Lowell The
June 2018
SMOKING
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES
ANITA LIU
“I got an education that I couldn’t really have gotten anywhere else.” -Senior Lorelei Vaisse
If you have an iPhone, you can scan the QR
CONTENT 2
VOTING “This is something we as students have the power to change.”
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DRUG USE “It’s not the first thing that comes to mind.”
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MEATLESS MONDAY “[It’s] a huge contributer to climate change”
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GENDER “Gen bathroom suc
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SUSAN WONG
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NEUTRAL ndered ms f---ing ck.”
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INJURIES “I thought I was going to return to the field in a week.”
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LEARNING DISABILITIES “The teacher refused to give him extra time”
ON THE COVER: Student use of nicotine and marijuana are on the rise at Lowell. Cover illustration by Hannah Coselmon and Naomi Hawksley
Lowell The
Editors-in-Chief
ella murdock gardner zahra rothschild
News Editors
zahra rothschild tammie tam
Sports Editors
yolanda feng giping huang
Opinion Editor Multimedia & Photo Editors
ella murdock gardner tobi kawanami ciara kosai
Art Manager Illustrators
hannah cosselmon hannah cosselmon naomi hawksley jasmine liang valentin nguyen
Assistant Editors
allison dummel michelle kim olivia moss emily sobelman olivia sohn susan wong sofia woo jocelyn xie
Reporters
crystal chan beatriz durant hannah ferguson elyse foreman kate green raine hu allison jou anna kaplan
Photographers
lauren caldwell jennifer cheung shyla duong christina johnson esther posillico ethan lei anita liu
Business Managers
aaron liang jacquline ruan anson tan
Head of Research Web Managers
maximilian tiao ashlyn jew alyssa young
Adviser
Awards
eric gustafson
2014 nspa online pacemaker 2012 nspa print pacemaker 2011 nspa all-american
2011 nspa online pacemaker 2009 nspa first class honors 2007 nspa all-american
2007 nspa web pacemaker 2007 cspa gold crown
EDITORIAL How you can make a difference
W
ith recent walkouts, speeches and political campaigns spurred by student activism, a lot of people have been inspired to make a difference. However, not everyone knows how. One of the easiest and most effective ways to use your voice as a citizen is to vote. The United States has one of the lowest voter turnout rates of any developed country. In recent years, voter turnout averaged around 60 percent for presidential elections and only 40 percent in midterm elections. Younger voters have even lower turnout rates. A significantly lower percentage of eligible voters aged 18-29 vote compared to other age groups. In the 2016 election, 58 percent of 18-24 year-olds voted as compared to 78 percent of 65-74 year-olds. This is something we as students have the power to change. Some upperclassmen will have the ability to vote in the next election, as well as in the upcoming special mayoral election, and if we want to see reform in our government, students need to turn out to the polls. We have the potential to force out politicians who don’t accurately represent the views of their constituents. WHY YOUR VOTE MATTERS “My vote won’t make a difference” is a common refrain that stops people from voting. And it is true that one vote most likely won’t be the deciding factor. However, if thousands of people decide not to vote because “it won’t make a difference,” that apathy actually can make a difference. It can sway elections on a local, state or federal level. Voter turnout gaps have a very real impact on the outcome of elections. According to Politico, voter turnout is much lower for minorities, low-income voters and younger voters, all of whom tend to favor a more progressive view of the role of government. A study by Demos found that nonregistered voters favor more progressive policies, such as programs helping the poor, guaranteeing jobs and increasing living standards. According to the study’s findings,
this can affect where resources are allocated and who benefits from government policies. We as Lowell students know that we often have different views from our grandparents or even our parents. The outcomes of future elections are going to impact us more than anyone else, because we’re the generation that will live with the effects. If we want our views to be represented, we need to get out there and vote as soon as we can, rather than let older voters make our choices for us. If you want to make a difference, cast your own vote, and encourage your friends and family members to do the same. HOW TO REGISTER If you’re 18, you can legally register to vote online at vote.gov or you can download the registration form, print it out and mail it to the address listed online under California. You can also register in person at the Department of Motor Vehicles or state or local election offices in California. You’ll need an ID or driver’s licence, your date of birth and your social security number. The deadline to register is 15 days before any given election you want to vote in. If you are not yet 18, you can still preregister to vote. Anyone 16 or older in California can pre-register if they are a U.S. citizen and California resident, which means they’ll automatically be eligible to vote once they turn 18, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. You can register online at the California Online Voter Registration Website or pick up an application at the DMV, election offices and many public libraries, post offices or government offices. After you pre-register you should get a postcard telling you that your application was received. As the saying goes, decisions are made by those who show up. If you want a say in your future, pre-register or register to vote, and actively participate in elections. Educate yourself on the issues so you can make an informed decision. And remember, your voice does matter. v
The Lowell is published by the journalism classes of Lowell High School w All contents copyright Lowell High School journalism classes w All rights reserved w The Lowell strives to inform the public and to use its opinion sections as open forums for debate w All unsigned editorials are opinions of the staff w The Lowell welcomes comments on school-related issues from students, faculty and community members w Send letters to the editors to thelowellnews@ gmail.com w Names will be withheld upon request w We reserve the right to edit letters before publication w The Lowell is a student-run publication distributed to thousands of readers including students, parents, teachers and alumni w All advertisement profits fund our newsmagazine issues w To advertise online or in print, email thelowellads@yahoo.com w Contact us w Lowell High School Attn: The Lowell journalism classes w 1101 Eucalyptus Drive w San Francisco, CA 94132 w 415-759-2730 w thelowellnews@gmail.com
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The Lowell June 2018
CARTOON I remember having the same sized portions in third grade!
