Verde Volume 12 Issue 3 by Verde Magazine

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palo alto high school volume 12 edition 3

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INDEX VOLUME 12 • EDITION 3 • PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL

PROFILES CONT’D Coal, Sheepherding, and 38 Scholastic Aid

NEWS Briefing 8 Compiled by Sonali Sastry and Camille von Kaenel

Better Bell Schedule?

Compiled by Sarah Jacobs and Margaret Kadifa

by Jackson Miley

Press Pass to Hollywood by Elizabeth Silva and Jessica Madej

THE WATCH Oscars Edition 44 by Zach Stanton-Savitz and Alex Lenail

THE LAUNCH Short Features 14 Compiled by Anabel Homnack and Amanda Groziak

PERSPECTIVES The Debit Debate 18 by Allen Wu Bye Bye Boyfriends, Goodbye Girlfriends

Life on the Curb by Gadi Cohen

by Allison Chang

Debunked: Essay Readers 22 by Scott Kleckner

From Movie Set to Pen

by Alex Lenail

by Camille Couchon

All Eyes on Cairo

Pedaling for Change

Fielding a Legacy

An Air Force Education

by Emilia Kellison-Linn

by Emilia Kellison-Linn and Maytal Mark by Emily Efland and Emma Tucher by Elise Bruguera

by Margaret Kadifa and Elizabeth Silva

Photo Essay: Playing Without Fire

Not Just For Kids Eurovision!

58 59

A Book-lover’s Guide

True Life: I am a Lion Cub

by Jacqueline Friduss by Ava Dordi

PROFILES Crazy for Cards 26 by Caroline Ebinger Working at the Village

COVER 47

FEATURES Friends of Ferals 53 by Caroline Ebinger Bringing Anatolia Home 54 by Camille von Kaenel and Sonali Sastry

Assange: Hero or Terrorist?

by Mira Khanna

By Maytal Mark

by Anabel Homnack

^^FROM TOP TO BOTTOM Eve Higgins (pg. 32), Fielding a Legacy (pg. 36), Anatolian Kitchen (pg. 54) >>LEFT Crazy for Cards (pg. 26) february

cover

by yelena kasianova and gadi cohen photograph by jacqueline friduss

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

volume 12 edition 2

verdeexcerpts

“It’s all about putting it [the card] together — it needs to be aesthetically pleasing as well as functional.”

Page 26

junior Emma Miller “Crazy for Cards”

“There are neighborhood watches where they set up barricades and check IDs. Now its much more peaceful and citizens are helping each other out, giving out food and water, and picking up trash.”

Page 30

junior Adam Mansour “All Eyes on Cairo”

“The main goal of the foundation is to make what happened in East Palo Alto that day [when May was killed] never happen again.”

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS

Letters received in response to Verde postings on The Paly Voice at http://voice.paly.net/verde “Bike City” Please be aware of a dangerous situation for students biking to Paly on Churchill. Although there is a sign on Churchill indicating cars are prohibited from crossing Alma during the morning period prior to the start of the school day, most drivers either don’t see the sign or ignore it. There is a line of cars on Churchill heading west each morning. Student bikers often fan our from the bike lane after crossing the RR tracks and move right into the lane of cars next to them on Churchill. I have seen several near accidents. Please alert the proper people of this problem to protect the safety of student bikers. — “Paly Mom” “From Addict to Artist” Great story. I wonder what Amy would have thought if her parents had home drug tested her through high school? Would her life path had changed? Myteensavers sees this dilemna, and oftentimes parents wonder if they had been stricter, ie home drug testing, would they have helped keep their teen clean. It’s great to see that she is free from her addiction and that she loves herself once again, and she’s helping others. — “Jeff”

verde magazine

Frank Merrill, President of the Rich May Foundation Board “Fielding a Legacy”

Page 34

“We’re like ‘The Outsiders’... We’re all friends here, now. You can tell the difference [between curb kids and other Paly students.] Here, no one cares about what happened before — there’s no ‘drama’ at the curb.”

Page 47

“Thomas” “Life on the Curb”

“I told myself, you know what, I’ll work really hard, I’ll make my money, and then I’ll open a restaurant that will be exactly like how my mother was making food back at home.” Dino Tekdemir, owner of Anatolian kitchen “Bringing Anatolia Home”

Page 54

verde

volume 12 edition 3 february 2011

from the editors

Staff List Editors-in-Chief Ally Messick Manon von Kaenel Max Cohen Sonali Sastry Camille von Kaenel Managing Editors Margaret Kadifa Sarah Jacobs

Copy Editors

Social Media Editor Bella Hernandez Art Director Yelena Kasianova

Adviser Paul Kandell

Short Features Editors Amanda Groziak Anabel Homnack

— Manon, Ally, & Max

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 Sharon Tseng Melissa Wen Allen Wu

Business Managers Emily Efland Emma Tucher

Students who participate in sports, academics or drama are always at the forefront of Paly publications. But what about the kids at Paly who fly under the radar of the public eye, who rarely receive any attention, and who students only know through their reputation? Who are these students, and have they found their place at Paly? For our cover story, we wanted to develop a deeper understanding of a group of students who spend time on the curb that separates the bike path from Town & Country — or as some Paly students refer to as “curb kids.” Through his reporting, Gadi Cohen tried to develop an understanding of this group of friends in his story “Life on the curb.” When reading this story, readers should keep in mind that the image of “curb kids” portrayed in the article is just a sampling of a few of many students who spend time at the curb, and should not be construed as a representation of all “curb” kids. Additionally, we also chose to shed light on topics, from cities as close to East Palo Alto and as far as Cairo. In the story, “Fielding a Legacy”, Elise Bruguera reports on a non-profit foundation in East Palo Alto, which advocates for more opportunities for East Palo Youth. In the article, “All Eyes on Cairo”, Emily Kellison-Linn and Maytal Mark write about the current Cairo protests, from the perspective of two Egyptian students at Paly. On a more local issue, Margaret Kadifa and Sarah Jacobs have also compiled data from the new bell schedule survey in “Better Bekk Schedule?”, which visually summarizes how parents, students, and teachers have reviewed the new bell schedule. We hope that all students, from those who sit in the quad to those who sit at the curb, can enjoy the stories in the current issue!

Photographer Jacqueline Friduss

Online Editors Allison Chang Mira Khanna

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. All Verde stories are posted online - and available for commenting - at http://voice.paly. net/verde. 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.

february

[ OPINION ]

staff verdict Room for Improvement in Teacher Advisor System

uesday morning: while some students gleefully escape to Town and Country or head to the library to catch up on homework after second period, those who have learned it is their grade’s turn for advisory groan and complain. Some say it is a waste of time or that they do not need the extra guidance; others say that the service offered does not actually help to navigate the college application process, course registration, or even general high school life. Advisory and the teacher advisor system, however, should not be sources of complaints now. Established in 1992 after student and parent concerns over the impersonal nature of general counselor recommendations, the teacher adviser system strives to provide a more intimate connection between students and one trustworthy adult on campus. Palo Alto High School is one of the very few high schools which offers the opportunity of such close contact. Our unique system is highly regarded by outside schools and reviewers. Teachers interested in participating in the system must apply, pass training and follow a set curriculum to guide students through the bureaucracy of the school and offer general support. However, hearing warnings, reassurances and rules about navigating the college admissions process from a teacher adviser may seem disjointed because of the experience gap. A senior-junior mentoring system would eliminate some of that communication difficulty. Because seniors have just experienced the process, they can offer more insight than a teacher. In addition, receiving honest information from peers creates more immediacy and impact. Advisers should invite seniors to talk to juniors, either one-on-one or to the class, about their reflections on passing through the process at Paly. Alternatively, seniors can produce a constantly-updated video or list with personal recommendations. This type of peer mentoring — organized through the TA system — can be extended to all grades to create a personal “Paly survival guide” to college applications and high school academics. In addition, the goal of trust between students and adults on campus can only be reached if they know each other well. Though a real effort is made by the administration to place students in classes taught by their advisers, many still never have their advisers. Thus, the administration should redouble their efforts to properly place students with their top choice by easing the process to switch advisors and implementing a get-to-know-you session for freshmen advisees. As freshmen, many students do not know upperclassmen advisors. Thus, an advisory or tutorial should be set aside where teacher advisers present themselves to the grade. During the next three years, to get to know each other

verde magazine

more, all the teachers in the system should be consistently open to and encourage one-on-one meetings. The advisory system is a two way street; advisees should take initiative to schedule those meetings during tutorial. To maintain consistency throughout the advisory system, students should complete an anonymous end-of-the-year evaluation of their teacher advisor. In a constantly evolving system, student input and comments are crucial. The student complaints heard are loud but easily addressed; the administration must make the appropriate changes, and students must learn to appreciate and utilize the resources available. Perhaps one time in the future, students will no longer flee to Town and Country during advisory, but rather look forward to talking to a trusted adult on campus. v - Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Verde staff

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Briefing

NEWS

THE LATEST AND GREATEST

Online registration — the new destination photography by jefrrey lu

Registration for next year’s courses will occur online on Infinite Campus for all middle and high schools in the Palo Alto Unified School District, according to Assistant Principal Kim Diorio. “I think it will be a piece of cake,” Diorio said. “They [students] live in an electronic world. I think it will be more challenging for the adults.” On the Infinite Campus website, students will be able to search courses by their name and course number or choose from suggested science, math, and language lanes. The deadline for submitting course selections is midnight on Feb. 28. Students must then print out the course selections, obtain a parent signature, and review it with their teacher advisor. “It’s less cumbersome,” Diorio said. “We’re killing less trees.” Teacher advisers attended an informative meeting on Feb. 14 to go over registration details. While juniors and A-K freshman already learned about the new system on Feb. 15 during advisory, sophomores and L-Z freshmen will learn of the system on Feb. 22. According to Diorio, administrators plan on spreading the information through an informative YouTube video,

“I think it will be a piece of cake. They [students] live in an electronic world. I think it will be more challenging for the adults.” — Assistant Principal KIM DIORIO

Assistant Principal Kim Diorio discusses the new online registration system. The deadline for submitting class preferences is Feb. 28 at midnight.

a postcard sent home, and posts on Naviance, Infinite Campus, the Paly website and the Paly Guidance Facebook page. For those who have trouble registering for courses or cannot access the internet from home, the main office offer assistance and computers during school hours from Feb. 22 to Feb. 28. Additionally, parents can seek help at the library

from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Feb. 23. Diorio said that online registration not only is easier for students to view and change their schedules, but also prepares them for college. “It gives you a preview to choose your classes because it’s the same at a college or university.” She said. “It’s a college-readiness piece.” text by sharon tseng

Late start rings bells of joy in Paly community The PTA Ed Council plans to reach a decision on next year’s bell schedule in April or May, according to the PTSA plan. Beginning this month, the Ed Council will analyze the data, and work towards a schedule for next year, following several months of surveys and focus groups to help evaluate the new bell schedule. The months of December through February were dedicated to gathering

verde magazine

feedback on the schedule from students, teachers, and parents according to the PTSA pilot bell schedule plan. The PTA organized eight separate focus groups — three composed of students, two of staff, and two of parents according to Palo Alto High School PTSA President Susan Bailey. The students in these focus groups were randomly selected from the Paly student body. The school-wide survey results were

generally positive. 80.2% of teachers supported the 8:15 start time, as well as 92.4% of students. This encourages the administration to continue with the pilot bell schedule for the following school year. The results of the surveys, presented in an all-graphic form can be found on pages 12 and 13. text by emily kellison-lin & margaret kadifa

Return of the The fairest of Paly theater: Rejects My Fair Lady

text by melissa wen

The Palo Alto High School production of Lerner and Loewe’s musical My Fair Lady opens March 11 in the Haymarket Theater Paly’s Theatre Department will continue to perform the play at 7:30 p.m. on March 11, March 12, and March 17 to March 19 at 7:30 p.m. as well as at 2 p.m. on March 20. Tickets will be five dollars for students and seven dollars for adults. Set in London at the beginning of the 20th century, the musical follows Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who is spotted by phonetics expert Professor Henry Higgins. He makes a bet with a friend that he can turn Eliza into a proper lady in six months. As Higgins works to disguise her lower-class upbringing, a challenging task, their relationship begins to grow past simply teacher and student. “It’s a very Cinderella-type story,” Director Kathleen Woods says. My Fair Lady is double-cast, meaning that the two lead characters, Eliza Doolittle and Professor Higgins, will be played by two different people. Eliza Doolittle will be played by seniors Arielle Fishman and Stephanie Spector. Juniors Zachary Freier-Harrison and Joseph Comey will both play Professor Higgins.

photography by sharon tseng

With the re-installation of the rejection wall tradition, Palo Alto High School students give a general nod of approval to the return of the wall, a place for seniors to post up their college rejection letters for everyone to see. Though the wall originally began in 2004, the wall was removed in 2006 and again in 2010. Of the Paly students interviewed, many seemed indifferent to the return of the wall, but did not see any problem with it. “I don’t think it’s good or bad,” senior Sydney Davis said. “It’s just a way for people to express their anger maybe.” Sophomore Haelin Cho holds a similar view. “I guess if people feel better after the rejection wall, then it doesn’t matter what other people think,” she said. Senior April Jauhal agrees, but gives one caveat, that younger students who see the rejections may be discouraged from applying to the more selective universities. “It might look like maybe I shouldn’t even apply to Harvard because there are 17 rejections,” she said. There are underclassmen, however, who don’t seem to consider this downside. Sophomore Juliana Moraes-Liu thinks that it is a good way for students to show humility. “I think it’s kind of humorous because usually people don’t want to show their failures,” she said. Junior Eve Higgins agrees, supporting the wall wholeheartedly. “I think it’s fantastic and supportive of others,” Higgins said. “Especially the joke ones. It’s amusing.”

Senior Stephanie Spector rehearses for Paly’s My Fair Lady, premiering March 11.

According to Woods, the combination of actors will change every night. “Literally, every show will be a new configuration,” Woods says. Stage Manager and junior Annie Rosenberg says that not only theater fans but everyone can enjoy this musical. “It mixes really good music and it’s really fun,” she says. “You don’t have to be text by sharon tseng musical-obsessed.”

Winter Formal in time for spring Winter Formal will be on Friday, Feb. 25 from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. in the small gym, according to Chirag Krishna, the Associated Student Body President. ASB is once again working with Alan Waltz Entertainment, which has provided DJs for previous Paly dances. “Winter Formal is semi-formal so polos, khakis, and the like are just fine,” Krishna says. “No one is going to be turned away because of what they’re

wearing, as long as they follow the dress code of course!” “Hopefully he can continue to do what he’s done at the previous dances and maybe even bring something new to this one as it’s one of the bigger dances of the year,” Krishna said. Tickets will be sold for $5 during the week of the dance. text by elise bruguera

february

[ NEWS ]

Briefs from The Paly Voice

Memorial garden A new memorial garden will be installed in the area near the science building after portables displaced the old garden. Starting in the next month, trees, more sustainable pavement and benches will be placed in that area, according to Mary Gordon, a landscape architect involved in the project. Read the full story, by Haelin Cho, on http://voice.paly.net/ node/26283.

New classes come to Paly Students now have the opportunity to sign up for two new additional course offerings. Marine Biology, taught by biology teacher Erik Olah, will focus on the life sciences of the ocean. In the English department, Escape Literature, taught by Erin Angell, will offer a curriculum mixing science fiction and fantasy. Read the full story, by Kyle Liu and Jeffrey Lu, on voice.paly.net/node/26297.

