the future will hold. I look forward to being a part of the athletics community at .

I wish everyone the best and I hope that more students come out for sports. And students, don t give up on athletics in spite of all this craziness that’s going on with the O I -19 pandemic.

Infographic by Raymond Ranbhise and Allen Zhang

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FARIA FOCUS

By Jackson Faria Since the NBA shut down on March 11 due to O I -19, we have seen every other ma or sporting league worldwide follow the NBA’s lead and shut down all games and practices.

This has left sports fans not so patiently waiting for their return over the last two months. uckily for us, there is some light at the end of this sportsless tunnel as we are starting to hear and see plans of return from sporting leagues all over the world.

The first sport to make a return to action was baseball in South orea s O eague.

The league held it’s opening day on May , with empty stadiums, not allowing fans to attend games. The O eague has boomed in viewership worldwide as sports fans everywhere have tuned into the action. undesliga, the top German soccer league resumed their season in matchweek 26 on May 16. The last time we saw the Bundesliga in action was on March 11, with stands packed full of fans now, the stadiums are empty and coaches and players off the field must maintain social distancing throughout the match.

As for ma or sports in America, it is still unclear exactly when they will be able to return to action this summer.

The league that seems to have the most intact plan at the moment is the M .

The MLB is looking to hold opening day the first week of uly, with new regulations for players and team personnel. On the field, players are prohibited from any form of highfives or hugging as well as chewing and spitting sun ower seeds or tobacco.

Players and personnel not participating in the game must maintain social distancing by sitting in the stands at least si feet away from each other.

Even with the new rules and regulations in place for sports across the world, it is great to see them back in action.

PAGE DESIGN BY AMBER BIRRELL AND ALLEN ZHANG

8

Last Word

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Community members have created sidewalk art through thoughtful drawings and inspiring messages.

These special creations are meant to cheer up those who pass by them, and bring them hope.

Some joyful events, such as weddings, are still taking place during the quarantine. More than 200 people watched, recently, as HHS alumna Melissa Valdez and Ramiro Gonzales said the words “I do.”

Photo by Anika Karody

Photo courtesy of Anoushka Shenoy

Photo by Allen Zhang

Photo courtesy of Melissa Valdez

Spreading Positivity In these dull times, some musically inclined people have taken time to whip out their instruments and play music for their neighbors. While indulging in a (responsible) stroll, you may hear some music once in a while.

Junior Anoushka Shenoy, with the help of others, made 350 masks for medical workers at El Camino Hospital and others who needed them by using donations from members in her community.

Impact of HHS students in our community Students step up to help those in need

By Jackson Faria As the safety of our community has been jeopardized during this pandemic, HHS students have been working with local organi ations to help fight O I -19.

Juniors Rajvi Umrigar and Michelle Wallerius started their own mentoring program Inara. Inara pairs high school volunteers with middle school students for bi-weekly mentorship sessions.

“We started Inara to help ease the transition from middle to high school and keep students motivated and productive during quarantine,” Umrigar and Wallerius said.

They started the initial planning in April and the mentoring sessions are set to start une 1, Wallerius said.

“The transition from middle to high school is very important and difficult,” Umrigar said, “I am proud of our team for taking the initiative on something like this.”

Junior Anika Shah has been involved in a nonprofit fundraiser alongside other teens to purchase masks for high-risk areas around the country.

“We raise money through social me-

dia and contact mask manufacturers in China to purchase them for hospitals,” hah said, We ve been doing this for 6 weeks now and raised 1, 00.”

Shah said the group was motivated to fundraise for hospital workers because they had seen hospitals struggling with supplies.

Bayreach is an organization that strives to improve the livelihood of students in our community.

Junior Hannah McGoran said she decided to join Bayreach when the pandemic started to help the community.

She joined the Student Response Initiative, a campaign allowing students to help combat the effects of coronavirus in our education and healthcare systems.

McGoran joined Bayreach because she has seen the effects of coronavirus firsthand, she said.

“I was a volunteer at Kaiser before O I -19,” McGoran said, I watched the situation get progressively worse.”

Due to the pandemic, McGoran was not allowed to volunteer at the hospital so she looked for another way to help.

I wanted to find a way to support

How to make a face mask Supplies: Two sheets of Rubber bands breathable fabric

Scissors

Needle & thread or sewing machine

my community from home,” McGoran said, “I found the work [at] SRI was exactly what I had been hoping to do.”

Sophomore Evelyn Qui also said she decided to join Bayreach’s SRI to help the community.

Qui said she and her team make daily infographics on social media with mental health advice. They also made a website for students looking for news and help with standardized testing.

“Helping others in need during this time is very worthwhile,” Qui said, “It is amazing to see all our hard work benefiting different aspects of our community.”

How to help during the pandemic

Stay home

According to the CDC, what makes COVID-19 more dangerous than the seasonal flu is that it is far more contagious and deadly. By staying at home, you can ensure the safety of yourself and others.

........................

Donate

Our community relies heavily on donations collected to aid those who have been heavily affected by the pandemic.

Places to donate: » Local hospitals, such as El Camino Hospital, Stanford Medical Center or Kaiser Permanente » Second Harvest Food Bank, which is located at 4001 N 1st St, San Jose » Local non-profit organizations, such as Sunnyvale Community Services, United Way Bay Area or Project Open Hand

Step 1: Cut the fabric into 10” x 6” rectangles and fold it in half horizontally.

Step 2: Fold 1/4” inwards lengthwise and sew the fold to the rest of the cloth.

