Verde Volume 25 Issue 5

YEARS OF VERDE

7,435 miles away, pg. 14

VERDE MAGAZINE

May 2024 Volume 25 Issue 5

ON THE COVER

A collage highlighting our favorite covers from past issues of Verde pays homage to the 25th anniversary of Palo Alto High School’s news and features magazine. The cover, designed by managing editor Divya Gandhi, is overlaid with a translucent green color leaving blank the traditional V. for Verde.

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

Editors-in-Chief

Alma Bendavid

Lia Cardwell

Lizzy Williams

Managing Editors

Vit Do

Divya Gandhi

Cate Graney

Features Editors

Chloe Huang

Kensie Pao

Profiles Editors

Sophie Mies

Augustus Soedarmono

Culture Editor

Maya Rajbhandari

Perspectives

Editors

Eva Chang Zachary Crystal

News Editor Niaz Alasti

Launch Editor Lilia Kuzmicheva

Editorials Editor

Andrew Kassel

Senior Sports Editor

Otto Kiss Meyerfreund

Assistant Sports Editor

Stefan Eriksson

Business Manager

Maya Rajbhandari

Design Editor

Ella Hwang

Photo Director

Lara Saslow

Social Media Managers

Chloe Huang

Sophie Mies

Statistician

Jaron Leung

Webmaster

Ethan Zhang

Staff Writers

Nathalia Arias

Felicia Buchholz

Jeslyn Chen

Austin Eng

Keshav Kapur Srinavasan

Asha Kulkarni

Nadia Soberg

Anna Van Riesen

Adviser Paul Kandell

FROM THE EDITORS

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF VERDE

We, as the new editing team, want to highlight 25 years of stories, 25 years of exploration and 25 years of lasting friendships: 2024 marks Verde’s 25th year.

On the cover, we honor our history by showcasing a collage of our favorite Verde covers from each of those 25 years. Each of those covers marks a chapter in our history, years marked by diverse issues of their times, from gun violence to pandemic-ridden years to the rise of AI in education.

As we bid farewell to our 25th year, we are still bringing forth stories of camaraderie, excellence, resilience and student and staff culture. Our anniversary issue features a poignant reflection on the career of longtime social studies teacher John Bungarden on his 24 years of teaching (and interesting tie-wearing) as he moves into retirement, written by senior staff writers Asha Kulkarni and Nadia Soberg.

As one door closes for Bungarden, another opens for students as they head into a new school year. In “Turning up the heat with Bobo,” written by editorials editor Andrew Kassel and staff writer Keshav Kapur Srinivasan, junior Shreyas Bobo’s budding passion for cooking shows success in his new business run out of his back-

yard grill.

Change and new realities are further explored, on a generational scale, in the culture story, “Growing up glamorized,” in which senior staff writer Felicia Buchholz and features editor Chloe Huang delve into the developing pressures on current adolescent culture and the emerging trends and behaviors as a result of social media.

As Verde also continues to change and evolve with the current and emerging generations, the impermanence of each pentalogy’s staff is exacerbated by the graduating seniors, and the fledgling new staff taking its form for the next volume.

To our outgoing seniors: we extend our heartfelt thanks for your contributions to Verde. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and in forming your own collage of experiences.

To our readers: As the class of 2025 closes the 25th volume, we hope to turn the page onto this next quarter century of Verde with the same sense of enthusiasm and passion as our predecessors. We will look back on past issues and editors with pride, while looking forward to upholding Verde’s legacy and placing our own five covers on the coveted MAC 105 wall.

the verdicts

Edited and designed by ANDREW KASSEL

Why men should care about abortion

WHEN ASKED WHAT

they think about abortion,

“I don’t know,” is the sentiment expressed by many male students at Palo Alto High School.

“I’m not really educated on this topic, I don’t really have an opinion,’’ an anonymous male student told Verde.

We believe that students, regardless of gender, should have an educated opinion on abortion.According to a Verde survey of 353 students in 16 social studies classes on Feb. 4, 21% of male students surveyed said they were neutral on the issue, while less than 7% of female students surveyed said the same.

Additionally, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted in October 2022, after Roe v. Wade was overturned and federal protections on abortion were removed, 63% of women said abortion was ‘very important’ to their vote in the 2022 midterms, as opposed to 49% of men.

On May 1 this year, Florida’s Supreme Court banned abortion after six weeks, before many people know they are pregnant.

When asked about this ruling, the student above said he was not aware of the news.

Male Paly students should make more of an effort to be informed on issues regarding abortion. There are a multitude of reasons for men, who may not be educated on

abortion, to care about it.

One male student who feels particularly strongly about abortion is junior Faizan Kashmiri.

“There’s this mindset that if it doesn’t immediately affect you, that you shouldn’t have to care about it, right?” Kashmiri said. “But it’s a very infantile mindset.”

According to Kashmiri, even if the issue of abortion does not affect men directly, they still should care about it because it can affect the people around them.

“pends on the capacity of citizens to influence policy development and implementation processes, according to the National Institutes of Health. If men are blindly voting without educating themselves on the issue or not voting at all, they are doing a disservice to our country.

According to Advanced Authentic Research teacher Erin Angell, men should care about abortion because they are participating members of society.

Regardless of whether it’s your body or not, I just think that if you were a contributing member, you’d be concerned.”

“I’m somebody who doesn’t have any underlying health conditions. However, because I know people who are sick … I want them to have access to medical care, even if I don’t necessarily need it,” Kashmiri said, drawing a comparison between abortion and other medical care.

— ERIN ANGELL, Paly Advanced Authentic Reasearch Teacher

“Regardless of whether it’s your body or not, I just think that if you were a contributing member, you’d be concerned,” Angell said. “This [abortion] is something that affects our society. And so, regardless of whether they’re a contributing party to the pregnancy … they’re also human in this country. If we’re caring, thoughtful humans, we’re concerned about other humans, right?”

Another reason men should care about abortion is that they make up nearly half of our country’s population, and as residents of a representative democracy, their vote on the issue matters.

The effectiveness of democracy de-

We agree with the sentiment expressed by Kashmiri and Angell. Male Paly students should care about abortion because they should care about other members of their community. v

Art by DIVYA GANDHI

Students need to respect bathrooms

CUSTODIAN IMELDA DE GUZMAN HAD A particularly visceral reaction the first time she entered a Paly restroom.

“I threw up,” De Guzman said. We can empathize. Soap dispensers lie on the ground. Once pristine stall doors have been rendered unrecognizable by the explicit images and words drawn crudely over them. Solid and liquid waste alike routinely cover the floors and walls.

For many Palo Alto High School students, using the restroom has become a deeply unpleasant experience.

ans, restroom disarray complicates their work.

Custodian Rowel Gregorio was shocked by the dire state of the restrooms.

“There’s poop on the floor, on the wall, and even in the sink,” Gregorio said. “It’s everywhere.”

While alarming, restroom mistreatment from the students isn’t entirely out-of-left-field for the custodians.

“One day you will have a job, and hopefully you won’t have to experience what we’re experiencing.”

— ROWELL GREGORIO, custodian

Poor sanitation and rampant vandalization have led some students to avoid using school bathrooms altogether. This needs to end. School bathrooms need to be treated with respect.

Paly junior Jessica Mann is one of many students who prefers not using Paly’s restrooms.

“Personally, I don’t use the bathrooms here because I think it’s so gross,” Mann said. “Students don’t take care of the bathroom and that’s not the staff’s fault.”

Mann adds that some bathrooms even lack the bare minimum of locks on stall doors, a result of the vandalism stemming from last year’s “Devious Lick” TikTok trend, an internet prank where students stole and/or damaged school property.

“I know that a lot of the stalls don’t have any liners in them,” Mann said.

The poor state of the restrooms doesn’t only impact students, however. For custodi-

Gregorio said he suspects that the student vandalization stems from peer pressure.

“They [students] think it makes them look tough,” Gregorio said. “‘Oh you can’t do it,’ ‘Oh but I can.’”

De Guzman echoes Gregorio’s sentiments and argues that students ought to regulate themselves for the betterment of both their peers and the custodial staff.

“You should know how to discipline yourself,” De Guzman

Gregorio adds that students should consider how their actions would make them feel if they were in the custodial staff’s shoes.

“One day you will have. a job, and hopefully you won’t have to experience what we’re experiencing,” Gregorio said.

Students should reflect on their actions and commit to ending these disrespectful acts.

Students need to take responsibility for their wrongdoings and stop vandalizing the bathrooms so Paly can become a cleaner and more welcoming space for everyone. v

by DIVYA GANDHI

Art

launch

ASB Answers

with Palo Alto High School’s new Publicity Commisioner

Emily Tang:

Q: What is your favorite part about being a publicity commisioner?

A: Definitely getting to create fun visuals based on each event ASB hosts.

Q: What is ASB working on?

A: Currently the main event we are working on is a Field Day on the Quad to kick off the reopening of the new side of the Quad, which I’m super excited for.

Art by Sophia Kelly

Photo courtesy of Emily Tang

Nadia Soberg’s mini key lime pie recipe SCAN ME

Text, design

and

photos by LILIA KUZMICHEVA

TIktok ban verbatim:

Q: What Are your opinions on the potential TikTok ban?

“It [TikTok] getting banned is a good thing but also a bad thing because it’s such a big part of addiction.”

— Tarika Pillay, sophomore

“Even though I’m not the biggest supporter of its user content, I think a total ban of the app is a bit extreme.”

—

Rebecca Doran, junior

“I think it will probably give people a little more of their time back, but it’s likely that the popularity of other content services will increase instead.”

— Nate Richards, senior

SUmmer Bucket List

Art by Divya Gandhi

Watch the sunrise

Go to a drive-in movie

Go on a hike

Have a picnic

Go kayaking

Make lemonade

Have a bonfire

Paint a portrait

Go on a bike ride

FIGHTING FOR CHANGE A protester speaks with the Palo Alto sheriff across caution tape. Some students found the campus shutdown unnecessary. "I do feel like ... it's a little bit of a overprecaution to stop people just from going to get food, because at this point they will be leaving," sophomore Vasim Jamil Fee said. Photo: Anna Van Riesen

Campus closes for pro-Palestinian protest

PRO-PALESTINIAN protesters marched from Town and County Village to Addison Elementary School on May 10 to protest President Joe Biden’s support for Israel, causing Palo Alto High School to be temporarily barricaded and preventing students from leaving campus.

The group began gathering around noon, when the rally was initially set to begin, but delayed their departure until around 1:15 p.m.

