Verde Volume 24 Issue 4

VERDE MAGAZINE

April 2023 Volume 24 Issue 4

Editors-in-Chief

Meena Narayanaswami

Jonas Pao

Yash Shetty

Melody Xu

Managing Editors

Ajin Jeong

ON THE COVER

Palo Alto High School junior Amani Fossati-Moiane gazes at a globe in his hands in a photo by staff writer Rahul Shetty. Opportunities like exchange programs were abruptly ended during the COVID-19 pandemic, but have recovered in recent months. Holding the globe, Fossati-Moiane is a reflection of Paly students: a world of opportunity in their hands.

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 business managers Felicia Buchholz and Anna Van Riesen 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

Andrew Xue

Features Editors

Alexis Chiu

Miya Whiteley

Profiles Editor

Nadav Sternheim

Culture Editors

Bella Daly

Annum Hashmi

Perspectives Editor

Andy Robinson

News Editor

Gopala Varadarajan

Sports Editor

Nadav Sternheim

Launch Editor

Allegra West

Design Editor

Esther Xu

Digital Director

Ashmita Rajmohan

Copy Editors

Alexis Chiu

Bella Daly

Business Managers

Felicia Buchholz

Anna Van Riesen

Social Media Managers

Austin Eng

Anna Ghereghlou

Art Director

Palina Kuzmina

Staff Writers

Alma Bendavid

Lia Cardwell

Vit Do

Divya Gandhi

Cate Graney

Ashray Gupta

Ella Hwang

Asha Kulkarni

Otto Kiss Meyerfreund

Rahul Shetty

Nadia Soberg

Lizzy Williams Adviser

Paul Kandell

In this issue

MAMMA MIA pg. 40

CAMPUS SUPERVISOR pg. 39

FROM THE EDITORS

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

After careful review of your application, we regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you admission for the Fall 2023 semester.

It’s April, and by now, many of our fellow high school seniors are familiar with these words and the disappointment that they bring.

Living in the culture of Palo Alto motivates many of us to spend our high school careers stacking up our resumes and voluntarily loading on advanced classes to bolster our college applications, all of which can make a rejection letter feel like the end of the world.

But even if it feels like it right now, rejection does not reduce opportunity.

This issue highlights the diverse ways high school students can learn and explore the world — a reminder to all of us that there is no one right path.

In “The New Era of Exchange,” Business Manager Anna Van Riesen and staff writer Lizzy Williams explore exchange programs and their gradual recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the unique experiences and skills that students gain from leaving their comfort zones — quite literally — and immersing themselves in new environments.

Social Media Manager Austin Eng’s “Foundation for Success,” profiles Palo Alto High School alumnus Mehr Sikri who founded Operation Math — a tutoring center in Palo Alto’s Midtown plaza geared toward establishing strong foundational skills and filling in learning gaps.

In recent years, Paly students have put a lighthearted spin on college rejection letters by posting them on the “Wall of Rejection” on the side of the Haymarket Theater. This year, the tradition

continued, although under a different name, the “Wall of Redirection,” as directed by school administration. News Editor Gopala Varadarajan explored student and administration’s feelings around the wall and what it brings to the Paly community in “Rejection or Redirection?”

In this time of excitement, disappointment and above all, uncertainty, we hope that this issue serves as a reminder to all of us, that no matter how much rejection — or redirection — we face, we still have the world in our hands.

As for us, our tenure as editors ends with this issue. Almost exactly one year ago, we tested the waters with the “Blank canvas” issue, all about filling up the metaphorical blank canvas during the 2022–23 school year. And we did just that; we profiled impactful faces on campus in the “Trailblazer” issue, covered campus controversies through the “Would you trust a Paly crowd?” cover story and even the major universal shift toward artificial intelligence in the “Who’s writing your essay?” issue. Our canvas is now complete.

It’s hard to come to terms with the fact that in less than two months, we will walk out of MAC105 for the last time, but we too are reminding ourselves that we will be stepping into a world full of opportunity, armed with all the wisdom our time on Verde has given us. And these five covers will remain on the wall of the classroom as a permanent reminder of the work our staff has done in the past year to uphold Verde’s legacy of hard-hitting journalism and confront the ever-changing world around us head on.

To our staff: It’s been an honor and a joy to write, create and eat unholy amounts of Trader Joe’s chocolate covered pretzels with you. Thank you for your patience and support; we cannot wait to see where you take Verde next.

MEENA, JONAS, YASH, MELODY

OP MATH pg. 28

the verdicts

Schools should promote exchange programs

OFFER SHORTER PROGRAMS AND ADVOCATE FOR SCHOLARSHIPS

EXCHANGE PROGRAMS HAVE LONG provided students with the opportunity to gain valuable cultural experiences, develop language skills and expand academic knowledge.

Although travel restrictions and virtual learning halted many programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the U.S. Department of State shows that institutions across the country are now bouncing back with an 83 percent increase in education overseas for 2022-2023, compared to the previous year. But even with the recent influx of students studying abroad, many remain hampered by financial barriers, lack of support from schools and concerns about academic credit transfers. Verde believes that Palo Alto High School should make foreign exchange programs more accessible to students by promoting shorter, 1-2 week-long programs in addition to offering more financial resources such as scholarships and direct partnerships with exchange programs.

According to an article by Exchange Student World, the av erage high school foreign exchange program offered by for-profit organizations cost between $9,000 and $10,000 a year. Apart from baseline program costs, students planning to study abroad must also consider additional expenses for transportation, visa fees and the loss of potential income as a result of being unable to work while overseas. Financial aid or scholarships may not cover these expenses, adding to the overall financial burden for students. If schools were to offer more opportunities for students that come from less fortunate families to gain these scholarships and financial aid, more students would be able to participate in foreign exchange programs.

“I would be concerned about how much it would cost to go on a [semester long] exchange pro gram and I would have to do a lot of research about it before considering it as an option for the future,” Palo Alto High School sophomore Héloïse Bœuf said.

Palo Alto alumni Miranda Jimenez, a junior at Johns Hopkins University, studied abroad in Madrid, Spain, for a semester last year. Since the program was affiliated with her school, all of Jimenez’s academic credits were accounted for and transferred appropriately.

Jimenez said her time in Madrid not only allowed her to ex-

plore different cultures, but was also extremely beneficial to her work as a Spanish major; she said that in a classroom you can learn how to communicate formally and about complex topics, but that you don’t really learn slang and how to have a casual conversation.

“Learning Spanish in the classroom is so different than speaking it in everyday life,” Jimenez said. “You learn colloquial phrases and stuff that I never would have known otherwise.”

In order for students to embark on exchange programs and explore new cultural and academic ideas like Jimenez, schools must expand existing programs and prioritize partnerships which yield financial aid and scholarships.

“I loved my program,” Jimenez said. “I think I learned so much … and it was good to get out of the college bubble a little bit and have these unique experiences.”

Exchange programs could also be made more accessible to students by expanding the existing networks of foreign exchange programs offered to Palo Alto Unified School District students. In past years, middle school students from Frank S. Greene Jr. and Jane Lathrop Stanford were able to travel to places such as Palo Alto’s sister city, Tsuchiura, Japan. With nonprofit programs such as Neighbors Abroad, a small group of middle school students travel to a foreign country and stay with a host family for about 2 weeks, reciprocating the exchange later on.

This year’s cohort of middle schoolers from Palo Alto will be going to Tsuchiura this summer but will not be hosting Japanese students due to ongoing COVID-19 precautions in Japan.

Palo Alto resident Tamlin Connel hosted a student from Tsuchiura during 2017 after her daughter participated in the Neighbors Abroad program.

“It was amazing,” Connel said. “She [the exchange student] didn’t speak a lot of English but she had a younger brother at home and so she really connected with our son.”

Aside from the connection to their exchange student, Connel said the program had a very positive influence on her daughter.

“It was amazing for her to experience the structure of living in Japan,” Connel said. “From that experience she wants to go back and study in Japan. So it was really impactful, I think, on her confidence as a person.” v

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

I learned so much … and it was good to get out of the college bubble a little bit and have these unique experiences.”

— MIRANDA JIMENEZ, Palo Alto High School alumn

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launch

VERDOODLE: THE PALY TRASH SYSTEM

UPCOMING EVENTS

4/10-14

4/20 4/29

5/1-12

5/5-6

5/12-14

5/13

Community college week

Quadchella

Prom

AP testing

Choirs hosts CMEA Festival

Theater One-Acts Performance

Flea market

SPRING FLOWER HUNT

We hid 10 flowers throughout the Launch spread!

ASB ANSWERS

WITH SENIOR CLASS PRESIDENT ASHLEY HUNG

VERBATIM: WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR SPRING BREAK?

“I’m going to Cincinnati, Ohio and Ann Arbor, Michigan. I’ve never really been to either place. I’m just going around there with my family. I was born in Ann Arbor, but I left really early, so we’re going back there. ”

— YARA CHAIB, freshman

“I am going to be in the nation of Pakistan visiting family over spring break the entire trip. ... I’m going to see my grandparents. I haven’t seen them in a couple years and I’m just going to enjoy my experience there. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten back in touch with my culture.”

— FAIZAN KASHMIRI, sophomore

What upcoming events are you planning?

“Senior Elimination starts right after Spring Break, and we’ve been working hard to build the website and create the rules. Seniors always take the game very seriously, so I’m excited to see how it goes this year.”

What is your favorite thing about ASB?

“I love planning events with other ASB members that bring our class and school together. Seeing students enjoy our events like Cookies on the Quad and Karaoke on the Quad is super exciting, and I look forward to more fun events to end our senior year strong.”

What leadership experience have you learned from your time in ASB?

“I’ve learned how to delegate tasks, work with my peers and compromise when we have differing opinions, and communicate with students, staff and parents.

“I’m going to Las Vegas. We have a lot of family and friends so we are just going there to visit for a couple of days and then probably watch shows and stuff. ”

— KENNEDY DO, sophomore

CAN YOU FIND THE MATE IN TWO?

Photo: Melody Xu

Photos: Allegra West White to move.

ASB plans ‘Spring Spirit’ week, Quadchella

ANEW SPIRIT EVENT CALLED

Spring Spirit will take place from April 17 to 21 as Palo Alto High School’s Associated Student Body attempts to boost morale.

Spring Spirit will be similar to Paly’s

City ride-share service to expand

PALO ALTO LINK, the city’s new ride share service, will expand to service Stanford Research Park in early April.

Link opts for a fixed-route transportation model, instead of the on-demand design of apps like Uber and Lyft.

“We’re in this phase where we’re really encouraging people to give us feedback about their ride experience, what went well, and what didn’t, and we’ll continue to work … to improve,” Link’s Transportation Manager Nathan Baird said.

by ANNA VAN RIESEN

fall Spirit Week, with three days of rallies and student activities, as well as Quadchella, a lunchtime opportunity for students to perform and listen to music.

“We wanted something to get hyped for the summer season,” ASB Spirit Com-

by GOPALA VARADARAJAN

New boxing studio opens

NITO BOXING OPENED on California Avenue this January — its first studio outside of Hawaii — with a goal to improve boxing in the area.

