The Nueva Current | April 2023

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ban the

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from government documents, sparking a wider discussion around inclusive language.

narrative.

THE NUEVA CURRENT

Disclaimer: For the purposes of the article, the use of “non-male” refers to female and nonbinary people. Sexism is experienced differently by different gender; this article focuses on this group.

Once a month or so, a certain cadence can be heard from inside room 319. For a passerby, it’s a cacophony of finger snaps, “mhm’s,” and “me too’s.” Step inside, however, and this noise resolves itself into cohesion—or rather, affinity.

These oratory agreements came on the heels of an experience shared by Riyana S. ’23, who recalled the exclusion and discomfort she felt speaking up in her math class, for fear the conversation would be “misogynistic in nature” or that by joining, she would be perceived as “flirting.”

“I felt like I couldn't jump into the conversation or participate,” Riyana remembered. “If I made a mistake or messed up, it might be interpreted as an issue of me being a woman.”

More than a dozen female and nonbinary students gathered around the tables at the Female/Nonbinary Experiences in STEM Lunch Group hosted by upper school math teacher Veena Krishnan and I-Lab director Angi Chau. Since last May, students have gathered monthly to share their stories within this listening space.

“There is a certain sense of comfort in being surrounded by people who not only validate and care about your experiences, but understand and share them,” Riyana said.

The listening group originated when a student shared with Chau and Krishnan an instance of sexist behavior in her class.

“We wanted to help this student, of course, but at the same time we wondered, ‘Are there more stories that we weren’t hearing?’” Chau said.

The two teachers sought to create a space for female and nonbinary students to share their perspectives.

“Even if nothing is necessarily acted on, I love having a space where people who identify as female and nonbinary can just talk through what they’re experiencing in a community where they feel safe,” Chau said.

Sexism, the discrimination based on

one's gender, can be experienced by anyone. It often manifests as cisgender men exhibiting prejudiced behavior towards female and nonbinary people. While experienced differently by each female and nonbinary person, such discrimination can range from microaggressions to active exclusion.

Such microaggressions are often subtle and unintentional. Kevin Nadal, a psychology professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, who has spent decades researching and writing books on the impact of microaggressions, explains the difference between microaggressions and overt discrimination or macroaggressions is that people who commit microaggressions may not even be aware of them.

Luca L. ’23 echoes similar sentiments when it comes to microaggressions in the classrooms.

“There are often things we [male students] might say touching on issues that have a lot of history or baggage that comes with it and a lot of us may not be as educated on the consequences,” he acknowledged. “There might just be a lot of talking without thinking about how it could be interpreted differently.”

Moreover, these actions occur in every

stage of life: Deloitte’s 2022 Women @ Work report, which surveyed over 5,000 women, revealed that in 2022, 50 percent of women experience microaggressions in the workplace. A 2022 study by Academic Medicine, a peer-review medical journal, found that 61 percent of female medical students reported facing sexist microaggressions.

This year, upper school students and teachers have joined together to speak up and raise awareness about these unintentional microaggressions.

I. EXPERIENCES IN THE CLASSROOM

A few weeks into her freshman year chemistry class, Carina T. ’24 found herself in a group with another female student and a male student.

“Any time the other female student or I said something, he would say, ‘I don’t think that’s right. Let me go ask the teacher,’ every single time,” Carina recalled. “That’s just disrespectful.”

states are

to

term “Latinx”

, the new Amazon Prime Video drama created by Donald Glover, tactfully reinvents the serial kill antihero

home for humanities: new and returning humanities clubs open up spaces for students to share analytical and creative work.

The

approval of the Willow Project cements Biden's status as yet another president not prioritizing the climate crisis.

COFFEEHOUSE COZINESS

BACK TO SCHOOL "LATINX" OR NOT?

Students reflect on their experiences in the newly revived Japanese exchange program.

XRT CONFERENCE

Biochemistry students visited Seattle to present research and connect with other student scientists. READ

Politicians are banning the term—community members break down why.

South Asian Affinity Group brings Holi celebration to upper school community

Kayla L.

On a Wednesday afternoon, the Rosenberg courtyard erupted in a haze of colored powder. Dozens of students and teachers alike smeared powder on their friends, snapped photos of others with color-dusted clothing and massive smiles, and called out “Happy Holi!”

This was the first time SAAG (South Asian Affinity Group) celebrated Holi at Nueva.

“A lot of us have wonderful memories of celebrating Holi and [we] wanted to bring that same joy to Nueva,” said Anoushka K. ’23, who co-leads SAAG along with Meher B. ’24.

Holi, a Hindu festival which took place on March 8 this year, celebrates the arrival of spring, the triumph of good over evil, and the love between Hindu gods Krishna and Radha. The festival includes bonfires, splashing colors on each other, and visiting family and friends.

“It was so moving seeing everyone [at Nueva] enjoy and appreciate South Asian culture,” said Zara M. ’25, a member of SAAG who helped plan the celebration.

“I was concerned it would be too unfamiliar for people,” Meher said, “but it was the happiest I’d seen the larger Nueva community

Photo of the Issue: McKeever strikes a pose at Beta Club’s commnuity-wide puppy playdate

Nearly 20 dogs from lower all the way to upper school families gathered on the upper school lawn on Saturday, April 8. While the human children participated in an egg hunt through the first floor of the upper school building, the dogs participated in a "doggy egg hunt” outside, where they sniffed their way through the bushes in search of treat filled eggs. The puppy playdate was spearheaded by Beta Club lead Olivia Chiang.

As for McKeever, a 45-pound bull terrier, she was brought by her owner Diana Chamorro, the Director of Alumni Relations. Find McKeever on Instagram @the_mckeever!

in a while.”

Prior to the color festival, Anoushka and Zara, along with SAAG members Anahita A. ’23 and Devika M. ’25, presented the significance of Holi at an all-school assembly.

“A lot of people might think, ‘Oh, color festival, let’s just have fun,’” Anahita said. “But [Holi] has religious and cultural significance and we wanted to make sure people understood that.”

The affinity group coordinated with Dean of Students Jackee Bruno and upper school Coordinator of Social Justice and Equity Matthew Oakland to plan the event, which included buying biodegradable powder to minimize the impact on the environment.

"We started talking about organizing this in the fall," Meher said. "We had to figure out what kind of color to use, where to do it, and how to not create too much of a mess."

SAAG plans to celebrate Holi at the upper school again next year and hopes for an even larger turnout.

“Even the people who were looking on were like, ‘I want to play this next year,’” Devika said. “[For 2024], we should order way more powder.”

Biennial Humanities Fair makes in-person debut

STORY Josie B.

PHOTO Kayla L.

The biennial Humanities Fair returned this March, boasting 35 unique sessions, 18 special guests, and over 19 student-led activities. Attendees delve into literature and art through musical performances, writing workshops, and even a special guest lecture from Frozen composer Robert Lopez.

The fair—analogous to the biennial STEM fair—grew out of the Humanities Circle, an annual series of humanities workshops. Due to the pandemic, this year was the first students could partake in in-person exhibitions.

“My goal was to create a celebration of the humanities,” said Sarah Arron, chair of the event who helped execute this humanities extravaganza. “We aimed to include as many areas of the humanities as possible and workshops that would appeal to students from all three divisions.”

For Sarah, her favorite memory from the fair was interviewing Lopez, her lifelong friend, on his career in musical theater.

“It was magical to watch the kids in the audience absorbing his advice and imagining their own futures in the humanities,” Sarah said.

Eleanor A. ’25, along with leading a seminar on classical music, worked with her mother as the fair’s student cochair. Seeking out student volunteers and developing ideas for exhibits, Eleanor was excited for students interested in the humanities, like herself, to channel their creativity into hands-on experiences.

“When I stopped by a poetry workshop for lower schoolers [where] only one kid attended, the kid still surprised me with how engaged she was,” Eleanor recalled.

Ethan H. ’25 worked alongside other members of Social Impact Filmmaking Club to lead a session exploring their ongoing video series, “Humans of Nueva,” a project designed to spark connection within the school.

“It was fun giving [the audience] an inside peek into how we all work together,” Ethan said.

Head of School Lee Fertig noted the fair's particular importance at this time due to rapidly evolving technologies.

“In a world where technology is advancing so rapidly, the importance of the humanities is evermore important,” Fertig said.

COVERED IN COLOR Paul Gallagher and Jonathan Quick take a break from flinging colorful powder. (right) GEARING UP Upper school students gather colored power in cups to prepare to celebrate. (left)

READY TO LEARN Students assemble in the Writing and Research Center during the Humanities Fair.

The spring Coffeehouse returned to the WRC and featured a variety of musical acts.

PHOTO: DIANA CHAMORRO

performed at the spring Coffeehouse, including original music, slam poetry, folk, acoustic.

The Nueva Upper School Musical presents their spring production of Something Rotten May 12–14, 2023!

COLORS OF JOY Freshmen Mylie M., Arishka J., and Senna H. participate in the celebration. (above)

Spring Coffeehouse returns to the WRC

It was the first time since 2019 that the performing arts event went back to its original location

Steel drums band take on Trinidad

Students experience the Trinidad Panorama, the “Super Bowl of steel drums”

They’ve taken center stage at San Francisco Jazz, rehearsed rhythms beside St. Lucia’s beaches, and played alongside top musicians Andy Narell, Tony Lindsay, Robert Greenidge, and David Rudder. Now they experienced the largest steelpan competition in the world: The Trinidad Panorama.

Over February break, 20 students in the upper school steel drum band spent a week in Trinidad and Tobago for an unforgettable steel drums experience.

“I call Trinidad the pilgrimage to Mecca,” said Jim Munzenrider, who teaches upper and middle school music and steel drums. “It’s where you see the most ridiculous steel drum playing on the planet…There’s no place else you can see so many bands at that elite level.”

Munzenrider was especially keen to bring 15 seniors—some of whom he has been teaching for over 12 years.

“[This group] put so much time into steel drums and have been so dedicated,” Munzenrider said. “I’ve talked about Carnival and Trinidad, I’ve talked about the big steel drum bands in the Panorama, and I’ve shown them videos for years, but they do it no justice. You can’t actually explain it to anyone until they go see it.”

Calder B. ’23, who has played pan since first grade, remembers hearing about the “magic of Trinidad” even in middle school.

“Trinidad was this place with all the best pan players, and he had these posters, too. There were always two aspects he wanted us to see: Panorama and Carnival,” she said.

On their second night, they witnessed “the Super Bowl of steel drums.” Under the hanging tinsel and above the crowds dressed in elaborate costumes, 13 bands of over 100 players performed 10-15 minute long songs and were judged on arrangement, performance, tone, and rhythm.

“We left around 1 a.m., and they still weren’t anywhere near done,” Calder recalled. “When we got back to the hotel, we pulled it up on YouTube and live-streamed it together. We waited until the results

and when our group chat went off with ‘This person won!’ we all freaked out.”

Carnival Tuesday was another highlight. The group’s early rise on J’ouvert morning was accompanied by blaring music, buckets of clay soon smeared on one another, shaved iced, and temporary tattoos. They spent that evening wandering around the Savannah (the field where all the festivities took place) following massive 18-wheeler trucks with speakers blasting music.

“There was a lot of joy and music in the air,” said Anoushka K. ’23, who started playing steel drums in seventh grade. “It was one of my favorite moments.”

Munzenrider’s favorite moment, however, was neither the dazzle of Carnaval nor Panorama but rather their visit to the Renegades panyard where students watched the band on a closer scale.

“[The kids’] jaws were dropped, and I’m like ‘You get it now!’ For me, that made it so worth it,” he said.

The group also explored Trinidad through hikes and beach trips. Other activities included a visit to a high school’s steel band practice, a tour of a pan factory, and immersive local experiences such as Tassa drumming and stilts.

“After playing for so long and learning so much about Calypso, Trinidadian culture, and the history of steel drums, it truly felt like a culmination of everything we’ve learned and a celebration of music,” Anoushka said, describing the trip as a “full-circle experience.”

For Calder, she got to experience the depth of the culture beyond what she had learned in class.

“There’s a lot of history…that we would have never gotten to understand if we didn’t go to Trinidad,” she said. “The coolest thing to me was experienc[ing] things I only knew a little about in such profound ways. It was overwhelming in the best way possible.”

While Calder and Anoushka are wrapping up their final months in Nueva’s steel drum band, the trip left Noor Z. '25 with a newfound sense of excitement for next year.

“Going to Panorama and seeing the bands made us all go, ‘Wow, we want to get to that level!’ We were all inspired to keep on playing,” Noor said.

Nueva Notes perform National Anthem at Golden State Warriors game

A cappella group expands reach beyond school

Even before tipoff, the crowd was on their feet. In front of the star-spangled banner, 13 members of the upper school a cappella group, Nueva Notes, stood ready on center court. On March 31, after months of practice, the group performed the National Anthem in front of an audience of 18,000 at the Golden State Warriors home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Right after we got off the court, we just started cheering. Our adrenaline was so high,” said club co-lead Anoushka K. ’23. “Hearing the crowd and singing on the court was so worth all the hard work.”

For fellow co-lead Lucie L. ’23, performing in front of such a large audience was the perfect culmination of her four years with the group originally formed during her freshman year.

“It really mark[ed] the growth and exciting potential of Nueva Notes,” Lucie said.

Echoing Anoushka's and Lucie's sentiments, co-lead Owen Y-L. ’24 described the experience as “surreal.”

“It didn’t sink in until the last moment,” he said. “It was hard to fathom the sheer scale and magnitude of this opportunity until we really walked out onto the

court.”

Spearheading the initiative, Owen organized much of the logistics. In addition to an audition recording, the group was tasked with selling a minimum of 75 tickets— which the group met—in order to be eligible to perform.

“At first, we were a bit daunted,” Owen said. “but we’re so grateful the community supported us.” The singers encouraged students and families to purchase tickets through social media promotion as well as posters around the school.

Yet, because the club is student-led, another challenge noted by Owen was the lack of adult support in organization and funding.

“We had to figure out how to do everything by ourselves from the finances to transportation to logistics,” he said.

Owen hopes the group will continue to pursue external performance opportunities.

“I really want to direct our focus outwards,” he said. “While I don’t know if anything can top [singing at Chase Center], next year we want to have a lot more opportunities.”

The spring coffeehouse returned to the event’s original location in the Writing and Research Center, the first time it had taken place indoors since the pandemic. Students took to the stage to perform a cappella, slam poetry, classical music, original music, folk, and more on the evening of Thursday, April 13.

Lucie L. ’23, who performed solo and with the a cappella group Nueva Notes, described the indoor setting as a more intimate event that was especially welcoming for performers.

“It helps artists—both new and returning—step onto the stage,” said Lucie, a veteran performer who helped organize previous Coffeehouses as Arts Representative last year.

For current Arts Representative Kayte C. ’25, the goal was to bring the same excitement for outdoor Coffeehouses indoors. The spring coffeehouse doubled the number of performances and students in attendance, a trend she hopes will continue.

“A big part of Coffeehouse is giving people a voice and having the community see them and recognize their abilities,” she said, “and I’m really glad that happened.”

One of these voices was math teacher Ihmar Aldana, singing “Truly Madly Deeply” by Savage Garden. Aldana, currently in his first year at Nueva, saw Coffeehouse as an opportunity for him to introduce himself beyond being a teacher and to see his students outside of the classroom.

“It was nice to see students showcase their talents outside of being a math student and for me to show something other than teaching,” Aldana said. “People were able to see other sides of me that is not just a math teacher.”

One of these people was his colleague Roya Curtis, who was “so surprised” with Aldana’s performance, declaring, “He’s a total rockstar!”

“There are people I’ve only interacted with in a classroom who got up on stage and belted Sia,” said Paul Hicks, who teaches science. “During Coffeehouse, I could see other parts of the stained glass that make up the mosaic of the student.”

“Coffeehouse is a special stage that’s open to everyone to find their voice and inspire the audience and other performers,” Lucie agreed. “It gives a full view of different artists and creatives without pressure and encourages collaboration between performers. It’s an amazing experience to share with your own community.”

STORY Serena S. PHOTO Nolan L.

TAKING CENTER

Thirteen members of Nueva's a cappella group, Nueva Notes, sing the National Anthem at Chase Center.

STORY Serena S. PHOTOS Eliza S., Xe Y.

PANORAMA The steel drum band finally got to experience the Trinidad Panorama—the largest steelpan competition in the world. JOY IN THE AIR Seniors Eliza S. and Kevin H. play the tassa drums.

MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK Five students—four playing the same guitar— performed “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Goyte.

STORY Isabelle S. & Aaron H. PHOTO Grace F.

Annual TEDx conference spotlights the “Politics of the People”

The event featured a diverse selection of speakers, from students to scientists

What happens when you combine world-class researchers, highly motivated students, and a passion for storytelling and discussion? This year’s TEDxYouth@ TheNuevaSchool conference sought to answer that question.

TEDx conferences bring the classic TED talk format to the local level. On March 25, Nueva’s conference returned inperson for the first time in three years with the theme of “Politics of the People.”

“We wanted something to encapsulate issues close to our community,” said Anya M. ’24, co-lead of the TEDx club.

The leadership team also wanted to challenge common notions surrounding the theme of politics.

“Often, people think politics is limited to the government, but it’s something that can cover all kinds of occupations and people,” Anya said.

Noor Z. ’24, also club co-lead, agreed with Motwani; she pointed out how politics can apply to people from “all walks of life” and is relevant to student audiences as well.

“The theme was broad enough where we could invite a lot of different speakers, but also had specificity and direction to it,” Noor said.

For example, Valentine Chirokoff, a Ph.D. student at Stanford University, presented on the neurological and psychological factors of addiction and relapse. Later that day, Colin C. ’26 discussed the systemic inequities of the Hepatitis B Virus in front of a captivated crowd of students, faculty, and families.

What this diverse array of speakers— including three upper school students— held in common, Anya said, was the ethos of making an impact.

While planning the event involved many logistics from securing TEDx licensing to speaker outreach, the monthslong effort was ultimately worth it.

“People were impressed by how these are students at our school and they have such touching stories to share,” Noor said. “I hope the audience resonated with at least one story shared and it left them pondering more or connecting [the topic] to their own lives.”

Anya recalls seeing audience members mingling between talks and discussing presentations with one another.

“That was really moving to see,” Anya said. “I think our audience took away a lot from the event.”

Next year, Noor hopes to recruit more speakers and potentially host the event twice a year.

“After doing it once, we have a better idea of how to do it again and do it better next year,” Noor said. “It was definitely a learning experience for us.”

Research students attend prominent science conference in Seattle

Students in the XRT class present at biochemistry conference following months of research

STORY Samara B.

Paul Hauser

Upper school Experimental Research Teams (XRT) students attended the Discover BMB molecular life sciences conference held at the Seattle Convention Center March 25-28. Approximately 30 XRT students presented their in-progress research.

This year’s conference focused on biochemistry.

“[The conference] was an opportunity to think about everything we’ve done so far, where we want to go, and test our science in the real world,” said Lauren S. ’24, who leads a team exploring schizophrenia and the effect of antipsychotic drugs. Every student who has contributed to the projects are cited as authors.

Given four hours, the teams presented their findings to meandering scientists, including graduate and undergraduate students. Not only did students present their own work, but they also listened to and learned from other scientists.

“Anyone can be a change-maker,” she said. “That was evident from all the speakers we had.” future projects.

“A lot of the scientists [there] have years of experience in the field you’re working on and their experience gives them insights we don’t necessarily have,” said Anoushka K. ’23, a lead of a team studying codon optimization and gene editing.

Students utilized the conference to connect with researchers outside of Nueva, answer and ask questions, and bring back feedback to implement in their current and

“Even when we had hiccups in our presentations, everyone was so supportive and ready to give tips and advice,” Anoushka recalled. “It was just an amazing experience connecting with people we could see ourselves as down the road in terms of working in a college lab or conducting research.”

Guidelines are guided by the school’s core values

Upper school computer science teacher Wes Chao previewed some ChatGPT guidelines that he and upper school division head Liza Raynal are in the process of developing during the upper school’s last faculty meeting of February.

Although the guidelines are still in early drafting stages, Chao stressed the importance of the term “guidelines” instead of “rules.”

