Verde Volume 25 Issue 4

V. Embracing

Both sides

Navigating two worlds as an ‘EPA kid,’ pg. 44

VERDE MAGAZINE

April 2024 Volume 25 Issue 4

Editors-in-Chief

Felicia Buchholz

Austin Eng

Asha Kulkarni

Nadia Soberg

Anna Van Riesen

ON THE COVER

Palo Alto High School junior Nathalia Arias stands on her street in East Palo Alto in a photo taken by staff writer Kensie Pao. Arias is part of the Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program, which allows students living in East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park to attend school in the Palo Alto Unified School District.

Publication policy

Verde Magazine, a news and features magazine published by the students in Palo Alto High School’s Magazine Journalism class, is a designated open forum for student expression and discussion of issues of concern to its readership. Verde is distributed to its readers and the student body at no cost.

Letters to the editors

The staff welcomes letters to the editors but reserves the right to edit all submissions for length, grammar, potential libel, invasion of privacy and obscenity. Send all letters to verde.eics@gmail.com or 50 Embarcadero Rd Palo Alto, CA 94301.

Advertising

The staff publishes advertisements with signed contracts providing they are not deemed by the staff inappropriate for the magazine’s audience. For more information about advertising with Verde, please contact our business manager at verdebusiness5@gmail. com.

Printing & distribution

Verde is printed five times a year in September, November, February, April and May by Folger Graphics in Hayward, California. The Paly Parent Teacher Student Association mails Verde to every student’s home. All Verde work is available at verdemagazine.com

Features Editor

Lizzy Williams

Profiles Editors

Lia Cardwell

Otto Kiss Meyerfreund

Culture Editors

Divya Gandhi

Cate Graney

Perspectives Editor

Vit Do

News Editor

Alma Bendavid

Launch Editor

Ella Hwang

Copy Editors

Lia Cardwell

Lizzy Williams

Business Manager

Maya Rajbhandari

Social Media Managers

Chloe Huang

Sophie Mies

Art Director

Jeslyn Chen

Photo Director

Kensie Pao

Staff Writers

Niaz Alasti

Nathalia Arias

Eva Chang

Zachary Crystal

Stefan Eriksson

Keshav Kapur Srinivasan

Andrew Kassel

Lilia Kuzmicheva

Jaron Leung

Kensie Pao

Lara Saslow

Augustus Soedarmono

Ethan Zhang

Adviser

Paul Kandell

FROM THE EDITORS CLOSE TO HOME

Every year, 60 students from the Ravenswood School District in East Palo Alto travel to Palo Alto Unified School District to attend school. Verde staff writer Nathalia Arias is one of them, navigating a distance that is not only geographical but social, economic and cultural as well.

Arias explores the connection between home and identity in her perspective story “Embracing both sides,” exploring her relationship to her home in East Palo Alto while going to school at Palo Alto High School.

We wanted to highlight other stories in this issue that reveal the impact of home on local individuals.

In “Stone speaks,” Business Manager Maya Rajbhandari and staff writer Ethan Zhang profile Palo Alto Mayor Greer Stone to learn how growing up in Palo Alto and attending Paly has influenced his views and policies.

Many Paly students left their homes in Palo Alto as they entered adulthood, only to come back to teach. In “Returning to campus,” Art Director Jeslyn Chen and Social Media Manager Chloe Huang explore the experiences of two current Paly teachers who were once students.

But homes don’t exist for everyone. In “Questioning comfort,” Culture Editor Cate Graney and staff writer Lara Saslow examine what happens when communities make their streets

inhospitable for unhoused people.

We hope this issue captures the varied and expansive meaning of home and above all, why having a connection to a home is so important. The concept of home strikes a personal chord because in less than two months, we will be leaving the school — and the publication — that have come to mean so much to us.

This is our final issue as editors-in-chief. We started off playing with time, first capturing memories with the “Snapshots” issue, then reliving the past in “Looking baa-ck.” We’ve covered distance, too, revealing how a conflict 7,435 miles away has affected our community in “Hearts with Middle East.” Lastly, we examined students’ relationship to politics in a crucial election year in “Can you name them all?”

Through all of this, we appreciate how our staff has made Verde feel like home. Whether it’s squeezing around a table to eat dinner together, laughing during late-night production zooms, or singing happy birthday to every new magazine issue, we are grateful that we were able to be a part of this community —- even if we grumble about being the “Verde parents” as we clean up the Media Arts Center after production.

To our staff: We know that you’ll continue to traverse time and distance with your reporting and that Verde will continue to feel like a home for its staff for years to come. We’ll miss you! GREER STONE pg. 26

FELICIA, AUSTIN, ASHA, NADIA, ANNA

the verdicts the verdicts District lacks paid parental leave for teachers

ONLY 27% OF WORKERS across the U.S. have access to paid maternity leave. Teachers in the Palo Alto Unified School District and across California are facing the same issue. The maternity leave laws in California are ever-changing and can be difficult to understand, leaving teachers confused and students with substitute teachers who are unqualified to teach complex subjects.

Verde believes that all teachers are entitled to paid parental leave and shouldn’t have to use sick days in order to receive compensation.

Paid parental leave is extremely important for a multitude of reasons. According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, paid maternity leave improves maternal and infant health, both physically and mentally.

A review from the same organization found that among mothers who received paid leave, rates of being rehospitalized were 51% lower, compared to mothers who took unpaid leave or no leave at all. The rates of their infants being rehospitalized were also cut by 47%.

A 2019 study by Pew Research Center found that the United States was the only country out of 41 others surveyed that lacked mandated paid parental leave. Currently, PAUSD allows up to 12 weeks of child bonding leave for mothers and fathers, as mandated by California law.

However, according to the collective bargaining agreement between the school district and the educator association, child bonding leave is unpaid and teachers must

use accumulated sick leave in order to be compensated. The district also requires teachers to have worked there for at least a year before going on leave.

Tatiana Martinez, an educational specialist at Palo Alto High School, has her own experiences with maternity leave, both personally and through friends and family. Martinez believes the current child bonding leave system doesn’t provide enough financial support for families, especially with high living costs in the Bay Area.

“It [system] poses a financial hardship and it also interferes with a new parent’s ability to support your family,” Martinez said. “...Living in the Bay Area is expensive, so losing any kind of income is definitely going to pose a financial hardship.”

The current leave system requires teachers to exhaust their sick days, which build up over time, in order to receive partial pay.

In the future, Martinez would like to see the maternity leave system include some partial pay, not including sick days.

“A good first step would be including

a period of time where paid parental leave is exhausted before parents have to use our sick days,” Martinez said.

According to CBS News, despite educators qualifying for 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave, going on leave for extended periods can pose huge financial challenges, oftentimes forcing teachers to sacrifice their savings to spend essential time with their newborns.

Providing paid parental leave would also be beneficial for students since teachers wouldn’t have to take multiple fragmented leaves of absence, which can make it more difficult for students to learn the material effectively and do well in class.

Verde believes that teachers in our district are entitled to recover from any complications they may have experienced and to spend time with their children without any financial worries. v

Art by SABELA CHELBA

Alabama IVF decision should be overturned

ON FEB. 16, THE ALABAMA Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos should be considered children, effectively shutting down all in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics across the state of Alabama.

According to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the case began when three couples sued an Alabama fertility clinic and hospital in December 2020. The three couples had undergone successful IVF treatments and had frozen and stored their embryos at the hospital. When a patient at the hospital picked up the freezing embryos, suffering burns and dropping them, they filed suit against the clinic and hospital for the Alabama Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.

Verde disagrees with the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling and fully supports IVF and its benefits for many families. People have been left devastated as the pause in embryo transfers occurred in the middle of their treatment. The ability to go through this process is a blessing to families that aren’t able to have kids otherwise or are avoiding the transfer of genetic disease. It

can substantially support those who want to grow their family, so the removal causes many conflicts.

Following this incident on March 6, Republican Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill protecting IVF providers from legal liability according to Alabama Daily News. Due to this, some clinics have since restarted their services. Many people were trying to set up appointments prior to this bill to continue their treatment but were getting called off.

destructed or thrown away. However, the anti-abortion laws prohibit this. Currently, Louisiana is the only state where this is illegal, although this may become the case in other states which is a growing issue.

People have been left devastated as the pause in embryo transfers occurred in the middle of their treatment.

Forbes.com highlighted another aspect of this issue that has been causing concern, which is the discardment of leftover embryos, as this is seen as homicide and manslaughter because of the overturn of Roe v. Wade which removed abortion rights. This has been a threat to IVF treatment ever since the constitutional rights of embryos came into place. A lot of embryos don’t come to use so they have to be

In his concurring opinion, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker cited the Bible multiple times, writing that human life “cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God, who views the destruction of His image as an affront to Himself,” according to PBS. Religion and government should be separated, as one justice’s religious views should not dictate laws that impact millions of people.

IVF helps families tackle a lot of challenges regarding having children, so the removal of it will do a disservice to the many families seeking this treatment and we are against taking away those rights. v

No-marks or Fs? District must choose one system

AT PALO ALTO HIGH School, the grading system for students who are failing a class is not consistent.

When a student fails a class, it’s up to the teacher’s discretion to decide whether to assign an F or a no mark/credit.

This system disproportionately favors white and Asian students and disadvantages minorities such as Hispanics.

This is because teachers typi cally assign more no marks to white and Asian students, which does not harm their GPA.

According to a grade analysis of the first semester of 2024, the percentage of Hispanic students getting an F compared to a no mark/no credit was 16 percent, while only 3 percent of Asian and white students received F’s compared to no marks/no credits.

Change must be made.

We commend the school board for looking into this matter at a board meeting on Feb. 13, where the board proposed fully replacing F grades by turning them into no marks or no credits.

This means that any student who fails a class will be able to retake it in the summer without the original F affecting the student’s GPA. We hope that the outcome of this discussion will lead to a consistent policy that requires one grading system instead of two. It’s important to have a consistent system, whether that means only having F’s be assigned, or forcing teachers to give no marks or no credits for every student.

Either of these systems would remove potential bias and would keep the assignment of failing grades fair and consistent.

What is important is to choose one grading system and stick with it. v

The Verdicts editorial section expresses the collective opinion of the Verde Magazine staff.

launch

Verdoodle: Daylight Savings

guess the paly teacher

Fun Facts:

1. “I’ve cut down two 40-feet trees by myself with a chainsaw.”

