Lowell The
September 2018
The
Creators
Issue
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES Sophomore realizes the need for diabetes education By Zoe Simotas Photo by Christina Johnson
Meet the newest additions to the staff of Lowell High School By Crystal Chan, Joelle Chien, Kate Green, Allison Jou, and Anna Kaplan Photos by Lauren Caldwell, Christina Johnson, Anita Liu, and Nathan Yee Illustrations by Valentin Nguyen
Student-athletes compete for prizes By Elyse Foreman Photo by Susan Wong
Suspected gas leak triggers Stage 2 evacuation By Susan Wong and Anita Liu Photo by Anita Liu
CONTENT
CONNECT WITH US!
FREEFOM OF Each news source investigates and reports on issues on its own, separate from other newspapers.
2 THE PRESS
“I’d forever be an amateur filmmaker because I don’t 6 DIRECTING think I would want to do it for any money”
8 BUILDING
It’s just like how a painter has to look at painters from different centuries, to become a good builder I think you need to see what other people have done
design encompases creating and procuring 10 DESIGNING Costume clothing to further a production’s vision.
12 CODING
STUDENT
14 ACTIVISM
BATTLE OF
thelowell.org
He received his first lesson in coding— from the manager of a San Francisco Mel’s Drive-In.
“This could happen at school. I felt so safe at Lowell until that point.”
16 THE BIRDS
Beaupin delivered several stellar serves and eventually enabled the Cards’ victory of 25-12.
18 COLLEGE
That’s just as valid a choice as Harvard or Stanford.
@THELOWELLNEWS
@THELOWELL
ON THE COVER: Students express their creativity through various forms. Cover illustration by Valentin Nguyen
Lowell The
Editors-in-Chief
olivia sohn susan wong
News Editors
emily sobelman michelle kim olivia sohn
Sports Editors
jocelyn xie susan wong
Opinion Editors
allison dummel sofia woo
Column Editor Multimedia & Photo Editors Art Manager Illustrators
olivia moss christina johnson valentin ngyuen amy marcopulos jasmine liang warren quan
Reporters
allison jou anna kaplan crystal chan elyse foreman joelle chien kate green lee wilcox
Photographers
andrea tran anita liu christina kan lauren caldwell nathan yee xaria lubensky xinglin li zephyr anderson
Business Managers
anson tan jacquline ruan
Web Managers
brandon bui connie liu
Social Media Managers
ashley franco chloe wong kristen yeung
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 The power of an independent press
O
n Aug. 15, The Boston Globe published an editorial in response to President Trump’s recent attacks on the media. The editorial called these attacks dangerous to the foundation of our democracy, as they lead the public to only believe whatever the President might say, whether it be true or not. “The press is necessary to a free society because it does not implicitly trust leaders,” said the editorial. It went on to call other publications across the country to publish their own editorials speaking out on the issue. The New York Times responded the same day with an editorial of its own, supporting The Boston Globe, while The San Francisco Chronicle decided not to join the movement, saying that joining the other publications played into the narrative that all media is in league against the President. Although The New York Times and The Boston Globe have valid points, we believe that uniting in a national press movement is not the best way to address this issue. For one, it is exactly the kind of protest that the President could twist to support his own agenda. Trump has been complaining about faulty news coverage, alternate facts and media bias against him since he started running for president. In one of his recent tweets he called multiple sources, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, “anti-Trump” and accused them of collusion. He regularly tweets about supposed lies spread by the media and has tweeted many other times in a similar fashion whenever a news source reports on something that reflects negatively on himself. He calls the sources fake, biased and in league against him. Trump could easily interpret this editorial movement as proof that the media is ganging up on him. This is not necessarily true, but the President has proven time and time again that he only believes what he wants to. With such a large and influential platform, this is problematic as it perpetuates distrust of the media. As of right now, only 48 percent of the population disagrees with Trump’s statements about the media being the enemy of the people,
according to an Ipsos Poll. That number could drop if the President uses this movement as evidence that the media is against him. Even though the press has a right to voice their own opinion, the President can twist their words and misrepresent their actions, making it useless to try to speak out against his own moves and policies the way that The Boston Globe is doing. Furthermore, joining a press campaign would forgo centuries of tradition. Publications have always been independent; it is one of the defining values of the free press. Each news source investigates and reports on issues on its own, separate from other newspapers. This is how the public knows that the news can be trusted: facts coming from several independent sources are more likely to be accurate and unbiased. If we maintain our independence, Trump has no real argument that the media is colluding against him. By rallying together, we forget why our independence is important. We must remember that our actions speak louder than our words. The way to fight Trump’s mistreatment and mistrust of the media is not to make a big statement, but rather to show the public what we stand for. We must show them that, as an independent publication, we are trustworthy. The Lowell will do this by continuing to supply the news and our opinions independently. We cannot prevent Trump from continuing to discredit and undermine the press, but we can prevent him from being able to construct a legitimate argument against us. As long as there is no real evidence that the press is allied against him, his arguments will be brushed off by rationalminded people. This is why The Lowell has chosen to speak on this matter but remain separate from the other newspapers who participated in the campaign. Joining other publications would serve the exact opposite purpose of what was intended. We would be playing into Trump’s narrative and only helping him to prove that the media is in collusion against him. Instead The Lowell will continue to do our job: providing accurate news to the best of our ability, independent of other publications.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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CARTOON College mail can be overwhelming!