Nueva-Doshisha exchange program to Japan returns after pandemic

experiencing each other’s cultures

with their Japanese host students where they practiced speaking Japanese, experienced different school environments, and connected with their new classmates.

After a three-year pandemic hiatus, the Nueva-Doshisha exchange program returned for upper school Japanese students. Fifteen students flew to Kyoto in mid-February, stayed with host families, attended school in Japan, and visited historical sites such as Hiroshima, Miyajima Island, and Himeji Castle. Following this trip, in late March, they hosted Japanese exchange students who came to experience the life of an American high school student.

The ten-day trip, led by upper school Japanese teachers Chris Scott and Yoko Penniman, exposed Nueva students to different cultures and family dynamics.

Beyond living with host families, the students attended Doshisha high schools

“It was interesting to see how studying and academics can be different across countries past switching the [language],” said Kira F. ’23, a Japanese 5 student.

For the next couple of days, Nueva students engaged in traditional Japanese activities such as braiding kumihimo silk into cords and making Japanese sweets and matcha.

“We talk a lot about learning by doing and learning by caring at Nueva. There’s no substitute for that than by going to Japan and actually learning by doing,” Scott said.

For Japanese 5 student Sasha G. ’24, it was not only the hands-on activities that made the trip memorable but also diving into

Hiroshima’s history as one of the atomicbombed cities.

“We all walked away from Hiroshima having found resonance about what happened and what needs to happen in regards to nuclear disarmament,” she said.

Their day at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum also connected to their education at Nueva regarding Japanese history.

“It was one thing learning about it on paper,” said Noah Y. ’24, a Japanese 4 student. “But talking with hibakusha [one of the atomic-bomb survivors], having that personal interaction with them, walking around, and seeing the different pieces in the museum… you don’t feel it [the sense of grief] unless you’re there.”

After the ten days, upper school students flew back to the Bay Area. In late March, it was now the Japanese exchange students’ turn to visit the U.S.. The exchange students enjoyed an eight-day homestay and spent three days attending classes and extracurricular activities with Nueva students. While some toured landmarks such as Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, others took a local trip to Hillsdale Mall.

“We mainly did activities based on our buddy’s interests. My exchange student and I both liked shopping, so we went to a bunch of malls,” said Japanese 3 student Emmy L. ’25. “She really felt like a sister by the end [of the program] and we made so many memories together.”

“Right now we don’t have rules,” Chao said. “We have guidelines, and the guidelines reflect our thinking.”

During a Zoom discussion about AI with other traditional and progressive schools around the U.S., Chao realized Nueva’s guidelines should be focused around the school’s principles and beliefs.

“Our grounding question is, ‘What are the values important to us as a community, as a faculty, and as an institution?’” Chao said, reflecting on his discussions with the schools. “It turns out when I started to look at that, a lot of the questions began to answer themselves. One of the principles is love of learning, student agency, and student choice.”

Yet, due to the rapid pace at which ChatGPT is developing, it will take time to develop the school’s own guidelines.

“It’s difficult to know when we are done,” Chao said. “Technology is changing really, really fast.”

Chao aims to acquire faculty’s opinion to revise the guidelines throughout the process. Eventually, he plans to seek student feedback as well.

“My hope is for students to see a clear line to the values [of the school] that came up with [the guidelines],”

Chao said. “There may also be specific things such as, ‘This conclusion doesn’t make sense’ or ‘I don’t think this is in line with actual student behavior,’ and we’ll adapt policy based on that.”

The guidelines are expected to complete a round of revisions during May, but they may face more rounds due to rapidly evolving technology.

LEARNING THE CULTURE Students show off their calligraphy skills (left) and practice kendo, Japanese fencing (right).

PHOTO

ChatGPT guidelines at Nueva: a work in progress

Upper school American and Japanese students engage in a two-way exchange program, traveling, learning, and

STORY Alice T. PHOTO Chris Scott

STORY Owen Y-L. PHOTO Rachel Y.

TED TALK Speaker Valentine Chirokoff presents on the neuroscience of addiction.

STORY Alvin Y.

PHOTO ChatGPT

“Latinx” on the chopping block

The term aimed to promote gender inclusivity—now lawmakers seek to ban it

The neologism was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary almost five years ago, but politicians now are hot on its heels—or rather, its suffix.

Although its exact origins are unknown, the term “Latinx” emerged online in the early 2000s as a nonbinary alternative to “Latino” or “Latina,” which generally describes anyone of Latin American descent. “Latinx” was among several variations to surface in recent decades, including “Latine” and “Latin@,” that sought to expand the fundamentally gendered Spanish language and has since gained traction both in academic circles and on social media.

Now, a group of Hispanic Democrats in Connecticut’s state general assembly are seeking to prohibit usage of “Latinx” in official government documents. Geraldo Reyes Jr., the State Representative spearheading the proposal, said he found the term “offensive and unnecessary” to Puerto Ricans in the state, including himself, and pointed to the scarce usage of the term in Spanish-speaking countries. Other Democrats have claimed the term is white-washed and Americanized.

Across the aisle, “Latinx” has faced similar attacks on a different front. Republicans, including Arkansas

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, have criticized the word as an act of “liberal wokeism.” In January, Sanders banned the term in state documents.

At Nueva, usage of “Latinx” and the opinions surrounding it vary.

Prior to joining Nueva five years ago, upper school Spanish teacher William Cheng was unfamiliar with the term.

“This is a very Americanized term,” Cheng said. “Outside of the U.S., such as in Spain and Mexico, do they understand what ‘Latinx’ means?”

Similarly, Natalie S. ’25, co-lead of Latine Affinity Group, grew up with the term “Hispanic.” To her, “Latinx” felt like it was being bestowed on the community by English-speakers as an allencompassing term.

“It was framed as this gift and a word that didn’t need a translation, but I don’t want this,” Natalie said. “I disagree with the push to make it a universal thing like, ‘this is our one-size-fits-all replacement tied up with a nice little bow for all of you.’”

Another primary contention is how the “x” ending of the term is not phonetically aligned with the Spanish language—it is not easily pronounced at the end of a word.

“There are better ways to have gender-inclusive language,” Natalie said.

For example, “Latine” is the gender-neutral variation that has emerged from within the Latin-American community and “follows the conventions” of the language more, Natalie explained.

Beyond the pronunciation, Natalie expressed concern that attempting to define an entire group of countries under an umbrella term could inadvertently erase individual cultural differences.

“Why would you refer to the region as a whole if you’re just from one country?” Natalie said, pointing out the region’s vast cultural diversity. She primarily identifies as Chinese and Hispanic, and added that “Latinx” would be towards the bottom of her list of terms she resonates with.

On the other hand, upper school Spanish teacher Yolanda Navarro Rajoy was more familiar with the term, having

come to Nueva after living in New York, where “Latinx” was more widely used. She believes it is “essential and reflects the needs of society” to have options for people to identify, especially for those in the LGBTQ+ community.

“I don’t think someone has to identify with Latinx or Latine—one thing is to identify oneself with the term; another thing is to include the term in the vocabulary,” Navarro Rajoy said. “By not

came as no surprise to Cheng, who even deemed it “political bickering.”

“It didn’t surprise me given how polarized the country has been,” Cheng said. “There’s no common ground or dialogue between the Democrats and Republicans—it’s just fighting back and forth.”

For Becerra-Hernandez, this bickering reflects a broader trend of politicians making decisions that disproportionately target and impact marginalized groups.

“The big issue I see is when Republican, white governors want to ban something that doesn’t affect them directly,” Becerra-Hernandez said. “The evolution of language should be coming from the Latine community.”

Leilani C. ’23, co-lead of Latine Affinity Group, worries a ban could make people less inclined to use people’s preferred language.

“The government has a lot of power over how people think on a cultural level,” they said.

One silver lining, Leilani said, is the attention the ban could bring to the oftenovershadowed intersectionality within the queer community.

“Latinx,” by the numbers:

23% of Hispanic adults in the U.s. have heard of "Latinx"

3%

of U.S. Hispanic adults selfidentify with the term

A generational gap:

having a term that includes nonbinary people, the queer community is excluded. What you don’t name, what you don’t say, what you don’t voice is as if it doesn’t exist.”

Echoing Navarro Rajoy, upper school Spanish teacher Francisco Becerra-Hernandez highlighted the power language can wield in promoting inclusivity.

“By having our name as ‘Latine Affinity Group,’” Becerra-Hernandez said, “we are sending a strong message that we are welcoming each and every person.”

Yet, when the ban was proposed, it

“It has drawn more attention to the fact that queer Latin Americans exist,” Leilani said, pointing to indigenous communities that have historically lived beyond the gender binary, such as the Zapotec people in Mexico.

Ultimately, Navarro Rajoy questioned if the bottom line stops at changing the language.

“The point is how we can be more inclusive so all identities are reflected in our language and our communication,” she said. “If we were in a society where everyone was included and respected equally, we might not even need to talk about inclusive language, because it would already reflect the reality of the diversity

42% of U.S. Hispanic adults ages 1829 have heard of the term

7% of U.S. Hispanic adults ages 65+ have heard of the term

Source: Pew Research Center (2019) of people.”

Natalie called out the “almost distracting” nature of the ban and how it could overshadow important conversations about the real oppression and discrimination faced by Latin

“It feels like it’s giving politicians too much of an excuse to yell at each other while doing nothing,” Natalie said. “It’s a lot easier to have a debate on semantics than a debate on how we’re treating

At the end of the day, Leilani said, it all boils down to personal preference and the terms people feel most comfortable using

“There’s obviously a lot of variation and it’s good to be mindful of the fact that not everyone feels comfortable with the same term being applied to them as someone else might,” Leilani said. “It’s nice to just let language evolve and let people use whatever terms they feel most comfortable with. A ban like this almost stigmatizes the word, which is not great For Navarro Rajoy, more discussions need to be held, especially with older generations that aren’t as familiar with the new terminology.

“This conversation is only the tip of the iceberg,” she said. “The real need is for everyone to be included, to be seen, and to be able to express themselves. We all need to fight for inclusivity. Conversing more and bringing more awareness is the seed for a better, more inclusive community.”

STORY Owen Y-L. & Isabelle S. ART Anwen C.

“One thing is to identify oneself with the term; another thing is to include the term in the vocabulary. By not having a term that includes nonbinary people, the queer community is excluded.”

ARTS & CULTURE

A ROYAL FLUSH THE BOYS ARE BACK

Peacock's Poker Face has it all: a thrilling plot, a skilled cast, striking cinematography, and the nostalgia of classic Wild West films.

LANA'S RENAISSANCE

The indie-rock supergroup Boygenius's album is a triumph of artistry and personality.

Lana Del Rey's newest album is camp, nostalgic, and a medley of all of her best work combined with newfound selfawareness.

A CONTEST(ED) PERFORMANCE

The Academy-sponsored performance of "Naatu Naatu" sparked online conflict with the South Asian community

Beyond the plate: a Californian window into the night market

Cultural ambiance and authentic dishes transform the eater’s experience

Crack open this South San Francisco restaurant’s front door and be met with a curtain of darkness. Accustomed to the bright Golden Gate skyline and the blur of Highway 101 traffic, the senses take a second to adjust. But after a moment, the array of suspended lightbulbs and rhythmic heartbeat of meat cleavers brings this unconventional eatery to life.

Together, the ambiance allows The Night Market to recreate da pai dong (大排档): the open-air food stalls that come together to form the backbone of Hong Kong’s street food scene.

The restaurant’s interior paints an overwhelming mural. Begin this visual feast with the menu: scan down starting with The Specials to the boxed rice and stuffed buns and milk tea and street skewers and dim sum and cart noodle, ending at the

Open Fire Congee. Next to this display stands a segment of wall encased in glass— mahjong tiles stacked in a mesmerizing pattern from floor to ceiling. Finish with the main eating area: a lane of red, blue, and green plastic stools scattered around the small twin-legged tables. Two separate kitchens, residing behind framed glass, flank the dining space. One houses deep woks, cylindrical steamers, and shimmering griddles, while the other is designated for refreshing drinks, soft serve, and other desserts.

The bamboo dumpling baskets release billowing haze, sticking to air in intense humidity. Mandarin flows about the room— in through ears and out on tongues— shouted from cook to server, thrown among friendly tables.

While these visual details transform The Night Market into a holistic cultural transportation, taste plays just as significant of a role.

Consider R11: Boneless Roast Duck Breast with Rice. Slices of the breast rest upon each other, while brittle salted skin exposes slivers of the rosy inside. Beside it lies a perfectly circular mound of white rice freckled with toasted black sesame seeds, along with a half century egg. Shatter the crimson skin while teeth break slack on a savory inside. Spoon pungent yolk from egg’s medallion center as bitter jam cuts through fat.

Concede to X1: Shanghai Dumplings (5). Lift the bamboo steamer’s slotted handle. Creases of dough spiral to form concave center, encasing a plump pork filling. Cradle the body in the womb of a porcelain spoon, as flesh gives then snaps between teeth or chopsticks. Let the nape spill marrow, bathing dumpling in pools of gelatin broth. Indulge in D15: Plain Vanilla Soft Serve. Tickles of ice dampen poignant savory tones into a round finish. Come to a comforting childish end—spoon resting in

The return of artisanal ice cream to Bay Meadows, with stories in each scoop

Humphry Slocombe offers a unique ice cream experience

A line trails out the open doors. Wide windows reveal the store’s interior: behind a bright blue ice cream counter are even brighter faces. Despite the cold treat, the atmosphere of Humphry Slocombe could not feel any warmer.

On March 28, Humphry Slocombe— named after the two lead characters in the 1970 British sitcom Are You Being Served?—officially became Bay Meadow’s ice cream storefront, replacing the empty shop left by Tin Pot’s departure in Aug. 2022.

Bay Meadow’s Humphry Slocombe will be the eighth storefront from the company, the locations scattering California, with each offering seasonal flavors. The company was created by San Francisco residents Jake Godby and Sean Vahey, with a combined 20 years of restaurant experience. The duo premiered the chain in Dec. 2008 in the Mission District, with a goal to challenge the concept of the traditional ice cream parlor, inventing new and unusual flavors.

Each flavor, especially those sparking confusion in customers, comes with a story or a “voice and personality,” Vehay told California.com. Vahey’s first creation was Secret Breakfast, bourbon-laced vanilla ice cream with cornflake cookies,

which jumpstarted the company’s rapid rise in popularity.

“There was no reason to do what other people were doing, especially when they were doing it well,” Godby, the primary flavor curator of the duo, told California. com. “It would be really boring for me to do the same [ice-cream] flavors as everyone else.”

So, what did Godby do? Invent as many creative and slightly chaotic ice cream flavors as possible. Due to their connection to California, most flavors reflect the state’s farm fresh foods, and Godby sources most of his ingredients locally.

He experiments with various fruits, vegetables, spices, and even meats to give Humphry Slocombe’s its distinctive taste. Humphry Slocombe even partnered with Blue Bottle—now its next door neighbor at Bay Meadows—to create a Vietnamese Coffee flavor.

“It is a very unique flavored ice cream shop,” Jannie, a customer, said, stopping briefly for another mouthful of Black Sesame ice cream. “I don't think anybody has even remotely come close to it.”

To Jannie, the flavors are “outside of the box,” reflecting the creativity and vibrancy of the West Coast—there’s some tang, maltiness, spice, and sweetness. Some

contain alcohol or hidden goodies inside.

Accompanying Jannie are Aimee and Fan. Aimee, a Burlingame resident, remembers visiting Humphry Slocombe’s Mission District location several years ago.

“It’s nice to have a little piece of San Francisco here,” she said. “[It’s] very nostalgic.”

Another customer, Sherman, appreciates the layout of the restaurant and outside courtyard.

“It’s a nice hangout area,” he said, imagining a relaxing evening enjoying ice cream outside.

The ice cream, slowly disappearing from each customer’s cone or cup, all feature a playful name: including After School Special, Baracky Road, Fluffernutter, and I Have A Dreamsicle.

Each tongue-twisting taste and title contributes to a distinct ice cream experience—one rich with stories, experimentation, and California pride.

Daily, Godby and Vahey live up to their Humphry Slocombe expectation: crafting a “bizarre, delicious, frozen universe.”

its empty styrofoam cup.

Once again, greet Highway 101: the engine buzz soaks up any trace of your journey. A familiar sun licks over the San Franciscan shadow. Keep the eatery’s voice alive: bring friends, family, and casual dates. Don’t bother with reservations, as The Night Market has kept its self-seating service even since its reopening in 2020. Lastly, you won’t be needing bills greater than 20, unless you plan to pay for the party.

STORY Ellie K. PHOTO Ellie K.

STORY Gabe A.

PHOTO The Night Market

A familiar sun licks over the San Fransiscan shadow. Keep the eatery’s voice alive: bring friends, family, and casual dates.

Swarm profoundly re-invents the serial killer anti-hero arc

Donald Glover’s new Amazon Prime Video series provides fresh commentary on fan culture and pathological murder alike

By the time season four of You was released, I made a pact with myself to never stream a serial-killer drama again. I promptly shelved this resolution upon watching Amazon Prime Video’s Swarm

Released on March 17, 2023, Swarm, was executive-produced by Donald Glover and written by playwright Janine Nabers with the help of former president Barack Obama’s daughter, Malia Ann Obama. The show spotlights twenty-something Andrea “Dre” (Dominique Fishback), a Black woman whose aspirations and actions are dictated by a devotion to her pop-star idol Ni’Jah. Dre is an ever-faithful member of the Hive, a group of superfans of the artist, who’s billed as a cultural icon not-so-loosely inspired by Beyoncé. Dre masks her social awkwardness with an unwavering affinity to Ni’Jah, bringing her into nearly every conversation in which she engages and shunning anyone who speaks ill of her. Though Dre’s foster sister Marissa (Chloe Bailey), with whom she is both financially and socially dependent, is also a Ni’Jah fan, she, unlike Dre, has a social life and a job to fall back on. When Marissa suddenly

dies, Dre descends into a frenzy of violence, seeking out anyone on the internet and in real life who denounces Ni’Jah and bludgeoning them to death. Among her suspects is Eva (Billie Eilish), who runs a group for women detoxing from technology.

On its face, Swarm seems completely ridiculous and has all the ingredients for a surefire flop. It’s almost laughably meta in its obvious Beyoncé stand-in, and its social commentary on hype culture is amped to the highest ideological extreme, which could have distracted from its core message. However, Swarm soars due to its compelling parallels to the contemporary pop-cultural zeitgeist. Through Dre’s reverence of Ni’Jah, the show provides an indelible commentary on the diciness of celebrity worship.

In Swarm, the celebrity-fan dynamic proves to be the perfect avenue to explore the real-life implications of a pop culture so engrained in technology. Swarm seamlessly captures the social media echo chambers that both hype up and polarize their idols: Dre runs a fan account for Ni’Jah, racking up thousands of likes, comments, and followers for her not-sooriginal takes on Ni’Jah’s songs, outfits, and lifestyle. It also shows the dark side of these echo chambers: the people who fight against

the hype, those who dare criticize Ni’Jah face the ultimate price and are “stung” by people like Dre, the Hive’s most carnivorous bees.

In tackling the toxicity of social media fanbases, Swarm also contributes to an ongoing conversation in pop culture around parasocial relationships, indicating that these associations are inherently grounded in false dreams rather than reality. Dre is certain that if she were to know Ni’Jah on a personal level, the two would be best friends. However, when she finally meets Ni’Jah after leading on a concert security officer and subsequently killing him, she suffers a break from reality and ends up biting Ni’Jah instead, ultimately resulting in being escorted out of the venue kicking and screaming. This scene was directly based on a real-life interaction between Beyoncé and a fan, lending sinister authenticity to the story arc.

In addition to being a show rife with socialcultural commentary, Swarm portrays a serial killer anti-hero narrative.

After watching all four seaons of You, I was ready to do away with the genre as a whole; however Swarm is so sophisticated that viewers may even forget its entire story arc is centered on a pathological serial killer. While characters likeYou's Joe Goldberg kill

to advance their own interests, often in the twisted pursuit of what they deem to be love, Dre kills out of a shameless devotion to an artist who makes her feel valued and bears witness to her lived reality. She is also a Black woman, making her part of a group that has not previously been spotlit as the anti-hero in serial killer dramas.