2. “I’ve done over 70 escape rooms.”

3. “I’ve run two half marathons.”

Fun Facts:

1. “I was a radio DJ in San Francisco for a short amount of time.”

2. “I am the tallest one in my family by a foot.”

3. “I was a 12-pound baby.”

RIGHT: Michael Najar, choir teacher

LEFT: Daniel Nguyen, math teacher

ANSWERS:

Verde spring playlist

ASB answers

with upcoming ASB Vice President

Amani Fossati-Moiane

Q: What are some plans you have next year as ASB Vice President?

A: “My plan as vice president is to definitely plan more events. I noticed there was a lot of events in general this year, but i’m specifically targeting times when there’s a downtime in activites around school and I also want to increase school spirit and host events then.”

for earth day verbatim

Q: What do you do to stay eco-friendly?

“I try to ride my bike instead of using my car and I always recycle too.”

— Edison Yoshinaga, junior

“I recycle and plant trees and plants.”

— Melak Ketema, freshman

“I bike to school and I make sure that whenever I have trash, I really make sure that it goes in the trash can and that it’s not dropped anywhere.”

— Kishor Rajmohan, sophomore

BIKING HOME — Two Palo Alto High School Students bike home from school close to El Camino. Bike lane construction on El Camino will improve bike safety and make going to school more accessible for bikers, but not students who drive and park on El Camino. “There’s really no other streets Paly students can park on near school,” said junior Addison Pettyojohn.

Bike lanes to be added on El Camino

THE CITY OF PALO ALTO plans to construct bike lanes along El Camino later this year with the goal of improving bike safety and making El Camino more commuter-friendly.

According to Caltrans Office Chief and Complete Streets Coordinator Sergio Ruiz, Caltrans’ initiative aims to encourage transit by walking and biking by adding bike lanes along El Camino.

Tower Building construction delayed

THE TOWER BUILDING construction is set to finish in the next month allowing for some staff to start moving into the building after delays due to elevator issues and the weather.

Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson, who is also in charge of the project, said that they are just waiting for the finishing touches to come together.

“I think they're [construction workers] doing some finishing touches on the elevator,” Berkson said. “But now we're just waiting for the furniture guy.”

by AUGUSTUS SOEDARMONO

“Higher speeds and higher volumes like El Camino and a lot of our highways … points to the need for more separated bikeways to be more comfortable and attract more users,” said Ruiz at the March 13 Palo Alto city council meeting.

According to a Caltrans report, the addition of bike lanes may eliminate parking on El Camino entirely. Palo Alto High School Junior Addison Pettyjohn says that

adding bike lanes may be an issue for students without a parking permit.

“Adding bike lanes is a cool idea but unfair to so many students who need to park there because of parking spot prices or because they don't sell permits later in the year,” Pettyjohn said.

by CATE GRANEY

Pioneering economist comes to Paly

TALKING ABOUT TEACHING — Harvard

Palo Alto High School

program. The goal is to help lower socioeconomic

succeed in AP classes. Co-founder of the program and AP Seminar teacher Lucy Filppu said Chetty became a part of the program when she saw how his work connected to observation Filpu had been making in the classroom and decided to reach out to him. “The peer mentorship program came more from just me thinking this makes so much sense and then reading his work reconfirmed everything that we wanted to do,” Filppu said. Photo: Alma Bendavid

University economics professor Raj Chetty talks to

students about their experience with the peer mentorship pilot

status students

Edited and designed by ALMA BENDAVID

Teacher union negotiations go long

NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN the Palo Alto Unified School District and both of its employee unions are lasting longer than usual this year as a result of a struggle to come to an agreement on this year’s contract.

California School Employees Association President Meb Steiner said that ideally most years, the negotiations are done before December, so there is some time before they have to start negotiating again in May.

“It’s not fun when they go that long because it can get frustrating, too, because you’re like, Are we moving forward?” Steiner said.

Palo Alto Educators Association President Teri Baldwin agrees that the negotiations become difficult after spending a long time with little progress.

“Unfortunately, we are very far apart and PAEA is trying very hard to be creative to help retain as well as recruit the best edu-

cators our students deserve,” Baldwin said.

If this continues for too long, the negotiations could reach an impasse, called by either party who at that point “may request the board to appoint a mediator" to help them with "reconciling their differences and resolving the controversy” according to the public officers and employees section of the California government codes.

Baldwin, however, does not believe that the district has reached that point.

“We hope, impasse is not necessary for the district to acknowledge the hard work teachers are doing,” Baldwin said.

Despite any difficulties, Steiner says that relations between the unions and the district have always been positive. “We have good channels of communication,” Steiner said. “It doesn’t mean we always agree, but we can sit at a table and talk it through.”

by ALMA BENDAVID and EVA CHANG

SJP Cabinet of Curiosities to go to library

SOCIAL

JUSTICE PATHWAY students are working on a new project researching lesser-known historical events and creating visual objects, displayed in the Palo Alto High School Library.

The Cabinet of Curiosity project, which is debuting for the first time this year, has students work in groups to explore stories and events not often told in American history.

Students will research and create visual objects in shoe boxes set to be moved into the library in mid-April. These objects will include QR codes that will include further information on the topic.

SJP history teacher Kenneth Tinsley, one of the teachers behind the project, said the project is a good opportunity for students to learn about something they usually wouldn’t hear about.

“There’s so many things that I don’t have time to teach,” Tinsley said. “ … Why not let them find something that interests them and that they can promote to others?”

The idea to make a cabinet came from 19th century cabinets of curiosities. In this version, students will research and create visual objects in shoe boxes set to be moved into the library in mid-April. These objects will include QR codes that will include further information on the topic.

“They research and they create a visual object like the classic cabinet of curiosities in the 19th century, something that's meant to evoke a story,” Tinsley said.

Tinsley said the project came about after a conversation with Caitlin Drewes, another SJP history teacher while discussing ways to teach history that cover more obscure events.

“We want to talk about things that are less known or unique even within US history,” Tinsley said. “... I shared the idea with Ms. Drews and she told me that there is a kids discovery thing up in Santa Rosa where they have a cabinet of curiosities”

by OTTO KISS MEYERFREUND

MANAGING NEGOTIATIONS — Meb Steiner, President of the California School Employees Association stands at Palo Alto High School. Her team is working hard to complete this year negotiations with the district. “Our big interest is we want to have really good salary increases for our people,” Steiner said. “Many of our people are really low paid workers.”

Admin encourages No Mark grades

IN LIGHT OF A RECENT debate over giving “F” grades versus No Mark grades, the Palo Alto High School administration is asking teachers to give No Marks to give students more opportunities for academic success and extracurricular participation.

As opposed to “F” grades, which impact a student’s GPA, according to Paly Principal, Brent Kline, No Marks allow students to make up credit. This might mean taking a class again in a lower lane.

“[Giving No Marks] is something that I see as a benefit so that students can have opportunities,” Kline said. “Because it doesn’t affect their GPA, it allows them to participate in things [extracurricular activities].”

by LIZZY WILLIAMS

Peninsula restaurant week to be held this April

PENINSULA RESTAURANT week, an event that highlights and supports small local restaurants from South San Francisco to Los Altos as well as the coast side, is happening April 19 to 24.

Per the Peninsula Restaurant ’s website, restaurants will offer rewards to customers.

The only requirement to participate is to eat at a local restaurant and purchase something from that will be offered at a discounted rate in lunch or dinner specials.

Palo Alto High School Junior Addison Pettyjohn said she is excited to hear that Fuki Sushi is taking part in Peninsula restaurant week.

“I used to go with my older sister all the time and it was always so fun,” Pettyjohn said. “By local restaurants opening up deals, it could bring more people into the restaurants.”

by NATHALIA ARIAS

District finds improvements in literacy and equity

IN ITS THIRD YEAR, PALO ALTO

Unified School District’s Every Student Reads Initiative, shows success in improving students’ reading outcomes.

Per a Feb. 15 PAUSD update, 54 percent of students who tested below grade level on the fall 2022 iReady assessment were at or above grade level this winter.

PAUSD Director of Literacy Instruction Danaé Reynolds said the scores of underprivileged students have risen.

“Our socio-economically disadvantaged students showed a 14 percentage point increase,” Reynolds said.

ESRI is designed to improve early literacy and equity, one of the five goals of the PAUSD Promise. ESRI’s goal is to get all students reading by the end of 3rd grade.

Teachers are using a new strategy called the Orton-Gillingham Method, defined by Understood.org as a method of teaching that “explicitly teaches the connections between letters and sounds”. Reynolds says she is looking forward to seeing future improvements from the program.

“We are excited to see [what] this last group of students … will look like when we take this assessment in May,” Reynolds said.

by JARON LEUNG

District implements new menu system

STUDENTS SAY THEY believe

the new online lunch menu, aiming to make the menu more accessible, is useful in making lunch plans.

The Palo Alto Unified School District is using Nutrislice, a free foodservice app that focuses on making food services more transparent. It is being added to the daily free lunch services provided for students to be able to view nutritional information.

Ava Spence, the district’s Child Nutrition Manager, said that PAUSD approached Nutrislice after researching possible menu services and finding that Nutrislice fit best with the schools.

“Nutrislice links directly to the nutrition software programs we already use in PAUSD-Primeroedge [the current nutrition software] so recipe information is seamless,” Spence said.

Palo Alto High School junior Cherianne Yoon, who frequently gets school lunch, says the new menus will help her decide her lunch for the week.

“I would want to see what days have healthier options or more filling options and plan from there,” Yoon said.

EATING LOCAL — People are enjoying downtown Palo Alto’s local restaurants, an area much appreciated by Palo Alto residents. Palo Alto High School Junior Addison Pettyjohn says she also loves eating local. “They’re like little local gems,” Pettyjohn said. Photo: Nathalia Arias.

LUNCH LINES — A Palo Alto High School student stands in line to receive the daily free lunch. Junior Cherianne Yoon says she is interested in trying out the new menu system being implemented. “I think that it would be very helpful for a lot of people that are on certain diets and want to know what the nutrition facts are,” Yoon said.

Photo: Kensie Pao by DIVYA GANDHI

Pedicures, Manicures, Facials, Threading, Waxing, Eyelash Extensions and more!