Career Crazy? Career Month is Coming Soon Career advisor Christina Owen is encouraging Palo Alto High school students to gear up for Career Month, taking place this year from March 1 through 16. Twenty-two speakers from various careers will present during lunchtime, and students who sign up in advance will receive free lunch. Owen says that this year is different because of the greater ethnic diversity among the speakers. Additionally, the speakers will share their personal career journeys as inspiration.

“You learn something from any of these people,” she said. Owen recommends students to sign up through Naviance. Sign-up sheets are also available in the library and the Tower Building. Although drop-ins are permitted, Owen says that 50-180 students usually fill up a session and thus, space may not be available. The sign up deadlines for weeks one, two and three are Feb. 24, March 3, and March 10, respectively.

The line-up includes Dana Karren, who found his passion in woodworking, and Emmet D. Carson, who is the founding CEO and president of Silicon Valley Community Foundation and is well known as a philanthropist. Karren will speak on March 3 in the Social Studies Resource Center while Carson will present on March 7 in the Haymarket Theater. Owen encourages students to sign up for as many speakers as they can. “Keep your mind open,” she said. text by melissa wen

Where to go during Career Month?

Tuesday - March 1 Vamsee Nalamothu (Theater) Wednesday - March 2

Monday- March 7

Tuesday - March 15

Executive Director, Stanford Lively Arts

CEO and recognized philanthropist

Philanthropist for Global Fund for Women

Jenny Billfield (SSRC) Tuesday - March 1

Emmett D. Carson (Theater)

Kavita N. Ramdas (SSRC)

Vamsee Nalamothu (ERC)

Social Networking and Game Design

Thursday - March 10 Elaine Bailey (SSRC) Corporate Turn-Around Specialist

Wednesday - March 16 Larry Solomon (ERC) Investment Analyst and Portfolio Manager

Thursday - March 3 Dana Karren (SSRC) Master Craftsman - Interior Woodwork

Friday - March 11 Erin Hunter (ERC) Illustrator

For more information on the speakers, check out https://docs.google.com/ View?id=dcj6sv2n_43cx6df5gm

Friday - March 4

Monday - March 14

Green Industry Partner

Research Geologist

Tom Kellerman (SSRC) 10

verde magazine

Dr. Charles Bacon (SSRC)

compiled by sonali sastry and camille von kaenel

Shining a light on the Greenlight Film Festival photography by colin marchon

The 5th annual Greenlight Earth Day Film Festival will celebrate Earth Day on April 14. The festival will be showcasing local films that promote ecofriendly habits, according to the Palo Alto Media Center’s website, the group planning the event. High School students submit most of the films featured at the festival though local artists contribute as well. The festival aims to show how environmental citizenship and individual actions can reduce environmental impacts. The film screenings and award show are both free and will start at 7 p.m. at the Cubberly Theater in Palo Alto. Categories are middle school, high school and another which includes both elementary school students and adults. “I wanted to participate because it seems like a really good way to present yourself as a potential filmmaker and discuss an important issue,” junior Victoria Tse says. “We all look at pollution as a sort of this general concept that exists, but we don’t really think about how real it is, and how close it is to us.”

Decorations bring festivity to the Greenlight Film Festival, which celebrated youth filmmaking and environmentalism last year.

The Media Center broadcast the event live on Channel 28. Sponsors include the Media Center, Palo Alto Daily, Palo Alto Online, and the City of Palo

Alto. More information can be found online at cityofpaloalto.org. text by scott kleckner

Leapfrogging to success, all at the same time Attention all leapers: Mountain View High School is sponsoring a Guinness World Record breaking leapfrog event on Apr. 3. Students will gather on the football and soccer fields at 12:30 p.m. for registration and 1:45 p.m. for the event. The current record listed consists of 1,366 people leapfrogging at the same time for five minutes. Though the activity will be held at Mountain View High School, students of other schools are also encouraged to participate.

By the

NUMBERS

“We have reached out to other high schools and different community groups to register, along with elementary schools,” said Anya Schultz, the head of senior public relations. Leapers must register in pairs with a $1 fee per person while spectators are welcome at no cost. Online registration is currently open and accessible through the event’s official site, www.goleapfrog.tumblr.com. The event will also include concessions and entertainment from 12:30 to

number of years that Ellen Fletcher has been biking.

5:00 p.m. Additionally, Mountain View High School’s Associated Student Body is looking for event sponsors, who can donate on the website. “Our goal is to break the world record, but we also would like to bring the community together,” Schultz said. “We think this is a great opportunity to bring everyone together to be active and have fun.”

125

text by allison chang

million viewers watch Eurovision, the European song contest, on average every year. february

[ NEWS ]

Better Bell Schedule?

Students, staff and parents express their opinions about the new schedule

Text by SARAH JACOBS and MARGARET KADIFA Art by AVA DORDI

he feedback about the new bell schedule has been largely positive, according to the results from the recent bell-schedule survey made available by Palo Alto High School administrators. 1,660 students, 97 staff member and 691 parents completed the survey, which was provided online. Students, staff, and parents generally had good things to say about the late start and block classes, but had mixed feelings about the timing of tutorial.

92%

STUDENTS

63% of Paly students

of Paly students say the current schedule works for them

say their transportation has not been affected PACK LUNCH SLEEP

68%

10% of students

EAT BREAKFAST

of Paly students report that they feel more rested

say the schedule has positively affected family life EXERCISE

LEISURE ACTIVITIES HOMEWORK/ STUDY

88% students

20%

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30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

letes say the schedule has negatively affected sports

94% of students

Is planning for classes easier or harder than it was last year?

10%

25% of ath-

80%

say the schedule has not affected extra-curricular musical activities

say the schedule has not affected theater

STAFF

66%

of Paly teachers are assigning the same amount of homework this year as last year

of Paly teachers would like to continue the 8:15 am start time next year

MOST Paly teachers

would like to continue tutorial next year

YES

MON

TUES

Should tutorial be earlier in the week?

WED

20%

80% 80

100

having

PARENTS

extra time

in the

morning

affects my

childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s school experience... positively neutral negatively

50 40 30 Number of People

Parents say, on average, their students sleep

7-8

hours per night

88%

of parents feel that their child manages his or her homework better because of having fewer daily classes february

THELAUNCH SHORT STUFF

Where have the V-Men traveled? In our October 2010 issue, Verde staff member Emily Kellison-Linn wrote a story about geocaching, a treasure hunt game using GPS . Verde set free three V-men attached to travel bugs to be transported from geocache to geocache by cachers. The three V-Man Travel Bugs have encountered past high school editors, current journalists and cachers enthusiastic about the V-Men, as evidenced by their comments. The “V-Man 3” has traveled the farthest. Check out their progress on geocaching.com.

“The Badgers of Gillies Hill” Cambusbarron, Scotland photos and text by CAMILLE VON KAENEL

,000 over 5

miles

geocaching.com

How to:

1. Hold the pencil in front of you between your thumb, middle, and index fingers. 2. Push the pencil towards you with your middle finger. Release your index finger from the pencil. 3. The pencil will rotate around your thumb. 4. Catch the pencil with your thumb, middle and index fingers. Repeat as desired.

photos and text by AVA DORDI

Tip: Avoid sharpened pencils when initially learning this skill. Catching the pencil is the most difficult part – failure to catch a sharp pencil in the correct manner may lead to accidental stabbing of the hand.

spin a pencil : hold

step 1

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: push

step 2

: spin

step 3

: catch

step 4

3 Myths: The College Application Process text by JACKSON MILEY and EMILY KELLISON-LINN

photography by AMANDA GROZIAK

Verde talked to college adviser Sandra Cernobori about common The more important factor to colleges is not your GPA, but the misconceptions about college, her answers are paraphrased below. rigor of your schedule. With every transcript sent to colleges, Paly includes a grading key, explaining course rigor. So don’t be Myth #1: 9th grade grades don’t count for college. worried if your upper-lane class doesn’t give you that extra It’s true that freshman year grades are not included in deGPA point. termining minimum eligibility GPA requirements for UCs and CSUs. However, all colleges, including UCs Myth #3: Private colleges are too expensive. and CSUs, still look at your 9th grade report card Although private colleges may seem more during the selection process. Freshmen must have expensive, this is not always the case. Private all A-G classes completed with at least a C-. colleges often have more money reserved for financial aid than public schools do, and many Myth #2: You must take weighted classes to offer much more need-based aid for students boost your GPA. who can’t afford tuition. Merit-based aid is There’s a lot of talk at Paly about taking also available to exceptional students. Cernoclasses to boost your GPA. The truth bori suggests applying to a mixture of public is that while some colleges, such as and private schools and comparing financial UCs, do include extra points for aid packages. AP and honors classes, other colleges use Paly’s cumulative And remember, Paly, college is not unweighted GPA or coma prize to be won but a match to pletely different formulas. be made. Also, be sure to check Many keep their weighting out and become a fan of Paprocess a complete secret. ly’s CCC on Facebook.

INSIDE THE LABORATORY OF photos and text by SARAH JACOBS

Freshman biology teacher Mindy Steiner t Mindy Steiner’s Freshmen biology classes perform gel electrophoresis, or separating DNA, the coded genetic information, by running it through an electic field. Freshmen in Steiner’s 4th period biology class pour their first gel using hot agarose. In this “DNA Fingerprinting” lab, their task is to find the best match between a sample of standard DNA and several samples of possible matches.

ABOVE: Freshman in Steiner’s class use a pipette to extract DNA from a mixture. LEFT: Freshmen extract the DNA after running it through a centrifuge machine which separates the DNA from the cell. RIGHT: Steiner is one of many freshman biology teachers who supervises this lab.

february

1. The ultimate “How to” web site, Instructables

www.static.echonest.com

procrastinating college students, this blog truly knows how to distract you from that test you need to study for tomorrow.

www.smosh.com

features everything from homemade altoids to a rechargable battery tester.

2. Created late at night by some

www.foodgawker.com

Compiled by Verde’s social media editor BELLA HERNANDEZ

www.hwcanwait.com

WEB SITES

www.instructables.com

TOP 5:

3. A must-see for midnight

4. The makers of Smosh, Anthony

5. An interactive way to discover

snackers and aspiring cooks, Food Gawker features photos and recipies of food submitted by bloggers around the world.

Padilla and Ian Hecox, upload videos to their website about basically anything. Perfect for taking a break from homework.

new music online, Music maze creates a web from your selected favorite bands.

5 Questions with choir president Teddi Kalb photos and text by AMANDA GROZIAK

1. Is choir a club? It [Choir] is a music class that is a lot of fun. Maybe that’s why people think it’s a club. Choir is mainly a student-run class but we work in coilition with parents. Choir staff is for people who want to play a larger role in choir, offer leadership skills and help with backstage stuff. 2. Why are members of choir dressed in 80s attire today? Every year we have our Pops Concert, which has a theme. Last year was “Glee” and this year we went for full on 80s. Every year people should expect us to be dressed up and we hope a lot of students come to and enjoy it. 3. How did you get interested in choir? I started choir in middle school and I was really interested in singing. I think a lot of choir students are naturalborn singers and love music. That’s

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why a lot of us are very attracted to this class. We also love it for the community. First you get hooked into it for the music and then you get hooked into it for all the friends you make. 4. How often do you practice? It [choir] is actually a class third period. And then we have the advanced vocals which are the madrigals and spectrum singers and those have extra hours after school. 5. Why is the Pops Concert on Valentine’s Day? In the past years of Paly choir we have always had it on Valentine’s Day and then we strayed away from it for a while. But we decided to bring it back this year and it’s just really convenient because people are Teddi Kalb (right) extra warm-hearted towards our smiles with choir soloists. People are really happy and friend Sarah they can enjoy something. v Jundt (left).

PERSPECTIVES The Bubble cartoon by AVA DORDI

THE DEBIT DEBATE GOODBYE GIRLFRIENDS, BYE BYE BOYFRIENDS DEBUNKED: ESSAY READERS DECIDE THE GRADE ASSANGE: HERO OR TERRORIST? FROM MOVIE SET TO PEN

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The Debit Debate What are the benefits and risks of teenagers having debit cards? Text by ALLEN WU Art by YELENA KASIANOVA Photography by SCOTT KLECKNER

often heard the jingling of coins in my pocket back in ninth grade, and whenever I cleaned out my jackets I would find stray dollar bills mixed in with my various electronics and random papers. Now my pockets are conspicuously quiet, because I rarely carry money anymore; I can do all my shopping with a debit card that functions as a credit card. My parents set up a bank account for me, and I deposit and withdraw my funds from it, and I can also buy items with it. Though not all Paly students may be aware, applying for a debit

card is a simple process. Obtaining a debit card is an event that most teenagers look forward to, and it is commonly seen as an important part of growing up. Like with all forms of payment, debit and credit cards have their own pros and cons that should be considered. When you pay with a credit card, you need only to sign your name and possibly show identification, and you pay the credit card company back for your purchase at a later date. A debit card requires a PIN code, but moves funds directly from your bank account. Minors can obtain debit cards with parental assistance.

One of the greatest advantages of owning a debit card is the freedom to shop online. The internet’s market is considerably larger and more diverse than local stores, making it much easier to buy what you need from the comfort of your home. Another benefit of electronic cash is the ascetic elegance a debit card to lend to your wallet; it’s no longer necessary to count bills or dig for loose change. With a debit card you never need to worry about breaking large bills down, and won’t need to struggle with coinage. If you lose a $100 bill, then you’ve lost that money forever, but if you lose your card, you need not lose any money provided that you’re prompt in contacting your bank to cancel service. The strength of a debit card lies in its versatility. As long as possess the funds with which to purchase something, you can do it easily and elegantly; you’ll never have to walk down the street with a large bill in order to buy a dollar’s worth of products, and you’ll never be frustrated by not carrying enough bills to buy something you should be able to afford.

On the down side, possessing a debit card can encourage wanton spending, because it is easier to pay money when you are not physically handing over the cash. It’s important to exercise discipline if you are in possession of a debit card, to keep track of your balance and to avoid needless purchases. While spending money digitally prevents losing money or being robbed, it also opens up a world of credit frauds and scams. It’s dangerous to invest in a debit card if you cannot be vigilant against scams, and if you are not careful to keep your debit card number and PIN to yourself. A third consideration is that any transaction made with a debit card will leave a record that hard cash will not; because your parents technically own your bank account, they will be aware of how much money you spend and where you are spending it. If you prefer to keep the nature of your purchases a secret, it would not be a good idea to pay with a debit card. Finally, remember that paying by debit card is not always an option.

PROS

CONS

Paly Speaks— Do you have a debit card? Why or why not? DaVaughn Dillahunty—senior I have a debit card. I feel like teenagers should have debit cards so their parents don’t have to always have to get cash for them.

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reporting by SCOTT KLECKNER

Alex Hammer—freshman No. It would be nice to have one, but I don’t need it. My parents can just get money out of the bank for me.

Ultimately, there are no consequences to owning a debit card that cannot be circumvented by caution and proper judgment. In today’s society you may be at a disadvantage without having a means of electronic payment, as some services do no accept cash. It’s to your benefit to have one, so long as you exercise the necessary caution and restraint. However, you must also be wary of relying too heavily on debit cards; do not underestimate the conveniences unique to carrying cash. Some establishments accept electronic payments only if your purchase exceeds a certain threshold, or not at all. At times, a friend may wish to borrow a few dollars, but if you do not have cash on hand you would need to make a detour to an ATM in order to loan him the money. Debit cards offer many options and possibilities, but you would throw some of this flexibility away by abandoning paper money. Carrying a debit card precludes the need for carrying large amounts of money, but it’s convenient for you to keep a couple of bills on hand as well. v

Alex Carter—junior No. I would lose the card too easily. There are protections for debit cards, but you could lose a lot of money if you lose it.