Step 3: Fold 1/2” inwards widthwise.

Put a rubber band into the folds.

Step 4: Sew the folds and stitch through the rubber bands to prevent them from slipping.

Scan the QR code to read about small businesses during the pandemic

........................

Volunteer

Due to the pandemic, volunteering takes on a different form. Rather than physically reaching out to the needy, we must resort to remote techniques.

Ways to volunteer: » Sign up to volunteer for local non-profits and food banks, like Meals on Wheels SF, The Salvation Army or Silicon Valley Strong » Volunteer to get groceries for vulnerable community members - Nextdoor is a great place to offer your services » Make masks to donate to hospitals PAGE DESIGN BY ANIKA KARODY, DANIEL PENALOSA AND BRYAN RUIZ

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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT We all know these past four years have been a wild ride, but with the s pport o one anot er e ve finally made it to the end.

PAGE DESIGN BY KATELYNN NGO PHOTOS COURTESY OF ORUN ALTINTAS, ROMA BEDEKAR, ROSE CHAN, ALEC MORTENSEN, LINDSEY SKIDMORE AND ANANTAJIT SUBRAHMANYA ILLUSTRATIONS BY ZOE LI, FIONA OH AND SARA SHOUHOUD

2

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

During lunch, students rushed into classrooms or off-campus when the Code Red alarm blared through the halls. The lockdown took place due to domestic violence at the 7-Eleven store nearby.

Photo by Shauli Bar-On

NEWS IN A MINUTE

By Shruti Magesh

LOCAL:

NATIONAL:

Virtual graduation ceremony College semesters shortened

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Photo by Renee Wang

In light of many school shootings during this time, the student body rallied together to protest gun violence. While the walkout only lasted 17 minutes, some marched to Sunnyvale City Hall to spread awareness of school shootings and gun violence.

S

HHS will be holding a virtual graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020 on June 4 at 6 p.m.

Each graduate will be highlighted for 12 seconds and the ceremony will include various speeches, according to an email from FUHSD.

INTERNATIONAL:

As universities make plans to reopen in the fall, there are hopes to shorten the fall semester, ending

by Thanksgiving instead of Christmas.

However, other colleges, such as the CSUs, announced they will be offering online classes for the fall semester, according to the New York Times.

COVID-19’s impact on students Due to COVID-19, the closure of many college campuses left international students struggling to find homes or jobs, according to the New York Times.

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Mustang fans crowded Levi Stadium to support their D1 football team.

The game ended with a 0-28 loss against Los Gatos High School.

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Photo by Thomas Denome

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Photo courtesy of Anthony Piazza

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The unofficial senior beach day at Bearscove in Santa Cruz celebrated the start of senior year. Many swam, ate, and talked about the excitement of the year to come. The night ended with a bonfire and music underneath the moonlight.

-Anthony Piazza

O I S I

This year’s Homecoming rally celebrated 10 HHS seniors. Nadav Ben David and Soraya Miremadi were crowned King and Queen at the rally. The student body ended the night with the football game and HOCO dance.

Photo courtesy of Edmond Kwong

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Photo Illustration by Jacqueline Beaufore

Assassins is a game for Seniors to have fun with one another and participate in an activity together outside of campus. This game lasted a few weeks until it was shut down by the school administration. Even with the fun cut short, the Seniors still made a lasting memory.

PAGE DESIGN BY JACQUELINE BEAUFORE

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

3

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PAGE DESIGN BY SARA SHOHOUD

4

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday, May 27, 2020 Sitting on the famous “Soarin’” ride found in Disneylands around the world, wonders of the country and Earth unfold in front of passengers. Just like that, the class of 2020 has flown to new heights in persevering through unprecedented times, seeing the beauty in the future and their not-so-final destinations. What they have in front of them is full of terrifying heights and unexpected turns, but also a view that stretches the vast and beautiful world and presents new understandings of life beyond HHS. Congratulations to the class of 2020 and may the uncertainties of this time be a reminder of your strength.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020 Louisiana

Louisiana State University Tyler Dawson

New York University Kelly Mao Ryan Miao

University of Pennsylvania Nathaniel Lao

Tulane University Caitlin Fong

Wellesley College Isabel Sathy

Massachusetts

University of Rochester Andrea Sun

Case Western Reserve University Elwin He

Rhode Island School of Design Working Katherine Ayala Ashleigh Dong Karla Perez Zuniga Undecided/Unknown Texas Maxim Bravo El Centro College Albert Andrade Campos Chloe Hatter Maria Del Carmen Matthew Kenji Honma Rice University Kosei Niiyama Shreya Jindal Kristy Luu Javanni Sivao Trinity University Walter Tang Paige Bensing Gaston Thomas Richards Gerardo Ramirez Torres Utah Zheng Xiang Brigham Young University David Zavala Shannon Siu

Oklahoma

Washington

Brandeis University Shelly Kidron Boston University Naysha Kola

Northeastern University Shannon Soh Darren Hsing Elizabeth Hwang Hagen Zhang Simmons College Aria Badra

Grand Canyon University Alec Mortenson

California

ArtCenter College of Design Benjamin Boulon Cal Poly State University, SLO David Aronson Anna Chibukhchyan Kyu Rhee Han Alissa Fong Hannah Ford Edward Loh Sumukhi Pandey Evan Pomeroy Chapman University Kelly Phoon Sara Shohoud Kyle Wynne City College of San Francisco Jared Wade CSU, Bakersfield Tyler Ohman Dallas Odle CSU, Chico Rhiannon Gilbert Kira Lapides Rachel Payne CSU, East Bay Graciela Rivera CSU, Fullerton Jenna Bernardo Katie Capio Rachel McFarland