555 SAN ANTONIO ROAD #43, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, 94040

650-948-4501

Is M

INSIDE TEENS’ NEW FAVORITE NICOTINE PRODUCT

USIC BLASTS through the neighborhood as high schoolers stream into a party. As usual, teenagers drink alcohol out of red Solo cups and hit their vapes. But there is also something new. Some teens hold colorful circular objects shaped like hockey pucks, occasionally opening them, taking out a small white pouch and meticulously placing it inside their upper lip.

These small white pouches filled with nicotine salts, among other ingredients, have been gaining popularity, particularly among high schoolers. While only 1.5% of students reported consuming nicotine pouches in 2023, according to the US Food and Drug Administration, through its rising popularity on social media platforms, these pouches are seen as a way to get a sweet nicotine buzz without the harmful effects associated with vapes and cigarettes.

Medical professionals have started to become aware of the rise in Zyn through different influences surrounding teenagers.

“Among teens and young people, we’re seeing more and more people using vapes as a source of nicotine and also Zyn pouches,” Dr. Anna Lembke, Medical Director of Youth Addiction at Stanford, said.

Nicotine is a stimulant, putting it in the same category as caffeine. According to Lembke, nicotine is highly addictive and can improve anxiety and allow for more focused concentration in some people. Especially for teens, the use of nicotine at a young age may be a gateway to other addictive drugs and lack of brain development.

THE POWER OF A POUCH — A Palo Alto High School student who wishes to withhold their identity holds a Zyn pouch. “Among teens and young people, we’re seeing more and more people using vapes as a source of nicotine and also Zyn pouches,” said Dr. Anna Lembke, a Medical Director of Youth Addiction at Stanford.

PAO

Zyn A sin?

“If you get people [teenagers] hooked, when they have that brain chemistry that’s most vulnerable, you wind up with people using products for 20 to 30 years,” Dr. Jonathan Klein, a professor of pediatrics at Stanford University, said.

In the past, nicotine was usually inhaled either through smoking cigarettes or through vape devices which are commonly used by adolescents. However, according to Lembke, a rise in the popularity of Zyns has allowed for higher levels of nicotine intake.

“People tend to need to continue to use it more and more over time to get the same effect,” Lembke said. “[Zyn allows for] more potent forms [and] there’s also concern that these pouches can lead to high nicotine levels, which can potentially have many cardiac risk factors.”

through their social media platforms, with each video getting millions of views.

Klein said the influx of pro-Zyn content on social media wasn’t unexpected to him, as the tobacco industry has a history of trying to promote a variety of nicotine products.

“I wasn’t really all that surprised [about the rise of Zyns] because the tobacco industry has periodically tried to promote a variety of different products, which have the same goal of getting people addicted … creating a lifelong or at least a decade-long addiction,” Klein said.

“ I know many high school athletes who regularly use Zyn products because they believe it makes them play better.”

— Anonymous Paly senior

Despite nicotine being highly addictive, many high school students find it helpful in different aspects of everyday life, such as focusing in school.

“My GPA has gone up significantly from what it was before and I think the nicotine pouches I use played a big role in that,” a Palo Alto High School student, who asked that their name not be used to protect their identity, said.

Many athletes also feel that Zyn can improve their athletic performance.

“I have recently seen an increase in the usage of Zyns most prominently in sports,” said a Paly senior who wished to withhold his identity. “I know many high school athletes who regularly use Zyn products because they believe it makes them play better.”

Social media has been a big factor in the increasing use of Zyns among high schoolers, with celebrities like Tucker Carlson and NELK boys promoting Zyns

The tobbacco industry has often paid other influencers to promote their product in order to get their product, whether it be Zyns, vapes, or cigarettes, to a wider audience.

“They [the tobacco industry] pay people to post and they pay people to pose to our popular influencers who have big followings,” Klein said. “Some of it is paid advertising, but a lot of it is product place ment and payment for placement.”

for health, false advertising towards teens especially have proven to be a problem.

bacco compa nies] marketing them as hav ing medicinal value or being healthy, which I think is po tentially mislead ing,” Lembke said.

2024, the Democratic

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for a federal crackdown on Zyns. Schumer said that these nicotine pouches target adolescents and then hook them through social media, according to The Hill. Still, with the use of Zyn increasing in athletes and high school students in general, the tobacco industry always seems to be one step ahead of regulations.

“The FDA now actually has the ability to regulate all tobacco products…and the [tobacco] industry is trying to stay ahead of any regulation,” Klein said. “But it’s still remarkably easy for underage buyers to get access to tobacco products.”

According to Klein, many parents are not aware of the current products being advertised towards their children.

“I think [it is] equally important for parents to understand that if something is being promoted to young people, it’s important to talk about those things and make sure that their kids are aware of them,” Klein said. “The more people [that] are sensitized to that and recognize the false messaging, the better.”

“Since its usage has been so positively promoted, many young people have become addicted,” the anonymous senior said. “I think the nicotine industry has cre

Photos by KENSIE

FAFSA FINANCIAL AID DELAYS PRESENT CHALLENGES

AS THE SCHOOL YEAR comes to an end, Palo Alto High School seniors begin to receive acceptance letters to colleges and are anticipating what the future holds for them after high school. With the average annual cost of college tuition increasing every year, the amount of money needed to get a college education is a big factor when choosing a college. With the help of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, Paly students are able to apply for financial aid, allowing them to attend college more affordably.

This year, the Department of Education released a supposedly streamlined version of the FAFSA, aiming to simplify the application process. However, the new form has been mired by technical difficulties and a late release, creating confusion for many college applicants and college students reapplying for aid.

The FAFSA is a form that is completed by future and current college students

in the United States that determines eligibility to receive federal student aid. Every year, Paly students fill out the FAFSA form in hopes of being able to go to colleges in the U.S., where the average tuition at any 4-year institution is $19,806.

According to the FAFSA website, colleges assess various factors through the FAFSA application, including student’s income levels, assets, financial circumstances such as parental situation, if a student has rental property and how close their parents are to retiring. Considering all of these factors, colleges are able to establish a number called the Student Aid Index, which determines how much federal aid a student needs.

For Paly seniors like Ava Iribarren, the most challenging part of the process has been the consistent delays.

Iribarren is not alone in her struggle as, according to CNBC, over 3.1 million students have completed the FAFSA forms this year, with many still not receiving information back.

Stanford University junior Malia Perez said that reapplying for the FAFSA for her final year of college was a difficult process due to the new changes in the system which made the process very taxing and tedious.

“Their [application] had wording that had many double negatives and I know other people had issues of selecting something wrong and not being able to go back,” Perez said.

“You have to commit to a college before you know if you can get financial aid and college is really expensive now.”

— AVA IRIBARREN, senior

“For some of the scholarships I applied to, I do need FAFSA information,” Iribarren said. “It was definitely kind of hard that it [FAFSA] was so delayed and that we still haven’t got information back because you have to commit to a college before you know if you can get financial aid and college is expensive now.”

In previous years, the FAFSA applications were launched in early October, but for the 2024-2025 school year, the FAFSA application opened on Dec. 31, 2023, one day before the legislation’s deadline. The launch was accompanied by several bugs, making the FAFSA incredibly challenging to complete.

Usually, colleges receive students’ information shortly after their application is complete, often as early as October. However, due to the delayed launch and website glitches, colleges are experiencing signif-

NUMBER OF STUDENT FAFSA APPLICATIONS IN CALIFORNIA IN 2024: SOURCE:

2,085,138

FIASCO

icant delays in receiving this information.

“You typically know where you are going by May 1st,” Paly college advisor Sandra Cernobori said. “But the FAFSA data has not yet been released to colleges.”

Many other problems have exacerbated FAFSA’s unreliability. In order to complete the form, both students and parents need a Social Security number to verify their identity. The system is unable to verify the identity of students whose parents are undocumented, on a visa or live abroad, forcing colleges to go through a manual process and contributing to the delay.

Zane Sabbagh, a graduate student at Stanford University, said that filling out

FAFSA is the requirement that students and parents complete their sections of the form within a 45-day period. Failure to do so results in the expiration of the application and students have to start from the beginning.

Because of all these issues, the most common reason students fail to submit the FAFSA is due to complexity. Factors such as nontraditional parental living situations, hesitance in disclosing tax information and difficulty securing income verification can pose significant challenges for individuals. This disproportionately affects first-generation students whose families lack familiarity with the form.

more than 100 colleges are extending the traditional May 1st college decision deadline, with the Universities of California and California State Universities extending their deadline to May 15.

“It is a trickle-down effect,” Cernobori said. “Kids are struggling, colleges are super frustrated by their financial aid department because they haven’t been able to get this information and do anything and the admissions [are also frustrated] because they know that if they don’t get their financial aid awards to kids, the kids can’t decide where they are going, making this a big mess.” v

Text by VIT DO and JARON LEUNG

EDUCATION BY EMULATION

LOOKING BACK AT OHLONE’S

SIMULATIONS

IT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF the year for many Ohlone Elementary School students: the first day of the historical simulations. Kids showed off their homemade costumes while parent volunteers herded kids towards different activities. For participating grades, school ground to a halt for a week. This was the culmination of months of preparation.

Why did Ohlone go through all this effort instead of teaching history in a traditional manner? The school’s unique approach stems from its philosophy of project-based learning, which aims to build critical thinking skills in students and improve their collaboration and problem-solving abilities.

According to former Ohlone teacher Otak Jump, who was significantly involved in the past simulations, Ohlone’s philosophy aims to teach students real-world

skills, with an aim to engage students on a more intimate level with the material they are learning.

“If you don’t get students to engage and be excited about the activity, you can teach them all the preliminary fundamental stuff, [but] they won’t come away from the experience wanting,” Jump said. “That is sort of the key element of simulations.”

A study by Dimitrios Vlachopoulos and Agoritsa Makri of European University, Cyprus, indicated that simulation and gamebased learning have positive effects on knowledge acquisition and can help students better understand concepts, exercising their critical thinking skills in the process.

can Indians. For the fourth and fifth-grade students, there were two three-day simulations, one centered around the California Gold Rush and the other around the American Revolution.

“They [the simulations] had a narrative and a story arc that went over all three days … it was a simulation where the kids experience going back in time and go through a series of events that build on one another,” Jennifer Gols, a former Ohlone parent, said. “They might start by working to get to the New World, then they figure out how to make a living and how to build a town there.”

“ It wasn’t just about dressing up, it was about learning...by acting it out.”

— LEILANI CHEN, former Ohlone student

From the school’s founding until the COVID-19 pandemic, simulations were deeply ingrained into the Ohlone curriculum. Before they were halted, there used to be four simulations, two a year.

