Anthro Volume 5 Issue 2

Addressing bias early pg. 22 anthromagazine.org

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ANTHRO

December 2022 Volume 5 Issue 2

Mission Statement The ultimate goal of Anthro Magazine, Paly’s social activism publication, is to create a platform and forum for students to express their opinions and voices. Social activism is bringing issues into the spotlight to spread awareness and create change in society. On this platform, we will promote unity, diversity, and respect. As a publication, we aim to be inclusive but do not tolerate hate speech of the targeting of individuals. We hope to highlight issues that we see in our community, create a safe place to discuss these issues, and to make sure student voices are heard.

Staff Editors-in-Chief Maya Mukherjee Ash Mehta Managing Editor Lauren Wong Design Managing Editor Arati Periyannan Business Manager Evelyn Zhang Content Editor Karrie Huang

From the Editors

Photo/Art Director Annelise Balentine

Dear Readers,

Perspectives Editor Sandhya Krishnan

As 2022 comes to a close, we are excited to publish Volume 5 Issue 2 of Anthro Magazine.

This issue, we focused on local and campus activists in stories such as “5 questions with RISE” by Saanvi Garg and Minirva Villegas and “Boba Guys rises up” by Brennen Ho and Payton Anderson.

We also gave an overview of Palo Alto activism with “Local activism round up.”

In light of the recent midterm elections, we highlighted candidates' position on the nearby train tracks in “Crossing into the future” by Evelyn Zhang, Kat Farrell, and Saanvi Garg, and covered controversial former candidate Ingrid Campos in “Addressing bias early” by Ash Mehta.

As always, Anthro aimed to spotlight student activists and student perspectives, which we did this issue in stories such as “Torn between identities” by Evelyn Zhang and Maya Mukherjee and “Cleaning our beaches” by Sandhya Krishnan.

Going forward, Anthro aims to incorporate more authentic student voices via guest writers and artists. Last issue, senior Trianne Hontiveros contributed a guest opinion, “An anti-melanin society,” and we would love to have similar pieces in the future. If you are interested in contributing to Anthro, please reach out.

— MAYA MUKHERJEE and ASH MEHTA

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Photographers/Artists Sasha Kapadia Daniel Garepis-Holland Madelyn Castro Staff Writers Kat Farrell Saanvi Garg Lucianna Peralta Payton Anderson Brennen Ho Minirva Villegas Carissa Tsui Adviser Paul Kandell —————————— Connect @anthro.magazine @anthro_magazine issuu.com/anthro.magazine anthromagazine.paly@gmail. com anthromagazine.org

IN THIS ISSUE 4

Local activism round up

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Plant-based update

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Boba Guys rises up

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Cleaning our beaches

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5 questions with RISE

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Giving fruits

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Flowing into change

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Activist playlist

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Late lately?

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Classroom changes

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Crossing into the future

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Funhouse mirror

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Torn between identities

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Addressing bias early

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Activist bookshelf

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Activism around the world

On the cover:

Letters to the Editors The staff welcomes letters to the editors. We reserve the right to edit all submissions for length, grammar, potential libel, invasion of privacy and obscenity. Send all letters to anthromagazine.paly@gmail.com or to 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301.

Printing & Distribution Anthro is printed by Folger Graphics in Hayward, California. The Palo Alto Parent Teacher Association mails Anthro to every student’s home. All Anthro work is available at anthromagazine.org.

Publication Policy Anthro, a social activism magazine published by students in Palo Alto High School Incubator class, is a designated limited open forum for student expression and discussion of issue of concern to its readership. Anthro is distributed to its readers and the student body at no cost.

Design by Annelise Balentine and Arati Periyannan

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Text by LAUREN WONG and SANDHYA KRISHNAN

Photos by DANIEL GAREPIS-HOLLAND

Local activism roundup Palo Alto organizations plan protests and events to advocate for causes

SLEEP OUT: On Nov. 17 and Nov. 18, Covenant House California hosted an event raising awareness about the youth homelessness crisis and also raised funds to help this organization provide young people with 24/7 support. Covenant House California is an organization that provides housing a supportive services to youth facing homelessness and trafficking in numerous cities across the United States, Latin America and Canada. In efforts to end youth homelessness, participants slept out their beds for one night to demonstrate the hardships people experiencing homelessness face according to the Covenant House California’s website.

PROTEST ANIMAL ABUSE: On Nov. 12, the Humane League, an organization dedicated to animal protection, hosted a protest in Irvine, California to bring awareness to animals who are trapped in factory farms. According to the Humane League’s website, protesters met at University of California--Irvine to ignite change with UCI's food service provider, Aramark. Aramark promised to end cruel animal abuse practices years ago, but has reportedly not yet fulfilled that promise.

CREATIVE ACTIVISM: On Nov. 12, the organizations Write Now and the Imaginists’ Guest House hosted an event in Santa Rosa filled with visual art and readings of poetry with roots in Native American, African, Asian, Latin American, Caribbean, and Muslim culture according to the Imaginists’ Guest House’s website.

TWO-SPIRIT IDENTITY: On Nov. 10, the California Institute of Integral Studies Public Program held an online event to spread awareness on two-spirit identity and cultural expression. The two-spirit identity is used by some Native Americans who identify with various cultural, spiritual and sexual gender identities. After surviving five centuries of colonial terminology and ideology, two-spirit people are now coming together to spread awareness about their identity across North America according to the California Institute of Integral Studies’s website.

PlantBased Update One year in, how have vegan meals changed?

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t the Nutrition Services event on Oct. 10, Palo Alto Unified School District introduced several new vegan meal options for PAUSD cafeterias, despite the original initiative being scaled back.

In April, PAUSD piloted plant-based and vegan meals in response to a petition, led by students including Palo Alto High School senior Morgan Greenlaw. About 7% of meals served last year were vegan, according to PAUSD Food Services Director Alva Spence.

Greenlaw detailed her experience at the Nutrition Services sampling event in October.

“They [the event] had samples of all the new meals that they’re considering bringing in this school year,” she said. “And

so there were around like 11-ish new meals and like half of them were either vegetarian or vegan.”

Although new meals are being introduced, these meals add to the workload for the food staff, requiring more time and effort.

“Student Nutrition Services has added more scratch cooked entrees vegan, vegetarian and meat this year,” Spence said.

