Issue 2: October 23, 2020 by The Campanile

PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 50 EMBARCADERO RD. PALO ALTO, CA 94301

The Campanile

Friday, Oct. 23, 2020

NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

PAI D PALO ALTO PERMIT #44

www.thecampanile.org

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

Vol. CIII, No. 2

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PAGE A4-A5 ART BY GIANNA BROGLEY

Campus stances on the election.

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M&4/6)F/6() PHOTOS BY BENJAMIN STEIN

Duveneck Elementary School first grade teacher Anne Gerfen helps students out of the bus and onto campus. PAUSD second and third graders return to in-person learning Oct. 26, while middle and high school students will begin hybrid learning on Jan. 7.

Elementary schools reopen

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The media, news and filter bubbles.

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ART BY ANDREW TOTEDA

The Campanile’s views on candidates.

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indergarten and first grade students returned to district campuses and began in-person learning on Oct. 12, with other grades to follow in the coming weeks. This decision was voted on by the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education during an emergency meeting on Sept. 29, as a staggered plan to reopen all elementary schools. Second and third graders return on Oct. 26, and fourth and fifth graders on Nov. 9. Their choice was met with controversy. The Palo Alto Educators Association, the district’s teachers’ union, asked the district to consider staying in full online learning mode for the entire semester in an open letter to the school board on Sept. 27. On each page, in bolded font, the PAEA wrote “We don’t want to be first; we want to be safe!” Over 300 parents signed another letter, also asking for the district to postpone inperson learning as well. Parents had until Wednesday, Sept. 30 to decide whether their children would return. According to the PAEA, a survey they conducted showed that 90% of elementary school teachers said they don’t feel

comfortable changing to a hybrid learning environment in the fall. “There are still too many unknowns about the long-term effects of this virus, and we should not be risking the health and lives of our students, educators, and staff,” PAEA President Teri Baldwin said. Hoover Elementary first grade teacher Victoria Chavez, who returned to teach inperson last Monday, said she didn’t feel very comfortable returning either. Chavez said she only made the decision to come back in order to protect her older colleagues. “Me being healthy and one of the younger teachers here, I felt like I wanted to help the other teachers, I wanted to be there for my co-workers,” Chavez said. “And if they can't come back, and I can, then that's something that I wanted to do.” Despite strong opposition to this plan from many teachers, PAUSD School Board candidate and elementary school parent Karna Nisewaner said teachers should return to teach in-person classes. “There are things that make you uncomfortable. There (are) things that don’t feel good,” Nisewaner said. “But our nurses had to go back to work. Our bus drivers had to go back to work, all sorts of people, all sorts of essential workers had to go back to work and feel uncomfortable. Just because you feel

uncomfortable, doesn’t mean you don’t have to do your job.” PAUSD Superintendent Don Austin said the district needs to bring back the youngest students first. “I think we need to end (distance learning),” Austin said. “I think we should say, ‘Wow, great experiment. We learned a lot. Let's get out of it.’ Online is not fun for anybody, but it’s awful for a five-year-old.” Nisewaner, the parent of a second and fifth grade in the district, said online learning has been difficult, especially for her second grader. “It’s been horrible,” Nisewaner said. “He cries almost every day. He doesn’t connect with other kids or really even with his teacher through the online interaction.” After input from the PAEA, both online and in-person elementary students will attend an online Zoom meeting each morning before school, and the district presented a safety report at the board meeting on Oct. 13. Chavez said that she is proud of how her new students are dealing with this unprecendented change. “We’re still just getting used to it,” Chavez said. “I mean, they haven’t been in school for seven months.” Chavez said that online school is difficult for elementary students, but she said she still thinks that it is the better alternative. “I think (distance learning) went really well,” Chavez said. “And honestly, I would have stayed distance learning all year and been fine with it.” Braden Leung Staff Writer

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Two or three times per hour, the guard-gates at the Churchill train grade-crossing in front of Paly lower. Traffic gets congested, horns blare and the massive Caltrain thunders past the 800s building and the football field. But Caltrain has introduced a solution to this nuisance: electrification. Through the Caltrain corridor, which spans from Northern San Francisco down through Gilroy, it has begun the process of electrifying its trains. A statement released by Caltrain says the electrification project will replace 75% of its diesel services with electric transportation that will provide cleaner, greener, quieter and better service. The project will cut through main streets that connect Palo Alto, reroute major traffic and include a

new tax proposal on the November ballot. “The Caltrain electrification initiative will affect Paly and Gunn students especially,” retired Paly librarian Rachel Kellerman said. Kellerman is a member of the Rail Expanded Community Advisory Panel of Palo Alto and an active participant in Connecting Palo Alto, a system organized to address the increased traffic congestion that will likely occur after the electrification process. Connecting Palo Alto said the Churchill tracks will be a T-intersection grade-crossing where the train would cross the track at ground level, creating the need for an underpass for bikers and pedestrians to be constructed under just the tracks or under Alma as well. This would permanently make Churchill a dead-end street. “If they close Churchill for the crossing, the traffic is going to get rerouted to the other streets nearby,” Keller-

man said. “The congestion on Embarcadero and Oregon will increase by so much.” This could potentially make it even more dangerous for Paly students to commute to school. Kellerman estimates that more than 300 bicyclists and pedestrians per day get to Paly daily through the Embarcadero underpass — and with the added car congestion on Embarcadero and overflow of bikes from Churchill from this potential project, this already unsafe option will become exponentially more so. “Estimates from Connecting Palo Alto and Caltrain say that if they close Churchill, at least another 700 cars will be on Embarcadero and that isn’t even counting the Castilleja expansion,” Kellerman said. Despite the negative effects of this project on the community, Caltrain reports project that there will be a decrease in diesel fuel use as a result of the electrification. By replacing fossil fuels

with clean energy as this project outlines, the Caltrain system will use 4.6 million fewer gallons of diesel each year. In addition, the more commuters that use the faster, more environmentally friendly Caltrains, the fewer individual fossil fuel emissions there will be from cars, Caltrain says. However, Kellerman believes increasing ridership and maintaining funding will be difficult.“Caltrain’s budget now has a huge hole in it from COVID-19 because people haven’t been commuting to work or riding the trains,” Kellerman said. “So now there are more issues with funding that was already unreliable from Caltrain.” A statement from Caltrain — who earns 70% of its profits from rider fares — says the number of passengers taking the train has dropped by 95% compared to last year. To compensate, voters will decide whether Caltrain will receive

a flat rate eighth-cent sales tax increase to help fund this project in November through Measure SB-797. While the tax still needs to be approved by seven local agencies and by two-thirds of California voters, it would bring in approximately $108 million in revenue annually, and starting in 2021, Caltrain would be able to borrow from its future profit. Palo Alto City Council will make the final decision

on whether or not to carry this electrification project through in Palo Alto after they receive input from city staff, members of the community and major stakeholders in this project. “People need to do their homework and take a look at what’s already been studied,” Kellerman said. “Then they just need to make up their mind and take control of something that will really affect them in the long run.”

ART BY AARON KIM

Friday, October 23, 2020

The Campanile

News

7-$#,&4-".(1& .-3.(#31&-4(#& #(-2(3"38& -9&(%(0(3)$#6 1.:--%1 Valerie Chu

Board Correspondent

At its Sept. 29 board meeting, PAUSD board members cast their votes on whether to approve the school reopening plan. Below are their rationales and their votes voiced at the meeting.

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!"#$%&'$()*%(+,&-"%%&."//*+)0& 1",(%&2() “I’m very attentive to the fact that 443 of the 1283 TK through 1 families have already indicated that they want to go to hybrid ... one of our important functions is to try to create options that work for families and students … And it seems that there are many people who want this option.”

!"#$%&3*4(&'$()*%(+,&56"7+#8& 96#$#:0&1",(%&2() “The bottom line is if the recommendations we follow are sound from the county –– and we’re being assured they are –– to a certain degree we have to trust them. And if our implementation of those is sound then I expect we should be able to expect that any community spread of Covid will be mitigated by our processes within the school system.” “I feel confident –– I’m not happy about it –– but I feel confident that we have a safe plan and that staff has worked really hard to make sure that it is safe, and that the issues raised by the PAEA have been answered to my ear, with respect to PPE and safety measures.”

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“I don’t think moving this decision point to January makes it any better. We’re going to have the exact same conversations in January, and it will be at a time where it’s much harder to use the outdoors –– it’ll be at a time where we do have the flu mixed in. So let’s try it now where we have these ways to stretch out and see how we can get it to work. If parents are not comfortable with going back –– well, that’s why we have the distance learning option.”

!"#$%&;(=>($&?(++*@($& 9*!$*(+A#0&1",(%&2() “All along, we’ve taken our guidance from (the county health department). We were ready to open with this hybrid mode at the beginning of the year until the governor shut us down and said that we could open once we were off the watch list, which is now the purple list. And now we’ve been told we’re able to have open.”

!"#$%&;(=>($&B(+&9#7>($0& 1",(%&2() “I think the question remains: ‘Why is it important to do this?’ And I think it’s important because it is our fundamental mission to teach every child and help them reach their full potential. And we believe that in-person school is better than online school, no matter how great a job our teachers are doing … Teaching every child and helping them to reach their full potential means doing our best to get them back to school. The hybrid model is far from perfect –– we definitely know that –– but it does represent a real alternative that many parents want for their students to have.”

Students, cast reflect on ‘The Social Dilemma’

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Managing Editor

enior James Fetter arrived home from swim practice two years ago in shock. An entire film crew was set up in his house. What Fetter didn’t know at the time is that the crew was there to interview him, his sister and his mom for the now-viral Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma.” The film, which calls social media and Silicon Valley a coexisting ecosystem of utopia and dystopia, made the Top 10 U.S. Today leaderboard on Netflix and debuted on Sept. 9. It features clips of Fetter and his sister checking their average daily screen time and social media use. “Aspects of the film were overdramatized, but hey, that’s Netflix for you,” Fetter said. “A lot of the issues they touched on in the film resonated with me, but at the same time, the filmmakers are responsible for telling a story. In other words, I think that some aspects of the film were dramatized, but the overall message is important. ” The film features former employees of Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and other social media platforms. These former insiders explain how social media apps are intentionally designed and programmed to tether users to the screen to generate advertising revenue for the companies. The film argues that a business model of employing human data overrides the foundations on which capitalism was built. Senior Timothy Hung said the film made him think a lot about what goes on behind the scenes with the creators of the apps. “After watching the film, I was faced with the truth that these social media apps, while made for us, have their own agendas that often conflict with our well-being,” Hung said. According to the co-inventor of the like button Justen Rosenstein, the likes, mentions

and memories weren’t designed for the user interface. Instead, these features were designed to manipulate human psychology, keeping users engaged and scrolling. “When real life gets kind of gray or boring, which happens especially when I can’t see people like in recent times, I find myself relying on social media for escapism,” Hung said. After seeing the film, Hung said that he began to discern his own social media habits. “I don’t use the main social media apps as much like Instagram or Snapchat, but I still have accounts,” Hung said. “I don’t feel the draw as much because I never formed the habit, and after seeing this film, I don’t plan on it either. I’m on YouTube a lot, and sometimes I feel like I’m just wandering around on the site when I have nothing to do. It’s true that it is a big time-waster, but I keep on coming back because I occasionally find very rewarding stuff on there, and I personally think the film glossed over this.” Fetter’s mom, Stanford Psychology professor Anna Lembke, was also featured in the film, discussing the role of technology and media in her family. “We were off the grid for many years when our kids were little,” Lembke said. “No smartphones. No computers. Not even WiFi was connected to our house. Then when our eldest (Mary Fetter) started high school at Paly, she came home and claimed she couldn’t function as a student without a laptop and WiFi to the house. It was true.” Lembke said it got to the point where Mary came home saying she couldn’t function as a

well-adjusted teenager without a phone. After incorporating technology into their household, Lembke said she fought hard to limit the amount of screen time in her family. “No screens on Sunday,” Lembke said about her family rules. “No screens after 8 p.m. No screens on our technology-free vacation. No more than two hours a day of recreational use.” Lembke said that the film was effective in presenting a universal, complex issue in a relatable way. “It has helped get the message out that these devices and algorithms are engineered to get us hooked and keep us hooked, at huge costs to individuals and society,” Lembke said. The docudrama intertwines talking heads with a portrayal of a fictional family wrangling their scrolling demons. The fictional mother tries regulating screen time. The fictional daughter is trapped in her Snapchat filters. The fictional son is manipulated by the A.I. behind his phone screen. “I didn’t find that narrative particularly impactful,” Hung said. “While it did entertain me a great deal, I think because of the way the story was told, it just didn’t have the same punch as the real people and experts telling us their own stories and truths in their own words.” While Hung said that the film included unnecessary portions of the story, he has found himself positively impacted by the messages of the film. “Because of the film, I have found myself fighting the urge to scroll,” Hung said. “While the real danger lies on a wider societal level, the possibility of addiction and mental health

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Business Manager Music blasts as volunteers bustle in and out of the clubhouse doors, preparing for another night of distributing hot meals to hundreds of people whose cars snake around the block. Weeknights at the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula are never dull. At a time when COVID-19 has created economic hardships for many financially disadvantaged communities, BGCP has worked to alleviate the stress many now face when trying to pay for their next meal. Every weeknight since March 19, the organization has distributed free to-go dinners from both its East Palo Alto and Redwood City Clubhouses, serving up to 2200 meals per night across the two sites. The meals are available to anyone, and safety protocols include contactless pickup at both walk-up and drive-thru stations. Michael Jones, Senior Director at the Redwood City Clubhouse, said this resource is important to his community. “We have helped hundreds of

people dealing with food insecuaway is the hot dinners, but I like rity on a consistent, nightly basis,” to think we also give out smiles, Jones said. “The community has laughs, waves and positivity during been extremely thankful and there a tough time,” Jones said. “We have has not been a night when we do been able to (deliver) a consistent, not hear ‘Thank you,’ ‘God bless,’ reliable source of dinner, but also ‘You are helping us so much,’ etc.” positivity during an uncertain Sara Lowell, a BGCP developtime.” ment team intern who has served None of this could happen, meals on-site daily since June, said though, without a team of volunthat leading the distribution at the teers who assist in the preparation East Palo Alto Clubhouse has been and distribution of meals in a fastenjoyable. paced environ“From being ment. !"# $"%&'())*# +(# (,)# -"./# 0# present for “Our volunnightly dinner teers have been 12*%/#3%&45#/26'#&7#+(8# distribution for so crucial in our the entirety of ability to upkeep ,((7/899:::;46<7;"*69<"=> the summer, I’ve our community =&'2(.>=)+%>$"%&'())*/ seen the value of dinner distributhis program at tion,” Lowell said. a time of great “Without our need,” Lowell said. “The most volunteers, we couldn’t have served rewarding part of my job has been meals at such a large volume for building relationships and getting the last six months.” to know our returning patrons. I Jones said having returning have come to better understand volunteers is critical. how significantly COVID-19 is “Having strong, veteran impacting local communities and volunteers has been essential for seen how the community meals us,” Jones said. “They are able to program has a deep impact.” jump right in, help others, and the Jones said the community dincommunity recognizes them which ner distribution is about more than makes each night so much fun. The just providing meals. volunteers make our jobs so much “Obviously, our main giveeasier, and it has been great getting

to see how much this has impacted them as well.” Senior Zander Darby, a frequent volunteer at the East Palo Alto Clubhouse, said he is proud of the work he has done. “Volunteering with the BGCP has been really rewarding,” Darby said. “I’ve seen firsthand the difficulties that many people experience from COVID, and the impact I made from volunteering. I definitely recommend this volunteer opportunity because it lifts your spirits and is a great way to spend your free time.” With plans to continue meal distribution through December and potentially beyond, Jones said the BGCP team is always looking for more volunteers. “We love meeting new people, and we believe that our process here for community dinners is easy to learn for volunteers, helpful to the community and most importantly, fun,” Jones said. “If you like meeting new people, listening to music, dancing and giving back to our community, this is your kind of place. With the upcoming holidays and the difficulties some families may face, we want to provide dinners and have some special days planned.”