ILLUSTRATION BY VALENTIN NGUYEN
FROM THE EDITOR Dear readers of The Lowell, Often, the perception of students at Lowell is that we are robotic, grade-focused, AP test-taking-machines. Is the trope of “typical Lowell student” actually true? Most students at Lowell have encountered somebody that says, “Oh, you go to Lowell” in a judgmental tone. Underlying that statement is an assumption that they know who you are; it’s an assumption that all Lowell students are the same, and frankly, that we’re boring. In this issue, we highlight four creators breaking the norms of what it stereotypically means to be a Lowell student. These students are far from robotic or mechanically thinking, each one expressing themselves through innovative outlets: sophomore Sebastian Kaplan is a filmmaker, junior Ellie Riff
is a costume designer, senior Jasmine Liang is a LEGO builder, and junior Alex Ruiz is a coder. They show that although many Lowell students are academically motivated, they can be inventive and imaginative as well. Not only do these makers break the boundaries of what it means to be a typical Lowell student, but they stray from the ways that people are traditionally perceived as being “creative,” namely the fine arts. Their varying crafts show that creativity can flow through any outlet. The four creators featured in this issue remind us to remain open to any and all forms of expression. They also encourage us to open our eyes and look for the ways that we are all unique. Editors-in-Chief, Olivia Sohn and Susan Wong
TThe he LLowell owell SFeptember ebruary 2017 2018
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ANITA LIU
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We explore four Lowell students' unique creative endeavors
COVER
SEBASTIAN By Crystal Chan
F
ilmmaking is a tedious process. From I like something in the movie, I’ll write writing the script and planning the it down, so maybe I can use it later.” film’s logistics to filming and editing the Kaplan recognizes that filmmaking end product, films can take weeks, months, isn’t easy, but he’s always seeking new or even years to make. Sophomore Sebastian ways to improve. “I buy screenplays when Kaplan has gone through this process many times, having once spent eight hours filming on set CHRISTINA JOHNSON for a three-minute end product. But for a passionate filmmaker like Kaplan, this is the “art life.” Kaplan first started making films two years ago, when he discovered that beyond the script and the actors, the behind-the-scenes work is what really makes films stand out. “Once you realize that there’s an aspect to [films] besides what’s written on the page or what an actor says,” Kaplan said, “then it becomes more interesting.” Kaplan has produced two short films so far. Sometimes he stars in his own films, and other times he recruits actor friends to help him. His friends are fully supportive of him, often making appearances in his productions and lending him film equipment if possible. A major part of Kaplan’s work as a filmmaker is screenwriting. He writes the scripts for all his films, and often draws inspiration from his everyday experiences. For Kaplan, inspiration can come from anywhere and everywhere—from notes on his phone to his “little collages or booklets” I can,” he said, “and if I’m ever stuck, I’ll that he uses to store ideas. “I always write just flip through one and see what I like down little interesting things,” Kaplan out of it, and try to incorporate what I said. “When I’m watching a movie and like from certain movies into [my films].”
