Verde Volume 12 Issue 1 by Verde Magazine

Scrumptious Shopping at

Town & Country Village 855 El Camino Real # 109 650.322.4438 (near Douce France)

Norzin Collections 486 University Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94301 650.566.8424 Fine Jewelry Fashion Accessories

verde magazine

THE LAUNCH Compiled by Amanda Groziak and Anabel 7

INDEX

VOLUME 12 • EDITION 1 • PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL

CULTURE The Watch 41 By Zach Stanton- Savitz

Short Features Homnack

Briefing

Compiled by Camille von Kaenel and Sonali Sastry

NEWS 9

Paly Evaluates School Changes By Allen Wu

One Smart Pen

Pumpkin Man, Papa Don Beeson

Buzz About Bugs

Pearl Milk Tea

Dragon Tattoo Series Takes the Spotlight

By Caroline Ebinger

COVER 16

By Elizabeth Silva By Sarah Jacobs

By Maytal Mark and Scott Kleckner By Ava Dordi

By Ava Dordi

Do Paly Dances have a Future? The Dance

Defanged

By Allison Chang

PERSPECTIVES Footbag Fury 22 By Jessica Madej

By Alex Lenail

FEATURES

A Month in Lebanon

Caught Between Two Sides of the Wall

High-Tech Scavenger Hunt

Debunk: There Are No Republicans At Paly

Where a Dollar Can Go

Chewing on your Wallet

By Margaret Kadifa

By Emily Kellison- Lin

By Gadi Cohen

By Emily Efland

By Emma Tucher

PROFILES Inside the Virtual 29 Classroom By Emily Kellison-Linn

Being Berkson

Three Countries, One Campus

By Chloe Chen and Rachel Harrus

By Mira Khanna

From Navy Pilot to History Teacher

Paly’s Own C.E.O.

Lab Coat to Pageant Crown

By Bella Hernandez and Caroline Ebinger By Amanda Groziak

By Hannah Kim and Jen Lin

By Elise Bruguera

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM Chewing on your Wallet (pg. 58), Three Countries, One Campus (pg. 32 ), Autumn Moon Festival (pg. 63).

Network Niches By Allen Wu

A Festival of Thanks

By Margaret Kadifa

Photo Essay: Fall Favorites

Silly Bandz

By Jacqueline Frieduss By Elise Bruguera

Cultural Re-vegi-lution By Gadi Cohen

True Life: I just became an American citizen By Camille von Kaenel

october

cover

by yelena kasianova photograhy by jacqueline friduss

Follow Verde on Twitter at twitter.com/verdemagazine Our tweets can’t be beat!

verdeexcerpts “It’s not my fault Paly decided to not have a clock tower.”

Page 13

Paly Freshman Tri Nguyen “Paly Evaluates School Changes”

volume 11 edition 5 “There was puke everywhere in the girls bathroom and who knows what was going on the dance floor.”

Page 16

Anonymous “Do Paly Dances Have a Future?”

“I am not sabra, a prickly pear cactus- in Hebrew, a name for a proud, pure-bred native Israeli, born and raised.”

Page 25 INSIDE • Illegal Immigration • Bollywood • Middle College

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS “Library Printing Editorial” We appreciate the article in Verde describing the new printing kiosk system that will be installed in the library this summer. What the article and editorial failed to mention are the statistics connected to the excessive and wasteful printing that has been going on in the library all year. Since January approximately 15,000 pieces of paper have been wasted at a cost of over $500! ... The PTSA is the funding source for the kiosk system and will pay for the swipe cards, which cost 50 cents each. ... as always we welcome suggestions and comments in our effort to make the Paly Library a user-friendly academic resource for all students. — Rachel Kellerman “Congratulations” Lovely cover design - very clever! And amazing coverage of an event that was so late-breaking. Great issue! —Margo Wixsom

verde magazine

Gadi Cohen “Caught Between Two Sides of the Wall”

“I think that the relationships with people in Italy are more open than[the relationships] here. It’s hard to explain. You must live it to understand it.”

Page 32

Paly senior Ricardo Monti “Three Countries, One Campus”

“I remember flying up there after Saddam Hussein set the oil fields on fire.”

Page 35

Paly history teacher Richard Voytek “From Navy Pilot to History Teacher”

“ As the youngest of 8 or 9 siblings, their slice of the pie is too small to subsist on.”

Page 54

Paly Grad Roxana Muossavian “Where a Dollar Can Go”

verde

volume 12 edition 1 october 2010

from the editors

Staff List Editors-in-Chief Ally Messick Manon von Kaenel Max Cohen Sonali Sastry Camille von Kaenel

igh school is a place where stereotypes thrive. It can be hard for students not to think of someone as a “jock,” “ditz,” or a “nerd.” Paly publications are sometimes just as easily stereotyped. But in reality, they are composed of different types of students with many different interests, and many different opinions. With all these varying viewpoints it can be difficult to agree on how to approach an editorial or even a feature story. This scenario could not be more true of the cover story in this issue, “Do Paly dances have a future?” where the staff was torn between favoring or censuring the use of breathalyzers at Paly dances, or lack there of at private dances. We believe that these differing views strengthened the piece, reminding all of us on staff how important it is to represent both sides of the issue. The writers, Scott Kleckner and Maytal Mark, went to great lengths to provide varied sources and opinions, to write an accurate, unbiased and thorough story. Their in-depth reporting brought new aspects of the issue to light, helping the staff reach a consensus, which we address in one of our editorials. Many articles in this issue further display our staff ’s diversity. Gadi Cohen wrote a powerful piece, “Caught Between Two Sides of the Wall,” in which he reflects on what it means to balance his Israeli upbringing with his anti-war sentiments. Similarly, Margaret Kadifa’s story, “A Month in Lebanon,” describes her exploration of her cultural heritage. Diversity is also apparent in Camille von Kaenel’s story, “True life: I just became an American citizen.” “True Life,” with “The Watch” which lists short reviews, and “Debunked,” which dispels campus myths and stereotypes, are three new recurring features. We welcome readers to a new volume of Verde. While, our staff is full of fresh writers and a variety of fresh opinions, our interest in producing quality journalism is something we will always agree on. — Ally, Manon, & Max

Managing Editors Margaret Kadifa Sarah Jacobs Business Managers Emily Efland Emma Tucher Short Features Editors Amanda Groziak Anabel Homnack Online Editors Allison Chang Mira Khanna Social Media Editor Bella Hernandez

Art Director Yelena Kasianova Photographer Jaqueline Friduss Cartoonist Ava Dordi Staff Elise Bruguera Gadi Cohen Camille Couchon Caroline Ebinger Sarah Jacobs Margaret Kadifa Emilia Kellison-Linn Scott Kleckner Alex Lenail Jessica Madej Maytal Mark Jackson Miley Elizabeth Silva Zach Stanton-Savitz Allen Wu Adviser Paul Kandell

Verde Palo Alto High School 50 Embarcadero Road Palo Alto, CA 94301 650-329-3837 pkandell@pausd.org Letters to the Editor Verde, a feature magazine published by the students in Palo Alto High School’s Magazine Journalism class, is an open forum for student expression and the discussion of issues of concern to its readership. Verde is distributed to its readers and the student body at no cost. The staff welcomes letters to the editor but reserves the right to edit all submissions for length, grammar, potential libel, invasion of privacy and obscenity. Send all letters to verdeds-10-11@googlegroups.com 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 the Verde business managers Emily Efland and Emma Tucher by e-mail at verde.biz.paly@gmail.com or call 650-329-3837 for more information. Printing & Distribution Services Verde is printed five times a year in October, December, February, April and June by Fricke-Parks Press in Fremont, California. The Paly PTSA mails Verde to every student’s home. All verde work is archived — and available for commenting at http://voice.paly.net/verde.

october

staff verdict ASB Implements Positive New Dance Policies

ast year, school dances faded from Paly’s social scene for many reasons– notably the continued use of breathalyzers. Now, the Associate Student Body has been working to increase dance attendance. Verde applauds the ASB’s efforts this year to make Paly dances a safe, fun environment for everybody and encourage student attendance. At the back to school dance on Aug. 31, ASB implemented new policies to make the dances more student-friendly, such as selling tickets at the door and moving the dance to the small gym and talking with chaperones about less invasive supervision Some students still complain about breathalyzing. Verde agrees with the administration that the policy of breathalyzing at school dances must continue. Not only is teen drinking illegal, but it is unreasonable to expect Paly to have liability for a few hundred potentially intoxicated teenagers. Substance-free Paly dances have to compete with privatelyhosted student dances where attendees are not breathalyzed. Students deserve the right do organize their own social lives.

Finals before Winter Break would be Beneficial

uring a meeting on Sept. 28, the Palo Alto Board of Education discussed moving first semester finals to before winter break for the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 calendars. On Oct. 26, the board had a second discussion about the final proposed calendars and on Nov. 9, the board will decide whether to approve or reject the changes. Verde commends Palo Alto High School’s recent efforts to reduce student stress and believes that moving finals before break will continue to alleviatiate student stress. Not only will pre-break finals allow students to have a guiltfree winter vacation, but it will also be easier for students to remember concepts that they learned throughout the semester. In addition, students will be able to enjoy quality family time during the holidays without setting aside time to study. According to a Review of School District Finals Dates for Surrounding High School and Unified School Districts conducted by PAUSD, within recent school years the East Side, Gilroy Unified, Morgan Hill Unified, and Santa Clara Unified districts all adopted finals before break. Local public schools, including Los Altos and Mountain View, have used a variety of schedules to allow for finals before break. With these schools as examples, Verde is confident that the PAUSD school board can design a new schedule appropriate for our school district. Verde believes that finals before break will be an effective way to combat student stress in the Palo Alto community. v

verde magazine

However, Verde encourages Paly students who attend private dances to go to them in addition, not instead of, school dances. Drinking is not necessary for students to have fun at dances. Dances should be about students coming together as a community in a safe environment. Intoxicated students threaten the safety of others at dances. Many students, especially upperclassmen, do not go to dances because they claim nobody else goes. Verde believes that the only way to solve this problem is for students to get over this hesitation, get a group of friends together and just go to the dance. If students continue claim dances are not fun due to a low-turn out, then attendance will never change. Henry M. Gunn High School has proved that alcohol-free dances can still be fun. Gunn implemented the policy of breathalyzing at the door roughly the same time that Paly did, and its dances are still well-attended. Verde believes that Paly dances have the same potential, students just need to accept dance policies and have fun without alcohol. v

T T T

Changes to Schedule Reduce Student Stress

he editorial section of Verde has published a laundry list of advice to the administration on how to combat student stress. Verde now commends the steps that have been taken to improve student life. Studies prove that teenagers function better when school starts later. The later start and the early finishes on Tuesday and Thursday are refreshing and allow students more time to complete homework and participate in extracurricular activities without missing class. Because students only have nightly homework for three or four classes instead of seven, on average students have sless homework. Block classes allow students to focus more completely on the subject at hand. In classes where homework used to be a daily procedure, such as math, the less frequent assignments gives students a mental break. Tutorial has given students school time to make up tests and quizes, talk to teachers and catch up on their homework. Students no longer have to miss extracurriculars after school. Beyond all of this, new principal Phil Winston’s continued attempts to establish an open relationship between students and the administration has also proved effective. His presense on campus, as well as the policy changes this year, have helped students to feel heard. v — Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Verde staff

W W E

THELAUNCH SHORT STUFF

TOP 5: FAR EAST MOVEMENT HALO: REACH THINGS IN THE MEDIA photo by GEt A LiFE . on Flickr

THE

Website

IPHONE TUMBLR

Music

SOCIAL NETWORK Movie

Fun Fact: The new movie The Social Network

Gadget

features many references to Palo Alto. You will be excited to hear Justin Timberlake’s character, Sean Parker, talk about the importance of being in Palo Alto for a tech company, see a Coupa Cafe coffee cup, hear Rashida Jones talk about getting a steak on University Avenue, and see a Stanford frat party. Top 5 in the media chosen by Verde staff.

photo by Amanda Groziak

WHAT WE’RE EATING...

Video Game , Photo by Jackson Miley

WILL LICHTENGER, tJUNIOR munches on Corn Pops from CVS.

ERIK CASTANEDA, tSENIOR eats Lemon flavored Potatoe Lay Chips on campus.

october

INSIDE THE ROOM OF

Video Production teacher Ron Williamson 2

5 QUESTIONS WITH MICHAEL NAJAR Music teacher Michael Najar co-runs Paly’s Link Crew Program. Why was Link Crew created? Link crew was created because there was a culture of hazing and freshmen were not being integrated into the high school atmosphere What is Link Crew about? Link Crew is about students helping students succeed. Why do you think that the transition to high school is a hard one? This step is about becoming an adult, in some ways it’s a little scarier. How’s Link Crew doing so far? So far Link Crew has been successful. What are some activities link crew will potentially involve freshmen in? They will go out to dinner with them, roast marshmallows, have tie-dye parties, and have a scavenger hunt through the mall.

‘ S

1 1. Williamson, wearing the hat from his adaptation of the play “Arms and the Man” by George Bernard Shaw.

3. A skull from the McGovern re-enactments of the Black Death decorate the furniture of Williamson’s room.

2. The playbill for “Woyzeck,” directed by Williamson. It was the first play which actor James Franco from “Spiderman” was in.

4. Film posters act as wallpaper in the video production room.

2 3

greet guest, bring them to the chair and ask which style they want shampoo the hair based on preferred style towel dry hair

Photos by Amanda Groziak

CAMILLE EZRAN and MAYA KRASNOW, SENIORS u share a turkey, avocado and swiss cheese sandwich from the Cheese House.

STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

ALLY VALENCIA, FRESHMAN u chews a soft chocolate chip cookie from the student center.

4 5

add hair products

start styling hair with brush finish off with a curling or flat iron

blow dry hair

NEWS THE LATEST AND GREATEST

Give me a break - a winter break

Superintendent Kevin Skelly encourages the change to finals before break.

The Palo Alto School Board of Education will meet Nov. 9 to vote on moving first semester finals to before winter break.

“I look around and see the experiences of other schools, and what I hear from other superintendents and other parents is that people are very happy with having finals before break,” said Kevin Skelly, the Superintendent of PAUSD. “To me that’s the biggest mover there.” Every two years the school board makes a new calendar. According to Skelly, the board has decided to finalize this decade-long discussion now because of some of the results from the “no homework over winter break” policy, enacted two years ago. “Many of the board members feel that [the homework ban] was a good attempt at it but it didn’t have the effect that we wanted,” said Skelly. “Now this [finals before break] is the next step and we’ll

Some grants for teacher Vikings

Spanish teacher Josep Vericat looks forward to the new document cameras replacing the World Languages projectors.

Viking grants One $1,000 grant to Math department will purchase software for Geometry classes. $800 granted to the library will renew an annual subscription for video streaming resources for all departments.

Twelve Viking Grants, totaling approximately $20,000, will be awarded to various departments at Palo Alto High School by the PTSA. “Viking Grants are awarded up to $2,500 and the goal is to try to spread the grants among the various departments and benefit the most students,” said Karen Ersted, PTSA EVP and Grants Committee Chair. Handed out biannually, these grants are funded by community donations to the PTSA. text by camille von-kaenel

Two grants for $4,400 to the Visual & Performing Arts department will fund curriculum materials and annual Madrigal event. One $2,500 grant will fund the Not in Our School week in April 2011. One $2,400 grant to World Languages department will buy document cameras to assist with visual presentations.

evaluate in two years.” In May of 2006, the Paly SOS committee, Stressed out Students, wrote a formal letter to the calendar committee asking them to consider a schedule with finals before winter break. “If we could get it [finals schedule] up and running and give it a chance, I think it could work, just like the bell schedule,” said Susan Shultz, the Guidance Counselor. She has been involved in pushing the issue for several years. “It’s something we’ve been passionate about for a long time,” Shultz said. “Student stress is huge. We were trying to look at ways to make high school a little more manageable for students.” text and photography by amanda groziak

Homecoming is coming Palo Alto High School’s Homecoming Dance is this Saturday, Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. in Paly’s Big Gym. Tickets can be purchased for $10 at the auditor’s office, online, or at the door. The theme of the dance is “I think it’s an especially unique dance since it’s at the end of spirit week,” said Uma Veerappan, the ASB Vice President. “The entertainment company has some really cool stuff planned, such as the new DJ, and I’m sure the dance will be a success.” text by caroline ebinger

Two grants for $1,800 will purchase iPads for the journalism publications and to support a Humanities field trip. Three grants for $7,000 to the Science department will fund new biology and chemistry equipment and the Paly community garden. text by camille von-kaenel october

Briefs from The Paly Voice

photo by Jacqueline Friduss

More bike racks on the way New bike racks will most probably be placed near the custodian office and auto shop or on the dirt strip between the math buildings, according to Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson. Students are not allowed to lock their bikes to the fence of the glassblowing area either. Read the full story, by Lizzie Sawka, on voice.paly. net/node/23933.

Paly and Gunn earn strong average scores

Check out verde on and voice.paly.net 10

verde magazine

The PAUSD Board of Education applauded the performance of Paly and Gunn students on standardized tests during the annual Student Academic Achievement Review. Though Paly had an average SAT score of 1951 in 2010, placing in the very top nationally and state-wide, scores for minority students have seen little improvement. Read the full story, by Alex Carter, on http://voice. paly.net/node/24294.

Obama visits Palo Alto On Thursday Oct. 21, President Barack Obama visited Palo Alto for a Democratic Party fundraiser. See http://voice.paly.net/node/24626 for the full video coverage by Sydney Rock.

By the

NUMBERS

Our Town comes to our school Student thes“Our Town”, pians are preparwritten by Thorning for the Nov. ton Wilder, was 4 opening of the first performed Palo Alto High in 1938 and is School fall play, considered a clas“Our Town,” which sic, according to focuses on the theater director everyday lives of Kathleen Woods. several families in The play prothe small, fictional vides a unique town of Grover’s challenge for the Corners. actors, according “[“Our Town”] to Woods, because is about families it does not use a Lauren Garland rehearses a scene from going through life,” Our Town, premiering on Nov. 2 lot of scenery and said senior Susanmost of the props nah Cai, a scenic designer. “You see them are pantomimed. get married, you see them die; it’s essen“The [simplicity of the set] really tially about a day in the life of an average helps center on the characters and the person,” relationships and the ideas,” said Woods.

text and photography by sarah jacobs

Dear Palo Alto: an invitation Dear Palo Alto, an event highlight- “I want people to think of the stage as an ing the creative responses of those affect- open canvas where each artist can come ed by suicides, will take up and paint their own place on Nov. 6 from 7 story.” p.m. to 9 at the CubberAlthough the event ley Theater in Palo Alto. is primarily for students The event will include affected by loss of a fampoetry readings and perily member or friend to formances by local singsuicide, the event is open ers and dancers. to the general public. Paly ‘05 alum Julia More information on the Tachibana an organizer event can be found at of the event, said the purDearPaloAlto.com and Julia Tachibana’s own experipose of the event is to use on the event’s Facebook ences inspired her to orgaart as a constructive way page. nize this creative event. for people to open up a text and photography by sonali sastry dialogue about the whole issue of suicide. Amanda Young, a previous Verde “Having lost my own brother to suieditor, wrote a nationally-awarded cide, I was deeply affected and I really story about Tachibana last year. See wanted to do something,” Tachibana said. http://voice.paly.net/node/22996.

percent of Paly students who prefer private dances to school-hosted ones

1.4

million active geocaches around the world

[ NEWS ] Photojournalism Forum

Author Michael Watts speaks at last year’s photojournalism forum.

