Issue 8, 2015

Behind the Baltimore protests

BY AMANDA CHANG & MEERA KRISHNAMOORTHY

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n April 19, 2015, Freddie Gray from Baltimore, Md., was reported dead from spinal injuries after spending days in a coma. Both Gray’s arrest and the cause of his death are still under investigation; all the public knows, as of May 21, 2015, is that Baltimore’s state attorney Marilyn J. Mosby announced the indictments of six Baltimore police officers on various charges related to the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, including illegal arrest, misconduct, assault and involuntary manslaughter.

Three of the indicted police officers are Caucasian, and the other three are African American. Other than the involvement of African American police officers, this case is reminiscent of the numerous cases in the past few years involving African American deaths at the hands of the police. The cause and the mysterious nature of Gray’s death -- police officers are refusing to publicly comment on the events occurring after Gray’s arrest -- have incited several violent riots and protests in Baltimore, which have in turn affected current students at Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

“We [JHU students] were afraid of what was going to happen to [JHU] and what Baltimore was becoming,” said Class of 2014 Lynbrook alumna and current freshman at JHU, Yamini Patibandla. “The violence was happening close to Peabody Campus, where many of my classmates and I work. The grocery store we frequent was also torn apart by rioters, and I haven’t gone back since.”

A Timeline of the Events in Baltimore No authorities have commented on the nature and reason for Gray’s arrest. According to a statement released by the city, Gray had been in trouble with the law in the past, but there was no indication he was breaking any laws in the moments prior to his arrest on April 12. Several news sources, including the Baltimore Sun, reported that Gray was found with a knife, but there is no evidence that he used the knife in an illegal manner.

As for the cause of death, Gray did not resist arrest, according to a video shot by bystanders, nor did the police officers use force while arresting him. In that same video, bystanders noticed something wrong

with Gray’s leg as the officers dragged him into a police van, and news sources reported Gray requesting an asthma inhaler while in the van. Gray, however, was killed by a spinal injury, which neither a leg injury nor asthma could have caused.

The day after Gray’s arrest, the police held a press conference about Gray’s arrest and time in the hospital. Information, or the lack thereof, provided at the conference incited protests and riots; on April 18, the Saturday after Gray’s arrest and subsequent coma, hundreds of Baltimore residents gathered in front of the Western District police station to protest the lack of information surrounding and the potential hand the police may have had in Gray’s death. Over the next few days, the protests became more rowdy, and hundreds of rioters were arrested.

The day the protests began, all JHU classes were cancelled after 6 pm by the administration and campus police escorted students to safe areas. Many JHU students, according to Patibandla, were “scared because the entire campus was clear, but everyone could hear sirens. [The students] weren’t very close to where the majority of the protests were going on, but [they] all still felt very insecure, and were praying that nothing was happening.”

The most violent protests occurred on April 27, the day of Gray’s funeral. Baltimore citizens and police officers started throwing rocks at each other; some citizens looted a CVS pharmacy and set it on fire, and also destroyed police cars. As a result, the city of Baltimore announced a 10 p.m to 5 a.m. curfew for all citizens and threatened to arrest violators.

Patibandla and several of her classmates were unhappy with the way the rioters were behaving, but she understood the reasoning behind the riots.

“When I look back at the rioters’ actions, I’m not going to say that the total extent of what they did was justified, but I will say that the extent of what they did was very loud and powerful,” said Patibandla. “Even

L

eading up to the start of the next school year, Lynbrook will be undergoing a series of staff, student, and campus-related changes. From the departures of key staff members to changes to the advent and improvement of influential campus programs, these adjustments will produce a critical impact both inside and outside the classroom next year.

A few of Lynbrook’s changes were made in response to widely successful policies. For example, the semi-annual Challenge Day will undergo small renovations due to positive reviews. Principal John Dwyer elaborates on how community responses have opened up Challenge Day to a bevy of newcomers.

“A number of participants came back to the second [Challenge Day] based on their

Baltimore’s Racial History, Present, and Future Freddie Gray’s arrest and death has shed a light on the long history of racial tensions in the city of Baltimore, which is no stranger to racial discrimination and persecution. In the 1930s, there was redlining, which meant that banks refused to lend money in neighborhoods for having “undesirable racial concentrations.”

see BALTIMORE page 12

Changes for the upcoming school year

BY SHREYAS IYER

though their actions might not have been the safest method to communicate their anger about Gray’s death, it was very effective. Baltimore stood up and showed the world that they had a voice. The protests were scary, but they were very important.”

African-American students at Lynbrook also understood, and even supported, the situation in Baltimore.

“Every year, African-Americans are murdered or charged for doing nothing,” said junior Leuel Demess, an AfricanAmerican student at Lynbrook. “So this is the moment to protest, and I think it’s important that African-Americans are taking time to get justice.”

Those who were unhappy with the riots but outraged at Gray’s death, were much more supportive of the peaceful protests that began around the same time as the riots were happening. These protests were related to the injustice of hate crimes, and they took place around the Baltimore area, with some even being organized on JHU’s campus.

“I think that the protests were a very powerful and great way to end that week of horrible riots,” said Patibandla. “It was a way for well-meaning people to stand up and support Freddie Gray. The reason why my attitude about the situation is not completely negative is that peaceful protests show the world that Baltimore is still a city behind all the craziness and violence.”

On May 1, Mosby and state prosecutors said that they had probable cause to arrest six police officers on the charges of homicide, manslaughter and misconduct.

Soon after, Baltimore residents came together to start cleaning their streets, and the night curfew was lifted on May 3.

positive feelings from the first one. The students themselves felt so good about the program that they sent a message to other students to come to the second Challenge Day,” said Dwyer. “We will become more conscious of responses when planning activities.”

For next year, Dwyer and the other members of the Challenge Day renovation team, which includes other members of Lynbrook staff, are considering a new Challenge Day club and the creation of two more Challenge Days, as well as the inclusion of more students. The team is still discussing ways to broaden Challenge Day to affect more aspects of students’ lives. According to Dwyer, more students need to be involved in the program in order to spread school-wide change.

“Challenge Day is not just about the experience [of attending], but rather about developing an atmosphere on campus of caring, of

understanding, and of empathy amongst all students,” said Dwyer. The kids that participate in Challenge Day act as ambassadors for the program, and by increasing the number of these ambassadors we hope that [feelings of caring] will be improved around campus.”

Another new initiative, Challenge Success, will soon be making its debut. Challenge Success is a program combining students, teachers, and parents to best utilize effective methods to tackle stress-related issues at school. Although it is not related to Challenge Day, Challenge Success is a similar organization that will give students a chance to relieve any compounding problems, specifically those relating to stress. Even though the program is still in planning stages, Dwyer elaborated on the potential of the program.

see CHANGES page 2

DIVING// pg. 14

Cell tower proposal rejected

News in Brief

BY JAMES WILHELMI

SHIVATEJA VEMIREDDY–EPIC

Yearbook Distribution Date and Time Yearbooks for the 2014-2015 school year will be distributed starting Thursday May 28. Seniors will be able to pick up yearbooks from the library between 1:30 and 2:15 p.m., juniors between 2:15 and 3 p.m., and sophomores and freshmen between 3 and 4 p.m. Distribution will continue for everybody the next day.

RENUKA BELWALKAR–EPIC

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t its April 28 meeting, the FUHSD Board of Trustees voted to reject Verizon’s proposal to construct a new cell phone tower on the roof of the Lynbrook gym. According to the district, “Verizon has not provided satisfactory information in response to the Board’s request [for further information].” The ruling brings an end to a months-long battle between the communications firm and community activists opposed to the project.

In the spring of 2014, Verizon approached FUHSD seeking to install equipment on the campuses of Cupertino and Lynbrook High school. The company offered a 15-year contract with a monthly payout of $2,200. City of San Jose officials approved the plan in June, information was sent out to nearby residents over the summer and the Board scheduled its vote on the issue for its Feb. 3 meeting.

After a large turnout of concerned citizens, however, the Board elected to postpone its decision in order to gather information on alternate sites and any possible harmful effects of the equipment.

Opposition to Verizon’s cell tower plan was spearheaded by the local group No Tower in Schools. Beginning in March, the organization advocated for its cause by printing yard signs, creating t-shirts and encouraging community members to attend Board of

Trustees meetings and voice their doubts about the cell tower.

According to leaders of the group, the reasons for its creation are simple.

“The essential part… is not whether parents or neighbors support [the project or not], because the majority oppose Verizon’s proposal,” No Cell Towers in School spokesperson Jenny Yuan said. “[The problem is that] they do not know of this proposal at all.”

No Cell Towers in Schools’ arguments against erecting Verizon’s proposed tower on the gym center on the equipment’s perceived negative health effects, resulting specifically from the radio waves that cell towers give off.

“[Students] don’t know the radiation cell towers emit increase by many times the risk of… illness, disorder and cancer,” said Yuan.

The validity of this claim is a question being debated in the scientific community.

No Cell Towers in Schools’ website provide links to studies linking cell tower radiation and elevated cancer rates, but the American Cancer Society notes that “...most scientists agree that cell phone antennas or towers are unlikely to cause cancer.”

Numerous other medical authorities, such as the World Health Organization, cite similar findings.

Furthermore, a study by the telecommunications consulting group Hammett & Edison paid for by Verizon concluded that emissions from the cell tower would be well within the Federal Communications Commission’s requirements.

Despite the nebulous association between cell towers and health, No Cell Towers in Schools is pleased with the results of the Board’s vote and is moving toward new goals, in particular preventing the renewal of AT&T’s lease with FUHSD that expires in January 2016.

“We will continue the fight until all the cell towers are out of the school, this is the goal of NTIS,” said Yuan.

Baccalaureate Date and Time Lynbrook’s annual Baccalaureate ceremony will take place on June 1 at 7 p.m. at the Church of Ascension. The event will feature both senior student speakers and a word from the Class of 2015’s advisors. The event is open to non-seniors as well.

Graduation Ceremony Date and Time The 2014-2015 graduation ceremony will take place on June 5. The ceremony will start around 9:30 a.m. on the football field and continue through the afternoon. It will feature student speakers as well as a commencement address delivered by Principal John Dwyer.

Finals Week Schedule Finals for freshmen, sophomores and juniors will take place between June 1 and June 3. Students will take their third and sixth period finals on June 1; first, fourth and seventh period finals on June 2; and second and fifth period finals on June 3. The full schedule can be found on the school website.

Grades 9-11 Checkout Day June 4 will be checkout day for freshmen, sophomores and juniors. First period will begin at 7:35 a.m. and seventh period will end at 11:55 a.m. Students will need their teachers to sign off on their checkout forms.

Briefs by Yoni Zemlyak

CHANGES| Revisions for next year continued from CHANGES page 1

Letter from the Editors Dear Readers, This issue represents a passing of the torch: at the beginning of the month, we handed off Editor-in-Chief duties to next year’s team of Kristen Wong and Stephanie Lu. These two are highly skilled and we have the utmost confidence that they will do great things with the Epic next school year.

We bring you this last issue of the Epic with five days left of school, one for seniors.

All of us have experienced a year full of homework, friendships, laughs and losses, and now we take a step back to reflect on the people who have supported us along our path. Specifically, though, we think back to the accomplishments and events of the graduating class of 2015 as we pay homage to them with the senior pull-out (pg. 8).

We hope you enjoy this final issue, and best wishes for the summer.

Stay proud, Khaya Bhatia and James Wilhelmi

“Over the course of the next year, a good result from [Challenge Success] would be for the school community to come up with a few ideas to target student stress, and then figure out whether or not they were effective,” said Dwyer.

In November, during the developmental stages of Challenge Success, Lynbrook staff administered a student survey, and have since been analyzing these results.

The program is expected to start immediately next year.

Important curriculum changes are also expected. The California Department of Education will be modifying the newlyinstituted CAASPP tests in order to attack a issues with the previous test.

The “Smarter Balance” initiative underwent its first testing period this past year, with sophomores taking the life science test, and the juniors taking the math and english iterations. For the upcoming year, the Department of Education has adjusted a few facets of the tests, most importantly that of how it will be taken; next year, rather than using the paper and pencil of old, the tests will be administered via computer.

The purpose of the adjustments is to focus on understanding. The previous format didn’t test students on comprehension, nor was it aligned with the ma-

terial taught in classes. This new format will yield more comprehensive results.

Another initiative new to Lynbrook is the upcoming renovations towards school campus. Important facilities are expected to be modified, including the math wing and the school library over the course of the next few years. Dwyer expects the administration and the architects to continue planning the rest of the first phase by the end of the next

school year, and for the entire reconstruction process to end within four to five years.

“We got a lot of input from parents, staff, and students [concerning the plans],” said Dwyer. “The plan took a year to develop, and we’re having a meeting with the class officers on the draft drawing process soon. I’m very excited about this project.”