How to get a debit card... 1. All debit cards are connected to bank accounts, so you’ll have to get one set up; if you’re a minor, your parents will have to create an account attached to his or her own at a bank that offers minor-parent joint accounts. 2. Your parent should present a driver’s license and social security number, fill out an application, and make a small deposit. Your card should be mailed to your house. You’ll also receive a PIN with the card; you’ll need to enter at stores when making purchases with your card. 3. After this you’ll be free to deposit or withdraw money from your account , although most banks have restrictions on withdrawing or spending too much money in one day; be sure to know your limits.

Jacqueline Tosky—junior Debit cards make things like traveling so much easier. Debit cards eliminate the frustration [of cash].

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Bye Bye Boyfriends, Goodbye Girlfriends Paly students ditch dating for casual hookups Text by ALLISON CHANG Art by YELENA KASIANOVA

t is the night of the homecoming dance, and the house is in disorder as six girls scramble around, putting on dresses and fixing their accessories. As curling irons and fake eyelashes fly about in a flurry, they finish painting their nails and help each other fasten their necklaces. But when it comes time to leave for the dance, one traditional factor is noticeably missing: their dates. In the wake of dances, academic stress, and social networking, dating culture at Palo Alto High School is barely dwindling. Despite the strong sense of community present, Paly students are increasingly reluctant to date and pursue relationships. “It’s the effort,” says Paly senior Vivienne La. “Relationships are a lot of effort, and just hooking up for the VIVIENNE LA most part doesn’t have that pressure or nearly as many consequences.” Many Paly students view “hooking-up” as the dating alternative. The decline of dating as a whole has inevitably led to the rise and destigmatization of these “hook-ups” at Paly. “Dating in high school seems pretty archaic,” says an anonymous Paly sophomore. “Personally, I don’t see the point, especially considering the fact that most high school relationships never last anyway. Hooking up is just a shortcut to getting what you would if you were in a

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relationship while bypassing all the expectations of dating.” As college looms overhead and students look to the future, relationships become less and less practical for high school students. “Relationships are generally for people who are more committed, and hooking up isn’t binding like that,” says Paly junior Youngkuk Lee. “Being in high school, it’s harder to be in a long term relationship because once college starts, it’s hard to keep up.” The rise of student-hosted dances has also played an integral role in shaping students’ perspectives on dating. “Student dances are the best medium for hooking up,” says an anonymous Paly junior. “I know people who go to them just to hook up with someone. There’s no pressure at those dances and you don’t have to try as hard.” Experts have found other reasons for this sharp increase in hookups as well. “Dances have traditionally been structured around mating rituals, from back to a point in time when parents encouraged teens to go on structured dates in order to find the ideal partner,” says Dana Boyd, a Fellow at the Harvard Berkman Center for Internet and Society. “This is not the era in which we live. Parents are no longer encouraging serious relationships in high school; quite the opposite. Teens are no longer treating high school as the

“Just hooking up for the most part doesn’t have that pressure or nearly as many consequences.” —

place to find their future husband or wife.” Boyd concludes that because students are no longer looking to find their lifelong soul mates, they are less inclined to engage in a long term relationship. Paly senior Melissa Steritz, who transferred this year from the Woodlands High School in Houston, Texas elucidates the flip side of teen dating. “At my old school guys would ask girls to hang out one on one over the weekend, so it was sort of a date, but really just for fun,” Steritz says. “Here, I feel like there is really no ‘in between zone’. People are either just ‘hook up buddies’ or in a relationship.” Additionally, sources concede that dating is not only decreasing in the Paly community, but also on a bigger scale. According to the Chicago Tribune, teen dating nationwide has been largely influenced by social networking sites including Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, such that teenagers consider friendship paramount and render dating irrelevant. However, Boyd supports a different claim. “What’s happening is not a radical shift in teen friendship practices,” Boyd says. “It’s about the collapse of an outmoded, outdated mating ritual. It has everything to do with social norms relieving unnecessary pressures. Teens aren’t going date-less

because friendship is suddenly more important. Teens are going date-less because it’s socially acceptable and they haven’t wanted the pressure to date for decades.” Like Boyd, most sources attribute the decline of teen dating to changes in social expectations. “Because it’s not the social norm to take a girl out, guys feel like they can’t do it or they’re going to get talked down to by their friends,” Steritz says. “Guys here feel like they’re going to be tied down if they take a girl on a date, but it really doesn’t have to be like that. It can just be a casual, fun thing, but people here don’t see it that way.” — DANA BOYD Ultimately, a rise in teen dating does not seem promising. By the trends exhibited today, experts conclude it will be difficult to reinforce its significance. “Teens today don’t value dating as much because it’s socially acceptable to have intimate relationships without dating,” says Teravive couples and marriage counselor Jim Smith. As a long standing tradition, dating continues to diminish in the Paly community. “It’s a shame because people could have a lot of fun just going on casual dates,” says Steritz. v

“Teens are going date-less because it’s socially acceptable.”

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: d e k n debu

ide the c e d S R DE A E R ESSAY

Grade

Text by SCOTT KLECKNER Art by AVA DORDI

e have all had the experience of waiting for an essay to be handed back, an eternity for those on the cusp of their desired grade. Once the essay is returned, a student who disagrees with his or her grade may question the grading practices of the teacher. Students are quick to condemn the use of essay readers whom they feel provide inaccurate grades and feedback and are to blame for their unwanted grade. However, students may judge too quickly before they fully understand the roles readers actually play in the grading process. Let’s step back for a moment and understand what essay readers actually do and then judge whether or not our complaining is justified. Sima Thomas, a teacher for Paly’s English department, tells us about what paid essay readers really do. “Readers are official district employees who go through a complete hiring process including marking sample essays,” Thomas says. “After collaborating with the teacher to make sure their standards align [they] will read a set of essays and provide comments. They may suggest a grade, but the teacher determines and writes the final grade on every essay.” Hear that Paly? They’re called essay readers and not essay

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graders for a reason. Although readers may suggest a grade, readers are not graders. Teaches are solely responsible for assigning individual grades. However, contrary to what most students tend to believe, essay readers are actually helping Paly students, as English teacher Julia Taylor explains. “Essay readers help put things in perspective for teachers,” Taylor says. “It’s nice to have another pair of eyes [when reading essays]. Writing is subjective.” However, many students are concerned that readers influence grades too much. Students believe that by readers suggesting grades, teachers are more likely to assign a similar grade. While this may be true, it may not be a bad thing. Readers are helping students by reducing teacher biases and suggesting grades that may benefit students. Besides creating a way to double check grades, readers expedite the grading process so that essays get returned faster and reduce the workload, and therefore stress of teachers. Thomas helps explain the necessity of essay readers when teachers must grade hundreds of essays every semester. “English teachers use readers because with such large class sizes, on a given essay assignment, teachers have at least 100 pages of reading per class,” Thomas says. “With two sections of American Classics, on the Song of Solomon essay for example, I had about 250 pages of essay to grade and provide feedback. Our work hours are not long enough to complete this reading all of the time. Again, readers do not grade essays, but they help the teacher by providing feedback on the essays, which is extremely time consuming.” The fact is that essay readers are not going anywhere and that’s a good thing. As students, we need to wake up and recognize the importance of essay readers. Readers not only benefit students by providing an outside perspective, but also allow teachers to not get buried in hours of reading by expediting the grading process. When you add up the thousands of pages that teachers have to read through each year, having essay readers just makes sense. So Paly, we could write half as many essays or pay to have twice as many English teachers. But until either of those things happen, assigned essay readers are here to stay. v

Julian Assange: Champion of democracy or plain-old terrorist? Text by ALEX LEANIL Art byYELENA KASIANOVA

ounder of the internationally renowned site Wiki-leaks, serve, it would be morally bankrupt, but those arguments miss Julian Assange is claiming credit for ongoing democratic the point. revolutions in the Middle East. Wikileaks, a site that leaks Leaks like this could have prevented events such as the inprivate governmental documents, released diplomatic cables es- vasion of Iraq if the public could have known information that tablishing that the Tunisian government was exceptionally cor- was being communicated behind closed doors, and stilled the rupt, documents Assange claims sparked the Tunisian revolution frenzy of fear mongering post 9/11. But the mass scale of the which led to a domino effect as people in Egypt, then Lebanon, cables did nothing but expose our diplomats and their counterIran, and Yemen began protests. parts from allied nations. The fact is that the government is actWikileaks was founded in 2006, but did not gain its global ing in our interest. Wikileaks did not publish anything “new.” It infamy until late in 2010 when it began releasing a total of over only gave the rest of the world an idea of how we run things. In 250 thousand confidential (but not top secret) diplofact it embarrassed our allies more than us, as it exposed their matic cables to the world’s major news organizaunwillingness to cooperate, and heir occasional obstinacy tions, with an agreement that they would publish when dealing with our foreign relations officers. them on given dates. Julian Assange, founder of The result: now, not only do we know how our govthe Wikileaks project and now one of 8 board ernment conducts business, but so does the rest of the members and leader of over 1200 employees, has world with an internet connection. On top of that, the revolutionized the media industry, and changed government is taking more precautions so that leaks will the world. be impossible in the future, when they could be most Wikileaks’ initial purpose was to reimportant. Also, individuals prepared to leak vilease documents revealing corruption tal security information to the US will be less or human rights abuse in non-demwilling to do so in the future for fear they ocratic states, especially in the Midwill be revealed and persecuted. Just like a dle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, news organization protecting their sourcbut also to publish any leaks from es, the government deserves to be able to other nations that they received protect those who leak them informadocuments from revealing state tion regarding national security. For orsecrets they thought ought to be ganizations to function effectively and publicly known. Within the span smoothly, they need some secrets. That of a few weeks in November 2010, is nothing but the truth. Wikileaks, and Julian Assange as its Copycats have registered domain spokesman were propelled to internanames and begun publishing informational renown when they handed over a tion. Wikileaks released a statement on Nov. carbon copy of the US’ foreign policy to 29 that it has more than 5 gigabytes of inThe New York Times, and other world criminating evidence against Bank of Amernewspapers to be published over a speciica who consequently launched a campaign fied period of time. calling Julian Assange a terrorist threat. The media’s goal should be to bring to Assange turned himself in to the Englight hypocrisy, subterfuge, corruption, and lish police on Dec. 7 of last year when his dishonesty in the government and all manfate was most in question. He is wanted for ner of other public institutions. Many say extradition in both the US, and Sweden, that if a democracy “of the people, for where he is said to have committed sexual the people, by the people” were to with- JULIAN ASSANGE: abuse. However, at present, extradition hold information from those it claims to He’s got the whole world in his hands. seems unlikely. v february

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From Movie Set to Pen

James Franco’s novel provides a different approach to Palo Alto. Text and Photo by CAMILLE COUCHON

ur little Palo Alto community is made up of says Paly junior Emily Dorward “Every story has the same many different types of individuals. We have the guideline. Every story has something weird, then they just go prosperous workers in electronics and we have get high and then have sex” our share of important contributors. When it The “Chinatown” chapter explicitly describes the scene of comes to the Arts, Palo Alto is the birth home a newcomer to Palo Alto being raped and sexually abused mulof the musicians The Donnas and The Grateful Dead. But most tiple times. Yet, is not the dominant image of Palo Alto. Whatimportantly, Palo Alto is made up of average people. And peo- ever sweet image the reader had of Palo Alto before reading this ple have a natural tendency to just sometimes make novel, it completely changes after reading just the first stupid mistakes, as was the case with Palo Alto chapter. High School alumnus and celebrity James Although many have expressed disFranco. gust at these seemingly harmful portrayJames Franco, a Paly student als of Palo Alto, what is unsettling is who graduated in 1996, made it that even these raw and unsettling big in the entertainment induspassages are not as fictitious as try, landing roles of recognition they are called out to be. in productions such as Freaks A current anonymous Paly and Geeks and Spider Man. student whose parent and sibBut even with such talent in lings are portrayed in the book the arts, his abilities in writing speaks to this. seem lacking compared to his “Everybody was angry performance on set. when James Franco wrote this, The stories in James Franthere are things in there that co’s novel Palo Alto are simple and are just community secrets that easy to read. Yet its contents are to should never have been printed,” be questioned. In just simple, bare he says “The names in the book are sentences, James Franco portrays Palo barely twisted, just by a letter someAlto through a set of raw and tainted eyes. times. Those involved in the situations Every community has its share of shame know exactly who is who in the book.” and secrets, rumors and stories. Yet even Although the book might be conBLAST TO THE PAST James Franco so, we rarely come across novels devoted sidered an interesting read, its words writes a novel about his hometown of to letting out their community stories into bash the community of Palo Alto. Those Palo Alto. the publisher’s limelight. who claim it not to be a work of fiction Sex, drugs, hate, and hit and runs span but a set of true stories just barely altered the length of Palo Alto. Its pages are filled with accounts that to grab the reader’s attention. make you widen your eyes and tales that just make you grimace Fame is the result and the key of success. It is not because in disgust. one can act that you can necessarily write a good novel, and that “We had to read a part [of Palo Alto] during writer’s craft” is certainly the case with James Franco’s Palo Alto. v

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PROFILES

CRAZY FOR CARDS WORKING AT THE VILLAGE ALL EYES ON CAIRO PEDALING FOR CHANGE FIELDING A LEGACY AN AIR FORCE EDUCATION COAL, SHEEP HERDING, AND SCHOLASTIC AID PRESS PASS TO HOLLYWOOD

BRUSH WITH FAME Verde talks to actor Alex Pfeyter in “I am Number Four” (pg. 40).