Mark Fragio and formal professional boxer Carlos Nito Tangaro co-fouded the studio, hoping to make boxing more available to people and at a higher quality.

“We can do better for boxing and we could do better for the people,” Fragios said.

by ALMA BENDAVID

STARTING A STUDIO — Nito Boxing cofounder Mark Fragios stands in front of his newly finished boxing arena. “It started with really humble beginnings, … three [punching] bags and a lot of problems,” Fragios said. Photo: Alma Bendavid

MAKING MUSIC — Associated Student Body Spirit Commissioner Evie Kramer performs with her band in last year’s Quadchella. “Quadchella is a great way for people to go listen to music and … gives different ways for people to get engaged,” Kramer said. Photo: Phela Durosinmi

missioner Evie Kramer said. “We’re planning a staff versus student sports game … and then there will also be a relay race and tug of war.”

studious students

Edited and designed by GOPALA VARADARAJAN

Paly Dance team wins at Nationals S

Fasting continues

PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL’S

dance team is gaining increasing recognition after winning first place in hip-hop at Nationals in Anaheim on Saturday, March 18.

The win marked both the first hiphop win and first place win at Nationals for Paly Dance since the 2015–16 season, when the team won third place in hip-hop and first in the Open X-Small division.

“We won this thing for dance,” Dance Captain Theresa Hart said. “People are now hearing more about dance, which is really helpful for us.”

According to Hart, the team members had been working on pieces since August, and was feeling optimistic about the prospects of winning at Nationals.

“We learn all of our competition pieces in August and we work on them all year

and we go to Regionals, we go to local competitions and then we go to Nationals,” Hart said. “ We did a full run the day before and then the day of we just ran little things that we wanted to change.”

Dance coach Alanna Williamson said she was feeling confident about the performance after the team finished.

“They [the team] did really, really well,” Williamson said. “I don’t think we could have possibly done anything better than that and [I felt] really excited and really good about it.”

Hart described how the team felt as the names of the winners were announced.

“It was a really great way to end off the competition year,” Hart said. “It shows how much our hard work paid off.”

by NADIA SOBERG

TUDENTS OBSERVING

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, will fast until Friday, April 21, after starting on Thursday, March 23.

Palo Alto High School junior Caroline Jittipun explained changes they want to see from the school in order to support the fasting Muslim community during Ramadan.

“It would be appreciated if students participating in Physical Education would be excused from activities with a lot of physical exertion,” Jittipun said. “Since [we] cannot eat from sunrise to sunset, it is important we conserve our physical energy.”

by AUSTIN ENG

District to distribute Narcan, provide staff training

NARCAN KITS WILL BE provided for every Palo Alto Unified School District site along with training for staff members to administer the medication, according to Health Services Coordinator Rosemarie Dowell.

Narcan, also known as Naloxone, can save lives by reversing an opioid overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PAUSD’s Narcan distribution program is in partnership with the Santa Clara County Opioid Overdose Prevention Project.

Staff training on administering Narcan started on March 10, Dowell said, and will continue after spring break. As of March 27, Narcan kits had been placed at almost every school site in PAUSD.

According to Dowell, the goal of the distribution program is to reduce deaths from overdoses amid the opioid crisis.

“Over COVID, with increased use of drugs, and unfortunately more issues with fentanyl, schools really wanted to get more proactive,” Dowell said. “A lot of schools in our county and all over California have started talking about putting it in their

own campuses.”

Liz Espino, administrative assistant for the director of the county’s behavioral health services, said that Narcan, which comes in the form of a nasal spray, is easy, and necessary, to learn how to use.

“You never know what’s laced out there,” Espino said. “We’ve had a couple of stories … when some parents came out and talked about their children that have overdosed.”

Palo Alto High School music teacher Jeffrey Willner said that he is planning to sign up for the Narcan training program.

“I hope this [administering Narcan] is something that everyone learns how to do,” Willner said.

The Parent, Teacher and Student Associations of both Paly and Henry M. Gunn High School also support the project.

“This [Narcan] is a really important resource to understand how to use,” said Gunn PTSA member Audrey Gold. “All of us need to believe that this [an overdose] … could happen to someone we know.”

by ASHA KULKARNI

FIGHTING FENTANYL — Liz Espino, administrative assistant for the director of the county’s behavioral health services, hands out Narcan kits at Palo Alto High School’s Performing Arts Center. Espino said that with the worsening opioid crisis, having opioid overdose provisions is crucial. “It’s very easy to get fentanyl,” Espino said. Photo: Asha Kulkarni

sports

ATHLETES ANSWER

Committed athletes, what excites you most about competing in college?

“The thing I’m most excited for is competing against elite athletes and other elite schools, because right now we’re just competing against local teams, so it will be nice to race people all over the country.”

— ETHAN HARRINGTON, Stanford University swimming commit

“I’m really looking forward to going back to being the young one on the team. I really loved being captain of the track and cross country teams, and I’m also really excited to go back to being in the younger position and learning the ropes of a collegiate sport.”

— ELIZABETH FETTER, United States Military Academy running commit

“It will certainly be very competitive, more competitive than I’ve ever been a part of. I’m going to have to restart. New coach, new style of play and everything, so I’m going to learn that and try to make my way back up to a point where I’m starting along my four years.”

— ASHER FRIEDMAN, Oberlin College lacrosse commit

“I’m looking forward to having a team that you’re with all the time. You live with them and really get the chemistry going. I’m excited to up the level a little bit. I’d like to win our league. There’s also the national tournament, I’d like to go pretty far with that.”

— CHARLIE MILLER, Occidental College soccer commit

“I’m excited to be surrounded by so many elite athletes on my team and in the competition, and being in an environment where everyone takes the sport super seriously and wants to perform at their best.”

— HILLARY STUDDERT, Stanford University running commit

“I guess playing with older girls, they’re going to be a lot more experienced than I am, so I’m excited to see how I compete with them.”

— ITZEL TORRES, Simpson University basketball commit

WHO’S YOUR CADDY? Palo Alto High School junior Chase Kacher takes a swing during the boys golf team’s win over Los Altos on March 15. Led by senior captain and Middlebury College commit Julian Galindo Macias, the team is currently at the top of the league standings. “We’re looking to go undefeated,” Galindo Macias said. “We’d love to win the league tournament as well, but we’re really focusing on trying to make it as far as we can in the playoffs, and try to move on to Norcal and possibly states.”

Text and photos by NADAV STERNHEIM

THE new erA TRAVEL

PROGRAMS ADAPT POSTPANDEMIC

GREEN SEED PODS OF okra are boiled, seasoned and prepared into obe lla, the Yoruba name for a flavorful stew and staple of Nigerian cuisine. Palo Alto High School graduate Oluwatunwumi Ogunlade grew up eating okra — but when she encountered the vegetable while on an exchange trip to Louisiana, she was startled to see it served pickled, a strange departure from the recipes familiar to her.

After graduating from Paly in 2021, Ogunlade spent a week of her summer living with a host family in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Ogunlade’s trip was organized and paid for by the American Exchange Project, a nonprofit that connects cohorts of high school seniors to hosts across the United States. Founded in 2019, AEP is part of a new era of exchange programs.

Paly’s first year participating in the program was 2021, and Ogunlade’s cohort was the first to participate since the program was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It [the exchange program] just made me more open minded,” Ogunlade said. “There were certain conversations I had that were pretty interesting, and being there helped me empathize with why people would think certain things about the world.”

The broader student exchange program industry has struggled to revive in the post-pandemic era.

Sarah Burgess currently serves as the president of Neighbors Abroad, a non-

profit that has connected local students with host families in Palo Alto’s sister cities worldwide since 1963. When Burgess was a teenager, over 50 students (including herself) applied annually for their summer exchange to Oaxaca, Mexico. In the past few years, she’s struggled to fill a single spot.

“Last year, I did not have any students going [to Oaxaca],” Burgess said. “I truly beat the pavement trying to find students.”

Burgess points to multiple key factors in the declining participation, from the COVID-19 pandemic to a shift in priorities in local culture. As the academic climate surrounding college applications grows more intense — especially in Palo Alto — fewer students are seeking a longer experience focused on language and cultural immersion, and many of the students who are interested in exchange programs gravitate towards more expensive for-profit programs.

“Our real competition is with paid programs,” Burgess said. “People were paying $4,000, $5,000 for their kids to go on a pre-college program … or a short period of a service project with other students [from the U.S.]. I almost wondered whether there was a feeling of safety that you’re getting a better product if you were paying a lot of money.”

Participants in Neighbors Abroad’s exchanges are required to cover little more than approximately $1,000 airfare and chaperone fees, along with the costs of hosting a visiting student, and the nonprofit provides additional scholarships.

Despite these challenges, this year, things are looking up for Neighbors Abroad.

A cohort of 10 middle school students

will visit Palo Alto’s sister city, Tsuchiura, Japan this summer in a Neighbors Abroad program not connected to the school district.

Prior to the pandemic, 16 local middle schoolers participated annually in Neighbors Abroad’s exchange with Tsuchiura. This summer’s trip will be the first between the sister cities since 2019. Additionally, the French teacher at Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School is working with Neighbors Abroad to plan an exchange with Albi, France next summer, and has also begun a letter exchange with students there. Burgess cred-

nese exchange, we just had persistent par ents who wanted to be involved in keep ing it ongoing,” Burgess said.

Japan’s COVID-19 restrictions limit Neighbors Abroad from ar ranging a complete exchange. Regardless, Burgess sees the upcoming trip as a signif icant step forward from lukewarm attempts at virtual pandemic-era experiences.

Even before the pandemic, the purpose and aims of exchange pro grams in Amer ica have been significantly evolving.

In 1956, the Eisenhower administration

“There are all these huge divisions in our country, so [AEP]’s goal is to bridge that divide with relationships.”

— CAITLIN DREWES, AEP coordinator

of exchange

created the Sister City program to foster international relationships and understanding post-World War II and to prevent another global conflict. Now, programs like AEP aim to promote intercultural unity even within the nation’s borders.

According to Paly history teacher Caitlin Drewes, who serves as the school’s AEP exchange coordinator, the program purposefully matches participants with communities significantly different from their hometowns in order to create a more meaningful experience.

“We’re politically divided, culturally divided,” Drewes said. “There are all these huge divisions in our country. So [AEP]’s goal is to help bridge that divide with re-

ticipated in exchange programs and served in the Peace Corps, and she emphasized how impactful staying with a local family can be in building intercultural connections — especially in comparison to tourist-oriented travel.

“It’s very important for people to become immersed, actually living somewhere, even if it’s only for four weeks,” Drewes said. “With a family, you’re finding out what’s important to them — you’re finding out that they eat their main meal in the middle of the day and all sit down together, or that they go for walks together, you know.”

But Drewes also said that such a fully immersive experience exchange program

scary to leave your house at 15 and go live in another country [or community] for months,” Drewes said. “I think it takes a really certain kind of person to do it.”

That “type of person” doesn’t have to have previous international experience, but according to Ogunlade, it certainly helps. Having lived in Nigeria until high school, Ogunlade said she is no stranger to culture shock.

“I’ve said that phrase [culture shock] over and over again,” Ogunlade said. “Because once you immigrate somewhere, it is just a part of your everyday life.”