De Anza Community College Trevor Lawless Bibis Hernandez Lopez Nory Hernandez Lozano Eita Mabuchi Aden Massey Stanley Alexander McIndoo Leslie Nuño Timothy Pham Dennis Plotnikov Brian Rodriguez Jennifer Cisneros Rodriguez Ariyan Saneeinajad Emily Shin Justin Tyler Wilox South Hongzhen Sun Brian Tam Kelvin Tam Ran Tao Dristi Thakur Jason Herrera Villalba Alexi Violet Zen Villa Vaughn Walker Dominican University of California Kay Theresa Picson Foothill College Will Belford Sylvie Florin Johanna Galvez Sydney Harmon Grace Haun Oh Tristan Raveneau Holy Names University Taylor Ortiz Humboldt State Kei Chow

CSU, Long Beach Tyler Gutierrez

Junior College Cooper Berthiaume

De Anza Community College Leiyonee Isis Lenae Bose Frederick Khent Buton Ege Catkli Roee Shay Karni Annabelle Law Neil Lenk Calvin Heins

Laguna College of Art and Design Katheleen Gao Loyola Marymount Renee Cheung Tiffany Lok Kylie Vincent Mason Wong

.

A .

S .

U '

Pepperdine University Vivian Hsia Pitzer College Kush Patel Occidental College Dylan Lee Otis College of Art and Design Kean Towle Mills College Ruksana Varma San Diego State University Kiana Amirazizi Karissa Chow Shannon Johnson Guthrie San Jose State University Nicholas Bao Jaden Choi Caroline Lee Snigdha Gurram Tony Nguyen Ariana Oliva Shirley Azul Orozco Plata Stephanie Rodriguez Josue Santiago San Joaquin Delta College Liliana Maldonado Varelas San Francisco State University Jacqueline Beaufore Fatima Al Tuwarish Stanford University Shaunak Bhandarkar Rebecca Refaee Santa Barbara City College Lance Baker Santa Clara University Rachel Choy

N I R SOA Santa Clara University Atharv Patil Jugraj Singh Shoker Katelyn Wong Priscilla Zheng Scripps College Sarah Teske UC Berkeley Roma Bedekar Naomi Ho Jonathan Lee Karen Li Fiona Oh Hannah Oh Ben Piekarz Carolyn Shan Ari Vishin Eefay Wang Gloria Wang Zachary Wang UC Davis Oscar Paul Boissy Miranda Louise Comstock Nolan Rainey Chow Devin Fan Khushi Lalwani Darian Eileen Lee Renee Wang UC Irvine Neel Joshi Joshua Hyunki Kim William Mason Inika Mehra Rochelle Nixon Natalie Poist Navya Sangam Archer Sauer Daivic Vora

UCLA Aakarsh Anand Prateek Anand Zibaa Uhyghur Adil Melissa Chen Neeti Indiresan Joyce Jeon Peter Jivotovkski Ella Levine Krish Patel Dominick Rosenthal Kavya Shah Harrison Wang UC Riverside Ruchi Chhadwa Sai Kapu Agneesh Kumar Sergio Solorio Fabio Eirea Valente Ashley Wong UC San Diego Cassidy Biellak Kate Bilsborrow Michael Chang Sophia Chen Siddarth Gaywala William Hu Flora Kang Sidarth Kumar Jeremy Lei Aidan Lin Athira Rajiv Atharva Shah Jiyong Shim Kari Siu Anoushka Tambay Riya Varma Evelyn Xing Belinda Yan Zachary Yam UC Santa Barbara Brian Ozawa Burns

UC Santa Barbara Kaie Chen Melody Chen Aryaman Kapali Das Janani Ganesh Akshay Ghosh Karinna Gupta Holly Hu Niki Hakami Stacey Kawabata Lior Kishinevsky Anna Le Saint Katelynn Ngo Sasha Oberman Jeffrey Shao Ansh Soni Hana Subrahmanyan Arnav Thirunagari Luke Vandervoorde Jonathan Wilcox Patrick Yu

Lewis and Clark Dexter Tatsukawa

UC Santa Cruz Roni Altshuler Alyssa An Elizabeth Chien Nihal Jonathan Ernest Ryan Philip Huang Michelle Marvar Alekhya Meduri Avneesh Muralitharan Hannah Royappa University of San Diego Kristen Tran University of San Francisco Ashwini Pullur University of Southern California Kelvin Hu Matthew Li Jai Loonker Audrey Kim West Valley College Brandon Gregory Bodzioch

Oregon State Tobias Fork University of Portland Shelly Bensimhon Margaret Batek University of Oregon Justin Pennypacker

New York

Wilamette University Aidan Jones

Cornell University Alex Choi Tara Joseph Johnry Zhao

University of Colorado, Boulder Kyle Fenton Samuel Kirschenbaum

Oregon

Princeton University Sabrina Kim

Binghamton University Gabriela Banaag

Colorado

Ohio State University Ke Ou

Michigan

New Jersey

: P TO S T NEX

Ohio

Oklahoma University Ryan Scudder

University of Michigan Nalin Krishnan Brandon Wei

Arizona State University Anisha Anthuvan Brianna Duncan Sonia Parikh Rishi Saxenax