Friday, October 23, 2020

The Campanile

News

Halloween regulations in place, high-risk activities like trick-or-treating canceled

Emma Todd

Business Manager

o adhere to COVID-19 guidelines, Palo Alto residents are adjusting their usual activities and celebrations for Halloween this year. The Santa Clara County of Public Health released a joint statement of the Bay Area Health Officers which said popular activities like trick-or-treating are categorized as high-risk and should be avoided. The joint statement said Halloween parties, haunted houses and indoor mazes and handing out treats from a vehicle in a parking lot are very high-risk activities. The statement instead recommends people to engage in low risk activities, such as visiting an outdoor pumpkin patch following all safety regulations and having a virtual costume contest. Medium-risk activities, the statement said, include one-way trick-or-treating, where individually wrapped bags are lined up for families to grab while practicing social distancing guidelines. Palo Alto parent Sharon Hoffman said she is disappointed by the regulations, but understands their necessity. “I think the current chaos at the White House right now is a good

reminder not to be foolish about COVID-19,” Hoffman said. “Even so, I do feel comfortable with the moderate risk activities described in the guidelines, so I am guessing we will do some candy gathering with friend’s houses. But, obviously, it won’t be the same.” Hoffman said it’s most disappointing, though, for her fifth grader in the Palo Alto Unified School District and other kids, who have already had a rough seven months. “I know they’re especially bummed that it’s finally on a Saturday night, and the older elementary kids, like my son, were definitely looking forward to venturing out on their own for the first time,” Hoffman said. “Fingers crossed for next year.” During a Halloween Resource Meeting on Oct. 1, Palo Alto City Resource Manager Ed Shikada said residents should stay home and keep celebrations small. As part of the Palo Alto Community Services Department Jasmine Leblanc has planned alternate activities for residents during for Halloween including a masquerade social media contest and jack-o-lantern stroll. “We are inviting everyone in town to show off their carved pumpkins by bringing one to a designated location on (the)

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night before Halloween,” LeBlanc said. “These pumpkins will all be displayed together for community members to walk by and enjoy. It is a stroll by event where you can (see) what your community has come up with.” LeBlanc has also designed a public art scavenger hunt, where community members can search for pieces of art in murals painted downtown. During the meeting, Palo Alto Police Sgt. Alexander Afanasiev said people need to think about the rules and regulations in place before planning something that may be against the guidelines. “We are not issuing any event permits for largescale events,” Afanasiev said. “These have typically caused large crowds in Palo Alto neighborhoods, like old Palo Alto, which attracts thousands of visitors and spectators. We are also discouraging the public from

traveling to other neighborhoods to trick or treat.” Senior class president Emma Lin said these regulations make sense because they are no different from the rest of the year. “I’m not particularly disappointed by any of it because I assumed it wasn’t happening,” Lin said. This year, Lin said she will likely spend her Halloween with friends or working on her college applications.

ART BY AARON KIM

The Campanile

Friday, October 23, 2020

Spo tlight

The Voices Beh

he year 2020 has been historic, marked by unexpected twists and turns includi transformed the political landscape, bringing new issues to the table and forc presidential and school board elections, Th

!"#$%&#'()#*+(,-$.-#/+(0*$ $ $ 0%$'%*+!,#'&-+4+=#3&'$/ Motivated by the deaths of Black people at the hands of the police, the world exploded in fury and unrest in late May and June this summer. Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, just two of the Black people killed by white police officers, are now household names. Despite the protest for their justice, none of the policemen involved in their deaths are in jail –– some still have their jobs. Unsatisfied, many Paly students marched through the streets of downtown Palo Alto. And while the protests have died down, students are still calling for justice and racial equity. Junior Sebastian Bonnard said because his mother is Black, racial discrimination and racial equality are personal to him. “What a lot of people don’t understand is that we have to think about it all the time, and it’s a burden to us,” Bon-

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nard said. “I guess I have white privilege because I don’t really look Black, but my other family members have to carry this stuff. It’s just really disheartening to see almost weekly, or even daily, that another Black person got shot by the police.” Bonnard said he supports the movement for defunding police departments and reallocating some of the money to other areas instead of abolishing the police force entirely. “When you really think about it, the police are funded way more than a lot of really important institutions in our country, like schools,” Bonnard said. “We also need to be reallocating money to social workers because in a lot of these cases where police are involved, they don’t need to be. Sometimes, someone might have a mental breakdown or there’s family dispute issues that could be solved by a social worker instead.” While there is plenty of debate about how to handle the police force and their power, some also oppose the Black Lives Matter movement and are instead in support of All Lives Matter, a countermovement frequently used to resist BLM. Senior Teg Singh said he thinks that the Black Lives Matter movement is not political; it’s about basic human rights. “People shouldn’t be politicizing an issue dealing with just human lives,” Singh said. “No matter the color of people’s skin or what their beliefs are, no one should be killed in cold blood like that or treated badly like that or shot just for doing nothing. So I think that that has absolutely no place in our country, and I think that we need to act on that immediately.” Bonnard said he thinks racial injustices go far beyond matters concerning the police, and are deeply rooted in the country’s judicial system. “The justice system was really built to keep us oppressed and to keep us in jail, and I think it needs a lot of change,” Bonnard said. “One area being the bail bonds system, which I think is ridiculous. It basically puts a price on your freedom and it needs to be eradicated completely.”

just find it so hard to believe that a woman is against abortion, which sounds kind of selfish I guess, but I don’t understand it.” Junior Cole Sturino said he thinks it is important to establish legislation in support of abortion and women’s rights with no loopholes that allow states to exempt themselves from following them. “The moment that you give any sort of leeway on it, then states start trying to figure out what way they can try and revoke those rights,” Sturino said. “It’s kind of insane that we have this sort of system that can just tell people what they can or can’t do with their bodies.” Senior Jackson Bundy, who identifies as a conservative Christian, said his religious beliefs dictate where he stands politically, including on the issue of abortion. “I would say I’m pro-life, because in my eyes, I just don’t see (abortion) as morally right,” Bundy said. “But it’s also something that I don’t care enough about to say to someone, ‘You can’t get an abortion.’ If you want to have one, that’s your decision, and it’s something you’re going to have to live with for the rest of your life.” Like Bundy, sophomore Kyle Lee also said that he is opposed to abortion in most cases. “I can see (that if pregnancy) is fatal to the mother or if it is fatal to the baby, it should be aborted,” Lee said. “(But) conceptually, in all science facts, in fact, life starts at conception … I’m not saying no woman can have a choice. I’m saying that we shouldn’t kill the baby. I think we should try to have a different way, like adoption, foster care and other options.”

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Since the last presidential election in 2016, the topic of climate change has developed into one of the most pressing issues facing the world for many, while others disagree that it poses a threat or that there is even scientific evidence to explain it. Seventy-eight percent of the 145 students surveyed by The Campanile said climate change is one of their most important issues in the presidential election. Freshman Athya Paramesh said she has always been passionate about the environment, and that elected officials ought to take the steps necessary to ensure its wellbeing. “As much as I value human life and humans, I also value all life on earth and the biodiversity we have, and I think it’s something people don’t have enough appreciation for,” Paramesh said. “Humans are so often blinded by money or wealth or themselves to think of themselves as part of nature and part of the environment. The first step (to solving) climate change is to get people to realize that they are a part of the system and humans are just another string in the web of life.” Paramesh said there are many steps people can take to help the health of the planet, but not enough people are implementing those solutions in their daily lives. “It’s the fact that there are things that can be done and people aren’t doing anything that is probably why climate change is such a big issue,” Paramesh said. “We only have a certain window where we can actually restore the health of the planet to a better state than it is right now, and if we keep continuing (on this path), it’ll only get worse.”

In January, as the country entered an election year, voters and candidates had no idea how much the nation’s concerns would change. Many Americans lost family members, jobs and even their livelihood because of the novel coronavirus. And some blame President Trump for his controversial COVID-19 response. Bonnard said because of the high levels of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., he is in favor of making masks mandatory to reduce infection rates. “I understand that some people don’t want to be told what to do and that masks can be annoying to wear, but it’s really all in our best interest –– you just have to listen to science and the doctors,” Bonnard said. “A lot of scientists have said that in three months, if we all wore masks we could really reduce the infection rate and the number of mortalities.” President Trump’s handling of the pandemic has received criticism as over 200,000 American have died from the disease. While Bundy said Trump has not done a great job handling the pandemic, he said the president doesn’t deserve all of the criticism he has received. “The way he had set it up is he left it to the governors of each state to more or less lay down the rules and restrictions,” Bundy said. “I also think that part of the blame can be on the people of the United States. I know several people who, when the strict shelter-

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Since Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing on Sept. 18, voters will likely consider that the next president will nominate a new Supreme Court Justice if President Trump’s nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, is not sworn in before November. Her confirmation appears likely, though. Barrett is opposed to abortion, whereas the late RBG was known for supporting abortion rights and upholding Roe v. Wade. As protests and ongoing online discourse may indicate, tension regarding the issues of abortion and women’s rights have only escalated since 2016. Senior Jenna Tetzlaff said she is strongly prochoice and opposes any restrictions on abortion. “I have gotten into so many debates over whether someone is pro-choice or pro-life,” Tetzlaff said. “I

.&#"/)&+<(&/23 While a small portion of the student body will be of voting age in time for the election, senior Jenna Tetzlaff and senior Lexi Gwyn are both eligible and said they plan to vote for Joe Biden. “I just really don’t like Trump,” Tetzlaff said. “I disagree with a lot of the things he’s said and what he values is just not what I value. The past four years have also not been great for women because of his presidency.” Gwyn said while Biden was not her first choice — she supported Elizabeth Warren in the primaries — her views don’t align with the Settle For Biden campaign. “The word ‘settle’ has so many negative connotations,” Gwyn said. “While

Joe Biden is an old white dude, I do think he represents the American population. He has many stories of loss, a family with some addiction problems, and he has a stutter — all of these connections to the hardships of the American people — and I think that he puts them into his plan for presidency.” Though he is not yet eligible to vote, sophomore Ajin Jeong said young people should stay informed on all the candidates and their policies. “If you’re voting for a candidate that can last for a couple of years, and it’s not affecting just you — it’s affecting other people around you as well, I think it’s really important that we know enough about the candidate before we decide,” Jeong said. Gwyn and Tetzlaff also said they plan to

Friday, October 23, 2020

The Campanile

Spo tlight

hind the Votes

ing wildfires, disease, economic disasters and racial injustices. These events have cing voters to reexamine existing ones. With weeks remaining before the upcoming The Campanile investigates politics at Paly. in-place was going on, didn’t follow any of the rules … but at the same time blame the people who made the rules for the scale of the pandemic.”

While health care is always a topic up for debate in election years, the pandemic has put it under even more scrutiny than in years past, pushing voters to take a closer look at its affordability, accessibility and quality. Bonnard said the issue of health care is important to him in this election because of the country’s high unemployment rate and demand for COVID-19 treatment. “Especially during the pandemic, it’s really important that everyone has access to health care,” Bonnard said. “Because health care is so expensive right now and private businesses have more or less monopolized the industry, I think it’s imperative for the government to set up a way for people who can’t afford health care to get equitable and fair treatment like everyone else.” Bonnard said that the benefits of universal health care would lift a large burden off smaller businesses who would otherwise have to pay for their employees’ health insurance. “In a business sense, this would stimulate the economy because it’s one less thing for smaller companies to worry about,” Bonnard said. But Bundy said he doesn’t see health care as something that should be universal. “I think it’s something that people should pay for, unless someone is barely making any money, in which case I think they should receive assistance,” Bundy said. He said countries like Canada have free health care but pay the price in terms of quality. “In Canada, the wait times are absurdly long compared to those in the United States, and the health care you receive isn’t nearly as good as the kind we have here,” Bundy said. “It’s also not technically free –– I think the average Norway citizen pays double the amount of taxes than someone living in the U.S.”

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vote in the school board election, although they haven’t decided on who to vote for yet. One way Gwyn has kept up with local issues is by responding to outreach text messages from candidates to learn more about their campaign. “One asked me what I wanted to see from the school board, so I texted back and said, ‘Here are some things I’d like to see addressed by the school board,’” Gwyn said. “Then they texted back, saying, ‘This candidate is actually doing X, Y and Z to address the issue you spoke about.’” For new voters, the process can seem daunting, but Tetzlaff and Gwyn said maneuvering through the hoops is less challenging with the help of more experienced family members. “I already pre-registered last year in

!"#$1/"00-$20,&)$.-#/+(0* .&#"/)&+9/)&%*+;/%*&7 For many students, Paly has a competitive, toxic culture. Because of this, junior Mathew Signorello-Katz said it’s important for the board of education to have a plan to expand access to mental health resources on campus, examine the overall culture of the school and find steps to reduce competitiveness among students. “I don’t think the board does a very good job when it comes to reaching out to students and determining what their sentiments are,” Signorello-Katz said. “They do have the open sessions where students and parents come in, but I really don’t think that that’s enough. So I think that the board forming some sort of oversight committee and reaching out to our students themselves would be a beneficial first step in the course of action.” Senior Owen Longstreth also said distance learning and spending all day on Zoom, combined with the need to do his homework, extracurricular activities and college applications, has made this time period difficult for his mental health, and that of other students, as well. “A lot of (problems) are out of the district’s control, but I just feel like they should make some structural changes here,” Longstreth said. “I support the Wellness Center. I support all the guidance stuff, but there’s a systemic reason why everyone is always really stressed and not getting enough sleep.”

