Verde Volume 22 Issue 3

V. ON THE HORIZON Vaccine rollout fuels anticipation, debate

VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 1

2 FEBRUARY 2021

VERDE MAGAZINE February 2021 Volume 22 Issue 3 Editors-in-Chief Avery Hanna Laura Malagrino Antonia Mou (digital) Ishani Raha (digital) Myra Xu

ON THE COVER Art Director Samantha Ho depicts a healthcare worker preparing to administer the highly sought-after COVID-19 vaccine. In the background, an endless stream of tally marks for all the days we’ve spent stuck at home captures the anticipation and desperation for some kind of escape. After a variety of COVID restrictions, a vial of hope is finally available — with limitations. As teachers eagerly await their turn, debates rage over plans for the rest of the school year. Is the vaccine the answer to all we’ve faced over this tumultuous period, or is it just another topic of dissension?

COVID-19 Photo Precautions In all photo shoots, Photo Director Audrey Joachim wore a mask and adhered to social distancing guidelines. Photos were taken outdoors (except for “Qualia Contemporary Art Gallery”).

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 Olivia Milne and Anya Mondragon at verdebusiness5@gmail.com.

Printing & Distribution Verde is printed five times a year in October, December, 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

Managing Editors and Statisticians Allison Chang Katherine Cheng Features Editors Mia Baldonado Timothy Hung Profiles Editor Andie Tetzlaff Culture Editor Tara Kothari Perspectives Editor Ryan Seto Editorials Editor Michelle Kim News Editors Paisley Annes Sadie Ibbotson-Brown Launch Editors Sofia Antebi Emily Yao Design Editor Kylie Mies

Copy Editors Naomi Boneh Andie Tetzlaff Business Managers Olivia Milne Anya Mondragon Social Media Manager Akhil Joondeph Art Director Samantha Ho Photo Director Audrey Joachim Webmaster Zander Leong Staff Writers Ishaan Batra Bim Bolarinwa Sebastian Bonnard Sasha Boudtchenko Jerry Fang Audrey Kernick Aanya Kumar Dominique Lashley Merwa Marof Sophie Matlof Meena Narayanaswami Jonas Pao Ashmita Rajmohan Allegra West Adviser Paul Kandell

Multimedia Manager Naomi Boneh

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In this issue Foreword

6 Editorials 8 Launch 10 News

Features

14 16 18 20 22

Vaccines and PAUSD Losing senses from COVID-19 Academics analyzed Can speech be too free?

Biden’s next four years

Profiles 24 25 26 28 30

VACCINES AND PAUSD pg. 14

LaDoris Cordell Public Health Club Scooter star Delaney Ball Paly Twitch streamers Elizza

ulture C 32 The return of Taylor Swift 34 Food for festivities 36 Ramen Kowa 38 Mirror through Minari 40 Soul searching 42 Bridgerton buzz 43 Women superheroes in film 44 Qualia Contemporary Art Gallery 46 Fashion for the future

Perspectives

RAMEN KOWA pg. 36 4 FEBRUARY 2021

48 49 50 51 52 54 55

Whitewashed Winx Club Reclaiming responsibility Mishandling misinformation Trigger warnings How to win the college rat race Opportunity overload Happily lonely

ELIZZA pg. 30

QUALIA CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY pg. 44 FOOD FOR FESTIVITIES pg. 34

pg. 50

MISHANDLING MISINFORMATION

PUBLIC HEALTH CLUB pg. 25

FROM THE EDITORS

ONE YEAR OF COVID March, April, May, June … the months flew by. And now March looms again — the one-year anniversary of our last moments on campus.

Among the chaotic events of the last year, we have continued to amplify voices as a publication and have grown along the way –– as editors, students and individuals.

Lots has changed from our first quarantine days of sourdough starter and whipped coffee. As we’ve experienced the entirety of our senior year through a screen, we’ve learned a lot about ourselves and how to make the most of our unexpected circumstances.

It’s easy to dwell on the bad and what we have lost — there’s certainly plenty. But it doesn’t help to look back when we can move forward.

We’ve found the joy of senior year in new ways, whether through Zoom game nights with our friends or on our own.

Throughout this period of self-discovery and unanswered questions, our staff is still finding ways to make sense of it all. In this edition, design editor and fellow senior Kylie Mies captures the process of letting go of our senior year expectations and realizing the freeing feeling of independence in “Happily lonely.” Staff writer Jerry Fang provides his own perspective, reflecting on newfound hobbies — skateboarding and computer-aided design — in “Opportunity overload.”

Like Fang, we’ve taken on our own adventures. Avery has been slowly relearning the piano — much to the chagrin of her family who has heard Rondo Alla Turca at least a thousand times. Meanwhile, Laura has been making the most of her monthly New York Times crossword subscription and Antonia has been taking advantage of the district’s free

Adobe Creative Cloud membership to revive her graphic design skills.

Myra just can’t get enough of banana bread, posting her recipe experimentations onto her new food blog. As Ishani works on stitching together a patchwork blanket, she is putting her knitting talent to use.

Though our interests are varied, we are certainly all relieved to have stepped into the second semester of our senior year and to be leaving the college application season behind. Now that we’re awaiting our decisions, we can look back at the hours of forced introspection and laugh.

Webmaster Zander Leong perfectly captures the absurdity of the college application process in his satirical piece “How to win the college rat race.”

The end of our college application process brought us a wave of relief, but the end of the pandemic is still out of sight. That said, the COVID-19 vaccine has fueled a resurgence of hope and debate. In the feature story “Hope?” news editor Paisley Annes and staff writers Jonas Pao and Ishaan Batra tackle the controversy surrounding returning to school as soon as possible, or holding out for staff and student vaccinations.

While the battle to return to school has been a long and tumultuous one for many, we’ve learned to make the most of our virtual and all around unconventional senior year. We hope that by next year, the future staff of Verde can return to the MAC and sing “Happy Birthday” to their newest issue as they pin it on the wall, joining the dozens of issues that came before it.

—AVERY, MYRA, LAURA, ANTONIA, ISHANI

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the verdicts

Make housing affordable CHANGE SLOW-GROWTH CITY COUNCIL POLICIES

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ALO ALTO’S ENDURING lack includes building 2,000 market-rate and a duplex is significantly more cost-efficient of affordable housing has fostered low-income housing units. for the city and its tenants than single-fama historically unwelcoming comMarket-rate housing is priced by a ily homes. munity for middle and low-in- landlord without restrictions, while low-inThe City Council must also revise land come families, prevented local workers and come housing has a limit at which it can allocation in areas that could be better used families from living nearby and blocked be priced. for affordable housing. new residents from moving in.

“We’re pretty much right on target for “What I think, in terms of one of the The recent election of mayor Tom Du- market-rate housing,” DuBois said. “We’re things that’s missing, is designating the Bois and new members of the City Coun- very, very off for low-income housing.” sites … identifying public parcels of land cil — which now comprises a slow-growth It is imperative that the City Coun- … and then the other bucket I would say majority — reflects Palo cil prioritizes building that’s missing is we’re ignoring most of our Altan voters’ hesitancy low-income rather land because it’s zoned only for single-famPeople don’t live in towards change and more than market-rate hous- ily homes,” Banes said. progressive housing poli- percentages, they ing, which is profitMore public land needs to be desigcies. able but does little to nated for the construction of housing units live in homes.”

Though some believe fulfill the need for new rather than extra office space. slow growth is necessary While the City Council has proposed — KELSEY BANES, YIMBY regional homes. executive director to protect local liveliWe do, however, a solution to the increasing housing costs, hoods and homes, Verde appreciate the City we demand a more progressive plan be believes more progressive policies will ben- Council’s focus on building a definite made that includes altering zoning laws, efit the city by making it more inclusive number of housing units rather than re- increasing net market-rate units and secand equitable. ducing the percentage of tioning off land for the purpose of creating people who reaffordable housing. City Council Affordable housing crisis quire housing. members must take more According to TownCharts, Palo Alto’s “People meaningful steps in average home price of $3 million is nearly don’t live providing affordable $600,000 higher than in the neighboring in perhousing in Palo city of Mountain View and over $1 million centages, Alto, one of the higher than average prices in San Jose. they live in wealthiest areas in These costs have only perpetuated the homes,” said the United States. effects of historical redlining and racist re- Kelsey Banes, In addition, alty practices in Palo Alto. the Regionthe City CounAccording to Palo Alto’s Board of Ed- al Executive cil’s plan is neiucation member Todd Collins, the rising Director of ther accessible housing costs also limit opportunities for Yes In My nor transparent young families to live in Palo Alto and are a Back Yard, enough for the major cause of the decrease in local elemen- an organizaaverage Palo Altan tary school enrollment, making it difficult tion that works to who lacks familiarity eong for the city to expand in racial and genera- provide affordable housing with technical terms. nder L a Z y Art b tional diversity. for Bay Area residents.

It is crucial that a clearIn addition, the City Council’s er, more widely promoted plan is created Housing solutions current housing plan zones most of our so that all members of our community — ­ Between 2010 and 2019, the medi- land for single family homes; changing regardless of their involvement in the decian home price in Palo Alto increased by zoning laws to allow for multiple housing sion-making process — can understand the almost $2 million. The City Council’s units on one parcel of land will provide council’s course of action and ensure that plan to combat rising costs in the future housing for more families at a lower cost, as real change is implemented. v

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6 FEBRUARY 2021

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

Avoid traveling during COVID-19

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S THE RESIDENTS OF Santa Clara County near one year of living under COVID-19 restrictions, increased restlessness has pushed many to shrug off mandates discouraging nonessential travel outside of the county. Verde urges students and families to avoid traveling during the pandemic to ensure the safety of others and to stop the spread of the virus.

Our June editorial preceding the rise of infections last summer outlined a series of preventative measures against COVID-19, including wearing masks and avoiding trips outside home excluding emergency situations.

However, we have continued to see many refuse to heed these precautions during school breaks. According to the Santa Clara Department of Public Health, the Kim helle y Mic county’s daily Art b COVID-19 infection rate increased 80% from 634 new cases on Thanksgiving Day to 1,142 new cases two weeks later.

Despite the increased rates of infection, many Palo Alto Unified School District families chose to vacation to distant locations just weeks later. As predicted, Santa Clara County’s weekly average of daily COVID-19 cases increased

52% — from 972 cases on Christmas to summer because the ICU capacity is so low 1,479 two weeks later. 2,256 new cases now, they might not have made it.” were recorded on Jan. 5 alone.

Cossio’s family has worried about the Traveling is one of the most dangerous health of their loved ones after an at-home ways to spread the coronavirus according to caretaker for one of their elderly relatives the Santa Clara County Center of Disease tested positive for the coronavirus.

Control because close in“I think that it teraction between multiis irresponsible to be ple regions and house- It troubles me that traveling at this point, holds is inevitable when people can be so and it troubles me that traveling by air, train, people can be so carecar or other means. This careless during a less during a time that makes moving through time that is affecting is affecting people so public spaces with large horribly,” Cossio said. crowds, such as airports, people so horribly.”

“It’s certainly unfair highly unsafe. ­— NATALIA COSSIO, junior that some people are Following the incontributing to the crease in travel over the [COVID-19] casewinter holidays, beds in the in- load and not suffering the consequences.” tensive care unit — which are As of now, the steep increase in reserved to give the high- COVID-19 cases has dipped to an average est level of care to crit- of 600 per day. However, spring break is ical patients — peak- approaching and a sudden outflow of traved at 102% standard elers will be detrimental to our progress. maximum capacity The pandemic is far from over, and with an influx of coronavirus staying home is just as important as the patients. This lack of space in the ICU number of COVID-19 cases remains dancompromises the state’s ability to provide gerously high. Though the distribution of critical help for both COVID-19 infectees promising new vaccines has already beand other hospitalized patients. gun, vaccinated individuals are still able to “Five elderly members of my extend- spread the virus. Citizens must consciously ed family caught it [COVID-19] and three choose to stay at home and maintain the were hospitalized last summer,” junior Na- downward trend of infections rather than talia Cossio said. “They needed intensive traveling and further endangering the lives care and I’m so glad that it happened last of at-risk individuals. v

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Biden must tackle climate change

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RESIDENT JOE BIDEN HAS pushed federal agencies to reinstate over 100 environmental laws eliminated by the Trump administration. Verde applauds this shift in national policy as Biden takes up the fight against climate change where former president Donald Trump failed to do so.

Though a split Congress may slow immediate progress, Biden must follow through with the $2 trillion clean energy

and infrastructure plan promised during his election campaign.

Among the necessary measures are a shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a potential pollutant of important water sources for indigenous reservations, which has continued operations despite a January ruling that additional environmental review must replace inadequate assessments by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Biden must also negotiate with world

leaders to reduce emissions and enforce emissions taxes on domestic companies — which have historically evaded limits on harmful manufacturing byproducts in favor of convenient production methods.

Finally, Biden must push forward with the establishment of a Civilian Climate Corps to provide environmentally friendly careers and achieve a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 as well as net-zero emissions by 2050. v

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launch ASB ANSWERS

UPCOMING EVENTS

WITH SPIRIT COMMISSIONERS SABRINA CHAN AND JOY XU

What upcoming events does ASB have in store?

For cohorts that have gone back to campus, we are planning to have Cookies on the Quad. We are working on Tea with Teachers too. We also have a Mental Health and Wellness Week, where we are planning to collaborate with the Wellness Center and different clubs on campus.

What plans does ASB have to foster school spirit?

ASB is hopeful that when it’s safe, we will be able to have some sort of in-person spirit events, because we know that a lot of students are missing that social aspect of school.

As our cases drop and more people get vaccines, we are hoping to have some sort of drive-by event or socially-distanced quad event or talent show.

What are the ASB Weekly How-To Videos?

We’re making these videos to continue our social media presence, because social media is one way students connect most during distanced learning. There are a lot coming in the future, including chocolate chip cookies, cake making and french toast. The videos are posted on our Instagram @palyasb.

­Photos: Charlize Chu and Tao Xu

2/26

Paly Choirs Pops Concert

2/25

Nicola Yoon Author Visit (Paly Lib)

3/12-14

Much Ado About Nothing

3/16

One year since shelter-in-place

3/19

Paly Instrumental Pops Concert

3/19

Career Speakers Series kickoff

3/20-21

Much Ado About Nothing

3/28

Paly Choirs Evening Song

HEART HUNT Love is in the air!

Can you find all 14 hearts hidden throughout Launch?

GIRL SCOUT COOKIE SEASON: COVID-19 EDITION WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GIRL SCOUT COOKIE?

Thin Mints (49.6%)

Lemon Ups (4.1%)

Samoas (25.2%)

Trefoils (3.3%)

Tagalongs (6.5%)

Other (5.7%)

S’mores (5.7%) Source: Data presented comes from an opt-in Verde Magazine survey of 144 Palo Alto High School students, conducted from Feb. 1 — Feb 11 through a digital form published on schoolrelated social media and Schoology pages.

Responses were anonymous and participation for all questions was optional.

8 FEBRUARY 2021

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HE BRIGHT BOXES with smiling girls plastered on the sides are a familiar sight in February, the highly anticipated Girl Scout cookie season.

Though just as popular as ever, Girl Scouts in Palo Alto have had to to adapt their selling methods with the pandemic still in full fledge.

Vivian Trach, a Paly sophomore and member of a local Girl Scout troop, says that the social aspect (or lack thereof) from distance learning has an immense impact on cookie sales.

“It’s a lot harder to find people to buy Girl Scout cookies because a lot of the time, people would get them to snack on in class,” Trach said. “Now, nobody can do that.”

Not selling cookies in-person has pushed many scouts to rely on social media to promote themselves.

“I’ve had to advertise a lot more digitally,” Trach said. “I’ve mainly posted on Nextdoor and Instagram and have been advertising in random group chats I happen to be in.”

In addition to taking online orders through personal web-pages on the Girl Scouts Digital Cookie website, (www.digitalcookie.girlscouts.org) the organization is also working with Grubhub, providing the option to order cookies delivered straight to their home.

While snacking on Thin Mints and Samoas with a room full of classmates will remain a distant memory for now, the magic of Girl Scout cookie season prevails.

Text by SOFIA ANTEBI and EMILY YAO

Art by XIAOHAN LI

UPDATES WITH MADRONO

WITH CHRONO EDITOR ARATI PERIYANNAN

How has Madrono overcome challenges from the pandemic?

We’ve found ways to adapt by doing more features on individual students. It’s hard to cover people doing things in groups, but everyone has their own individual story.

TEACHER’S PETS

Being on Zoom has changed the way Paly students interact with teachers, as it has provided a peek into everyone’s home lives. Whether intentionally or not, Paly pets have made various appearances during class, so we made a collection of some of the teachers’ pets we adore.

­Photo: Isabelle Shi

What can we expect in this yearbook?

One thing we have been trying to do more of this year is creating interactive mods on pages.

Last year we had a few; one asked you a series of questions and you followed a path to find out your match.

Art by Samantha Ho

Science teacher Michael Mishali shows off his dashing dog Luca.

Photo: Justin S.

English teacher Mimi Park’s cats make frequent Zoom appearances.

Photo: Marta Heiken

History teacher Mary Sano has buzzing bees in her backyard.