Changes will also occur in staffing. Counselor Jessica Coscia and Librarian Roz Davis are leaving Lynbrook; Coscia to Monta Vista as a counselor and Davis to retirement. Although they are eagerly awaiting their respective new roles, both enjoyed their time here at Lynbrook and learned from students and other staff. For Coscia, Lynbrook’s studious environment was a big turnaround from her previous positions, but she was ready for the challenge. “[Lynbrook] is completely different from my old school (San Jose High School}, and I’ve really enjoyed learning about the population and their needs, and especially building relationships with students,” said Coscia.

“I think that I have an ability to build relationships with students, so they feel comfortable talking to me. It was easy for me to learn more about students here.”

Davis has spent 16 years at Lynbook, and has enjoyed student interaction during her time here. She is looking forward to using the life lessons she learned from students.

“My favorite memories were the daily experiences I had with students, and talking with regular readers,” said Davis. “Hopefully I’ve helped [students] find reading to be more enjoyable.”

Coscia is looking forward to taking the full-time job as a counselor at Monta Vista High School, and Davis, besides enjoying the perks of retirement, will continue volunteering at local libraries.

Potential of illegal alien health care Examining the benefits of giving illegal immigrants equal health care

BY JESSICA LUO AND SHEFALI VIJAY he goal of America’s Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, is to ensure that each citizen has equal access to affordable health insurance. While this privilege currently does not apply to illegal immigrants, the passing of Senate Bill 4 (SB4) would be highly beneficial to illegal immigrants, as well as the California economy, by granting them the same healthcare rights as United States Citizens.

Because of the high cost of this bill, on May 4, 2015 the Senate Appropriations Committee decided to pass SB4 into the “suspense file,” where bills costing more than $50,000 to propose, draft and adopt wait for approval. SB4 may cost anywhere from $175 million to $740 million in execution.

As a proactive approach to solidifying President Obama’s “healthcare for all” mentality, SB4 would provide over one million illegal immigrants with health care benefits, a necessary step toward equal healthcare. At 10 million and counting, California currently houses a fourth of United States immigrant population. With the highest illegal immigrant population of the 50 states, California is also home to over 2.5 million illegal immigrants--27 percent of the total number of unlawful immigrants in the United States.

Additionally, illegal immigrants represent 7.5 percent of California’s total population. Given this exceptionally high number, California cannot justify maintaining its current California Medical Assistance Program (Medi-Cal), which provides healthcare to low-income individuals but excludes illegal immigrants from this right.

“The only thing holding [California] back [from expanding Medi-Cal] is just immigration status. To me, that’s not an important enough issue to hold back these services,” said Government teacher Jeffrey Bale.

An economic issue that Californians have with passing SB4 is the widespread misconception that illegal immigrants do not pay taxes. On the contrary, according to Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, California ranks first out of the nation in generating tax revenue from households of illegal immigrants. In 2010, illegal immigrants paid over $2.7 billion in taxes by purchasing goods

and services, as well as by paying property tax; however, they are still denied the right to receive healthcare under Medi-Cal. Because unauthorized immigrants make up such a large part of California’s population, their health (or lack thereof) directly affects the economy, which would be boosted as more people become capable of working and contributing to society. With workers able to meet standards and increase rates of production, lack of resources would no longer be an issue. The numerous benefits of expanding health care to unlawful immigrants far outweigh issues concerning funding SB4.

“Certainly there are a number of studies that show that people who have access to healthcare are more effective workers,” said Bale. “They miss fewer days on the job, and these types of things have positive ramifications in the long run, even in the short run.”

If the bill is not passed, we run the risk of illegal immigrants waiting for extended periods of time to receive medical attention due to the fact that they don’t have insurance to cover the cost of the treatment. Then, when the disease becomes overwhelming, they will be rushed to the emergency room. These unplanned visits, scheduled only when the patient is deathly ill, often incur a higher cost than simply purchasing an antibiotic or getting vaccinated before the disease progresses. These frequently crippling costs lead to the possibility of high debt for illegal immigrants, which would greatly limit their spending power in an economy that desperately needs consumer spending.

For example, Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami alone collected about $50 million a year in Emergency Medicaid funding, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration. Furthermore, the cost of emergency medicaid funding nationwide totals close to $2 billion annually.

Bale described the act of spending money only when people are extremely sick as “sick care” rather than healthcare, and went on to say, “If we’re providing illegal immigrants with sick care and spending all this money, it makes sense to provide them with health care earlier on.”

Thus, given the current inequality in health care and the need of the immigrant population, providing unauthorized immigrants with affordable health care is key.

by these traumatic images on their way home.

Sophomore Katherine Xiao recalls being dumbfounded by the blood-covered, misshapen fetuses on her way home from track practice.

“I felt traumatized by the protest because of how graphic the pictures were, and I wasn’t sure what to think,” said Xiao. “I tried to get the pictures out of my memory, and to not think about it for the whole day, but whenever someone brings up abortion, those images come up in my mind.”

According to a UC Irvine study, repeated exposure to graphic images may have lasting mental health consequences, such as PTSD, anxiety disorder, and an elevated risk for heart disease. “[The images] may continue to be upsetting so that students would revisit them later in their own mind,” said school psychologist Brittany Stevens. “The emotional response that the images may elicit creates a feedback loop that’s hard to exit.”

These activists are guilty of a double standard. While they preach the importance of

sexual responsibility to students, they neglect their responsibility of respecting others’ mental health in a bid to further their own moral crusade.

The activists risk indoctrinating a controversial belief among teenagers, depriving them of the opportunity to think for themselves as they mature. Their young age and adaptable brains make them susceptible to being easily influenced by external factors; in showing these images and bias, they see a skewed view of abortions and the pro-life movement.

“Anytime that you’re exposed to only one side of the argument, a bias forms,” said Stevens. “When people put up propaganda, it

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KATHLEEN CUI—THE EPIC

The underlying hypocrisy of presumptious activists

BY JULIA PARK

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s protests and riots rise locally and nationally, the hypocrisy in many activists has slowly surfaced. Often, the activists hold double standards and use the very tactics that they stand against in voicing their opinions.

Responsible activism was not shown by demonstrators in April when members of an anti-abortion organization protested on the sidewalks bordering Lynbrook. The activists displayed tri-folds with graphic images of aborted, third-trimester fetuses. They did not break any laws, but their use of graphic, extreme images of abortions prevented developing students from understanding abortion objectively before forming opinions.

These persuasive tactics were socially unacceptable, morally hypocritical and more detrimental than informative.

While the activists intended to sway high schoolers through graphic photographs, they disregarded Lynbrook’s proximity to Miller Middle School. Students as young as 10 years old, and the parents of these children, drove

exposes you to an extreme view that can definitely influence your thoughts about something being immoral or wrong.”

Even though there was no visible damage caused by the activists’ efforts, it is imperative that the activists consider the consequences of their actions and move to other locations.

Rather than trying to influence students through graphic, skewed pictures, they ought to reevaluate their methods and protest in areas with less amenable individuals.

While one’s freedom of expression is justified, hypocrisy is not. The consequences of an immoral protest invalidate the message, and activists must carefully consider the impact their protests have on communities.

Testing the administration’s CAASPP communication

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n April this year, the FUHSD sent a letter to families informing parents and students that the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) test would be administered to juniors from April 20 to 23. The letter detailed the importance of the test and its differences from the previous STAR test, but neglected to mention that students had the option of opting out or the consequences students and the school would face if too many students opted out. Forty students opted out without understanding the repercussions, prompting confusion between parents, students, and administration. This problem could have been solved had the consequences of opting out been clearly delineated prior to administration of the test.

“The district hides that you can opt out, which is understandable,” said junior Christina Tani, who opted out of the exam. “But what they should have done early on is make it clear what the consequences of opting out are.”

To make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), the U.S. Department of Education’s requires 95 percent of students to take the standardized exam; otherwise the school fails to make AYP and gains “federal school improvement status.” If this happens, the school must restructure its existing curriculum or replace staff members.

The fact that forty students opted out contrasts sharply with the 100 percent student participation from last year, lowering Lynbrook’s participation rate to 93-94 percent. As a result, the administration decided

Staff Editorial

The Voice of the Epic to call in students who opted out and talk to them one-on-one about opting back in to allow Lynbrook to make AYP. “We wanted it to be pressure-free,” said guidance counselor Jessica Coscia. “The

main reason [we called them in] was to educate them and have them understand the consequences [of opting out].”

Students, however, felt otherwise. Many sources chose to remain anonymous for fear of backlash from the administration.

“I opted back in so that the administration wouldn’t have to stick a target on my back anymore,” said junior Emily Lin*, a student who felt pressured into opting back in.

One of the major consequences of opting out was a possibly affected letter of recommendation during college applications.

“The [fact that the student] opted out

could come up in a senior interview and a letter of recommendation, but it would be one factor out of many taken into consideration when a letter of recommendation is written,” Assistant Principal David Erwin said.

In contrast to Erwin’s statement to the Epic, many students reported that during the conversations with the administration, the wording was misleading and that it was clearly implied that students that opted out would be receiving letters of recommendation that would greatly affect their college application process.

“When I opted out, [I was told that I would get] bad letters of recommendation from the office because I ‘lacked resiliency,’” said Lin. Other students also felt threatened and some even called the State Department of Education to find out if such a consequence was legal.

“I didn’t want to risk the next four years of my life over a petty ploy from the administration,” junior Charles Lee* said. “My friends called the State Department of Education and were told that repercussions from the administration against students who opted out are illegal.”

The administration needs to begin alerting the Lynbrook community about why juniors need to take the CAASPP in order to prevent the serious miscommunication between students and staff of this year from happening again. Erwin has said that the administration will be trying to do this “by letting parents and students know about AYP early on.”

ANAND CHUKKA//IN MY OPINION

LSD is not what it appears

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s ex-president of Lynbrook Speech and Debate (LSD), I can unequivocally say that I have never disliked anything more. Attend a practice and you’ll walk away with a feeling that this club is set up to help students learn how to articulate themselves. LSD, however, has lost the focus it used to have in favor of petty arguments and individual over team success.

There is little to no interaction between the events, and evidence and articles are consistently hoarded for individual success. This separation is not only bad for the team’s chemistry, but also takes away from the organization’s winning capability.

Ex-debaters tell me stories from years past, back when students worked together for team-wide success.

In addition, LSD is an organization that has too much adult intervention and not enough student representation. This year, my co-president and I worked tirelessly to advance constitution-based changes that would make the infrastructure and organization of this club better. When presented to the coaches, however, our proposal was rejected without any reasons given. These changes were formulated after speaking with representatives from each event, yet when the student executive team asked for an explanation, we were given answers such as, “We’ll talk next week”--something that happened far too many times.

I asked to be invited to meetings about constitutional changes, potential new hires and other administrative decisions many times, only to be shut down for “being a student” or “not understanding the club.” Instead of being able to engage in a dialogue with administrators, I was told to write up a page of thoughts to represent 270 students.

The idea of “being a student,” however, never deterred the head coach from making the officers do the work outlined in his contract, such as dealing with tournament administrators whenever issues came up.

During one meeting, our coach was unable to own up to a mistake and blamed the mishandling of a tournament on us, when signing up for tournaments was very clearly his job. One solution to this problem would be an easier communication channel between Administration and the student administration team. Many times when the Administration was approached about a problem no solution was ever reached.

These problems culminate every year in the annual officer elections. LSD is notorious for having malicious elections and a heavy emphasis on officer positions, rather then debate as an activity. The club should do what the other two large clubs--FBLA and DECA--do, and use an interview and selection process to pick officers. This would do away with the ugly elections that LSD is infamous for. This year, when the elections were extraordinarily nasty with students violating many rules of not only the clubs handbook but also privacy rights, the administration refused to take action. I would love to elaborate on this, but I’ve already had my freedom of speech, right to assembly and right to privacy taken away by the Lynbrook administration. I don’t need them to step in and take away the freedom of the press as well.

This column was written with the intent to warn all club presidents about what can happen if a club loses its focus. LSD has a deep, rich history with a lot of potential to restore it to its former glory--here’s to hoping that these petty politics and other issues fade away and this club refocuses on what matters: learning how to become a better speaker and better debater.

Full column found at lhsepic.com

3D takes on fashion show O

BY CLAIRE SHEIH

n May 22, Lynbrook InDesign hosted its annual fashion show, in which club members create original pieces that are modeled on the runway while other students sing and perform dance routines. In order to encourage students with limited fashion design backgrounds to exercise their creative skills in a new field, InDesign invited students from the 3D art class to create pieces for the show. Two groups of students whose pieces were selected to be featured in the fashion show share

T

he few of you who’ve been reading this column throughout the year should (hopefully) know by now that in most of my columns, I focus on giving really bad advice. And while I hope that you’ve had as much fun reading my columns throughout the months as I’ve had writing them (that is to say, very little fun), I figured that for my last issue on staff I’d give some actual advice.

I’ve spent a bit of time reflecting on my four years here at Lynbrook, and through that I’ve

been able to see the highs and the lows of the experience, and how it changed me, often in ways that I would have never expected. I think that some of the conclusions that I’ve reached might be helpful to underclassmen still making their way through this school, and so that’s going to be the subject of my last column.

