BHS Jacket 2023/24 Issue 14

Berkeley Unified School District Berkeley High Jacket 1980 Allston Way Berkeley, CA 94704

Climate action must become more accessible and affordable

Student teaching provides inimitable learning experience

Many current solutions to climate change bear a hefty price tag. Aditya Sridharan argues that making climate action less expensive and more accessible is key to change on PAGE 6

Student teachers gain irreplaceable knowledge during their time in the classroom. Read about three BHS student teachers’ experiences and what they’ve learned on PAGE 10

BERKELEY HIGH

PUBLISHED BY AND FOR THE STUDENTS OF BERKELEY HIGH SCHOOL no. 15

ENTERTAINMENT

Non-Profit Org. US Postage Paid Oakland, CA Permit No. 8334

www.berkeleyhighjacket.com • friday, April 26, 2024

COURTESY OF LINDEN KOSHLAND PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ANJA BALL

Student-made fash ion h its t he ru nwa y at B HS fas hion show

BY YOSHI ROHN staff writer

since 1912

Bursts of color, imagination, and applause filled the Ciel Creative Space in West Berkeley last Friday night as more than 50 models walked the runway at Berkeley High School’s Sustainable Fashion Show. Over 400 students, family, and friends turned out to watch the models show off their unique flair, wearing outfits made by BHS student designers.

The outfits were made from upcycled clothes, thrifted items, and new materials. From the intricate reworks of traditional clothes to designs pushing the boundaries of fashion, the show was a display of self-expression and creativity. PAGE 12

INVESTIGATIVE

ROBERT GELLNER

Berkeley community navigates intricacies of accommodation plans for students

BY KALI PROUD staff writer

Berkeley’s Isaac Grolnic-McClurg and Jacob Goldman face off against Nueva Syon Patel and Logan Ramanathan at nationals.

ELIOT HERTENSTEIN

NEWS

BHS Speech and Debate makes history, with duos winning both states and nationals

BY MINAMI SOGA staff writer

The Berkeley High School Speech and Debate team set a record this April, winning both the Tournament of Champions (TOC) and the California

State Championships. This is the first time that BHS has won the California State Championships and marks the first instance for a school to have won both the TOC and the California State Championships since the start of the National Parliamentary Debate League’s Tournament

of Champions.

Isaac Grolnic-McClurg, who won TOC with his partner Jacob Goldman, shared how the results of their victory surprised him and how it gave him affirmation for the work they put into speech and debate.

“I was initially very

shocked,” Grolnic-McClurg said, “It took me like six hours or so to fully process it. I initially wasn’t even super happy, I think because I was like, well, it’s not really real in a sense. And I ended up feeling really great about it at the end of the day. (It was) affirming a lot of PAGE 2

“A 504 plan is an accommodation plan that I can use to help me succeed and reach my best potential in school,” Kai Fang-Stillman, a Berkeley High School student with a 504 plan, said. According to Vanessa Sinai, the 504 Program Supervisor at BHS, 504 plans and Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) are legal documents that protect the rights of students with disabilities.

“It’s a plan that prevents discrimination against a student because of their disability … It’s covered

under the section 504 rehabilitation act, so it’s a civil rights law,” Sinai said.

According to Sinai, some examples of accommodations include being able to leave class early, being able to wear headphones to cancel out overstimulating noise, getting extra time on assignments or tests, and more.

Sinai explained that in order to get these plans and their accommodations, students need to go through a process that can span months.

“It’s like a 60-90 day timeline, basically,” Sinai said.

One of the first steps to get a 504 plan or an IEP is to schedule a Student Success Team meeting (SST). “It’s a meeting with your PAGE 9

2 FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024

NEWS BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

news editors: Finola Jackson & Aaron Stevens

aaronstevens@students.berkeley.net

U9 teachers educate, empower students with Climate Conference “We have pulled all of our resources from Berkeley and have found lots of different people who are experts in their fields to teach our students through a lot of project-based learning and interesting seminars on their discipline,” Menaka Gentle, a U9 ESSL

really depressing and anxietyinducing. We want students to be able to learn about it in a way that will help them see On Friday, April 19, 2024, how they can get involved and Berkeley High School teachers that there are real kinds of held a Climate Conference solutions that are happening with five out of seven Universal all around us,” Zia GrossmanNinth Grade (U9) hives.

Vendrillo, a U9 English The conference teacher who consisted of over helped organize 20 workshops with the event, said.

“We want students to feel a variety of focuses.

M a s h a energized about getting involved in The workshops Albrecht, a BHS trying to fight climate change ...” fell under four math teacher, ran sections: math and a workshop on Zia Grossman-Vendrillo science, creativity, the use of sunlight garden and and shadows to U9 English Teacher community, and charge a s ol ar action-focused. panel efficiently.

Each teacher sponsored a teacher, said. Gentle ran a Students used small solar workshop, but their students workshop with a creative focus panels to power different were not required to take on “The Power of Preservation” devices, such as a phone or part based on their teacher. to learn the basics of pickling, a fan. They used math from Freshmen selected their fermenting, salt preserving, Math 1 and examples of math choices for the workshops and canning. Students had all the way through calculus. they wanted to attend and the chance to try out the Albrecht said, “I’m really, then went to wherever they preservation techniques, as really concerned that we’re were assigned instead of their well as take the things they not addressing climate change typical hive classes. In the days made home. more urgently every single day. and weeks leading up to the “We want students to We know as teachers that our conference, participating hives feel energized about getting students are anxious about have learned about climate involved in trying to fight climate change, so we feel that change and climate solutions climate change and to feel part of our responsibility is to in their Ethnic Studies/Social empowered to do so. Often, educate (them) so that (they) Living (ESSL), and English when you are starting to learn can understand what’s going classes. about climate change, it’s on and also have some tools

BY EVA KATZ staff writer

for affecting change.”

Another workshop in the creativity category was “Denim

By Nature Upcycling Fashion Waste,” run by Remake and Ciclo SF. Remake and Ciclo are both companies that work to promote fashion sustainability.

Remake uses campaigns to aid sweatshop workers and h ol d c or p or ate f a s h i on companies accountable for their negative contributions to the environment. Ciclo is a working studio that offers sewing classes to assist and

encourage sustainable clothes.

In the workshop, students learned about Remakes’ goals, and, in association with Cilco, had the opportunity to turn used denim into naturethemed jewelry. The workshop was run by Amy Auerbach, who volunteers for Remake.

Auerbach said, “It’s just a way to have students interact with clothing and make it something different. Denim is very toxic to the environment with all the water it uses, and the dye, and the finishing, so

(the goal is to be) able to take denim that you might throw away and repurpose it into something else.”

Other examples of workshops hosted include “Navigating Climate Anxiety with Herbalism,” “Using AI to Fight Climate Disaster,” “Get to Know the BHS Garden,” and many more.

Grossman-Vendrillo said, “If we’re not teaching students to be prepared for climate change, then what are we teaching them?”

JESSIE LEE

BHS Speech and Debate wins states, nationals in championship CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

things about my own ability and how our school teachers debate and the way we go about it. It was a very good feeling in the end.”

Grolnic-McClurg described his experience at TOC, sharing how there was

not much diversity in terms of participants, but he was happy to meet people he had debated against in the past.

“I mean, it was always a little weird because debate doesn’t always attract the most representative population overall. And then nationals are, arguably, even more elitist

Isaac Grolnic-McClurg and Jacob Goldman speaking at nationals.

in a sense. So, a lot of the people at nationals are from private high schools. Despite that, I think it was still really nice. It’s really cool to see a lot of people that I’ve already been against online … and it was good to meet people, so that was a pretty good atmosphere,” Grolnic-McClurg said.

ELIOT HERTENSTEIN

A m b e r S a f i r, w h o won the California State Championships with her partner Zachary Yoo and also participated in TOC, shared how she felt going into both tournaments.

“I was definitely really nervous,” Safir said. “Debate can be a really stressful environment because basically, what you’re doing is you’re just arguing with people all the time. And it’s very high adrenaline because you get your topic, and then you have very limited time to prepare.

It’s just everything’s happening really fast.”

A c c o r d i n g t o S a f i r, the achievement was ver y rewarding but also emphasized how, as a team, their motivations towards debate extend beyond just winning.

“It’s really exciting. It makes us all happy. But it also doesn’t mean that much … What we love about debate isn’t

winning. It’s the other stuff and learning. (For) all of the varsity people, we’re really excited when we win. But most of us honestly care more about teaching the novices. So while it’s super cool, and you get to show off and get bragging rights and stuff, that’s also not really what debate is about,” Safir said.

The BHS Speech and Debate team’s head debate coach, Joel Jacobs, revealed how students prepared for the events. “Well, for the national championship, there were topic areas that they released in advance,” Jacobs said, “so normally, they don’t know what they’ll be debating.

But they knew that at the Tournament of Champions, there would be a debate about Nigeria and a debate about US food policy, so we spent some time practicing debating about those areas and talked a little bit about some of the issues that might come up.”

He added that much practice involves tasks such as building on skills, understanding the rules, learning different debate theories, and establishing organization.

Hunter Va lencia, t he assistant and on-site debate coach for the team, shared how he hopes the team will try new debate formats to build an even stronger team for future competitions.

