The Nueva Current | December 2017

The Nueva Current

Vol. 1 Issue 1

THE NUEVA SCHOOL | 131 E. 28TH AVE. SAN MATEO, CA 94403 | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2017 | THENUEVACURRENT.ORG

ON CAMPUS

Art by Jo Quimson

Into the

WILDFIRE

BY WILLOW C.Y.

Brian Cropper in the interfaith space.

(Photo by Sinead Chang)

Old nook now a new interfaith space

BY ALIYA G.

The upper school campus is designed to facilitate social interaction. The hallways, the faculty pods, the classrooms— these are all set up in a way that encourages communication. One of the first things Brian C. noticed when he came to Nueva was that there ON were not many CAMPUS spaces for introverts or for reflection. As an introvert himself, the US history teacher understood the value of such spaces and was right away eager to provide one. Planning for the meditation space began in the second semester of last year. Implemented this August, the space is developing continuously.

At the top of the third floor staircase, the meditation space is an area for unwinding and quiet contemplation. There is a variety of religious texts to browse, and it is quite airy and vibrant; a large, colorful wall tapestry is one of the recent additions. Visitors are requested to remove and store their shoes before entering the rug-covered space and taking a seat on one of the meditation zafus.

I went to volunteer at an evacuation center. This is what it was like at the scene.

page 8

CONTINUED, PAGE 7

INSIDE Upstage Theatre staged "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" this fall.

News .......................................02 Culture ...................................04 Features .................................06 Opinion.....................................12 Sports ......................................14 Entertainment.......................16

The robotics team celebrate their first-place finish at CalGames 2017. (Photo by Laurel M.)

Robotics team takes home two prizes at CalGames With two competitions under the team’s belt so far this year, Bot-Provoking is learning with each test

BY ANNA C.

It was a brisk September day when 38 members of Bot-Provoking, Nueva’s robotics team, started the drive to Bellarmine College Preparatory, San Jose. Chezy Champs, “the best in the west,” was the first competition of the school year.

With a robot six months in the making by their side,

they walked into the arena, an expansive space filled with assorted robots and excited chattering. After multiple late nights on and off campus and a lot of coffee, their carefully crafted robot, named Alexandra, was ready to tackle the challenges ahead.

CONTINUED, PAGE 7

Page 2 • News

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017

Poster guidelines, an ongoing process Kindness

Club builds Wall of Optimism

BY ISABEL C. As the school year continues, many events pop up, leading to the need for informative posters and flyers around campus. Since it was a source of some debate last year over what the rules are and who gets to post what, there has been progress on creating policies that both clear up misconceptions and provide a simple and clear set of guidelines for putting up posters. The goals for these new policies not only aim to provide places around the school for certain flyers and other work so as to not have a first-come, first-served type of system, but also aim to keep the campus clean and the student body feeling comfortable at the school.

Previously, there weren’t really any rules governing posters. Students and teachers could put up anything they wanted to share around the school, and the expectation was for the posters to be taken down after the event took place. There was no restriction on where posters could be placed, so students stuck them up wherever they felt would get the most attention.

This sparked a problem: not only did posters not come down, but other forthcoming events found it difficult to find available space. Months after sports rallies had passed, bake sales had gained money, and holidays had been celebrated, the notices were still there. Students wanting to post about their own organizations couldn’t because there were posters advertising something that had already happened still covering the walls. Students like Alex N. (10) grew annoyed at the riot of posters papering the school.

“It’s completely unnecessary to have posters up when they’re not relevant,” said Alex. “They serve no purpose, so, at best, people don’t care about them, and, at worst, they are an eyesore that annoys everyone.”

Finally, a few students last spring took the initiative to collect all of the posters that had passed their expiration dates and put them all into one large poster to make a statement to the school body. A large sheet of paper delivered a “Take Your Posters Down” reminder to the people who had placed them and then forgot about them.

This year, a group of teachers and students, including Upper School Division Head Stephen Dunn, are working on creating clearer policies about what gets posted, where it gets posted, why it gets posted, and for how long.

“It is important to note that none of this is about censorship,” Dunn said. “It is about providing reasonable access to the shared resources of the campus and respecting and stewarding the facilities in a way that limits damage and maintains a clean and neat campus home.”

Yet some students, after hearing rumors about the perceived “stricter” rules for the posters, felt annoyed, feeling that they were being restricted. A common misconception spread that because posters now had to be checked by a council, certain posters advertising or supporting different events or opinions wouldn’t be allowed up because people would feel uncomfortable. But approval of posters isn’t the only issue: posters and artwork ended up competing for open space.

“Last year there were several incidents that involved posters or flyers hung throughout campus and specifically when they were hung in proximity to other flyers or installations,” Dunn explained. “The goal of the new policy is to create and designate spaces for a variety of uses that would increase availability and provide clarity. The past practice was a first-come, firstserved priority system that denied some groups or individual access to halls and walls. We are interested in providing

BY ANNA C.

The women’s bathroom on the second floor back in October was lavishly adorned with women-empowering posters, ranging from encouraging positive messages to flyers featuring historical female figures. These photos were taken down on Nov. 2 due to misunderstanding of and noncompliance with the new poster policy.

(Photos by The Nueva Current staff)

“It is important to note that none of this is about censorship.”

predictable and equitable access to posting.”

This mainly came as certain spaces that were magnets for posters became clogged with paper, leading students to search out the smaller places around campus where they wouldn’t be as visible. Upper school admin and student council are currently working on rules that designate certain spaces to certain topics to cover such as school projects.

Dunn wants there to be adequate space for everything in the school, from art pieces and installations to club announcements and displays of opinion.

“We know that students are passionate about some issues and we want to designate spaces that allow interests

or issues to be highlighted,” said Dunn.

“It would be clear that differences of opinion are welcome and encouraged in these spaces.”

These policies, aimed at creating a community where everyone feels comfortable and able to post what they want on the walls, are still being worked on. They still have some way to go, but the goal is to provide a concrete way to both post about campus events and ensure a safe and comfortable place for students and faculty.

The start of the school year has been accompanied by shocking tragedies and turmoil. October was a particularly difficult month, and the Nueva community, along with the rest of the country, was deeply shaken by the mass shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 1 followed by weeks of heavy smoke from the deadly fires raging across wine country.

The Kindness Club, led by Anna S. (12), arranged for a little encouragement. Although she and other club members were upset about the events, they decided to be proactive about staying positive with their Wall of Optimism.

In an email sent to the student body, Anna wrote, “We want to provide a wall that can help people process the recent events and remember the many positive things that are going on in the world.”

They asked for stories, songs, videos, images, religious ideas, quotes, articles, books, studies, and thoughts that would give members of our community faith in humanity. People were invited to submit entries and upload content via a Google Form survey.

“We originally received thirtyseven responses to the survey and are still collecting more,” Anna said.

The Wall of Optimism, located in the Café, is a collage of photos, notes, quotes, and advice. The messages range from reactions like “It is just so horrific and unbelievable.

There needs to be something done about both of these extremely different topics: global warming and gun control,” to “To all of the girls who pay to leave extra tampons in the dispenser, thank you for doing a little extra to take care of the girls in our community. I love you big time.”

Some notes express worries and concerns, and others put some positivity out there. Others share suggestions on how to help and spread this positivity to others. There are many inspirational quotes, shoutout notes, and suggested sites for donations to wildfire victims.

The wall was only approved for display through November, but the Kindness Club members hope to keep it up for a little longer to allow more participation and engagement. Even if the wall is taken down, the Kindness Club hopes they can still spread optimism and encouragement to the community.

“We hope the wall can help serve as a gateway to action in this dark time, but most importantly to harness the diversity of our community and the power of collective optimism,” Anna said.

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017

News • Page 3

Noted journalist visits Nueva Author Sonia Nazario delivers forceful presentation on plight of immigrants

BY ANAM T.

A

ttentive faces turned eagerly towards the stage at the Bay Meadows gym, as Sonia Nazario introduced herself and began her talk. After decades spent exploring immigration, one of this nation’s most pressing and controversial topics, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, activist and journalist, stood before the upper school community.

Nazario’s presentation focused on her bestselling book Enrique’s Journey, which follows a 15-year-old boy who set out on a daring and dangerous journey in hopes of being reunited with his mother, who illegally immigrated to the United States in order to work and send the income back home. Enrique walks away from his home, his girlfriend, his family and leaves Honduras to search for his mother who left him 11 years ago. Originally published in 2006, it was revised and updated in 2014.

To capture this story, Nazario traveled to Honduras, where she retraced Enrique’s footsteps, making the long journey back to the United States riding freight trains, dodging dangerous gangs, gangsters, and corrupt police. After spending four months on the harrowing journey, she arrived back in Los Angeles with a renewed sense of purpose and perspective. She was able to find greater meaning in the smallest of things. Upon arriving, she recalled having to spend a significant

“I am going to keep telling these children’s stories and being a voice for those who I think aren’t being heard in this world.”

Several upper school students remained after the presentation to talk with Sonia Nazario in person. (Photo by Sinead C.)

amount of time recovering both mentally and physically from her journey. She began to fight for the children who attempt that perilous journey, speaking at conferences, schools, and other events to raise awareness and start con-

Sonia Nazario receives a standing ovation at the end of her talk before the upper school student body, as well as the seventh and eighth graders. (Photo by Sinead C.)

versations about how to solve this global issue.

“I am going to keep telling these children’s stories and being a voice for those who I think aren’t being heard in this world,” Nazario said.

After hearing Nazario speak, many students walked away feeling more motivated and empowered to make a difference.