I think it’s important to note that I’m not some authority on life. I’m just another student, so take my words with a grain of salt, or don’t take them at all. That said, the reason I’m writing this column is because I believe I have at least some wisdom to impart. So here it is: the three things you should keep in mind when throughout high school.

1. Be a little bit crazy.

I’m not kidding with this one. At school, we tend to settle into regimented schedules, doing the same things from day to day. This definitely happened to me, especially during junior year. I would get so worked into my schedule that before I knew it, entire weeks would pass where I did nothing to break the monotony. And though I might have been productive during that time, looking back,

group members a valuable lesson about perseverance, as they ran into several obstacles in order to finish the dress by the deadline. They were unable to sew the maps together and eventually resorted to using glue., which was very time-consuming.

Despite the last minute stress and issues, the group members finished their dress by the deadline and saw it being modeled on the runway.

“Seeing the dress on the model was great,” said Xu. “We put a lot of work into the dress, and once we saw it on the model, it showed that our efforts yielded results.”

Xu’s co-designers shared similar thoughts about the dress and the fashion experience as a whole.

“We learned that if you have a good idea, even if it doesn’t work out in the beginning, if you stick to it, it will turn out beautiful,” said Mohamed. “We were really proud that we could create something like that.”

I can’t help but feel that I had wasted entire chunks of my life, doing the things that I had always been doing without any sort of growth or change.

Don’t let this happen to you. Try to take some time out of your packed schedule to experiment with yourself and to seek out different experiences that you think might be cool—not for your resume, but for yourself.

Learn a new instrument. Explore a neighborhood that you’ve always passed by but never entered. Knit mittens. Just don’t be afraid to be a little bit crazy, if that’s what it takes to get you out of your comfort zone and into new territory. This is what I’ve spent a lot of my senior year doing, and I’ve definitely been the better for it. Now is the best time to explore and experiment, so don’t waste your time here.

2. Put things into perspective.

I recognize that this sounds really cliche.

We get told to do this all the time, and it’s hardly ever helpful: “Look at how lucky you are compared to less fortunate people! Put your small problems into perspective!”

But I’m going to share with you a thinking

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY SHIVATEJA VEMIREDDY

The horse says his final goodbye

their thoughts about their creative processes.

Sophomores Sierra Sutton, Riya Mathur, Aishu Kulkarni and Preethi Varadharajan (pictured to the left of the page) designed a nature-inspired dress made with synthetic leaves, flowers and a thrifted gown.

“Our dress is based off the concept of a garden and a waterfall,” said Sutton. “The blue lace mimics water trickling down from rocks with trees and flowers.”

The bodice of the dress is covered with layers of leaves, and the waistline is covered with roses.

“I really liked how the leaves started out small at the shoulder, and gradually became bigger as they progressed downwards,” said Varadharajan.

As 3D Art students, this group was able to add their own unique twist when designing their dress. They relied very little on sewing to make the dress, forgoing thread and needle in favor of a hot glue gun which lead to several complications during the dressmaking process.

“It may seem like gluing a dress together is easier than sewing it, but it really isn’t,” said Mathur. “Sometimes the glue would show on the dress, and we burnt ourselves quite a few times with the glue gun.”

Sutton, Mathur, Kulkarni and Varadharajan’s hard work paid off when their dress was among those chosen to be displayed in the show.

“We were really surprised and pleased when it was chosen to be featured with all the other beautiful dresses out there,” said Varadharajan.

In 3D art, students are encouraged to create art from unconventional materials, turning ordinary, everyday objects into a work of art. Seniors Faazilah Mohamed and Brent Yi and juniors Whitney Li, Joanne Lin and Nancy Xu (pictured to the right of the page) did just that when they designed a dress made out of maps.

“I came up with the idea to use maps while driving to Sacramento,” said Xu. “We got lost on the way, and my mother took out a map, and that’s when the lightbulb went off.”

Their map-inspired dress is meant to convey a sense of adventure and exploration.

“We wanted it to be both feminine and adventurous,” said Mohamed. “The maps convey the message that things can be pretty, yet edgy and bold at the same time.”

The dress was originally an old gown, but became virtually unrecognizable after the group made heavy alterations. It is embellished throughout with paper roses made of map. The skirt of the dress is covered with small pieces of map, and the sash was made out of a piece of lace spray painted gold.

Although the dressmaking experience was enjoyable, it also came with its difficulties. Designing the dress taught the

exercise that I couldn’t have gotten through high school without. It goes something like this: Think about whatever failure or problem is keeping you down at the moment. Then try to picture yourself ten or even twenty years down the line, looking back at how much you worried about that failure or problem. Is that C in AP Chem, that officer position you didn’t get, or that break-up you went through going to matter to you twenty years later? No. Does that mean it shouldn’t matter to you now?

No, but it the point is, it shouldn’t matter too much.

3. Remember what’s important.

Because I’m probably running out of space and because I’m too lazy to write any more, I’m going to leave you guys with this idea: Your end goal isn’t the grades you’re getting, or the college you’re attending, or the salary you think you’ll be making in 10 years.

Your end goal is how happy you are. And that should start now. You don’t want to be that person who looks back on these four years and thinks, “Man, that sucked.” The view should be better than that.

HOW TO

BY JESSICA LUO

A

h, Lynbrook. The epitome of socially impaired youth who would rather finish reading their Barrons books than venture out of their AP exam-prompted hibernation and actually, God forbid, socialize. Hate to break it to

MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION 4 steps to improving yourself in public

you, but with summer programs coming up and seniors heading off to college in the fall, we’re bound to meet dozens of new people and (hopefully) make a few friends. Here are a few tips and tricks to make you seem less like the awkward person you might be and leave a lasting good impression on the people you want to impress.

Don’t Fake it ‘til You Make It Believe me, it’s easy to tell when someone’s faking a laugh or lying through their teeth. No one holds a smile for ten minutes straight, and it’s impossible to find everything someone says gut-bustingly hilarious. Laugh when they truly say something funny, and nod when you honestly agree. A friendship built off of false impressions is almost the same as not having a friendship at all.

Be Aware of your Body Language Facial Expressions. Posture. Eye Contact. The list goes on for miles. Point is, every movement you make should reflect confidence and approachability. Stand up straight and face the person directly. Don’t hesitate to offer your hand and introduce yourself.

It’s Not Really What’s on the Inside That Counts They’re More Important than You Are

Sorry, but 99 percent of the time people will judge you based on what you wear and how you look. If you know you’re going to meet someone important that day, don’t show up in pajama pants and a crop top. Your image should reflect how you want people to perceive you, and it’s crucial that you dress appropriately for the situation at hand.

It’s hard, but try to pretend someone other than yourself exists for five minutes. Ask them about their school, compliment their outfit, and look for a topic that could possibly lead to an interesting conversation. You want to start by saying something about them, not about you.

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O

rientation couldn’t prepare us. We stuck together throughout the first weeks of school, clinging to the remnants of our proud, eighth-grade camaraderie, but you couldn’t really blame us. Block days intimidated us. As did the notoriety of the Welcome Back Dance. We knew we would grow into Lynbrook, but we couldn’t know just how.

Freshman year forced us to adjust to a series of firsts: swimming and focus breaths in P.E., phone use in school and finals. Yet Homecoming allowed us to shine. We wowed the upperclassmen with our “Black or White” dance moves and our enduring class spirit. With every rally’s “two-zero-one-five,” we knew our freshman year ecstasy would give us momentum for the next three years.

As we transitioned to sophomore year, our class became stronger and more spirited, winning second in Homecoming and dominating rallies. With sophomore year came greater responsibilities, growing maturity, more events and a fuller taste of high school life.

After managing to survive Chem Honors, we found ourselves struggling through too many standard-

ized tests, AP work and increased concern about the future. Through all of the stress, we drove our way past the yellow brick roads of Oz and finally reach senior year.

Now that we are done with all the sleepless first semester nights and AP Gov cram sessions, it is our time to celebrate the successes of the past four years of our lives. We have triumphed through Chipotle outfits and squirrel-chasing in Spoons, the frigid San Francisco air during Senior Prom and the gut-wrenching drama of college decisions. We may have struggled through our share of obstacles, and we lived certainly through our share of failures. At the same time, however, we learned, we grew and we challenged ourselves together.

Now we find ourselves at the cusp of a new beginning. As we venture into experiences and memories that will shape our future and define our character, we take what Lynbrook has given us and hold it close.

So, Class of 2015, as we go our separate ways, just remember what Ferris Bueller said: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” You wish you were a senior.

USED WITH PERMISSION OF IAN PEARMAN

I, Aaron Huang, bequeath common sense to Kevin Chu, monster serving ability to Nathan Wang, lack of fashion sense to Ethan Lai, ability to speak to girls to Sahlik Khan, sealability to Hinten Mui, and overall godliness to CJ Defalco

I, Alex Chen, bequeath to the Low Winds my legacy. To Jonathan, confidence; Han, common sense; Jameson, passion.

To Aileen, influence; Tani, violent tendencies; Adam, Han; Yuta, senpai guidance/love; Sinclair, flexibility. To Annika, my rifle skills; Van, tears; Jenny and Sho, my chill. Those without may claim my competence.

I, Alex Hong, bequeath Industrial Swole Train and a pair of Nike Free Runs to Emily Zhong, my arm wrestling skills and my gains to Louis Lee, my USAMO score to Matthew Hase-Liu and Pranav Lalgudi, and my relationship building skills to Bryan Chiang.

I, Alex Shin, bequeath casual fridays and staying true to Eddie Fu. I bequeath my home runs to Reece, Ryan, and Johnson. I bequeath my outstanding physics skills to Brandon, Prashant, and Benny. Finally, I bequeath Meraki to ethan and ronan.

I, Alexa Burn, bequeath all of my marching band saxophone love to Spencer Peterson, my love/hate relationship with drama to Yuval Kapilevich, Evan McCormack, and Olivia Walker (aka sagc aka squad), and my czech accent to Claire Dunn.

I, Alexis Thoeny, bequeath my LOVE for underclassmen to Bill Zhu, annoying attitude to Ashley Wang, and pro-ball skills to Shashank.

I, Ali Khan, bequeath the bounce house to Tim Sireci, Kevin Chu, Nathan Wang, and Hinten Mui, the art of shaqua to Bobo, CJ, and the rest of the boys, the keys of Link to Kavya, Justin, Shawn, and Pauline, the transformation to Shreyas Iyer and Sahlik Khan.

I, Alice Zhu, bequeath the ring from my “duivirce” to Akhil Bhandaru, my epic glissando skills to Melody Hsu, my “vunnndaful” Calculus binder to Bobby Ma, my love for JMC’s studio to Joy Feng, and my best wishes for a more successful Club Food Day next year to Garrrrry Li.

I, Allison Tam, bequeath the sacred oboe warmup to little Kou, my English horn to little Tani, my all-powerful baguette of French knowledge to Clarence Chan, B-) to Emily Zhong, my undeniable swag to Michael L, my Munyunny chants to dearest cousin, and my love for goofing to Charlie Chang.

I, Aly Cai, bequeath my hugs to Jiayi, my height to Daphne, my hospitality to Katie, almonds to Hazel, Nordstrom to Allison, cajun fries to Kirsten, circles to Esther, infinite nicknames to Grace, my love to the CIA family, and everything else including Totoro to my (always little) cousin, Kayli.

I, Alyssa Kiefel bequeath my adventurous beach trips and depressing mini golfing games to my friends Earl, Tuna, and Yaogan, my love of Dino Nuggets to Heather and last but not least, I want to bequeath my cheers, farmer tans, and team bondings to my favorite softball girls!

I, Amanda Chang, bequeath the song “Wine and Bubble,” headlines created with RhymeZone, and cutting stories to Jessica Luo and Iris Zhao, cute white boy computer wallpapers and ghetto music to Kat Cui, boy/relationship drama and production food to Sana Sharfuddin, many hugs and cute dresses to Kristen Wong, my love for French, the Trosième Academie Française, and “Deep Fried Chicken” to my amazing twins Prachi and Nidhi, the news section and front page to Urmila and Allison, my very limited singing abilities to Momo, persistence in and enjoyment of learning French to Lilian Chen and Celina Day, and all my best wishes to my dear brother Andrew Chang.

I, Amit Pasupathy, bequeath my incomparable dictatorpower to Prashant, corazón español to Ishita, constant annoyingness to Mira, creativity and big-spooning to Sally, desire to never settle to Will, ex-officio prowess to Kenny, driving skills to Saif, and Alicia Keys, my cackling laughter, never-ending hypocrisy, and 10,000 papayas to Sophia.

I, Anand Chukka, bequeath lies about names and a whole lot of salt and love to Sally aka “Salty”; the view from the Four and my PMT connoisseurship to Doreen; a complex wardrobe, very good cookies, the to-come late night shopping trip, and Majestic Casual soundtracks to Linda; my knowledge of current events and Lynbrook’s title of head clown to Shreyas; opinion powers and my “wasted demeanor” to Kat; my editing skills and loud voice to Kristen; a (hopeful) future love for Fitzgerald to Stephanie; hiking trails and awkard conversations to Tiffany; headline creating abilities and King Andhra to Shiva; the best of luck with the policy team to Chris; my love for biology and true presidency to Amrita; many screenshots, badgers, true presidency, Bernie Sanders, and reams of colored paper to Aditya.