There were two one-day simulations for the second and third-graders focused on Old Palo Alto and the Ohlone Ameri-

Now, an activity called Trades Day has replaced the entire simulation-based curriculum. In this new activity, students move from room to room practicing different disciplines from the colonial days, from baking to sewing. While still hands-on, it takes away the immersive elements of the simulations, according to Rowena Chiu, president of the Parent-Teacher Association at Ohlone.

“I think Trades Day is a compromise solution and a form … of replacing the full simulation experience,” Chiu said. “[But] I

don’t think it is as rich as the Ohlone simulations used to be.”

Experimental methods of teaching history have been prominent in Palo Alto’s past. In the 60s, former Palo Alto High School teacher Ron Jones conducted the infamous Third Wave experiment at the now-closed Cubberley High School. In this experiment, Jones aimed to illustrate how Hitler was able to rise to prominence by mimicking the conditions of living under a totalitarian dictatorship.

“ I would very much like to see them [the simulations] come back.’”

Some say simulations stray into the territory of cultural appropriation. According to the National Museum of the American Indian, events where schools ‘dress up’ students as American Indians, like in the Ohlone American Indian simulation, “suggest that Native cultures exist only in the past.”

— JENNIFER GOLS, former Ohlone parent

But Paly junior and former Ohlone student Katie Bradley said she believes simulations had more positives than negatives.

so I think they could have covered more of that [historical] aspect.”

While it is unclear whether simulations will return to Ohlone, they remain a fond memory among many in the Ohlone community. Some, such as Gols, hope the simulations can return in the future.

“I think that [removing the simulations] is a shame because I chose Ohlone for my kids because I was really supportive of those alternative education methods,” Gols said. “I would very much like to see them [the simulations] come back.” v

Like the Third Wave experiment, the Ohlone simulations aimed to help students better understand history by directly experiencing it.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Ohlone has not held any new simulations. According to Chiu, it may have been in avoidance of the more controversial aspects of simulations.

“I think the school looked long and hard at the way the simulation was done and had to rethink about how it represented only a certain portion of the people that lived in this area and that the simulation wasn’t representative of the … diverse history of the Bay Area,” Chiu said.

“I understand why people don’t like them [simulations],” Bradley said. “I loved them. You’re getting to hang out with your friends and experience what it was like [back then].”

Paly sophomore and former Ohlone student Smaran Narayanan recalls participating in the Ohlone American Indian simulation in third grade.

“I think both [traditional education and simulations] have benefits, but simulations also are more engaging and help students learn more about daily life in historical settings,” Narayanan said. “They [simulations] were more activity-focused rather than focusing on historical events,

PALO ALTO PIONEERS (TOP LEFT) — Ohlone students participating in the Old Palo Alto simulation wait in line. “We learned about everybody from old Palo Alto history,” Leilani Chen, Paly freshman and former Ohlone student, said. “It wasn’t just about dressing up.” Photo: Susan Van Riesen

CULTURE QUEST (TOP RIGHT) — Ohlone students dressed as the Miwok people gather for a simulation at Tomales Bay. Chen recalls drawing face tattoos, creating skirts and more in her class’ simulation. “I learned so much about Native Americans in that simulation,” Chen said.

HARD AT WORK (BOTTOM RIGHT) — Ohlone students sweep the floor in Fort Ross during a simulation on the Russian-Californian pioneers. “I feel like [in simuIations] being able to visualize and kind of partake in it kind of helped me process what was going on,” Bradley said.

Computer science For All

CLASS COULD BECOME A STATE REQUIREMENT

FROM STEVE JOBS’ APPLE to

Mark Zuckerberg’s

Facebook to Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s Google, many of the world’s technological hallmarks were invented in California.

Silicon Valley in particular is recognized worldwide as a hub for high-tech innovation.

But even though some of the world’s greatest tech companies are situated in the Bay Area, there is one area California lags behind in: computer science education.

Twenty-seven states require public schools to offer computer science classes, while five require each student to take a computer science class to graduate. California is one of the 23 states that do not require public schools to offer a computer science class.

— will be a very important skill moving forward,” Smith said.

The bill isn’t without its critics, however.

Paly sophomore Audrey Li said she believes mandatory computer science classes will clog up the schedules of high schoolers, keeping them from attending other classes they may be interested in.

“I’m already struggling to fit everything that I want to do into my schedule, so making it a requirement, especially if people already know how to program is just unnecessary,” Li said.

Li also notes that financially challenged students are at a disadvantage in computer science classes, given the course’s reliance on technology.

“I think [Berman’s proposed initiative] definitely is unfair to the people who don’t have access to similar resources. It puts them at a disadvantage and sets them up for failure.” Li said.

It’s really important that all people have the opportunity to get educated about it [computer science].”

— ROXANNE LANZOT, computer science teacher “

California State Assemblymember Marc Berman is determined to change that.

In a Feb. 6 press conference, Berman proposed a bill that would result in computer science requirements among all California school districts. If the bill is approved, by the 2026-27 school year, all schools will be required to offer a computer science class, with computer science becoming a graduation requirement by the 2030-31 school year.

Palo Alto High School computer science teacher Roxanne Lanzot says the bill will positively impact many schools.

“Given that the technology we currently have and are currently developing is changing the world in such a fast, radical way, it’s really important that all people have the opportunity to get educated about it,” Lanzot said.

Mountain View High School math and computer science teacher Brent Smith said he believes that, even with AI’s rapid development, it is always beneficial to know the basics of computer science.

“Just because AI can generate code doesn’t mean that code will be perfect,” Smith said. “Having each California student have a baseline understanding of computer science, algorithms and code is a positive move in my opinion and would lead to a better-informed, better-prepared student population in the future.”

For Smith, the benefits of computer science classes extend beyond simply knowing how to code.

He said he believes that it is the learning habits the subject instills within students that are the most important.

“I would say that learning how to think like a computer scientist — to be able to break a problem down into its parts and create a logical step-by-step argument to accomplish a task

Although people have different opinions on this bill, one thing remains certain — if passed, it will have a large impact on this generation and the constantly evolving technological world.

“[Students] get educated about how technology is shaping their life and how to learn how to use and maybe even control or create the tools that are creating such radical and such rapid changes in our lived experience as humans on this earth,” Lanzot said. v

COMPUTING CREATIONS — Palo Alto High School sophomore Fallon Porter works on her story design in the computer lab. “I think that it’s just going to be another class for students to take and might end up being annoying for some students,” Porter said. “It could also affect some of the other classes students want to take bcause they may not have room in their schedule.” Photo:

Photos by KENSIE PAO

Kensie Pao

Text by CATE GRANEY and LARA SASLOW

Art by MAYA DAKUA and LARA SASLOW

QUESTIONING COMFORT

IMPACT OF HOSTILE ARCHITECTURE ON THE BAY

BARRIERS, SPIKES and armrests now lie where the unhoused once did. Has Palo Alto’s recent hostile architecture reduced homelessness or just moved it from one place to another?

According to Bay Area Council, the Bay Area homeless population has grown 9% since 2020 and is the third largest homeless population in the U.S.

To combat the growing presence of unhoused people on streets, cities and developers have turned to hostile architecture, a design strategy that prevents people from using public spaces, according to the Neighborhood Design Center.

As hostile architecture gains popularity in cities like New York and San Francisco, these designs are slowly creeping into Palo Alto’s development.

Today, there are countless benches in Palo Alto with ridges and designs that prevent people from reclining or sleeping on them. Some examples include the benches on Lane 20 and Florence Street, next to the California Avenue train station and benches throughout University Avenue.

Carlos Wadkins, director of the Coalition on Homelessness Development, says some hostile architecture can look like putting spikes on benches so people can’t sleep or neighborhoods putting planter boxes on sidewalks. According to Wadkins, hostile architecture is a recent approach made by

cities and local neighborhoods.

“Most people’s immediate response to homelessness — and the city’s immediate response to homelessness — is trying to get people to move,” Wadkins said.

According to Wadkins, hostile architecture is not an effective solution to homelessness issues nationwide.

“This current [homelessness] crisis has been around since the 80s and it’s the result of policy changes,” Wadkins said. “There’s homeless people everywhere and forcing people to move from one sidewalk to a different sidewalk in the same city doesn’t actually solve anything.”

Unlike Wadkins, Mihail Feshete, owner of Nob Hill Hardware on California Avenue, said he believes that hostile architecture is a positive concept. At his original location in San Francisco, he often encountered homeless people in his way.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve moved the homeless from the front of the door sleeping there when we go to open,” Feshete said.

Although Feshete believes that hostile architecture is helpful, he believes homelessness is a problem that should not exist in the first place.

Zwaag supports and amplifies Bay Area nonprofits that provide services to the unhoused.

“I facilitate a bimonthly meeting with service providers for the unhoused and we get together to talk about current issues,” she said.

Wadkins says that his ultimate goal is to invest in legitimate solutions to homelessness like affordable housing, homelessness prevention programs and drug and mental health achievements. But Wadkins said that hostile architecture is more of a local problem with local solutions.

“People can really communicate with their neighbors and try to … come up with solutions that are better than putting a bunch of planter boxes on their sidewalk,” Wadkins said.

“This current crisis has been around since the 80s.”

— CARLOS WADKINS, Coalation on Homelessness director

“As a society, we are doing something wrong if we are making more and more people become homeless,” Feshete said.

Feshete has not experienced the structures specifically in Palo Alto working to keep people off.

“As soon as we create something, they will be right there sleeping on that thing,” he said.

People like Human Services Manager Minka Van Der Zwaag are contributing to solving this problem in Palo Alto. Van Der

Additionally, according to Wadkins, people experiencing homelessness experience a level of instability no one should go through. In order to achieve solutions to homelessness, Wadkins says that society must let go of preconceived stereotypes and treat homeless people with respect.

“Anything that’s keeping people in a state of survival, making them move more often, making them not able to find a place to lay down or rest ... [will] make their condition worse,” Wadkins said. “And beyond that, there’s a cultural, social aspect of dehumanizing our neighbors and wanting to see people as pests to be controlled through architecture. We really need people to see each other’s humanity and try to take care of each other … in the most desperate times.” v

district departures

THREE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS END TERMS

FOR FOUR-YEAR-LONG terms, each of the five Palo Alto Unified School District school board members collaborate to balance budgets, acquire resources through tax allocations, hire the superintendent and create district policies and priorities to ensure all schools in the district run smoothly.