University of Nevada, Reno Nathan Michelotti

University of Massachusetts Amherst Sophia Serrato

Calvin University Paige Miner

Arizona

Nevada

Ithaca College Jackson Leuenberger (gap year) New York University Sophya Diwan

Pennsylvania Carnegie Mellon Caleb Lile Shruti Magesh Andrew Wang Kendra Wong Teresa Yang

Pennsylvania State Bryan Wiley

Georgia

Emory University Tamar Gilad

Hawaii

Hawaii Pacific Katelin Pelkey University of Hawaii at Manoa Fabiola Felisa Suciu Zamora

Illinois

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Samyak Jain Kanna Karthik Matthew Lee Minal Singh Anantajit Subrahmanya University of Illinois at Chicago Shree Srinivasan Northwestern University Hanjune Lee

Indiana

Purdue University Lucas Aoyagi Mihika Deshmukh Navaneet Kabada Indiana University Bloomington Ryan Liu

Kansas

University of Kansas Trevor Holloway

Scan with any camera phone or Snapchat

Rhode Island

Seattle University Elizabeth White University of Puget Sound Sara Olsson University of Washington Chianie Chi Grant Fourkas Gloria Lin Rupali Ramalingam Lindsey Skidmore

Washington D.C.

Georgetown University Noa Bronicki

Wisconsin

Marquette University Alexa Maletis

And More

Beauty School Georgette Palma Martinez Gap Year Joseph Balje (U.S. Navy) Ethan Cervelli (Ohio) Sofia Farinas (Amherst) Anthony Jesus Paredes William Randleman (Santa Clara University)

5

U.S. Marine Corps Julian Pedraza Daniel Juan Ramirez

Canada

Dalhousie University Darshana Saravanan McGill University Erin Fergason Soraya Miremadi University of Waterloo Osman Wong University of Toronto Vaibhav Seshadri

Denmark

Gap Year Maya Coutzouki (Filmmaking)

Israel

Gap Year Nadav Ben-David (Nacshon) Ella Carmel (Nachshon) Shir Lapede (Arava) Danielle Salman (Nachshon) Nitzan Shachar (Meitzar) Israeli Defense Forces Romy Bornstein IDC Herzliya Yoni Keren

England

SOAS University of London Ellora Laska

Japan

Monami Nagai Kensuke Yamanaka Hosei University Haruto Kawai

4

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday, May 27, 2020 Sitting on the famous “Soarin’” ride found in Disneylands around the world, wonders of the country and Earth unfold in front of passengers. Just like that, the class of 2020 has flown to new heights in persevering through unprecedented times, seeing the beauty in the future and their not-so-final destinations. What they have in front of them is full of terrifying heights and unexpected turns, but also a view that stretches the vast and beautiful world and presents new understandings of life beyond HHS. Congratulations to the class of 2020 and may the uncertainties of this time be a reminder of your strength.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020 Louisiana

Louisiana State University Tyler Dawson

New York University Kelly Mao Ryan Miao

University of Pennsylvania Nathaniel Lao

Tulane University Caitlin Fong

Wellesley College Isabel Sathy

Massachusetts

University of Rochester Andrea Sun

Case Western Reserve University Elwin He

Rhode Island School of Design Working Katherine Ayala Ashleigh Dong Karla Perez Zuniga Undecided/Unknown Texas Maxim Bravo El Centro College Albert Andrade Campos Chloe Hatter Maria Del Carmen Matthew Kenji Honma Rice University Kosei Niiyama Shreya Jindal Kristy Luu Javanni Sivao Trinity University Walter Tang Paige Bensing Gaston Thomas Richards Gerardo Ramirez Torres Utah Zheng Xiang Brigham Young University David Zavala Shannon Siu

Oklahoma

Washington

Brandeis University Shelly Kidron Boston University Naysha Kola

Northeastern University Shannon Soh Darren Hsing Elizabeth Hwang Hagen Zhang Simmons College Aria Badra

Grand Canyon University Alec Mortenson

California

ArtCenter College of Design Benjamin Boulon Cal Poly State University, SLO David Aronson Anna Chibukhchyan Kyu Rhee Han Alissa Fong Hannah Ford Edward Loh Sumukhi Pandey Evan Pomeroy Chapman University Kelly Phoon Sara Shohoud Kyle Wynne City College of San Francisco Jared Wade CSU, Bakersfield Tyler Ohman Dallas Odle CSU, Chico Rhiannon Gilbert Kira Lapides Rachel Payne CSU, East Bay Graciela Rivera CSU, Fullerton Jenna Bernardo Katie Capio Rachel McFarland

De Anza Community College Trevor Lawless Bibis Hernandez Lopez Nory Hernandez Lozano Eita Mabuchi Aden Massey Stanley Alexander McIndoo Leslie Nuño Timothy Pham Dennis Plotnikov Brian Rodriguez Jennifer Cisneros Rodriguez Ariyan Saneeinajad Emily Shin Justin Tyler Wilox South Hongzhen Sun Brian Tam Kelvin Tam Ran Tao Dristi Thakur Jason Herrera Villalba Alexi Violet Zen Villa Vaughn Walker Dominican University of California Kay Theresa Picson Foothill College Will Belford Sylvie Florin Johanna Galvez Sydney Harmon Grace Haun Oh Tristan Raveneau Holy Names University Taylor Ortiz Humboldt State Kei Chow

CSU, Long Beach Tyler Gutierrez

Junior College Cooper Berthiaume

De Anza Community College Leiyonee Isis Lenae Bose Frederick Khent Buton Ege Catkli Roee Shay Karni Annabelle Law Neil Lenk Calvin Heins