0/(1/)')8+.$7((*3 In a unanimous vote, Palo Alto Unified School District board members approved a school reopening plan, which allowed for transitional kindergartners, kindergartners and first-graders to return to school on Oct. 12, with the rest of elementary school students coming back two grades at a time every two weeks. The board plan also has all secondary students coming back to school in January, sparking debate among parents, teachers and school officials about the safety of this decision. Freshman Anna Van Riesen said students should not go back to school until it is safe for everyone to do so. She said going back would be unfair to the kids who need to stay home, because they would be subject to fewer social interactions and receive a different quality of education. “You shouldn’t have to choose between getting a better education and possibly the life of your family member, which is why I think that we should not go back to school until it’s absolutely safe,” Van Riesen said. Bonnard, however, said he is ready to go back to school because he dislikes online learning. “I’m for reopening schools because I think that learning in a Zoom environment is almost impossible,” Bonnard said. Freshman Alaap Nair said he is hesitant about school reopening because of his concerns regarding the risk of a spike in COVID-19 cases in Palo Alto. “If the school doesn’t prioritize the health and the safety of all the students and the staff, then we don’t really have a chance of reopening,” Nair said.

history class and made sure to check my registration again this year,” Gwyn said. “But I’m pretty grateful that I have parents who are pretty educated on all this and can help me through the process of filling out my first ballot.” For Tetzlaff, voting is a no-brainer — she attributes Trump’s win in 2016 to Democrats who chose not to vote because they disliked Hillary Clinton and her campaign. “In the last election, I was so shocked,” Tetzlaff said. “I was like, ‘Wait, I thought everyone was voting for Hillary,’ but Trump won. I didn’t (expect) a big majority of people to not vote at all. That was really saddening to me, and I was really disappointed. You kind of decide your future when you vote or not. You have a voice, and you might as well use it.”

The Campanile surveyed a total of 145 Paly students. Not all students chose to answer each question.

!"#$%&'()%*+!,#'&The past seven months of online learning have raised concerns in the community about equal access to educational opportunities and resources. “From what I’ve seen, there is an incredibly large equity gap in regards to various groups of students,” Signorello-Katz said. “That’s something that I think the school board also needs to work on. It’s something that has been a problem at PAUSD for a while.” Singh said it’s important for Paly to give enough resources to low income students for them to get an education comparable to other students. “I think that an education is one of the most important things in the world, and it shouldn’t be kept from anyone on the basis of their family income,” Singh said. “Education can make a world of difference for some people. And I think that no one should not have access to it.” Sophomore Evie Barclay said her family friend has had trouble using district-provided resources because of online learning. “My friend told me she wanted to utilize these resources, but the difficulties and obstacles she’s having to come across make it not easily accessible,” Barclay said. “There’s room for miscommunication and confusion, and I definitely believe that there needs to be improvements made in this area.” Barclay said this miscommunication often stems from students whose native language is something other than English. Barclay said, “Communicating with teachers is really important to understand the material and concepts and ask when deadlines are — it’s a crucial part of going to school and having a relationship with your teacher, and this can be hard when there’s a language barrier.”

.&#"/)&+0/12/3/)&%&'()+4 5(66#)'$%&'() Ninety-three of the 145 surveyed students said student voice is one of their top five concerns in the upcoming school board election, and 55 said they think the student body is underrepresented when board members make decisions. Bonnard said even in areas where the board attempts to represent student voices, student opinions are still not taken into account and are mostly symbolic. As an example, he said both Paly and Gunn only have only one student representative on the board and that these two student representatives only get to vote preferentially. “More students need to be in positions that can affect change in every department, from athletics to reopening schools to managing classrooms,” Bonnard said. Additionally, 66 out of the 145 surveyed students said communication between the school board and PAUSD families was one of their top issues when considering candidates for the upcoming election. Signorello-Katz said the pandemic has made the flaws in communication more apparent, saying he only found out that school would be transitioning to remote learning from a Palo Alto Online article. “I think that having school board members that prioritize the transparency of information is an incredibly beneficial thing, especially that we’re in the pandemic right now,” Signorello-Katz said. “It’s important in any situation, but now more than ever.”

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Friday, October 23, 2020

The Campanile

Opinion

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ogging on to my first-period Zoom class 10 minutes after getting out of bed, every student on-screen is motionless with their microphones muted. During group discussions, it’s either dead silence or constant talking over each other — and, consequently, class collaboration between students has taken a tremendous hit. As we began school online this year, ASB sprinkled additional entertainment into the first few weeks as a way for students to connect with each other. One of the primary events was Paly Connect, where students received a list of activities to attend on Zoom with their friends, from watching wood being chopped to playing Skribbl.io, a popular multiplayer drawing game similar to Pictionary. Paly Connect was a necessary break from schoolwork and helped take my mind off the stress of online school. For this reason, Paly Connect should occur at least every

other week. While Mondays are a great option for Paly Connect, another option is for it to replace Advisory when students do not have advisory during the week. Each week, Advisory occurs twice, but half of the students do not have a scheduled Advisory class. The boost of interaction Paly Connect provides is just what students could use during this time to re-energize throughout the week. During the opening-week Paly Connect activities, students engaged in the presenter’s activities and asked questions to better understand the history behind why the presenter chose their activity. Engaging with other students and teachers in a stress-free, non-educational environment helps bring back some of the social aspects of school we left behind with remote schooling. Paly Connect also allowed students to learn more about teachers’ and fellow students’ interests, and that’s the kind of connection we need with remote learning distancing us so much. Now that all classes have synchronous periods, a student

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taking seven classes on their computer for around seven hours a day, not including homework time. A regular Paly Connect would allow students to make a quick escape from those school-related activities and reduce stress. Ending in an environment where students are social, comfortable, and work-free reduces the harmful mental health effects brought on by online schooling. Paly ASB said they saw Paly Connect as a success, because more students participated in the activities than they expected. However, ASB noticed that some of the activities did not have a lot of crowd control. They said that a handful of students yelled into the mics during certain activities and disrupted the teachers. ASB says they plan to make future Paly Connect-related events on Zoom more controllable by using more of the Zoom security features that are able to handle the participants’ options more. A more regular Paly Connect is an opportunity to learn unique skills from Paly teachers, reduce student stress and allow for more personal connection in a time where that’s hard to come by. It ought to be a fundamental component of a every student’s school week.

K ART BY AJAY VENKATRAMAN

7'%8&9:;8%('2<("+<'(-%/)1'.)%)#)*+<'(the same job. Her first-hand experiLauren Chung ences with discrimination fueled her Staff Writer fire to advocate and fight for gender equality and women’s rights. While surfing the web recently, After serving on the Courts of I came across a YouTube video of Appeal for 13 years, President Bill Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Clinton nominated Ginsburg to Ginsburg working out next to an serve as a Supreme Court Justice in exhausted and panting Stephen 1993. This announcement thrilled Colbert. Not only was she the only many and Ginsburg made history by woman on the Supreme Court, being the first Jewish woman on the but at 85 years old, she had better Supreme Court. stamina than the then 54-year-old She quickly became a vanguard Colbert. on the Court for the fight for gender I was thinking — woah, this equality and women’s rights, successwoman can do it all. I was right. fully writing majority opinions for Ginsburg was an idol and inspiracases such as Olmstead v. LC and tion to many people, including me. Whole Woman’s Health v. HellerstHowever, on Sept. 18, the nation edt. Before Ginsburg’s passing, she was devastated by the news of told her granddaughter that her only Ginsburg’s death from metastatic wish was to not be replaced until the pancreatic cancer. inauguration of the next president. With only one month until Clearly, President Trump did not election day, out of respect to Justice get the memo. Just eight days after Ginsburg, the vacant spot on the the passing of Ginsburg, Trump Supreme Court should not be filled exercised his Constitutional right by until after the inauguration of the announcing Amy Coney Barrett to next president. This would allow succeed Ginsburg on the Supreme the American people to vote for the Court. But with only a month presidential candidate who would left until the election, speeding a nominate an allied Supreme Court Supreme Court nomination through Justice. the Senate during a politically awkPrior to her career as a Supreme ward time proves the hypocrisy of Court Justice, Ginsburg attended the Senate Republicans. Harvard Law School as one of the In February 2016, when Jusnine females out of 500 males and tice Antonin Scalia died, President Columbia Law School, graduating Obama moved to nominate Merrick first in her class. Yet her remarkable B. Garland as his successor. Howacademic record was not enough to ever, Senate Republicans refused guard her from the gender-based to consider Obama’s nomination discrimination many women experi- because the election day was nine ence in the workplace. months away. This precedent, that She struggled finding a job and the Senate Republicans set, should later was be respected. Additionally, Trump’s paid less nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, than men a conservative federal appeals court working judge, would strengthen the conservative majority on the Court and shift the balance of power to the right potentially for decades. It is crucial the confirmation of the next Supreme Justice nominee does not occur until the inauguration of the next president. In such a momentous decision, the American people should have the opportunity to influence the Supreme Court Justice nomination, which would be done through the voting of the president. ART BY GIANNA BROGLEY

C Coology: Unit Test

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as compared to in-person learning. While cheating is not as easily preventable over Zoom, teachers can employ some strategies to decrease it. Students are often held to One step teachers should take extremely high standards regarding their academic performance at Paly, is mandating that students keep their cameras on and pointed at by both their peers and parents. In themselves during tests. Teachers our culture of academic excellence, and students seeing each other helps it’s no surprise that some students mimic a classroom environment and resort to cheating. This is even a bigger issue world- discourages obvious forms of cheatwide. A study from the International ing like using a phone or notebook. While this isn’t foolproof, the Center for Academic Integrity, threat of a teacher catching a stuconducted by Dr. Donald McCabe dent cheating is enough to dissuade found that 64% of American high school students admitted to having some students. Additionally, having cheated on a test. Teachers are aware students keep their camera on enof this and generally make it difficult sures students are engaged in class. Not only does requiring for students to cheat on tests. students to turn their However, the cameras on make COVID-19 pandemic it easier to raises new issues catch cheatconcerning acaing students, demic dishonesit also crety. When tests ates a more are conducted realistic in-person, '1%%-+B4)(+-%"42<++)4% classroom teachers can atmosphere, monitor all of +'%3"C<(>%*3)"+)4% allowing their students, as '(%"%+)-+ students to well as regulate learn more what they are pereffectively and mitted to bring into decreasing the need the testing environment. for academic dishonesty. But with Palo Alto UniAnother method to prevent fied School District classes being conducted over Zoom, students are cheating is to tweak test questions given in a way that ensures even the able to cheat with relative ease. most determined cheaters will have a On Zoom, students are able to difficult time cheating. look up answers and easily access Teachers should construct their their notes. Teachers can struggle to maintain an academically honest own quiz problems to make answers environment during virtual learning, more difficult to find on the internet. Staff Writer

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Even taking an existing problem online and substituting keywords can make them virtually inaccessible to students. Furthermore, transitioning from traditional multiple choice questions to more free response and thought-provoking problems will decrease cheating by requiring use of critical thinking and application of concepts, rather than enabling students to look up answers. Problems that force students to use critical thinking skills are major hurdles for would-be cheaters. Adjusting the nature of test questions can make solutions and explanations significantly harder to access in a testing environment. Such measures only need to be taken because students feel inclined to cheat. Teachers should teach their students that cheating hurts them in the long run because they become reliant on it in the future. Cheating students are only building a harmful habit that will make their adult lives considerably more difficult because students will constantly look for ways to cut corners. Teachers should actively combat academic dishonesty with additional policies and changes to their testing protocol during quarantine. And they should remind students why cheating will hinder them in their future. Taking this stance will show students that their teachers care and can convince cheating students to reconsider their choices. While teachers cannot guarantee students will not try to cheat, they can do their best to create a learning environment that promotes honesty.

Friday, October 23, 2020

The Campanile

Voter’s Guide: School Board Election

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Katie Causey is a 2012 Palo Alto High School graduate and nonprofit employee who is running on the platforms of student voice, equity and the physical and mental wellbeing of students which she said was magnified following string of student suicides in the early 2000s. “I am running because I know what it is like to walk into your classroom at age 14 to find your classmate is gone, and then the next month another, and then the next month another,” Causey said. “Our community was in crisis then, and it is now. In a time where everything is unpredictable, I am running to prioritize what we can control –– ensuring families have resources, are supported, and are not alone.” Since she was a teenager, Causey said she has

been a longtime community volunteer, a chair within the Fund Development Council of the Junior League of San Francisco and a fundraiser for community organizations like the Palo Alto Recreation Foundation and League of Women Voters. “I bring a network of community resources and nonprofits that will help us lead with a community-based, collaborative approach, highlighting every avenue of support,” Causey said. She has a degree in women’s studies from George Washington University where she focused on intersectional solutions in communities and schools, often applying her studies to Palo Alto Unified School District for her research on race, class, gender, orientation and ability.

Causey identifies as bisexual and is the first openly LGBTQ+ candidate to run for a seat on PAUSD’s board. “This year can be an amazing opportunity to show students PAUSD’s commitment to civics –– to amplify the voices of our students who are organizing and assisting their community during this time to create innovative solutions and show them they can be the next civic leaders,” Causey said. Causey hopes to promote a curriculum that encompasses well being –– whether social and emotional learning or understanding consent. Causey said, “(We need to ensure) that it’s strong, integrated, thorough, and that we’re listening to student and educator feedback to ensure it is as effective as possible.”

Todd Collins is the president of the PAUSD board of education. As an incumbent, Collins said he is running in part due to COVID-19’s effect on education and how it calls for continuity in board leadership. He said he would advocate for helping low-income and minority students’ success, improving the district’s distance learning approach and building a stronger foundation in terms of data, people and culture. “There are critical areas that will have a huge impact, both this year and in the coming years, on how we serve and support students,” Collins said. “These include: improving our (approach to) distance learning ... based on student and family feedback, managing dramatic financial swings,

including falling state and local revenue, and the risk of losing our parcel tax, working with our employee unions to make return to in-person school possible.” Collins said he has a long history of service to PAUSD students and schools, previously serving as a Parent Teacher Association officer and a member of both the Bond Oversight and Enrollment Management Advisory Committees. All three of his children attended PAUSD schools. “I believe this approach is fundamental for supporting every kind of student,” Collins said. “We need to be candid about learning loss and the impact of distance learning on our most high-need students –– we’ll likely see the achievement gap

grow in the next year, and we’ll need to double down on our focus on shrinking it.” Collins said PAUSD needs a stronger foundation in place –– one with people, organization, data systems and culture –– in order to progress on the issues the community cares about. “Making long-term change in an organization like PAUSD takes time –– one problem we’ve had in the past is that we lose patience with initiatives too quickly and move on to something else,” Collins said. “It takes years for important initiatives to take hold and show results. There are no silver bullets. We need to continue our focus to make sure we get the results we care about –– better experiences and outcomes for all students.”

Jesse Ladomirak is a PAUSD parent of four, General Manager and Chief Financial Officer of the remodeling company Teevan and was a public agency attorney. She said she’s running to represent all families with her priorities being mental wellness, educational equity and principled budgeting. “It feels imperative to me that the board is closely connected to the lived experience of the children’s families that it’s serving,” Ladomirak said. “I’m very intimately connected to the PAUSD community.” Ladomirak said having only one current board member who has children in PAUSD is a source of disconnect between parents with school-aged children and the board. Given her experience in management and bud-

geting, Ladomirak said she has an understanding of the complex interplay between mission budget personnel, risk analysis and its connection to the culture and climate of PAUSD. “Budgets are a quantification of priorities,” Ladomirak said. “You can say something’s a priority, but if you’re not spending money on it in an effective way, it’s not really a priority. I will see it as my responsibility to make sure that the things we’re prioritizing are backed up with funding and that the funding is actually producing value.” If electted, Ladomirak said she plans to amplify student and parent voices, particularly through task forces and surveys on mental wellness and educational equity to better identify issues and work towards potential solutions. “There’s a lot of concerning information that

came out of surveys that were taken in the spring that students, particularly secondary school students, don’t feel a lot of self-efficacy,” Ladomirak said. “What I really would like to do is set up a series of student task forces because I feel like students have so much wisdom to give us. We don’t have systems in place right now (to access) that wisdom.” Ladomirak said she was particularly shocked at the results of the latest California Healthy Kids survey that showed a large number of secondary students had made a suicide plan in the previous 12 months. Ladomirak said, “I would consider myself successful if, at the end of that four years, we’ve seen some market improvement in the mental wellness metrics and the opportunity gap.”