“Everything she said reminded me to appreciate how fortunate I am,” Valerie B. (9), said.

“It makes me realize how much work we have to do as a school, as a community and as a country.

These kids are not able to fight for themselves, and that makes it our job as people to make sure they are listened to.”

Nazario has worked with government organizations to provide family counseling, homicide investigation, violence prevention and police training for towns like Enrique’s. Some of the countries in Central America, like Honduras, are home to violence and homicide rates so high, just living in these gang controlled areas could be more dangerous than facing the brutality involved in emigrating north.

Jan Patton, the upper school Research Librarian who invited Nazario to campus, said, “I was really interested in what she sees as a solution to these problems. And I like the idea that we have to go at it from the stem of the problem, which is specifically these underdeveloped countries in Latin America.”

Although Nazario’s talk was inspiring, a handful of students and staff left the auditorium feeling conflicted. The speaker presented before a mix of seventh- through twelfthgrade students, and some felt not all students

were ready to be exposed to the brutal reality Nazario shared in her presentation.

Nazario grew up with immigrant parents, and was well acquainted with the thorny and complex issue of immigration. Although she was born in Wisconsin, both her parents had fled their home countries as young adults.

After spending part of her childhood in Argentina during the “Dirty War,” Nazario had been exposed to a variety of crime and injustice from an early age. As a young journalist, “I became known for throwing myself right in the middle of the action on the front lines, so I could take my readers there and and they could see, smell, feel the big social issues I wrote about up close,” Nazario said.

Enrique’s Journey provides an honest, open, and relatable account of what it is like to be a child immigrant. Over the past summer, all incoming Nueva freshmen along with hundreds of other students read Enrique’s Journey. In reading this story, students were informed and invited into the international debate that is immigration.

“This is a story of perseverance and resilience,” Valerie said. “It’s the kind of story that makes you stop and appreciate everything you have… I really liked this book. I feel like I walked away feeling more aware of how relevant immigration is right now.”

Enrique successfully made it to the United States despite the numerous obstacles he encountered firsthand, atrocities that continue to occur throughout Central America today.

Both Enrique and Nazario remember watching as children and adults were beaten, raped, mugged, and killed. They watched people die of starvation, sickness, and injury. Applause erupted as Sonia Nazario thanked her audience and left the stage.

Leo R. (12), Neeraj S. (12), debate coach Les Phillips, Adam K. (12), debate coach Mark Mabie, and Paco P. (12) took home champion plaques after closing out the tournament. (Photo courtesy of Neeraj S)

Debate team finds national success at UC Berkeley’s NPDI tournament

BY SCOTT B.

The Nueva debate team successfully closed out their season at the National Parliamentary Debate Invitational (NPDI) at UC Berkeley. The tournament included roughly 100 other teams and ran over the course of Nov. 11-12. Three pairs of Nueva debaters made it through to elimination rounds: Leo R. (12) and Neeraj S. (12), Adam K. (12) and Paco P. (12), and Ben C. (11) and Ben S. (11).

After each team made it through double octafinals, Ben C. and Ben S. dropped in octafinals. Each of the other teams continued on, with both eventually winning their semifinal rounds. That put Leo and Neeraj as well as Adam and Paco in the final round, closing out the tournament for

Nueva—a win for both teams.

“Debate is very much a game,” said Neeraj, who has been debating since sophomore year. “Our win this weekend came as a result of being able to capitalize on the other team’s strategic errors.” He said that he felt the win had made people “really consider the strength of the Nueva parliamentary debate team.” He said that while Nueva’s Public Forum debate team is already well-known, this win put the parliamentary debate team on the map.

Leo, who has also been debating for three years, said that one of the most important parts of his debate career was a string of losses that he and Neeraj experienced early on “that set [them] up to have

the motivation and skill set to perform in later years.”

Citing the different styles of argument used by each pair of Nueva students, he said, “I think something interesting that was really on showcase at NPDI is that there is really no right way to do debate and you can be successful at pretty much any style that you think is fun or interesting.”

With the success at the NPDI, the debate’s fall season is over. The winter season will start with a tournament in January at James Logan High School. Until then, the team intends to choose which arguments are more important to make and work on making those arguments more effectively.

Page 4 • Culture

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017 Louis B. (11) and another Bay Area high school student in the recent 90-minute production of Shakespeare’s works. (Photo

by Michael B.)

“Our production team and the actors that keep coming back have come together to form a unique community.”

Upstage Theater tackles Shakespeare in 90 minutes Bay Area teens continue professional productions of teen-oriented shows

BY ELIZABETH B.

While Silicon Valley is known for its intense focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the performing arts are far from neglected. Upstage Theater was founded in 2015 by current senior Jessa M. as a Quest project with the help of fellow senior Julianna G., their intentions being to create an inclusive theater group for Bay Area teens. Since then, the theater company has put on multiple shows a year, ranging from Heathers the Musical to their most recent production, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged).

About her entrance into Upstage, Julianna said, “I was looking for places to assist in direction, or work really in any facet of direction of a show, and found that there were legitimately no opportunities for someone inexperienced like me to become involved. I hoped to do it through my school, form a student group to make shows but wasn’t able to get the right systems in place there.”

“Upstage is incredibly professional. I spent my summer working for a professional theater company, and I noticed that Upstage was definitely

more organized,” said Sinead C. (12), a costume designer who works for Upstage. “The only challenge I have is balancing my schoolwork with my costume work.”

Though Upstage was only founded relatively recently, Sinead said, “I directed a production when I was in middle school and fell in love with theater. So naturally, I was really interested in working on any production. I used to want to be a fashion designer, so doing costumes was a combination of both of my interests.”

Sinead said that “Upstage Theater’s mission is to create safe spaces to examine what it means to be a teenager

through material written by or about teens that they would typically be unable to participate in in a school or community theater.”

The company recently wrapped up its production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, a 90-minute parody of all thirty-seven of Shakespeare’s pieces that ran Oct. 20-22 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. It was directed by Julianna and Eli V. (12), with an entirely teenage cast from all across the Bay Area.

Their next production will be Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, directed by Nico P (11). The show will run in March 2018. Upstage will also have a second production in the spring of 2018: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, running May 1113 and directed by Julianna.

Nueva student Louis B. (11) and four other students from around the Bay Area in the recent Shakespeare production. (Photo

by Michael B.)

US Theatre stages One Acts for fall production

BY ANNA C.

On Nov. 3-5, this year’s fall play production produced two character-driven one-act productions, Albert’s Bridge and A Separate Peace, both written by playwright Tom Stoppard.

Every year the fall play takes place and brings the drama community together. In a mere two months, it puts out a well-executed play; in the case of this year, it produced a spectacular two. This year, the production was directed by actor and director Warren David Keith, with special help from alum Camille Klein (Class of 2017).

David has worked with students on the fall production for the past three years, in addition to teaching an acting class elective.

“David is really supportive—he balances giving you creative freedom over your character with a sort of contextual information that he has in his overarching vision from the show as a whole,” said Cameron C. (11), who played the part of Fitch in the play.

With a cast of around ten students, Cameron described it as “a

dynamic group with people from all grades.”

The first one-act, Albert’s Bridge, is about the growing isolation of a young man who is working on a bridge. The scene starts with four workers on a bridge talking amongst themselves. They chatter about assorted topics, while Albert, portrayed by acting veteran Louis B. (11), comments to himself while seemingly enjoying the job. With a degree in psychology, a job as a bridge painter seems out of character.

He ends up getting the job to paint the bridge over an eight-year span by himself. He loves the serene atmosphere as well as his new improved perspective. His pregnant wife is repeatedly worried and angered by his aloofness, to the point of her leaving him after a few years. As he is dealing with this abandonment, he is also continually bothered by a suicidal man who repeatedly interrupts his sense of isolation. Eventually, the bridge collapses.

“I thought it was amazing how they managed to take such a small

Justin S-L-B. (12) and Eton S. (11) in the one-act “A Separate Peace” at the Hillsborough campus for the US Fall Production. (Photo by Michael B.)

play and draw in the audience to the characters in the storyline, and you were fully enveloped in the experience,” said Maya C. (9), who attended the Saturday evening show.

The second piece, A Separate Peace, is a character study of a man named John Brown, played by Justin S-L-B. (12), who decides to stay in a hospital as if it was a hotel—even

though there is nothing medically wrong with him. He is content in the sense of having everything he needs, with a suitcase of money funding his indefinite stay. He is a mystery to the staff and ends up befriending a nurse named Maggie, played by Julia R. (12). The play examines society’s conventions and preconceptions.

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017

Features • Page 5

break WAYS tosocial norms When asked “How are you?” be honest instead of tossing out the automatic “fine.”

In the classroom, sit in someone else’s chair, or switch spots every class.

When passing someone in the hallway, make eye contact, and maybe even smile! Don’t just look down or pretend you didn’t see them. Acknowledge the other person’s presence, even if you don’t know them.

Jake Fauver teaches the 11th grade SOM class. (Photo by Sinead C.)

Students practice breaking social norms Science of Mind assignment stretches the comfort levels of juniors

BY NIVI G.

Science of Mind. Social-Emotional Learning. Across three divisions, all Nueva students are familiar with or have heard this term. And by now, most students know to expect and receive thought-provoking assignments from these classes, just as the entire eleventh grade did this past month.

Three weeks into classes, the

Fauver holds a discussion about body image issues with the juniors in a recent SOM class.

(Photo by Sinead Chang)

juniors were given an assignment in their Science of Mind class: do something that breaks social norms. Jake Fauver, the eleventh-grade SOM teacher,

created this task because he wanted students to go out and actually experience breaking social norms instead of just talking about them in class.