I, Anderson Ju, bequeath my driving skillz and mastery of literature to Maggie Pan, pitch skillz to Nick Lui, Rits leadership duties to Christopher Wang, and liquid gold voice to Chelsea Pan.

I, Andy Shen, bequeath my kick, overnight trip adventures, and locker room legacies to the Statebound team, my carry abilities to the physics crew, my clutchness, lots of sleep , and best wishes/luck to Elin, Gerald carrots to Soph, poster and valhal skills to Emily, and kids discounts to Angela.

I, Angela Li, bequeath a small word of advice to my numbered juniors and Philip Axelrod. High school isn’t even the beginning. Spend your time doing the things you love to do and discover your passions. Be honest in your applications, give your everything. The rest will work itself out.

I, Aniksha Mehta, bequeath my aweosmeness to Mekhla, my secret love of a certain singer to Sana, and my “jealousy” to Atreya.

I, Anjali Pemmaraju, bequeath my fellow runners the ability to survive Jake through senior year and my soccer girlies the power to take things seriously and stay fabulous. Shoutout to Elin, Angela, Chacko, Dara, Tuna, Kristen, Kirsten, Rags, Ethan, Joanna, Evita, and Emily for long talks and good times <3.

I, Annette Chang, bequeath street smarts to Jim, Roy, Renee, lack of pencils to Ramsey, car rides to Jane, facebook photos to Michelle, clan to Sarah, lululemon to Kathy, luluMELON to Jennifer and Veronica, last name to Tiffany, Baymax to Eileen, unused twitter to Dana, and love to my Valks.

I, Anshul Shah, bequeath the AISA and Silsilay empire to Vaidehi and Ria, my invigorating spirit for the spirit squad to Justin Robison, and the future success of Lynbrook Baseball to Eddie Fu, Reece Breuckman, and Andrew Destin.

I, Archita Jain, bequeath my ability to remain calm to Payal, my “love” for chemistry to Jessie and Neha, and my queen’s wave to Ambuj.

I, Ari Majumdar, bequeath *insert object* to *insert young friend*, and *insert other object* to *insert other young friend*.

I, Arshi Bhatnagar, bequeath my endless questioning skills to Sherina and my hatred of kanji dictionaries to Eric.

I, Audrey Zheng, bequeath jazen tea to Leslie Sern, preseason motivation to Shaiva Patel, and running shorts to Esther Kim.

I, Avanti Mehrotra, bequeath my everyday hellos to Rishabh, my sassiness to Gauri, my perseverance to Samvardhini, my love for pink and glitter to Dion, my nicest compliments to Natasha, laughing at random things to Amulya, my inside jokes to Durga, and my passion for field hockey to the team.

I, Ayesha Godiwala, with full confidence and lots of love, bequeath the experiences, responsibilities, sleepless nights, and unbreakable friendships that come with my position as a captain of Lynbrook Cheer to Jennie Li and Maggie Luo. I, Ben Liang, bequeath my 3 Ps, deodorant, and love to Hedy Zhou, the clown squad to Jon Liang, and my speedo to Brandon Piercy, Atrey Khoche, and Armin Hamadani.

I, Benjamin Jia Wu, bequeath my love for being a Chinese TA to Alice, Alison, Sarah, and Daniel L. my necessity for PMT to Daniel K. my muscles to Issac, my jealousy for being so tall to Sara and my advanture with this school to all Lynbrook Students.

I, Billy Lu, bequeath my paucity of pants to Emily Zhong, my okay frisbee skills to Kirsten Chai, Jeffrey Chang, Akhil Bhandaru, and Roy Chen, my thanks to Louis Lee (because he gets that a lot), and my best regards to the new Octagon team!

I, Bob Wang, bequeath JETS - in addition to/on behalf of Marian’s and Archita’s bequeathals - to Vinay and Kabir (stay innovative!), my awkward giddiness to Jenny & Co., and my faith in The Lord Blazeberg and TI Nspire to whomever wishes to be enlightened.

I, Brandon Chou, bequeath my cuteness to Sarah Lee, my doubles skills to Jonathan Lin, my awesome driving skills to Brian Tung, my SoundCloud feed to Audrey Ham, my thought-provoking advices to Eddie Fu, my Taiwan pride to Jane Kuang, and my best wishes to Lynbrook Badminton.

I, Calvin Leng, bequeath my big toe to Crystal Mah, my nudity to Jordan Morris Louis Lee and Kyle Huang, my camera focusing skills to Lisa Cao, my curviness to Angela Hu, my worms to Pauline Lee, my sleep schedule to Chelsea Pan, and my height to Matt Zhou.

I, Caroline Wu, bequeath ultimate derpiness to Tiffany Chen, Durga Ganesh, and Esther Kao, mysterious bubbly concoctions and Buster’s handling to Jesse Kuo and Neha Kunjal, and cat noises to everyone :3

I, Charlene Tan, bequeath Kiwi to Steph, I don’t know to Michelle, and mei wen ti to Micher.

I, Cheryl Wang, bequeath my ability to survive on minimal sleep to Ashley, and my sassiness and cuteness to Wenga

I, Cindy Yuan, bequeath my op ACS officer skills and desire to bring back 2pm to Rena Jiang, LHC survival skills to Chris Jin, photoshop skills and weirdness to Michelle Lang, web leader fabulousness to Phoebe Soong, and torquing skills to Gauri Jain.

I, Claire Li, bequeath my guard senior status to Rebecca and Felicia, my #1 phan title to Kamakshi, my auntie-wisdom to future drumline mom Nan Nan, and my quasi skills and neverending love for color guard to all my returning underclassmen.

I, Claire Yu, bequeath my powerpoint making skills to Natalie and Emily, leaping shots to my partner Vaidehi, and my love for bunnies to OG Team Robo Unicorn X.

I, Daniel Greenberg, bequeath the Greenberg tradition of handsome and outrageous men to Li-el Greenberg, my devotion to The Council, my crazy rally costumes to anyone up to the challenge, and the Mitochondria to the PowerHouse of the Cell.

I, Daniel Wang, bequeath my chillness to Rachel Lee and Hannah Lee, my passion for football to Kevin Huang, Brandon To, Kyle Huang, Kenneth Wang, and Cassidy Sterner, and my edm playlist to Dara Jovkar.

I, David Yang, bequeath the Yang legacy to Ben and better RNG to Dylan Xu. Be strong, comrade Yang. Enjoy fortune, comrade Xu.

I, Dhiraj Nallapothula, bequeath casual fridays to Eddie Fu, the Contentship to Jessica Luo and Iris Zhao, Epic manlines and Mr. Hands to Shreyas Iyer and Shiva Vemireddy, maturity to Freya Liu, infield hits and sexiness to Ryota Suzuki, big pimping to Jeff Wallis, one-handed scoops to Kohei Suzuki, Mrs. Coscia to Zack McCormac, the joys of varsity baseball to Antonio Jen, Ryan King, Uday Tripathi and Reece Breuckman, dope pick-up lines to Srijohnson, and all my love to the Epic I, Dolly Yuan, bequeath gauri, daphne, tiffany, catalina, nikkia, siriwan, catherine, emily, jennifer, yokia, raksha, kasey, katherine, destin, —the basketball team/elaine/ work-ethic/archie/carlypolisso/the moon/fangirling, car, skyroof, naps, threes/layups, abacus, fashion, heartposes/intelligence, handles, wrists/coolness, a Facebook, paparazzi, lynley, and madness, respectively.

I, Drew To, bequeath to Shailja Somani our Kingdom of fab, the table outside of Leung’s room, my sucky Epicmafia skills and swaggy mind to Janice Chan, something cool to Akhil Bhandaru, my ability to take derpy pictures to Steph Wang, and my will to be lazy to Anirudh Pai.

I, Edward Hu, bequeath my inner explorer to Angela Hu, teamwork to Harim and Samvardhini, AP Bio skills to Annie, extra money to Freya, my computer science skills to Srinjoy and Andrew, a potato to Owen and my walking skills to Gary and Stanley.

I, Elaine Ma, bequeath my post moves to Tiffany, my punctuality to Daphne, my confidence and pump fakes to Siriwan, Islands/ Yogurtland to Nikkia, my ability to stay up late to Catherine, band aids to Catalina, and my driving abilities, fat fingers, air hockey/ ping pong/ pool skills to Gauri.

I, Elora Mallick, bequeath my water treading skills to my beloved Danyel, Renee, Phoebe, Ariela, Angela, and all the swim ducklings. I bequeath all things Bengali to my precious Raka and all things royal to my little prince Alec.

I, Emily Chen, bequeath leadership to Alyssa Zhang, Grace Chu, and Esther Kao, my trolling in LoL to Justin Juang, pho and after-practice Tpumps runs to Leanza Martin and Nan Nan Liu, my wonderful sense of humor to Bryan Chen, and all of my love to the drumline.

I, Eric Chiu, bequeath my elegant hair to Brian Tung, love for art/helping the elderly to Shirley Sun, towering height to William Hao, study tricks to Posh Otani, superb Japanese skills to Ken Pflaum, and angelic singing in the bathroom to Sarah Lee.

I, Frank Lee, bequeath my drum skills to Michael Shieh, life problem conversations to Gauri Jain, in-class snapchats to Ali Chen, drumline to NanNan Liu, bass section to Rahul Iyer, Ankush Rayabhari, Tarab Ansari, and Tiffany Hsia, love for big instruments to Neeraj Agrawal, and awkward hi’s to Hazel Shen.

I, Frina Redoloza, bequeath all of the wards, the mana, and the health to Annie, my ball-throwing arm to Ender, the In-Depth Section to Julia, my art skills to Urmila, Shefali, Julia, and Iris, and correct body proportions to Benedict.

I, George Ku, bequeath my March Madness championships to Andrew Destin, my brother Johnson and his dowry to Alison, and my bunts and thunder thighs to Ryota-san.

I, Gianna Wu, bequeath SCOGI to Julia, unicorns to Elin, my “love” for the 400 to Evita and Jim, hand-holding to Andrew, ripped hearts to Angela, 6th place in SCVALS to Esther, AU dictatorship to Ethan (and Mukund), the most SHS points to Ishita, and “What the heck, no” to William.

I, Gregory Lerner, bequeath casual Fridays to Eddie Fu, baseball skills to Ryota and Kohei Suzuki, the ability to relax to Jeff Wallis, my calculator to Michael Shieh, my subtle group test-taking knowhow to Vaidehi Duraphe, a home with food to Sasha Kipnis, and Jewish family values to Alice and Evita Babin.

I, Hana Kim, bequeath Sally + heppiness + aggressiveness to Soph; pistachios + FBLA struggles to Kenny; frozen yogurt + ticket to Boston + clownz for Prashant; Mindy + buddie love to Mira; s’excuser to Geraldine/Emily/Harim; HOLH and upbeat playlists to Ken/ Kavya; luck, favoritism from parents, and a memorable 4 years to Sally Kim.

I, Harold Chu, bequeath my love of math to Johnny, bunny ears to Allie, happiness to Annie, personality to Hannah, friendliness to Sherry, tricep to Katya, food to Steph, mafia skills to Ted, and my patience to Maggie.

I, Hima Rajana, bequeath Overture to Indu Pereira and our lovely assistant, love of Taylor Swift to Sophia Meng, Ken Yanagisawa, and Kavya Nambiar, and Catch Phrase to Justin Robison. Also, my lack of Español skills to Ishita Dubey.

I, Ian Pearman, bequeath the drama department to Zach and Claire, being awesome to Saif, Morgan, and Mira, speaking Chinese to Beatrice and Chelsea, laziness of senior year to Astha, my love of making videos to Raaghav, the golf team to Mason and all that is ASB Tech to Ghanshyam.

I, Irena Feng, bequeath my last shreds of sanity and leadership to Danyel, Phoebe, and Enisha; after-practice outings to Renee; aggressiveness in water polo to Shefali, Anna, and Maryrose; and this year’s good luck and success to the water polo team for the seasons to come!

I, Izabella Kipnis, bequeath good luck, and more CHEESE PIZZA to the Epic staff; the orange spot on the couch to next year’s Epic seniors; my Spanish accent to Ishita Dubey for SHS; the ability to ready the 50 Shades of Gray trilogy without giggling to Freya Liu; the much desired role of Official Head Jews and good luck to Alice and Evita Babin; my athletic abilities, my chill to pull ratio, my humor, russian anecdotes, and her clothing back to Sasha Kipnis.

I, James Nishijima, bequeath my roasting prowess to Hazel Shen, the drumline to NanNan Liu, center snare chops to Michael Shieh, protection of Amy Nishijima to Rachel Cheung, fake fighting skills to Neeraj Agrawal and Bill Zhu, and humps to Eddie Fu.

