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No. 5

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Spring 2017

FAke IDs

Prom

Table o f Contents 24

Diego Lopez

Co-Presidents refLect on their time at Urban

Diego Lopez

Prom 2017 A night full of mosh pits and red velvet cupcakes

A new family and home in rural ecuador

Zoe Meneghetti

Pag

Obamacare: The bill that changed everything

Kian Nassre

Best bay area views

August Ackley

The dichotomy between saving money and riding ethically

Aidan Ryan

12 Teaching at urban, its changes and its consistent challenges

Lola McAllister

PAG ON

Greenaction addresses environmental issues in residential development

Alyssa Romo

Vacancies raise questions about use of parking structure Ian Shapiro

San Francisco celebrates 50 years since the summer of love

Lily Daniel

Pag On

Urban Diets and restrictions

Cole Palmer

Catherine Silvestri

Is the news numbing us?

Colin Heath Urban faculty and staff share their pets

Katie Jonckheer

Quiz: Senior soulmate

Katherine Weltzein and Ana Gorski

Senior Regrets

Olivia DiNapoli

n lo

13 Reasons why sparks controversy in and out of Urbanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s halls

jab

ks-

hic

Fake IDs: Uncovering the hidden culture

Letter from the editors Dear Reader, As the school year comes to a close, we, The Urban Legend staff, are excited to present to you our fifth issue of The Yeti. This year-end publication features a wide variety of stories with enhancing visual components. In the process of creating this issue, we wanted to provide space for the graduating seniors to reflect on their time at Urban and consider their legacy at the school. You’ll find this in our revamped “Senior Regrets” story and the much anticipated “Senior Soulmate” quiz, as well as in an article documenting Urban’s Co-Presidential election process, which introduces the school’s new leaders for the 2017-18 school year. As always, we are committed to reporting on relevant social and political issues both on a local and global scale. Some of the topics that are

closest to home include environmental justice in the Bayview-Hunter’s Point neighborhood and the 50th anniversary of the Haight-Ashbury’s famed Summer of Love, which happens to coincide with the 50th anniversary of The Urban School. Last spring, we began to investigate the prevalence of fake IDs at Urban. However, we postponed the release of this story until the new school year to protect anonymous sources. We believe that it is essential that we carefully examine and understand the characteristics underlying our unique social community, regardless of whether or not they may be taboo. On a larger scale, as the political climate continues to intensify with controversy over modern news sources, we chose to explore the impact of

media consumption on various aspects of society. In an in-depth article summarizing the implications of Obamacare, we aimed to clear up common misconceptions. Additionally, we examined the potentially desensitizing nature of today’s news coverage due to such frequent exposure to images of violence. Although the school year is coming to a close, The Yeti continues to strive to promote dialogue beyond the walls of Urban. We hope this magazine sends you into summer with a desire to engage in conversation and celebrate another year!

Olivia Mitchel and Catherine Silvestri Editors in Chief of The Yeti

The Urban Legend Yeti Staff Editors-in-Chief of Magazine Olivia Mitchel and Catherine Silvestri Cover Design and Editor-in-Chief of Visuals Lola McAllister

Staff Writers, Editors and Designers

August Ackley Tikloh Bruno-Basaing Blake Case Jack Cogen Lily Daniel Olivia Dinapoli Emma Draisin Ana Gorski

Colin Heath Emmy HIcksJABLONS Katie Jonckheer Diego Lopez Vivien Manning Lola McAllister Olivia Meehan

Zoe Meneghetti Kian Nassre Cole Palmer Alyssa Romo Aidan Ryan Ian Shapiro Sophia Vahanvaty Katherine Weltzien

Adviser and Journalism Teacher Raina Mast Fundamentals of Journalism Teacher Sarah Levin

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Written by Zoe Meneghetti Suit jackets draped around the edges of chairs, wrappers of red velvet cupcakes crumpled on the white tablecloth, and clusters of high-heels nudged in the corners of the floor set the scene of the Urban School’s 2017 prom night. Walking into the venue, The Mark Hopkins Hotel, it was impossible to miss the array of tables of stacked with different entrees and desserts. The Mark Hopkins hotel provided a much larger venue than past Urban proms, with an estimated two thirds of the space dedicated to food platters and places for students to sit. Because of this, there was not as much space for students to dance as the past three Urban proms. Sam Masto (‘17) said, “...having a specific dance floor was nice, because we were able to have one place to dance. However, it would have been better if it was a little bigger, because there was a lot of hectic dancing.” Masto alluded to the giant moshpit at the center of the dance floor, which lasted nearly the entire night. “A girl was pushed down at one point” because of the moshpit, continued Masto. “I wish there was a little more space” said Dilli Dillingham (‘18). However, some students liked the smaller dance floor. James Fusco (‘18) said, “I think the

Photos taken by Hellen Porro and Kelley L Cox.

[from top to bottom] Holly Anderson (‘17), Sarah Weihl (‘17), Mia Risher (‘17), Trip Gorman (‘20), Nathan Susser (‘20), Dane Bloom (‘20) Shaan Budgujar (‘20), Miles Fogler (‘20) Connor Elliot (‘18), Una Lomax -Emrick (‘19)

close proximity allowed for a different type of dancing, a high energy environment that was lacking in past proms.” Despite the smaller dance floor, according to an Urban Legend survey sent on May 8, 2017, 35.4 percent of the 113 respondents ranked the venue 5 stars, and 46.9 percent ranked the venue 4 stars. In the same survey, nearly 70 percent of Urban students ranked the D.J. either one or two stars. However, this is not the first time the majority of Urban students indicated a disapproval towards the D.J. According to a multiple choice survey about the 2016 prom sent out by The Urban Legend, nearly 60 percent said that the music played was “just okay.” This data revealed a trend of students not fully enjoying the music played at the dance. According to the 2017 prom survey, 40 respondents answered the optional question: “would you like to expand on any / all of the questions above?” 4 out of the 40 who responded to this question indicated that they wish for a student D.J. at the 2018 prom. Leo Kim (‘20) said that he “didn’t like [the D.J.] that much” because of the “weird transitions between songs.” On the contrary, Hugo Holley (‘18) said that the D.J. “was better than expected. I liked that they

played a lot of old classic songs, like from Footloose.” The food offered at this year’s prom included, but was not limited to, vegetarian, crab cake and beef sliders, red velvet cupcakes, vegetables and dip, and an array of cheeses. There were four tables that offered food, which allowed for a shorter line while waiting to eat. According to Hannah Worsley

Garrett Sharp-Craig (‘17) shows off his moves in the center of the dance circle.

Cameron Galley (‘17) crowd surfs through the dance floor.

(‘18), the food set up was “very convenient. It could be eaten while walking, or sitting down … the food was very good, I especially liked the beef and crab cake sliders.” The 2016 prom survey indicated that 70 percent of students who took the survey thought that the food offered at prom was “just okay.” However, this year’s food got a much better review, as 67 percent of students ranked the food either 4 or 5 stars in the 2017 prom survey. At the end of the night, as suit jackets were picked up from the chairs, and corsages were left on the tables, it was clear that the 2017 prom was successful. Overall, 67.3 percent of students ranked the overall prom 4 stars, and 47.8 percent ranked their amount of fun a 4 out of 5. Whether or not you thought the dance floor was too small or the music was dull, the 2017 prom will go down as a great one. Perhaps this is because of the magnificent venue, or maybe because of the various desserts. However, there is one thing that can be certain: the attendees of the 2017 Urban prom love to dance.

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The challenges of teaching at urban: A veteran perspective and a new teacher perspective Designed by Lola McAllister

Written by Lola McAllister Students and parents of students enrolled at Urban were asked to rank 20 factors that helped determine their high school decision. The top two responses were related to Urban’s faculty. According to Urban’s 2016 admissions survey, sent

well-known that being a student at Urban is academically challenging. Equally as difficult, however far less discussed, are the challenges of being a teacher at Urban. In response to a question about the recent loss of History Teacher

specific circumstances … but what I can tell you about very happily is what a great place … (Urban) is to teach, and also how hard it is.” “(Teaching at Urban is) not for everybody,” Howland said. “You have to have a depth of knowledge

by the Urban admissions team, 83 percent of Urban families ranked teacher-student relationships as extremely important, and 78 percent ranked quality of faculty as extremely important when evaluating different high schools. It is

Cheri Martin and Chinese Teacher Yi Jiang, Jonathan Howland, Dean of Faculty, said, “It’s never happened before in the history of this school … so the fact that it has happened twice this year is rather jarring and stressful … I can’t talk about those

and subject expertise and aesthetic passion for your subject. You have to be a true expert and a real nerd.” A curious and inquisitive student body demands a well informed and passionate faculty. At Urban, there is a level of collaboration between

Morgan Guzmán teaches Remaking America, photo taken by Lola McAllister (‘19).