Jack, a PAUSD student who asked to be referred to using only his first name, said he skipped class to attend the march and protest Biden’s foreign policy.

“Biden has sent over $50 billion to Israel during his presidency so far,” Jack said. “And that it's just entirely unacceptable to continue supporting a genocidal apartheid state.”

Biden attended a fundraising event Friday at the Portola Valley home of billionaire donor Vinod Khosla before at-

tending another in the Palo Alto home of ex-Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who lives near Addison Elementary.

Groups holding Israeli and American flags were gathered on corners surrounding Addison Elementary, showing their support for the president’s actions. Palo Alto resident Abra Siegel was one of the protesters representing Israel.

“I mostly came over to represent Israel and Israeli and the hostages who are still in captivity,” Siegel said. “133 of them and nobody speaks about them and everybody has forgotten why this war began.”

Paly’s campus was closed off as the protest went on across the street, leaving students unable to leave campus during lunch. Administrators cited safety concerns as the primary reason for the closure.

“We have a closed lunch today to make sure students are safe and away from any violence that may ensue, or any ruckus,” assistant principal LaDonna Butler

said. “So at brunch time, we allowed for kids to go back and forth as they pleased so they could get their lunch or whatever they needed and now we’re a closed campus for the first time ever.”

The campus closure was met by mixed reactions from students, with some wishing they were able to attend the protest.

“I feel like even though there is a protest there, students, during their free time or during lunch, should have an option if they wanted to protest,” freshman Loren Arcilla said.

However, some students enjoyed the quad feeling more crowded than usual.

“Everybody is more united,” sophomore Catarina Carbone said. “With the music playing, people playing sports, it’s a lot more together than when Town and Country’s open.”

by NIAZ ALASTI and ANNA VAN RIESEN

Edited and designed by NIAZ ALASTI

College campus protests affect Paly alumni

COLLEGE LIFE ACROSS THE country is being disrupted as university administrators are taking action against the continuing campus protests and encampments surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Both Columbia University and the University of Southern California’s commencement ceremonies are canceled. Meanwhile, protests are ongoing in many other campuses across America.

According to Columbia sophomore and Palo Alto High School alumna Emily Yao, Columbia made all final exams fully remote, and the final exam schedule is

inconsistent. Some student have had their finals canceled, while others are required to take final exams online during this stressful period. This inconsistency is inconveniencing herself and her peers.

“She's [Yao’s suitemate] still super stressed out because her professors have not been very lenient,” Yao said. “Whereas I know people who have basically gotten straight A's and don't [need to] worry, it's … kind of unfair to not have a standardized practice,” Yao said.

Tensions around campus have made it hard for students to focus on education.

“I probably haven’t gotten a single as-

PAEA, district come to tentative salary agreement

RALLYING FOR RAISES — The Palo Alto Educators Association and the Palo Alto School District Board of Education have reached a tentative agreement about teacher salary increases on May 5. According to the PAUSD superintendent's update, the general agreement "calls for 4% salary increases in 2023-24, and again in 2024-25, with a 1% bonus for the 2023-24 school year." According to a member of the PAEA, who would like to be kept anonymous, the negotiation includes agreements on the terms the union has been asking for. Photo: Kensie Pao

signment done,” Yao said. “It’s terrible, like all I do is … sleep. My whole lifestyle is so messed up.”

The escalation of tensions has challenged students. Barnard College sophomore and Paly alumna Emma Joing was a part of Columbia’s recent student protests.

“It’s been tough going through the past two weeks and seeing how much the students have gone through and how much the administration has pushed back and how much its affected myself and my peers and our campus,” Joing said.

by ZACHARY CRYSTAL

City celebrates 100th May Fete parade

CELEBRATING THE CITY Palo Alto residents march along University Avenue to celebrate the 100th annual May Fete Parade on Saturday, May 4. Despite the rain and wind, hundreds gathered to watch the parade. “It's really fun to see our community’s engagement and involvement in this parade,” float judge Cayla Koga said. Photo: Lara Saslow

PROMOTING PEACE — Stanford University students set up encampments to protest the war in Gaza. Protests have been affecting university campuses across the country. "I think the environment on campus was ... hostile sometimes," Columbia student Emily Yao said. Photo: Kensie Pao

Annual K-12 art show showcases student work

Ohlone Elementary hosts 50th anniversary

OHLONE ELEMENTARY

school held its 50th Anniversary Celebration featuring food, activities, and guest speakers on May 4.

Ohlone teachers, alumni, as well as PAUSD board members attended the celebration and spoke about their memorable experiences during their time at the school.

Volunteer Rebecca Marasco said the celebration included many activities.

“There's a STEM event because today is May the fourth,” Marasco said. “And there are a lot of Arts and Sciences you can do around Star Wars.”

Similarly, former music teacher and alumni John Henry Bradshaw, who performed at the celebration, expressed his deep connection to Ohlone.

“To me, Ohlone was to find the shape you fit in, not to try to fit you into a box,” Bradshaw said.

by LILIA KUZMICHEVA

CELEBRATING THE CREATIVITY of youth in our community, the annual K-12 art show opened on April 27 at the Palo Alto Art Center. The show is running until May 19, showcasing a variety of artwork from over 500 young artists under the theme of symbiosis.

“The purpose of the art show is to showcase the work our students do and to give them an opportunity to have the equivalent of a performance,” art instructor Kate McKenzie said.

Viewers praised the role of art teachers in selecting pieces that resonated with both students and viewers.

“Young students make a lot of really pretty and super creative pieces of artwork,” Palo Alto High School sophomore Ivy Lee said. “When I look at this gallery, it's so much more interesting than random modern art galleries, because you can really see the ideas and creativity coming off of these pieces.”

by MAYA RAJBHANDARI

Four candidates to run for school board

FOR THE PALO ALTO SCHOOL

Board election this November, four candidates have recently officially declared to run for the three open positions. These four candidates are Josh Salcman, Chris Colohan, Alison Kamhi and Nicole Chiu-Wang.

Salcman filed his papers to run on April 22. He previously served on the Nixon Elementary School PTA board as treasurer for two years and is now the special education and inclusion representative there. Salcman said one of his main priorities on the school board would be to maintain stability and to continue good governance of the school district, by addressing equity, mental health, wellness and balance in life for students.

“Equity is not that we should be giving every student the same thing,” Salcman said. “I think what equity should and can mean is understanding where each student is coming from, what their challenges are, what their opportunities are for success, and giving them what they need to be able to pursue their own individual definition of success.”

Chiu-Wang, who announced her candidacy on April 29, also values student mental health and equity through closing the opportunity gap.

Kamhi filed her papers for candidacy on April 22. Since then, she has emphasized listening to the community, focusing on asking students questions, like what aspects of their school experience the board should pay attention to.

“As an immigrant rights lawyer, we advocate for change on a national level,” Kamhi said. “But all change is local, so I can think of nothing more impactful than working right here in our schools in our school districts for our families and communities.”

Colohan, who declared to run on March 4, said he would value good governance as part of the board, but especially by ensuring that decisions are being made with transparency, improving communication and coordination.

“I’m going to have to get into communication with families,” Colohan said. “Right now, I can tell you that many parents, including myself, feel that you just get a firehose of information … It’s really hard to know how to prioritize what you read as a parent."

More candidates are expected to enter the race in the coming months.

by CHLOE HUANG

CELEBRATING CREATIVITY — Families explore student art at the Palo Alto Art Center on May 1. The show displays students’ artistic talent. “Art is a way to express myself,” Gunn High School junior Satvik Sivaraman said. Photo: Kensie Pao

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sports

Lawn Bowling: Game For All

SOCIAL HOT SPOT FOR RETIREES

YOU WOULD BE hard-pressed to find a Palo Alto resident who hasn’t passed the irregularly shaped block off Embarcadero Road, which shares borders with Palo Alto’s well-known Gamble Garden. The small wood fence and perfectly flat green grass make for an unmissable, peculiar site among the houses and garden that surround it. Yet, it would be even harder to find a resident familiar with the game played on the club green.

Walking into the plot, groups of people roll colorful oval-shaped objects, aiming for a small white sphere, playing a game called Bowls.

The Palo Alto Lawn Bowls Club provides a space for Palo Alto residents to play the game of bowls, also known as ‘Lawn Bowling.’ Bowls is a sport where players try to roll their ball as close as possible to a smaller white ball, called a jack. The weight imbalance of the balls, also known as bowls, creates hard to predict curves in the ball’s travel, turning the game into a competitive match.

According to Frank Matyskiela, head coach of the club, the beginning of this year marked the club’s 90th anniversary,

founded in 1934. Since then, the club has remained much the same, apart from renovations of the clubhouse.

The City of Palo Alto has owned the property since its inception.

“The city owns the whole property, and we lease it from them and pay rent on that lease,” Matyskiela said. “It’s an old property the city is invested in.”

Currently, the club has 86 members. However, Matyskiela expects that number to increase to over 100 by the end of this year.

Despite the small number of people who visit this nature haven, for a select group of people, it’s a part of their daily routine.

“It [lawn bowling] is a low aerobic sport, and it’s social but competitive and you meet nice people,” Matyskiela said. “Most of the people are our age 60, 70. I’m 83, this helps me keep up.”

Rob, 63, who asked to be refered to by only his first name, is a member of PALBC, he has visited the club three times a week for around a year.

Rob started his lawn bowling adventures in his home country, South Africa, and continues his passion in Palo Alto.

Rob has his own specially made Bowls from South Africa with the ‘SA’ emblem. He mentioned that the game in South Africa was a different culture because there was much more alcohol involved, but he can appreciate the cultural differences.

“[Lawn bowling is] a highly skilled game, and it actually takes a while to master the skill,” Rob said. “It has a lot of mental concentration and it’s social and it’s nice to be outside.”

In addition to recreational bowling, PALBC hosts numerous intra-club bowling tournaments, invitationals and social events throughout the year, open to all members.

Matyskiela invites all Palo Alto residents to attend one of the drop-in lessons offered every Sunday at 1:30 p.m., regardless of their skill level, and check out the extensive collection of books on the sport of lawn bowling. v

BOWLING BOWLS — Palo Alto Lawn Bowls

Club member, Rob, who asked to be referred to by only his first name, prepares to throw his bowl in a game of lawn bowling. “We sometimes have meals in the club house,” Rob said. “On Wednesday evenings, members take turns cooking meals, and we have wine, food and beer.” Photo: Stefan Eriksson

Text by STEFAN ERIKSSON and OTTO KISS MEYERFREUND

Divison I Commits: Defying odds

ATHLETES DISCUSS THEIR D1 SPORTS JOURNEY

Diving

Palo Alto High School senior Alena Lotterer’s passion for diving began as a gymnast. “I was originally a gymnast in third and fifth grade but I was just getting hurt a lot already at a young age,” Lotterer said.