Thankfully, Swarm is effective enough in its representation that Dre’s murderous pursuits do not link her to any angry-Black-woman trope. Instead, Dre’s humanity is centered. Her story is nuanced and her relationships are complex. As a foster child, Dre suffers from severe trauma and is prone to fits of anger. Her foster family was ill-equipped to handle her care, and thus they revoked their adoption. This level of complexity is rarely seen in other serial killer dramas, which I now realize is why I grew to detest the genre so viscerally.

Due to Swarm’s timely commentary on celebrity-fan dynamics and single-handed transformation of the serial-killer anti-hero narrative, it has cemented itself as one of my favorite recent streaming shows. While I will still hold myself accountable for not watching any more serial killer dramas, I will definitely tune in if Swarm gets renewed for a second season.

Poker Face is a must-see

royal flush

Let’s be honest—Peacock, NBC’s streaming service launched in 2020, isn’t exactly a winning hand. With its disappointing catalog and unimpressive original content, the platform often wilts in the shadows of streaming giants like Netflix and HBO.

But this year, Peacock may have finally hit the jackpot with its new crime drama, Poker Face

Released on Jan. 26, the 10-episode series follows Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne), an ordinary person with an extraordinary ability: she can sniff out lies “like a cancer dog,” as she once describes. After landing in trouble with a casino owner, Charlie takes to the road in her powder-blue Plymouth Barracuda. Each standalone episode finds Charlie in a different town, inextricably wrapped up in another murder or crime, either as a friend of the victim or even as an inadvertent accomplice. Charlie uses her amateur detective logic and lie-detecting gift to get to the bottom of each case.

The show shines best through its offbeat and eccentric, yet nostalgic, style. While staying true to Wild West-esque influences with its banjo soundtrack and cigarette smoke-tinged aesthetic, Poker Face adds a refreshing, irresistible twist to classic murder mysteries.

For one, the show utilizes the “howcatchem” (also known as the inverted detective) format, in which the murder is shown at the beginning of the episode, before rewinding a few days to follow Charlie’s perspective and let us unravel the puzzle alongside her. This injects into viewers the perfect dose of unease: knowing exactly who dies from the outset, without yet knowing the full scope, motive, or perpetrator of the crime.

Furthermore, too often, murder mysteries inflate the drama and shock factor at the expense of thoughtful character development and nuanced plot. In this way, Poker Face serves as an important lesson to others in the genre. The show strikes the perfect balance of satisfying die-hard true crime and detective mystery fans like me while also feeling uniquely human. Underneath the

blood, finger-pointing, and inflammatory monologues, Poker Face never loses sight of its heart: the journey of Charlie as a character.

And this brings me to Natasha Lyonne’s spectacular performance, another highlight of the series. Lyonne’s screen presence feels like a breath of fresh air—she’s a curious vagabond, yet down to earth, earnest, and raw. She’s unapologetically candid, yet incredibly sensitive. Lyonne embodies a zany, larger-than-life persona with astounding sincerity and authenticity, a level of nuance other supernatural characters like Marvel heroes struggle to achieve.

While anchored by Lyonne, who also serves as an executive producer, the show also boasts an impressive roster of guest stars—including Stephanie Hsu, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Benjamin Bratt. It is truly a joy to witness Charlie forge deep connections with each side character in the span of an hour-long episode, and their chemistry feels organic and infectious.

At a more surface level, Poker Face is, simply put, a visual feast. Dramatic close-up shots and evocative lighting, the trademarks

of show creator and director Rian Johnson, best known for the Knives Out franchise, steal the screen.

However, Johnson’s abundant influence also feeds into one of the show’s few pitfalls.

Those who have watched Knives Out or Glass Onion are well aware of Johnson’s affinity for complex storylines and abrupt plot twists. While these story devices may have worked in a film setting, each episode utilizes a very similar structure, making them feel predictable and formulaic. The idiosyncrasy that gave the show its luster eventually grows stale, to the point where I found myself groaning audibly as yet another expectedly unexpected antagonist was unveiled.

Ultimately, the knockout cast, fast-paced drama, and visual charm outweigh this minor grievance, and I can confidently say that Poker Face is one of the best new shows to be released in 2023—it’s simultaneously nailbiting, brain-melting, laugh-out-loud funny, and beautiful. For the first time, I felt like my Peacock Premium subscription was at least somewhat worth it, if only to keep up with the riveting adventures of Charlie Cale.

STORY Owen Y-L.

PHOTO Peacock

The eccentric murder mystery series goes all in with a charming cast, striking cinematography

“[Swarmis a] timely commentary on celebrity-fan dynamics and single-handed transformation of the serial-killer antihero narrative.”

STORY Gabriel H. PHOTOS Amazon Prime Video

ARTS & CULTURE

Ocean Blvd is Lana Del Rey’s ode to creative nostalgia

The singer’s newest studio album shows every side of her persona

Very rarely do we see an artist use their past wrongdoings and controversies as fuel for new art. Lana Del Rey does just that in her ninth studio album, Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (Ocean Blvd).

Since her first studio album, Born to Die (2014), Lana has built a reputation for being creatively ambitious, almost dangerously so. She was deprecated for her romanticization of drug usage and abusive relationships, as well as her full ownership of her own sexual promiscuity.

Ocean Blvd perfectly balances her glamorous persona of a Hollywood legend with the vulnerabilities which can be revealed

Pop culture report card

through the metaphors her lyrics provide.

The album perfectly captures this duality in the two lead singles, “Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” and “A&W.”

In “Ocean Blvd,” Lana captures the curse and isolation of status, beauty, and money, juxtaposing the longing for beauty in her 2013 hit “Young and Beautiful.” In “Ocean Blvd,” Lana’s voice floats over the lyrics, “Mosaic ceilings, painted tiles on the wall // I can't help but feel somewhat like my body marred my soul // Handmade beauty sealed up by two man-made walls.” The seemingly obscure metaphor, actually a reference to the Jergins Tunnel, is a staple of Lana’s music and distinguishes her as a lyricist who uses poetry to her advantage.

“A&W” completely contrasts this: split into two halves, Lana croons about her real experiences from childhood and, guided by the slow yet sudden change in instrumentals and an addition of electronic bass, captures the evolution into adulthood, describing her “experience of bein’ an American Whore.” Lana uses this song as a way to show no shame for her sexuality, which has caused her to go under fire on the internet. “A&W” stands out not only because of its musical interest but also because of her full acknowledgement of her reputation and sexuality.

Lana immediately follows the track with a spoken-word interlude in the form of a sermon about lust and spirituality performed by controversial pastor and leader of the Hollywood Churchchrome

The Record is a work of heart

The supergroup's debut album commemorates their artistry and frienship

The indie-rock supergroup Boygenius, comprising of singer-songwriters Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, has made a triumphant return with their album, The Record, carefully discussing delicate themes such as relationship trauma and near-death experiences while stressing the importance of solidarity between female artists. The Record is a beautiful medley which uses indie-rock to encompass the sacred bond which the group has.

In 2018, Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus first teamed up to create a self-produced EP after bonding over the shared frustration of being pitted against each other as “women in rock.” Their EP, titled Boygenius, was a revelation in the world of modern rock, showing how three distinct styles and voices can cohesively mesh together and create a new style of fusion.

The Record builds on this collaboration, with each member contributing full songs as well as partial ideas. The three singles, “$20,” “Emily I’m Sorry,” and “True Blue” were Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus’s works respectively, but they managed to successfully tie the themes together through the use of each others’ voices in harmonies and instrumentals.

The rest of the album serves as a pure fusion between Baker’s vulnerable lyricism, Bridgers’ musicality, and Dacus’s nostalgic sound. “Not Strong Enough” is a standout track on the album, with each artist having their own verse but combining forces in the

final bridge to stress the message. The song ends with the line, “Always an angel, never a god,” repeated 12 times, stressing how despite the efforts they put into it, they feel that their work would always be devalued because they are women.

Another impactful song was “We’re In Love,” written by Dacus. The song was originally written off for being too off theme from the rest of the album, but it became a beautiful ode to the friendship between the three women. In “We’re In Love,” Dacus sings, “Damn, that makes me sad // It doesn't have to be like that // If you rewrite your life, may I still play a part?” referring to Dacus’s song “Please Stay.” This was yet another nod to the beauty of camaraderie and female friendship in the music industry.

The portrayal of their friendship has gone beyond the supergroup. In “Please Stay,” Dacus sings about the importance of her friends knowing that she sees their pain and cares for them. In Bridgers’ 2020 song “Graceland Too,” which featured Baker and Dacus on background vocals, she sings about caring for someone who is struggling with their mental health. Both of these songs are rumored to be about Baker and her mental health, and Baker’s song “Favor” is seen as a response. Baker sings, “I always wanna tell the truth // But it never seems like the right time // To be serious enough // I'm sorry I'm making myself cry.” The group’s deep seeded love for each other, which fans previously had to piece together

Judah Smith. Smith has been known to openly share, and receive flack for, more socially conservative opinions, and Lana’s choice to include a recording of his proclamations was artistically risky, but also showed self-awareness and the playful spirit behind what looks like selfdeprecation. Over a recording of Smith’s sermon, producer Jack Antonoff plays a soft piano melody while Lana and her friends cackle at Smith’s words.

Lana continues to explore her past art, even including a partial remix of “Venice Bitch,” a song from her 2019 album NormanFuckingRockwell!, in the album’s closing song, “Taco Truck x VB.” She directly addresses her controversies regarding her relationships, COVID-19 compliance, and social media statements, playfully singing, “Spin it 'til you whip it into white cream, baby // Print it into black and white pages, don't faze me // Before you talk, let me stop what you're saying.”

Lana Del Rey has fully embraced her status in the music industry, with all of her stellar but also controversial works which have shaped her artistic persona. Ocean Blvd is the best possible mess of self-reflection and epiphany. Lana put her heart and soul into the album, and it shows a new, unbroken side of her. By portraying her past in a campy light, Lana showed full command over her reputation and how it is unequivocally hers to control.

Our staff’s celebrations and condemnations of the latest events in pop culture

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

A+

After a five-year touring hiatus, Taylor Swift is back stronger than a ’90s trend with the kickoff of her sold-out Eras Tour, which traverses her career from humble country roots to global pop stardom. With a packed setlist, elaborate sets and pyrotechnics, and a bevy of costume changes, Taylor once again proves that she truly never goes out of style.

“Angela Bassett did the thing”

A-

WestSideStory star Ariana Debose has gone viral on TikTok for her opening monologue at the 2023 BAFTA awards, where she lovingly paid homage to the women nominated for leading actress. In honor of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star, Debose rapped “Angela Basset did the thing.” A- because no one truly knows quite what "the thing" is.

C

through their disparate discographies, is portrayed in whole in The Record

The EP closes with “Letter To An Old Poet,” a sequel to “Me & My Dog,” a song on their 2019 EP. “Me & My Dog,” is an emotional ballad about Bridgers’ anxiety and desire to be with her late dog, Max. The connection between the two songs is a stunning full circle revolution, with the original lyrics, “I wanna be emaciated // I wanna hear one song without thinking of you // I wish I was on a spaceship // Just me and my dog and an impossible view,” being rewritten as, “I wanna be happy, I'm ready to walk into my room without lookin' for you, I'll go up to the top of our building, And remember my dog when I see the full moon,” on the exact same melody. “Letter To An Old Poet” shows the journey from desperate to hopeful which Bridgers embarked on, and shows how their friendship has allowed her to look at a previously difficult chapter of her life through a hopeful lens.

Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus put their heart and soul into The Record, and everything about it shows not only their understanding and mastery of music, but the emotional maturity which they had gained through their time in the music industry. Their collaboration, fueled by the strength of their relationship has made for an incredible work of art. As far as albums go, The Record is emotional, nostalgic, and just perfect.

Gwyneth Paltrow was sued for allegedly plowing into a retired eye doctor while skiing. The eye doctor, Terry Sanderson, alleged that Paltrow’s run-in caused serious injuries, but his attorney seemed more interested in becoming besties with Paltrow than defending Sanderson, adding “you probably had a better ski outfit, I bet” during questioning. She also asked about Paltrow's height (5 ’10), adding “Okay, I’m so jealous.” This entire trial warrants a C grade because absolutely no one took it seriously.

Chris Rock: Selective Outrage

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Although there were some moments of comedic levity, like when Rock picked apart the notion that children are born pure, and moments of honesty, like his tough-love anecdote about how he got his own daughter kicked out of a fancy private school, Chris Rock’s new comedy special was inconsistent at best. The veteran comic has been slammed on social media for his misogynistic comments and furthering an ongoing feud with Jada Pinkett Smith. In other words, he didn’t learn much from the infamous Oscars’ slap last year.

Gwyneth Paltrow and the Ski Trial

STORY Grace F. PHOTO Spotify

STORY Grace F.

PHOTO Spotify

STORY Gabriel H. & Owen Y-L.

PHOTO USA Today, Vox, Netflix, BuzzFeed

ARTS

Grace’s Culture Corner

Here are some reccomendations to bring in the spring season!

JUST BECAUSE — CLAIRE ROSINKRANZ

MAY 5

FOURTEEN DAYS — MARGARET ATWOOD

MAY 30

Fourteen Days is an anthology of stories about how different fictional residents handle the first two weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Set on the rooftop of a Lower East Side New York apartment building, Fourteen Days is a collection of essays, utilizing the unique voices of different writers, all edited by Margaret Atwood, to portray an eclectic group of people who end up forming a strong bond through this worldwide trauma.

THE LITTLE MERMAID — ROB MARSHALL

MAY 26

Disney’s lineup of live-action adaptations will receive a new addition with The Little Mermaid. This is the first time Disney has included diversity in their classics, having actors people of color at the forefront of the film. Starring Halle Bailey, this film will feature nostalgic melodies, including the music by Alan Menken, as well as brand new music composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Melissa McCarthy, Daveed Diggs, and other Hollywood veterans will bring life to the film which saved Disney from bankruptcy and created a new renaissance for the studio.

At the Oscars ceremony this year, a multi-racial ensemble and two South Asian lead dancers brought the audience to its feet with an energetic performance of the hit song “Naatu Naatu.” A Telugu (a South Indian language) song from the Tollywood movie “RRR,” it was an eye-popping display of cultural pride.

Anika G. ’26, who is North Indian and a competitive dancer, watched the performance online.

“The dancing was really good, and I was really happy that there were South Asian artists being featured on a big stage,” Anika said.

The performance quickly went viral on social media. It initially garnered positive attention, then backlash was swift. Viewers discovered that the lead dancers were not Indian or South Asian but simply brown-skinned. None of the ensemble members were Indian or South Asian, either. (Though the original “Naatu Naatu” dance scene in “RRR” was two Indian leads and a white British ensemble.) To worsen the situation, the choreographers were also not Indian or South Asian. To explain the lack of authentic casting,

the choreographers cited wanting to work with dancers they already had experience with.

While many people online— including some Indian and South Asian community members—overlooked the misrepresentation and celebrated the presence of Tollywood (Telugu cinema) and Kuthu (a South Indian folk dance style) at the Academy Awards, others expressed disappointment for the exclusion of South Asian dancers or choreographers.

Sydney E. ’25, who is South Indian, reflects on her emotions regarding the situation.

“This whole situation is annoying and upsetting—but I’m not at all surprised by it,” Sydney said. “At large, this was a very profound way of silencing people of color.”

The casting of two racially ambiguous, brown-skinned lead dancers was more than a small mistake. It indicates a deeper societal problem: conflating people of the same color, rather than appreciating people for their unique heritage or cultural experience. Many questioned why the choreographers casted two Indianlooking dancers, when they could have cast two Indian dancers. Anika agrees: “This is not something that is difficult to do.”

In addition, “Naatu Naatu”’s Kuthu dance style has historically been mocked outside of South India by North Indians, other South Asians, and non-South Asians. Though it seems the choreographers—of nonSouth Asian descent or cultural knowledge—had good intentions, the impact of not having any Southern Indian, Indian, or South Asian voices as part of the creative process and performance ultimately outweigh those intentions The “Naatu Naatu” Oscars performance could have spotlighted many talented South Asian dancers, but they were instead forced to sit on the sidelines.

“It’s a very icky thing, to see people copy-and-pasting your culture onto someone who might not know the meaning,” Sydney said.

Beyond the “Naatu Naatu” controversy, South Indians experienced other wins and losses on Oscars night.

Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel referenced “RRR” as a Bollywood film (Hindi cinema) rather than a Tollywood film, repeating the Academy’s mistake of conflating South Asian cultures. Then, “The Elephant Whispers” producer Guneet Monga was cut off and escorted off the stage before even starting her acceptance speech, one where she would have

exclaimed, “It’s India’s first Oscar!”

Reflecting on these moments, Sydney says, “There are so many things that I wish would have happened, that did not.”

Meanwhile, “Naatu Naatu” went on to win Best Original Song, marking the first time an Indian film won in said category. “The Elephant Whisperers,” a documentary film about a South Indian couple that takes care of a baby elephant, won Best Documentary Short Film.

While the Oscars made strides in honoring diversity this year—namely, awarding Everything Everywhere

All At Once, an East Asian-led film that swept the Oscars in many major categories, including the show’s top prize: Best Picture— South Asian, Indian, and South Indian community members are looking to the Academy to do better.

“I think it would have been really cool if the Academy were to issue out a public apology… recognition that this was an issue, and, also, acknowledging that this will not happen again,” Sydney said. “It’s very important to uplift voices of marginalized communities.”

Claire Rosinkranz rose to fame after her 2020 song, “Backyard Boy,” went viral on social media, with the music video garnering 8.3 million views. Two years later, she will release her first studio album, Just Because,. In this album, Rosinkranz focuses on leaving new beginnings and leaving toxic reem—in one song going as far to use this as a metaphor for her trip to Hawaii.

STORY Kayla L. PHOTO Christopher Polk / Getty Images

STORY Grace F. PHOTO Claire Rosinkranz, GoodReads, Disney

conversation about authentic representation follows a controversial "Naatu Naatu" performance Academy Awards faces backlash from some of the South Asian community online

FASHION FORWARD, REACHING FORWARD

Nueva junior-senior duo interview designers across the globe for their nonprofit.

READ MORE ON PAGE 11

FEATURES

DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY ON TRANSITIONING

Longterm staff Rynelle Chen on transitioning and supporting future community members.

READ MORE ON PAGE 14

CALLING ALL HUMANITIES LOVERS...

New and returning humanities clubs nurture all things reading and writing.

READ MORE ON PAGE 14

AMERICAN POLITICS, THROUGH AN INTERNATIONAL LENS

Foreign-raised students navigate American politics.

READ MORE ON PAGE 15

Student teaching-assistants reinvigorate classroom dynamics

A new perspective is brought to the classroom by a student with expertise

It was the first class of the semester. “Welcome to English 10” was written on the board, and students noticed an older student conversing with their teacher. Soon, they were introduced to Eliza S. ’23, the class’s teacher assistant (TA), who would soon play an instrumental role in their literary exploration.

Eliza, who’s been a TA for English 10 since the fall semester, has always been “adroit” in English. Over the past two years, she has taken four senior seminars, double the two required for graduation.

“I didn’t want to take another seminar, because I think that work would become rote. But, I really wanted to continue with English so I decided to become a TA,” Eliza said. “It’s nice learning English through a different lens.”

As she coached sophomores through the writing process of finding evidence, crafting a thesis, and revising essays, she revisited the fundamentals which were “superb reminders.”

For Milo K. ’24 and Ari P. ’23, who have both taken creative writing twice prior, the TA role has given them newfound appreciation for workshopping and revising drafts.

As a TA, Milo reviews everyone’s work, from ten minute quick-writes to final drafts, and now applies the edits used by his fellow students to improve his own writing.

“I now realize that workshopping is where the magic happens, unlike when I’m stuck editing with my own brain,” Milo said. “I love watching the progression of [a

writing piece].”

On days when creative writing teacher Amber Carpenter isn’t present, Ari and Milo, who teach different block, will step up to teach the class.

“Although it’s a weird balance to be effectively a teacher on those days, but a student of teaching most times, I’ve enjoyed understanding how to engage students even in the last minutes of class on Fridays,” Ari said.

Sam L. ’23, who assists in History of Technology and assisted last semester in Introduction to Fabrication, has learned to navigate the balance.