Photo: Mary Sano

Math teacher Deanna Chute and her dog Gracie make the perfect pair. Photo: Deanna Chute

VERDE STAFF BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS In honor of National Reading Month in March, we asked Verde staff members to recommend their favorite books.

Whether you’re a bookworm or looking to respark your joy for reading, here are four picks for you to add to your list.

Ayesha at Last

by Uzma Jalaluddin “A Muslim Pride and Prejudice“

A Brief History of Thought

by Luc Ferry “Thought provoking“

The Haunting of Hill House

by Shirley Jackson “A suspenseful thriller with a fatal twist“

Blink

by Malcom Gladwell “Exploring the nature of our intuition“

VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 9

news Plans for AP tests still undecided

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s testing season nears, Palo Alto Unified School District, as of print time, has yet to announce plans for the May Advanced Placement tests.

On Feb. 4, the College Board stated that schools would decide when and how to test students. This means PAUSD will choose if students take the digital test or paper and pencil test and whether students complete the exam at home or on campus.

In December, PAUSD released its plans to administer the SAT to the Class of `22, but did not state whether it would also be possible to bring students on campus for AP tests.

Unlike last year, the AP exams will be full length, closed note and will cover all the material taught in the course in a normal school year.

Senior Emma Wu took three AP tests online last year and said that taking the shortened exam online went smoothly. However, because this year’s tests will not be abbreviated, Wu has her concerns.

“I’m not really looking forward to full-length tests online,” Wu said.

“I think they could still offer an abridged version because testing online and in-person for three or more hours are both terrible options.”

Wu also says that College Board must take strides towards improving technology issues in 2021.

“I remember some people had issues with the program saving their responses [for their AP tests] and they had to retake theirs later,” Wu said.

by ANYA MONDRAGON

10 FEBRUARY 2021

RE-TRYING REOPENING — Superintendent Don Austin discusses a plan to bring secondary students back onto campus for “Zoom in a room” at the Feb. 9 Palo Alto Board of Education meeting.

“We expect to return Grade 7-12 students in early March if we reach the red tier for the required amount of time, which is five consecutive days,” Austin said. Photo: Akhil Joondeph

Secondary students to return

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ISTRICT STUDENTS in grades 7-12 will be allowed to return to campus on March 1 if Santa Clara County is in the state’s red tier of pandemic risk for five consecutive days, according to Superintendent Don Austin.

At the Palo Alto Unified School District board meeting on Feb. 9, Austin announced plans to allow all interested students back on campus to do “Zoom in a room.” Students with last names beginning with A-L will be on campus for two days a week, and students with last names beginning with M-Z will be on campus the other two days. The student split is tentative. Students will not be required to commit to the on-campus learning option, and will be allowed to decide which of their allotted days they will attend class on campus and which days they will stay home.

All teachers will be required to return March 1 or the day after Santa Clara County returns to red tier.

“The plan would accommodate every student — grades 7 through 12 — who wants to be on campus, and requires no change of schedule or teacher, covers all, not just a couple classes, and is done with robust safety measures,” Austin said.

Parents and teachers had varied opin-

ions on the plan. Frank S. Greene Jr. Middle School art teacher Paul Gralen expressed his concerns.

“I want nothing more than to be back in the classroom with our students, but I want to do it safely,” Gralen said at the meeting. “Putting anyone into a crowded and closed environment for six to eight hours per day at this point in time is the height of irresponsibility.”

Austin did not discuss specific health and safety protocols at this meeting, but stated that more details are to come.

He used hybrid learning in PAUSD elementary schools as an example of why the board believes it is safe to move forward with the secondary school opening plan.

“We’ve been back since October with over 2,100 students — we’ve not had to close a single school and we have not had [COVID-19] spread within a school,” Austin said. “We have had cases of COVID because COVID exists in the community, in our state and in our country, but the lack of spreads speaks to the protocols that we have in place.”

In the coming week, a survey will be sent to students and parents regarding if the model is of interest.

by PAISLEY ANNES

Title IX conversations continue

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TUDENTS AND PARENTS shared opinions on Palo Alto High School administrators’ handling of sexual assault allegations at the Feb. 9 meeting of Palo Alto’s Board of Education.

These concerns follow the recent surge of over 20 students who shared their stories concerning sexual assault on social media in late January.

The board heard concerns from multiple community members, including Henry M. Gunn High School junior Aarush Banerjee, who voiced his disappointment with the district’s response to the allegations.

“I think by now it is far past time that we have better consent education in our schools,” Banerjee said.

Class of ‘19 Paly alumnus Warren Wagner advocated for the voices of sexual assault survivors to be heard in efforts to prevent sexual violence.

“I want people to heed the call to not

only involve survivors by facilitating their healing after the fact, but involve them in building preventative structures,” Wagner said.

According to senior Dani Colman, co-president of the Paly Responsive Inclusive Safe Environment Student Task Force, students are voicing their frustrations with the district’s lack of action. RISE is dedicated to having students lead the conversation surrounding sexual assault.

“Palo Alto students are kind of feeling right now as though they haven’t been heard over the last few years,” Colman said.

“We witnessed the mishandling of several sexual assault cases and I think that seeing that kind of chaos and hysteria erupt in our community has made students feel as though it’s just better and easier for them to stay silent.”

by SADIE IBBOTSON-BROWN

Foothills overcrowding upsets residents

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ANY PALO ALTANS ARE frustrated with the surge in visitors at Foothills Nature Preserve following the opening of the preserve to non-residents in mid-December.

The City of Palo Alto reported that visitation over the winter holidays (Dec. 17–Jan. 2) was 500% higher than in previous years. Palo Alto park goers have many concerns about how this surge effects the safety and condition of the preserve.

“All the parking lots are full,” said Gang Su, a Palo Alto resident and regular visitor of the preserve. “I’ve never seen so many cars in the park. It’s a safety risk in times of COVID, but also you can imagine lots of people with kids and dogs there [who are not safe].”

The large number of people congregating at the preserve is also causing a number of problems, according to Su.

“There used to be turkeys, deers and fish,” Su said. “It was very vibrant. But with that many people you can imagine everything that has gone.”

In attempt to mitigate the park’s overcrowding problem, City Council implemented restrictions on the number of visitors allowed on the preserve at one time on Jan. 9. The restrictions prohibit more than 750 visitors on the preserve at one time between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

Su is in favor of opening Foothills to all, but feels like the restrictions on the amount of people came too late.

“I’m a little bit concerning about how it [overcrowding] was handled,” Su said. “Not only is this a disturbance to nature, it put a lot of maintenance pressure on the staff. I hope in the long term, they [City Council] wil ... come to a more sustainable model.”

by JONAS PAO

Noncontact sports begin competitions

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eason One sports teams at Palo Alto High School are competing through March 16, according to Santa Clara Valley Athletic League guidelines.

Sports allowed in the purple tier include tennis, cross country, golf, track and field, and swimming and diving. The teams began practices on Jan. 19 and began matches on Feb. 16. Each sport is implementing COVID-19 safety precautions at competitions to ensure the safety of players and coaches.

Contact sports, which are not allowed in the purple tier, may hold athletic conditioning sessions, according to California Interscholastic Federation sports guidelines.

Paly Athletic Director Nelson Gifford says there are lessons to learn from to this year.

“I’m encouraging everybody to go out for whatever sports are available,” Gifford said. “If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s to ... enjoy whatever opportunities we have.”

by ISHAAN BATRA

TENNIS TIME — Sophomore Sophia Austin smashes her backhand shot at a February practice. The Paly tennis team is preparing for upcoming matches beginning this month. “I didn’t think there would be a season, but I’m glad that Paly and the coaches made it work,” Austin said. Photo: Anushe Irani

VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 11

Pioneering cohorts return to campus PALY STUDENTS SHARE HYBRID EXPERIENCES

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P TO 140 PALO ALTO Unified School District high school students who opted into hybrid learning before the January plan was canceled are back on campus as of Jan. 25.

PAUSD Superintendent Don Austin announced that 10 cohorts of up to 14 students each were to return to high school campuses, after Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted the shelter-in-place order on Jan. 25. Middle school and high school campuses are scheduled to open for on-campus learning on March 1.

Junior Max Vroemen was among the group of students who decided to carry out their virtual learning from the classroom.

“There were definitely pros and cons,” Vroemen said. “Some good things were that being out of my house and seeing some people again was fun, as well as that the school made it very safe with plastic dividers on desks, desks that were very far apart, cohorts, everyone’s temperature taken and, of course, everyone wearing masks.”

Vroemen says he wishes there was more time to socialize throughout the day. While students are with their peers on campus, each person attends their own Zoom classes, so the program is still lacking in-person interaction.

“We were still in the same Zoom classes, and with masks and headphones on all day, you couldn’t really work or talk to any of the people in the class except for lunch,” Vroemen said. “In the future I would like the school to start some in-person classes, because I don’t think that doing Zoom calls from school all day is a hybrid learning model.”

Senior Stella Essenmacher also returned last month, and appreciates how the

program provides her a separate space to focus on academics — something she had been missing with at-home school.

“I made the choice to sign up because I wanted to find a better balance between my academics, social life and being active,” Essenmacher said. “I would recommend this program to anyone looking to add some dimension to their life.”

by PAISLEY ANNES

RETURN READY — Senior Stella Essenmacher logs into her first Zoom class of the day at Palo Alto High School last Thursday morning. Although socialization is currently limited, Essenmacher is hopeful that this will improve come spring. “I imagine we would get more freedom to eat and maybe take classes in the Quad, but that’s just speculation,” Essenmacher said. Photo: Emma Lin

Admin and ASB begin plans for graduation

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HE ADMINISTRATION and Associated Student Body are planning options for the Class of 2021’s graduation ceremony, according to Palo Alto High School student board representative Medha Atla.

There is a great deal of uncertainty regarding which events will be allowed to take place, but Paly administration and ASB have created a Senior Events Planning Committee to discuss safe in-person possibilities alongside virtual alternatives.

“Obviously we want to do something that has an in-person component,” Atla said. “I think it’s safe to say that we [seniors] all miss those experiences.”

According to Atla, when schools closed in March 2020, graduation was not on her

12 FEBRUARY 2021

mind, and planning for the Class of 2020’s events was slightly rushed.

“We now have more time [compared to 2020] to plan events and I would like to do something more unique and memorable,” Atla said.

Many seniors have looked forward to graduation their entire high school career, and senior Leslie Aboytes hopes for hers to resemble a pre-COVID observance as much as possible.

“I am hoping we will be able to safely have an in-person graduation ceremony because lots of us have been looking forward to it for so many years,” Aboytes said.

Though many seniors have their hearts set on an in-person ceremony, safety still remains the primary concern.

“I think that a lot of people have become desensitized to the virus after 10 months, but we have to remain cognizant that there’s bigger issues going on in the world than graduation ceremonies,” senior Siddhartha Sahasrabuddhe said.

According to Atla, ASB is still moving forward with end-of-the-year plans for the Class of 2021.

According to parent planner Kristen Anderson, Paly has made a reservation at an outdoor venue for Grad Night. The venue allows for social distancing, and there will be no self-serve options. This venue hosted multiple outdoor events last summer with no outbreaks, according to Anderson.

by MEENA NARAYANASWAMI

VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 13

HOPE? APPROACHING VACCINE STIRS REOPENING CONTROVERSY Text by PAISLEY ANNES, JONAS PAO and ISHAAN BATRA Photos by ANUSHE IRANI

D

EPRESSED. ANXIOUS. Zombie-like shells of what they once were. That is how a mother of two Palo Alto Unified School District secondary students described her own children at the Feb. 2 school board meeting.

Her high school daughter was a straight-A student and had just managed to make a group of friends despite being shy.

Then, COVID-19 hit. Schools were shut UNPAUSE PAUSD — A PAUSD elementary student holds up her sign at a protest urging PAUSD down, all extracurriculars were forced onto reopen. “They are hurting so bad and [are] so lonely,” said PAUSD parent Stephanie Compton at the Feb. 9 board meeting. “They’re going to need a lot of support and help socializing.” line and the world was put on hold.

Many hope the COVID-19 vaccine Paly teacher Mimi Park does not feel will shove the world back into normality. If vaccinated, the sooner we can have schools up and running safely,” Cohen said. comfortable returning until she has reonly things were so simple. The California ceived the vaccine, and would be morally vaccine rollout has been painfully slow, and Tentative teachers uncomfortable returning when students are plans are constantly changing. Many who At the Feb. 9 board meeting, Supernot yet vaccinated. were promised prioritization find themintendent Don Austin announced plans “I think about the high cost to life and selves far back in line, if at all. to bring grades 7-12 back onto campus physical life of people that I genuinely care Teachers were to begin receiving the for “Zoom in about: my students, the staff members, all vaccinations in late a room.”

Acof that,” Park said. “It’s really hard to imagJanuary according I am very fortunate to be cording to Ausine the kind of benefits [of in-person learnto California’s origtin, students ing] really outweighing that, until we get to inal rollout plan. vaccinated, but I am still can return to a situation where we have herd immunity.”

However, teachnot ready to go to work.” school as earHenry M. Gunn High School Student ers in Santa Clara ly as March 1 Attendant Aria Sufiani has already received County are still not — ARIA SUFIANI, PAUSD employee if Santa Clara his vaccination, but is against re-opening. eligible to receive County is in “I am very fortunate to be vaccinated, their first injection the state’s red tier of pandemic risk for but I am still not ready to go to work givas of Feb. 12. five consecutive days.

This announcement, en that I have very little confidence with Palo Alto High School English teacher which came only a week after the news that the protocols,” Sufiani said at the Feb. 9 David Cohen awaits the announcement of sixth grade students would have the option board meeting.

“I do want to support my when he and his coworkers can receive the to return to campus for hybrid learning, students, but please, I’m 30 years old, I vaccine, and believes that it may be the key riled up the already impassioned parents, have other friends and colleagues who are to a speedy reopening. teachers and students. dealing with the aftermath of COVID-19 “The sooner we have more teachers

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14 FEBRUARY 2021

READY TO RETURN — Palo Alto parents gather on the crossing of Churchill and El Camino to call for schools to resume. “I do not believe that teacher vaccinations should be a prerequisite for reopening,” said PAUSD parent Bri Nguyen, at the Feb. 9 school board meeting. “We all care about our teachers, we can keep teachers safe, and we can open schools. We can do both.”

… please consider our [PAUSD employees] health too.”

Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School teacher Noel Berghout who, like most teachers, has not received her vaccine, urged the board at the Feb. 2 meeting to hold off on reopening schools.

“Vaccine availability is just around the corner and with the [vaccine] rollout being slow, we are unlikely to get protection prior to March 1,” Berghout said. “We are so close to having better protection for vulnerable groups, and yet we are rushing in ahead of this important milestone by reopening campus in advance of what was originally stated.”

Many looked towards Palo Alto Educators Association President Teri Baldwin for her stance at the Feb. 9 meeting, but she did not explicitly state whether she supported or opposed the plan. Baldwin said she wanted answers to the union’s questions and more details on the plan’s specifics.

ble for that.”

Parents protest While teachers voice concerns, many The majority of the parents who spoke parents feel returning to school is safe folat the school board meetings were in full lowing the proper guidance from major support of PAUSD’s plan to bring the secmedical institutions such as the Center for ondary students back on campus. One day Disease Control and Prevention and the prior to the board meeting where Austin American Pediatric Association. announced the return of secondary grades, “I am reasapproximatesured by all the ly 100 parents We are so desperate that we robust scientifattended a proic data from all test demanding are willing to risk the stress of over the world the reopening and nationally of grades 7-12 moving just to get our kids to demonstrating at the PAUSD an in-person school.” that schools district office.

— SUSAN, PAUSD parent can be safely “We are reopened and it sick and tired can be done without vaccination,” PAUSD of these Zoom meetings, writing to the school board and all the hollow words parent and immunologist Annemarie Lekwhich have not led anywhere,” PAUSD kerkerker said at the meeting. “We have parent and protest attendee Ashima Agarw- evidence in our district that it can be done, al said. “Our kids are dying from inside and so please let our kids go back to campus for the teachers and school board are responsi- in-person learning.” v

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VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 15

STRIPPED

Text by MIA BALDONADO and ALLEGRA WEST

E

Art by SAMANTHA HO

COPING WITH THE LASTING EFFECTS OF CORONAVIRUS

VERY MORNING after waking who has suffered from one of the virus’s up, Rachel takes a whiff of her long-term effects — the inability to smell. favorite essential oil, Blue Tansy, Although COVID-19 is widely known as in hopes that she might have re- a disease that targets the lungs, it can also cause anosmia, the gained her sense of loss of smell, and dyssmell. Rachel, a Palo I remember specifgeusia, an alteration Alto High School in one’s perception in teacher whose name ically, we had some taste. has been changed to broccoli in the refrigA Scientific Amerprotect her medical ican article stated that history, describes this erator ... And he [her about 80 percent of routine over a Zoom husband] was gagCOVID-19 patients call, and smiles while smell disrecalling a particular ging because it smelled experience turbances including morning where she anosmia and dyscould smell just a so bad, and I couldn’t geusia. According to hint of that beloved, smell anything.” an article published fragrant scent.

by Harvard Univer“It’s almost like — RACHEL, Paly teacher sity, anosmia occurs a little piece of my when SARS-Cov-2, nose started to work the coronavirus that again, like very lightly,” Rachel said. “And that was exciting. I causes COVID-19, infects olfactory supwas like ‘Okay, I’m not permanently dam- port cells and decreases their functioning aged, or I’m not like never gonna smell abilities.