“She [my mom] didn’t want me getting hurt, but saw how much I loved gymnastics so she signed me up for div-

At 12, Lotterer realized she could pursue diving in college, and began practicing for at least 12 hours a week to reach that goal. After searching for colleges she fell in love with the University of Virginia, which she eventually committed to. While at UVA, Lotterer hopes to improve as well as bring success to the team. “I would just really love to contribute to an ACC and NCAA title,” Lotterer said.

Photo: Otto Kiss Meyerfreund

Track and Field

Paly senior Lili Wakenshaw recently announced her commitment to Bucknell University for track and field, specifically the high jump event. Wakenshaw has been practicing and competing in the high jump since sixth grade.

“I started doing high jump in sixth grade and quickly realized I was pretty good at it and I enjoyed the process of getting better,” Wakenshaw said.

Wakenshaw is excited about college, especially after already meeting some of her teammates. “It’s [Bucknell] a small school and I’ve already met part of the team so I’m going in with a preset friend group,” Wakenshaw said. Photo: Otto Kiss Meyerfreund

Golf

Paly senior Chase Kacher, is a Division I golf commit to the University of Denver. From a young age he wanted everything that golf could offer.

“I always had it in my mind that I wanted to play D1 because that was such a big thing for me,” Kacher said. “When people would ask me if I wanted to play D1 I would be like I wanted to play division one golf. Playing the best possible level of golf in college [was my dream] ... I would go before school and after school until 9:30 when they shut the lights off. And I would just work my freakin tail off.”

Additionally, Kacher said he believes that he will make it to the profesional level by giving it his entire heart.

“The mindset of my coach is to get me ready for college,” Kacher said. “He wants to get ready to be a pro golfer, which is obviously my dream.”

Photo courtesy of Chase Kacher

Soccer

Paly senior Elsie Parigi is a Division I soccer commit to the University of San Francisco. She had struggles along the road to recruitment.

“I unfortunately got injured for two years, which has made the recruiting process difficult,” Parigi

Despite her setbacks during the recruiting process, Parigi is excited to play at the next level, as she has had it in the back of her mind her whole life.

“I think it’s gonna be obviously extremely challenging to play at another level,” Parigi said. “But I’m really excited for that, and to learn and grow as a player.”

Photo: Otto Kiss Meyerfreund

SYMBOLic

FLAGS CATCH FLACK IN LOCAL POLITICS

FROM HIS SEVENTH floor window in Palo Alto City Hall, City Manager Ed Shikada can survey the streets below. Outside his window, five flags fly atop city poles.

“On the eastmost flagpole, we have the American flag,” he said. “Next to it, in the center … is the United Nations flag, and then down below, is the Pride flag. And then over on the … third flagpole is the State of California flag and down below it, the City of Palo Alto [flag]. These are the flags that have been flying for as long as I

These flags are a constant in the City Hall plaza. But locally and nationally, city and school flagpoles have become sites for recent political controversy.

Protests for Palestinians

On March 30, protesters hoisted Palestinian flags onto city flag poles outside of Palo Alto City Hall. According to Musa Tariq, the policy coordinator for the Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group, the protest aimed to raise awareness for the plight of Palestinians

“The Palestinian flag is a symbol of liberation, a symbol of its people right now,” Tariq said. “This is a people that has been wiped out, genocided, silenced. So, it’s more important than ever that we put the Palestinian flag high. … because if we allow this genocide to continue in silence, then these people have died for nothing. I think it’s important that we amplify the voices of the voiceless.”

In response, the City of Palo Alto removed the flags and locked down the flagpoles to prevent similar displays.

SIGNAGE

“We understand that that [unauthorized flag flying] was an issue and we reviewed the situation,” Shikada said. “As a result, the city is placing locks on the flag … halyards [the rope used for raising and lowering a flag] … in order to prevent unauthorized use in the future.”

However, Tariq reaffirmed the importance of the protest.

“ It’s important that we amplify the voices of the voiceless.”

— MUSA TARIQ, Policy Coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations

“Any form of protest in front of a City Hall is … a valid way to express concerns within a community especially when their elected officials are not hearing them out,” he said. “If they have to hang a flag on a flagpole, I think that’s a pretty harmless form of expression to get some form of acknowledgment.”

Displaying Pride flags

Veronica Qiu, a Palo Alto High School sophomore and president of Paly’s Cultural Connections Club, is familiar with the cultural importance of flags, but she also recognizes their political significance.

“I think there’s definitely two sides of flags,” she said. “In one way they can show a cultural aspect of a community and their values, but I think also, it can represent a political movement … like the rainbow flag.”

According to Shane Stahl, communications manager for Equality California, a statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, it has become increasingly common for cities to ban Pride flags.

In addition to cities such as Huntington Beach banning Pride flags on city property, multiple California school districts have restricted the flying of Pride flags, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. In Sunol, an Alameda County town less than an hour’s drive from Palo Alto, the school board passed a resolution to ban the flying of any flag except for the U.S. and California flags. In both cases, supporters of the flag ban worried that flying the Pride flag would cause division.

“Sadly, there’s been an increase in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment over the past couple of years, including a rise in hate crimes,” Stahl said. “Those attempting to ban the Pride flag … are extremists using this as another tactic to intimidate and harass LGBTQ+ people.”

ple with policies governing flag displays.

Shikada said that the city can fly new flags during a special event, such as when one of Palo Alto’s sister cities is visiting.

Otherwise, the City Council would need to pass a resolution.

“[Flying] the United Nations [flag], the Pride flag, were determined by City Council action, most likely a resolution at some point in the past,” Shikada said. “Over time, that [the flags the city flies] will change based on City Council direction, and there could be a resolution to fly some other flag, either on a special event or in recognition.”

Palo Alto Unified School District Superintendent Don Austin said that although some school districts may choose to display other flags beside the U.S. and state flags, PAUSD follows convention.

“Seeing the Pride flag instills a sense of safety and security.”

— SHANE STAHL, Communications Manager for Equality California

For Stahl, cities such as Palo Alto that fly the Pride flag are beacons of acceptance for the queer community.

“The Pride flag is a symbol of the diversity and beauty of the LGBTQ+ community,” he said. “For many people, seeing a Pride flag instills a sense of safety and security.”

Policies and protocols

Amid these debates, institutions grap-

“When we get into weighing the merits of the different flags whether for protest or presentation, that’s problematic for a lot of reasons and not something we would not want to weigh into,” Austin said. “Individuals have tons of rights when it comes to what they want to do in their own facilities, their own homes, their own property. There’s a lot of freedom there but as far as a school district or government entity, I’m comfortable with the long-standing practice of sticking with the two and staying out of the discussions about what other flags might make sense to go up.” v

A HELPING HAND

Photo by KENSIE PAO

PROGRAM PAVES WAY FOR SEMINAR STUDENTS

STEPPING INTO THE PALO Alto High School library during seventh period on a Friday, groups of students sit in unison, discussing class projects.

The students, half of them juniors and half seniors, belong to the AP Seminar and AP Research peer-mentorship program, which debuted at Paly this year.

The peer mentorship program was created by AP Seminar teacher Lucy Filppu, AP Research teacher Mary Sano and dvancement Aparna Sankararaman, who teaches Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) and chemistry.

The program allows students in AP Seminar, a research class for juniors and seniors, which is the prerequisite for AP Research, to be mentored by seniors currently taking AP Research.

The idea for the program started with Filppu and Sano’s desire to give more opportunities for students to participate in the AP Capstone pathway, which requires students to take AP Seminar and AP Research.

According to Filppu, this allowed teachers to step back and allow students to lead.

“I felt that we’re under-utilizing the talents of students to help other students [and] I feel students are our single greatest asset all the time,” Filppu said. “We too often make an adult the one to be the leader and I feel like these kids [AP Research/ Seminar students] can do it.”

Filppu saw the program as an opportunity to uplift AVID students, who are traditionally of lower socio-economic status and first-generation college students, into higher-level AP classes with students of higher SES.

According to Filppu, students tend to form cliques based on SES. However, when these cliques are broken, they significantly increase the academic benefits, especial-

Text by OTTO KISS MEYERFREUND and AUGUSTUS

ly for AVID students. A study done by Raj Chetty, an economist and researcher, showed that first-generation college students increased their GPA by 60% compared to previous years when mixed with higher SES students, which is also known as “economic connectedness.”

Additionally, according to a statement from Filppu. completion of advanced courses allows students to be “well positioned to attend four-year colleges,” a struggle many first-generation students encounter.

After one year of piloting the program, Filppu said she believes that this program has a lot of potential to be a movement in providing a high-level education for AVID students after high school.

“I also think a lot of AVID students are really really capable [of attending a four-year college],” Filppu said. “Their parents maybe didn’t go to college, but they want to do it.”

Sankararaman agreed with the statement and has seen tremendous growth in her students over the past years.

“The peer mentoring mentorship program at the beginning of the year, they [AVID students] probably saw their senior peer mentors applying [for college], you know, talking about little variables that has rubbed off on them,” Sankaraman said. “It’s given them the confidence to take more AP classes.”

os, is part of the AVID class at Paly and plans on becoming the first in his family to attend college.

Guarneros accredits his decision to take AP Seminar to the peer mentorship program as well as the content of the class.

“I thought it was a cool class in general because I could research something I was interested in,” Guarneros said. “The thought of having a peer mentor increased the chance [of joining the class] because I’ll have someone to help me.”

Guarneros has come to enjoy AP Seminar, in great part due to the peer mentorship program. “I got along very well with Alaap and [he] has been helping me more than he has to with my papers which has allowed me to get a good grade in the class,” Guarneros said.

Guarneros plans on taking AP Research and becoming a mentor next year.

Selection of peer mentors started with Sano who has AP Research students anonymously write a short paragraph on themselves, allowing seminar students to rank their first choices based on the paragraphs. Then Filppu and Sano would pair each student together based on responses.

“The best cure for what ails a student is another student.”

—LUCY FILPPU, AP Seminar teacher

Many Paly students are busy with their AP classes and other extracurricular activities, with almost no time to help others.

One senior mentor for the program, Alaap Nair decided to join the program because of the benefits it held in helping an AP Seminar student.