teachers that is fairly unique to the school. Howland said, “Urban teachers are teachers of students as well as students of their own teaching – always, and often in consort with colleagues, re-thinking and refining their practices to better understand and facilitate great learning.” Math Teacher, Scott Nelson, who started teaching at Urban in September of 1986, sees many consistencies in Urban’s teaching today compared to Urban’s teaching three decades ago. When asked how he ended up at Urban, Nelson said “I fell here. I didn’t get drawn here.” Nelson came back from Nepal looking for a teaching job in San Francisco. He was splitting wood at Hunter’s Point and when he got a call from a school he had never heard of: Urban. “I thought it was called the Irving School,” he said. In 1986, when Nelson first came to Urban, the school had 162 students, and they had just begun connecting the Gumption building to the next

building over. Nelson used to call Urban “The One Staircase School” because the only staircase back then was the one next to School Counselor Kaern Kreyling’s office. “What’s cool about The One StairCase School,” recounted Nelson, “is you saw everybody everyday several times, because there was only that one staircase.” Even though the class sizes were the same as they are now, Nelson knew almost everybody in the school. With classes ranging from about 12-16 students, that aspect of teaching at Urban hasn’t changed much. “They told me there was no textbook and no curriculum and that I could teach whatever I wanted. .. that was awesome and terrifying,” said Nelson. Despite being intimidated by what he described as “beautiful freedom,” he drew inspiration from the teachers around him. “I was awed by the teachers that were in the building ... There was a passion for teaching and learning and it was very clearly in

the building,” Nelson recalled. Nelson said, “Wow this place can really teach. I hope I can keep up.” After about three decades here, not only has Nelson kept up, but he has endured major changes for Urban teachers. One major change was the introduction of grades to the Course Report in the 2011-12 school year. Although students have received a conventional transcript with letter grades since the school’s founding in 1966, it was just a few years ago in the 2011-12 school year when letter grades were added to the tri-annual course reports. “The biggest difference is in the relationship of the students to teachers which really has to to do with grades and the college pressure that I notice,” said Nelson. He attributed these changes to the external world, not Urban itself: “It’s not like we have changed as teachers or what we care about, it’s just the world has changed.” Despite this externally motivated shift to have a more college focused high school expe-

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rience, Nelson sees Urban teaching as fundamentally the same: “It’s tremendously challenging.” “The standards are very high,” said Nelson, partially connecting these standards to how “the students demand excellent teaching ... What’s easy about it is for the most part students like to learn,” mirroring the passion Nelson describes in his colleagues. “What’s hard about it is [students]

to be equipped to deal with tricky questions from curious students. One change Nelson saw as beneficial to the Urban community is that teaching has become more professional. Nelson partly connected this to Urban’s increased standards for hiring in order to develop a stronger staff. He also saw the school’s increase in popularity and success as a factor adding to this professionalism.

to a more formal style. “I don’t think it ruins us, we saved our soul, you know.” Nelson believes that teachers and teaching at Urban has endured superficial changes, but has remained fundamentally the same. He even thinks that by prioritizing depth over breadth of subject matter Urban still doesn’t really teach towards testing. Not all of the challenges are limited to class time. The Urban stan-

ask really hard questions, you have to really know your stuff,” Nelson said. Students expect teachers to have a high level of expertise in their subject, which Howland described as central to being a successful Urban teacher. Students’ passion for learning demands a vast depth of knowledge for the teachers

“Teaching responds to the demands,” said Nelson, “we have higher demands from parents, higher expectations for test scores being good when we never even talked about test scores. We didn’t care about AP classes or test scores.” A heightened focus on test scores demanded that Urban teachers adapt

dard for feedback on students’ assessments and tests is also very high. Before coming to Urban, Nelson taught at a public school for three years, where he worked with 150 students a day. When he came to Urban, he taught about 40-50 students per day. Despite having far fewer students, Nelson said, Anthony So teaches English 1B, photo taken by Hilary Roberts (‘19).

Riley Maddox teaches Math 2B, photo taken by Hilary Roberts (‘19).

“I spend about five times as much grading time here than I did in the public school.” Grading for Urban teachers can be a highly time consuming activity. “To grade one set of tests in math here might take me three hours,” Nelson added. But, Nelson concluded, “We focus on learning more than grades.” Nelson summed up teaching at Urban by saying, “It’s very high energy and intense and wonderful, and super hard.” Math Teacher Jessica Yen also taught at a large public school before coming to Urban. Yen worked at a high school in northern Virginia for four years before she moved to the Bay Area a year and a half ago. She taught about 30 students in a classroom, compared to Urban’s average class size, 14 per classroom. A different class size demanded a new style for Jessica. “The teaching style here is much more hands on, there’s a lot more discovery learn-

ing,” she said. “As a teacher your role is more around how to guide students towards that learning,” she continued. Yen said that planning for a lesson is harder because there is so much more class time. At Urban, Yen adapted a new style of teaching math even though she had been teaching for several years already. She explained that “The activities we do (at Urban) are very unique and really help students to understand concepts more deeply but it’s definitely a non traditional way of looking at things.” Originally, she was daunted by this new approach but she is glad that she adjusted to a new style. Urban teachers are faced with the challenge of fitting a semester worth of curriculum into a 12 week term. Courses move quickly and are fastpaced. Yen said, “pacing was a little bit challenging at first to adjust to.” Yen described another challenge of the 12 week term: there is less time

to build relationships with students. After coming to Urban, Yen has felt more intellectually challenged, and said, “I sit and think a lot more about how to teach math than I did at my previous school.” However, in terms of time management she feels relieved. “Time wise I felt much more sleep deprived at my other school because I would stay up late grading literally hundreds of papers,” Yen recounted. All in all, she said, “The expectations here are higher.” Just like our teachers demand hard work from students, the Urban community holds very high standards for its teachers. These standards may have developed overtime, but the heart of Urban teaching remains the same, and very challenging.

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Deciding between saving money and riding ethically Sexual harassment allegations. Trade secrets. A short-tempered CEO. All of these factors contribute to controversy surrounding Uber. Uber is a transportation network founded in 2009 with employees around the world and headquarters in San Francisco. Lyft, its main competitor, also operates from headquarters in San Francisco, but is branded differently and used to be distinguished by a large pink mustache on every Lyft car. According to the SF Examiner, there are roughly 45,000 Uber and Lyft drivers in San Francisco, and that number continues to rise. According to a 2017 survey by The Rideshare Guy, a blog and podcast for rideshare drivers, “An astounding 75.8 percent of Lyft drivers agreed with the statement that they were satisfied with their experience driving for Lyft, while only 49.4 percent of Uber drivers could say the same.” Forums on Uber’s website discussed the problems with Uber and the better environment of Lyft, citing Uber’s motto, “Everyone’s private driver”, showing the difference in culture to Lyft’s “Your friend with

a car”. In an article from March of 2017, the L.A. Times summarized criticisms of Uber in the past year: Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s ties to President Trump and monetary support for his campaign; multiple wide-ranging sexual harassment allegations from former employees; a lawsuit by Google over trade secrets theft, Uber’s senior VP resigning

Written by Aidan Ryan

Their travel ban protest was probably the main thing that pissed me off about Uber and made me use Lyft instead. - James Fusco

for not disclosing a sexual harassment claim, and videos showing Kalanick shouting explicitly at one of his drivers. At the Urban School, 85 out of 100 students surveyed on their transportation service preferences said they use Lyft or Uber,

Infographic by Kian Nassre. Survey Taken 2017

with 42 using uber and 25 using Lyft. Some students even attributed the controversies surrounding Uber as a reason to stop using it. “(The controversies) were one of the main reasons why I used Lyft when I was using a ridesharing service. I didn’t appreciate what Uber was doing in terms of trying to take over the market. Their travel ban protest was probably the main thing that pissed me off about Uber and made me use Lyft instead.” Said James Fusco (‘18), a former frequent rideshare user. When asked if it is valid to not use Uber due to its CEO’s remarks and actions, Fusco said, “Yeah it’s totally valid. But it’s also valid to ignore it because they offer a great product.” In response to the question of whether it’s appropriate to not use Uber based on its politics, some students shared similar answers. “I think that it’s totally valid. I mean, I use Uber because it’s cheaper than other options, like Lyft, and my schedule is so jam-packed that I don’t have the time to take public transportation,” said Jia Hui Ma (‘17). Ma, a daily user of Uber, de-

CAPTION: A survey of 100 Urban School students, sent out on May 8th, 2017, students showed that more than 50 percent used Uber as their only rideshare service, compared to 30 percent for Lyft. Only 1 surveyed student used Flywheel/ Taxi.