Jennifer DiBrienza is a current PAUSD board trustee, former teacher, PAUSD parent of two and education consultant. She said she’s running to combat systemic inequities, prioritize mental health and improve the district’s dyslexia identification processes. “My long term number one has always been the systemic inequities that student demographics are very predictive of how much success you’ll find in our district,” DiBrienza said. DiBrienza said she hopes to provide experienced leadership as the district faces the challenge of the novel coronavirus and the budget cuts that may lie ahead. “I’m excited, now that we’re starting to make progress, to really stick it out (with the current superintendent),” DiBrienza said. “And now with

COVID, (there are) so many challenges in front of us with reaching our students and being supportive in all the ways they need. And with budget issues that are probably in front of us, we need to be making sure that some experienced leadership is there to help guide us.” DiBrienza has a PhD in math education from Stanford and was an elementary classroom teacher and provided staff development for grades K-8. She now consults for school districts both nationally and internationally. DiBrienza’s children all attend PAUSD schools. “My oldest is a Paly 10th grader,” she said. “And my youngest is in elementary school in fourth grade, so I am experienced in the district. I’m invested in the future.” DiBrienza said she is also focused on providing

support for underrepresented and disadvantaged students who are having difficulties navigating distance learning. “The number one issue now is really helping make sure we manage through COVID,” DiBrienza said. “That as students (remain at) home, there aren’t equity issues that come up, there aren’t access issues that come up. And making sure that our students are able to engage in meaningful ways with their schoolwork or their home, while also making sure that they have the emotional support.” During her time on board, DiBrienza said she is particularly proud of the renaming of two PAUSD schools previously named after eugenists, its increased communication with adjacent school districts and its passing of a resolution for increased dyslexia intervention and support.

Matt Nagle is the former principal of Juana Briones Elementary School and has been an educator for 27 years. He is a parent of a PAUSD ninth grader and the husband of an Escondido Elementary School teacher. Nagle has been a management negotiator for six years and is an elected union representative. He said he is running to champion educational equity and provide stronger support and resources for low-income, minority students. “It is a focal (interest) of mine that is made worse by the COVID crisis,” Nagle said. “My son is a Mexican American kid. I’m actually Mexican American, but his friends are all Black, indigenous, people of color and they’re struggling ... Our BIPOC students are not enjoying the same success as our other students.”

Nagle said he is concerned about diversity and underrepresentation of people of color in politics, specifically in Palo Alto where the majority of elected officials are white. “You will notice there are no people of color candidates,” Nagle said. “It’s all white again. I’ve heard some, ‘Yes, we need more people of color,’ this and that kind of thing. But I don’t see it happening. I’m going to be your only Mexican-American candidate in 30 years.” Nagle majored in journalism and MexicanAmerican studies at UC Santa Cruz, later becoming an elementary school principal in Saratoga, San Jose, Palo Alto and Point Reyes Station. He’s pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership for Social Justice at California State University, East Bay.

“I’ll be even a bigger proponent of equitable hiring practices,” Nagle said. “And I hope that’s something that, after four years, I can say that I really moved the needle on is that we really recruited and developed within our own teaching ranks, future leaders of color that are woefully missing in Palo Alto.” Nagle is also calling for more transparency when someone in the district gets COVID-19. “We ask to have a community conversation led by the board in public of when we want to come back to school and what that’s going to be,” Nagle said. “Will we let county health experts decide when it is going to be safe enough to return to school? What’s our move when students and staff begin to get COVID? That is the fundamental question.”

Karna Nisewaner is a PAUSD parent of two, Palo Alto Community Child Care director at large and the Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Cadence Design Systems. She said she’s running for the board in light of distance learning’s effect on children’s education and to strengthen the city’s relationship with PAUSD. “What prompted me to run was my initial feelings as the parent of two elementary kids and how the school district initially responded to the COVID pandemic situation,” Nisewaner said. “The spring was very, very difficult for elementary parents, particularly working parents who could not have (a spouse devoted to) full-time to educating

their children.” Nisewaner said she felt as though the district could have implemented live instruction in the spring rather than going asynchronous for an extended period of time. “I know many people who have quit their jobs or have scaled back their work,” Nisewaner said. “And to me, not understanding or not doing anything to alleviate this pressure or just expecting all parents to become teachers was just not realistic.” Nisewaner said her experience as a lawyer is valuable because her job encompasses contracting teams through inbound and outbound contracts, litigation, employment and intellectual property. Nisewaner said she will strengthen the relation-

ship between the school board and city council, citing her experience as a board of director at PACCC and as a lawyer. This relationship was recently strained when the city terminated its $5 million lease for the Cubberley Community Center from the school district in order to save money this fiscal year. Nisewaner said, “Dealing with all of the complexities of that relationship just really made me feel like, given my experience as a lawyer and the functions that I run and given my experience, I could be a good person on the board to help make sure that the policies are being implemented in a smart way, that questions are being asked about, ‘Why we are doing this?’”

The Campanile

Friday, October 23, 2020

Editorials

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Causey, DiBrienza, Nagle for school board

s election day draws near, the shadow cast by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for racial justice have propelled civic politics to the forefront of the American political landscape. As students come of age in tumultuous times, The Campanile thinks the school board should take student voices into account when making decisions, close the achievement gap and help teachers provide students a

quality education in a safe environment. For these reasons, we endorse candidates Katie Causey and Matt Nagle and incumbent Jennifer DiBrienza for the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education. Although the majority of students at Paly will not be able to vote in the upcoming election, students will be affected by the results of this election, and we urge those who can vote to support Causey, Nagle and DiBrienza.

Editor-in-Chief

In a usual election year The Campanile endorses City Council candidates who will bring the most expertise to the open seats, but 2020 is nothing if not unusual. In that vein, I support Activities Director Greer Stone for one of the four open council seats because he is uniquely qualified to serve and worthy of support regardless of one’s political affiliation. Chief among Stone’s qualifications is his work as an educator at both Paly and Gunn. But being part of the Paly community is not the reason for my endorsement. His unique skills — Stone holds a law degree from Santa Clara University — combined with real world experience in education give him a perspective that few candidates can match. Stone grew up in Palo Alto, graduated from Paly and rents a home in town. As President of the Midtown Residents Association, he is intimately familiar with issues facing Palo Alto’s different neighborhoods as well as those of the greater community. The complex issues facing our community are best understood by someone who has lived in the city for decades Stone has and who interacted with is able students more to draw upon than any other historical city council context while candidate. serving Having on the Council. this inside After perspective Stone will make him left law, more receptive he began to work to student as a voices and by public extension give educator. In them a seat this at the council capacity, Stone table. has interacted with students more than any other city council candidate. Having this inside perspective will make him more receptive to student voices and by extension give them a seat at the council table. He cares deeply about social justice, having written an op-ed for the Palo Alto Weekly about it in the early days of quarantine. The op-ed talked about how the pandemic disproportionately impacts Black and Latino populations who were more likely to be essential employees but less likely to have access to affordable healthcare. Stone also serves as vice chair of the Santa Clara County Human Relations Commission and leads the commission’s Justice Review Committee. He will be a voice for all Palo Alto residents, as he has been for Paly and Gunn students. While the Campanile staff voted to endorse only three candidates for four open City Council seats, I think Greer Stone is an important fourth option that all who are able to vote come Nov. 3 should consider.

PHOTO FROM KATIE CAUSEY

Causey receives our support because of her emphasis on listening to and representing student voices. Especially during remote learning, student opinion should guide district decision making. As a recent graduate, Causey understands many of the issues facing students and has committed to work to solve them. From equity to the physical and mental health of students, Causey said she is running to ensure “fami-

lies have resources, are supported, and are not alone.” Causey’s support for the wellbeing of students and teachers manifests itself in her fight to bring more mental health resources to schools and prioritize teacher and student safety during school reopenings. Even after students return to school, Causey hopes to increase equity between students of all backgrounds so that “no one gets left behind.”

PHOTO BY DANA UNDERWOOD

The incumbent DiBrienza earns our support because of her experience as a board member, her support for policies serving disadvantaged and underrepresented students and her continued work to identify and support students with dyslexia. DiBrienza has served on the board of education for the past four years, during which time she led the board’s increased communication with adjacent school districts, its passing

!""#$%&'()"#$*"+,'"-()$ .(/$0&'($1'-($23-4$2(5)63' In this highly charged political environment, it’s easy to get swept up in national politics and the endless string of laugh-outloud presidential debate memes. Nevertheless, there are important local elections in Palo Alto that have the ability to set a new course for our city and have lasting impacts on our future. This year, the most important local election is the race for City Council where 10 candidates are competing for four newly vacated seats. As we have frequently written, the council’s priorities are often different than students’. Case in point: the city council promised robust, high-speed fiber-optic internet infrastructure for residents before current Paly students were born but have been throwing wrenches into the process ever since. With the new set of openings on the City Council there is a potential for real change. The Campanile has reviewed each candidate’s platform from the perspective of the student — one that prioritizes combating climate change, aiding social justice and constructing affordable housing so that students who want to stay in Palo Alto after leaving their family home can aim higher than a toolshed. The entire staff voted, electing by simple majority to endorse only three candidates for the four open seats on the council. The Campanile’s three choices for Palo Alto City Council are Cari Templeton, Steven Lee and Raven Malone. Templeton has lived in Palo Alto since 2005 and is the chair of the Planning and Transportation Commission. The Campanile supports her prioritizing green transportation and making Palo Alto a safer biking community. Templeton wants to see projects that reduce traffic congestion within the city, such as the popular Shared Streets program, and promises to make public transportation free for students and elderly. We appreciate that she is dedicated to modernizing the city’s infrastructure through supporting smart utilities meters and fiber-optic internet connections into residential homes. We also agree with her approach to rethinking policing by hiring mental health first responders and making it easier to

hold police accountable in cases of excessive force. Lee is relatively new to Palo Alto where he has served as a Human Relations Commissioner since 2017, but in that short time, he has highlighted issues that resonate with The Campanile, including his work on mental health, gender equality and LGBTQ+ services. Lee is determined to help Palo Alto meet the challenges of climate change by implementing bold solutions that bring public and private solutions together. In fact, he wants to see the city implement its own version of the Green New Deal. We are deeply interested in hearing specific details on what this vision would entail. A long-time advocate for police reform and increased social services funding, Lee thinks that Palo Alto should increase funding to community services which proactively address the root causes of crime and inequality. Malone is an electrical engineer and an Alabama native who moved to Palo Alto in March of this year. She has the potential to invigorate city council with the fresh perspective of an outsider that council so desperately needs. Her top priorities include constructing residential fiber-optic for high speed internet and decreasing automobile emissions by creating more bike lanes and adding shuttle stops and services to the greater Palo Alto community. Another one of Malone’s priorities is to create affordable housing. The Campanile was also pleased to learn she supports investing in student favorites like the Palo Alto Children’s Theater, the art center and the library system. In addition, Malone supports expanding Foothills Park access to all and shares the desire of other candidates to pursue accountable policing. While the other candidates running for Council have their own plans for student priorities including climate change, social justice and upgrades to internet infrastructure, these three candidates ticked all the boxes and bring the enthusiasm, willingness to work and big-picture thinking the city desperately needs. It is our hope these candidates break the gridlock which too often slows progress in a town that should be at the national forefront for these issues.

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PHOTO BY ANAIS NAGLE

of a resolution for increased dyslexia intervention and support and the renaming of several PAUSD schools named after eugenists. This past experience will undoubtedly aid DiBrienza in supporting students and families during the reopening process. As budget cuts loom, The Campanile hopes DiBrienza will use her years on the board to make decisions that are in the best interests of students and teachers.

As a former Juana Briones principal and longtime educator, Nagle earns our support based on his willingness to represent minority students and close the large achievement gap. Nagle promises to fight for Mexican-American and BIPOC students as well as teachers. From improving equitable hiring practices to providing a voice for underrepresented communities on the school board, The Campanile thinks Nagle can make

progress in creating a more equitable learning environment for students and teachers of all backgrounds. Even in the details, Nagle stays true to his ideals. For example, Nagle asks potential contributors to donate money to charities instead of his campaign. The Campanile hopes Nagle will fight to level the playing field for all students, especialy considering the dispropotionate impacts of COVID-19 on minority students.

The Campanile Editors-in-Chief Shiva Mohsenian • Kris Risano • Benjamin Stein Andrew Toteda • Adora Zheng Online Editor Ajay Venkatraman

Managing Editors Jace Purcell • Andy Wang

News & Opinion Editors Siddhartha Sahasrabuddhe Sloan Wuttke

Lifestyle Editors Krista Robins • Gianna Brogley

Science & Tech Editor Austin Xiang

Sports Editors Evelyn Cheng Ziggy Tummalapalli

Multimedia Editor Gina Bae

Business Managers Will Thomas • Emma Todd

Board Correspondent Valerie Chu

Art & Photo Director Sasha Lehrer

Staff Writers

Ben Antonow Lauren Chung Shantanu Deshpande Olivia Ericsson Jack Galetti

Bruno Klass Braden Leung Leo Malchin Ali Minhas Aidan Seto

Declan Greicius Hailey Hwang

Jimmy Miller Zander Leong Aaron Kim

Zack Silver Maya Singer Avantika Singh Parker Wang Joy Xu

Illustrators

Isabel Toteda Astrid Wuttke

Adviser Rodney Satterthwaite Letters to the Editors: Email all letters to editors to theeds21@googlegroups.com. The Campanile prints letters on a space-available basis. We reserve the right to edit submissions. The Campanile only prints signed letters. Advertisements: Advertisements with The Campanile are printed with signed contracts. For more information regarding advertisements or sponsors in The Campanile and their size options and prices, please contact The Campanile Business Managers by email at campanile.ads@gmail.com. Note: It is the policy of The Campanile to refrain from printing articles that misrepresent or alienate specific individuals within the Palo Alto community. The Campanile would like to thank the PTSA for supporting the mailing of our newspaper! Our Vision Statement:

The Campanile has upheld the highest standard of student journalism for the last century by engaging the community through various mediums of storytelling. Our coverage of news, culture and athletics aims to represent the diverse perspectives of our student body.

Friday, October 23, 2020

The Campanile

Lifestyle

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!"#$%&'()$*% +,--*.*%"//%$'/#% Sidd Sahasrabuddhe

News & Opinion Editor

series of highlights, bolded text and more than 150 links encompass nearly a year’s worth of sophomore Kyle Lee’s research on everything from wage gaps and Trump’s views on gender identity to the Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-19 — all located on one 34-page document. Nearly a year after its conception, Lee still uses his collection of research to fact check those around him whenever they bring up false information. The document, he said, is more relevant than ever in the current political climate.