While getting a screenplay is an important step in the filmmaking process, Kaplan enjoys improvising on set. “I rarely follow the script even though I really like screenwriting,” Kaplan shared. He once told his actors to “throw out the script the night before,” and then asked them to improvise lines on set. In retrospect, Kaplan realizes that this last-minute change poses a lot of challenges. “You can’t really ask for [improvisation] from someone,” he said, “so I need to work on sticking to my scripts and getting what I want onto the screen.” Sometimes it takes months for inspiration to reach Kaplan, and other times he is spontaneously inspired. One of his latest films, which doesn’t yet have a title, was actually inspired by and filmed at a party he attended with his friends. According to Kaplan, the film is about a “high school party with the soundscape of a nightmare,” and a “weird, experimental collection of [scary] stories” his friends told him about. This is his favorite film because it is a series of different stories that portray a specific feeling. “There was no real storyline; that’s why I liked it so much,” Kaplan said. “It’s one long snippet, like a collection of a feeling, like a mood,” he added. Another one of Kaplan’s films, People Are Strange, is a love story that involves “rejection and trying to connect with people,” but Kaplan says his job is to “make it so people can take what they will from it.” Over the summer, he had
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KAPLAN a movie screening of People Are Strange with a group of friends and done as soon as possible so he has more time to focus on filmmaking. adults at his friend’s mom’s studio theater, which he recalls was an Even though filmmaking requires a lot of time and dedication, “exciting experience,” especially watching the audience’s reaction to Kaplan continues to make films because he believes there are the ending when the couple are dancing near the ocean and lean “infinite stories to be told,” and he wants to create images and stories in for a kiss. “I want that he hasn’t seen to make films because before but would like of moments like that,” to see in the world. One Kaplan shared, “where of his goals for his next the music is right; the movie is to “take risks” cinematography is and to include fresh right, and it works.” ideas that he hasn’t used Kaplan’s films are in his previous films. typically centered For his upcoming film around loose plots, CaddyShack 2, Kaplan but he is working hopes that it will be on incorporating a both entertaining and consistent tone and t h o u g ht - p r ov o k i n g theme into his next for the audience. “I film, two elements he don’t think it’s about if thinks his films lack. [a] film is technically He believes that high perfect,” he shared, school is the best time “but if it presents any to start working on interesting ideas or if it films because it gives makes someone think a him more time to little bit, that’d be great.” improve on his craft and Although Kaplan hopefully make better loves filmmaking, it’s films once he graduates not something he plans from high school. to pursue as a career. Balancing school He wants to become work, home life and a lawyer in the future filmmaking requires a but hopes to continue lot of commitment, but pursuing filmmaking Kaplan believes that on the side. “The plan is “if you manage your to do something [with] time well,” students law,” Kaplan said, “but can fit all three into at the end of the day, their schedule. He I also like making art says that using his “off and making films, and block wisely” has been if people like it, if I get These are stills taken from Kaplan's film People Are Strange. helpful, and that he tries a good response to it, to get his homework then I will keep doing it.”v
“There are infinite stories to be told”
MAKER The Lowell September 2018
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COVER
JASMINE By Allison Jou
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owell senior Jasmine Liang doesn’t think that building with LEGO is just for kids. To her, it isn’t even a hobby, it’s an art form that has taught her many skills and led her down a path of artistic exploration. Although she has been faced with criticism throughout her 14year journey with LEGO building, she still continues to push for its recognition in both the artistic and architectural community. Liang’s journey started when her parents bought her a LEGO set when she was three, and at age nine, she began exploring online LEGO communities. When she saw the creations that other LEGO enthusiasts were posting online, she was inspired to start sharing some of her own work. This prompted her to enter her first LEGO competition in 2011, when she was only in fifth grade. She won, entered more competitions, and started attending LEGO exhibitions at age 13. Over the years, she has shared her art with others by participating in numerous competitions, both local and international. Aside from having won multiple awards from the Santa Clara convention that she’s been attending yearly since 2017, she has won a competition judged all the way from Slovenia. She described this experience as “really crazy because it’s all the way from around the world.” Liang says that despite her success in numerous competitions, she doesn’t build her pieces to win competitions. Her LEGO building started, and has remained, something that she does for herself as a way to express herself and her ideas. She often picks pieces from her collection of personal projects and enters them in