TO THE EDITOR
ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH COSSELMON
Dear Lowell Students, In Fall 2018, a total of three spanish classes will be cut, affecting around 80-90 students. According to the master schedule, the Spanish 4 Honors class will be eliminated and instead of having two AP classes, there’ll be one compressed class of 42 students. We, as presidents of the Spanish Club and representatives of the Spanish language students affected, are concerned about what these changes mean for the Spanish students that want to continue their language education at Lowell. For one, the student-to-teacher ratio is too high. An AP class, especially a language AP, requires more teacher involvement to make sure the students thoroughly understand the curriculum. Furthermore, there are a lot fewer Latinx students taking AP classes in general compared to other students, according to the 2018 Advanced Placement Exams Students Testing Roster. However, these students comprise the majority of the AP Spanish Language and Culture and Literature classes. By placing these students in an overcrowded section of AP Spanish, they are being deprived of a high-quality academic class that honors their culture and heritage. We believe that this issue of Spanish classes being cut isn’t only about the classes, but also about what the administration does to support the Latinx community and how they implement equity. The teachers have monthly equity meetings in which they talk about how they could improve the school and include everyone, without discrimination. Cutting the classes that benefit mostly Latinx and Hispanic students isn’t the best way to show their support.
By placing these students in an overcrowded section of AP Spanish, they are being deprived of a high-quality academic class that honors their culture and heritage.
From, Frida Calvo Huerta, Sujei Delgado, Silky Nigenda, Class of 2020
The LTowell he Lowell February June 2017 2018
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The Lowell June2017 2018 vLvowell T4 he February
The Lowell June 2018
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SMOKING
2.0 BY KATE GREEN
Exploring vaping and marijuana use at Lowell
COVER
“At Lowell, it’s not the first thing that comes to mind, because of the whole 4.0, good student image the school portrays.”
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reshman Stella Gould did not expect to encounter the issue of drug usage while attending Lowell. “At Lowell, it’s not the first thing that comes to mind, because of the whole 4.0, good student image the school portrays,” she said. However, as recently illuminated by prominent publications such as The San Francisco Chronicle and The New Yorker, teenage smoking and nicotine abuse seem to be on the rise. A survey conducted by The Lowell has revealed that despite the waning popularity of cigarettes, approximately 22 percent of students have smoked this semester through vaping and marijuana usage. This statistic begs the question, how are nationwide trends of drug abuse affecting our school? UPON ARRIVING AT Lowell, Gould was met with the realization that vaping and the use of e-cigarettes are fairly common at school. From observing vaping in the bathrooms and juuling’s soaring popularity, she was surprised to see drug usage rising with such young students. One such student is Mary, a sophomore who is using a fake name to protect her identity. Mary began juuling last year, when offered to take a hit by a friend. Since then, she has continued to Juul
CIARA KOSAI sporadically at social events. “In the sophomore grade, particularly, it’s extremely popular,” she explained. The Juul is a small e-cigarette which heats a cartridge containing flavored oils and nicotine, designed with the intent of helping adult smokers ease away from traditional smoking. According to Mary, the Juul is preferred by Lowell students as an inconspicuous method of smoking at school due to the speed at which the Juul disperses vapor and it’s lack of an identifiable scent. The downside of juuling is what Mary refers to as getting “nic sick,” which is a light headed, nauseous sensation from vaping in excess. However, despite this discomfort, students continue to juul. “I know tons of people who have them and are like, ‘Oh my gosh, I hate it. I get sick, I don’t get head rushes anymore, I don’t like it,’” she said. “And then they kind of just [use] them.” While Mary knows that Juuls contain nicotine, she is not overly concerned with the health effects of her juuling habit. “Cigarettes in my head is definite addiction, definite lung cancer development, and I just don’t want that,” she said. “A Juul, yeah, it’s nicotine, the same idea, but it’s such a smaller scale.” According to the non-profit public health organization the Truth
COVER SPREAD ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH COSSELMON AND NAOMI HAWKSLEY 8
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INFOGRAPHICS BY MAXIMILIAN TIAO
Initiative, this misconception regarding juuling’s nicotine danger is shared by 63 percent of users. However, a 2018 study published in the journal Tobacco Control has debunked the mistaken belief, reporting that each Juul cartridge contains as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes. The Lowell’s survey found our student body can not come to a consensus over the health effects of vaping. The truth is, though e-cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes, they can contain “nicotine, heavy metals like lead, volatile organic compounds, and cancer-causing agents,” according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The presence of nicotine is not only highly addictive, but can harm adolescent brain development, and the CDC also reports that youth e-cigarette usage is associated with the use of other tobacco products in the future. These damaging effects are often unknown by teenagers such as Mary, who become enticed by the social aspects of juuling as well as the appealing flavors and began to Juul without knowing what their vapes contain. MARIJUANA IS EVEN more prevalent than e-cigarettes at Lowell. Despite the misconception of studious Lowellites misusing Adderall for higher academic achievement, weed is by far the primary illegal substance consumed at our school, according to The Lowell’s survey. Weed accounts for approximately 44 percent of student drug usage, and The Lowell’s survey identified a strong correlation between smoking weed and coping with mental health. “Stress reduction” and “helping me conquer anxiety,” were common anonymous responses as to why students use marijuana. Robert, a sophomore who has opted to use a pseudonym, attests to weed’s beneficial impact on his anxiety at school. Due to the drug’s popularity on campus and hearing about weed in song lyrics, he tested out marijuana while attending middle school. During the latter half of his freshman year at Lowell, Robert started to smoke more regularly. This current school year has brought new academic difficulties for Robert, and, compounded with his pre-existing anxiety
“I have a hard time connecting with people here because they’re so different...with my anxiety attached to that, it can be overwhelming at times. And being able to smoke weed or vape weed helps me.”