“First, this began with the debunk session,” Lee said. “I wrote down everything (Trump) has done wrong … And I just kept going down this deep rabbit hole.” Eight hours later, Lee said he not only emerged with the document, but also with a changed set of political beliefs and a skeptical view of the media. “First, I actually was — because my parents were –– a Democrat,” Lee said. “And I always thought like the people I oppose now … But when I actually researched, I found out that there’s a lot of stuff that isn’t true.” With the power to shape conversations, criticisms and worldviews through the news it provides the general population, junior Anique Dittrich said concerns about bias in the media are more prevalent now than ever. “I think media bias has a lot more impact over us than we think it does,” Dittrich said. “For example, in school we watch CNN 10. Schools say they’re unbiased, but we’re watching CNN, which is generally a very democratic news source, so are they really unbiased?” Kristy Blackburn, the adviser of Gunn High School’s student newspaper The Oracle, said everyone has a bias towards something, whether that be as small as someone’s preference towards their favorite cookie or as big as bias in the media. But, she also said it is important not to eliminate, and instead recognize, biases in order to tell a powerful story. “I think all respectable newspapers or publications acknowledge that, yes, we are biased, but also, we know our bias and seek out different information,” Blackburn said. “But I think when it comes to the media, everyone who is working hard as a journalist is trying to get facts, and so they’re trying to be as fair as possible. It’s a little different than being biased –– they’re trying to get different parts of the story included.” The media organization Allsides seeks to provide balanced news and present every side of the story through displaying daily top news stories from the left, center and right side of the political spectrum all on the same page. Co-founder and CEO John Gable said Allsides has made it their mission to free people from filter bubbles so they can better understand the world and each other. “What we really focused on was trying to help people get out of their bubbles of information,” Gable said. “(We want people to) get out of the bubbles of their relationships and people that they know so that they can actually truly decide for themselves and so that they actually appreciate people who are different than they are and ideas that are dif-

ferent than (theirs).” A study released by the Pew Research Center in January 2020 found that trust of the media is largely divided between political parties. According to the study, Democrats were more likely to trust the 30 news sources that were presented to them, and Republicans were more likely to distrust the same sources. Ultimately, people’s political parties largely affected their trust of the media and influenced how much they viewed a news source as biased. According to AP Psychology teacher Chris Farina, whether something is biased can vary depending on an individual’s definition of the word. Farina said it is hard for a fact everyone agrees on to be biased, but when the media selects what gets coverage and where information lands on a website, biases start to reveal themselves. “Psychologists will tell you the way that you frame things or phrase things also matters too,” Farina said. “You can talk about the exact same issue with different languages, and that’s going to color the way that it comes across, even if you’re talking about the same event.” Although Gable said he agrees that the media industry allows for the spread of information that could be out of touch with reality, he said the bigger problems lie in modern journalism and its public perception. These problems are largely influenced by technology and the increase of filter bubbles, which he said reinforce the beliefs that people already hold in order to help them not be overwhelmed by excess noise and information. “Our technology systems as they exist today filter them out in such a way that we become much more homogeneous, much more extreme and much less tolerant of any other idea or any other person,” Gable said. “And that’s really where the filter bubbles become a problem.” In order to avoid only hearing from a single narrative, Lee said he consumes information from a variety of news sources, including the “Jurist,” the “Chicago Tribune,” “The New York Times,” “The Washington Post” and the White House’s official website. But Lee said getting so much information from so many different sources has led him to develop a negative view of the media. “The media is definitely spoon-feeding the narrative that they want people to believe,” Lee said. “And I think that as a news source, it’s

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Lifestyle

CREATIVE COMMONS/CC0 1.0

Monk at Paly: A Story of Unity

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totally dishonest and definitely horrible that they’re trying to shift views towards one way and trying to push their agenda towards people who don’t quite know better.” Gable said when journalists get caught up in an idea or a story they want to cover, the events they choose to highlight are frequently shaped by what lens they are looking at the event from. As a result, when the public receives information from two different news organizations covering the same event, this contrast in what they see or read can give them reason to question the validity of the news. “There’s reality and hyperbole around fake news,” Gable said. “There is a problem on the left and right –– and of course, (Trump) tends to just point out the problems on the left –– where people either report something that’s just demonstrably not true or really highlight something that’s true at a 1% level and make it look like that’s 100% true.” Justin Raisner, the Carlmont High School media adviser and president-elect of the Journalism Education Association of Northern California, said he thinks the term “fake news” has been used in a way that tries to discredit and take control of the media’s reporting. “I think it is just so disingenuous, and it’s not fair to anyone for what they’re doing,” Raisner said. “It’s trying to control the narrative … and the way it’s used, ‘fake news’ is honestly poisonous to the national discourse.” And Blackburn said the idea of fake news combined with the term “media bias” has sometimes been used to trigger people to disengage from the media. “When I think people claim the media is biased, they’re claiming they don’t want people to acknowledge the facts that are being reported, and they’d rather use them for their own spin,” Blackburn said. “They’re trying to discredit the media, and one way of doing that is to say that they’re biased.” But for Sarah Nichols, adviser of Whitney High School media and president of the Journalism Education Association, it’s the negative perception of the media combined with a political climate that is cut and dry which makes people engage with the media in a potentially dangerous way. “The coverage out there is just going to solidify or confirm existing viewpoints; it’s not going to really change anyone’s mind,” Nichols said. “It’s really just kind of like a constant hum of confirming existing viewpoints. So I can see why a lot of people just retreat from it or just decide to not engage in media at all because it’s at a breaking point.” And although not everyone may find themselves in need of a 34-page document researching media and political truths, being a questioning consumer of the news is something everyone has the resources to do. And Lee said it’s the first step toward having a conversation about politics and about bias in the news media. “We have to talk –– people have to talk, to fix these certain problems,” Lee said. “We have to come to some consensus, to some sort of middle ground to help.”

Valerie Chu

Board Correspondent

ART BY GINA BAE

Lifestyle

ART BY JIMMY MILLER

Among Us takes off

Record of a high school concert featuring jazz musician Thelonious Monk is released.

Learning more about the current sensation, Among Us.

PAGE B2

PAGE B4

For seniors, while most of the stuff that will appear on your college application is set in stone, including grades and letters of recommendation, there are still a few things you can do to improve your admission chances.

Sports

PHOTO BY SUE-FEN TSAI

Fencing: Safest Sport

How athletes indirectly remain healthty and safe during COVID-19. PAGE C1

Everyone knows there are a few key ways to boost your application to prestigious universities: having a parent on faculty, being a legacy or donating a building. Most of these things are out of your control, but universities love to see prospective students demonstrate interest. I’m going to let you in on a little secret: “demonstrated interest” is just a fancy way of saying “simping.” So, simp for your dream school. You want to go to Yale? COVID-19 be damned. Hop on a plane and take a tour. You may even earn bonus points for the increased risk. In fact, one of the easiest ways of demonstrating interest is going to an online information session, where you can turn your video off and sit in silence the whole time, basking in the knowledge that you’ve done the bare minimum to boost your admission chances.

!"#$%1'$23044)/0.)$ 5+6/$078")9)*),.If you’re like most Paly students, you probably didn’t do all that much compared to your peers. When everyone has great grades and mediocre essays, it’s hard to set yourself apart. One good way to stand out and better your admissions odds is stunning extracurriculars, or at least extracurriculars that sound stunning. Sell yourself by exaggerating your most simple achievements. Even noble pursuits like volunteering can sound even better. You didn’t just tutor at-risk kids after school. You changed hundreds of lives because of your commitment to making sure that no one is left behind and your burning desire to see underprivileged students achieve their full potential. College admissions is a game. And bending the truth is the name of the game.

!"#$%:'$!8)$-+;$-.+/5 Ultimately, the place in your application where you have the best opportunity to express your individuality is the essay. The goal of the essay is to make your admissions officer root for you, and there’s no better way to make that happen than with a real tearjerker. Spin a tale about the trauma you went through after you got a C+ on that English paper. Reminisce sadly about the price inflation at Town and Country, and don’t forget to mention how your pencil sharpener breaking led to your getting a B on your report card sophomore year. Admissions officers will simply not be able to control themselves upon reading such a tragic tale. If you follow my basic tips, you’re well on your way to continuing your academic career at the college of your dreams, provided you adjust the college of your dreams to something along the lines of CSU Bakersfield.

The Campanile

Friday, October 23, 2020

Lifestyle

Thelonious Monk at Paly: a story of unexpected unity

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Ben Antonow Staff Writer

t’s pouring rain outside the Haymarket Theater, and Danny Scher is brimming with anticipation. He stands alongside countless other jazz aficionados as he waits anxiously for his performers to show up. Finally, with the neck of an upright bass sticking out of the window of his older brother’s van, Thelonious Monk and his ensemble pull up to the theater. The show starts, and after 46 minutes of passionate and entrancing jazz, the crowd erupts with applause. Monk interrupts the cheers and apologizes for the end of the concert saying, “We got to hurry back to get to work, you dig?” Monk, a jazz pianist known for his innovative playing style, performed on a whim at Paly in 1968. The concert, which was released on Sept. 18 by Impulse! Records as a live record of Monk’s entitled “Palo Alto,” was organized solely by then-16-yearold Scher. Scher, looking for an opportunity to hold a fundraiser for the International club, called Monk’s manager at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco, where Monk was performing. They agreed to hold a concert at Paly for $500. Unbeknownst to Scher, Monk needed the money. He was deeply in debt with his label, Columbia Records, and wasn’t attracting the younger fans that his label hoped he would. $500 for a performance less than an hour long was not only appealing to Monk, it was necessary. His family’s well-being depended on it. Scher went to work on publicizing the concert — a talent that would later turn into his career. He put posters everywhere, including in then-unincorporated and predominantly Black East Palo Alto. Despite local police officers discouraging a white kid from advertising in the area, he continued, focused on making sure the show would be a success. “I’ve got to sell tickets, and if you think I’m in trouble by being here, I’ll be in even more trouble if the show doesn’t do well,” Scher recalled telling the officers.

It wasn’t obvious that there would even be a show. Plenty of skeptics within the community doubted whether a revered artist like Monk would even show up to the concert. In the liner notes for the vinyl release of the concert, Scher recalls the word on the street being, “So Monk is coming to lily-white Palo Alto? We’ll believe it when we see it.” But when Monk and his ensemble pulled up to the Haymarket Theater, the same skeptics flocked to Paly to buy tickets at $2 a person or $1.50 for students. The show was on. “The concert was successful,” Scher said. “There was not one negative vibe the whole time.” The two main high schools in Palo Alto and East Palo Alto represented the divide between the neighboring communities well. In 1970, 64% of the students at East Palo Alto’s Ravenswood High School were Black, whereas Paly was almost entirely white. Paly alumnus and Ph.D. Greg Florant attended the concert and was one of eight Black students in the class of 1969. “The thing that struck me about the concert was that it was a great Black jazz musician coming to play at what was basically an all-white high school,” Florant said. “So, I can say that I was surprised and encouraged by the fact that Danny had reached out to folks all over Palo Alto, as well as East Palo Alto to have them come to the concert. So in effect, he was trying to bring different people together.” The concert also came during a time of civil unrest in East Palo Alto. Just months after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the community was advocating for renaming the area Nairobi, after the Kenyan capital, due to the population being predominantly Black. There were, and still are, distinct social, economic and racial divides between East Palo Alto and white, affluent Palo Alto. In 2018, the median household income in Palo Alto was

$157,120, which is more than twice that of East Palo Alto at $64,794. The poverty rate in East Palo Alto is also more than twice the poverty rate in Palo Alto. “It doesn’t surprise me that Palo Alto hasn’t changed as much as I hoped it would,” Florant said. Palo Alto is still a place of indirect segregation. East Palo Alto has more than eight times the percent of Black residents than Palo Alto. Historian Steve Steiger said this is a statistic that can be attributed to the way many developers delegated the rules of who could live in a residence. In many Palo Alto neighborhoods, title deeds forbid Blacks from living in the house. “Many developers didn’t want Blacks to buy houses in Palo Alto, even when they had the money,” Steiger said. “So if you had a young, black engineer at HP, he would be told, ‘Here’s where you need to buy a house,’ and would be sent to East Palo Alto.” These racist deed restrictions were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948, but the clauses in the title deeds remain unaltered. And even after the implementation of the Tinsley Voluntary Transfer program, which allows students from the East Palo Alto District to transfer to PAUSD via a lottery system, Black students at Paly are still an overwhelming minority, making up only 2% of the student body. Despite the inequities that remain after Monk’s concert, the event was one of unity between the communities. “It was white, Black, young, old, high school, grandparents and parents at the end,” Scher said in an interview with The New York Times. “To me, this was like pressing pause. It was like a time out. Let’s just all get along. Let’s just hear some great music for a day.”

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ART BY BEN ANTONOW

78$(*+&9(*:",7&;('%2&+&;+%#2<&7=>*+$7&$(%&,(&:>#2 Zach Silver Staff Writer

In a normal year, senior Jay Kurtz visits a movie theater multiple times per month, watching new releases on the big screen and sharing an experience with fellow movie-goers. However, in the pandemic, he’s reduced to watching new movies while hunched over his laptop or on his TV. With most movie theaters closed due to social distance guidelines, the movie industry is turning to releasing movies online, using streaming sites like Disney+ and Netflix.

!"#$%&'(%)*(+,*-. “Mulan,” a live action remake of the 1998 film by the same name, drew criticism because of the quality of the film, its price and its politics. Watching requires a Disney+ membership ($6.99/ month) and an extra $30 fee. It will be available to Disney+

subscribers at no additional cost after Dec. 4. These hurdles could prevent people like Kurtz from viewing newly released films “Mulan” also drew political criticism because it was filmed in Xinjiang province, the site of China’s reeducation camps, where millions of Uighur Muslims are held captive. In the movie’s end credits, producers thank government officials in the region, a police force in the region and several Chinese propaganda departments. This perceived warmth towards Beijing’s human rights abuses only increased because lead actress Liu Yifei posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo in support of Hong Kong police. “I support Honk Kong police, you can beat me up for it,” Yifei said in her post. “What a shame for Hong Kong.” For all these reasons, junior Phoebe Berghout said she was frustrated by Disney’s

actions. “I heard about it being filmed in Xinjiang where the abuse against the Uighurs was happening,” Berghout said. “I probably wasn’t going to watch it anyways, but now I definitely won’t.” The hashtag “#BoycottMulan” has been used on over 20,000 tweets since the movie’s release. Beyond the controversies over production and release, “Mulan” has also received poor reviews, both from critics and students. Senior Cody Hmelar, who watched the film at an outdoor viewing party, heavily criticized the cinematography. “They used elements such as barrel rolls or dolly zooms for no reason other than it being flashy,” Hmelar said. “A lot of the effects they used were distorting in a non purposeful way which made the viewer confused and detracted from the scene’s quality.” Hmelar also took issue with the plot. “There were so many

subplots that were started but never completed or explored,” Hmelar said. Professional critics similarly disliked it, causing many, like junior Neil Rathi, to pass on it. “It got really bad reviews and I didn’t want to pay $30. for that,” Rathi said.