Laguna College of Art and Design Katheleen Gao Loyola Marymount Renee Cheung Tiffany Lok Kylie Vincent Mason Wong

Pepperdine University Vivian Hsia Pitzer College Kush Patel Occidental College Dylan Lee Otis College of Art and Design Kean Towle Mills College Ruksana Varma San Diego State University Kiana Amirazizi Karissa Chow Shannon Johnson Guthrie San Jose State University Nicholas Bao Jaden Choi Caroline Lee Snigdha Gurram Tony Nguyen Ariana Oliva Shirley Azul Orozco Plata Stephanie Rodriguez Josue Santiago San Joaquin Delta College Liliana Maldonado Varelas San Francisco State University Jacqueline Beaufore Fatima Al Tuwarish Stanford University Shaunak Bhandarkar Rebecca Refaee Santa Barbara City College Lance Baker Santa Clara University Rachel Choy

N I R SOA Santa Clara University Atharv Patil Jugraj Singh Shoker Katelyn Wong Priscilla Zheng Scripps College Sarah Teske UC Berkeley Roma Bedekar Naomi Ho Jonathan Lee Karen Li Fiona Oh Hannah Oh Ben Piekarz Carolyn Shan Ari Vishin Eefay Wang Gloria Wang Zachary Wang UC Davis Oscar Paul Boissy Miranda Louise Comstock Nolan Rainey Chow Devin Fan Khushi Lalwani Darian Eileen Lee Renee Wang UC Irvine Neel Joshi Joshua Hyunki Kim William Mason Inika Mehra Rochelle Nixon Natalie Poist Navya Sangam Archer Sauer Daivic Vora

UCLA Aakarsh Anand Prateek Anand Zibaa Uhyghur Adil Melissa Chen Neeti Indiresan Joyce Jeon Peter Jivotovkski Ella Levine Krish Patel Dominick Rosenthal Kavya Shah Harrison Wang UC Riverside Ruchi Chhadwa Sai Kapu Agneesh Kumar Sergio Solorio Fabio Eirea Valente Ashley Wong UC San Diego Cassidy Biellak Kate Bilsborrow Michael Chang Sophia Chen Siddarth Gaywala William Hu Flora Kang Sidarth Kumar Jeremy Lei Aidan Lin Athira Rajiv Atharva Shah Jiyong Shim Kari Siu Anoushka Tambay Riya Varma Evelyn Xing Belinda Yan Zachary Yam UC Santa Barbara Brian Ozawa Burns

UC Santa Barbara Kaie Chen Melody Chen Aryaman Kapali Das Janani Ganesh Akshay Ghosh Karinna Gupta Holly Hu Niki Hakami Stacey Kawabata Lior Kishinevsky Anna Le Saint Katelynn Ngo Sasha Oberman Jeffrey Shao Ansh Soni Hana Subrahmanyan Arnav Thirunagari Luke Vandervoorde Jonathan Wilcox Patrick Yu

Lewis and Clark Dexter Tatsukawa

UC Santa Cruz Roni Altshuler Alyssa An Elizabeth Chien Nihal Jonathan Ernest Ryan Philip Huang Michelle Marvar Alekhya Meduri Avneesh Muralitharan Hannah Royappa University of San Diego Kristen Tran University of San Francisco Ashwini Pullur University of Southern California Kelvin Hu Matthew Li Jai Loonker Audrey Kim West Valley College Brandon Gregory Bodzioch

Oregon State Tobias Fork University of Portland Shelly Bensimhon Margaret Batek University of Oregon Justin Pennypacker

New York

Wilamette University Aidan Jones

Cornell University Alex Choi Tara Joseph Johnry Zhao

University of Colorado, Boulder Kyle Fenton Samuel Kirschenbaum

Oregon

Princeton University Sabrina Kim

Binghamton University Gabriela Banaag

Colorado

Ohio State University Ke Ou

Michigan

New Jersey

.

A .

S .

U '

Ohio

Oklahoma University Ryan Scudder

University of Michigan Nalin Krishnan Brandon Wei

: P TO S T NEX

Arizona State University Anisha Anthuvan Brianna Duncan Sonia Parikh Rishi Saxenax

University of Nevada, Reno Nathan Michelotti

University of Massachusetts Amherst Sophia Serrato

Calvin University Paige Miner

Arizona

Nevada

Ithaca College Jackson Leuenberger (gap year) New York University Sophya Diwan

Pennsylvania Carnegie Mellon Caleb Lile Shruti Magesh Andrew Wang Kendra Wong Teresa Yang

Pennsylvania State Bryan Wiley

Georgia

Emory University Tamar Gilad

Hawaii

Hawaii Pacific Katelin Pelkey University of Hawaii at Manoa Fabiola Felisa Suciu Zamora

Illinois

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Samyak Jain Kanna Karthik Matthew Lee Minal Singh Anantajit Subrahmanya University of Illinois at Chicago Shree Srinivasan Northwestern University Hanjune Lee

Indiana

Purdue University Lucas Aoyagi Mihika Deshmukh Navaneet Kabada Indiana University Bloomington Ryan Liu

Kansas

University of Kansas Trevor Holloway

Scan with any camera phone or Snapchat

Rhode Island

Seattle University Elizabeth White University of Puget Sound Sara Olsson University of Washington Chianie Chi Grant Fourkas Gloria Lin Rupali Ramalingam Lindsey Skidmore

Washington D.C.