a category that matches. The categories that she usually compete in include teen builders, art, pop culture and town and train. Her specialty is buildings, a category that Liang finds appealing because she can incorporate architecture into her pieces. Her pieces vary in size,from micro works that can be composed of as little as three pieces, to replicas of real buildings that can be over two feet LAUREN CALDWELL long and contain hundreds of pieces. She looks all around her for inspiration, starting off the building process with an idea from real life, which she then imagines as LEGO blocks fitted together. Her favorite piece is a Spanish-Moorish inspired cottage that she modeled after a house near her neighborhood. Other favorites include a mosaic tiled pathway and a gothic Victorian interior. Although years of practice have made Liang a better LEGO builder, they have also helped her to develop strong spatial awareness and good critical thinking skills. She compares the complexity of figuring out how to make a cohesive piece out of LEGO to putting together a puzzle. “The thinking process is so unique to any kind of art form,” she said. “Because again you’re working with prefabricated molded toys, and you’re taking every single piece and you’re looking at what it can do and you’re changing its original job to your creation. It’s really different from anything that I’ve seen.” Although Liang finds that the skills she’s learned from LEGO building has helped her with learning architecture, she has been discouraged in the past about LEGO building by peers in her
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LIANG architecture class who have told her that LEGO building is “pretty painter has to look at painters from different centuries, to become typical” or “just a toy.” Oftentimes her classmates have made a good builder I think you need to see what other people have assumptions about LEGO being uncreative, but the “free building” done.” A popular artistic platform that many builders use is Flickr; aspect of Liang’s craft differentiates her from other builders who Liang frequents it often to both share her own creations and learn use premade sets. “I think that LEGO can be applied to architecfrom and be inspired by other builders’ work. Over the years, the ture and it shouldn’t be discouraged or seen as more kid-like or positive response from other builders continues to encourage her elementary,” she said. “It JASMINE LIANG to keep building. She’s proud to be should be seen as just anothfeatured in other people’s Flickr blogs er art medium.” and uses their feedback to learn and Despite the negativity improve her craft. that she has faced, Liang Liang has struggled to find time continues to be inspired by to build with LEGO in recent years. architecture. She considers The rigors of her academics coupled LEGO building to be one of with her other art projects have the main influences in her made it difficult for her to find time interest in it. Liang considto build. She finds herself slowly ered architecture as a career becoming “distant” from LEGO, in the past, but found that often choosing to express her ideas she enjoyed other artistic in various other art mediums. forms more because they She admits that she is worried were less structured and about succumbing to the “Dark more creative. She plans to Ages,” a term used in the LEGO pursue art in college and building community to describe currently experiments with a busy time in one’s life, usually many different art medicollege, when, “You don’t think about ums, some of which include LEGO, you don’t touch LEGO,” she painting, drawing, sculpture, said. Sometimes LEGO builders filmmaking and screenplay come back in their adult life, but writing. many never come back. When Liang is feeling Although there might come a day discouraged or experiencwhen Liang decides to discontinue ing a drought in creativity, LEGO building, it will be on her a way that she can find own terms and not because of what inspiration is by staying other people tell her. She will always connected to other LEGO have ideas and she will always find a Liang's Spanish-Moorish cottage is one of her favorite pieces. builders. Although Liang way to translate those ideas into art, doesn’t personally know regardless of what art medium she any other builders, she says chooses. For Liang, LEGO is just as that it is important for LEGO builders to be active in the online valid as all the other art forms she is involved with.“It’s an art form community. “It’s hard to be on your own building with LEGO, because you’re creating things and I think anything that you can you need to be inspired by others,” she said. “It’s just like how a create can be seen as art,” she said. v
BUILDER The Lowell September 2018
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ELLIE ELLIE By Kate Green
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o the casual observer, costuming may seem a minor detail of a production, but not to junior Ellie Reif. “Costume design can basically take what the director wants people to see and make it a lot more obvious, it helps express what the actors are trying to express, and it gives the audience a visual aid,” she explained.
LAUREN CALDWELL
was immediately enamored of the ability to transform her creativity into unique, tangible garments. “I don’t understand why more people can’t sew,” Reiff said. “You can take a bolt of fabric and turn it into something completely original, versatile and useful.” In eighth grade she followed her passion for sewing and applied to Rush Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts for costume design, and her portfolio was accepted. Reiff then grappled with the choice between SOTA and Lowell, eventually opting to attend Lowell due to the variety of course options. Upon arriving at Lowell, Reiff was assigned drama class for her VPA instead of art class which she’d requested. Despite this disappointment, she remained open-minded and grew to love
“I don’t understand why more people can’t sew. You can take a bolt of fabric and turn it into something completely original, versatile and useful.”