“Just transferring my knowledge and all the mistakes I made to help my peer mentor was why I thought it was a great idea,” Nair said.

Beyond helping his mentee, Nair believes that the mentorship program creates a “symbiotic” relationship that benefits both the mentor and the mentee.

“My peer mentor would listen to my presentation and he gave me feedback on things that I was doing in research,” Nair said. “It’s a beneficial experience for both of us.”

Nair’s partner, Uriel Almanza Guarner-

It prompts the question: why do Paly students, especially seniors, want to help and mentor younger students?

Filppu believes that a reason many students at Paly take the time to help one another can be credited to the feeling it produces.

“I actually think a lot of our really high achieving students are dying to feel purposeful and give back to someone, they may not realize it,” Filppu said. “The best cure for what ails a student is another student.” v

MENTORSHIP MATES Participants in the Research and Seminar peer mentorship program, Alaap Nair and Uriel Almanza Guarneros, pose for a picture. “I’ve honestly really come to enjoy Seminar, especially with the peer mentorship program,” Guarneros said.

FLETCHER ADOPTS SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM TIGERS

TWENTY PERCENT OF Palo Alto will be under water by 2050, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

While every generation since the Baby Boomers has acknowledged climate change to be a top priority, only around 50% of people within each generation have taken personal action to address the issue according to Pew Research Center.

In response to this lack of action, Ellen Fletcher Middle School adopted the Sustainability for All program in fall of 2023 with the goal of creating more environmental awarness among students and boosting enrollment.

“We’re living in a time where sustainability has become one of the paramount issues facing society,” said Todd Collins, a member of the Palo Alto Board of Education.

“You see places like Stanford launch entire new schools of sustainability … so the idea [of the program] is that they [students] won’t have to wait until college … because it [climate change] is going to affect them much more than older people.”

ment where people have access to clean air, food and water through interactive and classroom-based activities.

Along with environmental awareness, Fletcher presented the idea of adding a specialty program to their curriculum to help increase enrollment.

“There were lots of different ideas thrown around, like adding Connections, which they have at JLS [Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School],” said Jessie Ladomirak, a member of the Board of Education. “The Fletcher community really wanted to take on the project of figuring out, for them selves, what they were excited about and what they can creatively imagine.”

“They [students] won’t have to wait until college ... because it [climate change] is going to affect them much more than old people.”

— TODD COLLINS, Palo Alto Board of Education member

The Sustainability for All program provides students with the opportunity to learn more about developing an environ-

with all students, so it doesn’t really matter how many students [of the program] are at Fletcher.”

The majority of the program is taught within school electives, core classes and after-school activities, made possible by collaboration with Fletcher staff, PAUSD students and parents and the District Office.

“The Fletcher community really wanted to take on the project of figuring out, for themselves, what they were excited about and what they can creatively imagine.”

— JESSE LADOMIRAK, Palo Alto Board of Education member

According to the Palo Alto Unified School District website, families that are interested in participating in the program but don’t live with in the Fletcher dis trict can still apply and join the school, effectively boost ing the pool of students who can enroll. However, Tamara Wallace, a Teacher on Special Assignment lead ing the program, said that boosting enrollment is still a priority even after launching the program.

“We still have many open spots for students since we func tion as a choice program,” Wallace said. “We … value working

“The integration of units within core classes allows them [students] to discuss topics in their social studies classes, or read a novel in their English classes, or even

GO GREEN

“Sometimes they [students] have a lot of interest, and sometimes they don’t, but you learn from each [lesson],” Wallace said.

Claire Park, a seventh-grader at Fletcher, agrees, saying that the work done under Sustainability for All has greatly improved the overall state of Fletcher’s campus.

nities to participate.

“Sometimes they [students] have a lot of interest, and sometimes they don’t, but you learn from each [lesson].”

“I’m in the elective so I get to plant a lot of things, and I’ve visibly noticed that the school has been cleaner,” Park said. “I’ve been having to pick up less trash around the school, and I think we’re really making a difference.”

— TAMARA WALLACE, Teacher on Special Assignment

“As someone who doesn’t do the elective, we have many activities at lunch. On Schoology, they always post activities we can do to help the environment, and also gain community service hours … or money as an incentive,” Das said. “So it’s more of an optional thing that you can come and join, it’s just not always in our curriculum.”

However, the program hasn’t been without its challenges.

“Being a new program, not many peo-

dents put it as their alternative, and so most people in this program didn’t originally intend to be in it.”

Still, Das says that the majority of students have enjoyed their experiences working in the program.

“Even though these people [students] are kind of forced to be in the electives, they’ve still been pretty enthusiastic [about the program],” Das said.

With the continued support of Fletcher staff, Park believes this program will continue to flourish and provide students with opportunities they would not otherwise receive through regular schoolwork.

“Ms. Wallace has been working really hard to make the school a lot more sustainable,” Park said. “I feel like in the future when this program goes on for a bit more, our school should be very sustainable.” v

PIPELINE TO PRIVILEGE

CALIFORNIA CONSIDERS

LEGACY BAN

IMAGINE WORKING HARD all your life, trying to achieve your goals.

Then, imagine being passed over by an admissions officer for someone simply because of who their parents are. That’s legacy admissions.

According to the New York Times, legacy admissions is a practice where certain colleges “give a boost during the admissions process to the children or grandchildren of alumni, making them more likely to gain admission.”

According to that same article, 42% of private universities consider legacy admissions, while only six percent of public universities use it.

Although legacy brings advantages to some, many people, such as California State Assemblymember Phil Ting, representing San Francisco, think that legacy admissions are unfair.

“I believe strongly in the value of diversity in higher education,” Ting said.“We’re told that opportunities are available to anyone who works hard and gets good grades. But that’s simply not true. There’s a side door for students who come from wealth or have connections.”

House Appropriations Committee, the California House of Representatives will vote on the bill sometime in May, according to Ting’s communications director, Nanette Miranda.

“We’re told that opportunities are available to anyone who works hard and gets good grades. But that’s simply not true.”

— PHIL TING, California State Assemblymember

Having relatives who attended a university that practices legacy admissions can be a leg up for students applying to that college.

According to Stanford’s 2020 annual admissions report, the acceptance rate for students whose parents were alumni or were donors was four times higher than Legacy students are more likely lies, according to the New York Times. Ting wants to even the

Ting previously attempted to introduce a bill that would ban legacy admissions in 2019, in the wake of the 2019 college admissions scandal, a criminal conspiracy to influence undergraduate admissions at several US colleges. Under the proposed bill, California colleges would face the penalty of losing funding for CalGrants if they defied the bill and continued to prefer legacy students.

CalGrants are financial scholarships awarded to California college students who attend eligible colleges in California.

sented students. This past February, he introduced a Public California colleges do not practice

After it passes the

Ultimately, the 2019 bill failed because of concerns that the removal of funding for CalGrants would negatively impact lower-income students. According to Miranda, the bill was changed to require colleges to report data on legacy admissions. This collected data, along with the nationwide end of affirmative action, a practice that sought to benefit marginalized groups, serves as the basis for this new bill that would ban legacy admissions in California once and for all.

However, unlike the previous 2019 bill, AB 1780 does not reduce funding for CalGrants as punishment for colleges that continue to take into account legacy.

“The bill now assesses a civil penalty

on private colleges and universities in California … that practice legacy/donor admissions,” Miranda said.

According to Miranda, the bill would fine universities that practice legacy admissions based on their past CalGrant receipts.

“The fine against would be equal to the amount of CalGrants the schools received the prior year,” Miranda said. “For instance, in 2022-23, Stanford received $3.2 million CalGrants and USC [University of Southern California] received $26.6 million. Those would be the fines right now if the bill were in effect. So we’ve taken the approach of penalizing schools, not students.”

USC, a California private college that practices legacy admissions, has not taken a position on AB 1780. In a statement, USC said “admitted students meet our high academic standards through a contextualized holistic review that values each student’s lived experience.”

They also emphasized their commitment to accepting low income students.

According to their statement, “for the

2022-23 academic year, 22% of admitted students were first-generation college students, 28% were from historically under-represented groups and 74% were students of color.”

Senior Kevin Shi said he thinks the ban could present a practical issue for universities and their fundraising efforts.

“Overall … I don’t think it’s a good idea to have legacy, ” Shi said. “Ideally, there’s no legacy because I think who your parents are, where they went to school, shouldn’t really decide whether you can get into a college or not, but at the same time, a lot of colleges get a lot of their funding from alumni and that’s why they probably have a legacy.”

Shi said he thinks too many legacy students is a problem.

“According to Stanford’s website, their rate [of legacy students] is around 15% … I think something [like] that is okay or maybe on the high side, but obviously if a school had say, 50% legacy, that would be a problem,” Shi said. “I think policymakers could maybe do something to prevent

those extreme cases from happening, but if you’re looking at a moderate range, like 20 [percent] or below, I think it’s ok.”

Shi said he is committed to attend Stanford University in the fall, but he has no legacy or connections to the university.

Despite assertions that legacy admissions preferences are necessary for universities to generate sufficient funding through their alumni, schools such as Johns Hopkins University, Amherst College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which have eliminated the practice in recent years, have reported that their funding has remained steady despite the change.

Shi said he thinks that banning legacy admissions is a step too far, but the government should take steps to limit it.

“I don’t think banning [legacy admissions] would be a good idea,” Shi said. “Maybe setting a rough limit on how much of the class can be from legacy. Do something to make sure that it’s not too big of a factor. I think it would make sense for the government … to be able to set some rules.” v

Text by STEFAN ERIKSSON and LARA SASLOW

Harmonizing Heights

PALY’S GROWING A CAPPELLA CULTURE

GATHERED IN A CIRCLE, members hum and vocalize while others look up lyrics on their phones, harmoniously creating intricate melodies from their voices alone.

A cappella, music that is performed without instruments, is a way students can express themselves through music, but one of the only ways they can do so inde-

pendently, without an adult mentor. Palo Alto High School’s five a cappella groups include Heartbeats, Heartbreakers, Vikapella, Folk Yes and Froshapella.

Choir teacher Michael Najar has taught at Paly since 2003, before the start of Paly’s a cappella groups. A major reason for Najar’s excitement towards the creation of Paly’s a cappella groups was because he did not have the opportunity to do a cappella in high school and college, due to the lack of popularity of a cappella groups at the time.

Najar said that the start of Paly a cappella was in 2005, when one of his students, Mary Hewlett, approached him with the idea.

