The Lowell Newsmagazine February 2016 by The Lowell

Lowell The

February 2016

If you

start seeing

the signs

step up and

just remember

running

overcoming

domestic

violence

say

something

Lowell F

ebruary

2016

Cultural clubs unite to showcase diversity

thelowell.org

The

INSIDE

Students from abroad dazzle Lowellites with classical Chinese dance “I FELT LIKE THE PHOTOS WERE INSULTING US, LIKE SAYING THAT BLACK PEOPLE ARE ONLY GOOD FOR RAP MUSIC AND HOOD MOVIES.”

JV girls crush the Lions, maintain spotless record in league

AIDA IRVING

“BEING AFFECTED BY THE OUTCOMES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HAS MADE ME THINK MORE CRITICALLY OF HOW THE WORLD IS.”

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES TO THE EDITOR: Alum reflects on San Francisco’s bubble and her own white privilege WITH MORE FUNDING, four-year Hebrew program will return this fall by Jennifer Zhang VARS GIRLS DEFEAT the Lions after loss against the Mustangs by JoyAnne Ibay

JV GIRLS CRUSH THE LIONS, maintain spotless record in league by Rachael Schmidt

VARSITY BOYS’ BASKETBALL FALLS 66-55 to the Lincoln Mustangs by Adrian Hung ALEXIS PICACHE

KENNY DZIB

“ALL WRESTLERS HAVE DIFFERENT STYLES AND SOME OF THE MOST AGGRESSIVE PEOPLE I’VE WRESTLED ON THIS TEAM HAVE BEEN GIRLS.”

Jazz Pops 2016 “WHY IS IT THAT WHAT I AM WEARING IS VALUED OVER MY EDUCATION? AM I SUPPOSED TO DROP EVERYTHING TO BE ‘MORE APPROPRIATE’ FOR SCHOOL?”

TOBI KAWANAMI

COVER: Cover illustration by Emily Teng. Correction: January front cover photo of senior Meylin Rodriguez for Finding Equity Pt. 2 was not credited. The photo is by Alexis Picache.

EDITORIAL

Let freshmen choose: same-teacher policy is unfair

his semester, Lowell’s administration implemented a new policy that requires freshmen to take the same teachers in biology and history for the entire school year instead of being able to choose their teachers for those courses in the self-scheduling Arena, as has been done for years. Various administrators say their intentions are to improve freshman academic performance, strengthen teacher-student relationships and help students feel more settled and secure in their first year at Lowell. The administration would like to expand the policy next year to more subjects but has not figured out all the logistics yet, according to assistant principal Margaret Peterson. While the relationships between students and their teachers are important, so is academic performance and sovereignty over education. The policy should not be expanded to other subjects. If Lowell truly wants the best for its freshmen, it should allow students to choose in Arena and switch out of classes that could hurt them academically rather than help them. If the administration cannot fulfill this, then the policy should be abolished altogether. A significant number of freshmen don’t feel close to an adult on campus, according to Peterson. This was based on the voluntary Youth Voice Survey conducted by Lowell’s Peer Resources Outreach Program every year. The Lowell and the Lowell Data Club conducted a survey by selecting two random registries from each grade; 48 percent of freshmen said they feel comfortable talking to an adult on campus, while 14 percent do not. It is not clear whether this was a result of the new policy or already the case. Assuming there is a need for this policy, one intended benefit is better relationships between students and teachers. Some students have built better relationships with their history teachers during second semester, like freshman Juana Tostado and her history teacher, who has tried to help her get her grade up. The policy could also help teachers better plan how they can help students get the best learning experience. World History teacher Stephanie Bellville thinks that her students

staying with her for the whole school year allows her to get good feedback when she talks to the students because they feel comfortable and safe. With group work, she tries to put students in mixed-level learning groups to improve the learning of everyone, which is easier to do once she knows the students better after a semester. Research and the Theory of Proximal Learning supports that this method produces the best outcomes, according to Bellville. Another intended benefit is convenience of year-long, rather than semester-long, curriculum, because there is less pressure to have every class end at the same place in the curriculum when the first semester finishes. Freshman Minerva Xiang said that she would not want to switch her biology teacher because they were ahead in the textbook. “If I switched my biology teacher, I wouldn’t be able to learn as much,” Xiang said. But the policy may not be best for the students’ academic performance. Students could be forced to adapt to their teacher’s teaching style even if it does not suit them. Although freshman Tiffany Yau felt that she did create a bond with her biology teacher, her teacher did not cater to her individual needs or positively affect her academic performance. “She really just does the same as the beginning of the semester,” Yau said. “She just does reviewing before and [then uses] Quizlet.” According to The Lowell’s and the Data Club’s survey, although 23 percent of students from all grades said keeping the same teacher in a class would have helped their academic performance, 30 percent said it would not have. Some students may benefit from keeping the same teacher for the full year, but not all students should be required to. “My history teacher is hard, and it is my worst subject,” Tostado said. “We have quizzes every day, and I don’t learn much because he teaches the material after the quiz.” Lowell is a college preparatory school, and requiring freshmen to keep the same history and biology teachers from the fall undermines its ideals of giving students a college-like experience in choosing their own classes, since classes in college go by a semester system. According to The Lowell’s See SAME TEACHER on pg. 21

Lowell The

Editors-in-Chief

luke haubenstock whitney c lim amber ly

Managing Editor News Editors

cynthia leung joseph kim whitney c lim emily teng sophia wu

Sports Editors

cynthia leung amber ly

Opinion Editors

ophir cohen-simayof stephanie li

Columns Editors

luke haubenstock noreen shaikh

Multimedia & Photo Editor Art Manager Reporters

aida irving emily teng nia coats josephine dang adrian hung joyanne ibay alyssa poon rachael schmidt olivia starr clarissa wan luming yuan jennifer zhang