“This assignment comes out of a larger unit on social learning and trying to take a pause to understand how we move through the world,” Fauver said. “I hoped the students would walk away with a better understanding of why social norms exist, and understand the power they hold.”

A social norm is defined as the conventional conduct that an individual is supposed to conform to in a specific group, community, or culture. These norms usually create and guide expectations for the kinds of interactions that will occur in a particular setting. Some examples are shaking hands when meeting someone new, holding the door for others, or returning a smile. Social norms also change depending on the environment or situation, and can alter over time.

The juniors had a variety of diverse responses to this task. Osher L., who lives along the bay in Foster City, kayaked from his home to within a mile from the Bay Meadows campus, where he walked the remaining distance, carrying his kayak and his skateboard.

Meanwhile, Kayla W. went to get her hair cut recently and decided to seize that as an opportunity to break a social norm.

Senior performs in dance company showcase

BY ALIYA G.

“The hair stylist usually likes to talk a lot to me about politics, travels, my life, but this time I didn’t respond to any of his questions or responded in one-word answers, breaking the social norm of responding when people engage you in conversation, and just being a nice person,” Kayla said.

The situation made her feel extremely uncomfortable because Kayla loves interacting with people whom she doesn’t normally interact with, because she learns so much from other people’s lives, like hobbies and stories that she doesn’t typically get exposure to.

“My goal in purposely breaking a social norm was to feel a bit uncomfortable through this experience. I believed that this ‘uncomfortableness’ would help me understand how much we as humans conform to societal norms and the power they have over us when interacting with others,” said Kayla, who admitted that breaking a social norm was much harder than she expected it would be.

Other students took more subtle approaches, experimenting with their attire, like wearing pirate costumes in public, or pushing their boundaries by sitting beside and talking to strangers on the train.

“Their reactions to it were pretty consistently ‘wow that felt uncomfortable’ or ‘I internalized it a lot,’ but other people didn’t seem

On Nov. 3-4, senior Isha R. performed in the debut showcase of dance company DVDance. Preparation for the performance, which was held at the De Anza Visual and Performing Arts Center in Cupertino, began in July.

“I’ve been dancing since I was three—I started at a community center because I was hyperactive and my parents needed somewhere to stick me while they were working,” Isha said.

to react outwardly, which shows we internalize so much,” Fauver said.

Aware of the discomfort that can surround breaking social norms, in asking his students to complete the assignment, Fauver completed the assignment alongside the juniors.

“I went into a restaurant by myself, sat down, didn’t have any company, and tried not to rely on technology; instead, I just people-watched the entire time I sat eating my meal,” he said.

There are many different reasons for which people break social norms. Fauver believes that because they are not laws, it is a safe way to be disobedient or push back against authority. But in other cases, in serving true justice, he believes people “tackle social norms that are unjust, and that’s what makes for really independent thinking.”

Fauver believes that this assignment “serves an active purpose of fulfilling the school’s motto: Learn by doing.” He also thinks that this task forces students to try something out in person, and that makes the content a little bit more real. This is the second year that Fauver has challenged the eleventh grade with this assignment; he plans to continue using it to encourage future eleventh graders to push their boundaries.

Her involvement with DVDance was initiated through Dominic Duong, a teacher at her studio who is head of the company.

Although Isha has known Duong since she was very young, he was just as tough on her at the audition as all the other dancers.

Once Isha began working with professional dancers, she was quite surprised by how open and kind they all were. She loved working with them; not only were they incredibly talented, they also

gave her a great deal of advice.

Much of it was in regard to dance, but the dancers also talked to her about college, trying to get jobs as a dancer, and dealing with the rejection that inevitably arises.

For Isha, dance is a “form of self-expression, escape, freedom, and storytelling.” She is currently part of a specialized performing group and a competitive team at her studio.

Page 6 • Features

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017

Life after Nueva

Three alumni speak about being midway through their first semester as college freshmen

A

s the fall semester sped into the holidays, the first high school graduating class of alumni, though gone from campus, was still felt at Nueva. The Class of 2017 had spread out from Bay Meadows to various colleges across the country, with a few students pursuing their passions through a gap year. Three alumni members took a moment to reflect on their fall semester as college freshmen and share their experience so far.

“It has been thrilling, joyful, and overwhelming all at the same time.

As a person who prefers to take things slowly, I’ve had to adjust to the fast-paced and pricey Manhattanite lifestyle,” said Loreen Ruiz, now a freshman at Fordham University, where she lives and attends classes at Fordham’s Lincoln campus in New York City.

“People don’t share the warm friendliness that is characteristic of Californians. They are much more eager to get on their way,” Ruiz observed. “I miss the personal relationships and closeness we had with our teachers.”

For Ruiz, college was very different—both more stressful and more independent than high school. She wishes that reassessments could be incorporated into her college curriculum, as Nueva utilized them to help students understand content after the first tests and she thinks that they help with a deeper understanding of what the students are being taught.

When asked for her reflective wisdom for the current seniors, who were in the midst of the application process, she advised, “Don’t get caught up in what other people are doing or writing about or talking about. Your application process is about you, not others around you.

The application process is a time to be selfish. If you don’t want to talk about how your essays are going, or need some time to rest, or want to be by yourself, that’s okay. I know firsthand how disappointing it can be if you don’t get the results you want. Always remember that a rejection is a rejection of your application, not of you. It’s ludicrous to think that your entire personality can be expressed with a word limit.

We’ll never totally know why we were rejected, and it’s so tempting to speculate, but that will do absolutely nothing for you. Look forward, never backward.”

Ruiz shared that she was pleasantly surprised by her college, as it was “far from her first choice.”

But she has grown to love her new world—the people, the classes, and the place itself.

Jessie Karan, who attends Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, described her college experience so far as “challenging, liberating, mind-blowing, perpetually exciting, and new.”

“What’s most surprising is probably how terrible I am at being an adult. I was pretty dang independent in high school, but boy was I unprepared in some ways,” Karan admitted. “College is not simply about feeding yourself and cleaning your space, it’s about adjusting to a new community culture, communicating with a roommate,

BY ELIZABETH B.

“Very few things in this world can compare to my time at Nueva in terms of feeling so at home.”

Clockwise from top: Jessie Karan, Varun Mehta, and Loreen Ruiz. (Photos by Sinead C.)

blocking out your time when you’re surrounded by really cool people you want to talk with incessantly, and remembering to sleep somewhere in there. I’m also pleasantly surprised that I’m actually best friends with my roommate!”

Still, she misses some things intensely. “Very few things in this world can compare to my time at Nueva in terms of feeling so at home,” Karan said bluntly. “I don’t have funny conversations with my professors outside of class, I certainly don’t get to ask for extensions, and most of my classes are lecture-style. If I were to sit on the floor, or on the table, during class, I would probably not just be accepted for my quirks.”

Although her professors are “awesome,” Karan said that living with her peers is possibly her favorite aspect of college life. “Living where you study makes for a much more immersive experience and obviously a tight-knit community,” Karan said.

“However, I wish all colleges could take a page from Nueva’s book in a lot of ways, because I think Nueva has done something entirely unique with education that you’re not going to find elsewhere. If I could take just one thing, it would be relationships with teachers.”

She discussed the college application process as well. “Let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment: the college application process is one of the most grueling, unfair parts of being a human in this world. It’s fundamentally unfair in how it is structured, it favors those that perform well on standardized tests or have the expendable money to spend on tutoring, and may I just say that you cannot distill a human being into one 650word essay. You just can’t. But now for a healthy dose of optimism: you’re going to get in somewhere. Don’t apply anywhere that you wouldn’t be happy going to. There are some incredible schools in this country— and world!— that don’t have below a twenty percent acceptance rate. And at each of these schools, even the tiny ones, there exists a niche with people who will get you. You won’t find them immediately—I know I’m still looking—but they’re there!”

Karan shared that keeping prolists for each school was very helpful during the process in getting her excited. She would list items like an unusual tradition, or a super cool class, or just the fact that the school didn’t have a PE requirement.

Varun Mehta, freshman at the Rhode Island School of Design, said, “The amount of work in college surprised me most. I was expecting to work hard when I arrived here, but it is kind of crazy right now. I usually have 10-12 free hours a week.

That said, I am enjoying the level of work, as it has forced me to engage with every single assignment quickly.

My time management has definitely improved, too. College is ridiculously busy, but equally fulfilling. The freshman workload at my school is intense by design, but I feel like I’m learning every day.”

On the college application process, he advised, “The more regimented your months are, the more efficiently you’ll work. And Nueva doesn’t really pump the brakes ever, so if you’re not on top of your dates and deadlines, it’s going to be a tough few months.”

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017

Features • Page 7 Cubby shelves close off the space to make it more private and offer a variety of religious texts to peruse. (Photos by Sinead C.)

Old nook now a new interfaith space The third floor alcove is a place for meditation and practicing faith

The main goal is to “let the space evolve with student needs and be a visual representation of Nueva values and commitments, particularly to wellness, curiosity, community, and safe space creation.”

BY ALIYA G. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Soothing scents and aromatherapy candles are located near the window and contribute to its peaceful aura. The main goal is to “let the space evolve with student needs and be a visual representation of Nueva values and commitments, particularly to wellness, curiosity, community, and safe space creation,” Brian says.

Brian has taught history for the past three years, as well as electives on death and dying, fundamentalisms, and interpreting religions. In some of his classes, students practice rituals. For example, in his Fundamentalisms class, Brian assigned students to participate in a tradition that has a history, yet do it in a way that makes sense to them.