“One of the future goals that I really want to see in this team is, it’s similar to track and field where there’s many different events. Berkeley High School is incredibly good at one particular one, which is parliamentary debate. I would really love to diversify the events and start to get the people interested in speech and getting them interested in another format called world schools, and just kind of turning the program into a true powerhouse,” Valencia said.

PATRONS & SPONSOR S

The Jacket needs your help! As a completely student-run, self-funded newspaper, we rely heavily on financial aid from patron subscription and business advertisements in our newspaper. Our prices are $60 for a one semester subscription, and $85 for a full year. Full sponsorships, which include a full year subscription, are $250 and up.

If you would like to subscribe or contribute any amount, please send a check to the Berkeley High Jacket, Business Manager, 1980 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA, 94704. Checks can be made out to the Berkeley High Jacket. For more information, contact Business Manager Drew Henderson at bhsjacketbusiness@gmail.com

SPONSORS

Robert Stepsis, Claudia Polsky, Charles W. Wolfram, Christopher Lutes, Pedro Rodriguez, Joan Dorgan, Steven and Emily Birenbaum, Cheryl Berg, Uri Sarid, Michelle Sandberg, Dorothy A Haas, Joan Firestone, Denise Yip, Joye Wiley, Catherine Zhang and Larry Drumm

NEWS

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024

BHS juniors take SBAC and CAST tests about having SBAC testing take the place of in-class preparation for their AP test that’s scheduled for the following week. However, she explained that she planned a review for her students that navigated around the timing of the SBAC test to try and make it less disruptive to their preparations for AP tests.

“This is a high-stress time of year in general for juniors, and many of my students are taking two or three or more AP classes, so they’re definitely stressed out and could use that extra week.

But, you know, I think QUINCY MORRIS-FRY Juniors in an AP Biology class take out Chromebooks to begin testing. as long as students know gain funding in those areas. the attitude around state ahead of time to prepare

BY RORY NADEAU “The people who work in testing to change, through for it, then it’s manageable,” staff writer our district present the data emphasizing the benefits Boylan said.

Some juniors are to the board,” Tesch said. that students can get from Starting on Monday “Then (the board) uses that performing well, such as choosing to fully opt out of April 15, 2024, juniors data to justify the programs potentially being able to this testing process. Sophie in high school across and the funding. So if … place out of certain general Novick-Prucher, a BHS California will be required 40 percent of (freshman) education classes in college. junior, explained that the to take a series of state are not scoring proficiently Boylan said that this decision to opt out of the tests to determine where in math, then they use that would hopefully incentivize SBAC and CAST tests was extra funding is necessary to be like ‘Okay, we need a students to put in more not a difficult one. “I’m in for student success. Many math coach,’ for three AP classes, Berkeley High School example.” my AP tests students have chosen to opt are coming up, T e s c h “ ... it’s important for students to out of these tests, and there added that she I’m taking the be owners of their own data ... ” is rising concern about hopes this data SAT in May, so the timing of these tests will frankly, I could become Cassandra Tesch in relation to the various something that is use the time to AP tests that are set to take not only valuable study and focus BHS Dean of Attendance place in the preceding and to the district but on that,” she said. even overlapping weeks.

Nov i ck also a way for The BHS Dean of students to set goals for their effort when taking the SBAC Prucher observed that Attendance, Cassandra own education. “I think it’s and CAST tests. “Something many juniors are finding Tesch, explained that the important for students to that would really be helpful the timing of these tests district is required to meet be owners of their own data is if students had a better particularly stressful. “It’s a participation rate of 95 and to know and be honest, sense of how this benefits spring of junior year; percent for tests such as the like ‘Okay, I’m at this level,’” them or like what’s in it for there’s a lot going on for SBAC and CAST. However, Tesch said, “and then for them. It’s only fair to have everyone, and then also the district is not held individuals to set their own some kind of benefit if we’re like, all of these tests could to a specific proficiency goals and intentions and asking them to go through very easily be in three of requirement, as these tests to be able to work towards the work and take the test your AP classes. They’re in serve primarily to provide them.” two of mine … but yeah, seriously,” Boylan said. data for the district to see Similarly, Kelly Boylan, Boylan explained that it completely interrupts where student support is an AP U.S. History teacher many of her AP U.S. History what we’re doing,” Novickmost crucial and to help at BHS, expressed hope for students are concerned Prucher said.

ADMINISTRATION NEWS BIDEN ANNOUNCES STUDENT BRIEF: DEBT FORGIVENESS PLAN

BY ANNA WILLIAMS staff writer

President Biden announced on Monday, April 8, 2024, that he would be implementing a new student debt forgiveness plan that is expected to relieve over 30 million borrowers when combined with actions that the Biden-Harris administration has already implemented. According to the New York Times, while there are likely going to be legal challenges, Biden can begin administering some of the expected debt relief.

Biden said in his statement, “I will never stop delivering student debt relief to hard-

working Americans, and it’s only in the interest of America that we do it.”

Up until this point, the BidenHarris administration has been able to approve $146 billion in student debt relief through over 20 executive bills. This includes fixing Public Service Loan Forgiveness and IncomeDriven Repayment plans and initiating the SAVE plan, the most affordable student loan repayment program.

Last June, the Supreme Court blocked the Biden-Harris administration’s initial debt relief plan, which attempted to allow $400 billion of debt relief, which had the potential to affect 40 million people. This

prompted the Department of Education to pursue other ways to ensure debt relief, leading to the current proposal.

According to the New York Times, this project is expected to reduce payments for 25 million borrowers and remove all debt for 4 million people. This plan will affect those whose loan balances have increased because of interest, those who are low or middle class, those who are eligible for loan forgiveness under other programs, those who are paying off loans for an undergraduate degree over 20 years ago, and many more.

This new plan targets specific groups of people as opposed to widespread forgiveness.

THE ART OF IMPROVING ZOE PATTERSON

A quote I’ve recently discovered is, “A goal without a plan is just a wish” (Antione de SaintExupery). I’m a person who likes to plan things out visually, like making a physical copy of a grocery list or sketching down last minute info for a new recipe on a piece of paper. But when it comes to goals, I realize that I have many, but I don’t write them down. As a result, if I don’t visualize my goals, how will I know I’m making progress towards them? Also, if I make goals without a plan of action behind them, as Saint-Exupery claimed beforehand, I only end up with wishes. I want to share some ways that I’ve found to help me feel more grounded and focused on the goals I set for myself.

1. Decide Choose the goals you want to reach, without any limitations. These could be goals to achieve by the end of the week or as far as in the next 20 years.

2. Write it down Going back to the quote mentioned at the start, goals that don’t get written down are basically wishes. I think writing down goals gives them more impact than just saying them aloud.

3. You can go off track Something that eases my mind about goal setting is this quote by Bruce Lee which goes, “A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” I think there can be a lot of pressure to commit to the goals you set, when you can just use them as a guide. You shouldn’t be upset with yourself if you don’t reach all the goals you set for yourself, because you’re already making positive progress by aiming for those goals in the first place, rather than not having anything to work towards at all.

4. Visualize If writing goals down doesn’t work well for you, I think another good tip is to actually visualize your goals. You could physically draw them out, or print out photos to create a photo collage or mood board. For example, if you have a goal to get good grades, you can make a photo collage of papers with 100 percent marks on them and make it your phone’s wallpaper, so every time you open your phone, you’re reminded of your goal. I think that last part is the key point when it comes to visualizing your goals. Whether you draw them out, see them digitally or use another tactic, you should be encountering your goals on a daily basis. And to help with this, just have your visual goals in easily accessible places: on the walls in your room, on a mirror, or on your phone.

Overall, I think setting goals can help people have things to constantly work towards, especially when everyday life can get hectic quickly. I also think that the feeling of accomplishment from reaching your goals is unmatched and you can gain a better sense of self discipline from achieving what you set out to do.

3

4 FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024

NEWS

BHS Development Group hosts annual fundraiser at Gather Center which opened last semester and helped hundreds of students.

Dacher Keltner, a UC Berkeley psychology On Monday, April 15, professor and co-founder of 2024, the Berkeley High the Greater Good Science School Development Group Center, was the keynote (BHSDG) hosted one of speaker of the event. He their biggest fundraisers spoke on the importance of the year at Gather, a of feeling awe which was restaurant in Downtown the topic of his latest book, Berkeley, with about 130 “Awe: The New Science people in attendance. of Everyday The BHSDG Wonder and funds many How It Can programs and “The (BHSDG) offers donations Transform Your events at BHS, for both big and small things, and Life.” which includes they’re flexible.”

In his speech, free tutoring, Keltner argued college support Sloane Morgan that it is services, and important for classroom BUSD School Board Member humans to feel supplies for awe. In a study teachers and Gather served pizzas, he conducted in 2003, students. The BHSDG also provides grants to student- fresh salad, drinks from the Keltner found that humans run groups for events like bar, and cookies to everyone feel awe an average of two the BHS sustainable fashion who bought a ticket in their to three times a week.

However, Keltner believes show or the BHS film indoor seating area.

First, several board kids aren’t experiencing festival.

Sloane Morgan, a members spoke and shared enough mystery and awe Berkeley Unified School a quote which represents in their lives. He quoted Einstein, who District board member who the mission of the board: Albert will not testified the importance of helped to organize the event, “Educators said, “I’m really inspired maximize school outcomes awe: “The most beautiful because the (BHSDG) for their most marginalized experience we can have is offers donations for both populations until they begin the mysterious.” Keltner big and small things, and to better understand how also explained that awe the social emotional well- is good for your physical they’re flexible.”