2019 Paly alumnus Will Robins conagain.’”

Rachel contracted COVID-19 in early tracted COVID-19 in September after December after a close acquaintance had coming into contact with other students at gotten it days before. She is one of many his college who had the virus; he suffered

16 FEBRUARY 2021

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OF SENSES from anosmia for two and a half months sary. From not being able to detect burning despite only suffering from short-term ef- food, to not knowing when to change a bafects for a few days. by’s diaper, anosmia can have a great impact “When I lost my smell, it was very sud- on people’s lifestyles. den and unexpected,” Robins said. “I re“I remember specifically, we had some member eating breakfast and being able to broccoli in the refrigerator,” Rachel said. taste and smell, but when I ate Chipotle for “My husband opened it up, and apparently lunch I couldn’t taste or smell it.” it had gone bad. And he was gagging beOnce Robins regained his sense of smell, cause it smelled so bad, and I couldn’t smell he was able to use “smell training” to get his anything. Apparently the whole house mouth back to the normal tastes, as he also smelled like rotten, deadly broccoli and I experienced dysgeusia. According to Rob- had zero ability to smell it whatsoever.” ins, this entailed smelling different things as Although many young people may not many times as possible see COVID-19 as throughout the day. such a dangerous viDespite this, his sense I thought it was more rus for them, everyof smell has still not one is susceptible to like the 60 to 75 age returned completely COVID-19’s unpregroup that would have dictable effects and back to normal.

“I’ll say toothpaste continue wearthe severe symptoms. should for sure is one of the ing a mask and mainones I noticed the And I felt like that was taining social distancmost [difference in Even if a previous the part that was defi- ing. taste] just because I COVID-19 patient use it like every day,” nitely not true.” eventually tests negaRobins said. “Easily I tive, it can take several —WILL ROBINS, Paly alumnus months to fully return could tell it was mint before. And now it’s to normal, just like almost like if you chew Rachel and Robins. gum for about two hours or something [so] “I thought it was more like the 60 to 75 that it kind of loses its taste but you kind age group that would have the severe sympof know what it is. It tastes like that right toms [losing taste and smell],” Robins said. now, still.”

“And I felt like that was the part [about my For many, a loss of smell can interfere previous assumptions] that was definitely in daily activities in which smell is neces- not true.” v

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VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 17

Text by RYAN SETO and JERRY FANG

ACADEMICS ANALYZED ONLINE LEARNING’S IMPACT ON OUTCOMES

S

ENIOR FINN HADLY WALKS through the empty quad as he makes his way to the band room, where he finds his assigned seat safely located six feet away from the rest of the students and staff. An awkward silence looms over the class as teachers closely monitor the interactions of students.

With Palo Alto High School waiting to reopen, students are looking forward to coming back, but most do not know the impact of online learning on academic performance.

Student opinions Grades and attendance Freshman Tyler Harrison views online Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, learning as a system that benefits students students have had to adapt to online who thrive in an independent environment, learning, which entails being on Zoom while hurting those who need the attention for up to seven hours in a day. As a and interaction with teachers. result, many assumed that students “Online learning creates more of an would suffer academically. achievement gap,” Harrison said. “For some However, students have evident- people, it’s difficult to operate in a system ly taken these changes in stride as the where they’re not necessarily held accountnumber of students with D’s and F’s able all the time.” in the first semester of school decreased In Harrison’s case, learning online makes from 237 in 2019 to 197 in 2020. The it difficult for him to communicate with total number of D and F teachers and stay mogrades has also decreased tivated to do work. AcIt’s harder to get from 412 to 384. cording to a February According to a reVerde survey of 144 through what you’ve port from Palo Alto Paly students, 42.6% Unified School District, got to do when you’re of students claim that average daily attendance are doing worse not happy or motivat- they at Paly has increased academically this year 2.87% from the ed while doing it.” while 20.7% say that 2019-2020 school they are doing bet— KIRA STERLING, senior year to the 2020ter in comparison to 2021 school year, last year. Additionally, with data taken from the first day 80% of students said that they felt that they of school until Nov. 20. However, were learning less online than they would online learning disproportionately in-person.

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Art by Samantha Ho

hurts certain demographics.

Chronic absenteeism, defined as students who were absent for at least 10% of school days, is down 2% and 1.8% for white and Asian students, respectively. Despite improvements for some demographics, chronic absenteeism is up 1.6% for Hispanic students, 14.2% for Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students, 2.7% for Special Education students, and 4% for socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

80%

of students say they are learning less this year

Art by Sydney Pang

Along with improvements in aca- the safety precautions, I’m concerned about demics, Harrison explains how the online how we are going to stay safe.” environment has improved his attendance record.

Individualized education programs “I think it’s definitely a lot easier to Meb Steiner, a Special Education aide get to class on time because it’s just a link at PAUSD, explained that with such a varithat you have to click on instead of finding ety of student needs, the Special Education where your classes are on the first day of department has seen both struggles and school,” Harrison said. “And also just get- success with distance learning. ting from class to class on time with the 10 “For some of our kids, it was realminute passing period is easier.” ly hard to access online learning,” Steiner Even though attendance has increased said. “If you’re a student who’s visually imand students no lonpaired or non-verbal ger have to spend you can’t navigate the time walking to class- For some, it was really technology.” es, 42.3% of students hard to access online Steiner claims claim that they are less that while chronmotivated to arrive in learning. If you’re a ic absenteeism has class on time. an issue for the student who’s visually been Senior Kira SterSpecial Education ling is among the stu- impaired or non-verprogram during the dents that feels the lack bal you can’t navigate pandemic, it’s not a of motivation comes new challenge that the technology.” from social isolation. they are facing.

“It’s harder to get “Chronic absen— MEB STEINER, Special Education aide through your work teeism, I will say that, when you’re not happy even prior to the or motivated while doing it,” Sterling said. pandemic, was a concern — it’s not a new “So sometimes even small challenges can be issue,” Steiner said. “And it’s not like being really tough.” back in school is some magic pill that’s goDespite difficulties with online learn- ing to fix it, because we had kids who really ing, Sterling admits that she has doubts struggled with their mental health when we about wanting to return to school. were in school, physically in-person.”

“As much as I miss being at school with However, most Special Education stumy friends and seeing my teachers in-per- dents are adapting well. son, I don’t feel that going back to school “We’re still all together, we created fun right now is a good thing to do,” Sterling activities and we did little breakout rooms said. “I know there are a lot of experienced with smaller groups of kids to divide them people who have spent time working on a up based on their needs, their academic way back into classrooms, but even with plan and their goals,” Steiner said. v

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42.3%

of students are less motivated to arrive to class on time

*

16.8% fewer students received D/Fs first semester

*

4.0%

increase in chronic absenteeism for socioeconomically disadvantaged students Source: The data presented here comes from an opt-in Verde Magazine survey of 144 Palo Alto High School students from all four grades. Verde conducted the survey from Feb. 1 to Feb. 11 through a digital form published on school-related social media and Schoology pages. Responses were anonymous and participation for all questions was optional. Statistics marked with an asterisk were collected from the Palo Alto Unified School District school board.

Text by SADIE IBBOTSON-BROWN and ASHMITA RAJMOHAN

Art by XIAOHAN LI

CAN SPEECH BE TOO FREE?

CENSORSHIP IN LIGHT OF U.S. CAPITOL ATTACK

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AIA JOHNSSON AWOKE his circle of well-known conservative backto her mother running into ers led relentless attacks against the electorher room, eyes wide with al process with unfounded claims of voter shock as she frantically told fraud and a stolen election in the months the Palo Alto High School junior that “our following Biden’s victory. government is unraveling in front of our Several Republican members of Coneyes.” Confused and gress amplified only half-awake, the delegitimizaJohnsson stumbled I was in awe as I watched tion of the electo her mother’s the heart of American tion on Parler and room where the TV Gab, two far-right displayed stunning government being demol- social media platvisuals emerging ished in front of my own forms. Both apps from Washington, were used to coorD.C. On Jan. 6, eyes.” dinate and garner — MAIA JOHNSSON, junior support for the violent insurrectionists breached attack, bringing the U.S. Capitol in an unforeseen riot with renewed attention to the question of what the intent of stopping the certification of exactly should be allowed under the First the electoral college results. For the next Amendment. two hours, Johnsson watched the news in stunned silence.

Alt-right social media “I was completely taken aback by what Parler, an alt-right microblogging and was happening,” Johnsson said. “I was in social networking service, is advertised awe as I watched the heart of American as an unbiased app that “promotes free government being demolished in front of speech.” Since its founding, the app has bemy own eyes.” come a hub for far right-wing conservatives Former President Donald Trump and who feel marginalized by mainstream social

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media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

Similarly, Gab, another far-right dominated social media site, has attracted many former Twitter users who felt silenced by the app. These platforms have been under fire in the past for not regulating the incitement of violence through racist and white supremacist language.

The Capitol insurrection forced major tech companies into action, and Parler has since been banned from the Amazon Web Server, the Apple App Store and Google Play Store due to blatant and repeated violations of community guidelines.

Sophomore Hailey Oshita believes that these companies made the right decision.

“When there is a lot of hate being spread and plans to attack the Capitol are being formed on an app, it’s not right to promote something like that,” Oshita said.

Sophomore Andrew Robinson echoes Oshita’s

concerns about the promotion of online hatred through apps like Parler and Gab. “After Trump began attacking social media companies and accusing them of having conservative biases, he promoted Parler as a free speech haven,” Robinson said. “But it is really a haven for white supremacy, and actual white supremacy that promotes violence, which is not protected speech under the First Amendment.”

Social media apps like these challenge what we know to be true in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and bring up a couple important questions: what exactly qualifies as free speech, and should restrictions be placed on what is allowed on social media?

Protected free speech In the U.S. government, the First Amendment is not an absolute right that protects all speech.

“Free speech protection should not be and, according to the courts, is not absolute,” Paly history teacher Mary Sano wrote in an email. “There are limits. Ultimately, the lines are drawn by our judicial system — all the way to the Supreme Court.”

Robinson says that the instigation of violence should not have a place on online platforms.

“Any speech that promotes vio-

lence is not protected speech, and that is really what matters to me,” Robinson said. “You can say whatever you want — have at it — but you simply cannot advocate for violence against someone.”

Media censorship and where to draw the line between protected and unprotected speech is a hotly contested issue. After numerous tweets from Trump that led to the violence at the Capitol, Twitter banned his account from the platform.

“I think it was a good idea to ban Trump from social media because he wasn’t posting or tweeting things that were beneficial to the development of our country,” Johnsson said. “Trump was also just riling people up and he wasn’t trying to tone them down, so banning him was a way of creating a bit more tranquility.”

Similarly, Paly Social Justice Pathway teacher Lizzie DeKraai says that online platforms reserve the right to ban hate speech from their platforms, and that social media companies should have banned Trump earlier.

“I think what people forget when saying ‘People are being censored,’ is that these are private companies,” DeKraai said.

“If it’s something that a company has said, [like] ‘These are our guidelines: you cannot incite violence, you cannot be a terrorist, you cannot post things that are sexist or ableist …’ then I think those companies

should hold that line.”

In the wake of the recent violence the country has experienced, it’s clear that the First Amendment was written for a completely different America than the one we live in today.

“One could argue that the laws we have have not kept up with what is going on with speech on online platforms,” Sano wrote. “It’s an interesting question to explore.” v

Text by MERWA MAROF and EMILY YAO

THE NEXT

LEFT-LEANING STUDENTS SHARE HOPES, PRIORITIES FOR BIDEN’S FUTURE PLANS

Biden’s win, yet disapproves of his politics.

She started the Leftist’s Club when she felt like her views were not represented at the broader Democrats Club.

“The Democrats do not represent the left at all,” Seah says. “To me, they’re just a moderate version of the right. They’re just not bold enough.”

As an Asian member of the LGBTQ+ community, Seah realized that the standards of Democratic Party were very different than her own. She does not believe that the Democrats’ goals of compromising help protect the rights and safety of TANDING AT THE TOP of the minorities.

Capitol building steps, President “They [Democrats] always talk Joe Biden places his left hand on about having unity with Republicans,” his family’s bible and raises his Seah says. “But to me, I see that as imright hand, preparpossible, because why ing to take the oath would I want to have swearing him into the A lot of people are unity with people who office of the president want to see me eradigoing to pay less of the United States. cated?”

With the presence of attention to what he Seah’s largest conmasks and the absence cern for the new presdoes, even if what of spectating crowds, idency is that people Biden’s inauguration he’s doing is bad.” will overlook Biden’s proved to be a remarkactions, and not hold ably unconventional — MICHAELA SEAH, senior him and his admintransition of power. istration accountable As Biden starts the way they have tohis presidential term, Verde reached out to wards Trump. select left-leaning student activists at Palo “Because he’s not Trump, a lot of Alto High School to explore their hopes for people are going to pay attention less to the years to come. what he does, even if what he’s doing is bad,” Seah says. “I’m scared that he’ll pass Problematic politicians something akin to the Patriot Act, where Senior Michaela Seah was relieved by he expands the power of the FBI or CIA.”

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Biden’s first executive actions 22 FEBRUARY 2021

Biden’s environmental efforts Biden has signed many executive orders that senior Emilie Difede, co-founder of the Environmental Justice Club, is

JAN

20

Signs 17 executive orders, including reversing the “Muslim Ban,” and stopping the U.S. from withdrawing from the World Health Organization.

JAN

21

Signs 11 executive orders including requiring masks mandates on public transportation, and expanding COVID-19 testing capacities.

JAN

22

Signs executive orders that facilitate delivery of stimulus payments, address COVID-19 economic relief and assist veterans with debt.

Art by SAMANTHA HO

FOUR YEARS optimistic about for reigniting the fight against climate change.

“I am hopeful that the Biden administration will begin to address environmental justice at the federal level,” Difede says. “The Biden administration understands that climate change poses an existential threat, not just to our environment, but to our health, our communities, our national security and ... economic well-being.”

With that in mind, Difede believes Biden’s plans do not address the urgency of the climate crisis and wishes the Biden administration would reach for goals with more ambition.

“The Biden administration plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050. However, this needs to happen faster,” Difede says. “We should be reaching net zero by 2030.”

Along with expediting the timeline to the goal of net zero

JAN

25

Signs executive order reversing transgender military ban and proclamation reinstating COVID-19 travel restrictions on Brazil and most of Europe.

JAN

26

Signs executive order to end the Justice Department`s use of private prisons and denounces anti-Asian and Pacific Islander discrimination and xenophobia.

emissions, she believes Biden’s plan fails to include collaboration on an international scale, a component necessary to fight global warming.

“Climate change is a global problem that requires global action, not just action in the U.S.,” Difede says. “The U.S. needs to work with and encourage other major polluters like China and India to also drastically cut emissions.”

On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order that reentered the U.S. in the Paris Climate Accord, a global framework regarding lowering global warming.

Gazing into the future While some are discontent with Biden’s current proposals, others like senior Rohin Ghosh have focused their attention further into the future, and worry that the Democratic Party will face challenges in holding onto their majority control in Congress.

“The only way to stop Democrats from losing in the midterms is to enact a fast policy that affects people’s lives,” Ghosh says.

As the policy director of the California High School Democrats, previous president of Paly Democrats club and co-founder of the Santa Clara County High School Democrats, Ghosh sees the importance of student involvement with issues in the city and our schools.

“I think it’s so vitally important that at every level of government, we as people, especially as students who can’t vote, do everything we can to keep and hold our government and elected officials accountable, because they answer to us,” Ghosh says. v

JAN

27

Signs executive orders that pause new oil and gas leasing on U.S. land, and implements Climate Day Orders to tackle climate change.

JAN

28

Signs executive orders to reopen Obamacare marketplaces, lower recent barriers to joining Medicare and lift restrictions on abortion funding.

VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 23

Text by ALLISON CHANG and ABIMBOLA BOLARINWA

Art by SAMANTHA HO

Breaking new ground JUDGE LADORIS CORDELL’S PALO ALTO LEGACY

“M

Y SOCIAL ACTIVISM journey began before I was born,” retired judge LaDoris Cordell says. “It began with my great, great grandmother and great grandmother, both slaves in the deep south.

I take it back this far, because I come from a line of people who survived being enslaved.

They were resilient and resisted oppression, so I know it is in the blood.”

Cordell has been many things: a lawyer, a judge, an independent police auditor, a Palo Alto City Council member and a vice provost of Stanford University. She was the first African-American judge in Northern California and the first female African-American Superior Court judge in Santa Clara County. As a fearless advocate for communities of color, her work has helped bridge East Palo Alto and Palo Alto and transformed the community into what it is today.