Georgetown University Noa Bronicki

Wisconsin

Marquette University Alexa Maletis

And More

Beauty School Georgette Palma Martinez Gap Year Joseph Balje (U.S. Navy) Ethan Cervelli (Ohio) Sofia Farinas (Amherst) Anthony Jesus Paredes William Randleman (Santa Clara University)

5

U.S. Marine Corps Julian Pedraza Daniel Juan Ramirez

Canada

Dalhousie University Darshana Saravanan McGill University Erin Fergason Soraya Miremadi University of Waterloo Osman Wong University of Toronto Vaibhav Seshadri

Denmark

Gap Year Maya Coutzouki (Filmmaking)

Israel

Gap Year Nadav Ben-David (Nacshon) Ella Carmel (Nachshon) Shir Lapede (Arava) Danielle Salman (Nachshon) Nitzan Shachar (Meitzar) Israeli Defense Forces Romy Bornstein IDC Herzliya Yoni Keren

England

SOAS University of London Ellora Laska

Japan

Monami Nagai Kensuke Yamanaka Hosei University Haruto Kawai

6

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Infographic by Shruti Magesh

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Senior Clubs

Don't forget to check out...

Be sure not to miss...

By Katelynn Ngo, with additional reporting by Shruti Magesh

Lettuce Club

Bernie Club

WEA

Lettuce Club is a club where the president every year is chosen through a unique process.

“We have this annual meeting where we ust gi e heads of lettuce to random eo le that want to participate, and then whoever eats it the fastest can become the ne t resident of the club senior lettuce club resident Joshua Wu said in a phone interview.

Wu said winning the title of president was his favorite memory of being in Lettuce Club. had all my friends there they were supporting me, so I was happy to make them roud u said Hosting the ne t meeting was also pretty cool, because I had to give a speech in front of everybody and wished them good luc u said he ho es ettuce lub’s legacy will continue on campus in future years.

A non-ASB approved club, Bernie Club, was created to support Bernie Sanders in the California primary and the presidential nomination, president of Bernie Club and senior Niki Hakami said. started olunteering at the ernie office in an Jose because I wanted to have a president who wouldn’t trigger economic warfare with ran Ha ami said in a hone inter iew The field organi ers encouraged me to start a club at my school One of the main aspects of Bernie Club was volunteering, through canvassing and phone banking.

Although Sanders did not clinch the primary nomination as members of Bernie Club hoped, Hakami said there are still other ways to push for change through political activism. e can’t ust de end on electoral olitics for rogressi e change Ha ami said ho e that eo le can find the s ecific olicy goals that they really care about rather than ust de ending on electoral olitics

omen’s m owerment mbassadors is a club that is focused on roducing change enior and resident of arolyn han said her moti ation to oin the club started the moment she saw their posters.

The club caught my attention during club fair Shan said in an email. “I had always been a shy feminist, so becoming more empowered and educated was something that was im ortant to me ot only has taught han how to better stand up for what she believes in, it has also shown her the importance of dedicated leaders, she said.

“All the leaders in this club are so inspirational and passionate, and they teach me things that I would not be able to learn elsewhere han said y biggest ta eaway is that nobody is too young to be a feminist. nyone can cham ion the ideals of e uality

Photo courtesy of Niki Hakami

Photo courtesy of Joshua Wu KING OF LETTUCE: Senior Joshua Wu ate a head of lettuce in 6 minutes and 24 seconds.

POLITICS AND ACTIVISM: Members of Bernie Club

canvass for the first time in Cupertino.

Photo courtesy of Carolyn Shan STAND WITH HER: WEA members marched proudly with their posters at the Women’s March.

SENIOR PROJECTS ADAPT TO ADDRESS PANDEMIC

By Shruti Magesh

ach year a new class of seniors embarks on creating their senior ro ect an e loration of an idea that is out of their comfort one Throughout the year, seniors focus on turning their ideas into tangible outcomes, through art, community service and thinking outside the bo However, due to COVID-19 and the stay-at-home orders, many seniors must now ad ust their ro ects to the circumstances.

Senior Suodaba Adel was creating a mural for the city of unny ale for her senior ro ect prior to the pandemic. Adel said there was a lot of work that went

into getting her ro ect a ro ed by the city, which included meeting with the mayor. del said that after her ro ect was approved, she purchased some supplies for her mural.

When the school closures were announced del didn’t have time to pick up her mural supplies.

Howe er with the organi ation of senior checkout, Adel said she hopes to be able to retrieve her supplies and adapt her mural to re ect the the andemic “Maybe [I will] incorporate something about the pandemic into the mural ... because the mural is ever so adapting, [like] a s etch that’s constantly being

Photo courtesy of Sonia Parikh

Photo courtesy of Suodaba Adel

TRYING NEW THINGS: Senior Suodaba Adel is creating a mural for the

city of Sunnyvale (pictured, left). Meanwhile, Sonia Parikh cut and donated her own hair.

changed [and things are always] being altered del said On the other hand, senior Gabrielle Darisme opted to provide volunteer opportunities to students in the community for her senior ro ect Darisme said in a phone interview that COVID-19 had a large im act on her senior ro ect as it led to the cancellation of volunteer events which incorporated over 100 people.

However, Darisme said she soon recogni ed that she had an opportunity to create a larger impact on the community.

“I started working with Bayreach on the Student Response Initiative, which is giving relief to students and health care workers in a bunch of different formats across the nation right now Darisme said.