The BHSDG operates being of students profoundly health because it activates your vagus nerve, which primarily upon funding influences learning.”

They continued by talking helps you breathe, can from their fundraisers and donations. The annual about their support and the slow your heart down, and fundraising event at Gather success of the BHS Wellness reduce inflammation in

BY LUCY GRIFFITH staff writer

is one of their biggest sources of funding, along with the annual Fund and Spring Match Campaign.

Gather has now hosted a development group fundraiser for three years.

Sponsors raise money to help offset the cost of food.

For admission to the event, the BHSDG sells tickets and the profit goes directly towards the group.

your body.

He explained how some humans find awe. He first explained the concept of moral beauty.

“Humans have a transcendent ability to find beauty and other people’s courage and kindness, like overcoming poverty, racism, and violence,” said Keltner.

Keltner argued that music and religion can also elicit awe, as well as engaging with nature.

Jasdeep Malhi, a BHS intervention counselor, recounted a boat trip she

took in San Francisco Bay to whale watch with several BHS students who had recently experienced the loss of a friend.

She was standing with a kid and sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge and he said to her, “Thank you so much for (this opportunity), I didn’t realize how much I needed this until we came out here. I have never been on a boat.” Malhi continued by saying, “It is because of the Development Group, because of your donations, and because of your generosity. That

BUSD school board members and staff speak at the event.

is how we give these kids opportunities.”

In 2023, around $10.6 thousand from the BHSDG went to supporting diverse communities and enrichment activities.

Lissa Franklin, a BHSDG member, encourages people to continue to interact with the group to make opportunities like this happen. “We’re only as good as the people that participate,” Franklin said. “Both students and parents, we like to learn about what the priorities are at the school.”

LUCY GRIFFITH

Peralta Community Colleges offer students free enrollment

BY LUCY HOHN staff writer

The Peralta Colleges provide education to 21,875 students — as of Fall 2023 — within their four community colleges: Berkeley City College (BCC), College of Alameda, Laney College, and Merritt College. In 2022, BCC and Laney College waived tuition fees for all students attending, aiming to bring students to their colleges and also give them a more affordable education. Following those

two colleges, in the spring of 2023, all four Peralta Colleges offered free course registration.

This is a program that the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) has titled “Fall is Free.” It follows the free course registration started in the Fall of 2022

by BCC and Laney and continued into the spring of 2023, titled “Spring is Free.”

According to the Peralta Community College District, this new policy has resulted in an increase in students across all four campuses.

Additionally, a 20

NATALIA KASS

percent increase in African American students, an 11 percent increase in Latinx students, and a nine percent increase in Asian American and Pacific Islander students has occurred.

According to Maisy Matthews, her mom chose to enter the junior college system after not being accepted into UC Berkeley straight out of high school.

It provided a cheaper option for her family and gave her an easy pathway into UC Berkeley after two years. Now, according to Matthews, her mom works in psychedelic studies for

public benefit. schools with high tuitions. to community college and Through hearing her “The students I’ve been then transferring that much mom’s story and first-hand helping in the past, I’ve more appealing. experience, Matthews, always tried to push them “The counselors at a Berkeley High School to go to community college Berkeley City College are sophomore, was able to first, especially with our amazing.

The transfer see the many benefits of families who were at least rate for students who are community interested in college and, transferring to “I’ve always tried to push (students in her case, another school Matthews plans from BCC is that I’ve worked with) to go to on enrolling amazing. We send community college first ...” in dual tons of students enrollment (to UCs),” Joanne Dumbrigue during her Yasmin Navarro, BHS College Counselor junior year. another college “From what counselors from I know, dual the CCC, said. enrollment is free. I haven’t struggling with finances However, students aren’t done it myself yet but want and having to think about sure how long the free to,” Matthews said. sending their child to a post- tuition will last. PCCD CSUs, on the other high school institution,” initially received federal aid hand, will cost $6,084 for Joanne Dumbrigue, a BHS to provide free education, full academic enrollment college counselor in the but recently it has run out. during the 2024-25 school College and Career Center PCCD received a state grant year. UCs are that made it estimated to possible for them “The transfer rate ... from BCC is have a tuition to continue for of $14,436 for another year, but amazing.” the 2024-25 it may not last school year, past then.

Yasmin Navarro not including State and BHS College Counselor housing or federal grants meal plans. are making an The average effort to provide tuition of a private college (CCC), said. more grants and money in the academic 2023-24 BCC and the UC/CSU to institutions of higher year is $42,162. The Peralta systems have transfer education that serve Colleges’ new program can agreements with each students and provide better save money for families other through classes and education, but the program who may not have enough college credits. This can requires more federal and to send their children to make the option of going state action to continue.

OPINION BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

opinion editors: ohad aviran-finkelstein & ysabel chu

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024

ohadaviranfinkelstein@students.berkeley.net

CULTURE REVEALED: Blind auditions vastly benefit musicians RAPEBHS AND BEYOND

BY SABINE ROSEN staff writer

Every year about 100 students audition to be in Berkeley High School’s prestigious jazz program.

The BHS jazz program was founded in 1960 and is now a full program of five bands each year ranging from Jazz Lab Band 1 to the most experienced Jazz Ensemble. The band plays in festivals, at school events, and the students are even hired to play at local events.

The program uses blind auditions each year to create the bands, and though this type of audition is hard on students applying, it overall benefits the program.

Auditioning for the jazz band can be nerve-

wracking. Students must audition every year in front of judges who sit behind a curtain which is put in place so that the judges can’t see who is playing.

Though this practice may be intimidating, it helps ensure equality in the audition process. Jazz auditions have been this way since Sarah Cline, the current jazz program director, joined the program 13 years ago.

Cline shared that before she began running BHS’ jazz program, the previous directors would bring in music professionals to audition the kids themselves and then report back who performed best. “When I came in I sort of felt like if all my students were going to play auditions, I wanted to listen to them play those

auditions. And I didn't know why I would take myself out of the room,” Cline stated.

This is why blind auditions are such a great solution; they maintain impartiality, while still allowing BHS teachers to be involved.

Cline felt that there was no longer a need for professionals, but also didn’t want to do a standard audition. “All kinds of research show that even people with the best intentions have biases. And if I see someone walk into a room to take an audition, instantly, all of the things I know about the way that they play are gonna come up in my brain,” Cline explained.

The blind auditions aren't very long. “(Auditioning students) play scales and

NATALIA KASS

then they play a piece they prepared. Everyone plays the same piece. And then they do a little sight reading, except that they can't really prepare for because they don't know what it's gonna be ahead of time. And then they play something along with a backing track,” Cline shared, outlining the audition process.

Although there are many benefits to blind auditions, there are also some downsides. “I would have preferred to see Ms. Cline’s and Mr. Figueroa’s (the other Jazz teacher) reactions to it ... I feel like it would tell you more about how you actually did,” Katelyn Burmester, a junior who plays alto saxophone and flute in Jazz Lab Band 2, shared.

Blind auditions have many upsides as Cline said, like keeping auditions as unbiased as possible, but that doesn't mean they aren't nerve-wracking to students. Overall, the blind method is better than a traditional audition, and the extra stress for students is worth striving for a more diverse jazz program. This audition policy has clearly worked for BHS, producing exceptional bands that let their music speak for themselves.

Health credit addition would help students

BY PENELOPE PURCHASE staff writer

According to the National Library of Medicine, students who take nutrition classes in college or before are more likely to have a positive self and body image. In a world where many teenagers, especially teen girls, harbor increasingly negative views about themselves and their appearance, any chance for a positive impact on this should be taken immediately. Berkeley High School needs to switch from a system of P.E. credits to one of health credits, in order to benefit the body and self image of its students.

BHS’ current P.E. credit system requires students to take two years of P.E. classes, be on a sports team for four semesters, or sign up for a P.E. waiver. While there are a multitude of options available for students, some put off getting their credits, leading to a collective panic towards the end of their junior and senior years.

An alternative to this system would be one that requires health credits, as opposed to P.E. credits.

Students could get their credits through the same ways as P.E. credits, like a sports team or P.E. class, but they would also have the option of taking health or nutrition classes instead.

If BHS were to offer health and nutrition classes to students, that would not only benefit those who a r e n ’ t interested in sports, but it would also help to increase the self image of students who struggle with it.

Organizations like the California Department of Education, Nutrition Services Division, and the United States Department of Agriculture strongly encourage schools to offer nutrition classes to students in grades

K-12, as the evidence overwhelmingly shows that nutrition education benefits students’ lives now, and even in the future.

However, this is not to say that the current P.E. credits system is bad.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, exercise reduces the levels of stress

LUCIA RADILLO

hormones, like adrenaline and cortisol, and increases endorphin production, making athletes happier overall.

Although some may

believe that replacing P.E. credits with health credits would eliminate the need for sports, students who would want to opt into playing sports would still be able to. Students who don’t want to use up one of their class periods to take a health class would have the option of joining a sports team, signing up for a P.E. waiver, or doing any of the options currently available to students.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, nutrition classes improve student mental health. It would be up to the students to decide which option would work best for them.

Adding this class would open up more options for pathways to credit as well. All students at BHS, even those who wouldn’t take a health class, would be benefitted by replacing the P.E. credit system with a health credit system, as it would allow for more options and benefit the mental health of the student body as a whole.