Now, she recounts her journey of breaking down barriers in her memoir “Her Honor: A Judge’s Candid Look at our Legal System,” set to release in October. Through this book, Cordell hopes

24 FEBRUARY 2021

to educate the public during retirement by shining light on her work as a judge.

“The work we [judges] do is serious work and it impacts people’s lives,” Cordell says. “The public needs to become more aware of who we are and what we do.”

Rise to recognition In the 1980s redlining, white flight and discriminatory realty practices all contributed to a virtually segregated East Palo Alto and Palo Alto. Starting her career in an era of entrenched racial discrimination, Cordell became a pioneer for justice in the local community.

Over the course of 44 years, Cordell made legal assistance more accessible to communities of color, established a civilian oversight system in Palo Alto and recently sued the city over the exclusive, residents-only policy for Foothills Park.

Immediately after graduating from Stanford’s Class of `74, Cordell became the first lawyer to open up a private practice in East Palo Alto.

“I wanted to destroy the myth that you couldn’t have a decent law practice in a community of color,” Cordell says. “I wanted to make a statement, and I did.”

Policing the police Cordell continued along her change-making path as she took on implicit bias and racial profiling in local police departments using her prior experience. As a Palo Alto City Council member from 2004 to 2008, she worked to bring an independ e n t

police auditor to investigate complaints brought against the Palo Alto Police Department, a system that still exists today.

“At that time, it was very routine to see young people of color, especially young males, sitting on the curb and having white police officers standing over them in Palo Alto,” Cordell says. “These were young people who would come across the freeway from East Palo Alto, and always getting stopped and profiled.”

Advocating for open access However, one issue that Cordell was not able to address during her time as a member of the Palo Alto City Council was the ordinance that excluded non-residents from Palo Alto’s Foothills Park.

“I raised the issue [to open Foothills], and I couldn’t believe the blowback I received,” Cordell says. “I was getting emails from people and haters saying that ‘this was ours’ and ‘other people are just going to mess it up.’ I know what they meant by other people — people that didn’t look like Palo Altans, which at that time were mostly white.”

Even after leaving Palo Alto City Council, Cordell spearheaded the effort to open Foothills Park to all, regardless of residency. Cordell organized a group of plaintiffs while identifying lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and a private law firm to represent them. This past September, they sued the city and won the case. Now, the gates of Foothills Park are open for all and will continue to stay open because of an injunction included in the lawsuit.

After a decades-long career spent fighting for disenfranchised communities, all while facing racism and sexism in her own life, the key to Cordell’s success in breaking down boundaries lies in her mentality.

“It’s all about being persistent,” Cordell says. “If you know something is wrong, just don’t let it go. It’s not always going to be easy to make things right, but it can happen.” v

profiles

HONING IN ON HEALTH

v

Text by AKHIL JOONDEPH Photos by AUDREY JOACHIM

CRAFTING RESOURCES FOR PALY COMMUNITY

“I

JUST REMEMBER IN freshman members encouraging teens to donate to year, there were just a ton of fire the Community Fund’s COVID-19 relief alarms,” junior Vienna Liu says. “I efforts. remember a good amount of them beLast semester, the club focused its efing attributed to vaping, to a point where forts on HIV prevention and worked with it was shown to be an issue at Paly. I think Stanford pediatrician Geoffrey Hart-Coothat was my first expeper throughout rience with realizing the semester. what a public health This should matter to “Hart-Cooissue was.” per chose to focus teenagers as well, not Motivated by on HIV in youth student-centric public just adults. ... If we’re because there is a health issues like vap- thinking about our comdisproportionateing, mental health and ly high number sexual safety, Liu and munity in the long run, of people in our fellow junior Sam Ya- we have the most to lose.” age group who mashita founded the go unprotected, — SAM YAMASHITA, junior whether it’s just Palo Alto High School Public Health Club in because they’re 2019. Little did they know at the time that young, or don’t feel like talking about it less than a year later, the COVID-19 pan- because of the stigma surrounding STDs,” demic would dramatically alter the public Liu says. health landscape.

After learning about HIV and “It [the pandemic] has just really the preventative pill known as opened my eyes to how big and how im- PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxportant of a field public health is,” Liu says. is) during club meetings, Liu “Everything involved with public health, and Yamashita worked with including our goals as a club, is amplified club members to create infoat this time.” graphics to spread awareness Inspired by the dire need for public for HIV prevention stratehealth resources, club members are plan- gies through social media. ning a COVID-19-related project for the The club’s infographics spring, and hope to do so by teaming up reached thousands of with the Palo Alto Community Fund, an people online through organization that distributes community partnerships with the donations to specialized institutions in and organizations Pubaround Palo Alto. lic Health For You, “They [the Community Fund] have Teen Health 101 done great work with COVID, but also just and Public Health supporting our community in general,” Ya- Institute. mashita says.

Despite the Liu and Yamashita hope to lead their pandemic limiting club in creating short video clips of club some of the club’s

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options, the transition to online meetings has opened the door to many others.

“Being online has given us opportunities to have a lot more [guest] speakers,” Liu says. “It has been a lot more accessible for them to just pop into a meeting with us.”

The ability to collaborate with experts like Hart-Cooper, as well as public health specialist Marcia M. Zorilla, has helped the club dive deeper into their areas of focus and work on more long-term projects this semester.

As Liu and Yamashita continue to expand their club, they hope to see more youth engagement in public health issues, especially through participation in local projects and interest in field advancements.

“This [public health] should matter to teenagers as well, not just adults,” Yamashita says. “If we’re thinking about our community in the long run, we [teens] have the most to lose.” v

PANDEMIC PASSION — While the COVID-19 pandemic has limited some of the Paly Public Health Club’s opportunities, it has made its founders, juniors Vienna Liu and Sam Yamashita, realize the importance of their work as a club. “Last year we were a little more relaxed,” Yamashita says. “Now we are much more serious about ... teaching our club members and helping everyone spread awareness.”

VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 25

Text by MEENA NARAYANASWAMI and SOPHIE MATLOF

SCOOTERING TO THE SKY DELANEY BALL MAKES WORLD CUP, SOARS TO NEW HEIGHTS

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HE GRATING SOUND of a ed to represent the country,” Ball said. “It scooter scraping against a railing was a huge deal.” comes to a halt as Palo Alto High While COVID-19 restrictions preSchool sophomore Delaney Ball vented Ball from having a regular Scooter lifts her feet off the deck of her scooter, World Cup experience, she remained enbriefly revealing flashes of its bright yellow thusiastic about her achievement despite color. The deck rotates rapidly around be- the change to a virtual format. fore Ball plants her feet firmly on it once “Instead of going to Barcelona we had again and descends to the ground. She to submit an online video, so it was a lot crouches as the different, but it was wheels connect still a huge accomwith the concrete, I’ll film things and I’ll be plishment and I was then immediately really excited to be motivated to land tricks springs back up a part of that,” Ball to cruise around so that I can post them said. nonchalantly.

Not only was on social media. I see the In the few Ball able to compete short seconds of positive comments and it in the Scootering the video, it beCup, but she just motivates me to keep World comes clear why also saw success at Ball has gained a riding.” the competition.

— DELANEY BALL, sophomore reputation for her “It was a great talent and accomexperience for me plishments in scootering. and Team USA ended up placing first,” Ball After only four years of scootering said. and only having competed at a scootering tournament once before, she was chosen to Scootering to sponsorships represent Team USA in the Scooter World Social media has played a significant Cup. role throughout Ball’s scootering career.

“It was a big accomplishment for me She first took an interest in the sport after to be able to join Team USA because only watching a YouTube video about it in 7th ten members from each country got select- grade and continued to use YouTube to cat-

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26 FEBRUARY 2021

alog her progress.

“I became friends with a freshman and an eighth-grader and we started a crew called The Casual Krew,” Ball said. “We filmed a bunch of YouTube videos, and it started getting to a point where I realized I could actually do something out of this.”

Early on in her scootering career, Ball created an Instagram account dedicated to her scootering videos. Soon enough, her posts caught the attention of a prominent scootering company, Tilt.

“I was super interested in being sponsored by Tilt, so I tagged them in a lot of

SCOOTERING STAR — Sophomore Delaney Ball flies through the air, riding her scooter as if it were a magic carpet, hair whipping behind her. “I like how there are no rules, you can be as creative as you would like to and you can always progress,” Ball said. Photo: Sam Kaplinsky

my posts and in about two years into me scootering, I got a DM [direct message] from the CEO and the founder and they were interested in having me join their team,” Ball said.

Recently, Ball started posting scootering clips to TikTok, where she has over 75,000 followers and her most popular video has garnered a total of 2.4 million views.

“I’ll film things and I’ll be motivated to land tricks so that I can post them on social media,” Ball said. “I see the positive comments and it just motivates me to keep riding.”

Inspiring the next generation As a result of her large online presence, Ball often receives messages from girls who see her as a role model.

“I get a lot of DMs from girls that, I wouldn’t say look up to me, but they watch my videos and say ‘I hope I can do that one day,’” Ball said. “I definitely like to be an example for younger girls.”

Though she remains modest about her accomplishments, Ball is paving the way for other girls interested in scootering, a male-dominated sport. At her first scootering tournament, Ball was recognized as the

only girl competing out of almost 140 boys.

“At the skatepark, I’m usually one of the only females there, so sometimes you get strange looks or people, when you do a trick, they’ll be super impressed,” she said.

“It’s cool but I also wish there were more females in the sport.”

On top of her evident success in the field, Ball is interested in simply enjoying the activity she’s so passionate about.

“Obviously the main goal is just progressing and getting better,” Ball said. “But for now I’m just scootering for fun to hang out with friends.” v

VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 27

Text by AANYA KUMAR and ASHMITA RAJMOHAN

Art by SAMANTHA HO

Trending On Twitch

PALY STREAMERS SHARE PASSIONS VIRTUALLY

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N THE FIRST DAY OF school, I streamed my reaction to the opening video,” Palo Alto High School senior Enzo DeMarinis says. With the uncertainty and excitement of a virtual first day of school, DeMarinis decided to share the experience over Twitch. “I ended up receiving around 57 viewers.

It was amazing to have so many people watching me at once and I hope that in the future I’ll be able to constantly have that many viewers at once.”

Twitch is a leading live streaming platform that is used mainly by gamers who broadcast their gameplay to viewers. Popular titles such as “Fortnite”, “Among Us”, “League of Legends”, “Minecraft” and “Grand Theft Auto V” are among the most streamed and watched.

According to junior Alan Alvarez, an ardent Twitch viewer, the allure of the platform lies in its capacity to allow interactions with the streamers he watches and join a community of like-minded individuals.

“There are communities built around streamers, specific video games or even specific groups of streamers that play together, and everyone has a great connection,” Alvarez says.

Since global COVID-19 lockdowns began in early 2020, the number of Twitch viewers has grown exponentially due to an increase in expendable leisure time. Public figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have even used the live streaming service to fundraise and encourage voter turnout.

“COVID-19 has definitely allowed

28 FEBRUARY 2021

me to use Twitch a lot more than I used to, and that’s just because these streamers are giving people a lot more content than most other platforms,” Alvarez says.

While many students spend their free time watching streamers, a few ambitious students like seniors Justin Laxamana, Matthew Clark and DeMarinis have taken the leap to start channels of their own.

Justin Laxamana Laxamana first learned about Twitch in elementary school before the live streaming platform took off, and created an account a couple of years ago for the primary purpose of streaming “League of Legends.”

While other streamers may prioritize the number of views, followers and subscribers they pull in, Laxamana sees it as a passion project and a way to ensure he is making the most of his gaming time.

“One of the things I was guilty of was playing a lot of games, but not making sure that the time I spent on those games were well-worth,” Laxamana says. “I figured that if I could stream and have a sense of self-achievement while playing the video game, it would make it worthwhile.”

Laxamana does not dedicate a fixed amount of time to streaming each week and is instead flexible with his schedule.

When he has leisure time, he will usually watch another player’s stream in the background.

“When I’m absolutely doing nothing, I can just watch someone stream as some white noise behind me,” Laxamana says. “Not that I get too interested in what they’re doing; it’s just to have some white noise there.”

Matthew Clark Rather than streaming video games like the majority of creators on Twitch, Clark streams his piano playing. He had heard about the platform years ago, but only recently began streaming during COVID-19 in order to maintain social connections with his peers through the chat function.

He has since joined a small but thriving community of fellow non-gamers on Twitch.

“I’m not a huge streamer,” Clark says. “I mostly stream for fun just because it’s a way for me to have a more consistent schedule.”

Clark enjoys sharing his talent on Twitch because it allows him to post more casual content and piano pieces that don’t need to be edited.

profiles

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“

“If I want to upload something onto YouTube, I want the songs that I play to be polished,” Clark says. “Whereas if I’m playing on Twitch, it doesn’t really matter how polished the songs are. It’s mainly for fun. I have the freedom to mess up a lot without it mattering too much.”

Enzo DeMarinis DeMarinis is an active gamer who has enjoyed considerable success on Twitch, racking up a total of 2,500 non-concurrent views for his streams. He has streamed himself doing a variety of different things but is mainly a video game focused channel.

“Currently, I’m kind of a variety streamer, but my main two games are ‘League of Legends’ and ‘CS:GO,’” he says. “For a period in time, I was also doing IRL [in real life] streams. When I had a job at a small store on University

Avenue, I would stream myself working to watch. there quite often.”

“They are only really promoted to Like Alvarez, DeMarinis enjoys the people who are already subscribers of chat feature on Twitch that enables him that channel. A Twitch stream can be to converse found if you with members go to the of the gaming Twitch has been an amazing game categocommunity. ry, so it’s a lot platform to share my pas“I love beeasier.” ing able to in- sions with the world, and I Having teract with othdeveloped a look forward to continuing er people while newfound I play games or once I graduate.” passion for — ENZO DEMARINIS, senior Twitch, Delive my life,” DeMarinis Marinis plans says. “Chat can to hopefully also be super supportive which is always stream more often after high school — great.” during the summer and beyond.

From DeMarinis’ standpoint, “Twitch has been an amazing platTwitch has overtaken YouTube in the form to share my passions with the gaming world because of the conve- world, and I look forward to continuing nience that comes with finding content once I graduate,” DeMarinis says. v

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VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 29

Elizza on the rise

STUDENT ARTIST ON HER FIRST EP “MYSTERY”

I “

WROTE THE LETTER, dancing all alone, ‘cause he is gone and now I’m the devil I’ve never known,” croons Palo Alto High School junior Elizabeth Wong, backed by moody synth beats and melancholy piano progressions on her new track, “The Letter.” The song’s haunting low-fi arrangement paints a story of a girl writing letter after letter to someone who doesn’t care for her, slowly losing herself in her fixation with him. Her voice grows soft as the song decrescendos towards the final verses. “I should’ve saved her, I could’ve saved her, from writing the letter.”

Wong, known as Elizza to her listeners, has amassed thousands of streams and monthly listeners since her first single, “Ghost of Her” made its debut in 2019. Her videos have garnered over 300,000 views on YouTube and her fans applaud the evocative lyrics and melodies. Wong put out her first EP, titled “Mystery,” on Feb. 13.

Although she began songwriting in middle school, it wasn’t until freshman year she started recording.

“In seventh grade I wasn’t really confident and I didn’t like my

voice,” Wong said. “It took me about two years to be confident because my voice changed a lot too and matured a lot.”

Wong writes the majority of her songs with her piano at home and defines her music as mostly slow songs and ballads with woeful themes.

“I would describe my sound as a little darker and more mysterious and a little bit unpredictable,” Wong said. “I always have like, weird chord progressions at some points in the song, which I think really makes my sound a little more alluring.”

Producing from home When stay-at-home orders were implemented last March, Wong found herself with more time to focus on her music. She spent her summer connecting online with George Fitzgibbon a U.K.-based producer to write a collection of songs that would become her upcoming EP. However, shelter-in-place orders made studio recording impossible, forcing Wong to develop a new process of working around the restrictions.

“Given that we’ve never met and never had a proper face-toface discussion about where we could take the music, it took a fair few mixes to get a style down that we both thought was the way to go,” Fitzgibbon said. “This process is also fairly time consuming due to the time difference between us, but I think we nailed it.”

Communicating with Fitzgibbon mainly over text, Wong says the recording and producing process was fun but required a lot more independent work. “Mystery” was recorded completely from home but maintains the same level of quality exhibited by her studio work.

“I record on my bed, actually,” Wong said. “I don’t have any professional equipment, but it still works.”

Her songwriting process typically takes place over the course of several weeks. It begins with writing chords on her home piano and coming up with melodies. She then writes the lyrics and A WAY WITH WORDS — Junior Elizabeth Wong poses for the camera, inviting us into the world she creates through vivid lyrical storytelling. “Having a story in a song that’s three minutes is really cool and that’s why I like songwriting — you can say so much in such a short amount of time, and convey so many emotions,” Wong said. Photo illustration: Audrey Joachim

30 FEBRUARY 2021

v

profiles

Text by SOFIA ANTEBI and DOMINIQUE LASHLEY

v

You can access Elizza’s music by scanning this QR code!

records a demo to send to her producer. Once her producer creates On “Mystery,” Wong strives to deliver the same vulnerability a track, they work together to finalize the song. and authenticity that has earned her notoriety in the past.