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Crazy for Cards Junior Emma Miller builds a greeting card business in her spare time. Text and Photography by CAROLINE EBINGER

CARD CHAOS Emma Miller showcases her desk, covered in cards and supplies for her greeting card company.

he walks into the room and blushes, embarrassed by the mass of greeting card supplies covering the entire right half of her room. “Here it is,” Palo Alto High School junior Emma Miller says of her bedroom, which doubles as her workspace. The corkboard mounts design inspirations; every inch of her desk is covered by cards, card binders and card supplies. It is a lot to take in. Miller, like most high school students, has a bedroom that reflects her interests. Miller’s interest, however, is original — it is her very own card business, Emma in an Envelope. Getting Started Miller did not always know that she was cut out for the card business, but ever since a young age, she was aware of her interest in design. Miller began her design career with scrap-booking her life’s memories, but during the summer between fifth and sixth grade switched to card-making. In an effort to be like her

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big sister, who had just started babysitting at the time, Miller decided to begin selling her cards in an effort to also make money. Her effort worked. Thanks to the support of her family, but mostly her own initiative, Miller has been able to maintain her card business and keep good track of her finances since fifth grade. “Emma has done her card business mostly on her own, but Paul [Miller’s father] and I are happy to help when needed,” says Miller’s mom, Elaine. This past summer Miller even launched a website, EmmainanEnvelope.com. The site has expanded her customers beyond family friends who had previously only received a flier in the mail once a year. The Cards While each of Miller’s cards is a unique creation, they are all born from a common collection of card designs Miller has been creating since fifth grade. Using a range of materials from metal tags to pages from worn-out books, Miller has eclectic tastes. Her designs are also di-

verse: from everyday cards to special occasion Christmas and Valentine’s Day cards. While the photos on Miller’s website may give a rough idea of what her designs look like, the site is unable to do the cards justice. Each card, costing $3-$4.50 each, is made up of several layers, further evidence of the effort that Miller puts into each card. The Passion Behind the Cards Although her original intent was to earn some extra money, Miller has found that her card business has become one of her favorite activities. “All the things I do are really stressful and I hate competition,” she says. “I noticed that my card business is very calming; I have no one to compete against here — it’s just me and the customers.” Because of her love for designing cards, Miller visits Paper Source, a stationary company, four or five times a week during the summer to buy supplies, and works on her card business every weekend throughout the year — creating cards for custom-

ers as well as thinking of new designs. “My parents have to constantly be telling me to put down my cards,” Miller says. “My mom bought me this big fancy desk for my homework, but it’s covered in card supplies so there’s not enough free space to put a textbook.” On the weekends, when she works on the cards, Miller creates her masterpieces while watching her favorite shows. Miller discovered that card-making during her shows was an efficient use of her time. Over the summer, Miller finished all the episodes of “The Office,” “Arrested Development,” “Psyche,” and “Gilmore Girls” while working on her cards. She cannot, though, envision new designs while watching her shows. Miller says designing cards is all about experimenting. “Sometimes you want big flowers on it, but it just doesn’t fit in the envelope,” she says. Right now she talks about Japanese papers as her “new favorite thing ever.” Despite the significant amount of time each card requires, Miller still enjoys creating every single card. “It’s all about putting it [the card] together — it needs to be aesthetically pleasing as well as functional,” Miller said. She also loves hand-writing, “Handmade by: Emma” on the back of each card as the final touch before she sends them off. The People Miller could tell from the start that her business must be all about her customers, which helps to make her successful. Since 5th grade she has had about the same 10 regular customers, mostly church or family friends. In addition to her close friends, Miller has also done work for some 20-other customers, including GreenQuest Home Solutions, for whom she created 50 wine tags and 50 invitations for an open house. Miller felt honored to

complete her first order to a big business, but this experience also taught her that mass-producing takes more work than it seems, especially because she enjoys giving each card a special something, just for the customer. “I love personalizing cards. It gives the card fabulous character and sets my small business aside from my competitors,” Miller says. The Financial Business It might seem like making cards for money is an easy task, but Miller, like any other business owner, must keep track of her finances. Miller keeps all of her customer receipts and lists of her revenue, expenses, and profit in several notebooks, and her father helps her keep them online. “Emma has learned the basics of running a small business so quickly, and the accounting aspect comes very easily to her,” says Paul Miller, Emma’s dad. “I am so proud of her and all the hard work she has put into making this business thrive.” Miller, with limited help from her dad, uses programs designed for small businesses to manage her finances. Miller’s mom helps mostly with mar-

ing. Miller does not make enough money to pay taxes, which is a “God-send,” as she phrases it. Over the years, Miler has earned an overall total profit of slightly more than $1,000. Miller has such a passion for her business, and is sad that she might need to put it on hold while she attends college. Her mom, for one, believes that Miller will be able to sustain the business. “Emma in an Envelope has evolved over the years, and I expect Emma will continue to grow it,” Miller says about her daughter. “She just really enjoys all the aspects: marketing, selling, and especially making the cards. It’s her [form of ] relaxation in a way.” Despite her decision about the future of Emma in an Envelope, one thing is certain for Miller: She strongly encourages other high school students to start their own businesses, just not, she jokes, in the greeting card industry. She has enough competitors already. v

ket-

he t [ t i ing t t u p e b t u o t o s b a ed l l e a n t i s ’ t “I — as r l l e e h t w e s g a o t g ] n i d s r a a c le p y l l a c ti aesthe l.” na o i t c n fu

ILL MMA M

IOR E — JUN

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Working at the Village Three Town & Country employees share their stories about working in the lively shopping center across the street from Paly. Text, photography, and art by EMILY KELLISON-LINN

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NOAH HIKEN

•

OWNER, VILLAGE CHEESE HOUSE

oah Hiken is no stranger to Town & Country Village. Hiken remembers how when he was a Paly student, he would cross the street for lunch at Town & Country, which was just as popular then as it is today. The Cheese House, under its original owners, was one of his favorite spots for lunch. Hiken easily recalls his favorite Cheese House sandwich as a teenager: pastrami old-fashioned on a sourdough roll. Hiken grew up in Palo Alto, and graduated Paly in the class of 1984. He even played on the football team alongside s the grandson of the original Cheese House owner. While still at Paly, he began working at John’s Market, a local market occupying the building where CVS Pharmacy now resides. After graduating, Hiken worked at Whole Foods for a decade before returning to school to earn his teaching credentials. He then taught elementary school for many years, until receiving a call in 2007 from the new owners of Town & Country. They asked him to take over ownership of the Cheese House, as the original owners were retiring. One of the mall owners knew of Hiken’s long-time experience with food and thought he would be an excellent owner for the Cheese House. “They wanted somebody local,” Hiken says. “They wanted to keep it in the community.” Hiken was thrilled to have a chance to put his years of food experience to use by running a store that he had visited himself as a teen. “I said yes,” Hiken says. Hiken and his wife, Sarah, took over the business in 2007, remodeled it, and held their grand re-opening in April 2008. “I really couldn’t have done it without Sarah,” Hiken says. “She has a background in accounting, so she takes care of the business side of things.” Hiken is quick to point out the new additions to the sandwich menu, including avocado, sprouts, and honey mustard. Ultimately, however, Hiken’s tongue still craves the sandwich he enjoyed many years ago as a Paly teenager. “I still go for the pastrami old-fashioned on a sourdough roll,” Hiken

KERRY REY

• T&C’S MAIL CARRIER

erry Rey has been delivering mail for 25 years. Two of those years have been spent at Town & Country, where she wheels her mail cart around every day, walks into each shop, and greets the owners with a warm smile before handing them their mail. “The best part of delivering here [at Town & Country] is that you get to know the people,” Rey says. “Sometimes, it’s not too busy, and you can walk in and chat.” When the post office was reorganizing their routes two years ago, Rey saw an opportunity. “I was unhappy with my current route, and this [route including Town & Country] was one of the routes that was available, so because of my seniority, I was able to get this assignment,” Rey says. So far, she loves it. Knowing all of the owners personally, she finds it hard to choose a favorite store in the shopping center, but she is particularly fascinated by the old coins offered by The Coin Broker. “And, of course, Trader Joe’s,” Rey says. “I go there almost every day.” Her experience with Paly students at Town & Country has been positive. “For the most part, they [the students] are all well-behaved,” Rey says. While she is not delivering mail to Town & Country store owners, Rey enjoys riding her bike, and she also loves movies. Forrest Gump is at the top of her list.

ERIC PETERSEN • MANAGER, BOOKS INC.

ric Petersen loves books. His love for books is exactly what led him to become the manager of Books Inc., Town & Country’s own independent bookstore. One of Petersen’s first jobs out of high school was working for Kepler’s Books in Mountain View, and he has been working for bookstores ever since. He has worked for Books Inc. for over five years, and became manager of the Town & Country location when they first opened their doors here three years ago. At Books Inc., Petersen keeps inventory, supervises the staff, and handles “pretty much everything that happens in the store,” Petersen says. “I like the people here,” Petersen says. “I like talking to people about books.” Petersen enjoys all genres of fiction, though he tends to gravitate towards science fiction. His favorite book is Exley, a psychological adventure story about a young boy’s quest to find his father. As manager, Petersen sees a large cross-section of Paly students pass through his store each day. “There are the kids ditching class, just hanging out reading magazines,” Petersen says. “Then there are the people actually looking for books, which is nice. And there are kids hanging out after school.” Whatever their reasons for entering, Petersen always appreciates the dynamic that students bring to the store. “It’s nice to have some people with more energy than the usual bookstore crowd,” Petersen says. v february

[ PROFILES ]

All Eyes on Cairo For one Paly student, the Egyptian revolution hits close to home Text and photography by EMILY KELLISON-LINN and MAYTAL MARK

W IN THE NEWS Mansour’s family has had to adapt to the recent turmoil in Cairo, Egypt

hen Paly sophomore Adam Mansour watches videos of Egyptian protests on the BBC, he sees more than just animated crowds of activists — he sees an eerily familiar backdrop of Cairo streets and buildings where he has visited his family. “I just can’t imagine it with all the people,” Mansour says. Both sides of Mansour’s family live in Egypt, including his grandmother, uncles, and their families, who also live in Cairo. Although most were not actively involved with the protests, he says that every member of his family has been affected by the instability in the capital. “The first few days

of the protests, there were looters going around Cairo, and it was a much more violent setting because people were angrier,” Mansour says. Most of the protests took place away from his family’s neighborhood, but the effects have rippled through the entire city. “For the most part, they [my relatives] hadn’t left the house at the beginning of the protests, but they’ve been able to return to work recently,” Mansour says. “The schools are all still closed because many of the teachers can’t get to the school.” “They are staying safe by having their block barricaded and staying in their apartment building,” Mansour says. “My younger cousins have been playing on their balcony most of the day and they stay home. They [my uncles] live in the same apartment building, so they can stay with each other most of the time.” Despite the dangerous situation, citizens in Mansour’s family’s neighborhood have banded together at the height of the protests to help protect each other.

Verbatim: Paly speaks about President Mubarak’s resignation “It’s good that people have democracy, but it also causes more chaos in the Middle East, which is not necessarily a good thing right now.” — Zoe Greene, junior

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“The military can’t stay in power forever, so they’re going to need to elect someone. I hope it’s someone who isn’t a radical, is secular, and will uphold the treaty with Israel.” — Matthew Slipper, junior

“Now it’s much more peaceful, and citizens are helping each other out, giving out food and water, and picking up trash.” —sophomore ADAM MANSOUR “There are neighborhood watches where they set up barricades and check IDs,” Mansour says. “Now it’s much more peaceful and citizens are helping each other out, giving out food and water, and picking up trash.” As an outside observer with inside connections to Egypt, Mansour was still shocked when the protests exploded into action. “I knew he [Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak] was disliked and that the country needed help, but did not expect such an uprising,” Mansour says. As the uprising continued, Mansour found himself mostly in support of the protesters. He remains proud of the largely nonviolent nature of the protests, and supports the activists’ bid for democracy. “The protests have been handled well by citizens, and in the beginning the military was really good at staying neutral and directing people,” Mansour says. Mansour receives most of his news coverage of the Egypt events from the BBC, watching it through a special cable package and sometimes catching an hour or so on KQED. His parents, he says, have stayed up late into the night watching news videos of the revolution taking

“As an Israeli, I think that the Egyptian people kept their promise to us [Israel], so I think that they should have the right to decide who should be the president.” — Dar Shavit, junior

place in their birth country. Following Mubarak’s resignation, Mansour is excited at the success of the protesters and hopeful for Egypt. He believes that the military and Mubarak’s cabinet must lead the country in an orderly transition to a new government. “There will be those who want to fill the power vacuum, but no one should be all-powerful … [for more than] a year or so, when the country is ready for an election,” Mansour says. He is strongly opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic political group, receiving any power in the new government, citing the majority of Egypt’s opposition to the group’s radical beliefs. Before Mubarak’s resignation, Mansour wished to see more active US involvement in support of the protesters, but now he simply wishes for continuous, hands-off involvement from the US. “The US should keep its distance, but offer support to the country in any state,” Mansour says. Mansour believes that American media coverage of the protests has been fair and comprehensive. “It [the media coverage] has been fairly representative of what we’re hearing from Egypt,” Mansour says. v

“It’s up to them to sort things out, but it is really interesting to see a population motivate like that. It shows you what can be done with social online networks as the fuel. ” — Steve Foug, teacher

Fearing for Family Freshman Zachariah Rizk is another Paly student with family in Egypt. Like Mansour, he fears for his relatives’ safety, but they are currently unharmed. “They’re safe, which is good,” Rizk says. “We told them to stay off the streets because we don’t want them injured.” Rizk describes reports of the scene in Egypt that he has received from his family. “They’ve been stuck there and they can’t really go out, because when you go out you either get mugged ... get caught and stuck in the protests, or ... get trapped by the police officers,” Rizk says. Both sides of Rizk’s family live in an area of the country known as New Egypt — a more modern area that is near the President’s house. Rizk condemns the attacks on journalists in Cairo: “That [The series of attacks on journalists] makes us, Egyptians, look bad, because it looks like ‘Oh, we don’t want this getting out,’ but of course we want it to get to the world and show that this is not okay, what’s going on.”

“I think people do not understand that Mubarak was not a tyrannical leader. Obama wanted him to step down immediately, which I think is completely ridiculous.” — Kfir Dolev, junior

february

[ PROFILES ]

Pedaling for Change A local hero revolutionizes biking in Palo Alto Text by EMILY EFLAND and EMMA TUCHER Photography by EMILY EFLAND

TRADITION Ellen Fletcher has campaigned to make Palo Alto more environmentally friendly for 40 years.

or the first 10 years of her life, Palo Alto resident Ellen Fletcher lived in Berlin, where she never even saw a bicycle. When World War II broke out, however, Fletcher was transferred by the Kindertransport, a non-profit organization to carry child holocaust survivors out of Nazi-controlled areas, to Hull, England. It was in England, where petrol was rationed for the war effort, that Fletcher first rode a bicycle, unaware that it was a vehicle she would become actively involved in promoting in Palo Alto many years later. Fletcher, who has campaigned to make Palo Alto more bike-friendly for 40 years, has done so through her positions in local organizations as well as alone as an active Palo Alto citizen. Recently, she has played an important role in drumming up enough support from community members to make Palo Alto bike-accessible enough to earn

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a rating of Platinum, the highest bicyclefriendly rating given by the League of American Bicyclists to U.S. cities. Palo Alto currently has a Gold rating. Fletcher’s bike advocacy began when she volunteered to be a “Safety Chair” for Fairmeadow Elementary School, where her son was a student. She campaigned to earn bike lanes on Cowper Street to ensure a safe route for Fairmeadow students to bike to school. Along the way, Fletcher was appointed to be a Parent Teacher Association council safety representative to the Palo Alto Bicycle Advisory Committee. Soon after, Fletcher was inspired to further her impact on biking in Palo Alto by joining the City Council. When she proposed a bike and pedestrian bridge to be constructed on Wilkey Way, the City Council reversed the previous staff recommendation and voted, 9-0, in favor of constructing the bridge. However, Fletcher was unsatisfied with the coun-

cil’s changes to biking policies essential for her bridge plan. “When it [my proposal] went to the council, the council members weakened those policies,” Fletcher says. “It was then that I decided to run for council.” After winning a seat, Fletcher served on the city council for three four-year terms. Through her efforts to promote biking, Fletcher has taught many about the importance of environmentally friendly transportation. Stanford professor Paul Goldstein first met Fletcher when she was lobbying for a traffic signal on Bryant and Embarcadero in order to aid bikers crossing Embarcadero from the Bryant Street Bike Boulevard. At that time, the bike path was not yet named the “Ellen Fletcher Bike Boulevard” — the City Council resolved to name the bike boulevard after Fletcher in 2000 in honor of her many contributions to facilitating biking in Palo Alto.

“We worked together to get the bicycle path by the railroad tracks completed, and get the bridge over Embarcadero built,” Goldstein says. Goldstein admires Fletcher’s determination to the causes she fights for, paired with her kindness and courtesy. “My best experience was probably watching her convince the City Council to continue the railroad bike path project, even though city staff had recommended killing it because it was too problematic,” Goldstein says. Palo Alto resident Richard Swent met Fletcher in the early 1980s when Fletcher was vice mayor of Palo Alto and fired the starting gun for a bike race on California Avenue. “Our paths crossed many other times because we share similar goals and interests and often attend the same [Palo Alto Bicycle Advisory Committee] meetings,” Swent says.