Reiff ’s costuming journey began at age 11, when she and her younger sister, Maggie, enrolled in Connie Walkershaw’s sewing classes on West Portal Avenue. There she studied the fundamentals of sewing, from cutting patterns to threading sewing machines, and
Lowell’s theater community. After two years of drama class, she seized the opportunity to combine her talents by working in costume design for the spring musical, thinking, “I can’t sing or dance, so I’m going to do costume.” In Reiff ’s opinion, costume design encompases creating and procuring clothing to further a production’s vision. As a costume designer, she currently works with a team of five to sew and “pull garments from the rack” at thrift stores in order to create the wardrobes for Lowell’s plays and musicals. The costuming team’s duties include weekly design meetings with director Anne Marie Ullman, measuring performers and creating a final costume parade a week prior to production. All of these steps are crucial in creating cohesive costumes, and Reiff aspires to lead the design team’s efforts next year. Reiff ’s crowning achievement as a costume designer thus
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REIFF far, has been her contributions to Lowell’s last spring musical, From experimenting with water colors, to designing succulent Seussical. According to Reiff, the costume team’s concept for the arrangements and sewing her daily school clothes, she enjoys finding production was to reflect the fantasy world in the main character, creative outlets wherever possible. “I’ve sewn around 12 garments Jojo’s, imagination. that I wear on a This effect was regular basis. They CHRISTINA JOHNSON created through are definitely my applying different favorite clothes,” she color pallets to the explained. “I also various groups of have a fair amount creatures which of pillows, bags and appear throughout blankets that I’ve the musical. “Those made.” from the Jungle Despite this of Nool wore cool passion, Reiff has colors, those from doubts over the Who[ville] wore plausibility of a mostly warm viable costuming colors, and blue career, and is was reserved for instead leaning Gertrude and towards landscaping Horton to show architecture. “I the bond between love plants and them,” Reiff said. the environment, Her most so I think that’s ambitious project something I for Seussical was can incorporate designing Mayzie creativity with,” she La Bird’s complex explained. In the red outfit. “My title meantime, she is in the program was constantly honing draper because I did her craft through Reiff made the dress for the character Mayzie, who is standing between dancers. all this draping and picking up inspiration layering of different fabrics to give a tail effect. It was awesome, it from movies like Wonder Woman, and comparing notes with her took me maybe two weeks off and on,” Reiff said. Getting to sneak friend in the SOTA costuming department. She plans to continue out from behind the scenes and glimpse costumes like Mayzie’s creating in some way, beyond high school and into college, perhaps during the production is a highlight for Reiff. “Seeing the actors on costuming her university’s productions. stage with all the lights is just awesome. You can see how they move As for this year’s fall play at Lowell, “Daughters of Atreus,” Reiff and how the actors use them,” she said. was dutifully tight-lipped about what audience members can expect Though costuming eats up much of Reiff ’s spare time, she as far as costume design. “I’ll tell you that it’s not togas,” she said enjoys expressing her creativity through different mediums as well. with a laugh. v
DESIGNER The Lowell September 2018
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COVER
ALEX By Anna Kaplan
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ANITA LIU
unior Alex Ruiz was just seven years old when he received his first lesson in coding— from the manager of a San Francisco Mel’s Drive-In. The manager had picked up coding as a hobby and occasionally used his acquired skill in service to the restaurant chain. The manager also happens to be Ruiz’s father, Armando. Armando taught Ruiz three basic programming languages—C++, Javascript and C#. Ruiz supplemented his father’s tutorials by researching coding online and reading books given to him by his father. Throughout elementary school, Ruiz eagerly continued learning to code, but as a middle schooler, his interest waned and he stopped coding altogether. Then, at the start of his freshman year at Lowell, Ruiz was encouraged by one of his friends to join Byte Lab, the coding club. After attending one Byte Lab meeting, Ruiz was inspired to get back into coding. “Just meeting all those people who also liked coding and creating stuff with it and doing cool things, I was like, ‘You know what, maybe I should try to learn again,’” Ruiz said. Despite his previous experience in coding, Ruiz says little of what he learned as an elementary school student has been useful in the coding projects he has taken on for Byte Lab. “When I went into AP Computer Science, I remembered a lot of things from the books that my dad gave me,” Ruiz said. “But when it came to other [projects in Byte Lab], it was just kind of stuff I had to learn on my own.” Up until a year ago, Ruiz had only created a few small-scale web apps, including one to help graph quadratic
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RUIZ equations. These apps took him very little time to develop and were used just by him and some of his close friends. Then, the idea for Ruiz’s biggest project to date, a web app called Arena Rolodex, dawned on him. In December 2017, one of Ruiz’s close friends, junior Chris Yuan, was bombarded by requests from Lowell students to help them plan their spring semester class schedules with a spreadsheet program he had developed. “Someone would come up to [Chris] and ask, ‘Hey Chris, could you figure out my schedule for me?’” Ruiz said, “and he would get out a spreadsheet and pull out the entire Announcer and then make all the combinations of every single class.” Given the strong interest in Yuan’s spreadsheet program, Ruiz and Yuan began to toss around the idea of creating a web app to help Lowell students plan their schedules. From January to May 2018, Ruiz’s bedroom desk was covered in crumpled Post-It notes scribbled with abandoned algorithms, as he worked many late nights, doggedly attempting to devise an algorithm that proved workable. “When I thought [an algorithm] would work, I would put it on my computer and type it out or write it down,” Ruiz said. “If [the algorithm] didn’t work, then I would just keep thinking about it throughout the day because it was on my mind all the time.” Halfway through spring semester, Ruiz began to doubt the plausibility of Arena Rolodex—until one day in the middle of March, while he was listening to his English teacher’s lecture, he had an epiphany. “Eventually, the [algorithm]
“A lot of it was not sitting down, doing it all at once. It was just thinking about the problem, thinking of ways I could solve it."