“My favorite part of the process was hearing Elizza’s demos “I made these songs according to what I noticed that people for the first time and mentally mapping out how I would begin like about my stuff,” Wong said. “I have a lot of really raw, the production,” Fitzgibbon said. “Taking the bare bones of a emotional songs because that’s what I notice that people tend to song, like piano and vocals, and having the freedom to flesh it out like more.” into a huge cinematic piece is a lot of fun.”

Wong describes her new EP as darker and more mysterious However, when faced with than previous work, highlighting personal unforeseen bouts of writer’s block, struggles as well as self-discovery. For Wong, The songs are not just Wong can sometimes struggle with songwriting allows her to process and reflect about being sad, it’s also feeling stuck and overwhelmed. on her emotions and negative experiences.

“Songwriting can be really stressful about how I can get One song that especially stands out for Wong because it’s not something you do based dives deep into her personal experiences with on a formula, the melodies just have to away from that dark self doubt and self-acceptance. come out of your head,” Wong said. place.”

“There’s a song called ‘Wanted,’ and — ELIZABETH WONG, junior it’s about me feeling like I messed up a lot, “So sometimes I go through really bad phases of writer’s block, which is when like I’ve done a lot of wrong things and it’s you just can’t come up with anything. And that stresses me out a about me feeling guilty and blaming myself,” Wong said. “I wrote lot, because sometimes it lasts really long.” that song reminding myself that I shouldn’t blame everything on myself.”

Finding her audience Although many of the songs feature melancholy themes, Despite the difficulties, Wong finds joy in the creative process Wong also includes messages of hope for herself and her and considers the most rewarding aspect of what she does to be listeners. seeing the emotional connections her listeners create with her “The songs are not just about being work. Her current top single, “Kid I Used to Be.,” received an sad, it’s also about how I can get away especially positive response from listeners after her lyric video on from that dark place,” Wong said.

YouTube went viral. Her audience related strongly to its coming- “And also just about me convincing of-age themes and haunting verses about losing one’s childhood myself that there’s a light at the end innocence. of the tunnel.” v “It’s about my relationship with my family growing up, how my parents were always fighting Photos: Lynn Lee and Sofia Antebi and stuff,” Wong said. “It’s kind of surprising because I didn’t know such a specifically personal story would resonate with a lot of people.”

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VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 31

Text by MERWA MAROF and AUDREY KERNICK

the return of taylor swift

“I COME BACK STRONGER THAN A ‘90S TREND“

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OR A WORLD-FAMOUS, critically acclaimed, Grammy-award-winning pop star, whose album release dates are highly anticipated, an out-of-the-blue album usually is out of the question –– but Taylor Swift proved twice last year that she is full of surprises.

Swift’s eighth studio album, “folklore,” arrived on July 24 without so much as a whisper of warning. With 16 tracks and a run time of 3 minutes past an hour, “folklore” skipped the bells and whistles of promotion and press, and proved that it didn’t need the hype to dominate the charts. The success of “folklore” was immediate, debuting at No. 1 and breaking the record for most streamed album in a single day on Spotify.

A short five months later, before dust could even begin to settle on “folklore,” Swift did it again. “evermore” was released on Dec. 11, under circumstances similar to its sister album “folklore.”

Taking more of an indie approach, these albums were much more personal compared to her previous ones. The tracks are softer and melodic, and are not only about past relationships but also about hope for the future. Songs like “Marjorie” reminisce about the little time Swift had with her grandmother, and “illicit affairs” deals with having to move past a relationship that was all-consuming. Alongside them, she includes many songs that tell a story like “the last great american dynasty” that depicts the life of the rich woman who

32 FEBRUARY 2021

lived in a grand seaside mansion that how do you get better than that?” says Swift now owns. junior Sarah Crystal, a self-proclaimed Swift has been in the music industry Swift superfan. for almost 15 years, starting with the reSoon after releasing “1989,” Swift lease of her debut album “Taylor Swift” strayed away from the public eye after in 2006, and growing her career and having been in the spotlight for many fame with seven more studio albums be- years and did not resurface until “reputafore dropping “folklore.” She started off tion,” where she reinvented her brand by in the country genre with albums such trading her trademark red lip and blonde as “Fearless” before gradually making curls for dark sequins and a bleached her way towards pop music with “Speak bob. She continued to change her apNow” and “Red.” Despite being in the pearance along with the aesthetic of her music industry for many years, she con- newer albums, which are more personal. tinues to gain the attention of more peo“‘Folklore’ and ‘evermore’ are from ple even with her older albums. a more detached perspective and having Sophomore Maya Mukherjee just gone through all that, these last few alrecently became a fan of Swift. bums feel more reflective,” Crystal said.

“I turned 15 like right after I heard Unlike “Lover,” these two albums “Fifteen” and then I was like, ‘Oh my have less of a pop influence and are sadGod, this is der, with the emphaamazing,’” on the piano and After ‘1989,’ she was in a sis Mukherjee guitar. Traditionally, says. spot where she was at the Swift has many upShe dove songs on her top of the world — how beat headfirst into albums with a few Swift’s discog- do you get better than softer songs, but with raphy and was these sister albums, that?” not disappointshe has done the op— SARAH CRYSTAL, junior ed as Swift conposite. They are also tinued to delivvery nostalgic, songs er. like “right where you left me” and “hapIn 2014, Swift dropped her fifth piness” dwell on past loves and trying to studio album, “1989,” which won three move on.

Grammys and was considered by many to be her formal departure from country Storytelling through song music.

“Folklore” and “evermore” are filled “After ‘1989,’ she was in a spot with captivating lyrics and catchy cords. where she was at the top of the world — These sister albums have a similar sound

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folklore and evermore

No.1 510

million

Art by LAUREN YAN

on the Billboard 200 on the first day of release combined streams in the first week of release According to Billboard, Forbes and Variety

with an emphasis on the guitar and piano.

Three songs from “folklore” that soared in popularity were “betty,” “august” and “cardigan.” These songs feature James, Inez and Betty, who were confirmed by People Magazine to be fictional characters named after Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ kids. These three characters are described through Swift’s lyrics as she tells the story of a love triangle between three teenagers and a lost summer that James spent with Inez.

“Betty” is from the perspective of James apologizing to Betty after choosing to spend time away from her. There is a strong guitar presence and a harmonica that shows up throughout the song.

“August” follows Inez as she reminisces about her summer with James, knowing that he was never hers even though she really wants him. In “cardigan,” Betty feels the effects of James leaving and is frustrated with people dismissing it as an immature love. These songs all hold a sense of longing and nostalgia with lyrics like “But if I just showed up at your party, would you have me? Would you want me?”

One of the more somber songs on “evermore” is “champagne problems,” which is often compared to “All Too Well” from the album “Red” for evoking deep sadness about a failed relationship. Both songs

use storytelling to depict scenes of a painful breakup and a rejected marriage proposal, from the melancholy memories of laughter while dancing in the kitchen to shattering a lovers heart. Lyrics like “you tell me ‘bout your past thinking your future was me” clue into how close the pair were until they weren’t.

“No body, no crime” has the most significant country influence, and Swift’s vocals are accompanied by the American pop rock band HAIM. The song follows the story of a vengeful pro-

tagonist, whose perspective Swift sings from, as she seeks revenge for her friend’s murderer.

Swift has been keeping busy with rerecording her first six albums. She released “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” on Feb. 12 and will be releasing “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” on April 9, which will include 26 songs, including six never before released songs. Having been a part of the music industry for more than 10 years, Swift has contributed her fair share with nine studio albums and climbed the billboards with each one, gaining recognition across genres.

“She’s just doing what she wants,” Crystal says. “She’s not doing it to please anyone.” v

VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 33

Text by AKHIL JOONDEPH and JONAS PAO Art by SAMANTHA HO

FOOD

FOR THE

FESTIVITIES CELEBRATING LUNAR NEW YEAR WITH TRADITIONAL DISHES

C

HEWY RICE CAKES topped with sweet red beans, long and stretchy noodles covered in savory broth, plump piping-hot dumplings — these are just a few of the decadent dishes enjoyed by people of East Asian descent around the world as they ring in the new year.

While most Western countries follow the Gregorian solar-based calendar, many Asian cultures traditionally follow a moon-based calendar, resulting in the celebration of the Lunar New Year in February. Lunar New Year is one of the most

important holidays in East Asian cultures, and is met with large family gatherings, ceremonial gifts of money and feasts of traditional delicacies.

According to a Verde opt-in survey of 144 Palo Alto High School students conducted from Feb. 1 to Feb. 11, over 29% of Paly students celebrate Lunar New Year. Verde took a closer look at some of the ways students from three different countries eat traditional foods to celebrate the holiday, and sampled traditional New Year’s dishes from a selection of local restaurants. v

Red symbolizes good fortune and happiness in Chinese culture. According to an ancient legend, a demon would terrorize villages and their livestock around the New Year. So, because the demon was afraid of the color red, it became a New Year’s tradition to decorate houses in red banners, give money in red envelopes and eat reddish-tinted foods.

We sampled a traditional Peking Duck ($46) at the Peking Duck restaurant located on California Avenue.

We tucked the tender duck meat into discs of mantou, a sweet and savory bun, and enjoyed this quasi-sandwich with a sweet sauce and fresh green onions. The rich flavor of the duck, the doughy texture of the mantou and the sweet and salty tang of the sauce combined for a perfectly balanced entree.

QUACK OPEN YOUR MOUTH — Peking duck, from a restaurant of the same name, is a traditional New Year’s delicacy for many people of Chinese descent.

“My family usually goes out to a fancy Asian restaurant ... and [usually]... we like to eat duck,” junior Julian Kobayashi said. Photo: Jonas Pao

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is a 16-day holiday traditionally dedicated to honoring ancestors and coming together as a family.

Junior Julian Kobayashi, while having both Chinese and Japanese heritage, historically celebrates Chinese New Year with his immediate family by going out to eat at a traditional Chinese restaurant. However, due to COVID-19, Kobayashi and his family have altered their plans for this year’s celebrations.

“A lot of the restaurants we like to go to have been moved to takeout,” he says. “We are going to order takeout and just eat at home instead.”

Kobayashi often eats roasted Peking Duck on New Year’s Day with his family to celebrate. The reddish tint of roasted duck skin makes the dish of Peking Duck a symbolic delicacy.

Korean New Year Korean New Year, also known as Seollal, is a three-day holiday. This festival is a time for Koreans to see their friends and family, and also pay respects to their ancestors.

Sophomore Ajin Jeong celebrates the New Year by eating her mom’s Duk Gook, a rice cake soup traditionally eaten during Seollal.

“The concept is that when you eat the soup, you grow a year older,” Jeong says.

Traditionally in Korea, birthdays are not as special as they are in the United States and instead, aging is associated with the New Year and the eating of a bowl of Duk Gook. Some Koreans even use the expression, “How many bowls of Duk Gook have you eaten?” to ask others their age.

The tradition of eating Duk Gook

to mark one’s age is thought to have emerged due to the scarcity of rice in ancient Korea. People would save their rice for Seollal and have a collective birthday feast for the entire family.

The white color of the rice cakes in the soup represents purity, while their disc-like shape symbolizes prosperity.

We sampled a traditional rice cake and dumpling soup from Su-Dam Korean Cuisine in the Village Shopping Center in Los Altos.

The Duk Man Doo Gook soup ($11.99), packed full of soft and sticky rice cakes and plump pork dumplings, came together to deliver a savory, rich and complex taste. Tender meat and rich dumplings enhanced the salty flavor of the beef broth, and the kimchi, a spicy fermented cabbage condiment, added a delectable heat.

SOUP-REME FLAVORS — Steaming Duk Man Doo Gook, a traditional Korean New Year delicacy soup is packed full of intense, savory flavor. “In Korea, there’s a tradition of eating Duk Gook ... on the day of the Lunar New Year,” sophomore Ajin Jeong said. Photo: Jonas Pao

Japanese New Year

MOCHI MADNESS — Mochi, a traditional Japanese rice cake is a favorite food of many Japanese people during the New Year, and we sampled three varieties of this confectionary treat from K. Minamoto. “My favorite [New Year’s food] is definitely Mochi,” junior Kyoka Hiroshima said. “There are a lot of different garnishes and ... ways to eat it.” Photo: Akhil Joondeph

Japanese New Year was originally celebrated during the Lunar New Year like most other Asian countries, but cultural shifts have led some Japanese people to celebrate on Jan. 1.

Junior Kyoka Hiroshima typically celebrates Japanese New Year on Jan. 1 with her family by eating mochi, a type of chewy rice cake. The stretchy texture of mochi symbolizes longevity, and is a common sweet or savory treat eaten by Japanese people to celebrate the new year. While many Japanese-Americans buy their mochi at the store, Hiroshima’s family likes to go the extra mile.

“Not a lot of families do this, but my family likes to make mochi,” she says. “It [mochi making] is a pretty long process.”

While mochi-making is laborious, Hiroshima enjoys this tradition as it brings her entire family together.

“We invite a lot of family friends over and we make mochi together,” she says. “My favorite [New Year tradition] is definitely that.”

We sampled three types of traditional mochi from the Japanese confectionary shop K. Minamoto, located in Stanford Shopping Center; Kuridaifuku filled with red bean paste and sweetened chestnut, Sakura Mochi filled with red bean paste and wrapped in a salted cherry blossom leaf, and Mame Daifuku which had red beans mixed into the mochi itself.

The subtle flavor of red bean and creamy texture of chestnut encased in chewy mochi made the Kuridaifuku ($4.60) a very pleasant bite, though the chestnut was not particularly flavorful.

Accentuated by the slightly oceanic flavor of salted cherry blossom, the Sakura Mochi ($5.10) was a perfectly balanced harmony of sweet and salty, with a wonderful chewy texture from the mochi. Intense red bean flavor permeated the Mame Daifuku ($4.60), and the grainy and slightly crunchy red beans folded into the mochi provided an interesting textural contrast to the soft rice cake.

Text and photos by KATHERINE CHENG

Art by SAMANTHA HO

RAMEN KOWA

NEW RAMEN RESTAURANT ARRIVES IN PALO ALTO

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ED PAPER LANTERNS dot the restaurant’s awning, which shelters customers as they line up to order. In the back corner, behind the host standing at the doorway, the kitchen clatters with activity. It is easy to imagine diners sitting at the booths against the wood panel walls that line the interior, with bowls of steaming ramen fresh from the kitchen between them. But for now, the tables that would be scattered about the room are pushed to the front, flooded with brown paper bags holding takeout orders. The server passes the bags to customers eagerly waiting to enjoy their meals at home.

Ramen Kowa is Palo Alto’s newest ramen restaurant, located along California Avenue. The restaurant is one of several local businesses that opened during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, starting business in November. With Santa Clara County’s reentrance into the purple tier in January, allowing restaurants to start up outdoor dining again, the tables have moved outside, awaiting guests and adding to the bustle of an increasingly revitalized street.

A wide selection of ramen dishes grace Ramen Kowa’s menu, along with appetizers and sides — from rice bowls to edamame — to accompany a hearty meal. v

KARAAGE, TOP LEFT ($8) The crackled deep-fried skin hides tender marinated chicken, creating addictive bite-sized treats. Accompanied by a tangy Japanese mayonnaise that offsets the savory chicken flavor, this appetizer will quickly disappear from the table.

TONKOTSU RAMEN, TOP RIGHT ($14.80) A savory, creamy pork-based broth brings together chewy ramen noodles, a soft-boiled egg, bamboo shoots and other toppings. The rich flavors offered by the pork slices complete Ramen Kowa’s take on a classic.

CLASSIC SHOYU RAMEN, BOTTOM LEFT ($14.50) This soup has a clear dark soy sauce broth as its base and is served with pork slices, spinach, bamboo shoots and a soft-boiled egg. With a lighter flavor than the Tonkotsu ramen, Ramen Kowa’s Shoyu creates a warm but refreshing sensation.

KATSU CURRY, BOTTOM RIGHT ($16.50) White rice and pork tonkatsu serve as the base of this dish. Upon adding the rich curry, the bowl transforms into a balanced, hearty stew. This dish includes a small side salad with a sharp, ginger dressing.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS — As Ramen Kowa opens for dinner, tables extend into California Avenue’s sidewalk, anticipating diners for the evening. When Santa Clara County reentered the purple tier in late January, local restaurants were once again able to pursue outdoor dining. Ramen Kowa is one of several restaurants who have begun these services, along with takeout and delivery options they have supported since their opening.

36 FEBRUARY 2021

THANK YOU TO VERDE’S SPONSORS Amy Yang

Michael Mies

Emanuela Todaro Karin Kimbrough Sonya Hanna

Priscilla Joondeph Brad Joondeph

Rosemary Wang Herb Wang

Melissa Allan

Kenneth Kimbrough Penelope West Soujanya

Michelle Baldonado Sun Kim

Carol Hsu

Saroja Srinivasan

Leslie Matlof Kennedy Gohershad Pazhwak Edris Marof

Julie Kennedy

Susan Prudler Boda Chen

Helen Hui Li

Joanna Larson

VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 37

Text by MICHELLE KIM and NAOMI BONEH Art by MICHELLE KIM

Mirror through

Minari

FILM LANGUAGES SUBJECT TO OUTDATED RULES

“W

HAT IS THIS PLACE?” “It’s our home.”