The second annual photojournalism forum for Palo Alto High School will occur Nov. 5. Unlike last year, author David Eliot Cohen will speak along with Ed Kashi, a prominent photojournalist, and Michael Watts, the UC Berkeley Geography Department chair, according to Margo Wixsom, the Paly photo teacher. New features include a discussion of their work in the last year, which includes Kashi’s experiences in Madagascar. They will also present “What Matters”, a book they worked on together, and screen the video “Cures of the Black Gold,” which Kashi and Watts worked on together. After an opportunity to meet the speakers in Room 101 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:10 p.m., the event will occur from 12:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. in the library. According to Wixsom, the forum is modeled after a 2009 Stanford event with the same speakers and will ultimately become an annual Paly event. “Many people know about how impressive it was last year,” Wixsom said. “We hope to build on that inspiration.” text by ava dordi

number of Tanzanian students on the School Fund Web site october

[ NEWS ]

Librarian: new Library printing system a success

Librarian Rachel Kellerman says that the new library printing system has been successful

A chance for juniors to discuss freedom The League of Women Voters of Palo Alto, or the LWVPA, is sponsoring an essay contest for juniors at Palo Alto and Henry M. Gunn high schools. The prompt is “Limits of Freedom.” All submissions must be 600 to 800 words and emailed to the league at lwvpaoffice@gmail.com by Nov. 10. The league will award a $500 award to the first prize winner and a $300 award to the second prize winner. “While we know that subjects such as math, science and English are absolutely necessary, we [the league] feel that the understanding of government and history should be equally important in a free society,” said Nan Prince, the organization’s chair. “This contest is one small way of calling attention to the social studies.” text by allison chang

Senior special Senior yearbook write-ups are due on Oct. 30 and senior baby ads are due on Nov. 1, according to Madrono editor-in-chief Jodi So. Seniors must email write ups of less than 40 words to seniors.paly. yearbook@gmail.com. Baby ads, which range from one-eighth to a full page, must be on USB cards or discs. text by elise brugera

verde magazine

The library’s new printer policy successfully reduced the amount of paper wasted by students, according to Palo Alto High School librarian Rachel Kellerman. “So far, we have already saved about 1/10 of the paper that was wasted last year,” said Kellerman. “Last year we spent about $90 every couple of weeks buying more paper, but now, that [spending] is completely unnecessary.” The policy implemented this year, re-

quires students to pay 10 cents per page they print out after an initial 25 free prints provided by the library. Despite some student complaints and technical difficulties, the policy’s success indicates that it is here to stay. “It has been a lot of work for [fellow librarian] Ms. Henry and me troubleshooting issues with printer cards,” Kellerman said. She encourages feedback. “It has not been perfect, but it is good enough,” she said. text by mira khanna

Midterm elections - how to get involved Nov. 2 is the deadline for voters 18 years of age or older to vote in person; ballots sent to the registrar of voters in San Jose, CA must received by the Nov. 2 deadline. Paly students can also sign up to work at the polls if they are at 16 years of age, are a U.S. citizen and have a G.P.A. of 2.5 or higher. text by jackson miley Candidates for California governor

Jerry Brown, Democrat

Brown fought for workers’ rights, environmental protection and worked against fraud in mortgage loans and real estate. As governor, Brown plans to set partisanship aside to work through the current stalemate in California’s budget crisis.

Meg Whitman, Republican

Formerly known as CEO of EBay, Whitman promises to create at least two million jobs by 2015. In addition, she plans to cut $15 billion in the state budget, lower taxes and reduce the state workforce by 40,000.

Candidates for U.S. senator

Barbara Boxer, Democrat

Boxer has been a long-time proponent of environmental legislation and has been actively pursuing better education policies for children in the US. She fought for clean water throughout the US, and medical care for those who cannot afford it.

Carla Fiorina, Republican

Successful CEO and Chairman of the board at HP from 1999 to 2005, Carly Fiorina’s main focus is the economy and specifically, jobs. It is her opinion that to create jobs the government must step back.

text by alex lenail

Proposing possible propositions Verde summed up some measures on the ballot, ranging from the legalization of marijuana to new fire station policies.

Proposition 19

Measure R would make it harder to close fire stations or reduce staff size by requiring city counsel to run two hearings and hold a city election.

Legalizing marijuana would allow legal adults to cultivate, purchase and use marijuana privately and businesses to sell marijuana commercially. Similarly to alcohol, those under its influence cannot operate vehicles. Local governments could use the sale of marijuana as a source of tax revenue.

If Measure S passes, local citywide elections would be held every even year, as opposed to every odd year as it is now. Elections would then be held along with state and national elections.

An $18 annual charge on California state-registered vehicle licenses would go towards state park maintenance and allow those who pay the surcharge to enter parks for free.

text by max cohen and zachary stanton-savitz

Measure R (Palo Alto)

Measure S (Palo Alto)

Proposition 21

Paly Students Evaluate Changes in School Policy Text and Graphs by ALLEN WU

his school year has brought with it immense changes for Palo Alto High School, but for better or for worse? Two months into the school year, students and teachers speak their minds. Bell Schedule The new schedule fulfilled the great student dream of a later school start – the bell now rings at 8:15 a.m. Though 25 minutes do not allow for much more sleep, both students and teachers have stated that their mornings are considerably more relaxed than they were under the previous schedule. “I enjoy the consistency of the starting times.” says junior Costina Papatheodorou. “And I can get ready without rushing.” A later start means a later finish as well. Twenty-five minutes in the afternoon is relatively trivial, but for many, this means staying at school until as late as 7 p.m. “I really have to manage my time,” says junior football player Azad Balabanian about his evenings. “I can’t mess around.” Of the polled students, over fifty percent expressed strong approval of the new bell schedule. The 8:15-3:25 school day has been met with a more positive response than any of the other major changes this year.

Blocks Another change Paly has undergone this year is its switching from shorter periods to the block system. This has drastically changed Paly’s rhythm. “Because I have half the number of classes the next day, I have more time to get my homework done.” junior Matthew Slipper says. “It’s definitely more difficult to stay focused for an hour and a half, but because we have classes only once every two days, we have more than enough to do.” Sophomore history teacher Adam Yonkers explained how fundamental teaching strategy is altered to handle block periods. “Teaching blocks is harder to pace.” Yonkers says. “You have to have backup plans if things don’t work out, and you have to account for students who finish assignments earlier than others.” Though block periods are harder to plan for, Yonkers says, they allow more time for doing interactive activities, working with the help of classmates, and exploring material in greater depth. “In 50-minute periods, you usually have enough time for teaching, but not always for practicing.” Yonkers says. “Blocks let me get deeper into the lessons, but I’m worried about getting through the entire curriculum in time.”

Tutorial During the first tutorial period, freshman Tri Nguyen remembered that the Tower Building offered quiet rooms for doing homework, but not knowing the Paly campus very well, he spent the period looking for the “clock tower” and later received a cut. “It’s not my fault Paly decided not to have a clock tower.” Nguyen says. His story was one of many among the chaos of the first few test runs. As everyone gets used to the system, however, the system has begun to run more smoothly. “I think the main cause of the chaos was that everyone thought they could just go to the library. Once that was fixed there really didn’t seem to be an issue.” junior William Hall says. Currently, students must remain at their chosen location for the whole period, but this may change in the future. “The hope is that in second semester, students will be able to move around.” math teacher Suzanne Antink says. Tutorial has received primarily positive feedback. Some students, however, say that they should just be let out of school early. “I guess it’s pretty good if you need to catch up.” Nguyen says. “But if you don’t, I don’t see why they don’t just let you go home early.” v

Poll: Do students believe the changes are for better or for worse?

New Bell Schedule Worse

Blocks Better

32% 8%

60%

Tutorial

Worse

Better

41%

Worse

35%

42% 17%

Same Same

Better

Same

46%

19%

The poll was conducted with 234 students in various social studies classes october

Lunch Dinner at our new location 140 Homer Ave

verde magazine

Brunch Private Functions at The Annex 806 Emerson St

COVER DO PALY DANCES HAVE A FUTURE? THE DANCE CARTOON

COVER

16 20

Do Paly dances h

Text by MAYTAL MARK and SCOTT KLECKNER Art by YELENA KASIANOVA Photography by JACQUELINE FRIDUSS

he only thing Sarah remembers after drinking with her friends at Peers Park before leaving for Club Illusions is waking up in Stanford Hospital with her dad by her side — glaring. Sarah, a Palo Alto High School junior who requested that her name not be used, was one of at least two Paly students to end up in the hospital after a private party held in August; they weren’t the only Paly students who had been drinking. Of an estimated 200 attendees, perhaps a dozen were pulled out of line before they got in according to attendees. Others — up to 18 by some estimates, were cited by police for public drunkenness. One senior, among the dozens contacted in reporting this story, says she saw multiple students pulled out of the line outside the club. “Within the first 10 minutes I saw security carrying out a drunk girl,” she says. Another senior described the scene inside. “There was puke everywhere in the girls bathroom and on the dance floor,” she says. “[Drunk] kids were playing the ‘numbers game’ which is how many people you can make out with by the end of the night, and comparing with your friends.” Shocked by what she saw, she summarizes the night simply: “Sloppy.”

ears ago, just as many people could have packed the floor of Paly gym instead of at a private club. However, three years ago, the Paly administration and parent chaperones would have been nearby and ready to help students if anything went awry. But as Paly dances decline in popularity and more and more students attend private alternative dances, such as the one described above, the

verde magazine

future of Paly dances remains hazy, with ASB searching for ways to draw students back to school — held dances. Students have become disillusioned with schoolheld dance policies, such as mandatory breathalyzers and chaperones, and instead have come to cherish the freedom that private dances provide. Faced with a considerable challenge, ASB is determined. Only a few years ago, student intoxication was a problem at Paly dances, too. At Paly Prom in 2008, chaperones caught 18 students drunk, according to the Paly Administration. The frequency of alcohol-related problems at dances caused the parent community to demand that the administration take some action to solve the problem. “Chaperones were appalled at the dances,” says Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson. “They [Parents and teachers] refused to chaperone.” Kevin Duffy, Spanish teacher and frequent chaperone both before and after breathalyzers were implemented, describes his experience: “I’ve seen a few students who were falling-down drunk,” Duffy says. “It’s not pretty, and it bothered me a lot, especially when the students I saw were ones that I knew well. They were making poor choices, and then suffered the consequences. I began to chaperone fewer and fewer dances because it really bothered me to see kids I cared about behaving so poorly.”

he Paly administration responded to these problems during the 08-09 school year by enforcing previously loosely enforced dance policies and instituting new ones. Students were informed of rules at the entrance of the dances and chaperones were directed to be more “present.” The most notable addi-

have a future? The Welcome Back Dance was promising, but can ASB keep it up? tion was the breathalyzing policy, requiring that all students attending Paly dances be tested at the door for intoxication. Many students resented these changes. “The measures they take are detrimental to the dances’ atmosphere,” says junior Aaron Bajor. “When my friends won’t go to support the school and have fun, I can’t manage to find a reason for myself to go.” Senior Rachel Stober agrees. “I think that breathalyzing really deters Paly students from going to dances,” she says. “It’s not even that everyone wants to drink, but keeping such a close eye on kids at a dance and having so much adult involvement takes away any of the ‘coolness’ that teenagers would look for. Why would kids want to pay to have their teachers and friends’ parents watch them dance when they could just hang out somewhere else?” In response, many students chose simply not to attend Paly dances. “Everyone is over it,” says senior Kristina Guzman. “The administration watching you dance, the [video warnings about acceptable behavior] we have to watch before we get into the dance, and the long lines for breathalyzers.”

efore the breathalyzer policy was instituted, Winter Formal ticket sales, released by the auditor, were in the 700s, but dropped by more then 300 students by 2008. The year after the new dance policies, ticket sales dropped so low that ASB was forced to cancel the dance. Then, ASB went on to cancel the Sadie Hawkins’ Day Dance, and in desperation, handed out free tickets at last year’s Last Chance Dance, where attendance was well under 100 students.

“It [canceling Sadies] was a huge shock for me,” senior class president, Jack Smale says. “I really didn’t see it coming because of the huge numbers it had brought in previous years. I know ASB was really looking forward to hosting it and I definitely thought the Paly community felt the same.” As attendance at each dance decreased, students became less and less inclined to attend future dances. Berkson believes that some attendance issues will be solved when the Class of 2011 graduates, as it is the last class to be part of the generation before former principal Jacqueline McEvoy’s policies and breathalyzers. “We’re a year away from anyone ever being able to get drunk before a [school] dance,” Berkson says. “[A year away] from it being a big deal.” Berkson adds that the main issue with dance attendance is “a peer pressure thing.” He says the negative reputation perpetuated by a small population of students discourages others from attending. “A lot more people would go if a lot more people would stop whining,” Berkson says. Former ASB dance commissioner, 2010 graduate, Emily Kenyon agrees with Berkson. “Almost everyone I talked to says ‘I’d go if everyone else did’”, Kenyon says. “So if people actually went, I think they’d have a great time.”

ith the decline of Paly dances came the growing popularity of private and venue-hosted dances. Students are attracted to these private dances because they provide a different atmosphere, with no breathalyzing and more relaxed security.

Private party host speaks out Text by ANABEL HOMNACK

I have hosted two dances before; one at Lucie Stern and one in Mountain View in the parking lot of my dad’s company. I initially hosted these dances because I, like many other Palo Alto High School students, enjoy social events such as dancing. These student-run events have gained an unfairly negative reputation. Granted, at private dances, students may involve themselves with more risky behaviors such as drinking and dancing more inappropriately; however, the two dances I hosted went smoothly. Before each event, I prepared an emergency plan and was ready to face the worst-case scenario. At both of my dances I came across a couple drunken students, and dealt with the situations as best I could by making sure a parent or family member picked them up immediately. I believe that student run dances can be a much safer alternative compared to other social gatherings. The risk at a party with adult security is much lower than at a party with no parents or guardian at all. While, I agree that private dances take away from the attendance of >>>>>>>>>>>>continued on next page october october

17 16

ASB dances I do not agree that the sole reason for low attendance is the use of breathalyzers. As the statistics that Verde show, many students prefer private dances for a variety of reasons. Private dances provide a place where students can be free, without feeling watched by teachers they may see around campus. Personally, I have felt very awkward dancing at a school dance knowing that my science teacher was right behind me. In addition, private events accommodate student opinions. For every past event, I have created a Facebook group where all students who plan to attend the dance can post opinions in regards to venue, theme and date of the event. I believe that the police involvement with teen drinking at dances is the full responsibility of the attendant that chose to drink before entering. I feel that I and other hosts have made it clear that all high schoolers planning to attend must act responsibly. At my next dance, I hope that students are able to have a good, sober time and that they do see having a second option to Paly dances is a privilege, which they should not abuse. V

Dances by the numbers

59%

of Paly students prefer private dances to school dances. This is why:

35%

No Chaperones

56%Alcohol Music68% 69%Dancing Rules According to a survey of 216 students from all classec; conducted by the Verde staff.

verde magazine

Berkson says that private clubs allow students to get away with drinking, as private venues, places like Club Illusions do not have the liability that administrators or chaperones do. “If I see a drunk kid, I have to do something about it,” Berkson says. “I am responsible for that kid.” An employee of Club Avalon in Santa Clara, who asked that her name not be printed, agrees: “Private clubs [like Illusions] would rather have more people show up than better security. [Clubs will be more likely to] look the other way”. Students often have taken full advantage of the freedoms provided by private club security. Senior Stephanie Spector agrees, “at private dances people go crazy because there are no restrictions. They do not understand that there are limits and that if you drink a lot you will get alcohol poisoning.” Many students have also resorted to hosting their own private events at club venues such as Club Illusions or the Lucy Stern Community Center. Student hosts have often opted for minimal security. Senior Sam Greene and Talia Moyal, who hosted an event for Kiva Club at Lucy Stern in 2008 with a turnout of about 500 students, say they only had one security guard. “At Lucy Stern they provide you with [a security guard],” Moyal says. “He just sits in the corner, mostly.”

ere has been a lack of community push-back regarding this issue, according to Agent Jean Bready of the Palo Alto Police Department.

“We really haven’t heard any complaints from parents [about Club Illusions],” Bready says. “We haven’t noticed an upward trend of citations at Club Illusions.” Bready says she believes that this is because parents don’t know what goes on when their children attend private events. “Whenever we contact a minor’s parents they are always surprised,” Bready says.

ince the cancellation of the Winter Formal and the breakdown of the Last Chance Dance, Paly’s ASB has faced the challenge of bringing students back to school dances. “A lot of us [in ASB] want to prove to Paly that we’re still trying to be the best ASB we can,” Kenyon says. Its back to the wall, ASB made a collective decision last year to radically change its approach to dances, altering the music, environment and advertising. “The way we’ve been marketing things in the past clearly hasn’t worked,” says ASB President Chirag Krishna. Senior Class President Jack Smale elaborates. “[We gathered] input from the Paly community about why it [Winter Formal] wasn’t a success and we went from there,” he says. “I remember spending several class periods specifically on what we needed to do to make sure that our next dance was a success. That dance was Prom. We really put all our resources into ensuring that Prom was a ton of fun and we really got a lot of positive feedback from that.” Included in the new approach was advertising dances earlier and more enthusiastically. Before the Welcome Dance, ASB hired professional dancers to advertise and dance on the quad, playing

MY STORY: Hosting a private dance An second senior sat down with Verde to talk about what it was like to host a private dance at Illusions.