Brian’s philosophy is that “we can

talk about belief all we want, we can talk about what the Bible says you should do, but that is just one of the many ways to get at how religion works.” The “lived way” is what he finds most interesting, where people find their own personal reason to engage in spiritual practice. Brian’s main concern with the space is that people may mistake it as a place for only the “super religious.” In reality, students and faculty can engage with it in any way they like.

Kayla W. (11) often reads poetry and uses the space as an area of thinking and reflection. She is Jewish, yet frequently finds herself immersed in the sacred texts of other religions while there. Religion is a prominent interest of hers; it is only her busy schedule that prevents her from taking a class on it.

This is where the space comes in as a place to explore those interests. Kayla said, “There are so many resources there I have found meaning in that I would otherwise not have exposure to.”

So far, Brian has received feedback on the different texts as well as other materials in the space. Works by Anthony de Mello and Olivia Jeffers are popular, and many have expressed interest in the provided coloring mandalas, meditation guides and prayer cards.

The nook’s proximity to the stairs makes it easy to just pop in. Of course, there is also a downside; some students feel the space should be more isolated.

Sanam Y. (11), loves how the space doesn’t have one specific use. “In the rush of junior year,” she said, “I’ve felt that I always need to be doing something but when I go to the space, I know

that is not what it’s meant for.”

Brian hopes that students will take ownership of the space and want to celebrate their cultural or religious traditions. One of his ambitions is that it will begin to feel “like it can be a home for them, as well as a springboard for programs elsewhere in the school.”

In addition to serving as a place for students to take a step back, the meditation space is also part of a small interfaith program being built. The program includes the Interfaith Club, whose goal is to “understand challenges that might arise and respond to them through an interfaith lens.” In addition, the program has different experimental trips, such as traveling to Los Angeles to observe religious diversity for an 11th grade American Studies trip.

Robotics team takes home two prizes at CalGames With two competitions under the team’s belt so far this year, Bot-Provoking is learning with each new test

BY ANNA C. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

(Bot-Provoking has two traditions when it comes to naming their robots: robots are named after figures in European monarchies—last year’s robot was Napoleon because it was short—and the “gender” of the competition bot is flipped each year.)

That afternoon, between two closely spaced matches, a mounting bracket broke in Alexandra. Everyone scrambled to determine how and if it could be fixed, with the whole team researching and pondering what they could do to quickly repair the damage. The bracket facilitated the robot’s ability to pick up gears and place them on a peg 1½ ft off the ground—it was a crucial component for completing the competition and thus overall scoring.

They ultimately tried to jury-rig a replacement, modifying a piece of plastic from another part of the robot into the necessary shape. Ultimately, Bot-Provoking got through that match and into the semifinal round.

One month later, on October 14-15, they were back in San Jose. This time, at the CalGames hosted by Evergreen High School, Bot-Provoking took home two prizes: they scored an 11-1 winloss in the qualifier rounds and led their alliance to a first-place finish as the alliance captain, and received the Autonomous Challenge award for their consistent gear-placement program.

This year, there are 82 students registered on the robotics team (and roughly 40% of the team is female),

Steven K. (10), Shiley E. (11), Nikhil P. (10), the drive team for Bot-Provoking, transports Alexandra to the competition stadium for queuing into their next match, an elimination round to the playoffs at CalGames. (Photo by Laurel M.)

which is captained by Andrew Z. (12) and Maya L. (11). At the start of the year when meetings began, the upperclassmen decided to let some of the new team members take on larger tasks. This team, made up of a range of students from each grade, comes together every Friday to build, refine, and fix Alexandra so it can excel in all the requirements given each year for competition. Areas of responsibility on the team include electronics, design, programming, fabrication, and money managing.

Steven K. (10), in his second year on the team, said, “We’re a tight-knit group, where everyone knows and feels comfortable around one another.” He explained that even though the group has ups and downs—heated debates about their priorities, frustration when nothing is working—the motivation and support that each member brings makes the team work smoothly.

In preparation for competition, the team has to work with the provided criteria and challenges, as well as finding a way to make their robot more capable and stand out from the others. Tasks

include picking gears off the ground or shooting balls into a goal. After six weeks of building the competition bot, the robot is “sealed in a bag” and the team can’t make any further changes to it. Although Alexandra is the only robot to compete in games, the team makes multiple other robots for various purposes, like testing and training new members.

“I had a lot of fun in both tournaments! We didn’t get too far into the playoffs in Chezy Champs, but it was still a valuable experience for the team as we played very well and ended up

losing to the global champion,” said Justin Z. (10). “In CalGames, we were the alliance captain and went all the way to win the tournament. It is the first tournament that we have ever won, and everyone was really excited to see the phenomenal performance of the robot.”

This year’s challenge also had a steampunk theme, like repairing a broken airship. These challenges, along with competition for points, are dissected and analyzed every year by robotics teams.

“I think robotics is a way of solving problems in creative ways using technology,” Steven said. “It exposes you to a lot of new ideas and ways of thinking about things in ways you wouldn’t have thought about them before.”

Co-captain Maya L. (11) talks to the referee during alliance selection for the playoffs. (Photo by Laurel M..)

Page 8 • Features

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017

Scenes from the volunteer shelter

Smoke from a nearby vineyard in Napa Valley, 4:30 pm

A Napa Valley College gymnasium crammed with approximately 100 people, 8:30 pm

A warped metal “Emergency Shelter” sign at the Napa Valley College, crates of supplies and a network provider’s truck in the background

Into the

WILDFIRE

BY WILLOW C. Y. Art by Jo Q.

Wildfire facts and figures

245,000 acres burned

43 100,000 43

temporary shelters

20 DAYS

deaths

evacuees

$ OVER

3 billion

IN INSURED LOSSES

Sources: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, SF Gate

The Nueva School • Volume 1, Issue 1

Features • Page 9

“You can’t see the mountains,” my mother said, “but we’re getting closer.”

The pinkish-grey haze had tainted the colors of Napa: the strawyellow grass, the far-off flat rectangles of white and tan roofs, the deserted, swooping metal rails of Six Flags. We were making our way north. It was 4:30 in the afternoon, and the hot pink moon, fogged over with grey smog, glared down over the faded 7-Elevens, Hiltons, and our dusty Rav-4.

W

hen we pulled into the parking lot of the concrete and metal Napa Valley College, people in bright yellow vests directed us towards the flimsy fold-up tables near the gym, the bumpy gravel shaking and rattling the supplies we had loaded into the trunk.

As we neared the gymnasium, more figures appeared out of the shadows, heaving supplies into the structure. In that moment, our own supplies felt insufficient and meager, not nearly enough to combat all of this. Not even a fraction of enough.

It was Wednesday, Oct. 11, three days after the start of the seven wildfires that ravaged the Northern California wine country, destroying, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, 8,900 structures. Combined with the fires in Butte County and Anaheim, the number of destroyed buildings rose to 8,920. In all, 245,000 acres were burned across Northern California. The California Department of Insurance said on Oct. 31 that the insured losses from the combined seven wildfires exceeded $3 billion.

Forty-three people were confirmed dead. According to Cal Fire, this was the deadliest fire in recent state history.

We walked to the gym, the smoke snaking and curling into our masks, our noses, our mouths. As we neared the gym, light spilled through the glass doors.

As we stepped over the threshold of the building, we were covered with an oily whoosh of air. An undercurrent of Chinese fusion, Mexican, and a layer of buttery, stale croissants hit our faces, coating us with a slick layer of grease that left us feeling grimy. The loud, discordant sounds of Chinese, Spanish, and English clambered over each other as each phrase was spoken louder than the last, straining to be heard over a hundred others.

A siren wailed desperately in the distance. Huge ceiling lights illuminated with a sharp yellow glow a typical basketball court-sized gymnasium—now crammed with 100-some cots squished in haphazard rows from sideline to sideline, the basketball hoops looming over people sitting, eating, sleeping underneath the nets. The bleachers were withdrawn; boxes and cartons of food, drinks, and utensils stacked up against them, tables littered with crumbs and wrappers set up like a wall in between the meal area and the sea of makeshift beds. A sign obliviously screamed “VOLLEYBALL” in bold, green letters, leftovers from another loud, people-filled gym from another time. In the corner closest to the entrance, black metal fold-up chairs and their occupants faced a 60-inch television, intense gazes searching the scenes of destruction and the names of wineries, estates, neighborhoods displayed in shockingly vibrant colors across the screen.

These were but 300 of the 100,000 evacuated people looking for places to live. Hotels and the like were quickly filled up, and the overflow had no place to go, except to the evacuation centers, hastily set up everywhere along the highways near the fire borders. According to the San Francisco Curbed, there were 43 evacuation centers set up across 10 counties as of Oct. 16, the majority of which were in Sonoma, with 25 temporary shelters. These places were staffed with overworked volunteers, the occasional federal or state employee, and local residents

pitching in to help, all laden with donated supplies.

This shelter in particular was two miles from the fire, a box of stone and metal facing the just-visible burning ember on the ridge of the hill nearby.

We signed in on a flimsy plastic table and were directed towards a hallway dimly lit with white fluorescent. After signing several forms, streaked with spotty black ink, we were told to stand in a circle while the head volunteer, a woman in her mid-twenties with tired eyes, made us repeat after her: “I, Willow Yang, promise...”

“Congratulations,” she said after we were done. “You’re now protected under Worker’s Comp!”

For my volunteer assignment, I was sent to the other building.

Stepping into the dark, I immediately pulled my mask over my face; the smell of smoke was thick and burning. It was a short walk, but my throat felt seared with every breath.