“These meals do require more time to prepare as we are utilizing fresh products/ produce and have to combine them before service time to keep the product quality as fresh as possible.”

Greenlaw said the plant-based meals have been well-received with the student body.

“I’ve tried several myself and I’ve really

Text by PAYTON ANDERSON and BRENNEN HO

Boba Guys rises up

As Boba Guys employees attempt to unionize, reporters sat down with an anonymous Boba Guys employee on Oct. 28.

What was your initial reaction to what happened at the Boba Guys in San Francisco?

I wasn’t surprised, basically, even before all of this happened. Specifically, the thing that people were most upset about was that they were changing opening and closing times ... that time was essential for us to get the store up and running and then also close and clean everything, so people were upset about that. And then they also were cutting hours and they didn’t really tell people that they were cutting hours, so that caused problems for a lot of people because it’s like, if you don’t get enough hours, then you don’t make enough money to live.

How will you and your staff proceed?

Basically, half my store plans to leave, if not more. So, one thing is that, I know my co-workers are happy with attempting to unionize, but it’s also not worth it because we don’t want to be at this company, we don’t want to be with these people, we don’t like management and we just want to leave.

What’s even more upsetting is the way that they handled the entire situation.

How does what the Boba Guys’ superiors did to the SF employees change how you view your employer, if at all?

Just the way that they responded, it’s upsetting. Also, Boba Guys has a Slack channel. And usually, if they posted it in Slack, everyone would have seen it. And people would actually be able to talk about it and respond. Because they didn’t post in Slack, they did an email through a group that half of the employees aren’t even part of.

So it’s very clear that they’re just trying to hide all this and ignore it and try to not deal with it.

Do the employees of Boba Guys in Palo Alto plan to stand in support of the SF employees, and how?

Currently, we don’t have plans to go on strike. The majority of us just plan on quitting. And if they don’t have anybody to, because I know the ASM plan on leaving, we only have two shift leads. I plan on leaving, and you can’t run the store with one shift lead. We have eight team members. If they quit, there’s nobody to run the store.

Boba Guys assistant store manager — not our interviewee — works a shift.

enjoyed them,” she said. “And I’ve also talked to a lot of people who are pretty plant-based and also have a very flexible diet and they have all said that they really like how fresh and healthy the plant based options are.”

Greenlaw said the plant-based meals are beneficial for many reasons.

“The reason that I went vegan was for animal rights, but the reason that we decided to push for this [plant-based and vegan meals] was for sort of all of the above combined,” she said. “Everything: the environment, animals, human health, and people’s well-being.”

Text by EVELYN ZHANG and MAYA MUKHERJEE Photo by DANIEL GAREPIS-HOLLAND

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Text by SANDHYA KRISHNAN

Photos courtesy of ALESSANDRA CHANDLER

Cleaning our beaches

I wanted to create a club with other people who also care about the environment," Chandler said. “I really wanted to become more involved in Paly and I thought that creating a club would be a great way to get involved.”

After the launch of the club, Chandler shared the direction she and Ressi di Cervia wanted to guide the club in.

"Our goal for and the purpose of the beach clean-up club is to help the environment, inspire others to do what they can to help the environment, and spread awareness of the pollution that occurs in our enviBeach Clean Up club's accomplishments and plans this year ronment," Chandler said.

After running the club for almost a ver eight million tons of environment and the effects of this pollution year, the club has been able to go on cleanplastic are dumped in the in ecosystems I inup sessions to local ocean annually. About 1.25 volved myself in envireservations and col“I really wanted to become million tons pollute on beach- ronmental cleanups to lect trash to improve es all across the United States. To some help these ecosystems more involved in Paly and the environment. this may seem like another environmental thrive without harm"Once last year I thought that creating a reach, but Palo Alto High School juniors ful things like plastic, I led a clean up of Alessandra Chandler and Kali Ressi di Cer- glass bottles and other club would be a great way the Baylands and we trash." Chandler said. via, they knew they had to take action. cleaned up a total of So, Chandler to get involved.”

Growing up, Chandler had always vis57 pounds of glass ited beaches in Santa Cruz where she would and Ressi di Cervia — Junior ALESSANDRA CHANDLER bottles, plastic wrapfounded and led the spend the day with her family. pers, and other trash "I would always pick up trash on the Beach Clean-up Club items," Chandler said. ground that we saw." Chandler said."As I at Paly.

The co-presidents’ ultimate goal is to "I really love the environment and learned more about all the pollution in our

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Beach Clean-Up Club members Hannah Huang, Alessandra Chandler, and Sarah Sheaffer clean up a nearby beach in spring of 2022.

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get more people interested in helping the environment.

“As humans, we create so much pollution and I think that it is important to make sure that this pollution does not hurt any animals or their ecosystems,” Chandler said.

“Right now many animals are in danger of going extinct because of the plastic that gets into their habitat.”

This year, the club has more plans on how to expand and get more involved with local beaches.

"Beach Coalition is an organization that does beach clean ups and they make it possible for people to 'adopt a beach' which entails organizing clean ups and maintaining a healthy environment at that specific beach," Chandler said. "I think adopting a beach would be really cool and I am going to try to do that with the club this year."

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Text by SAANVI GARG and MINIRVA VILLEGAS Photo by SANDHYA KRISHNAN

Questions with RISE

ISE is a Palo Alto High School club devoted to promoting sexual safety and consent culture and led by juniors Bella Nguyen and Siri Schaefer Bastian. Anthro Magazine sat down with Nguyen for a Q&A about RISE.

RISE presidents and Paly juniors Bella Nguyen and Siri Schaefer Bastian.

How does RISE work to imple- What has RISE accomplished so ment your club purpose? far?

RISE’s mission is to raise awareness and educate our community about consent culture, healthy relationships, and a safe campus environment. Our most recent and in-working project is Paly’s consent education. We have been working with Paly admin, the Wellness Center and One Love, a nonprofit organization. Creating engaging, impactful and meaningful workshops that will effectively bring awareness and educate students about consent and healthy relationships to the entire student body is our goal in this project.

Have you guys or are planning any future event?

We have been brainstorming ideas for possible events for Denim Day we could hold at Paly. We have the full intention of spreading awareness on its significance and encouraging students to show their support for the cause by wearing denim.