“Mary Hewlett started with these other three young women a group called the Heartbeats … the Heartbeats are the oldest

a cappella group here on campus, followed by the Heartbreakers which was going to be their male counterpart,” Najar said.

Eventually, Paly’s a cappella program grew into five separate groups. Although all five groups are student-run, Najar and Brittney Kerby, the other Paly choir teacher, occasionally give coaching or pointers to students.

Each group used to have its own definitive style but they now are more mixed.

“There’s more crossover between music. It used to be more separated, but it’s not as much anymore but they all have their own identity,” Najar said.

Heartbeats

Junior Riya Kini is a part of Paly’s Heartbeats a cappella group. Kini, who did choir outside of school prior to joining Paly

Photo courtesy of RIYA KINI

choir her freshman, joined Froshapella, the freshman a cappella group. Her sophomore year she did regular choir and finally tried out for Heartbeats her junior year.

Being only a four-person group, Kini appreciates how connected she feels with the Heartbeats a capella group.

“I really like just having a smaller group, because it’s more close-knit and it’s just nice to have that community,” she said. “It’s very laid back and drama free so it’s just nice to be able to make music.”

Heartbeats performs one to two songs per concert.

According to Kini, practices often occur during lunch or weekends.

and advanced vocals at Paly since freshman year. She was in Froshapella freshman year, and joined Folk Yes at the beginning of her junior year.

The group meets after school or during lunch, but usually not very often unless there is a concert coming up, Samant said.

Samant says that she enjoys a cappella because there is much more freedom in comparison to choir.

“ I really like just having a smaller group, because it’s more close-knit and it’s justs nice to have that community.”

— RIYA KINI, Heartbeats member

“Everyone’s pretty busy throughout the week,” she said. “We normally just meet at someone’s house the weekend before the concert for three or four hours and just learn the song really quick during that time because it’s kind of hard to make progress during only a 30-minute lunch.”

Kini says that the biggest difference from regular choir is that it’s student-run and that they get to choose what songs they want to sing. She said that Heartbeats is not too much of a time commitment.

Kini recalls her most memorable experience being when they got to record “All I Want For Christmas Is You” for the winter concert.

“Mr. Najar really liked it,” Kini said. “So he wanted us to record it with professional equipment, we went into the studio and recorded it and it got released.”

Working in a group in itself is a difficult task but when you add a cappella it becomes loads harder. Kini said that a cappella has helped her with her teamwork and accountability.

“When there’s only four people in the group, and you have to hold your own part 100% of the time, there’s kind of this sense of, ‘oh, I can’t let them down,’” Kini said.

Folk Yes

Junior Eesha Samant is a part of Folk Yes. She has been in choir since sixth grade

“We usually like to discuss what we want to do, and we get to choose our soloist and choose what parts we want,” Samant said. “It’s a lot different because it’s self-determined.”

Vikapella

Senior Rori

Escudero, a member of the Vikapella a cappella group, has been doing a cappella her whole time at Paly. Having joined Froshapella freshman year before staying two years in Folk Yes and then moving on to Vikapella.

Escudero said that her favorite part of a cappella is performing.

“It’s really fun because we get to wear matching outfits,” she said.

Escudero said that a cappella has also taught her important life lessons.

Froshapella.

“It’s just freshmen. … It [Froshapella] meets once a week and so we’re all really good friends,” she said.

Being a student run group, the students are responsible for their results.

“We have to work hard to sound good because there’s no help from anyone else,’’ Curtis said.

Although Curtis recognizes the talent of Froshapella, she says that some don’t.

“Everyone kind of underestimates the freshmen, we weren’t great but we weren’t bad and we got lots of compliments,” Curtis said.

Heartbreakers

Junior Jacob Bau is one of five members of Paly’s all male a cappella group, Heartbreakers. He said that he enjoys singing a cappella with Paly.

“It’s just a unique experience that you can’t really get anywhere else in Paly, I would say to be able to sing with such a small number of people is a lot of fun. Especially when it is a lot of guys because it’s a bit more casual than some of the other a cappella groups,” Bau said.

The Heartbreakers sing mainly in a late 19th century style of music.

“We have to work hard to sound good because there’s no help from anyone else.”

“It’s taught me how to be a better team member. It’s taught me how to be a better leader. How to work with people when we have a bunch of scheduling conflicts,” Escuerdo said. “Working with people’s different strengths and weaknesses. Like, this person can’t sing this part. So I have to adjust the music this way. Or this person is sick. Sometimes we’re gonna move it around. So it’s like learning how to be flexible and be a good teammate.”

Froshapella

— JULIA CURTIS, Froshapella member

“It is a lot of a lot of pop music, like generally but we’re also doing some barbershop stuff,” Bau said. Bau has a lot of passion for singing and he says that a big part of his day to day time is allotted towards music.

“A lot of my life specifically is dedicated towards music. So I have a little bit less on the school side, but generally what I try to do is think of it as homework,” he said. “I need to make time for it in my week, or else I feel like I’m falling behind like as you would in any other class.” v

HEARTBEATS PERFORMS — Left to right Victoria Eberle, Annalise Klenow, Riya Kini and Ella Hwang sing “I Say a Little Prayer.” “It’s very laid back and drama free so it’s just nice to be able to make music,” junior Riya Kini said.

Freshman Julia Curtis is a member of

Text by NATHALIA ARIAS and STEFAN ERIKSSON

Photo by KENSIE PAO

Always be coaching

ATHLETES ADORE NEW COACH

AT 7:30 A.M. ON TUESDAYS and Thursdays, the Palo Alto High School football team gathers at Earl Hansen Viking Stadium, running along the yard lines. Large black metal sleds are attached to a group of players with a vest and a rope as they barrel down a 20-yard stretch at full speed. Instructing them is Anthony Thomas, a new addition to the innovative staff that helps support Paly athletes.

Coming from Fresno, Thomas has worked with many programs helping in strength and conditioning, and was hired to bring his talents to Paly.

athletes, checking their position and posture — making sure everything they do is safe and effective,” Thomas said.

Thomas doesn’t just instruct his student-athletes, but he takes a different approach, leading by example.

“We’ll do what I say, but you’re not ever not gonna see me do it [with the students],” Thomas said. “For example … when we’re transitioning, let’s say, from outside on the field to inside the weight room, I’m gonna be jogging [with the athletes].”

“You gotta love them tough.”

— ANTHONY THOMAS, strength and conditioning coach

Thomas has 35 years of experience in strength and conditioning, including supporting Olympic athletes in the weightlifting realm.

From working solely with the football team at Paly, Thomas has expanded to other sports including track and field, badminton and basketball, showing his dedication to introducing conditioning to all sports.

“I have many passions in life, but strength and conditioning, one of those many passions, that’s how I chose to make a living,” Thomas said.

Thomas has a defined strength and conditioning philosophy.

“First for me is going to be ‘ABC,’ which stands for the acronym, ‘Always be coaching,’” Thomas said. “I have a big [focus] on communication and letting the athlete know what I expect from them and what they can expect from me.”

Thomas said many things make a good coach.

“I think a strength coach should always be on the floor, walking the floor, checking the form and technique of the

Thomas also values the organization and execution of his program.

“I’m really big on organization, whether it’s organizing the weight room or organizing and programming … my workouts, everything’s very, very structured,” Thomas said.

Many students have mentorship relationships with Thomas. Sophomore football player Eddrick Steil said he has benefitted from Thomas’ arrival.

“He gets us to drive a lot more,” Steil said. “Ever since I’ve been working out with Coach Anthony I’ve been getting a lot of PRs [personal records]. Personally, I think other people can say that it’s a similar experience for them too.”

The mentorships between Thomas and his student-athletes clearly go both ways.

“Sometimes I have to be careful and let the student-athlete know, don’t focus on how I’m saying things, but on what I’m saying,” Thomas said. “You gotta love a lot of these student-athletes, you gotta love them tough.” v

STRONG SMILES — Laughing, Anthony Thomas circles up the football team for morning practice. “I set up the weight room for my athletes, they tear it down” Thomas said.

TURNING UP THE HEAT

INSIDE A STUDENT CHEF’S RISE TO SUCCESS

ON A WARM SPRING afternoon, the sun beats down in the backyard of Palo Alto High School junior Shreyas Shashi, while a spicy and smoky aroma fills the air and chicken sizzles on the grill. On a Friday afternoon when most students would be relaxing and enjoying the warm weather, Shashi and his friends are hard at work preparing the next wave of meals that his customers will soon be ready to indulge in.

While relatively new, Shashi’s cooking has quickly gained recognition from the Paly community. Known as Chef Bobo, Shashi cooks small batches of meals including chicken wings, mac-and-cheese, and chicken enchiladas, then sells them through social media to students, parents and others in the community. He has already served more than 80 meals to his customers, and has drawn rave reviews.

Shashi’s love for cooking started at a young age, in the kitchen with his mom and grandmother. Shashi started taking cooking classes in fifth grade, gradually working his way up to more complicated recipes. However, the COVID-19 pandemic was when Shashi began cooking regularly.

“Seventh-grade quarantine, I’m in there, I have nothing else to do, so then I started cooking,” Shashi said. “I cook a lot and I was bored so I started posting it [pictures of his food on social media].”

For the next few years, Shashi said he continued to post about his cooking, work on his cooking skills, and work on the pre-

sentation of his dishes.

with

Just recently, a small shopping error led to his populari ty today.

“Probably two months ago, I was going to try making wings, and I accidentally bought too big of a pack,” Shashi said. “I didn’t want to go to waste, so I had my friends come over. They were like ‘Yo, these are crazy.’ So then I made more and I was like, ‘We should start sell ing them.’”

Shashi sells his food creations to Paly students and parents, allowing customers to order and select a time slot to pick up their food from his home, where Shashi does all his cooking. He generally starts posting about upcoming meals the same day he’s making them, or the day before.

customers can send a direct message to order a meal through Instagram. Due to his increased popularity in the Paly community, customers must act fast to reserve a meal.

“What I’m benefiting from is putting a smile on people’s faces.”

— SHREYAS SHASHI, Paly junior

Shashi mainly markets his business through his well-known Instagram account, “Chef Bobo,” (chefbobo_) where he posts pictures of his food creations and updates on what meal he is cooking next, urging customers to place their orders.

The community also helps spread the word about Shashi’s cooking.

“I use Instagram for the most part, and it’s growing a lot,” Shashi said. “That and word of mouth. Word of mouth is the main thing.”