I, James Wilhelmi, bequeath a single team sock and Klay Thompson’s love to Daphne Liu, a cup of very late birthday PMT to Julia Park, a Senior Prom date to Freya Liu, my place as the quiet editor to Kristen Wong, more male Simple Wardrobe models to Linda Yao, deep conversations to Stephanie Lu, splashes to the boys who ball at the Calabazas courts, patience and 800s to Claire Chiang, my “chillness” and a future without pleading ex-boyfriends’ letters to Kathleen Cui, my contenting abilities to Iris Zhao and Jessica Luo, staff manhood and Mr. Hands to Shreyas Iyer and Shivateja Vemireddy, my undying love and support to all of the Epic, and finally thebestofluck to the new ENCs. I, Jamie Wong, bequeath my out pose to Jiayi Shen, the mixed team to Morgan and Esther, my injury taping skills & luck to Cate, my stay out of trouble skills to HuHu and Gerald, my sass to Indu Pereira, and lots of cookies to Rena & Hazel.

I, Jane Lee, bequeath PBT legacy to Jeffrey Chang; Valhalla geniocracy to Soph, Cyn, Cat; Nepali kids to Bobby, Maggie; food, fun, fêtes to Hazel, Michelle, Samvardhini; lychees to Bryant; broken Christmas lights to Felicia; a thug life to Harsh; sleep to Kevin Huang; four more interviews to Jeffrey Chiu.

I, Jason Wong, bequeath my struggles and problems to Marisa Chang and my fabulousness to Elizabeth Lee.

I, Jeffrey Yang, bequeath my accurate doubles serves to Baby Lin, amazing backhand to Jasper Jeng, and my general inability to play badminton to Stanley Huang, Wesley Peng, Allen Chen, and the rest of the team. I also bequeath the fork of judgment to Kristen Wong and Sana Sharfuddin, the design of the Epic to Claire Shieh, and the Horse to Stephanie Lu.

I, Jennifer Kahyun Lee, bequeath my art angst and snail memes to Gabby, my eternal gratitude for free prom photography to the best baritone Jackie, and the remains of any positive energy I have after Lynbrook to my favorite choir freshman Samhita.

I, Jesse Tai, bequeath my fizz expertise and acumen to Benedict Chua and Prashant Pokhiryal, my math problems to Jonathan Hsu, the Kappa Team to Raaghav Minocha but not Ethan Chee, Calabazas Ball to William Hao, and my chores, room, and best wishes to Joseph Tai.

I, Jesse Wang, bequeath my everlasting love to my bae Rian and my daughter Daphne, 256 to Nick, being chill to Maggie, and my funny jokes and wittiness to Sally.

I, Jessica Shi, bequeath my horrible legacy in Japanese to my friends Sho Ota, Kohei Suzuki, Ryota Suzuki, Leigh Williams, and all the other underclassmen in AP Japanese this year. May you all have a better balance between studying, socializing, and sleeping than I did.

I, Jessica Zheng, bequeath Team HBV to Rena, Katherine, Michelle, Andrea, Alina, and Helen; Vertigo Art to Amanda and Katherine; official ownership of the Team A mascot to jeffjar, and shipping potential to pranau.

I, Jimmy Jiang, bequeath the clowning duties of Lynbrook Basketball to Jon Liang and Ajit Vijayakumar, my fangirling of Hozier and T-Swizzle to Doreen Zhao, my passion for FBLA to Joanne Her and Joshua Soong, my love for Sam Smith to Maggie Q Pan, and the library to Pauline Lee.

I, Jiwan Kang, bequeath my swag to the swagless, volunteerism and success to next year’s CSF officers, senioritis to Whitney Li and Owen Li, my super duper art skilz to Catalina Reyes, Kaili Gefen, and Shannon Changizi, and rotational inertia to sametbh Reynolds.

I, Joan Chen, bequeath my exercise to Michelle, animallikeness to Jane, sass to Sarah, Pablo to Whitney, eyelashes to Dorothy, Boggle to Grace, playlist to Dana, Facebook stickers to Jennifer, wide eyes to Veronica, Homie #238 to Kathy, $56 to Eileen, lipstick to Tiffany, and love for dance to Valks.

I, Joanna Kuo, bequeath my kanji skills to Celine the ultimate kouhai, my vice presidentotoro life to Jimmy, and the world’s fluffiest, squishiest and pinkest alpaca that will be discovered by my future child who will visit in the year 2022 to the absoluteleigh adorable Leigh.

I, Jocelyn Cheung, bequeath my arps and field hockey bruises to Nuha, the one and only Pants, my screams and laughter to Dion, my niceness and non-sarcastic remarks to Arvin, Elyssa, and Josh, and the honor of carrying the family legacy to the rest of the Cheung clan.

I, Jonathan Chang, bequeath the football team to Kenneth Wang, Kevin Huang, and Brandon To. I also bequeath the baseball team to Eddie Fu and Ryota Chan. Keep up the casual Fridays!

I, Joshua Yuan, bequeath Alexian, Andrew, Bryan, Michelle, Eileen, Kyle, William, Dylan, Reyjay, Jon, Dara, Destin, Dolly’s teammates, the 846 officers, my Frisbee fam,-- my muscles, originality, my height, $6, better stories, a successful career, 5’6, 5’6, 5’6, less girls, lane 1/7, Madness, Dolly, a PR, and more participation, respectively.

I, Julia Wang, bequeath the ability to deal with the real senior to the entire girls’ swim team (especially Danyel, Renee, Ariela, and Angela) and the responsibility of all things clubs to Sophia.

I, Jun Seo Park, bequeath $48 to Jane Kuang, four to Sophia Meng lelele, a baton to Bryan Chen, a perfect nickname to Emily Min, untimely encounters to Chloe Kim, turkeys to Alvin and Long, golden gavels to Daisy Ni, String CM to Nathan Wang, and fites to Angela Liu.

USED WITH PERMSSION OF EVAN LI

“I, June Hong, bequeath my love for nature, meditation, and stargazing to Annie, my positivity and warmth to Kimberly and Grace, my “”knack”” for French to Renee, my carefreeness to Bahaar, Maryam, and Jenny, my enthusiasm and PJs to Krit and Shaiva, my passion for the Taiwanese culture to Melody, my paranoia about carbs and fast food to Alice, and lastly, my strength, tenacity, and confidence to Grace Sun.

I, Justine Martin, bequeath my Halloween costume first place awards to the Lynbrook High School Viking Marching Band, my tardiness to the Varsity Girls’ Softball team, my more-than-average GPA to Leanza Martin, my bedroom to Louisse Veronica Martin, and my “one true bae” status to Kim Jongin.

I, Kasturi Pantvaidya, bequeath a love for Bollywood, GDFR, and a sweat-less world to Vaidehi Duraphe, too many food insta’s and cups of coffee to Shreya Kumar, a pantry full of Trader Joes to Negin Mortazavi, the legacy of Crossbonez and Team Footprints to Arvin Ng, Indu Pereira, Karthick Ravikumar, and Vaidehi Duraphe, Uptown Funk dances, raps, same tbh’s, and wins in Nashville to DECA, dinners without pizza and the couch to the Epic, 5/23 memories and Theo James to Freya Liu, and meaningful conversations and a timely printing process to Aletheia.

I, Kevin Chang, bequeath my perseverance and kindness to all of Lynbrook.

I, Kevin Chen, bequeath whatever remain of my cello skills to in no particular order Joshua Chiang, Weitung Chen, Calvin Kung, Brian Jeong, Chris Kim, Joy Feng, Aaron Chen, Jeffrey Chiu, and Claire Chiang, my tryhardness to Robert Yang, and my Semifinalistness to Dara Jovkar.

I, Kevin Lin, bequeath my cooking skills to Evan+Ethan, my accounting prowess to Akhil, my low neckline to Sophia, my dark humor to Josh, my lack of physical education to Alvin, Octagon’s fate to Jasper Edward and Andrew, and FBLA’s budget deficit to Joseph.

I, Kimberly Zee, bequeath a shoelace to Mukund. Apples to Michelle. A sock to Ethan. Bunnies to my art babes: Shirley, Angela, Cate, Renee, Codie. Basketballs to my tennis girls. Giraffes to Joyce and Chelsea. An orange apple to Saif. A duke for duchess to Sean. And unicorns to Yilali.

I, Laura Lee, bequeath my animu and cake in a buckets to my kouhais, my love of marching band to all clarinets, and my /sb/ to Ryan Eckert.

I, Leroy Zhang, bequeath my merino wool sweaters to Michelle and Felicia, a ton of salt to Aditya Kotak, and my sick nose breaking skills to Armin, Atrey, and Brandon.

I, Lillian Wu, bequeath my high metabolism to Michelle, my food adventures, trivia “knowledge” and brain to Danlin, my connections with Michael and TV show obsessions to Yinan, and lastly my Indian god knowledge, advice, deep talks, memory of dates, and ability to breathe with my mouth closed to Pallavi.

I, Linda Doong, bequeath patience in Geometry to Zack, calm spirit when dealing with various YouTube stars to Emma Bowman, functioning blue pens to Anthony, huge smiles to Katherine, a fiery passion for Biology to Ken Plum, and finally, good work ethic to my Engage protégés.

I, Lingyue Zhou, bequeath my stress induced hyperactiveness to Tiffany and Wendy, my napping skills to Cynthia, my high school struggles to Daniel, my bookwormish ways to Jessie, my staying alive math abilities to Anh, and my muddled French communication skills to Durga.

I, Malka Kausar, bequeath my good looks to Saify, my sass to Vdawg, my brains to Shivani, and my great dance moves to Shreya.

I, Manoj Vasishta, bequeath my (lack of) door opening skills to Owen, the power of fabs to Srinjoy and Rahul, and love of pie to Amrita and Nikita.

I, Marian Park, bequeath the Vertigan weaving of words to Esther and Irene, math formulas to Austin, Yulee, and Eugene, JETS to Vinay and Kabir, anti-senioritis to Chris Lee, love for Unamas burritos to Chris Kim, post-SAT happiness to Felicia, and my table-setting responsibility to my brother, Andrew Park.

I, Mariel Hunt, bequeath one more night in hawaii to the Babin twins, the ability to use oil pastel to Hannah Faris, and unlimited candy to Emma Bowman.

I, Matt Wang, bequeath my ability to annoy others to Andy Zhang, my derisive nicknames to Janice Chan, my awkward gestures to Rahul Sarathy, any vestiges of accountability to Durga Ganesh, and my OSB team in the extremely secure hands of Edward Lee, Vinay Kukutla, Andrew Li, and Jasper Huang.

I, Meera Krishnamoorthy, bequeath Peets and productive study sessions to Harim Lee, my amazing art skills to Kayla Choi and Jenny Zhang, bearded female celebrities to Urmila Venkat, good dummies and terrible puns to Julia Park, Kristen’s approval to Shivateja Vemireddy, no more FRQs to Freya Liu, the Epic website and amazing multimedia skills to JJ Ignatescu, and good production food to next year’s Epic staff.

I, Megan Lau, bequeath my epic photography/driving skills to Owen Li, media lead nightmares to Elton Chang, car rides to Shikhar Jagadeesh, sass to Nikita Seth, “meh” to Srinjoy Majumdar / Rahul Iyer, microphones to Leigh Williams, and superb Japanese expertise to Sho Ota and all the nihonjins.

I, Megan Wong, bequeath my loving insults and ultimate butt smacking abilities to Emily Min, talks filled with giggles and groans to Shirley, Angela, and Emily Zhou, adventurous heart and Alin’s baby to Priyanka, bathroom trips to Melody, high fives to Janabelle, and sock tans to the tennis team.

I, Michelle Ng, bequeath my love for agape and jesus to Alyssa, Esther, and Grace, master chef skills to Sharon, Kayli, Eileen, and Hannah, psych firpo love to Amulya, and aikido chins to Eleanor, Anusha, Katya, and Eric.

I, Michelle Su, bequeath Ansel Elgort, #freyoni, 5/23 moments and my calmness and mental strength to Freya Liu; content queen status to Iris and Jessica; endless staffed ideas to Kristen and Kat; stronger opinions and pretty prom dresses to Stephanie; funny jokes and new friends to Julia; my love to all of Epic; USC pride and no more FBLA designs to Josh; parli love and pink tickets to Bahaar; creepy vday gifts and FBLA skills to Misaki; and fun physics talks to Alec.

I, Natasha Chan, bequeath my senior wisdom to Ms. Romander’s 6th period class, passion for human rights to future Amnesty members, all my pop culture knowledge to Zach Lenton, and all the best of luck to Crystal Mah, Cosette Madeleine, Celine Tsai. Good luck with college apps next year!

I, Neha Sharma, bequeath Tiptoe Through the Tulips to Esther Ho (Fatty Fatso), white boys to Kate Sanders, love of Scrubs, JD, and Spanish to Ariela Guadiamos, Mike and wuzzz good shawty to Jeffery Yang, the title of “goddess” to Katherine S. Li, and, begrudgingly, my room to Neelam Sharma.