Exchange programs can be especially eye opening for students from Silicon Valley, according to Ogunlade. In her expe-

ABSENCE OF

ADDERALL

PRESCRIPTION SHORTAGE COMPLICATIONS

Text by ALMA BENDAVID and AUSTIN ENG Art by SOPHIE PAN

EVERY 30 DAYS, PALO ALTO High School sophomore Elise Fadil goes to her local pharmacy to pick up her Adderall prescription. Fadil said she has taken the medication for the past two years to help manage her Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. But in October 2022, Fadil walked out of Walgreens empty handed after being informed that the pharmacy could not fill her prescription.

Fadil is just one of many students across the country impacted by the Adderall shortage, and for her, the problem came at a particularly difficult time: finals week.

With only a few pills left, Fadil said she was forced to ration her medication to ensure she could take it before her final exams. That meant, however, she was left without Adderall while preparing.

“I was studying, [and] I just physically could not do it,” Fadil said. “I had to take double the amount of time it usually takes me to really focus on what I was trying to do.”

According to the FDA, the shortage is a result of production delays that coincided with a rise in diagnosis following the COVID-19 pandemic.

For some, the pandemic-induced hours spent in front of screens amplified any symptoms of excessive attention deficit.

Stanford child adolescent psychiatrist, Dr. Gisela Sandoval said she saw the issue first hand with her patients.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic patients reported an increase in ADHD

symptoms, such as difficulty paying attention and staying on task,” Sandoval said.

In addition to seeing a rise in ADHD symptoms and consultings, Sandoval also had to meet with her regular patients more frequently to ensure that they were getting the medication that they needed, whether it was Adderall or a substitute.

“We had to sit down with each patient and say, ‘Let’s see what alternatives we can come up with,’” Sandoval said. “The pharmacist couldn’t really tell us how long it was going to be out.”

Sandoval said she had patients that went to every pharmacy from Palo Alto to Mountain view, looking for the correct prescription. In other cases, Sandoval had to switch medications for the patient when there was no Adderall to be found.

“So what we would have to do was another medication trial with a new stimulant, which is very disruptive,” Sandoval said. “I had other patients who just did not respond to the alternative or they had side effects.”

Finding a medication that works perfectly can be very difficult, especially in the midst of a shortage of the most commonly used medication. Fadil said she recently decided to switch to a new medication; however, finding and adjusting to a new prescription can be a very long and

7.6%

grueling process.

“I haven’t tried it [the new medication] yet because I’m kind of a little scared to take it just because I’ve been taking Adderall so consistently, and Adderall has been working for me.” Fadil said.

While medication helps Fadil and many others decrease ADHD symptoms, it is often not without side effects and for some, alternate medications can cause new or increased side effects.

Appetite suppression and dissociation are just two of the side effects Fadil described experiencing.

“I’m very focused, but I kind of feel like I’m not actually there,” Fadil said. “It’s a really scary feeling.”

Although these medications help immensely with concentration during the school day, Dr. Sandoval said that behavioral strategies can be valuable treatments for ADHD relative to alternate medication.

“ADHD can be treated pretty successfully in part with behavioral strategies,” Sandoval said. “I did enhance that in my therapy [saying to my patients] ‘remember these behavioral strategies, let’s reboot them,’ and I would go over them again.”

Ultimately, Sandoval said she wanted to remind students that whether there is a shortage or not, it is never a good idea to get Adderall unprescribed.

“I just want everyone to have hope because there are alternatives,” Sandoval said. “There are enough alternatives that if you just give things a trial, it will get better.” v

Data presented is from an opt-in survey by Verde Magazine of 140 Palo Alto High School students and was colected from March 20 to March 24 through a digital form published on Schoology pages and Verde social media. Responses were anonymous, and all questions were optional.

“

“There are enough alternatives [for Adderall] that if you just give things a trial, it will get better.”

— DR. GISELA SANDOVAL, child adolescent psychiatrist

If you take Adderall, is it prescribed?

of surveyed students said no

I had to take double the amount of time it usually takes me to really focus on what I was trying to do.”

— ELISE FADIL, sophomore

FIReWALLS

anD FILTERS

DISTRICT AIMS FOR STUDENT ONLINE SAFETY

Art by SABELA CHELBA

Text by ALEXIS CHIU and ASHA KULKARNI

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Blocking certain websites is part of Palo Alto Unified School District’s effort to keep students safe online, according to PAUSD’s Chief Technology Officer Derek Moore. Students, however, have brought up equity and privacy concerns, worrying that the district has too much access to their data and that students who use personal technology have a greater degree of privacy and access than those who use school technology.

The Center for Democracy and Technology released a report in 2021 stating that school internet filters raise “critical red flags for student equity and privacy protection.”

PAUSD is required to block and filter harmful content in accordance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act, according to the Federal Communications Commission. At all PAUSD campuses, a firewall on the Wi-Fi filters resources and content for all of its users.

“The way our Wi-Fi is set up, every user uniquely joins as themselves,” Moore said. “It’s seamless and it works so it doesn’t allow you access to things that you shouldn’t have.”

At home, students using loaner devices are included in the district’s internet safety system through the Securly Google Chrome browser extension. Securly aims to block “adult” content, malware and phishing, while allowing everything else, according to Moore. To do this, Securly has to store student search history. This data is held onto for only 90 days before being deleted.

However, according to the CDT’s report, 80% of students whose schools use monitoring software reported being more careful about what they search online. While still subject to internet filters when using school Wi-Fi, those who use their own devices have access to the unfiltered

internet at home without their activity being recorded.

Palo Alto High School freshman

Elise Andrade said this creates a discrepancy between students who can afford personal computers and those who cannot.

“If you only have access to your school computer, it definitely limits what you do on your own time,” Andrade said. “There are a lot of random websites that are blocked, so there is definitely an equity aspect to it.”

Monitoring of students’ browsing history concerns some students who want the district to balance safety with privacy.

“At some level, they [PAUSD] do need to monitor everything because with widespread access to the internet, you can do a lot of things, but sometimes, that seems like a little bit of an invasion of privacy,” Andrade said.

Senior Zach Brandt added that the monitoring feels unnecessary.

“It’s sort of coddling us,” Brandt said. “Like we can’t be trusted to use the internet.”

But Moore emphasizes that browsing history is left alone until it is needed in the event of a student safety incident.

“There are only four people in our whole district that have access,” Moore said. “We need to be able to react quickly to incidents as they arise.”

Senior Artem Tesov agrees that data collection shouldn’t pose a threat to students.

“Students should not be afraid to have their history monitored,” Tesov said. “If you are not doing anything wrong, there should be no issue with the school district having your data.”

Moore emphasizes that the data harvested by Securly is mandatory for it to operate and that the district respects students’ privacy unless absolutely necessary.

“Nobody is actively sitting at a desk somewhere in a dark room looking at it [student’s data],” Moore said. “It’s just part of the system.” v

SAFETY STATS

93% of Palo Alto High School students know that school wifi filters content

28% of Palo Alto High School students use a school-issued Chromebook at home

64% of Palo Alto High School students say that they have been exposed to harmful content online

6% of Palo Alto High School students say that they have been exposed to harmful content on a school Chromebook

Data presented is from an opt-in survey by Verde Magazine of 131 Palo Alto High School students and was collected from March 20 to March 24 through a digital form published on Schoology pages and Verde social media. Responses were anonymous and all questions were optional.

“Both in the physical and virtual world, we need to be able to react quickly to incidents as they arise.”

— DEREK MOORE, Chief Technology Officer

ReEvaluating Recruitment

MILITARY AIMS FOR STUDENT ENLISTMENTS

AMID THE USUAL RUSH of students on the Palo Alto High School Quad during lunch, a ruby red pull-up bar stands in front of the library. One by one, students line up, eager to prove their strength as a crowd of onlookers gathers.

This pull-up bar is accompanied by a series of tables displaying flyers promising a fresh start and recruiters with wide smiles explaining the plethora of opportunities available to students after they graduate.

Despite the fanfare, according to an anonymous opt-in survey by Verde Magazine of 175 Paly students from Feb. 5 to Feb. 9, over 90% said they are not interested in a career in the military, despite twothirds of them encountering these recruitment efforts on campus.

Regardless of the level of interest, Paly is legally mandated to allow the military

onto campus twice a year as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Paly is also mandated to provide addresses, names and phone numbers of students to military recruiters if requested.

Recent recruitment initiatives have sparked debate over the extent to which the Palo Alto Unified School District should grant access and authority to the military, and about the broader role of the military for younger Americans.

Senior Sofia Vincent said she believes that the presence of military recruiters on campus is inappropriate in its context.

“The way they [recruiters] show up on campus and have the whole pull up bar setup, it kind of feels like its inflating people’s egos, and [having them] showing off as this feat of strength, rather than a serious decision in which you may have to kill someone,” Vincent said.

Sgt. First Class Matthew Hahn, a high school recruiter for the Army, said that while many high schools allow for more robust access, some campuses including Paly only allow visits once per semester, which Hahn said he believes is inadequate.

“When I was recruiting down in LA, all the schools were allowing us access every week,” Hahn said. “So by going there, every week, we're able to build relationships with students and have a better understanding of who a student is, what their goals are.”

According to an article in Current Affairs, recruiters often pressure students into enlisting, visiting lower-income and predominantly minority schools more than 10 times as much as wealthier schools in some instances in order to attract more desperate candidates who are unable to afford a four year institution.

However, according to Hahn, military recruiters are simply attempting to raise awareness of a military career and not trying to find as many students as possible to enlist.

In his two years of recruitment, Hahn said that while students have been enlisted from other local high schools, no students have been enlisted directly from Paly.

Despite the lack of student interest, many students believe that military recruiters nevertheless serve an important role on Paly’s campus. According to senior Elizabeth Fetter, who has accepted an application into United States Military Academy at West Point instead of enlisting directly into the military, recruiters on campus help students understand and expand their options after graduating from Paly.

“I think it's definitely a really good

thing that they [military recruiters] are coming out here,” Fetter said. “Most people, especially at Paly, believe the only correct path after graduation is to [go to a four year college] … and what they do is a really good way of showing people that there are other paths beyond just a regular university.”

While no known students are directly enlisting from Paly, a small number of Paly students like Fetter have applied to military academies out of high school. Like many other students at Paly, Fetter said she had little knowledge of a military career and it was her AP US History teacher John Bungarden who introduced her to the idea of applying to West Point. According to Fetter, serving her country was one of her

main motivations to apply to the academy.

“I know not everyone, especially in this area, feels like the United States is … an entity that we should be supporting,” Fetter said. “But by living here, … we are benefiting from what the US provides and from the freedoms we have. ... That's a way of giving back to the country and saying thank you.”

Bungarden said military recruiters have an important function on campus, and at minimum there should be an open and active discussion as to whether their presence on campus should be expanded.