“It comes down to a knowledge dynamic. If a student doesn’t know how to weld, and I do, I will teach them,” Sam said.

Similarly, Kaitlyn K. ’24, who assists Environmental Director Sarah Koning

in leading the Soil Health elective, has embraced these opportunities to lead the classroom.

While at first uncertain in their abilities, Kaitlyn discovered their enjoyment at watching the “lightbulbs switch on” as students began to understand new concepts.

“When Sarah was away, I let the students choose their own projects on denitrification, and it was incredibly rewarding to watch everyone use this open format to find their own passions,” Kaitlyn said.

However, Kaitlyn also experiences the more frustrating sides of teaching.

“I have a newfound respect for teachers because it’s difficult to know when and how much students are paying attention to the lesson plan that you’ve put a lot of effort into,” Kaitlyn said. “Looking down

can mean anything from taking notes to doodling or texting, and closing computers can only help so much.”

Micah B. ’23, who is a TA for both History of Technology and was a TA last semester for Philosophy of Consciousness, echoed this increased respect for teachers.

“The TA position is a masterclass on pedagogy,” Micah said. “Similar to reading and writing, my new understanding of teaching has enhanced my learning capabilities and appreciation for my teachers.”

Micah and Kaitlyn, like other teaching assistants, walk a thin line between teacher and student. While the TAs’ age allows them to connect more easily with students than a teacher would, it can also cause some difficult dynamics.

“It’s weird because I’m still a student, but I have to reign in engagement as a teacher would,” Milo said. “It’s all about balancing the two roles.”

For Micah, the role they lean into depends on the dynamics of the class.

“Since [History of Technology] is so individualistic, I’m more like a very good student who knows the bigger picture,” Micah said, “unlike in Philosophy of Consciousness, where I held more of a teaching role.”

Despite each teaching assistant’s differing experiences, the overwhelming narrative has been one of immense gratification for this opportunity. As Milo puts it, “It’s the ultimate collaboration between student and teacher: pitch your ideas, take initiative, and embrace your experience.”

Honoring the AIDS epidemic during STD Awareness Month

A lost generation creates disparities in AIDS activism

Two words were used to encompass the decade of death, injustice, and sorrow that followed the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in June of 1981.

“It was truly a lost generation,” said Avi Critz, the LGBTQ Community Lead at Stepping Stone, an adult day health care center based in San Francisco.

Surrounded by a close-knit group of queer elders, Critz explained how his workplace was truly a sanctuary: preserving a generation that experienced an unmatched trauma.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), from 1981 through 1990, 100,777 people died in the United States due to AIDS/HIV. Of this population, 59% were homosexual/bisexual men. In essence, AIDS had come close to wiping out an entire generation of queer Americans.

With April marking STD Awareness Month, English teacher Allen Frost, who co-leads the 11th grade AIDS activism trip with, reflected on the tragedy’s present-day implications: how might the mass mortality manifest in the younger LGBTQ generations?

“It's [generational loss] definitely shaped disparities in AIDS acitivsm,” Frost said.

The crisis formed jarring generational divisions, Frost explained. Naturally, many young activists are drawn to the problems that more immediately apply to themselves. Thus, with the majority of the generation dead, unable to lead the youth, apparent differences in activist intent have formed between the queer generations.

Yet before separation, the epidemic brought a sense of unity to queer people.

Frost highlighted the shared experience of oppression during this time period that brought together specifically gay men and lesbian women, stating “the government sees you as all the same which is to say you are perverts deserving of death.” This precedence, of the LGBTQ community as a whole, has

preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, as well as Antiretroviral Therapy for the disease’s treatment, render AIDS an afterthought for many young queer people. This experience, starkly different from its more archaic forms, has led AIDS activism to lose its oncebooming prominence.

As a result of these disparities, Frost explained, “Gay men have grown up not knowing what HIV/AIDS has done to queer history.” Additionally, not only do they fail to recognize a history, but also the ongoing international battle; as of July 2022, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to two-thirds of global HIV cases, followed by Asia and the Pacific Islands.

While the disease has seemingly lost its spotlight among the majority of younger generations, Queer Student Union (QSU) Lead Alyse G-M. ’24 expressed the nature of AIDS activism’s presence in the Nueva Community.

“While it’s something we’re conscious of, we don’t always prioritize it,” Alyse said. “It’s not something that most of us deal with, but in reality, it’s a problem.”

To solve this problem, Alyse wants to take action by using QSU to bring community-wide AIDS/HIV awareness.

“Through education and fundraising at Nueva we’ll do a better job of making sure it’s not swept under the rug and ignored,” Alyse said.

of the Plague Years (1981-1996).

Micah B. ’23, who took this trip last year, noted that their favorite part of the trip was meeting Peter Staley, an American political activist known for their involvement in the ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power) movement, storming the 1989 International AIDS Conference in Montreal to release the first Treatment and Data report calling for easier access to AIDS drugs.

“I do Project 80 and XRT and I used to do DATAS, so science communication is important to me,” Micah said. “Seeing someone who has built up their scientific literacy skills to save lives made me think this was something that I could do myself.”

While Nueva’s community continues to brew with the onset of change in the younger generation’s AIDS Activism, outside of our school lies an unsolved epidemic, waiting upon the voices of youth to cut through the silent air.

fundamentally shaped the way recent generations view their collective identities. Although the epidemic effectively united the once disparate queer community on the basis of their identity, the introduction of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), an antiviral drug

For students outside of QSU, Allen Frost's 11th grade AIDS activism trip provides opportunities to learn from a more historical perspective. The trip provides an interdisciplinary exploration of the ongoing impact of AIDS in New York City, as well as the cultural history

STORY Gabe A.

PHOTO National AIDS Memorial

“While Nueva’s community continues to brew with the onset of change in the younger generation’s AIDS activism, outside of our school lies an unsolved epidemic, waiting upon the voices of youth to cut through the silent air.”

STORY Sami K. ART Freepik

QUILTING MEMORIES Each panel is made by the loved ones of people who passed from AIDS related causes.

Advocating for mental health, stitch by stitch

Non-profit business arises from Quest, a used embroidery machine, and a passion for mental health advocacy

STORY Isabelle S.

PHOTO Marcus H.

For hours, the two young entrepreneurs sat by the used embroidery machine they had just bought off eBay, toying with the various buttons and carefully embroidering three yellow daisies—their signature design. Little did they know, those yellow daisies would soon reach across the country.

When sophomores Marcus H. and Liv R. thought of starting a business last summer, the idea was only a “fantasy.”

“We always said, ‘we should get an embroidery machine and make a little business’ but we never took that seriously until Quest came,” Marcus recalled.

So in September of 2022, the two founded StitchedUp, a nonprofit embroidery business. They plan to donate all proceeds to nonprofits such as Letters Against Oppression, which supports those battling mental illness through handwritten letters, and The Trevor Project, which focuses on suicide prevention efforts among the LGBTQ+ community.

“Mental health is the most prevalent issue in our lives and closely related to us and the community,” Liv said. “We wanted to support teens struggling with mental

health and provide resources because it’s everywhere and some people may not have the resources to get help.”

The duo spent the fall semester ideating, gathering materials, and learning how to embroider. On the first day of 2023, they embroidered their first design: their business name accompanied by their signature daisies on a black hoodie. Seven days later, they dropped their first product.

“We had just started an Etsy shop and Instagram and we didn’t really know where it would go or the scale it would turn into,” Liv said. “Even now, we’re still trying to figure that out.”

So when they saw addresses tracing to Massachusetts and Texas on two of their orders, Liv and Marcus were elated.

“It was an insane moment,” Liv said. “It was nice to see the impact we could eventually make all over the country.”

And while it was “unreal” to receive orders from across the country, Marcus’ favorite moments remain making the orders with Liv.

“I’d drive over to [Liv], we’d work together, and sometimes get dinner too. It’s definitely brought us closer together,” he said. “And when we see those orders, it’s like, ‘hey, we did that.’”

Seeing their business grow, Liv

It takes a VILLÆGE

and Marcus hope to expand on their designs and even collaborate with other organizations who share similar goals in the future.

“We’re still in the early stages, so our plan right now is to focus on making designs and marketing,” Liv said. “We’d love to also strengthen the connection between our designs and mental health to raise awareness directly through our platform and not just the profits.”

In the meantime, the two also bring comfort to their customers.

“As soon as they released the koi fish design, I knew I wanted to buy a product with it,” Ethan H. ’25 recalled. “I would

Student-created nonprofit combines passions for journalism, fashion, and humanity

STORY Ellie K.

PHOTO Villaege.org

Each pair of jeans, tote bag, and dress comes with something more than leftover fabric, unused thread, and a price tag. For Serena S. ’23 and Isabella X. ’24, behind each article or accessory of fashion are the people who created them and their stories woven in the seams.

Last summer, they began exploring international fashion, interweaving their shared interests in fashion, people, and journalism, hoping to uncover the secrets in the stitches of statement pieces. Drawing upon their skillsets as editors for The Nueva Current, Serena and Isabella started VILLÆGE, a nonprofit organization focused on “sharing and amplifying the voices of fashion designers all across the globe,” as Saxena explained.

VILLÆGE is a collection of stories on ethical and emerging fashion, ranging from profiles of fashion artists from underrepresented communities and countries to a seasonal lookbook to opinion pieces.

Serena’s most recent profile featured Nepalese printmaker Meena Gurung and her company Bora Studio Nepal, which utilizes local fauna to create organic prints. Gurung emphasizes locality and sustainability in her work.

Earlier, Serena interviewed Shilpa Shah, co-founder of Cuyana with Karla Gallardo, about their company’s ethos and bestselling tote bag, The Classic Easy Tote. The team dedicates their work to serving the needs of the “modern woman.”

For another artice, Isabella spoke with

designer Kibonen Nfi and her “Lupita” dress, which serves to mesh modern fashion with the traditional Cameroonian Toghu style. Nfi values self-reflection in her designs and the celebration of Cameroonian culture. She hopes

“[Our ultimate goal is] to amplify the stories and voices of designers from underrepresented communities and countries, in turn bringing more business to local people and actually having some kind of tangible benefit in their lives,” Isabella said.

Isabella and Serena bring a people-centric mission to VILLÆGE.

“Part of the shopping experience for me was also the personability of the people who I was talking with,” Serena said, mentioning her appreciation for smaller businesses or “hidden gems.” “I love talking to the workers in the stores and learning about each piece.”

To discover stories of lesser known artists, Isabella and Serena have to find rabbit holes and jump through hoops. In addition, they hope to emphasize broadening their worldview and international understanding of fashion and designers as part of the process.

definitely encourage people to support StitchedUp—the clothes are good quality, the designs are awesome, and your money is going to a good place.”

Marcus advises anyone to “just go for an idea you’re passionate about.”

“There’s so much I didn’t think I would learn at the beginning, but I’m grateful for this entire experience of starting a business, building an audience, branding social media,” he said, “and that’s just the beginning.”

And so, accompanied by their used embroidery machine, the two aim to tackle the prevailing issue of teen mental health— one stitch at a time.

to transform Cameroon into a fashion country.

In addition to storytelling, Isabella advises VILLÆGE readers of the most sustainable wide-legged jeans to spruce up their wardrobes. In an op-ed, Isabella reflected on the Chanel’s “surface level” attempt at diversity with their Métiers d’Art show in Senegal, while France has a long road ahead to reconcile with its colonial history.

Overall, as stated on its website, VILLÆGE is a “collage of cultures”: a collection of articles with an objective to discover “authentic design beyond conglomerate titans.”

“Being able to have this research [beyond] the United States is really special to me, because I want a lot of what I do to be international,” Serena said. “I think, as humans, it’s really important that we expand our perspective beyond what’s right in front of us, or what’s at our backdoor.”

Through this process of exploring, challenging narrow worldviews, having genuine conversations, and building trust, Serena and Isabella cultivate a community of likeminded individuals with a shared passion for sustainable and ethical fashion, thus building up their “villaege” (spelled uniquely for aesthetic).

“It makes me both happy and kind of sad to

see that these are the people that we’re able to spotlight but not the news or media because [these people are] growing their brand with such quality and precision,” Serena said. “It might be slower, and they’re not able to produce as much as a bigger brand, but that doesn’t make them any less successful.”

Vital to VILLÆGE are its storytelling, “sense of community,” and its efforts to “give back to the people,” Isabella said. Isabella and Serena consider their interviewees their mentors and motivators.

“They teach us everything about what we’re doing,” Serena said. “With each interview, I come away with more of an understanding about the fashion industry around the world and an increased sense of awareness and knowledge about what’s going on across the country in fashion.”

While the future of VILLÆGE remains unknown as Serena will leave for college next year with Isabella following closely behind, the duo hopes to continue making valuable connections and learning more about fashion. In the meantime, they hope to increase readership (check out their recent stories via villaege. org and villaege_stories on Instagram) and encourage everyone to shop sustainably and continue loving to learn and loving to care about the fashion designers across the globe, as Isabella wrote in their mission statement.

“Ultimately, what we do want to achieve is what we say in our mission statement [and to bring] more business to these designers,” Isabella said, then added, smiling: “And if we get to go to Fashion Week along the way, we will not mind.”

REPPIN' IT! Rhee and Hirschman pose in matching StitchedUp crewnecks.

“With each interview, I come away with more of an understanding about the fashion industry around the world and... what’s going on across the country in fashion.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

As a sophomore in robotics, she was the only female member among six male members on the design team, and even small gestures such as body language and male members’ tendencies to congregate with each other felt exclusionary to her.

“Sometimes…there’s no active exclusion,” Carina said. “Instead, there are all these smaller instances of microaggressions.”

She shared her concerns with the robotics leads.

“I didn’t realize that at the time, but I appreciated that she felt comfortable coming up to me and the other lead at the time about that,” said Thomas R. ’23, co-lead of the design subteam.

With more females and nonbinary members joining the team this year, the robotics inclusivity team has started hosting affinity spaces, giving them more spaces to share their experiences.

“I hope the [inclusivity team] has also opened up channels and resources for people who may not feel comfortable coming to me or someone else about an issue,” Thomas said.

This year, Carina is the first female design co-lead, and she aims to “inspire more females to apply for these positions and get involved in leadership, especially in a male-dominated sector.”

Lauren S. ’24, a team lead of Experimental Research Teams (XRT) and co-lead of Discussions and Talks About Science (DATAS) has experienced similar microaggressions in STEM spaces.

“A lot of the time, it’s who the men are listening to. Who do they pay attention to? Who do they take feedback from?” Lauren said. She observed that her male peers seemed to consistently look toward other men for responses.

More overtly, Lauren noted her frustration with jokes made by men about misogyny, feeling that such jokes trivialize non-male experiences.

“It’s awful because if you condemn the joke, you're ruining their fun and killing the vibe, but if you play along, you perpetuate it,” she said. “You just can’t win.”

For Jay C. ’24, a genderqueer student taking upper-level STEM classes including multivariable calculus and XRT, gendered exclusion can make collaboration difficult.

“Most of the time, it’s not that the [cis men] are better at STEM—they’re just more confident about it,” Jay said. “It’s hard when you’re seen as not as good because you’re more feminine.”

In an act as simple as raising their hand to answer a question, Jay found themself “embarrassed” due to a feeling of “if you don’t know this, you shouldn’t be here.”

Hazel D. ’23, who sits next to Jay in multivariable calculus, also revealed a need to try twice as hard to prove her competence.

“If you’re fem-presenting, you have to be right every single time. If you’re wrong once, you destroy all of your progress,” Hazel said, emphasizing a patriarchal double-bind where if a non-male student is consistently correct and outspoken, they’re viewed as “pushy” and “bossy.”

The difficulty is not only in speaking up,

Speaking up, speaking out

Students and faculty team up to address sexist

explaining a concept on the board only for a male student to explain it again.

“He said the exact same thing as I had. My stomach just dropped,” Hazel recalled. “It was humiliating.”

As word of Krishnan and Chau’s listening group began to spread from STEM to humanities students, Krishnan realized “the boys club”—a male-centric group culture that can give rise to sexism—is something that can “permeate all historically male-dominated academic activities”—even in extracurricular activities, like the chess club.

“A lot of clubs with female and nonbinary representation in leadership positions had the students step down because they’ve had to deal with sexism without much support,” Krishnan said. “Or they’re only signing up for classes where there’s already non-male representation within those classrooms, where they feel that they have the space to speak up and the agency to make changes.”

When chess club membership boomed after the release of the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit in 2020—whose protagonist was a female chess protégé—female and non-binary student attendance dwindled from nearly 10 in a room of 20 players to none.

Chess club co-lead Ilarion K. ’24 noted that due to the sudden influx of new players, the more experienced—and mostly male—members dominated the space.

Carina expressed gratitude for the attempts made by male students to respond to sexism, acknowledging that sexism cannot be solved without male support.

“This is a problem that we need to all be working on together to make a real difference in [non-male] students’ lives,” Carina said.

When concerns have been raised or issues shared, female students have found support and action from their peers and teachers. Another activity where students sought out leadership response to microaggressions was the parliamentary debate team. In November, nonmale debaters reported a “severe influx” of sexist behaviors within the team, according to head coach Sam Timinsky.

“As soon as this was brought to my attention, it became a top-priority issue,” Timinsky said. “Especially in a space that’s defined by rhetoric, exclusionary words have a huge impact.”

Riyana, a student leader on the team, noticed such behaviors manifesting in the form of mansplaining, a condescending or patronizing explanation by men directed at non-males.

“When I’m teaching younger debaters, older boys will sometimes interrupt me to teach the lesson,” Riyana said. “Only, they’re just repeating or reinforcing the same points I’m making.”

Talia B. ’26, a female member on the team, recalled when an older male debater “unsolicitedly and preemptively” explained neoliberalism to her, despite her familiarity with the concept.

What Riyana and Talia relayed is one of the most commonly invoked experiences by women who are considered experts in their field. Notably, author Rebecca Solnit used an experience of being mansplained in her own text and research as the inspiration for her essay collection, Men Explain Things to Me, where she recalled a man re-explaining her own book to her at a party. Solnit’s friend had to interject, “That’s her book” three or four times before the man took it in.

Like Solnit’s friend at that party, Riyana has tried to speak up and offer support to the female and non-binary students who experience mansplaining or other microaggressions.

this if it means presenting a play to the student body.’ The proposed were shut down and were aware they were letting assume responsibility for the girls felt the male students the adaptation.”

When everyone gathered classroom, Kellough initiated reflecting on what had occurred more balance to the performance.

“Hopefully it was meaningful and especially the girls because important for their voices to said.

Especially in classes with (Kellough’s current English to female ratio of 10:3), Kellough subtle microaggressions towards students—including less class attentive listening when a non-male presenting.

“It’s really disheartening,” instance last spring, I felt like students to a certain degree. moment it happened and let forward. As a teacher, just calling being afraid to have those difficult is so important.”

The class that Kellough sexism in was made up of cis but while both female and nonbinary experience sexism, the experiences students differ from those of peers.

For many nonbinary individuals, perception—not their actual how other people treat them.

“People read me as feminine how I’m treated,” Jay said. “It my pronouns are they/he, it see me. There’s an expectation competent, especially in STEM

For Luki D. ’25, a member fabrication subteam, the concept STEM is not all-inclusive either.

“It’s an environment that’s more conducive to toxic bro-y behavior,” Ilarion said. “It’s easier to mansplain.”

In November 2022, a female member of the club confided in Ilarion that she felt frequently condescended to. He sent out an email to all club members including a form surveying discomfort and paths to improvement. The form only received three responses.

Due to the minimal response, Ilarion is skeptical as to whether there has been change and continues to re-examine what he can do as a club leader.

“There was a period of time after the email when things got a bit better, but people always go back to it,” Ilarion said. “[Co-lead Adam A. ’24] and I are still trying, but—not to try and shift away the blame or anything—we haven’t figured out how to solve such an ingrained problem.”

“I struggled and still struggle with self-worth in debate because the activity so heavily fuels the boys’ club culture, so I hope our younger gender minority debaters are able to find solace and support in their older non-male debaters to build resilience against misogyny,” Riyana said. “It’s so profoundly important that we remind our younger debaters of just how intelligent, competent, and worthy they are!”

While sexism within debate was brought to adult attention through students, teachers have also noticed subtle signs of male students dominating work spaces.