Photographers

leonard caoili kenny dzib kelley grade aida irving tobi kawanami ciara kosai alexis picache lily young

Business Managers

sherissa go shania lee aaron liang kelvin luu shania qin

Head of Research Collaboration with Web Designer

maximilian tiao

Adviser

samuel williams

Awards

data and research club michelle chi

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

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 lowellopinion@ 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

v The Lowell Febuary 2016

CARTOON TO THE EDITORS FROM THE EDITORS

Celebrate Black History Month, but respect one another everyday Dear Lowell students, Regarding the recent incident that has occurred at our school, I would like to share my opinion on how I felt. I am part AfricanAmerican, so I include myself in the minority group that we have at Lowell. What I witnessed on the catwalk recently regarding the “honor” of Black History Month truly angered me. Black History Month is in February (the shortest month we have), and is our chance to give tribute to the black people that have advocated for black people’s rights. Do not get me wrong, African-American music artists like Tupac Shakur have made a huge difference in society, but Black History

Month is a celebration that has more meaning than rappers sharing stories about their childhood struggles. The issue black people are dealing with at the moment is so severe that even I get afraid when I see a police car drive by me when I am walking down the street. No one has to experience a horrible event in their life or be fully/partially African-American to support the Black Lives Matter movement. I understand that people like to make jokes, but regarding a serious matter, it is not acceptable. It is especially serious when certain people do not fully understand as to why we have a month to tribute black history only. I feel as if black people have been seen as an

inferior race to others for so long, that when someone does make a difference, they are not recognized. Successful black people, in terms of making a difference, should be recognized every single day, but February is their month to share everything from slavery to Black Lives Matter (and the included music). High school should be a place where everyone feels safe and is able to open up without others judging them. Please continue to respect one another for their race and religion, and to think carefully before making a joke that could possibly hurt another person. -Sally Phi, Reg 1713

Addressing domestic abuse; ‘Finding Equity’ part 3 coming soon This issue’s cover story brings awareness to domestic violence and shares a few of its survivors’ stories. Society today does not acknowledge the struggles and challenges of abuse within families nearly enough, especially in high school when many begin learning how to maintain healthy relationships. People everywhere continue to stay in harmful relationships without the support to leave, and those close to them often do not know the signs and effects of domestic violence to support them. We hope that our sources’ stories of survival and the various resources in the article will not only bring awareness to the

topic, but also give hope to those in or affected by similar situations. The next installment of our “Finding Equity” cover series is currently in production and will come out in an upcoming issue of The Lowell. The controversial Black History Month display (see article on pg. 6), the administration’s assemblies on cultural insensitivity, this year’s focus on inclusion for Social Awareness Week and the recent Black Lives Matter walkout on campus have shown us the importance of discussing issues about race at Lowell. We hope to further cover these issues and propose solutions in the third installation.

The Lowell February 2016

v The Lowell February 2016

The Lowell February 2016

courtesy of steve rhodes @tigerbeat

WALKING OUT SPEAKING UP Students stage walkout and peaceful protest for increased inclusion of black students at Lowell By Rachael Schmidt

courtesy of steve rhodes @tigerbeat

ver 20 students walked out of class and marched to City Hall on Feb. 23, advocating for increased inclusion of AfricanAmerican students at Lowell. Later that evening, the group of students, led by the Black Student Union, announced their demands at the Board of Education meeting. This demonstration was partly sparked by what students saw as an insufficient response by the administration to a student’s culturally insensitive Black History Month display that was taken down on Feb. 5. BSU copresident junior Tsia Nicole said that the photo display was not the sole reason for the walkout, but the “last straw that broke the camel’s back” on top of everyday discrimination that students experience at Lowell. The display showed a bunch of photos of rappers, along with a meme of President Barack Obama and a sign saying “Happy Black History Month #Gang,” which were “insensitive to the racial stereotyping of black people that is far too prevalent in our society,” according to a letter Principal Andrew Ishibashi sent out to the school community. Ishibashi canceled two blocks of classes the day the photos were taken down to hold school-wide assemblies in response to students’ and parents’ complaints about the display. Ishibashi and the administration are taking steps to address cultural sensitivity at the school, including Social Awareness Week activities from Feb. 22-26. At City Hall on the morning of Feb. 23, students spoke with officials such as the San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Richard Carranza and Board of Supervisors representatives. Students made speeches in which they shared experiences of cultural insensitivity at Lowell. Carranza published a letter on the SFUSD website later that day showing support for the students who walked out and thanking AfricanAmerican students for telling their stories. At the Board meeting that evening, the students listed their demands for more African-American teachers and staff at Lowell, mandatory ethnic studies classes to educate students and teachers, a full-time African-American recruitment officer who attends BSU meetings and an