According to Swent, many Palo Alto residents often speak to him about Fletcher’s influence on their decision to change their transportation methods. “I remember biking home from a city council meeting one night about three years ago, and talking with a young man who had parked his bike next to mine and was going the same way that I was at the same time,” Swent says. “We chatted a bit about the meeting and as we passed the sign for the Ellen Fletcher Bicycle Boulevard, he told me that she was the one who inspired him to start biking for transportation instead of driving. I have heard from many other people who have said similar things.” Apart from lobbying for city-wide bike consciousness, Fletcher has impressively decreased her own carbon footprint through biking. Fletcher says she never has to visit a gas station to fill her car’s gas tank more than once a year. In 2009, she did not visit a gas station at all. Although a battle with lung cancer in 2008 has limited her long-distance biking, she continues to use her bicycle as her main mode of transportation. According to Fletcher, she rides an average of 50 miles per week. “I bike for errands and wherever I need to go locally — I rode to the Redwood City DMV not too long ago to renew my drivers license and on occasion ride to Sunnyvale,” Fletcher says. “But in years past I could ride to the coast, often rode to meetings in San Jose, and have ridden to San Francisco and back.” Looking back on her many accomplishments, Fletcher can pick out a few she is most proud of. Her favorites include the bike boulevard named after her, and the bike parking requirements for new developments that she helped establish in 1998. Fletcher cites the program for bikes on Caltrain as her most cherished success. “The bikes on Caltrain program now

In 2009, Fletcher did not visit a gas station once.

LOCAL HERO Fletcher’s story has been an inspiration to many a local biker.

DEVOTED RIDER The Ellen Fletcher Bike Boulevard is one of Fletcher’s favorite biking routes.

carries up to 80 bikes on many of the runs,” Fletcher says. “Not that I’m responsible for that large number, but I initiated lobbying for bikes on the trains in 1977 when the line was still owned and operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad and was finally successful with four bikes per train in 1992.” Now in 2011, Fletcher has been biking for 72 years. She says she considers herself retired from activism, although she remains an informed and supportive member of the biking community. “I occasionally lobby at the Planning Commission and/or the City Council for proposals initiated by others, and do some volunteering for the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition,” Fletcher says. Even though she claims to be retired, her efforts in the Palo Alto community will last for many years. “She has motivated and inspired many people by the example she sets,” Swent says. v february

[ PROFILES ]

Fielding a Legacy

A non-profit foundation’s quest to empower East Palo Alto youth through sports opportunities Text by ELISE BRUGUERA Photography by JACQUELINE FRIDUSS

“

ack 10! Back 10!” yells Frank Merrill as he walks up and down the sideline of his grandson’s rugby game, waving his neon yellow and red referee’s flag. Merrill sports a maroon T-shirt, shorts, and a black cap that reads “police” in capital letters. This cap is a sobering reference to his step-son, Richard May, an East Palo Alto police officer who was shot and killed five years ago. In response, Merrill and his family began a founda-

tion to remember and continue May’s legacy. In honor of the fallen officer, the Rich May Foundation aims to guide East Palo Alto youth to a better future by providing them with opportunities to succeed, mainly through sports. The foundation is already working to build a turf field to assist sports programs. The story of the field began on Jan. 7, 2006, when East Palo Alto Police officer Richard May lost his life while on duty. Alberto Alvarez, a 22-year-old gang member, was sentenced to death for killing May in early 2010. Officer May had lived his life for youth, according to his sister, Tami McMillan, a Palo Alto High School graduate of 1987. “Every part of his adult life had to do with helping kids,” she says. May worked as part of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program and taught criminology course at a high school, according to McMillan. He volunteered to tutor at a teenage girls home,

BEFORE THE MAKEOVER The Rich May Foundation will build a sports complex on this undeveloped lot behind the St. Francis Church of Asissi in East Palo Alto to give field space to various sports programs in need, including soccer and rugby teams.

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and he would go back to check on youth after they had been arrested, all on his own time, according to McMillan. She says he did not tell his family about these efforts and they only heard about them after he had died, when members of the community came forward to share their stories. May’s family formed the Rich May Foundation in his honor about a month after he was killed. Frank Merrill, May’s step father, is the president of the non-profit organization’s board, which includes both family members and friends seeking to make a difference in the community. “The main goal of the foundation is to make what happened in East Palo Alto that day [when May was killed] never happen again,” he says. Clarice Merrill, May’s mother and a board member for the foundation, says the goal is to give youth opportunities to lead them away from gangs. “The guy that killed him [May] was 22 years old,” she says. “Clearly he had gone down the wrong path.” To correct that path for East Palo Alto youth,

the foundation promotes youth sports by giving grants to summer camps, buying sports jerseys, and paying for tournament fees, Frank Merrill says. In August of 2007, the foundation paid an East Palo Alto youth’s way to a rugby camp, and he ended up being selected for the national team in his age group and traveling around the world, according to Clarice Merrill. However, the foundation’s main project right now is building a sports field, located on a plot of land donated by and adjacent to the St. Francis of Church of Assisi. The church has been involved with the foundation’s cause since the night of May’s death, when a priest walked over to the site of the shooting and voluntarily administered last rites. “[It was] just out of the goodness of his heart,” McMillan says. A family friend, Les DeWitt, happened to sit on the church’s board, and the church quickly joined the Rich May Foundation’s cause. The church happened to own an empty lot and made arrangements to donate it to the foundation for development. Thus, the idea for the Rich May Memorial Field was born. “These kids in East Palo Alto don’t

have a regulation field, they honestly don’t have much of anything to occupy their time and the parents are working several jobs,” says Dana Cappiello, who serves on the foundation’s board. “This field will be a very important aspect for enriching their lives.” Equally important are the organizations that the foundation is helping by building this field. “It’s really important for us not to create a new program,” McMillan says. “We just want to support the programs that exist.” The field will benefit current sports programs that lack field space, including rugby, soccer and football programs. Because the lot was slightly too narrow to accommodate a full-sized field, the foundation negotiated a deal with the Ravenswood School District to contribute strip of school land adjacent to the church lot. The foundation will get the strip of land and parking space at the Cesar Chavez school in exchange for allowing the middle school to access the field during the school day, according to Sam Sinnott, the pro-bono architect who is designing the field and also serves on the foundation board. The foundation plans to begin building this year, according to McMillan. “A building permit is required that reviews the very detailed specifics of the field, gate, restrooms, office, lighting and parking designs from a life safety perspec-

tive,” Sinnott says. “Those documents are not ready yet and will take at least four months to produce. That production hinges on fundraising.” The foundation plans to fundraise about $3 million to pay for the field’s construction and set up an endowment to cover upkeep costs, says Clarice Merrill. By building this field for the East Palo Alto community, the Rich May Foundation hopes to create a lasting legacy. “This field is Rich’s permanent contribution to the youth of East Palo Alto,” Sinnott says. The foundation aims to boost self esteem and opportunities for youth in East Palo Alto with this field. “The field would give them such complete pride,” McMillan says. She wants to strengthen and unite the community through sports instead of seeing kids resort to gangs, she says. “We can’t change the world,” Frank Merrill says. “We can change one neighborhood, we can change one kid. We can make a difference with these kids, one kid at a time.” East Palo Alto Police Chief Ron Davis has faith that the foundation will make this difference. “It [the Rich May Foundation] stands for kids, it stands for the future, and it stands for how we should act as a community,” he says. v

HOW TO DONATE Contact Frank Merrill at ffmmjrdvm@sbcglobal.net or click “Donate” on the Rich May Foundation Website: http://richmayfoundation.org february

David T. Constant, D.D.S. Victor Leong, D.D.S. Orthodontics for Adults and Children 2875 MiddleďŹ eld Road Palo Alto, California 94306 (650) 321-7066 (650) 327-5069 FAX 36

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An Air Force Education A Paly junior explores the Air Force through her local cadet program Text by MARGARET KADIFA and ELIZABETH SILVA Photography by JACQUELINE FRIDUSS

alo Alto High school junior Eve Higgins has already sat in the front row at a Palo Alto air show, flown an airplane and juggled rifles because she is a cadet in the civil air patrol. Four years ago, Higgins joined the Jon E. Kramer Composite Squadron 10 in a cadet training program in the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the United States Air Force. Squadron 10 is one of ten such squadrons in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. After seeing the Civil Air Patrol at the 2007 Palo Alto Air Show, Higgins decided to join. She became immersed because of her love of flying and the unique and focused environment. “The people there are different from here,” Higgins says. “They are conservative. It’s just a different perspective.” The program focuses on educating middle and high school students not only in aviation, but also “leadership training, physical fitness, and moral education” according to the gocivilairpatrol. com, the Civil Air Patrol web site. “You learn how to fly a little bit and you get a military style environment,” Higgins says. “Every Tuesday night there are meetings and on weekends there are activities like air shows you can go to.” Activities in the meetings include lessons in moral leadership and physical training and at air shows, members get front row seats for the events in exchange for performing duties such as crowd control, according to Higgins. After four years, Higgins is now color guard

commander and first sergeant of her squadron as well as only one of two girls out of the fifteen cadets. “[As first sergeant] I make sure that they [the new cadets] have their uniforms and obey people,” Higgins says. “I heard from the boys that nobody expects the girls so be so ferocious, so when you yell, everybody stands up right,” Higgins jokes. Higgins also plans on getting a pilot’s license in the near future. However, she says the best part of her program are the other activities. Higgins now staffs a nine-day training program called Encampment. “It’s really hard core,” Higgins says. “You yell your heart out. You let your anger out, honestly, even though you’re not supposed to say that.” Higgins intends to continue participating in the Civil Air Patrol until she graduates from high school. After that, her plans are still uncertain. “I might do ROTC [Reserve Officers’ Training Corps],” Higgins says. “I’m leaning towards Air Force. I am still deciding if I want to be in the Marines, Air Force, or just a civilian psychologist,” Higgins laughs. Higgins credits the Civil Air Patrol as integral in her plans to pursue the Air Force as a career. “It [The Civil Air Patrol] inspired me,” Higgins says. “It gave me more insight and education.” Higgins emphasizes that there is still more to learn, even after graduation. “There’s always more to do.” Higgins says. “There’s no limit. You can still learn a lot.” v february

[ PROFILE ]

Coal, Sheep Herding, and Scholastic Aid:

Freddy Kellison-Linn

SchoolTool

reddy Kellison-Linn is one of several Paly students who have created applications for smartphones. Linn has worked on several projects for the iPhone, but has only put one major project on the iTunes app store. His app, called SchoolTool, is an app designed to provide assistance to students. “It’s an app that has various tools for reference to help with school, such as a periodic table or a quadratic equation solver,” Linn says. SchoolTool is doing very well on the iTunes store. “We just got it in the store a month or two ago, and we’ve gotten around 150 downloads since then,” Linn says. “Our free version has gotten 600 downloads in under a month, and it’s on its way to 1000 downloads.” The free and paying versions of the

apps have a few differences. “The free version lacks a tool that has a searchable list of all the presidents as well as a bunch of info on them. It doesn’t have a tool that gives the name and chemical composition for many common organic and inorganic compounds and a tool that solves for the sides of special and right triangles,” Linn says. The decision to put SchoolTool on the app store was already made for Linn once the app was ready. “From the very beginning we wanted to put an app on the app store but for a couple reasons our last app had failed so we wanted to follow through,” Linn says. “It’s only $99 to be able to post apps to the store, but we already made that investment back, so anything from here is profit.”

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Max Grusky

ax Grusky has also developed apps for the iPhone. Grusky’s app resume consists of TouchHerd, iHue, and iRand. TouchHerd is an app in which the user herds sheep. “For each level you get one extra sheep. Your job is to herd them all into a small, circular pen somewhere on the screen. You herd them by tapping near them with your finger,” Grusky says. The sheep will respond to the user’s touch in a similar way to real sheep. “They start moving away like a person (or dog) is standing there. It sounds easy, but the sheep never actually stop moving. If they fall off the screen, they die and you lose them,” Grusky says. Along with TouchHerd, Grusky has created iHue, an app in which the player is required to duplicate a given color us-

Meeting with some of Paly’s app Developers By JACKSON MILEY

hey’re mingling among you. You wouldn’t know one if you saw one. They work in near secrecy on abstract projects. They are Palo Alto High School’s smartphone application developers.

TouchHerd, iHue, iRand ing different color sliders on the iPhone screen. “You get 60 seconds to match as many colors as you can,” Grusky says. iRand is a random value generator. It can generate random numbers, names, and even adjectives. “This was at the time I was writing a play for Theatre and I realized that I had a hard time coming up with character names. So I added that on,” Grusky says. “I added random adjectives for a similar reason.” Grusky has not put his apps up for download on iTunes. “It’s mostly because of the $99 [it takes to become an Apple developer]. I might in the future,” Grusky says. “I was going to post TouchHerd, but before I did it someone else made an app just like it.”

Kfir Dolev

Coal, Hangman

fir Dolev is another developer. Dolev’s design platform is not Apple’s iPhone, however. It is Google’s Android. Dolev has developed a joke app called coal as well as a game called Hangman. According to Dolev, Coal is an app which displays a picture of coal when opened and which possesses no real functionality. “Coal is a joke app that shows a picture of coal and that inspired a whole line of coal products, not all of which are useless,” Dolev says. Dolev has also worked on Hangman. “I worked on it with Max Grusky. I think you have a good idea of what it does,” Dolev says. Unlike the Mac App store, it only costs $25 to publish apps onto Android, a price which Dolev was willing to pay to

publish his apps. “When I realized I needed an account I just paid $25 and I was in,” Dolev says. “The Android market is much cheaper than the iPhone market.” v

The Apps: SchoolTool: Available for download on the Mac App store for free or 99¢. TouchHerd: Not yet available for download on the Mac App store. Coal and Hangman: Available for download on Android. Both are available for free. february

[ FEATURES ]

Press Pass To Hollywood The actors of “I Am Number Four” share about acting, life, and In’n’Out Burger Text by JESSICA MADEJ and ELIZABETH SILVA Photograpy by JESSICA MADEJ

hat do you get when you have an alien, a lizard, a photographer, and a sharkfaced man? You get the movie “I Am Number Four,” a story about an alien named John Smith who has to fight for the survival of his kind while fighting to keep his love, Sarah Harte, alive. Throw in a lizard that morphes into a large alien dog, the shark-faced villains, and a race against time, and you have got yourself a science fiction movie from DreamWorks Studios, directed by D.J. Caruso, that hit theaters on Feb. 18. Diana Agron, who plays Sarah Harte, is a Burlingame High School alumnus and a star on the TV show “Glee.” She plays the love interest of John Smith, who is played by British, model-turned-actor, Alex Pettyfer. Verde reporters, Elizabeth Silva and Jessica Madej (V), had the opportunity to meet both actors at a press event on Jan. 29, in Tanforan Mall. During a red-carpet style interview, Pettyfer (AP) discussed the movie, life as an actor, and food with us. It is important to visualize Pettyfer

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HELPING HANDS Actors Diana Agron and speaking in a British accent. V: Welcome to America. What would you say is the best thing about America? AP: In’n’Out Burger. I am obsessed about it. V: So you are in this movie about aliens. AP: I’m in this movie? V: Well, I think you are. AP: This is my twin brother [he said as he pointed to the movie poster], he just could not come tonight. V: I am very disappointed. So, do you believe in aliens? V: I believe that I am an alien in your country and I kind of use alien as this vast word. If you are an alien, you are an outsider but it is ok, to be different. I try not to use it as an extraterrestrial definition. V: But do you believe in extraterrestrials? AP: Do I? I guess so. V: Do you think that aliens would be as nice as your kind in the movie? AP: Am I nice in the movie? I think I’m nice. Thank you. V: In the movie, you guys can only

have one true love. Do you believe in that in real life? AP: I believe there is one true love. I think it’s very romantic. V: So would you call yourself a romantic person or not? AP: I am a romantic person. My one true love is my dog. V: What type of dog is it? AP: I got six dogs. I have to spread the... V: The love? AP: I have to spread the love. I just got a new puppy. V: What type? AP: It is like a pitbull. V: Oh, those are cute. AP: They are great dogs, they are very loyal. I also have a miniature French poodle. V: What is your favorite tattoo and what is the meaning behind it. AP: I do have tattoos. but... there’s seven? One, two, three, four, five. Six or seven, I can’t remember. They are all very special to me. I got to keep the meaning to them myself. V: How much fame would you like to achieve?