“I have spoken to a number of recruiters,” Bungarden said. “They are

standing soldiers, excellent representatives of their services, and what they are looking for is people for whom the military might be a good idea so that it enters their thought process.” v

RAISING THE BAR (TOP RIGHT)— Palo Alto

High School senior Joshua Kaplan tries the pullup bar at the recruitment event for the Navy and Marines on March 7. Kaplan said he has mixed feelings on the ethicality of military recruitment. "I don't particularly agree with their practices of [recruiting] kids who are still in high school and have many opportunities in the future," Kaplan said. "However, I think that in many cases it can also be beneficial."

CONTENT ON CAMPUS (BOTTOM LEFT)— Military recruiters pose for a photo in front of the Quad. The military recruiter said he believes that military recruiting is not inherently exploitative or overbearing. "Our primary purpose as recruiters that come into schools is to give students another option," the recruiter pictured right said. "We are not actively recruiting, we're ... not trying to trick you, that's not my job."

out-

“What they [recruiters] are looking for is people for whom the military might be a good idea."

— JOHN BUNGARDEN, teacher

CLASS

DISTRICT DECISION SPARKS BACKLASH FROM FAMILIES

RROGANT.”

That’s what Ohlone Elementary School Special Education parent Lars Smith called the Palo Alto Unified School District Special Education Department’s recent decision to consolidate its elementary Special Education program.

The department announced in February that it would be closing the moderate/severe Special Education programs at Ohlone and Escondido Elementary School. As a result, 17 special education students currently at those schools will be relocated to Nixon and Barron Park elementary schools start -

According to Palo Alto S chool Board President Jennifer DiBrienza, the idea behind the change was to strengthen the special education programs at Nixon and Barron Park by splitting the program into two classes per school rather than one.

Currently at Escondido, Nixon, Barron Park and Ohlone elementary schools, there is only one moderate/severe special education class that includes students of all grades. By consolidating the program, Nixon and Barron Park will have two separate special education classes, one for second grade and below, and another for third through fifth graders.

“The change from having lots of your classrooms going from K-5 all in the same room to having classrooms that are K-2 and [grades] 3-5 [has] been long requested by our staff and sort of considered a best practice,” DiBrienza said. “We had had staff saying that ... it was too challenging to work with K-5 in the same room.”

Nonetheless, the decision was met with backlash from many who are impacted, particularly parents of children currently in the closing special education programs. Smith, whose son is a fourth grader in the special education program at Ohlone, said that he agrees with the intention behind the decision, but disagrees with the way that the district went about the decision-making

Text by FELICIA BUCHHOLZ, DIVYA GANDHI and NADIA SOBERG

CLoSURES

process.

“I think most people would agree that being able to differentiate the age groups with different needs in different classrooms would be a pretty positive thing,” Smith said. “I feel that the way that they went about it, and the site choices were really short sighted, and frankly I think that they chose a way to do it that’s going to be the most damaging to the most kids and the most families and special ed, I think there’s not really anybody happy with it.”

According to Smith, the first notice of pending changes to the special education program came on Jan. 20, when the weekly superintendent’s update email mentioned that the district would be exploring ways to streamline and consolidate special education services for the students benefit.

Shortly after, on Feb. 6, the district announced the plan to consolidate the program.

Families of students in special education programs were told that they had until March 3 to select a new school for their kids to attend.

“I wish the district and the department had made any effort at all to engage both parents and teachers in the restructuring,” Smith said. “These unilateral decisions I don’t think work very well in public education and public systems in general.”

326 total students are currently enrolled in Special Education in PAUSD

However, DiBrienza said that to her, asking parents for input on a decision whose most likely outcome has already been determined could feel insincere.

“One of the things that I have found in my six years on the board is that if you already know that you are likely making a certain decision for various reasons ... don’t make it feel like parents would have a say in that,” DiBrienza said. “It’s disingenuous and people sense that and see through it.”

Smith said he found the timing of the announcement extremely difficult, given that parents had so little time to figure out where their kids could be moved to for this coming fall.

“We were supposed to figure out where our special needs kids were going to go in less than a month?” Smith said. “No information, no lead-up and no conversation.”

DiBrienza said that while she understands that the change is extremely difficult for families now, it is ultimately the best decision in the long run.

“I know that it’s upsetting,” DiBrienza said. “I would never minimize that. It’s disruptive, it’s scary, change is hard for all kids, but especially for this population ... but this [reminds me of] why it took us 10 years to do this thing that everyone agreed was the best thing for kids. Because the change part is hard.” v

87% of Special Education parents agree that their questions are answered by school staff

“

I wish the district and the department had made any effort at all to engage both parents and teachers in the restructuring.”

— LARS SMITH, Ohlone Special Education parent

Data presented is from a 2018 survey of 354 Special Education parents conducted by the Palo Alto Unified School District.

Data presented is from the PAUSD Swift Report Card (Spring 2023).

TIPPING THE SCALES

PEDIATRIC PROTOCOLS ADDRESS OBESITY

TWO OUT OF THREE adults in the United States are overweight or obese, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. New data shows that the U.S. obesity epidemic is only getting worse — and not just for adults.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity was preva

cents from 2017 to 2020, prompting the American Academy of Pediatrics to release new guidelines for pediatricians that aim to

The guidelines, which were released on Jan. 9, are the first changes to the AAP’s guidelines in over 15 years. They include recommendations

for doctors to prescribe weight loss medications and bariatric surgeries — a type of surgery that involves shrinking the stomach in order to reduce the amount of food that can be eaten — to children with a body mass index at or above the 85th percentile and over the age of 12.

While surgery and medication may seem like extreme measures, the changes aren’t radical according to Thomas Robinson, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Stanford University and the Director of the Center for Healthy Weight.

“They [AAP] have moved towards being a little more aggressive in the behavioral treatment,” Robinson said. “They’ve eliminated this period, what used to be called ‘Step One,’ of saying, ‘Let’s just watch and

Source: Let’s Get Healthy California, 2017

wait and see what happens and give a little bit of education about nutrition and the importance of healthy activity.’”

Robinson said that there has been pushback to the guideline changes from movements such as Health at Every Size, who promote the idea that weight shouldn’t be a focus of medical treatment.

“I have a tremendous amount of empathy for them and understand how difficult it is, especially in this world when we don’t have a lot of good answers,” Robinson said. “There’s so much discrimination and stigmatization of people based upon their weight that it makes their lives very, very, very difficult.”

According to Robinson, part of the problem is the way obese people are treated.

“Society sees it [obesity] as an individual failing,” Robinson said. “Even people with obesity often blame themselves instead of blaming society.”

Although Robinson said that he thinks the guideline changes will be effective, he also said that they are only the first step towards solving the national issue of obesity.

“That’s why

get sodas removed from schools and we’re trying to get better school meals and we’re trying to get front of package labeling.”

These proposed changes aim to limit various societal factors which Robinson said make it easy for people to become obese.

“Our culture provides lots of high calorie, highly palatable, cheap ever-present food,” Robinson said. “We market the heck out of it and get you to eat more and more.”

While food plays a large role in creating this issue, according to Robinson, other less obvious industries are also at fault. The technology and entertainment industries, he said, promote sedentary behavior and engineer opportunities for physical activity out of people’s daily lives. An institution closer to the Palo Alto High School community, however, is the cafeteria, which some students feel does not provide enough nu-

Paly sophomore Hanu Thakur said

that the school meals don’t give him enough energy for his daily routine, which includes playing soccer.

“I don’t think they [school lunches] are very nutritious,” Thakur said.

“Obviously it’s got vegetables and meat and carbs, but it’s super packaged and it’s really unhealthy when you take a look at how it’s actually being produced, and I think that outweighs the actual nutritional value of the meal.”

Thakur said that the nutritional value of school meals should be improved by including healthier options.

“I think it should definitely be more fresh produce instead of everything packaged,” Thakur said. “It’s pretty bad for you, especially in the long run.”

While improving school meals and the AAP’s guideline changes are a few steps towards mitigating child obesity, there is plenty more to be done.

“My hope is that it [the guideline changes] will spur more of an effort to make these types of treatments [weight loss treatments] available,” Robinson said. “I think they will make a difference, but it’s one important part that the guidelines were

“ I don’t think they [school lunches] are very nutritious. Obviously it’s got vegetables and meat and carbs, but it’s super packaged and it’s really unhealthy.”

— HANU THAKUR, sophomore

“ Our culture provides lots of high calorie, highly palatable, cheap, ever-present food. We market the heck out of it and get you to eat more and more.”

— THOMAS ROBINSON, Stanford University Professor

THE

PALO

DOES OUR CITY HAVE A CAPITALISM PROBLEM?

BIRTHPLACE OF Silicon Valley. Global center of technology and innovation. Home to over 69,700 residents.

Although the city is number 10 in Niche’s “Best Suburbs to Live in California,” people like Palo Alto High School alum Malcolm Harris are critical of the city’s role as the center of capitalism.

Harris’s new book “Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World” — published on Feb. 14 — traces back as far as Palo Alto colonialistic beginnings to examine the city’s history.

According to Harris, his book is best described by the subheading: “a history of California capitalism in the world.”

“It’s about the

modern era from the second half of the 19th century to today, told through the lens of Palo Alto, California, but in a bulk context,” Harris said.

Through his book, Harris said he seeks to highlight that California’s history is shorter than many Palo Altans believe, pulling specific events from history to showcase Palo Alto’s role in capitalism.

“The history we’re talking about is not ancient history,” Harris said. “The world system under which we live is only 150-plus years old. It’s not ancient, and we should see ourselves in that context and the specific historical context, not an existential context.”

In the book, Harris states that Palo Alto leaders are responsible for the exploitation of middle-class workers, especially those of color, and thus the development of practices like eugenics. According to Harris, the capitalist mindset in Palo Alto only benefits existing millionaire leaders while giving false hope to laborers, magnifying the capitalist system.

Malcolm Harris

Harris began his writing career at Paly’s Campanile newspaper, where he was an editor-in-chief.

“The journalism education definitely helped me write for a deadline and edit,” Harris said. “I took it really seriously.”

Since graduating from Paly in 2007, Harris has published three books, the third of which is “Palo Alto,” which he said was prompted by an urge to write about the city he grew up in.

“So much of my connection to the world is mediated through Palo Alto and Palo Alto history,” Harris said. “So it [writing a book about Palo Alto] seemed like a good way to understand my place in the world.”

According to Harris, he started the book at the beginning of 2020, and although the

ALTO

pandemic limited Harris’s access to physical sources, it allowed him the time to indulge himself in research for hours on end.

“I would get a big stack of books and take it to the park and read a stack of books all day,” Harris said. “I had a complicated system for annotating them so I could find my notes later when I was writing particular sections.”

Research

Using his notes from these physical sources as well as archive.org, Google Books and other online resources, including periodicals from the ‘70s and ‘80s, Harris continued until he finished his final draft.

“I researched a little bit, wrote the proposal, researched more, wrote an outline and then researched more as I continued to actually start writing,” he said. “But I was still researching down to the final days, [and] still pulling in new information.”

Because of the influx of new information, the book ended up longer than originally pitched.

“When I sold the book, it wasn’t supposed to be this long,” Harris said. “I had to convince my editor that ‘Hey, this is going to be 700 pages,’ which I was able to do. It was lucky [and] I’m still sort of surprised.”