V: Why do you think Paly students prefer private dances to Paly dances? music over the speakers and giving out free tickets to students who volunteered to dance on the deck. In addition, ASB hired a new entertainment company, Alan Waltz Entertainment, which brought a new DJ and dance environment to the first dance of the 2010 school year. The Welcome Dance was moved from the Big Gym to the Small Gym. “[The Small Gym] improves the club atmosphere,” Krishna says. In an effort to improve entertainment at Paly dances, ASB has worked with the new administration to alter previous policies that have discouraged students from attending in the past. While breathalyzers and chaperones cannot be removed, ASB is attempting to make them less intrusive. Rather than being greeted with a breathalyzer as they enter, students are tested after they have entered the gym. “The flow of traffic is more respectful to students,’ says Student Activities Director Kindel Launer. In addition, Principal Phil Winston suggested that tickets be sold at the door, a common practice at Gunn High School where, despite breathalyzers, dance attendance has remained healthy for years. This was adopted by ASB and allowed more students to attend dances.

SB has received positive feedback about the new approach. The Welcome Dance, usually attended by mostly freshmen and sophomores, was well received by juniors and seniors. “Even chaparones felt more comfortable in the environment,” Krishna says. One attendee, junior Suzanna Ackroyd, agrees. “The music was awesome,” Ackroyd says. “It was way more interac-

tive [and] they did a good job connecting to the mood.” Some students don’t mind the breathalyzer regulations. “I don’t mind the breathalyzers,” Ackroyd says. “I don’t think people have to be drunk to have fun.” Kenyon agrees: “I think Paly kids need to suck it up and have some sober fun.” Former ASB president, senior Osceola Ward says, “I think that the whole administration resentment phenomenon is dying out and I think well see an increase in dance attendance.” A more accurate measure of the success of ASB’s efforts will be increased attendance of cancelled dances like the Winter Formal, the Sadie Hawkins’ Day Dance, and the Last Chance dance, the three traditionally less well-attended dances, according to past ticket sales. “I think it’s all up to the students,” Kenyon says. “ASB does everything they can to make the dances happen, or at least we did while I was there so I’m sure they still are. Look at Gunn. They have the same rules, even stricter ones actually, and they still have crazy fun dances.” Kenyon suggests that the rules are not the main reason why students do not attend dances, but students’ negative attitudes toward the regulations. “ASB does everything they can to make the dances happen,” Kenyon says. “It’s on them [the students] to make sure they attend and have a fun time. If ASB just stopped having dances, that’s just embarrassing for Paly ... like we’re a bunch of kids who can’t have fun sober.” V

S: I think that Paly kids prefer private

dances because the option of drinking or not is much more open. You are still risking getting caught drinking or taking some other illegal substance, but the breathalyzer is not in the picture. Once that isn’t a factor students feel they have lots more wiggle room for risking the consumption of illegal substance.

V: As a host, how did you feel when kids got citations?

S: I felt extremely bad the entire night

when that situation came into play. I did all I could to keep people out of harm’s way, but once they came, it was out of my control. I don’t think many students blamed my parents because the students knew what they were risking when they chose to do those things in the first place. However, I know there were definitely parents from this area that were angry with my parents, which made me feel terrible inside because I knew all they wanted was for me to have a nice, fun party.

V: Do you think things got out of control? S: At times during the night, there were instances were I felt things were out of hand, but I think it was because I hadn’t expected or prepared for the level of intoxication. There were so many kids who needed care because they were too intoxicated to function. I wish that my friends knew their limits. I wish they knew how much to consume [alcahol] while able to still function and have a good time. The issue was that too many kids went over that limit , which at times didn’t know how to handle. I just hate that it happened. V october

[ COVER ]

The Dance Text and art by AVA DORDI

I’m so excited for the dance tonight. It’s gonna be so much FUN!

Ooh! Do you like to dance? Nope.

There’s a girl you like? Nope.

To DRINK!

verde magazine

Is it the free food?

Um, not so much.

...

You like the music? No.

So why are you going to the dance?!

Huh.

PERSPECTIVES FOOTBAG FURY A MONTH IN LEBANON GADI’S CHOICE DEBUNKED: THERE ARE NO REPUBLICAN STUDENTS AT PALY

KICK IT A competitor in the 2010 World Footbag Championships shows off some tricks. Read more about this up-and-rising sport in “Footbag Fury”

22 23 25 27

photograhy by JESSICA MADEJ

[ PERSPECTIVES ]

tbag Fury

Footbag: A sport that involves a small ball, but a large amount of patience

Text by JESSICA MADEJ Photography by JESSICA MADEJ and CAMILLE COUCHON

ed and white octagons, carefully patched to form a ball, were slowly falling. The crowd’s eyes were glued to the ball, watching to see where the ball would fall. Suddenly, a player shoots his foot up and the ball lands on the toe of his shoe. Does this sport sound familiar? This game is generically called Footbag. According to Footbag Worldwide, Footbag was invented in 1972 by Mike Marshall and John Stalberger, who originally called this game “Hack the Sack” because they kicked around a hand-made bean bag (a sack). This sport centers on a hackey sack that looks like a tiny soccer ball, only contains loose filling and is generally hand-sewn together. The International Footbag championships were held at the beginning of August in Oakland, and I attended the last night of the event. Entering the conference room, I saw a large arena, high ceilings and plenty of square footage to allow the game to be played. In the center of one of the rooms, a court, which reminded me of a volleyball court, was set up. Two men stood on each side of the court and used their legs to catapult a hackey sack to the other side of the net. The men moved their knees, passing the ball back and forth, preventing it from touching the ground. Next door, there was a large circle outlined on the carpet, alloting boundaries for the footbag contenders to stay in while they played. I sat on the carpet, on the edge of the circle, next to some footbag players from Poland. They had two flags

verde magazine

out, one was a Polish flag. Being Polish myself, I was excited to cheer on the Polish players and to discover that they were highly accomplished. Footbag is an umbrella term for many sports that involve a footbag. Another game using a footbag, involves a net and at least two players. Other footbag variants include Freestyle and 2-Square. One of the more interesting and more creative games is Freestyle Footbag. In Freestyle there are many subcategories, such as “Open-Shred,” “Women’s Circle,” “Doubles Routine” and “Mixed Doubles Routine.” Players from Poland won many medals, from these subcategories. During this game, participants work either alone or in doubles to prevent the ball from touching the ground while performing tricks. The winner of this year’s Men’s Singles Freestyle performed the routine to some classy music and completed performed the routine to some classy music and completed the routine without dropping the hackey sack once. Not only did the player have a great stage presence, but he knew how to work the crowd, often smiling and incorporating facial expressions into his routine. To celebrate the Polish player’s victory, my family and I went to dinner with the 13 players who represented Poland. Surrounded by these winners, I kept thinking that if they were American, they may have had an article in the newspaper or a segment on television announcing their victories. I learned from the players that even though Poland was doing extremely well in the championships, the Polish press seemed to not acknowledge their victories. These students cannot even get scholarships for their accomplishments, so it seemed to me that they played for the enjoyment of the game. Before leaving the championships, I bought a hackey sack and decided I would try my hand, or should I say foot, at these games. It sounds fairly easy: toss a small ball using your two feet without dropping it. Like most things, it is easier said than done. Though at first glance it may not seem like it, footbag is a physically demanding sport. The player is constantly moving his or her feet, up and down, practically jumping to catch the ball every second. One also has to be creative, coming up with tricks or new twists on tricks. But the most important part to succeeding in this sport is to be patient. It takes time and practice to master a trick. Footbag is a young sport that is gaining populartity with grown recognition. As I try it out, I hope others give it a chance too. Visit http://voice.paly.net/verde to see some footage from the championships. v

A Month in Lebanon Reflections on a summer in the Middle East Text by MARGARET KADIFA Photography by MARGARET KADIFA and GABRIELLE BARMADA Art by AVA DORDI

hen my dad was my age, the beginning of a 15year civil war broke out in his home, Lebanon. There was rampant fighting in the streets of the capital city. His school had shut down so he spent his time working in a Red Cross unit in the mountains of Lebanon. Just a few years before, he had been the star student of one of the top high schools in Beirut, the capital. Now, he had no idea what would become of his future. One year later my dad got accepted at the American University of Beirut which was a gateway into the United States where he attended graduate school, met my American mom and settled down in Palo Alto. Throughout my childhood, Lebanon remained a place of mystery for me. I was born over twelve years after my dad’s move from Lebanon to the U.S. I knew only a dozen words in Arabic (most of them swear words). I did not go to Lebanon until I was 15 and even then felt like a foreigner. Finally, last summer, I decided to return to Lebanon and truly discover the place that my dad fled so many years ago. I lived for four weeks in the dorms at the American University of Beirut and participated in a program called the Summer Program for American University of Beirut Alumni Children. I took beginning Arabic and Lebanese history classes and toured

the country with about 30 other students. Most of us were from the United States, but others came from Canada, France, Mexico, Germany and Saudi Arabia. Yet, we were all connected by our Lebanese heritage. The most difficult aspect I encountered when living in Lebanon is simply that Lebanon is a developing nation, so everything from ignoring unenforcable laws to avoiding contaminated water is the daily reality. There is a Lebanese expression that I would say when the power went out or the traffic was bad (both common occurances): “It’s Lebanon, habibi” — “It’s Lebanon, honey.” Basically, it means: we are in Lebanon; nothing is supposed to work. Take driving, for example. I saw four traffic lights during my entire stay in Beirut. Most of them were built within the past two years. In general, they are attended by Lebanese soldiers carrying machine guns the size of preschoolers to make people stop. Many of the roads do not have lanes. Those that do might as well not have them. They quickly evolve from two-lane roads to four-lane highways. I learned to take a leap of faith and hope that speeding cars would stop every time I jaywalked across major roads. Throughout my month in Lebanon, I tried to reconcile the war-torn Lebanon that my dad remembers with the current country. To my dad, Lebanon is linked with violence, which is october

[ PERSPECTIVES ] tion, people covered in different colored body paint and lots of yelling. After most games, somebody always shot off firecrackers. I watched a game that Germany won 4-0 downtown, and my dad made me duck under an archway to avoid falling flares. I heard him muttering, “I didn’t survive a civil war to be blown up because of the World Cup.” By the end of my trip, this zest for life had rubbed off on me. I spent a large part of my stay in Lebanon dancing: in the dorms, on the street, in restaurants and in the nearby night-life district, Gymmeze. Rows of pubs named everything from the Berlin to Hank’s would turn into dance clubs — with people shoving furniture aside to create a dance floor and climbing on top of tables. I danced in smoke-filled pubs to everything from “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor (a favorite of my dad’s during the Lebanese Civil War) to “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz. When the dancing spilled out into the streets, there BECHARRE was the added charm of getting water dumped on your head (I had two near misses) from the angry, tired occupants of the apartment buildings above the pubs for being too loud. At the end of my trip, my dad took me BAALBEK to a stuffy, little office to register me as a Lebanese citizen. I got my fingerprints stamped and my photo taken for my very own Lebanese I.D. card. Now as I eagerly await my I.D. card’s arrival in the mail, I reflect back on the stories that my dad told me of Lebanon. When he studied at AUB it was in the middle of a war zone. Now, the neighborBEIT AL DINE hood around AUB has a college-town feel — from the H&M to Bliss House, my favorite ice cream shop. The resilience that the Lebanese have to recover from war and rebuild their country continues to amaze me. Their lives are so unpredictable, dependent on the foreign policy decisions of countries such as the U.S., Syria and Israel. Yet, after every catastrophe they recover and go on with their lives, just as my dad did so many years ago. I am forever impressed by their tenacity. This resilience is one part of my heritage that I hope I will carry with me throughout my life. v

still true to some extent. The Civil War in Lebanon, from roughly 1975-1990, devastated the country. Beirut was divided into an East and a West. The East was predominately Christian and the place where my extended family lived at the time. The West, where the university is, was predominately Muslim. My dad remembers crossing over the no-man’s zone called the Green Line — the dividing line in Beirut — dodging shell fire so that he could go from home to school. Even though much of Beirut has been restored over the last 10 years, there are still numerous remnants of the war. The apartment building across the street from my grandma’s house has bullet holes in it. There is a bombed-out Holiday Inn in the midst of newly-renovated downtown Beirut. Few buildings are as depressing as those that were destroyed by the war and then abandoned. They serve as a constant reminder of the Civil War’s horrors. Yet, the majority of my trip BYBLOS was consumed by the beauty that Lebanon has to offer. I swam in the turquoise Mediterranean, walked among Lebanon’s famous cedar trees, toured Jeita Grotto BEIRUT — a beautiful cave filled with stalacmites and stalagtites —and ate huge amounts of Lebanese cuisine. I saw Roman ruins (the largest outside of Italy) in a place called Baalbek and, crusader castles in the southern town of Saida. I fell in love with the picturesque city Byblos. The Lebanese claim that it is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. All of these tourist sites hinted LAGUAVA at the Lebanon’s rich his- RESORT tory. It was, and still is, a crossroads between the East and the West. Beirut has everything from a store called Ants, which sells imported Chinese jewellery to Claire’s Earings. I was also exposed the Lebaneses’ love of life and, consequently of celebrating. Take the World Cup, for example. The majority of the Lebanese were rooting for either Germany or Brazil, so flags draped balconies and hung on telephone poles all over Beirut. In the pedestrian downtown area, restaurants and cafes showed the matches live on huge screens. The whole experience reminded me a little bit of a Paly Spirit Week — fierce competi-

verde magazine

Caught Between Two Sides of the Wall An Israeli student tries to reconcile his cultural background with his politics. Text and art by GADI COHEN Photography by ALLISON CHANG and BELLA HERNANDEZ

all me a liberal Israeli: that’s what most people call me — though they don’t realize that “liberal” and “Israeli” are two parts of myself that don’t coexist peacefully. If only Israelis weren’t 55 percent conservative and 18 percent liberal, according to a 2007 poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute, this contradiction could fade away. I can only describe myself by telling you who I am not. I am not a sabra, a prickly pear cactus — in Hebrew, a name for a pure-bred native Israeli; I belong — even though I don’t want to belong — to a generation that lives in fear, was born in fear, was conceived in fear. In kindergarten in Israel, we spent our days learning about our forefathers’ plight against the Arab countries, with our blue-white crested “50!” pins for the 50 years of war and death and hardship that the country endured since its 1948 independence. In fourth grade, we learned to use a gas mask; we were trained to file into bunkers

Free Gaza

under the school, small brown cardboard gas mask containers swinging on our shoulders, little ears perked up in anticipation of sirens or even bombs. Like everyone else, I see the images, I watch the videos, from Gaza to Lebanon, of blood-soiled children and dust-coated corpses, of grief-stricken mothers with their mouths gaping open in all-encompassing, anguished shrieks. Looking back, I was raised as a liberal first, and as an Israeli second. My childhood consisted of classroom walls plastered with plastic doves and gigantic, multicolored shalom signs — and yet a step outside of the classroom would take me into a park filled with remnants of war: an ancient tank for kids to play on, and the broken wing of an army helicopter. Surrounded by artifacts of war, I learned to crave peace. I remember sitting on my father’s lap as he read the day’s paper, gazing over page after page of lurid photographs of

we want

peace october

[ PERSPECTIVES ]

blood-stained families and broken cement walls, of smiling kids my age with AK-47s in their palms. I never learned to take those pictures lightly, while other Israelis grew inured to them. On my first school day in the United States, I met a lanky, black-haired, bronze-skinned Palestinian student standing in line to enter my fifth-grade classroom. My tenyear-old mind — engrained with Israeli culture — understood that we were supposed to be enemies, and that he was supposed to be a blood-hungry suicide bomber with a cool hatred of anything remotely resembling Judaism. But I also understood something else. Even before completely settling in the United States, I understood the American spirit of diversity — what it truly means and represents: and I knew that this was what it meant to be American — that here, two fifth graders from warring countries had the ability and the freedom to learn English peacefully in the same class, and even to be friends. By the end of the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006, my gut told me that war — any war, even (perhaps especially) if my own home country were to incite it — is evil. From my jury box in front of the TV set, I saw flames and blasts smear across the screen; brown blocks of broken buildings splayed across asphalt roads, littered with bodies; a dog lying on the sidewalk, his limbs skewed, his insides splattered across the street like discarded plastic bags. Politics is not simple. Small, friendly political squabbles — about settlements, free elections, disengagement, demographic inevitabilities, apartheid walls, occupations, problems and solutions — packed my political cupola of information, and I realized that I was officially lost in the intellectual muck of the one topic of which I was supposed to have a firsthand understanding. As I began to comprehend politics, I started equating personal observations from my childhood with complex, political terms. That town of stone huts in the middle of the desert was a settlement, created in the West Bank by Orthodox Jews to prevent Israel from conceding the land to Palestinians. And that restaurant a few miles away from the Dome of the Rock — with Arab waiters who pushed plates of hummus and long skewers of meat — was in East Jerusalem, a region proclaimed to be the capital of the Palestinian National Authority, where terrorists would stealthily plan their attacks in houses that Israel would raze only days later.

verde magazine

But after learning all of those terms, it all came down to one word: Peace. And as a liberal, for me peace triumphs pride, belongingness and even patriotism. It’s a paradox. How can I love my home country — even, God forbid, be proud of it — when I also stand firmly against so many of that its policies? How can I live knowing that my beloved home country disenfranchised, starved and even killed thousands of innocent civilians over the course of its existence? To reduce this dissonance, I can shed either my Israeli background (a quite impossible thing) or I can relinquish the set of liberal values that I have so devotedly espoused (as well as relinquish my moral fiber). How is it that in the presence of non-Israelis I must defend Israel, while in the presence of Israelis I must censure it? If I were to make a choice — threatened with a gun to my head, to choose one identity — which one would I choose? I am still in the process of choosing — wedged in between my hatred of war and love of home. Perhaps I will still struggle with this choice for many years ahead. But at least it is an active, empowering choice. For example, over the summer I interned for a liberal, Israeli peace organization called Ameinu, where I wrote and edited a newsletter that went out to thousands of people who crave peace in the Middle East but harbor an enduring, resilient attachment to Israel. Working at Ameinu, I learned that there are thousands of others who, like me, have to learn to reconcile their political beliefs with their nationality, who, like me, have to determine if their love for humankind is greater than their love for their culture. I am not loyal to the Israeli government; I am loyal to the people of Israel and to the memories that I have there. If Jews have a right to be a “free nation in our land”, as Israel’s national anthem, Hatikva, proclaims, how could Israel rob Palestinians of that same right? I am a sabra in some ways — sweetly supple on the inside, warm and peaceful with my people — yet on the outside, I’m not hard; I’m not belligerent; I want happiness, harmony, peace through whatever means exist. For the time being, my struggle serves as an integral part of my life, one that pushes me to investigate the boundaries of my own identity and to accept and love myself for whoever I choose to become. v

: nked debu There are no republicans students at paly

Text by EMMA TUCHER Art by AVA DORDI

hen asked to picture a typical Republican, images of Sarah Palin toting her gun clad in a red-whiteand-blue bikini or Joe-6-pack watching a football game come to my mind. These images hardly depict any Paly student or parent. It can seem that Democrats have created quite a Republican-free liberal utopia in Palo Alto. In reality, many Republicans attend Palo Alto High School even though they don’t fulfil these stereotypes; and we need to respect them as part of our student community. The general consensus of the Republican population at Paly is that they are in the extreme minority. “I would definitely say that Paly is not only predominantly liberal, but overwhelmingly so,” junior Toby Lee says. Verde, a staff full of truth seekers, wanted to dispel this myth. According to a 2010 General Congressional Ballot, 44 percent of the voting population are registered Democratic and 48 percent are Republican. Contrasting to this national average, according to a recent poll conducted with 116 freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior girls and boys, 25.8 percent of the student population reported their political viewpoint as Republican. This means that while we may not hear them boasting their conflicting viewpoints in classrooms, or wearing “I love McCain” t-shirts, Republicans do make up a significant portion of our stu-

dent body. Senior Shannon Paulson, along with most of her Republican peers polled, estimated that only 10 percent of our student body is comprised of Republicans. The Republicans interviewed contended that they felt ostrasized by their more

left-leaning peers who they felt were narrow-minded. “Most students I encounter are not open at all [to my beliefs],” sophomore Charlie Dulik says. “They will only hear their liberal viewpoint, and immediately discard my opinion as being wrong without even considering what I have to say.” Junior Sam Blake concurs that Paly is not a very politically open-minded campus. “[Paly] is not a very open environment,” Blake says. “Since most kids are democratic, conservative viewpoints are often dismissed.”