A man helps his wife up to the doorway of their trailer home, reminding her of the new beginning they promised to pursue. In accented English, he promises his two young children that he’ll grow them a big garden, referring to his dreams of making a living for his family through farming.

Portrayal of immigrants “Minari” follows a South Korean family’s immigration to Arkansas during the 1980s in the hopes of starting a new life, partially mirroring director Lee Isaac Chung’s own rural upbringing in the South.

Jacob (Steven Yeun) and Monica (Yeri journey of growth and overcoming their Han), their children David (Alan Kim) and hardships together.

Anne (Noel Cho), and Monica’s mothThe film debuted at the Sundance er Soonja (Yuh-jung Youn) find greater Film Festival in January of last year and was importance in familial officially released in the bonds as they navigate United States on Feb. 12, the unpredictable nature The Golden Globes quickly garnering praise of cultivating farmland, thus fails to live up for its powerful depiction as well as cultural differof the significance of famences from their non- to the “global” part ily and the struggles of Asian neighbors. adjusting in an unfamiliar of its name.

These cultural differcommunity. ences are emphasized in a scene where David declares that Soonja is Controversy over classification not a “real grandmother,” pointing out that In December, the Hollywood Foreign she does not bake cookies or act like the Press Association designated “Minari” as a elders he observes in his American commu- nominee for the Golden Globes’ Foreign nity. Jacob and Monica are oblivious to the Language Film category, sparking controway their children are taking up new cul- versy across several social media platforms tural roots, highlighting the grapple with as users questioned why a truly American cultural identity that many second-gener- story was not marked as such. ation immigrants experience.

“Minari” was produced by an Amer“Minari” is the Korean word for wa- ican director and the American company ter celery, a leafy vegetable common in East Plan B, distributed by American entertainAsian dishes. As explained by Soon-Ja in the ment company A24, filmed in film, it is resilient and symbolizes growth; Oklahoma and cast predomlike a plant finding new roots inantly American actors. The and flourishing in unexpected only component distinguishplaces, the movie’s name is ing “Minari” as a non-Amerderived from the family’s ican film appears to be its Korean dialogue.

Though Minari fits the HFPA’s criteria for the Foreign Language category as over 50% of its dialogue is not in English, many took issue with the film being treated as a foreign entity solely based on language. “[This is] the film equivalent of being told to go back to your country when that country is actually America,” actor Daniel Dae Kim said in a tweet last December.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, roughly 67.3 million United States residents, or 20% of all Americans, speak a non-English language at home. In a country that values diversity and the freedom of individuals to immigrate, equating “speaking English” to “being American” is illogical and disrespectful.

The Golden Globes thus fails to live up to the “global” part of its name.

Contrast in other films Senior Emma Wu closely followed the film preceding its release and felt the controversy over the category connects with larger issues in the film industry; while she acknowledges the improvement in Asian representation and decrease in stereotypes through movies including “Crazy Rich Asians” and “The Farewell,” there are hurdles that still need to be overcome.

“There’s still a big issue with Hollywood in general being very white,” Wu said. “Recently, ‘Mulan,’ with the entire directing and producing staff being white and telling an Asian story, really didn’t sit well with me. I wish there could be more Asian creators doing those sorts of big films.”

The recognition of a white cast and directorial staff as more acceptably American than their Asian counterparts is also

reflected in previous nominations for mov- purpose of an awards show. ies such as Quentin Tarantino’s “InglouThough foreign films still deserve to rious Basterds,” which contained around have their own category, perhaps it is best 70% non-English dialogue yet was nom- to avoid the message that languages other inated for Best Picture categories in 2010 than English do not deserve an equal level instead of as a Foreign Language Film — of attention; the category should be clearcontradicting the “Minari” classification. ly reformatted to a “Foreign Film” award In 2007, following nominations for instead and receive eligibility for Best PicClint Eastwood’s ture at the Golden “Letters from Iwo There’s still a big issue Globes. In a similar Jima” and Mel Gibvein to the various son’s “Apocalypto” with Hollywood in genawards for individas Foreign Language eral being very white.” ual actors in AmerFilms, the HFPA ican films, the For— EMMA WU, senior eign Film category ruled in favor of restricting category elshould expand to igibility to films without significant fund- offer more awards as well. ing or creative elements from the United The backlash towards the nomination States and with at least 51% non-English of “Minari” connects to more widespread dialogue. Previously, movies from America activism against Asian discrimination in were allowed to compete.

Hollywood, but the problem still remains.

The rule change was intended to give Asian-American discrimination that has foreign-produced movies a better chance historically been present in American films to win in future awards shows by forcing — such as the practice of casting white American films to run in other categories. actors in Asian roles, playing on racist steHowever, it was overturned after Cary reotypes and portraying Asians as outsiders Fukunaga’s “Sin Nombre,” a Spanish-lan- infringing on American society — is no guage film that was popular with many longer as visible on screen as it was deHFPA members, failed to win any nomina- cades ago, yet its subtleties remain in the tions in 2010. Now, though Foreign Lan- separation of films by language that hurtguage Film nominees must be released in fully denies America’s diverse cultural backtheir country of origin in the 15 months grounds. With its portrayal of perseverance prior to the nomination period, American and finding a multicultural community in productions are eligible to compete once the United States, “Minari” is distinctly an again as long as they meet the foreign dia- American story and deserves to be fairly logue requirement. celebrated for the narrative it illustrates.

The Golden Globes’ classification of “I really hope people go to see it “Minari” as a Foreign Language Film is just [“Minari”],” Wu said. “It tells a part one example of the larger problem — that of Asian history immigrating its rules reflect the implicit assumption that to America that language alone determines a film’s “foreign” is sort of skipped nature and that foreign films are not eli- over, but is nonegible for the Best Motion Picture Drama theless valuable.” v and Best Motion Picture in the Musical or Comedy subsection. In addition, creating and taking away the rules for eligibility in certain categories in favor of a single film but not others defeats the

“

Art by SAMANTHA HO Text by ANDIE TETZLAFF and SASHA BOUDTCHENKO

L U S

ANIMATION STIRS REFLECTION

A

N OUT-OF-TUNE melody breaks the rules and escapes off the path bounces around the room as into an abyss. Traveling through dimenmovie protagonist Joe Gard- sions, he tumbles into an unexpected life ner struggles to conduct a dys- — and afterlife — changing adventure. functional middle school band. In the The film discusses a person’s purdimly lit classroom, students in front of pose and the concept that each soul him slouch in their chairs, surrounded needs a “spark” which comes with the by beige walls with joy of discovering a some music posters passion, like playing pinned up in a des- The movie sent a soccer or the cello. perate attempt at Through this converstrong message predecor. sation, Disney and Amid the dreary senting how there is Pixar’s newest movie environment, Gardtackles quesmore than one path to “Soul” ner’s eyes shine with tions of the meaning his passion for mu- happiness and success, of life, prompting sic as he guides the and reimpacting my image of introspection students through flection. the notes. But this success.”

— SEAN ISAYAMA, junior Students on “Soul” average day of his monotonous life is Since the movabout to take a turn. ie’s release on Dec. 25, “Soul” has gained After years of teaching middle a reputation for its significant impact on school band and chasing after gigs with audiences, including students at Palo hopes of a music career, Gardner gets a Alto High School. chance to perform with a celebrity sax“The movie sent a strong message ophonist. Ecstatic about the chance to presenting how there is more than one finally pursue his dream career, Gardner path to happiness and success, impactcheerfully waltzes through the hectic ing my image of success,” junior Sean streets of New York and… dies?

Isayama said.

He wakes up to find his soul on a Isayama says he believes that “Soul” long conveyor belt-like path towards the engages with issues prevalent in society light — the Great Beyond, as it is called. today, especially in Palo Alto where stuUnwilling to accept his fate, Gardner dents tend to correlate good grades with

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40 FEBRUARY 2021

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C R A E S

their success and happiness. With such resentation in movies so that kids these superficial focuses, there seems to be a days are able to grow up relating to peoconfusion about one’s purpose in life. ple they see and feeling connected to “Soul” exceeded junior Lily Loc- them,” Lochead said. head’s expectations.

“Honestly, I did not think the mov- Reflections of society ie would be as good as people said it was “Soul” isn’t the only movie with a … but once I did deeper meaning [watch the movthat is veiled by ie], I loved it,” It made me want to focus its lighthearted Lochead said. “It more on the present and animation. Previmade me want ous Disney-Pixto focus more on enjoying the little things ar movies such the present and in life, rather than focusas “Inside Out” enjoying the litand “Coco” have tle things in life, ing on the future.” also impressed rather than being audiences with — LILY LOCHEAD, junior stuck on my futhe life lessons ture.” masterfully woven into the stoBlack lead breaks barriers ryline.

Aside from the impressive visuals These movies all deal with profound and powerful message, Pixar goes a step topics around relationships, prompting further in its representation of Black viewers to reevaluate their own prioriAmericans in “Soul.” While Black actors ties. have voiced many characters in Pixar Whether it is traveling to the soul movies, they often play animals or voice realm or walking through the streets of supporting roles.

New York City, “Soul” transports the Gardner is the first Black lead char- audience through their imagination on acter in a Pixar movie, making “Soul” a jazzy adventure with a long-lasting imthe fourth American animated movie pact. v with Black characters in lead roles, according to the New York Times.

“Soul” is available for streaming on Dis“It is always good to see more rep- ney+.

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VERDEMAGAZINE.COM 41

Text by OLIVIA MILNE and TARA KOTHARI

Art by SELENA CAO

BRIDGERTON BUZZ

PERIOD DRAMA SETS RECORDS ON NETFLIX

“M

ISS DAPHNE BRIDGERTON, presented by Delving into diversity her mother, the Right Honorable, the Dowager The diverse cast sets “Bridgerton” apart from other period draViscountess Bridgerton,’’ is confidently announced mas. The show includes many people of color in positions of power into the eerily silent room. Large wooden double and lower class alike. doors embellished in gold and white promptly open, revealing a In the show, Queen Charlotte of England is a woman of mixed woman clad in an elegant dress with an elaborate feather plume race married to a white king –– a minor detail that sets the scene atop her head. She slowly walks down the aisle towards the queen, of a world where one’s skin color does not determine societal rank. painfully aware of all eyes in the room on her. One misstep could Along with the Queen of England, the lead male actor in the show end it all. is a Black man who courts the white female lead.

This is the opening scene of Netflix’s newest Critics of this surge in diversity claim that Creating positive having hit series, “Bridgerton,” created by Chris Van Dupeople of color in period dramas is historsen and executively produced by Shonda Rhimes. change to be more ically inaccurate –– yet many viewers of the show Set in 1813 London, the period drama has capappreciate the choice. inclusive is most tivated people around the world with its unique “Creating positive change to be more inclustoryline, beautiful costumes and modern music. important.” sive is most important,” Palo Alto High School Reaching 83 million household streams in its first junior Katherine Thomsen said. “I don’t think — KATHERINE THOMSEN, junior 28 days, “Bridgerton” has had the most successful any viewers really cared about it [“Bridgerton”] debut in Netflix’s history. being minorly inaccurate.”

Based on the best-selling novels written by Julia Quinn, the While “Bridgerton” has a more racially diverse cast compared show follows the life of the Bridgerton family, focusing on the old- to other classic period dramas, the characters are still overwhelmest daughter, Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), as she em- ingly white. Additionally, some critics have pointed out that the barks on a quest to find a husband and earn Queen Charlotte’s darker-skinned actors generally represent villains, lower class char(Golda Rosheuvel) approval. Daphne and the mysterious Duke of acters or are alone with no love prospects. For example, one of the Hastings, Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page), strike a deal to fake darker-skinned characters, Lady Danbury (Adjoa a relationship in order to alleviate some of their stresses.

Andoh), is never seen with a partner or prospecThe never-ending gossip and secrets within the tive suitor, while Marina Thompson (Ruby Bridgerton family — as well as the entire high society Barker), who is considerably lighter in skin — keeps viewers in suspense wondering what fate each tone, has a slew of men pining after her. character will meet.

“I think overall it was good to include more diverse actors in the show but they should’ve been more conscious to incorporate all races and skin tones into powerful positions,” Thomsen said.

If you are looking for a show that is exciting, riveting and passionate, “Bridgerton” is a must-watch. The historical aspects of the series accompanied by the subtle modern touches and daring characters make it all worthwhile. Whether you are intrigued

by Daphne’s ever-changing outfits or mesmerized by Simon’s mysterious demeanor, “Bridgerton” is for you. v

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“Bridgerton” is available for streaming on Netflix.

culture Text by SOPHIE MATLOF and AUDREY KERNICK

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Art by SAMANTHA HO

GIRL POWER A

THE PROBLEMS WITH SUPERHEROINES IN FILM YOUNG WONDER WOMAN runs through the lush green forests of her homeland in order to make it in time for an intense athletic competition with her fellow Amazonian warriors. Though the youngest one in the competition, she quickly takes the lead, as the game ends in a high speed horse race. She flashes across the screen, working hard to take her place among the Amazons.

This scene from Wonder Woman 1984 is one example of female power and superheroism portrayed in the film.

With the December 2020 and January 2021 releases of both “Wonder Woman 1984” and the “WandaVision” series, respectively, the strong female superheroes of our generation are beginning to receive the film and television representation their male counterparts have had since the late 1970s.

Some of the more recent films to star a female lead as the featured superhero are “Wonder Woman,” “Wonder Woman 1984,” “Captain Marvel” and “WandaVision,” while the upcoming “Black Widow” will be released on May 7. Many of these films have received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike, raising the question of whether the scrutiny was a product of misogyny or the actual quality of the film.

If it was the latter, why are these female led

superhero movies so often written more story writers. poorly than male led ones?

Junior Alice De Martel hopes the fuThough the original “Wonder Wom- ture will bring more female heroes with an” (2017) received mostly positive re- stronger stories. views, its sequel, “Wonder Woman 1984” “I think they are not given as much (2020), scored only a 60% on Rotten To- representation, which isn’t fair,” De Martel matoes and was met with an onslaught of said. “They’re also not as iconic as the male criticism. Reviewers labeled it chaotic and superheroes.” complained it was only able to keep it’s auEven when women have the chance dience entertained through escapism rather to represent a strong, leading superhero on than deeper positive the big screen, the ofqualities.

“Captain I think they are not ten oversexualized and Marvel,” released in impractical costumes given as much repre2017, also faced large they wear make it difamounts of backlash, sentation, which isn’t ficult for audiences to particularly from fans take these characters fair.” of the Marvel Cineseriously.

— ALICE DE MARTEL, junior matic Universe. Many Wonder Womfelt like her movie was an wears a short, relackluster in comparison to other Marvel vealing skirt with a tight metal corset that movies. seems impossible to actually jump, run and Why do these poorly written stories so fight in. In “Catwoman,” Halle Berry dons often fall to the female superheroes while skin tight leather catsuits that were clearly the men garner support from their fans designed to place every curve of her body with fantastic storylines of adventure, brav- on display rather than help her get around. ery and victory? The elements are there for These costumes are yet another example of the movies of their female counterparts, how female superheroes are not given the including exciting action sequences and respect they deserve. romantic love interests. But the plot often The film industry must to do better at falls flat, opening the door for misogynistic creating roles to combat gender stereotypes viewers to place blame on the leading wom- and writing stories that make us love and an, rather than the creatives, directors and believe in a female superhero. v

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Text by ISHAAN BATRA and SEBASTIAN BONNARD

Qualia Contempor GALLERY EXHIBITIONS SHOWCASE LOCAL ART

A

S ONLOOKERS STROLL DOWN UNIVERSITY Avenue in downtown Palo Alto, Qualia Contemporary Art Gallery will certainly catch their eye. The medley of the paintings’ colors juxtaposed with the sleek brightwhite gallery decor invites passersby to take a peek inside. Within the gallery, guests find themselves in a spacious room lined with paintings from Oakland artists Cate White’s “Here to Returnity” and Sean Howe’s “Inhabitants.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly scrambled our way of living, but local art still prevails. Owned and directed by Dacia Xu, the Qualia Contemporary Art Gallery has successfully launched two exhibitions after opening during the pandemic.

Qualia Contemporary Art is now presenting two solo exhibitions by artists Stella Zhang and Yulia Pinkusevich from Feb. 11 to April 2.

“

work created from 2017-2020 that capture[s] the beautiful, overwhelming complexities and relationships that exist within nature. It plays with both hope and anxiety regarding the natural world.”

Even though both artists’ work explore separate mediums, Xu recognizes that they share a common theme.

“While Howe and White are distinctively different artists with their own unique styles, the two exhibitions are actually in dialogue with and complement each other,” Xu said. “They share a strong sense of freedom, fluidity and inventiveness in exploring new possibilities for our world.”

Howe and White’s collection are the gallery’s second exhibition since its establishment on University Avenue in 2020.

Cate White Cate White, an Oakland resident, is one Dacia Xu of the artists currently featured at the gallery.