I just want to let people know their options - Kimberly Rodriguez

scribed her experience with Uber as “satisfactory.” Belle Davis (‘19) had a different critique on Uber. “Did you see the video of the CEO and the young woman in an Uber? The way he yelled at the driver? I don’t want to be associated with that. And that’s just one example. The way Uber took advantage of the travel ban was not ok,” Davis said. Uber’s popularity may be due to the fact that in some cases it is the

cheapest transportation service. However, this may change. Recently, Uber has run into problems with governments around the world that rule in favor of taxing Uber drivers in the same category as other businesses. The US hasn’t gone through with taxing Uber in the same manner, but given the worldwide trend, it’s a possibility. According to ABC News, “In February, an Australian court ruled that Uber drivers, like other taxi drivers, will have to pay the nation’s 10 percent goods and services tax (GST). Similarly, earlier this week, a London lawyer took the first step to sue Uber and demand that the company pay the UK’s 20 percent value added tax (VAT) on every ride. And most recently, on March 22, 2017, Canada unveiled plans to end Uber’s tax advantage by making it pay the GST, which ranges from 5 percent to 15 percent.” To address some of this, Uber has partnered with WageWorks, an employee benefits company, to allow employees to use pretax earnings to pay for Uberpool, helping “commuters with WageWorks accounts save up to 40 percent on their UberPool rides under the program,” said Andrew J Hawkins, writer of The Verge magazine. Teachers received this in-

formation at Urban through email on February 23rd, 2017. Kim Rodriguez, Urban School Payroll and Benefits Coordinator, first received the email and was the one who spread this commuter benefits opportunity to staff. “Ethically, I don’t agree with Uber and how they treat their employees … I don’t agree with anything that they stand for, but I had to let faculty know, because it is pre-tax deductions...I just want to let people know their options,” said Rodriguez. In an interview with The Urban Legend on May 20th, Lyft CFO Brian Roberts said, “To enable commuter benefits (e.g., Wageworks), the vehicles used must hold 6 or more passengers to qualify (think minivans or larger SUVs). We are building our supply of these vehicles in SF and offering special incentives to drivers to deliver a similar experience. We have launched Lyft Line with commuter benefits in other cities. Your readers should expect that SF will have this option in the near future.” As Uber and Lyft continue to gain popularity in San Francisco and around the country, many are posed with the dilemma of deciding whether personal morals and ethics are more important than price and ease of service. On students using Lyft instead of Uber, Roberts said, “Please thank the Urban student body for riding on the bright side and with their social conscience!”

The Yeti

Greenaction addresses environmental

issues in residential development

of Bay Area

On April 23, 2017, representatives from Greenaction, an environmental justice organization, came and spoke to the students of the Urban School of San Francisco students during an AllSchool Meeting. Brian Butler, Greenaction Community Organizer & Policy Advocate, along with Lisseth Ramos and Caitlin Rand, two Greenaction health interns, spoke to the student body about the environmental concerns of the San Francisco Bay Area and tested our knowledge about the Bayview-Hunter’s Point neighborhood.

Greenaction was founded in 1997 in Arizona and now does work in California, Florida, Louisiana, Utah and Wisconsin as well as continued work in Arizona. The organization also addresses issues affecting native land. According to Greenaction’s website, the organization “works with low-income and working class urban, rural, and indigenous communities to fight environmental racism and build a clean, healthy and just future for all.” Greenaction’s California work involves West Oakland and the Bayview Hunter’s Point Area in San Francisco. The Bay Area has faced increased prices in rent in the past ten years, driving locals to certain areas of the city where the rent is lower. According to Rent Jungle, the average rent of a one-bedroom home in San Francisco has increased from $2,176 in 2011 to $3,363 in April of 2017, an increase of 64.7 percent. As prices of rent in San Francisco neighborhoods continue to rise, developers aim to increase the amount of affordable housing for long-time San Francisco residents. The San Francisco Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (SFOCII) issued a goal in 2003 to redevelop the Hunter’s Point Shipyard, “which will ultimately include up to 1,600 homes, 27 percent to 40 percent of which will be affordable, and 26 acres of open space,” according to the SFOCII website.

Written by August Ackley

In an interview with the Urban Legend, Brian Butler of Greenaction said, “I’m looking at Bayview-Hunter’s Point with the India Basin and shipyard and even here in Northern California which is supposed to be most progressive and environ friendly, we’re having to watchdog the process, we’re having to challenge the developer,

challenge the California EPA, challenge the Navy to assure that the residents of the Bayviews aren’t being overlooked, that their health and their prosperity and quality of life aren’t being sacrificed.” Bayview-Hunter’s Point is an eastern neighborhood in San Francisco. According to Vice, the Navy used the Bayview shipyard in the 1960’s to decommission radioactive ships. Additionally, Vice reported on the Bayview Hunter’s Point “PG&E power plant that from 1929 to 2006 pumped out 550 tons of harmful particles each year.” Greenaction, partnered with Hunters View Mother’s Committee, closed the Hunter’s Point PG&E power plant in 2006. According to the Greenaction website, it was confirmed that “the soil and groundwater are (still) contaminated with many hazardous substances, including a large amount of PCBs, PAHS, THP diesel, arsenic, lead, hexavalent chromium, nickel, cobalt, zinc and asbestos.” According to SFGate, “between 1988 and 1992, 60 black women in Bayview-Hunters Point were found to have breast cancer -- and 41 percent of them were under age 50. In the rest of San Francisco, only 22 percent would be expected to fall in that age group.” Residents in Hunters Point living near industry

“With all development and big money projects, there’s a challenge making sure that human health is not being sacrificed for profit or making money. That’s a challenge that California isn’t immune to and while it may look different in California, it’s something that we fight day in and day out on,” said Butler.

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124

In a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency, Mayor Ed Lee and Supervisor Malia Cohen said “the environmental cleanup of Waste the property is a critical first step in the process of developing handlers Hunters Point Shipyard—a project that will deliver desin HUnters perately needed housing and long-overdue public point regubenefits to the Hunters Point community,” lated by Birth requesting a briefing from the EPA for defect continued investigation of Hunter’s rate per 1000 Point. births in Hunters Point Development of this area will not continue until the neighborhood has been deemed safe and nontoxic. Greenaction is working with the city to ensure that this becomes a reality.

12,000

According to the official website of the United States government, the Environmental Projection Agency “...protects people and the environment from significant health risks, sponsors and conducts research, and develops and enforces environmental regulations.”

Leaking underground tanks in Hunters point

Source: Greenaction.org

Contamination in Bayview-Hunter’s Point area is something that has been overlooked for generations, but especially more recently as real estate companies have seized the area for increased development, the issues still must be addressed.

44.3

The Yeti

BEST BAY AREA VIEWS 2

Written by Alyssa Romo

1 3 5

With the school year coming to a close, Urban students will soon find their afternoons free of homework, studying and other school-related obligations. With the promise of more free time, the Yeti wants to share some of the Bay Areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best landscapes in hopes to in-

spire readers to spend more time outdoors, exploring and enjoying the Bayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most beautiful scenery.

TANK HILL

vista point

Twin Peaks

4 COIT TOWER

Bernal heights Photos number 1 through 4 taken April 29 by Alyssa Romo (‘18) Photo number 5 taken May 22 by Diego Lopez (‘18)

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the bill that changed sre Nas n a i everything by K ritten W

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. However, in spite of the law’s fame (or infamy depending on your political views,) many do not even know what Obamacare does. Considering the Republican bill in Congress that seeks to repeal and replace Obamacare, it is important to understand the current system. A Reuters survey from January 9, 2014 found that 69 percent of uninsured persons in America lacked basic knowledge of Obamacare provisions, including their own eligibility. Numerous myths exist about Obamacare. There is Sarah Palin’s myth that Obamacare included socalled “death panels” that elderly people must go to prior to receiving health insurance. In 2009, PolitiFact rated this as their first “Lie of the Year.” PolitiFact had other examples. Classics include that if someone signs up for Obamacare, they have to agree to a home inspection; Obamacare is the largest tax increase in the world; 76-year-olds are not eligible for cancer treatment; if someone hasn’t seen a doctor in 15 years then they can’t now; and a lot more. Understanding what function Obamacare actually performs requires an understanding of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s

Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The first two were created by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Medicare is a health coverage safety net for the elderly or disabled while Medicaid provides health insurance for persons of low-income. CHIP is a subcategory of Medicaid, which, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, provides health insurance to over 8 million children. Most Obamacare provisions fall into one of three categories: regulating private health insurers to end unfair practices and increase healthcare quality, creating additional cost assistance programs, and giving entitlement programs a financial boost. A majority of the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act stem from Title I, “Quality Affordable Health Care for All Americans.” The key pillars of these provisions are as follows: you can not be denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition, you must have health insurance or face a tax penalty (Individual Mandate,) and Medicaid would see an expansion to cover persons up to 133 percent to 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL.) The Individual Mandate is an incredibly unpopular provision of Obamacare. A Kaiser Family Foun-

sre

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dation poll from 2012 estimated that roughly 66 percent of Americans disapproved of it. This is in spite of the fact that the Congressional Budget Office estimated that 90 percent of uninsured Americans would not be affected by the Individual Mandate because of exemptions. There are a couple reasons why the Individual Mandate exists. On July 17, 2013, 30 economists in the healthcare field sent a letter to congress expressing the necessity for the Individual Mandate. They said that the mandate was necessary to

Obamacare

Kian d by e n ig Des

On health care reform, the American people are too often offered two extremes — government-run health care with higher taxes or letting the insurance companies operate without rules … I believe both of these extremes are wrong. -Barack Obama, 2008

preserve the financial stability of other Obamacare provisions while ensuring that fewer individuals would gamble with their lives by foregoing insurance altogether.