Paulson has had similar experiences when expressing her conservative political views in class. “My favorite response to sharing my views was: ‘Wait, you’re a Republican? But I thought you were smart!’” Paulson says. Liberal Paly students, at least by their more conservative peers, are thought to be both close-minded and uninformed on the issues that the Republicans support. “Many students are completely stereotypical,” senior Letty Kerman says. “They don’t understand that just because someone is Republican does not mean they are necessarily anti-abortion, homophobic or do not care about the environment. Many people associate the whole party with controversial people like Sarah Palin, who are targeted by the liberal media” Dulik says he believes that the majority of Paly students only associate conservatives with issues such as abortion, gun control, and the war on Iraq — the Republicans interviewed disagree. “The main thing my party stands for is fiscal responsibility,” Dulik says. “Without a doubt, turning this recession around is the GOP’s No. 1 priority. Just because someone can shout the loudest doesn’t mean they stand for the whole party.” There’s no denying it. Just look at the numbers: Republicans make up more than a quarter of our student body. So maybe next time, before the liberals in the classroom roll their eyes and laugh at the so-called backwards Republicans, maybe they should think about what the person is saying, or, at the very least, acknowledge the courage it takes to express ideas that conflict with the majority of the room. v october

PROFILES

A SECOND HOME Junior Matias Scarafia (left), from Argentina, and senior Riccardo Monti (right) from Italy discuss their experiences living away from home in “Three Countries, One Campus”

INSIDE THE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM BEING BERKSON THREE COUNTRIES, ONE CAMPUS FROM NAVY TO TEACHER PALY’S OWN CEO FROM LAB COAT TO PAGEANT CROWN

29 30 32 35 37 39

photograhy by JACQUELINE FRIDUSS

Inside the Virtual Classroom Paly’s Java students experience a unique learning environment Text and photography by EMILY KELLISON-LINN

everal dozen students fill the classroom, each face staring into a bright computer screen. This high-tech scene is what one might expect to see in Palo Alto High School’s Beginning Java class, where students learn the basics of writing computer programs in the Java language. But there is one feature of this class which differentiates it from every other class on campus: its true instructor is miles away at Foothill College, and these Paly students are taking the course entirely online. As part of an arrangement with Foothill, Paly pays for the cost of the class and Foothill allows classes of Paly students to enroll in its Computer Science I and II classes. While this model of education offers a unique opportunity for high school students, it also has its disadvantages. According to Doug Bertain, the Paly faculty member supervising the course, the opportunity to take this class is an excellent learning experience for high school students. Bertain is officially the instructor of the class for Paly, but his role is closer to that of a facilitator, ensuring that struggling students receive the help they need, managing communications with parents, writing e-mails, and encouraging students to collaborate without cheating.

FOCUS

Meanwhile, the instructor at Foothill To facilitate the answering of student offers instruction and grades assignments. questions, the class offers an online forum Bertain emphasizes that this expe- where students can post questions and rerience is useful preparation for higher ceive answers from their peers, their Footeducation, where students must be more hill instructor, and industry mentors. In independent in their learning. fact, students are required to make a post “Students really learn about what at least once a week. According to junior college is like,” Bertain says. He says that and former Java student Neena Pai, howthe biggest problem with grading is when ever, this forum is not always adequate. students fail to read “I did not use the instructions carefully forums because they and do not format took too long to retheir program propspond,” Pai says. erly, and therefore lose Other students points. “That’s just the reported more posiway college is,” Bertive feelings about the tain says. class. According to “In general, the Bertain, Paly students — JUNIOR EMILY CHIU fact that the class is are also very capable. taught through an onLast year, he says, the Beginning Java class line Foothill course makes it more flexof Paly students achieved the highest av- ible than a traditional class,” former Java erage grade of any class at Foothill. In ad- student Steven Hu says. “Submission of dition, there are two adults currently en- work was quite streamlined and extremerolled in the class alongside Paly students. ly simple, although interaction with the “It gives them [the students] a sense teacher was less convenient and limited.” of pride — that they can do it,” Bertain Paly junior Emily Chiu, another forsays. “They’re competing with adults.” mer student, agrees: “I think that the inStill, Bertain admits that some students dependence that it allows can work either will have trouble with the class’s format. way — to your advantage, or to your dis“Hold-my-hand learners, show-me- advantage,” Chiu says. “If you know what what-to-do learners are going to suffer,” you’re doing and are self-motivated to do Bertain says. the reading, it’s a good experience.” v

“The independence that it allows can work either way.”

Students work on their assignments in the computer lab, watched over by Doug Bertain, the Java class supervisor. october

[ PROFILES ]

Being Berkson

After battling an obscure neurological condition, Assistant Princpal Jerry Berkson is still healing. Text by CHLOE CHEN and RACHEL HARRUS Art by GADI COHEN

alo Alto High School students and faculty often see Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson riding around campus on a golf cart, monitoring the glass blowing fence in the morning for students who attempt to lock their bicycles there and completing various errands during lunch. His magnetic personality and pointed humor make it hard to find

verde magazine

him without another person by his side, engaging in an animated conversation. But five months ago, Berkson couldn’t be found anywhere on campus. Instead, he was in the emergency room of Kaiser Hospital in Redwood City, facing a life-threatening illness. His immune system had overreacted to a virus, attacking his own brain and spinal cord. For about a week, Berkson couldn’t feel anything in his lower body. He suffered from double vision and at times, numbness to his chest. Physically, Berkson has emerged victorious. But mentally, he continues to live with anxiety. This has allowed him to empathize more with students who have anxiety issues. “I see kids all the time who tell me about their anxiety and depression issues — usually because it affects their school performance — and even though I felt bad for them, I never really knew what they were going through,” Berkson says. “But now I understand it a lot better. The anxiety isn’t something you

can turn on and off.” Berkson’s anxiety is a recurring problem caused by the traumatic experience. “A lot of times, I have so many things going on that my muscles get tense and I start to get anxious,” Berkson says. “It mostly happens when I can’t do anything but think, and then all these thoughts about what I have to do makes me anxious.” “The attacks happen every day – sometimes all day,” he continues. “Ironically, the busier I am, the better I am. It most often occurs at times like the middle of the night, or while I’m driving to work, when my brain starts thinking about what I have to do.” When his anxieties strike, Berkson has learned to monitor his breathing. “I’ve learned to pace my breaths,” he says. “I just have to monitor my breathing.” Doctors say that Berkson’s condition is normal and should not last forever. “Doctors say that my body is just reacting to the trauma because when I was in the hospital and in rehab, I was too busy to think about the severity of the problem,” Berkson says. Back to the Beginning Initially, Berkson’s condition was a mystery to doctors. “It was really the exact same thing as House,” Berkson joked. “Is it this? No. Is it this? No. Is it this? No. Except at the end they don’t just pop you the pill and say you’re fixed.” On May 16, after eight days of experiencing flu-like symptoms, Berkson woke up with his legs tingling. He headed for the emergency room. At first, doctors speculated that the tingling in his legs was due to

his spinal column impinging on his spinal cord, according to Berkson. “I got an MRI [magnetic resonance imaging scan] so they could see the inside of my spinal cord,” he says. “They saw inflammation on my spinal cord, but realized that it wasn’t because my spinal column was impinging on it.” Subsequently, doctors placed Berkson in an intermediate care unit and gave him heavy doses of steroids to reduce the inflammation. They then tested their next diagnostic hypotheses. “The doctors thought it might’ve been myeloenchephalitis or GuillainBarré, but they took another MRI on the spinal cord and were sure that it was any of those conditions either,” Berkson continues. “Meanwhile, the steroids stopped working. I stopped being able to feel things in my lower body.” Finally, doctors took an MRI of Berkson’s brain and noticed several lesions, or damaged brain tissue, so they diagnosed him with ADEM. What does ADEM stand for? Initially, Berkson didn’t know either. “Google is your best friend,” he says, laughing. After several moments, Berkson reports that the full name of his condition is acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Doctors finally could prescribe him treatment: plasmapheresis, in which plasma is removed from blood cells using a cell separator. The plasma contains the antibodies causing inflammation, according to Berkson. Soon after the treatment began, Berkson saw first signs of real success during his hospitalization. “Doctors saw progress in my legs first,” Berkson reports. “My right leg got stronger faster than my left leg despite the fact that my left leg is the dominant one. At one point, I could move them up and down, but I still couldn’t stand up because it risked blood clots.” Berkson remained hospitalized for 17 days, during which doctors continued to worry about a relapse of the autoimmune attack. “I would’ve gotten out sooner, but the

“In the back of my mind, I’m still worried that the condition will come back and strike me.” — ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL JERRY BERKSON

plasma had to be removed every other day [to prevent a relapse],” he remarks. Road to Recovery After the intensive treatment, Berkson was relocated on July 2 to another Kaiser branch in Vallejo, Calif., where he underwent physical therapy in order to regain control of his muscles. “It’s [Berkson’s condition is] not really a muscle issue; it’s a neurological one,” Berkson says. “Rehab was a way to activate my brain through the nerves. I worked alongside the physical therapist, doing resistance exercises. ” As Berkson lost most of the functioning in his lower body, his first task was to re-learn how to walk. “Being immobile for 30 days, you lose a lot of muscle in your legs,” Berkson recalls. “On day one, they

put me on parallel bars so I could practice taking baby steps. Day two, they put me on a walker. By day four, I was already walking well with the walker.” Fortunately, Berkson’s health improved dramatically. He and those around him could breathe a sigh of relief. “It’s a lot easier to have hope when you see the results happen,” he says. “Within 18 days I went from not being able to stand to walking pretty darn good with a cane. And I’d say a week later I was walking without a cane.” Despite the progress, Berkson still fears a relapse. “In the back of my mind, I’m still worried that the condition will come back and strike me,” Berkson confides. “I still talk to a guy on Facebook who had it much worse than I did for support. ADEM is a neurological thing so recovery is gray and inexact, and different for each person. But it’s going to take a long time.” Berkson saw several silver linings in the whole ordeal. For one, lying in bed allowed him to contemplate and reflect on his life. “It’s nice to have hope,” Berkson says. “When I was lying in bed, almost paralyzed, I said I’d run a marathon — and I don’t think I’ll ever get around to that —but at the time you think about all the good things you can do.” Moreover, Berkson says the experience and the support he received from his family, his friends and Paly were incredibly inspiring. “The support was unbelievable,” Berkson says. “I learned a lot about supportive people and I don’t think I’ve ever gone on a hospital visit for a friends because I don’t like hospitals, but knowing what that means to a person in the hospital keeps people going. I learned a lot how I can be a better person in that situation.” “The cards I got were great,” Berkson adds with a smile. “Even a card makes a difference.” v Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on The Paly Voice at http://voice.paly.net/node/24061 october

[ PROFILES ]

Three Countries, One Campus

International exchange students diversify the student body.

alo Alto High School senior Julia Howard watches a lithe squirrel scamper across the fence of her house; or her, and mostly everyone else in Palo Alto, this occurrence is nothing out of the ordinary. As she watches its furry little body scurry around, she remembers junior exchange student Matias Scarafia’s first impression of the creature. “He [Matias] asked wide-eyed if this was a normal occurrence,” Howard says. “I then remembered that I had not seen one squirrel in Argentina in the three weeks I had spent there, and tried to imagine the oddity of coming from squirrel-less Argentina to a country practically run with psychotic, scampering little rodents. It was disconcerting.” This year, Paly welcomes four new international exchange students from across the globe. Teacher Advisor cocoordinator Ann Deggelman finds this number to be slightly higher compared to those of previous years. “Typically, there are about four to five exchange students. But the last few years there not even been that many,” Deggelman says. The students become exchange students at Paly through a variety of ways. “They [the exchange programs] are all set up outside of the district, and the students stay with host families. The families enroll the students in the district, and the school itself does not come into contact with the organizations that arranged the exchanges.” Scarafia, an exchange student from Rafaela, Argentina, is staying

verde magazine

h re P o m ho op

Text by MIRA KHANNA Art by YELENA KASIANOVA Photography by JACQUELINE FRIDUSS

ilip de Fries ,G erm an y

rM nio u J

atias Scarafia, Arg ent i na

with Howard and her mother for the duration of the school year, arriving to Paly through one of the American Field Service’s Intercultural programs after he won a scholarship. “The scholarship was from an English Olympics competition,” Scarafia says. “My

first three options [of where to participate in an exchange] were New Zealand, Australia or the United States. I first selected the United States, and then I received placement of my family, school, and city. I could not choose the state or city.” Howard and her family also went through a lengthy process in order to become a host family.

“My mom and I more fell into hosting than made a conscious decision at first,” Howard says. “My mom is on an e-mail list for AFS [American Field Service] since she had been an exchange student in Belgium. An e-mail was sent out that they needed a last-minute placement for an Italian girl and since we had a spare room, we volunteered to host her.” However, unforseen circumstances prevented the family from hosting the

exchange student. So far, Scarafias has enjoyed his stay in Palo Alto, although he notes several differences between here and Argentina. “I like living here very much,” Scarafias says. “The biggest differences are the way people treat each other, and that here I don’t have the freedom I used to have in Argentina.” Howard also has enjoyed her time

Scarafia, however Howard and her family have found alternative ways of bridging the gap. “The food in our house has improved with the addition of Master Chef Matias,” Howard says. “Just last week, he taught us how to make empanadas and it was especially fun since normally all of our meals come straight from the microwave.” Howard also believes that she has iccardo Mon R r changed since Scarafia first arrived. ti, nio I e t a “Having an exchange student has not S ly only opened my eyes to his country and culture, but has made me see America in a new light as well,” Howard says. “[When I say America] for example, I really mean the ‘United States’. Matias gets offended and slightly haughty when anyone uses ‘Americans’ and ‘United States citizens’ interchangeably since he is an American, just not a North American.” Scarafia is not the only Paly student new to the country. Senior Riccardo Monti is also an exchange student this year, from Paderno D’adda, Italy. Monti, like Scarafia, came to Paly through AFS, and his Paly host is junior Lise eese, Ge R a n n Wedemeyer. A rma ior n Monti wanted to come to ny Ju the United States for several reasons. “I wanted to learn English, and to feel the American Dream,” Monti says. Monti says that Palo Alto is a great place with nice people, but notes several key differences between Paly and Italy. “I think that the relationships with people in Italy are more open than [the relationships] here,” Monti says. “It is hard to explain. You must live it to high-school years, so I knew a bit about the country and understand it.” While both Monti and Scarafia culture, but Matias has opened my eyes arrived to Palo Alto through the same to a different part of it: the [Argentinean] organization, other exchange students teenage night life.” arrived through different programs. The cultural disparity between Anna Reese, an exchange student Argentina and the United States caused from Darmstadt, Germany, came with the some initial miscommunication with

with Scarafia, and believes that there are many benefits to hosting an exchange student. “Having Matias in the family has been eye-opening,” Howard says. “I had spent three weeks in Argentina with my mother and sister, visiting my mother’s former exchange student from her

october

[ PROFILES ]

HAPPY FAMILY Junior Matias Scarafia (center), foreign exchange student, stays with host family senior Julia Howard (left) and her mother (right).

organization Ásse International Student Exchange. “The teacher talked about it [becoming an exchange student],” Reese says. “Then, I looked for an organization, and chose one. I wanted to come to the United States because I thought it [would be] pretty cool here.” Reese, like Monti, hopes to improve her ability to speak and write English during her stay. Her host family also has a daughter attending Paly, freshman Samantha Son-Dokidis. Reese maintains positive first impressions of Paly. “On my first day at Paly I did not find my way to classes [easily], but I had a map, and all of the students I asked for the way, were very friendly,” Reese says. She too notes major differences

verde magazine

between her school in Germany and Paly, citing the vast amount of resources that Paly students have access to daily as one example. “The school is twice as big as my school in Germany,” Reese says. “It is very big, but everything here in the USA is very big. I think that Paly is a really nice school, especially the teachers, and students are very nice and friendly, and Paly has a lot of equipment, like televisions and computers. At my school there are not as many things you can do. For example, we do not have a place where we can do glassblowing.” Reese finds adapting to the new bell schedule to be a noticable adjustment. “The major difference [between Paly and] my school is that the school [day] and the periods are long because our

periods are only 45 minutes,” Reese says. Another German exchange student, sophomore Philip de Fries, concurs that living in Palo Alto has been a positive experience. De Fries came from Solingen, Germany, traveling through an exchange program organized by the Rotary Club International. De Fries sent in an application, then based on his academic performance and a series of three meetings, was finally selected for the exchange. De Fries came to the United States, like many of his fellow exchange students, to improve his ability to speak English and to gain a new experience. “I wanted to learn about another culture,” de Fries says. “I wanted to see the sun. So far, I have been finding Paly great.” v

From Navy Pilot to History Teacher The newest addition to the social studies department offers more than just a degree. Text by BELLA HERNANDEZ and CAROLINE EBINGER Photography by BELLA HERNANDEZ and CAROLINE EBINGER and RICHARD VOYTEK and NAVAL PHOTOGRAPHERS

“I

n Desert Storm, well, there were moments [that] really scared you pretty well,” Richard Voytek says. “I remember flying up there after Saddam Hussein set the oil fields on fire; you’d take off and you’d be flying in the middle of the day and you’re going, ‘Wow, this is great, it’s bright and sunny outside.’ and then you drop down through it [burning oil], and it’s pitch black.” Richard Voytek’s experiences in the Navy combating enemies during Operation Desert Storm led him to his desire to teach. Voytek is Palo Alto High School’s new history teacher as well as a war veteran who has risked his life fighting for his country in Operation Desert Storm. Voytek was part of the Navy for over 27 years, serving as a pilot, a patrol plane commander and a mission commander. Starting with a four-year scholarship to Annapolis and a five-year commitment to

the Navy, Voytek continued on active duty for over 10 years, retiring after Operation Desert Storm. Although that was the end of his active career, Voytek was in the reserves for another 12 years during which he commanded units in Jacksonville, Fla., and eventually at Moffet Field. During his time as a navy pilot, Voytek flew a variety of airplanes, including the Lockheed P-3 Orion. Through the tribulations of war, Voytek was not alone

— he had his crew. In fact, the crew Voytek commanded was awarded Best Crew in the Pacific Theater during the war month of Operation Desert Storm. “We ended up targeting and sinking four Iraqi Naval Vessels,” Voytek says. While on active duty, Voytek also taught aspiring pilots how to fly military planes. Teaching has always been a passion for Voytek; he has been teaching in some aspect since his naval experience in 1982.