/%(#$&0(#1,While “Mulan” received significant criticism, the Netflix original “Enola Holmes,” a mystery about the sister of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, received a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, and was the most-watched film on Netflix for several days after its Sept. 23 release. Kurtz, who says he’s a big Sherlock Holmes fan, particularly enjoyed the movie and appreciated the new twist on a legendary series. “It is a really fun time that pays homage to the stories and adaptations that came before it while telling its own unique mystery with a fun

new lead,” Kurtz said. While recent movies have been released directly to streaming, theaters are beginning to reopen. Cinemark opened its doors Sept. 25, while AMC Entertainment opened two of its Bay Area locations Oct. 2. Both companies are operating at 25% capacity and are requiring masks for all customers. Although streaming platforms have done their best to emulate a typical movie-viewing experience, Kurtz said he misses the excitement of going to a movie theater. “The sheer joy of being with hundreds of other individuals who are there to escape their lives is what ultimately sets the theater experience apart from watching at home,” Kurtz said. “They’re there to sit down for two hours and follow these characters in their journey, and being united with these strangers and sharing their emotions is a truly special experience.”

PHOTO BY SASHA LEHRER

Sasha Lehrer

Art & Photo Director So, like, what’s the deal with teachers being able to spy on us on Zoom? There have been unconfirmed rumors circulating that teachers can see when we pin someone and see our private chats. Although the Zoom privacy policy contradicts this information, I am also concerned that Zoom is collecting student data and information and sharing it with third party services, and the district has not been transparent about this with students. Zoom collects student data and sells it to create targeted ads. Common Sense Media said, “There are still privacy issue areas where Zoom falls short, including its limited, but still targeted, use of advertising and third-party tracking that may affect students in K–12. (Ads don’t appear on Zoom itself but on other sites kids visit after using it.)” PAUSD’s Chief Technology Officer, Derek Moore said I shouldn't believe everything I read online about the platform, though. “There is a lot of misinformation in the media about the Zoom platform,” Moore said. “Please take a look at our published guidelines, documents, and privacy policies posted on our website.” When I did, it didn't make me feel better. In fact, I found that it is true that the Zoom platform used by PAUSD, Zoom for K-12 school, automatically collects information using cookies either through their own platform or those of third-party services. While Zoom says the data it collects is used solely to deliver the functionality of the Zoom platform and to operate their business, Zoom’s K-12 Schools & Districts Privacy Policy is somewhat so vague, that I'm not sure Zoom can be trusted. “We may also use third-party service providers to help us provide the service, and they may have limited access to Personal Information in the process.” Basically, Zoom is collecting our data and third-party services have access to this. While this collection of information concerns me, I did find out that if a student wants to request access, review, refuse further collection of, or delete their information they are legally entitled to do so through communication with the school district. Since most of the country is using the Zoom platform for distance learning, this data collection should concern all of us. When we began distance learning, students were never informed of these details directly and deserve to know where their privacy boundaries lie. It is suddenly becoming evident how almost every platform we use is similar to Zoom in this regard. We still don’t fully understand the extent to which our information is accessible to PAUSD and Zoom, but hopefully, the district will provide students with information about what they and Zoom are really doing with all our data.

Friday, October 23, 2020

The Campanile

Lifestyle

G(0/++*1/,*"2/&(1%"-%%&(,*AA%,(H,*D2'( !0/""<(I08/&*+$J'(A,/D2$%'(=*&'<( 0/&'#?%,'(-2"@(0,%*"2D%(?%*+(/A"2/& Jace Purcell

Managing Editor

ART BY AVANTIKA SINGH

Students recall embarrassing Zoom moments during class

!"#$%&#'()*(+$#(*#,(-+#(."#%()&/#0$12#&320&+#$(#4&#'3+&5&22#("50"& Avantika Singh Senior Staff Wrtier

t the end of last semester when senior Tessa Ehrlich was supposed to be logging onto the final Zoom call for her US History class, she was sleeping instead. Ehrlich overslept and showed up unprepared for her final. “I woke up to my friend calling me to get on the Zoom, but I was still in bed,” Ehrlich said. “I quickly grabbed my computer and got on the Zoom, but my camera was on and the whole class saw me lying in bed completely unprepared for the Zoom.” Ehrlich said that moment was so embarrassing for her because she woke up as a mess and had no time to get ready. And to make matters worse, because she was late, Ehrlich said all eyes were on her when she logged onto the class. “I looked like an idiot,” Ehrlich said. Ehrlich attributes embarrassing Zoom moments like these to the fact that students are more absentminded and lazy over Zoom because they are at home for school. “Embarrassing moments are definitely happening more often now over Zoom because it’s easy to be careless while on Zoom rather than when you’re in class,” Ehrlich said. From accidentally falling asleep on camera to forgetting to mute and blurting out an expletive, online school has a learning curve many Paly students are progressing through via trial and error. Even before school went online, students and teachers had their

share of embarrassing moments. But just as the situation with online learning is unprecedented, so are the number of Zoom bloopers. Paly teacher Greer Stone, who said he is glad to have not yet had an embarrassing Zoom moment of his own, agreed with Ehrich that a spike of embarrassing moments happening in class is because people tend to be more careless over Zoom than they are in person. “On Zoom it’s so easy for somebody to be in the background or for you to say something to someone who’s just off screen or to your mom walking in and maybe forget that you’re not muted. Or maybe you stand up and you forget that you’re wearing like your PJ bottoms,” Stone said. To avoid his own embarrassing moments, Stone said he is cognizant of what is behind him and visible on his screen, but also said it is easy for teachers and students to forget to be cautious in the comfort of their own homes. Sophomore Abdullah Navaid hasn’t yet had his own embarrassing moment but has witnessed several. Navaid said unfamiliarity with distance learning is a factor that, alongside carelessness, contributes to embarrassing Zoom moments. “I think embarrassing moments are starting to happen over Zoom more often because in this environment. It’s just hard to understand,” Navaid said. “Sometimes teachers don’t understand the software. Sometimes students don’t understand the software. I feel like because we are very unfamiliar with the technology, and we are unfamiliar with learning

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this way, there are going to be more embarrassing moments.” Stone, Ehrlich and Navaid all said students need to approach the topic of embarrassing moments with a different perspective than the way they are currently thinking about these situations. “I would say immediately mute yourself and then maybe just send a private message to the teacher or class saying, “Sorry. I didn’t realize I wasn’t on mute,” Stone said. “And also just don’t make a bigger deal out of it. A lot of times if something embarrassing happens to you, you think the whole world is focused on you. When in reality, most people don’t care or maybe didn’t even notice.” Ehrlich said taking the approach of not judging others is the way to stop embarrassing Zoom moments from being all that embarrassing. “Embarrassing Zoom moments can be stopped if everyone stops judging each other and everyone just vibes together,” Ehrlich said. “If people aren’t judging each other, then the moment doesn’t even feel as embarrassing.” Navaid said it’s fine to be in an awkward situation and it shouldn’t be a concern. “Don’t think of it as embarrassing because no one else is going to care about your Zoom moment,” Navaid said. “The less embarrassed you get from something happening to you, the more likely people disregard it.”

Houston rapper Travis Scott reached an unprecedented level of stardom on Sept. 9 when he became the first celebrity to partner with McDonald’s since Michael Jordan and his 1992 McJordan special. Scott’s limited-time meal is based on his go-to McDonald’s order growing up in Houston. It includes fries with barbecue sauce, Sprite and the Travis Scott burger, later dubbed the “Travy Patty.” While the burger is quaint, kind of a glorified Big Mac with bacon and mustard, the meaning behind the collaboration is anything but. As soon as the meal was released, senior Timothy Hung said he wanted to get his hands on it. “I knew it was going to be a big cultural thing, so I wanted to try it,” Hung said. Like Hung, senior Ryan Leong was quick to give the meal a try. Leong said he was excited to feel what it was like to fuel up like one of his favorite artists. “Being a fan of La Flame, I wanted to try what the legend himself eats before he drops his fire music,” Leong said. “My friends also wanted to try it, mostly for the memes.” The Travis Scott Burger has inspired many memes, and Leong said this has helped its sales. “Well, Travis Scott has been pretty prevalent in meme culture, especially with the release of ‘Sicko Mode’ a couple years ago, so understandably when he dropped his burger, it was inevitable that he would be memed,” Leong said. “Also, in the commercial he tells customers, “‘Tell ‘em Cactus Jack sent you,’ which led to his fans going up to the window and saying that while blasting a Travis Scott song, most often being ‘Sicko Mode.’” Hung said he was among the many who participated in the ceremony when trying out the meal. “There’s a popular ritual where people play ‘Sicko Mode’ while ordering the meal, but I thought the employees were totally done with that song, so I blasted a different Travis song in the drive through,” Hung said. Leong said the fun of the memes and Scott’s popularity are the leading reasons people are so keen on trying the meal. “I definitely think people were trying the Travy Patty because of the hype, as the burger itself wasn’t really anything special,” Leong said. “It definitely wouldn’t have gotten the

attention it had if it didn’t have Travis’ label on it.” Junior Sebastian Bonnard also tried the burger and said he agrees. “The burger was pretty good,” Bonnard said. “It’s not something I would eat every day, but the price was fair, and it had great condiments.” Leong agrees, and adds that the low expectation McDonald’s typically has contributed to a surprisingly positive experience. “Honestly, the first thing that hit me after taking a bite of the Travy Patty wasn’t really anything special,” Leong said. “The burger itself was pretty good, but since it was from McDonald’s, I already thought it couldn’t be that good. The fries and the bbq sauce were also pretty good.” Hung, though, was not impressed. “It was pretty underwhelming for me, and I didn’t even end up finishing it,” Hung said. “Don’t get the Travy Patty if you’re expecting something ravishing.” The collaboration with a musical artist as famous as Travis Scott and a food chain as large as McDonald’s has never happened before. This relationship has prompted discussion on what effect this might have on other deals in the future. Regardless of the quality of the burger, Leong said the collaboration is good for both parties “I think that the Travis Scott burger was definitely good for the hip hop community because it was able to spread the name and music of Travis Scott, which will probably increase the amount of people listening and talking about his music,” he said. Bonnard said he thinks the collaboration is great because it may motivate other artists to do the same. “I think it’s good for the community because more artists will partner with the big brands, and as a result, Hip Hop will become more mainstream (and) artists will get more money,” Bonnard said. Others, like Hung, think the meal could be a detriment to the Hip Hop community. “I feel like Travis Scott is selling his soul commercially, and if it wasn’t his will to get this McDonald’s collaboration, his record label is definitely exploiting his mainstream popularity for money,” Hung said. Travis Scott Meal could very well be ushering a new era of fast food. On Oct. 5, McDonald’s released its second contemporary celebrity meal in conjunction with Colombian artist J Balvin. All in all, people were pretty excited about this collaboration and what’s to come. “I would recommend it, but it’s not worth a trip that’s out of your way,” Bonnard said. “It’s a fun burger and an interesting promotion, but after all, it’s just a burger.”

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With the continuation of annual celebratory events, junior Vishesh Goyal was left with the sinking realization that he wasn’t going to have the kinds of student gettogethers he normally does — the kinds that usually involve food, drink and friends. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, such gatherings are unsafe for the host and the guests. Instead, people are holding responsible celebrations this year on a smaller scale and often excluding friends and non-immediate family members.

However, these limited celebrations still have the potential to reinforce family values and strengthen connections in a way no laser tag game followed by pizza ever could. Goyal said he chose a family-only celebration for his 16th birthday. “It was a lot smaller scale than my previous birthday, where I invited like 10 friends to sleep over,” Goyal said. However, he said he was pretty happy about that. He said he went with his family to a nearby park, where they ordered food and relaxed for about an hour, ending the celebration with a cake his sister baked for him.

“I really felt a lot closer to my family, and I can talk to my friends any time from home anyway,” Goyal said. “For now, it’s important that we spent this time together.” To celebrate his friend’s birthday, junior Matthew Cao took a different approach. Instead of jeopardizing the health and safety of any party-goers, Cao joined a collective Zoom call with friends and family. The friend’s mother went to each house ahead of time to give out birthday hats, so when the time came to celebrate, everyone on the call put on their hats and sang “Happy Birthday.” “I thought it was a really nice thing to do, and my friend

seemed to enjoy it as well,” Cao said. “It’s a good mix between seeing your friends and spending time with family.” Fremont High School sophomore Chanel Zhang said her family has been brought closer together after celebrating both her birthday and Chinese New Year with only her family. “I feel closer to my parents than I have over the past few years, just because we’ve been spending so much time together and doing so much stuff together at home,” Zhang said. “Some people say it’s weird, but I don’t mind being closer to my parents for a bit.” She also said, “family has to come first; blood is thicker than water.”

ART BY HAILEY HWANG

Friday, October 23, 2020

The Campanile

L festyle

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Among Us Takes Off Party game surges in popularity, takes the world by storm

ART BY SASHA LEHRER

Bruno Klass

Senior Staff Writer

!"#$"%&'"(%#%)'$"*#+%,#"A virtual date is a great way to commence a relationship during quarantine. Through virtual dates, there is no physical contact, and you and your partner can stay safe. Activities include watching Netflix, playing online games or ordering food from the same place and eating together. For senior Georgia Byer, the difficulty of dating during quarantine is compounded by the fact that her boyfriend lives out of state. “You don’t get to see each other when you really want to,” Byer said. However senior Elif Turgut said things don’t seem so bad. “I think COVID is allowing us to see each other a lot more than we normally would have been able to,” Turgut said. “We actually have gotten TikTok famous with over 60k followers, which I don’t think would have happened if Corona didn’t happen.”

.$#/0'"'1/%"1%'/23-$01/% 1*",11$%,#"-0 Before proceeding to inperson outdoor dates, have a COVID talk with your partner. Decide on social distancing and mask-wearing protocols and how strictly you want to adhere to social distancing guidelines when together. Only after everyone is comfortable with the rules should the date begin. Once you’ve decided on rules, keep your partner accountable for following them. Mental Health and Wellness Coordinator Elizabeth Spector said, “Each family has a different level of comfort with engaging with others outside of the home, so talk openly with your family and your partner’s family about what they are comfortable with.”

4(50'6#+%61/"#6"%&'"(% 51*$%3#$"/-$ Before moving on to this next step, remember that communication is key. In addition to consent, which should be communicated no matter the circumstances, you and your partner should talk about how to prepare as this step is much riskier and dangerous due to the risk of catching the coronavirus. Couples like Turgut and her girlfriend Annika Diekgers say they had taken precautions and got COVID tested before meeting. They also set up rules to follow. “We usually talk about what we are planning to do, and while we are talking, we say whether or not we are comfortable with one of us seeing lots of people or increasing our risk for getting COVID,” Turgut said.

7,)'6-%81$%61*3+-0%% “I really, really, emphasize the importance of openly communicating with your partner about your social life. Please do not hide anything because that puts both you and your partner at risk,” Turgut said. Spector agrees. She said, “It’s important that both partners have the same level of investment and commitment and are able to openly communicate their wants and needs. Communication is key to making relationships work.”