disorder, he has begun to seriously vape marijuana. Employing a vape pen in order to accurately manage his dosage, Robert now self medicates daily and considers it a major source of stress relief. He also sees it as a way of dealing with his social anxieties. “I have a hard time connecting with people here [at Lowell] because they’re so different, sometimes I don’t even understand them,” Robert said. “And so, with my anxiety attached to that, it can be overwhelming at times, and being able to smoke weed or vape weed helps me.” Though Robert does not bring his marijuana to school, other students such as James have, and they’ve been forced to deal with the consequences. James, a student who is choosing to use a fake name, experimented with marijuana from 7th through 9th grade. When his drug usage was at its highest last summer, he was consuming an edible pot product every day. This habit was broken last year when a friend of his was caught with weed on campus by school authorities. “It was just a domino effect,” James said. “My friend got caught, and then he freaked out. Then he told them about me [bringing marijuana on campus]. I was in English and they took me out of class.” As a result, James was removed from his school sports team
TOBI KAWANAMI
The Lowell June 2018
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COVER and placed under juvenile probation. He was assigned a probation officer to monitor his behavior and then signed a contract agreeing to be home before 6 p.m. and to follow his parent’s rules. James’s compliance with the terms of his probation resulted in his drug possession being expunged from his record. “I’d say I got lucky,” he said. Since he has been on probation, James has been sticking to the straight and narrow. “I just wasn’t thinking right, I guess,” he said. “I didn’t know a lot of things I know now.” With more in-depth education from his probation officer regarding the effects and consequences of drugs, he has managed to curb his drug usage and “stay out of trouble.” WHILE THE CLINICAL Psychology Review says that marijuana can alleviate symptoms of social anxiety, the CDC reports a slew of possible harmful effects. “Marijuana use directly affects the brain — specifically the parts of the brain responsible for memory, learning, attention, decision making, coordination, emotions and reaction time,” a CDC report reads. Additionally, the CDC states that one in six individuals who begin using marijuana before the age of 18 will become addicted. Despite years of marijuana usage, Robert recognizes the gaps in his understanding of the drug and how it might affect him in the long term. “My knowledge on marijuana is limited, but I think it’s limited because we don’t have research about it,” Robert said. “And I don’t think [health class] made any difference at all.” Robert took health during his freshman year, where he said the topic of drugs was briefly covered by mostly just saying, “Don’t do it.” He doesn’t find this a practical approach to substance abuse education. “For me, considering other people, I think it would be helpful if they talked about strategies [for] if you are in a dangerous situation and you’re high or drunk, because they didn’t really emphasize that,” he said. Additionally, Robert considers an annual fair, similar to the sexual education event held on Valentines Day, worthwhile. IF A STUDENT is considering using drugs or is struggling with addiction, the main resource 10
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“We just don’t know what the protocol is.”
hard drugs include but are not limited to cocaine, opioids, and heroin.
“There should be consequences, but also support and resources.”
at Lowell is the Wellness Center. According to Wellness Center director Marcus Christmas, the office offers multiple services to students. “We refer out…we also do offer brief interventions, which is a three-day treatment where a student can explore why they decided to drink [or use drugs],” Christmas said. “It’s all confidential.” The center also provides preventative services such as a resource table with educational pamphlets, one-on-one meetings with students and connections to Bay Area drug education nonprofits such as Horizons. Though many programs are available, most Lowell students who use drugs do not utilize the Wellness Center. “The majority of the time we’re getting referrals from the dean,” Christmas said. “So if a student is caught smoking or drinking on campus, the administration is referring students over.” According to PE teacher Thomas Geren, additional school policy is necessary in order to deal with student smoking. “I think we should talk about it and reach some agreement amongst all the shareholders,” he said. Geren has taught at Lowell for the past six years, and although he has always observed a minority of students using drugs, he considers the issue to have peaked this year. “Marijuana has become more broadly accepted and legalized in some forms, so it’s more available, and the cost has drastically gone down,” Geren said. Of late, Geren has observed the negative effects marijuana use has had on students. “I know some of [my students] identify as users, and they don’t seem to be very happy,” Geren said. “I can think of several students who I know are users and their grades have gone down, and I would assume probably nothing is better in their lives.” Geren’s sentiments are similar to the message that health teacher Judith Brooks imparts on her students. “I’ve seen people who have been affected by drugs and how it’s affected their families, so it’s really something that they need to take in and realize the importance of,” Brooks said. IT’S CURRENTLY UNCLEAR what is the best method to curb drug use by Lowell students. “If we suspect a student is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, there used
to be a tighter procedure about it, and it used to be reported to either security or administration,” Geren said. “But even more, we just don’t know what the protocol is.” As a result of the legalization of marijuana use for adults this January, he considers the issue a moving target. “Because it’s somewhat legal, I don’t think this school, or the school district, [or] the state, know how to address it,” he said. Lowell administration was unavailable for comment on the frequency of student drug-use cases on campus nor any plans it has on how to tackle the issue. One proposal comes from junior Justin Wong, who was raised with a zero tolerance for drugs and attended Catholic school until arriving at Lowell. Wong is a proponent of random locker checks, as frequently as twice a month. He believes this will deter students from bringing drugs on campus. “I feel like the school knows drugs are a problem, but they’re not addressing the issue, they’re not taking a step forward,” Wong said. He feels more serious and effective action is required. When discussing drug usage at Lowell, Wong’s viewpoint has left him in the minority. “I don’t think many people share the same view I do,” he said. Fellow classmates often assert to him that infrequent use is inconsequential and experimenting with drugs is a natural
phase of teenage curiosity. But Wong has seen the effects of drugs first hand, as he has grown apart from several friends from freshman year who began taking drugs and drinking alcohol. Counselor and educational specialist Donna Saffioti Johnson recommends a different method of tackling student drug use at Lowell. Johnson works for Horizons, a Mission-based non profit which provides free substance abuse programs to at-risk San Francisco youth. In her experience, a harm-reduction approach is the most reliable technique for handling such a complex issue. “‘Just say no’ and scare tactics don’t always work,” Johnson said. “You just have to give factual information and hope [the students] make the right choices.” Johnson is also a proponent of high schools bringing in speakers who have been through addiction and are capable of speaking from experience. Currently in the midst of recovery herself, she considers this firsthand knowledge key in creating open discussion about the effects drugs can have on one’s health and family. “If you have someone who’s judgemental, it will shut a lot of people down, sometimes the very people you are hoping to reach,” she said. Johnson’s harm-reduction approach also applies to the catching and reprimanding of students who use drugs on campus. Though she sympathizes with schools’ need