This club has been around longer than we’ve been at Paly. In past years, RISE has succeeded in raising awareness around sexual misconduct, acting as a source of support for students, and networking with outside organizations. Last year, we worked with Paly Admin and a non-profit organization called One Love to create a student lead consent and healthy relationships workshop and we are currently working on ways to improve it for this year.

What impact do you hope to accomplish as a result of this club?

We want to make sure that Paly is a place where all students feel safe and heard.

RISE is looking to work with PAUSD middle schools to implement a consent education similar to that of Paly’s, as well as work with other high schools in the Bay Area to create a consent-conscious environment.

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Giving Fruits Pandemic relief student-run nonprofit adapts to a post-quarantine life

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Text by ASH MEHTA and LUCIANNA PERALTA Photos by ANNELISE BALENTINE Art by LAUREN WONG

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n the depths of quarantine, a demic they’re benefiting more charities and problem arose for both farmers and local shelters,” Habib said.

Bhattacharya said that Giving Fruits consumers. Local farms lost many of their main outlets — farmers markets, is trying to become more customer-centric, cafeterias, wholesale markets, and more. A now that face-to-face interactions are more question emerged: how would people get plausible.

“We form more relationships with their fresh fruits?

From this emerged Giving Fruits, a them [customers],” Bhattacharya said. “InPalo Alto nonprofit organization which stead of just ‘fill out this form, we’ll put stuff connects local farmers with clients. Giving [fruits] in your car.”

Maria De Greggorio, owner of a cherFruits transfers produce from small Bay Area farms to consumers. The organization ry farm was the person who contacted compiles advertisements for local farms on Habib to join Giving Fruits.

“She wanted to include other farm their website, where buyers can go and orproducts,” said Habib, “And der produce. During quarantine, so we’re a diversified this was a good way of revegetable farm and motely connecting farmalso have access to ers and buyers. strawberries, and “Especially “We had lost a lot of no other farmers during the peak of the our other sales outlets that have fruits. pandemic, it was a So she reached very important outlet that we had, prior to out to us. And at for us,” said Marsha the time, we were Habib, owner of lothe pandemic.” also pivoting our cal family farm Oya — MARSHA HABIB, sales outlets. And Organics. “We had owner of Oya Organics so we were like, lost a lot of our othYeah, sure, we can er sales outlets that we definitely collaborate had, prior to the panand help to bring up demic.” more farm products to But as they emerge giving fruits.” from the pandemic, many of Bhattacharya said that, these outlets are opening up again. though running this organization is chalGiving Fruits is adapting.

Giving Fruits president and Palo Alto lenging, it is worth it.

“It is hard work and a bunch of differHigh School senior Anjali Bhattacharya said that she got involved in Giving Fruits ent things to do each week with commumostly because of a desire for in-person in- nications with farms and city officials and teraction. She said she’s grateful she chose things like that,” Bhattacharya said. “But overall, I’d say it’s a really fun experience to get involved.

Bhattacharya said that farmers are and I’m really glad that I signed up for it.” still in need of Giving Fruits, as they are still feeling the effects of the pandemic. She plans to continue the nonprofit’s efforts of connecting farms with customers, while also giving back profits to the Bay Area community.

“We’re gonna source and create some packages for … the South Palo Alto Women’s Shelter,” Bhattacharya said.

Habib works closely with Giving Fruits, and said that the group used to focus more on directly pandemic-impacted groups, and have been shifting focus in terms of who they donate to.

“Now, as we’re coming out of the pan-

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Text by CARISSA TSUI and LUCIANNA PERALTA Photo by LUCIANNA PERALTA

Flowing into change

An unlikely aid in the fight against climate change: water heaters

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ing great steps to encourage this. he outside portion of the heat (HPWH).

With fewer health and safety risks Early in October City Council appump is a boxy, softly-whirring proved a new Heat Pump thing. Sven Thesen points us to than gas water heaters one side of it, then another, ex- there is a reduced risk of “It is long term and it Water Heater installation program for those intercitedly explaining the way it draws in heat backdrafting.

Not only is the cost will save you money ested in replacing their from the outside air. His dog, also excited, barks eagerly, and the chickens penned of an electric water heat- and is so much better gas water heaters with er lower than gas-powelectric heat pumps. next to the heat pump cluck in chorus.

Through it, resiThe water pump water heater’s inside ered heaters if homes for the planet.”

— SVEN THESEN, dents will be able to fihalf, hidden inside a closet, looks just like have a rooftop PV syschemical engineer nance the change over at any other: a plain tank with pipes running tem, but its complying with Palo Alto’s 100% a heavily reduced cost, if up and down, up and down. there is any at all.

Despite its understated appearance, carbon neutral electricity “Our goal is to replace 1,000 gas waan electric water heater is putting in more goal, with zero carbon footprint.

Additionally, the City of Palo Alto ter heaters by the end of 2023,” Luong said. than its fair share of work and is just as effective as its more traditional gas counter- provides great incentives for those who “We hope to learn from the program and switch over to water heaters. see if we can replicate it with other gas appart..

A rebate of up to $2,300 is currently pliances.”

According to The City of Palo Alto’s Altering daily routines could be a good website, Palo Alto’s goal is to get 80% less offered both for those who make the switch CO2 emissions than the 1990s, meaning with a City contractor and those that do it start to make a difference and achieve California’s goal for a zero carbon footprint. all energy must come from wind, solar, independently.

According to Sherry Listgarten, a “We are really strongly encouraging hydro, and other green sources to achieve blogger for A New Shade of Green on Palo people to go to do this because it is long carbon neutral energy production.

Alto Online, electric term and it will save you money and is so The website water heaters are much better for the planet,” said Thesen. also states that water Listgarten suggested changing of heating contributes “Our goal is to replace highly recommended. lights to LEDs and turning down thermore greenhouse 1,000 gas water heaters by “They’re just mostats. Teens can also go thrifting and gas emissions than giving money away biking around town. Additionally, when it anything else in Palo the end of 2023.”

Alto homes, with 90% —CHRISTINE LUONG, City Sustain- for these water heat- comes to vacationing, local traveling has a having gas-powered ability Manager ers,” Listgarten said. lesser CO2 impact than flying.

The switch over “There’s so many things you can do,” water heaters and a from traditional to Listgarten says, “So be informed. Commuquarter of home enelectric water heaters will soon become nicate in ways that people can understand ergy use being from water heating. you and start small, don’t bite off more Although the norm is to go with the even easier.