I, Nur Erturk, bequeath American Cancer Society to Rena, Amnesty International to Revati, and my sarcasm to Durga.

I, Patrick Lee, bequeath my swimming and belly flopping ability to everyone on the swim team, my “sleep at 10pm” routine to Teresa Yang and Ashley Wang, and my driving ability to Renee Cai.

I, Patrick Shih, bequeath pandas and pistachios to Sally Wan, Team DL and Klay to Daphne Liu, WCEO to Kevin Chu and Ivan Wu, Valk’s show tickets to Sarah Lee, my calc grade to Aditya Kotak, my CS “skills” to Andrew Si, the Sigod, and Calabazas to the Freshman Squad.

I, Pavan Gollapalli, bequeath my chipotle and lack of studying to Ankush Rayabhari, my dedication to and knowledge of DECA to Pransu Dash and Vaidehi Duraphe, and my massive calf muscles to the tennis team.

I, Prasann Ranade, bequeath free SD cards, perfect Lightroom exposure, and my dumbness to Stephanie Lu; my positive attitude, beautiful dummies, and an amazing website to daughter JJ Ignatescu; my amazing Snapchats, ontime stories and Fernando Torres to krissypoo; keep calm and carry on to Sana; my chillness to the Epic; my on point expressions and sexy body rolls to Nikhil “the god” Rati; solid dance choreography to Akansha and Natasha; bien español skills to Ruchi Gupta; my passion and dedication to Ryan and the rest of the pre-med officer team; #ballislyfe to Adi and Harsh Jain; my green cheetah poster, all seasons of TVD, and dreamy hot guys to Gargi Kand; MUN politicking, free Pocky packs, and inspiring train rides to Jimmy Zhi; and all my wisdom and luck and love to my sister, Shruti.

I, Rachel Tu, bequeath fishy legacy to Dorothy, InDesign to Sarah, not-my-event photos to Jane, insta-game & water to Kevin & Jon, comin’ thru & promblems to Dara, bubbly laughter to Cat, sassy emails to Cynthia, corgi angels & my dictatorship to Soph, inspiration & passion to #Valhallafamily.

I, Rahul Iyer, bequeath a check to both Rags and Ethan, a haircut to Joey, the ability to feed and be cancerous on the rift to Alvin, a cup of coffee to Shreya, 99 mid range to Joseph, Andrew, and Talha, and my extreme love of Lynbrook to Arka.

I, Rani Mavram, bequeath cynicism to Sophia, socks to Kenny, IDC love to Ken and Joshua, RC “passion” to Grace and Alyssa, endless love for ASBTech to Ghanshyam and Rags, flawless photography to Ronan, ratchet music to Mira, love for trucks to Zachary, and everlasting love to Sally and William.

I, Rebecca Wendler, bequeath the room of requirement to Arianna, my special knowledge to Claire and Talya, my pizza rolls and breakfast corn dogs to Yuval, my amazing accents to Zach, my truth or dare questions to Evan, my hugs to Kriya, and my soccer pants to Olivia.

I, Rena Li, bequeath my endless appetite to Valerie Tan.

I, Ridah Azam, bequeath my crude and twisted sense of humor to Pauline lee, my unhealthy knowledge of Gossip Girl to Sherrie Guan, my hatred for coconut water to Mekhla Singh, my love for buffalo shoes and pink sweats to Angela Hu, my crazy New York City fantasies to Lisa Cao,my head banging skills to Kathy Lam. I, Roger Chen, bequeath my photo skills to Brian Tung, my car and driving skills to Kathy, basketball skills to Jon, my boba to Angela and social awkwardness to Maggie.

I, Roy Leung, bequeath my happy, dancing self to Annie, my coding skills to Deepthi, and cooking skills to Rohan, good luck in the future guys!

I, Sabrina Fan, bequeath my love of hurdles to Esther Ho and my all hurdler babies, aggressive soccer shenanigans to Tuhina (Tuna) Dasgupta, Kristen (Krusty) Wong, Sierra Chen, Jessie Chen, and Shivani Rangwala, Fan power to Waffle Alvin, and sciencing to Long Nguyen.

I, Sabrina Jen, bequeath my girliness/good judgement/ boxing stories to Stephanie Lu, patience/luck/pleasantsmelling cave to Kristen Wong, feed/sass/courage/523 to Freya Liu, secret gossip to Julia Park, English clam chowder to Claire Chiang, normal shoe size to Shivateja Vemireddy, comic strips to Allison Yuan, free time during lunch to Daphne Liu, HSM marathons to Jessie Chen, Antonio Jen to Brandon Ko, college essays and --delicious pancakes-- to Negin Mortazavi, responsibility of not losing Divyya and sweatless handshakes to Vaidehi Duraphe,

chicken wings to Shreya Kumar, genuinely vulnerable conversations to Aletheia, diligence/real food/unlimited supply of water/the couch to the Epic, and all my lessons learned/love of adventure/ability to get to school on time to Antonio Jen.

I, Soonho Kwon, bequeath my good glass and full frame bodies to Kevin and Jon, my love for Ikes and bowties to Dara, my hand-hugs and Shonda hate to Sophia, my picaperfection to Jackie, and my passion for yearbook for the next generation of the #valhallafamily.

I, Sahil Sancheti, bequeath my awesomeness to Asrita Bhamidipati, my aspiring frisbee skills to Akhil Bhandaru, my groundbreaking dance moves to Nikhil Rati, my common sense to Ruchi Gupta, my accurate pouring of bleach to Vania Wang, my shiny hair to Jocelyn Sun, and my molten penny to Nicolas Wong.

I, Sujeeth Jinesh, bequeath the fabulous French Club to Hazel, Michelle, and Samvardhini, my brownness to Van, my horded collection of troll pictures to Saba, my rap skills to Nitin Selvamani, my shaving kit to Rishabh Swarnkar, my swoleness to Vinay Kukutla, and my dirty jokes to Shaiva Patel.

I, Sahil Hasan, bequeath my Table 7 chem lab curse to Sid Idgunji and Daniel Chin, my unwaivering faith in the Great Blasberg to Ajinkya Nene and Edward Lee, and my love for Bhangra to Meenakshi Nair and Mekhla Singh in the hope that they can pull off a miracle.

I, Sam Khan, bequeath obnoxious activity, discomfort, and hazing to my fellow ROOMIES, passion and patience to Kriya Giresh and the new Thespian board, clowning, rap, DUDE, kiosks, Uptown Funk, same, and Crossbonez to DECA, embarrassing emails/secrets to the new DECA officer team, and DANCE to Vaidehi and Shreya.

I, Sana Sethi, bequeath my (surprising) Lynbrook survival skills to Shank, my sarcastic sassiness to Chris Goetz, my dislike of authority to Hong Chen, my love for certain images on certain socks to Olivia Walker, and my ability to act like a 2 year old to Talya Gilboa and Claire Dunn.

I, Sandeep Raghunandhan, bequeath my ability to be suave to Urmila, my Chipotle Burrito to Urbi (LOL, thanks!), my astronomical knowledge to Rishabh and Vinay, M.A.C./ competency in CS to Mihir, legacy to Swaathi, my quality of being super legit to Ruchi, singing abilities to Omkar, and the bro-zone to Anirudh.

I, Sanjna Arvind, bequeath the infinite amount of tolerance and patience granted to me by the mock trial gods to Aditya Kotak, Vania Wang, and Arka Bagchi.

I, Stephanie Xu, bequeath my love for sculpture to Eleanor Wang the Melon Lord, prom corsage making skills to Cat, Jesus/Agape love to Sharon Lee, Rachel Cheung and Ji Hwan, and my UCLA portfolio to Jimmy Zhi and Emily Zhong aka my fav junior of all time.

I, Sunny Wu, bequeath my cursive handwriting to Angela Li, Disney sing-a-longs to Caroline Wu, “We never go out of style” to Jessica Zheng, OUAT marathon runs to Tiffany Chiang, MFC Presidency to Jennifer Deng (congratulations!), and love and support to my younger brothers, Jason and Eric.

I, Susie Mallison, bequeath my math super powers to Masha and Crystal. I also bequeath my Jedi powers to all my junior friends. May the force forever be with you!

I, Tanmay Chordia, bequeath our table outside of leungs room to whoever be most worthy, my amazing competence at chem labs to Akhil Bhandaru and Justin Robinson, my love of puzzles to Jack Mao, my inability to dance to the juniors on Lynbrook Bollywood, and my utter hatred of Spanish to my unfortunate Spanish partners.

I, Tanvi Tendolkar, bequeath my love of music to my music babies, my love for dance to Mekhla Singh, Meenakshi Nair, and Akansha Mukherjee, my luck from the past four years to Vidushi Somani, my korean learning and weirdness to Sarah Jang, and my hugs to Sona Subramanian.

I, Sarah Park, bequeath my position of best writer and copy editor in Valhalla to Alvin Fan, my love for football (players) to Kevin Huang, my undeniable charm to both Alvin and Kevin, my many years in AMASE to Chloe Kim, and my love for KEPC YM to Sharon Lee.

I, Tarun Sonti, bequeath my detailed and unsolicited, but free of cost sociological analysis reports to Rahul Sabnis and Sandeep Raghunandhan and my Prom Brom swag to Drew To, Tanmay Chordia, Sahil Sancheti, Prasann Ranade and Sujeeth Jinesh.

I, Shannon Lee, bequeath my passionately excited self and warm hugs to Sarah Zhang, and my 6.5 dance skills to Isaac Hou.

I, Tiffany Chiang, bequeath my inner guard fangirl to Erica, Eleanor, and Jenny, my love of FOB, MCR, TDCC, to Kamakshi and Ankita, my non-existent dance skills to the guard in general. My love of children to SHOK and my love of dissection to HOSA.

I, Sarah Sarang Kim, bequeath my hatred of Chris Brown to Meklah Singh, my makeup skills to Geraldine Chok, my dolcissimama position to Angela Hu, and my dance moves to Issac Hou.

I, Sharon Ray, bequeath awko le taco status to vrai baes Janice, Nikhila, Alison & Amulya, the legacy of “she tasted like chicken” to Prachi & Nidhi, waiting outside museums to Ahana, Elizabeth & Kristina, actually going out for lunch to Eunice & Riya, and success to my link kids.

I, Shirley Huang, bequeath my papier-mâché skills to Catalina and Shannon, my layouts to Akhil, Gong Cha drinks and sweats to Tina, my approval to Chantal, ice skating money to Crystal, my watch to Tzu-Han, and my hardwork, loudness, and speed to the softball team.

I, Shivani Gupta, bequeath my sassiness to Amulya, Joanna, and Angela Gehn, “introduction and fat” humor to Grace, love for Interact to Janice and Prachi, a fun SProm to Gauri (because you deserve to be around good people), and an amazing senior year to Sana.

I, Shivani Kavuluru, bequeath my passion for Model United Nations to Jimmy my fire for Mock Trial to my entire team, my weird poetry mind to Maya and my craziness to Ambuj as if he doesn’t have enough.

I, Shreya Batra, bequeath the remaining debits and credits to Shivani, Karthik, Ken, Emily, and Karel to Tanvi Varma, Srinjoy, and Vinay, my obsession with expo markers to Felicia, and my love for build a bears to Nikita Seth.

I, Shruthi Thatikunta, bequeath my ASB Recognition skills to Kavya, my pretrial legacy to Riya, la sociedad to Ishita, and my pumpkin selfie swag to Ken.

I, Sidney Li, bequeath the (French) dictatorship to Daisy “Diarrhea” Ni, an unusable $48 to Jane Kuang (& posse), a cow to Michelle Chiu, Nicce (and associated clowns DnG and Giroux and Bourdieu) to Lynbrook Policy, and a hole to Dr. Rocklin’s lab table.

I, Sneha Mohidekar, bequeath the ability to reply to messages to Indu Periera, my pseudo-sanity to Amrita Iyer, the right questions to Kavya Nambiar, high heels and better accents to Natasha Nema, contempt of societal constructs to Phoebe Winters, and unexpected breaks to the speech team.

I, Sneha Padmanabha, bequeath #spontswag to Alyssa, Lilian, and the SD squad, my angle shots to Annie and Oreo cravings to the tennis team, my puns to Ria and Revati, sass to Jamean, psych love to Amulya, and Pebbles and memories of the past decade to Akhil, Amrita, and Rahul.

I, Somya Khare, bequeath bear hugs, walking *slowly* without falling and “yolo” to Jess, supermodel-status and entourages to Chantal, getting hair stuck in car windows to Megumi, mucho amor to mis hijos, paper-cuts from benjamin$ to Dara, and the promise that doing what you love pays off to Lynbrook High.

I, Sonia Raghuram, bequeath my sense of humor to my funniest friend, Tanvi, my de-stressing skills to William Guo, my embarrassing moments to Ishita, my struggles to Joanna to laugh at next year, my ability to not over-filter pictures to Tuhina, and my love of coffee to Michelle Oh.