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Concerns of insurance costs (premiums) rising came up during the 2016 election debates. However, according to the Congressional Budget Office and the Department

Health reported a lack of competing healthcare providers in many states due to the domination of providers such as Humana and United Healthcare. This low competition environment has, in turn, removed capitalistic incentives to lower pre-

Health insurance reform will stand alongside Social Security and Medicare in the annals of American history - Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA), 2010

of Health and Human Services, premiums would be 30 to 50 percent higher without Obamacare. Moreover, a CNBC article from July 27, 2016, reported that premiums dropped between 10 percent and 20 percent in 2014 after Obamacare came fully into effect. The healthcare consulting firm Avalere

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miums and thus become a reason why premiums have risen. Even if a state has many providers, consumers may find themselves in a county with only one insurer. This prospect hits an extreme in the states of Alabama, Alaska, Kansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming. Every coverage region in these states has only one insurer. If they decide to pull out or reduce coverage in those regions, countless persons find themselves without any health insurance. This was the case in Pinal County, Arizona, when Aetna significantly reduced its operations in that sector, leaving applicants with no public exchange options

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except for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, which also plans to pull out. However, Obamacare does have a connection to the rise of premiums. On August 15, 2016, Aetna CEO Mark T. Bertolini cited Aetna’s $200 million loss in the second quarter of 2016 from its public exchanges and the likely cause: pre-existing conditions. One of the most popular Obamacare provisions is the one causing insurance premium spikes. This is because, under Obamacare, healthy people are in the same pool as those with pre-existing conditions. This system is designed so that the healthy help to subsidize health insurance for the sick, so if these pools are too small or have low healthy enrollment, premiums rise. As of October 24, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services cited a 22 percent increase in premiums between 2016 and 2017. Yet that provision is popular for a reason. A Kaiser Family Foundation study released on December 12, 2016, estimated that upwards of 50 million Americans under 65 have pre-existing conditions that, without Obamacare, would reduce their accessibility to and quality of health insurance.

There is another problem with Obamacare: the Medicaid Gap. Shortly after Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, 26 states brought suits against its most controversial provisions: the Individual Mandate, which taxed persons without health insurance, and the mandatory state expansion of Medicaid, in National Federation of Independent Businesses v. Sebelius. The Supreme Court ruled that the Individual Mandate was constitutional 5-4, but agreed that a mandatory state expansion of Medicaid was not 7-2. As a result, states are not required to expand Medicaid to 133 percent to 138 percent of the FPL. As of January 1, 2017, the Kaiser Family Foundation reports that only 31 states and D.C. have expanded Medicaid to that threshold, while 19 have not. In the latter, you can only enroll in Medicaid if you are below approximately 50 percent of the FPL. Since most persons below 100 percent of the FPL can not afford individual plans, this leaves a large section of Americans caught in a gap: too rich for Medicaid, and too poor for private insurance, even with cost assistance. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, approximately 2.6 million Americans

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fall into the Medicaid Gap. On March 24, 2016, NBC reported a distinct lack of knowledge in Texas surrounding marketplace insurance. The article brought up the 30 percent of Texans with individual plans who were not confident about what the term premium means. Additionally, the article cited Vivian Ho, chair in health economics at the Baker Institute, “The long-term success of the Affordable Care Act depends on buying, using and experiencing satisfaction with health insurance … The lack of understanding about basic financial coverage provisions of health insurance plans can lead to surprise and frustration … That can undermine efforts to increase coverage.” This nationwide trend of poor education surrounding Obamacare and healthcare in general has left even the most basic aspects of Obamacare unknown, let alone the more complex ones. Even Obamacare’s name has been muddled. A Morning Construct survey from February 7, 2017, found that 35 percent of American adults did not know that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the same thing as Obamacare. A survey of 90 Urban School students and faculty was conducted by the Urban Legend between April 26, 2017, and May 4, 2017. Each respondent was asked what Obamacare’s real name is, what Medicaid is, and what an insurance premium is. 48 percent of the respondents did not know Obamacare’s real name. Similarly, 52 percent of respondents did not know what Medicaid was, while another 26 percent confused it with Medicare. And like the So ur ce :K ai

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survey in Texas, 66 percent of respondents did not know what an insurance premium is. Considering how publicized Obamacare has become, this unfamiliarity is curious and potentially damaging to the revolutionary healthcare law. According to healthcare.gov, the FPL for an individual is approximately twelve thousand dollars. Furthermore, assetsandopportunity.org reports that the bottom quintile of Americans make less than $21,844. This means that approximately one-fifth of all Americans fall below 180 percent of the FPL, and another fifth fall between 180 percent and 350 percent of the FPL, meaning Obamacare could hypothetically provide aid to as many as 40 percent of Americans. When asked about whose situation has improved under Obamacare, Secily Bason Mitchell, M.D. said, “The working person. The normal working person.” Part of that aid came in the form tax credits and cost sharing subsidies for persons below 400 percent and 300 percent of the FPL respectively. Another of Obamacare’s most popular provisions allows children under 26 to stay on their parents’ insurance plans. Before Obamacare, insurance companies could discriminate based on age, family size, gender, and tobacco use. Obamacare made it unlawful to discriminate based on gender, and set caps on the rest. For example, insurance companies may charge their oldest applicants no more than 3 times what they charge their youngest ones. Obamacare also outlawed lifetime

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insurers can charge individuals to a percentage of their income, and decreed that insurers spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical cost or issue rebates. Also, health insurance plans had to include certain essential health

There is a group of people -mostly small business owners and employees -- who make just a little too much money to qualify for Medicaid expansion or for the tax incentives who can’t get affordable health insurance premiums in a lot of places. And the reason is they’re not in big pools. -Bill Clinton 2016

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chronic disease treatment, and pediatric services. Since these provisions took effect, the percentage of Americans without health insurance hitting historic lows. A Gallup poll from January 9, 2017, and a Kaiser Family Foundation report from September 29, 2016, both estimated the percentage in 2015 between 10 percent and 11 percent. More recent surveys from the CDC place the percentage in 2016 at 8.8 percent. “From my perspective as a physician, I have had an enormous number of patients come in, having not been seen by a doctor for four to five years, who now have the Affordable Care Act and are coming to the doctor,” Bason Mitchell said.

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Co-Presidents refLect on their time at Urban Written by Diego Lopez

Each spring, two juniors at the Urban School of San Francisco are ushered into the office of Charlotte Worsley, the Dean of Student Life, to receive the news that they will be the next Urban School co-presidents. The co-presidents are the faces and voices of the Urban student community in meetings with Worsley, faculty members and the school administration. For the 2016-2017 school year, Clara Becker (‘17) and James Hill (‘17) served as the co-presidents. “I ran because I noticed a general lack of enthusiasm and school spirit and passion in my grade,” said Hill. He had served on student committee as a junior class rep and was disappointed in his grade’s spirit. Hill chose to run as an attempt to invigorate his grade with passion and “Blunity”, which means unity between the Urban School students, or Blues. “I wore every piece of Urban gear on the day of the speeches,” Hill said, which went well with his campaign strategy to “go as extra as possible.” He was confident that he would win and said, “Despite the fact that two students of whatever gender could have been elected, I think that Urban still has male-female role ingrained in them.” This gave Hill an advantage as he was the only male in

the race. From its founding, there have always been two co-presidents at the Urban School and, until two years ago, it was required that there be one boy and one girl. However, Worsley said that after a faculty training about the gender spectrum and gender fluidity, “We didn’t want any (requirements for) our elected officials (to be) on the binary because it would be excluding people.” There are now no gender requirements for the co-presidents or any other elected office within the school, but the student body has continued to elect one boy and one girl each year. Hill addressed this pattern and said, “When students vote I think they want to see someone they relate to on stage. And for underclassmen especially the relationship can be a lot more surface level. And so I think a lot of underclassmen boys want to have a male role model and thus they will elect a male role model and I think the same goes for underclassmen girls.” When asked about who helped him with his campaign Hill said, “My campaign was all run by me. I made every poster, I printed every poster, I hung up every poster.” Hill was confident that he and his “je ne sais quoi” alone would be enough to win him the presidency.

When asked if he liked being co-president, Hill simply said, “Yes and no and I’ll leave it at that.” He elaborated briefly by saying the responsibly was hard especially with people “blaming shit on you.” When asked if he would have been able to be co-president for two years, Hill said, “No, absolutely not.” He expressed some slight regret and said, “If I could redo this year, I may not have done it.” According to Hill, his greatest accomplishment was the Blues Jam promo. “I think (the promo) has gotten the best crowd reaction from an ASM in a long time,” said Hill. As for Becker, the other co-president for the 2016-2017 school year, she said “I decided to run my freshman year because I started writing a speech in my head and...I am a pretty hard worker so...I knew I would (take the job seriously). I was happy with the opportunity to stand in front of the school and try to make people laugh.” When asked if she thought she would win, Becker said, “No, God no.” She didn’t believe she would win, but once she started the job, Becker said, “I liked everything, I loved meeting with Charlotte, that’s really fun. I love talking with people.” Becker said she liked interacting with people in the hall and said, “I love when people go in the hall and say ‘hey prez!’” When asked about the hardest part of being a co-president, Becker said, “Honestly, I didn’t

I didn’t expect this, running ASMs. They are really, really boring. You can’t do anything.” She expected it to be fun and to have freedom to do what she wanted. She said the new Salkind Center gym made it awkward to stand in a big space and not know where to go during announcements. “It was never as fun as I thought it would be,” Becker said. “I like public speaking. That’s something that I found out about myself,” Becker said, which led to her favorite moment being her Winterfest comedy piece. Her other favorite moment was helping to give students space to express their feelings after the election of Donald Trump, including the walk out. There are some misconceptions surrounding the co-president elections. Originally, the election was

simply run by people going around the school with paper ballots at lunch. Charlotte said this strategy produced low voter turnout because people would go out for lunch and not get to vote. When the school transitioned to online voting, the percentage of students who voted increased drastically. Worsley said roughly 360 people, roughly 90 percent of the student body, voted this year in the co-presidential election with similar figures in both the first round of election and the runoff. The election at Urban usually has two rounds, the primary and the run off. In the primary, a candidate can win the presidency by getting at least 50 percent of the vote. If no one or only one person is able to gain the sufficient number of votes, then there is a runoff

Photo taken by Kris Bailey, Director of Communications

between the two candidates with the next highest number of votes. Worsley said, “I became aware this year that there are rumors that I rig elections.” Contrary to popular belief, Worsley has no control over the outcome of the elections. She theorized about the reason behind these rumors and said, “People forget that the whole four grades are voting for these things so the perspective of students across the four grades is different than what any one group thinks...I really believe this is where students have a say,” Worsley said. This is the time students can choose their leadership and Worsley respects that. For the 2017-2018 school year, the student body will be led by the next set of co-presidents, Abby Walker (‘18) and Tonalli Vargas (‘18).