Agron

Alex Pettyfer autographs “I Am Number Four” posters for fans at the store Hot Topic. AP: I do not want to be famous, I just want to do movies and hope people enjoy them. V: What about privacy issues? With fans busting into your life? AP: I’m just going to have to build like an underground house and live in it, and hide away. V: What was the best day of your life? AP: I value everyday of my life. I think the best day of my life was when I discovered In-N-Out Burger. During the same event at Hot Topic in Tanforan Mall, we also spoke to Actres Diana Agron (DA). V: Diana, why don’t you tell us what this movie is about? DA: You’ve got themes of “Outsiders,” “Rebel Without a Cause,” “Breakfast Club,” those kids that they’ve found their place but its not the most usual place They team together and you’ve got John and Sarah, Sarah being my character, who have found each other towards the end of their high school experience and have this very honest and open and very unusual relationship and ... she realizes that he’s

not exactly the most average guy in many ways and then they have to go on this adventure and she has to summon this courage up ... they have this really special relationship and they go on this wonderful ride V: So do you believe in aliens? DA: I think that there is so much that we don’t know and why doubt anything to be impossible. There are so many things that are unexplained naturally and you know just feelings that you have spiritually. So, I would not say no. V: Do you believe in a one true love, as Pettyfer’s character does? DA: I take away that all our relationships in America with people and things, are so disposable. It’s broken, throw it away. My point to that is that if something is meaningful, it might not be smooth sailing all the time, but if it really means something to you put in as much work as there needs to be. V: What advice would you give to a high schooler who wants to be an actor? DA: I would have done it for no money, as I did for many years, and for all the money in the world . You have to realize that every job has its upsides and

its downsides. V: What are some down sides to being an actor? DA: The downsides are sometimes the hours. I mean I got off work this morning, slept two hours, and got on a plane. But it never matters, because you know it’s not going to happen every Saturday and yeah, sometimes you have to challenge yourself a little more because it’s not a conventional, nine-to-five, job. You’re not always going to be in the same location, sometimes you get lost, especially when you are on a movie. There are lots of location sets, and if your driving yourself, following this map, am I going to get there or am I not. It is a job that really keeps you on your toes. But beautiful opportunities to meet interesting people and travel the world, and explore so much of our planet. It sounds crazy. There you have it: one actor who gives short and sweet answers, and one actor who has a lot to say about life. We left the two actors to their work, autographing posters. Fans got the actor’s autograph, while we got their story. v february

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THE WATCH MOVIE EDITION

The Oscars Predictions and musings. Text by ZACHARY STANTON-SAVITZ and ALEX LENAIL Art by YELENA KASIANOVA

BEST PICTURE Black Swan Last year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences chose to present 10 nominations as opposed to the usual five in this category. It chose

The Fighter to do so again this year. Among those pictures there are many strong contenders, and a couple that don’t quite fit. “The Social Network,” from direc-

Inception tor David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin, seemed to be the best choice for obvious reasons. Recently however, “The King’s Speech” has become fa-

The Kids Are All Right vored to win, after having won numerous awards at ceremonies including

the Director’s Guild Awards. Both movies are well-crafted pieces, but “The

The King’s Speech Social Network” is more deserving of the win. It is more original, and every within the film exists to underscore its themes. Everyone involved 127 Hours element turns in an excellent performance, including but definitely not limited to

The Social Network Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg. The film is the story of Marc ZuckerToy Story 3 True Grit Winter’s Bone j

berg’s rise as the founder of Facebook, and it details the collateral effects his ascension provoked. The veracity of the story has been disputed, but the film is more an exploration of ambition and a critique of contemporary social issues than a historical account. “The King’s Speech” and Coen Brother’s western “True Grit” come close to but don’t quite achieve the same level of excellence as “The Social Network”.

BEST DIRECTOR

Darren Aronofsky Black Swan The five directors nominated for a Best Director Oscar have all directed excellent, well-crafted films, but none can quite compare to Fincher’s con-

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen True Grit trolled direction in “The Social Network.” Having taken charge of every conceivable element, Fincher created a consistent and stylish piece of cinema.

David Fincher The Social Network His distinct style is present, but not overbearing; it supports the substance rather than distracting from it. It would not, however, be a tragedy if any of

Tom Hooper The King’s Speech the other nominated directors won: Darren Aronofsy is a strong visual di-

rector, which is apparent in his “Black Swan.” The Coen brothers show their

David O. Russell The Fighter consistently strong filmmaking with “True Grit.” “The Fighter” is wonderfully kinetic and raw thanks to David O. Russel’s talented directing.

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THE SOCIAL NETWORK Justin Timberlake (left), who plays Facebook investor Sean Parker, converses with Best Actor nominated Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The film has earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

BEST LEADING ACTOR

BEST LEADING ACTRESS

other can be a difficult process. This year, the Academy will have to compare Jeff Bridges’ in the role of a gruff U.S. marshall complete with an eye-patch and an authentic Western accent, with Jesse Eisenberg’s incredible impersonation of Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg and James Franco’s stunning rendition of a man trapped in a crevice in “127 hours.” Colin Firth however emerges a class above them all in his miraculous portrayal of King George VI’s interactions with an unconventional speech therapist to overcome the King’s crippling speech impediment. His acting is fantastic, and his stutter is so convincing you forget he doesn’t have one. Firth deserves this award because he put his all into it, and it shows.

Natalie Portman is the most likely to win the Oscar for Best Actress. She plays a psychologically agonized ballerina in Darren Aronofsky’s thriller, “Black Swan.” Her acting strength varies from scene to scene, but she pulls off the role well, convincingly falling into insanity. Jennifer Lawrence’s acting as a young woman looking for her father in the meth-addled Ozarks is impressive, but as the youngest contender, she is less likely to win. Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole” and Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine” have earned acclaim for their roles as women facing emotional strain. Portman’s acting is not flawless, but her role was far more demanding than the others on this list, a fact that will factor positively into her chances at winning.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Amy Adams The Fighter | Helena Bonham Carter The King’s Speech | Melissa Leo The Fighter | Hailee Steinfeld True Grit | Jacki Weaver Animal Kingdom

Christian Bale The Fighter | John Hawkes Winter’s Bone | Jeremy Renner The Town | Mark Ruffalo The Kids Are All Right | Geoffrey Rush The King’s Speech

Hailee Steinfeld’s performance in “True Grit” is impressive, as the role involves heavy dialogue — and combined with the fact that she is only 14, unbelievable. She definitely holds her own against Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges. Steinfeld plays a daring, precocious young girl seeking revenge for her father’s murder, in this western featuring Jeff Bridges (also nominated for best actor for the same film), and Matt Damon. If she is given the Oscar, she will be the third youngest person to ever win an Oscar. Win or not, a nomination at age 14 is a notable achievement. This young actress has a very bright future.

Christian Bale has received commendation for his performance in “The Fighter” as the former boxer and cocaine-addicted brother of Mark Wahlberg’s character. His performance has been considered by some a comeback, by others a simple reminder that Bale is a serious and talented actor, capable of being more than just an action star. Here, he proves that he is capable of nuanced performances and creating sympathetic characters. Bale’s performance is admirable, and he will likely win. John Hawkes as the uncle of a girl looking for her father in “Winter’s Bone” is comparable, and very underrated.

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BLACK SWAN Best Actress nominee Natalie Portman (right) as ballerina Nina Sayers talks to the ballet director, played by Vincent Cassel. The film has been nominated for four other Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

John Powell How to Train Your Dragon | Hans Zimmer Inception | Alexandre Desplat The King’s Speech | A.R. Rahman 127 Hours | Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross The Social Network All of the musical scores nominated for this award are excellent in their own right. There is no clear winner among the group, however, the score in “The Social Network” does something new and different. Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor and musician Atticus Ross created a score that was unlike anything we have seen in movies. The industrial-electronic score — with its blips and distortions (unusual sounds for movie scores) — always fits the scenes. The music is noticeable, yet never distracting; it enhances the mood, but never becomes emotionally manipulative. It would not be a disappointment however if any one of the other composers nominated won this award, as they are all deserving. The heavily processed orchestral sounds in “Inception” are excellent for example.

BEST DOCUMENTARY

VERDE’S PICKS Best Picture Best Director Best Leading Actor Best Leading Actress Best Supporting Actress Best Supporting Actor

The King’s Speech David Fincher Colin Firth Jennifer Lawrence Hailee Steinfeld Christian Bale

Best Original Score

Inception

Best Documentary

Inside Job

Best Visual Effects

Inception

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Exit through the Gift Shop | Gasland | Inside Job Restrepo | Waste Land

Alice in Wonderland | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 | Hereafter | Inception | In this category, the widely acclaimed documentary “Inside Iron Man 2 Job,” narrated by Matt Damon, about the corporate fraud committed by banks causing the financial collapse of 2008, will face up against the recently released, homemade underdog, “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” about internationally renowned graffiti artists. Although “Inside Job” is well-crafted, and has a polished, professional feel, “Exit Through the Gift Shop” takes the audience on an amazing ride, as it redefines the thin line between vandalism and art. The central character is fascinating, the art is thought-provoking and memorable, and the film just works. Not only does this film have a good chance at winning the award, it deserves it more than any other.

The visual effects category was added to the Oscars as early as 1928. However this category has become increasingly relevant in a time in which movies are now sometimes made entirely by computers. Of the nominated films, “Inception,” a film about Don Cobb’s (Leonardo DiCaprio’s) journey into other’s dreams, is by far the best choice. It is the most technically accomplished film, and it should be able to sweep up numerous awards like this one. From the zero gravity battle scene to the infamous city-bending in the dream world, this film integrates the special effects so seamlessly as to blur the line between real and unreal, which, after all, is the point. v

february

Recent and Upcoming Text by ZACHARY STANTON-SAVITZ, MAX COHEN and EMMA TUCHER

MOVIES ANTICIPATED IN 2011 The Tree of Life In the last 35 years or so, Terrence Malick has produced only four films. Each of his films — ponderous, beautifully shot and deeply contemplative — is loved by cinephiles and most critics (although one common criticism is of his tendency to create pieces that seem unfocused or overlong). This year, he is coming out with the long-awaited “The Tree of Life.” The trailer, with its beautiful naturalistic cinematography, and its vaguely philosophical voice-over, is token Malick, enough to get any fan excited. The film is about a man named Jack, and it follows his journey through life from his time as a child in the Midwest, to his adulthood, where among other things, he has to deal with the consequences of his childhood. “The Tree of Life” opens on May 27. Super 8 The recent Super Bowl spot for “Super 8” was jaw dropping. The film is produced by Steven Spielberg, whose influence is clear. The film looks very much like a throwback to his earlier classics “E.T.” and “The Goonies” with bolstered special effects, typical of director J.J. Abrams. The film focuses on a group of kids who accidentally catch footage of a creature arising from the wreckage of a train, while making a movie. “Super 8” comes out on June 10. X-Men: First Class Director Matthew Vaughn has only directed three films. Each of the movies — gangster film “Layer Cake,” fantasy flick “Stardust” and comic book adaptation “KickAss” — was well-received upon release, which may please fans of the X-Men franchise. Many are looking forward to “X-Men: First Class.” The film will begin with the inception of The X-Men, and will explore the origin of some of the characters, focusing primarily on magnetic field-generating Magneto and telepathic Professor X. X-Men: First Class” will be released June 3.

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TELEVISION PERFECT COUPLES NBC’s new “Modern Family” knock-off details the lives of three hilariously dysfunctional “perfect” couples. It airs on Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. as part of NBC’s comedy night including Community, “The Office,” “Parks and Recreations,” and “30 Rock.” Nerdy, type-A funny girl Olivia Munn really brings the comedy with her uptight, controlling character and her funny one-liners. “Perfect Couples” gives “Modern Family” a run for its money with funny quips, and hilariously awkward situations.

FOOD CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD On any given day you can find Verde staffers perusing the Trader Joe’s isles and coming to the right, healthy lunch decision. Trader Joe’s Chinese chicken salads make perfect lunches for those craving healthy, delicious and cheap ($3.99) Asian food.

MUSIC THE STROKES After much anticipation, the Strokes are releasing a brand new album, featuring 10 new songs according to Spin.com. The album, Angles, will come out on March 22, five years after the band’s last album was released. To get people excited for the new album, the band released one of the tracks, “Under Cover of Darkness” on Feb. 11. The single will please any Strokes fan. It’s a solid song with interesting guitar riffs and strong vocals. Although the tune will satisfy the typical Strokes fan, critics of the Strokes might complain that it does not sound like anything new. Still, it feels great to hear some new material from the Strokes after the long hiatus. As for the overall sound and characteristic of the album, Spin.com says that it will sound similar to the most recent Strokes album, “First Impressions of Earth,” which featured catchy songs, but failed to achieve the same fame as the Strokes’ other albums like “Is This It?” and “Room on Fire.” Currently, the Strokes have been making appearances at music festivals such as Outside Lands and Lollapalooza, and they also plan to appear at Coachella. v

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Life on

C The

Names in this article have been changed to protect students’ identities. aul fishes out a cigarette from the small pouch in his backpack before kicking a pebble to the street below. His friend Matt looks into the cardboard Calafia salad bowl on his lap, fork in hand, not noticing when Paul lights up a Marlboro and sits down on the curb next to him. The smoke drifts into Matt’s face as he chews his lunch. It’s fifth period and the curb appears unusually vacant today. Paul and Matt sit a few feet away from a lone junior whom neither can identify, his oversized backpack sliding down his back, legs folded against the hill that descends towards Embarcadero Road. In this small strip of plant-lined concrete that bridges the Town and Country Village Shopping Center and the Embarcadero overpass path, a small yet widely recognized alternative subculture finds its natural home. It is composed of a wide net of Palo Alto High School students — some regulars, some occasional visitors — who are there to “just chill”, according

to one of its regular members. Around campus, they have been stamped with the moniker “curb kids.” Verde came here to investigate. Over two months, we assembled information from dozens of interviews and hours of observation. Most of the time, we encountered frank openness from curb kids, though we have chosen to maintain their anonymity. At other times, we faced hostility from some curb kids preferred to remain away from the spotlight. This article is Verde’s best effort to share a world that many Paly students know only in a transitory way, and that some don’t know at all. “Yeah, we call it the curb,” Paul nodded, the cigarette still hanging from his fingers. He takes another puff before flicking the butt away into the Trader Joe’s parking lot. He says he knows about 90 percent of the students there by name, the other 10 percent by sight. Paul and Matt usually come during their prep periods, when the group dwindles to only a few lingerers, though after school the crowd can swell to upwards of twenty students. The vast majority of the curb kids

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Text by GADI COHEN Photography by JACQUELINE FRIDUSS

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In a generation struggli define itself, a Paly subc finds a community it can be are Paly students. During class time they blend into the crowd — “normal” students taking “normal” classes, one of them says. But current Paly students are not the only ones who belong to the curb community. Almost every day, Paly graduates come to visit their old friends at the curb — sometimes from Foothill or De Anza community colleges, sometimes from other colleges. Most are still enmeshed in the curb’s web of friends; at least one current freshman at Foothill College is romantically involved with a current Paly student. The two sit on the curb smoking, kissing, talking — “hanging out,” the 2010 graduate says.