Community reactions

Harris’s blame on Palo Alto is disagreed with by some Palo Altans, including Ariane Erickson, whose family has been living in the city for 50 years.

“I’ve had a very positive perspective of what it’s like to grow up in Palo Alto and to raise kids in Palo Alto and to pursue a career in Palo Alto,” Erickson said. “It

Art by PALINA KUZMINA

ISSUE

has its problems but overall I feel as though it’s really one of the best places in the world to live.”

Although Erickson agrees that capitalism is not perfect, she says Harris overlooks the well-intended businesses in Silicon Valley that seek to provide solutions to problems such as climate change and unemployment.

“Clean tech in particular is something that I’m very thankful for that has been very powerful and strong here in Palo Alto and in Silicon Valley that really truly is creating solutions to climate change and also other non-environmental problems as well,” Erickson said. “So there’s a lot of good that’s happening from the franchise that lives here.”

Erickson acknowledged the dark history of eugenics and redlining, but said she believes Harris overemphasizes problems caused by only a small percentage of the city’s population.

“We didn’t escape the mistakes that people made in the past,” Erickson said. “But I think that the people who live and work in and for the city now are very liberal-minded and are willing and interested in creating a more equitable future for Palo Alto.” v

GRADUATE STARTS MATH TUTORING SERVICE

N THE HIGH-STAKES WORLD

of entrepreneurship, Palo Alto High School graduate Mehr Sikri risked it all, investing her life savings to revolutionize how young students tackle math. Today, nestled in Palo Alto’s Midtown Shopping Center, Operation Math stands as a bold testament to her unwavering determination.

Sikri founded OpMath in May 2018, an in-person service focusing on teaching younger children while using technology to enhance learning and address unfinished learning and learning loss.

Sikri said she has always had an immense passion for education, especially in mathematics. Ever since she was young, Sikiri said her mother emphasized the importance of a strong education to give her the skills and freedom to do what she wanted.

“Now that I’m older, I realize that having confidence in working with numbers really does open so many doors, even if you don’t choose a career that is in math and sciences,” Sikri said. “Almost every

career is now impacted by or influenced by some level of math and or data, so really knowing the foundations is essential.”

Sikri said she was first exposed to the world of math tutoring through a friend by pure coincidence, recalling her first two-hour session flying by in what felt like 15 minutes.

“Now, looking back, I realize that I was experiencing a state of ‘flow,’” Sikri said. “That was the first time I realized that not only do I love learning math myself, but I love teaching it and helping it make sense to others.”

Sikri said she realized that even though the Palo Alto Unified School District school system is one of the best in the country, children were still struggling with foundational math skills. She recalled observing

a high school junior that had difficulty adding and subtracting negative numbers, skills that she deemed essential to success in future courses.

“I realized that if kids in Palo Alto are struggling with foundational mastery, then there’s a major opportunity to help students in the Bay Area and beyond,” Sikri said. “The goal of OpMath is to help students build an extremely strong foundation in math to avoid the fear often associated with the subject as kids enter middle and high school.”

The idea for OpMath was born with goals for an all-new learning environment. Sikri started her business from scratch, growing the OpMath through word-of-mouth rather than receiving funding from investors.

“ It [OpMath] has been built from the ground up by a Palo Alto graduate with immense care and dedication.”

— MEHR SIKRI, founder and CEO

“I ended up bootstrapping the company, so it’s all my own savings and that’s why it was a very stressful decision,” Sikri said. “When I signed it, I was like ‘I’m gonna go all in and if it fails then I will get back up and figure it out.’”

The challenges of COVID-19 also

ed in setting up a learning center locally.”

However, despite the many other local neighborhood math tutoring programs may exist in Palo Alto, Sikri said that OpMath is not a typical tutoring center.

“It [OpMath] has been built from the ground up by a Palo Alto graduate with im-

dent and I also feel like I’m especially wellequipped to help students because I know the PAUSD curriculum inside and out.”

From designing new features for their platform to creating new and improved versions of the app, Sikri says she plans to continue running OpMath to help Bay Area students succeed in their math courses and beyond.

“Confidence and mastery in math is no longer optional and it is a topic used and required in every field and plays such a big role in a person’s professional success even if a person doesn’t go into traditional math or science dominant fields,” Sikri said. “I want to help everyone realize that anyone can be good at math, with the right tools and starting early.” v

“Confidence and mastery in math is no longer optional and it is a topic used

STUDYING WITH A SMILE — Mehr Sikri reviews a math test with Palo Alto High School sophomore Mansavi Noronha. “It’s a very warm and supportive environment and I’m very hands-on and invested in each and every one of our students,” Sikri said. Photo: Rahul Shetty

TURKISH STUDENTS REACT TO EARTHQUAKE tuRkey

ON THE MORNING OF FEB. 6, A MAGNITUDE

7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, resulting in widespread destruction and tragic losses of life. According to Reuters, there was a staggering death toll of over 45,000 people and another two million were displaced. The earthquake impacted people around the world whose families and friends were affected by the event, including students at Palo Alto High School.

For sophomore Lara Dumanli, the earthquake was particularly impactful because both her parents were born in Turkey and much of her family still lives there.

“My family directly was not affected by the earthquake, but I know people, friends of mine, who have had to evacuate their homes because they’re close to where the fault line is,” Dumanli said. “I feel very hopeless emotionally because I’ve spent the majority of my childhood summers in Turkey and it kind of feels like I’m not there. And it feels like I’m doing a dishonor to my relatives.”

Dumanli expressed her frustration at the circumstances of the earthquake and said she believes the devastation was exacerbated by instability and corruption in Turkey, which prevented important in frastructure from being built despite it being one of the world’s most active earthquake regions.

“I know that this earthquake, the level of disaster it created, could have been prevented, and I feel like there’s someone that should have been blamed for that.” Dumanli said.

Dumanli said the earthquake prompted complicated feelings for her as someone who was far from the disaster while her family and loved ones were affected.

“A lot of immigrants feel guilty coming from a country that isn’t developed to coming to, for example, Canada or America, where it is developed,” Dumanli said. “It’s like, you left them when they’re most vulnerable.”

EYES ON TURKEY — Palo Alto High School sophomore Lara Dumanli analyzes and explaines an image displaying damages caused by the earthquake. “Many residential neighborhoods just like this one were completely destroyed,” Dumanli said. “That just makes this whole thing so much more heartbreaking.”

Senior Mert Yanar, whose relatives in Turkey were forced to relocate due to the damage caused by the earthquake, said that the earthquake did not receive the attention it warranted in the Paly community.

“For being an event that killed 45,000 people, I feel like it wasn’t really talked about even though most people knew about it just because it’s not near us,” Yanar said. “If this happened in America, it would be seen as a much more catastrophic event.

Dumanli has visited Turkey often in the past, but said that this year, her plans to visit this summer may be affected by the earthquake.

INVESTIGATING

THE PRESIDENT

Q&A WITH STANFORD STUDENT

JOURNALIST

ARC TESSIER-LAVIGNE IS IN TROUBLE. The president of Stanford University, and former neuroscientist, is under investigation for publishing research allegedly containing manipulated images and falsified data, leading several scientists at the university to call for his

The news of Tessier-Lavigne’s alleged misdeeds is a blow to one of the most prestigious universities in the country, and was brought to light from an unlikely source: 18-year-old Theo Baker, investigations editor of Stanford’s student-run newspaper, The Stan-

Baker published a story exposing the allegations against Tessier-Lavigne and became the youngest recipient of Long Island University’s prestigious George Polk award for journalism in February. Verde talked with Baker to learn more about his experience in journalism; this is what he had to say. v

1. To start off, how does it feel to win a Polk award?

“This is obviously a tremendous honor and wouldn’t be possible without a really great crew of people. I’m obviously super happy. It’s really nice to have that sort of credibility.”

2. Going back to the initial article about Marc Tessier-Lavigne, how did you find that story?

“I learned early in the fall that there were some discussions on … scientific forums about Tessier-Lavigne’s research going back about seven years, and so I started looking into that and contacted some experts who could look into the allegations more seriously.”

3. Did you expect the huge effect your article would have?

“I certainly hadn’t expected the Board of Trustees to open up an investigation the next day. That seemed to sort of come out of nowhere. But I appreciate that people have been engaging with the content of our articles, and I do hope that this allows for a broader conversation about scientific integrity and reproducibility.”

4. What challenges did you face both in publishing the article and dealing with the aftermath?

“Writing about someone who is in a position of power in the community is never an easy thing. You have to make sure you cross every “t” and dot every “i,” bend over backwards to be fair. So certainly, this has been trying in that aspect. We have spent many, many hours working on that. And obviously, at the end of the day, President Tessier-Lavigne has the power to send out a message to all faculty and staff … saying that our reporting is replete with falsehoods and breathtakingly egre gious. He has the power to do that even though he won’t sit for an interview.”

5. How do you view the Daily’s relationship to Stanford?

“Stanford Daily’s marking its 50th anniversary of full in dependence from the university this year, which is fantastic. Without that security, we would not be able to publish arti cles like these without question. We are an independent stu dent-run 501(c)(3) with an excellent board of directors and le gal counsel. That is absolutely required for something like this, to have the team of advisers that we’ve had, to have the lawyers that we’ve had.”

6. What are your goals for journalism in the future?

“My goal has always been to do everything in my power to bring issues and things happening behind the scenes into the light, so we can have conversations about them. … What I’ve seen in some of the people who eventually have come forward to talk about what they say happened at Genentech in 2011 [that Tessier-Lavigne falsified data in his research and tried to keep the findings of an inquiry into his research from going public] is that there is there is a shared commitment to a belief in truth as the highest value. I love this community, Stanford’s community, and when you love something you want it to be better. You want to push for accountability and transparency at every level. So that’s really why I love journalism. It’s about … making sure people have all the information in front of them.”

7. Your parents are prominent journalists: Peter Baker of the New York Times and Susan Glasser of the Washing ton Post. How has that affected your approach to jour nalism?

“I’m enormously lucky in the sense that I know what good journalism looks like. I’ve grown up watching people do their thing and that has been phe nomenal. I keep my parents en tirely separate from my work. They don’t help me source; they don’t help me write or edit. Even though my life would be significantly eas ier if they did, I just think it’s unfair. So every single resource that I’ve used is one that’s available to any other

Daily staffer … and anyone can be a Daily writer. My parents really serve as an example, serve as an inspiration. I’m certainly proud of what they do. But in terms of direct effect, I do try

THE GIRL BEHIND THE CAMERA

RAISING SPIRIT THROUGH MEDIA P

ALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL football players sprint across the field, their motions synched to the beats of A$AP Rocky’s “The God Hour.” A touchdown pass is announced, and the victorious hollering of students bleeds through the song lyrics momentarily before the video resumes its course.

This teaser clip of an October football match between Paly and Milpitas High School spans less than a minute — but the high quality, multi-angle footage took junior Clare Antonow hours to film, edit and produce. However the time is well spent; Antonow’s videos, a project started for Madrono yearbook, garner thousands of views on Instagram and boost morale for sports teams around campus.

Antonow said she began producing videos in 6th grade using GoPro cameras to create short travel montages.