According to City Sustainability than you can chew. I think starting small gas-powered heater, there are many benefits with electric heat pump water heaters Manager Christine Luong, the city is tak- is better than starting big in some ways.”

Chemical engineer and environmental activist Sven Thesen points out the various components of the heat pump. Thesen’s home is one of few in Palo Alto that has net zero energy efficiency. “To retrofit is always harder than to build new at the time of construction,” Thesen said. “[Still,] it’s a lot easier than it was a couple years ago.”

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Activist Playlist 1. Woman’s World by Little Mix 2. Dear Mr. President by P!nk 3. Chosen Family by Rina Sawayama 4. Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple 5. Born Tired by Jhene Aiko 6. Pride (In The Name Of Love) by U2 7. 1-800-273-8255 by Logic 8. Boys Will Be Boys by Dua Lipa 9. A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke 10. Only The Young by Taylor Swift 11. Just A Girl by No Doubt 12. Respect by Arethra Franklin

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Text by ASH MEHTA and KARRIE HUANG Photo courtesy of PALY VOICE

changes

classroom

Paly focuses on systems of support for students

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“I’m looking for more of a coherent or the first time in Palo Alto High School history, there’s a system, more of a robust tier two,” Chute teacher in charge of student sup- said. “I’m looking to properly identify kids so that they’re not slipping through cracks.” port systems.

Another one of Math teacher Deanna Chute is leading multi- “I told the staff back Chute’s focuses is to standardize support systems tiered systems of support in the beginning of across the staff. this year. like someMTSS is a framework school, ‘If I’m not times“Iit’sfeela little bit encompassing three levels, from universal support to making your life eas- like, I don’t know, like a whack highly individualized support for struggling students. ier, then I’m not do- a mole, like, oh, I’m gon“None of this is about ing my job.’” na help this telling teachers what they — Math teacher, MTSS coor- kid, and now should or shouldn’t do,” Chute said. “It’s about credinator DEANNA CHUTE this,” Chute said. “I’m ating almost like a menu of looking for options. If you find that you have students that are disengaged, or you something much more syshave students who seem tired or students tematic as a school.” that are, you know, talking out of turn, or whatever the case may be … here are strategies you can use.”

Chute said that, for the first time, MTSS strategy brainstorming has been staff-wide. She said that she’s trying to make MTSS structures that benefit both students and faculty.

“I just think it’s a little bit more front and center right now, because of the position I have,” Chute said. “I told the staff back in the beginning of school, ‘If I’m not making your life easier, then I’m not doing my job.’”

Chute said one of her main focuses is going to be expanding Tier Two support.

Tier One refers to strategies like mid-class breaks and lowered screen time, whereas tier three encompasses 504s and IEPs, among other things.

Chute said that, though Tier Two exists and does have a few strategies such as the peer tutoring center, there needs to be more options between Tiers One and Three.

MTSS: Systems of support coordinator and Paly math teacher Deanna Chute, pictured in a photo from Paly Voice.

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Text by EVELYN ZHANG, KAT FARRELL and SAANVI GARG Photo by DANIEL GAREPIS-HOLLAND

Crossing into the future Does a new city council now mean a plan for safe railroad crossings?

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ccording to Connecting Palo Alto, a community-based process overseen by the City of Palo Alto, between 2008 and 2020, there were eight fatalities at Palo Alto’s four grade crossings in which a train struck either a pedestrian or a vehicle.

Close calls with the Caltrain at the Churchill railroad crossing are close to home for many Palo Alto High School students.

Paly senior Paloma Raffle shares her scary experience at the Churchill crossing: “The spacing was tight for cars to not get crushed,” Raffle said. “I was driving away from school and the light turned red, and I had to pull into the street to leave enough space for the blocker to come down for the train.”

The railroad creates much trouble for both vehicles and pedestrians because of the awkward intersection between the road and the tracks.

“Mainly, it just seems like a safety hazard, mostly because it’s often unclear when to move forward, and when the crossing arms come down, the train comes so quickly.”

During the city council elections, many candidates expressed their opinions concerning the possible remedies for this problem.

Now that the elections have passed and Veenker, Lauing and Lythcott-Haims emerge as winners, will the city council finally take action?

Palo Alto has four railroad crossings that are all in residential areas. Recently, the safety surrounding these intersections has become a hotly-contested topic in recent elections and within several Palo Alto neighborhoods.

There have been a few solutions on the table that have been considered for the past few years, including a hybrid underpass, a fully underground tunnel for cars, or a raised track of the train.

Some have gained a lot of support while others have been largely dismissed for their price or feasibility.

Ed Lauing, a recently elected member of the city council and current chair of the Planning and Transportation Commission in Palo Alto, stated that although ideally, the issue should be quickly resolved, the city council has yet to come up with a solution that is both feasible and nondisruptive.

For instance, one obstacle to building the proposed underpasses beneath the train intersections is that eminent domain would have to be applied. Eminent domain is the

right of the government to use private property for public use.

“We would have to buy and take down 84 homes entirely, and 42 others partially,” Lauing said. “So 130 people would lose their homes to do it. Now, I’m not going for that.”

To avoid eminent domain, Lauing says that the city has to collaborate with Caltrain and obtain vital information such as what technical specs they’re going to use.

“When we know if we have to put in two to four or two or four tracks, we can plan better, and maybe avoid all of the eminent domain,” he said.

Alex Comsa, a former candidate for Palo Alto City Council, raises concerns about the impact on not just neighborhoods near the railroad crossings, but also ones along Embarcadero that will be affected by the diverted traffic as a result of construction.

Although Comsa did not win city council, his views and concerns propose a different perspective for current city council members to consider.

Conversely, Julie Lythcott-Haims supports the viaduct because of its complete elimination of the intersection between the railroad tracks and the road.

“I’m interested in a solution that tries to anticipate future issues and concerns and term solution that will really be proud that we put in place for that reason,” she said. “I think the viaduct is the most visionary solution.”

Although the city council eliminated the viaduct as an option more than a year ago, Lythcott-Haims’s election to city council could mean a revitalization of this plan.

Due to Paly’s proximity to the Churchill crossing, the Palo Alto Unified School District is also a vocal participant in the discussions of potential solutions to this concern.