“I’ve experienced things people only dream about.”

fter retiring from the Navy, Voytek wanted to continue teaching and incorporate his firsthand knowledge into an environment where it would be the most effective — a high school. Since he retired, Voytek has taught at several high schools. However, Voytek says he likes Paly for the passion and friendliness of the student body. “Before anyone knew me here at Paly I had people coming up to meet me,” Voytek says. “My only regret is that I

— RICHARD VOYTEK

october

[ PROFILES ]

Photography by Naval Photographer

VOYTEK REMEMBERS: 1: Voytek ‘s change of command ceremony at Moffet Field when he was assuming command of his unit. Photo was taken four years after his crew was awarded Crew of the Month. 2: Voytek on the far right with his award-winning crew who fought alongside him during Operation Desert Storm. 3: Voytek’s Golden Retriever, Ellie, as a puppy rests upon the family’s fine pillows.

Photography by Richard Voytek

didn’t find Paly 10 years ago.” Voytek feels that his first-hand experience is needed more in a high school environment than in any other because when students go on to college, they are often ill-prepared. Other teachers in the history department are excited to see how Voytek’s past experiences in the Navy will affect his teaching relevance. “His personal history will be very interesting [because] we cover a lot of wars in [U.S.] History,” colleague Adam Yonkers says. Voytek also hopes to incorporate his teaching strategies and Navy experiences to help students later on in life. “My goal is to prepare my students for college. Most students aren’t prepared enough [by their school] when they go to college.” Voytek says. “A lot of the skill sets that we teach here will carry on to a lot of different little things, like being able to listen, interpret, and to read between the lines.”

verde magazine

n his free time, Voytek enjoys visiting Civil War battlefields with his wife, Cynthia and occasionally his two grown sons, Christopher and Andrew, who both live in Maryland. Cynthia is a happy companion — she sits in the car reading for hours while he freely roams the fields. When Voytek planned to propose to her more than nineteen years ago, he was assigned to serve in Operation Desert Storm. As he was unable to propose in person, Voytek wrote her a letter while he was on duty, asking her to marry him. Soon after the letter was sent, Voytek called Cynthia, not knowing that she had already received the letter. As soon as Cynthia answered the phone, she eagerly said, “Yes, yes, yes!” and Voytek realized then that she had in fact, received the letter. The same letter Voytek sent to his wife twenty years ago now resides alongside numerous photos of his years in the Navy that he will never forget. v

Get to know Voytek! Favorite Subject to Teach: U.S. History Favorite Food: New England Clam Chowder Favorite Vacation Destination: Civil War Battle Fields Favorite Sport to Play: Soccer Favorite Television Show: The Amazing Race Favorite Sports Teams: Pittsburg Steelers and Pittsburg Penguins

“

Paly’s Own CEO Spencer Schoeben, 16-year old entrepeneur Text and Photography by AMANDA GROZIAK

“I

nnovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower,” Steve Jobs is attributed to say. If Steve is right, then Spencer Shoeben, Palo Alto High School junior, is a leader — because he demonstrates a lot of innovation. Schoeben is the current programmer and co-webmaster for The Paly Voice, Paly’s online news hub. He learned HTML in 2005 while in the fifth grade and now knows two other computer languages. But his versatility is not the only key to his success. “It’s not so much [about] the language so much as what you can do with it,” Schoeben says. “I learned HTML first and then I learned actual computer languages. Once you learn one, you can learn the rest.” He bought and created his first website, NetSpencer.com, a blog, in 2005 at the age of 11 and now has around 70 websites up and running. “It [NetSpencer] was very different back then [in 2005],” Schoeben says. “It was a picture of me and some weird text. It’s changed a lot.” Schoeben owns his own company Teens in Tech, which aims to provide resources for teen entrepreneurs. Schoeben organizes two types of talks: mini-con-

ferences, which are limited to 50 people, and regular ones, limited to 200 people. Schoeben says that most people who come live in state but some have flown out. Either way, according to Schoeben, these conferences always sell out. The next conference will be located in New York City, the first time it happens outside of

California. The Teens in Tech Network is an extension of his main company Teens in Tech. The Teens in Tech network, launched this summer, is a blog aimed towards teen entrepreneurs. Schoeben is the CEO of Teens in Tech, which has all the essentials of a professinal company: its own icon, team of writers and administrators, and archive of news stories for aspiring entrepreneurs. Schoeben coded the web site for the company as well as for CASSY Bay Area, a counseling service for schools in the Bay Area. One of Teens in Tech’s conferences included a 19-year-old guest speaker, Brian Wong, who, after skipping four years of school and graduating, started his own company. The first conference for Teens in Tech was in 2008. “We invite speakers and then the people who come can ask questions and listen to their advice and meet other teens,” Schoeben says. Schoeben reflects on how he be— JUNIOR SPENCER SCHOEBEN came an entrepreneur and accomplished

“A long time ago to even be considered a teen entrepreneur, someone how does something really big in the world, was really hard.”

october

[ PROFILES ]

ATTENTION EVERYONE Schoeben gets the attention of the Paly Entrepreneurship club on Oct. 14 in room 310

BRAINSTORMING Schoeben helps the Paly Entrepreneurship Club brainstorm projects

what some adults can only dream of. “I always liked technology,” Schoeben says. “But I think the thing that’s kind of made it really easy and natural for me to start a company is noticing that there are so many other teens that are like me.” Schoeben is also in the process of creating another site, Twitloc, but is keeping its function a secret until the release date. Tech-savy Schoeben has his own Facebook, LinkedIn, Vimeo, Blippy, AOL, Flickr, Foursquare, Crunchbase, Qik, Twitter and Youtube account, and two blogs. He attributes much of his success to Twitter. “I think the one thing that changed me to be someone who likes technology to starting a company is probably Twitter,” Schoeben says. “It’s such a great place to meet other people, and that’s what we want to do with our conferences [by] taking that to the next level and actually bringing people together.” During club day a few weeks back, I saw Schoeben with junior James Maa out with their own table. Schoeben handed me his iPad and told me to sign up for the Paly Entreprenuership Club. Both are presidents of the club. Schoeben and Maa modeled their club at Paly after Schoeben’s Teens in Tech company. A week later, I attended a meeting of Schoeben and Maa’s club. I sat down to observe the atmosphere. Modestly and quietly, Schoeben walked into Room 310 at Paly. Other

verde magazine

ON THE WEB A sampling of some of Schoeben’s website projects and designs.

students leaned against the short desks around the classroom and talked leisurely. Schoeben walked to the front of the room and suddenly stood up straight, clasped his hands, and called the attention of the Paly students who came to attend his and Maa’s club. Schoeben started this club to bring Teens in Tech to Paly. With 60 members signed up already, it meets on Thursdays on a regular basis in room 213. So far the club has had two meetings where 25 students showed up. “Each person comes [to the club] with an idea,” Schoeben says. “We’ll have resources to help anyone work on ideas individually, but we’ll also work on one project as a group.” Schoeben plans to invite adults who were successful as teenagers to come and give talks to club members. Club members may choose which guest speaker talks they want to attend, since the talks are optional. Schoeben says he has currently invited Steve Wozniak, founder of the Apple Computer Industry, to come and talk. “I usually come up with ideas when I’m riding my bike or outside,” Schoeben says. “They come naturally as long as your brain is healthy.” “I think it’s cool that anyone can really do anything,” Schoeben says. “A long time ago, to even be considered a teen entrepreneur, someone who does something big in the world, was really hard. And now [it is] anyone who can learn how to make something cool on the internet.” v

From Lab Coat to Pageant Crown

Paly graduate claims title of Miss Taiwan World 2010 Text by HANNAH KIM and JEN LIN Photo courtesy of SARAH YEH LIU

he Palo Alto High School graduate who spends her summer days in a research lab smiles radiantly as last year’s Miss Taiwan World bestows the crown upon her head. “I was sitting around one day and I thought, ‘You’re only young once, so why not?’” Wu says. “It was different from my usual line of duty in neuroscience, but it was really fun.” Wu, a 2007 Paly graduate and former Verde staff member, is now a current senior at the University of California, Los Angeles. She took a week-long break from her summer scientific research at the National Institute of Health in Maryland to participate in - and win - the Miss Taiwan World 2010 competition, based in Los Angeles in August of this year. “I was so surprised!” Paula Wu says of claiming the title of Miss Taiwan World 2010. “I would never have thought that this would ever happen. I see it as a blessing and opportunity from God.” To apply, she submitted an application, requiring a head and full length shot photo, a few essays, and a resume, thus qualifying her to the semifinalist stage for Miss Taiwan World. Wu joined more than a hundred other semifinalists from North America, Taiwan, Japan and Brazil for her first pageant. Several of the other girls had pageant experience and most had come to L.A three weeks in advance for the competition, unlike Wu, who had only a week to prepare at the actual site, according to her. “I wasn’t able to attend the preparation since I was in Maryland interning at

the National Institutes of Health,” Wu says. “I prepared on my own by reading books and online articles, rehearsing my speech, and watching and analyzing videos of other pageants.” For the first section of the pageant, Wu and the other semifinalists had one minute to introduce themselves to the judges and the audience. They then had another minute to describe any place in Taiwan they deemed important. Wu chose to talk about the college that both her parents attended, the National Taiwan University of Taipai. “I wanted to choose something that was personal and meaningful and would stand out and show personality,” Wu says. The last segment of the pageant night consisted of answering a question given to the semifinalists ahead of time. “I tried to bring the best I had to the pageant night,” Wu says about that Aug. 14 night. And she did, by claiming the title of Miss Taiwan World 2010. Now, as Miss Taiwan, Wu’s duties involve attending celebrations and promoting the Taiwanese culture. More specifically, she plans to use her title to help others and possibly incorporate her studies into her service. “I’m really excited with new findings and my new research, and things I want to do with Miss Taiwan and the people I want to serve,” Wu says. “It’s just a really exciting place to be right now, being able to dream.” v Editor’s note: A version of this story was originally published on The Paly Voice at: http://voice.paly.net/node/23714

THE CROWN Wu is crowned Miss Taiwan World 2010 by last year’s Miss Taiwan, Kaisarine Su, in Los Angeles on August 14. october

CULTURE

THE WATCH DEFANGED ONE SMART PEN PUMPKIN PATCH MAN, PAPA DON BEESON THE BUZZ ABOUT BUGS PEARL MILK TEA DRAGON TATTOO SERIES TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT

41 42 44 45 46 48 50

WORMS Read about these wormy snacks and the rising trend of bugeating in “The Buzz about Bugs” photograhy by AMANDA GROZIAK

The Watch Recent and upcoming

TELEVISION THE WALKING DEAD American Movie Classics will premier a new television series, “The Walking Dead”, on Halloween day. The series, based on the comprehensive The Walking Dead comic book canon created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore, takes place during a zombie-infested post-apocalypse. AMC’s track record is nearly spotless in terms of television so far, having released “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and their most recent “Rubicon,” shows which are comparable to — if not better than — premium cable fare from HBO and Showtime. “The Walking Dead” looks to extend that record to four-for-four, having “Shawshank Redemption” director Frank Darabont on board to produce and direct the show.

BOOKS FIRST STEP 2 FOREVER Justin Bieber does not only sing. On Oct. 12 Bieber released his first book. Bieber wrote “First Step 2 Forever: My Story,” an autobiography of his life, despite having not lived for very long. He started out on Youtube and has made his way up to celebrity. Bieber shares his gratitude with his fans, and also writes about his personal life.

MUSIC THE AGE OF ADZ Indie musician Sufjan Stevens came out Oct. 12 with “The Age of Adz,” his first full-length album in five years (excluding last year’s “The BQE,” which does not really have songs; it has purely instrumental arrangments). The album has the same sort of distinct, heavily orchestrated multi-instrument sounds characteristic of his earlier albums, but he has added electronic sounds, and some heavy postprocessing.

Text by ZACHARY STANTON-SAVITZ

MOVIES 127 HOURS Danny Boyle, director of critically acclaimed films such as “Trainspotting”, “28 Days Later” and “Slumdog Millionaire” will release another film Nov. 5. Featuring Paly alumnus James Franco, “127 Hours” is a fictionalized account of Aron Ralston’s experience of losing his arm in a rock climbing accident. The movie has garnered a fair amount of critical acclaim from its festival appearances, including some love for Franco’s performance as Ralston.

FOOD STARBUCKS PUMPKIN LATTE We are currently in the midst of Fall, which means Starbucks has released its seasonal beverages. Its Pumpkin Spice Latte is, as it sounds, a blend of pumpkin and spice flavors. Starbucks has also released new seasonal drink, Toffee Mocha — a mix of espresso, toffee chocolate sauce and steamed milk. The saccharine concoction can also be frozen and made into a Frappuccino.

MOVIES HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 1 On Nov. 19, the first part of the “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows” will be released worldwide. This is the seventh of eight Harry Potter movies. Nearly everyone knows what will happen. But will this movie hold up its predecessors? The first of these action/fiction/fantasy movies was released in 2001, with “Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone” and the most recent being “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” The movies are based on books written by author J.K Rowling. With contributions from Elizabeth Silva The Walking Dead photo courtesy Rainbow Media 127 Hours photo courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures Starbucks photo courtesy Spencer Cross under a CC 2.0 license Age of Adz image courtesy Asthmatic Kitty Records october

[ CULTURE ]

Defanged How we’ve killed the vampire myth, and what we can do to bring it back. Text and art by AVA DORDI

hese days, saying that you like vampires is equivalent to professing your love of romantic, perfectly handsome teenagers. I refer, of course, to the Twilight phenomenon. The vampires of today, largely thanks to the popular Stephenie Meyer series, now appear as gorgeous heroes in romance novels, instead of scary bloodsuckers in horror fiction. While exploring the history of the vampire, I wondered how these so-called “vampires” appeared in the first place. It’s time for us to re-examine what vampires really are. Myths of vampire-like demons have been around since ancient times. Even the Mesopotamians told tales of blooddrinking beasts. In 18th century Europe, the overwhelming fear of vampires actually swept the masses into a huge panic, which ended in multiple stakings and beheadings for some unlucky “vampires,” according

to a Texas Tech University article. The vampires of today have no such influence. Mentioning the word “vampire” might have earned a shiver 300 years ago, but today all it induces is a scoffing laugh. Vampires used to be prime candidates for horror novels. Dracula, from Bram Stoker’s aptly named 1897 novel Dracula, profoundly influenced the vampire myth as we knew it. He wasn’t the first vampire in fiction, but he was certainly the most influential. Dracula is the epitome of the traditional vampire myth: he has fangs, he drinks blood, and he can even turn into a bat. Overall, he’s a scary guy – this vampire commands respect. In 1976, Anne Rice published Interview with the Vampire, the first novel in her series of twelve books known as The Vampire Chronicles. Her works put vampires on the path to becoming more sensitive, emotional characters. Her vampires cannot be killed by stakes and

they are not affected by crosses or holy water, but at least she makes her vampires burn in the sunlight. Still, her books popularized the trend of romantic stories with vampires –the vampires of horror were slowly fading away. Enter Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a 1997 television show. Buffy was the story of a teenage girl growing up, all the while battling the forces of darkness. Here, the demon vampires make a comeback, at least temporarily. The vampires in Buffy are just plain evil. They kill humans and drain their blood. They follow the standard vampire mythology. Staking, decapitation, sunlight and crosses are all deadly for these demons – it’s a dream come true for those searching for a traditional vampire of horror. I won’t deny, however, that Buffy has its share of vampire-human romance. The mortal human Buffy and the immortal vampire Angel had settled into their forbidden

THE TIMELINE: Famous vampires make their debuts

1720s: European vampire scare

verde magazine

1897: Bram Stoker’s Dracula

1931: First Dracula film

1972: The Count appears on TV’s Sesame Street

VAMPIRE AUDITIONS

Apparently Dracula and Spike just don’t make the cut anymore.

love routine several years before Bella and Edward came along. So why would I complain about Twilight and not Buffy? Simply because the vampires in Buffy, no matter how in love they are, are all evil, or at least were at one point. Before Angel got his soul back and fell in love with Buffy he called himself Angelus and was the biggest, baddest Big Bad the world had ever seen. And in the second season of Buffy we have the privilege of seeing the return of Angelus. If anyone wants to see a cruel, sadistic, cold-blooded vampire who looks really good in leather pants, there’s no one scarier than Angelus. Trust me, he’s bad. And sure, he does get his soul back eventually. He does star in Angel, his own spinoff show, after all. But that doesn’t mean that the threat of Angelus isn’t constantly lurking under the surface. So while Angel’s a good vampire now, and he’s in love with Buffy, that doesn’t mean

1976: Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire

he can’t be scary as hell, and that’s what a vampire should be. That’s why Buffy works. And now we have Twilight. These vampires don’t have fangs, they don’t drink human blood (a lot of them don’t, anyway), and they don’t burn in the sunlight. No, they sparkle in the sunlight. Clearly, they aren’t really vampires. They’re more like shiny, blood-sucking fairies. The blood drinking is an afterthought, the only thing connecting these supposed vampires with their historical counterparts. By throwing away everything that makes a vampire a vampire, Edward and his little buddies have smashed the reputation of vampires everywhere. It’s true that not all vampires of today have fallen under the sparkly Twilight spell. TV shows like True Blood, which has just finished its third season, seem to be trying to bring back the more badass aspects of the vampire, though it looks