Austin Xiang

Science & Tech Editor

After a period of chaotic shouting in an effort to convince his friends of his innocence via Zoom, junior James Churchley slouches back in his seat by his bed and sulks over his failure as his Among Us screen reads “James was ejected … James was an impostor. 1 impostor remains.” Among Us, released by Washington-based gaming company InnerSloth in June 2018, is a social deduction video game with a ruleset comparable to the in-person game Mafia. It consists of player classifications: crewmate and impostor. The crewmates prepare a spaceship for takeoff by completing different outlined tasks, while the unknown impostors kill the crewmates without being caught and before all the tasks are completed in order to win. Senior Jenna Tetzlaff said the game’s recent surge in popularity, as shown by its ubiquitous presence on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, can be attributed to its convenience and the fact that it’s free on mobile devices. “A lot of games you can’t play with your friends,” Tetzlaff said. “Since this is a game that you can just download on your phone instead of a PC game or a PS4 game, I think it’s really accessible, and it’s really creative. Spanish teacher Trevor Crowell said he knows of several influencers who started playing the game on Twitch, a live-streaming service, which may have sparked the game’s popularity. “I think Twitch streamers (played) a big role in it because I read something that the developers invited them to play around with the makers of the game, and they enjoyed it,” Crowell said. “Then all the people who watched those streamers

Tips for Crewmates •

• • • •

Pay attention to the taskbar when you see someone do tasks — faked tasks will not raise the meter Stick close to others when the lights go out; it is a common time to kill Avoid going to remote areas of the map alone Keep track of the times and places you see someone to ensure alibis match up Be wary of people you seldom see during the game

wanted to try it.” However, sophomore Justin Gu said the game’s surge in popularity is because of the game’s content. “It’s the aspects of the game (that make it popular) because I didn’t know any influencers playing it until after I started playing and watching stuff on YouTube,” Gu said. “The game is so suspenseful, and it’s one of those games that actually allows for interaction, and now that everyone’s at home, I think like everyone’s looking for that.” In the game, users can report dead bodies, leading to a deliberation period where players attempt to deduce who the impostor is based on user activity and the location of the dead body. The game concludes with an impostor victory if the number of impostors is equal to the number of crewmates, while the crewmates win if they can identify and eliminate all impostors during the deliberation period or finish their tasks before the impostors reach their goal. Churchley said there is a feeling of gratification when he wins the game, regardless of whether he’s a crewmate or an impostor. “As a crewmate, you’re kind of like a detective because you don’t know who the impostor is and you have to pay attention to a lot of things at once and remember things so that you can know who the impostor is,” Churchley said. “When you’re the impostor, you feel smart when you win because (you get to fool people).” But Crowell said he enjoys the process of figuring out who the impostor is. “It’s kind of a logic puzzle — even when you’re not impostor, it’s fun to try to figure out: ‘If this person was over here and the crewmate was eaten over here, could he have had time to get over there and back?’” Crowell said. “It’s fun to try to puzzle things out individually and as a group.”

ART BY J IMMY MILL ER

With no end to the pandemic in sight, students are reconsidering waiting for the virus to end before putting themselves into the dating world again. Until that time, here are some ways to prepare for dating during the challenging COVID period.

Despite the chaotic arguments that stem from figuring out the impostor, Gu said he appreciates how the game allows him to interact more with others. “It really allows me to connect my friends more because usually we’re in school, and we have stuff to talk about, but now that we’re at home, there’s not much interaction,” Gu said. “It’s really good for team bonding (because it) allows us to get to know other people through how they play and get to know their personality.” Not only does this social aspect allow people to interact more often, but English teacher Hunter Reardon said it can help with rhetorical skills and ultimately school work. “We can read short texts and practice the rhetorical analysis essay in AP Language until the cows come home, and yet neither of these skills students master in the course will necessarily translate to the spoken word unless we practice,” Reardon said. “And we do, sometimes, but not as often as I’d like to. Among Us is definitely a great way to try out some of the rhetorical strategies students are learning in any Paly courses that touch on (those) skills.” In addition Crowell said Among Us is a game for all ages, as it is easy to learn. And Among Us, does not contain graphic content. “A lot of my advisees are saying that they really enjoy playing this game, and I’ve got some older friends who also like playing it,” Crowell said. “I think it’s a game that you can pick up pretty easily regardless of your age.” Crowell said those who haven’t played the game should give it a shot. “I would say it has elevated my quarantine experience because it is a lot harder to get together with friends nowadays,” Crowell said. “Hopping on a Discord and playing a couple of rounds of Among Us is a great way to connect with friends during a time where it’s really tough to do that.”

Tips for Im postors

•

Lock doors to slow and give you mo crewmates re time to leave the area of a recent kil l • crewmates’ vis ion • Gain the tru st of a crewm ate early in the ga me for alibis in future rounds • Work with your fellow im postor to coordin ate double kil ls and vouch for each other • Sabotage something far away from your kill so it takes lon ger

The Campanile

Friday, October 23, 2020

Sports

Preseason practices begin under COVID regulations

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“I was pretty disappointed,” Mazzon said. “I think that in sports, a good season can have a big impact on one’s future. The season being cut short prevented me from that.” Mazzon’s feelings echo those of many Paly athletes, and not just the ones who had their spring seasons cut short. COVID-19 closed gyms, stopped practices and shut down facilities. Students looking forward to playing fall and winter sports have been forced to wait until second semester to do so. Teams that were once close are now distant — literally. However, recently, the Paly athletics department announced that it would begin preseason training — with heavy restrictions — on Sept. 14, an opportunity that many Paly sports have already jumped at. As of now, boys and girls swimming, boys and girls water polo, boys lacrosse, football, boys and girls wrestling, boys and girls golf, boys and girls cross country, dance and cheer have all begun preseason training. All sports are required to follow county guidelines released in early September. Masks and social distancing are front and center on the county’s guidelines for preseason training, but the degree to which that has affected athletes’ abilities to practice varies between sports. Golf, for example, has hardly been affected by these guidelines. Junior golfer Sydney Sung said she feels lucky because golf, even before COVID-19, was basically a socially distant sport. “Playing golf during the pandemic has been pretty easy because normally, we don’t get closer than six feet away anyway,” Sung said. “And I can still practice as much as I did before the pandemic.” Sports like wrestling and football, however, have not experienced the same luxury. From home workouts, to training with teammates on a wrestling mat in his backyard, to travelling to San Jose to get in actual, physical practice, junior Max Felter has been forced to

find unique solutions to continue training and wrestling as wrestling rooms and clubs closed. Even so, he is uncertain whether he will even get a wrestling season this year. “Wrestling will obviously be the last sport that gets to come back since it’s such a close contact sport,” Felter said. “I’m definitely unsure if we’ll get a season.” Paly wrestling coach Jonathan Kessler said that the current state and county guidelines make proper training nearly impossible. “You have to leave the state to get in competitions,” Kessler said. “You need to have a connection outside of school to partake in contact practices.” Sports that land somewhere in between wrestling and golf in terms of the impact these guidelines have had, have found different ways to adapt. Dance, for example, has put the majority of its practices online, connecting over Zoom and training virtually. This, however, has come with its own share of drawbacks. “Team bonding is definitely different,” dance coach Alanna Williamson said. “Normally, a lot of the bonding happens as dancers come into the studio and wait for practice to start.” Another guideline that has proven difficult for some sports is that practices are capped at 14 athletes plus coaches, and the athletes within those cohorts can not rotate through other cohorts. This has presented a number of challenges for sports that practice in limited or shared spaces. Take swimming, for instance. The large groups that once practiced together are now limited to 14, and lanes that were once shared by four to five athletes can now only contain one. With a limited number of lanes and, by extension, a limited number of people that can train together, sometimes fewer than 14 people can practice.

In turn, this has led to shortened practices to create more practice times so as to accommodate all athletes. Add to that the fact that the swim team must share the pool with the water polo teams, and the team has begun turning to off-campus sites altogether. A guideline that deterred many sports from even beginning preseason training is that sharing equipment was initially prohibited, including balls in ball sports. This caused some sports, such as volleyball and basketball, to postpone training until this guideline changed to allow for sharing of equipment between athletes. This guideline has since been revised to allow for shared equipment, though ball sports are still limited in what and how they can practice. For boys varsity lacrosse coach DJ Shelton, dealing with these limitations has been a matter of balancing the drawbacks and benefits. “What kind of drills we can do are severely limited given the guidelines,” Shelton said. “However, the upside is that we can focus more on the fundamentals and basic conditioning, which honestly, is all anyone needs to focus on this early. ” The final guidelines for preseason training are that athletes are now required to bring their own water, locker rooms are closed, bathrooms are limited to one person at a time and athletes must submit a self-screening health check before practice. Even amidst these uncertain times, Mazzon has managed to do what many athletes strive for, finding good in the situation.. “I think COVID has motivated me to try harder,” Mazzon said. “Overall, I think it was a blessing in disguise.”

Jack Galetti Staff Writer

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Evelyn Cheng

ART BY ASTRID WUTTKE

Sports Editor

While finding ways to remain active during a pandemic may seem difficult, one sport stands out as the most suitable to participate in under social distancing guidelines: fencing. The combat sport that involves hitting your opponents with blades in the designated target area to receive points already adheres to the safety guidelines of COVID-19 — to an extent.

!"#$#% Fencers always wear masks so they don’t get hit in the face with a pernicious blade. When I think of the word “mask” today, though, what goes through my mind is either a surgical or cloth mask. Similar to how fencing masks protect the wearer from a blade, surgical or cloth masks provide protection from the germs and infected particles in the air. However, fencing masks are made from metal and have a myriad of pores that fencers use to see out of and breathe through, doing virtually nothing to prevent transmission of the disease. To avert the spread of germs, USA fencing implemented requirements to use a face mask to cover the holes in the fencing mask. Currently, fencers can either place an everyday mask inside their fencing mask or use a face-covering specifically designed with two prongs to fit within the pores of the fencing mask.

!"#$%&'( While many other sports demand hands-on physical contact between opponents, contact is limited in fencing. In an effort to avoid being scored on, fencers often stay far apart from one another, safely out of reach of their opponent’s blade. Fencers are already social-distancing themselves on the strip, a fencer’s playing field, with the exception of actions in close quarters. Of course, the distance kept in fencing does not align with the social distancing six-feet rule, because neither one of the fencers would be able to score a point; that is, unless someone has a reach of over six feet, which is virtually impossible.

)*+,(#As mentioned in the previous section, fencers don’t come in contact with their opponents as often as they would in other sports. They do, however, share the same reels as others when hooking up to the strip. Reels contain the wires that connect fencers to the scoring machines. But instead of using bare hands to hook up to the strip, fencers use gloves, limiting the spread of germs. Unlike many mainstream sports such as soccer and basketball, fencing is an individual sport. To adhere to COVID-19 safety guidelines, the number of people allowed to attend a fencing practice is capped at most clubs. However, as it is an individual sport, this does not make a huge difference — and having more fencers to practice with is always better. The only people involved in a bout are the two fencers on the strip and the referee, who is only needed in formal competitions. Since fencers already wear masks, are distanced from their opponents and wear gloves, the rules of fencing already adhere to the safety guidelines implemented to slow the spread of the Coronavirus. Fencing is pretty much the perfect — or at least the safest — sport to participate in during a pandemic.

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Trump, GOP downplaying science Local politicans endorsed by Republican Party divided on President Trump’s stance on climate change.

Sports

MONICA’S DAD / CC 2.0

Athletes and social change ERVINS STRAUHMANIS / CC 2.0

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Sports

KAREN HICKEY / USED WITH PERMISSION

Coach Briggs

Paly students explore activism in professional and high school sports.

Longtime Paly soccer coach retires, players reflect on his time.

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Sports

GIANNA BROGLEY / THE CAMPANILE

New PSSA

Palo Alto Student Sports Association is a newly implemented club at Paly. PAGE C2

The Campanile

Friday, October 23, 2020

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Senior Staff Writer

Students establish Sports Association club for equity

s junior Ben Szeto converses with his friends regarding his fantasy football team, his mind wanders to his evergrowing love for baseball. A fateful phone buzz from Schoology brings him back to his senses, and Szeto quickly opens the app.

Like a puzzle piece coming together, Szeto realized after seeing this Schoology notification from Athletic Director Nelson Gifford that his love for baseball could be combined with his fellow student athletes to make an impact on Paly in the Paly Sports Student Association club. Gifford created PSSA to promote equity among sports and student athletes. The club meets twice a month during lunch. Gifford said by promoting equity, the club plans to discuss funding, plan activities, resolve athletic issues and provide a voice for student athletes. “There are 1,270 student athletes at Paly,” Gifford said. “Considering some athletes play multiple sports, I’d say there are well over 900 unique athletes at Paly. That’s 900 students that can share the responsibilities of the athletic department. 900 students who could use a voice.” The club’s first meeting was on Oct. 5, when club members introduced themselves and discussed election results, PSSA structure, by-laws and budget approval. Club members have elected president, secretary and treasurer positions with over 30 students running. Juniors Max Bonnstetter, Ella Jauregui and Szeto prevailed in the end. Both secretary and treasurer were close in votes, with a 2.1% difference in votes for secretary, and 5.9% differ-

ence in votes for treasurer between the winner and runner up. Bonnstetter, though, won with a 22.4% difference in votes. “Honestly, I didn’t really know what to expect,” Bonnstetter said. “I was thrilled when I got the position. As a sports news reporter outside of school, I really see how sports can change lives. This club seemed like a new way where I can involve myself in sports be a voice for other students, just like I do as a reporter.” Szeto plays a crucial role in the future of PSSA as the treasurer, with the continuation of the club dependent on its revenue to keep it afloat. “Our goal is to give student representation when making decisions about budget or allocation of funds,” Szeto said. “We are still working with Gifford about how we will work out fundraising and fees for participation.” With no ever precedent to this club, the future remains uncertain. “Since this club is so new, there are a lot of places that we could expand,” Gifford said. “I would take it step by step, and one day maybe we could have a huge impact on the school.” Gifford said his first step is gathering the elected students to discuss the structure and organization of an executive committee. Gifford plans to speak with students about how the Athletics program functions. “We participate in and we play (in it),” Gifford said. “But do we know how it works? Do

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we know all the moving parts that allow athletics to actually exist at Paly? And do we understand how all these teams are interconnected?” Gifford said he wants this club to serve as an expansion of last year’s Sports Information club, which posted articles about financing athletic events and student-athletes on the Athletics website. “I actually was talking with a friend, and he talked about how his school has a sports organization,” Gifford said. “And I thought it was a great idea to bring to Paly.” Junior and club member Madhu Ramkumar said opportunities for the club are endless. “I think that this club would have a huge impact on Paly,” Ramkumar said. “I feel like there is definitely a problem with funding in sports, and girls sports never receive enough. I think this is a really well-needed and wellimplemented club, and I’m excited to see how far it will go.” Though many are optimistic, some members are less sure about the outcome of the club “I think that the overall impact of this club will really just depend on the members,” Szeto said. “It definitely has the potential to be great, but I don’t think we can really say anything yet. If the execution of distribution in funds and organization is at least above average, I believe the club would go far.” Junior and club member Aidan Do agrees. Do said, “I believe this club will make a community for student-athletes to project and voice their concerns and truly make an impact on this school.” Joy Xu Staff Writer

!"#$%"%&'(&%'"#%)*'+$,"-.*/&'".',01.2,"%'-.*'+.$)2%'*%-.*/ Krista Robins Lifestyle Editor

The dynamic between sports and activism has always been complicated. From the 1968 Olympics when Tommie Smith and John Carlos held up their fists as they stood on the winner’s podium to when ‘49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality, athletes have often paid a high price for expressing their views publicly. Despite the risks, following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of U.S. police, athletes from many sports used their platform to protest against racism and call for systematic change.