Lauing stresses the importance of taking small steps and prioritizing the safety of crossings, especially for ones with much civilian traffic like Paly around Churchill.

“Relative to safety, the most important part is to fix the pedestrian and bike crossings…the transportation department should have already done this,” he said.

Ultimately, the safety of Palo Alto residents is most important.

The initiative to solve this problem has constantly stalled despite continuous federal funding, but with a new combination of city council members, there is an opportunity — and a lot of pressure — to finally ensure the safety of railroad crossings.

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Art by SASHA KAPADIA

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Text by MAYA MUKHERJEE, ASH MEHTA and ARATI PERIYANNAN

Funhouse mirror

How schools reinforce diet culture, body image issues

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rom social media to adver- places on fitness and diets specifically harms tisements, from dieting apps to people.

Teaching about nutrition and fitness fitness blogs, diet culture reaches Palo Alto students from all angles. is necessary, according to the Centers for School is oftentimes another way this is re- Disease Control and Prevention, in order to prevent illness, support physical health, inforced.

According to an opt-in, anonymous and improve emotional well-being. Howevsurvey of 97 Palo Alto High School students er, this sort of education in schools can also conducted by Anthro Magazine, 74.7% of fuel harmful ideas about bodies and food, respondents said that they’d been exposed, according to Eating Disorder Foundation in some way, to diet culture by teachers, ad- intern Heidemarie Streicher.

“We also see a lot of like attaching moministrators, and/or curriculum. Though rality to foods,” most said the Streicher said. impact has been small “We also see a lot of like attaching “So saying ‘foods to moderate, morality to foods,” Streicher said. are good, foods are bad,’ rather the impact is “So saying ‘foods are good, foods are than just — we still there. the eating disD i e t bad,’ rather than just — we in the inorders sphere, culture, defined by the eating disorders sphere, we like to we like to say — nourishing our health online news site say — nourishing our bodies, right?” bodies, right?”

Physical Very Well Fit — HEIDEMARIE STREICHER, Eating Disorder education can as the belief Foundation also be a source that physiof problems for cal form is students, said more important than well-being, can be reinforced Lauren O’Brien, a therapist with training by elements of school curriculum, such as in eating disorder treatment.

“We think about kids in elementaPhysical Education and Living Skills, and ry school in which kids get chosen to play community.

“I think there’s definitely a culture certain games, because they appear more around eating more healthy foods, because physically able, and in which kids sit off to it’s this idea that you don’t want to be obese the side and don’t get engaged in movement or like you want to eat healthy,” Palo Alto and are criticized for how they look or what High School senior Niklas Hagstroem said. their body looks like,” O’Brien said.

DuBose agreed that sports can damDiet culture is spread in many ways, such as social media. According to the New age self-esteem by playing into the culture York Times, many teenagers struggle with of body shaming.

“It’s still considered normal in sports comparing themselves to people they see on social media, and the emphasis social media to weigh kids and body shame those who

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do not meet the “normal” expectations,” with their bodies,” Hagstroem said.

DuBose said.

Senior Katie Firtch said that, even Although diet culture is heavily em- without diet-culture-trained counselors, bedded in our society, it tends to affect Paly can provide more resources for peoalready people of color more than others, ple struggling with body image. according to Streicher. Even though peo“The most pragmatic approach is to ple of color are at higher risk for eating make sure that the current counselors we disorders, they are less likely to seek treat- do have are connected with people who ment due to stereospecialize in ED types that portray “It’s still considered normal (eating disorders) eating disorders if a student comes as a “heterosexual in sports to weigh kids and to them and needs Caucasian female” body shame those who do that kind of help,” problem, accord- not meet the “normal” ex- Firtch said. ing to Psyschology Hagstroem pectations.”

Today. said that Paly stu— NIKKI DUBOSE, eating disorder dents should speak “Some people, some comspecialist up more about munities, their body image-related disordered eating bullying, when they behaviors are not addressed the same way see it occuring. as in other communities they are, which is “The deceptive thing about it is that a disparity,” Streicher said. it’s usually friends on friends,” Hagstroem O’Brien said this inequality is due said. “It’s a lot harder for someone else to to how teaching about nutrition and fit- step in, because it’s sort of almost taken as ness caters to certain people. According a light hearted back and forth instead of to a statement by Intensive Care Unit direct attacks.” doctor and health specialist Milton Mills Hagstroem said that there should be published in the Ithaca Times, the infor- more education around diet culture and mation and recommendations about nu- how to live a healthy lifestyle without retrition given by the government overlook stricting or dieting. However, he said it the needs of people of color. would be difficult to make a big change.

“We need to teach kids that the “It’s very ingrained, espefood pyramid that we currently see is cially at Paly, i n white-centric, and based on middle class, at hlet ic s white eating patterns, and it’s not realisti- e s p e cally showing what all members of our schools are eating or even consider healthy,” O’Brien said.

Hagstroem said that there should be more balanced, less processed options at the cafeteria to overcome this disparity. He also advocates for more resources for people struggling with their body image.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of services for people [at Paly] who are o v e r weight … or who feel like they’re being bullied, or who don’t feel happy

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cially,” he said.

Firtch said that education about diet culture may have the opposite effect. She said that people tend to rebel against the messaging the administration puts out.

“I guess messaging more just like here’s how you can treat yourself better, including ways that you can physically and mentally I guess, stay in touch with yourself,” Firtch said.

One way people can work against the effects of diet culture is to use different language when talking about body-related topics. Streicher said focusing on well-being is helpful.

“Instead of complimenting people’s bodies, compliment their clothing or their style, right?” Streicher said. “And moving away from just talking so much about weight and rather talking about wellness.”

DuBose also mentioned the importance of language when talking about food.

“Kids are very vulnerable to the language that is being used around them,” she said. “Schools should avoid using words like ‘bad foods’ and ‘good foods’ and should focus on teaching kids how to tune into their internal hunger cues, also known as intuitive eating.”

Another way schools or school districts like Palo Alto Unified can help students is to give them positive role models in teachers and coaches, according to DuBose.

“If the coach models a positive body image, healthy relationships, and a balanced approach to competition, the students will be more likely to feel more positive about their own bodies,” she said.

DuBose said that if students were free from expectations perpetrated through diet culture, they would be able to be stronger all around.