I, Tiffany Chen, bequeath my amazing clarinet skills and laziness to the WE clarinet section young’uns, my sarcasm and comebacks to Brian Lin and Bobby Ma, the future of Agape to Grace Chu, Esther Kao, and Alyssa Zhang.

I, Tony Peng, bequeath my Moto 360 to Dara Jovkar, my MIT acceptance letter to Dara Jovkar and Sophia Meng, an airplane altimeter to Indu Pereira so she may determine if we’re at cruising altitude yet, all my DECA trophies to Vaidehi Duraphe, and laughter medication to Christina Tani.

I, Tulika Wagle, bequeath my sass to Ishita Dubey, my love hate relationship with FBLA to Sophia Meng and Kenny Yuan, my naps in Physics to Phoebe Winters and Valerie Batino, and my ability to choose the road less travelled by to Ananya Gupta.

I, Victor Chen, bequeath Lynbrook Math Club to Ajinkya Nene, future Smash Bros tourney victories to Brian Chen, Lynbrook’s Dota 2 HSL championships to Kartik Rathi, math struggles to Freya Liu, and posters, study guides, and the messes of our house to my dedicated sister Lilian Chen.

I, Victor Yu, bequeath my sailor’s mouth to Jon Liang, my eye for curvy figures to Ajit Vijayakumar, my monochrome outfits to Alexian Lin, my weak knees to Neeraj Agrawal, my blinding reply speeds to Pauline Lee, and my complex wardrobe to Linda Yao.

I, Vidya Palepu, bequeath: mad driving skills to Siddhi; best stage smile to Vidushi, Mekhla, Meenakshi, & Akansha; tolerance for snotty kids to Sally & Shivani; sisterly love to EJ & Valerie; officer competence to Irene & Esther; and my best head voice to Ashley & Tyesha.

I, Vincent Li, bequeath my sassful conversations to Gauri Jain, my sight reading to Ryan Sadjadi, my lack of sheet music to Dylan Xu, my trill to Nick Lui, my need of cat pictures to Ashley Wang, and my chat response time to Jessica Peng.

I, Wakana Ishihara, bequeath my base muscles to Maggie Luo, my hatred for birds to Jennie Li, my John Lennon sunglasses to Rachel Lee, my Japanese skills to Hannah Lee, and my nap skills to everyone on my cheer team.

I, Winston Lan, bequeath my love of water polo to Armin, Atrey, Richard, and Vincent. Please carry the team next year thanks. My hatred of accounting to Yinan, our struggles in physics to Kenny, my bad influence in stats to Vinay, and my love of basketball to Ethan Chee.

I, Yonatan Zemlyak, bequeath the Epic to Kristen and Stephanie, breathtaking management skills to Sana, a gamut of missed deadlines to Iris and Jessica, paper aesthetics to Claire, a semi-existent website to JJ, Señor Manos to Shiva and Shreyas, food I’m owed to Freya, Calabazas domination and twelve billion percent error to Ajit, Link Crew to Shawn, Kavya, Pauline, and Justin, and Spongebob to Stephanie.

I, Zanza Walsh, bequeath the position of hottest Lynbrook babe to Jake, Travis, and Jeremiah.

I, Ziou Dong, bequeath all the glories of Science Club to Jeffrey Chang and his merry band of misfits, the luck and power of Shamrock to Albert VII, fair winds and calm waters to Pranav Lalgudi, and the Standard Model to Richard Liu.

Justine Martin

Leroy Zhang

CONNECTICUT Yale

FLORIDA Florida College

GEORGIA Georgia Institute of Tech Justine Martin SCAD Jennifer Kahyun Lee Natasha Chan

ILLINOIS Northwestern University Alice Zhu Jason Wong University of Chicago Irena Feng UIUC Adam Zhang Annette Chang Brandon Chou Gregory Lerner Kasturi Pantvaidya Louis Luan Shirley Huang Shivani Gupta Varun Parthasarathy

INDIANA

Purdue University Manoj Vasishta Megan Lau

Fordham University at LinTulika Wagle MICHIGAN coln Center Vasudha Kashyap Hope College Sabrina Jen Rose-Hulman Institute of Tech Frina Redoloza New York University Arijit K. Majumdar University of Michigan Claire You Seungyeon Shin MARYLAND School of Visual Arts MISSOURI Johns Hopkins University Benjamin Bay Min Chu Marian Park Washington University in St. University of Rochester Alan Kuo MASSACHUSETTS Louis Anand Chukka Boston University OHIO Ben Liang NEW JERSEY Case Western University Princeton University Harvard University Sanjna Arvind Daniel Greenberg Sidney Li Jessica Zheng PENNSYLVANIA MIT Matt Wang Carnegie Mellon Univerity Aaron Huang Andy Shen Allison Tam NEW YORK Caroline Wu Dolly Yuan Cornell University Claire Yuan Raphael Chang Arshi Bhatnagar Katie Lam Tony Peng Jamie Wong Pavan Gollapalli Wellesley College Prachi Laud Catherine Pugh

VERMONT

Kevin Chen Rahul Iyer Soonho Kwon University of Texas, Austin Tiffany Chen Alex Hong Vidya Palepu

Japan - Jessica Lin India - Pallavi Sreeram Korea - Diana Kang Italy - Michaela Ranieri Turkey - Nur Eturk

OUT OF COUNTRY

Elora Mallick Jennifer Lee Kenneth Vaz Sneha Mohidekar

Pennsylvania State University University of Vermont Megan Wong Hannah Chambers University of Pennsylvania Eric Chiu WASHINGTON Jeffrey Yang University of Washington, Tanmay Chordia Seattle

University of Pittsburgh Ayesha Godiwala

Drew To

RHODE ISLAND

Brown University

TEXAS

Baylor University Rebecca Wendler Rice University Julia Wang

Not just a meaningless test Exploring the history of standardized testing and the flaws behind it

BY DHIRAJ NALLAPOTHULA & CLAIRE SHEIH

W

ith the SAT coming up in June, students across the country are busy studying for three long, crucial hours of bubbling in answers. From the STAR test, to the CAASPP, to the SAT, students’ educational experiences have been marked by one standardized test after another leading up to graduation. But there is a general lack of awareness about these tests, especially in California with the transition from the CST system to Common Core. With this lack of awareness comes complaints from both parents and students, some justified and some not, resulting in misinformation and apathy toward a system crucial to improving the academic aptitude of students. In order to shed light on this system, it is important to understand the history of standardized testing and how it has developed since its inception in the early 20th century.

What started as a basic intelligence evaluation by French psychologist Alfred Binet in 1905 quickly grew into a multimillion dollar industry. The SAT and ACT are the most well-known tests in the country but it is federal standardized tests that have garnered the most scrutiny.

It wasn’t until the passing of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) by President George W. Bush that a set of statewide standards were implemented across the country. The NCLB was by far the most significant government intervention of America’s schools in the 20th and 21st centuries. Signed into law by President George W. Bush, the act called for states to administer yearly stan-

dardized testing to assess student achievement and use exam results to improve schools. In accordance with the NCLB, California adopted the STAR test to evaluate its schools and determine which schools might be taken over by the state government.

But the standardized tests created under NCLB have been heavily criticized by government officials and parents for failing to accurately measure student academic achievement.

This lack of comprehensive testing not only limits the scope of learning, but can also lead to a phenomenon known as “teaching to the test,” where schools or teachers limit their curriculum to a narrow range of subjects and skills for the sole purpose of higher student scores on standardized tests.

Starting last year, California rolled out the new Smarter Balanced test to closer align its standardized testing with the new Common Core standards it recently adopted. According to vice principal David Erwin, who is in charge of test administration, the new standardized test is “computer adaptive,” meaning that students’ answers to questions determine the next question they will be asked based on a computerbased testing program. As a result, classroom instruction has shifted toward standards that consolidate what students are learning under a single umbrella.

California did away with the traditional STAR tests it had used since the NCLB was passed in 2001. STAR tests were

based on the California state standards, but with the rollout of Common Core standards, a new test was needed to assess student performance. The CAASSP was then established to implement tests based on these new standards.

There were a number of reasons California chose to implement the Common Core system.

According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative website, Common Core is a system that will emphasize problem solving skills over memorization, as well as provide comprehensive standards across the whole country.

In California, the “test is more aligned with what teachers are teaching in class,” said Erwin. “Common core has never been about what techniques teachers use to teach students, it’s about developing skills for the students to help them learn.”

Because states establish their own administer different standardized tests, they create natural variation in student achievement evaluation between states. But this is specifically where Common Core intervenes.

“It’s like comparing apples and oranges,” said Erwin.

“It’s hard to compare different standards across different states but Common Core equalizes these standards.”

Moreover, the test questions are created based on their “validity and reliability,” according to Erwin. This allows the test to not be a rigid assessment but a flexible exam that is responsive to changes to its structure and content.

Despite the numerous improvements to standardized testing, last year’s Smarter Balanced pilot exam did not meet students’ expectations in its assessment of their academic aptitude.

“I feel that when I took the Smarter Balanced test last year I wasn’t being tested in a way that I felt accurately represented my academic capabilities,” said senior Rahul Iyer, who took the pilot exam last year. “Furthermore there was no incentive attached to give me the encouragement or motivation to try my hardest.”

As a result, even the “computer adaptive” facet of the test cannot hide the flaws of the test.

“Each person is different learning-wise so it’s not fair that there is only one test that can be used to measure a student’s academic capability,” said senior Alex Shin, who also took last year’s pilot Smarter Balanced test.

This apathy toward the new test spilled over to this year as many juniors decided to opt out of the test.

“I opted out because it is the right of a California citizen to opt out of standardized testing for any reason. I do not think that CAASPP testing will tell me anything about my academic ability or is of any value to the students,”said junior Hazel Shen.

According to Erwin and counselors, the key factor behind the increase in this year’s opt out rate was misinformation that opting out would be shared with colleges and would negatively impact letters of recommendation from. Even though these rumors were questionable, once they began to spread among the students, many began to opt out.

While criticisms of the test are valid, opting out negatively impacts a school’s Annual Yearly Progress (AYP), which is used to determine whether a school is in need of aid to improve its students’ academic achievement.

A key reason why the U.S. has been using standardized tests, is the fact that standardized testing is a highly profitable industry. Pearson, Harcourt Educational Measurement, McGraw-Hill and Riverside Publishing comprise the “Big Four” in the industry and each make upward of $700 million per year.

The Smarter Balanced test will continue to adapt and be administered across California and right here at Lynbrook. Standardized testing does comes with its flaws, but its administration is crucial to the integrity and quality of California’s educational standards.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SHIVA VEMIREDDY

BALTIMORE| Behind the protests continued from BALTIMORE page 1 According to researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center on Society and Health, Baltimore neighborhoods that were redlined in the past still have lower rates of homeownership and college attainment; and higher rates of poverty and segregation, as well as worse health situations than those of other neighborhoods in Baltimore.

Furthermore, when Baltimore wanted to build new schools, highways and housing projects during the mid-20th century, 80 to 90 percent of the families that were displaced due to these projects were African American, and so African American communities were constantly destabilized.

“People who are losing their homes to gentrification also got injured by deindustrialization and mass incarceration and urban renewal,” said Mindy Fullilove, a social psychiatrist at Columbia University, in a Washington Post article. “And it’s the cumulative downward force of this on social organization that’s the stunning thing to be accounted for.”

The contentious relationship between African Americans and the Baltimore police department is unexpected, given that African Americans and Caucasians are represented equally in the Baltimore police force (and among the officers charged for Gray’s death) and Baltimore has an African American police chief and mayor.

“I think there’s a problem with the police,” said Demess. “More time should be spent educating and controlling the po-

lice so that they understand the importance of their job and don’t make mistakes.”

The relationship between African Americans and the Baltimore police is further evidence of how racism is a systemic problem, both in Baltimore and throughout the U.S. Racism has, on occasion, penetrated JHU’s campus walls, despite the administration’s efforts to keep students safe; one event that negatively affected African American JHU students involved the posting of racist comments on Yik Yak by anonymous JHU students.

“The post was in reaction to the riots, and was extremely disrespectful and hurtful towards African American people,” Patibandla said. “I went to a leadership retreat over the weekend, and a lot of the African American students there expressed their anger at [Johns Hopkins University] for not punishing the students who posted the comments on Yik Yak because of [their right to] free speech. The worst part was that the racist comments did get a lot of upvotes on

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Yik Yak, meaning that there are still a fair number of people that support those disres p e c t f u l comments. ” African American JHU students have also been negatively affected by other students’ perceptions of “non affiliates,” or non-students that could be related to the violent riots, on campus. After the riots began, Patibandla recalled students being “freaked out” by the presence of “non affiliates.” A JHU student in an International Business Times article noted that the term “non affiliates” had become a euphemism for “African American,” and African American JHU students had to carry proof at all times that they were affiliated with the university.

“I understand why students might be afraid of non-affiliations due to the tensions, but I think they should also understand that it was only a small group of African Americans who became violent,” said Demess.

Despite the strained race relations in Baltimore, senior Marian Park, who will be attending JHU in the fall, is excited to live

in Baltimore for the next four years because she believes the city’s problems offer her opportunities to make a difference.