to spell out clear repercussions in the event of student drug use, she warns against being too harsh. “If you’re just punitive, you’re going to lose kids,” she said. Johnson considers throwing kids out of school counterproductive, as their time is consequently spent on the street instead of learning. Alternatively, she encourages school Wellness Centers to partner with community agencies to facilitate brief interventions comprised of delving into each student’s individual causes of substance abuse. “There should be consequences, but also support and resources,” she said. “Because this is not a simple black and white issue.” According to Johnson, trends in drug use permeate the nation in cycles. The advent of discreet vaping technology and the growing accessibility of marijuana have created this current wave of teen drug abuse which has commanded the public’s attention. Lowell students like Mary, Robert and James are not alone in grappling with this new smoking trend; the question is, are people willing to discuss the implications of such drug use? “If a stranger would walk into Lowell, [drug use is] more common than they would think because a lot of kids don’t talk about it...no one talks about it because of the stigma,” Robert said. He feels that in order to see any positive change, a more open, informed conversation needs to be started within the school. v
“This is not a simple black and white issue.” CIARA KOSAI
The Lowell June 2018
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NEWS
MEATLESS MONDAY
NAOMI HAWKSLEY
S
an Francisco Unified School District has made their dedication to environmentalism clear, from giving out free reusable water bottles to plastering posters on school walls encouraging students to limit their water and energy usage. However, one place SFUSD has yet to make similar efforts is in the cafeteria. Hoping to change that, members of Lowell’s Eco Club are pushing for a district-wide “Meatless Monday” so that only vegetarian options would be served in SFUSD cafeterias at the start of each week. The idea was proposed in fall 2017 by Eco Club president Kristen Tam. Tam discovered the Meatless Monday movement after conducting research for the San Francisco Youth Commission
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By Emily Sobelman on how San Francisco could be more environmentally friendly. “Meat consumption and agricultural pollution is such a huge contributor to climate change,” she said. By not eating meat just once a week, students can collectively help contribute to maintaining a sustainable environment, according to Tam. The aim of the movement is to “raise awareness of the detrimental environmental impact of eating meat, and to encourage people to help slow climate change, preserve precious natural resources and improve their health by having at least one meat free day each week,” reads the Meatless Monday organization website. According to Tam, reducing environmental degradation from animal agriculture is more important now than
ever. “The Trump administration is trying to cut [Environmental Protection Agency] funds, which would mean less research into what pollutants are the worst,” Tam said. “And because they’re funding all these non-renewable energy sources, such as fossil fuels over clean energy, climate change is going to happen even more rapidly, and everyone can do something small such as cutting down on how much meat they eat.” HOW DO THEY plan to start Meatless Monday? To start a district-wide program, Eco Club presented the proposal to SFUSD’s Student Advisory Council on April 9. Along with their proposal, Eco Club presented results from a survey Tam helped to create with the San Francisco
Youth Commission, which she is part of, that was sent out to all SFUSD students. It aimed to make students think about their impact on the environment as well as surveying student habits. The survey asked questions about meat consumption and willingness to go meatless, among other environmentally related questions, like, “How many disposable spoons do you use per year?” According to the survey, 70 percent of responders said they would be willing to go meatless once a week. If the proposal were to pass, there would first be a trial run, where every other Monday would be meatless for a year. After the presentation, a first reading took place on Monday April 30. A second reading occurred on May 14. Despite positive feedback at the first reading, the proposal was put on hold. Even with results from the survey, SAC members felt opinions of all SFUSD students were not fairly represented, since most responders were from Lowell, and SAC makes decisions for the entire school district. “SAC knows this resolution through Lowell High School’s Eco Club,” senior SAC member Kyither Min said. “It felt very Lowell-based. We’re uneasy about passing this, we don’t know what our constituents would feel.” Proponents of Meatless Monday like School Food Advisory member and Mission High School senior Jack Calvin felt the proposed trial run should have passed. “It [would have been] every other week, it won’t burden anyone,” Calvin said about the proposal. Instead of immediately passing the proposal and sending it for approval by the school board, a team will be created to help do research, inform SFUSD students about the proposal, and get the resolution passed, according to
SHYLA DUONG
Min. The team will be comprised of three or four members from the Health Committee who will work closely with Student Nutrition Services. There is currently no timeline for when that will happen. “Kristen [Tam] is hoping for fall [2018], but I think it’s going to be more like Spring 2019,” Eco Club and School Food Advisory member Junior Samantha Levan said. In the mean time, to help familiarize students with Meatless Monday, Eco Club put up Meatless Monday posters at Lowell, and sent posters to other schools. Eco Club also made a website with information on what Meatless Monday is and why students should
“Everyone can do something small such as cutting down on how much meat they eat.” participate in it. The club has put up flyers from the Meatless Monday website with facts about the effect of meat production on the environment, like “50 percent of deforestation is driven by cattle ranching” and “364 miles driven: that’s the amount of emissions we’d save if you’d eat just one less serving of beef each Monday for a year.” At Lowell, individual students have had mixed reactions to the proposal. Some students have been enthusiastic about the change, like junior Stephanie Tan. Tan is not a vegetarian or
vegan, but is still behind the proposal. “I get that it’s for the environment. I think it would be great,” Tan said. Others feel the decision is unfair to students who eat meat. “Diet is very
SHYLA DUONG subjective, different things work for different people,” sophomore Joaquin Warren said. “I think they should still have the option of having meat. What you eat is a personal choice, and the district shouldn’t be involved.” Some are concerned over the lack of vegetarian options the cafeteria will be able to provide. “Sometimes I don’t like the options the cafeteria has, but I still have to deal with eating it,” sophomore Calvin Kurnid Jaja said. “Sometimes I don’t eat it at all because it’s just that bad. With only one option, it’s going to be kind of troublesome.” Other districts have passed Meatless Monday resolutions. In Los Angeles Unified School District, all school lunches are meatless every Monday. The city itself passed a Meatless Monday resolution that encourages residents to reduce their meat consumption. Restaurants even participate, according to Tam. “If [San Francisco] is such a green city, why aren’t we able to, too?” Tam said.