5

AYLA CONWAY

When I was in preschool and told someone they couldn't play with me because they weren't wearing a skirt, my parents took away my skirt drawer for a week. It's what we called a natural consequence. And when a friend told me that in Ancient Rome, the punishment for rape was getting your testicles crushed between two boulders, I thought, “Well, that fits the crime perfectly" This turned out to be false, but the idea and its initial impressions on me stuck.

Some would consider that a gruesome way to start this column, but I'm not saying that we should turn to torture as punishment. The point I'm trying to get at is that punishment strongly dissuaded someone from committing such a crime, and especially a perpetrator from committing it again. Those are rare to find in modern society, as 97 percent of rapists don't even spend a day in jail, and if they do, its often for just a short sentence.

That's a pretty messed up statistic. And the vastness of this issue — of rape, sexual abuse, and harassment — can be overwhelming and seem impossible to change. Sometimes it even feels as if progress is going backwards. Last week, I read a New York Times article about the new Arizona abortion ban that illegalizes abortions from the moment of conception with no exception for rape or incest. It's only the most recent of the 21 states that have restricted or outright banned abortions since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Things like this can make one feel pretty hopeless. But it's important to focus on the positive impact you can make, because each person who does something makes a big difference.

The Me Too movement was centered around people sharing their stories and connecting with other people through their shared experience. It wouldn't have had any impact if a lot of people didn't join in. It adds up, and your words and actions do matter. So use them wisely. Go to protests for women's rights, reproductive rights, trans rights, general gender equality; boycott large businesses that don't support your beliefs, because when you give them money, you're giving money to candidates who they back. Some companies who gave a lot to anti-choice politicians are AT&T, Chevron, Amazon, and Uber.

People say getting angry doesn't help, that it's not constructive. But the only way things have changed in the past has been when a whole lot of people got so incredibly frustrated that they couldn't not do something, and so decided to do something constructive with that anger. Women in almost all societies have been denied power, stripped of rights, marginalized, and put at a social and economic disadvantage for much of history. Gender discrimination has deep roots and is an inherently political and social issue. It should be irrelevant, but it's not, nor will it be for a very long time. But we can help it get there.

6 FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024 EDITORIAL

Polarization of politics leads to division in youth “Americans hold more negative views toward their political opponents than at any point in the last 50 years,” according to a Stanford research lab investigating partisan animosity. Over the past two decades, political polarization has intensified, with individuals on both the left and the right sides of the spectrum adopting more extreme positions.

With more people leaning towards the extreme ends of the spectrum, divisive opinions accumulate, as well as damaging perspectives of their counterparts. This partisan divide has led to a concerning trend; nearly every political issue is associated with a specific party. When a stance on a topic is immediately associated as either “left” or “right", individuals are inclined to adopt whatever stance their party has aligned with. At its heart, extreme polarization discourages critical thought and is more harmful than what we see on social media echo chambers.

OPINION

Political polarization influences not only adults but children, specifically in an educational setting. Within school, students' attitude toward civic engagement and political participation is altered. Rather than engaging in constructive conversation, students may become apathetic and disengaged with the political process. Others may engage in politics but in ways that deepen this polarization, such as falling into the extreme ends of either side of the spectrum. Without a designated time and place to invite respectful conversation and civic education, schools leave students ill-informed about political processes. In turn, some students may turn to unreliable social media platforms for political education.

According to Shanto Iyengar and Sean J. Westwood in their report "Fear and Loathing Across Party Lines: New Evidence on Group Polarization" published in the American Journal of Political Science, "hostile feelings for the opposing party are ingrained or automatic in voters’ minds," (Iyengar and Westwood, 2015).

A certain level of polarization can be expected with a twoparty system. If someone has a certain bias or belief surrounding the identity of another, a conversation debating the validity of their belief might not be necessary or safe for the people involved. The issue arises when the lack of tolerance extends beyond identity politics to crucial economic, social, and political issues. Inevitably, polarization fosters an “us vs them” mindset.

When heightened to extremism, this mindset can be used to justify hateful rhetoric, and in some cases, violence. Schools are no exception.

BERKELEY HIGH Editor-in-Chief

Ella Creane

Copy Chiefs

Managing Editors

Marina Howard Lola Brownlow

Aynaz Faruqui Daisy Howerton

Copy Editors

Charley Tamagno Jared Huang Zula Root Sophia Bezakova Santana Pearl Gibson

Layout Chief Layout Editors Visual Editor News Editors Opinion Editors Features Editors Entertainment Editors Sports Editors

Rebecca Birenbaum Anja Ball Zoe Fung Lula Rosenbach Photo Editors Adrienne Melodia Gwyneth Fonte Illustration Editors Aaron Stevens Finola Jackson Podcast Executive Ysabel Chu Producers Ohad AviranFinkelstein Business Chiefs Sage Feldman Mateo Tsai Business Managers Kaiya Jordan Simon Policy Web Editor Colina Harvey Web Team Leo Silverberg

Investigative Editor

Josephine Morasky

Outreach Director

Amelia Reed

Faculty Adviser

Malin Morell Nolan Whitehill Alex Morgan Elliot Schrag Miriam Reichenberg Zazie Duchene Katelyn Liao Drew Henderson Sophie Pomfret Zoe Glass Keely Shaller Eliot Hertenstein Talia Rosen Averie Wade Luna Prestia Nathaniel Brundjar Peter Rodrigues

Writers

Aditya Sridharan, Aelia Gyger, Amar Walker, Amara Kapur, Anna Williams, Annika Joy, Ariana Yerovam, Ava Quandt, Avha Meisels, Carina Thomas, Cecilia Tiles, Clara Tjen, Eliot Perdue, Eloise Thomas, Elsa Dietz, Elsie Yuen, Erin Liao, Eva Dickinson, Eva Katz, Eva Levenson, Hailey Ostrer, Hannah Groth Reidy, Jasper Lovvorn Black, Julius Braun, Kali Proud, Kimia Azadpur, Lucy Griffith, Lucy Hohn, Luli Galinson, Maya Dang, Minami Soga, Muhammad Delgado, Natalie Gross, Penelope Purchase, Rigzin Gyaltsen, Rory Nadeau, Sabine Rosen, Sam Mascarenhas, Shanza Syed, Sophie Dreskin, Sydney Lehrer, Sze Ting Chen, Violet Miller Brady, Yoshi Rohn, Zachary Yoo, Emmett Price, Julia Brimmer, Paolo Rivera, Taylor Reynaud

Photographers

Alex Tripcevich, Ashley Diaz, Atticus LaBang, Divya BenDavid, Emory Ely, Georgia Paulos, Ida Marshall-Lappe, Jahan Ingraham, Jules Droz, Julian Nathan, Kai Hanschen, Kayhan Tezcan, Leo Ostroy Harp, Lev Teiblum, Lila Hallward, Lucas Thompson, Madeleine Wilson, Malina Valdez Meissner, Mei Saphir, Quincy Morris-Fry, Riana Falcioni, Sanam Rozycki-Shah, Sasha Balasubramanian, Shiloh Wilson, Sunny Bevis-Lipton, Toscana Girard Maxon, Willow Priforce, Ziva Amendola, Zoe Kohlmeyer

Illustrators

Alessio Manuel Gilabert-Papagni, Alisa Karin Kolpakova, Anisha Pinto, Anna Howell, Asha Torok, Carina Nottingham, Claudia Bloom, Emiko Aronen, Gwen Weber Stover, Iris Le Liboux, Isa Shimomura, Jay Trauner, Jennifer Yoc Ferreira, Jessie Lee, Jo Purcell, Lucia Radillo, Martin Luis Wagener Gaztelu, Natalia Kass, Oren Stiles, Sabine Shaffer, Sara Teitelbaum

Editorial Policy

The Berkeley High Jacket is a designated public forum for student expression without prior review by school officials in which students make all final content decisions.

The by-lined opinions expressed in the Editorial/Opinion and Entertainment sections and columns are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Jacket. Non-by-lined editorials represent the opinion of the Jacket and must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Editorial Board. Any opinions or views expressed in advertisements do not necessarily reflect those of the Jacket.

We encourage students, staff, and the community to submit letters to the Editor for publication. All submissions must be signed; anonymous letters may only be printed with a two-thirds vote of the Editorial Board.

Not all submissions will be printed and may be edited to conform to Jacket policy or to meet space restrictions.

1980 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA | (510) 644-6121 | www.berkeleyhighjacket.com

UCLA and UC Riverside conducted a national survey of 682 public high school principals titled “The Chilling Role of Political Conflict in Blue, Purple, and Red Communities." The survey concluded that “Sixty-nine percent of principals surveyed reported substantial political conflict over hot-button issues,'' and “69% of principals report that students made derogatory remarks to those expressing liberal or conservative views.” The study revealed that schools are impacted by “political conflict tied to the growing partisan divides in our society” which leads to “limited opportunities for students to practice respectful dialogue on controversial topics.” Additionally, the study noted a decline in support for teaching about “race, racism, and racial and ethnic diversity” as well as an increase in harassment of LGBTQAI+ students within the highly charged political environment.

As Justin Payne, a principal cited in the study, explained, "Public schools mirror society. Our society is more divided than ever before in my lifetime, and that division is reflected in our public schools."