that I used was something that I figured out in English in the morning and I just wrote it down and was like, ‘Maybe this could work,’” Ruiz said. “A lot of it was not sitting down, doing it all at once. It was just thinking about the problem, thinking of ways I could solve it throughout the day.” By May, Ruiz and his collaborator Yuan had completed Arena Rolodex—just in time for class registration. Although the two coders only shared the link to the web app with a small number of close friends, Arena Rolodex dispersed throughout the school as those friends began to share it with other Lowell students, and those students shared it with their friends. Despite Ruiz being unable to track the number of users of Arena Rolodex, he says that the reach and popularity of the web app among Lowell students is much greater than he expected. “It just spread throughout [Lowell],” Ruiz said. “I don’t usually promote my web apps, so I was surprised to hear other people were using it, too.” Such strong interest in Arena Rolodex is gratifying to Ruiz, who says coding is a way to express himself creatively. He sees similarities between the craft of coding and traditional art forms, such as painting. “When you paint something, you start with an empty canvas and you sketch an idea, and then you build on top of it and you keep on painting it,” Ruiz said. Similarly, with coding, Ruiz creates a prototype on his computer and continues to add onto it without any expectations of a new creation. “There will always be something where you can look back on it and say, ‘I feel like I can fix this one thing,’” he said. “But the point of making it is just to make it.” v
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JASMINE LIANG
Code Red: How Lowell is addressing potential gun violence at school By Crystal Chan
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s seen with the recent gun-related incident at Balboa High School, gun violence can happen in San Francisco, even close to Lowell. Although no one was injured by the weapon, the incident continues to raise concerns about the safety of students and teachers in schools. At Lowell, student activists have been pushing for better school safety. The Student Safety Committee (SSC), which was formed shortly after the Parkland shooting, is one example of students advocating for improved school safety at Lowell. For SSC member senior Ashley Tran, the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School led her to have worries about her safety at school. “Right after the shooting in Parkland, I was really concerned; I stayed up at night,” Tran said. “This could happen at school. I felt so safe at Lowell until that point.” Many Lowell students believe that safety measures could be implemented to help students and teachers feel safer at school. Two main concerns are that the locks on classroom doors can only be locked from the outside, and that some of the PA systems on campus don’t work. Because locks on classroom doors can’t be locked from the inside, if a school shooting were to happen, 14
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someone from inside the classroom would have to risk their lives locking it from the outside. Additionally, if a school shooting occurs and students are in a classroom where the PA system doesn’t work, then their lives could be in danger because they would be oblivious to the situation they are in. Senior Kassandra Castillo feels that enabling classroom doors to be locked from the inside would make it “easier and better” for students and teachers to protect themselves during a school shooting. She thinks that no student or staff member would have to risk their lives in order to lock the classroom from the outside. Junior Emily Hoang also echoes Castillo’s views on school safety. Hoang feels that the school administration should “ensure that all PA systems [on campus] actually work and that the locks on the doors lock from the inside.” In order to help address the concerns of Lowell students, Tran and another SSC member, Portia Patnon, have been working with the administration to have the PA system improved and the locks on Lowell classrooms changed so that they can be locked from the inside. Another concern students have is how open to the public
Lowell’s campus is. “It’s so easy for someone to just come on campus, even if they’re not necessarily from this school,” sophomore Kyla Mates said. To help solve this issue, sophomore Michelle Chen suggests assigning security guards at the school entrances near the World Language Building. “Where the World Language Building is, it’s really open and really easy to come in from there, but there aren’t really any security guards there,” Chen said. “No one’s really watching this whole area along the football field,” Chen added, “so maybe bringing more security to other parts [of the school] because more are just in the Main Building.” According to Vice principal Orlando Beltran, the PA system has gradually been improved this past summer, but is not entirely renovated yet. He added that a “handful” of teachers have reported working intercom systems since the summer renovations, but that there’s still more that need to be fixed. Getting the locks changed is a complicated process, however, that involves various bodies within the school district, including the Risk Management Office, the Facilities Department, the Locksmith Department and possibly even the district’s superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews. This is further complicated by the number of schools in the district who are requesting their locks to be changed. Within the district, there is a mix of schools with internal locking mechanisms, and others without. After the Parkland shooting, many elementary, middle and high schools without internally locking doors placed bids to have their locks changed. The specific concerns about locks stem from the Parkland