Top: In front of the lunch counter, a student is picking fresh cucumbers from an arrary of different vegetables. Left: Meat is a significant part of a typical school lunch in SFUSD cafeterias.
OPINION ONE IS NOT ENOUGH: WHY ALL OUR BATHROOMS SHOULD BE GENDER-NEUTRAL
“G
By Olivia Moss
endered bathrooms f---ing suck,” junior Celeste McManus said. “There’s no reason to have gender separated boy and girls bathrooms. It’s dumb.”
CHRISTINA JOHNSON
In recent years, the discussion about gender identity has been centered around bathrooms. Huge controversies on the subject have dominated the media and legislation has been passed. In February 2017, the Trump administration rescinded protections put in place by the Obama administration which required schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. Challenging this precedent, a court decision in May 2018 ruled that, under Title IX, which protects against sex discrimination in federally funded schools, schools must allow students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity. The decision is considered a victory for transgender activists and 14 v The Lowell June 2018
focuses on transgendered individuals’ right to use the gendered bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. But why do we need gendered bathrooms in the first place? Providing something as basic as gender-neutral bathrooms is an essential way to guarantee the right of transgender and gender nonconforming students to exist in public spaces. Therefore, public facilities, including Lowell, should make all bathrooms gender neutral. McManus identifies as gender fluid, meaning their gender fluctuates and changes between male, female, both and neither. For them, gendered bathrooms create problems that don’t affect people who are cisgendered—people whose gender identity corresponds to the gender they were assigned at birth. “It doesn’t seem like a big thing in the short term,” McManus said. “But in the long term if I’m constantly being told ‘Go to the girls’ locker room, go to the girls’ bathroom,’ over and over, that kind of mentality being pushed in my mind almost psychologically invalidates your identity and tells you you’re not actually how you identify.” Mcmanus never feels comfortable going into male bathrooms, they said, even when they sometimes identify as male. And even when they identify as female, it’s unpleasant to use female bathrooms as well. “It’s just a little bit uncomfortable to go into that specifically gendered space when there’s nowhere for me to really fit in,” they said. Gender-neutral bathrooms don’t cause sexual assault, according to Wellness Center Coordinator Sarah Cargill. “Gender neutral bathrooms have not created more opportunities for sexual assault and crime in that way, that is a myth that is steeped in transphobia,” she said.
As of March 2017, 19 states and over 200 municipalities have laws protecting against discrimination based on gender identity in public accommodations, essentially allowing people to use the bathroom of their choice regardless of biological sex. CNN reached out to 20 law agencies in these states and found that not a single incident of bathroom assaults by cisgendered or transgendered assaulters occurred after the legislation had been passed. Similarly, the Human Rights Commission reported zero incidents in Maine, which had been under the effect of anti-discrimination laws for 11 years. As shown by numerous studies, it’s much more common for transgender or gender non conforming people to experience assault or discrimination in restrooms that don’t correlate with their identity. In a survey by UCLA’s Williams Institute, one of the largest studies on transgender people ever conducted, researchers found that 70 percent of the transgender respondents had been physically or verbally abused in public bathrooms. While Lowell does have one CHRISTINA JOHNSON gender-neutral bathroom, it’s not easily accessible from everywhere on campus. The bathroom is a singlestalled restroom located in the main building next to the nurse’s office, Some people argue that cisgendered students may feel which is a long walk from the language building, art wing, or the third floor. The gender-neutral restroom used to be a multi-stalled uncomfortable using bathrooms with the opposite gender, but, as restroom located at the end of the math wing, which GSA President Cargill points out, “It’s a public bathroom and you kind of have to Gracelyn Barmoore-Pooley said was not open consistently and was get over it.” Making all bathrooms inconvenient to access. gender neutral in all public For McManus, the new “It’s just a little bit uncomfortable to go into that spaces would eliminate gender-neutral bathroom is specifically gendered space when there’s nowhere for me to problems caused by worse than the old one. “It’s gendered bathrooms. For in that one very busy hallway, really fit in.” example, mens’ restrooms so when you go in you feel typically aren’t equipped very othered, like, this is the with changing tables, which both enforces the stereotype of women bathroom for you, because you’re different,” they said. as caretakers and deprives men of a place to take care of their Having all gender-neutral bathrooms at Lowell would make it easier for everyone to access bathrooms on each floor and building, children, according to Cargill. Getting rid of gendered bathrooms at Lowell altogether would regardless of their gender identity. For example, there is currently no girls’ bathroom on the third floor, meaning girls have to go to the guarantee that everyone has equal access to resources. “I think it second floor to use the restroom. If the boys’ bathroom on that floor would be beneficial for everyone in the long term to have genderwas converted into a gender-neutral bathroom, everyone would neutral bathrooms,” McManus said. “Because no matter who you have a bathroom to use on the third floor and they wouldn’t have to were or how you identify, you’d know that you had a space for your own gender.” v miss as much class.