While public schools might reflect societal divisions, they certainly shouldn't remain passive observers to its impacts.

Unification can begin with small changes, such as teachers providing guidance on how to approach political conversations respectfully; establishing clubs designed as safe spaces for cultivating political discourse; and eventually, integrating civic education further into school curriculums. While restructuring our democratic process might not hurt, solutions addressing political polarization can begin in classrooms. And maybe eventually, the reflection can be reversed.

Climate action must become more accessible and affordable

BY ADITYA SRIDHARAN staff writer

"Buy an electric car, install solar panels on top of your house, and don't forget to pay for your carbon offsets!"

In the grand scheme of combating climate change, the narrative often centers around expensive lifestyle overhauls like these. While big changes can be very effective at combating climate change, they come with even bigger price tags that make them inaccessible to most people.

Even with rebates and incentives, the average price of an electric vehicle is $45,000, and the average cost of installing solar panels in California is around $13,000. On top of that, the required lithiumion batteries lead to the mining of lithium and other elements while releasing toxic fumes and degrading the environment.

The reality is that these costs illustrate a sort of paradox within the world of climate action. Wealthy people are disproportionately responsible for climate change — those in the top 10 percent are responsible for over 50 percent of global carbon emissions — and these expensive 'solutions' are their way of making up for it. Meanwhile, those who contributed least to our climate crisis are bearing the worst of the impacts. According to the World Bank, the world's 74 lowest-income nations have experienced nearly eight times as many natural disasters as wealthier countries in the last 10 years.

Helping the environment

shouldn't be another privilege reserved for the wealthy. Even though the rich are the most responsible for climate change, everyone should have the opportunity to fight against this crisis.

There are many ways in which people can make meaningful impacts on the environment at a low cost.

What we eat, for example, can have a tremendous impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

In a study done by the BBC, the emissions associated with a vegetarian, vegan, and omnivorous diet were tracked. While meat-based diets generated around 50 kg of CO2 emissions every week, vegetarian diets generated around 15 kg, and vegan diets around 10 kg. The animals required for dairy and meat products are the cause of large-scale deforestation and the release of huge amounts of methane gas. In fact, an Oxford University study found that becoming vegan was the single most impactful way an individual could help the environment.

Walking, biking, and the use of public transport are also extremely effective. If your destination is walkable

or bikeable, consider increasing the number of times you walk or bike each week. If your destination is too far, public transit is far more ecologically conscious than a car. According to the UN, you can reduce your carbon footprint by 1 ton by using carpool and 3.6 tons by living car-free.

Cultivating a more nuanced approach to climate action is especially beneficial for young people. Changes like these are realistic and relevant to students because most of them haven't become economically independent but are still motivated to act. On top of that, having accessible climate actions will prevent people from thinking they aren't doing enough or feeling discouraged by more expensive solutions.

Overall, helping the environment should never be a question of money or social status. For far too long the climate action narrative has been stuck around expensive solutions that act as symbols of inequality.

Changing the way we think about climate action to incorporate less expensive and more accessible solutions is key to making meaningful progress.

ANISHA PINTO

OPINION

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024

An individual choice: Weighing the benefits of a private versus a public college education

BY ERIN LIAO staff writer

The average American spends $223,360 on a four-year private college or university tuition. With such a high price tag, roughly half the price of a U.S. home, some may wonder whether choosing a private higher education can be justified. Both public and private institutions have unique benefits and drawbacks, and whether the cost of private college tuition is worthwhile depends on the specific student in question.

Although the high cost of private colleges and universities may seem ridiculous to students, some of these places actually spend more money on each student than the cost of tuition. For example, according to its website, Williams College spends around $54,400 more on each student than what it charges for tuition. In this way, the cost of private education may be more justifiable or at least more understandable.

Additionally, at some private institutions, many students will never pay the full fee and will instead be covered by some amount of need-based or merit-based financial aid. Need-based financial aid awards aid based on students' financial situations, while meritbased aid is determined b y a

student's a c a d e m i c achievements.

Harvard, for example, gave need-based aid to almost 60 percent of its class of 2025.

The decision to go to a private university also depends on the field a student is planning to enter. Vanderbilt's medical engineering majors have median earnings of $94,340 four years after they graduate.

On the other hand, English language and literature majors earn $53,767 annually. Private institutions often yield higher economic returns for science majors than for the humanities, making a student’s intended major something to consider when evaluating the price of a college. There is also some evidence that on average students who graduate from private colleges go on to earn more on average than public college graduates. A report from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce found that attending a private nonprofit college led to economic gains of $838,000 while attending a public college led to economic gains of $756,000.

However, in order to afford the cost, private college attendees tend to borrow more than public college attendees. According to U.S. News, students who graduated from a private college in 2022 borrowed $23,627 compared to public school graduates who borrowed $20,371. The increased amount borrowed could lead to more debt for private college attendees, potentially canceling out the increased earnings.

But post-college income is certainly not the only factor to consider when making college decisions; educational values of the school are also important to consider. A 2015 study by the Council of Independent Colleges found that private institutions’ coursework was, comparatively, more likely to emphasize “high-order learning.” High-order learning consists of learning how to analyze several pieces of evidence and different points of view and draw new ideas from them.

However, it is worth considering that

attending a public college, which is often more diverse than its private counterpart, may better lend itself to “high-order learning” in everyday life. Being surrounded by people with different backgrounds and experiences may naturally help students understand different points of view and form their own ideas and opinions.

One of the largest advantages of attending a private institution is that it's easier for students to build close-knit relationships with peers and professors.

While this is also possible by attending many public universities, building close connections with professors and peers in a larger environment can be more difficult.

This could make attending a private college particularly worthwhile for more quiet or shy students whose learning could benefit from knowing and feeling comfortable with everyone in their community and classes. According to College Transitions, the top ten feeder colleges and universities to PhD programs, adjusted for the size of the institutions, are all private colleges. This could partly be due to the small school size which enables close relationships between students and faculty, though the cost and accessibility of graduate programs must be t a k e n i n t o

consideration as well.

Yet in other instances, the large size of public universities can lead to distinct benefits.

Meeting a like-minded community and finding niche activities that suit your interests may be easier. Additionally, public universities’ size also makes them more likely to offer uncommon majors that interest students and the wealth of faculty might allow undergraduates to take advantage of more research opportunities.

Both private and public institutions have unique benefits and can provide healthy learning environments for students to grow.

At the end of the day, whether a private education is worth it depends on the specific student and their needs and desires.

As Berkeley High School senior Kea Morshed, said, “I think that any school you go to is what you make of it. Big, small, private, public, I really don’t think going to a certain university guarantees you anything unless you put in the work and use its resources to their maximum potential.”

ISA SHIMOMURA

7

8

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024

INVESTIGATIVE

investigative editor: JOSEPHINE MORASKY

INVESTIGATIVE

JOSEPHINEMORASKY@STUDENTS.BERKELEY.NET

Modern day implications of BPD history and police tactics

BY SYDNEY LEHRER staff writer

Berkeley’s Police Review Commission, established in 1973, is thought to be the first civilian police oversight agency with investigative powers in the country. In the time since its creation, the Police Review Commission has been replaced by the Police Accountability Board (PAB), a board made up of appointed Berkeley citizens who review policing policy a n d individual complaints of police misconduct in Berkeley.

The PAB works with the Office of the Director of Police Accountability (ODPA), w h i c h supports the PAB by acting as its administrative secretarial support, in addition to hiring two full time investigators that conduct investigations into accusations of police misconduct.

The PAB has acted as a bridge between the community and the police, Hansel Aguilar, Berkeley’s Director of Police Accountability, explained.

The first police chief of Berkeley, August Vollmer, “is known as the ‘Father of Modern Policing’ for instituting innovations like mobile policing, and police departments around the country began to copy him,” wrote sociologist and biographer Julian Go in an email to the Jacket. Go is the author of ‘Policing Empires,’ a book exploring the history of policing in Britain and the US. Vollmer was also instrumental in creating a school of criminology at UC Berkeley, according to Andrea Prichett, a founder of Berkeley Copwatch.

Berkeley Copwatch is an organization focused on monitoring police activity for misconduct.

The criminology school, Prichett added, “was meant to kind of advance policing techniques, try to make it more scientific, more evidence based,” Pritchett said. “On the other hand, it was still very based on race and this notion that there are certain populations that are more prone to criminality than others.”

Emilie Raguso, the Editor-In-Chief of the "Berkeley Scanner" and a crime reporter, explained the observed impacts of the BPD emphasizing education.

“I do think for the most part, what I've witnessed i s Berkeley historically required ... officers (to have) more education than many police departments require,” Raguso said. “They put a big emphasis on de-escalation. So they will spend a lot of time trying to talk people down, as opposed to for the most part rushing in. I can always think of a counter example because I've been doing this for so long, ... but they try to keep it calm and just talk to people ... And I don't know if that it's maybe in part due to if you have people who have had other careers where they have more education.”

“He was credited as being something of a progressive,” Pritchett said when describing the national perspective of Vollmer. “I think there were times where the Berkeley Police Department did pride itself on being more professional, knowing that they required a college degree when a lot of departments didn't even require an Associate of Arts degree ... (Vollmer also) started to introduce things like using fingerprints (and things likes) bicycle patrols.”