courtesy of steve rhodes @tigerbeat

African-American community center at the school. Lowell’s AfricanAmerican student population makes up two percent of the student body. The photos, as well as how the administration handled the display, spurred the BSU members to initiate the walkout. Ishibashi and the administration were alerted of the photos on Feb. 5 and the display was immediately removed. The student who hung it up was suspended and has apologized. He no longer attends Lowell. Eight photos — all taken off the Internet — were printed out in black and white and taped on the inside of a library window facing the catwalk and courtyard. The catwalk is usually a center for student activities and displays of student elections campaign posters, student dance posters or club advertisements approved by the Student Body Council. The student’s display, however, was not approved. On one sheet, “Happy Black History Month #Gang” was typed in all-caps. On each of six other sheets of paper were African-American rappers Chief Keef, Young Thug, Migos, Mac Dre, Kanye West and Ice Cube with actor Chris Tucker in a scene from the movie Friday . Another sheet of paper showed a meme of President Barack Obama with a fade hairstyle and an earring with the words “Nah, Michelle and me don’t talk no more.” An image of the display, which may be offensive to readers, can be seen on The Lowell’s website, thelowell.org. Some viewed the choice of figures in the photos as insensitive to the central concepts of Black History Month. “The people up there are very significant black figures, but Black History Month is about acknowledging our ancestors and our accomplishments in history like civil rights and movements for equality through figures like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and the first African-American woman to be in the Senate,” said senior Chrislyn Earle, vice president of the Black Student Union. “Those figures [in the photos] were not fit for that category. I felt like the photos were insulting us, like saying that, ‘black people are only good for rap music and hood movies.’” The student who put up the photos is a student of color but not See BHM on pg. 21

Students of Lowell’s Black Student Union and allies walkout on Feb. 23, from left: Freshman Alexa Coleman, junior Widya Batin, junior Mikayla Sherman and junior Tsia Nicole march toward City Hall. Freshman Kayelani Williams, Batin, junior Unique Abram, senior Maya Bonner, senior Alexis Gutierrez and senior Johnny Hall stand outside City Hall. Abram makes a speech about her experiences of being black at Lowell.

CULTURAL CLUBS UNITE

After an emergency assembly about racial sensitivity, Multicultural Night brought the school community together to celebrate diversity at Lowell. ALEXIS PICACHE

ALEXIS PICACHE

v The Lowell February 2016

ALEXIS PICACHE

LEONARD CAOILI

Senior Jeremiah Espino

Opposite page: Black Student Union (Top): Junior Widya Batin delivers a speech about police brutality in America La Raza (Bottom Left): Junior Bonifacio Salvador and senior Jocelyn Navarrete dance Cumbia, a popular Latin American dance Fil-Am (Bottom Right): Senior Jeremiah Espino performs the binasuan, a Filipino folk dance in which dancers perform balancing tricks with glasses

This page: Lowell Polynesian Club (Bottom): Members perform the haka, a traditional ancestral dance of the Maori people Finale (Top): Fil-Am performs the song “Hawak Kamay” — which means “holding hands” — and all clubs join hand-in-hand to celebrate a successful night

LEONARD CAOILI

The Lowell February 2016

Shattered

Homes TITLE

Overcoming Domestic Violence BY JOSEPHINE DANG by josephine dang

Three young womensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experiences of domestic violence in their families

emily teng

“D

Editors’ note: This story contains descriptions of domestic violence. uring heated conversations, he would tell me to go to bed early or see if I could go to a friend’s house, and I never knew why,” she said. “As I got older, he began not caring whether I saw or not. I saw him put his hands on my mom.” This Lowell junior, who will be referred to as Nora because she requested not to have her real name used, lived in a home in which her father abused her and her mother for over 12 years. Situations of domestic violence like this are prevalent throughout our community, with an annual 4,200 police reports in San Francisco alone, according to La Casa de Las Madres, a San Francisco non-profit shelter based in the Mission. Domestic violence is defined as a pattern of abuse in which one partner in an intimate relationship controls the other through force or intimidation, according to La Casa. Domestic violence includes, but is not limited to, physical abuse. It also happens in the form of sexual, spiritual, verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse. Domestic violence affects not only adults, but also children, teens, and elders. It occurs in all types of intimate relationships, including heterosexual, same-sex, marriage dating, and even former relationships. It can happen between people of all races, nationalities, ages, and economic classes. Economic dependency is one of the main reasons victims decide to stay with or return to their abusive partners. Both men and women experience domestic violence. Children in the family can also experience direct violence from their parents or the effects of violence between parents. Even with statistics showing that domestic violence is an issue, high school students may fail to realize that such patterns happen regularly for some of their classmates and friends’ families as well.

physical and emotional. Her father, an alcoholic, was controlling and aggressive, and would often hit her mom when he was drunk. When he wasn’t drunk, Nora said her father would still threaten to hit her mom, or he would punch the wall in anger. “If she cooked dinner wrong, he’d get really upset,” she said. “No one else would see it as a big deal, but he would call her sexist names and even swing his hands at her. It’d be times when he wasn’t drunk either.” Her father was aggressive all throughout her childhood, either towards her mother or towards her. “Whenever I made a mistake, he overdid the disciplinary stuff,” she said. “I imagine if parents yell a little bit, it would be okay. But his wasn’t a healthy amount.” When Nora was one year old, Nora’s mother left her abusive husband and moved to a women’s shelter with Nora. Within a year, he convinced her mother to come back with promises to treat her differently and stop drinking. Nora’s two

brothers were born shortly after. Nora, who now had siblings to care for, felt that she could not help herself or her mother. “For a while, I believed that it was okay for him to get mad, that my mom was probably wrong, or that she should’ve just cooked dinner right,” she said. “I thought they loved each other, and I just wanted to feel like a family. He’s my dad, and I still love him. But I decided that I just didn’t feel safe in that environment.” Another Lowell student, a current senior, here referred to as Phoebe because she requested that her real name not be used, is a survivor who grew up in a similar situation, as her mother was also a victim of physical, emotional, and verbal domestic violence. Phoebe did not witness the abuse for long, since she was young at the time. She said that she only has vague memories of her life with her father. “I just remember running,” she said. “We had to get as far away as we could get.” For a