Paly freshman Justin Fung has tried Shashi’s chicken wings, chicken enchiladas, and breakfast burritos, and is one of the people who has spread the word about Shashi’s cooking.

“I have been recommending people to go to Chef Bobo [Shashi] any time someone asks about good food,” Fung said. “Just hit up Chef Bobo. I have promoted it through social media as well.”

Even though his business is now well-established in the community, Shashi said that since starting this service, he has been open to experimenting with new recipes, although he still has his favorites.

“I’m trying to perfect the wings and mac-and-cheese because that’s something that every person likes,” Shashi said.

Regardless of the recipe, according to Nicholas Feitzinger, a junior who helps Shashi cook, Shashi tries to use high-quality ingredients from local grocery stores like Costco.

“Shreyas is really big on making sure he uses high-quality ingredients by trying to avoid things like seed oils and over-processed foods,” Feitzinger said. “He does a great job with this because he doesn’t cut corners and makes nearly everything from scratch.”

Even though the quality of Shashi’s food is high, his prices aren’t. According to Shashi, the cost of a meal is around 10 dollars, depending on the dish.

“His prices for each dish depending on the size and type of food are completely

Photos by LARA SASLOW

reasonable,” Fung said. “They’re not insanely cheap but not overpriced. It’s the perfect price for such high-quality, great-tasting food.”

Even with his low food pric es, Shashi said that he isn’t wor ried it will limit his profits, in stead focusing on what he can bring to the community.

“I want to have a place where there’s affordable food,” Shashi said. “I’m barely making a profit. … I’m not benefiting much from it. What I’m benefiting from is put ting a smile on people’s faces.”

DISH ON DISPLAY (RIGHT) — Shashi holds up a freshly made plate of chicken schwarma. “His meals are the perfect price for such high quality, great tasting food,” Paly freshman Justin Fung said.

CHEF IN ACTION (TOP) — Shashi attends to his grill. “I’ve been cooking since I was little with my grandma and mom and kitchen,” Shashi said.

SOCIAL STUDIES ICON TO RETIRE Y

He s histor ’

OVER THE YEARS at Palo Alto High School, buildings have risen and fallen.

Principals have come and gone. Traditions have started and ended.

Through it all, John Bungarden has put on a zany tie and — “by God,” as he likes to say — walked into his classroom to teach.

But after 23 years at Paly, the Advanced Placement United States History teacher, Foreign Policy Honors teacher and JV boys soccer coach is retiring.

Known for his extensive tie collection, high classroom standards and love for political cartoons, Bungarden’s impact on Paly has been immense.

Dr. David M. Kennedy, Donald J. MacLachlan Professor of History, Emeritus at Stanford University, and author of the American Pageant APUSH textbook, has known Bungarden for over 20 years. Kennedy said he admires Bungarden as a fellow teacher and scholar of American history, despite their different circumstances as teachers.

previously served in the U.S. Army as a cadet and ultimately, as a Captain. After leaving the Army, Bungarden served in the National Guard and worked several other jobs before coming to Paly.

“My grand ambition once I went back to school and got my credential was that one time in my life, I wanted to teach AP U.S. History,” he said. “I’ve never taken it [the class] but it looked like such a cool thing to do.”

After initially teaching Economics and U.S. History at Paly, Bungarden got his wish, and APUSH has been his “niche” at Paly ever since.

“He’s just remarkably serious about the subject matter, and yet he has a manner in the classroom that is certainly quite easy and engaging with students and sensitive to student interests,” Kennedy said. “That combination of accessibility, empathy, relatability and really serious scholarly attention, that’s a difficult combination to pull off, and I think he’s just done it wonderfully.”

Simrun Rao, a Paly alum from the class of 2021, said taking APUSH with Bungarden had a lasting impact on her.

“My grand ambition ... was that one time in my life, I wanted to teach AP U.S. History.”

— JOHN BUNGARDEN, social studies teacher

“The success that he’s had in attracting and holding the deep and serious interest of Palo Alto High School students in the subject of American history over many years is a real achievement and nothing to be taken for granted,” Kennedy said. “I don’t want to make direct comparisons — that is not really fair to anybody — but I will say, of all the schools I visited and teachers, mostly in AP classes, that I have witnessed, Mr. Bungarden is clearly the most committed, the most able, the most consistently serious, in a way that just holds and really focuses student interests. So it’s a remarkable achievement.”

Before coming to Paly, Bungarden

“I really felt like I was getting a deeper dive into history and the class was really engaging,” Rao said. “While it was challenging, I felt like I was being challenged to the best of my abilities. And I really learned a lot about my learning style, in addition to learning about the U.S.”

Perhaps best known for the intensity of his classes, Bungarden said he is aware of his reputation among Paly students.

“I would like to think that I’m thought of as a challenging teacher, reasonably fair,” he said. “I like to think I’d be appreciated for my sense of humor but I suspect that’s probably not the case.”

Keira Chiu, a Paly alum from the class of 2022, said she appreciated Bungarden’s passion for history when he taught APUSH.

“I learned so much about American history in that class, and almost none of it was boring,” Chiu said. “I’m a data

science and statistics major right now, so I’m definitely not a history person. But it was so interesting because Mr. Bun garden taught it in a way that was just, you could tell he really loved it and he had so many little fun facts and so many stories and tidbits that only someone who really loved it would know and only someone who had been teaching it for a long time would know.”

For Bungarden, this is the right time to retire.

“I’m well beyond the traditional, normal retirement age,” Bungarden said. “My wife retired two years ago. She en joys it. … [There] just comes a time.”

The next two items on his agenda are enjoying the last time he has with stu dents and cleaning out his classroom.

“It’s like the end-of-the-year thing, only more,” Bungarden said. “It’s always a little bittersweet to kick this group out but there’s another group incoming. … You just go out the door. I’m going out with them. It’s a different thing.”

In retirement, Kennedy said he hopes that Bungarden will continue to exercise his love of teaching.

“He’s a great teacher — I use those two words advisedly — and, I think, just a terrific human being,” Ken nedy said. “I did joke with him, the last conversation we had just a few months ago, that if I’m any example he should take it [retirement] seriously because I’ve been accused of having flunked retirement. So he may end up in the same situation, called back to ac tive duty somewhere. But he’s a talent and a rare tal ent and it’s a shame to park that and let it go to waste, so I hope he stays engaged in one form or another.”

For now, as the school year comes to a close, Bun garden said he will continue to appreciate his circumstanc es.

“You show up,” Bungarden said. “You do the best you can. I’m pretty fortunate. … I teach mostly AP kids. I teach Honors kids. And I get to teach U.S. History. I live a pretty charmed existence.”

BY GOD, IT’S BUNGARDEN — Social studies teacher John Bungarden reflects on his 23 years at Palo Alto High School. “The students are wonderful,” Bungarden said. “They were wonderful when I got here and they’re wonderful now. ... The greatest joy of this place is the students. That hasn’t changed.”

Photo: Asha Kulkarni

www.stoneeducationgroup.com

Text by ELLA HWANG and ANNA VAN RIESEN

Art by CHARLIE WANG

Too much from Taylor?

A REVIEW OF THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT

CULTURAL phenomenon, victim, villainess, mini-economy and girl-next-door: over 15 albums and 18 years of music, Taylor Swift has been many things. For her 11th album (excluding re-records), “The Tortured Poet’s Department,” she assigns herself the title of tortured poet and reminds the world of the songwriting talent that first propelled her onto the world stage.

“The Tortured Poets Department,” released April 19, comes across not as an entirely new musical era but as an amalgamation of the trademarks that have made Swift so successful in her most recent works.

The synth-pop energy of Swift’s longtime collaborator and producer Jack Antonoff, which heavily influenced the 2023 album “Midnights,” reappears in tracks like the title track “The Tortured Poet’s Department.” Swift taps into the yearning lyricism of 2020 albums “Folklore” and “Evermore” with the vivid imagery of “I Hate It Here.”

In comparison to her recent albums, this record is more of a personal project. Swift dissects each topic with a passionate (and occasionally vicious) pen — but when every line is overstuffed with metaphor, emotion and tragedy, the stories she tells fall flat. Swift’s lyricism is difficult to ap-

preciate when the melodies of many tracks seem identical to all but the most welltrained Swiftie ear.

“It’s hard to distinguish the songs from each other,” senior Max Rabbitt-Tomita said. “They’re very similar sonically, whereas in the past [Swift] has had very diverse tempos and sounds and styles, even though they have an overall sound.”

Swift’s struggle to procure innovative melodies to accompany her poetry is made particularly difficult by the sheer size of the project. She released the double album “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” at 2 a.m. on April 19, just two hours after the initial album’s release, adding 15 tracks to the original 16.

Dedicated fans might enjoy meticulously picking through more than two hours of new music, but the sheer volume leads casual listeners to indifference.

“She could really use some editing or quality control on her last few albums,” Rabbitt-Tomita said. “There’s just a lot on each album … [I’d like it] if she cut that down to a lot less music and focused more on quality over quantity.”

The quality of some lyrics from the record is questionable.

prets Swift’s intentions.

“With [Swift], you can’t just look at the lyrics,” Escudero said. “She’s making fun of herself in her lyrics and being corny on purpose, and some people notice her being corny on purpose and think that she’s just writing bad lyrics.”

The album’s standout songs are those that support their lyrics with melodies that develop and build up to an emotional, musical climax. The tumultuous defiance of “But Daddy I Love Him” resolves its “chaos” and “revelry” into a happy ending with a “wild boy and all of this wild joy,” seemingly alluding to Swift’s current relationship with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce. The yearning lover in “Guilty as Sin” finds no such resolution, but the crescendoing of each verse emphasizes the longing in her daydreams. Even the escapism of “I Hate it Here” succeeds thanks to a captivating melody.

“It’s hard to distinguish the songs from each other ... they’re very similar sonically.”

— MAX RABBITT-TOMITA, senior

A few lines in particular have been subject to snark online, like “Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto” from “So High School,” and “You fall asleep / Like a tattooed golden retriever” from the title track.

However, according to senior Rori Escudero, criticism of specific lines misinter-

Die-hard fans laud the album as pure poetry while critics dismiss it as a repetitive and shoddily edited grasp for streams. In reality, “The Tortured Poet’s Department” falls squarely somewhere in between.

Yes, the album’s tracks are nothing groundbreaking lyrically or melodically, but the generation of fans who have grown up with Swift’s music aren’t looking for novelty.