Nikki Jones, a sociologist, criminologist, and professor of African American studies at UC

Berkeley explained one of the negative impacts of an increase in police professionalism.

“One of the things that commitment to professionalization has done has actually made police officers less accountable to the public because t h e y have been kind of constituted as these experts of crime and safety,” Jones said.

“What we've seen as police officers have been becoming more professionalized is that the concerns of the community, ... they're dismissed by the police, police officers, and police unions, who tell us that they're the real experts on crime and safety that is in their domain.”

Pritchett described another finding of her research on August Vollmers influence on policing.

“Going back to August Vollmer, one of the things that he was fairly influential in was bringing army tactics to policing,” Pritchett said. “ I think police have most definitely gotten militarized. And I think part of what that looks like to me is the idea that police don't necessarily even come from the community that they're patrolling. The police (have) taken on this kind of character of an occupying force.”

In November of 2022, the BPD came under scrutiny when texts shared by a former officer on the BPD’s bike force showed bike force officers making racist and anti-homeless comments. Although the PAB’s investigation is still under way, Berkeley Copwatch released an investigation in January in which they provided data showing that one in two people arrested by the BPD between 2 0 1 8 and 2022 were Black, in comparison to an 8 percent overall Black population in Berkeley. Their investigation pointed to this as evidence of “extreme racial disparities in policing.”

“The city of Berkeley has actually had a really intensive examination of their policing

Vollmer’s teachings.

“People can think that we don't have those kinds of problems in Berkeley or San Francisco or the Bay Area, because we're otherwise a liberal (and) thought to be a very liberal and progressive place,” Jones said. “But I think that that kind of veneer can actually hide some of the ways that these legacies show up in everyday life. Some of the racial (and) pretty persistent racial disparities we have.”

Aguilar explained the importance of revisiting the creation and history of institutions.

“I think, especially when we re-examine a lot of our leaders and a lot of the pioneers in our field we’ll see that they're flawed individuals,” Aguilar said. “So I think that we need to be honest about the individuals whose ideas we’re utilizing for our systems, or institutions.”

In the 60s and 70s, the Black Panther Party was pushing to put initiatives on the ballot in San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond, and Berkeley that would create community control of the police.

Although the original proposal to control policing through the division of Berkeley into three smaller jurisdictions (Berkeley Hills, West Berkeley, and university and downtown business district) failed, a later proposal passed, leading to the creation of the Police Review Commission in Berkeley.

“Berkeley actually was one of the first cities in the country to have civilian review of police,” Prichett said. “And cities all across the country called up Berkeley and wanted to know how they did it, why they did it, if they could do it in their own cities, a n d stuff.

Berkeley w a s

quite a leader,” she

pr ac t ic e s and their approaches to community safety itself,” Pritchett said. “And they came up with a bunch of recommendations about how we could do things differently that might make better safety in our city (and) that might make people feel safer.

I think there were some great recommendations there, but the city hasn't really implemented them.”

According to Berkeleyside, Vollmer was also a eugenicist, and supported the belief of selective breeding of people to uphold certain ethnic and racial genetic traits.

Jones explained that Vollmer’s eugenics beliefs are similar to what she would imagine many police chiefs having at the time period, due to the “prevailing ideology of whiteness and the prevailing racial ideology of the time.” Nevertheless, the effects that these ideologies had on policing is extensive, according to Jones, who pointed to “concerns over racial profiling and concerns over racially disparate practices or practical practices that have a disparate impact on communities of color” as lasting effects of

added.

In the past 50 years of civilian oversight of police in Berkeley, “there's been a lot of victories, but also a lot of challenges and obstacles throughout those years,” Aguilar said.

“It's been a pretty slow process to actually get up and running,” Raguso said. Furthermore, the scope of the board, as outlined in the city charter, is very broad, according to Wilson, leading to many unanswered questions about the specific powers of the board. “There's some challenges with the charter and a lack of clarity within the city about exactly what's the authority and the level of interdependencies of the board,” Wilson said.

Despite these challenges, the role of the Police Accountability Board and Office are what Leah Wilson, a PAB member, described as, “critically important.” Wilson said, “We provide a really important check and balance on the police and that this community knows that we exist.” She added, “It's an important accountability measure to have an independent board, and it seems to me that it's something that every jurisdiction of any meaningful size needs to have.”

JAY TRAUNER

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024

BHS students, staff grapple with learning accommodations freshman year.

“From what I remember from freshman year, it didn't take too long school counselor, your parents, and to get the 504 plan,” Chambers wrote maybe some of your teachers to in an email to the Jacket. However, problem solve and troubleshoot what's C hamb e rs e mphas i z e d t hat she going on,” explained Nina Garrovillo, had pre existing knowledge of the a BHS school psychologist. After an process because her older sibling had SST, the student is offered different accommodation plans at BHS. “I think resources and support before they’re it only took a couple meetings for it to given a 504 plan or an IEP. get set up … The longest part of it was According to Sinai and Garrovillo, waiting for things to get signed and if the student isn’t showing signs of more technical stuff … I didn't really improvement after being offered experience any significant challenges those resources, more steps are taken in the process, but I want to emphasize to help the student get a 504 plan or this was my personal experience,” an IEP. Chambers wrote.

A BHS student with an IEP, who Garrovillo explained that many wished to remain anonymous because factors are taken into account when they didn’t want to disclose their evaluating the eligibility of a student, diagnosis publicly, explained what saying, “We will do a full assessment their personal process of requesting on students’ processing. So looking an IEP looked like and the timeline, at their learning profile, how’s their “653 days. But who’s counting?” memor y? What The anonymous about attention, or student said. The “We’re serving a huge visual or auditory student continued community at Berkeley High processing? All explaining their worries about (School), and we need to make o f t h o s e t h i n g s are taken into the accessibility sure that students who really consideration.” of 504 and IEP need that total access are really Sinai explained accommodations. getting it.” that medical “I know a lot of diagnos es aren’t people who have required to get gone through the Vanessa Sinai either plan, as same thing,” they BHS 504 Program Supervisor a student can be explained. simply ‘regarded’ In Fangas having a disability and still receive Stillman’s case, she had to apply for accommodations. a 504 plan at BHS after transferring “ T h e ‘r e g a r d e d a s’ i s s u p e r from another school. “When I first important, because it’s an equity issue. put in my request for a 504, I was If a student doesn’t have the resources denied by the school,” Fang-Stillman to go get a whole neuropsychological said. “I also attended the meetings evaluation, or to go to the doctor to get to talk about my 504, and why I an official diagnosis, they could (still) needed it, and I felt like I wasn’t be regarded as having an impairment,” being listened to as I was stating Sinai explained. my needs and how it affected me as Having the resources to obtain a the student … I remember feeling medical diagnosis is not the only equity really hopeless. I hadn’t not had a issue that arises in the accommodation 504 or accommodation plan since I plans process, according to Sinai. was eight.” After two months, Fang“The data shows that students Stillman was granted a 504 plan. who have more resources, have 504 Wren Chambers, a BHS student plans and have gotten them more with 504 accommodations than students who don’t have more explained how she resources,” Sinai said. “So experienced the that’s what I’m process her tr ying to change about the program.

I’m trying to make it e qu it y CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

centered.” caseloads of up to 20 students, There are over 305 504 depending on the demand, Garrovillo accommo dat ion plans at BHS, explained. “Not having enough case according to Sinai. managers can impact how quickly Garrovillo explained and efficiently we're supporting another way in which students,” she said. resources, previously The anonymous allocated for s tu d e nt d e s c r i b e d students who their initial attempt need them, can at getting an IEP be misused. plan through BHS. “I deal a “(Someone in the lot more with special education parents who department) are looking for gave a report of more support for her findings to my their students, and parents and an IEP sometimes think that team, and decided that special education is like I’m not eligible for an IEP,” tutoring. But it's not,” Garrovillo they said. explained. “It's not to help students The anonymous student get A's, but rather for students to be continued, “I got a medical diagnosis able to learn.” (of autism) in April 2022. Then in The implications of diverging June, (the school said) … I (still) do resources can also harm students not qualify for an IEP.” The student who might not know they need explained that their high grades did accommodations, according to not reflect their difficulties within Garrovillo. the school environment, something “If we as a school are spending they believed was misinterpreted by time assessing students who don't the school when determining their need the services, that means we're qualification for an IEP. missing finding the kids that do need “I m i s s e d ab out 8 0 0 ( c l a s s it,” Garrovillo said. periods) before I got my IEP, …

Three years ago BHS created the in that span of 653 days where position of 504 program supervisor they didn’t give me an IEP, from and hired Sinai, in an attempt to application to actually getting it,” the address this issue. anonymous student said. “I was very “In the past, 504 plans were solely disturbed emotionally, … and I didn’t managed by the have the resources counselors, but to navigate it.”

“Not having enough case it b ecame to o The student much work for e x p lained that managers can impact how them on their without the quickly and efficiently we're caseload, so I E P t h e y d i d n’t supporting students.” now I can sort have access to of manage the resources such as program of speech therapy Nina Garrovillo 504s,” Sinai said. and occupational BHS Psychologist S i n a i therapy through continued, the school, tools “We’re serving a huge community which they had been hoping to at Berkeley High (School), and we benefit from. However, through need to make sure that students who external evaluations, the student was really need that total access are really eventually able to qualify for an IEP. getting it,” Sinai said.