“Students wouldn’t feel the need to compete with unrealistic expectations,” she said. “And could focus more on their unique talents and how that can contribute to collective experience.”

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Text by MAYA MUKHERJEE and EVELYN ZHANG

Paly students share their experiences of being members of multiple communities Hannah Jensen ‘24

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aly junior Hannah Jensen moved to Palo Alto from Vietnam earlier this year, and is balancing adapting to a new culture with keeping ties to her home countryadapting to being immersed in a new culture and community while keeping ties to her home country.

Jensen moved from Vietnam for more work and educational opportunities in America, such as being able to have a job at an earlier age and being able to choose more classes in school. Although she has managed to keep in touch with people from Vietnam, she said it has been difficult to do so.

“I’d say I still keep in contact with a lot of my friends from back home,” Jensen said. “It’s a little harder with the time difference and not being there, and I feel like if you move to a different country and you just stay connected to your old community, you’re not going to really be in the present here.”

Adapting to cultural differences has also been something Jensen has had to navigate this year.

She said social norms here contrast with ones in Vietnam; different things are acceptable to say and the way people interact with each other can also be more surface-level here.

However, she has been able to connect with other Vietnamese people in Palo Alto. At Paly’s orientation for new students, she met another Vietnamese student who she considers as her support system, and she has also bonded with Vietnamese people at her job.

Jensen said accepting the dual communities has helped her get more in touch with herself.

“Right now, there’s not one community,” she said. “I feel very connected to myself.

I’m learning a lot more — you’re kind of breaking your own boundaries in a lot of ways.”

Austin Eng ‘24

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aly junior Austin Eng struggles with being culturally connected to both his Japanese and Chinese heritage, especially because of Bay Area stereotypes.

He is often perceived as fully Chinese and said that most people don’t acknowledge that he’s Japanese because they already have a preconceived notion of him. Eng attributes much of this treatment to his environment.

“In the San Francisco Bay Area especially, a large part or even majority of Asian Americans are of Chinese descent and that can lead to many people assuming I am just Chinese at first glance,” said Eng. Although he is often perceived as fully Chinese, Eng has struggled with being culturally connected to his Chinese identity.

“Growing up, I always felt like I ‘wasn’t Chinese enough’ because I didn’t go to Chinese school like my classmates.”

Additionally, Eng feels like he has more access to Japanese culture and spends more time with his Japanese extended family member sand and therefore is more comfortable with that half of his identity.

Despite the misconceptions that many people have about his identity and the struggle he encounters with being culturally connected to each part of his identity, Eng is appreciative of both parts of his identity.

“Although I feel more Japanese than I do Chinese, I spend time with both sides of my family,” Eng said. “Making sure that I keep in touch with both cultures is important, even if I am more involved in one of them.”

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Photos by MAYA MUKHERJEE

P

Olivia Hau ‘23

aly senior Olivia Hau identifies as half French and half Chinese, and said she has continuously felt unaccepted into the Chinese community. However, she said she has been able to accept and love both sides of her identity.

Hau said although she speaks fluent Mandarin and is immersed in her father’s side of the family’s culture, other Chinese people at times do not recognize her Chinese identity.

“What especially hurts me is when Asian people, especially Chinese people, don’t validate my identity as an Asian person just because it’s taken me a while to accept and to embrace my Chinese culture,” Hau said.

Hau added that her experiences reflect the more difficult parts of being Asian, which gets overlooked due to being biracial.

“I definitely experienced racism and oppression as an Asian person, but at the same time, I feel like those experiences are not validated, just because I am half white,” Hau said.

Attributing this divide to the stress people often place on labels, Hau said her dual identity often feels left out of conversations.

“Society, a lot of times, places pressure on putting labels on things,” Hau said. “It’s like, on standardized tests, you’ll see ‘Oh, are you Asian? Are you white?’ and sometimes there’ll be no option for ‘Are you multicultural and multiracial?’”

In Hau’s personal journey, she said she has been able to find peace with both her Chinese and French identities.

“I’ve also realized I don’t need to label myself,” Hau said. “And if I do need to label myself, I’m going to say that I’m both French and Chinese, and that I don’t need to pick one side because both are really key parts of my identity.”

Caroline Jittipun ‘24

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aly junior Caroline Jittipun has a Catholic Filipina mother and a Muslim Thai father, and said she feels the pressure to conform to one over the other.

“I feel like there’s a big difference in families with having to choose between a different religion once I’m older and having to experience both,” she said, “But then each family is kind of pushing you to be one certain religion.”

Jittipun said this pressure stems from her youth and has in part come from family members.

“I remember when I was little, my grandma took me to the mosque, and after we came back, me and my grandma were talking and she asked me, ‘ You’re gonna be Muslim when you’re older, right?’” Jittipun said. “And it put me in such an awkward position … I thought ‘Why can’t I be both?’”

Despite the divide Jittipun feels between the two religions, she said her parents are encouraging of the intersection between them.

“My parents are both supportive, they think I can be both once I’m older — I don’t need to choose between one,” Jittipun said. “We celebrate all of the holidays with both religions and it’s nice that way too.”

Jittipun said celebrating holidays from both religions is important to her, and if she has kids, she will raise them with both Muslim and Catholic traditions as well.

“I embrace both; I love to be both Catholic and Muslim,” she said. “I’m very proud of it, and having the holidays with my family is a big thing that we all celebrate.”

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Addressing bias early

December 2022

Child development program implements anti-bias education at local elementary schools

O

n Unity Day, Duveneck Elementary School students flocked around identity pin booths, listened to unity story read-alouds, wrote kindness notes, and engaged in other anti-bullying activities.

Hilary McDaniel’s child development students helped host this event as part of the child development pathway’s broader anti-bias curriculum.

McDaniel uses the National Association for Education of Young Children framework to shape her curriculum.

NAEYC, a nonprofit organization of 60,000 early childhood educators, defines anti-bias education as “support[ing] children’s development of a confident sense of identity without needing to feel superior to others.”

McDaniel’s students both learn child development and apply that learning to

their teacher-assistant positions at Duve- hatred of outsiders kicks in around age neck. six, while others report it can be traced all “This [framework] really is geared the way back to infancy,” it writes, citing for preschool students,” McDaniel said. studies published in the National Library “But I haven’t found something that’s re- of Medicine. ally of the same caliber for elementary.