shooting, when teacher Scott Biegel from MSD was killed and 15-year-old student Anthony Borges was injured attempting to lock the classroom doors, which could only be locked from the outside. In a survey conducted by The Lowell, 28.7 percent of Lowell teachers surveyed lock their doors at the beginning of class. Some teachers like English teacher Jennifer Moffitt lock their doors from the outside at the beginning of class instead of leaving their doors unlocked. However, there are downsides to having the door locked during class. If a student leaves to use the restroom or to get water, they have to knock to get back into class. This may disrupt a class or a teacher especially if the teacher is lecturing. Beltran has encouraged teachers who are concerned about the safety of their students to lock the door and put a magnet in the door jam so it doesn’t fully close, a solution to prevent leaving the classroom in order to lock it from the outside. Although students at Lowell feel that locking the doors during class is progress towards having a safer school, some students like Tran believe that it’s only a temporary solution. “For me, it has a very psychological impact,” Tran said. “It makes me feel safer because I know the door is locked, so personally I feel like that is a solution, but a temporary one.” Beltran also placed a bid with the district to get Lowell’s locks changed. As of now, Lowell is scheduled to have its locks changed in the summer of 2019. However, this is not guaranteed to happen due to factors such as budget and timing changes that could delay or cancel the process. The Student Advisory Council (SAC) and Lowell Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) plan to keep a close eye on the project to ensure that the lock system changes happen on time. v
“It’s so easy for someone to just come on campus, even if they’re not necessarily from this school.”
Left: Model of a door lock.
JASMINE LIANG
The Lowell September 2018 v15
SPORTS
Lowell varsity girls volleyball take home victory in Battle of the Birds
By Lee Wilcox
ANITA LIU
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he varsity girls’ volleyball team decimated the Washington Eagles 3-0 on Sept. 14. The annual Battle of the Birds ensured a large and emphatic audience in Lowell’s gymnasium. The Cardinals’ dominance started with the first set. The excellent setups of seniors setter Sinead Beaupain and outside hitter Eunice Go, along with the powerful hits of junior middle blocker Mariko Tanaka, secured many of the Cardinals’ wins in the first set. Though the Eagles were able to interrupt the Cards’ dominant streaks several times, their moves were always short-
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lived. As the end of the set drew near, Beaupain delivered several stellar serves and eventually enabled the Cards’ victory of 25-12. The Cards maintained their dominance as the second set began. A number of early points gained by senior outside hitter and right-side hitter Annamarie Kelly served reinforced the Cards’ dominance. But then the Eagles began to regain momentum. Displaying serving prowess on par with Lowell, the Eagles’ score surged ahead, placing them in the lead for the first time. This dominance, however, was just as short-lived as all the others when the Cardinals reclaimed the initiative and regained the lead. Again,
Left: The Cardinals successfully secure their court with a strong defensive block against the Washington Eagles in the Battle of the Birds on Sept. 14 at home. Right: Senior setter and defense specialist Samantha Hum is ready to bump. Botton: Ready and set! Senior outside hitter Eunice Go focuses on her hit in the backcourt.
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the Cardinals’ skill did. The set ended with a predictable victory of 25-12. Reflecting on their home victory in Battle of the Birds, assistant coach Josh Jung was satisfied with the team’s performance but still looked forward to future improvements. “I think the biggest thing is just that we need to be more confident in ourselves and our defense needs to get better,” he said. The Cardinals will face against the Lincoln Mustangs, last year’s champion for the AAA Volleyball Girls Championship, in their next game. “We always watch out for them,” Jung said. “But no matter if we are playing a good team or the best team in the world, we prepare in the same way.” The next game will be on Friday, Sept. 28, at 5:15 p.m. at home.