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SPORTS
What they don’t tell By Susan Wong
P
OP! It sounded like popcorn, but it didn’t smell like popcorn. It smelled like rubber turf and it felt like my leg snapped. I dropped the football, fell to the ground and my left knee went weak. Immediately, I grabbed my knee and hugged it as tight as I could against my chest as I rolled around on the field, screaming. I thought I was dreaming. What just happened? I was too naive to realize how serious my injury was. As I took the bus home, I was under the impression that it was just a sprain, and I thought that I would be able to return to the field in a week or two. The next day, I woke up feeling very wobbly. It felt like my knee was going to give out—I couldn’t even take a single step without dragging my leg across the floor. My knee was so swollen that you could barely make out the actual shape of a knee, so I waited all day for my dad to come home to drive me to the emergency room. They took an x-ray and told me I hadn’t broken any bones, but they recommended me to get a magnetic resonance image (MRI) to find the true source of my injury. After getting an MRI and visiting various medical professionals, I was finally given the diagnosis: I completely tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and partially tore the meniscus in my left knee. I was given two options: I could have surgery to reconstruct my ACL or go to physical therapy (PT) to work towards rehabilitation, which meant
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I would not be able to play contact sports anymore. I broke down crying because my mom was very against me having surgery. She didn’t like the idea of my body being
“I am quite thankful of the journey that I had to go through after tearing my ACL because I learned a lot.” cut open, even if it was only an arthroscopic surgery, which is a type of surgery that only requires small incisions. In my case, there were three total incisions. Eventually, I convinced my mom to let
me have the surgery to “fix” my knee by telling her that I was still young, and that at the age of 14 I would be able to recover pretty quickly. My injury was a common one—every year in the United States, about 100,000 people sustain the same surgery as mine. I wanted to get the surgery done as soon as possible, so that I would be able to return to flag football next season fully recovered. Two weeks after the day I got injured, I arrived at the surgery center at 11 a.m., starving and thirsty because I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight, the night before. I woke up from surgery with a huge knee brace and bandages wrapped around my leg. Since I was put under anesthesia, all I wanted to do was sleep. When I left the surgery center, my entire left lower body was numb from my hips to my toes. In addition to being numb, all of the muscles in my left leg seemed to have disappeared, the circumference around my left calf and thigh were inches smaller than my right side. Playing sports is a huge part of my identity, and I didn’t want to let this injury stop me from doing something I love. Ever since middle school, I would have sports practice everyday after school; it became a part of my daily routine. Once I got injured, I didn’t know what to do with all the extra time that I had, so I would go to practices and games and watch my teammates from the sideline. I felt very hopeless that I
March 9, 2016
March 24, 2016
October 6, 2016
Febuary 28, 2018
Injured left knee in a flag football game
Arthroscopic reconstructive knee surgery for torn ACL and meniscus
First cross country meet since injury
Injured right ankle during flag football practice two days before the first game
v The Lowell June 2018
you about getting injured couldn’t play and couldn’t help my team. I was also very frustrated because my entire mobility was limited. I was determined to continue playing after this injury. After a couple of weeks, I began attending weekly sessions of PT. I didn’t think that they would make that big of a difference in my recovery, so I didn’t do the exercises my physical therapist prescribed for me to do at home. Whenever my physical therapist would ask me to show her the exercises, I would struggle. Looking back, I think that I could have recovered faster if I did those exercises consistently. At the beginning of the new school year, I had to get my physical done to play sports and my parents, who were very worried I would get injured again playing flag football, were hesitant to sign the forms. Truthfully, I was scared to tear my ACL again, which I knew was a possibility. I didn’t want to go through the whole process again. Once was enough. But I still really wanted to play, so I convinced my mom that I wasn’t going to get injured again and she hesitantly signed my physicals. That numb feeling that I previously mentioned actually stayed in my leg for about a year. Every time I touched the side of my thigh, there was this fuzzy vibrating feeling. It made me think I was never going to truly recover. In October of 2016, I finally reached full recovery, which meant that I could return to sports and the circumference of
my legs were the same for the injured and uninjured knee. Unfortunately, full recovery didn’t mean pain free. I’m still suffering consequences from this accident, such as the occasional knee pain from standing for too long and discomfort after long workouts. After what felt like the longest seven months of my life, I started running again and competing in cross country meets. Even though my times were minutes off of what I ran my freshman year, I strived to get better each week and continued to increase my mileage. After cross country, I had about a month before the spring sports season started, so I became more consistent with my prescribed exercises to condition for flag football. One year after the injury, I was still sort of hesitant to play because I would have to wear a knee brace to be able to play the sport, which made me uncomfortable. Because I knew flag football was actually a contact sport, I deeply feared another injury. However, I knew I was getting stronger and faster as time flew by, and even though I had lost my position as starting
quarterback, I to work hard skills for This a
still continued to develop next year. may shock lot of people, but I am quite thankful of the journey that I had to go through after tearing my ACL because I learned a lot. Not only did I learn about the anatomy of the knee, but I learned how to push my body to the limit and to not give up. As cheesy as this may sound, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. It always gets better in the end. INJURED AGAIN? I truly thought I hit rock bottom when I tore the ACL and meniscus in my left knee in March of 2016 playing flag football, but boy was I wrong! About two years later, on Feb. 28 of 2018, I collapsed in intense pain after an unfortunate collision with a See INJURIES on pg. 21
March 5, 2018
May 14, 2018
Ankle surgery for fractured fibula (metal plate & 6 screws in ankle)
I can start running again
Knee brace to reduce strain on the ACL and prevent further injury when playing contact sports Ankle boot to protect my ankle after surgery
PHOTO BY ANITA LIU
The Lowell June 2018
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FEATURE
UNSEEN
CHALLENGES The lives of Lowell students with learning disabilities By Allison Dummel
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ANITA LIU
hen a student has a disability like dyslexia or ADD, it can be hard for others to tell from a first glance that they have these disabilities. Nonetheless, these students do exist. Students with learning disabilities at Lowell and throughout the United States are entitled by law to accommodations that counteract the negative inf luence their disabilities might have on their academic performance. But, from getting properly diagnosed to experiencing difficulty receiving the proper accommodations, these students face problems in their daily life that the neurotypical public will never have to confront.