Upper school English teacher Gretchen Kellough was walking around the WRC and checking in with the students in her senior English class last spring when she came to a table with all the female students sitting idle while their male peers animatedly rehearsed a Shakespeare adaptation just a few feet away.

“It was only a week before performances, [the students] were doing the run through, and all the primary roles were played by men,” Kellough recalled. “I went over to the girl students and was like, ‘What happened? I would rather not perform

“Ever since I’ve realized more complicated,” Luki said. spaces create a binary definition a guy in STEM’ or ‘you’re a Because sometimes I'm perceived somehow I'm part of both. weird middle zone.”

II. TRANSFORMING EXPERIENCES

For some students, their discussions in the affinity group their own initiatives.

In robotics, inclusion officer hosting monthly meetings for members to share team experiences support to one another.

“I’m so glad this now exists way to build community and with others who have faced with sexism,” robotics co-captain said. “I hope this group continues a space where non-cis-males

At the end of February, Carina, Anahita A. ’23, who co-leads stood in front of 70 faculty weekly faculty meeting held

microaggressions in the classroom

“It’s awful because if you condemn the joke, you're ruining their fun and killing the vibe, but if you play along, you perpetuate it. You just can’t win.”

STORY Serena S., Isabelle S., Char P., Isabella X. ART Isabella X.

a gender unbalanced

The ideas they had and while the girls letting the boy students the performance, the had taken control of gathered back in the initiated conversation occurred and how to add performance. meaningful for the students because we know it’s to be heard,” Kellough with a gender imbalance

12 class has a male Kellough has noticed towards non-cis-male class engagement and non-male student is disheartening,” she said. “In that like I failed the female degree. I didn’t catch it the let the boys march calling it out and not difficult conversations cited witnessing cis males and females, nonbinary students experiences of nonbinary of their cis female individuals, gender actual gender—impacts them. feminine and that impacts

“It doesn’t matter if it matters how they expectation that I’m not as STEM spaces.” member of the robotics concept of women in either.

I’m trans, it’s become said. “These [affinity] definition of either ‘you’re woman in STEM.’ perceived as a guy, Often, I’m left in this

EXPERIENCES INTO ACTION

experiences and group have sparked officer Carly B. ’25 began for non-cis-male experiences and offer exists as it’s been a great and share experiences similar challenges co-captain Ciara D. ’24 continues to grow and be non-cis-males can come together.”

Carina, Lucie, and co-leads Feminism Club, members at the held in the Writing and

The numbers below are from an ongoing data science project by Lucie L. ‘23 to "gauge the climate" of sexism on campus.

To do so, Lucie sent out a schoolwide Likert-scale questionnaire last May asking participants five sets of questions, including “How often do you THINK a male student interrupts a non-male student at Nueva?” and “How often do you SEE a male student interrupt a non-male student at Nueva?” This format allowed Lucie to isolate perception, witness, and experience from each other.

“I wanted to apply the tools I was learning [in my data science class] to the challenges I was facing on campus,” she said. “It’s hard to tangibly map sexism, misogyny, and patriarchal microaggressions to experiences on campus…the main point of my project was taking anecdotes that we had and translating them into a data-backed picture that the school could work with.”

34%

of non-male respondents see mansplaining happening "very frequently" at Nueva.

3.8% of male respondents see mansplaining happening "very frequently" at Nueva.

32% of non-male respondents see mansplaining happening "frequently" at Nueva.

23% of male respondents see mansplaining happening "frequently" at Nueva.

16% of non-male respondents see mansplaining happening "infrequently" at Nueva.

42% of male respondents see mansplaining happening "infrequently" at Nueva.

Research Center. They shared three anonymized accounts of gender bias students have faced over the past few months and asked teachers to reflect and discuss how they would handle the presented situations.

For Lucie, what was most important was just starting the conversation—especially from a team of students and faculty who are passionate about understanding the issue’s nuance and complexity.

“Teachers are the caretakers who facilitate the classroom and space, so the natural step forward was to start a conversation with them,” Lucie said. “This was a good turning point because while we had done a lot of this work within our team [of students], we hadn’t yet shared it with teachers in a reflective space.”

The positive feedback they received from teachers after the meeting was “heartwarming” and “gratifying,” according to Carina and Anahita.

“Non-male teachers told us the scenarios we presented happen even among teachers, and male teachers came up to us and said, ‘Thanks for that. I saw a couple of those scenarios happen in my classrooms and didn’t think too much of them at the time,’” Anahita recalled.

For Anahita and Carina, the faculty meeting developed into a conversation about opportunities for student-led change.

“It turned into a brainstorming session on, ‘If there was one way we could do anything to change that, what would it be?’” Anahita recalled. “One of the ideas that came up was formalized education about [sexism at Nueva], and the perfect place for that is Science of Mind (SoM).”

Starting mid-April for ninth and tenth-grade SoM classes, these student-led lessons—designed and taught by Anahita and Carina—educate students about microaggressions using Nuevaspecific examples.

“This is an opportunity for them to see that upperclassmen are talking about this and for us to go in and say, ‘We’ve experienced this too. Let us tell you about the resources available to you,’” said Carina, who hopes to impart a message of solidarity.

After months of iterations with the help of the SoM team Coordinator of Social Justice and Equity Matthew Oakland, the two are finally ready to present.

“One challenge was making sure we’re starting a productive discussion as opposed to making it a venting session. While venting allows people to get their emotions out and feel recognized, [action] is the most beneficial next step,” Anahita said.

The curriculum was piloted on the debate team, when, in response to the reported instances of misogyny, Timinsky contacted Oakland to set up a series of five mandatory “equity meetings” for the male members.

“What do you think is going on? What do you think the issues are?” Oakland asked the male debaters in the first meeting. What he quickly realized was that the men wanted a “single pariah.”

“They wanted to point to a certain moment or debater and say that was the issue,” Oakland recalled. As the discussions continued, however, there was an “organic realization” that the harm is not confined to a singular instance, but rather a culmination of smaller microaggressions.

“It was stuff like, hey, maybe when seven boys are standing in a circle chatting really loudly, a non-male student might not feel comfortable joining in,” Oakland said.

The group then simulated instances of gender bias using a modified version of Carina and Anahita's SoM curriculum, but with debatespecific scenarios written by non-male team members.

The main takeaway? Intervening in sexist behavior.

To Oakland, bystanding signals that “the person who got harmed isn’t as important as saving face.” He presented a series of responses to shut down sexist behaviors without escalating the situation, including phrases such as, “Hey, why did you just say that?”, “What did you mean by that?”, and more specifically for debate, “Why are you saying this debater is not as able to lead this session?”

Each meeting sported full attendance, according to Timinsky.

“The hope is that if [the male students] show up, if they’re even exposed to this kind of [gender bias] training, they’ll become more aware [of their actions],” he said.

For Syon P. ’24, a male debater, the meetings reminded him to reflect upon how others’ experiences can be shaped by what he thought

were harmless comments.

“Because we aren’t at the receiving end of gendered microaggressions, [male debaters] throw around comments that we aren’t aware are deeply harmful,” Syon said.

He explained that through activities hosted in the meetings, the boys have “put themselves into non-male debaters’ shoes” and re-examined their own behavior patterns.

Riyana believes the sessions have made it easier to shut down mansplaining and other misogynistic behaviors.

“Healing from any kind of pain that’s been caused is a long process and requires constant work, but I’m glad the team has embarked on that journey,” Riyana said.

For Dean of Students Jackee Bruno, accountability and “a true desire for change” is the most important factor in approaching microaggressions on campus.

“Even if it’s a small action of adding words to a list of things you cannot say, we can improve on making a genuine commitment,” he said.

Chau believes that ultimately, at the heart of accountability is creating a culture of genuine care among the Nueva community, starting with student leaders. Starting next fall, Chau and Bruno hope to implement inclusivity training for student club leaders.

“We are hoping to help student leads to think through how to design feedback mechanisms for their clubs, so when something happens in a club, members have a way to tell the lead who has a space to receive [that feedback],” she said. “For clubs like robotics, Invention Studio, or debate where you’re leading a team of people and have to manage dynamics, I hope this can inspire students to create change.”

Krishnan also hopes for teachers to undergo mandatory gender bias training, believing it will encourage teacher accountability—and knowing that young people often look to the adults in their lives as an example of how they should behave.

“Most male faculty don’t realize when they themselves are being sexist, and most female and nonbinary staff don’t want to stand up to [sexism] because it's been so normalized for them,” Krishnan said. “Because of this, the male student gets the impression that it’s okay to be sexist because the teacher didn't say anything about it, and [the student] continues with this behavior.”

With the spark of student and teacher-led initiatives this year, Carina's fear is for the conversation to stop.

“I hope we can continue the affinity groups. I hope I can pass on our work to younger students,” Carina said. “I just want to make sure it’s less stigmatized and just keep the ball rolling.”

In the future, Luki hopes to see an affinity space specifically for trangender students in STEM.

“I don’t feel like I can fit into [current affinity] spaces,” Luki said. “Sexism sucks, but [for] women in STEM, there’s already an established structure of ‘We’re fighting against this, we’ve all been there.’ That doesn’t really exist for trans people.”

Asudani emphasizes that without taking action, these hopes and dreams stay just that— hopes and dreams. She instead urges every member of the community to actively participate in addressing sexism, whether it be calling out microaggressions or starting their own initiatives.

“People often have a mindset of, ‘What can I do? I'm just a student,’” Anahita said. “But as students, we have a crazy amount of agency, and if [we] utilize that, [we] can get so much done.”

Meet Rynelle Chen

Rynelle Chen projects tranquility. Her dark hair frames a warm smile and rosy cheeks. Her gentle, steady voice calls back to childhood audiobooks. Her virtual background on Zoom is the iconic opening frame from the TV show The Good Place—“Welcome!” it reads in bright green letters. “Everything is fine.”

In Chen’s 14 years of working as Director, Technology at Nueva, this composure has served her well. She has helmed tech support and infrastructure at the Hillsborough campus, and then at the newly founded upper school. She has been a teacher, an advisor, and has chaperoned school trips from Crow Canyon to Washington, D.C. to Costa Rica. She saw one of her two daughters through the middle school, and watched valued colleagues come and go. She managed the hecticness of her many roles within Nueva for over a decade.

But as she prepared to stand before her colleagues in the gym on the morning of a professional development day in March, her stomach turned with nerves. “Who knows?” one of her colleagues whispered to her. “How do you feel?” another asked.

Chen thought about it. She was about to officially come out to all of her colleagues as a transgender woman. She was undoubtedly nervous, but didn’t feel even a tinge of anxiety. “This is what I’m supposed to be doing,” she reminded herself, speech gripped in her hand. “This is what I [need] to do to remain authentic to who I am.” So when Head of School Lee Fertig handed her the microphone, Chen stood before her colleagues and spoke with her characteristic steadiness.

“For the past three years, I have been identifying as female, and I have consistently presented as female in my personal life,” Chen said. “I am not male and will no longer be presenting as male at work… My name Is Rynelle Alara Chen, and I use she/her pronouns.”

She had hoped for acceptance and understanding from her colleagues. She didn’t expect the room of all-division faculty and staff to respond as they did: with a standing ovation.

“It was more than I could have hoped for at the time,” she reflects. That night, Fertig shared a snippet of Chen’s speech with the entire Nueva community in an email, with the subject line “Important News.” Emails of congratulations and gratitude poured into her inbox.

Some wrote simply to congratulate her. Some wrote to thank her for the beauty and bravery of her message, or for cultivating a safe space for queer and questioning students and faculty. Other messages—which Chen found especially touching—were more personal.

“I remember when I first came out in my freshman year and you were so incredibly understanding in the process of changing my email in the school's system,” one student wrote. “I felt so incredibly welcomed in such a vulnerable part of my life. If there's anything I can do to return that same welcome you gave me, please let me know.”

A parent of a transgender student shared a similar sentiment.

“Our youth don't see enough adults yet taking the steps to develop into who they know they are,” the parent wrote. “It warms my heart to know [my daughter] has you as a nearby person to relate to and find confirmation with. Even while she may not explicitly address the topic with you, simply seeing you live your life will enrich her.”

But while the emails were wholly

positive, Chen’s emotions were more convoluted.

“I’ve responded to all of them, thanking everyone and so forth—it’s been reassuring,” Chen said. “But my realistic self says that for every supportive email that I get, there’s probably another person who’s struggling with this information.”

Chen had kept her identity on the down low at Nueva for nearly three years for the fear that her true identity would be unwelcome. By the time she came out to all of her colleagues, she had been identifying as female in her personal life for so long that breaking the news felt almost anticlimactic.

"By that point, I just wanted to get it over with,” she said.

She had first realized her identity through reading The Gender Creative Child by Diane Ehrensaft, a collection of transgender youth stories that she chose as part of the faculty and staff summer reading assignment in 2018. At the time, Chen had been drawn to it as a supportive parent—her then 18-yearold daughter was navigating her own sexuality, and Chen wanted to be a resource.

But by the time she set the book down, everything in her life “immediately clicked.” The Gender Creative Child was the first time Chen was exposed to transgender youth stories—stories that

mirrored her own childhood experiences. It was the first time that she was able to truly identify with a shared experience.

“When I finished the book, I asked myself, ‘Am I in the right gender?’” explained Chen. “And the answer came back, ‘No, you're not. You're female, and you've always been female.’ And with this declaration, ‘I am female,’ my entire life made sense.”

Chen soon began to make changes in her personal life. She set a seven year plan to transition both legally and physically.

“Every seven years your physical body literally changes itself,” Chen explained. “I wanted my mind to really be in alignment with my body, and vice versa—I wanted to make sure the person inside understood all of the nuanced changes that would occur living life as a different gender.”

Chen went on a shopping spree and curated a new wardrobe. She hired a makeup artist who taught her about different beauty products and color palettes—“Sephora is now my Costco,” she joked. She practiced walking gracefully rather than “lumbering,” scheduled laser hair removal appointments, and began hormone replacement therapy.

But Chen’s fear that she might receive backlash—or worse—from members of the Nueva community who disagreed with her transgender identity kept her from presenting as female at work. At the time, no school policy existed that protected trans and nonbinary students and faculty. For Chen, who supported her family, the looming fear was that her job was on the line.

“I wanted something in that handbook to point to if dissenters grouped together and said, ‘We don't want this person here,’” Chen said. “I knew that if there was some written backing, the Head of School would be able to point [to it] and say, ‘This is who we stand for.’”

She began confiding in colleagues she was close with. Not long after she began mapping out her seven year plan, she came out to Alegria Barclay, the former Director of Social Justice and Equity, with whom she shared her concerns about the lack of a protective policy.

In spring of 2021, Barclay organized a committee of faculty and staff—Chen included—to draft a gender inclusion policy for the employee handbook. The process, which took nearly two years, would ensure that both existing practices and new policies were codified to protect community members of all genders. In December 2022, the policy

was incorporated into the employee handbook, which was then republished. A policy for the student handbook is currently being finalized, and the team hopes for it to be implemented for the coming school year.

In the time the policy was being drafted, Chen had begun to struggle with gender dysphoria—a feeling of discomfort or distress stemming from dissonance in a person’s biological sex and gender identity.

“What I’ve learned about myself, in terms of my female presentation, is that I am my best and authentic self when all of this comes out at the end of the day,” Chen said. “So [not being able to present as female] was tough. It was like, ‘Right, I have to be back in this body now.’”

And while the feeling wasn’t constant, there were moments when it weighed heavily. On the drive home or during lunch, Chen might pause and realize that she wasn’t who she wanted to be.

“I would let out a sigh, and think to myself, ‘This is not who I am anymore,’” she said. “But I have to do it.”

Even as the policy was being drafted, Chen wasn’t sure whether or not she was ready to invest the time, energy, and money to be in her female presentation for the entire day. Her dysphoria was ultimately a driving force behind her decision to come out—she realized that she would much rather make the investment than have to continue living with the struggle of an incongruent identity.

“I’ve been processing [my identity] now for four years, and it’s only [the community’s] fifth day,” she said. “Sometimes it just takes getting used to, and it's okay to be that way. Everyone needs to process in their own time and space.”

Almost a month after her announcement, Chen feels continually reassured in her decision to share her true self—whether it be through notes of congratulations, a interactions with students and faculty in the hallway, or confidence in her own identity, which she has built through practicing her faith, participating in therapy, and reading and interviewing others about their own transgender experiences.

“I find that when the universe speaks to me, always challenges me to be something better—never to put me into a smaller space, or to make my life ‘less than,’” Chen said. “It's always, ‘Here's the next step. Here's how you're going to challenge yourself. Here's how you're going to live your life in a way that is full of change and adventure.’

Nueva’s director of technology didn’t feel safe coming out at the school she had worked at for over a decade. So she helped write school policy to protect other students and faculty who felt the same way

STORY Emma Z.

PHOTO Rynelle Chen

“I tell people I stay at Nueva (longer than any technologist should or would) because of its community and because I never have the same day twice in my 14 years here. Nueva is about change and iteration, but it is also about acceptance and enlightening yourself to see other perspectives; and, in my case, be a wholly different perspective..”

RYNELLE CHEN

A WALK OUTSIDE Rynelle Chen, second from left, with friends at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens after Sunday brunch.

Environmentalism isn’t one-size-fits-all

STORY Kayla L.

Three students’ unique skills allow them to make environmental impact in their own ways

AmidstEarthMonth,it’seasytofeel plaguedbyclimateanxietyorconfused byclimateaction.Dr.AyannaElizabeth

Johnson,anAmericanmarinebiologist,

policyexpert,conservationstrategist, andpodcastercameupwiththeconcept of“ClimateVennDiagrams,”asimple methodtodetermineone’spersonalclimate solution. Learn about three students’ climatesolutionsandhowtheywouldfill outtheirClimateVennDiagrams.

SOPHIE D. '24

In the past few years, Sophie D. ’24’s garage has perpetually been on the brink of overflow. The garage’s contents can only be described as “junk,” a strange assortment of flannel jackets, vintage wooden furniture, and random metal material. Yet, Sophie does not see it that way.

Instead, she sees a business: Refurbitches. Founded in 2020 by Sophie, her mom, and aunt, Refurbitches looks for and accepts unused or old furniture, clothing, and materials. The trio takes these materials and and refurbishes them, infusing each project with creativity and renewed life.

The origin of the project started during the pandemic lockdown, when Sophie's mom began to bring home free tables, chairs, and dressers that scattered the sides of the street.

With half a garage, a few power tools, and an abundance of free time, Sophie says that Refurbitches “started as just a cool little project.” Soon, though, Sophie and her mom were refurbishing dozens of items by sewing, woodworking, and painting.

Once the garage becomes entirely full, Sophie and her mom rent a truck to transport their work and set up a stall at the Alameda Point Antiques Faire, where Druskin markets, barters, and sells her wares. After making a sale, Sophie says, “It is so amazing to know that we are making things that people are going to treasure.”

Ultimately, reducing waste and being

environmentally-conscious is core to the business. By refurbishing, Sophie and her mom save dozens of items from going to the landfill. They also work together to establish a culture of reusing and repurposing, an anti-trend to a culture dominated by consumerism.

When taking on new refurbishing projects, Sophie considers both the creative and environmental opportunities. She asks herself, “What can we do that is not only useful and economical, but also really cool and unique? What can we do to give things another life?”

ALEX W. '24

Peek into room 1105 on Thursday afternoons, and Alex W. ’24 will be there. With enthusiasm and confidence, he is co-leading the environmental club meeting and encouraging club members to pursue meaningful environmental projects.

Alex's projects in environmentalism go beyond the school’s walls: besides co-leading the school’s Environmental Club and Divestment Team, he has been advocating for reach codes (city-wide codes requiring stronger environmental features in new buildings) at city council meetings and has designed hsClimateAction.com, a platform to provide Bay Area high schoolers with an easy on-ramp to take climate action and have an impact.

Alex credits his skillset—public speaking and organizing others—for being able to drive change. His unique environmental approach combines his skills and goals with his passion for watching his peers have a positive environmental impact.

No matter what project he is working on, Alex describes a guiding philosophy when it comes to working on environmental projects: “Whatever I do, I try to have the biggest impact I can, and do it to 100%. I’m not of the belief of doing a couple small things in different areas. Without 100%, I don’t feel the biggest impact has been achieved.”