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Lowell’s vicious serves and implacable defense racked up numerous points. When a hit into Washington’s undefended midcourt by Go ended the set 25-15, Lowell had regained their confidence. In the final set, a block by Tanaka immediately put Lowell ahead. The Cardinals were animated throughout the set. Previously overlooked players like senior middle blocker Betsy Li contributed to several scores while junior libero Kimberly Yee and Tanaka continued to form a strong defense, blocking several strong serves by Washington. The latter third of the set was an unbroken scoring streak, and Washington’s desperation served to hurt them as much as
ANITA LIU
The Lowell September 2018
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JASMINE LIANG
“ In reality, there are a lot of Lowell people going to City and it’s okay.”
OPINION
City Blues: Why no one should feel bad about going to City College By Olivia Moss “
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here are you applying?” With college application deadlines just around the corner, this question has been rearing its ugly head every way seniors turn. Most of the time it’s the same answers. UCs, Ivy Leagues, maybe a few state schools as backups. Especially at an academic magnet school like Lowell, the expectation is to get into a name-brand college, somewhere our peers and parents will recognize. That’s what we’ve all been working towards, right? Not necessarily. While City College is often looked down upon, it’s actually a good option for a lot of people. When considering which schools to apply to, the focus shouldn’t be on what our parents can brag about, it should be about which school fits the individual student the best. If that’s City College, that’s just as valid a choice as Harvard or Stanford. Giping Huang graduated from Lowell in 2018 and currently attends City College. She wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do academically, and she thought it seemed like a good opportunity to figure that out. “In some ways, City is like a second chance at life or college,” said Huang. Two years at City College can fulfill a lot of the same general education requirements as two years at a four-year university, but for thousands of dollars less, and it gives students like Huang time to figure out what they are passionate about and may want to major in. Going to City College for two years and then transferring to a university is a great option financially for a lot of people. It’s free for San Francisco residents, so apart from materials and textbook expenses, students don’t have to pay for their first two years of college, according to the City College website. Adrian Hung, who graduated from Lowell in 2016, is now in his second year at City College. His primary reason for going was the cost difference, and his parents were supportive of his decision for the same reason. Hung is happy that he decided to go to City College. “You get the feeling that the students truly want to be there to learn,” he said. A lot of people aren’t able to afford a four-year university or college right out of high school, and the flexible schedule of City College leaves students time to work
and save up for their next two years. Another huge pull for City College students is the Transfer Admission Guarantee Program, or TAG program. This guarantees students admission to one UC that’s part of the program. To apply, students have to complete certain credit requirements and apply to one of the six UCs that are part of the program: Davis, Irvine, Merced, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Riverside. Huang is planning on using TAG to get into UC Irvine, as well as apply normally to UC Los Angeles and UC San Diego. She wants to potentially major in business or finance or something along those lines, she said. City college offers courses in over 50 programs in a wide variety of fields, and 95 percent of the professors hold master’s degrees, according to the City College website. It also has over 80 clubs, a student newspaper and radio and television stations, as well as events such as lectures and concerts throughout the year, according to the City College website. Especially at Lowell, there’s a stigma surrounding City College, according to Huang. “I remember feeling very ashamed and dumb whenever I revealed that I was going to City,” she said. “The fact that no one talked about city college made me feel like I was the only one going and the only ‘dumb’ one in my friend group, but in reality, there are a lot of Lowell people going to City and it’s okay.” Another problem Huang faced when making her decision was her family. Because anyone can go to city college, Huang’s parents were disappointed with its lack of prestige. Huang decided to go regardless. “It’s my life so I thought I have my own freedom to choose what I want to do.” she said. Although Huang has days where she regrets her decision, she has great teachers and respects her peers there, who are curious, motivated and inspire her to be motivated as well. “There are people in my class who literally have kids but they still hustle and are still doing homework and raising their hands to ask questions,” Huang said. For the Lowell students out there who are considering City College, don’t be discouraged by peer pressure or feel like you have to go to a specific type of school. CCSF is just as valid and much less expensive than a namebrand university. v
The Lowell September 2018
v 19
FEATURE
SNEAK PEAK BACK TO SCHOOL
ANITA LIU
L O O K B O O K
ANITA LIU
FULL LOOKBOOK ON thelowell.org ANITA LIU
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v The Lowell September 2018
CHRISTINA JOHNSON
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