Overall, the biggest message Darisme said she hopes people see through her senior ro ect is that life can be unpredictable. lot of time life ust doesn’t go according to lan arisme said. “But there are ways to get around that and to take lemons and make lemonade for ... whatever your aspirations in life are at the moment nother e am le of a senior who ad usted her ro ect to the pandemic is Sonia Parikh. Parikh said in a phone interview that her ro ect re ol es around learning

Photo courtesy of Gabrielle Darisme

STUDENT RESPONSE INITIATIVE: Senior Gabrielle Darisme worked with Bayreach to give relief to health care workers and students.

a series of new hobbies, such as learning new workouts.

Parikh said she hopes her ro ect will encourage students to gain new e eriences in life She said one way students can do this is by oining new clubs “I want HHS students [to] take away that e en if they don’t want to be a member of the club, they should ust go to at least one meeting … [because you learn] so much in that short span of time ari h said ari h said she had to ad ust some of the activities for her senior ro ect as some of her ac-

tivities included interacting with others.

“One of my new [activities] was talking to new people. So I would go and eat lunch with them during lunch hours at school, but I could no longer do that because school got canceled Parikh said. “But I still reached out to people [and] FaceTimed them so definitely ada ted my ro ect Despite the unpredictable changes, seniors were still able to embar on their senior ro ects, thereby impacting their communities in the process.

PAGE DESIGN BY SHRUTI MAGESH

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

7

IR LING IN THE N NO N How have you been making the most of the coronavirus pandemic?

Photo courtesy of Harrison Wang

H

SE

“I have enjoyed spending more time with my younger brother because none of us have to attend school. Playing board games or [playing] in the backyard to pass time has been something ha en’t been able to do for a long time.”

By Melody Chen isa ointment That’s the best word to describe 2020.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the class of 2020 will not celebrate with a senior prom or complete the year with a traditional cap-and-gown graduation.

This year will mean something different one defined not by e ents but by the memories created with friends and teachers before an interru ted final year While the abrupt cancellation of school in March was disappointing, senior Anna Le Saint said she is grateful to know she has cherished every moment she’s made with her friends and eers before she never had the chance to give a proper goodbye.

“I would tell [my past self] to just enjoy every moment that you have with your friends and really try to live in the moment and remember e erything that’s happening,” Le Saint said in a phone interview. “Sometimes, unexpected things happen, and you will wish that you had cherished the time before.”

Senior Homecoming Queen Soraya Miremadi said she will never forget the moments leading up to the Homecoming rally in October. She expressed gratitude to her peers and teachers for recognizing her in this special moment.

“The rally was surreal,” Miremadi said in an email. “The energy in the room was infectious and exhilarating and overwhelmingly positive.”

Meanwhile, during the senior sunrise, senior Anantajit Subrahmanya said he recalls the sun did not rise.

Regardless, Subrahmanya said the event was not all about the sun.

“We got what we were coming for e en though we didn’t get to see the sun,” Subrahmanya said in a phone interview. “We got to hang out with friends and honestly that’s what it was really about.”

The class of 2020 has been more than aware of the opportunities and events they have missed in the last few months of high school. Through it all, they have acquired a sense of fortitude that underclassmen can learn, Le Saint said.

“I just want to shout out our class for just toughening through it and being the ones who sacrificed our final moments with seniors so that everyone else could go back to high school next year and get to do what we couldn’t e aint said

“I know a lot of people are upset and confused and angry that they can’t do things that they normally would, but they also get time to be with family before going to college. Getting to spend more time with family and getting extra time to do things they like and learn new things it’s im ortant to feel the good things in a dark time like this.”

Photos courtesy of Anna Le Saint (left) and FUHSD (right) CREATING LIFE-LONG MEMORIES: Anna Le Saint,

Photo courtesy of Shelly Kidron

Photo courtesy of Brianna Duncan

S ’ e been ainting sewing, picking up yoga, cooking, catching u on anything ’ e been planning to do but didn’t get the chance to do so it’s nice in the sense that ’ e always wanted to do things but never got the time to so now I can but it’s really bittersweet.”

wraps up under a blanket with her friend Minal Singh during senior sunrise [pictured on the left]. Homecoming Queen Soraya Miremadi, right, walks across the track at the Homecoming football game, alongside Homecoming King Nadav Ben-David.

PRATEEK ANAND plans to study computer science and engineering at UCLA.

REI

Photo courtesy of Prateek Anand

By Karen Li Amidst the disappointment brought by the coronavirus, the class of 2020 is looking beyond.

Senior Prateek Anand approaches his next four years at UCLA with a curiosity for the world and a drive to learn. While he is eager to delve deeper into his major — computer science and engineering — he is just as excited to explore beyond it. thin ’m going to find a lot of things that I like to do that will surprise me. Having that surprise of finding things ne er new e isted is cool to me,” Anand said in a phone interview.

Similarly, Senior Katie Capio already has a good idea of her future career, and cannot wait to dive into her studies of Illustration at the California State University, Fullerton. ’ e been loo ing forward to it for a while now. I [want to learn]

more about my major, because I want to become either a comic book artist or a concept artist for video games,” Capio said in a phone interview.

Going across the globe, senior Yoni Keren will be studying psychology at IDC Herzliya, a three-year university in Israel.

Keren said he is immensely looking forward to experiencing living in Israel, which he calls his second home.

At his international school, Keren will be able to do what he values most: building connections with others.

“There are people coming from literally everywhere around the world, like South Africa, Brazil, Europe, Canada [and even] a few different places in South America. ’m really e cited to connect with

people from around the world,” he said in a phone interview. eren’s ad ice to students a lying to college is to explore all options. He unexpectedly discovered IDC Herzliya and opened up a new path for himself that perfectly fulfilled his goals our o tions aren’t really limited. Have an open mind and think bigger,” he said.