For school board members Jennifer DiBrienza, Jesse Ladomirak and Todd Collins, these four-year-long terms are coming to a close this November.

While all three share a deep regard for the importance of education and a passion for enriching the PAUSD learning environment, DiBrienza, Ladomirak and Collins

all have unique reasons that guided their journey to join the school board.

DiBrienza’s school board journey began in 2015 after Palo Alto parents expressed frustration with the lack of educators on the board.

Since she had children in the district and was a former teacher who worked with schools and districts to improve math education, these parents encouraged DiBrienza to run for the school board in 2016. Since then, she was re-elected in 2020 for a second term.

Collins, who had children in the district, also decided to run for the board in 2016, but his reasons were less intentional.

“I often say that I took a wrong turn to wind up on [the] school board,” Collins said. “I got sucked into the [PAUSD] Bond Oversight Committee ... They were having trouble getting people to serve on it. Then, I was chairman of the Bond Oversight Committee for a bunch of years, which got me involved with other committees at the district level and led me to run for the school board.”

Unlike DiBrienza and Collins, in 2020, Palo Alto High School alum Ladomirak initially ran for the board during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ladomirak said that at the time she had four kids in the district and was displeased and confused with

Text by CHLOE HUANG and KESHAV KAPUR SRINIVASAN

Photo by KENSIE PAO

TOGETHER WITH A PURPOSE — Palo Alto Unified School District school board members Jennifer DiBrienza (left), JesseLadomirak (middle) and Todd Collins (right) come together for a portrait. “There are no individual accomplishments,” Collins said. “We only act as a body and a school board member by themselves accomplishes nothing.”

MARCH 2018

july 2018

the board’s inconsistent communication with the parents regarding their children’s education.

“It felt like the people talking about what’s happening are not actually experiencing what we’re actually going through as families,” Ladomirak said. “There was a sense of ‘We need people on the board who have kids in the district who are actually understanding the real world implications of decisions being made.’”

Ladomirak said she was also interested in creating a equitable school environment for all students to thrive.

“[I wanted to help] create an environment where kids are happy and able to be kids,” Ladomirak said. “It was the culture of achievement and stress that I felt like I was seeing going on around me when I went to Paly.”

vision of equity for all students.

For example, the Every Student Reads Initiative was implemented in 2021 in response to the low reading level of minority students. Ladomirak said less than half of Black students in the district were reading at their grade level.

“We have more money than any public school district in the world in Palo Alto,” Ladomirak said. “How are we not teaching kids how to read?”

“You either recognize every human in our schools is valuable and important, or we don’t.”

— JESSE LADOMIRAK, school board member

Similar to Ladomirak, DiBrienza’s work is also heavily focused on fostering equity in PAUSD schools. According to DiBrienza, the district has always served around 85% of kids well, but not the 15% made up of minority groups – students who are Black, Hispanic, Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian, Native American Indian/Alaskan Native, economically disadvantaged, English Learners and have disabilities.

“[We value] equity in terms of access to mental health services, equity when it comes to academics and equity when it comes to belonging and who feels at home here, who feels like it’s their school and who feels like an outsider,” DiBrienza said.

DiBrienza said within the past eight years, the board has collaborated to pass policies and initiatives that align with this

According to Collins, the Every Student Reads Initiative was focused on improving third-grade reading levels for low-income students, which the district has historically done a poor job on. This initiative has paid off, with reading levels already improving.

“In the last two years, we have been the most improved district in California for low-income students’ third-grade reading levels,” Collins said. “The single most [improved] out of 1000 school districts in California.”

Along with the Every Student Reads initiative, the board also implemented the Systemwide Integrated Framework for Transformation Plan (SWIFT) to fight for student equity for minority groups.

“It [SWIFT] is really sort of institutionalizing the idea that equitable education is something that requires a systemic transformation,” DiBrienza said.

According to the PAUSD website, the plan includes bias and equity teacher training, changes to curriculums that do not feel inclusive for minority students and student surveys on sense of belonging at school, attendance and equity issues. SWIFT has

proved successful in 2023, as displayed in the PAUSD 2023 SWIFT Report Card. The results show improvement in academic achievement and school climate. Reflecting on their time on the board, DiBrienza and Ladomirak both said that creating this plan to fight for equality was their greatest accomplishment.

“Inclusion is just inclusion; equity is equity,” Ladomirak said. “You either recognize every human in our schools is valuable and important, or we don’t.”

Collins also said he believes equity is a pressing district issue and therefore stands with these policies as well. However, when looking back on his work on the school board, he said hiring Superintendent Don Austin was his greatest accomplishment.

“He [Austin] has built a team around him that has been very successful at improving the management practices of the district and focusing on the goals of the district,” Collins said.

As their collaboration together on the board comes to an end, all three plan on parting ways to focus on different independent endeavors.

Ladomirak said as she steps down from the board, she will simultaneously hand over the small construction business she owns to her employees and venture out to change careers.

On the other hand, Collins said he has no specific plans for the future, but will likely continue his involvement in state and national advocacy for school improvement.

DiBrienza said she has been a delegate for the California Democratic Party and plans on continuing to serve on it, while also returning to be a math educator.

“I miss being in classrooms with kids and working with teachers and parents,” DiBrienza said. “That’s probably what I’ll keep doing.” v

STONE SPEAKS

Text by MAYA RAJBHANDARI and ETHAN ZHANG

NEW MAYOR DISCUSSES GROWING UP IN PALO ALTO

GREER STONE KNOWS Palo Alto like the back of his hand. Born in Redwood City, Stone moved to Palo Alto before kindergarten.

He attended Duveneck Elementary School, Frank S. Greene Jr. Middle School and Palo Alto High School before moving to Southern California to study political science at the University of California-Irvine.

For Stone, being a Palo Alto native has helped him navigate the difficult job of representing Palo Alto’s community.

“Having a strong feeling about who the community is and what they care about has really helped me in my decision-making process,” Stone said. “It’s helped inform my decision-making as an elected representative here.”

Stone said that Palo Alto’s high quality education was integral to preparing him for the role of mayor.

“I still think the best education that I’ve ever received really came from the Palo Alto school district, Paly in particular,” Stone said. “It’s hard to see it in real time, but the experience you’re getting, the education you’re receiving and the caliber of the teachers there really sets you up for success in life. It’s challenging, but when you go off to college in two or three years, you’re so well prepared for that next leg of your journey that it’s going to feel easy to you.”

ways felt stupid compared to my peers,” Stone said. “But there were several teachers along the way who never gave up on me, always believed in me [and] taught me how to embrace my own learning style. Because those teachers never gave up on me, I never gave up on myself. I think it was because of all that that I was able to go on and go to a very good university, go to law school and do well, both in my professional and elected career.”

Stone’s priorities as mayor draw from his experiences as a youth in Palo Alto. For Stone, that means promoting youth mental health, which is a personal issue for him.

“When I was a kid in Palo Alto, I felt like my own voice didn’t matter,” Stone said. “I think that’s a common feeling for young people in this city. We’re such a prosperous, affluent community and I think it’s really intimidating as a young person to look at all the success of your parents or your parents’ friends and wonder ‘Can I ever aspire to that?’ There’s a tendency to think, ‘Oh, I don’t matter.’ That couldn’t be further from the truth. This is a community that values the young people of this community and wants to make sure that you succeed academically, professionally and even more importantly, socially [and] emotionally. We really value your voices.”

being and address mental health concerns,” Stone said.

Stone said he believes further change must occur within PAUSD schools.

“I’d love to see more collaboration between the school district and the city on a variety of issues, especially with youth mental health,” Stone said.

Stone explains that mental health issues such as stress, anxiety and depression don’t end for students once the school day is over, highlighting the importance of creating a seamless transition from mental health resources available at PAUSD schools and mental health resources provided by the city.

“ I still think the best education that I’ve ever received really came from the Palo Alto school district.”

“There’s usually this disconnect, because they’re [the district and the city] different governing organizations,” Stone said. “Mak[ing] sure that they’re talking to each other … is really critical.”

— GREER STONE, mayor of Palo Alto

Stone said a piece of advice he would give to students is to speak up about their wants and needs and to utilize the resources available.

“ I think it’s really intimidating as a young person to look at all the success of your parents or your parents’ friends and wonder ‘Can I ever aspire to that?’”

— GREER STONE, mayor of Palo Alto

On the night he was elected, Stone announced the formation of the Youth Wellbeing and Mental Health task force.

“One thing we’re starting to really understand through this task force is a lack of awareness around those resources … [not just from] the student perspective, but also [from] the community perspective,” Stone said. “I think we need to do a better job at really telling people about what all those resources are and we’re trying to figure that out right now. How do we do that? How do we do that effectively? So I think there’s some important messages to get out there.”

Even as Palo Alto adapts to challenges such as mental health, Stone said he continues to appreciate the character of the city.

“Our downtown is such an incredible gem of this community,” Stone said. “Every single Friday night, my friends and I would go to downtown Palo Alto, grab dinner, walk around and just enjoy [the atmosphere]. That hasn’t changed.” v

Growing up, Stone didn’t consider himself a naturally good student, having struggled in school due to a learning disability.

“I was not a good test taker and I al-

“The goal of that task force is to be able to recognize what the most pressing needs [are] for the youth in the community and then ultimately make recommendations to the city council in order to promote various policies or programs to benefit youth well

COMMUNITY CHAMPION — Mayor and Palo Alto native Greer Stone poses for a photo in front of City Hall. “It’s been a real strength to be able to see, to really be able to understand and appreciate what Palo Alto is and what the community cares about,” Stone said. Photo: Kensie Pao

Text by JESLYN CHEN and CHLOE HUANG

RETURNING

FOLLOWING PALY ALUMNI TURNED TEACHERS

MOST CURRENT PALO ALTO

High School students could not imagine going through a school day without their laptops. But 10 years ago, when current math teacher and Paly alumna YJ Lee was a student, it was uncommon to bring laptops to school and cell phones were accessories, not necessities.

Like many other teachers who were former Paly students, Lee has seen drastic changes in the student body environment, from a growing dependence on technology to a culture that encourages self-discovery

even know how to calculate my GPA and my eighth-grade graduating class was 22 kids,” Shelton said.

Nevertheless, Shelton said he enjoyed Paly's larger social environment and had an overall positive experience.

One of his favorite teachers, Jaclyn Edwards, still teaches in the Social Sciences Department today.