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A NEW FAMILY AND HOME IN RURAL ECUADOR FOR URBAN ALUM Written by Olivia Meehan

While most graduating seniors pack their bags and head to college, Urban alumnus Amelia Wohlers, class of 2016, chose to wait until the fall of 2017 to begin her studies at University of British

Columbia. During her gap year, Wohlers traveled to a rural community outside the town of Cotacachi in northern Ecuador for roughly nine months and found the experience trans-

forming. What follows is a personal account by Wohlers, full of immersive stories and key information for anyone who is interested in taking a Gap Year.

Ameliaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s host sister, Mishel, mom, Laura, and aunt Cristina pose for a picture outside their house. . Photo contributed by Amelia Wohlers.

“I didn’t feel ready to go to the 13th grade. I was really burnt out. Urban was hard. I just needed some space, so I started looking through the American Gap Association at all these approved programs and I found the Global Citizen Year. This program stood out because the entire time (you are abroad) you are with a family, immersed. I really wanted to do something where I felt part of a community. There are a lot of perfect ways to do a gap year, but I personally didn’t want to spend my year as a tourist because I have my entire life to do that. In the house was my host mom, my three host sisters, my host aunt, her husband, their four-year-old kid, my host grandma, another uncle, and some really old lady, who I never figured out how she was related to me. Going into it, I was flipping out because I committed to it for nine months of my life. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to communicate, that I wouldn’t be self-sufficient, that I wouldn’t learn what I had wanted to or that I’d still feel just as burnt out and that it wouldn’t have been a good use of my time. I left Ecuador feeling (that my gap year) was really productive. I wouldn’t call my gap year fun. It was really difficult. Becoming part of a family is hard. I got in fights with them, and they frustrated the hell out of me, but I love them. When I got there I was like, ‘Oh my God, what have I signed up for? I have made a mistake.’ Almost everyone in my family spoke Spanish but everyone also speaks Kichwa, their indigenous language. Turned out that more than 75 percent of their conversations were in Kichwa. It was really hard. It took me four months until I could pick up any Kichwa. But with time and a lot of

work, I feel like a part of that family and I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve only been gone for two weeks but I’ve talked to my family every day. The beginning of November is Día de los Difuntos (Day of the Spirits), Ecuador’s version of Dia de los Muertos. You make a ton of food and you go to the cemetery and share a meal with the entire community. My family dressed me in indigenous wear. To them I never looked presentable, so they dressed me up in the least comfortable clothing I’ve ever worn. During the party (my host mom) started telling me about her first kid that was stillborn. She got married at 16 and had that stillborn kid at 17. She started crying and I did, too. Talking about how it was to go through that so young was a moment where I started to actually feel like part of the family, that I wasn’t just a tourist,

that they were so important to me. Near Christmas, my U.S. family came to visit me and stayed with my host family. We were all together in that tiny little house. It was really overwhelming and strange and wonderful because my U.S. family didn’t speak a word of Spanish so I was doing all this translating. My U.S. mom was just so grateful to them for taking me in because it was a really big step for my U.S. mom as well. It was overwhelming to try to get them to both know each other because I love them both so much. It’s a lot to have two moms, especially in the same space. It felt really important for them to meet. My family in Ecuador is my real family in every way that matters. It’s important to me that both families know each other.”

Amelia’s host aunt, Cristina, and her child, Katari, share food at the cemetery on Día de los Difuntos. Photo contributed by Amelia Wohlers.

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The 2015-16 school year proved difficult for parking due to the construction of Urban’s Mark Salkind Center. Before construction started, many teachers parked in a surface parking lot that sat between the St. Agnes Gym and Mark Salkind Center parking spaces. Taken May 30, Oak Street. That lot 2017. Photo by Jack Cogen. ter parking lot, with the exception of closed May 27, 2015, nighttime events, such as One Acts and with street parking eliminated and the Urban athletic banquet. on Oak street, teachers were forced “I think students should be able to to compete with student drivers or use it,” Izak Sheinfield-Kandel (‘17) park in paid lot near Kezar Stadisaid. “Priority should go to teachers, um . Also, construction projects in but I am under the impression that it the neighborhood and new permit does not get filled each day by teachparking zones eliminated viable ers. I carpool with someone and it is student street parking. extremely difficult for them to find Although a few of these conparking. I think that in most cases, struction projects have been onthe garage is not full, so I think stugoing since last school year, most dents should access it.” are finished, which has freed up a Garage parking is limited to teachsignificant amount of street parkers, Urban staff, adult guests of Uring for student use. A building on ban, and the employees of the St. the Northwest corner of Page Street Agnes Church. The garage is divided and Masonic Avenue was under into two floors, one on the ground construction for the majority of the floor, and a lower basement level. 2015-2016 school year. It took away The ground floor is comprised of parking spots on Page from Masonsingle spots, and the bottom of sinic to the St. Agnes gym, and was regle, tandem and triple spots. A visit cently opened as affordable housing to the garage on Tuesday May 30, for disabled adults. 2017, showed eleven vacant spots reThe Urban Garage is now open. served for Urban staff on the ground When seniors from the class of 2017 floor , one vacant spot reserved for were shown a preview of the garage, Urban teachers on the bottom floor, many were surprised by the sheer and a vast majority of spots reserved size of the structure. “This could fit for St. Agnes employees vacant. students” Alex Hoskins’ (‘17) said Spots limited by solid green lines are after seeing the garage. Hoskins also reserved for St. Agnes all the time, said, “When I drive in with my dad, and spots limited by white rectana third of the spots are empty. There gles are reserved for Urban faculty are so many spaces.” and staff. There are also spots limCurrently, students are not authoited by green and yellow rectangles, rized to use the Mark Salkind Cen-

which are reserved for the church after 5 pm. These findings raise the question of why there are so many open parking spots. “Some teachers carpool or Uber,” Erika Tavisora, the Mark Salkind Center’s receptionist, said. Certain teachers such as French teacher Arnaud Finet elect to walk to school. “I have only driven twice, I usually walk,” Finet said. He continued, “Most of the teacher spots are tandems. Some teachers park in the tandems every single day, I don’t know how they do it.” The fact that lower level parking is in tandem, meaning that one car pulls into the spot before another parks directly behind it, seems to be a limiting factor in whether teachers park in the garage or not. The school regulates tandems by having the person who pulls into the spot last email the person they are blocking. The school also advised the people parking first in the tandem to “absorb some ambiguity on your departure time.” When asked about students parking in the lot, Finet said, “there won’t be enough space.” According to Diane Walters, Urban’s chief financial officer, there are eighty spots in the garage. However, a maximum of 75 spots are available to Urban faculty and staff, as five are reserved for St. Agnes. She also said there are as few as seven spots available to Urban on certain days. Walters cites that there is a “complex arrangement” with the church, so “the number of spots allocated to Urban varies by the day of the week.” As a result, the school is “not extending parking to students.”

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As kale chips have gone from a crunchy hipster trend to a San Francisco corner store staple, it seems as if healthy and clean dietary choices are taking over the world. While approximately 3.2 percent of Americans eat a vegetarian diet, according to a study by Harris Insights and Analytics, a market research firm, only 0.5 percent of Americans eat a vegan diet. Vegan Instagram accounts filled with colorful quinoa bowls and blogs advising dairy alternatives fill teenage news feeds and motivate healthy choices through social media. Dietary restrictions are not always due to intolerances, allergies and health choices. Many people worldwide also make choices based on their religious beliefs. While some only alter their diets temporarily like Christians during Lent, others are Halal or Kosher for their whole lives. Many Buddhists and Hindus choose to follow a vegetarian diet and many other religions restrict or donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t recommend the consumption of meat, dairy, shellfish or alcohol. Last Thanksgiving, with a vegan, two vegetarians, a soy-free uncle and another uncle whose diet consists solely of quinoa and avocado, my family was at a loss. Could Thanksgiving dinner really be Thanksgiving if everyone was eating their own soy-free, dairy-free, peanut-free, meat-free, raw, sustainable turkey alternative?