Senior basketball player and NBA fan Ras Kebebew said he is planning to bring that same spirit of activism to sports he will be a part of after COVID-19. Kebebew said that Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving is doing a great job at increasing awareness around Black Lives Matter. “Irving is in a position where he is still able to financially support himself while not playing basketball, so, in not playing he is shedding light on social justices and police brutality,” Kebebew said. Professional tennis player Naomi Osaka wore seven different face masks at this year’s U.S. Open, one for each round, each with the names of a person of color killed by someone white. After she won the tournament, reporters asked Osaka what message she

was trying to send wearing the face masks. “Well, ‘What was the message that you got?’ is (the real) question,” Osaka told reporters. Junior varsity tennis player Diana Narancic said the message she got from Osaka was a call to action in demanding justice for every name on Osaka’s masks and for every black person in America. “It is truly empowering to see athletes, specifically Naomi Osaka, use their platform to promote change,” Naranic said. “Not only is she playing in a stressful tournament, but she is also dealing with the grief of so many lost Black lives.” Kebebew said the athletes choosing not to play is one less distraction from what is going on when it comes to Black people and police violence.

“It’s so important that we continue to talk about these issues,” Kebebew said. “Although it might make some people uncomfortable when I wear Black Lives Matter shirt to basketball games, it is that same discomfort that we need to push past in order to create real change.”

High spirits, triumphant cheers and the sound of victory fills the boys soccer team bus for one of the first times in the 2019-2020 season. After enduring a turbulent year with only three wins, the team celebrated an important 0–0 tie against first place Santa Clara, a game which ended up playing a crucial role in saving the team from relegation to the lower league. For some of the boys on the team, this result seemed to signify smoother waters ahead and a pivot away from the losing ways that defined their 2019-20 season. Unknown to them, however, was that this would be the final game under longtime coach Donald Briggs. Briggs announced his retirement from his Paly coaching position on Sept. 10. Although he was a somewhat polarizing figure during his years coaching, many of the players said they will miss playing under his leadership. “I’m overall sad to see him go,” senior and four-year varsity player Chris Chen said. “I was used to his coaching style, and for a high school coach, he was pretty good — especially considering most schools don’t have super experienced or welltrained coaches.” History teacher and former froshsoph soccer coach John Bungarden worked with Briggs for over a decade and said he thoroughly enjoyed his time as Briggs’ colleague. “While soccer season runs for a little over three months, there is a bit of intensity to the experience given the amount of hours you spend,” Bungarden said. “Given that, you can only coach that long with someone you like and respect. With Coach Briggs, it was easy to do both.” Briggs did not respond to interview requests for this story, but Bungarden said Briggs’ decision to retire ultimately came down to his desire to spend more time with his family. “Coach Briggs taught and coached for a couple decades and, while he clearly enjoyed doing both, retirement will also permit more family time,” Bungarden said. “For all the time I’ve known him, Coach Briggs’ family lived in Chico, and he would commute back and forth on the weekends. Life will be easier now.” However, regardless of what many players say was his general likeability and friendly attitude, some players like senior Drew Mukherjee said they had issues with Briggs’ coaching style. “He was often difficult to have a meaningful conversation with, especially about game strategy,” Mukherjee said. “This resulted in players playing out of position or hardly playing each game without any understanding of why that was taking place.” But despite the concerns with his coaching, Mukherjee said Briggs was always upbeat. “He always had a positive attitude about the team and was never negative or hurtful toward players,” Mukherjee said. “Even when we were going through difficult times, he encouraged us to keep going.” Bungarden said Briggs’ attitude and demeanor will be missed. “Coach Briggs ... tried to balance our approach to the season so that, to the extent possible, players had a positive experience while playing for Paly and would have reasons to have good memories (of ) their high school soccer career,” Bungarden said. “While, unsurprisingly, we did not achieve 100% success, they were always part of our objectives for the season and over the years I think we were reasonably successful.”

ART BY BRADEN LEUNG

The Campanile

Friday, October 23, 2020

Science & Tech

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t the end of a typical school day, junior Ziv Weissman would normally head to water polo practice. In the latter half of September, however, many of Weissman’s practices, as well as other sports practices, were called off due to bad air quality

“I definitely, during 7th period, will always be checking the air quality,” Weissman said. “When it was really bad, it was pretty worrying.” For many students like Weissman, it is becoming increasingly clear air quality is affecting their daily lives. As smoke from ongoing wildfires drifts over California, parts of the state are experiencing extremely poor air quality, and many residents have been driven even further to stay in their homes. With the smoke affecting the so many people, being aware of how to interpret air quality measurements can help prevent its harmful effects. Air quality measurements describe the level of pollution in the atmosphere at a given time. In the US, this is typically measured using the air quality index, which rates the air’s concentration of five types of typically harmful particles, on a scale from one to 500. The index is split into six colored tiers, ranging from “good,” which is below 51 AQI, to”‘hazardous,” which is above 300. The Environmental Protection Agency describes a safe level of pollution as below 100 AQI. Air quality monitoring service Purple Air reports that Palo Alto air quality has reached well into the “unhealthy” category, reaching nearly 200 AQI several times. Other parts of California closer to the fires are experiencing air qualities of close to 400 AQI. AP Environmental Science teacher Nicole Loomis said this high air quality poses numerous health risks. “One of the main substances that’s measured are PM 2.5 particles, which are small enough to get into your lungs,” Loomis said. “Anything attached to them can get into your bloodstream.” PM 2.5 refers to particulate matter measuring

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2.5 microns or less in width. These particles can be as small as 1/30 the width of a human hair and can attach themselves to toxins which can lead to serious, permanent health problems. Wildfires drastically increase the likelihood of breathing in these particles. EPA data shows the concentration of PM 2.5 particles in California in the month of September was 2 to 5 times that of normal air. These toxins often come directly from the source of the fires. “It’s not just trees burning down,” Loomis said. “When a house gets burned down, think of everything that gets burned down with it. You’re burning insulation, piping and all the structural elements. That’s what really causes problems.” A Stanford study conducted by Dr. Mary Prunicki and Dr. Kari Nadeau showed that wildfire smoke leads to a 40% increased rate of heart attacks and strokes in people over 65, while doubling the rate of asthma in children. Paly athletes in particular have expressed concerns surrounding the danger of practicing on days with high air quality. According to Weissman, some athletes have had to make a decision between staying healthy and going to practice. “If you go to practice, you’re exposing yourself to all the smoke, but if you don’t, you might be falling behind,” Weissman said These health concerns are reflective of problems athletes have faced due to smoky air. According to both Weissman and Paly Field Hockey Coach Jenny Crane, practices have become more difficult for stu-

!"#$%"$&'$(#%)&'*+$&*#,(-& ,*.//$/&#%"0%"*+/#1$ Sloan Wuttke

News & Opinion Editor Sitting at her desk and staring at a screen for over eight hours each day, freshman Sophia Yang starts to feel the strain of the blue light her computer is emitting. Like many other students, Yang has now switched to using blue light glasses to reduce the potential harm that comes with excessive screen usage and alleviate the strain on her eyes. “I heard from others that they’re supposed to help with eye strain, fatigue and sleeping better after using screens,” Yang said. “I’m not totally sure because I think the changes might be very subtle, so I might not have noticed if they had an effect.” Yang said the use of blue light glasses has grown as an inadvertent result of quarantine and online schooling which requires a lot of screen time. Optometrist Lisa Berkowitz, though, said the narrative surrounding blue light glasses can be misleading and sometimes false. “There is evidence that the blue light reduction improves sleep patterns,” Berkowitz said. “Currently, there is no clear evidence that blue light from screens causes retina damage. Sometimes this eyeharm claim has been misleading consumers and some other countries have tried to limit the false claims.” Berkowitz said patients may experience unexpected and indirect benefits from wearing blue light glasses, however. “The use of blue-blockers is ART beneficial as it BY S ASH A LE does reduce dry eye HRE R symptoms, though this is also

true for other types of eyeglass lenses,” Berkowitz said. “I have had a patient who really liked her blue-blockers, however, there was no blue blocker on the lens. It is expected she appreciated the benefits of wearing a protective lens that reduced dry eye, even without the blue-blocker.” Berkowitz said eyeglass lenses have an association with reduced dry eyes and screen use. “Most eyeglass lenses offer dry eye benefits as they reduce the evaporation of tears, which contributes to dry eyes,” Berkowitz said. “Dry irritated eyes are associated with computer or phone use since a decreased blink frequency is very common when viewing screens.” Berkowitz said blue light glasses also aid in lessening light absorption. “Eyeglass lenses reduce the overall amount of light that reaches the eye,” Berkowitz said. “The light reduction can limit the eye strain associated with screens. When eyes are dry, they can be more sensitive to light.” Sophomore Cayden Gu said he started wearing blue light glasses as a result of online school and said his optometrist recommended he wear them as a precautionary step to avoid eye problems. “I notice that after I look at a screen for a long time without the glasses and put them on, it makes my eyes less strained,” Gu said. “I don’t know if it’s scientifically based, but from my experiences, I feel like they help me.” Senior Tommy Hall said he has noticed the benefits of blue light glasses, particularly in regards to his sleep. “I think they improve tiredness which is good because if I’m on my computer at 11 without them, I won’t feel tired at all, but if I do wear them, then my body is able to tell me it’s time to go to bed,” Hall said. “I would definitely recommend blue light glasses.”

dents. “At one practice, I had a few girls come up to me saying (that they were) having trouble breathing,” Crane said. “It can definitely make exercises harder.” Weismann noted a similar experience, stating that he and his teammates had some additional trouble in practices. In order to ensure students’ safety, Paly’s Athletic Department has stated that sports will be cancelled on days with air quality higher than 150. Recommended courses of action to protect from wildfire smoke overlap significantly with those of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including staying indoors and wearing masks while outside. According to Vienna Liu of the Public Health Club, determining one’s own levels of risk is important. “Everyone should be aware of their own personal health,” Liu said. “Especially if you know you have other health conditions, you should be thinking about how you’re affected by things like this.” Loomis said this spike in air pollution is not unique to 2020. She said it is likely to resurface, as widespread wildfires are sure to be a recurring annual event. “We saw the same rise in Air quality a few years ago, when everyone had their masks and filters …” Loomis said. “We’ll definitely see this again with forest fires in the future.”

Ajay Venkatraman Online Editor

The Campanile

Friday, October 23, 2020

Science & Tech

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But in a state where 57% of forest land is owned by the federal government, this attitude is extremely controversial, leading members of the president’s own party to disagree. District 25 State Senate candidate Kathleen Hazelton, endorsed by the California Republican Party, said the federal government is not at fault for increased wildfires in the state. “I perceive this as a problem that the state of California has — a problem that only the state of California can take care of because they can work with help from or work in concert with the federal government,” Hazelton said. Hazelton said forest management in California is a job for the state government, not the Trump administration. “They’re the ones that are responsible for cleaning the forest,” Hazelton said. “Somebody needs to say we need to review our procedures of taking care of the forests.” Hazelton’s beliefs directly contradict those of Peter Ohtaki, a GOP-endorsed candidate for California State Assembly. “Climate change is a major if not leading factor in wildfires. But forest management, or lack thereof in the last several years, also would help,” Ohtaki said. “Finally, PG&E’s transmission lines are also responsible for many major fires, which they recognize as liability has forced the utility into bankruptcy, so they are improving their mainte-

nance program.” Ryan Treves, co-director of Students for a Sustainable Stanford, said 347 fires are currently burning in California there are multiple factors that play a role in wildfires, In June 2017, President Trump withdrew which Californian politicians the US from the Paris Climate Agreement must take into account when writing legislaThe August Complex fire is the largest fire tion for combating climate ever recorded in California (1 million acres) change. INFORMATION FROM FIRE.CA.GOV “The harms that wildfires are zelton said. “We spend so much money, and causing today cannot be attributed to either we are taxed so hard — we are double taxed poor forest management or climate change in California — that I think it’s really good alone,” Treves said. “In reality, they are the for a new president to (re-evaluate) where the culmination of both a century of misguided money’s going.” management based on fire suppression as well Hazelton also said there are more pressing as global greenhouse gas emissions, in addiissues that should take financial priority over tion to reckless development in the wildlandthe climate accord. urban interface, a brittle electrical grid and “I think we have other problems in our ignorance of sustainable Native American country and in our state that should take land practices.” precedence,” Hazelton said. “We have veterans This isn’t the first time President Trump’s that need help. We have other groups that position on wildfire causes has come under need help. We’ve had money mismanaged and fire for disregarding climate change. In June given to groups that probably don’t deserve it, of 2017, Trump announced that the US would so I think that it was good that he looked at it withdraw from the 2015 Paris Accord, an and made the decision that he did.” agreement within the United Nations dealing Treves disagrees with the premise of Hawith greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigations. zelton’s argument. In California, however, Republicans are once “The Paris Accord is not perfect by any again split on the president’s controversial means, but to back out is to abandon our duty decision. to the well-being of future generations in “To leave the accords to strike a better favor of short-term profits,” Treves said. “The deal is short-sighted,” Paris Agreement is a framework for collecOhtaki said. “China tive goal-setting and accountability: it is not and India won’t folbinding, meaning that any argument about low greenhouse saving U.S. dollars by exiting the agreement is gas (emission) baseless.” cuts unless Treves said the price of cleanup, if the the US is a world continues at its current rate of polparty to the lution, will be significantly higher than any agreement. amount of money put towards green energy Because now. this is a “Economists across the globe recognize global that the costs of our current polluting behavchallenge ior will far outweigh the costs of investing in a in the long green future,” Treves said. term, the Investing in said green future means getAmerican ting cars off the road, according to Ohtaki, economy even if it means expensive infrastructure must show projects. leadership “Unfortunately, we have 1970s mass transit by setting an in the Bay Area, and we need a 21st century example.” mass transit system to support the growth Hazelton, in contrast, in Silicon Valley,” Ohtaki said. “Here on the agrees with the President’s Peninsula, a Dumbarton Rail connection decision. between BART Union City and CalTrain “Financially, we were would reduce 40,000 car commuter trips daily funding a lot of things for those who live in the East Bay but work in that should have Silicon Valley.” been funded as But Republicans in Washington D.C. seem a group,” Hato disagree. In 2019, the Trump administration rescinded nearly $1 billion in federal grants for California railway construction projects. “We still have a long way to go,” Treves said. “Democrats in California approve new fossil fuel extraction every year, and frontline communities are still an afterthought in clean energy policy as families — from the Central Valley to here in the Bay Area — experience environmental injustice,” Treves said. For Treves, climate change is the most pertinent issue that humanity faces. “The fight for climate change is the most pressing issue of our generation,” Treves said. “As the saying goes, ‘Not everyone wakes up thinking about climate change, but everyone wakes up thinking about something affected by climate change.’”

California’s Climate Crisis

Ziggy Tummalapalli

= Areas affected by fires since 1978

Sports Editor G ORA ZHEN ART BY AD