“I had her [Edwards] freshman year for World History and junior year for U.S. History,” Shelton said. “She was very influential in that I kind of just enjoyed her [teaching] style and her class.”

back home to Palo Alto to save money while job searching and ended up officially teaching at Paly in the fall of 2016.

Shelton has noticed some differences between his time at Paly and now, such as student expectations for teachers.

“ I try to be more like a transition coach rather than just a history teacher.”

— DANIEL SHELTON, social studies teacher

“I feel there's a much higher expectation that teachers [have to cater] to what students need,” Shelton said. “I'm not talking about if a student has an accommodation; I mean in general like [attending] sports games or debate tournaments.”

A past Advanced Placement Psychology teacher, Kathy Lawrence, also influenced Shelton to take an interest in psy

Additionally, Shelton said his experience transitioning into a more rigorous academic environment at Paly is one of the reasons why he decided to teach high school freshmen.

TO CAMPUS

be more like a transition coach rather than just a history teacher.”

YJ Lee

After current Paly math teacher YJ Lee graduated from Palo Alto High School in 2014, she initially embarked on a journey into dentistry.

Lee earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Development at the University of California-Davis and studied for the Dental Admissions Test.

helped her spark joy in learning math.

“I remember being excited for quizzes and tests,” Lee said. “ I thought I could actually show my knowledge. I was wondering what we're going to learn the next day.”

“ I would rather work a job where I can build relationships ... so I switched over to teaching.”

— YJ LEE, math teacher

Lee said her experiences have influenced her to embrace an empathetic teaching method to help students grow. Her teaching focuses on slowing down, establishing what the student already understands

I specifically remember is her saying before every test, ‘Best of success, you don’t need luck,’” Lee said. “To me, that meant that it wasn't a random chance that we were doing well on a test. It was like she was rooting for us and she knew that we could actually do well.”

Mattes continues to teach AP Psychology to this day — only one of many of Lee’s former teachers who are now her colleagues. Lee said she feels grateful that she already has a connection built with them.

“I really appreciate all the work that they’ve [Paly teachers] done behind the scenes,” Lee said. “I do really like working with my old teachers because I just feel like

“But then I realized that the popula tions I would work with [in dentistry] I would only see once or twice a year,” Lee said. “I would rather work a job where I can build relationships and see people more regularly, so I switched over to teaching.”

Returning to Paly, Lee said that she enjoys contributing to the community.

PRESENT VS. PAST — Daniel Shelton is dressed up for prom (left on left page) vs. now (right on left page) and YJ Lee is smiling during spirit week (right on right page) vs. now (left on right page). Photos courtesy of Daniel Shelton (left page) and YJ Lee (right page).

DIGITAL DISTANCE — In place of mindless scrolling, sophomore Michelle Park focuses on her passion for playing the trumpet. “Phones take up most of your day,” Park said. “Once you open something on your phone, you just don’t want to leave it.”

Text by EVA CHANG and LARA SASLOW

SCREEN-FREE

STUDENT DETAILS LIFE WITHOUT A SMARTPHONE

AS A CLASS DISCUSSION is about to commence, Palo Alto High School sophomore Michelle Park glances up — only to be met with silence as heads hang low over tiny screens and fingers furiously tap away.

Park is among the few students on campus who remain without the one thing 95% of teenagers have, according to the National Institute of Health: a smartphone.

Despite the increasing pressure to own a phone, Park has remained without the device, hoping to lead a productive lifestyle and avoid developing the habit of mindless scrolling she has observed among her peers.

“Every single second of their [students’] lives, they are … looking at their phones and scrolling through social media,” Park said.

Park said that her minimal screen time allows her to focus on schoolwork and prioritize her hobbies. In place of scrolling, Park typically spends her time practicing music — an activity she strives to excel at.

“I play trumpet so I go to a lot of international competitions and that’s because I don’t spend hours on a phone,” Park said. “If I had a phone, then I wouldn’t have as much time to play trumpet, so it [her decision to not buy a phone] is completely my choice.”

Similarly, screen time consultant Emily Cherkin, a former middle school teacher who now helps families become less tech-reliant, said that technology should be used conservatively and should not be a substitute for participating in everyday activities.

“It [technology] has the potential to be

amazing and potential to be destructive,” Cherkin said. “The three things I say [about technology use] are: Later is better, less is more and relationships first.”

One of the biggest reasons why Cherkin believes technology should be limited is the distraction it poses in the classroom.

“If you didn’t have the option of having it [a phone], it wouldn’t be distracting,” Cherkin said.

In a school with such a large phone presence, Park has struggled to carry out certain assignments.

While her peers easily pull out their devices to take photos or scan codes, Park has been forced to waste time manually entering links — or consulting with her teachers to find different, low-tech approaches to assignments.

“Teachers are now asking their students to take out their phones and use them for school stuff,” Park said. “This is really hard for me because if I have to scan QR codes to access a Google form, I have to type in the entire link to my computer.”

To promote more productivity, Cherkin said she believes parents should refrain from buying their children a smartphone unless absolutely necessary and that a line of communication should be established through “old school” devices such as flip phones.

addiction that results from excessive usage.

“It’s really important to point out that social media isn’t made for kids,” Cherkin said. “The law says you have to be 13 or older to use it … but people have started using it well before 13. It’s designed to be addictive. There’s something called persuasive design … so any notification or a bottomless feed causes you to scroll constantly through any platform, no end, because that’s how these companies make money.”

Similarly, Park recalls her own experiences observing abuse of social media.

“When the teacher is talking, they [students] are browsing through ... reels, scrolling through posts,” Park said. “It’s distracting for them, but it’s also distracting for the people who are sitting next to them.”

Park believes that one contribution to this misuse is the overuse of technology in school settings and feels that schools are failing to meet the needs of students who don’t own phones.

“This is an addiction. This is a drug.”

— MICHELLE PARK, Palo Alto High School sophomore

“From my perspective, I think it’s better to wait … as long as possible,” Cherkin said. “My 12-13-year-old daughter doesn’t have her own phone and she’s definitely one of only a few kids. I always recommend that parents start with flip phones … All you need is to … tell your parents that you’re running late or ‘Pick me up here’ and you don’t need the internet to do that; you just need a communication tool.”

In addition, Cherkin said that another big issue of smartphones is the increased exposure to social media — particularly the

“With AI and the rise of technology … people are starting to rely on it [technology] more for school and for work,” Park said. “If you spend more time looking at a screen, whether that be for school or other stuff, then … you just want to look at it for long periods of time and that’s how the hours go by without you noticing.”

Park said she hopes that teachers will consider this challenge moving forward and offer more paper-based assignments to facilitate the needs of students in similar situations.

However, she also understands that the transition must be gradual.

“It’s going to have to be a gradual procedure,” Park said. “This is an addiction. This is a drug. You can’t just say ‘You can’t have this.’” v

Vikings go hiking

NEARBY SPOTS FOR A NATURE FIX

FINALLY, IT IS DAYLIGHT saving time. Many high school students — who have spent the winter months hunched over laptops — emerge from their caves to enjoy the fact that the sun stays up for more than an hour or two after school ends. To find out where to get outside this spring, we visited three nearby hiking spots, reviewing them based on scenery, wildlife sightings and hiking difficulty.

Alum Rock Park

One minute we were driving on city

streets and the next, the pavement and tall buildings descended into a lush, green landscape. Directly adjacent to bustling San Jose lies California’s oldest municipal park, Alum Rock Park, which was established in 1872.

In addition to several hiking trails, the park features amenities for families such as playgrounds, a small museum/visitor center, a youth science institute and picnic areas.

Perhaps its most beautiful feature, however, is the winding Penitencia Creek, still rushing with water after a rainy winter. Relatively flat, shady trails lie alongside the creek, with quaint wooden bridges and sunny, wildflower-laden overlooks.

We observed quite a few purple butterflies among the plant life, as well.

Alum Rock is a popular spot, full of families on a Saturday afternoon, but as we

ventured further into the trails, they felt serene and secluded. Although the drive into the park may not look promising, the peaceful sound of the running creek and scattered wildlife make this spot well worth it for a nature escape if you are in the San Jose area.

Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve

Not far from the busy Redwood City streets that many Palo Alto High School students know as the Department of Motor Vehicles driving test route, the urban setting shifts into a grassy open area that feels more like a Midwestern small town than a Bay Area suburb.

As the sun set, we entered Pulgas Ridge’s secluded trails with bright, clean shoes — a far cry from the caked-on mud at the end. Recent rainy weather and little sunlight through the dense tree canopy

made for a muddy hike that required a lot of care to not slip. The trails are considerably steeper than Alum Rock’s, with narrow paths twisting up a large hill as we approached the top. The slippery mud made the hike difficult at times, especially on the way up.

However, the views of the darkening sky and hilltop houses through the trees, when coupled with the interesting mosses, mushrooms and wildflowers that follow the route, made for an overall enjoyable experience.

Pulgas Ridge provides a more secluded-feeling, less manicured experience and proves a solid choice for a hike — but consider waiting until the rain becomes less frequent (and don’t wear clean shoes).

Ravenswood Open Space Preserve

The Palo Alto Baylands is a well-known

spot for a quick hike, but just north of it lies what we found to be a more peaceful, beautiful marshland area: the Ravenswood Open Space Preserve. The flat, mostly paved trails snake through the marsh with small planes taking off from the nearby Palo Alto Airport.

The main draw of the park compared to the Baylands is the stunningly blue water, populated by several kinds of shorebirds.

We observed seagulls, several groups of ducks and a huge heron resting on the surface of the bay.

There are wonderful overlook areas, with little docks and platforms stretching into the water, that are perfect for catching a glimpse of the shorebirds or watching planes go by.

But be warned: Ravenswood is similar to the Baylands in that the standing water attracts hordes of bugs. Be sure to wear long

sleeves and pants to avoid a mosquito ambush before summer even starts.