This new gym was a bit smaller, the ceilings lower, but the mood was the same. There wasn’t much to do—mostly people wanted to do things for themselves, and were reluctant to “burden” the volunteers who wanted to help.

By 8:36 pm, the gym was quieter, even with 150 people breathing down each other’s necks. Police still stood in the lobby, some of them breaking their stoic stances to smile and play with the many squealing children. Volunteers and emergency personnel brought themselves and others from station to desk and back: “I told them to get me the forms a while ago... What I don’t understand is why they aren’t here yet!”

Volunteers and evacuees traded stories, sitting on the edges of their cots, the Red Cross stark against the white polyester sheets.

One family of four lived a mile from the fire and was evacuated at 8 am. They had two children, the older son aged one year, the younger just six months.

Another woman I talked to, with her 13-year-old daughter translating from Spanish to English for me, said that she lived in Calistoga, possibly less than 10 miles away from the fire. She was evacuated that morning at 4 am. Of she fire, she said emphatically, with a small, breathy laugh, “Naranja. Altas.”

Orange. Tall. Of what the woman felt when she saw it, her daughter translated, “When you see it really close, you get in a panic.”

An hour later, everything had quieted down. The police officers were gone, but the joyful sounds of children remained. A man laughed and tickled his son in a corner. A woman talked on her phone in the middle of the room, eyes and cheeks red with relief, or grief, it was hard to tell. The lights turned off in the gym. All was dark but for a single lamp in the corner, dust motes glittering in the air and the woman’s cell phone—the glowing screen pressed against her ear. She licked her lips, swallowed, nodded. “Adios,” she whispers. “Mantente a salvo.”

Stay safe. The blue light flickered off with a rolling, solid click.

The Nueva Page 10 • Features

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017

Q&A with the creator of Schedulizer: Nachi G.

BY ALIYA G.

Forget Snapchat and Instagram.

One of the trendiest apps on campus?

Schedulizer, which strives to make sense of the ever-changing weekly schedule at the Upper School. Built

by Nachi G. (12), the app delivers up-to-date class times, meetings, and even what’s on the lunch menu.

Q

A

Q

A

What was your goal in building this app?

The main goal was to notify users, initially just me, about upcoming classes. The primary goal is still the same, but some of my friends and I have worked on adding additional features such as the lunch menu, Canvas integration, and responding to misspellings of the word “tomorrow”—as long as you have the letters “t”,”m”, “r”, and “w” in a row, the Schedulizer app will answer with tomorrow’s schedule.

How many people are using Schedulizer?

As of today, there are 193 students who use it. There isn't much other data on Schedulizer apart from the number of users.

Q

A

How does the app work?

The primary function of the app (notifying people) is twofold. First, I need to know the schedule for school days in terms of blocks (ex. Block 2 from 8:30 to 9:40, then Block 4 from 9:45 to 10:55, etc.).

I do this by going through every column in every sheet of the master schedule Google spreadsheet. The program then looks at rows in a particular column and checks for cells that contain something that resembles a time (ex: 2:20-3:30) and appends it to the schedule for said day with the times noted in the spreadsheet. This is why breaks don’t show up in Schedulizer; they don’t have a time on the schedule. If the text of cell contains “Block” followed by a number, the program makes a note of the block number at that specific time.

At this point the messy, hard-to-deal-with Google spreadsheet is turned into a clean format for the app to use.

The next part of the app is the personalized notifications. To do this, when people submit their Nueva ICS, I look for names of classes (ex: CHEM

Nachi G. (12), built and maintains the app Schedulizer.

Q

A

310 Drug Design Section 1 Period 5). Note the “Period 5” at the end of this example; that shows during which block I have Drug Design. I can then build up a personalized database of sorts that links block numbers (5) to the actual class that somebody has (Drug Design) along with the location of the class (which is in the ICS). From this, it’s fairly simple to notify people about their classes.

Q

What sparked the idea for Schedulizer?

Q

Are there other features you want to roll out in future updates?

A

What has the reception for the app been like?

Most of the feedback I’ve received has been positive, which I’m grateful for. I’m pretty shocked by how many people are using it; it’s been challenging for me to manage something that so many people use.

A

I think it was partly my frustration with the schedule, but mainly it was me looking for ways to procrastinate on homework. It only really took off when Emily Steirman announced it on the Telegram channel she manages called Schedulation—also the inspiration for the name. Shortly after, I remember seeing dozens of ICS files being sent in the logs and wondering if my hastily coded program could keep up.

Yes, but college applications exist.

Two installations celebrate LGBTQ+ Month

BY NIVI G.

Students visit and discuss the installation on the stairs. (Photo by Mitzi Mock)

Eye-catching art installations and posters are a regular feature on campus. For a few weeks in October, students passed the large rainbow flag that adorned the stairwell, as well as a series of posters on the second floor sharing personal and heartfelt stories and anecdotes from the students and teachers who are part of the LGBTQ community at Nueva. These were both parts of a broader installation to celebrate LGBTQ Month and the LGBTQIA+ community at Nueva.

Alegria Barclay, who teaches an Activism class and serves as the Equity & Social Justice Coordinator, created and curated the installation.

“I was thinking about LGBTQ History Month, which is mostly about making visible the stories of people who have not been visible in history because of their orientation,” Barclay said. “I knew I wanted to play off of the symbol most commonly associated with the queer community, the pride flag.”

The sizable flag has bright and vibrant colors, and, if students look closely, they can see the names of various members of the school community carefully stitched into the fabric.

“I wanted to truly celebrate each and every individual within our Nueva LGBTQIA+ community and felt that the act of embroidering each name by hand was particularly symbolic,” Barclay said.

Barclay added that, as an artist, each part of the embroidery allowed her to “meditate on the story of that particular person.” She also kept in mind the general storytelling theme she set up for the year, which led to the posters with the stories from members of the Nueva community.

Barclay admitted that she was surprised that some people who decided

to share their stories had such a hard time coming out.

“We are a school that tends to self-define as really gay-friendly, and even though we are a community that is very inclusive, the world is still not like that,” said Barclay. “There were kids who knew it would be fine, but it was still really hard to come out, which I didn’t expect.”

Barclay admitted that she hoped for even more stories and anecdotes. She got a good number of diverse stories with a wide range of themes, but she didn’t think it represented how many queer people there were at Nueva.

“My primary concern was with the [gay] community and making sure they felt celebrated and seen,” Barclay said.

Concerning the students, Barclay said she has heard mainly positive Alegria Barclay comments regarding designed the the installation. installation.

“I heard from a lot of kids who were excited; certainly some people on the flag, who were like, ‘Yay, that was so nice.’ And I heard from quite a lot of people just about the stories, who were really struck by a particular story, or were surprised. There was a lot of emotional response from students.”

In regard to future similar projects, Barclay says that she would like to do a related project every year.

“I have plans for other months, like for African-American Heritage Month and Women’s Day, which will probably be more by my students,” Barclay said.

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017

Features • Page 11

Defining traditions at the Upper School In a high school just entering its fifth year, what role can tradition play?

BY ISABEL C.

I

n the last days before Thanksgiving, the mansion ballroom of the Hillsborough campus is swollen with the smells of yeasty bread and fruity puddings. Children rush back and forth between the small kitchen and the expansive dance hall, hands full of pies, meats, and stuffings, their work from the past month culminated in an abundance of dishes upon plastic tables. Chatter arises from students and faculty alike as they gather together for the final time for their tradition of a Thanksgiving dinner the Tuesday before the holiday break.

That was 1999. Today, this tradition doesn’t exist.

The Lower Divsion of Nueva still celebrates Thanksgiving, but now the children sing at a holiday concert on Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day instead of cooking a feast.

“There was no academic work that happened for three weeks,” said Head of School Diane Rosenberg. “That was just too much time away from the curricula.”

Since the start of Nueva in 1967, traditions have come and gone.

While some of the Lower and Middle Schools’ traditions have spread to the Upper School, they haven’t felt like an exact representation of what the Upper Division values. They feel almost childish in a sense, trailing the Upper School behind the Lower School.

The Upper Division is very new relative to the age of other local high schools. Only in its fifth year since opening, schedules, holidays, and representations of school spirit are still being established. Traditions are something that can not only bring the school together into a tighter community, but also are something for the students to remember the school by once they leave. They’re a way to connect everyone in a fun activity every year that allows for relaxation, celebration, and a coming together with the whole school.

While some of Nueva’s traditions have drastically changed over the fifty years of its existence, others that are still celebrated today have been here since the beginning. Rosenberg recounts that that in the beginning the school was so small that the entire student body and faculty would go up to Bar 717, the popular ranch and summer camp in Hayfork, Calif., for a communi­ty- and school-wide camping trip. The camping trips that now take place with advisories and grade levels before the start of school emerged from this trip 50 years ago.

This spawned the tradition of the annual trips that have defined so much of Nueva’s teaching style and culture by immersing the students in different settings, allowing them to connect both with other people and their own class. As a new section to the school on a whole new campus, the Upper Division needs new traditions that will define its piece of Nueva. But it has to be accepted by everyone to be able to continue to represent years down the road.

As a new division on a separate

campus, eyes are watching to see how the school values and culture will develop. New students want to know what makes the school Nueva, and parents want to feel a sense of community in the school. Yet even in our fifth year, the Upper Division is only now just starting to define itself both by incorporating old traditions and creating its own.

Dan Cristiani, Academic Dean for the Middle and Upper School and a Nueva alum, recalled the similarities between traditions celebrated in years past and ones started only last year.