HARPER F. '26

Every month, Harper F. ’26 leads a class educating on the science of biodiversity, climate change, and a potential solution: super plants, or plants that are especially capable of sequestering carbon dioxide. Here is the catch: her students are hyper, easily-distracted, but “still open-minded” fourth, fifth, or sixth graders.

These lessons are the essence of Project Super Plants, an environmental education program founded in 2020 and led by Harper. The program’s mission is to motivate and mobilize fourth, fifth, and sixth graders to take environmental action by educating them about super plants. It accomplishes this during a 45-minute classroom visit including a customized presentation, a hands-on super plants planting tutorial, and discussions about the climate.

Reflecting on the inspiration for Project Super Plants, Harper says, “"Past generations have let us down, so we have no choice but to take climate action.”

Then, in sixth grade, she experienced a lightbulb moment: bridging her skill in science and educating younger students with her passion for solving climate change. She decided to educate and empower fourth, fifth, and sixth graders because it was the age she first learned about climate change.

Since then, Harper has expanded the Project, presenting to 896 students in over a dozen Bay Area schools, and started a Nueva leadership team to expand the program’s impact. She is currently partnering with nonprofits and hopes to eventually build chapters at other schools.

Harper explains the biggest emotional driver of her dedication: hope. She says, "We can only make a change if we are hopeful. We need to literally plant seeds for future generations."

A broad view: international perspectives on American discourse

Political discourse and debate have been at the forefront of Nueva discussion for

in which this is held still has much to be examined

Ines P. ’25 finds herself navigating the US cautiously, knowing that her every belief, word, and indicator of identity can shape who she is to society.

Ines, who was born in Paris and lived in London from ages 7 to 15, has been learning to adapt to the “individualistic” culture which she has noticed in people who have lived in the US for a longer period of time. She’s noticed this comes down to even the smallest social interactions.

“Here being in the US, it’s very much focused on yourself and what you have to do, and less about other people,” Ines said.

Ines is just one of multiple students who’ve only recently moved to the US. In his first year of living in the US after growing up in Myanmar, Jeffery A. ’23 has noticed a contrast between the two countries in the way that people handle individual and collective interests.

“The value of community, and more so just the family in general, is something I don't see a lot in America,” Jeffery said. “And so I've tried to apply that sense of familiarity and community with everyone back here [in the US].”

In March 2022, Jeffery moved to the US from Myanmar, where he lived since he was born. In Myanmar, he has always found that he could build a familiar relationship with neighbors, classmates, and others around him. He has been incorporating this into his everyday life in the US by making a conscious effort to get to know his classmates and make sure everyone knows that they are respected.

However, Jeffery has found this to be much more difficult given the way in which he’s noticed people in the US talking to each other. Jeffery and Ines have both noticed that discourse in the US is often boiled down to a single identity, with Jeffery stating that “people in America are

gravitating towards treating politics like a sport.”

“I think the problem is that there is discourse, but there is no discourse… you could be talking about something simple, but it becomes a big war, and everybody is very polarized in their views,” Ines said. “People will very quickly

of 14 and 16. She feels that the constant push and pull between the US two parties has prevented citizens from compromising.

“Sometimes I wonder whether this tension is a necessary way for the country to hold a balance,” Rosie said. “I definitely hope that people can become more open to different ideas, and not just ‘the right idea.’”

A core value that Rosie, Ines, and Jeffery hold—and credit to having lived in a different country— is open-mindedness to other beliefs. Rosie sees the constant polarization as a “deviation” from free speech, limiting the way in which people can express themselves when talking.

“I’ve noticed a tendency where different places will have their different ideas of what is politically correct,” Rosie said. “The majority in a given place will just stick to the idea and everyone will have to subject to it, or else they will get a lot of hate, and I feel like there should be more space for other different beliefs.”

start attacking other people's identities instead of attacking their beliefs. And so I think politics in the US is very much like reduced to your identity, rather than a belief of how the world should function.”

Rosie D. ’23 has found that the polarization and tension is a striking cultural difference between the US and China, where she had lived since birth until middle school, and again between the ages

The three of them recognize that their positions on politics are different from other classmates, taking note of the “echo chambers.” However, they hope that by applying the values in which they learned in other countries, that the US could slowly become a space for more tolerance and respect.

“We're all products of our different experiences, and that shapes who we are and what our beliefs are,” Jeffery said. “I think as long as you understand that everyone is coming from good intentions, that could help fix a lot of things here.”

years, yet the nature

STORY Grace F.

PHOTO Ines P.

FIRST-GENERATION FAMILY Ines P. '25 (center) and her siblings, originally from France, grew up in the UK, moving to the US last summer

“We're all products of our different experiences, and that shapes who we are and what our beliefs are. I think as long as you understand that everyone is coming from good intentions, that could help fix a lot of things here.”

JEFFERY A. '23

The right place to write

New and returning clubs allow humanities-loving students to flourish

After pandemic stagnation, Nueva humanities students are ready to fight— and write—to revamp student clubs and publications.

Last year, when Milo K. ’24 realized that the Creative Writing Club was gone, due to the club losing traction during the pandemic and the previous leaders graduating, he decided to restart it.

“I love the process of it and the community creative writing often fosters,” Milo said. “I thought that by [re]founding Creative Writing Club, I could provide resources that I didn't have in my first two years here.”

Creative Writing Club is co-led by Milo and Aaron H. ’24. During their weekly meetings, students discuss creative pieces and spend time on their own writing. The club also sends out a weekly newsletter with writing prompts, creative pieces, and places where students can submit work to contests.

Sebastian J. ’25 had a similar experience with restarting LitMag, a student-run literary journal that publishes student artwork and literature. Looking for an opportunity to share his love of writing,

Sebastian learned that LitMag used to exist but had gone silent due to the pandemic and leadership transitions. He worked with English teachers Amber Carpenter and Jennifer Neubauer to revive it.

“It essentially was like starting a new club, because I had to register it and everything,” Sebastian said.

Despite these setbacks, LitMag has taken off this semester; the club now has 10 active members. The group ran a workshop at the Humanities Fair, and is on track to release their 2023 issue at the end of this year.

“[Litmag gives] student artists an opportunity to share their art [that’s] collaborative and feels like it’s meant for other people to be seen,” LitMag co-lead Grace C. ’25 said.

Like Litmag, Romanesco, a student-led scholarly journal, has also blossomed postpandemic.

During the pandemic, the journal “was centered around efficiency,” said WRC director Jen Paull, who is the faculty advisor of Romanesco, along with math teacher Ted Theodosopoulos.

At first, most of the work on the journal

was completed asynchronously. Now, weekly in-person editorial meetings give students dedicated time to work on the journal together.

“[In-person meetings spark] a wonderful sense of connection between [all of] us,” Paull said. “You feel that overflow of curiosity and interest.”

Noor Z. ’24, who co-leads Romanesco with Hailey F. ’24, appreciates the time for in-person collaboration.

“We’re trying to create a greater sense of community,” Noor said.

In addition to returning clubs developing post-pandemic, new humanities-oriented clubs are springing up as well. Poetry Reading Club, led by Hailey and advised by English teacher Sarah Muszynski, just started this year. The club members meet once a week to read and discuss poetry.

“I saw a lack of humanities-related clubs, especially regarding poetry,” Hailey said. “I wanted to do something that didn’t [involve writing], that was more about reading poetry and learning about new poets. It just sounded fun.”

The Acedian Review, a poetry journal led by Lachlan C. '24, Hailey, and Milo that just started this semester, is yet another place for students to share their work.

"The idea of the review came from reading poetry over February break, when I thought it would be exciting to try and start a poetry review at Nueva," Lachlan said. "I want to see poetry expand and evolve."

Reflecting on the wide variety of humanities opportunities at Nueva, Milo emphasized that humanities and STEM are not mutually exclusive.

“Nueva's humanities program has really expanded [in my time at the school]," Milo said. "This dichotomy between STEM and humanities isn't necessarily a fair one— Nueva's excellent at providing both.”

“Walking the talk” of equity and inclusion

“I don't think the binary of humanities versus STEM is as strict of a line as people think,” Grace said. “STEM-focused stuff can have lots of humanities elements to it, like ethics or social bias.”

To Paull, although the STEM elements of Nueva, such as labs and robotics, are often more visible, that doesn’t make humanities any less worth celebrating.

“Embrace it, celebrate it, see it, hear it—[the humanities are] just as invigorating, just as necessary, just as deeply influential,” Paull urged. “I would argue that someone’s interpretation of Cornelius is just as alive as the kelp in the fridge.”

Nueva’s anti-bias hiring approach aligns with its values of diversity, equity, and inclusion

A candidate for a teaching position joins a Zoom meeting for an interview. Soon, instead of discussing the candidate’s experiences in biology, the conversation pivots to the fact that both the candidate and the interviewer went to the same university. And now, they have the same dogs. That must mean they’re better fit for the role, right?

Megan Terra, lower school Division

Head, began researching anti-bias hiring and attending professional development events with former Director of Equity and Inclusion Alegria Barclay for the past several years. The program was piloted at Nueva in 2019; since then, faculty have continued iterating it while training in bias recognition. Nueva has also been in dialogue with other institutions and independent schools to continue developing its approach.

The current practice involves setting up diverse hiring committees of faculty members and rubrics with specific criteria that align to the job description. The candidate interviews conducted by committee members follow the same set of questions to discover the individual who best demonstrates the pre-established attributes and ensuring every candidate has as similar an experience as possible—including how the committee judges their resumes, conducts their interviews, and observes their demo lessons.

“The broader work that we’ve been engaged in as a school has been around how we can make sure that our equity, social justice, diversity, and inclusion practices are reflected not only in our curriculum and community, but also in our systems and structures,” Terra explained.

According to Terra, the program ensures a “clearer sense of the [hiring] process and its goals.”

Terra wants to form a policy that allows the community to “walk its talk in terms of values” and models equity, inclusion, and diversity.

To achieve that, people must recognize their implicit biases, which is innately human.

“We have to institute some policies that get in the way of our own biases because if we don’t interrupt our biases, we can’t stop them even if we want to,” said Liza Raynal, upper

school Division Head.

Research has discovered that simply reading a person’s name—whether it reads as female, male, non-white or white—impacts one’s perception of them.

“If you see the name of a person and it’s the same name as your best friend, you can’t help what happens in your mind,” said Jehnna Ronan, upper school science teacher and a hiring committee member. “You get a little warm, fuzzy feeling.”

This “warm, fuzzy feeling” has its benifits and drawbacks.

“In many ways, bias is extremely functional because our brains are setting up these ways to help us make quick decisions,” Terra said, “but

conditions us to put a check on our thought patterns.”

Ronan recognizes the value of asking each candidate the same questions in order to avoid biases that may harm the process.

“[In asking] the same questions of every candidate, they have more of an even playing field to show you what they know and what they can do,” Ronan said.

In her early experiences with anti-bias practices, Raynal recognized the threat of becoming overly rigid in interviews.

“We need to also have room to follow up on questions, ask the questions you need to ask because people are still people and they come with all their beautiful complexities,” Raynal said.

Having experienced the anti-bias practice as a candidate, Strong appreciated the “coordinated” nature of the process. While it felt “regimented” at times, Strong ultimately felt grateful for the process’ structure.

“It was clear I was following the same arc as everyone else,” she shared.

At other institutions without anti-bias protocols, Strong feels advantaged in some ways and disadvantaged in others.

“As a Black woman, there are ways in which my narrative gets constructed before I enter the room,” she said. “That’s something that I have to do a lot of work around combating.”

An anti-bias system attempts to prevent this situation.

is to create an

environment of “care and belonging” at school.

“One of the best ways for students to be seen, known, and understood and therefore stretched, challenged, and successful is by having somebody they can connect to,” she said.

Strong agrees, knowing diversity, equity, and inclusion are the foundation of learning and that representation in the classroom allows for students with marginalized identities to thrive.

“If students don’t feel valued and affirmed, they’re wildly distracted in the classroom,” she said. “I know from being a teacher that it was hard for my students to learn until they knew I cared about who they were and that I respected them.”

Similarly, Ronan recognizes the importance of anti-bias practices in upholding Nueva’s vision for equity.

“The objective is to make sure we don’t have a narrow view of what a good fit at Nueva is,” she said. “Once we decide to welcome people in the community, we want to accept them fully. That’s the point of Beloved Community—you come as you are, and we work you in.”

Achieving a Beloved Community takes time, courage, and continual effort, as does the transition toward a full anti-bias hiring practice.

“There are aspects of hiring where you have to be pretty agile and move quickly as candidates are applying to other places too,” Terra said, “but it’s so important to make sure we’re clear about which structures we can’t surpass because they do uphold the values

we have to be really aware of how bias can play into unfairness.”

In order to become more aware of such implicit biases, faculty have attended educational workshops and training to reflect on their biases and explore resources on how bias operates. Beyond the hiring process, teachers have considered how implicit biases impact the classroom and student work.

“The human brain is conditioned to make patterns,” said Savannah Strong, Director of Social Justice and Equity. “What becomes a challenge is when we begin to think the pattern is a rule. Engaging in anti-bias practices

“Once we decide to welcome people in the community, we want to accept them fully. That’s the point of Beloved Community— you come as you are, and we work you in.”

THE PEN IS MIGHTY Litmag leaders Sebastian J. ’25 and Grace C. ’25 run a writing workshop at the Humanities Fair.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT The cover of Romanesco's first issue, published in 2021.

STORY Ellie K. '24 ART Freepik

Aaron H. ’24 and Emma Z. ’23 debate the role of group projects.

THE WILLOW PROJECT ENGLISH AT NUEVA

Samara B. ’24 offers solutions for getting rid of the fear of missing out.

Natalie L. ’25 examines the Biden Administration's failure to keep climate promises.

EDITORIAL TEAM

Serena S. ’23, Emma Z. ’23

Editor-in-Chief

Grace F. ’23

Managing Editor

Isabelle S. ’23

News Editor

Aaron H. ’24

Opinion Editor

Ellie K. ’24

Features Editor

Isabella X. ’24

Culture Editor

Natalie L. ’25

Entertainment Editor

LiAnn Yim

Faculty Advisor

STAFF

Gabe A. ’24

Samara B. ’24

Josie B. ’25

Gabriel H. ’24

Sami K. ’23

Kayla L. ’26

Char P. ’23

Anuj T. ’23

Alice T. ’24

Alvin Y. ’26

Owen Y. ’24

THE NUEVA CURRENT strives to provide informative and impactful articles for our community. Our issues cover stories related to our school, the Bay Area, California, and other relevant spheres. We are dedicated to helping readers understand the ways in which we can all make a difference in the world around us.

The opinions expressed in The Nueva Current belong solely to the writers and are not a reflection or representation of the opinions of the school or administrators.

500 print copies are distributed for free to students and faculty members in all three of Nueva’s divisions.

The Nueva Current is a member of the NSPA and CSPA.

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, OR SUBMISSIONS?

We welcome your voices. We accept photographs, letters to the editors, articles, illustrations, and other pieces of work. Please email us at thenuevacurrent@ nuevaschool.org.

STAY

We need to stop taking our privilege for granted

STORY

Char

When "Après Ski" was announced as a spirit day, I was confused.

I've never gone skiing.

And after I googled "Après Ski" to find out what it meant—the time spent drinking with friends after a ski run—I still had no idea how I could participate in that spirit day.

In the end, I didn't participate; I felt alienated by the privileged culture that the day's name referenced.

This isn't the first time my socio-economic background has made me feel like an outsider at Nueva. In middle school, a classmate made insensitive comments about families like mine who rent our homes. Even now, I'm nervous to have my classmates over in case they judge me for where I live; my house is half the size of most of theirs and nowhere near as nice. I hate it when my peers and sometimes even teachers refer to February break as "Ski Week"—I spend most school breaks at home— and when my classmates share stories of their vacations, it’s rare that I can join in. While very little of this is intentionally classist, it still makes me feel like I don't belong.

Classism doesn't just manifest in interpersonal interactions. Our school lunch is miles above what I'd get if I packed my own food. It's organic and locally sourced, and there are salad and sandwich options. Yet complaints about it are common and plates are frequently left all over the school, which is unfair to the people who work hard to provide

us with food and the people who have to deal with our messes. While we cover classism and wealth disparities in English, history, and SOM, we rarely discuss how it applies to our lives here in the Bay Area. According to an article by the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco households in the 95th percentile make $574,000 a year, ten times as much as households in the 20th percentile. The cost of tuition at this school is incredibly high; even though Nueva has a need-blind admissions process, our campus (like many private schools) is still a very affluent place.

We need to learn how to not take our privilege for granted—instead of assuming that everyone has the same opportunities as you, be mindful of how wealth impacts your worldview. Educate yourself on classism. Choose spirit days that everyone can participate in. Clear your friends' plates when they forget, and thank Dilmer, Jose Luis, and Miguel (our Operations team) when you see them around campus. Consider volunteering with a nonprofit organization to give back; if you're looking for ideas, we were introduced to so many amazing places on CSL day.

Guest writer Milo K. ’24 believes we need to reassess how English electives are designed.

Editorial

This article covers student-led responses to sexist microaggressions within our community. We knew this would not be an easy topic to cover. As we researched this story and interviewed community members, we uncovered our own biases and blindspots.

In the course of our reporting, we were encouraged and inspired by the influx of student-led anti-sexism initiatives. Our angle shifted to highlight the positive change and progress that is being shaped by students and faculty.

Some view sexism to be an exhausting problem, considering it too ingrained within our society for a solution to exist anywhere. Others view it as non-existent, not realizing that it permeates in many ways and in all areas of academia. We hope to dispel both narratives in this feature. We believe that our community has the means, emotional maturity, and heart to stand up to and correct even the smallest acts of gendered condescension in the classroom.

Moreover, we hope that by reading about the perspectives of students who have experienced microaggressions, readers will gain fluency with the language of prejudice and recognize how their actions, while largely unintentional, may be affecting others.

We implore all students to deeply consider the intent behind their actions. Sexism is not just offhand remarks and overt prejudice against different genders. Rather, it can be felt through subtle eye rolls, the second guessing of answers, talking over others, and more. By opening your eyes and ears to all facets of this conversation, our community can continue to make strides in a positive direction.

STORY The Nueva Current Staff

Everyone keeps telling me I have to find something I love and excel at for college applications, but I'm just a freshman. I see my friends doing these niche things and I'm not. They're all going to summer programs or doing internships, but I'm spending the summer at home. What should I do? — Freaking out Freshman

Comparisons with what other people are doing are pretty inevitable. As much as Nueva has tried to create a community where we don’t have rankings and we don’t prioritize winning awards and such, we can’t help but see what our friends and peers are doing, and wonder if we’re falling behind or drifting off track.

Here’s what we suggest: First, it is 100% OK if you’re in a different place taking a different path from the people around you. Second, immerse yourself in the possibilities that are open to you. Make the most of the resources offered to all students, like the many, many clubs at Nueva—you could find something you want to get into, or maybe something you see or experience will inspire you to start your own thing. Consider what sports you might want to join next year.

It's essential to recognize that not everyone identifies their niche or passion during high school, and that is completely acceptable. Numerous individuals find their interests and aptitudes later in life, or even after college.

Call

for submissions. Your voice matters. Write for The

To better represent the community, The Nueva Current is seeking letters to the editors and guest opinion essays from all readers. Letters to the editors are for readers who would like to respond to a recently published editorial or Op-Ed. Please keep them between 150–175 words in length. Guest opinion pieces, or guest Op-Eds, are newsworthy or timely opinions in response to or provide commentary on current community or worldwide events.

Regarding summer plans, there are numerous ways to create a valuable and constructive experience without participating in a formal program or internship. You could immerse yourself in your local community by volunteering at an organization, secure a part-time job, or dedicate time to a personal project or hobby that intrigues you. Maybe something will even materialize into the Quest project you end up doing.

Overall, you have nothing to worry about. There’s a reason Nueva doesn’t give grades to freshmen: it’s a time for growth, not attempting to average a certain GPA or race to college applications.

Welcome back from spring break. We admit this issue, which was planned to be released before we went into break, took longer than expected. Two days before deadline, our editorial team decided that additional interviews, perspectives, and context were needed for our centerfold issue, “Speaking up, speaking out,” which was ultimately written, researched, reported, reviewed, and edited by many writers and editors.