Spring is synonymous with semester finals and preparations for summer, but getting a dose of the outdoors with friends and family can help alleviate the stress and provide a much-needed escape. v

Text by LIA CARDWELL and LIZZY WILLIAMS

TWISTING TRAIL (LEFT) — A stone staircase marks the beginning of a trail at Alum Rock Park. Photo: Lizzy Williams

BAY VIEWS (TOP RIGHT) — A stream slowly flows into the San Francisco Bay at the beginning of a trail at Cooley Landing Park at the Ravenswood Open Space Preserve. Photo: Lizzy Williams

FRESH FLOWERS (BOTTOM RIGHT) — A group of Red Hot Poker flowers in bloom at Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve. Photo: Lia Cardwell

GK Pastry GK Pastry

Text by ZACHARY CRYSTAL and KESHAV KAPUR SRINIVASAN

Photos by KENSIE PAO

NEW BAKERY OFFERS HIGH-QUALITY DESSERT

ALIGHT LEAFY GREEN wall welcomes customers into GK Pastry. What began as a mother baking for her kids became a multi-location business with stores in Palo Alto and Mountain View. Specializing in cookies, jar cakes and crepe cakes, the Musa family opened their Palo Alto location on 417 Park Blvd. in late 2023 and have emphasized using organic, high-quality ingredients.

GK Pastry co-owner Gulnoza Khayotenova’s passion for baking started during her time growing up in Uzbekistan. When she moved to America she continued this hobby, eventually turning it into the business it is today.

The business is family-run with Khaytenova overseeing the baking, her son Hasan Musa working as the store manager and social media manager, her other son Osman Musa helping bake and her husband Khayrulla Musa helping with both the business and the baking process.

“For more than 20 years she [Khaytenova] always loved baking,” Hasan said. “My dad having a sweet tooth didn’t really help it, but rather, only intensified a love for baking.”

After much insistence from family members, Khayotena finally agreed to sell her creations.

She first started by selling her signa-

ture jar cakes at grocery stores, then farmers markets and finally at the first brick-andmortar GK Pastry shop in Mountain View. Their unique options helped them gain popularity.

“We wanted something more unique,” Hasan said. “Something that would make us stand out a bit more compared to just regular cakes and croissants. If we didn’t have something unique like jar cakes we would never be able to get into the farmers markets.”

Along with their unique pastry selection, GK Pastry prides themselves on their high quality ingredients, which has been a selling point for the store.

“Using very good ingredients is also a very important part,” Hasan said. “So that’s why we only use natural [ingredients] and the best ingredients we can get our hands on.”

Hasan said that the family enjoys contributing to their mother’s efforts.

“My mom loved baking and we as a family will do everything in our power to support her and this business as much as we can,” Hasan said.

This combination of a passion for baking and meticulously thought-out pastries makes GK Pastry stand out from the rest. This family has created something special: a whole business out of what started as a hobby. v

SMOOTH SERVICE (FAR LEFT) — Store Manager Hasan Musa offers customers free samples of GK Pastry’s amaretti cookies. “We started at farmers’ markets,“ Hasan said. ”We learned people want to sample products before buying them, so we carried this practice over to our store.”

TIRAMISU JAR CAKE ($11) (TOP LEFT)

— The Tiramisu jar cake is a delicious combination of sweet and fluffy cream filling, creamy coffee-soaked lady fingers and a dash of coffee powder. The hints of coffee help compliment instead overpower the rest of the the tiramisu.

BLUEBERRY AND HAZELNUT CHOCOLATE AMARETTI COOKIES ($11) (TOP RIGHT) — The Amaretti cookies are delicious. They are dense, moist and not as crunchy compared to traditional cookies. The blueberry ones were a little too sweet for our liking and reminded us of blueberry muffins. The hazelnut one was similar in sweetness and had a good nuttiness.

CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM JAR CAKE ($11) (TOP MIDDLE) — The Chocolate Ice Cream jar cake is a layered masterpiece. The cake starts off with a top layer of rich, dense chocolate ice cream, decorated with tiny balls of chocolate that provide great crunch and sweetness. Under that is a crumbly chocolate cake that rounds out the experience and provides a little saltiness

BOB MARLEY:

ONE LOVE

A WINDOW INTO MUSICAL ICON’S LIFE

portryed throughout the movie.

At the time, Marley emerged, not just as a musical icon at the time, but as a beacon of hope and a common voice for peace.

“Love and acceptance was something that Marley preached and a lot of his music,” said Tyler Hanley, former Palo Alto

The film immediately captures the audience with close-ups that help viewers feel that they are present during Marley’s band

“I think they did a good job with that [close-up shots], when they bring you into these music scenes where he’s recording … then you do kind of feel there,” Hanley

Additionally, unlike many other biopic films such as “Elvis” in 2022, which covers broader periods of their subject’s life, this film focuses on a narrow period of Marley’s life.

As a result, the timeline

feels jumbled and sometimes feels confusing as the audience may struggle to understand how much time has passed between each concert.

However, it does allow the movie to focus on the most important part of Marley’s life where he traveled the world and helped unite opposing leaders through his peace concert.

Furthermore, a recurring theme the movie showed was family, which played an important factor in Marley’s life.

Ben-Adir, was really good and probably will be on the Oscar stage someday,” Hanley said. “And then female lead, Keisha Lynch, she’s been doing a lot of great work and really showcased it there [in the movie] as well.”

“Bob Marley: One Love,” captures Marley’s struggle to bring peace through his peace concert, but focuses predominantly on his persona as a global reggae superstar.

“ Love and acceptance was something that Marley preached.”

Addtionally, the movie includes small details enhancing the experience of the movie; whether it was the actor speaking like Marley or portraying the Jamaican culture with accents and cultural clothes.

— TYLER HANLEY, movie critic

It explores the hardship Marley had to deal with as a superstar where at times he felt betrayed by the people surrounding him.

This narrative choice raises questions about the portrayal of influential figures in movies.

The best part of the movie is incorporating each of Marley’s songs at appropriate times.

Songs like “I Shot the Sheriff” play right before Marley was shot and “Roots, Rock Reggae” which can be heard when Marley visits his family. In the song “Roots, Rock, Reggae”, “roots” can represent family as they are the stability of younger life and allow for growth.

Each song made by Marley helps mark a significant part of Marley’s life, such as the hardship he faced, the faith he had in building a community in Jamaica and the peace he longed for.

Marley, played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, always thought about others instead of himself by putting himself in danger and rarely thought about his selfish needs, which is shown in the movie.

“I thought the lead actor, Kingsley

Bob

Art by JESYLN CHEN

between family members and the Jamaican government, it fails to explore the bad decisions Marley made in his career.

“They [makers of Bob Marley] could have done better [to] shed some light on you know, some of Marley’s poor choices or not the best things that happened,” Hanley said.

Many biopic films like Bob Marley try to be respectful towards the person in order to avoid tarnishing their reputation.

“The issue I see very often is that certain biopic movies … are trying to be so respectful to the person that it doesn’t sound as exciting and it’s not showing as much conflict,” Fisk said.

Furthermore, movies like Bob Marley usually get the family’s approval before publishing to statisfy them.

“I’d rather see more of erring on the side of accuracy and less on the side of making the family happy,” Hanley said.

Marley’s music plays a huge role in his peace-making efforts but the film seems to give his activism, beliefs and the rich cultural context that influenced his music less prominence.

In many movies, there is a selective approach to portraying influential characters in cinema.

“ You want conflict; people don’t want to see all the good stuff.”

Although the film receives criticism, “Bob Marley: One Love” offers an engaging yet somewhat surface-like glimpse into the life of Marley.

— MICHAEL FISK, executive producer of “Ferrari”

“You want conflict; people don’t want to see all the good stuff,” said Michael Fisk, executive producer of the 2023 biopic “Ferrari.” “You have to show the tough life that they had, the fights that they had and so on. Some of it might not be as compelling so they kind of embellish parts of those stories.”

Although the movie shows conflict

While the movie succeeds in showcasing Marley’s undeniable charisma, his musical impact and his care for the Jamaican people, it falls short in diving into the complexities of his activism and how his culture influenced his music.

Marley was more than a musician; he was a visionary whose legacy was deeply intertwined with his efforts to foster peace and unity in a divided country. v

Bob

Text by NIAZ ALASTI and KENSIE PAO Photos by KENSIE PAO

WELCOMING SPRING

BAY AREA FOUNDATION

CELEBRATES NOWRUZ

CAPTURING CELEBRATION — Two friends pose for a picture in front of the haft-sin at the festival. The festival draws in hundreds of people every year. “This event [Nowruz festival and bazaar] happens every year,” event coordinator Gita Meshkat said. “This is like our Christmas.”

THE HUM OF A VIOLIN PLAYS AS DRUMS beat in the background. People in the audience clap along to the beat and one by one, they stand up and start dancing by the stage. At the entrance, the faint smell of kabob and rice becomes stronger. People flood out of the exit with their arms full of sweets and flowers, eager to celebrate Nowruz.

Nowruz, or “New Day” in Farsi, is a Persian holiday that falls on the spring equinox. This year, Nowruz was celebrated on March 19.

In an effort to spread Persian culture in the Bay Area, the Iranian Scholarship Foundation held a Nowruz festival at the San Jose City Hall on March 10.

“It’s a cultural event,” said Gita Meshkat, the coordinator of the Nowruz Bazaar and Festival. “We want to show the new generation the culture and what the Persian New Year is like.”

Here, dozens of Bay Area residents can purchase Nowruz celebration goods, dance to classic Iranian music and eat traditional foods. A couple more Persian traditions include collecting

elements of half-sin spreads, admiring the Amu Nowruz figure and greeting old friends. Because Nowruz embraces a countless number of Persian traditions, not all were able to be featured here. Verde visited this event to learn more about Nowruz. v

CUSTOMARY COOKING (TOP LEFT) — Gheymeh, a traditional Persian stew, is pictured here over crispy rice. It’s also served with lavash and salad. “Getting the family together and the smells of cooking,” candle vendor Nasrin Hosainy said, “those are the features of my growing up.”

DANCING DUO (RIGHT) – As live music plays on stage, two festival attendees get up from their seats and dance in a Persian dance style. Dancing is one of the common ways Persians celebrate the new year. “My parents are Kurd,” sticker vendor Peyman Mokhles said. “When it’s Nowruz, we do dancing.”

VIBRANT VIOLIN (BOTTOM LEFT) — Preformers on stage play traditional Persian music as Nowruz festival attendees clap and dance to the music.

SEVEN SYMBOLS (TOP) — A small haft-sin is for sale at the bazaar. The haft-sin is a table that has seven symbolic items that represent what’s wanted for the new year. Apples are one of the symbols commonly seen on the haft-sin. “Apple: we call it seeb,” event coordinator Gita Meshkat said. “It symbolizes health.”