“Nueva was known for a lot of things but one of the big things that it was really into was theater,” Cristiani said. “When we saw the seniors last year do their Shakespeare performances, people were like ‘oh this is so different,’ but to me it was super in line with what Nueva used to do.”

These similarities between the years reflect Nueva’s attempts to embrace its past with its love of drama and performance while creating new traditions for the years ahead.

Yet traditions like this one are events that the faculty and staff have started, hoping for a coming together of the community even though they might not appeal to everyone. Cristiani says that “[y]ou can’t kind of

Halloween festivities in 1999. (Photo courtesy of the Nueva Archives)

force these things and I think we tried a lot especially in the first year [of the Upper School] to artificially create these traditions. Some stuck and some didn’t, but I think the best traditions are the ones that are brought up organically and are driven by student interest.”

One example of a student-driven tradition at Nueva was the creation of the House system, which was proposed and pushed forward by Jessa M. (12) and Ari N. (12). Only officially launched at the end of last spring, the House system has pioneered a way for students to be able to connect with other students across grades and in their own class.

“Grades don’t always have many opportunities to interact with and support each other on a large scale outside “By celebrating of sports together in the and clubs way we do, we’re like robotics,” says saying we’re

coming together as an inclusive community valuing diverse perspectives.”

1969 camping trip. (Photo courtesy of the Nueva Archives)

Jessa. “We really wanted to create a structure for students to not only meet each other, but to form friendships, mentor, and learn from each other.”

Both students also agree that traditions are important for the school and students together.

Ari states that “[t]here is something beautiful in following in the steps of those before you and doing the same things they did. Tradition provides a connection to something greater than oneself.”

The main benefit of these traditions at Nueva is community. The students and faculty alike want to create a culture of community and togetherness, and a lot believe that traditions are the way to do it.

“Because the Nueva high school is still fairly new, I think traditions will help establish memories as the school grows older and help bring the community together,” says Eugenia T. (10). “Another plus is taking part in these traditions will also help new members of the Nueva community feel more comfortable and ingrained in the Nueva society.”

Cristiani and Rosenberg both agree that coming together though these traditions is what really brings the school closer together. “Traditions are about underscoring values and culture,” says Rosenberg. “By celebrating together in the way we do, we’re saying we’re coming together as an inclusive community valuing diverse perspectives.”

Yet while there are the benefits for these activities, there are also concerns about how these customs could affect students. Cristiani voiced a potential side effect to these traditions.

While most people feel connected during these times of celebration and joy, he pointed out that “[s]ome people don’t feel involved in these traditions, [but instead] feel alienated by them.”

This causes people to feel left out and not included because they feel that it doesn’t connect with what they feel is valuable to them.

The Upper School Division is still young and one side effect of that is creating ways to use its values. Nueva may have traditions that pull the school together and hold the community close, but the school still doesn’t fully have those traditions that really reflect the values of both the students and faculty. The Upper School is getting closer every day with new ideas appearing in students heads, yet whether they will fall into place as something that graduates will remember the school for is slim. It’s pretty much impossible to create something that pleases everyone, yet Nueva can still try; both as a way to become closer a closer community but also to define the school. Search on, Nueva.

Page 12 • Opinion

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017 Perspective

Technology: A lonely reality

BY AIDEN H. As residents in the heart of Silicon Valley and a world whose dependence on technology is ever-growing, we all accept the prominent role of technology in our lives. Everyone carries a phone in his or her pocket, a gateway to endless possibilities. One especially important part of technology is how accessible it makes social media. Almost anyone you meet will stand side by side with his or her alter ego, a carefully cultivated image of self to occupy the digital world.

This image will interact with others, ranging from close friends to unknown strangers. Such a multitude of connections could intuitively be assumed to enrich one’s social life, injecting endless interactions into one’s daily life.

But is this always beneficial, or does this vastness of in“Almost anyone teractions actually you meet will work against us?

Yes, technology stand side by side is a gateway to with their alter countless more ego, a carefully interactions, but they all come at cultivated image the cost of subof themselves to stance. If you’re not careful, it occupy the digital could affect the world.” substance of your interactions beyond the screen.

Immediately when I say technology makes us lonelier, this massive counter-argument stands in my way: Technology connects us to more people

Art by A.L.

The Dress Code Debate

Unfairly targeted at females, the dress code needs a change

There are two groups in this battle: the ones who care, and the ones who don’t

BY BEATRICE S.

BY PACO P.

“I just wanted to go and hide.” The words one female-identified student uses to describe her dress coding experiences expose a bleak reality about the way Nueva treats its female identified students: Cornered. Flustered. Frustrated. Ashamed. When I spoke to her, she recounted four different instances on two different days in which teachers approached her and commented on what she was wearing. None of them officially dress coded her. None of them asked her to change. However, they did something else, something arguably worse: they told her what she was wearing was inappropriate for school, and left it at that. Regardless of the teachers’ best intentions, the consequence of those comments was that she was forced to carry on with her day, knowing that faculty and students alike were scrutinizing her body and her outfit, quietly judging it as inappropriate.

What the student was wearing is unimportant, so I will not describe it. What is important is the culture that Nueva surrounds its students in, particularly its female-identified students. In my research, I have encountered numerous examples of the following phenomenon, as cited in an article published in the journal Environment and Planning A: “Two sisters came to school wearing the same little top. On one of the girls,

Masthead

than real life could ever hope to achieve.

It lets you hold a conversation long into the early hours of the morning without ever leaving your bed. It lets you share in the experiences of your friends via social media. But the problem with technology and the interactions it provides isn’t the volume of connections or frequency of them, but rather the substance.

Imagine yourself at a party. There are countless people there, and about two of whom you know. Both of them are off talking to other people. A certain type of loneliness then takes over, one where you experience plenty of interactions, but none of them are meaningful.

Technology gives you these half-hearted interactions with your friends, family, and new acquaintances. The apps that you use are forced to cut out certain parts of human interaction due to the limitations of technology. Physical presence is always the first to go, often followed by your real voice, dynamic visual image, and the ability to fully communicate your thoughts. This leads to interactions over Snapchat, texting, or even phone calls that, while connecting two people, do so in an empty way.

We become bored, reducing our interactions to mere chores. I have to text this person, call to wish a happy birthday to that one, keep this streak up, add to my follower base.

Technology chooses breadth over depth in our social lives. It prioritizes efficiency over quality, and as a result we are left emptier than if we went out to a social gathering or met a friend face-to-face.

the big busted one, this top exposed her cleavage. She was sent home from school. The other sister did not attract the attention of the authorities.

Their mother brought to the attention of the administrator that her daughter should not be blamed for being big busted. The administrator felt that the young woman knew that the top was `too small for her’ and needed to be more responsible about how she dressed.”

This is the case in the Nueva community as well: When a faculty member says that a shirt is inappropriate for school, the shirt is usually not the problem. If the shirt were the problem, it would be dress coded consistently on everyone. The problem is the girl’s body, and a girl’s body should not be a problem.

Failure on the Nueva administration’s part to address this issue can and will lead to a culture of insecurity and unease among female-identified Nueva students; and contribute to the global issue of girls and women not feeling safe or valued in academic environments. How can we expect to support the learning and growth of female-identified Nueva students in our community if we are making them feel scrutinized, self-conscious, and ashamed of their bodies?

READ MORE AT: thenuevacurrent.com

Questions or comments? We welcome your voices. Please email Editor-in-Chief scobras@ nuevaschool.org or the Newspaper Adviser lyim@nuevaschool.org; corrections will be addressed on our website and published in the subsequent issue.

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

Several weeks of involvement in efforts to implement a healthy dress code at Nueva have reminded me that Nuevans are very opinionated and that makes us very polarized. As I understand it, a significant portion of the student body agrees that ambiguities in the dress code and its enforcement require attention. However, an equal or even larger—though less vocal—chunk of the student body thinks that portion is making something out of nothing and our dress code is fine as it stands. What I’ve found, though, is that most of the people in that second group don’t seem to care all so much what the dress code says. They’re mostly just bothered by how ‘entitled’ the first group is. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with that complaint. But it does make the task of resolving the dress code issue much easier. It means we can satisfy the second group if we satisfy the first one quickly.

As long as we stop fussing about this soon, everyone’s happy.

Of course, that raises the question of whether we can really get this done quickly and painlessly. Though I suspect that most Nueva students would say any reform that needs to pass through the administration is likely to see significant delay, I’m optimistic about instituting this change quickly. The reason is simple: I’m in the minority of students that doesn’t believe the administration is out to get us. I’ve already worked with Stephen Dunn, Upper School Head, and Mike Peller, Assistant Upper School

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Head of Student Life, on issues like the tone of announcements during standup meetings and the placement of posters in the hallways, and we’ve almost always seen eye to eye after discussing issues in depth. Rather than any sort of deliberate sabotage, delays are most often attributable to a lack of time commitment. Peller and Dunn are extremely busy people, and that means anything that isn’t pushed frequently and intensely will quickly lose momentum as other endeavors take priority. As long as we focus our energy and minimize all time delays that are in our control, I believe we can hammer out a dress code everyone can be happy with in a few weeks.

This might sound strange coming from me to anyone who heard my election speech last school year, but I would insist that my faith in Stephen and Mike does not contradict the position I held at the end of last year. The focus I observed on my promises to force change down the administration’s throat overshadowed what I believe was the more important message of that speech, which is that I intend to force change, period. In a way this issue will serve as an important case study in determining how to best accomplish that. Though I will not refrain from petitions and appeals to parents if I find school leadership unfairly obstructive, but I remain confident that the best path to the changes we wish to see in our school is through cooperation with an administration that genuinely wants what’s best for us.