The anonymous student reflected In spite of these recent adjustments on how they believe the system could to improve the accommodation plan improve. process, Garrovillo explained that “It just needs to be more timely; there continues to be a lack of special it needs to be more accessible,” The education workers, which can be a student said. “I mean the people there contributing factor to these problems are nice. It’s not really their fault ... A of accessibility. lot of it is systemic.”

“If (case managers are) over When describing issues their caseload, or if they have more contributing to the current process students than would be typical, of acquiring an accommodation plan, they're going to have a harder time Garrovillo explained the strain BHS making sure they're addressing has had on hiring special education all of their students' needs,” workers.

Garrovillo said. Each “I think that there is a little bit of a case manager shortage right now of case managers may have or special education teachers, for various reasons,” Garrovillo said.

“And that's not an issue that's just even at Berkeley High School. I think that there's a shortage throughout the state and nation as well.”

JAY TRAUNER

9

10 F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 6 , 2 0 2 4 ITS OK TO CRY AT MOVIES: IT’S ACTUALLY GOOD FOR YOU AMELIE SHEARS

FEATURES

Student teaching provides inimitable learning experience

BY AELIA GYGER staff writer

Every sad movie is bound to make me cry, which is why I can never watch them.

The dog will die, the wife will get dementia, the brooding bad boy will get cancer or another terrible disease, and the tragedy will drive them apart. I sometimes question how this narrative structure even works.

You fall in love with the characters, conflict is introduced, conflict builds, character development grows, conflict climaxes, and then it ends. A sad ending dissatisfies you on purpose.

To me, this is much like music resolution.

The whole concept of it is to move a chord or note from an unstable sound, dissonance, to a final, stable sound — consonance. The suspense is used to make the music more interesting, but it’s all complete at the end of the piece. Nothing is left unresolved. Sad movies are like if you played almost the whole scale, but not the last note. You almost give the audience what they want, and then you snatch it away.

While change is inevitable, and everything is temporary, sad movies make you wish that they were not. Cinema is fictitious, and then it gives you that harsh of a reality check. People can lash out on movies that make them feel things, or they can try to change.

When I watched ‘Toy Story 3” for the first time, I brought all my stuffed animals onto my bed and vowed to never give any of them away. Now they are piled in the corner of my room in a basket while I cling onto the strings of childhood that Andy found a way to let go of. When I saw Miyazaki’s classic ‘The Tale of the Princess Kaguya’ my mom had to carry me out of the Parkway because I was so enraged by how unfair the story’s end was. I felt that nothing was resolved and no one was happy.

Strangely enough, according to studies done at Ohio State University, the “tragedy paradox” phenomenon found that watching sad movies might lift your mood in the long run. The study found that people are more likely to reflect and feel happier about their lives. They had 400 undergraduate students watch a segment of the 2007 film ‘Atonement’, about two young lovers torn apart by a lie.

The researchers found that the participants felt happier after watching, not because they were glad their romantic lives were better than the characters in the movie, but because it caused them to reflect back on how their loved ones positively impacted their lives.

What if Titanic’s Jack and Rose could have fit on the wood panel together, One Day’s Emma never got hit by a car, The Fault In Our Stars’ August’s cancer went away, and Five Feet Apart’s Will and Stella’s doctors found a cure? These tearjerkers force us to recognize that life isn’t fair, love isn’t permanently engraved in hearts, and time moves on — and we must deal with loss. We look it in the face, we say you are here, you are inevitable, and so we will live.

In order for a person to become a teacher and be able to teach students, they must obtain their credential, pass tests, and spend 600 hours as a student teacher.

This unpaid work is what lets aspiring teachers find their own teaching style.

The experience of teaching a room of students is something that can be tough, but that must be experienced in order for a student teacher to become a full-fledged teacher. “That’s just part of the training,” Timothy Finnigan said.

Finnigan is a current substitute at Berkeley High School who was a student teacher last academic year and found the experience of being able to teach for about a semester to be highly beneficial for him.

“There’s all of these pedagogical techniques (which you learn about teaching),” Finnigan said, “(but) you can go to formal school, you can learn pedagogical theory, but until you step foot in a classroom

in the field, and deliver instructions, and have to come up with content … none of that stuff comes through when you’re just clicking through modules online and watching tutorial videos … The most valuable experience of grad school was 100 percent just diving into the classroom.”

According to Finnigan, the discussion of how much control the student teacher has over a classroom comes from a “negotiation between (the student teacher) and the teacher about how much of their class they’re willing to give up to an absolute novice.” Student teachers, for example, may completely teach for half of a semester or they may teach half of the class on any given day — they are often given a lot of flexibility to find out what method of teaching works best for them and for their students.

“There’s a lot of more freedom. And I feel like I can do a lot more than the regular teacher would be able to do,” Janelle Jajeh, who is on her second semester as a student teacher, but her first semester as a student

Timothy Finnigan worked as a student teacher at BHS.

teacher at BHS, said.

Being able to experience the classroom is also helpful for teachers to acclimate themselves to their new career, especially as not all student teachers started their career by teaching.

Jim Morehead, a student teacher for Universal 9th Grade physics and AP Physics C, originally used physics in a professional setting, working at a company that developed lasers. He worked there for over 20 years before he decided to become a teacher. Before teaching at BHS, he taught physics to UC Berkeley students for four years, though this is his first year teaching high schoolers.

“It’s different. Certainly.

It’s a big shift,” Morehead said, comparing this job to his previous careers.

Yet, despite the change, Morehead decided enter teaching.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised,”

RIANA FALCIONI

Morehead said, “(and) shocked in a good way.

The students are nice and respectful, and we have a good time.”

Originally Jajeh planned to teach elementary school, but changed her mind halfway through the year, focusing instead on high school.

“I was scared at first because I feel like I’m not far outside of high school myself, so I was a little intimidated to be with older kids ... but once I got to work, I really enjoyed it here. The kids are all very respectful,” Jajeh said. “Because (the students are) older, they’re more independent, and so we can do a lot more learning and discussing. It’s just been really fun.”

Working in the classroom not only allows student teachers to become better teachers, but also lets them adjust to a new environment, finding out their personal teaching style.

WORD ON THE STREET What are your plans after BHS?

Luca Mirza, a senior in Academic Choice, hopes to combine his passion for biology and psychology into a neuroscience major. “(Neuroscience) opens up a pre-med path or a research path … I (want to) use what I learn ... to help people,” he said. With applying to college behind him, Mirza wants to travel and spend time with his friends.

“Being a mental health peer educator helped me connect with people and gave me something to do that I genuinely enjoy … I wouldn’t want to cut (that) short,” said Ebony Elebeck, a Berkeley International High School senior who sees a future for herself as a youth counselor. She plans to “spread her wings,” and study out of state.

Emma Claus, an Academic Choice senior, is going to college as an undeclared life science major. “Everything about life and being able to live, … understanding why things happen and how everything is built up really fascinates me,” Claus said. During her time in college, she also hopes to go abroad to expand her world view and experience different cultures.

Communication Arts and Sciences senior Max Swim, who grew up hearing English, Spanish, and German, hopes to go to college internationally to pursue a major in linguistics.

“I want to be able to talk to as many people as possible.

Growing up in a family that spoke multiple languages, it’s really easy to see how difficult language barriers make it for people to connect,” Swim said.

INTERVIEWS BY SHANZA SYED staff writer

PHOTOS BY SUNNY BEVIS-LIPTON staff photographer

F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 6 , 2 0 2 4 11

FEATURES

Teachers new to BHS, one year later: What have they learned? first-year students as well as teachers. Halfway through the second semester, teachers have settled in and have grown accustomed to working at BHS. The adjustment can be more difficult when a teacher hasn’t previously worked in a high school environment. “I’ve definitely settled in more than I had at the beginning of the year, but just in terms of the workload, high schools have more instructional minutes than middle school,” Justin Valencia, a first-year History

teacher at BHS who previously taught at a middle school, said.

“Coming from a middle school environment is something that I’m still kind of adjusting to in terms of the level of freedom that students have, for better or worse.”

Creative freedom at BHS is one of the things that makes it unique. Valencia expressed his admiration for the different student-run extracurriculars and performances that happen at the school. “Students are all invested in all these different extracurriculars, and being

Angie Soto shares that she appreciates the students who check in with her.

JULIAN NATHAN

BY ANNIKA JOY staff writer

“Because it’s a big high school, you don’t know who to ask for help, but so far, Berkeley (High School) has been doing a really great job.

We have some great mentors and great co-leader teachers that have been helping me in guiding me in all of this crazy process,” Angie Soto, a firstyear Spanish teacher at BHS, said. BHS can be a difficult place to adjust to, both for

exposed to that and just seeing that. “(I’ve been able to) have for their interests, and what, how that reflects into school these really great, rounded from their interests, I can add culture is nice,” he said. discussions with the students, into my classes,” Soto said.

As well as settling into not just about stuff on the The sense of community te aching prac t ices, ne w curriculum, but stuff outside and connection with her teachers have also been their curriculum about current students is something else working on decorating their events,” Valencia said. “There’s that Soto has found to be classrooms this unique about BHS. year, and making “So far in Berkeley them their own. “I High (School), I “(I like) being able to talk one on one have been feeling think my classroom has always been with my student and ... getting to know respect from my very settled, and students to me not them for their interests.”