Situations

Professionals refer to people who have endured domestic violence as survivors. Nora is a survivor who has overcome challenges and become more independent after domestic violence split her family apart. Nora grew up in a household where her mother was a regular victim of domestic violence, both

emily teng

“If she cooked dinner wrong, he’d It’d be ti

while, Phoebe’s mother was hesitant to leave, as her husband was in control of their finances. But it was difficult for her mother to picture raising her kids under such abusive circumstances, especially since Phoebe’s older sister had witnessed the abuse for much longer than Phoebe had. She began staying in homeless shelters with her mother and sister. Another young woman, Daisy, who also requested that her real name not be used, is a survivor whose experience shows the risks of domestic violence that immigrants can face. She is a recent immigrant from China, currently attending college in San Francisco, and was referred to us by the Asian Women’s Shelter. Daisy was in a mentally abusive environment for a long time. “As immigrants who spoke limited English, we felt hopeless and needed help, but nobody was there to help us,” Daisy said. Her stepfather was an American citizen her mother had married after they came from China. He was verbally abusive to Daisy and her younger sister, and physically abusive to her mother. “He would call me ‘stupid and weak,’ and ask me to repeat that,” she said. “He was so violent and aggressive. He would tell us he had a gun, or that he could get a gun.” Daisy had to rely heavily on her stepfather because he was the only person who could sign the documents for her to go to school in the United States. “He would threaten me, saying that unless I did things for him, he wouldn’t fill out the paperwork,” she said.

Seeking Help

The first big step for all three students and their mothers in getting out of their harmful environments was having the courage to leave, which meant that they needed to find shelter and housing away from their abusers. Initially, Phoebe and her family sought help at homeless shelters across San Francisco. Many of the shelters they initially stayed at had few rooms, so Phoebe and her family were often placed in areas in San Francisco that seemed unsafe. “At night, we’d hear gunshots,” she said.

“But what are you going to do? You’d rather be in a place like that than on the streets.” Daisy moved out to a separate apartment with her sister when Daisy turned eighteen. Nora’s mother fled the country to get away from her abusive husband in 2012, leaving Nora and her two younger brothers with their father. He later became incapable of providing for her financially. Nora began staying with a friend’s family with her father’s permission. Her brothers remained under his care. However these solutions were not permanent. Soon all three students needed to find more stable homes. Nora’s father had begun threatening her and the family she was staying with. Feeling unsafe, Nora went to Huckleberry Youth, a community-based agency for teens based in San Francisco. Both Phoebe and Daisy’s families stayed at the Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS) in San Francisco. Nora and Phoebe, who both go to Lowell, also looked to the Wellness Center for counseling and help with case management.

The Asian Women’s Shelter

AWS works with survivors of all backgrounds and specialize in the needs of Asian Pacific Islanders and their families. AWS provides families with private bedrooms and familiar food, according to AWS director Elizabeth Kirton. As it can be a big adjustment to go from living in a private home to a shared living space, the AWS mimics a homelike environment. They currently have the capacity to serve about seven adults and their children. They also provide staff members who speak their language and can facilitate communication in the shelter and in accessing outside services, and special activities that are designed to help them heal and recover from the trauma of domestic violence. Phoebe stayed at AWS until she was four years old. The director took care of her family, eventually helping them find their own place to live. “She took really good care of us,” she said. “She understood what my mom was going through, and was able to reach out to different people to help us financially. She was really helpful in helping us get back on our feet and find our own place to live.” Phoebe stayed at AWS as a young child, but See DOMESTIC VIOLENCE on pg.20

survivors’ stories “Nora,” junior • Had an alcoholic father who abused her mother both physically and emotionally • Left abusive household with mom to live in a shelter, returned home after father convinced mom to come back • Stayed at a friend’s house after mom fled country alone in 2012 • Moved to Huckleberry Youth shelter after dad began threatening her • Went to the Wellness Center for help and was paired with a social worker who brought her case to court • Currently lives in a foster home in SF “Phoebe,” senior • Had an abusive father who targeted her mother physically and emotionally. • Left with her mom and her older sister when she was two years old, stayed in homeless shelters in SF • Lived in the Asian Women’s Shelter until four years old • Moved out to a separate apartment with mom and sister • Became independent early on as a result of mom working to support her “Daisy,” college student • Immigrated to the U.S. with her family as a teenager from China • Had a stepfather who was a U.S. citizen and was physically and emotionally abusive towards her, her mother and her sister • Moved with her sister into a separate apartment one block away from their parents’ home • Taken to AWS after police became involved in a situation between her stepfather and mother • Changed her immigration status to obtain a student visa • Moved into a new apartment and was able to attend college

get really upset. imes when he wasn’t drunk either.”

SPORTS

ake down Girl wrestlers make their mark on the mat By Amber Ly

14 v

The Lowell February 201

Freshman Sarah Quinones wrestles senior Andy Jiang during warm-up before the meet against the Galileo Lions on Feb. 16.