Former Palo Alto Unified School And I do feel like maybe a lot of these ele- Board candidate and self-proclaimed pamentary school students didn’t get this in rental rights advocate Ingrid Campos has their preschool.” a different perspective on the issue.

McDaniel said that anti-bias eduCampos has two children in the cation is important because the human PAUSD system. She said her children did brain naturally forms biases, and schools not know what racism was until they were must do their best to counteract that. in school.

Right now, a wave of legislation is being “I’m not sure what the purpose of passed across the nation against anti-bi- teaching this kind of specific education, as, anti-racist, and focusing on this speLGBTQ+ educacific topic, is really “It’s really a whole lot tion. doing,” Campos said.

“If you’re not better if we just start “Everyone is assuming explicit with them, that there is racism then it can lead to early and don’t make it and bias. … They’re instereotyping and [anti-bias] so taboo.” nocent children, they prejudice and dis— Child development teacher HILA- don’t know about it crimination,” Mcyet.”

RY MCDANIEL Daniel said. “And Campos said that so it’s really a whole she thinks some anlot better if we just start early and don’t ti-racist and anti-bias education focuses make it so taboo.” too much on hate.

Pacific Standard, an online magazine “We’re going down the wrong road, focused on climate change and justice re- to focus on the haters, the one in 100 hatporting, writes that bias impacts children ers out there, and then put that into a les very young. “Several studies have found

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Text by ASH MEHTA Photos by HILARY MCDANIEL and DANIEL GAREPIS-HOLLAND son plan and say, this is how the world is,” Campos said. “I think there is a problem with that.”

Campos advocates another way of teaching justice.

“The foundation that was set for me was love your neighbor, love the people you’re with,” Campos said. “We never ever focused on skin color. Or whatever potential gender issues, we focused on being the best human being that we could possibly be based on the foundation of what we are.”

In terms of the justice and diversity components, McDaniel said that childrens’ brains are naturally attuned to concepts of “right” and “wrong,” so teaching them the concept of justice comes easily.

Justice is one of the four tenets of McDaniel’s anti-bias framework.

“They [elementary school children] actually are very capable of having deep conversations about what is fair,” McDaniel said. “There are different books that talk about the concepts of equity versus equality and you’d be surprised how early on they can actually understand.”

McDaniel also promotes diversity in the classroom. She does an activity with her child development students where they analyze children’s books from before and after 2010 to examine the differences in representation between the two. Students counted the number of white children, children of color, and animals. The students found that there was more representation of animals in children’s books than people of color, pre-2010.

Anthro Magazine also spoke with child development students to hear their thoughts.

Senior and child development student Ryan Hudacek said that anti-bias education gives children confidence in their identity.

“Anti-bias education is important because it teaches children to have self confidence, use accurate language for diversity, recognize unfairness and understand that it hurts people, and learn to act against prejudice,” Hudacek said.

Harvey Vostrejs, another child development student and Paly senior, also advocates the importance of anti-bias education.

“I think it helps teach kids there are people other than you in the world,

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people that aren’t like you, and they are just as human and just as deserving of respect,” Vostrejs said.

Vostrejs said that anti-bias education should consist of both representation and overt education.

“Even if it’s hard to discuss and difficult to talk about, it’s something that does need to be addressed,” Vostrejs said. “If they know about it, they can take actions to prevent doing that themselves. And, you know, speak up when they see wrong being done.”

Hudacek said that she’s applied what she’s learned in her child development class to her work at Duveneck.

“I have implemented anti-bias education in my work at Duveneck through casual conversations with 4th graders at lunch,” Hudacek said. “I engage in conversations with them and ask them questions like why they think a specific stereotype is true.”

Though Vostrejs said they haven’t outright used any of their anti-bias training yet, they have been helping kids out in other ways that incorporate anti-bias.

“I’m working with a student [who] … is clearly neurodivergent,” Vostrejs said. “I’m doing my best to help him, you know, kind of navigate the world in ways that I wish someone would help me.”

Vostrejs said that one room for growth in the anti-bias education curriculum is the section on neurodivergence, specifically autism. Vostrejs said the textbook portrays autism as a curable condition, though the general expert consensus is that autism cannot be cured, according to Healthline.

“It [the textbook] probably hasn’t been updated in a long time,” Vostrejs said. “It’s a neuro type, it’s not a disease, there’s no cure for it doesn’t need to be cured … And a lot of the resources out there are completely inaccurate.”

Recently, there’s been an increase in laws against anti-bias education, nationwide. Especially with the midterm elections, the fate of anti-bias education is at stake.

“That’s such a silly thing to politicize,” McDaniel said. “For any side, we want children to appreciate the rich world they live in and talk about differences that they are aware of.”

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Activist bookshelf 26

Text by ASH MEHTA Art by MADELYN CASTRO and courtesy of those reviewed

afterword • nina schuyler

A

haunting portrait of grief, Nina Schuyler’s “Afterword” is a mustread for those who love dystopian, science fiction, complex plotlines with an emotional core. Though it doesn’t center around activism, it deals with themes such as sexism, privacy in a digital age, and anti-Chinese racism.

“Afterword” follows Virginia, an elderly woman living in San Francisco. As a teenager, Virginia was in love with her much-older math tutor, Haru. Though the tutor outwardly rejected her advances, he clearly viewed her in a semi-romantic way. Sixty years later, Virginia still considers Haru her one true love. Haru and Virginia’s relationship is left a bit up to the reader, though it seems creepy.

Haru died when Virginia was relatively young and, since his death, Virginia has been working to bring him back through artificial intelligence. Virginia invents the “Best Friend,” an AI that can converse just as a living person

December 2022

can. She designs her own per- promote messages of “the Amersonal “Best Friend” after Haru. ican Dream” and “money can’t However, after selling her buy happiness,” when that isn’t technology to a Chinese corpo- the reality. This book subverted ration, Virginia begins to sus- that artfully. pect that “Best Friend” is being The depiction of privacy in used to spy on Chinese citizens. a digital age was also beautifully Afterword is a beautiful done. tale of getting over loss, as well The book also explored isas a stunning metaphor for the sues of the distinction between impact pedophilia can have on anti-Chinese racism and acsurvivors for their whole lives. knowledgment that the Chinese The writing is compelling. government is oppressive. SchuySchuyler’s style is persistently ler poses the question of “What is beautiful, never crowded with culture, and what is oppression?” overly descriptive prose, but un- and grapples with it insightfully. derstated and vivid.