t’s Jan. 24 — the Monday after finals — and the curb kids have just gotten out of their seventh period class. A Paly alumnus from the class of 1984 passes by them with a joint in his right hand, wearing a frayed, faded-green sun hat with patches of cloth flaking off; his beard, brown and wiry, hangs against

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“Do any of you guys have a knife?” a girl who had just swung her backpack to the edge of the sidewalk asks the group. “I didn’t bring mine today,” two of them answer in unison. They giggle. his shirt along with a wedge of straight, graying hair. The man says he was simply walking back from the pharmacy when he decided to stop by the curb and smoke with the current students. “Some of my yearbook photos are still up in the Tower Building,” he says before lifting the joint to his lips. “When I was here the curb didn’t exist yet. We

hung out at the track — it was the alternative smoking section. People usually smoked in the girls’ locker room, but we didn’t.” After offering to light a girl’s cigarette with his glossy red lighter and briefly exchanging friendly greetings with some of the current Paly students, the man walks away. “No, we don’t know who he is,” one of the curb kids says. “People would be surprised — a lot of homeless people come here to smoke.” As the man wanders off across the Embarcadero overpass, the group continues their conversation. “Do any of you guys have a knife?” asks a girl who had just swung her backpack to the edge of the sidewalk. “I didn’t bring mine today,” two of them answer in unison. They giggle. The three girls who had just joined the curb are not regulars. They stand a few feet away from the curb kids; one of them is smoking a cigarette. After a few min-

ggling to ubculture n belong to. utes, they walk back towards Paly. “We’re open to new people,” says Thomas, a senior who has been hanging out at the curb since freshman year. “If you come here, of course, at first it’s awkward. But within a week it’s not awkward at all. Unless if you’re too shy to talk. We’re all talkative people.” “And we eat a lot,” another one says.

ddiction is another character on the curb, widespread and central to the subculture’s structure. Tobacco seems to pervade every aspect of the group’s social interactions. Some days after school, the students assemble into an improvised circle, each of them with backpack still strapped on, some of them standing clumsily with hands in their pockets as they watch their friends smoke. Like the curb, cigarettes serve as an escape — a source of relaxation, of involvement, of community: On the curb, no one judges you any differently when you pull out a cigarette than if you were to

pull out your phone. They spit often — clogged throats pitching into guttural croaks just before they spit out bullets of phlegm. Students rarely smoke marijuana at the curb, but when they do it is almost never in cigarette form — “blunt” or “joint,” in the modern American teenager jargon — even though spent half-blunts pepper the curb, together with cigarette butts. The curb kids bring their pipes to school with them in case of an “emergency,” according to Thomas. “If it’s right before class and you’re just, like, you need it for the class, then you come here,” Thomas says. Jane, another curb kid, agrees. She says that when “it’s getting so bad at school” that she has difficulty enduring her classes, she smokes marijuana at the curb. During class, she says she sometimes zones out or falls asleep from the effects of the drug. According to Jane, some students sometimes steal eye drops from CVS to clean their eyes out from the bloodshot

side effect of using marijuana. One student was even caught stealing the eye drops by CVS employees. Other than tobacco or marijuana and the occasional sip of alcohol, hard drugs are not consumed at the curb, most curb kids say.

nce a month, according to the curb kids, a police car drives up to the edge of the parking lot and turns on its closed-circuit camera. “They want to record us smoking pot or selling or something,” one of the curb kids said. “But we always run away towards the school when we see them coming.” Students rarely receive citations from the police or undergo administrative punishment for their activities at the curb, though Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson says that the administration is working to respond to curb kids’ illegal activities. “Students [at the curb] have been disciplined for breaking the rules,” Berkson says, “whether it’s for smoking, doing february

“W

e were sitting there and some girls were smoking marijuana out of an apple. Then a man who we thought was just a regular person walked by and went inside the Trader Joe’s. When he came out he went to his car, went inside, then got out wearing a police jacket and saying, ‘Don’t you f---ing move.’

”

drugs, the possession of drugs, or for not being in class when they should be.” According to Berkson, administrators frequently drive through the Town and Country parking lot to observe the students and ensure that they “aren’t doing things they’re not supposed to.” “We’re responsible for them,” he says. “I just talked with an 18-year-old the other day and he asked me why he still can’t smoke — but it doesn’t matter, because he’s still in school. It’s a legal concern, a concern for their well-being — it’s everything.” Curb kids who smoke on the curb say they are not violating school laws, regardless of their violations of the state law that prohibits minors from smoking cigarettes. The 2010-2011 Student Handbook prohibits tobacco use only on school property, defined by the Handbook as “extend[ing] across the street on all sides [of ] Alma, Churchill, El Camino Real, and Embarcadero.” Maybe that explains why most of the teachers who pass the curb are “chill” about the students’ consumption of tobacco and marijuana, according to a curb kid; some teachers even greet them as they walk by. “There are teachers though that come here and are like, ‘You can’t be doing that!’” Thomas says. “But then we just hide it behind our backs and are all like, ‘I can’t be doing what?’” Paly’s Student Activities Director Kindel Launer says that she has interacted

Trader Joe’s

La cas

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SHOWING OFF A curb kid’s bong and pipe, which he uses before classes. with the curb kids at least ten times. One of those interactions involved an episode of “verbal aggression”; other times, Launer says she witnessed “some discomfort on the part of passersby.” “My perception is that [students at the curb] don’t feel connected to the larger part of the school,” she says. “As a teacher and as a parent, it strikes me that they feel alienated. And it affects the entire community too.” The legal presence on campus says it takes student smoking seriously. Paly’s School Resource Officer Nannelle Newbom frequently walks along the bike path

Ca lTr ain ike b r Pa u C e th h T d Roa o r ade c r a Emb

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Paly English Building 50

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in plain clothes to monitor the curb kids, though she says that the curb kids usually suspect that she is not a regular passer-by. “I make a point to be easily identifiable as a cop,” Newbom said. “I’d rather people see me coming and drop the cigarette, but be visibly present to be able to act more quickly for a safety-related matter.” Although Jane’s encounter with a plain-clothed police officer didn’t leave her with a citation, it convinced her never to go to the curb after school again. “We were sitting there and some girls were smoking marijuana out of an apple,” she says. “Then a man who we thought was just a regular person walked by and went inside the Trader Joe’s. When he came out he went to his car, went inside, then got out wearing a police jacket and saying, ‘Don’t you f---ing move. “I was so scared, like we were gonna die,” she adds. “But he just warned us, took the apple and the weed and left.” Trader Joe’s Supervisor Tiffany Bradley says that the curb kids have not caused any trouble with customers, though she adds that the grocery store had clashed with one of the students over stolen merchandise. “We thought he was maybe stealing and told him he can’t come here anymore,” Bradley says. “But we talked to him and sorted it out.”

“They just stay over there, not wanting to be seen,” she adds, just as two curb kids walk into the store and down the closest aisle. hen they arrive at Paly as freshmen, most future curb kids already have their own clique, their own set of friends — separate from the curb, and usually unaware of its school-wide notoriety. But from the moment that they start to accompany the curb kids, these new students realize that the curb offers them a way of life not shared by their other Paly friends. “We’re like ‘The Outsiders’,” Thomas says — and the other curb kids snicker. “No, it’s true! We’re all friends here, now. You can tell the difference [between curb kids and other Paly students.] Here, no one cares about what happened before — there’s no ‘drama’ at the curb.” Like Thomas, Jane refers to the curb as a “community”. To her, the curb represents a group that is completely separated from her usual circle of friends. “You know how there are cliques at Paly?” she says. “With the curb, each person from a different clique hangs out at the curb. They don’t even know where I’m going when I leave to smoke at the curb,” she adds, referring to her non-curb friends. “We’re all here to get away from the Paly bubble,” Thomas says. “They [most Paly students] are like jocks

who cry if they don’t get an Audi for their 16th birthday. Some of us [curb kids] are also rich, but we’re not showy about it. That’s the difference.”

onday, Jan. 3: The bell has rung. Paul and Matt rise from the curb and start walking towards class. Behind them they leave Paul’s cigarette on the asphalt, a piece of lettuce that had tumbled from Logan’s salad and the long sliver of bare concrete that is the curb. Yet to the curb kids, the curb isn’t just another slab of cement. It’s a philosophy, and an anchor. Here, they express who they are without hesitation, without fear of rebuke; this is where they’re able to remove the layers of stress with which their home and school lives have robed them. “We all have a need to be connected to something meaningful,” explains Shirley Guich, one of Paly’s school psychologists. “Even though their behavior might be maladaptive, it’s still providing something that they’re needing.” “It’s where we can just be ourselves,” Thomas says. Cars churning underneath them, today’s gathering of curb kids dissipates into an empty sidewalk. Quiet follows. In these moments of stillness, this sidewalk becomes no more than an afterthought to the bustling Town and Country parking lot that lies only feet away. v

>>> A DAY IN A LIFE Students’ backpacks lie against the curb in the afternoon, together with a skateboard and a textbook.

<<< LOWER LEFT: ADDRESS The curb lies on Lucas Lane, a small strip of sidewalk that branches off from the Embarcadero Bike Path into the Trader Joe’s parking lot. february

FEATURES

photography by sonali sastry

FRIENDS OF FERALS BRINGING ANATOLIA HOME PLAYING WITHOUT FIRE JUST FOR KIDS EUROVISION! A BOOKLOVER’S GUIDE TRUE LIFE: I’M A LION CUB

ANATOLIAN KITCHEN Head chef Sahan Tekdemnr rolls out the lavash bread.

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Friends of Ferals Stray cats find homes in the Bay Area Text and Photography by CAROLINE EBINGER

ic, a cat of about 10 feral cat population. years, lives happily in In addition to helping the the yard of the Haver- community, adopting a feral cat stocks, a Palo Alto can be the perfect solution for High School family. people who are animal lovHe does not come inside, but enjoys his ers but have severe allergies or outdoor freedom. Mic is spotted black family members with severe allerand white with a pink nose and golden gies, or for those whose parents do eyes. He loves to ‘talk’ and has never lost not want the hassle of owning a pet. his childhood nip. “He comes over to chat There are many foundations dedicatwith me and if we stand out front he usu- ed to rescuing these cats and turning them ally comes out,” owner Mary Haverstock into household pets in the Bay Area alone. says. He is loyal to Mary, who feeds him Paly sophomore Mason Haverstock’s daily, and loves rubbing against legs. family adopted Mic from the Bay Area’s Mic is one of 56 feral cats that were Humanimal Connection. Since then, the rescued at a San Jose racetrack years ago. business has grown immensely. Each HuThe word “feral” manimal Connecgenerally does not tion cat is neutered, have a positive convaccinated and notation; however, micro-chipped, enferal simply means suring the health born and raised in of each cat and enthe wild with little suring the cats will or no human connot parent future tact. If a feral cat homeless cats. is rescued and can“As a no-kill, not be somewhat not-for-profit, voltamed, it is neuunteer-run organitered and sent back zation, the Huminto the wild. If it — sophomore MASON HAVERSTOCK animal Connection can be tamed, it is is dedicated to adput up for adoption as an indoor pet, out- dressing the unmet needs of the cat popudoor pet, mouser or ratter. Mic’s sister was lation by connecting humans and animals adopted as a ratter for singer Neil Young. together,” the Humanimal Connection The number of feral cats is growing in website states. the Bay Area and around the world, and The Haverstock family adopted their with it, the number of organizations de- feral cat because they could not adopt an voted to finding a home for them. Because indoor cat due to the severe allergies of a non-neutered female cat can birth a lit- Tom Haverstock, Mason’s father. Mary, ter three to four times a year, according to Mason’s mother, had waited since she the Homeless Cat Network, neutering is married Tom to find an opportunity such a very important part of controlling the as Humanimal Connection. The Haver-

“I’ve met some ... feral cats and they’re all really, really nice.”

stock family learned about adopting feral cats after seeing an advertisement in the newspaper. “There was an ad in the paper, and I love cats so much, but Tom is allergic, and all of a sudden in the local paper I see a[n ad for] home[s] needed for outdoor cats, and I was like ‘What?’ I right away called and she invited me to her house,” says Mary of their Humanimal Connection experience. Although Humanimal Connection had countless cats at their house, when the Haverstocks visited, Mic was the only cat ready to be adopted. Though he was ready earliest, he still bites and scratches regularly. Mary, though, considers his behavior a blessing in disguise. “If he was a cat that wanted to sit on your lap and have you hold him and purr and come around, Tom’s so allergic that I would have to take that sweater off before I went into the house,” Mary says. Because of Mic’s less than heartwarming attitude, Mason does not particularly like Mic, but he does not have the same issue with other ferals. “I’ve met some of her [Mary’s friend’s] feral cats and they’re all really, really nice,” he says. In order to acclimate a feral cat to its new home, the cat must live outside in a cage for at least a month. This was a very difficult task for the Haverstocks, as it is for many feral cat owners, because Mic meowed constantly. Despite these obstacles, Mary is glad she adopted Mic. Even though she wishes he was one of the nicer feral cats, she emphasizes one point: “He works for our family,” Mary says. v february

[ FEATURES ]

Bringing Anatolia Home

Where customers are guests and coworkers are family.

Text by SONALI SASTRY and CAMILLE VON KAENEL Photography by SONALI SASTRY and MANON VON KAENEL

“It’s hard for us, really, to come to a country where you can’t speak English and there isn’t your type of food.” — DINO TEKDEMIR, owner of

xpertly handling the lavash bread dough, Anatolian Kitchen’s head chef Sahan Tekdemir smiles and welcomes customers from behind the counter. While diners lean back against decorated pillows, instrumental music mixes with their chatting to fill the dimly-lit and narrow restaurant. Waiters busy themselves serving food and checking in on customers. It is all about the service here, according to Dino Tekdemir, owner of Anatolian Kitchen. Brothers Dino and Sahan opened the restaurant at the previous location of Oaxacan Kitchen on Birch Street, near California Avenue, in October of last year. They hoped to introduce the flavors of Anatolia, in Eastern Turkey, to Palo Alto. The heartwarming story of Dino’s journey to creating Anatolian Kitchen is even more gratifying than the distinguished

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Anatolian Kitchen taste of Mediterranean food. Arriving in America from Turkey a couple months before Sept. 11, 2001, Dino worked for three years doing janitor work at a restaurant in San Francisco and struggled to adapt to the foreign culture. “When I first came here I could not eat anything. Just bread, tomato, feta cheese, onion, lettuce,” he says. “I couldn’t really find a restaurant or food from my country. There were Mediterranean restaurants, but it was still not really what I wanted.” Despite these obstacles, Tekdemir was determined to learn English, taking a night course at a community college before returning to work at the kitchen until very late at night. “I was taking my teacher out to lunch, to dinner, all the time just to talk,” he says. “That was forcing me to talk, because you have got to talk over dinner. In six months

I learned English just like that.” It seems fitting that he learned English over food. His vision of meals as a bond between diners, an exploration of different cultures and a reminder of home has motivated him to continue working hard to eventually share his own culinary heritage with others. In fact, his mother and his childhood memories have inspired many of the elements that now make Anatolian Kitchen special. “Every morning when I woke up, I saw my mom,” he says. “She was always baking a lot of lavash bread, morning and afternoon.” Back then, Tekdemir’s mother baked the bread for a large family of ten people; now, a friend from his home city bakes the bread for customers in the morning and the afternoon. Baked right in front of diners at the bar, the bread is guaranteed fresh, warm and a perfect complement for

CLOCKWISE (from top left): Anatolian Kitchen serves freshly-made baklava; head chef Sahan Tekdemir rolls out lavash bread; the combo plate is a mixture of Anatolian’s unique dishes. OPPOSITE PAGE: Tekdemir shows off plates and shoes from his hometown, an example of Anatolian’s traditional decor. the rich hummus. The sense of family is bigger than just homemade recipes; just as Dino grew up treating all guests like family, he is determined to treat both his customers and coworkers as part of his extended family. “We don’t call customers customers. We call them guests,” Dino says. “All the people who come to work with us, we consider them as family. We are all together at lunchtime, dinner time, we sit together and eat together; like at home, everybody is at the table.” Having his brother as head chef ensures the homemade quality of the food. From the baklava to the tzatziki, all food items are made completely from scratch. “Every other day, we are buying our fresh vegetables from the market,” Dino says. “It’s very important in the restaurant business to buy fresh vegetables, like [those] from my mom’s garden.”