LEONARD CAOILI

ne evening during practice, freshman wrestler Sarah Quinones wrestled against senior co-captain Asa Jungreis. The rest of the wrestling team stood to the side, observing the practice match, while the two athletes competed on the mat. To Jungreis’s surprise, he found himself lying on his back at the end of the match. Quinones had found room and went for a takedown, leaving everyone in the room in disbelief and awe of the young wrestler’s skill. “I couldn’t believe I got put on my butt,” Jungreis said. “It left me wondering ‘Where did she learn that?’” Growth in Numbers More female wrestlers, like Quinones, joined Lowell’s wrestling team this season. The current roster boasts 11 girls out of 28 wrestlers. Nearly 20 female wrestlers participated in preseason conditioning, compared to last year in which there were around six or seven. “I almost thought they were in the wrong place because we usually don’t get that many,” Jungreis said. Lowell wrestling has seen a rise in female athletes for many reasons. The annual demonstration day for all Physical Education classes during the first few weeks of school has been a key recruiting tool for the team. It is during the demonstration that head coach Michael Wise emphasizes that there are both boys and girls on this varsity team. Freshman Natalie Fong attributes her interest in wrestling to the first demonstration she saw at the start of the school year. “The team was so diverse,” Fong said. “There was no one body type or anything like that. The team looked like they were having fun too.” Other female wrestlers cited various other reasons for joining the team on top of the demonstrations. Quinones had the support of her dad, who had wrestled when he was in high school, and junior Julia Roa remembered her older brother wrestling for Lowell a few years ago. Quinones also wanted the challenge of a new sport after playing volleyball for several years. Sophomore Jill Liang, the only second-year female wrestler, wanted to learn about self-defense when she first started last season. “I later found out that wrestling isn’t the same as kickboxing and the like,” Liang said. “But I stayed because of the friendships and the encouragement of the coaches.”

v The Lowell February 2016

Road to Recognition Seeing the growth in the number of girls joining, Wise sought for more opportunities for them to wrestle. At the preseason coaches’ meeting, he brought up the topic of funding Lowell wrestling to the section commissioner when the team had nearly 38 wrestlers at the time. “I didn’t see the equity in having the same amount of funding as another school with only 10 wrestlers,” he said. By the beginning of the season, the league recognized Lowell’s girls’ wrestling team as a non-league sport. This meant that the girls’ team is still considered a sport, but no other schools have a team to compete against the Lady Cardinals. With the new title of a “nonleague sport,” the team received more funding and hired another coach. Her name is Noellee Candido. “More importantly, [the team also received] the recognition that Lowell has been doing a lot of stuff to support girls’ wrestling, ever since I’ve been here and before I got here.” Wise said. Candido started wrestling in middle school and competed for seven years. After starting college, she decided to put competition to rest for herself, but wanted to stay close to the sport. In order to do so, Candido started coaching middle school four years ago and began coaching high school two years ago. Along with gaining a new coach, the team also gained funds to take the female wrestlers to girls’ tournaments every weekend. With the funding, the Lady Cardinals have been to these tournaments every Saturday since Nov. 28. All the athletes on the girls’ team, except for one, are first-year wrestlers. Quinones is currently fourth place in the Central Coast Section. In tournaments, she has placed fifth three times and has one bronze, silver and gold medal, respectively. Liang has a bronze medal for the Roger Briones tournament. Sophomore Brittney Dare has placed fourth in the Amazon tournament and second in the Overfelt Ladies Wrestling Challenge. The success in creating a girls’ team has been a long-time hope for the Cardinals. Eight years ago, there was a female head coach who actively recruited girls to join, according to Wise. His efforts in recruiting girls to join and emphasizing that wrestling at Lowell is a co-ed sport has been long established. “I’ve

KELLEY GRADE

These are eight out of the 14 female wrestlers on the team this season, the most the team has had in recent years. Top row (left to right): sophomore Stephanie Win, freshman Ella Gibson, freshman Sarah Quinones, sophomore Jill Liang. Bottom row (left to right): freshman Natalie Fong, sophomore Sarah Chambers, sophomore Brittney Dare, junior Anne Chamberlain.

been since continuing a tradition that was in place before I got here,” Wise said. Girls in Action Despite the new title, the girls’ and boys’ teams remain one team. Candido and Wise help coach both the girls and boys together. They all still practice together, and the girls wrestle at co-ed events like JV and varsity coed tournaments as well as one-on-one matches against schools within the league. Wrestling is divided into 14 different weight classes starting at 106 lbs to 285 lbs. For some of the female wrestlers, wrestling boys in the same weight class can still prove to be difficult. “Personally, I think it’s hard to wrestle [boys] because they usually have more upper body strength than me,” Quinones said. “Don’t get me wrong though, it’s hard to beat them, but not impossible. Strength in wres-

tling isn’t everything and good technique always wins.” And it’s Quinones’s good technique that helped her beat last year’s first ranked wrestler in the Central Coast Section this past season. The girls put in work and are rewarded. “All wrestlers have different styles and some of the strongest and most aggressive people I’ve wrestled on this team have been girls,” Jungreis said. The Future At Lowell, the future is bright for girls in wrestling. Wrestling spreads by word of mouth at Lowell, according to Wise. “They love it, they tell their friends,” Wise said. “Their friends see them around school wearing their wrestling gear, and medals they earned. And that really attracts more interest to the sport.”

All this means that next season, the team will likely grow even more, but that’s not the only benefit. “The difference is most of the girls are going to be in their second year of the sport, so they will already know a thing or two about competing,” Wise said. “So I see that next season we continue to have a strong, deep girls’ wrestling team and have the numbers as the league continues to fund it as a non-league sport.” Quinones carries the same sentiment for the future of girls’ wrestling. She aspires to influence other girls in the San Francisco section. “We can be a trailblazer,” She said. “And they can see how we have a team. And hopefully that causes girls’ wrestling at their schools to gain popularity.” v Phillip Mo contributed to this aritcle.

The Lowell February 2016

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COLUMNS

ALEXIS PICACHE

D E G N A H C T OR When the administration “dress-coded” me for this outfit*, was it prioritizing conservatism over education?