As long as she continues to provide her fans with the emotional music they’re seeking, Taylor Swift’s work will find success, even if it doesn’t land with critics. v

So Long, London

“So Long, London” is a mournful farewell to a lover and city, seemingly referring to Swift’s six year relationship with now ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, who she publicly confirmed her split from in April 2023. The complex lyricism depicts the devastating experience of feeling a partner drift away, which Swift encapsulates perfectly in this heartbreaking melody. While the song is a fan favorite among those avidly invested the singer’s personal life, many of the veiled references in the lyrics are likely to fly over casual listeners’ heads.

I Can Do It With A Broken Heart

This synth-filled pop track delves into the chaos behind the curtain of Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour in the last year. Though after the tour, which has brought in over $1 billion and become the highest-grossing music tour of all time — Swift might appear solidly in “her glittering prime,” this track narrates her struggle to push through heartbreak and keep performing. Though catchy (and guaranteed to be a summer retail hit), the track largely lacks any deeper emotional authenticity.

On the album’s final track, Swift reflects on how the heavy weight of pop superstardom is passed down from starlet to starlet. Each of the three verses refer to “it-girls” of different eras — 1920s silent film actress Clara Bow, 1970s artist Stevie Nicks and finally Swift herself — implying that future entertainers might be compared to her in the same way that she was compared to those of her past. The metaphor of being picked “like a rose” encapsulates the song’s nostalgic but bittersweet theme: fame fades.

Clara Bow

GROWING UP

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS

H“OW old are you?” When 14-year-old Liselle Yoo gets asked this question, she often gets told she looks older than her 16-year-old sister. Yoo, an eighth grader at Frank S. Greene Jr. Middle School, said she noticed herself growing up faster compared to her older sister at Palo Alto High School.

“I think that social media speeds up growth very rapidly, both physically and mentally,” Yoo said. “In the physical sense, I definitely grew up faster due to seeing all the videos of new fashion trends and ‘body checks’ [showing off ‘ideal’ appearances].”

Yoo had much more exposure to social media and that over a longer period than her older sister who had little to no interest in social media until she was around 15.

This trend is seen just as vividly in local communities. At Paly, 75% of the 40 respondents to a Verde opt-in survey reported that their younger sibling got social media at a younger age than they did and 60% said that their younger sibling had social media as they entered middle

In addition, an article by the New York Times said that kids and teens in America are spending more time than ever using screens and so-

cial media, with the number of hours spent online increasing drastically since the pandemic. Data from a survey conducted by Common Sense Media showed that overall screen use among tweens (ages 8 to 12) and teens (ages 13 to 18) increased by 17% from 2019 to 2021, which is a greater increase rapidly in comparison to the four years prior.

Dr. Casey Krueger, a clinical psychologist at Stanford Children’s Health, said that there are multiple effects of kids being exposed to social media and technology at an earlier age.

“This [increased exposure] results in children contemplating more mature content, information and ideas at younger ages,” Krueger said. “The question is does this correlate with increased emotional maturity? Kids may have more difficulty learning how to manage and express their emotions appropriately given the increased complexity and speed of information exchange.”

Stacy Savickas, an art teacher at Greene said she has observed more of a positive impact that increased exposure has on her students, compared to her students 20 years ago.

“Now there’s this expectation that knowledge is at your fingertips,” Savickas said. “The processing of knowledge is different. I think kids are much smarter. They are given access to a lot more, so they have a lot more information.”

However, Savickas also said social media affects her students’ sleep schedules the most.

“I think texting and engaging on phones has most affected sleep,” Savickas said. “That aspect is detrimental to their experience at school.”

Additionally, Vicki Harrison, Program Director of the Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing at Stanford University, said that social media inflicts harmful

GLAmOrIZED

INFLUENCING DEVELOPMENT

narratives around body image, and therefore puts pressure for weight loss on adolescents.

“Young people are really trying to learn from the world around them and take cues about what’s ‘normal’ and what’s considered attractive and unattractive,” Harrison said. “So, they might be getting those narratives from social media influencers who are being paid to advertise certain products.”

A Palo Alto High School sophomore, who will be referred to as Emma to withhold her identity, agrees. She said that expectations from social media impact her 12 and 13-year-old cousins.

consumption.

“Parents should model appropriate behavior and use,” Krueger said. “Engage in shared decision-making and decide on parental controls. Phones should be charged somewhere other than the child’s bedroom at night and should be shut off 1-2 hours before bed. Limit social media use to specific short periods two or three times per day. Set time limits for specific apps. Have ongoing conversations about social media use.”

“Young people are really trying to learn from the world around them and take cues about what’s ‘normal’ and what’s considered attractive and unattractive.”

—

VICKI HARRISON, Program Director of Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing at Stanford University

“I think it’s sad that they think they need to change something about them when it’s not even done growing and when it shouldn’t be changed yet,” Emma said.

Krueger agreed.

“There is a lot of research showing a correlation between heavy social media use and increased risk of depression and anxiety as well as poor body image, loneliness, and self-harm,” Krueger said. “Habitual checking of social media was associated with increased sensitivity to peer feedback… Children who spend more than three hours per day on social media have double the risk of experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety. In adolescents, exposure to social media may overstimulate the brain’s reward center. Excessive use and overstimulation may trigger addiction.”

To counteract this, Savickas, Krueger and Harrison all said it’s important for parents to supervise their children’s media

Harrison said parents should delay when their kids get phones and social media, then gradually introduce access.

“If you’re handing it to someone really young and they haven’t developed self regulation to the extent that they can really monitor and moderate their use, it’s really hard to pull away,” Harrison said. “It’s a muscle you have to build and that comes with maturity as you grow, and also the ability to know when something’s a little bit suspicious, weird or doesn’t seem factual.”

Krueger concludes that there are ups and downs to this social media spike.

“Social media has potential benefits, including increased communication, education, information sharing and connection opportunities,” Krueger said. “This is coupled with potential risks including privacy concerns, cyberbullying, mental health problems, encouragement of risky behaviors and decreased sleep. Make sure you avoid negative things online and ensure you are also engaging in positive in-person activities and interactions. Life is all about balance.” v

Choco Banana Tart ($8)

As a personal favorite of Ikuka owner Miyuki Ozawa, the Choco Banana Tart lived up to our expectations. The airy caramel and banana cream was complemented by fresh banana chunks, met by a dense, rich dark chocolate ganache all over a thin tart crust. This was by far our favorite item we tried during our visit, one definitely worth going back for.

Kabocha Cheesecake ($8)

Contributing to the autumn theme, the Kabocha Cheesecake is a unique spin on the pumpkin cheesecake. Cooked kabocha pumpkin chunks on top and inside the slice, allowed the kabocha flavor to stand out well. However, the standout cheesecake component for us was the almond flour streusel topping.

Mont Blanc ($9.50)

Cutting through the sweet chestnut purée and light layer of whipped cream, a whole rum-soaked chestnut is nestled inside. The chestnut along with the buttery and thick tart crust rounds out the sweeter flavor profile of the dessert. Since we found the Mont Blanc to be on the sweeter side, we recommend pairing the dessert with a cup of coffee or unsweetened tea for maximum enjoyment.

FAMILY RESTAURANT BUSINESS BRANCHES OUT

LOS ALTOS’ STATE STREET

Market food court is flooded with voices. Children and adults alike crowd the shops, their faces lighting up at the sight of food — from pizza smothered with sauces and seasonings to big bowls of ramen served out of a small stall kitchen. Past the tables and hungry foodies, in a corner, almost isolated from the hustle and bustle of it all, is Ikuka.

In June 2023, owner Miyuki Ozawa opened Ikuka, a shop serving Japanese pastries and desserts. Over a decade prior, her mother had opened several Bay Area Japanese restaurants including Sumika Grill, Orenchi Ramen and La Casa Mia.

capsulate the season of autumn.

“With all of our restaurants, we really tried to bring the most authentic Japanese flavors possible,” Ozawa said. “We import chestnut paste from France … [and] we import Japanese flour.”

Ozawa said she also imports plates from Japan and has employed three Japanese pastry chefs. According to Ozawa, in Japan, French-style pastries are very popular as many Japanese dessert shops, including Ikuka, draw inspiration from them.

“They’ve never seen it [Ikuka’s desserts] before, never tasted it before, but they keep coming back for more.”

According to the website, Ikuka is short for “Imo Kuri Kabocha” which translates from Japanese to “Japanese sweet potato,” “chestnut” and “Japanese pumpkin” respectively. Ozawa said that the shop’s desserts share these traditionally Japanese flavors, aiming to en-

— MIYUKI OZAWA, Ikuka owner

“They [Ikuka’s desserts] are made by our Japanese pastry chefs that I interviewed and hired and brought over here to work for me,” Ozawa said. “They’re all professionally trained in Japanese pastry and French pastry.”

Ozawa said Ikuka’s desserts are made in a Santa Clara off-site kitchen due to the stall’s limited space. Although Ozawa said she does not run the shop every day, her usual workday starts bright and early.

“Morning to closing, I go to the kitchen, I’ll pick up the cakes and drive here [Ikuka] from Santa Clara,” Ozawa said. “Then, I’ll stock the fridge … and after that we open and try to sell and I’ll bring some to La Casa Mia as well.”

Approaching Ikuka’s one-year anniversary, Ozawa reflects on the local community’s acceptance of Japanese flavors.

“I think people have been super open-minded and I’ve had so many people come and try the Azuki Croissant or the Mont Blanc,” Ozawa said. “They’ve never seen it before, never tasted it before, but they keep coming back for more.”

Ozawa said she hopes to continue sharing more food and flavors that she loves.

“Los Altos is my home,” Ozawa said. “It’s really just been an honor being able to fulfill my dream and share this really meaningful part of my culture to my community and to be supported by my community as well.” v

STOCKING UP THE SWEETS — Ikuka owner Miyuka Ozawa neatly arranges a tray of her shop’s signature Kabocha Burnt Basque Cheesecakes to display at Ikuka’s Los Altos State Street Market stall. “Our pastries are made in a separate kitchen.” Ozawa said. “I deliver the cakes here every morning.”

ch. 12: reader

HOW I REVIVED MY LOVE FOR BOOKS IN MY SENIOR YEAR

ISTARED BEGRUDGINGLY AT the words “Advanced Placement English Literature” printed on my Infinite Campus course selection for my senior

looked forward to acquiring a whole new set of reading material to keep me entertained.

I enjoyed reading to the point where I would stay up past my bedtime and read books under my blanket with a flash light.

My reading hobby continued into middle school, where I would regularly check out books in the school’s li brary, but when sophomore year arrived, I remember blanking on a questionnaire asking about my favorite books.

strict class style that I would dread.