1997: Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show on WB

like the romance is here to stay. Buffy and Angel are continuing in comic book form for real vampire fans. However, Twilight remains in the spotlight as the primary influence of the vampire image today. Until the Cullens get kicked off their pedestal, vampires will never get the respect they deserve. How can you help, you ask? Help bring back the evil vampire. Going to see the next Twilight movie? Forget Team Edward and Team Jacob. Join Team Angelus instead! Write a bestselling horror novel that makes it clear that the vampires in your book could kick Edward’s sparkling behind any day of the week. Put on fake fangs and jump out at people in the dead of night. Write a strongly worded letter to your local Congressperson. Spread awareness. Get involved. Join the vampire revolution. We won’t bite. v

2005: Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight

2008: First Twilight film

october

[ CULTURE ]

One Smart Pen Could this pen change the way we take notes? Text by CAROLINE EBINGER Photography by CAROLINE EBINGER

itting in class, those around me scribble the teacher’s notes furiously, but I have no need to be so diligently writing; I am using the Echo smartpen produced by Livescribe. I can take more precise notes and later even re-listen to the lecture, which the pen records. It is every student’s dream — with a few glitches. Will this unique pen change the way we know note-taking today? The Pen The smartpen records what a person is listening to while he or she takes notes. When the note-taker taps the pen on a spot in the notes, an infrared camera in the pen allows the recording to play back from the exact spot when that note was taken. The Paper Special Livescribe paper is necessary for the Echo smartpen to work. Tiny dots on each page track where the pen is to allow for playback. Printed on the bottom of each page are virtual buttons that allow the note-taker to start, pause, or stop recording. There are also buttons for bookmarking key points, jumping to a certain position in the notes, scrolling through the pen’s options, and adjusting the speed and playback volume. The Extras In addition to looking at your notes on paper, you can view them using a free Livescribe application for a computer desktop. When the pen is plugged into the computer, the notes transfer to the application, where they then can be

verde magazine

viewed and replayed. An advantage to using the computer is the search function that recognizes one’s handwriting. Search “1865” in your history notebook and every place 1865 is written will appear on the screen. Livescribe also allows notes to be shared through the online application. When not taking notes, one can also download applications for the pen, such as an easy-to-use piano application that comes pre-downloaded. The Advantages The pen is especially helpful for people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and other learning disabilities. Assistive Technology Consultant Shelley Haven also emphasizes how easily students can add in more notes or key points they did not catch before. According to Haven, for students with auditory processing issues, the pen is helpful in giving them more time to process what is being said. Even for a student without any learning challenges, this pen can be helpful for more efficient note-taking. “It [Note-taking] requires the student to do a lot of simultaneous processes at once,” Haven says. “Essentially this [pen] allows you to, using a decent notetaking strategy, take abbreviated notes and focus more on listening to the teacher.” Andrew Van Schaack, a Livescribe’s science adviser, conducted an experiment in which he found that students were 2.5 times faster at finding a specific point in the notes than when they were using a

different type of recording device. Some people are concerned that, with the pen, attention in class will decrease. However, Michelle Steingart, Paly science teacher, remembers a student who used a smartpen and reports no disturbances. “I knew she wasn’t going to use it in an inappropriate way and it’s for her benefit,” she says. The Problems While in general this pen is very useful, there are inevitable flaws. When the pen records a lecture, it also records the sound of the pen strokes and various ambient noises, which interfere with and sometimes overpower the lecturer’s voice. Also, there is no option for color ink or graph paper, which can make for dull and hard-to-read notes. Haven also acknowledges a larger shortcoming in the pen. “[It] would be neat if teachers could not only print out Livescribe paper, but print it out with PowerPoint slides or anything that they want to put on the paper, and when you dump that to the computer, the teacher’s notes also appear on the computer,” Haven says. She hopes to see this change made in the future. Despite these flaws, and the overwhelming price of $169.95 for the 4GB version, the Echo smartpen is an overall very unique and helpful way to take your notes. v

Pumpkin man, Papa Don Beeson

Patch owner opens up about his passion for Halloween’s favorite squash Text and Photography by Elizabeth Silva

on Beeson is owner of Grandpa’s Pumpkin Patch, he has held for more than 30 years. In addition to the traditional pumpkins, his patch houses many farm animals that are kid friendly; some of the animals include: goats, turkeys, bunnies, ducklings and chicks. There are plenty of activities for kids to participate in such as hay tunnels, a haunted house, jump houses and hayrides. The Patch is located on 455 San Antonio road, Mountain View, and is open for the whole month of October from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Here is a quick interview with Beeson. Do you work for the Pumpkin patch during the whole year or just this time of year? It takes all year because we grow trees up in Oregon [in our tree farm]. And then we have a pumpkin farm down in Gilroy. We start the pumpkins in May and the Christmas trees all year and we have to go up there and shear them and take care of them, so it’s a full-time job. Why did you in start a pumpkin patch? I started out with a Christmas tree lot when I was real young, I was 18 years old and that grew into a pumpkin patch, so I’ve had Christmas tree and pumpkin patches all my life. What is the favorite activity for the kids to do at the patch? They like everything: we have animals, the hayride — they love the hayride; we have a haunted house, two bounces and the slide. Everything excites the kids. How long have you had your patch? We were on the corner of Page Mill and El Camino for over 25 years, but a soccer field was built so we relocated. We’ve been here [San Antonio] for about six years.

own stuff. I don’t work for anybody but I have a lot of different interests. Do the farm animals belong to you? No, my neighbors have quite a few animals so I borrow them for the Pumpkin Patch. Some of them are mine but most of them I borrow. Does it take a long time to set up? Oh, a long time. We work during the month of October, but it takes about two weeks to build and then but we keep working on it almost every day to make it different and better. What is your favorite aspect of the patch? I love it all. I love the animals and the kids and the hayride. Everything, everything is fun. What is your favorite part of Halloween? The Pumpkin Patch! What Else! Do you get dressed for Halloween? I’m dressed for Halloween. I don’t usually wear suspenders, so I’m all set. I also don’t usually wear a hat, but for Halloween I wear these suspenders and a hat — this is my costume. v

Do you have another job? I do all kinds of other stuff; I have property that I work on, but mostly my october

[ CULTURE ]

Buzz about Bugs

The Western world is discovering the environmental, nutritional, and economic benefits of eating insects. Text and photographs by SARAH JACOBS Art by YELENA KASIANOVA

alo Alto High School senior Sam Bellows would prefer maggots to grasshoppers, fearing the latter’s unbearable crunch. Stephanie Spector says she would have to be dying of hunger before eating a bug. Caitlin Dazey says she would eat a chocolate-covered worm to win ‘Survivor’ or for $70, but not a penny less. Although these Paly students share the average American’s revulsion at the idea of eating insects, they almost certainly have eaten their share of insect parts unwittingly in tuna fish cans, chocolate bars, dried apricots, and practically every other kind of food. The Food and Drug Administration allows certain levels of natural or unavoidable defects in food, and scientists agree that the average person in the United States eats more than half a pound of bugs every year by accident. But if the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has its way, Americans may soon be eating insects on purpose. In recent years, the FAO has been advocating entomophagy: the practice of eating insects. Although most people in the western world are revolted by the thought of eating bugs, the idea is receiving attention from nutritionists, food security

verde magazine

experts, and environmentalists all over the world. According to National Geographic, the FAO will be working on a policy to promote entomophagy worldwide at an upcoming conference. Despite the attitudes of most Americans and Europeans, insects are a significant part of the human diet in many parts of the world. Insects make up about 80 percent of the world’s species and have the largest collective biomass of any terrestrial animals, according to the Entomology Department of the Smithsonian Institute. More than a thousand insect species are already part of the human diet and more than half of the people in the world regularly eat insects, according to Creepy Crawly Cuisine, Julieta Ramos-Elorduy’s 1998 book on entomophagy. Mexicans make a spicy sauce out of stinkbugs, deep fried giant water bugs are a common Thai delicacy, and in parts of South America roasted ants are sold in theaters instead of popcorn. Insects are eaten across Africa, Asia, and parts of Latin America. Moreover, people have been eating bugs for millennia. Beetle larvae were considered a delicacy for Roman aristocrats, as mentioned in the first century scholar Pliny’s Historia Naturalis.

Counting Creepy Crawlies House crickets have a foodto-meat conversion almost 20 times higher than beef. — John Capinera’s Encyclopedia of Entomology

At any given time there are some 10 quintillion

(10,000,000,000,000,000,000)

individual insects alive.

— Entomology department of the Smithsonian Institute

100 grams of chocolate can contain up to 60 insect fragments. — the FDA’s website

500 grams of berries can contain up to four larvae. — the FDA’s website

The average peanut butter and jelly sandwich can contain up to 57 bug parts. — David George Gordon

Peanut butter cups contain the most bugs of any chocolate candy. — David George Gordon

In Aristotle’s fourth century writings, he while some cultures reject pork and oysmentioned the ideal time of the cicada ters as unclean, we eat them without resharvest and the best method to cook ervation. them. Even the Old Testament mentions Gordon says that there are several the consumption of locusts, beetles, and reasons why “mini-livestock” offers grasshoppers. a valuable alternative to other meat. In the modern world, however, Insects are packed with protein and have Americans and Europeans consider a very low fat content. One serving of eating bugs taboo, according to David grasshoppers, for example, has nearly George Gordon, an entomologist and the same level of protein as ground beef. author of The Eat-a-Bug Cookbook. Fat from many insects is also made up “In our country, people have really of unsaturated fatty acids, like fish, so it weird attitudes about is healthier than fat insects in general from cows, sheep, — they’re gross, pigs, and so on. they’re disgusting, In addition, they’re germy,” says farming insects is Gordon, who said in both inexpensive an interview that his and environmenfavorite buggy snack tally friendly. Vastly is wax worm and greater amounts of white chocolate chip food, water and land cookies. are necessary to raise The foods we other meats than choose to eat are are needed for based on culture, acan equivalent cording to the Paly mass of insects. —DAVID GEORGE GORDON, foods teacher The“Insects are AUTHOR AND ENTOMOLOGIST resa McDermott. more efficient at “Our food choices converting food to are both highly personal and cultural, as meat than a cow or a chicken or a pig,” is one’s definition of food,” McDermott Gordon says. “I think at some point says. “Where we are raised, our economic people are going to get smart and start status, family and societal values, health raising insects as a supply of protein.” issues, and likes and dislikes all influence An increasing number of Americans how and what one thinks about food.” are starting to eat insects, according to the For example, Americans eat some arthro- Food Insect Newsletter. At the restaurant pods (the same phylum as insects), such Typhoon in Santa Monica, insects have as shrimp and lobster, but not others. And become a regular part of the menu since

“At some point people are going to get smart and start raising insects as a supply of protein.”

BUGGY BITES

the first adventurous appetizer, Taiwanese stir-fried crickets, was offered in 1990. Items including Changbai mountain ants on shoestring potatoes were added more recently. Hotlix, a candy store in Grover Beach, Calif., have become famous for such delectable delights as scorpion suckers and worms dipped in milk chocolate. It’s a long way to go, however, before insects will begin buzzing their way into most Western menus. “People in general are really slow to adopt new foods,” Gordon says. “It’s like the way sushi took such a long time to catch on, even though people in Japan had been eating it for centuries. It takes a long time for people to get into something they haven’t had before because people are pretty conservative for the most part abut what they eat.” In the 12 years Gordon has performed cooking demonstrations insects across the country, he says more people have become interested in trying them. “Attitudes are changing, but very slowly.” So one day, that worm in your salad may be the epitome of epicurian political correctness. “As our population worldwide continues to grow, as we get smarter about the amount of waste we have in our society and what it’s doing to the planet, people will be looking for alternatives,” Gordon says. “We’re not desperate yet; we can still go out and catch a halibut, or a salmon, but as those sources for whatever reason start dwindling, we are going to be looking for new sources of protein.” v

Verde decided to try cookies with white chocolate — and wax worms. To our surprise, they were pretty good.

october

[ CULTURE ]

Pearl Milk Tea

The popular Taiwanese drink is a rising fad amongst Paly students

Photography and Text by ALLISON CHANG

magine the taste of a refreshing iced tea on a scorching summer day. Now add milk, a dash of sugar, and a handful of gummy, chewy tapioca pearls. The result? A delectable, eccentric beverage known as pearl milk tea, or colloquially, PMT.

the drink to be named “Bubble Tea.” This taste became so popular that the idea spread across the island, and eventually to Taiwanese tea vendor Liu Han-Chieh, who introduced the addition of tapioca pearls, ultimately forming what we now refer to as PMT.

Many expect PMT to reach mainstream levels globally. “It [the PMT market] has been developing rapidly in the past half year in the Bay area,” Tapioca Express marketing director Laura Lin says. “We’re expanding into the mainstream market for sure.”

History PMT, also referred to as boba, or bubble tea, was first developed in the 1980’s by an enterprise tea seller in Taiwan. What began as an innovative way to market tea in Taiwan’s booming beverage industry exploded into a worldwide phenomenon, taking Palo Alto in its midst. According to Bubble Tea Supply, a leading American pearl tea supplier, Taiwanese children would buy tea daily from competing tea stands, which were set up in front of schools, competing for business with the best selling tea. One concession owner bolstered her tea by adding different fruit flavorings to sweeten the tea. When adding the flavoring, the tea needed to be mixed and shaken to distribute the flavoring equally. The bubbles that resulted caused

Fan Base PMT cafés may have emerged as social gathering places for primarily the younger set; however, server Christine Tran insists that at Pearl Café at least, PMT is equally appealing across all demographics. “We get the whole spectrum in terms of diversity. During the day we get mostly students, but we also get a lot of business people and middle-aged people. We even get senior citizens,” Tran says. In addition, PMT attracts not only the expected Asian crowd, but also a diverse, multicultural fan base. “I have friends who like PMT and are not Asian,” says Paly senior Ysabel Sanchez. “Asian people might be obsessed with it because it’s culturally relevant to them, but other people like it too. I like it and I don’t even like tea!”

Recipes PMT consists of tea, milk, sugar, and tapioca pearls. However, there are copious variations on the recipe. “One of the things I love most about places that sell PMT is that you can get so many different kinds of the same product”, says Tapioca Express customer Jason DeSanto. “Today I got jasmine milk tea, but tomorrow I could get earl grey milk tea or honey milk tea.” At Verde Tea Café, for example, customers have more than twenty options of PMT. By combining various tea and fruit flavors, it creates drinks with exotic names like smoky oolong pearl milk tea and coconut pineapple jelly pearl milk tea. A few pearl milk tea cafés include Verde Tea Café, Tapioca Express, Pearl Café and Tea Era.

verde magazine

Pearl Café 506 Showers Dr, Mountain View, CA 94040

Verde Tea Café 852 Villa St, Mountain View, CA 94041

A gem in the outskirts of Mountain View, Pearl Café is a great place to sit down and relax. Its spacious décor, free wifi, and cozy lighting contribute to its laid-back appeal. At Pearl Café, customers can enjoy not only pearl milk tea, but also a wide variety of other beverages including coffee, smoothies and soft drinks. Those who do not crave sugar can take satisfaction in Peal Café’s lightly sweetened pearl milk tea. The pearls are usually chewy, but can sometimes be dense and tough. In addition, the cups are often filled a quarter of the way with ice, leaving the consumer feeling like there should be more tea in his or her drink. Pearl Café also has a diverse food menu, serving dishes ranging from Hawaiian barbeque to fettuccine alfredo. According to the personnel, most customers order both a beverage and a dish. For families and individuals alike, Pearl Café is a fun place to unwind, chat and do work.

People of all ages and races can be discerned in the hubbub of life in Verde Tea Café. The dim lighting, loud blenders, and lively environment define the culture of the café, with people bustling in as late as 11 p.m. There is a single plasma screen TV in the back, but because the volume is always too low regardless of the number of customers, few people stay to watch it. The staff is pleasant and patient; however, they often forget orders, an understandable fault considering the sheer number of drinks to be made each day. Verde Tea Café’s most popular drink, the regular pearl milk tea, is on the sweeter side with the perfect balance of tea and milk. In fact, customers love the drink so much that its largest beverage size is 1 liter. Verde Tea Café brings together the best of food and beverage. Instead of a full meal or a drink on the go, this café offers a light meal to accompany a refreshing drink.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT Verde Tea Café offers different sizes and boba substitutes. Pearl Café serves small snacks with their beverages. According to a survey by Verde magazine, about 73 percent of Paly students have tried pearl milk tea

Tea Era 271 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA 94041 Nestled between a Chinese restaurant and phone card distributor, Tea Era presents a small, grungier environment; however, its yellow walls and delightful staff immediately brighten up the place. The drinks served are infused with an unusually strong taste of tea, which can be overpowering at times. But unlike Pearl Café, Tea Era’s pearl milk tea is not served with large chunks of ice that cannot be consumed, take up space and lessen the amount of pearl milk tea in the cup. The pearls are just chewy enough without being tough, and the overall consistency of the drinks is smooth. Although there are stacks of magazine in a small bookshelf near the entrance, due to its limited space, Tea Era may not be the best place to sit down; nonetheless, it is a unique spin on a small café.