STAFF Editor-in-Chief Scott B. Assistant Editor Willow C.Y. News Aliya G. Features Nivi G. & Anam T.

Opinion Elizabeth B. Sports Aiden H. Culture Isabel C. Entertainment Anna C. Adviser LiAnn Yim

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017

Features • Page 13

The pivot of Donald Trump

BY WILLOW C. Y.

Art by Eugenia X.

“W

e’re tired of being bulls--ed by these moron politicians.” This was none other than Donald Trump, in 1999, speaking for himself and the American population.

He was in his mid-fifties, a Reform Party candidate for the 2000 presidential election, hot on the tails of the forerunner—and eventual nominee— Pat Buchanan. Though Trump would drop out some months later in February of 2000, he would leave the presidential run with one last thought: “I’m just saying that in a number of years I might consider [running again].”

(NBC Learn) But foreshadowing was not the only thing significant about that presidential campaign. Another, perhaps more intriguing, aspect of his election attempt was his political positions. As it turns out, he wasn’t always, as some call him, a bigot, and he was considerably more socially liberal than he’d now like to admit.

Trump announced his run for president on October 7, 1999, on CNN’s Larry King Live. With his book, “The America We Deserve,” just published and a new woman—his future wife Melania—on his arm after a scandal-filled divorce, Trump publicity was familiar and prevalent.

Around this time, the Reform Party was a big political entity. The third party, though only just formed the previous election cycle by Ross Perot, had garnered 8,085,294 overall votes, or 8.4% of the national vote according to The American Presidency Project, 1996 Presidential Election, placing third in the overall presidential election. The Reform Party was the independent, change-making party of the time, the main alternative to “the establishment”— the Democrats and Republicans.

And change was in order: this election came directly after the Bill Clinton presidency; the nation was recoiling at the Lewinsky scandal, and everyone was calling for a new administration, for something to disrupt, in their eyes, a corrupt and flawed establishment.

Enter Trump: camera bulbs flashing, reporters calling, an outsider to the political mess who had just published his political thoughts and

positions in a book that provided an element of candor and clarity in the otherwise veiled and smudged political scene. Discontented with the Republican party, he had left and joined the Reform party, saying in a CNN interview, “I think that nobody is really hitting it right. The Republicans are too far right. And I don’t think anybody’s hitting the chord, not the chord that I want hear, and not the chord that other people want to hear, and I’ve seen it.”

But what is the chord he’s speaking of? What am I to think of his opinion on Republicans being “too far right”?

In order to answer these questions, I found myself delving deep into the mind of 1999 Trump, to ask this one: what were his beliefs in the first place?

Well, if we’re going to look socially, according to The Hill, Trump reportedly said of his rival, Pat Buchanan, “Look, he’s a Hitler lover. I guess he’s an anti-Semite. He doesn’t like the blacks, he doesn’t like the gays, it’s just incredible that anybody could embrace this guy.” This quote alone is enough to make much of the anti-Trump population reel in some mix of confusion, agreement, and horror. After all, how could someone like Trump, they reason, have such open-minded opinions, especially as now, almost two decades later, he banned transgender people from the military, was endorsed by the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke, and, when numerous neo-Nazi and white supremacist rallies broke out all around in the US, failed to address and condemn those involved?

And yet, we find ourselves now with this Trump, so far from the one who wrote in “The America We Deserve,” “One of our next president’s most important goals must be to induce a greater tolerance for diversity. The senseless murder of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming—where an innocent boy was killed because of his sexual orientation—turned my stomach. We must work towards an America where these kinds of hate crimes are unthinkable.”

The 1999 Trump was also prochoice, stating in the same book that he “support[s] a woman’s right to choose,” even though he wasn’t a fan of the procedure. He also was

pro-gun-regulations, stating that even though he didn’t want to abolish all guns, “[t]he Republicans walk the NRA line and refuse even limited restrictions.”

But, of course, we can’t call it a full pivot if we don’t address his economic and social welfare policy and the changes that it went through.

The transformation is notable. For one, Trump supported a universal healthcare system, writing, “[T]he goal should be clear: our people are

We find ourselves now with this Trump, so far from the one that wrote in The America We Deserve, “One of our next president’s most important goals must be to induce a greater tolerance for diversity ... We must work towards an America where these hate crimes are unthinkable.”

our greatest asset. We must take care of our own. We must have universal healthcare.”

For another, he opposed the flat tax, writing that the wealthy would benefit too much off this: it was “unfair to workers by taxing them for health insurance and other benefits” and “eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit [hurts] taxpayers at the lowest rungs of the ladder,” in his mind.

(However, it should be said that the flat tax would get rid of tax loopholes, such as the ones applying to investments and real estate—therefore, if the flat tax were implemented, the $500,000 that isn’t taxed in every real

estate buy would be cutting down the net gains for the real estate buyer—in this case, Trump.)

During this time, Trump also strongly supported open markets, writing, “We need tougher negotiations, not protectionist walls around America. We need to ensure that foreign markets are as open to our products as our country is to theirs.”

The irony of the “protectionist wall” metaphor should not go unnoticed.

But even as I highlight the more liberal points of view of Trump’s relative youth, there exist clues as to what would come 17 years later. His stance on immigration, for instance: “America is experiencing serious social and economic difficulty with illegal immigrants who are flooding across our borders. It comes down to this: we must take care of our own people first. Our policy to people born elsewhere should be clear: Enter by the law, or leave.” And his stance on North Korea is startlingly similar; he writes, “[In a Trump presidency], North Korea would suddenly discover that its worthless promises of civilized behavior would cut no ice. I would let Pyongyang know in no uncertain terms that it can either get out of the nuclear arms race or expect a rebuke...” Among these, his current-day political positions are reflected in other categories, such as increased military funding, decreased global crisis involvement given that the US is not “directly” affected, and more stances.

However, for many of the “big” issues, and especially socially, his public viewpoints were noticeably different.

As the year of 2017 passes in jumps and starts, more and more outrageous comments and announcements are hurled out of the White House even as staffers try in vain to restrain them, more and more public demonstrations of intolerance and bigotry show themselves in the country. But we should have seen this coming—the unrest and slow rising of disaffected populations, the eventual eruption, the demagogue in the Oval Office.

After all, Trump warned us himself: “I believe non-politicians represent the wave of the future and, if elected, I would make the kind of president America needs in the new millennium.”

Page 14 • Sports

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017

Cross Country builds on successful season Following CCS and CIF State the team returns with great results

BY ANAM T. On Nov. 11, Nueva Mavericks and other high school runners from around the Bay Area began the CCS (Central Coast Sectionals) race, in Toro Park in Salinas, California.

O

n Saturday, Nov. 11, the boys’ and girls’ cross country team headed down to Toro Park in Salinas, Calif. Since mid-September, the team has been avidly training and preparing for Central Coast Section (CCS), which pulls teams from everywhere between South San Francisco and Monterey Bay for competition.

The Mavericks ended sectionals this year with the girls’ team placing first and the boys’ team placing second in their respective divisions.

Two weeks later, over the Thanksgiving weekend, the varsity cross country team took on the CIF State Cross

From left: Coach Terry, Billy P. (10), Angus Z. (11), Charie L. (11), Peter E. (12), Ethan W. (12), Caleb D. (11), Joseph Q. (12), and Coach Greg celebrate another successful race at CCS (Central Coast Sectionals).

Country Championships in Woodward Park, Fresno.

Ending with the girls placing fifth and the boys placing ninth. Nueva was the only school to have both girls’ and boys’ teams place in the top ten.

Varsity athletes like Jenna L. (11) and Peter E. (12) couldn’t be more thrilled. “We really surprised ourselves by how strong we were able to come out against such tough teams,” Peter said. Although these particular students had their minds set on state, for many team members, CCS was the highlight of the season.

“This was our best finish as a team in the history of

our program,” said Athletics Director Amrit Chima. “I am extremely proud.”

By supporting each other’s strengths and weaknesses, Jenna noted the “sisterhood” aspect of the team: “When you’ve been at your best and worst with people, which I think athletics tends to bring out, and when you’ve left everything on the track or the course…that is what I think about, I am doing it for my teammates.”

With the new freshman class, the cross country team provided a sense of community and offered students opportunities to get to know each other and form inter-grade bonds and friend-

ships.

“As the cross country season goes on, our big goal is to increase commitment on the team, and this season the runners that went to CCS along with our other team members have made great improvements, and that’s exactly what we’ve been looking for,” said Ethan W. (12). “I couldn’t be happier with the way it’s gone.”

At the end of the season, runners are looking forward to the upcoming track season that will allow them to keep pushing themselves this spring. No matter what, for some, the season never quite ends.

With only had nine players on the varsity roster, the team became very closely bonded.

Most high school varsity teams have at least 12 players. (Photo by Caroline K.)

T

Despite injuries, girls' volleyball ties for third in league play The varsity team also celebrated the growth of the volleyball program and their first Senior Night

BY SCOTT B.

he volleyball season ended Oct. 26 with a match against Design Tech High School. The team finished with 5 wins and 5 losses in league play, ultimately tying for third place with Design Tech High School. Although they did not obtain the success they sought in terms of win-to-loss ratio, the athletes were definitely happy with their growth as individuals, as a team, and as a program. For the first time, Nueva was able to field both a varsity and JV team.

“I think that all the girls on varsity really loved our season and are proud of what we accomplished,” Willow Y. (9) said.