KEEPING SCORE (MIDDLE LEFT) — In the courtyard where the festival is held, a group of boys play a game of soccer together. During Nowruz, it is common for family and friends to come together and enjoy the holiday as a family event. “All the family has to do is sit around the table and pray for a better year,” Meshkat said.

COLLECTING CASH (MIDDLE RIGHT) — An “Amu Nowruz” figurine sits atop a haft-sin, or a table that represents blessings that are wanted for the new year. Amu Nowruz is a fairytale character that brings money and gifts to children on Nowruz. Many children receive money on Nowruz, called “eidee.” “Receiving money was my favorite to be honest,” Mobin Bagheri, a vendor at the bazaar, said. “All the food, good people, [and] receiving money.”

ENDEARING EMBRACES (BOTTOM LEFT) — Two people greet each other outside of the festival. Nowruz is a time where family and friends gather to celebrate. “My best memory growing up with Nowruz was [it] was something you did growing up with your whole family,” Mobin said. “It was the one time in the whole year the whole

STICKING TO SUCCESS (BOTTOM RIGHT) – Nowruz festival vendor Peyman Mokhles smiles as he chats with customers about his sticker products. He said his favorite thing about Nowruz is the strong family bonding aspect. “I think the main things [about Nowruz] is that you’re off from school so you can go on a trip,” Mokhles said. “I would go to my parents’ town and spend time with them.”

Text by NATHALIA ARIAS

Embracin

a privilege, but I later recognized how, as a student in the Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program, I needed to work harder than the kids who were here to begin with.

NAVIGATING TWO WORLDS AS AN ‘EPA KID’ g

THE FIRST TIME I NOTICED how different East Palo Alto and Palo Alto were, I was in fifth grade, sitting at the window seat on the bright yellow school bus on the way to school. Riding all the way down Woodland Ave and crossing over the small bridge until the street met Newell Road, I noticed how all the houses got bigger and so did the distance between the parked cars.

As I got older I started to notice how the kids I went to school with seemed to be more privileged. They seemed more care-

The Tinsley Program allows students who live in East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park to attend school in neighboring districts.

It was established in 1986 after a group of parents filed a lawsuit against the nine Bay Area school districts stating that their children in the South County school districts were not receiving the same educational opportunities as other children in neighboring districts.

The parents fought to end the isolation of racial minorities and to give their

pared to 206 last year. This decrease is due to the policy in which if 60 percent of the school’s students are racial minorities, schools are not required to save spots for incoming kids, making less space available.

All my life I have always felt too Mexican for the white kids and too white for the Mexican kids.

This policy makes me feel that schools only care about getting the numbers they need so they can qualify as highly diverse schools, instead of prioritizing the education of the students they are supposedly trying to help. This is why schools should priotize the education of students more then the diversity count. This is where the lottery system comes into play. When there are more applications than there are spots, the program has a lottery system to select who gets in and who does not.

Why are only some kids pushed ahead, while others are left behind? Currently, only 60 kids will be transferred to PAUSD in the coming lottery.

I won the lottery because of my two older siblings. When a student is already enrolled in the Tinsley Program, their siblings are prioritized in the application pro-

I started my PAUSD experience when I entered Duveneck Elementary School, the closest elementary school to East Palo Alto. I quickly became close friends with the kids I rode the bus with.

Seeing the same people every day, growing up with them and to some degree having the same economic background made me feel at home with these people. But I was reluctant to make new friends for

I have witnessed that the shared experience of commuting from EPA creates a generational clique that appears to repeat in the generations of Tinsley transfer students I have known. I notice that the same groups of transfer students

Art by JESLYN CHEN

both sides

stay friends and don’t seem to ever branch out to any non-Tinsley transfer students.

I don’t think it is harmful to be friends with the same groups of people but I do think that doing so goes against a key goal of the Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program, which is to mitigate the racial divide. I have always tried to go out of my comfort zone when making friends.

Whenever I meet someone who is from East Palo Alto and has gone or is going to a Palo Alto school, I automatically feel connected to them and feel that I can make more vulnerable comments around them. I feel that we can connect on a deeper level, being that we have felt out of place in the same ways.

Generation after generation of families have grown up in East Palo Alto where neighbors are more than just neighbors and are intertwined as part of the family. I know it is cliché to say but I don’t think I have ever met a person that has lived in East Palo Alto that one of my parents was not in some way connected to. This makes me appreciate being a part of such a close-knit community.

Palo Alto kids are. Paly offers peer tutoring and they also support and help elevate students’ voices, for example giving students the freedom to make their own ethnic clubs like the Paly Latinos Unidos club, Palo Alto Black Student Union and more.

Paly and PAUSD offer a lot of useful opportunities but I think what they fail to understand is that some kids and their families don’t have the same resources.

However much they try to make us equal, we will always be dissimilar to the kids whose families have the bonus of al ready living in such a highly wealthy area. PAUSD does not lack cultural diversity; it lacks economic diversity.

The main thing that the PAUSD’s fac ulty and students can do to improve their understanding of minorities is to be edu cated on the contexts their students and peers are coming from.

You don’t have to fit a set stereotype. You can make your own identity.

Even since I was younger, my friends and I have always had these types of chats, when waiting for the bus to show or walking to class, about how we noticed the white kids in our classes “just knew more” and how they seemed more exposed to media about political issues when we felt that that was not a practice in our homes.

For me, cultivating friendships outside of this norm is in many ways pushing me to find out more about myself that I would have otherwise never known. It is not that I think that Paly does not have good opportunities for minority students, because they do.

Paly offers special counselors for first-generation students, which many East

even though it is less than a 10-minute drive away. Students need to learn to be socially aware to be prepared for the real world, beyond Palo Alto and understand that not everyone gets the same opportu nities they do. Getting out of your comfort zone is hard to do, especially when mak ing new friends.

It comes from deep within some one to make change in their social life and break the cycle but that is what needs to be done.

All my life I have always felt too Mexican for the white kids and too white for the Mexican kids, but what I have grown to understand — and am still learning — is that you don’t have to

fit a set stereotype. You can make your own identity. And that’s what I am pursuing.

As I drive back from school every day and pass that invisible but inevitable line, I watch as the houses get gradually smaller and notice how the cars are parked bumper to bumper. There is an undeniable sense of familiarity and I feel proud to call East Palo Alto my home. v

ALL SMILES — At age 5 I pose for a photo during a parent visit day at Greendell school in Palo Alto. Photo: Fabiola Arias

BABYSI

NEVER GIVE SUGAR TO A HYPERACTIVE CHILD

U“GHHHH.” THIS WAS what “Hannah,” the girl I babysat, had greeted me with every Saturday for the past month.

I trudged through the door, beginning to regret the job I had taken after offering on the Nextdoor app to babysit for only $12 an hour.

The last couple of weeks I had spent with her had been more exhausting than I had hoped, to say the least.

When I walked into the house, her mom said a brief “hello” while scurrying around the house, grabbing things before she left.

“You’re going to take her to her friend’s house for the bake sale,” she said. “Here’s the address.”

I typed it into Google Maps and did a double-take when I looked at the numbers at the bottom right corner of the screen: 59 minutes.

I was sure that there must have been a mistake.

“This says it takes an hour to walk there,” I said meekly, pointing to my phone.

I thought it was crazy for me to walk an hour with an 8-year-old to go to a bake sale.

I hoped she would tell me that she didn’t realize how far it was and that we

GONEw

could do something else for the day.

“Just hold her hand,” she said without hesitation.

Shocked but too scared to say anything further, I nodded and told Hannah that we were going to be leaving soon.

Her mom handed me a $10 bill for the bake sale as she rushed us out the door.

To both Hannah and my surprise, when I opened the door to leave, a man stood in front of us with a bouquet in his hand and a smile on his face.

As promised, I held her hand the entire way there as the blue arrow on the Google Maps app started moving closer to the destination, slowly but surely.

As we approached her friend’s neighborhood, we ran into other 3rd graders walking in and out of the street.

Why can’t you just call an Uber?!”

When she saw him, Hannah immediately started to yell.

She made it clear that she didn’t like her mom’s date.

As he walked into the house, she began to run after him and I tried my best to steer her away from this distraction so we could start to walk.

After repeating “I think it’s time to go” and “Hannah, that’s not very nice,” I eventually got her to come with me and we left the house.

That’s when we began the 59-minute-long trek to her friend’s bake sale.

All was going as planned while we walked past train tracks, multi-story buildings and on big roads all through Menlo Park.

When we finally arrived at the little stand labeled “Bake Sale” in big, messy handwriting, I eyed the slim selection of bite-sized baked goods.

A paper plate holding misshapen cake pops, squares of brownies and mini cupcakes was laid out on a desk-sized foldout table.

I told Hannah to pick what she wanted and handed the little girl running the stand $5.

Assisted by two adults, the girl handed Hannah and me a brownie, a cupcake and a cake pop.

Hannah eagerly bit into her treats and generously gave me a small morsel of brownie that both looked and tasted like a rock.

After spending a grand total of 3 minutes at our long-awaited destination, we decided it was time to go back home.

It only took about five minutes for

Art

GONEw TTING BONKERS

Hannah to decide she was over walking.

“Ugh, I don’t want to walk anymore,” she complained.

Here we go. I thought. I knew it was only a matter of time before her whining routine started.

“Come on,” I told her. We walked all the way here. We need to go home now.”

I too was completely over the idea of walking another hour back to her house, especially if she would be whining the whole way there.

“Just call an Uber!” She exclaimed. “Why can’t you just call an Uber?!”

“I can’t Hannah,” I responded. “I can’t call an Uber.”

“WHY

NOT! CALL AN UBER RIGHT NOW!”

Her temper only started to escalate and with it, so did mine.

“I DON’T HAVE MONEY!” I yelled right back at her.

At this point, Hannah was livid and began to scream at me in Mandarin, knowing I didn’t know the language and therefore she could say whatever she wanted.

I pleaded with her as she sat in the middle of the sidewalk, refusing to move.

“Please Hannah,” I begged. “We really need to go home right now.”

After a few minutes of this, I tried other strategies to get her to move.

we got home.

Pt. 3

I was leaving without her. by the arms and physically pulled her on her feet until she complied.

Looking back on it, this experience taught me three lessons: (1) Don’t go on a twohour long walk with an 8-year-old; (2) Don’t be afraid to express concerns to the parents if you have any; (3) Don’t give sug ar to an already hyper child.

physically and emotionally draining days of my life … but at least her mom’s date went well! v