Dacia Xu, co-owner and director of White’s art explores a plethora of philosophical, Qualia, oversees all of the daily operations cultural and social perspectives — each lucidly involving the promotion and organization illustrated in materials ranging from acrylic to of the gallery. Xu manages lighting, sound or spray paint to latex. video, as needed, and remains at the gallery to White “takes her own personal history and answer questions from its many visitors. experiences, as well as those of her friends, and Xu meets visitors ranging in age from 14 places them within the art historical canon,” months to 80 years and finds her job rewarding according to Qualia’s website. and heartening because of the connections she The subjects of White’s work share a clarity — DACIA XU, gallery owner makes with those from all walks of life. that makes the audience feel a sense of intimacy “[A] fourteen-month-old boy sat in [a] with each painting. For her inspiration, White stroller and got very excited when he saw [the] paintings,” Xu draws on the figures and events around her. said. “Many people would come to tell me how happy they are to “I paint myself, people I’m close to, and archetypal, symbolic discover this gallery and how much they enjoy the exhibition … figures,” White said. “I haven’t painted much from my past life or and share their opinions about specific artworks.” childhood, but I plan to very soon.”

“Here to Returnity” and “Inhabitants” is Xu’s second White worked as a creative writer until, at the age of 30, she exhibition at Qualia, showcasing Cate White and Sean Howe. realized that she preferred working with shades of paint instead of “Cate White’s work explores contemporary societal issues. the rhetoric of language.

‘Here to Returnity,’ is a series of mixed media on canvas pieces “The visual world came alive in a way that inspired me to want that set her personal experiences with the structural inequalities to be creative in that way,” White said. “I wanted to have a voice in [her] daily life,” Xu said. “‘Inhabitants’ is a surreal body of in the culture, and then with the painting that came, I kind of

They share a strong sense of freedom, fluidity and intentiveness in exploring new possibilities for our world.”

44 FEBRUARY 2021

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Art by CATE WHITE and SEAN HOWE Photos by AUDREY JOACHIM

rary Art Gallery realized, okay, this is going to be my thing.”

Though White has promoted various collections in multiple galleries, her favorite paintings are her most recent ones. Of these, “The Problem” stands out due to its unambiguous reflection of society to its viewers.

The piece depicts a Black woman pushing a baby in a stroller, unfazed by the tumultuous metropolitan environment around her. Though she encounters all sorts of challenges, undaunted, she holds her head up high in defiance.

“I just feel like that one has a certain just visual clarity in it, a kind of emotional, psychological clarity,” White said.

The emboldened yet delicate nature of White’s artwork communicates the focal points of her purpose.

“I want my work to be accessible to people across social strata, to evoke deeper cultural conversations that could contribute to collective healing,” White said.

ART OF ABSTRACTION — Sean Howe’s “Inhabitants of the Middle” is on display at Qualia Contemperary Art Gallery. Howe collaborated with owner Dacia Xu on the naming of his collection’s centerpeice. “Dacia and I worked on that one together, we felt like Inhabitants was a good title.” Art: Sean Howe

Sean Howe Sean Howe is an up-and-coming Bay Area artist presenting his second solo exhibition, “Inhabitants.” The Oakland-based creator has been painting professionally for over 20 years, and featured his first exhibit in 2006 in Italy.

Howe’s style of art is detailed yet abstract; reminding one of nature’s simplicity, while still sweeping the viewer into a journey through Howe’s imagination, creating urban contemporary masterpieces.

“I have an interest in ecological sciences and animals of the forest, particularly. Maybe that’s [because of ] my Washington background,” Howe said. “When I’m in the studio, which is often indoors, I start to make up my own little ecologies that are somewhat inspired by what I see out there, and somewhat just entirely imaginative.”

Howe’s “Inhabitants’’ portrays his interpretation of a middleground, and the types of beings that occupy that space, varying from animals to completely imaginative creatures. Howe’s paintings — mostly in acrylics or oil — range in sizes and themes, yet connect through his overarching theme of discovering a more neutral territory.

Howe’s centerpiece, “Inhabitants of the Middle” focuses on a creature gazing into its setting, and encompassing it are these unknown, abstract beings, yet beings that seem vaguely familiar.

“I kind of swirl around there, it’s almost the representation coming from an abstract, primordial kind of being into a more crystallized, animalistic form,” Howe said. “These kinds of elements that are gray and silhouettes that just jump out of the painting… all these kinds of abstract shapes that kind of blend in and start to pop out… [showing] the middle kind of as occupying like a space between foreground and background.”

This piece laid the groundwork for Howe’s entire exhibition.

Many of the other paintings depict more inhabitants from Howe’s interpretation of what is the ‘middle ground.’

“Inhabitants was a good title, because essentially, these are cosmologies [from] little worlds,” Howe said. “So I wanted to clue people in that sort of what you’ll see when you enter might be a living animal, similar to yourself, [but] very different.” v

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Text by BIM BOLARINWA and DOMINIQUE LASHLEY

Art by ZANDER LEONG

STAYING SAFE IN STYLE

MASK-WEARING DRIVES CREATIVITY IN FASHION WORLD

“M

Y FAVORITE MASK designs are floral printed ones and one that are double-sided,” Palo Alto High School sophomore Scarlett Cummings says. “I also think that lace detailing makes them look dainty and cute.

Animal print is also very unique, and matching the designs on your mask to an outfit is such a great way to spice it up.”

Face masks have become an essential piece of protective equipment for venturing outside our homes and into public spaces. When combined with regular hand washing and social distancing practices, mask-wearing is cited as one of the most effective ways to halt the spread of COVID-19 the global demand for protective equipment has not slowed down, and many are finding new ways to get creative with their face masks. As face masks quickly become the most universally worn accessory, the fashion industry has responded with thousands of different stylizations and designs.

Evolving through the ages For centuries, significant historical events have helped to shape fashion trends. Denim and jeans were initially created for miners during the 19th century due to their durability and strength, in order to withstand the rough conditions during the Gold Rush. They later exploded in popularity, and have continued to serve as a wardrobe staple for millions all over the world.

Even the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 introduced trends with the purpose of stopping viral spread. Sales of “flu veils,” a thick chiffon veil secured on a large hat and covering the subject’s face, skyrocketed at the time.

These earlier forms of protective wear became fashionable, a trend which draws several clear parallels to today’s increased use of face masks in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mask madness As many nations continue to uphold a mask mandate, masks are now an everyday es-

sential open to the artistic interpretations of the fashion industry and an array of designers.

Almost every high profile designer and label, including Fendi, Off-White and VPL, has released their own line of luxury masks. During the virtual New York Fashion Week in September, face masks were the most ubiquitous accessory, worn by almost every model as a finishing accessory to complete the outfit.

For junior Jasmine Kapadia, Christian Siriano’s Spring 2021 was especially refreshing and new with the incorporation of masks in the runway looks.

“Having the masks showed that a mask doesn’t have to ruin your outfit at all, it can actually highlight certain prints or details,” Kapadia says. “It kind of elevated the way we think of masks as not just something annoyingly required, but as a statement that you could add to your closet.”

Many students now even have their own favorite brands of masks which they use to protect themselves and add an extra element to their outfit.

“Whether it’s on a walk with my dog or downtown getting lunch, I always keep mine [mask] on,” Cummings says. “I have definitely incorporated masks into my everyday life. My favorite masks are from Kitch, Johnny Waz and handmade ones from Depop.”

Even as COVID numbers quell as vaccines are administered, face masks have a high chance of becoming part of the new normal. Face masks have been a fashion statement for years even before the pandemic in countries such as Japan, China and South Korea.

“I definitely think they’re [masks] here to stay,” Kapadia says. “Asian fashion enthusiasts were already marketing masks as street style accessories before Covid, so it seems natural that the Western market will incorporate them as well.” v

culture Text by AANYA KUMAR and ANYA MONDRAGON

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Art by ZANDER LEONG

fashion For the future \ GEN Z EMBRACES ANDROGYNOUS LOOKS

T

HE BABY BLUE DRESS marginalized communities also receive recwith cascading layers of fabric ognition for their role in deconstructing the trimmed in black ribbons on binary of gender in fashion. the cover of Vogue’s December “I know people are going crazy about issue received a flurry of media attention, Harry Styles on the cover of Vogue and not directed at yes, that was cool the outfit but at see, but peoThe fashion and modeling to the man wearing ple acting like he’s it. English singer industries have to accomdoing something and actor Harry never before seen modate us now.”

Styles was the first is foolish,” Scherman to appear — ATTICUS SCHERER, senior er said. “There has on a Vogue cover been gender-bendalone, and his outing fashion going fit choice is just one example of the larger on long before him, especially in the queer movement to make all fashion choices ac- POC [people of color] community.” cessible regardless of gender. Yet Styles is These pioneers from historically far from the first celebrity to take a step to- marginalized or overlooked groups wards nonconformity. Many diverse icons include the Japanese fashion dehave left their mark on fashion history. As a signers Yohji Yamamoto and Rei professional model, Palo Alto High School Kawakubo, as well as Prince, Fredsenior Amanda McVey is familiar with the die Mercury, Jaden Smith and Billy movement.

Porter.

“If you think of people like Har“He [Styles] is still ry Styles or Billy Porter, they’re definitely a cisgender white male,” blending the fashion lines and making fash- Scherer said. “That does not ion more of a spectrum and more accessi- take away at all from his ble,” McVey said. “In the sense of moving achievements. However, it away from gender traits, they pick things is important to look at the with different silhouettes, different patterns trailblazers before him that and colors.” allowed him to be himself and dress however he Gender-neutral outfits through time wants on the cover of Androgynous fashion promotes cloth- Vogue.” ing that does not conform to gender norms, allowing people to express themselves in any way they would like.

Although Styles became an icon for his unconventional styles, senior Atticus Scherer hopes that

“

MEN IN SKIRTS — Singer Harry Styles is drawn in one of his iconic outfits that called attention to androgynous fashion.

For instance, in the early 1900s Coco Chanel introduced trousers to women’s fashion. Between the late 1960s and 1980s, many pop culture icons such as Elvis Presley, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix famously wore what is considered more feminine styles of clothing and makeup.

“I think we’re definitely seeing a lot more male models and in fashion, or editorial style, but blurred fashion lines in general, which I think is great,” McVey said.

Gen Z blurs boundaries Scherer attributes the rising popularity of androgynous looks in mainstream fashion to Generation Z. Some students at Paly have embraced this change.

“Just some simple jewelry, light makeup or even a heel or a skirt or dress is fun to just throw on to make any outfit just a touch of androgynous,” Scherer said.

If more people open their minds to the idea of unrestricted fashion, the industry will have to shift to accommodate a new demand.

“I think that people just growing more accepting has led this freedom of expression that many people, especially Gen Z kids, are flourishing under,” Scherer said.

“The modeling and fashion industries will have to accommodate us now.” v

Text by ALLEGRA WEST

Art by SAMANTHA HO

Whitewashed Winx Club

NETFLIX CHANGES SHOW FOR THE WORSE

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ITH LONG RED HAIR and bright blue eyes, characters. protagonist Bloom steps into the lush greenery The whitewashing of these characters deprived the show of of Alfea College for her first day, and is met one of its most attractive and defining qualities. with a crowd of fairies roaming the campus. A The only racial ethnicity Netflix preserved was Aisha’s — a towering gated wall encompasses ornate buildings and hides remnant of the diverse cast that once was. the castle and its fairies inside. Even from afar, it’s clear the When creating the cast, Netflix also stripped the story of a characters at Alfea aren’t representative of the female role model in science and math by exdiverse cast that I was expecting for this new The whitewashing cluding Techna from the list of characters. rendition of one of my favorite old shows.

Without her technological powers, it of these characters feels like Netflix is pushing away the The popular original deprived the show idea of girls in math and science, The original “Winx Club” is an Italwhich is discouraging for ian animated series created by Iginio Straffi of one of its most many young girls and fans in 2004, following six teenage fairies trying attractive and dewho loved and related to to save the universe from the Trix, a trio of that character. witches who want to conquer the magical di- fining qualities.

With this, and mension. the recent increase The animation quickly gained traction of minority during its first season, becoming one of the highest-rated shows representation in entertainon Italian television. The vibrant and sparkly clothing made ment, Netflix seems to be the show attractive for its main demographic of young girls, moving backward with their but a key element of its success was its diverse cast featuring decisions for “Winx Club.” c h a r a c - ters of East Asian, Hispanic, and African descent.

Being Asian myself, I found comfort in how “Winx Club” improvements the character Musa looked like me.

While I loved the original While other shows typically stuck animation, it was by no means non-white characters to the sidelines perfect. The lack of body of the story, “Winx Club” includ- positivity was one flaw, ed characters of color which prompted Netflix to as part of the main six, create Terra, who deals with making it one of only a issues like social anxiety and body few shows with a central confidence. I’m glad that the producers added character I could relate to. a more relatable character that normalizes conversations around these topics.

Netflix’s mistake Netflix also created a darker appearance When I heard that Net- for the show, which harshly contrasts the flix was creating a live-action sparkly and bright colors of the original. Al“Winx Club,” I couldn’t wait though the darker theme is different, it fits for the release date; I well with the story because of the fighting had high hopes for and the many villains that the fairies have to the adaptation of deal with. my beloved series.

Despite these positive elements, whiteBut when “Fate: The washing the characters and taking out a feWinx Saga” premiered in male STEM role model feels like a step in the late January, I was shocked to see wrong direction. I urge Netflix to cast more that the producers had recast Musa and diverse main characters in their second season Flora — who were East Asian and Hispanic, to revive the attractive and unique aspects of respectively, in the animated show — as white the original “Winx Club.” v

Text by MEENA NARAYANASWAMI

Art by SAMANTHA HO

ReCLAIMING RESPONSIBILITY PARTYING TEENAGERS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM

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S I SCROLLED THROUGH INSTAGRAM, photo af- deaths, thousands were teens and young adults, according to the ter photo of large groups of unmasked teens, close to- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. gether and indoors popped up on my feed. There were By constantly contradicting the CDC and downplaying the houses full of people pressed up against one another, need to follow the advice of scientists and medical professionals, masks in their back pockets, in their hands and around their President Trump fueled mistrust in science and made those with chins — anywhere but their faces. the best understanding of the pandemic seem less credible.

I couldn’t help but feel so incredibly frustrated with people While various politicians and governors have tried to implewho were partying and having fun while they blatantly flouted ment tighter restrictions to ensure that COVID spread is limited, health guidelines. Meanwhile, I was stuck alone at home, rarely the voice of the president is heard loudest of all, and his dismissal seeing my friends or anyone outside my family. undermined their efforts.

As much as these gatherings an“I wanted to always play it down,” gered me, I was more confused as to Trump said in a March 2020 interview with why 15-year-olds were making decisions President Donald Trump journalist Bob Woodward. “I still like playabout what was safe in a global pandem- made public health a ing it down, because I don’t want to create ic. Why had we created an environment a panic.” where people felt partying during a quar- partisan issue and it cost We choose the person we think will antine was acceptable? act in the best interest of everyone and set 400,000 people their The teens on my Instagram feed a good example to be our leader. Trump, certainly weren’t the only ones partying. lives. however, was ridiculing people for wearing Many people across the country have masks and flouting guidelines. been receiving criticism for their unsafe socialization. As much “It [masking] is going to be, really, a voluntary thing,” said as individuals being irresponsible is annoying and hard to watch, Trump in an April task force briefing. “You can do it. You don’t the underlying issue is in our leadership. have to do it. I’m choosing not to do it.”

In the United States, too many people see masking as an atBy not taking important COVID-19 prevention measures tack on personal liberties rather than himself, he set an example for everyone that they could choose to a necessary precaution. Former be unsafe and endanger themselves as well as others.

President Donald Trump If we cannot expect our own president to unequivocally supmade public health a partiport and practice safe behaviors during a pandemic, how do we san issue and it cost 400,000 expect teens to do the same? people their lives. Of those While I am hopeful that President Joe Biden will prioritize the safety of this country, we need to pressure government officials across the nation to implement restrictions that stop teens from gathering in the first place.

President Biden has taken steps in the right direction by creating a plan for vaccine distribution and signing a national mask mandate, but it is important that this progress continues.

If we want teens to stop partying and start distancing, it is imperative that our leaders set examples that we can follow. v

Text and photo by TIMOTHY HUNG

MISHANDLING MISINFORMATION

WHAT AMERICA SHOULD LEARN FROM TAIWAN

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ANTING TO TAKE A I believe a major answer to the break from the empty U.S.-Taiwan gap in mask-wearing complistreets and shuttered busi- ance is their different responses to misinnesses of Palo Alto, my formation. Like the U.S., Taiwan is sharply family and I renewed our Taiwanese citizen- divided on major issues and its two main ship, got tested for COVID-19 and board- political parties are becoming increasingly ed a socially-distanced plane flight destined polarized. Yet, unlike the U.S., Taiwan is for Taipei in December. At the time, the getting misinformation under control.