Sahan, who came to America four years ago, has already developed a specialty for Turkish, Italian and Kurdish food. “People like our food, really they do,” he says proudly. “This week’s special is going to be lamb shank.” The meat, slowly and tenderly prepared in the kitchen is one of the best assets of restaurant’s food. Though Dino wishes his mother’s fresh vegetable garden and helpful guidance nearby, he reflects on his journey to America and up the ranks of the restaurant business with satisfaction. “I understand people who come from other countries,” he said. “When I do something, I always look to where I come from and I never get lost.” He especially supports education for immigrants because he received none. This generosity and enthusiasm characterizes the restaurant.

“The people who work for me, they take money to their families, to their kids — that also makes me happy,” he says. “I’m glad to create opportunity for other people, not just me. I’m proud of myself. v

Verde’s Views Food: Ambiance: Service: Prices: $ $ $ Our Recommendations: -Combo Appetizer -Adena Kebab -Donner Wrap -Baklava

2323 Birch Street Palo Alto, CA 94306 650 853 9700 www.anatoliankitchenpaloalto.com february

[ PHOTO ESSAY]

Playing Without Fire

Paly students learn emergency response skills through the fire departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Explorer Program Text and Photography by JACQUELINE FRIDUSS

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he Palo Alto Fire Department Explorer Program teaches First Aid training and fundamental firefighting skills to volunteers, ages 14 through 18. Thirty-five students, including thirteen Palo Alto High School students, participate in the program. According to director, Shayne Yarbrough, the Explorers are the first line of medical assistance at local events including the Chili Cook-Off, the Moonlight Run, and local bike races. The program is divided into a beginning and an advanced group, each which meets about three times a month. At one of the advanced groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent meetings, on Feb. 6, the students learned to carry, set up, and climb different types of ladders. And Verde was there.

TOP RIGHT: A firefighter demonstrates how to climb down from a 24-foot ladder. TOP LEFT CORNER: Director Shayne Yarbrough greets Paly sophomore Miles Kool. FAR LEFT: Paly senior Justin Youngyunpipatkul listens to instructions. LEFT: A firefighter teaches Paly sophomores, Justin Zhang and Miles Kool, how to use an attic ladder. ABOVE: Zhang carries a 12-foot ladder. BOTTOM RIGHT: Fire Station #6 at Stanford University, where the Explorers meet. MIDDLE RIGHT: Junior Justin Grey and senior Elise Oh, both Paly students, look up. february

[ FEATURES ]

Not Just for Kids

Reviewing Young Justice, a cartoon about teenage superheroes Text and art by AVA DORDI

N Kid Flash

Superboy

o longer are superheroes limited to the confines of printed pictures and words. Today, movies like The Dark Knight have become well-known among comic book fans and non-fans alike. Other superhero films such as Green Lantern and Thor are poised to become successful blockbusters in the summer of 2011. Unfortunately, TV shows like Young Justice, a Cartoon Network series which officially premiered on Jan. 7th, 2011, are not nearly as popular. Animated shows such as this one are rarely known to those outside of the comic book fanbase. Many people believe that animated shows target only to children, but this show disproves that assumption. In fact, Young Justice is specifically targeted towards teenagers, according to show writer Franco Aureliani in an interview with Comic Book Resources. Here’s why you should give it a shot. The first two episodes of Young Justice aired early on Nov. 26, 2010 as a preview for what was to come in January. They introduced the Justice League, a team of superheroes like Batman and Superman, but the League is not the stars of the show. Instead, the superheroes’ teenage sidekicks are the focus of Young Justice. The sidekicks, tired of being overshadowed by their mentors in the Justice League, form their own teenage superhero team and fight crime together. The young sidekicks Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Artemis, Miss Martian and Superboy are set to be the six leads for season one. Those who want

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Artemis

to see interaction between the teenagers and the older Justice League, however, will not be disappointed. The adult Justice League members Red Tornado and Batman in particular can be expected to play significant roles in future episodes, based on the pilot. The show’s tone has a good balance between comedy and drama, which is a reflection of the creators’ professed appeal to an older audience. Several funny lines delivered by Kid Flash are balanced by some serious teenage angst by Superboy and Speedy in the first few episodes. The series’ introduction of a multie p i s o d e story arc also appeals SUPERBOY to an older GLARES Superboy, audience, as a main character on it adds some the show, has been depth and constantly grumpy complexity to for the majority of the a show that

Robin

could quite easily fall back into a mere “adventure of the week” TV series without any continuity. So far the creators have introduced a captivating storyline so that older fans can anxiously wait for the next episode to air. The voice acting is also decent. Jason Spisak captures the lighthearted essence of Kid Flash well. Interestingly, Nolan North plays both Superman and his clone Superboy, but manages to keep each voice distinct from the other. Not every character in the pilot was perfect. Green Arrow’s sidekick Speedy was perhaps the most irritating character in the first episode, whining and complaining for most of his screen time and doing little to advance the plot. Luckily, he has had minimal screentime this season. Unlike Teen Titans, another teenage superhero show that ran for three years beginning in 2003, Young Justice noticeably aims for an older audience with more mature storylines. The first few episodes of Young Justice do a very good job introducing the personalities of the characters and the relationships between them. The seeds of a season-long story arc are planted well in this extremely promising series. A high school audience may easily enjoy this show, as it is filled with all the drama, comedy, sexual tension and explosions that a teenager needs. Bored on a Friday night? Turn on Cartoon Network at 7 p.m. and give Young Justice a chance. It might surprise you. v

Eurovision! Overseas singing competition gains momentum Text by MIRA KHANNA Art by YELENA KASIANOVA

right lights, millions of viewers, and a stage dominated by powerful voices. While this may sound like a common episode of “American Idol,” it is in fact the Eurovision Song Contest. ESC has been broadcasted on television every year since its creation in 1956 and is one of the longest-running television shows in the world, according to the official Eurovision website. Although it is one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world, with an average of 125 million viewers tuning in each year, it appears to be relatively unknown to students in Palo Alto. Contestants from more than 50 countries participate in ESC by submitting a song that they then perform on television. Representatives of each country cast votes to determine the winning song. However, before they can get to the final round, there are numerous elimination rounds including the competition within each country to select a singer, composer, and song. Forty-seven countries are participating in the contest this year. It is possible to view both the elimination rounds and entire contest on the European Broadcast-

IN IT TO WIN IT 2009 Eurovision winner Alexander Rybak from Norway hosted the finals of the contest last year in Oslo, and 2010 winner Lena Meyer-Sandrut will host it this year on May 14. ing Union, which is broadcast across the world, or through live streaming available from Eurovision’s website. http://www. eurovision.tv/page/dusseldorf-2011 Most entries in the contest vary greatly in their quality. From cheesy, overdramatic performances to passionate, moving melodies, it is a great way to see some of the other styles of music that different countries provide. All of the songs are original; from sparkly pop numbers to soulful ballads, Eurovision presents a wide variety of genres. Rather than all simply stemming from one location, the mix of so many cultures allows one to better appreciate the many nuances in European culture. While most people are unfamiliar with some of the latest winners, such as Lena Meyer-Sandrut of Germany or Alexander Rybak of Norway, they may know some famous past contestants such as Celine Dion and Abba, who began

their careers through Eurovision. Composers such as Andrew Lloyd Weber have also contributed to the song-writing process for several competitions. In 2007, Marija Serifovic won with her ballad “Molitva,” which was the first song in 10 years to have won that was not sung in English. Other standout performances include Estonia’s 2009 performance of Ranjiand, a euphonic combination of string quartets and smooth Estonian, and Alexander Rybak’s lively 2009 performance of “Fairytale.” Each year, the final round of Eurovision is hosted in one of the cities of the previous year’s winner home country. This year, it will be in Düsseldorf after MeyerLandrut won in 2010 with her song “Satellite.” Meyer-Landrut also decided to try and defend her title in her home country — a feat which only two people have ever done in the history of the contest. v februrary

[ FEATURES ]

A Book-lover’s Guide

Independent bookstores offer quirky experience Text and Photography by MAYTAL MARK Art by YELENA KASIANOVA

f you ask any book lover, they’ll tell you the best part of living in the Palo Alto area is the independent bookstores. While Borders or Books Inc. will always have the latest books at decent prices, chains have never been able to truly tap that “xfactor” that makes independent bookstores so warm and inviting. Because independent bookstores tend to hide in the nooks and crannies of downtown areas, Verde has compiled a list of Palo Alto and Mountain View’s better independent book stores and rated each based on ambiance, selection and affordability. Bell’s Books 536 Emerson Street Ambiance 5/5 Selection 3/5 Affordability 3/5 Overall 3.5/5

BOOK WORM Bell’s Books has floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with books.

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Located off University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto, Bell’s Books is a vintage book lover’s dream. With more than 500 subject areas, Bell’s stocks used, new and antique books. As an independent book store, Bell’s doesn’t always stock the most recently released books very often, but they do stock slightly older books in new condition. Though small, the store gives a homey and welcoming vibe. The store is certain to charm all, with slightly creaky floorboards and comfortable, old-fashioned furniture. The general selection is fairly expansive, as they carry both old and new books from a broad range of years. Depending on the condition and the type of book, price can range from $5 to upwards of

friendly and helpful owner, though the layout of the store tends to be confusing, as labels and signs are limited and the shelves form a labyrinth inside the store. Know Knew Books’ strong suit is science fiction, with shelves stretching across the store, yet it lacks selection in other categories. The best deal at Know Knew Books is certainly the option to trade in exchange for store credit. The pricing of the actual books is reasonable but on the high side, depending on the condition of the book. To counteract this, Know Knew books often has store-wide sales. Good for the adventurous reader, Know Knew Books certainly has an eclectic selection that caters to a wide range of interests. BookBuyers 317 Castro Street BOOK NOOK Kepler’s Books ‘ kids section is filled with toys and corners to sit and read. Kepler’s Books 1010 El Camino Real Ambiance 5/5 Selection 5/5 Affordability 3/5 Overall 4.5/5 Kepler’s Books lies in the middle of Menlo Park’s downtown shopping center. To the newcomer, Kepler’s looks like a chain bookstore, but its unique feel separates it from other independent bookstores. Kepler’s appeals to both children and adults with a range of books for all interests. Although it does not carry used or antique books, Kepler’s is well-stocked, often offering the same new releases as chains like Borders. With a friendly and helpful staff, Kepler’s is the perfect place to spend an afternoon reading. The staff has even taken the time to write personalized recommendations for books they enjoy themselves. Because it is not a chain, Kepler’s prices can be slightly higher than the average independent bookstore, but overall, the store is very popular. Several years ago, it was shut down, but supporters from both Mountain View and Palo Alto petitioned and succeeded in reopening the store.

Ambiance 3.5/5 Selection 5/5 Affordability 4/5 Overall 4/5 In the heart of downtown Castro Street, surrounded by Thai restaurants and clothing boutiques, sits BookBuyers: a wellstocked and diverse book store. Not only does the store sell books but happily purchases used books from volunteers and then resells them to customers. The store is crowded with shelves but manages to stay impressively organized, with the exception of bags of donated books that have yet to be shelved. Most impressive is BookBuyers’ wealth of books in many genres. BookBuyers has a genre for everyone, from cooking and home-keeping to sci-fi and the molecular sciences. Prices for books can be difficult to predict, but stay fairly reasonable, from $2 to $15, depending on the size, condition and popularity of the book. Overall, BookBuyers proves to be an effective buyer and seller of used books, as well as other ephemera, including eclectic calendars, DVDs, and CDs. v

Know Knew Books 415 South California Avenue Ambiance 4.5/5 Selection 3/5 Affordability 3/5 Overall 3.5/5 Know Knew Books, a cleverly titled independent bookstore that means what it states, is located on California Avenue. Know Knew Books is mostly stocked with books that supporters bring in and trade for other used books. The store has a very

BOOK CROOK Know Knew Books’ mystery section features a mock murder scene. february

[TRUE LIFE ]

True Life: I’m a lion cub

Amy Chau’s controversial article spurs growling, purring and hopping

Text by ANABEL HOMNACK Art by AVA DORDI

s I listen to my Mom, discussing summer plans, I can only think about how happy I am that she is not a tiger mom — the controlling, domineering and authoritiarian type of mother Amy Chau presents in her book, “The Battle Hymn of The Tiger Mother.” In my opinion there are also Lion and Bunny Rabbit types of parenting. Amy Chua’s book has critics outraged over her opinions on proper parenting technique. On Jan. 8, in The Wall Street Journal, Chua published an article titled “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior,” containing excerpts from Chau’s book describing her efforts to enforce strict “Chinese” type parenting on her daughters. According to an interview with Chua on “Nightline,” Chinese “Tiger” parenting is about being “assertive and uncompromising about high expectations.” From the moment children are born, parents begin asking the essential question: What is the best way to parent a child? As I suggested above, child rearing can be grouped into three animal styles: tiger, lion and bunny rabbit. In high school, I have become more aware of how different parenting styles can influence my peers’ lives. Some “tiger” parents have very strict rules with little or no flexibility, while other “bunny” parents let their kids take charge of the rules. Most parents seem to behave in a “lion” like way--protective and caring, but generally willing to let their “cubs” roam free. Some styles are known to be more effective than others when it comes to discipline and encouraging a child to suceed. As a young child my parents used “tiger” parenting techniques. When I did something wrong there was no discussion, and my parents put me in “time out.” In elementary school I learned, from both my parents and teachers, the importance of obedience, respecting my elders and helping with chores. However, as I grew older, learned how to defend my actions and start

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ed to question my parents’ consequences, my parents molded their parenting style to mirror my age and maturity. When freshman year came around, my parents soon realized that no matter what rules were set in place, I would find a way to pursue my own agenda. The constant arguments and my dishonesty was not worth their control, so for a couple of months they sacrificed their role as authoritarian parents and became weaker “bunny” parents. In an interview on “Nightline,” Chua discussed her youngest daughters’ adolescent rebellion, which was similar to mine. Just like my parents did, Chua transformed her parenting style from “tiger mom to helpless bunny rabbit.” She let her daughter quit orchestra and allowed her to attend a few sleepovers. Through years of trial and error, my parents and I were able to arrive at a system of rules that work for both of us, which is called “lion” parenting or authoritative parenting, when parents enforce boundaries but also engage their children in their decision-making. We have taken the time to come up with rules that adapt to both my age and maturity level over the years. Now, as a senior, we have discussed rules that are more lenient than they were when I was in middle school. My parents believe that because I will be making the majority of decisions on my own once high school is over, they should allow me more freedom during the last semester of senior year. They believe this will help me better understand the deeper responsibilities that come with more making my own choices. Now that I can sit down and speak with my parents when mistakes have been made, I feel that I have been able to grow and learn from my past, whereas being punished with no explanation causes little to no self-refection. Knowing that my opinion is taken into account makes me feel respected and understood. Just as my parents have realized that there are different ways to take care of me, I have realized that there is no one best way to parent us, the ever-changing cubs. Rawr! v

february

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

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