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Gluten Free What is it? -Veganism is the practice of not eating any animal products including products that animals naturally produce like eggs and milk. This also includes products like honey. Eating a vegan diet eliminates many unhealthy processed foods and can limit carbs depending on substitutions. It also has considerable environmental benefits because meat production requires large amounts of water. Student Opinion! Ella Rosenblatt ’17, vegan for almost three years Favorite vegan meal! Veggie burger! Something vegan we might not expect! Oreos! Why did you become a vegan and why do you continue to have your diet? After attending the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) camp and learning about many of the issues and dangers of factory farming, Rosenblatt took it upon herself to attempt to raise awareness not only about the treatment of animals but also many of the health benefits and environmental benefits of being vegan.

What is it? There are two sides to the large population of Americans that are living a dairy and lactose-free life; those who are lactose-intolerant and have a medical condition where they can’t eat lactose, and those who go lactose-free by choice for various reasons. Lactose-intolerance is a medical condition describing someone who does not have the enzymes in their body to break down lactose, a protein found in dairy products. Lactose-free means that someone has made the choice to cut out products that contain lactose from their diet, including milk, cheese, ice cream and other dairy products. This is typically done to have a healthier diet because of the large amounts of sugars and fats that many lactose products have. However, calcium is a vital element for our bones and is hard to find outside of milk products. Student Opinion! Tara Kamali ’17, lactose-intolerant for whole life, but only recently discovered Favorite milk substitution! Coconut milk! How do you stay healthy on your diet? Kamali mostly drinks lactose-free milk but also has almond milk and coconut milk often. Being lactose-intolerant has forced her to cut foods like milk, cheese and ice cream from her diet which has forced her to make healthier choices.

OTHER DIETS: The Baby Food Diet: With weight loss as the goal, this diet entails eating more than 16 jars of baby food a day and one full meal. Fruitarianism: A rare diet practiced by those who eat 75%-100% of their meals as fruit. According to registered dietician Laura Jeffers, a fruitarian diet can cause deficiencies in calcium, protein, iron, zinc, vitamin D, most B vitamins (especially B-12), and essential fatty acids. The Paleo Diet: Popularized as the caveman diet, this diet includes foods that could be hunted or gathered during Paleolithic times – meats, fish, nuts, leafy greens, regional veggies, and seeds. According to Loren Cordain, a professor of health at Colorado State University, the paleo diet has a “healthy ratio of saturated-to-un

Halal What is it? Some dietary restrictions are due to religious beliefs. For instance, many Jewish students choose to eat kosher with their families, a diet that excludes pig products and shellfish and prevents the mixing of dairy products with meat, among other guidelines. Other students choose to practice lent, a Christian tradition that involves limiting the consumption of certain foods between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Muslim students may choose to follow a halal diet. Halal is an Islamic diet that cuts out certain food groups and encourages fasting during the month of Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer and introspection. Those who choose to fast refrain from eating or drinking anything (including water) from sunrise to sunset. Student Opinion! Sophia Vahanvaty ‘17, halal since birth What motivated you to eat a Halal diet and what are your religious beliefs around food? Vahanvaty decided to follow in her family’s footsteps of eating Halal because of her belief that, “you are what you eat.” She does not eat pig or ground feeders like catfish because of her religion’s practices. What are some of the things involved in eating Halal? The main part of eating Halal is that the animals being eaten must have been killed in a very specific, humane and respectful way. Even within Islam, many Muslims choose to follow certain parts of the Halal diet and ignore others.

Lactose-Free What is it? According to The New Hope Network, the gluten-free food movement has grown by 17 percent since it skyrocketed in 2012. Gluten is a protein and binding agent that is used in baking and can be found in wheat, barley, and rye. Gluten protein can stay in the body weeks after ingestion. Again, there are two very different groups that both exclude products containing gluten from their diets. Some people chose to cut out gluten simply because of its health benefits or others do because of an autoimmune disorder called celiac disease. Cutting out gluten might limit the amount of bread or starchy products that someone is eating, which can be beneficial to one’s health. Student Opinion! Alyssa Romo ‘17, gluten-free for five years Why did you become gluten-free? Though Romo doesn’t have celiac disease, in an effort to stop her asthma, she decided to try a gluten-free diet which proved successful. Should others be gluten-free? It helped Romo’s medical issues drastically, but she stated that unless someone has a condition that prompts the choice, it’s not a necessary one. How do you stay healthy while being gluten-free? The most important way to stay healthy on her diet is to avoid substitutions. Just because something says gluten-free on the label doesn’t mean that it is healthier.

saturated fatty acids, increases vitamin and nutrient consumption, and contains an optimal balance of protein, fat, and carbohydrates.” The Vinegar Diet: Popularized by Lord Byron, a 18th century British poet and politician, this diet encourages people to drink vinegar, one cup of tea, and one raw egg daily. According to Vanessa Rodriguez, R.H.N., side effects often included vomiting and diarrhea. The Alkaline Diet: This diet is based on the idea that “meat, wheat, refined sugar, and processed foods cause your body to produce unhealthy acid,” said Sonya Collins, an independent health journalist. It promotes eating foods high in alkaline (having a pH higher than 7) such as most fruits and vegetables, soybeans and tofu, and some nuts and seeds.

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FAKE IDS FAKE IDS FAKE IDS FAKE IDS FAKE IDS FAKE IDS FAKE IDS Uncovering the Hidden culture

Written by Cole Palmer

Photo taken and edited by Emma Draisin, May 25, 2017

*The names of sources have been changed to protect their anonymity ** The release of this story was delayed by one year to protect anonymous sources

s he stepped into the gleaming, fluorescent interior of the convenience store, Jamie* eyed the glowing row of refrigerators lined up against the back wall. He headed forward, passing the cool cases full of tea, soda, and milk. With little more than a second glance, he reached inside the refrigerator on the far left and pulled out a six-

pack of beer. Heading back toward the cash register, he also grabbed a cheap bottle of red wine. Waiting in line behind two others, he shuffled his feet and glanced around nervously. “Hey man” said the cashier, distractedly, as Jamie got to the front of the line, “Anything else?,” the cashier asks. After hesitating a moment, Jamie said “A pack of Swishers too, please.” The cash register displayed a total cost, and he handed the cashier a stack of bills and an ID that read ‘Maryland’ in white scrawl. Walking back out into the drizzle and concrete, he displayed the goods to his friends, and they headed off for the night. Everything about the transaction was

completely normal, , except for the fact that the customer was neither from Maryland nor was he 21, as his ID claimed.

amie, who attends The Urban School of San Francisco, said he uses his fake ID to ‘buy up’ alcohol “whenever there’s an Urban party.” He bought the ID in a ‘group buy’, or a large order of fakes that come at a cheaper price per unit. Jamie bought his during his sophomore year. “It was a big delivery,” he said, “at Urban, probably 20 people (purchased a fake ID)..and in total, probably 60” including the Urban

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students and purchasers from outside of school. According to four student sources, these large-group buys have made the fakes extraordinarily cheap, at around $70 for a set of two. Todd*, another student at Urban, said he paid “in total, around $85 for two, including (the cost of) a photo at Walgreens.” Like Jamie, he said he “bought it from a group deal with friends … through an Urban student” in a group of “about 30 people.” Todd said he uses his fake “twice, three times a month.”

aniel*, a former Urban student who said he uses his fake “when I go out on the weekend to go to bars,” bought his “online, on the darknet.” The darknet, a hidden portion of the Internet that requires special software to access, can provide a litany of illegal goods and services through the use of Bitcoin (a digital cryptocurrency). “I looked it up on the internet,” said Daniel, who also explained just how to find a fake for sale online. Bulk ordering on these sites facilitates group buys, a process that Daniel has done himself in the past. “(Purchasers) pay

me and give me their information, and the IDs usually arrive within the month.” “I could have made money,” he said, “but I didn’t.” Daniel distinguished between his role as a facilitator, rather than a dealer. He insisted he was doing favors rather than providing a service in exchange for compensation. He said that he “very rarely” provides fakes to underclassmen, for “many reasons”.

ake IDs are widely considered to be pervasive in Urban’s social culture, but aside from anecdotal evidence, exactly how prevalent are fake IDs at Urban? A survey of 94 Urban students conducted in spring of 2016 indicated that approximately 18 percent of respondents have or have had a fake ID. This is in comparison to 12.5 percent, the number of rising college freshman who own fake IDs according to a 2007 study of 3,720 individuals conducted by the National Institute of Health (NIH). While grade-specific percentages must be kept confidential for the sake of anonymity, the survey found that the majority of fakes were owned by upperclass-

men. However, it did uncover a significant rate of fake ID ownership among underclassmen as well.

atthew* got his fake ID when he was “16 years old, (in the) 10th grade.” Although fake ID ownership in 2016 was concentrated heavily among upperclassmen, Matthew was one of several underclassmen who owned one as well. As with the upperclassmen I talked to, he said he uses his fake “for special occasions and to buy up with friends.” However, he didn’t really see the fake ID as the single enabler for his alcohol use, saying that he’d probably drink the same amount without one “because of my friends who have them and because there is usually alcohol available at parties.” According to the 2016 HIPE survey (which, amongst other things, monitors substance usage by the Urban student body every year), over 84 percent of Urban students have used marijuana at least once and over 80 percent have consumed alcohol at least once. It is unclear to what degree fake IDs have enabled this level of alcohol consumption, and to what degree they could con-

tribute to cannabis consumption in the wake of legalization. However, it is clear that they play a significant role in Urban’s party culture. Jamie and Todd both said they use their fake IDs almost exclusively for Urban parties. According to the 2007 NIH study, 56 percent of fake ID owners reported weekly use of alcohol compared to 14 percent of non-owners. Would Urban students drink as much without access to fake IDs?