United States had just surpassed 16 milDuring Taiwan’s latest presidential lion COVID-19 election, which took place last cases and California year on Jan. 11, pro-China was entering its most The best defense fake news flooded the island. stringent phase of to disinformation False claims about the incumshelter-in-place yet. bent president, Tsai Ing-wen, I spent the first is a strong offense. and fabricated articles elevat14 days of my trip ing China’s favored candidate, in my fifth-floor quarantine hotel room, Han Kou-yu, spread across the internet and overlooking streams of people shopping for social media platforms. Despite this, Tsai clothes and crowds huddled around street won in a landslide. Fake news failed, and I entertainers, wondering why there was such believe the U.S. should take a page out of a difference between the development of Taiwan’s proactive and innovative approach COVID-19 in the two countries. to battling misinformation.

After my self-quarantine, I moved Recently, Taiwan has started partnerinto my grandparents’ rural apartment and ing with private companies to extend its started to visit hot urban areas and thriving anti-misinformation resources directly into night markets. Everywhere I went, the sight the hands of its citizens. A major example of someone not wearing a mask in public is Line, the island’s most popular messagwas exceedingly rare, which, for a country ing app. Its users can now send links and with among the lowest COVID-19 rates in statements to an accessible fact-checking the world, surprised me — and this correla- chatbot, Cofacts, where volunteers rapidly tion was likely not coincidental. research claims to determine their validity.

This method has recently stunted numerous false COVID-19 claims and conspiracies before they could go viral, including posts about the Taiwanese government’s cremation of infected citizens to avoid reporting the true number of COVID-19 cases in the country. This stands in stark contrast to America’s failure to bust conspiracies such as COVID-19’s laboratory origins as a biological weapon — which, according to the Pew Research Center, 26% of Americans currently believe.

Taiwan’s winning battle against fake news should demonstrate to the world that the best defense to misinformation is a strong offense. Considering America’s reactive, whack-a-mole response to COVID-19 misinformation waged mainly by for-profit social media corporations, the country’s widespread noncompliance and misunderstanding regarding the pandemic becomes better contextualized.

Even after the pandemic ends, the U.S.’ infodemic will remain. Taiwan’s resilience in the face of misinformation is a promising sign that even small democracies can fight for a better news environment.

It’s time for the U.S. to build a new and offensive repertoire against misinformation –– and we can start by learning from Taiwan. v

A TEEMING VIEW — Except for the prevalence of face masks, the global pandemic seems almost absent in Ximending, Taipei’s equivalent of Times Square. I spent my 14 days of mandatory self-quarantine in a designated quarantine hotel located in the center of this popular plaza, where I watched scenes like these from the window of my fifth-floor room.

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Art by SAMANTHA HO

TRIGGER W RNINGS SELF-REGULATION ON MEDIA OFFERS SUPPORT

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CROLLING THROUGH TikTok, I watch a woman running in comical slow-motion across her room, a lighthearted song playing in the background. Her text captions, however, tell a much darker story — one where she endures domestic abuse and struggles to escape from it.

As much as her story deserves to be told, I remember feeling rattled from watching her video without a chance to prepare myself mentally. Like many commenters on the post, I wished a trigger warning could have been added to the story.

Although present in different forms for some time, “trigger warnings” — a tag that mentions topics discussed in a post that could trigger a traumatic response — have thankfully become more prevalent on social media in the past year. On platforms including Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, users who speak about sensitive topics often start their text with “TW: blood/gore,” “TW: sexual assault,” “TW: eating disorders” and more.

Trigger warnings give users a choice of what they want to see, rather than have content thrust at them online. People can confront their anxiety or trauma if they wish to, and having users add trigger warnings gives other viewers the control of when and where this happens online.

Additionally, the warnings allow social media users to discuss darker issues, from personal struggles to world news, without sugarcoating anything. In adding “TW” in front of jarring body text and images, users have been able to present a much more detailed account of anti-Asian American crimes across the country, sexual assault cases and more grim events.

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The intensity of these reports bring trigger warnings improperly will continue awareness to the reality we really live in, to be discouraged to maintain their conand the increase in the number of users structive impact. they can reach move more people to take I’m grateful to see trigger warnings action against these issues. Without the use become commonplace, yet listening to my of trigger warnings, this content would ei- friends talk about the curriculum of some ther not be as widespread — due to peo- of their classes, I feel that trigger warnple’s discomfort ings should be in sharing it — or standardized and would be melimplemented in Without the use of triglowed down to school as well. I inaccurately deremember a friend ger warnings, content scribe atrocities. taking AP Psywould either not be as Beyond prochology telling me viding spaces to that survivors of widespread or would be discuss pressing sexual assault or mellowed to inaccurately issues, trigger child abuse would describe atrocities. warnings contriblikely be triggered ute to changing by the material in the perception their textbooks. around mental health as a whole. Because In my own experiences in classes, partrigger warnings address anyone who sees ticularly in social science subjects, I have them, they serve as a form of acknowledge- sometimes skipped over homework readment that people have different experienc- ings or purposely zoned out of class to es, and a respect for their boundaries. avoid listening to a topic I felt uncomfortAlthough there are many strengths able with at the time. While there are many of trigger warnings, one concern I have is teachers who do inform their class when a the increasing usage of people using trigger difficult topic will be discussed, I wish there warnings ironically on the Internet, apply- were more standard practices — such as ing them as a form of humor. The word adding trigger warnings at the beginning of “trigger” has already been stripped down to lectures and handouts, and welcoming conbecome a colloquial term, which can cause versations about mental health concerns some to downplay their mental health — that would enable all students to avoid struggles, and others feel the word is no feeling vulnerable while learning. longer as fitting to use in a medical setting.

“Hopefully people know that they can “I think that it is important to recog- reach out for support if they find something nize that as much as the word ‘trigger’ is that’s negatively impacting their quality of used in a way that’s different from the origi- life, because they can work through their nal intent, triggers are still valid for people,” triggers, and they can heal,” Aquino said. “I Paly Wellness Outreach Worker Whitney want people to both take this seriously and Aquino said. Likewise, I hope that adding know that there’s hope.” v

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Text by ZANDER LEONG

Art by SAMANTHA HO

How to win the college rat race AN HONEST LOOK AT APPLYING TO COLLEGE

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RE YOU INTERESTED IN applying to college? If so, you may be wondering what the process looks like. Here’s how to successfully navigate college applications in seven easy steps.

1) Do your research Where to start? Many begin with a sense of dread and despair, followed by college research. Start broad, such as reviewing the over 4,000 higher-education institutions in the United States. Are you looking for a two-year college? Four-year? Community college? Vocational school? Don’t forget about the thousands more outside the country! For a truly thorough search, you may consider exploring nearby galaxies.

Then, narrow it down. Consider looking at only a few factors: academics, research opportunities, campus geography, facilities, clubs and organizations, school

Figure 1

population, faculty-to-student ratio, school culture, student life, meal services, residences, weather, school safety, school values, school location and number of water fountains. Good luck!

In recommended news. You’ll hear college names whispered in the wind. They’ll wash up in bottles on the beach. The stars themselves will crawl across the sky, urging you to apply now. It’s all very magical.

2) Drown in mail 3) Make a list In life, we do the best to prepare ourNow that you’ve acquired enough selves for any hardreading material to riships we anticipate. val those Schoology However, nothing notification emails, will prepare you to start building a list face the onslaught of colleges you’d of college mail like to attend. A you’ll receive. If you good list will have took the PSAT or anywhere between filled out the Paly one and 431,897.3 athletic clearance schools. form, colleges will Try to find the Figure 2 get their hands on perfect match. The your information, school must be a fit and somewhere among for you. You must be a the vast data centers of the world your fit for the school. Together, the two of you name will be added to a mailing list. should form a bond stronger than milk and The result is instantaneous: im- cereal, stronger than hydrogen and oxygen, mediately, several thousand trees will stronger than Zoom and “your internet be chopped down and sent to your connection is unstable.” The two of you doorstep. “Visit us,” they’ll say. “Learn must be destiny. Make sure to articulate more about our great facilities,” they’ll this special sentiment to every school say. “Apply today, succeed tomorrow.” you apply to, later in step 5.

Just like Harry Potter and the Dursleys, Found a college that you like? you too will want to flee to a wooden Write it down on a spreadsheet or shack off the coast of England to es- other list. Make sure to include notes cape the letters. on every single thought that enters Lucky for you, it’s not just mail. your brain. You’ll love how confusSearch one college on Google, and ing it gets: navigating your spreadyou’ll start seeing colleges all around sheet will be almost as hard as naviyou. In social media ads. On YouTube. gating the application process itself.

want to come in, open open open open, 4) Begin applications If you’re all settled on your college list, ooo-pen up,” the Little Einsteins sing in then let’s start applying! There are several one episode as a request for access to an admission tracks that are typically available: Egyptian pyramid. Colleges will be chantEarly Decision, Early Action, Early Premo- ing the same tune as they see how many nition, Early Decision II, Early Bird Gets supplemental essays they can squeeze into the Worm and Regular Decision. These your applications. Look carefully! For correspond to different deadlines, so make your convenience, supplements are hidden sure to keep track of the date, time and throughout the application form. This is a moon phase that your applications are due great time to sharpen your “I Spy” skills.

Overall, writby. ing essays is the most While applica- Your head full of new time-consuming step. tions vary, each ingray hairs may qualYou’ll use a list of recludes a main applicurring words that cation form: similar to ify you for a senior you’ll never want to a multiple choice test, citizen discount the see again, including but you shouldn’t be but not limited to: guessing. Tip: when next time you visit a “community,” “pascreating an account museum or theater. sions,” “explore” and for your applications, “diverse.”

Luckily, make a new password your head full of new gray hairs may qualithat you’ll never have to use again. Best to fy you for a senior citizen discount the next avoid reliving any trauma. time you visit a museum or theater.

At this time, you may see schools mys5) Write your youth away teriously disappear from your college list, Many schools require a personal essay especially schools with an abundance of reand supplemental essay(s). You’ll come to quired essays.

How strange. love these essays: nourish them with your tears and frustrations.

Personal essay: show the school who 6) Delete your hard work Finished writing and think you’re you are! Be prepared to pour your heart, done?

Think again. Each essay will come soul, and remaining sanity into a Google with its very own word count, a phrase that Doc. You’ll be sending this to complete will haunt you for the rest of your life. strangers, so keep things as personal and Whether the limit is 350 words or 900 private as possible. Need some ideas? Take characters or 247 stanzas, rest assured that a stroll down memory lane, then viciously whatever you write will never be long or exploit your childhood. Or condense your short enough.

Wrote a beautiful declaraentire sense of self into one moment in tion of your identity?

Crafted a profound time. When you’re done, you’ll have read reflection on society?

Too bad. With every your personal essay so many times that sentence cut out (which ruins the flow) you’ll be able to recite all 650 words from and every word combined (that shouldn’t memory, with accompanying hand gestures be), a small piece of your soul will wither and interpretive dance. away.

But this loss of humanity is necesSupplemental essay(s): “Open up, I sary to proceed: soon, you’ll be chopping paragraphs with reckless abandon. Consider it a superpower.

Figure 5

7) Empty your bank account Great, now it’s time to submit your applications! Whenever you’re ready, review the CVS Pharmacy receipt-length PDF, quintuple checking that everything is the way you want.

Time to pay up! Your fee consists of your life savings + any coins you find on the ground + your left femur + one mid-

size gold artifact or the equivalent in silver.

With that money, you could cure cancer, solve global warming and buy one of those 12-foot skeletons with a bit left over. But why do that when you can pay schools you might not even attend?

You’re done!

Congratulations, you’re done with your applications! Now you can sit back, relax and watch in terror as decisions trickle in. But don’t relax too much: colleges still expect you to maintain an unrealistic GPA and exhaust yourself with extracurriculars.

To those who have recently made it across the finish line, nice job! Never look back. To the juniors and those entering the college application process, sorry. Just remember that a bumper crop of resources, advising and support is available to you.

And with perseverance, determination and just a bit of the impossible, you’ll be all set for several more years of math tests and socratic seminars. May the odds be ever in your favor. v Figure 7

Text by JERRY FANG

OPPORTUNITY OVERLOAD

Art by SELENA CAO

DEVELOPING PERSONAL INTERESTS IN AN ONLINE ENVIRONMENT

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MILD SPRING BREEZE With all robotics meetings canceled, I had ers, soaking up as much information as I brushed my face as I glided the opportunity to explore other interests. could every day to build up my personal down the street with the wheels At the beginning of knowledge bank. To under me rolling over the slick quarantine, I stumanyone other than enasphalt. My foot touched the ground, bled across a YouTube I experienced thusiasts, this would which would have propelled me forward tutorial on designing a firsthand how much seem like borderline if not for the board crashing into my heel. mechanical keyboard fanaticism. But to me, I tumbled to the ground, bruised, but not with computer-aided faster I learn things if I it was just a learning seriously hurt — an unfortunate but not design. Mechanical truly enjoy them. frenzy. unexpected outcome. Skateboarding was keyboards have been With activities to just one of the various activities I took up my favorite hobby for keep me occupied induring quarantine to satisfy my boredom. the past two years, and CAD was a skill that side, I needed something to get me outside When the shelter-in-place order start- I always wanted to learn, although I lacked every day. So, I picked up skateboarding — ed, I, like many others, didn’t know what the time and drive to actually do it. Seeing the transportation choice of many teens. to expect. At first I was excited to be out a step-by-step guide made me realize that I Being an avid snowboarder, I’d assumed of school, treating the could design a keyboard that it would be similar. After all, it was just lockdown like an exmyself. For the next the same two feet on a board, right? Well, tended vacation. But as I realized my daily month, I spent hours it turned out they were nothing alike, but I time progressed, I real- life was much closer every day familiarizing still slowly learned. I love skateboarding for ized my daily life was myself with CAD and its simplicity. No handlebars and no seat. much closer to some- to something straight brainstorming design Just me, the board, and the street. thing straight out of a out of a sci-fi ideas until I had a basic This past year led me down new paths sci-fi apocalypse novel. keyboard designed — I never knew existed. I found motivation to Normalcy was at the apocalypse novel. essentially a fancy metal pursue my interests after I figured out how end of a long tunnel, rectangular box. to turn the curse of all the extra time into a and from where I was then, it was pitch With the lack of in-person social ac- blessing. I experienced firsthand how much black. tivity, I turned to online communities. I faster I learn things if I truly enjoy them.

Prior to the pandemic, I would go to reconnected with old friends, one of whom And while sometimes I wish that I could be my robotics team’s lab every afternoon, also shared a passion for custom keyboards. back in the robotics lab, I’m glad that I was spending hours among the whir of pow- Seeking to improve my designs, I perused able to find new hobbies and interests that er tools and the laughter of good friends. forums and joined countless Discord serv- propel my thirst for learning. v

54 FEBRUARY 2021

HaPPILy LONeLY Text by KYLIE MIES

Art by SELENA CAO

REIMAGINING SENIOR YEAR EXPERIENCES

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INCE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, I imagined my high school experience would be like a teen romance movie.

I saw myself starring in the various romantic tropes set in a traditional American high school setting and making the memories that would come with it — football games, school dances and quirky friends. The movies would end with the camera panning out from the protagonist leaving the school grounds in a cap and gown and reflecting on the valuable lessons learned.

Of course, I quickly learned that high school would not be exclusively coming-of-age scenes but more heaps of stress and awkward moments. And when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I realized that I would never experience a similar tale to that of Kat in “10 Things I Hate About You.” Like many other seniors across the nation, I was devastated that my final year of high school would be spent holed up in my bedroom. Things I’ve been excited to experience since my freshman year have become intangible. Playing a senior night volleyball game, winning Spirit Week, lounging around on the senior deck and dancing with my friends at prom — now impossible.

As we approach the one year anniversary of my last day of in-person high school, I now view canceled events as the norm.

It’s foolish to think that things will go back to normal, but dwelling on what could have been takes away from the opportunities that remain.

I went from going to school, restaurants, coffee shops, gyms and concerts — all in contact with hundreds of people per day — to seeing just my four family members and cat. Quarantine obviously felt like a withdrawal, but it also felt like a break from a schedule crammed full of classes and extracurriculars.

Especially in the second semester of junior year, I was overworked. When the first stay-at-home order came along, I

had the perfect excuse to relax and temporarily forget about my never-ending to-do list. It was nice at the start — but after a year, it’s getting old.

It was hard to get out of the mindset of “what if,” but once I finally accepted that things were not going to be how I planned, I started to work with what I have.

I used to take time with my friends for granted. Now I find myself appreciating the rare opportunities where I get to see them, socially distanced, at parks over the weekend. In spending more time with my family, I developed an even stronger bond with them. I found new appreciation for my busy life before the pandemic from being bored at home.

Although being alone is one of the worst parts of quarantine, it has also forced me to reflect on myself and encouraged me to try and understand myself. I realized that I can’t rely on others to fill my time and I need to be okay with being alone.

As I accepted the alone time instead of sulking in it, I started to enjoy it. I had the time to dive into hobbies that I didn’t have time for before, like puzzles and skateboarding. I also had the time to work on myself with self care and journaling. The more time I had to myself, the more I realized that I’m pretty entertaining even when I’m alone.

Even though I will never get the epic high school experience portrayed in my favorite movies, I still had my coming-ofage moments in the comfort of my own home. In times alone, I saw myself changing and growing, realizing that I don’t need prom or a volleyball senior night to make my high school experience memorable. v

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