“I really have a hard time watching my first videos because I’d say it [her videography skills] are definitely a lot better since then,” Antonow said.

Now, she films and edits videos for multiple organizations at Paly including theater, intramural spikeball, student-led spirit rallies and different sports. Of all the activities she has filmed, Antonow said football was particularly challenging at first.

“You don’t know what’s going to come next,” Antonow said. “You don’t know if there’s going to be a touchdown or not, so you kind of just have to stand there and film the entire thing.”

Although the production process can be time-consuming, Antonow said she finds it rewarding.

“Obviously, it’s different for every sport, but for football, I was able to make a lot of friends on the sideline,” Antonow said. “It’s really fun when people interact with the camera. ... My favorite part is at

the end of the games; hopefully if the team wins, they’ll all stand around and hold up the ‘W’s’and cheer.”

Aside from her early experiences with video production, Antonow said that she draws a lot of inspiration from a videography account on TikTok and Instagram dedicated to the sports teams of St. Ignatius College Preparatory, “@wildcatsportsreels.”

“I saw a post from ‘Wildcats Sports Reels’ on TikTok [at the beginning of this school year],” Antonow said. “I got super inspired and I really wanted to try something [like that].”

Antonow said she learned the production process, such as the complete software behind Premiere Pro, on her own.

“I basically taught myself the entire process — all the effects, all the camera stuff,” Antonow said. “I really didn’t have experience with nice cameras. I use [Canon] R6 right now and I had no experience with shooting video on it … YouTube taught me everything.”

Antonow’s video work continues to uplift Paly sports teams, often raising morale for athletes such as senior and varsity football captain Va’inga Mahe Jr.

“It [her videos] made us more excited for the following weeks,” Mahe said.

The videos also help athletes evaluate their performance on the field.

“It gave us a different perspective,” Mahe said. “But also, it was a very cool video for us to showcase ourselves. ... I appreciate that she took the time out of her day to come record us. … It really helped us.” v

FIELD FILM — Palo Alto High School junior Clare Antonow kneels by the sideline with her camera. “Football was definitely a hard one to start out with just because you really have to stand there for two hours straight, ” Antonow said. “And that’s not even including pregame, postgame and sideline stuff.”

Photo by TATE HARDY

ZERO DOLLARS. THAT’S how much money Stanford professor Mark Z. Jacobson tweeted he had paid for his electric, natural gas and gasoline bills after one full year of living in his Palo Alto home. Under the sleek, modern architecture of the building lies not the expected traditional wood but instead a sturdy framing of prefabricated steel, setting the quality of the building’s longevity and energy efficiency far from its peers: these are all benefits of Jacobson’s BONE home.

First founded in Canada, BONE Structure has steadily begun to expand into the American market, finishing its first-ever home in California in 2016. In the six years that BONE has been active in the California market, the company has already constructed over a dozen homes in Palo Alto alone. The company currently has active projects throughout

Menlo Park, Atherton, Palo Alto, Los Gatos and Los Altos.

For BONE, the Bay Area is a prime location for expansion as a hub of innovation and technology.

As the demand for new and environmentally friendly changes is on the rise, BONE Structure aims to take hold of the opportunity presented in California and improve the traditional methods of construction.

“There’s just more of an appetite for technology, for innovation, for things that are a little different than the norm, particularly when they come with the performance that Bone structure homes do,” said Michael Melamed, a BONE Structure Director of Sales.

As an award-winning innovative family-owned company, BONE implements a unique steel construction system to help their clients design and create

sustainable residential and commercial structures.

“He [BONE Structure founder Marc Bovet] saw a potential problem and a potential fix,” Melamed said. “The problem being more or less how we’ve been building homes the same way for hundreds of years, with wood framing and the same technologies.”

Using his network and experiences as part of the aerospace industry, Bovet set out to improve traditional construction methods into something more energy-efficient and high performing.

BONE found the answer through steel. More specifically, the implementation of recycled steel framing for buildings that are easily assembled during construction.

“89% of the steel that we use for our homes, which is predominantly in the framing of the home, is from recycled steel,” Melamed said.

Prefabricated and planned to fit exactly where it’s meant to go, this steel system prevents additional cutting or waste of wood.

The efficient assembly-type process, in contrast to traditional wood framing, also increases the overall efficiency and speed of the building process.

“Even though we’re using steel, you don’t see a lot of welding going on,” Melamed said. “We really talk about assembly. Instead of having all the tools, in many respects, we talk about the opportunity to just be able to have your electric screwdriver, a socket fitting, and bolt in a screw, and put the home together.”

BONE BUILDING (LEFT) — Modern, trendy and sleek, the BONE home ensures upto-date contemporary design in addition to sustainability and durability. “Once your concept is finished, you move into the schematic phase of ‘proving out’ the engineering,” said Michael Melamed, BONE Structure’s US-West Director of Sales. Photo courtesy of BONE Structure.

STEEL STRUCTURE (RIGHT) — BONE’s prefabricated steel framing sets a precedent for an eco-friendly alternative to the traditional construction system. “We can build custom just as you can with wood, but you’ll see some efficiencies,” Melamed said. Photo courtesy of BONE Structure.

This precision with the construction system contributes to the increased insulation of buildings and helps to improve the longevity of homes, fighting against moisture, rot, bugs and even natural disasters. Furthermore, all BONE homes are eco-friendly and are NET zero energy, meaning the energy produced by the building is equivalent to the energy consumed.

“If we can get others to lean into potential solutions to build homes more quickly, that would be great,” Melamed said. “Particularly when it comes to a product like ours that is more sustainable, energy-efficient, helps homes reduce energy usage, and is fully NET zero-compliant and high performing.” v

BEHIND THE WHEEL

SUPERVISOR MAINTAINS CAMPUS SAFETY

THE SOUND OF THE GOLF cart whirring around the Palo Alto High School campus from classroom to classroom has become a familiar one, but some students don’t notice the woman behind the wheel — Campus Supervisor Mayerly Short — who is hard at work ensuring their safety.

As one of Paly’s campus supervisors, Short plays a critical role in maintaining a safe and secure learning environment for students by monitoring school grounds, enforcing policies and responding to incidents on campus.

With over one and a half years of experience as a fulltime campus supervisor, Short brings a wealth of knowledge to her role, which she initially held as a part-time position.

“I love helping kids and I love helping people,” Short said. “This is a place where I can help people grow and learn from the mistakes I made in high school.”

Short said the most common issue she deals with is students skipping class. While

she said she understands that students crave freedom and enjoy spending time outside, particularly during long 90-minute periods, she encourages them to attend classes as much as possible to ensure their safety.

“We have weekly meetings [with administrators] to bring to attention what’s going on in the school and try to make sure that our safety is the number one priority,” Short said.

According to Short, a big part of ensuring campus safety and security is communicating with other campus supervisors.

“As a team, we communicate,” Short said. “I talk to Carl [Hubenthal], I talk to Norma [Hymes], I talk to staff members, I’ve talked to admin about what we can do better. We’re all still learning as we grow.”

Outside of other Paly staff, Short said she draws inspiration from other schools by attending classes about school safety.

“I go to classes that I like to attend and see what safety [practices] the other schools

are using, even if it’s a college kind of school,” Short said. “But I can implement some of those strategies.”

Short’s passion for helping students extends beyond her role as a campus supervisor. Leading the Peer Tutoring Center allows Short to have interactions with students and build relationships.

“I think being the head of the tutoring center has really helped me get to know hundreds of kids,” Short said. “Also just walking by somebody and being like, ‘Hey, are you okay? You look tired. Do you want a snack?’”

Short highlights witnessing and facilitating students’ growth — both as campus supervisor and leading the peer tutoring center — as the most rewarding part of her job.

“Being around kids and seeing them grow up and learn and support each other and to ... continue to do that to the best of our abilities,” Short said. v

ZOOMING PAST — Campus Supervisor Mayerly Short drives a golf cart across campus. “If a kid is injured, we’ll just take them to class [in the cart],” Short said. Photo: Cate Graney

Text by FELICIA BUCHHOLZ and ANNUM HASHMI

“We’re all still learning as we grow. ”

— MAYERLY SHORT, Campus Supervisor

HERE WE GO AGAIN! THEATRE

PRESENTS ‘MAMMA MIA’

THIS SPRING PALO ALTO High School’s theater program put on its rendition of “Mamma Mia,” a 14-year-long Broadway musical, filled with love, joy, struggles of a mother-daughter relationship — and timeless songs written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of the ‘70s supergroup, ABBA.

The story follows the independent and spirited Donna Sheridan(Arielle Blumenfeld) and her daughter, Sophie Sheridan(Zoe Hayward) as Sophie prepares for her wedding.

The bride-to-be secretly invites three men from her mom’s past, hoping that one is her father, completing the part of her that’s missing for her wedding.

While the search for her Dad causes chaos between Sophie and Donna’s relationship, Sophie realizes that she doesn’t need to know who her Dad is because the love her mother provides is enough.

Paly junior Annalise Klenow who plays Tanya in the musical, said she wanted the audience to leave the performance with the feelings of joy and delight that “Mamma Mia” creates.

“I think we all want our lives to be a little bit more like ‘Mamma Mia,’” Klenow said. “We all need a little bit more of that fun dancing in Greece vibe.”

While Klenow had to step out of her comfort zone to embody this character, she had a lot of fun and was very proud of the cast for putting on such a spectacular show.

“Tanya is a strong presence, she doesn’t let people walk over her,” Klenow said. “She’s very commanding and I think that sometimes I need to be a little bit more like that.” v

Text by GOPALA VARADARAJAN

REJECTION OR

SHIFTING AWAY FROM NEGATIVITY IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS

AMID THE CHAOTIC MESS of college decisions that are released each spring, many students find themselves dreading the inevitable: receiving a college rejection.

Over the past 19 years, a student-initiated wall, displaying an array of rejection letters, originally named the Wall of Rejection, has become a sporadic tradition at

Palo Alto High School.

“College rejection doesn’t feel good, especially that it’s likely you’ll know someone who got in,” senior Charlie Merkel said. “The Wall of Rejection provides support in the midst of a disappointing decision.”

On Feb. 7, Principal Brent Kline announced that the Wall of Rejection would be renamed as the Wall of Redirection, following a meeting with the Associated Student Body. Kline said the administration hopes the renaming will help shift away from the negativity associated with “rejection.”

“To me, rejection had a negative connotation that I didn’t think would be appropriate,” Kline said. “That’s why we gravitated towards this rebranding of the wall.”

While the Wall of Redirection may simply be a new name, the wall’s message of embracing col-

STUDENTS RESPOND

lege rejection remains the same.

“It [the wall] brings our class together through shared experiences,” ASB Senior Class President Ashley Hung said. “It helps create a culture that although what we’re going through can be difficult in the moment, we’re all in this together.”

However, with the majority of college decisions released, the Wall of Redirection features a meager two letters, with little to no action during the heat of college decision season.

In light of the recent renaming of the wall, Verde asked Paly students and administration about their thoughts on the Wall of Redirection. v

93.2% support a wall displaying college rejection letters

REDIRECTION?

putting their private letters play.”