Sophia Brutschy 18
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FOR SENIOR SOPHIA Brutschy, finally getting diagnosed with learning disabilities was a relief, not a disappointment. “I feel like what’s expected for people with disabilities is for them to be like, ‘I can’t believe that I have a disability, that’s so sad, there’s something wrong with me,’” she said. However in reality, her reaction when she was finally diagnosed was more along the lines of, “It’s not that I was just lazy or wasn’t smart enough or something, it’s that I actually had something
beyond my control that was holding me back.” One of the biggest struggles Brutschy had to go through was simply being diagnosed correctly. The first time Brutschy was tested, when she was in fifth grade, the doctors only diagnosed her with slow processing speed, despite having a family history of other learning disabilities, as well as a therapist’s recommendation she be tested for autism. Even though Brutschy spent her entire freshman year without accommodations, she didn’t realize the reason she was struggling was because she had learning disabilities. “I thought that was just the way it was,’ she said. “I was like, everyone feels this way at Lowell, everyone’s really stressed out, that’s just how it is,” According to her, it was only when she took her first PSAT test that she realized she needed accommodations. Brutschy was diagnosed with dyslexia, ADD and autism in August of 2017. “I was only diagnosed with autism this year, which is ridiculous,” said Brutschy. The average age of an autism diagnosis is three years old, but she was diagnosed at 16.
Brutschy suspects one reason she was diagnosed so late in her life was because of her high academic achievement. “[The doctors would] say, ‘There’s no way she doesn’t have some kind of learning difference,’ and then they’d look at my grades, and they’d change their mind,” she said. She remembers one doctor in particular saying that it would be hard to make a case that she had ADD with a 4.0 GPA. Brutschy was assessed through Kaiser Permanente, but SFUSD can also assess students for learning disabilities. In SFUSD, a student’s teacher or parent can put in a request for assessment with the special education department, according to Veith. If they decide to assess the student, the district then has 60 days to complete the assessment. After the assessment is completed, the student is determined as either eligible for special education services, such as 504 plans and IEPs, or not. Students with 504 plans can receive accommodations, modifications, or other services that are needed for a student to succeed in a regular classroom setting. 504 plans are available to all eligible children and adults, and plans are developed based on a specific person’s needs. Another resource available to students is an Individualized Education Program, or an IEP. Students with IEPs may receive services in the general education setting or special educational setting, depending on need. IEPs are developed after a comprehensive assessment of the child in question, according to special education supervisor Velma Veith. Currently, SFUSD has 900 students with 504 plans, and 7,664 students with IEPs (including infants and young children within education services), according to Veith. At Lowell, approximately 65 students have 504 plans and approximately 94 students an IEP. However, for some, like senior David Miller Shevelev, being legally entitled to extra time accommodations has not always meant that he’s received them. In his sophomore year at Lowell, Miller Shevelev recalls taking a math test where the teacher refused to give him extra time to finish it during the next school day, even though the teacher had previously agreed to give him extra time for this test. After arguing for a few minutes, Miller Shevelev left. “I walked out with the understanding that my counselor would do something,” he said. “What they did was put me into another teacher’s class, and that teacher, when I said that I had accommodations, said, ‘Everyone has accommodations these days.’” Because Miller Shevelev’s second geometry teacher refused to accommodate him, his counselor and family agreed to take him out of
ANITA LIU
geometry and put him in an off-semester math class. Because of the off semester, he had to get extra tutoring for when he took his SAT. “That [type of experience] is always extremely frustrating,” Miller Shevelev said. “The law says you get something, but that doesn’t matter when you’re in the classroom.” Miller Shevelev said that sometimes it is difficult for him to receive appropriate accommodations in class. “Teachers don’t always know how to give the extra time accommodation,” he said. “It takes them extra time to figure out the extra time.” Miller Shevelev said that sometimes the extra work teachers have to put in to give him accommodations leads to teachers being less patient with him, or trying to avoid giving accommodations altogether. Brutschy has also had trouble getting teachers to accommodate her adequately. “It’s not so much that [teachers] don’t recognize that I have a disability, it’s like they don’t recognize that I might need certain specific things because I have a disability,” she said. Brutschy also needs extra time, but in previous classes she’s had to take it in a room with the radio on and during a registry period. In both situations, Brutschy said that she had trouble focusing because of the noisy environments. In another class, she and her teacher had a particularly hard time implementing the extra time accommodation, in part due to miscommunication between her and the teacher. Brutschy doesn’t think that any of those teachers were intentionally malicious, rather that they just weren’t open to conversation about her needs. “It’s not that [the teachers] don’t believe in helping students, it’s that they believe their way is the best way,” she said. Veith personally has not received many complaints about teachers inadequately accommodating students, but there is a process for dealing with issues regarding the implementation of accommodations. Parents receive “Procedural Safeguards” which provide detailed information and options if and when a disagreement exists. Parents can also make informal complaints, where the special education department interviews the school staff and gathers information to help address the complaint. “We try to find the missing link,” Veith said. “Sometimes it’s because people don’t have all of the information. So we try to identify the gap and determine what our next steps are based on that.” According to Veith, the process for dealing with accomodations can be improved with communication. She said that when holding meetings to develop accommodations for a student, “the people who are going to implement the accommodations [need to] be present so that they can participate in the conversation.”