Tapioca Express

740 Villa St, Mountain View, CA 94041

Just a short walk from Verde Tea Café, Tapioca Express is also a hot spot for pearl milk tea lovers everywhere. This humming café is always crowded and does not disappoint. It serves PMT with an emphasis on the milky texture. Because the milk plays a heavier role in the drink, it has a more milkshakelike, almost chocolate taste. There is no unpalatable aftertaste, but the same drink frequently varies in sweetness each time it is made. This inconsistency is ameliorated by the superb quality of its pearls. The pearls are softer, but equally chewy as those at Verde Tea Café. Tapioca Express also serves a wide range of meals and snacks, but seems to focus more on breadth of menu than quality of food. Ultimately, Tapioca Express provides a hip and trendy place for an eclectic crowd. v october

[ CULTURE ]

Dragon Tattoo series takes the spotlight

Author Stieg Larson’s life almost as exciting as the books he left behind. Text by ALEX LENAIL Art by YELENA KASIANOVA

hen Swedish journalist Stieg Larson died in 2004, he left behind three unpublished books. These novels, entitled “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Girl who Played with Fire,” and “The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” have since become a major success throughout Europe and the US. The novels are a hallmark in the style of literary journalism, a style of writing Larson

verde magazine

practiced at his magazine Expo. “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” series follows the life of Michael Bloomkvist, who also runs a magazine, and describes his interaction with Lisbeth Salander, a rape victim, a hacker, a reject, a new kind character in literature. At the age of 15, Larson witnessed a gang rape of a young girl who’s name he discovered was Lisbeth. His entire life, his journalism, his books, and this series, were an attempt to reconcile himself with his inaction on that day. He became a political activist and part of the Trotskyist party, and ran a political maga-

zine. He eventually founded the Swedish Expo Foundation which soon became an important force in documenting and exposing the acts of Sweden’s far right and racist political organizations. He is reported to have lived under constant death threats from his political adversaries. Stieg Larson died on November 9, 2004 from a sudden heart attack. Reports say it could have been induced, and a media frenzy of assassination soon ensued, making his books even more intriguing. The novel begins when middle-aged journalist Michael Blomkvist, who publishes the magazine Millennium in Stockholm loses a libel case involving damaging allegations about Swedish billionaire and industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerstrom, and is sentenced to three months in prison. Before going to jail, he is offered a freelance assignment by Henrik Vanger, the former CEO of Vanger Enterprises. Blomkvist accepts the assignment, and begins to unravel an extremely long and complex family history to get to the bottom of a mysterious disappearance decades previously. The books focus on the interactions between the two central characters, Blomkvist and researcher and hacker Lisbeth Salander. These books are incredible. Some adults might not favor teens reading about sexual violence in such a bleak way, but it’s the world we live in. Overall they are great books, filled with mystery and intrigue, true page-turners. v

FEATURES

AUTUMN MOON Chinatown celebrates annual festival of thanks.

HIGH-TECH SCAVENGER HUNT WHERE A DOLLAR CAN GO CHEWING ON YOUR WALLET NETWORK NICHES FESTIVAL OF THANKS FALL FAVORITES SILLY BANDZ CULTURAL RE-VEGI-LUTION TRUE LIFE

52 54 58 62 63 64 66 67 69

photograhy by JACQUELINE FRIDUSS

[ FEATURES ]

High-Tech Scavenger Hunt Modern treasure-hunters explore the outdoors through geocaching Text and photography by EMILY KELLISON-LINN Art by AVA DORDI

here is hidden treasure everywhere. This treasure, however, is not hidden in ancient wooden chests nor concealed within high-tech lockboxes deep under the ocean. It is stashed in small, watertight containers and hidden in parks, along hiking trails, and in urban areas on every continent on the globe (yes, even Antarctica). And to find it, all you need is a handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, and an Internet connection. These containers are known as geocaches, and they are the subjects of an international

recreational activity known as geocaching. Participants hide a geocache in a favorite location, then record the location’s exact GPS coordinates and post the information on the official geocaching website, geocaching.com, for other geocachers to find. After looking up a nearby geocache’s coordinates on the website and entering them into a handheld GPS device, geocachers will set out on their treasure hunt, using their GPS as a guide. “It’s kind of like a scavenger hunt, or a treasure hunt, where you use [GPS] locations to find it,” says Palo Alto High School junior Sam Hain, who has geocached as a hobby for several years.

W hat attracts Hain most about geocaching is the challenge required to find a cache. Hain’s father discovered geocaching during a trip to Pismo Beach several years ago, when he was confused by the sight o f several people crawling under a bench. After inquiring, he found out

verde magazine

that they were geocaching. “I really like the creativity that a lot of people show [when hiding geocaches],” Hain says. “Sometimes people go to a lot of effort to camouflage it, and then you find it and you feel really smart.” Geocaching began in 2000, according to a history posted on Geocaching.com. Shortly after the use of GPS satellites was opened to civilians, a GPS enthusiast named Dave Ulmer created what would be known as the first geocache, hiding a plastic bucket full of random items and posting its coordinates online for anyone to search for. Word of the concept spread, and soon people had created hundreds of geocaches all over the world. Today, there are over 1.4 million geocaches in existence, according to the website. The Journey is the Reward Anyone hoping to find valuable gold or silver inside these caches might be disappointed. At the most, a cache contains a variety of small trinkets and toys to exchange. At the least, it contains a log book for finders to sign their names. However, geocachers agree that the treasure of geocaching is not found in the cache itself, but in the journey taken to find it. “The fun is in the discovery — discovering new places that you never knew about before,” says Drew Wanderman, a Paly mom who has found over 2,500 caches. Geocaching, she says, also enriches the travel experience. “It shows you interesting places other tourists might not see,” says Wanderman, who first discovered geocaching in 2003. Over the years, she has geocached everywhere from countries in Europe to the top of a 13,000-foot mountain in California.

“The fun is in the discovery — discovering new places that you never knew about before.” — PALY MOM DREW WANDERMAN “A friend told me about it [geocaching] on a hike, and I thought, ‘That’s something that I’m really going to like,’” Wanderman says. “So I went out and bought a GPS and got started.” She found her first cache in Peers Park in Palo Alto, and was hooked. “It was just really fun, finding this little treasure in our neighborhood that we never knew existed.” Since then, geocaching has led her to discover several local secrets. “There’s a 10-foot piece of the Berlin Wall in a parking lot in Mountain View, and a cactus garden at Stanford I never knew about.” Wanderman says. Colin Marchon, a Paly senior, also appreciates the excitement of the journey. “It’s like an adventure,” he says. “I’d recommend it to people who like to explore new places and go on sometimes endless searches.” Making Connections Beyond the aspect of discovering new locations, geocaching offers a way for participants to meet new and interesting people — or to have fun with the ones they already know. “It’s a way to involve yourself with other people and connect in some small, creative way,” senior Melissa Rudolf says. Ever since Rudolf ’s boyfriend introduced her to geocaching, she has frequently used it as an excuse to enjoy the outdoors with

Travel with Verde “Travel bugs” are dog tags with an engraved tracking code which hitchhike from cache to cache, carried by geocachers. A travel bug often has a mission, established by its creator, which can vary from “travel to five continents” to “tour cultural monuments.”

her friends. “It’s a fun, outdoor, easy-going activity,” she says. “If we think about doing it, it’s more of a spur-of-the-moment decision.” According to Marchon, the geocaching community is also very supportive of participants and their caches. “The cool thing is that there’s such a big community of people who will look out for your cache,” Marchon says. On one occasion, the plastic container of a geocache that Marchon created himself had broken, so another geocacher came by and replaced it with a brand new box. “When you make your own cache, there’s a group of people who want to be the first to find it,” Marchon says. “When I made one, within 15 minutes of me putting it down on the ground, 20 people had shown up to find it. If you ever want to have a party, plant a geocache.” Some geocaches are more challenging to find than others. “Some [caches] you have to go rock-climbing to get. Some are underwater,” Marchon says. His advice to beginning geocachers is to start with easy caches to gain confidence. Wanderman encourages aspiring geocachers to give the activity a try, as she did so many years ago. “Go out there and have fun!” Wanderman says. “It [geocaching] is all about finding new places and meeting interesting people.” v When geocachers find travel bugs in caches, they can record their find on the geocaching webite, using the code printed on the bug. Finders can also upload pictures and comments about the travel bug, before re-hiding it in another cache to continue its journey. Anyone can then trace the voyage of the bug from cache to cache online, watching as it approaches its goal. Verde has registered several travel bugs, with the mission to travel and meet journalists and newsmakers worldwide. Named “Verde VMan”, these Verde mascots attached to travel bugs are dispersed throughout geocaches in Palo Alto.

Take a Look Inside a Geocache While the trinkets inside a geocache may not hold much value, there is always an eclectic collection of objects inside any large geocache, and searchers never know exactly what they are going to find. Geocachers may take any item they like from a cache, but geocaching ettiquite demands that they leave behind something else for every item they take. Here are the contents of one local geocache: • Log book for finders to sign • Info sheet about geocaching, in case nongeocachers unwittingly find the cache • Deck of cards • Link action figure from Monsters Vs. Aliens • Pink puppy bookmark • UC Berkely lanyard • Bendy pirate doll • Mini-noisemaker • Two bouncy balls • Plastic frog and plastic lizard • Two paper stars • Assorted small erasers • 24¢ in change One might say that one geocacher’s trinket is another cacher’s treasure.

Make them travel! Verde has also created an official geocache, called “Verde Magazine”, somewhere near the Paly campus. A prize awaits the first person to find it. At the moment of publication, it contains a Verde travel bug as well. Visit the cache on geocaching.com for more information. To find the coordinates of the geocache, look on www.geocaching.com and search “Verde magazine.” — By CAMILLE VON KAENEL

october

[ FEATURES ]

Where a Dollar Can Go An organization aimed at “the little guys” has plans to aid students world-wide Text by EMILY EFLAND Photography by MATT SEVERSON

THE BEGINNING Severson teaches John Medo, The School Fund’s first student, at Mlimani Secondary School in Arusha, Tanzania. (Photo taken via self-timer)

s Palo Alto High School graduate Matt Severson walked into John Medo’s mud house, he noticed the cracks and holes in the ceiling. Medo’s family — mother, father, grandfather and two brothers and two sisters — all lived in the small dweling. Most of the family slept on the floor. The family’s poverty affected more than just their living arrangements. Although Medo was at the top of his class in school, passing his exam to graduate from primary school, he could not afford to pay the $150 fee required to continue on to secondary school. Severson and his family, who met Medo while on a threeday safari in Tanzani, were touched by his story and made a donation to allow him to continue attending school.

verde magazine

While initially planning to help just Medo, Severson is now in the process of aiding children world-wide. Three years after his first trip to Tanzania, Severson, with the help of many others, has raised enough money to send 32 Tanzanian students to school. This aid comes from the organization he and his friend Andrew Perrault founded in 2008, The School Fund. The School Fund is an organization devoted to raising money to send students in Tanzania to school who otherwise could not afford the tuition. International Communication Unlike large organizations, The School Fund relies on the personal connections made between the donors and the students receiving the donations. Severson says the organization Kiva, which

allows people all over the world to donate money to small businesses in the developing world, inspired him to encourage communication between members of The School Fund and those donating. “I thought that there was tremendous potential in connecting funders with students,” Severson says. “If funders on Kiva’s site found connecting to adult entrepreneurs so cool, I thought that they would find connecting to students, who are a much longer-term investment since they go to school year after year, even cooler.” The School Fund’s website consists of pictures of all the students who currently need aid, with calculations showing potential donors how much money the student currently has and how much additional money he needs for tuition, supplies, a uniform, food and exams. Af-

ter selecting a student to aid, a donor can then communicate with that student regularly, by reading the online journal that the students write describing their school curriculum and exam results. “In short, I see things this way: big NGOs [non governmental organizations] don’t care about the little guys, they care about big foundations,” Severson says. “They don’t have the resources to maintain relationships with individual donors and tell them how their $25 donation was spent. We wanted to create

School Fund’s Technology Officer, Andrew Perrault. Together Severson and Perrault interviewed the first set of 32 students that The School Fund would launch on its website. Apart from designing The School Fund’s website, Severson also fundraises, applies for grants to keep The School Fund running, and speaks about the organization at high schools. “We are a team, and I like to think of myself as coordinator,” Severson says. “Something I learned quite early on with

kets The School Fund through clubs in middle schools, high schools and universities throughout the country. Just last summer, Severson returned to Tanzania with Moussavian and Hartkopf to meet the newest students on The School Fund’s list of potential donation receivers. Shortly afterwards, the team launched the newest version of the organization’s website.

The School Fund, that it is incredibly important for people to feel ownership of something.” Soon after, Paly graduate Roxana Moussavian joined the team as vice president of strategy and development, and Severson’s friend Sandra Hartkopf joined as vice president of operations. Hartkopf deals with the details of running the organization. This includes monitoring the online journals and maintaining communications with The School Fund’s partners and advisors. Moussavian, on the other hand, says she is interested in expanding The School Fund to more communities. She plans to accomplish this by developing relationships between The School Fund and local Tanzanian organizations, schools and government agencies. She currently mar-

School Fund currently come from only four different schools in Tanzania — Ganako Secondary School, Lugalo Secondary School, Mlimani Secondary School and Ummu Salama Secondary School — but The School Fund has reached out to 16 schools in Tanzania. “For my experience, I am sure [students from all over Tanzania] are eligible to receive the aid from The School Fund,” Ignas says. “The challenge is getting to them.” Prospective donors can currently aid forty-nine students on The School Fund’s website. Each student has been interviewed by Severson or another member of the organization. Because students cannot enroll in school until they have enough money to afford tuition and supplies, the high school students on the website range

Putting it all Together The students awaiting aid from The

INITIATION Moussavian meets The School Fund’s new first-year students at Lugalo Secondary School in Iringa, Tanzania. a project that cares a lot about the little guys, and therefore opens up a new market, where all of a sudden, a high school student, for example, can see how much $150 can do in a place like Tanzania.” The Founders While on their trip through Tanzania in 2008, Severson and his family explained their new idea for The School Fund to their tour guide, Joseph Ignas. Ignas was similarly inspired and decided to join the organization, becoming the Regional Operations Coordinator. Because Ignas lives in Tanzania, he can maintain a relationship with the schools, students and The School Fund’s partners yearround. The next year, in 2009, Severson returned again to Tanzania with the The

october

[ FEATURES ] from 13 to 22 years old. Once a student enters The School Fund, he or she must write regularly in the online journal to inform the donors of his or her academic progress. While many students require aid to attend school, according to Moussavian, The School Fund has two main criteria to evaluate which students deserve funding: the students must be needy but also academically promising. “A lot of the kids in our program are orphans, meaning they don’t have parents who can pay their school fees and thus are forced to work and make their own money; disabled, meaning they are in need of a lot of care and attention that typically just isn’t available to them in rural parts of the developing world; or come from large families, meaning that as the youngest of eight or nine siblings, their slice of the pie is too small to subsist on,” Moussavian says. In some schools, The School Fund asks other students to nominate those in their classes who they think deserve aid. “It was actually a teacher by the name of Bupe Mazengo’s idea,” Severson says. “Some of the students got eight to ten votes from their peers, which goes to show that these students are good people. Not everyone voted for themselves; instead they recognized that some of their peers were in a worse condition than they, and wanted them to get help.”

WORLD-WIDE CONVERSATIONS their online journals.

verde magazine

DEDICATION The School Fund members Apollo Hando and Lucy John work on schoolwork at Mlimani Secondary School in Arusha, Tanzania. What Can Paly Do to Help? Although anyone can go onto The School Fund’s website at www.theschoolfund.org and donate to a student in need, Paly junior Clara Chang has recently formed a club for Paly students with junior Cole Anderson. The club hopes to fundraise for The School Fund as well as raise awareness of the Tanzanian students’ situations at Paly. According to Chang, The School Fund club at Paly had over sixty sign ups on club day. As president, one of her first goals is to host an educational event or contribute to an InFocus video to raise awareness of the club’s existence to the Paly community. “Ideally, I want to host cool activities

Students at Lugalo Secondary School write in

on the quad where everyone can come, participate and see what we’re about,” Chang says. Right after Severson’s talk at Paly to spread awareness of The School Fund, Chang immediately knew she wanted to start a club. “I’m hoping that lots of students will feel motivated and inspired to join the club and help other students just like us, and hopefully have fun doing so,” Chang says. Future Plans Although currently The School Fund only aids students from certain schools in Tanzania, it plans to aid worldwide once it has the resources and funding available. The School Fund currently operates in six regions in Tanzania. “As we partner with more NGOs and government initiatives, and as the size of our team increases, we will be able to work in more places,” Ignas says. “The goal is, in the next five years, to be funding students around the entire country, and even in our neighboring East African nations of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.” As The School Fund expands, the founders will no longer be able to individually interview each of the candidates. Instead, according to Severson, the organization’s partners will select and interview the students, as well as maintain relationships with the schools. “Over the next few years, we want to turn The School Fund into a hub of charitable activity around education in the developing world,” Severson says. v

[ FEATURES ]

Chewing on your Wallet Healthcare: the modern expenses of owning a pet Text by ELISE BRUGUERA Photography by JAQUELINE FRIDUSS

ine months ago, Maggie began keeping to herself and acting depressed. She would rarely give family members any attention, so her doctors tested her for a few diseases. The dermatologist finally diagnosed her with Lupus, an autoimmune disease, and her family has since spent at least $6,500 on her health care, as any family would for their daughter. Except this was not a daughter, nor even a person; this was a dog. Maggieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s owners, Palo Alto High School senior Laura Rossiter and her family, are part of the growing trend of Americans spending more and more money to keep their pets in good health. In 2010, Americans spent $750 million more on vet care than they did in 2009, according to estimates from the American Pet Products Association. However, while the numbers say that owners are spending more on their pets

verde magazine

Paying for Pets 50

“Every few months we had to take her to the vet to get her lungs drained.”