The wall actually help with its goal to re lieve college decisions … People have realised that with or without a wall insane amount of -

72.0% are against the change to “Wall of Redirection”

Data presented is from an opt-in survey by Verde Magazine of 140 Palo Alto High School students and was collected from March 20 to March 24 through a digital form published on Schoology pages and Verde social media. Responses were anonymous and all questions were optional.

— IVAN IJZERMAN, senior

when doors shut, others open … That was the key to the conversation.”

— BRENT KLINE, principal

The wall serves as a message that rejec tion is normal and human.”

— ASHLEY HUNG, senior

SHOP TO SAVE LIVES

SHOP FUNDS RESEARCH WITH RISE OF THRIFT SHOPPING

ACCORDING TO A DATA REPORT DONE BY online company ThredUp, the number of secondhand retail shops has increased by 275% since 2020. The nonprofit American Cancer Society carries an assortment of secondhand items and unique treasures, from antiques and clothes to children’s toys.

With the culture of thrifting increasing in popularity, there are people who will blow their monthly allowance on gently-used clothes, antiques, jewelry and knick-knacks.

What most thrifters don’t realize when looking for a new pair of baggy jeans, are the causes these businesses are supporting.

According to CNBC, in the past few years the rising popularity of thrifting has increased sales for small businesses like the American Cancer Society’s “discovery shops,” promoting more funding for cancer research.

The discovery store serves as more than just a thrift store, it is

supporting an honorable cause to fight cancer.

Not only is the American Cancer Society a great place for thrifters to shop, but it also offers supporters community service hours while supporting a good cause.

For volunteers like Palo Alto High School sophomore Kali Hendershot, the experience of working at the American Cancer Society and being able to help cancer patients is one of the best parts of her day. Every employee in some way is supporting the future of cancer research and cancer patients and families affected.

“There are so many stories there, not just in the items they sell, but from the people who shop there,” Hendershot said.

Hendershot added that the store both funds research into cancers that are currently not curable and hires past cancer patients who need jobs, and that she has had the opportunity to work with some of these patients.

“ I know we hire a lot of people who are not volunteers, who actually get paid because they lost their job from having to pay for chemotherapy, so we help them financially.”

— KAlI HENDERSHOT, American Cancer Society volunteer

“Most of the people who work there are people who have gone through chemotherapy and are cancer patients,” Hendershot said.

Senior Anna Hagan, another volunteer, said she appreciates the experience of working around the store.

“I mostly help organize and re-decorate the store because another volunteer is a professional interior designer so I help her out,” Hagan said. “But I’ve also worked the front desk sometimes and I’ve also priced some of the items that are for sale.”

However, Hagan said she notices some struggles with merchandising and complaints of high prices.

“The big thing is a lot of people will try to bargain or also steal,” Hagan said. “The funds are going towards cancer research.” “And so you have to repeat that and tell them like, we can’t really bargain this down. We’re trying to raise money for something that’s very important.”

According to Hendershot, being a thrift store, the prices at the discovery stores are already very discounted.

“A lot of the stuff there is designer, but it’s being sold for $15$20,” Hendershot said.

With the discovery shops, customers are also helping support cancer patients directly.

“I know we hire a lot of people who are not volunteers, who actually get paid because they lost their job from having to pay for chemotherapy, so we help them financially,” Hendershot said.

The American Cancer society funds research for the cure for cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society website, the American Cancer Society was founded in 1913 by 10 doctors and five laypeople to raise public awareness about cancer.

Today, the American Cancer Society helps advance the lives of cancer patients by continuous research on cancer prevention and support when it comes to cancer treatment. v

LOOKING AROUND — American Cancer Society shop employee points at a piece out of frame to a customer. The American Cancer Society has expanded beyond stores and donations, raking in money with bookstores, merchandise, greeting cards and sponsorships with big companies like iTunes and Apple. ACS employee Kali Hendershot expresses her love of working at the discovery shop. “My favorite part of my day is working there,” Hendershot said. Photo: Cate Graney

And so you have to repeat that and tell them like, we can’t really bargain this down. We’re trying to raise money for something that’s very important. ”

— ANNA HAGAN, American Cancer Society volunteer

pints of

penny

COMMUNITYORIENTED CREAMERY TO OPEN IN TOWN AND COUNTRY

THE WARM, SUGARY aroma of freshly baked waffle cones fills the room as a neon blue tipped flame toasts a marshmallow fluff to golden brown.

While blowtorches and ice cream might seem like an unconventional pair, Penny Ice Creamery’s innovative techniques and toppings draw long lines of eager customers, stretching all the way out onto the street.

Set to open in Palo Alto in late April, the Santa Cruz-based shop was founded in 2010 by chef Kendra Baker and business partner Zachary Davis. The creamery prides itself on serving artisanal ice cream with locally sourced, organic ingredients, according to its website. In fact, much of

the creamery’s approach to ice cream was influenced by Baker’s education and cooking experiences around the world.

Baker said that she first fell in love with cooking and food while studying abroad during her years at the University of California Santa Cruz. Whether with friends or with professors, Baker found that food played an integral role in fostering community and bringing people together. Eventually, inspired by the farm-to-table movement, an ability to create her own products from scratch and a desire to connect with her community, Baker returned to Santa Cruz to start her own business.

“Because of my background, it was really important to me to make our ice cream completely from scratch,” Baker said. “But

in order to make your ice cream completely from scratch, you have to be a licensed pasteurizer and have a dairy manufacturing plant. So our Penny on Cedar Street [in Santa Cruz] is actually one of the smallest dairy manufacturing plants in the United States.”

In addition to making their own custard, or ice cream base, Baker said that Penny Ice Creamery often works with local farmers to acquire the freshest of ingredients while also fostering relationships within their community.

“I love sourcing our beautiful fruits and vegetables that are grown right here,” Baker said. “I know the farmers who grow them, I know how they farm and we share the same values for the stewardship of the

Text and photos by MIYA WHITELEY and ANDREW XUE

HANDLING THE HEAT — Penny Ice Creamery manager Helena adds the final touch of torched marshmallow fluff to an ice cream treat at the Pleasure Point location in Santa Cruz. Founder Kendra Baker said she is excited to open a store in Palo Alto. “We already have these people [from Palo Alto] who love our products and it’s really fun to be able to be a part of their lives closer to their home,” Baker said.

land so that makes it really unique to me. It makes me feel like I’m doing my part in terms of operating a really sustainable business that is considering the environment.”

According to Baker, this partnership with local farmers inspires seasonal flavors such as their Meyer Lemon Sorbet or Carrot Cake, beyond the traditional ones found in most ice cream shops.

“Every month, the kitchen manager and I sit down and we collaborate and pull together our ideas, the other cook’s ideas, customer suggestions and then also what the farmers have told us that they’ll have coming available,” Baker said. “It allows me to get in the special and really highly seasonal ingredients from our farmers and do wild and wacky flavors.”

new to the Palo Alto community, Baker says its relationship with residents will allow them to thrive and create a lasting impact beyond the ice cream they serve.

“I’m already starting to reach out to growers in different areas closer to Palo Alto to see how we can incorporate their handmade items or the things that they’re growing … so that we can showcase what’s unique about Palo Alto and the Peninsula and really make it a part of our area,” Baker said.

Penny Ice Creamery also hopes to establish its own unique relationship with Palo Alto High School and its students; Baker said it is in the midst of designing pre-packaged treats aimed at on-the-go Paly students.

“What we really love is our customer service and our ability to share stories and build community,” Baker said. “So our hope is with people like you and your school ... [is that] we can collaborate and hear what the community wants to see from us and what we can do to be a part of your guys’ community.” v

TAHITIAN VANILLA BEAN WITH TOASTED

MARSHMALLOW FLUFF — Crunchy, yet soft. Sweet, but perfectly balanced with the char. The first bite of the Tahitian vanilla bean topped with the toasted marshmallow fluff brings you the coziness of toasting smores by the campfire. The warmth of the marshmallow perfectly blends with the chilled vanilla flavor and the crunch of the waffle cone — you simply cannot go wrong with a classic vanilla ice cream.

VIRAL RESTAURANT ARRIVES DOWNTOWN

VIBRANT BLUE AND PINK FLOWERS COVER the walls of Son & Garden from floor to ceiling while glamorous golden chandeliers dangle over the tables. Delicate music plays in the background of various clips from fashion shows playing on a large LED screen. Long windows line the restaurant, allowing natural light to flow in while providing a warm feel.

The Asian American fusion restaurant — popular for its Instagram-worthy decor — opened a new location in 535 Bryant St, Palo Alto, marking a new

ed a pleasant ambiance and provided exceptional service — even singing “Happy Birthday” to guests with drums and maracas.

Arriving at the restaurant bright and early at about 9 a.m., there were a few parties there; when leaving just an hour and a half later, the entire place was nearly packed with guests eager for brunch.

Fascinated by the beautiful decor and alluring environment, we sampled some of Son & Gardens most popular dishes. v

— A group of young women celebrate a birth day brunch at Palo Alto’s Son & Garden. Palo Alto High School sophomore Isabelle Carlsen also dined at the restaurant recently. “It [the flowers] did feel nice to look at while you’re eating your meal,” Carlsen said.

Text and photos by VIT DO and DIVYA GANDHI

Art by MEENA NARAYANASWAMI

Fried Chicken Benedict ($27) (top left)

This dish consisted of a piece of toast, piled high with chicken, spinach and two soft boiled eggs, all covered in a mushroom demi-glace and served with crunchy potato cubes and fruit on the side. From the creaminess of the sauce to crispiness of the fried chicken, these diverse textures came together harmoniously and were the highlight of the benedict.

Matcha Mochi Pancakes ($21) (bottom left)

One of Son & Garden’s most popular dishes, the green colored matcha pancakes came with assorted fruits and a whipped matcha cream. The cream was light, fluffy and flavorful with a slightly bitter but sweet taste and paired well with the denser, chewier texture of the mochi pancake. While a bit grainy and mushy, it didn’t affect the overall experience too much.

French Toast ($19) (top right)

The elaborate presentation of this french toast — covered with fruit, doused with a vibrant berry sauce and garnished with a rose — fit perfectly with Son & Garden’s photo-worthy decor. While the sweetness of the provided syrup slightly overpowered the taste of the french toast, the fruit added a pleasant fresh flavor and helped cut through the rich and sugary dish.

Farmhouse Omelet ($22) (bottom right)

This egg omelet, accompanied by potatoes and a complimentary blueberry scone, was one of the few vegetarian options on the full day menu. The omelet consisted of mushrooms, arugula and cheese mixed into the eggs. While well presented, the omelet fell short of our expectations given the high price tag. The buttery and crumbly scone was the best

Architecture for all?

EICHLER HOMES ARE NO LONGER AFFORDABLE

HOW DO AFFORDABLE

family homes become collector’s items? Against all odds, Palo Alto’s thousands of Eichler homes have outpaced inflation to do just that — despite being designed to be low-cost.

Growing up in an Eichler in Palo Alto’s Green Gables neighborhood, I learned recently that my neighborhood is on the National Register of Historic Places because of its distinctive mid-century modern design.