By Jocelyn Lee

OR FOUR YEARS, 180 DAYS A YEAR, Monday through Friday, I’ve gotten up early for school. I’m more often tired than not, and just want to get through the day smoothly and comfortably. This is often reflected by what I wear, like an athletic shorts and sweatshirt combination I’ve embarrassingly repeated for multiple years. I’ve never given much thought to what I wear, but apparently what I’ve worn consistently for years violates a dress code that’s hardly ever enforced. And yet it is this dress code that is valued over my education. A couple months ago I was rushing into school because I was late, and I hate being late because I think it’s rude and embarrassing to walk into a class after it’s started. But a security guard had other plans for me that morning. He yelled at me as I rushed past him on the ramp outside the flagpole, and told me I needed to go to the dean because I was being dress coded. I was wearing the same athletic running shorts and a sweatshirt I’d worn before. I didn’t think either violated the school dress code, and was never explicitly told which part of the dress code I had violated. I know that it was my athletic shorts that may have been considered a dress code violation, but even after flipping through the 100 plus pages of my handy dandy San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Student and Family Handbook (a masterful piece of literature) I could not find anything that said that my particular shorts and its length was the source of my egregious offense. The closest thing the Handbook gets to mentioning my so-called offense is an example of “inappropriate clothing” where “the entire thigh is exposed such as micro minis or short shorts.” But what are micro minis? What are short shorts? And what is a thigh in its entirety? Whatever that might look like, I doubt my entire thighs were exposed because frankly I have large ones and wouldn’t wish it on anyone to have to see them in their entirety. I’ll never know what I specifically did wrong because the security guard silently escorted me to the dean’s office and never offered any explanation or kindness to me. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me and I was terrified. Was I going to be sent home or sus-

pended? I never get dressed in the morning with the malicious intention of violating the dress code or breaking the rules at school. This wasn’t me trying to demonstrate my resistance to a policy I thought to be unfair — this was just me trying to be comfortable and get through the day. After what felt like one the quietest and longest walks I’ve ever been on, I got to the dean’s office. He wasn’t there but I didn’t feel relieved, just more anxious because my fate was now in the hands of this security guard who had been rude to me. So I asked to see my counselor because I hoped he would offer some sympathy or a kinder insight. But he agreed with the security guard and both men told me that I needed to either go home and change, or have someone at home bring me “more appropriate” pants. Those were my only choices, and they angered me. Why is it that what I am wearing is valued over my education? Am I supposed to drop everything to be “more appropriate” for school? What even is appropriate for school and who decides that? Most importantly, who am I bothering when I am dressed like this? These were the questions that raced through my mind as I stood in my counselor’s office dumbfounded. I weighed my options: do I go home to get clothes and miss more class, or do I hope my mom is at home and can take time out of her busy work schedule to bring me more clothes? This was a lose-lose situation no matter how I looked at it. And I refused to do either. I would not jeopardize my education nor my mom’s valuable time that she should use to work. Because that’s what adults should be doing — working, and not belittling women for being comfortable. But my refusal to change didn’t work for my counselor nor my stoic security guard friend. “Luckily” my counselor offered me a pair of sweatpants he had in his bag because he was going to work out after school. I reluctantly took them, because at this point I felt defeated and too tired to argue. I hate sweatpants. I refuse to wear them outside of my house and think about the Seinfeld sweatpants episode every time I put a pair on. Now I don’t mind if other people wear sweatpants, and I See DRESS CODED on pg. 21

* The outfit in the adjacent photo is the outfit mentioned in the column.

The Lowell February 2016

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From DOMESTIC VIOLENCE on pg. 13 in some cases, certain families who seek help from the shelter may have older children. Since moving to shelters can be a disruption to a teenager’s academic, social and emotional life, it is uncommon for teens to come to the shelters with their families. Survivors of domestic violence typically try everything they can to avoid disrupting their teens’ lives. The teenagers may choose to stay with friends or relatives instead in order to maintain their usual routine. When Daisy was 18, her stepfather got into a violent fight with her mother, and the police intervened. Though Daisy and her younger sister were already living in a separate apartment, the police brought Daisy, her mother, and her sister to AWS, where they stayed for almost half a year. Since the family had relied so heavily on Daisy’s stepfather, the shelter had an attorney help change their immigration status, find an apartment, and help Daisy with an independent student visa so she could attend school. “The shelter has been really helpful,” Daisy said. “It changed my life.” The Wellness Center At school, the Wellness Center offers the same resources for students dealing with domestic violence that it does for all students: a quiet space, somebody to talk to about what’s going on, and case management. Case management provides students with connections both around and outside the school to help them be successful and deal with any issues they do not feel can be supported by meeting one on one with a clinician, according to Wellness Center director Carol Chao. The Wellness Center is focused on catering to students’ individual needs. “Everything we do depends on what the students want,” Chao said. “All of our services are confidential and voluntary. Nora spoke to Wellness about her father last year. She was paired with a social worker, who immediately brought her case to the judge, who gave her social worker sole authority in deciding where Nora went from there. Fairly recently, she began living in a foster home in San Francisco. “There are a few other girls my age living there, and it’s run by a really kind lady,” she said. “I got lucky that it just happened to be in the city, otherwise I would have had to go to a different city and different school. Everything would have been harder. I’m still able to take the same bus I’ve always taken. I got really lucky.” Both Nora and Phoebe continue to speak with Wellness counselors about how to cope with their experiences. Building Resilience There are still ongoing court meetings regarding Nora’s case. She said her father was similarly emotionally and physically abusive towards her two brothers, but they have not spoken out against him as she has. The authorities are unable to remove them from his care, unless they themselves claim that they feel unsafe. “My dad has brainwashed them so they 20