One of “Afterword’s” main Not only that, but this is focuses is the experience of womone of the most uniquely paced en in mathematics. Virginia was books I’ve read not allowed to in a long time. in math, “Afterword is a gem. excel The pacing was and was exnever too slow or Every activist and pected to live a too fast, but also life of a stay-atdidn’t follow the every lover of emo- home mother, standard, three- tional tales should not learning act formula for math beyond a modern novel. add it to their 2023 the high school It’s not edge-oflevel. Haru was reading list.” your-seat thrillthe only person ing, but rather, a who was willing steady kind of immersive. to teach Virginia graduate-level The one flaw of this novel is math, and even then, Virginia its predictability. Had the writing had to keep his decision to tutor not been so incredible, it wouldn’t her a secret. have been hard to abandon the Schuyler didn’t put the book, because I knew exactly how women in STEM messaging at it’d end from the first few chap- the forefront of the book, nor did ters. she overtly state any of the activist This book portrayed the themes. generational impacts of poverty Afterword is a beautiful book incredibly. The portrayal of how because it holds up in, while also poverty strained Virginia’s re- representing the intersectional lationship with her mother was struggles and experiences Virginespecially poignant. The quote ia faces over her lifetime. “poverty has made her view life Afterword is a gem. Every as a series of transactions” drove activist and every lover of emothat point home. Too often, books tional tales should add it to their almost romanticize poverty. They 2023 reading list.

everything the darkness eats • eric larocca

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ric LaRocca’s horror novel, “Everything the Darkness Eats,” is a vibrant, immersive journey. Though a fun read, it relies more on shock factor than anything, and feels almost aimless. It tries to make an activism statement, but falls short.

“Everything The Darkness Eats” depicts a small town in Connecticut that’s haunted by a series of disappearances. It follows a few characters: Heart Crowley, the cult-ish, charismatic kidnapper; Ghost, the grieving, pained man; and Malik, the detective facing a barrage of homophobic hate crimes.

Heart discovers a secret artifact that gives him the power to compel others to his whim, which he uses to go on a killing spree, and then start luring people to his basement.

Ghost recently lost his wife, and ever since, a wraith has lived on his shoulder, feeding him messages of anxiety and selfhate.

Malik, the police officer following the disappearance cases gets a message saying “Die [f-slur].” Shortly after, someone breaks into his home and attempts to murder his husband, Brett.

Every page of this book was engaging, and I grew to love the characters. LaRocca managed to squeeze so many well-developed personas into so few pages without sacrificing the reader’s attachment to the characters.

That said, the plotlines don’t come together until the last few pages of the book and, as such, the book feels more like a rambling description of hatred, anger, and desire than a specific

story.

The Malik plotline, in particular, bothered me. LaRocca was clearly trying to make a statement on the homophobia that plagues many people, even today, but he missed the mark, and Malik and Brett’s subplot feels more like gratuitous violence than an impactful story.

The core issue of this book is the lack of chemistry between the characters. Yes, I cared about the characters personally, but that can only go so far. The characters did not seem to care about each other. Logically, yes, Malik loves Brett. Logically, Ghost loves Gemma. Logically, Heart and Ghost have a close yet conflicted relationship.

But I didn’t feel it emotionally.

This ties into the activism in the book. This plot could have made a statement about homophobia, had I actually sensed Malik’s love for Brett. It could have made a statement about moving on from loss, had I been able to tell how much Ghost loved Gemma.

That being said, “Everything The Darkness Eats” did have lots of queer representation, as well as representation of mental health, grief, disability, and Islamophobia.

LaRocca’s novel is a fun, engaging read. It’s short, and it’s a good way to spend a summer afternoon. It doesn’t make any points in a particularly powerful way, but the artfully crafted characters and the terrifying prose make it a good read if you’re bored.

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Text by KARRIE HUANG Art by ARATI PERIYANNAN

Activism Around the World Issues over climate, religion, independence fire up protesters all over the globe GREAT BRITAIN: Climate activists are campaigning for Britain’s House of Lords (part of

Parliament) to reject a recently revived public order bill. The bill would give police officers increased power to stop and search as well as potentially stop certain individuals from participating in protests at all. Also, some forms of “locking on” — sticking, locking or attaching oneself to immobile objects or to other people, a tactic often employed by climate protesters — would be outlawed. Protesters claim that the public order bill would infringe upon their rights to protest and are too far reaching.

ARMENIA: Thousands of Armenians have turned out to protest the signing of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan in the city of Yerevan. They are protesting the concessions to Azerbaijan over the self-determination of the de facto autonomous region Karabakh. It has been overseen by Russian peacekeeping forces for the past few years. There is widespread disillusionment with the peace treaty since it will likely not favor Armenian interests.

UZBEKISTAN: Over 20 people in Uzbekistan’s autonomous Karakalpakstan area were killed by police in a protest deemed “largely peaceful” by the Human Rights Watch. Deadly “stun-grenades” were used. A new draft constitution that would prohibit Karakalpakstan from voting to secede spurred the protest. Despite the deaths, the protest successfully pressured the government into removing the parts of the constitution that restricted Karakalpakstan.

IRAN: For a month, a wave of protests has swept Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for apparently not wearing her hijab in the right way. The government’s reaction has been intense with bullets fired into crowds of people. Thousands of protesters have been charged and Iran is even targeting children. Almost 200 activists have died. Still, a majority of Iran’s Parliament has signed an open letter demanding the protests be dealt with harshly. Universities have been a center of protest, and students have been staging sit-ins, fighting mandated gender segregation and more. Starting from Amini’s death, the activist movement in Iran has blossomed into a more general protest over the way the government’s theocracy is run.

EGYPT: Egypt cracks down on protests around the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) by putting in place new restrictions on protests, arresting activists and forcing new cameras in all taxis. International civil rights groups have called the detainments arbitrary and demanded their release. There are newly established checkpoints where citizens’ social media is forcibly monitored for potential protest information. The portions of the summit — the “Green Zone” usually open to the public are now requiring pre-registration including passport numbers. Organizations and individuals from over 80 countries have signed a petition demanding the new restrictions be ended.

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