For a long time, Eichlers were some of the cheapest properties available in this area — which, decades prior, is exactly what their creator intended. There is a delicate balance between preserving iconic architecture and allowing for population growth in a community, and it’s crucial that this community take a firm stance: allowing for more affordable housing is more important than “ruining” Eichler subdivisions.

Building out the ’burbs

In the late 1940s, real estate developer Joseph Eichler set out to fill the suburbs with homes that had luxurious outdoor spaces, airy atriums and floor-to-ceiling windows at an unbeatable price. Inspired by modern architect Frank Lloyd Wright, he built subdivisions of cutting edge mid-century modern homes. Palo Alto has more than any other city — over 2,000, according to Atria Real Estate. Eichler’s strate

anyone, without regard to race or ethnicity.

In the early 1950s, the sale price of a three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom Eichler home in Palo Alto was about $15,000 according to Palo Alto Online, a price low enough to grant a middle-class family their own slice of the American dream. Eichler’s ads proudly proclaimed that they were “the home they all promised but only Eichler Homes is building.”

But, recently, the Eichler dream has begun to slip away.

Intensifying interest

Eichlers in Palo Alto now sell for a higher price per square foot than other similarly sized homes in the area, according to CA Modern magazine. Despite their relatively old age and small size, an architectural style once praised for its affordability now serves as a symbol of the unattainability of Bay Area home buying, which is ironic considering the original purpose that they were created to serve.

Kevin Swartz of Atria Real Estate, which specializes in Eichler homes, said that the demand for Eichler homes has been growing due to falling numbers of original homes.

“There were right around 2,700 of them [Eichlers] in Palo Alto at one time,” Swartz said. “But I think today there’s around 2,200.”

As their popularity increases,

Eichler home prices.

“There are buyers who specifically want to buy Eichlers,” Swartz said. “And so for that factor alone, there’s always going to be a premium that they have to pay.”

Almost all of Palo Alto’s original Eichlers are single-story, according to Palo Alto Online, and are surrounded by similar homes of similar sizes. In 2015, Palo Alto enacted a ban on two-story homes in the Los Arboles Eichler subdivision. The effort was met with praise from residents — their historic neighborhood could be saved from the multi-story McMansions that would inevitably replace historic homes. However, many opposed the ban because it prevented these neighborhoods from being able to accommodate any further residents, exacerbating the already pressing housing crisis.

Aftermath of advancement

Would Eichler, who was so concerned about housing equity and affordability, be happy with what has become of his homes?

Realistically, nothing like the Eichler boom will ever happen again in the Bay Area. There is simply not enough undeveloped land for building thousands of affordable homes, so single family homes can’t be the future of Palo Alto. If we want to promote the construction of affordable housing, there’s no way that we can keep prioritizing the conservation of historic homes like Eichlers. While Eichler’s designs

Text by ANNA VAN RIESEN

ADDRESSING THE ALLEGATIONS

COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO SEXUAL ASSAULT

IT WAS LIKE A SCENE OUT OF A movie: one January morning, half of my 4th grade music class disappeared. It wasn’t until lunch that we found out why: They’d been brought to the school psychologist’s office. They were students of Ohlone Elementary School teacher Mike Airo, who had just been charged with sexually abusing a child a decade prior.

This was the first time I had been exposed to conversations on sexual assault in my direct community, especially ones concerning an offender that I knew.

While I’m incredibly grateful to have grown up in a city and school district that are relatively open about discussing sexual assault, the truth is that it remains massively underreported, nationwide and locally. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, only 37% of general sexual assaults and 12% of child sexual abuse cases are reported to police.

When assault allegations arise in Palo Alto, locals discuss the case over the dinner table and after-class chats. Though these conversations often scrutinize how our school district and judicial systems handle cases of sexual violence, we tend to give too little thought to the impact of our very own conversations.

We must understand the significance of how the general community discusses sexual assault allegations, because those conversations can have serious implications for the type of culture we create.

Rapists can be teachers, friends, parents, partners and well-respected members of a community, as we’ve seen time and again. The belief that guilt and a good repu-

tation are mutually exclusive is a dangerous misconception, but it’s one our community still struggles with.

Under a February Palo Alto Online article detailing the charges current ly facing ex-Greene Middle School teacher Peter Columbo, including gravated sexual assault of a child, one can find a sea of comments.

One in particular, left under the pseudonym ‘Retired PAUSD Teach er’, exemplifies how this fallacy is used against victims.

“Ms. Morgan [the au thor] goes to great lengths to document complaints against Mr. Colombo, but put very little effort into finding the myriad of compliments and thank you cards he has received over the years,” the reader said.

This harmful rhetoric contributes to an atmosphere that protects offenders and persecutes victims.

Those listening may experience assault in the future, and after seeing firsthand the attitude of their own community, how could they possibly feel safe to speak out and be taken seriously?

Survivors of sexual abuse deserve a community in which they are safe to speak publicly about what they have experienced, regardless of the sta tus of their abuser — and our attitude and conversations must reflect that right. v

The belief that guilt and a good reputation are mutually exclusive is a dangerous misconception.

KUZMINA

ISSUES WITH “NEW AGE” TRUE CRIME VIDEOS

H“E KILLED HIS girlfriend for saying her ex’s name (hot cheeto hot pocket mukbang).”. This is the title of one of many true crime videos recommended to me on YouTube. The thumbnail showcases a giant platter of the bright red, cheesy meal front and foremost, the murderer’s face only faintly lingering in the background.

Videos like these have blown up online; it’s a disturbing trend where creators combine true crime with different content genres like makeup or mukbangs (a genre which includes a creator eating on camera), adopting a conversational tone to “spill the juiciest details” of the case whilst doing a mundane task.

While true crime as a concept has been around for decades, the evolution of video sharing platforms means anyone can upload their own true crime content. The largest pitfalls of this new age true crime is misinformation, the presentation of the video and the harm unwanted awareness brings to the families of the victim. I witnessed these issues firsthand in the comment section of a popular creator Eleanor Neale’s video on the 2018 murder of Joy Morgan.

Misinformation

The hour-long video delved deep into the victim’s personal life and the events that led up to her death. Following its publishing, the alleged sister of Morgan left a long comment detailing the numerous inaccuracies in the video. Other viewers flooded the responses, many speculating on the murder and defending Neale.

A specific fact which the alleged sister denied was Morgan saying racist remarks toward her mother. This detail would un-

doubtedly paint Morgan in a bad light, and this is reflected in the comments as one viewer said, “Maybe you should make your own video on the ‘truth.’ If your sister joined a cult that discriminates, it’s not important now is it.”

The most common defense of Neal I saw was that she is just one person compiling information off the Internet. However, this is not an excuse. Sensitive topics should be covered with the utmost accuracy regardless of how many people are reporting on them. If a single person or small team is unable to conduct the research necessary, they should not report on them at all.

Presentation

The second major issue with these true crime videos is that regardless of accuracy, the presentation of the information is questionable at best and problematic and damaging at worst. True crime television typically adopts the style of “soft news,” akin to history documentaries. In contrast, YouTube true crime replicates the style of gossip channels.

I find this way of storytelling distasteful. It seems that some of the most popular niches of true crime are makeup videos and mukbang. It’s likely that they are combining a popular video format with true crime because it’s guaranteed Internet traction. However, intention doesn’t matter to me in this case. These are real traumatizing events for some people, and presenting them as if it were high school gossip desensitizes the audience to this fact.

By turning true crime into something so lighthearted, we take away the gravity of the situation. Playing armchair detective in the comment section is both normalized and encouraged by many creators. This baffles me.

Under Neale’s video alone I saw people speculating on Morgan’s murder openly for her alleged sister to see, and I can’t imagine how she would feel seeing those comments. If these true crime YouTubers were truly as morally sound as they claim, they would disable the comment section altogether. However, just like with their presentation, comments create traction, and the ultimate incentive to keep creating these videos is profit.

Harm to the victim

A common counter argument online is that these videos “bring awareness to the victim’s story.” But something that seems to often be left out is whether the family and friends of the victim even want such traumatic and painful events publicized. It’s typically expected of professional true crime productions to collaborate, or at the least communicate, with the victim’s family. However I seriously struggle to believe the average YouTuber does the same. As many of them state themselves, the information they present is simply found on the Web.

Without proper consent from the family of the victims, these true crime videos can retraumatize. In her comment under Neale’s video, Morgan’s alleged sister asked for it to be taken down due to inaccurate information, however it remained up for another three weeks before finally being removed. For three weeks her sister was bombarded with comments regarding Morgan’s death, all while the channel collected revenue from the video.

It would be dichotomous to say that tragedies can never be profited off, but these videos are doing more harm than good. Not much can be done about the YouTube algorithm and what videos it will promote, but it is up to the viewer to ultimately decide what they watch — so, the next time you see a true crime video title followed by something like “(hot cheeto hot pocket mukbang)” , think twice about clicking. v

Without proper consent from the family of the victims, these true crime videos can retraumatize.

Text and art by PALINA

“ CAN SCHOOL AND CLUB SPORTS COEXIST?

fair or foul Y

OU ARE ALL SUSPENDED FROM for the entire season.” My coach’s words rang through my ears.

Although I have been playing soccer since I was four years old, Palo Alto High School’s team holds a special place in my heart because it is a key experience that has allowed me to represent my school, given me new insight into soccer and let me play with different people.

That is why being suspended from playing for the entire season was so despairing. Eight players and I were suspended from this season because we violated section 10 of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League Soccer By-Laws i, which states that winter athletes must stop participation in their outside-of-school sports within a time frame starting from the beginning of Thanksgiving to the end of the high school season.

This creates a dilemma for many athletes who participate in high school and club sports: choosing between playing on their high school team or going to an important showcase.

The rule, which denied me and eight other players of their high school soccer season, comes into conflict with the best interest of players like me. I have imagined and dreamed of myself playing soccer in college for years.

So why do I have to choose between a future college soccer career and playing my high school season?

There were hundreds of college scouts at the showcase; it was an opportunity for my teammates and me to get noticed by coaches and start the recruiting process. Such opportunities are rare — this showcase only happens once a year.

Why do I have to choose between a future college soccer career and playing my high school season?

Originally, I decided not to attend the Girls Academy Winter Showcase in Phoenix with my club team since I had been aware that going to this tournament would be a breach of the SCVAL soccer By-Laws, thus disqualifying me from participation in my high school soccer season.

However, with encouragement from my club coaches, I made the last minute decision to go, in hopes of getting seen by college coaches. After the tournament, I received news from my high school coach that I would be suspended and ineligible to play for the entire season because I went to the tournament. I was devastated.

Furthermore, Paly’s league is one of the only high school leagues in the area that has this rule, meaning that other high school teams in the area get to participate in club events with no consequences.

In my case, the only people that were punished for attending the winter showcase on my club team were those who were on the Paly soccer team.

This rule — while well-intended — takes away from supporting the athletic careers of high school players. In future years, the league should be more accommodating for athletes playing club sports as well as high school sports.

Currently, many of us have to decide whether we want to try and get recruited into a college sports program or play in high school. Why can’t we have both? v

BENCHWARMER — Sitting on the bench with my school clothes on and a soccer vest watching my teammates play on the field has become routine for me since the suspension. Photo: Rahul Shetty