Last year, the girls’ volleyball team finished with an 11-3 record. This year, they were hampered by injuries—in one hard-fought game against league champion Summit Shasta, the Mavericks fielded five players instead of the usual six.

“A long-term challenge we faced was just having a small team,” said Nivi G. (10). “But by persevering and supporting each other, we were able to complete the season on a good note.”

The small team forged close

bonds between all the players.

Willow said, “We were all super supportive of each other. Because a lot of our team got hurt this year, we had the unique chance to exercise our trust and rely on each other to step up. One of the reasons why I always participate in school sports is that I can get to know other people that I might not have otherwise interacted with, whether because of different grades or varying interests.”

Nivi agreed, saying, “I think the bonds formed on sports teams are really valuable since you go through so much success and loss together.”

This season was the last for seniors Natalie H., Devon H., and Jackie C. For the first time in the program’s history, they were able to have a Senior Night and celebrate the senior members on the team.

“Nueva fosters a really good sense of sportsmanship and I know that I grew really close to my teammates,” Natalie said.

“Even when we were playing with only five girls on the team, and most of those girls injured, we still put up a really good fight.”

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017

Sports • Page 15

The NFL season in an infographic

BY AIDEN H. The NFL season is almost a quarter of the way through, and there has been excitement to spare. We have seen plenty of last year’s success stories disappoint, while unlikely underdogs have arisen as juggernauts. The disappointing Oakland Raiders, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, and Green Bay Packers have stepped aside to herald the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, and Los Angeles Rams as high-powered contenders

to shake up an already unpredictable playoff picture. Meanwhile, two titans will soon square up in the AFC, the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers. They will battle on Dec. 17 to take sole claim of the throne in a top-heavy AFC. These last few weeks will be incredibly exciting to watch.

This graphic contains records, playoff predictions, and relevant stats for avid fans and casual viewers alike.

9-2 6-5 5-6

9-2 6-5 Divisions and records

Divisions and records

5-6

Stat Sheet As of week 12

0-11 9-2 6-5 4-7 4-7 7-4 7-4

3-8

Since 2015, the Browns have won four total games and lost 39. In comparison, the Patriots won 35 and lost eight in that span.

The Falcons averaged 33.8 points per game under Shanahan's scheme in the 2016 regular season. This year, they average 24.1.

The Patriots defense has dropped off since 2016, averaging 417 yards allowed per game during the first half of the season. That's changed from 326.4 in 2016.

If the season ended at week 12, there would be three NFC South teams in the playoffs. The last time 3 teams from the same NFC division made the playoffs was 2007.

5-6

Before his injury, Deshaun Watson had a QBR of 81.3, 1,699 yards, and 19 touchdowns. Expect a big 2018 season for this exciting rookie.

The Saints were the first team in NFL history to lose their first two games, and follow them up with an 8-game winning streak.

2-9

It is currently very likely that two AFC south teams will make the playoffs, the Titans and the Jaguars. The last time that happened was 2012.

In the first three games without Ezekiel Elliot, the Dallas Cowboys scored only 22 points in 12 quarters.

10-1

5-6

8-3 8-3

4-7

7-4

3-8

4-7 Playoff Predictions

6-5 5-6 5-6 3-8

Seeds 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Pittsburgh New England Jacksonville Kansas City Tennessee Baltimore

NFC Champion: Minnesota AFC Champion: Pittsburgh

Seeds Philadelphia Minnesota New Orleans Los Angeles Atlanta Washington

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

8-3 7-4 5-6 1-10

Page 16 • Entertainment

The Nueva Current • December 15, 2017

Fall 2017 Movies and TV Guide

BY AIDEN H.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle A hot mess of a spy flick

Dunkirk Gripping, brilliant war film—Nolan’s best

Bojack Horseman Hilarious, existential Hollywood satire at its best

American Gods A bizarre and intense mythology

Rated R

Rated PG-13

Rated TV-MA

Rated TV-MA

I wanted to like this movie so much.

It had so much going for it, too: An intriguing villain, the same charming cast with new additions—but guys, this movie was bad. “Kingsman 2” is a shell of the original film. On the exterior, it maintains a lot of the energetic fight scenes and comedic, overthe-top sendup of the spy genre. But beyond that, this movie is a sad excuse for anything more than some really, really cheap thrills. You can appreciate director Matthew Vaughn’s unique style once again in more action heavy scenes, but those scenes are overshadowed by abrupt character changes and odd choices in the story that interrupt the flow and focus of the film.

I know the previous film was less concerned with creating a brilliant screenplay. But at least it was clean, focused, and efficient with its time.

Here, the writing is little more than fanservice and the checking of mandatory boxes.

The movie falls prey to so many plot holes and cliches that the viewer loses count of them. And the issues don’t just stop with the overall story: The jokes are lazy, banking on often gruesome shock gags and irrelevant celebrity cameos. Golden Circle’s characters are utilized in horrid fashion,

Christopher Nolan is known for incredibly dense and complex films that utilize their time very effectively in order to get the most out of their ambitious premises. Interstellar, Inception, and the Batman trilogy are all incredible successes that underscore Nolan’s strength as a director. This film maintains the ambition but invests it in a completely different area.

Dunkirk lets the concept of war

So a horse walks into a bar. Four hours later, he is completely drunk and heading back to his place with a girl he’s never met before. Sound like a joke, or something really pathetic?

From the show’s perspective, it’s both.

Bojack Horseman is a bit of a mouthful, but I will try to summarize it in a sentence: in a Hollywood where there is a mix of anthropomorphic animals and humans living together, a horse movie star Bojack Horseman (voiced by Will Arnett) attempts to jump-start his career 18 years after starring in an extremely successful 90s sitcom. Along the way, he encounters a cast of characters who lift him up, tear him down, and everything in between. Before you fully dive in, know that this show has language, heavy drinking and drug use depicted, and sexual content.

On the comedy side of things, this show has a lot going for it. It draws in viewers with a perfect blend of satire, subtle humor, tongue twisters, and blatant animal puns. The comedy in this show is enough to solidify it as a mainstay in today’s TV lineup. But the show goes a step further. It uses the intricately crafted characters to explore mental health and sexuality in a deeply touching and emotional way. You will feel everything with this show. Four seasons of weirdness, humor, and endless emotions await you in this treasure trove of an animated comedy.

This show is not for everyone.

Seriously. There are scenes that will instantly turn off people, through excessive weirdness or violence. Be warned, as you will encounter the aforementioned violence, plenty of swearing, sexuality and nudity, and a fair share of disturbing images. This show is graphic, and in many cases that is integrated into the artistic and stylistic points of the show.

If you are looking for a reference point with American Gods, imagine the Percy Jackson books, but with American mythology instead of Greek—and mature. The mythology and creativity that the show exhibits are engrossing and woven expertly from the show’s source material, a book series with the same name by Neil Gaiman.

As if that were not enough, the show draws viewers further down its shadowy path with outstanding technical aspects; this is easily the best-looking show I have ever seen. It solidified a unique style, sacrificing constant logic for a more dreamlike and surreal experience. The show backs its style up with fantastic effects, cinematography, and production design. The soundtrack caps off the show’s exploration of all things American, the good, the bad, and the ugly, through various gritty acoustic covers and a distinct usage of trumpets and other jazz instruments. It’s not afraid to explore pressing social issues like sexuality, immigration, and religion in fresh and thought-provoking ways. If you are looking to get your feet wet in something exceedingly new and intense, this show will deliver beyond your expectations.

Here, the writing is little more than fanservice and the checking of mandatory boxes.

with Halle Berry and Channing Tatum especially being underused. The old characters do not fare much better, with zero trace of a positive character arc. The first film was not overly concerned with character, but at least it had Eggsy’s training to make viewers connect a little more and appreciate his journey.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a cash grab with half the effort of the original. I would say it stays a step above the average action film, but I hesitate to say even that, since the style is weighed down by the sheer emptiness of everything that surrounds it. Unless you are a true fan of the first film, or are really not picky about the writing behind your movies, avoid this one at all costs.

The soundscape is intense to the point where you will never find yourself able to catch your breath or relax.

speak for itself and instead focuses on bringing it to life in everything else.

And by everything else, I mean everything else: the actors, camerawork, production design, editing, and soundscape all solidify themselves as frontrunners for the year in terms of awards and accolades, all within the first five minutes of the film.

The film’s story is simple enough and rings with historical accuracy.

Hundreds of thousands of Allied troops are stranded on a beach in Dunkirk, France, surrounded by German forces—an accurate depiction of the real Battle of Dunkirk. The film follows the heroic efforts to evacuate those troops, seen through three lenses. The first is a group of soldiers on the beach, including a surprisingly resonant Harry Styles who injects the raw desperation, fear, and grit of being a soldier in this situation in his outstanding performance. The second is a civilian boat captain, called upon to help with the evacuation efforts. The third is the point of view of a plane pilot, played by Tom Hardy, as he engages in several gripping dogfights with German planes.

The film jumps from these perspectives and utilizes every technical aspect of film to bring them to life.

The camerawork is outstanding, never sacrificing the intensity of a scene to bring beautiful and engrossing images.

The soundscape is intense to the point where you will never find yourself able to catch your breath or relax. This film is here to deliver an experience, then a story, then a tour de force for its talented cast, in that order. Definitely give this one a watch.

PUZZLE

Crossword Across

1. The Old Man and the _____ 5. Bases x heights 7. He/She/It ____ in peace 8. What a bunny does

Down

1. Popular Biblical name 2. Archaic word for “before” 3. _______’s Fables 4. A militaristic or financial valuable 6. “Where you __?”

BY WILLOW C.Y.