“Probably not” said Todd, and Daniel agrees: “I’d say that more people seem to go to house parties because of fake IDs.”

side from health impacts, there are legal and scholastic ramifications for owning a fake ID as well. Possession of one carrying your real name is a misdemeanor, while one with a name different than yours is

a felony. The Urban administration is very clear on their policy toward any illegal activity. Charlotte Worsley, Assistant Head of Student Life, said that she has “the right to investigate and prosecute any illegal activity at Urban using any means at (her) disposal,” making it clear that any transgressors are subject to expulsion. Students at Urban, which is a private institution, have very few rights that protect them or their belongings from being searched or seized within the school. Those who I interviewed said they are well aware of the potential ramifications of owning a fake ID. “I’m worried about my parents finding out or being caught using it” said Matthew, and others echoed that sentiment. However, despite the consequences, fake IDs have undoubtedly become a fixture of Urban’s social culture, a fact that is unlikely to change.

Photo taken and edited by Emma Draisin, May 25, 2017

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netfilx series,

13 REASONS WHY The opinions expressed in this article by Urban students are not the opinion of the Urban Legend. This article discusses self-harm and suicide.

“Welcome to your tape.” These four words begin every monumental moment in the new Netflix series, “13 Reasons Why.” The series, adapted from the 2007 novel, “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher, has become one of the most controversial and most watched shows in the country. The discussion lies in the content of the 13 episode, roughly 13 hour show that follows the story of 16-year-old Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) who leaves behind 13 secret tapes after committing suicide. Viewers are immediately greeted by Hannah’s voice as she walks through the personalized tapes, each directed at someone who she says led her to commit suicide. The viewer is thrown into the head of protagonist Clay Jensen, who listens to the tapes throughout the show and has constant flashbacks to his interactions with Hannah. “13 Reasons Why” touches on several topics prevalent in adolescents lives, including, alcohol abuse, bullying, and

sexual assault. The complexities of the show have led to a nationwide debate about suicide and how it was portrayed in the series. Several suicide prevention organizations have published resources for viewers. The JED Foundation, a suicide prevention organization, released an entire page dedicated to show titled “What Viewers Should Consider.” It includes top-

Images designed by Catherine Silvestri.

ics to think about before watching the show. The JED also warned parents to “make a considered and thoughtful decision about whether or not you choose to watch the show. If you have experienced significant depression, anxiety or suicidal thoughts or behaviors in the past, this show may be risky for you to watch.” Similarly, Common Sense Media, a “nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids thrive in a world of media and technology,” created a tool for families titled, “5 Conversations to Have with Your Teens After 13 Reasons Why.” These included asking the teen, “Do you think “13 Reasons Why” romanticizes suicide, or does it provide an important outlet and oppor-

SPARKS controversy INSIDE AND OUTSIDE URBAN Written by Catherine Silvestri

tunities for discussion? Or both?” and “When is it important to talk about mental health, especially if you’re worried about a friend or family member? What resources are available to help both kids and adults?.” Madelyn Gould, a professor of epidemiology and psychiatry at Columbia University, said, “The series is actually depicting suicide contagion, and at the same time, it’s denying the suicide contagion exists … it’s so upsetting to me on so many levels.” Suicide contagion is defined as the “process by which exposure to the suicide or suicidal behavior of one or more persons influences others to commit or attempt suicide” according to Patrick W. O’Carroll, M.D., M.P.H.. Since the show’s airing, other doctors have echoed the critique of glorification and misrepresentation of mental illnesses. “The way adults are portrayed as incompetent or clueless is a major problem in 13 Reasons Why,” said David N. Miller, the author of “Child and Adolescent Suicidal Behavior: School-Based Prevention, Assessment, and Intervention.” Miller believed the show would lead students away from seeking critical assistance, according to a New York Times article on May 1, 2017. However, the controversy does not stay in the doctor’s office. Many schools throughout the country

have sent letters to parents and guardians explaining their opinion of the series and the role the school and administration holds. Many of the schools fear that the show could push some students over the edge, rather than being a incubator for conversation. Tamalpais Union High School

A private school in Marin, Marin Catholic High School, had similar experiences with students asking for support from the school. In an interview with the Urban Legend, Principal of Marin Catholic, Chris Valdez discussed the issues “13 Reasons Why” brought up for the school.

“There are very few students whose lives have not been touched in some way by teen suicide (or suicide attempt), even if it’s a couple degrees of separation away.” Principle of Marin Catholic, Chris Valdez District sent a letter to parents on April 26, 2017 expressing their concerns. “Our student services staff, including school counselors, school psychologists, administrators and wellness staff, have reported that a number of students have sought support after watching the series. The graphic depictions of bullying, sexual h a rassment, sexual assault, rape, and suicide have proven to be very triggering, especially for our students who have experienced or witnessed any of these tough issues in their own lives or who are currently struggling with emotional or social challenges,” wrote Wesley Cedros, Ed.S., Senior Director of Student Services Tamalpais Union High School District.”

“Student reactions have been mixed by the show. There are very few students whose lives have not been touched in some way by teen suicide (or suicide attempt), even if it’s a couple degrees of separation away. My feeling is that students are on pretty high alert and very sensitive to the issue,” Valdez said. When asked what he suggested to students, Valdez responded, “From what I know it really is sensational and has little prosocial value, so I recommend a quiet disregard. This is wholly unpractical I realize, but I think by some times managing the practical, we compromise our ideals.” Marin Catholic did not send out a The Yeti

Drawing by Blake Case, Head Illustrator.

formal letter regarding the series. Although Urban did not sent out a formal letter to parents, guardians, or students, chatter about “13 Reasons Why” circled Urban’s halls in the weeks following its airing. While some students enjoyed it, others were disturbed. “It’s very intimate. It brings a lot of attention to issues that teens are dealing with. I give them praise for that. I would recommend it to most of my friends, with that said, giving them a warning that some of the scenes can be triggering. That’s what makes the show so good. The images they show are hard to watch, bringing a light that these are issues that many people deal with,” said Nick Andino (‘18). However, this intimacy also frightened other students. Some students worried that the show glorified suicide and mental health. “The way in which I’ve heard the show glorified suicide and mental health seemed really destructive to me, so I decided not to watch,” said Lydia Sears (‘18), who read the book but was against the show. In order to deal with some of the issues brought up, Netflix created a 30-minute documentary called “Beyond the Reasons” to accompany the series. The short video includes the cast, producers and mental health experts discussing some of the show’s more difficult

Chat with THE Head of The Urban School : Mark Salkind

scenes. Due to some of the backlash the show received among many great fans, one of the show’s writers, Nic Sheff, wrote an essay in Vanity Fair explaining his own connection to Hannah Baker and his own experience with suicide. “I was struck by how relevant and even necessary a show like this was: offering hope to young people, letting them know that they are not alone—that somebody out there gets them. In 13 Reasons Why, the story of a high-school girl who takes her own life, I saw the opportunity to explore issues of cyberbullying, sexual assault, depression … And, beyond all that, I recognized the potential for the show to bravely and unflinchingly explore the realities of suicide for teens and young adults—a topic I felt very strongly about.” Although the series has received some backlash, the Netflix twitter account released a statement on May 9, 2017, announcing that there will be a season 2 of “13 Reasons Why.” The image attached to the post revealed that there will be no more tapes, and the season will explore “the way we raise boys up into men and the way we treat

“Rather than telling students what they can and cannot watch, Urban’s approach is to put our energies into having a comprehensive health program for students and to offer multiple parent education evenings so that we can help students be prepared to use their critical thinking skills when they see a program like this one. Both Shafia Zaloom and Jennifer Epstein, Urban’s Health Education Teachers will be holding forums this week for students who want to talk about the show with the health teachers. They have also been talking about the series in their classes as well. Urban takes teen suicide very seriously, and we will be sure to incorporate all that we know about suicide prevention into our ongoing work at the school. If students come to us with particular concerns related to a show like 13 Reasons Why, we do respond as we have in our health classes and in planned forums.” girls and women in our cultureand what we could do better in both cases.” While the details of season 2 are unclear, the next season of “13 Reasons Why” is likely to rouse controversy.

IS THE NEWS NUMBING

US?