Anand, Capio and Keren all said that the connections they built are what shaped their high school journey.

“HHS was a great experience,” Keren said. “I met a lot of diverse people and made a lot of great friends. I think senior year was the best year because I got to connect with so many different friends and teachers and that’s what ’m going to miss the most.”

Photo courtesy of Kate Capio

KATE CAPIO plans to attend California State University, Fullerton as an illustration major in hopes of becoming a comic book artist or concept video game artist.

YONI KEREN will be studying psychology at IDC Herzliya, a three-year university in Israel, in the fall.

Photo courtesy of Yoni Keren

PAGE DESIGN BY MELODY CHEN

8

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Freshmen Seniors Freshmen to Seniors ar N ye

mo ed from a an in and didn’t s ea nglish at all so was ut into an nglish anguage e elo ment rogram

too drama class which was with rs loyd and she really hel ed me t was difficult for me to memori e the lines and act rs loyd offered me a bunch of chances to act in a anese but declined those offers because wanted to ta e the challenge o decided to act in nglish nd then at the end of the year was roud of what did and rs loyd com limented me for how much had changed

e ar

Ma

ORUN ALTINTAS: OVERCOMING THE LANGUAGE BARRIER

SEN IO Ry

FRE SH

Photos courtesy of Orun Altintas

FRE SH

Ma

SE N

y ea r

ea r

t also made school a lot more en oyable now learn because want to learn t also made my academics a lot stronger because am genuinely interested in each of the classes that ta e

IOR

Ny

GLORIA ZHANG: FINDING FULFILLMENT IN COMMUNITY

oined lifeguarding and it had a really big im act on me because was able to interact with eo le in the ublic was able to roide a ser ice for them o throughout high school ha e ind of shifted my mindset to be more community oriented and thin it has really hel ed me in the fact that am a lot less stressed about school because am more focused on what really matters to me being able to interact with eo le in my community

Photos courtesies of Gloria Zhang

n the constant ow of students in and out of high school what is it that differentiates us othing really othing other than the fact that this time it is us who are mo ing on alone without formalities li e graduation and celebrations li e senior rom es ite all the difficulties you ha e encountered from wandering lost on the first day of freshman year to being stuc at home during the andemic it was you who conuered these challenges and brought yourself this far ou should be roud of yourself Howe er although an unfortunate andemic has roduced this current situation your four years of high school ha e not lost alue because of it emember the times we stood u for what was right li e the arch for ur i es wal out the limate tri e and the acti ist clubs that s awned from olitical turbulence emember all the ac-

com lishments our eers ha e made from marching band going to nationals to oc Trial becoming county cham ions for the first time and to the girls arsity bas etball team going undefeated this year This is not a sto ing oint or e en a moment of breath your senior year e erience is ust a turn of the age before you are thrown into your ne t cha ter ou still ha e years ahead of you and you must mo e forward to face them or those who lanned on lea ing home you will get to where you’re going e entually and for those with asirations and dreams there will be time to reach them e ertheless you may feel you are about to embar on an uncertain ourney you do not now how to na igate on’t worry e en if you do get lost you will be among a sea of eole ust li e you members of the lass of who ha e had the same e eriences Togeth-

er you are bound to find your bearings on’t get discouraged you’ e made it this far already and the fact that you’ e not yet been halted by the mounting difficulties only goes to show that you are becoming more and more difficult to sto e grie ed o er tragedies in our communities and all o er the world we fought against threats to our school and we united to ro ide for our classmates during this andemic s you mo e forward these occurrences will be a testament to the resilience you will carry with you as you go on with your life ee in mind things will definitely not go erfectly and it is to feel discouraged by the way our senior year turned out nstead ha e some faith in yourself and in your abilities to see the im ermanence of our chaotic reality fter all you are the one who made it this far so trust yourself to confront the future

To: The Senior Class From: The Epitaph Staff

SEN I

Y EA

R

RENEE CHEUNG: CONFIDENCE IN FACING CHALLENGES FRE SH

Photos courtesy of Renee

Cheung

SE N

e all need confidence later on in life hen go to college ob iously will need to ha e confidence in myself so thin that it is an e tremely im ortant characteristic to ha e in a erson ho e to be a leader ho e to be outgoing and ho e to ust ma e a difference in the world

y IOR ear

Throughout my four years of high school ha e definitely gained moreI Whenever I re ect on how much and confidence what change,leadershi all I can think of is that Iinbecame do because H backHomereally confident.

I havewas not in gone to apan forstead a whilerientation now. but I rogram used to gowhich back was a leadershi rogram for HH I to apan every half a year or so. Whenever o my learned lot about leadershi went back, formeraclassmates, my friends, and confidence my my teachers they all said, and Orun,through you became clubs where we ha e to wor with really confident. There is something different others about you now. ”

ar N ye Ma

AASIYA JABBAR: LEADERSHIP THROUGH PRACTICE

oing marching band hel ed me e erience a leadershi role wasn’t going to oin if my cousins hadn’t earlier because it is a retty big grou of to eo le t was a struggle in the beginning wasn’t su er e cited for it new wanted to do it but it was ery unfamiliar and it was ery intimidating

would say to ha e more confidence in yourself always underrated myself because didn’t now what was ca able of was li e can’t do that ’ ut as time went on thought might as well ust do it because you need to challenge yourself

ar ye

FRESHMaN

OR

Photos courtesies of Aa

siya Jabbar

PAGE DESIGN BY DEXTER TATSUKAWA