v The Lowell February 2016

won’t speak to social workers,” Nora said. “We were told to lie about where my mom went. He guilt-tripped us and made us feel bad about missing her. It has gotten to the point where my brothers really do believe my mom did something wrong.” Nora, who had time to reflect on the impact of domestic violence in her life, began seeing aspects of her parents in herself. “Sometimes I see myself sounding more aggressive like my dad or more submissive like my mom, and it worries me,” she said. “I saw my brothers slowly becoming more sexist as they got older.” All three students also experienced surges of independence and maturity when they were uprooted from their everyday lives, seeking help from their abusive environments and moving from shelters to youth groups and the foster system. With limited resources, Phoebe learned what it meant to not take anything for granted. Since money was still tight, fresh food was uncommon in her household. “Whatever we could get, we took,” she said. “I was raised on expired food from Safeway or Lucky’s. At school, other kids had Lunchables while I had free cafeteria food, but I never envied those students too much because at least I had food too. I remember making toys out of toilet paper rolls with my sister. It’s made me mature a lot faster, not taking anything for granted. I don’t need a lot of things to be satisfied.” Phoebe, whose mother worked long hours to help support her family, began taking the bus alone when she was seven years old. “I saw people’s parents picking them up or taking them out for ice cream, and sometimes I think it would’ve been nice to have two parents to spend more time with, but most of the time it didn’t bother me because I knew my mom was working hard to make a better life for us.” Daisy’s situation has also made her become more mature. “I’ve had to take care of my family, especially my mom,” she said. “Before this, I was good at letting people take care of me but now I like to take care of people.” Speak Up and Get Out February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Domestic violence occurs not only in parent-to-parent and parent-to-child violence, but also within nonfamily relationships, including teenage ones. The Wellness Center promotes maintaining healthy relationships through events such as Love Fest around Valentine’s Day. A healthy relationship is one in which both partners feel safe, supported and connected, while still being able to maintain independence, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, an advocacy group. The two major components of healthy relationships are communication and boundaries. Both partners treat each other with respect and feel supported without any pressure to do things they don’t want to. The three students, the Wellness Center, and AWS offered some advice on how to maintain healthy relationships and get out of unhealthy ones. Nora found the courage to speak up about

the abuse she and her family endured after spending time apart from her father. “It took me being completely separate from him, talking to my boyfriend and to the mom of the household I was staying with, to really realize and understand that it wasn’t my fault and that it was a situation I needed to get myself out of,” she said. “I didn’t deserve to be emotionally put down by him for my mistakes. I’m allowed to make mistakes.” She found that her life drastically improved once she was out of the situation. “The longer you stay, the more you hurt,” she said. “Your feelings and well-being are worth a lot more.” With the help of AWS, Phoebe learned to help others with similar struggles recognize when they’re in a bad situation. “I wish that everybody could see the signs early when their partners tell them they’ll be better, that they won’t hurt them again, that it was a one time thing,” Phoebe said. “When you don’t speak up, especially if you’re the victim and you’re not telling your family or seeking help, the more you try to deal with it yourself, the more depressed you get. With my mom, the longer she stayed, the sadder she got. I want people to know that if you start seeing the signs, if you start experiencing it, step up and say something. Don’t be ashamed.” Daisy said that signs to pay attention include physical threat and daily sadness. “Tell family members or people you trust,” she said. “If it’s really life-threatening, you need to leave or call the police. At the end of the day, it’s not for anyone but yourself.” Domestic Violence Awareness Several groups are working to increase awareness, both at school and in the city. High school students can get training on how to support friends who are dealing with domestic violence situations and educate themselves on the resources available in our community, according to Chao. “San Francisco has incredible resources here, and sometimes there are so many it becomes white noise,” she said. Domestic Violence Awareness Club (DVAC), a club at Lowell dedicated to educating others about domestic violence and fundraising for local women’s shelters, aims to promote domestic violence awareness within the school and city. In 2015 they won AWS’s Champions of Change Award for raising money for the shelter and spreading awareness of domestic violence. Club president senior Vivian To created the club last year after volunteering with AWS. “Working so closely with the women at the shelter really exposed me to the effects of domestic violence and how it harms individuals and society,” To said. Through Winter Faire, Co-curricular Day and self-planned bake sales, DVAC raised $1000 for the shelter last year. The money is being put towards supplies for activities for kids, emergency bus passes, special holiday food, and welcoming gifts for children when they come into the shelter, according to Kirton. Kirton is amazed with the work DVAC has

done in such a short amount of time. “Like our volunteers and language advocates, the members of DVAC are critically important in helping to change attitudes,” Kirton said. While AWS aids individual families, Kirton believes DVAC has the potential to make a lasting impact on the greater community through its awareness-raising projects. “We hope and expect that students at Lowell will learn the importance of healthy relationships, where violence and power have no role,” Kirton said. To show their appreciation, AWS celebrated DVAC’s work by giving them the opportunity to visit City Hall and meet Mayor Ed Lee, according to club vice president senior Vanessa Siu. The club has plans to continue raising money and begin volunteering at other shelters, such as La Casa de Las Madres. Phoebe hopes people will be better able to recognize and prevent it. “It’s a cycle that nobody should ever have to live through,” she said. v