Total U.S. Pet Expenditures (in billions)

than ever before, not all Palo Alto pet had to take her to the vet to get her lungs owners believe in setting aside such ex- drained.” tensive funds for their pets. Cole’s family paid for Sophie’s mediA possible reason for this increase in cal needs for about a year until they respending is that scientists have improved cently put her to sleep, spending about technology to the point where veterinar- $3,000 total on her veterinary visits and ians can perform the same procedures on medicine in that year. pets that they perform on people, from Cole and her family discussed the lathroscopic surpros and cons gery to physical of euthanizing therapy. the cat versus “We can do keeping her MRIs and CT alive through scans, and we medicine and routinely do ultramedical prosounds,” says Dr. cedures. Barbara Kollin, a “It wasn’t Palo Alto vetericlear if we narian who works should put out of her house, her to sleep says or not because — SOPHOMORE OLIVIA COLE Kollin has she was sufworked in the fering but still field for about 30 enjoying parts years, and has seen care available for pets of life,” Cole says. “We were hoping that expand greatly in that time. However, she one day there would just be a clear sign, says, new medicines and procedures come and there was.” at a high price. After a paralyzing blood clot ap“Thirty years ago, if a dog were to de- peared in the cat’s leg, the family knew it velop arthritis in its hip, it would probably was time to put Sophie down. have been put to sleep,” Kollin says. With Some students have different views new medicines for comfort and even hip as to the necessity of such expensive treatreplacements, the dog may live a few years ment. Senior Priya Kshirsagar’s family longer, but those last years are very expen- made the decision to get her dog tested a sive, she says. few years ago after noticing her lethargy. Sophomore Olivia Cole faced a simi- They found out that their dog, Leona, had lar dilemma when her late family cat, So- a problem digesting protein. phie, developed cardiomyopathy about a The veterinarians reached this conyear ago. clusion by making the dog eat large quan“It’s where your heart doesn’t func- tities of protein to see if she had a reaction right so your lungs fill with fluid,” tion, a very painful process for the dog, Cole says. “She had to take medicine according to Kshirsagar. twice a day and every few months we “It was supposed to be conducted on

Yearly total pet industry expenditures

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 30

Year

Estimated total 2010 pet-related 10 sales within the US market (in millions of dollars per year) 0

Live animal purchases: $2.16

Grooming and Boarding: $3.36

Food: $18.28 Vet care: $12.04 Supplies/OTC medicine: $11.01

By the Numbers: The amount, in billions,

$11 that Americans spent on vet care in 2008

The fraction of dogs who die of cancer

1/4

The percent of US pet owners who have pet insurance Sources: American Pet Products Association and petinsurancereviews.org

october

[ FEATURES ]

“Every time we go to the vet, she has a new problem.” — SENIOR LAURA ROSSITER

an empty stomach but it wasn’t, so they just put my dog through a lot of pain,” Kshirsagar says. “She was in a walking coma for nothing.” Surgery ensued, and the veterinarians performed extra procedures. They were performing surgery to look at her liver and see if the protein problem could be fixed, but they decided to open her stomach as well and remove some toys that would have passed through her system anyway, according to Kshirsagar. “It was was more expensive and took longer to heal [than if the surgeons had only looked at the liver without performing extra procedures]” Kshirsagar says. “The vets were really in it for the money, and didn’t care about my dog.” The type of surgeon who worked on Kshirsagar’s dog is just one type of many specialists in veterinary medicine, Kollin says. There are internal medicine specialists, dermatologists, neurologists, cardiologists, and more, all within a short driving distance of Palo Alto, she says. Care is now available from emergency clinics to acupuncture, she says. The high price of undergoing such

procedures and visiting such specialists raises the question of whether it is worth it to spend so much money on a pet. According to Rossiter, her family spends about $250 per month just on medicine for her dog, in addition to the $300 cost for each veterinary visit, which are frequent. “She [Maggie] gets seven pills daily, most of them more than once,” Rossiter says. Rossiter’s family used to have pet insurance, but the company found a way to

AILING DOG Laura Rossiter’s dog, Maggie, wears a cone to keep her from irritating her diseased skin. She must go to the vet almost every week.

verde magazine

avoid paying for the expensive medical care. Now that Maggie’s condition is so severe, it is nearly impossible for the family to find another insurance provider. To some families, their pet’s health is worth any price. Rossiter says her dad does not care how much they spend on Maggie; he just wants her better. Yet Rossiter’s family continues to battle with Maggie’s health. “Every time we go to the vet, she has a new problem,” Rossiter says. Right now she has a disease that makes her lose all of her fur, Rossiter says. “And she was such a pretty puppy,” she says, pulling out her phone to show off pictures of a younger, healthier Maggie. “If she was really miserable, we would put her down,” Rossiter says. “But she can be really happy and she’s a member of her family, so as long as she’s happy, we’re happy.” v

David Fichtenholz Private Academic Tutoring Comes to the house 5 years of experience

PSAT-SAT-SATII-ACT Cell: 310.995.3283 davesemail1212@yahoo.com

october

[ FEATURES ]

Network Niches

Want to try some new social networking services? Maybe one of these online gems will interest you. Text by ALLEN WU Art by YELENA KASIANOVA

(www.foodspotting.com)

ood fanatics will be interested in the Foodspotting’s premise: sharing memorable food experiences. Culinary explorers can search out delicious courses at any restaurant in the world, and recommend them to other users with a single snapshot. Explorers upload the picture and location of the item, adding points of interest to the website’s map. Adventurous foodies can log onto Foodspotting and easily view recommended foods nearby, complete with tantalizing pictures and comments or reviews. When you register, you’re allowed to “nom” — or recommend — five dishes among those that have been posted on the site. To recommend more foods, you’ll need to acquire “tips” from activities including spotting foods and posting pictures on the website. If you want to eat locally, log onto Foodspotting to see which restaurants and foods your community suggests.

verde magazine

(www.foursquare.com)

oursquare is a pioneer in the social networking industry’s interest in location. The company makes exploring your town into a game. By checking into venues, users earn points and unlock badges — small icons to be displayed on their profiles. Foursquare offers more practical applications too. Users can add “tips” to venues, leaving advice for others. Foursquare also makes deals with certain stores — for example, a café may decide to give a free drink to anyone who checks in three times in a week. The site’s popularity was hurt by Facebook’s recent introduction of Facebook Places, which provides the same basic function to a larger base of users. Currently, however, Places does not allow stores to offer deals for checking in. Also, because Foursquare can post directly to your Facebook wall, you can announce your location to all your Facebook friends, too.

(www.apple.com/itunes/ping)

ing, Apple’s music-centric social networking service, allows users to follow singers and musicians. Individuals can use Ping to recommend songs and artists to their friends, and post reviews of music for others to consider. Users can also see which songs their friends have purchased. If they are interested, they can easily buy the same songs, given that the service is built into iTunes. Ping is helpful in providing a list of songs based on what other users with similar taste in music purchase and listen to. It also covers live performances — you’ll be able to find upcoming concerts and purchase your tickets electronically. When your friends see you’ve done so, they may decide to buy tickets as well, fulfilling Ping’s purpose as a social network for those who love music. At its core, Ping helps people to share the music they enjoy with their friends, and to discover new songs based on their interests. v

A Festival of Thanks San Francisco’s Chinatown celebrates 20th Annual Autumn Moon Festival Text by MARGARET KADIFA Photography by JACQUELINE FRIDUSS

entered San Francisco’s Chinatown on Sunday, Sept. 19 through an arch of balloons to celebrate the Autumn Moon Festival. Red Chinese lanterns hung suspended over blocked-off Grant Avenue, booths selling everything from jewelry to DVDs littered the street. Families were packed together, trying to navigate through the crowds of people. This year is the 20th anniversary of San Francisco’s Chinatown’s celebration of the festival. It is a time of thanks, often labeled as the Chinese version of Thanksgiving, according to the San Francisco Chinatown home page moonfestival.org. It is a holiday that celebrates the wealth from the harvest as well as the legends of the moon goddess Chang O. It is also an opportunity for the Chinese community to share its culture with other San Franciscans. “[The purpose is] to show Chinese culture to other races in the U.S.,” Tony Ling, 26, says. He spent the festival volunteering at Fu Lee Gift Shop in Chinatown. Peter Li, 45, wants to share Chinese

culture with his daughter, Grace, “We want her [Grace] to understand some of our culture. The kids that grow up here don’t understand our culture.” Off of Grant Avenue, the a music academy features several students and a teacher playing traditional Chinese instruments, such as the zith. “The zith is a wonderful instrument,” student Leeza Lu, 11, says. “You can plan a whole bunch of songs. If you want a happy song, you can play it and if you want to play a sad song, it changes! It’s exciting to play.” As the afternoon goes on, groups begin to parade down Grant. Sparkling green and white human-size and humanoperated dragon puppets enter the street. People form in circles around them, applauding as the dragons dance. The spectacle impresses tourists. “I think it [the festival] is great,” tourist Michelle Fite, 44, says. “It’s very colorful. It’s also very representative of Chinatown.” “It’s good to promote the Chinese culture,” Li says. “It is the specialty that we have.” v

ON GRANT AVENUE (from

top left clockwise) Lu playing the zith, Li smiles with daughter Grace, Chinese lanterns hanging from building to building, dragon masks from dragon costumes, festival attendees resting, decorations draped between buildings october

[ PHOTO ESSAY]

Fall Favorites From gourds to goats, our favorites of the season. Phtotography by JACQUELINE FRIDUSS

verde magazine

(opposite page) BOTTOM LEFT: Glass pumpkins at the glass pumpkin patch at Palo Alto Art Center. FAR LEFT: A “Boo” sign decorates a home in Palo Alto. TOP: A tree full of berries on the corner of Oregon Expressway and Cowper Street in Palo Alto. CENTER: A Los Altos streetlamp adorned with fall flags. MIDDLE RIGHT: A tree’s autumn leaves. BOTTOM RIGHT: A group of pumpkins and gourds at the Los Altos Fall Fest. (this page) BOTTOM LEFT: A produce truck parked with its cargo of pumpkins. MIDDLE LEFT: A pumpkin growing in a vegetable garden in front of a Palo Alto home. TOP LEFT: A curly-haired goat at the petting zoo at the Los Altos Fall Fest. BOTTOM RIGHT: A scarecrow at the Los Altos Fall Fest.

october

[ FEATURES ]

Silly Bandz

The trend that’s really silly Text and photography by ELISE BRUGUERA

hey’ve been bought, compared, traded, snapped and banned. They’re popular with all ages and come in all shapes, colors and styles. They glitter and glow in the dark. And they’re taking over the United States. Yes, they’re Silly Bandz. Here’s what Paly students are saying about them.

“I hate them because they glow in the dark and I can’t fall asleep.” — junior Aj Schonenberg

“I don’t want to conform to wearing Silly Bandz because it’s not being unique.” — senior Lexie De Stefano

“I think Silly Bandz are just really silly, in every sense of the word.” — freshman Cayla WandermanMilne

“I like the rainbow unicorn one. That’s definitely the best one.” — junior Mason Wu 66

verde magazine

Cultural Re-vegi-lution How ethnicity can influence the diet choices teens make. Text, art and photography by GADI COHEN

he cold, early-morning drive from the Tehran, Iran, airport into the city is exunderstand why I hausting, says Palo Alto wanted to give up meat,” High School senior Layla she says. “They are always ofMoheimani, though she has completed it fering to cook for me because they only once, in sixth grade. Trapped in trafthink my parents are bad cooks, [which] fic, Moheimani gazed outside as her car couldn’t be farther from the truth.” passed vibrant, English billboards, shut- 2007 – their self-selected vegetarian lifeTo Moheimani, becoming a vegetartered storefronts, and lines of cars that style in many cases is bound to conflict ian was the most difficult aspect of being had jammed into each other, now border- with their heritage, while in other cases a vegetarian. Her first attempt in eighth ing the sides of the highway. their heritage embraces vegetarianism. grade ended with a diagnosis of iron“Persians are really bad drivers,” she After her eighth-grade resolution deficiency anemia; her second attempt explains. that animals are to be petted and loved, comprised mainly of a pescetarian diet, Her body attunted to Pacific time, not devoured, Moheimani felt conflicted which allows the consumption of seafood where it was time for dinner, Mohei- before finally adhering to a totally veg- and no other meat; and at one point, she mani was especially hungry. But when etarian diet. resorted to including “Meat Mondays” in she found herself face to face with a dead, “I spent about a year between my her weekly schedule to help her adjust to baby sheep on a platter only two hours af- culturally-ingrained love for meat and the no-meat diet more easily. ter landing, she was surprised. what I believed was the right thing,” Mo“I’m not sure exactly what brought “It’s called kalepacheh,” Moheimani heimani says. it on,” Moheimani says, referring to her says. “It’s pretty much made up of four Moheimani is Persian, a culture that, eighth-grade resolution that animals are things: The brain of a lamb, the tongue of according to her, presumes unbridled meant to be petted and loved, not dea lamb, the inner cheek of voured. “Of course, a lamb, and the feet of a the same evening [as lamb.” the day when I chose A kalepacheh taketo become vegetarian] out restaurant is one of my friend’s family took the only places that still me to Chevy’s and I serve food in Iran late ordered the beef fajita into the morning hours. nachos. But it was the Moheimani describes the thought that counted. — ERIN SCOTT, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONAL DEVELOPmeal succinctly. “[It was] “I couldn’t live interesting,” she says, MENT AT THE PALO ALTO HUMANE SOCIETY without my kebabs in “very interesting. the beginning,” Mo“But that’s how Perheimani says. “[Now], I sians are,” Moheimani explains. “We don’t devotion to a very meat-heavy diet. Per- can’t stand the smell or taste of meat.” just eat meat. We eat animals.” sian cuisine, for example, gave rise to the While heritage can serve as an obTwo years after trying kalepacheh, kebab (grilled, roasted or stewed meat, stacle for some vegetarians, it can also reMoheimani decided to become vegetar- usually skewered), the khoresht (stews inforce other students’ vegetarianism. For ian — and she is still trying to deal with usually consisting of lamb or beef and senior Divya Ramakrishnan, vegetarianthe setbacks. As more and more teenagers vegetables), and — let’s not forget — the ism was a much easier route than it was choose to become vegetarian — a Har- kalepacheh. for Moheimani; along with having vegris poll saw a threefold increase of teen “Many of my family members can’t etarian parents, Divya is also lucky to vegetarians from 1 percent in 1997 to 3 in

“Becoming a vegetarian is a different process for each and every individual.”

october

[ FEATURES ] belong to a culture that embraces vegetarianism. “For me, being a vegetarian is super easy because a lot of the food I eat is Indian,” Ramakrishnan says. According to Ramakrishnan, however, ethnicity played no role in her decision to become vegetarian. “Indian culture did not have much to do with it,” Ramakrishnan said. [I chose vegetarianism because I thought] “meat was gross,” she says. “The most difficult thing [is] going to a restaurant with a few vegetarian offerings or where everyone is eating meat,” Ramakrishnan says. Her favorite Indian foods — dosa, rasam, mattar paneer — use entirely vegetarian recipes. In contrast, Moheimani’s favorite Persian dish — loobia palo, or rice, beans, and tomatoes mixed in with chunks of beef — has to be modified with mushrooms to satisfy her dietary needs. “Becoming a vegetarian is a different process for each and every individual,” says Erin Scott, the director of operational development at the Palo Alto Humane Society. “It’s hard to give somebody a onetwo-three steps way to do it. They have to learn how to adjust their diets themselves.” Scott believes that students should

“We don’t just eat meat [in Iran]. We eat animals.” LAYLA MOHEIMANI

become alert to the kind of environment that their food was slaughtered at and realize that they have the power to change the meat industry. “If students become aware of the abominable conditions of traditional factory farms, and they go to their schools and ask them to buy organic eggs from hens in small family farms, then that drives the bigger change down the road,” Scott says. “If one by one, each student— each school—each city changes what

they’re eating, it can change how our entire world operates.” According to Scott, students like Moheimani and Ramakrishnan are changing the world in their own, small ways, together with hundreds of thousands of other American teenagers that choose to be vegetarian. Even in Iran, vegetarianism is expanding: Only a year after Moheimani visited the country, Iranian vegetarians founded the Vegetarian Union of Iran in 2006. Thousands of Iranian vegetarians have joined the organization since then, according to the International Vegetarian Union. These days, Moheimani can be found eating a meat-free lunch with her friends, a plastic container filled with a mishmash of Persian flavors in her lap: Some long-grain rice, some spices, mushrooms, carrots. “I don’t usually have Persian food for lunch,” she says. “It’s usually leftovers from the night before or something quick and easy to make.” Even though Moheimani says the kalepache incident did not push her to become vegetarian, it remains the first thing that comes to her mind when she remembers her carnivorous experiences in Iran. As she sits down for a family dinner, Moheimani reaches for the vegetarian dish. Outside, the Palo Alto night reminds Moheimani of that first night in Tehran, although it is quieter, and there is no lamb brain on her plate. v

31 percent

1 in 200

American teens say they are vegetarian**

Six percent of Paly says it is

vegetarian.**

*2006 State of Nation Survey conducted by Hindu-CNN/IBN **Verde poll of 230 randomly-selected students, October 2010 ***2009 Center for Disease Control study

verde magazine

of India says it is vegetarian***

[ TRUE LIFE ]

True Life: I just became an American citizen

How national identity transcends a simple passport Text by CAMILLE VON KAENEL Photography by SONALI SASTRY

“

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of last spring. Not only was their citizenship the next logical step in America.” My hand placed on my heart, I recited the fa- the process, but it would automatically engender mine, a minor, miliar oath. facilitate college applications and allow the family to live in EuAround me, men and women of all ethnicities – a rope without losing American residential rights. In addition to balance of Europe, Asia, Latin America, India and the submitting various paperwork and proof of residency, they had Middle East - spoke the same words. A snapshot of global di- to pass a test combining oral and written English skills as well as versity, we were all at an oath ceremony in San Jose, and we had general knowledge of America. just become American citizens. I relished helping my parMy family moved to Calients study. As I had just comfornia from Switzerland in pleted AP United States His1996, when I was two years tory, I prepped them daily on old. My younger self yearned historical and political facts, for exoticism, resisting assimilaunching into long and enlation and vaguely citing Euergetic lectures about the ecoropean values and traditions. nomic motives for the Civil After all, I spoke French, reWar or the lesser-know Proturned to Europe every sumgressive era. Describing Amermer, skied regularly and had ican history with pride, I reallaunched an ardent campaign ized that the passport would against “subpar” Hershey’s not actually validate anything: I chocolate. I don’t understand had already become American. anything about football and Big and generous, America’s abhor sweatpants. Known as wide highways, beautiful nature the Swiss family in America and confusing football games and the American family in had shaped me as much as my Switzerland, we took pride in family’s fondues and penchant our small differences. for efficient public transportaAs it became apparent tion. that our initial goal of singleI received the blue passyear residency had exceeded port on Sept. 3, 2010, realizing its limit at 14 years, my family TWO LOYALTIES Dual citizenship showed me how culture that the moment actually held started the bureaucratic process and patriotism exceed national boundaries. no grand symbolism. In the toward the permanent resident end, a passport does not have card, or the Green Card, which would allow us to move more any intrinsic value; it is the things that it will allow me to do freely in and out of the United States. travel, learn, explore, teach, create and grow - that matter more When my first Green Card arrived, I remember looking to me than anything else. confusedly at the country of origin: Swaziland. People often Dual or more citizens abound in an increasingly global confused Switzerland with Sweden (“They’re both in Europe.”), world; I am by far not special or unique. Coming from two debut never with Swaziland. My patriotic pride bloomed as I developed Western countries, the cultural differences I must reconfended Switzerland which, even as a small country, deserves its cile seem insignificant. Most importantly, however, I have realown recognition. ized that neither I nor anyone else must fit into a single national My parents started their application to U.S. citizenship caricature or label. I am simply both Swiss and American. v october

Teens in Tech holds several conferences, meetups and events throughout the year aimed at bringing together teens who share an interest in technology. The events offer inspiring speakers, time for collaboration and lots of free goodies.

Teens in Tech aims to help and accelerate startups and ideas. We are the go-to site for young entrepreneurs.

For more info and to sign up to be informed about future events, visit

If you are interested in getting involved, go to teensintech.com

teensintech.com/conference

Thanks To Our Sponsors:

The Lenails The Sastrys The Madejs The Kellison-Linns The Marks V V The Ebingers The Eflands The Cohens 70

verde magazine

october

Palo Alto Unified School District Palo Alto High School 50 Embarcadero Road Palo Alto, CA 94301

Non-profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Palo Alto, California Permit #44