Instead, I experienced lively discussions with my peers and teacher, Sarah Bartlett, sharing interesting perspectives that I would never have otherwise

Overall, my senior year of high school has culminated in a reawakened love for reading and the arts.

For example, in “The Great Gatsby,” my classmates and Ms. Bartlett picked apart the symbolism in something as simple as a billboard advertising eyeglasses. They noticed that the large eyes on the ad could symbolize God or the upper class looking down on the “valley of ashes,” which symbolized the lower

I had no book titles to answer with, let alone favorite ones, except for the embar rassingly juvenile ones.

I realized that I had gradually stopped reading until I hadn’t read for my own pleasure in months.

I didn’t understand the stories and messages [in past English classes]. It was difficult to enjoy something I couldn’t comprehend.

My room’s shelves were filled with books I had yet to read, but I couldn’t bring myself to start.

My lack of reading stemmed from having more homework and activities while also reading required books in school that were uninteresting to me at the time. My increased use of social media and entertainment apps contributed to this as well.

When I first stepped into the AP English Literature classroom, I expected a

I was surprised because I had completely skipped over the description and thought it was meaningless imagery.

This is just one instance that taught me how to look deeper into every word on the page.

After a few class discussions, I began to look forward to them.

I wanted to share my opinions and thoughts about possible themes and motifs hidden within the text.

I realized that in my past English classes, I didn’t like reading the required books or participating in discussions because I didn’t understand the stories and messages. It was difficult to enjoy something I couldn’t comprehend.

AP English Literature taught me more than just how to analyze text; it taught me how to find deeper meanings in any art form.

Most books, movies and art pieces have a message, no matter how philosophical the message may be.

The books, poems and short stories I’ve read this year have all had a theme

reawakening

about the human experience.

Since joining the class, I’ve developed an appreciation for authors and the clever symbolism and motifs they create to explain their take on life.

For example, in “Frankenstein,” author Mary Shelley questions whether or not humans are innately evil, and in “Passing,” author Nella Larsen explains how deception always leads to isolation.

I thank Ms. Bartlett for teaching this class in a way that changed my perspective on learning for the better.

Of course, I haven’t mastered my analytical skills yet and may still not fully understand the scope of the message about feminism in “Frankenstein,” but what’s important is my newfound enthusiasm to seek the knowledge out of my own curiosity.

For example, I watched multiple video essays on one of my favorite movies, “Coraline,” and they gave me so much insight into every symbol and hidden easter egg in the film that I missed.

Why did the cat disappear behind the sign at the end? Why is the well important? Why are there so many bugs? What do they all mean?

A better understanding through these small details greatly increased my appreciation of the movie.

This newfound passion for delving deeper into text pushed me to create a list of classics to read for fun that I would’ve never even considered a year ago such as “1984,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Anna Karenina.”

I’m also planning on re-reading books such as “No Longer Human” in hopes of further developing my understanding of the text with my new skills.

Overall, my senior year of high school has culminated in a reawakened love for reading and the arts.

This year has taught me to be more open-minded and step outside of my comfort zone, and I’m glad I ended this chapter with a new appreciation for literature. v

TEENAGE

ENCOUNTERS WITH LOCAL STUDENT SHOPLIFTERS

WHEN I TURNED 13, I quickly accustomed myself to the role of a bystander as I watched fellow teens shoplift, but I never would have guessed that a few years later, I would soon be on the other side of the counter, expected to confront the same student shoplifters.

In April 2022, after I applied and received a job as a retail associate at a local clothing store, I was taught how to confront potential shoplifting suspects. Additionally, I knew how disproportionately shoplifting would hurt them as a small business compared to chain retailers.

In early August 2022, a couple days before my junior year started, it was a typical day alone on the job. Unbeknownst to me, I had company coming. For the sake of this story, let’s call this person James.

James, a fellow Palo Alto High School junior at the time of the incident, was known for his intense personality and his previous allegations of shoplifting, an ordeal for any customer service worker. As he walked in with his friends, I gave him a polite but stern verbal warning to not shoplift again.

Acting clueless, he denied shoplifting, but after realizing I was not buying his act, his front of innocence instantly flipped into aggression. He began tossing pants off the shelf and dragging clothing hangers to make a grating screech across the racks. I sat in shock, refusing to believe one of my classmates that I had grown up with was throwing a tantrum in front of me.

Before I could process what was hap-

THIEVES

pening, James tore an expensive red windbreaker jacket off a wall and dashed for the door. My mind went from shock to guilt to panic.

Although I was left unharmed, the wall wasn’t. To this day, there is still a ripped hole in the wall where the jacket hook stood. Ever since then, the hole has stood as a reminder of the incident and I hoped I would never have to deal with a peer shoplifter again.

In early March 2023, history repeated itself and I had to deal with yet another peer shoplifter — this time a Henry M. Gunn High School junior. For the sake of this next story, I’ll call her Beth.

After I messaged her friend to warn her that Beth’s shoplifting had been caught on our security cameras, Beth messaged me herself saying she would come back the next day with $50 or the jeans she stole along with $50 “for the trouble.”

Concealing an item under baggy clothing is the oldest trick in the book.

After some back and forth, she said that this was her first time stealing, claiming that she had paid for everything else up to that point. She added that she did not want to cause any more trouble, saying she was willing to pay

“whatever amount.” Eventually, she brought back the cash to a coworker at the store.

Beth had a similar reputation of shoplifting from clothing stores, so I stayed vigilant when I recognized her bright red hair as she walked into the store, wearing two baggy jackets and sunglasses while preoccupied on a phone call.

After quickly perusing the shelves, she grabbed a top and a pair of jeans, looked at me and motioned towards the dressing rooms. Nodding in approval, I made sure to note she had two items going in. When she came out, she only held one.

Coming out of a changing room and concealing an item under baggy clothing is the oldest trick in the book.

When she exited the changing room, Beth made a beeline for the door, placing the shirt back on the racks while swiftly exiting. Although she was already out the door, this time I knew I didn’t have to go after her.

Considering that she was on a phone call coming in, and it was around lunchtime, I assumed she was calling to meet with friends nearby. I checked her friend’s instagram, and sure enough, one of her friends posted a picture of Beth at the diner nearby.

Trying to reflect on the silver linings of these incidents, I realize I appreciate these shoplifting encounters for helping build my self-confidence in having difficult conversations.

For students looking into customer service jobs, situations similar to mine are inevitable, but always be ready to push through the discomfort of confrontation. v

DOGSI

SURVIVING

SEVEN HOURS IN A HOUSE OF HORRORS

WHEN I POSTED ON the Nextdoor app the summer after my freshman year offering my services for babysitting and dog walking, I had mostly been bombarded with dozens of requests from parents to babysit their children. However, one request that stood out to me was one asking to pet sit their dog.

“Hi Ella, I need a sitter on Tuesday. I found you on Nextdoor. I have an eightpound little old lady doggie, Lulu, that I rescued 4 months ago. She’s probably a poodle-chihuahua mix.” Along with the text was a picture of a tiny little white dog. A job where I could sit in a house for seven hours watching a dog while getting paid $16 an hour sounded like a dream. Also, it was a great opportunity for me to catch up on the TV shows I had been meaning to watch. After agreeing to the job, I packed my bags with my computer and a book.

When I arrived at the address, I looked out the car window to see a frail woman with white hair standing in the front yard. “Susan” welcomed me inside and, as I stepped through the doorway, I did everything in my power to not audibly gasp. The first thing that met my eyes when I looked

GONEw

into the house was a huge stuffed peacock. One thing to know about me is that I have a crippling fear of birds. Although it may not be apparent to others because I won’t scream or run away at the sight of one, I truly am disturbed by them. This “decoration” would have been shocking to any average person, but to me? This was a nightmare come true. So, as I looked directly into the eyes of this “decoration,” I began to completely regret my decision in accepting this job. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.

I tried my best to forget about the peacock as Susan led me to the kitchen where I met her date to go see the opera. While Susan spent another 20 minutes getting ready to leave, I made small talk with her date, “Robert,” about the new “Top Gun: Maverick” movie, school and various other subjects. They were both extremely kind people, so although I felt unsafe in the house, I felt safe with them.

I suddenly heard the sound of a grandfather clock’s chime — identical to the one I had just heard come from my computer — from the next room.

they gave me instructions on what to feed the dog, when to take her out and any other information I would need. They also generously offered any food from their pantry and taught me how to use their TV and log into all their streaming subscriptions. I knew I wasn’t going to use them though, because the TV was right next to the terrifying peacock so looking at the TV meant looking at the peacock. Additionally, I had discovered some more unsettling decor in their house — a collection of grandfather clocks of all shapes and sizes that were placed in the back half of their living room.

After they left, I had made myself comfortable at the tiny table in the kitchen which I decided was the only safe space left in the house.

When they were finally ready to leave,

I slowly realized even that wasn’t true when I looked over the sink to see another stuffed bird peering over the window. It was small enough, so I convinced myself I could ignore it.

GONEw TTING BONKERS

It was beginning to get dark when I opened my laptop, eager to continue watching the fourth season of “Stranger Things” which had just come out. Unfortunately for me, a big plot point in the new season was about how “Vecna,” the antagonist of the season, takes the form of a creepy mythical monster and uses the symbol of a grandfather clock to warn his next victims.

In “Stranger Things,” the sound of a clock chime always precedes the occurrence of a gruesome murder, a very graphic display on the show. As I sat on the edge of my seat, heart beating fast and anxiously watching the episode, I suddenly heard the sound of a grandfather clock’s chime — identical to the one I had just heard come from my computer — from the next room. To make matters worse, the sound was joined by another clock, and another until I began to hear about 15 different clocks chiming at once.

I sat there paralyzed in complete terror for what felt like a lifetime before the noise finally stopped.

Once I could see straight again after being blinded by panic, I immediately called my friend for a voice of comfort.

The next few hours were pretty distressing. I dreaded the top of every hour,

anxiously anticipating the clocks’ chimes, staying on FaceTime with my friend for pretty much the whole time I was there.

On top of this, I had to close my eyes each time I walked through the living room, which was every time I took the dog outside or went to check on her if she was in another room.

In the end, I did survive the frighten ing seven hours that I spent there. How ever, I knew that I would never dog sit in someone else’s house alone again. Looking back, I am grateful for this experience. In theory it was a very easy job, and I was well-paid. Although their house was my per sonal nightmare, Susan and Robert were probably the kindest people I had ever worked for. v

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