“There are a lot of volunteer opportunities around Baltimore that are unique to its situation,” said Park. “For example, there is a wealth of organizations related to diversity and equality of opportunity, and there are other clubs that educate underprivileged middle and elementary schools in Baltimore; being part of clubs like these would allow me to potentially help ease the problems in Baltimore to prevent situations like this from cropping up again.”

The riots and unrest surrounding Freddie Gray’s arrest reminded the world of the long-lasting racial tensions of the city. As students continue to attend universities in Baltimore, they will inevitably have to confront the city’s race-related problems, and may be a part of their solutions.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY FRINA REDOLOZA

The sport of boxing takes a punch

BY PRASANN RANADE

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drunk syndrome” or dementia pugilistica.

“Boxing is probably one of the most brutal, at least as far as head trauma, compared to other sports like mixed martial arts,” said literature teacher and Aikido club adviser, Andrew Seike. “Exponentially, the damage boxers take is frightful.”

This increasing focus on boxing’s deleterious health effects, however, has led to lower numbers of boxers entering the sport. According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 90 percent of boxers suffer some kind of

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ALLISON YUAN

he salty taste of sweat. The hard thump of the punch.

The vicarious cheering of the arena. The heady sight of spilled blood. The acrid smell of sweat and heat.

The sport of boxing is a total sensory immersion, and for good reason.

With the burst of recent publicity regarding the match between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao on May 2, boxing came back into the limelight after years of nascent obscurity. Marketers touted the big fight as ”the biggest match in boxing!” and “the Fight of the Century!” and audiences paid exorbitant amounts of money to watch the match in person or on pay-per-view television. But now, boxing faces an uncertain future. Since being lauded as the “noble art” during its heyday, boxing has faced a major decline in popularity in recent years, an obstacle that even its biggest fight in decades could not overcome.

All boxing matches consist of two fighters, armed with only their fists, throwing punches at each other until one of them surrenders or gets knocked out. First-time viewers of the sport, whether in the arena or on pay-per-view television, were treated to essentially glamorized violence, the harsh one-on-one fighting of two boxers. Veteran audiences relished the sport for its gritty realism, as an arena where winners are decided simply by the strength of their fists and the speed of their punches.

“It’s unfortunate that boxing is going out of popularity since it is one of those few sports that emphasizes coordination, balance, and discipline, as well as overall strength training,” said senior Jonathan Huang, who has boxed for nearly a year and was featured in issue 3 of the Epic.

In America, boxing gained its rush of popularity during the early 1900s as the sport gained greater legitimacy and became legalized. Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey ushered in boxing’s first era of publicity, which was later continued by Rocky Marciano in the 1950s and ‘60s and Muhammad Ali in the 1970s. Mike Tyson, another prominent boxer, further introduced life and vigor into the sport.

Ever since the late 1980s, however, greater understanding of the brain damage and lesions caused by harsh punches began to mar the sport. Public groups began calling out boxing’s detrimental neurological and physical effects, resulting in a condition colloquially called “punch-

brain injury while boxing. Such repeated brain trauma can clearly make boxers, most notably Muhammad Ali, more prone to mental deterioration during their later years, leading to Parkinson’s disease in the case of Ali. “Boxing’s decline can be attributed in part to the fact that people are becoming more mindful of their health, and, as a result of this new mindset, steer away from violent sports,” said Huang.

Furthermore, other one-on-one combat sports began to develop, drawing viewers further away from the original sport. Mixed martial arts (MMA), for example, was created by Ultimate Fighting Championship, an organization originally dedicated to identifying the best fighting style for unstructured sparring matches. Essentially offering an even more involved version of boxing, MMA gained publicity with its popular championship fights. Though boxing continues to outweigh MMA in terms of total revenue per fight, its fans are growing in ever increasing numbers.

“MMA has definitely gained in popularity because they have taken some boxers away, but the money still lies in boxing,” said Seike.

The major decline of popularity for boxing then is not in terms of its overall revenues, in which it remains the leading combat sport, but in its ability to attract and keep new viewers. Boxing has always been a sport steeped in tradition, but with the new century, it has experienced a significant decline in media coverage, as millennials opt for newer sports and trends.

In the context of boxing’s history, then, the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight may just be another piece of the boxing puzzle. In fact, the fight had actually been planned for 2010, right at the peak of both boxer’s careers. Corruption, profits, and drug testing issues, however, stalled the fight and delayed it for five years, with each fighter wary of the other.

Boxing’s biggest, most publicized, and most glamorized fight in recent decades—the one between Mayweather and Pacquiao—seemed like boxing’s haymaker punch to recoup its lost glory. Fans hunger for the knockouts and titular bouts of boxing’s heyday, but as its biggest fight illustrates, it fails to deliver. Its unfortunate decline in recent years thus represents the coming end of a rich tradition of professional boxing and a loss of a once renowned sport for a legion of fans.

SHIVATEJA VEMIREDDY-EPIC

As boxing’s popularity declines, its fans are left to wonder: What happened?

The double standard of domestic violence

BY KATHLEEN CUI

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espite attending a prestigious school in the Silicon Valley, I’m sure a goal that many of us bear deep in our charred hearts revolves around: how can I commit domestic violence without facing backlash? Or in other words, how can I be Floyd Mayweather?

Well, it won’t be easy. Just look at Ray Rice, who committed only one act of domestic violence yet was indefinitely banned from the NFL. The media was ecstatic, enthusiastically berating both Rice and the NFL for not decreeing a more severe punishment for the abhorrent actions. And that was just for one domestic violence case--if you want to be the big daddy mac like Mayweather, you’ve got to pull off multiple cases like Rice’s without the punishments. Here’s how to do it.

1. Deny everything. Even if your own

child watched you commit the abuse and writes a testimony condemning you, just deny it. As long as you repeat the phrase “like I said, there’s no proof,” you will be fine! Who cares if there are binders full of tangible evidence that convicts you? What gives if it was your own son who called the police on you?

If you deny it, nobody will think you actually did any of the brutal stuff that they write about in the news. Perusing such articles are for people who can read, not for individuals such as Mayweather who don’t have time for literature--they’ve got people to swing at, though for free and at home.

2. Be the best boxer in the world. Now this may take some work. You’ll need abdominal muscles more defined than bread buns. Flaunt all your earnings by recording yourself, surrounded by dollar bills, on Instagram--otherwise people may not believe that you actually won, and we can’t have that.

Add a partly undressed woman in the background, because ladies love winners; as long as you’re a champion and the best of your creed, you can’t possibly be punished for the things you do at home. The fans love the winner, not the mercurial, violent man you are at home. A champ can’t be blamed for actions at home--a guy’s got to practice, right?

Going beyond the sarcasm, domestic violence is a serious issue. While Ray Rice committed only one significant transgression, the entire case exploded in the media as he became a pariah. But the difference between Rice and Mayweather, aside from Mayweather’s lack of significant repercussions, lies in the natures of their sports. While Rice is only one player out of a whole team, Mayweather is the big man--a winner who succeeds on his own terms and takes credit for 48 consecutive wins. This winner’s culture makes it so that although Mayweather’s own child wrote

pages of condemning testimony, the man received only two months of jail, no suspension from boxing, and full bandwidth to continue making 80 million dollars every fight.

Senseless tolerance for winners is inane when millions are universally pushing to solve the crisis of domestic violence. Letting Mayweather off so easily for multiple cases of domestic violence reveals a gaping double standard, and sets the movement against domestic violence back decades.

CNN asked Mayweather if, given his denial of committing domestic violence, he’d be willing to donate funds from his next win to organizations fighting domestic violence. He answered that he’d be spending the money on his children. Let’s pray he soon realizes that beating your wife in from of him is not beneficial to the kid’s development.

Good luck to Mayweather on his next match, and let’s pray he keeps it in the ring.

Basin makes waves at champioships Senior Taylor Basin soars above expectations to lead LHS Diving to finals

BY ALLISON YUAN

F

SHIVATEJA VEMIREDDY-EPIC

or nine years, senior Taylor Basin dedicated her life to the world of competitive gymnastics in the hopes of one day receiving a full athletics scholarship to college. Given her talent and passion for the sport, her goal seemed well within reach.

In middle school, however, Basin began to lose her drive. She was continuously injured and felt herself dreading the long practices and difficult skills she was required to master. At the age of 15, when her family moved from Las Vegas to California, Basin felt that it was an appropriate time to make a major change, and bring an end to her career in competitive gymnastics.

Basin hoped that the soccer team, which she joined after coming to Lynbrook, would replace gymnastics as the main sport in her goal to receive an athletic scholarship.

However, her skills never developed to the point where she felt like she was good enough to compete collegiately, and it seemed that her dream of playing a sport in college was becoming just that -- a dream.

All that changed during junior year though, when alumna Sasha Wootton approached Basin after seeing a video of her performing a flip off a swim block during a P.E. swim unit. Upon learning that Basin was an ex-gymnast, Wootton asked Basin to join the diving team, and Basin later agreed.

“I thought [diving] would be so hard and that I wouldn’t be able to do it,” said Basin. “But Sasha gave me tips and I would watch her doing amazing dives with the Junior Olympic kids. [It] helped me a lot.”

Basin’s background in gymnastics helped facilitate her transition to diving, since the sports involve similar flips and forms. Despite this advantage though, she still faced a number of obstacles due to some differences between the two sports.

For instance, Basin found it hard to overcome the fear of pain when learning to execute difficult dives.

“One day I smacked my hand on the board, so I was terrified to do a reverse dive again,” said Basin. “I couldn’t even do the simplest reverse dive anymore. Physically and mentally, I couldn’t do it. It took me a month to finally get my dive back.”

Although the transition from gymnastics to diving was difficult, her diving coaches encouraged her to work hard and improve her skills.

“The coaching style is so different,” said Basin. “For gymnastics, the coaches push you so hard, whereas for diving the coaches are a lot nicer and more encouraging. [It] makes diving more fun.”

As time progressed, Basin’s diving skills improved greatly, and she soon became an integral member of the Lynbrook swim team, composed of both swimmers and divers. According to coach Patrick Ellington, the addition of divers like Basin has been a great asset to the swim team.

“Not every school has divers and Taylor [has] provided much needed points for the varsity girls team,” said Ellington. “In fact, at at least one meet, Santa Clara, she was the difference between winning to losing, as we won by less than 6 points.”

Basin’s experience in gymnastics especially shines through in her dives, which impress her coaches. “[Seeing] Taylor’s dives is like watching a poem unfold,” said El-

lington. “They are beautiful, complicated works of art. Good at gymnastics, she turned those dryland skills into a bevy of fantastic dives.”

For Basin, the only downside of diving is that it is a solitary sport and can often feel lonely. In addition, she is currently the only diver at Lynbrook, which compounds this feeling of isolation.

“I’m always by myself and I never practice with the swim team,” said Basin. “So technically I’m on the team, but I don’t see it like that.”

Nevertheless, Basin enjoys diving much more than gymnastics and excels at the sport. She was recruited by the Division 1 diving team at Pepperdine University and will be majoring in sports medicine there once she starts in the spring.

“I really didn’t think that this could happen,” said Basin. “I’m really grateful and happy that I started and chose to do [diving].”

Basin wants ex-athletes to know that it is never too late for them to start a new sport. As a relatively inexperienced diver, she is somewhat nervous about diving at Pepperdine but is excited to start.

“Most of the divers at D1 schools have been diving for at least five years, and I’ve been doing it for one,” said Basin. “Even though the coaches said that I’ve done really well for someone who’s only been doing it for one year, the other divers are a lot more experienced and can execute harder dives.”

Despite the challenges that lie ahead, Basin eagerly anticipates her freshman year at Pepperdine and is excited to expand her diving skills there. After more than a decade, Basin’s dream of playing sports in college has finally come true.

A variety of lunch meals from home

BY SHIVA VEMIREDDY AND RENUKA BELWALKAR

T

he bell rings and a mob of hungry kids rush to an ever-winding line with pockets full of money while others unpack boxes from home. This is lunch time. The time of day where cultural food from all over the world is eaten. From eating Indian food for lunch to Chinese food, some students take it upon themselves to pack their own lunches, and some have their parents pack them food.

UPPER RIGHT: Sophomore Pallavi Chandrasekhar enjoys her favorite meal made by her mom. A pasta salad including olives, bell peppers and mozzarella cheese.

UPPER LEFT: Freshmen Lynn Fernandez likes to eat Jamaican goat with rice, made by her mom and enjoys eating a variety of meals everyday for lunch. Her favorite food to eat made by her mom are bite size somasas.

LOWER LEFT: Senior Ishaan Agrawal likes to pack himself cherries and mangoes to school everyday. His favorite meal for lunch is a self-made peanut - butter jelly sandwich.

LOWER RIGHT: Junior Felicia Yen has her favorite recipe made by her mom, chinese style noodles with soya sauce and topped with cucumbers.

ALL PHOTOS BY RENUKA BELWALKAR