BY COLIN HEATH

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Written by Colin Heath

Poisoning from the nerve agent sarin is a terrible way to die. When humans are exposed to sarin, it binds to a neurotransmitter responsible for the movement of muscle, causing them to contract continually. According to an article in Tonic, a Vice subsidiary, most victims of sarin gas ultimately choke to death on their own saliva because they become unable to swallow or breathe as the muscles responsible for those actions become paralyzed. On April 4, 2017, 98 Syrian civilians died this way when the Syrian Government deployed chemical weapons against them, according to U.S. and British intelligence agencies. But do atrocities like these really affect us? Or have we become so desensitized to images of death and suffering that they no longer have an impact? Are we so inundated with gory images by the 24 hour news cycle that they no longer shock us? As an avid reader of the news, I have been exposed to so many high-definition pictures and videos of violence, death and suffering in various conflicts and disasters, that they are much less

impactful than they used to be. “With the frequency of shootings and terror attacks there is a sense of anxiety that’s building in people,” said Psychologist Anita Gadhia-Smith in an interview with the New York Times. Research has demonstrated that images of violence in the news can cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder-like symptoms in people who are continually exposed to shocking depictions of violence in the news. Standards for what is considered publishable have evolved considerably: in 1972,

Associated Press photographer Huỳnh Công Út’s photograph Napalm Girl, which depicts children running from their napalm-engulfed village. It caused national outrage and helped create the public pressure necessary to end the Vietnam War. In 1993, Kevin Carter’s image of a starving child being stalked by a vulture sparked fierce debate about whether or not photographers could or should intervene in scenes that they were capturing. Then, in 2001, Associated Press photographer Richard

Infographic by Kian Nassre, Head of Infographics. Survey of Urban students between May 16 and May 19, 2017.

“I’ll get a cold tingle on the back of my neck. But, they’re not as intense as I think they should be.” - Zara Jamey

they’re seeing and do something about it, and talk about it in an effective way.” In a survey taken by 44 Urban students from May 16th to 18th, over 68 percent of respondents said yes to the question “Do images of graphic violence in the news affect you in any way?” When asked to rate their sensitivity to depictions of graphic violence on a scale of one to five (with one being not sensitive at all and five being most sensitive), 18 percent of respondents answered one, 31.8 percent answered two, 22.7 percent answered three, 20 percent answered four, and

around 7 percent answered five. More than twice as many students characterized themselves as “not sensitive whatsoever (the image/video doesn’t affect you)” than they did as “very sensitive (you need to look away/turn off the TV),” suggesting that in the aggregate Urban students are more desensitized to depictions of violence than they are sensitive. While a definite conclusion cannot be drawn about Urban students from this data, it indicates that at some level, Urban students are desensitized

forward from that, if the desensitivity helps you process it in a way that your emotions don’t completely override, then I think it’s helpful in the process of ‘Ok, and now what?,’ but I think some people who are desensitized aren’t even able to process what

Drew captured an image of one of the hundreds of Twin Tower Jumpers on 9/11 mid-fall. The few times the photograph was published, it created fierce debate about whether or not an image so indecent and graphic ought be published. Today, one can turn on the news and see far more graphic images and videos that are only controversial for for a short time before new images come out from another terrorist attack or conflict. Desensitization poses an interesting dilemma: on the one hand, it is important to be up-to-date with global affairs. If watching cable news is traumatizing, then that becomes a difficult task. On the other hand, if the constant stream of violence desensitizes us, one may become too detached to help resolve pressing humanitarian issues around the globe. “I’ve become less sensitive, and I’ve also become less sensitive to it (violence) in films and things that aren’t real,” said Zara Jamey (‘18). Jamey indicated she views desensitization as a double-edged sword. “(Desensitization) can become an issue depending on how you move

At some level, Urban students are desensitized to violence.

to violence. “Living in a digitally linked world where broadcasts of violence are instantaneous and almost commonplace means that many of us are becoming desensitized”, said Gadhia-Smith.

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URBAN FACULTY AND STAFF SHARE THEIR PETS Written by Katie Jonckheer

Arnaud Finet, French Teacher

“Filou (the boy-black and tan) and Bellotte (the girl-ruby), they love to go for walks, they understand French as well!”

Jennifer Epstein, Health Education Teacher and Director of Outdoor Trips

“This is Fred and Ginger (or Fringer collectively). We adopted them two years agothey were bonded so we took them both. They are super mellow and love to sit on laps!”

Erin Gibb, Technical Theater Director

“This is Tiger, he is 5 years old and is the biggest most independent cat in the world. He plays fetch and always find the darkest sweater to sleep on. Forever covered in fur.”

Jennifer Starkweather, Art Teacher

“This is Bear. He is a ‘big dog’ in a puppy’s body.”

Brooke Steele, Choral Instructor, Director, Urban Singers

“This is Dobby (yes, he is named after the elf from Harry Potter)! He is obsessed with fetch, and his favorite words are “fetch,” “park,” “walk,” and “let’s go.” He’s the best little Frenchie! :)”

Jonathan Howland, English Teacher

“Ike (noble, serene, funny) and Lou (anxious, wise, ruminative)”

Tess Varley, Chamber Orchestra

Bobby Ramos, Director of Admissions

“This is Atlas. He is an English Chocolate Labrador. He just turned 3. He is a true blue BLUES fan and enjoys long walks and cheese snacks!” “I think I already covered Rosalinda in the video about using time efficiently. Let me know if you need his glossy 8x10 or any other of his publicity packet. I can also put you in touch with his agent, if you want. Here he is in his natural habitat.”

“My dog Arnold Bax (Bax for short)is named after anEnglish composer. He is cuddly b ut alsoloves to run as fast as possible. He’s a rescue from the Marin Humane society. Once astarvingstray in the Central Valley, Bax isnow living the dream as a pampered city dog. He is the best!”

Geoff Ruth, Academic Dean

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Start here

Senior Soulmate Designed by Ana Gorski

Written by Katherine Weltzien and Ana Gorski

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SENIOR REGRETS SENIOR REGRETS SENIOR REGRETS Written by Olivia DiNapoli

“Not realizing how short the line is for the bagels at HSM and not realizing how easy that whole process is. I really didn’t get a bagel until this year.”

BEN LEE

MIA RISHER

“I regret taking too many "academic" classes and not taking as many fun and interesting classes.”

SARAH WEIHL

"I regret not trying Freshman and Sophomore year."

ELLIE ARMSTRONG

“I think I regret not eating outside more, in the garden. I regret eating so many burritos freshman year.”

MAX MCALLISTER "I wish I was more confrontational as an underclassman about things that bothered me."

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"Cutting my hair short. And getting red highlights at the same time. Actually, plucking my own eyebrows."

MAEVE CALANOG

“I wish I had been in more productions.”

Photos taken by Olivia DiNapoli, Lola McAllister, and Hilary Roberts.

HOLLY ANDERSON “I wish I told Leroy sooner that my name was Maeve and not Maya.”

LUCAS LEPINARD

San Francisco Celebrates years since the Summer of Love

Written by Emmy Hicks-Jablons

While Urban just celebrated its 50th anniversary this past year, 2017 marks 50 years of something additionally important to the formation of the Urban community on a larger scale: The Summer of Love. During the Summer of 1967, (one year after Urban was founded) nearly 100,000 people gathered in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco to create music, art, and literature, experiment with psychedelic drugs and simply convene in a safe space under unifying values of peace and equality. Today, although an Urban student may be aware of lingering themes of revolution and “hippie love” in the Haight, this legacy has largely been diminished to stores that overflow with tie-dye shirts and tourists that pose with selfie-sticks in front of the mock Haight-Ashbury sign outside of Ben and Jerry’s. For Urban community members who do not know the history of the Summer of Love or feel more broadly disconnected to the history of the Haight-Ashbury, this year’s 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love provides several opportunities to learn and reflect upon the place in which we come to school day after day. Currently at the de Young Museum—just a thirty minute walk from Urban through the panhandle—there is an exhibition called “The Summer of Love Experience: Art, Fashion, and Rock & Roll” that opened in early April 2017 and continues until August 20, 2017. The exhibition is a colorful and versatile display of rock posters, photographs, textiles, interac-

tive music, light shows and more. It presents more than 300 artifacts from this distinct era, half of which stem from the museum’s permanent collection. Some of the many artists featured in the exhibition include poster artists Stanley Mouse and Wes Wilson, along with light show artist Bill Ham and photographer Elaine Mayes. The de Young is not the only museum commemorating this quintessential San Francisco 50th anniversary. The UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, or BAMPFA, also presented a temporary exhibition titled “Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia” through May 21, 2017. Similarly, this exhibition was set up to explore themes of San Francisco’s 1960s counterculture movement and its lasting effect on contemporary art and culture. The exhibition employed many interactive features such as

experimental furniture and various immersive installations along with printed ephemera and magazines. Additionally, from sundown to midnight starting June 21, 2017 until October 21, 2017, a swirl of psychedelic colors will be projected onto San Francisco’s Conservatory of Flowers to honor the Summer of Love anniversary. The company behind this light-based art project is called Illuminate—the same team to create the lights that dance along the Bay Bridge. From now until the end of the summer there are many opportunities for San Francisco residents and Urban students to explore the rich history of the Haight-Ashbury. Students can take a brief walk off campus to visit the in depth Summer of Love exhibit at the de Young, or sit on the lawn of the Conservatory underneath bright pink and purple lights.

Above: Ted Streshinsky photograph at the de Young. Page borders: Bill Ham light show at the de Young. Photos taken by Emmy Hicks-Jablons on May 7, 2017.

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The Urban school of san francisco 1563 Page Street 94117