Picking up on a groupmate’s slack...

Two students’ opinions on whether or not group work is conducive to Nueva's educational environment

Completing group projects alone

How poor implementation of collaborative work can promote a toxic school culture

STORY Aaron H.

We’ve all been there, enduring bad group members who leave only read receipts on text and idle cursors in the shared Google Doc. And we’ve also all been told the same thing, whether it be by a parent or peer or even the teacher themself: “you’re going to run into these people in the real world, so it’s good you’re dealing with it now.”

And while these parents, peers, and teachers aren’t wrong about encountering unhelpful coworkers in the future, the response has perpetuated a toxic ideal that, no matter what, students need to pick up the slack of others. Rather than addressing the real issue, student motivation, and then attempting to solve the problem by rethinking

Playing the long game

teammate might not be fully present.

In ninth grade, I suffered from severe depression, withdrawing from all things school which included my group projects. As time went on and my group mates got increasingly frustrated with me, my social guilt just kept building up. And even when I barely touched the documents, the projects were submitted and good rubrics were given.

It was a situation that no one grew from. As a struggling student, it allowed me to hide. For my partners, it only gave them an unfair amount of work and stress. So no, “dealing with it now” in preparation for “the real world” is not a good response from anyone.

Consider this question: what life skills are you learning by picking up on others’ work? I equate it to telling someone to “grow a thicker skin” or to “rise to the challenge.” By highlighting it as a solution students are given little to no help, neither concrete feedback nor emotional support. For group projects to be sustainable and teach students how to collaborate, changes must be made.

The tragedy of unbalanced group work is a tale as old as time. It’s nothing less than a fact that students—at Nueva and elsewhere— often find themselves cleaning up after their group members, or unwillingly taking over group work completely. In my four years at Nueva, like many of my peers, I've found myself in these less-thandesirable situations time and time again. Friday nights have taken on two possible meanings: time to be out with friends, or time to find myself filling in slides of a presentation or sections of a paper labeled by a name that isn’t my own.

between each of these steps. As an institution that champions fostering social and emotional acuity, we should approach an undesirable situation as an opportunity to practice social emotional means of conflict resolution rather than a problem to eliminate. As a school, we can teach students how to manage difficult peers on their own. Not only can we teach how to reach out to teachers when needed—a form of self advocacy that Nueva already encourages in its students— but also how to understand when they’re overexerting themselves, to respect their own (limits), and how to (productively confront) peers.

how group projects are assessed and organized, we are simply told to “suck it up” in the most professional way possible.

As a student who used to be the bad group member and relied solely on the scholarly commitment of my groupmates to pull me through, I understand the complex amalgamation of reasons a

But before that, it would be remiss of me to not highlight teachers or classes that have begun to solve this problem. In my Intro to Physics class this semester, I was lucky enough to work alongside a great lab partner. And although we submitted our first lab report as a group, we will be assessed individually on our understanding of the physics through a subsequent individual assignment. I’d be more than happy to be graded on our communal work—I then wouldn’t have to do the individual assignment—doing one extra assignment to allow students who faced issues out of their control the opportunity to be properly graded is fine by me.

The class’s solution isn’t perfect, the student would still have to do a lab report by themself if their partner didn’t do their share, but it is a step in the right direction.

And yet, no matter how much unfair group work can frustrate us, anger is wasted when directed at the system of group assignments itself. The issue isn’t how we assign group work. It isn’t that teachers might not have the most equitable way to organize teams or divide work or assess final products; life offers few such accommodations. If we change any of these steps to avert difficult situations, we manufacture an artificial environment in which students cannot develop the social abilities to guide us through conflict that—though we might hate to admit it—looms right on the horizon.

The real issue with unbalanced group work lies in the way we deal with the challenges that fall in

Nueva’s hands-off approach to group projects allows students to not only understand academic pursuits, but also the dynamics of group work. We learn how to navigate academic and social challenges as a unit—how and when to step up and step back, how to teach and how to collaborate. This is the beauty of our current model of group work— it allows students to learn from each other's strengths and develop their weaknesses. Reimagining group work at Nueva in any way to add unnecessary structure would discourage this student initiative. Nueva’s approach to group work isn’t perfect, but it is realistic— and in a world that isn’t nearly as supportive as environments like our school make it out to be, realistic is what we need.

CORRECTIONS: The Nueva Current welcomes comments and suggestions. We seek to publish corrections and clarifications in the subsequent issue. Please email any corrections to thenuevacurrent@nuevaschool.org.

Corrections: Issue 4, published Feb. 16, 2023: On page 2, the “Photo of the issue” was taken by Isabella X. ’24, not LiAnn Yim. On the same page, in “Upper school celebrates Lunar New Year and Lantern Festival,” the lunchtime Lunar New Year celebration was organized by the upper school Chinese teachers, not the East Asian affinity group. In the same article, Wyatt T. ’25 did not manage the Vietnamese Stand; Grace C. ’25 and Grace's mother did. On Page 3, in “How reliable is memory?” the accompanying photo was taken by Rachel Freeman not NeuroPsych Club. On pages 12 and 13 in the article “In dialogue with AI,” the phrasing of the lead was misleading. Amber Carpenter does not teach English 11 and when she fed ChatGPT an essay prompt, she was with the English department and not alone. On page 23 in the article “Meet Brett McCabe,” the accompanying photo

was taken by Karin Storm Wood, not The Nueva School.

STORY Emma Z.

We need to teach how to navigate challenging situations rather than avoid them altogether

ILLUSTRATIONS Vecteezy & Freepik

“As a student who used to be the bad group member and relied solely on the scholarly commitment of my groupmates to pull me through, I understand the complex amalgamation of reasons a teammate might not be fully present.”

Forget a “climate president”

The Willow Project unveils Biden’s abrupt desertion of America’s environmental and Indigenous protection

Five massively intrusive oil drilling sites, hundreds of millions of barrels of soonextracted crude oil, and a plan to wreck Alaskan ecology were given a green light by the Biden administration last month.

On March 13, the Biden administration approved the Willow Project to extract a projected 629 million barrels of oil and emit 263 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the drilling sites’ 30 year expected life, more greenhouse gas emissions than any other existing project on public American land.

The project, which attempts to lower record-high national oil prices, allows Alaskan crude oil producer ConocoPhillips to construct five oil drilling sites in Alaska’s North Slope, a 94 thousand square mile area in the National Petroleum Reserve.

And, while it is terrifying to me that ConocoPhillips is anticipating to begin construction and drilling as soon as they can, I am further disgusted by the Biden administration.

Three years ago, I joined news publications such as The Guardian and The New York Times in hailing Biden as America’s very first “climate president.” Three years ago, he pledged on his official website that he’d “ban new oil and gas” developments on public lands and condemned Trump for opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

I had high hopes for our country’s climate improvement when President Biden signed an instrument of acceptance to bring the United States back into the Paris Agreement on his first day in office. I was excited to see a president that

truly seemed to care about our planet just as much as capitalistic profit.

But actions speak louder than words. It’s angering to see how blatantly his current actions, when contrasted to his past promises, show overwhelming hypocrisy and doublecrossing.

In extracting hundreds of millions of barrels of oil, the project’s negative effects devastate the environment and people across America.

Regionally, the drilling sites will add substantive noise pollution and permanently damage the Western Arctic. The project will disrupt animal migration and habitats, such as the already endangered polar bears and the migration of Caribous reindeers, according to leaders of Nuiqsut, an indigenous tribe located 36 miles from the Willow Project’s designated drilling site.

Additionally, the excess carbon emissions will threaten the air quality and health of Alaska’s communities according to environmental law nonprofit Earthjustice by adding an equivalent of an additional 2 million gas-powered cars on the road

The Cure for FOMO

according to CNN.

All too often do I read and hear anecdotal stories about tight-knit villages getting unturned by hungry oil corporations— unfortunately, the Willow Project is no exception to this plaguing narrative. Alaska’s 228 federally recognized tribes (or 180 thousand indigenous residents), especially the tribes located on the North Slope, including the Iñupiat and Nuiqsut groups, will soon be forced into being the underdogs for ConocoPhillips’ corporate profit.

ConocoPhillips and the Biden Administration has no consideration to prevent pollution of the lands and waters that these tribes depend on, and are instead imprudently offering tribes money as compensation for destroying their homeland.

“[The money from ConocoPhillips] are payoffs for the loss of our health and culture,” the Nuiqsut leaders wrote during a meeting with the mayor of Utqiaġvik. “No dollar can replace what we risk…It is a matter of our survival.”

While Biden has signed climate pledges during his presidency, such as the Global Methane Pledge and Inflation Reduction Act, they don’t excuse the regressive effects the Willow Project will have on Alaska ecology. Biden’s shown Americans that climate protection fades when overly inconvenient.

Now that’s disappointing.

Climate and ecology protection is not a second-tier issue. It’s time our presidents’ agendas reflected that.

Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is the only way to banish the fear of missing out once and for all

I struggle constantly with social FOMO, and I always have. Maybe it’s a symptom of being a younger sibling, that I can’t help but feel like often I don’t get invited to things because I’m not old enough, cool enough, or fun and interesting enough. I know this is typical of plenty of people my age, but sometimes the acute sadness that comes with being alone while other people are hanging out is debilitating, and can prevent me from enjoying other activities—making it a lose-lose situation.

FOMO, the fear of missing out, specifically on social experiences, is often exacerbated by social media. Social media acts as a direct window into our friends, acquaintances, and strangers' lives, and it’s easy to feel acutely isolated and bored.

It wasn’t until this school year that I decided to give up on feeling left out and wallowing at home, and just go— go out and do things Only by forcing myself into social situations have I found freedom in enjoying more mundane activities (cooking, reading, hanging out with my family, watching movies at home) instead of feeling the need to take the opportunity to be social every moment I can.

Finding out what and who you like requires experimentation and making mistakes, or having to live with decisions you wouldn’t make again. But that’s why you do new things, to figure out what you don’t want to do again.

The enemy of fun is doing things you think you want to do or enjoy but actually aren’t interested in in reality, outside of your imagination and potential romanticization.

We need a wider variety of English electives

STORY Milo K. GUEST WRITER

English is the most overlooked discipline at Nueva by far, and senior seminars are not the solution. Rather than one core English class every senior takes, they are instead placed into one of eight senior seminars instead. These classes, created based on the individual teacher’s interest, serve as a way for students to culminate their learning, for teachers to teach about subjects they are passionate about, and for non-seniors to challenge themselves with a more difficult class. These classes provide an opportunity to dive deeply into niche topics, such as Victorian literature or memoirs.

As someone who has taken one, they are fantastic classes where the passion of the teacher, sophistication of discussion, and uniqueness of the curriculum all shine through. The assigned texts, essay prompts, and environment are all challenging but not impossible for both seniors and the juniors that are enrolled. They serve their intended purpose as a culmination really well.

However, the seminars are not immune to criticism. For seniors, not being allowed to decide which seminar they are interested in diminishes the value of these unique curricula, causing them to feel like another core English class rather than the unique and specialized culmination they are intended to be.

While juniors can experience a similar problem, taking a senior seminar in junior year introduces separate challenges.

incredible, they shouldn't be the only option

Because these seminars are supposed to be a full English curriculum, students participate in two separate, full English classes with high expectations for both reading and writing. I personally struggled with burnout due to the quantity of reading in both classes together, and had to ask for extensions due to essay deadlines being too closely aligned with each other.

Unfortunately, the quantity of senior seminars is not matched by the quantity of general English electives. According to Kevin Dineen, the director of scheduling at the upper school, a junior has four potential English electives available to them, and underclassmen have only three, due to not being able to take a senior seminar. Compared to the 10 history electives, 20 computer science and ILab electives, and 15 science electives offered in a year, the quantity of English and literature electives are lacking.

This however, is not because of a lack of interest. Creative writing has three separate blocks due to demand, cinema studies has around 15 students each semester, and journalism is consistently an elective with around 20 students, where freshman and sophomores are often unable to get in due to this demand. Last semester there were no freshmen and three sophomores within the class, despite interest. There is a desire for English electives, and more specific ones such as playwriting or contemporary literature could attract even more audiences to the English program, but unfortunately

due to the lack of free blocks for teachers, further opportunities to create English electives are severely limited.

With the current amount of English staff at the school and the requirement for four full years of an English core curriculum, creating additional electives for interested students becomes more of a challenge. However, senior seminars increase the difficulty of this. Senior seminars require eight separate teachers to plan a full curriculum both semesters, and to devote a block of time to teaching it. This amount of time is approximately equivalent to teaching an elective, meaning that without the requirement of senior seminars, electives would be much easier to create.

On the scheduling side, eight blocks of senior seminars are necessary. Because of the unique challenges senior scheduling has — six electives are difficult to implement in one schedule — having the consistency of eight senior seminars is necessary. This is why seniors no longer pick the seminars that interest them. But because seniors can not pick what seminar they are placed in, the variety is less necessary, and would be better served in an elective environment. If some of the time dedicated to planning senior seminars were instead dedicated to creating more elective opportunities, the senior seminar program would not be severely affected, and the English program as a whole would become more accessible and robust.

I remember hearing someone say once that if you want to be invited to places or to be a part of a conversation, you basically have to forcefully insert yourself without being asked. I don’t know if I’d advocate for that exactly, but maybe something along those lines: you have to push yourself and be there if you want to be. Find an in into a conversation with a new group of people or make it clear you’d like to hang out more and then initiate plans. You never know until you try.

Sometimes it ends up being really awkward or uncomfortable, and part of the process of learning about yourself is either acclimating in those moments, or, accepting the discomfort, trying your best, and then letting yourself move on.

Comparison, especially of social lives (I think, enviously, all the time "how can that person have the time to be on top of their academics, extracurriculars, and have time to hang out with their friends?") can be detrimental. We go to a school that requires a lot of our energy and time, so it seems impossible to me that some people can use their weekends and afternoons to do fun things with their friends. At the end of the day though, just saying or acknowledging that such a mentality is useless doesn’t actually change anything (although of course it is useless), unless you’ve tried whatever you think you’re jealous of.

It’s okay to know that comparison and the feeling of being left out are ruling your life, but you don’t have to let it stay that way.

While senior seminars are

STORY Natalie L.

PHOTO Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Spies, stakeouts, and a spoonful of good luck

2023 Blammo champion Grant B. ’24 shares his secrets to success

STORY Owen Y-L. ART Freepik

Clad in three layers of pants, his dad’s coat, sunglasses, and a black mask, Grant B. ’24 appeared ready to brave a winter storm. But, this disguise was just one paart of an elaborate plan to win the fourth-annual schoolwide game of Blammo.

That day, he had woken up at 6 a.m., took the train from Burlingame to San Francisco, and ultimately ambushed his unsuspecting target at a coffee shop.

“My silhouette looked nothing like me. I was this six-foot-two massive man, like an ominous presence,” Grant said, recalling that his target was “really startled” when he appeared.

In the game, which commenced on Jan. 11, each upper school student who signed up was assigned a target; their goal was to tag (or “Blammo”) the target while the target was not carrying their spoon. By the time the game ended on Mar. 22, only 12 of the initial 185 players remained.

After months of gunning for first place, Grant was finally crowned the 2023 Blammo champion at an all-school spirit assembly with a whopping nine Blammos. His prize? A giant golden spoon and 30,000 spirit points for the juniors.

A lot of behind-the-scenes planning went into Grant’s victory. He recruited his friends as scouts to monitor targets’ whereabouts, and even went as far as to maintain a spreadsheet with his targets’

class schedules so he could find the perfect ambush opportunity.

These efforts paid off; once, Grant tagged five people in a single lunch period, more than most other players attained in the entire months-long game.

As his lead widened, Grant’s fixation on winning also grew.

“Blammo was my life,” he said, adding that the only time he didn’t hold his spoon was in the shower. “My parents thought I was absolutely insane. They were like, ‘Grant, you need to stop.’”

However, with success also came mounting pressure. Grant recalled that “no one wanted me to win” and he even considered giving up at one point.

“The overwhelming competition from the other three grades was so discouraging. I felt like no one was supporting me in my Blammo endeavors,” Grant said. However, after a pep talk from his parents, he decided to persevere.

Over the three months, Grant overall enjoyed the game and the connections he made through it.

“It brought me closer to people in my grade and also forced me to get to know more people in other grades that I never would have met otherwise,” he said.

Grant says he likely won’t participate next year and wants to give others a chance at victory, “but if I do, my strategies are going to have to be a lot crazier than this year,” he hinted.

Crossword: Nueva edition

BY Marcus H.

Blammo 101: Grant’s Tips

Stock up: In Blammo, to be caught spoonless is to meet a doomed fate. To avoid this, Grant says he kept a few spoons in each pocket at all times, dangled some off of his backpack, and even attached one to a metal band around his wrist.

Get creative: To maintain his lead, Grant needed to devise unique and, at times unusual, strategies. Once, he considered pretending to be a pizza delivery employee to catch his target off guard.

ACROSS

2. Squid relatives

7. Tishby of "The Island"

10. Once around the track

13. 2000 pounds

Teamwork makes the dream work: Grant attributes much of his success to his network of scouts and allies—including his parents, whom he described as “super into the game.”

DOWN

1. Happy

3. Something you might do when you're not 1-Down

4. Gambling inits.

14. Sound booster, for short

15. Impressive display

17. Deli meat named for an Italian city

19. Talked to on Instagram

21. 10th grade trip

22. It's a long story

25. Director Anderson

26. Energy

28. Veal or chicken dish, for short

30. Math teacher at Nueva

32. Departing faculty member

35. The eighteenth syllable of Japanese Hiragana and Katakana

36. Zero

37. Some species of 2-Across can produce this

39. Riot Games game, abbr.

41. Over your head

43. Nueva event that has samosas, abbr.

46. Case for a dermatologist

49. Inverse trig function

51. Antisemitic rapper

52. "Silly me!"

53. Secretly include on an e-mail

54. T-shirt sizes, for short

55. Blow away

56. Dines at home

5. Pal of Piglet

6. Relative by marraige

7. Port of Japan

8. Luxury hotel chain

9. "...to fetch __ of water"

11. What two theatergoers may share

12. Opposite of post

16. Commericals

18. Olympian Jesse

20. Once more

23. Fitting

24. Knight's protection

27. Artistic imitation

29. Insignificant

31. Thesaurus listing

33. Winter wear

31. Thesaurus listing

34. "The Matrix" hero

38. Carne ___ 40 "Survivor"

group

42. Air safety org.

44. Cornfield bird

45. Ancient Andean

47. Brain and spinal

cord: Abbr.

48. Slippery swimmers

50. Outer: Prefic

51. Colorful carp

Collectors of Nueva

Five fun, whimsical, and incomparably unique collections

STORY

From clowns to hot sauce, the Nueva community is home to five collectors of peculiar items. Whether they acquire items for a sense of sentimentality, style, or satisfaction in their lives, every collection brings joy to the holders’ lives.

Davis D. ’25: Shot glasses

Most memorialize their travels with printed photographs, Starbucks “Been There” country mugs, or bumper car stickers. For Davis D. ’25, it’s shot glasses.

When Davis bought his first shot glass at 10 years old while on a trip to Hawaii, he simply got it for its “cool” design—a clear cup with a glowing rainbow on the inside.

Then, he got his second shot glass from the Winchester Mystery House, and another from Iceland with an animal horn base.

“Then when I was 11, I figured out what [shot glasses] actually were, and I just kept collecting

Today, Davis has an impressive 90 shot glasses—buying one whenever he Davis displays his collection on a staircase shelf in his room, periodically adjusting its lineup order. Right now, the shot glasses are color coded into a rainbow

“One day, I’ll have like 500 shot glasses,” Davis said, “I want to build a floor-to-ceiling shelf to hold them all.”

Ryley M. '25: CDs

Ryley M. '25 and their father couldn't have more divergent music tastes, the former a fan of rock and grunge music and the latter a jazz enthusiast. Yet, the father-child duo’s interests overlap in their love for physical media, and they have collected over 100 CDs and vinyls ranging from 90s grunge band Stone Temple Pilots to contemporary artist Laufey.

Ryley believes that keeping physical versions of music feels more “personal,” and that listening to CDs they bought in the past resembles opening their “very own time capsule.”