From DRESS CODED on pg. 19 encourage people to wear and do whatever they want with their bodies as long as they are not harming themselves or others. However, I cannot bring myself to wear sweatpants in public, so after I put them on in my counselor’s office I promptly went to a restroom and took them off. This was my resistance to a policy I thought to be unfair. But by this time the block was half over and by the time I got to my class, the lesson was already over. It didn’t matter that the lesson was already over though, because when I got to class I was crying. I’m not proud to admit this, because I hardly ever cry. I remember going to class and just sitting there and crying. I was frustrated, I was upset, but most of all, I was humiliated. I had missed class because of such a trivial thing, and felt attacked for wearing clothes that made me feel comfortable. I wasn’t even explicitly told why I couldn’t wear the athletic shorts I was wearing. I don’t know how many people have been dress coded for a reason they thought to be unfair — all I know is that I was an unlucky victim of an inconsistently enforced and vague dress code. The SFUSD Student and Family Handbook states that “The type and style of clothing (except for schools with uniforms) and hairdo are individual and personal. The school shall be concerned only when these are extreme and could cause school distraction or disruption or be unsafe.” So was I being punished because my allegiance to a college football team via sweatshirt was unsafe? Or more offensively, was I being punished because my shorts were too short and therefore a distraction and disruption for boys at school? And if so, why are girls being punished for being a distraction, instead of teaching boys not to be distracted? To me this school’s uncompromising punishments for dress code violations are outrageous. My time and education mean nothing in the name of “appropriate clothing” and my “scantily” clad legs and I will not stand for this. v

From SAME TEACHER on pg. 4 and the Data Club’s survey, 51 percent of students say freshmen should not keep their fall history and biology teachers for the spring semester, rather than choose them in Arena. Additionally, if students are locked into taking the same teacher both semesters, they cannot rearrange their schedule as freely to take other classes they want or need. In brief, requiring freshmen to keep the same teachers in biology and history for the

full year is taking away a college-like experience, can be harmful to the students’ academic performances, and may not even necessarily help build student-teacher relationships. Therefore, the option of changing teachers should be given to the students who want to. However, if this cannot be accomplished, the school should repeal this policy altogether, as there are likely more students who would want to change rather than keep their teachers. v

From BHM on pg. 7 black. He said in a Facebook message interview that he first posted some photos a few weeks ago. He said he initially posted pictures of rappers that he and his friends listened to, and added new pictures of different rappers each week as entertainment for his friends. He said that neither the administration nor the librarians knew of the pictures. “I didn’t realize it was something they would get mad at,” he said. The student said that he did not intend for the photos to be offensive. “That’s true, there are more important black people in history, but in my pictures I only wanted to show rappers and actors,” he said. “I didn’t mean to say all black people are good for is rapping and acting.” The student said that he meant #gang to be the equivalent of #crew or #squad, often used to mean “friend group” in social media, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Ishibashi said in his letter that even if the act wasn’t intended to be offensive, it was still insensitive: “While the intent was not malicious, the student who put the message up has been made aware that it was insensitive.” The student tweeted that he was suspended for a week. He said that he feels bad and wishes he hadn’t posted the photos, since many problems such as hate messages have resulted. “I can see how [the photos] were offensive and I apologize for what I did,” he said. The student said that he has faced racial stereotyping and negativity himself. He cited one example of a Lowell teacher calling him “Mohammad” in front of the whole class. He also said that his friends are sometimes racist in their jokes, but he ignores it. “I don’t blow it up, I just deal with it or push it away,” he said. The administration put together the assemblies in about ten minutes, according to Ishibashi. “As a principal I thought it was the right thing to do and we needed to do it now,” he said in an interview after the assemblies. During Block 5, assistant principal Holly Giles announced over the intercom that all students would attend an unscheduled yet mandatory assembly in the auditorium, either Block 6 for underclassmen or Block 7 for upperclassmen. Teachers released their students from classes accordingly. Some students and teachers expressed frustration over the disrupted classes, especially

classes that had tests scheduled for that block. At each assembly, Ishibashi encouraged students to combat these situations from happening again by becoming more familiar with other cultures and students and supporting Lowell’s Multicultural Night held the same evening. “I want all of you to know that we don’t support any of those such types of actions at Lowell,” he said during the assembly. He also offered to buy any students or staff tickets to the event if they could not afford it. Ishibashi closed by inviting students to post messages and photos on social media with the hashtag #WeBelong. Ishibashi dismissed students in the Block 6 assembly back to their classes. He canceled the rest of Block 7 for students in that assembly, provoking cheers. BSU members expressed appreciation that Ishibashi held an assembly to address the photos. However, some felt that what Ishibashi described as the reason behind the assembly was too vague. “Some people didn’t even take the assembly seriously,” Earle said. “Kids were cheering because they didn’t have to go to class.” Administrators have begun contacting clubs to invite student leaders to give input on cultural sensitivity for the school and staff with the help of various clubs, including the BSU, the Gender Sexuality Alliance, Jew Crew and La Raza. The administration announced Thursday that Social Awareness Week, Feb. 22-26, will address how to help all students feel included at Lowell. “With our diverse student body, we want all of our students to have a voice, be heard and be respected for who they are,” according to a SchoolLoop announcement. Ishibashi posted a notice of the incident on the school’s SchoolLoop homepage on Feb. 5 and sent a hard copy of the notice home with students during registry. He posted a second letter, on Feb. 19 standing against racist behavior, detailing the incident further and describing the steps administration is taking in addressing cultural sensitivity, including meetings with cultural clubs at Lowell, professional development workshops for staff and continued support for minorities at the school. v Christopher Hackett, Stephanie Li, Whitney C. Lim and Ophir Cohen-Simayof contributed to this article.

The Lowell February 2016

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