“It’s not that I was just lazy or wasn’t smart enough or something, it’s that I actually had something beyond my control that was holding me back.”
Sophia Brutschy’s Autistic Pride Necklace The Lowell June 2018
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ETHAN LEI
David Miller Shevelev
“That’s really who we’re trying to help. Exceptional kids with exceptional needs.” In his junior year, Miller Shevelev started the Disability Advocacy Club at Lowell with two other students to support students with disabilities and raise awareness in the Lowell community. “We realized that there isn’t much awareness on campus about what disabilities are,” he said. He noted that most history classes talk about Native American history, civil rights, and black and Latino heritage, but not disability rights or history. In addition, Miller Chevelev realized he was not the only person who had had trouble being properly accommodated at Lowell. “It struck me that [my experiences] were not an isolated event,” he said. According to Brutschy, who is now the club president, one simple way Lowell can improve is by increasing awareness on campus, and letting people know that Lowell offers long term solutions for people who are struggling. In her experience, most of the students she’s talked to at Lowell don’t know what a 504 plan or an IEP plan is. One idea both Miller Shevelev and Brutschy have is providing a quiet room for students who need extra time to take their tests. During the summer of 2016, Miller Shevelev took a class at the University of California, Berkeley where if the department could not adequately provide accommodations for students, they would send them to a specific, quiet room to take their tests. However, both Brutschy and Miller Shevelev realize that implementing such a procedure at Lowell would be difficult, mostly because a faculty member would have to be in the room all day to proctor the tests. A possible solution Brutschy suggested was only having this quiet room after school a few days a week. Another big goal of the club’s is to hold a panel of alumni, students and faculty with disabilities. According to Brutschy, the panel would hopefully both raise awareness and educate students about disabilities. “I feel like others don’t recognize that there would be people with
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v The Lowell June 2018
disabilities that go to Lowell unless it’s very obvious that you have a visible disability,” she said. Despite occasional negative experiences, both Brutschy and Miller Shevelev want to stress that, overall, Lowell has been excellent at handling their needs and providing accurate accommodations. Brutschy and Miller Chevelev have both taken classes where teachers went above and beyond to make sure their needs were being met, and their experiences with the administration have been mostly positive. Chevelev is currently working with the administration on approving a survey that would gauge the student body’s general understanding about learning disabilities. He said that his experience with administrators on this project has been positive. “I’m pleased with the recent progress we’ve made with the administration, notably with working with Mr. Ishibashi,” he said. One teacher Brutschy had a particularly good experience with was Michelle Trimble, a Chemistry teacher. Trimble tries to be flexible when organizing extra time so that the student doesn’t have to miss other classes in order to take her tests. She also makes sure to talk to students with accommodations before her first test of the semester. “If they don’t come up to me, I make an effort to come up to them,” she said. In addition, Brutschy’s counselor, Amber Wilson, has been a great resource for her when she was struggling with anything related to accommodations. “[My counselor] really had my back,” she said. According to Miller Shevelev, it can be easy for others to ignore learning disabilities when they aren’t evident from a first glance. As a result, it can be harder for higher-functioning students with learning disabilities to get the accommodations they need. “That’s really who we’re trying to help,” he said. “Exceptional kids with exceptional needs.”
teammate, which left me gripping my right ankle, unable to stand up. I later found out from the doctor that had I fractured my right fibula, and that I would need surgery to put a metal plate on the side of my fibula and six screws would be drilled into my bone. When she told me this, I had never been so devastated in my life. How did this happen to me twice in three years in the same sport? It was two days before the first game of the season, and it felt like everything I worked so hard for last year was thrown away. This was supposed to be my comeback year, when I was completely recovered from my injury. I was days away from the twoyear anniversary of my ACL injury and I was ready to come back and play better than ever. But obviously, that did not happen. This time around, I was no longer thankful for my injury and the mishaps it caused me. I was furious, angry and extremely devastated. I couldn’t believe that for the third time in my life, I would have to learn how to walk. My doctor said that I could start walking in six weeks and running three months after the surgery. That meant I
was out for the whole season. Not just the flag football season, but also track and field, meaning that I would only have senior year left to prove my abilities. This time around, I didn’t want to waste any time. I got really lucky: my surgery was scheduled only five days after my injury. I knew that I had to stay on top of my PT exercises and keep working out because I desperately wanted to get back on my feet. In the end, I started walking five weeks after my surgery and began running two and half months after my surgery, which is faster than the average recovery time. Because this was the second time that I suffered from such a major injury, I was smarter about taking care of myself. Lucky for me, I had a wheelchair, so I didn’t have to crutch around in rainy weather, which was a huge hazard considering the crutches would slip and I could fall. I think for the rest of my life, my knee will bother me more than my ankle because ligaments never heal by themselves, which is why they took part of my hamstring to reconstruct my ACL. Bones, on the other hand, will heal, and that makes me so much more ready for next season. My surgeon
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even told me that my right side (ankle injury side) is doing better than my left side (knee injury side). When the doctor told me the recovery times for my injury, I set a goal for myself: I wanted to come back at the end of track season to throw discus and shot put. Spoiler alert: I did end up throwing and even hit a personal best for shot put. I worked even harder, going to the weight room after school to workout, even when I was on crutches. It’s been about three months since I injured my ankle, and I’m still going to PT. Currently, my physical therapist says I am not ready to go back to playing flag football, but I still have a bit more than a year before the season starts, so I’ll be ready to go. I know my parents really do not want me to return to playing football, but because of my stubbornness or my unwillingness to give up, I will definitely be on the field next season. Next season, I want my team to make it all the way to champs. From my journey, I learned that the harder you work, the better the outcome. In the moment, it may seem like you will never get better, but you can’t give up. v
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From INJURIES on pg. 17
The Lowell June 2018
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