They recount recently finding a “My Chemical Romance” CD that they’d bought in middle school that had been long forgotten in a drawer.

“It was really nostalgic and I just had to listen to it, for giggles,” Ryley said, “It brought me a lot of joy.”

Terry D. '25: Snow globes

When Terry D. ’25 unexpectedly received a Collector’s Edition of the Wizard of Oz snow globe from a friend, zee was “was over the moon” to add it to zir collection.

“All of my friends associate snow globes with me,” said Terry. “I light up every time I see a snow globe or an artistic depiction of a snow globe.”

Terry buys snow globes while traveling, thrifting, and online-shopping, or receives them as gifts from friends. Currently, zee has a total of 185 snow globes organized on a multitiered level shelf that displays globes such as a gourmet castle cupcake, a sand globe from Arizona, and a globe that depicts the four seasons.

“I enjoy sitting on my bed and being able to look up and appreciate [the snow globes],” Terry said.

Paul Gallagher: Hot sauces

Mateo C. ’24: Clowns

Whenever he’s having a hard day, Mateo C. ’24 turns on his favorite clown calliope music box and lets its sing-song-y circus chime bring a smile to his face.

The clown calliope, which he recounted begging his parents to buy for him at the 2021 Alameda Antique Fair, is only one of his 90 clown items—ranging from dolls, posters, books, and photographs of clowns—that Mateo has displayed around his bedroom.

“Clowns make me happy,” said Mateo, who began his clown collection three years ago. “I don’t get why people are scared of clowns. Because I think that they bring joy to children all over the world.”

Eventually, Mateo hopes to designate a room of his house as a “clown room” with a striped and polka dotted theme to store his ever-growing clown collection.

Comic: the college counselors’ candy bowl

If you walk past College Counselor Paul Gallagher’s office, you can see a peculiar line of hot sauces that boasts flavors from Dave’s Gourmet Creamy Garlic Red Pepper to Palo Alto Fire Fighrers Pepper Sauce on the window sill.

Gallagher’s collection of hot sauces began seven years ago with Nueva cafe lunches and a bottle of Tabasco habanero hot sauce.

“I thought that a lot of the food in the cafe could be kicked up a notch,” said Gallagher, who unfailingly brought his Tabasco hot sauce to lunch everyday.

And, while the cafe now provides hot sauce for Gallagher to season his lunches with, this one bottle of Tabasco grew to him now owning over seventy bottles of hot sauce all of which were gifted.

“My favorite part of the collection is that there’s a person associated with these bottles,” Gallagher says, pointing to each bottle and listing its corresponding gifter.

BY Simone G.

Alice T. PHOTOS Mateo C., Alice T., Pngall, Terry D., Davis D.

SCHOOLWIDE PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT

Nueva's

Squash-ing balls across the world Student takes gap year to learn Squash from pros

STORY Sami K. PHOTO Rachel Y.

Only focused on the current point, a racquet slams against the black rubber ball. The crowd cheers “Yalla (“Hurry up” in Arabic)!” The ball ricochets from the front wall back to the same corner of the glass enclosed court, and dies. “Handout, 7-8,” says the referee.

Up next, Rachel Y. ‘26 steps up to serve in the right box of the squash court. Breathe in, step, and serve.

Rachel, who is ranked 11th for girls under 17 (GU17) in the nation, has been playing squash, a racquet sport played with a rubber ball, since she was eight years old. In 2022, Rachel took a gap year between middle and high school to travel to Cairo, Egypt to pursue topnotch squash training. Within the squash community, Egypt is recognized as a mecca for producing top ranking men and women pros.

For Rachel, the training was significantly

more intense than her previous experience in the Bay Area.

In addition to cutthroat games and the high level competitive atmosphere, players were required to run two to three hundred cross-court sprints every other day in under 15 minutes.

“Even though many of the kids were a head shorter than me, I would get a run for my money every match,” Rachel said. “Each game was crucial to climbing the ladder of the ranking within our cohort.”

Despite the whirlwind of drills and training, Rachel realized why she continues to play squash.

“I have more passion now from discovering how the smallest changes make a great difference,” Rachel said.

The game is often dubbed as “physical chess” by the squash community, as it

requires stamina and creative tactics during fast-paced rallies.

“I really enjoy the mental challenge of the sport because there is a good amount of strategy involved, so I can win even if my opponent is physically stronger,” Rachel said. “One has to be mindful of their grip, swing, stance, movement, and other seemingly small things, but they are oddly tricky.”

Currently, Rachel is back in the Bay Area and trains six days a week at Bay Club Redwood Shores with Charlie Johnson’s Academy. Many of the top juniors in the Bay Area train here, and practice continues to be “grueling, yet fun.”

In order to continue to rise the ranks, Rachel attends the Junior Championship Tour Tournaments (JCT), where the top 32 GU17 compete six times annually. At these competitions, Rachel’s performance in each game could determine whether or not she’d be eliminated from the draw.

At the March JCT, Rachel had one more game to salvage the match that would decide whether she would move on in the draw.

“[At these competitions,] I would try not to focus on if I was going to win or lose because it would probably distract me,” Rachel said. “Even though each point seems small, a disadvantage like that could significantly hurt [my performance].”

Rachel went on to narrowly win the game 17-15 with a short shot that died on the seam between the side wall and floorboards, and won three out of five games to two games to her.

Rachel plans to play squash in college and hopes to one day achieve a legacy of similar valor as her favorite pro: Raneem El Welilly, who was formerly ranked women’s #1 in the world.

“Over time, there’s more structure in how I play: my patience is growing in how I deal out my different shots and I plan to continue practice with a tenacious grip on improvement,” Rachel said.

Bracket challenge fosters competition and spirit in community

Nueva hosts first ever NCAA March Madness tournament bracket challenge open to all

College basketball, spirit points, and a soon-to-be dunk tank intersected at this year’s school-wide March Madness bracket challenge.

On March 14, Anuj T. ’23 challenged the community to submit bracket predictions for the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments on a school-wide ESPN group. The single-elimination men’s and women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I tournaments, which began on March 16, consisted of 68 teams that competed in seven rounds for a national championship title.

In the end, University of Connecticut (No. four seed) trumped San Diego State University (No. five seed) 76-59 while in the women’s championship, while Louisiana State University (No. three seed) claimed a 102-85 victory against Iowa State (No. two seed).

Sixty five student and faculty participants entered the men’s bracket challenge while 16 entered the women’s.

“The idea came to fruition because I wanted a way to get people more excited about sports while bringing the community together,” Anuj said.

With a stroke of luck, even those with little previous sports knowledge could come out at the top, while any misstep by the most seasoned sports lovers caused their bracket’s accuracy percentage to plummet. And, while the odds of creating the perfect bracket were

one in 9.2 quintillion, the challenge aimed to increase school spirit and enthusiasm for college basketball.

“I thought that having that competitive environment at Nueva fostered a lot of camaraderie between students and helped bridge grades together,” Aadit B. ’26 said, who placed twenty-eighth in the men’s bracket. “I put a lot of effort into my bracket, and even though it sucked to not win, it was a great way to bring energy into the month.”

Conversely to Aadit’s strategically calculated predictions, senior Nico B.’s bracket predictions were solely based on ESPN's basic team rundowns; yet, he ultimately tied for first in the women’s bracket.

“I played it safe when picking my teams,” Nico said. “I submitted a bracket because I wanted to beat my friends.”

All participants automatically earned 25 spirit points each for their grade, and competed to win 5000, 2500, and 1000 spirit points for first, second, and third place, respectively.

This year’s top three winners for the men’s bracket challenge were Connor H. ’26 (first place), Logan X. ’25 (second place), and Anuj (third place). In the women’s bracket, Anuj tied with Nico for first place and Director of Alumni Relations Diana Chamorro took third.

For the bottom three brackets, students Alexa T. ’23, Aura M. ’24, Alaric L. ’25, Giulia

K. ’23, Mira H. ’25, and Nathan L. ’23 all spun a wheel of punishments during an allschool spirit assembly on April 5. Some of the punishments included getting dunked in a dunk tank, dressing up as Flo from Progressive, or having faculty members put 20 temporary glow-in-the-dark tattoos on you.

“I think this was a huge success,” Anuj said. “I hope that even after I graduate, this will continue to be an annual tradition to cement my legacy.”

Student-organized upper school ping pong tournament capitalizes on sport's growing popularity.

March Madness top moments

Four favorite moments from this year's NCAA tournaments

STORY Serena S. PHOTOS USA Today, NCAA, The New York Times

LSU Tigers win their first basketball title in school history.

With their record offensive performance, Louisiana State University (LSU) claimed victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85. The victory cemented LSU head coach Kim Mulkey as the first women’s coach to win national title of two different schools.

Huskies win their fifth national championship in program history

University of Connecticut (Uconn) cuts net for fifth time after a 76-59 victory over San Diego State University Aztecs (having also won the title in 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014). The Huskies won all six of their tournament games by double digits.

Caitlin Clark’s 41-point performance leads Iowa Hawkeyes to a victory against undefeated South Carolina

Iowa’s point-guard drained 41 points and eight assists, defeating the Gamecocks 77-73 and lifting Iowa to its first national championship game in program history.

San Diego State’s Lamont Butler nails buzzer-beating game-winner vs. FAU in Final Four game

Butler buzzer-beating jumper sent the Aztecs to its first national championship game with a 72-71 win over Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in the Final Four.

STORY Serena S.

PHOTO Nicole K.

first-ever pickleball tournament, hosted by Beta Club, merges competition with community.

Time limits on pitchers lead to faster play and more engaging games.

STRETCH! Rachel lunges for a short shot while maintaining a good distance to the middle of the court.

WINNER TAKES ALL Connor H. '26, Nico B. '23, Logan X. '25, Diana Chamorro, and Anuj T. '23 (left to right) pose as the bracket challenge winners.

Boys volleyball displays dominance in early games

Second in-league season starts with an undefeated streak

STORY Alvin Y.

A five-game streak win streak has set the tone for the young, mighty, and talented boy's varsity volleyball team in the second in-league season since the team was formed in 2020. And although that streak was snapped in the game against on Mar. 20, the boys are still 10-8 as of Apr. 6.

As communication and team chemistry play a massive role in the sport, the team attributes much of its success stems from teamwork.

“Since most of us in the starting lineup are juniors and a few freshmen, we get along really well,” co-captain Max M. ’24 said. “Not only are we all quite strong players, we all understand how each other plays.”

Victories against established schools such as Bay, University Preparatory Academy, and Eastside College

Preparatory display Nueva’s dominance

and the team was especially proud of their win against Bay.

“The highlight of the season was probably our game against Bay,” Coach David Shields ’20 said. “It was probably the best team I’ve seen the boys play.”

Although the game was a blowout victory from Nueva, the team still faced from resistance from Bay.

In the second set, the team went down 12-6 early, prompting a timeout. Energized with a determination to play better volleyball, the players broke from the huddle ready to win.

“Our captains led that timeout and had some stuff to say to the team,” Shields remarked. “Immediately, we went out of the huddle and went on a 9-3 run, and tied it up very quickly.”

Even with such a dominant season, the team still looks for areas to improve on to win their goal of becoming the champions. “We’ve still been working towards team chemistry,” Max noted. “While we have been working to fix

the dropped balls, and communication, there’s still room for that as well.” With high expectations to win the league in their second in-league season, Nueva has shown they can meet the goal after defeating formidable schools. Shields believes the team can reach its goal.

“Personally, our expectation is to win the league,” Shields commented. “We have a lot of really good players who play a lot of volleyball outside the team.”

Nueva has proven it is one of the

Boys tennis team’s season is punctuated by sparks of success

Winning isn’t the only thing that matters to the team

STORY Kayla L.

PHOTO Diane Mazzoni

On a sunny afternoon, the duo’s unique styles worked together, leading them to a triumphant victory against Hillsdale High School. While boys tennis team member Oliver C. ’25 played defensively and hit strategically long shots, his doubles partner and team captain Aaron H. ’24 played offensively, taking any opportunities to volley the ball and score points. Oliver described the match as a “game of momentum”—and, one that contributed to the team’s first overall win.

However, individual maches were won early in the season. Many team members point to new team member and singlesone player Vian Y. ’26’s match against Menlo School.

Vian said, “Going against a strong team like Menlo, we basically expected to

lose. So there wasn’t really any pressure on us winning.”

Yet, Vian gave his best effort, and after an hours-long match with points that went on for multiple minutes, he finally won with a winner-volley.

Beyond winning, the team has focused on and done much more. Team members have had daily chats on the bus to practice, crafted a boisterous chant to intimidate opposing teams, and embraced “trauma sessions” about topics from major assignments to college decisions.

This year, the team has also focused on transitioning into a younger team, with three new freshmen and two new team captains: Alex W. ’24 and Aaron H. ’24. Team members have describe the energy of team as “young,” “spirited,” and “fresh.”

Deniz said, “I am so excited to play more tennis this season!”

stronger teams in the league with their dominant streak. Although they may have the ability to win in any setting, home or away, Shields and the players still hope for even more attendance from the school.

“I’m excited about the season,” Shields said. “I hope more people show up to the games!”

The team plans to play their next home game against East Palo Alto Academy after Spring Break on Apr. 25.

Making a splash—swim team gears up for a successful season Swim team’s impressive times and attendance set stage for promising future

STORY Alice T.

PHOTO Morgan Snyder

Previously, due to the pandemic, the swim team lacked a substantial amount of swimmers. As a result, they were unable to qualify for competitions like the West Bay Athletic League (WBAL) due to a lack of swimmers, and hence, a lack of points scored—in competitions, points are awarded based on event for the fastest times, with points decreasing for subsequent times.

This year, however, the upper school team is making waves with their new coach, upper school faculty Morgan Snyder, and an escalated attendance rate of 20 motivated swimmers.

“I love seeing the swimmers in the water want to improve,” Snyder said. "They're so hungry to improve and so eager to get feedback, so I think it’s a really easy team to work with for that reason.”

The team’s first meet took place on March 11, where the strength of the

swimmers was tested. Many swimmers raced for the first time, while others made their personal best time. Junior Varsity swimmer Josie B. ’25 topped the school’s record in the 50-yard butterfly.

“It was so great that everyone could get a baseline time for the season and work to build up from there,” said Captain Cherise W. ’23.

To paint a picture for the first meet, as swimmers are racing, “there's always a group of Nueva swimmers huddled around the lane, yelling at [the swimmers] ‘Go!’ and cheering,” Cherise said. “And when you're the person swimming there, even if you can't hear that well, you can feel your teammates support. And seeing them there—before and after your race—and knowing they were there to watch you is a great feeling.”

Varsity swimmer Nick Q. ’24 said, “Everyone's been training on their own, and now we're all coming together as a team to do something great.”

The team has already broken six school records as of early April.

PHOTO Diane Mazzoni

HUDDLE UP The team listens intently to Coach Shields during a timeout

SMASH HIT Oliver C. '25 serves the ball during a match.

READY, SET, SWIM Students on the swim team pose after their first meet of the spring semester.

GIVE ME FIVE Jackson L. ’25 recieves high-fives from teammates.

The MLB’s biggest rule change in years has made me watch more than one game a season

STORY Anuj T. PHOTO KSL Sports

Faster baseball is simply better baseball. Fan polling conducted by Major League Baseball shows that the majority of viewers agree—two hour and thirty minute game average is the preferred ideal. Last season the average game took three hours and three minutes, far too long.

The MLB’s implementation of the pitch clock this season, where pitchers have 15 or 20 seconds to throw the ball, depending on whether or not the bases are empty, has been a huge success. One of its immediate results has been drawing the largest spring training viewership in seven years.

In my eyes, this new rule has been incredible to watch because its impacts have been instant: it makes games easier and more fun to watch as the attention is always being pulled to the mound, eliminating the normalized

two-minute intervals where there was zero action and players would aimlessly stand around. The only current downside is that it takes time for the players to adjust to it and it results in pitch clock violations. But by Opening Day on March 30, 2023, pitchers and hitters had all of spring training to acclimate to the new way of play and adjust their game.

While the transition to a faster game disrupts the way the game has been played since the founding of the MLB in 1876, it was necessary to keep up with the other major league sports. Usually I would not even consider going to a Giants game until late June at which point all other sports are in the offseason. However, the effects of the pitch clock are thrilling and, in my eyes, brings excitement back to baseball as it adopts a rule that is already present in the NBA and NFL, creating a new age of baseball.

Beta Club hosts pickleball tournament

As pickleball continues to gain popularity, the upper school recently held its first tournament, which was organized by the Beta Club. The tournament began with 30 teams consisting of both students and faculty, who are currently competing for a $200 prize to donate to the charity of their choice.

“We try to plan events that bond the community,” said Olivia C., ’24, president of Beta Club. “We’re hoping to give back to the community [by] boosting morale and having people coming together.”

The bracket-style tournament began in February and will span over the next few months. Teams will schedule a match via email and then compete on either the court in the East Courtyard or on temporary courts drawn in the parking lot.

One rising team—made up of Ryan D. ’23 and math teacher Ihmar Aldana— moved through the first two rounds of the tournament with landslide wins, winning by 11-0 and 11-4. While hesitant to guarantee a win, Ryan is confident.

“I definitely think we have the skill and ability to put up a good fight and potentially be the champions,” he said.

Ultimately, Ryan and Aldana fell to

seniors Owen H. and Akshay S. The latter lost to freshmen Justin C.-B. and Ashwin R., who are now in the finals, awaiting the semifinal match between partners Emma Z. ’23 and Aaron H. ’24 against freshmen Vian Y. and Deniz S. While the tournament has a competitive edge, it’s also an opportunity for people to try something new and connect with others. Leah T. ’25 joined the tournament “just for the fun of it,” and to enjoy the experience of playing and bonding with others.

Participant Syon P. ’24 emphasized the positive impact the tournament has had on the community.

“The organizers did a great job bringing people together and fostering inclusivity,” Syon said.

Beta Club continues to plan for future events—including an egg hunt and a dogwashing event—to foster a cohesive and inclusive community.

As Beta Club’s Vice President Sam S. ’25 puts it, “This [tournament] is a great event, and I’m really glad we were able to put this together to bring the community together.”

Upper school ping pong tournament was a smash

New tournament showcases emerging culture of ping pong

It was a typical lunchtime for most, but for Kian S. '25 and Sam P. '24, it was the opportunity to duke it out for the win in round two of the ping pong tournament. Though the two students were competing against each other, the atmosphere was anything but heated. The pair engaged in lively conversation about their ping-pong ability, surrounded by supportive students observing the match.

The student-organized competition kicked off in late February, with games taking place throughout the semester. Thirty-two students signed up and each

were given an opponent. With every match, the bracket grew narrower. During the first round, 16 teams were registered and the games were scattered over the course of late February through early March.

Despite the competition, the games have been more unifying than divisive. For Kian, the game’s objective was “about connecting with each other.”

For Student Council Athletics Representative Daniel R. ’23, who coorganized the tournament with Ashwin R. ’26 and ninth-grade representative

Niam K., the tournament was a way to bring non-academic joy to the community.

“It’s great to see people [being] active and competitive in some area other than the classroom,” Daniel said.

Since the installation of three new ping pong tables at San Mateo this year, the sport has become embedded in the culture of the upper school.

For Sam, the game is an “escape from all the stresses of life.” Reflecting on the game, he added, “Life can get really stressful [at school]. In Ping Pong, you

always know what to do. There’s a strict set of rules, it’s easy.”

Beyond providing stress relief, the rise of on-campus ping pong has boosted school spirit.

Students have united around a shared love of ping pong, which has allowed for cross-grade bonding. “[Tournaments like these] are the type of place where [school spirit] really comes out,” said Anya P. ’23, former Student Council athletics representative.

Daniel hopes the tournament will continue in future years.

STORY Alice T. PHOTO Aaron H.

STORY Gabriel H. PHOTO Gabriel H.

ON THE COURT Seniors Ryker V. and Xe Y. team up for the pickleball tournament. They made it through the early rounds with ease, but ultimately lost in a 14-12 match against freshmen Vian Y. and Deniz S.

SHOT CLOCK The pitch clock winds down as Jay Groome readies to pitch to Seattle Mariner Eugenio Suarez

IN IT TO WIN IT Sam Pasternak ’24 and Kian Salimi ’25 face off during round two of the tournament.