I usually like to only as an adult, but have like s ome as a human,” Soto Angie Soto n atu re tou che s said. She spoke of New BHS Spanish Teacher around,” Soto said. difficulties at her She has also tried previous school t o i n c o r p o r at e with getting student interests into her been a few times this year, students engaged with her classroom. “Some of my particularly on social issues, lessons; “It was a lack of students really love singers where I’ve had some really interest, not only for you, as like Sza and Tyler the Creator, great discussions with students a teacher, as a person, but so I have been enjoying adding that would not have been able also for the subject. Here at that into my class,” Soto said. to happen in my old school.”

Berkeley High (School), I Valencia has decorated his Soto’s goal this year was have been getting used to my classroom to show off some of to connect with and get to students asking me, ‘How am his interests and hobbies. “I’m know her students, and that I doing?’ or checking on me, just a big maps person; I like to has felt like one of the most and that’s something that I put maps all around the room, important parts of her job. really appreciate,” she said. and I have a picture of a single “I’m very proud of being able It is important for BHS scull because I used to row in to create those connections students to remember that college,” he said. that I wanted to create at the teachers also go through a hard New teachers also have beginning of the year, and the transition and they deserve the personal goals they’ve been fact that maybe my students same kindness that anyone else working towards this school have been enjoying my classes,” does. “I really appreciate being year. At the beginning of the Soto said. She enjoys getting to in a caring environment where year, Valencia expressed an know her student’s interests my students not only see me interest in exploring more and incorporates them into as a teacher but as someone difficult topics and opening her teaching when she can. that is also a human that has class discussions, and now “(I like) being able to talk one problems, responsibilities, towards the end of the year, on one with my students and etc.,” Soto said. “Keep checking he feels he has accomplished kind of getting to know them on your teachers.”

BHS athletes who commute for sports face long road to the top wit h ho cke y f ur t her by continuing to play her sport through college.

On the other hand, some S om e B e r k e l e y Hi g h other BHS students develop School students travel to plans to play their sport in Orinda for soccer, Dublin for college earlier on. Teammates lacrosse, or San Francisco for Te r r e n D a v i s a n d M i a volleyball. Three students in Sieminski, both sophomores particular travel at BHS, play for even farther, to B ay Are a Sur f, San Jose, driving a competitive “There (are) people who come over an hour to soccer team based from two and a half hours away ... regular practices in San Jose. The I don’t know how they do it.” t h re e d ay s a te am c omp e te s week. in the Elite Clubs Mia Sieminski Savannah National League Johnson, a (ECNL), a league BHS Soccer Player senior at BHS, with strong initially began college exposure playing hockey for the Oakland were only in Fremont.” in the form of nation-wide Bears hockey team, based The sacrifices she and her showcases and top level closer to home. However, family have made to do the trip training environments. “The over time, the team did not to San Jose has taught Johnson last Arizona showcase that we seem to be serving Johnson’s essential time management went to, there were like forty competitive spirit, due to the skills as a student and athlete. coaches at each of our games, club’s limited opportunities for “There were times where I did so that was really helpful,” female players. “I was getting not set myself up to leave on Davis said. stuck at these low level teams time, and I missed half of my Due to the team’s uniquely that weren’t enough for me,” practice,” Johnson said. “I’ve high level of play and collegiate said Johnson. “I’m not allowed had to learn how to organize opportunities, Sieminski to play on varsity because it’s my day and my time better and Davis are not the only contact and they don’t want because I wanted to prioritize ones who travel far to attend girls to be playing with six foot this team.” trainings and games. “There guys,” Johnson said.

Prior to joining the Sharks, (are) some people who come Wanting a more competitive Johnson saw her future in from two and a half hours away sports environment, Johnson hockey playing in an adult ... I don’t know how they do it,” made the decision to join the le ague or anot her non- Sieminski said. Teammates San Jose Sharks hockey team, competitive setting. However, coming from various locations which has its own designated after playing for a team with leads to difficulties with team competitive girls program. higher commitment to the bonding, as the only time the Johnson noted the sacrifices sport, Johnson discovered her team really spends together her parents have had to make desire to take her involvement is during practices, games, or

BY CARINA THOMAS staff writer

in terms of transportation in order to play for the Sharks.

“C o m m u t i n g f r o m t h e East Bay to San Jose can be (about) an hour if there’s no traffic,” said Johnson, “(but) sometimes we’ve had to turn back because we were already in the car for two hours and we

tournaments. “It’s definitely more challenging when you can’t really hang out with them outside of soccer,” Sieminski said. Thus, the teammates take full advantage of any time they are able to spend together. “I just try to talk to a lot of people at practice and hang out when I can,” Davis said.

In addition to being part of the ECNL, the club also offers other benefits that make

it unique to other, more local soccer teams. “I really like the play style and the coaches ... It’s more possession oriented and focuses on building up before going to attack,” Siemenski said. The team’s strategic philosophy and successful competitive reputation makes it a good fit for the players. “It’s really good to be challenged every day at soccer so you can keep working to get better and

try to achieve your goals as a soccer player,” Siemenski said.

I n t h e e n d , i t’s t h e dedication, passion, and love that Davis and Sieminski hold for soccer that in turn contributes to their continued commitment to their team in San Jose. “If you really love the sport, then do whatever it takes to keep playing the sport.

For as long as you want to,” Sieminski said.

ALEX MORGAN

ENTERTAINMENT

12 F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 6 , 2 0 2 4

BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

Entertainment editors: Kaiya Jordan & Simon Policy

GLOBAL ARTISTS: ZENG FANZHI, MASKED PORTRAITURE MAILE MATUBREW

Portraiture is a common motif in art — the human figure and face is just too compelling to stay away from for many artists. But what I love about art is that every single artist, especially contemporary, paints a different portrait. No one sees the human form in the same way, paints it in the same light, or captures it in the same lens. One artist in particular, Zeng Fanzhi, gives portraiture a twisted, hauntingly beautiful flair.

Fanzhi was born in Wuhan, China in 1964, graduating from the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts in 1991. Fanzhi came of age as an artist during a time of great social change and artistic revolution in China — the New Wave movement, essentially a national backlash to the Cultural Revolution — a period of sociopolitical upheaval, characterized by violence. China was also rapidly industrializing.

The New Wave movement was the start of Chinese contemporary art. Along with this movement, Fanzhi also credits his inspiration to both traditional Chinese and Western artists, specifically masters of expressionism and romanticism like Max Beckmann and Willem de Kooning.

Fanzhi’s pieces are often visceral and very defined. Carefully placed brush strokes keep his figures elevated off of the background, emphasizing them with rich colors and lines.

Some of his earliest work, Hospital Series (1991) and Meat Series (1992), are very reminiscent of 20th century expressionism — thick strokes and bold colors. Meat in particular is visceral but calm, realistic but highly stylized, evoking Beckmann’s brushwork but very much Fanzhi’s own.

In the 90s, Fanzhi started the Mask Series.

The Mask series is both a part of the rapid modernization of China, as well as a criticism of it. In each piece, a figure is wearing a theatrical-type mask. Fanzhi imbues these masked figures with so much emotion — pain, anger, melancholy, joy — that the mask is almost irrelevant. The figures are clearly Chinese but dressed like Westerners in suits and ties, capturing how Fanzhi felt that China was changing too much too quickly, that in an attempt to make a new national identity, China was losing all of its old one.

Stylistically, the pieces are also gorgeous.

The details on the figures are stunning and the raw emotion that Fanzhi invokes in each of his portraits is incredible. Many of the facial features are exaggerated or emphasized in some way, but the eyes are especially so. They are piercing and soulful, portraying as much emotion as the faces (or masks) themselves.

Fanzhi captures the human face in a way that seems to capture the essence of the emotion itself, and it’s absolutely amazing.

kaiyajordan@students.berkeley.net

BHS Fashion Show rocks sustainability CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

upcycling old clothes,” said Maya Widholm, a The third annual fashion BHS senior who helped show not only highlighted organize The Fashion Show creative, eco-friendly and designed some of the outfits, but also promoted clothes. “They might cut sustainable practices and off a sleeve or make it into reducing the environmental shorts, and other people footprint associated with so- used fabrics from thrift called “fast fashion” — the stores and bought secondcycle of buying new items hand fabric.” that contributes significantly Another designer and to carbon emissions and organizer of the event, Isabel other climate-related Rodriguez Gerstein, also a problems. senior, used donated fabrics “ W e from a BHS teacher to usually ask create her pieces of clothing. that people Alongside the show, student make their artists also sold their work. things by The fashion show is a fundraiser for Remake, an organization whose mission is to put an end to poor treatment of garment workers.

About 93 percent of fashion brands don’t pay garment w o r k e r s enough to lead a healthy life. And of the 74 million garment workers globally, 80 percent are women of color, and many are also disproportionately affected by floods and heat from climate change in the regions where they work.

C alliop e Cameron, a BHS Juliette Chung poses in an f r e s h m an outfit designed by Jamaica w h o Rodriguez.

attended The Fashion Show, was very impressed by the designs, “I really enjoyed going to the BHS fashion show,” she said, “I went to shoot for my photography class, and I didn’t expect for it to have a big impact on me, but I was blown away by the creativity of the designers. Some of the outfits were incredible, and I definitely felt inspired to continue to support thrifting and local fashion.”

The event was supported by the BHS Development Group, which aims to support and strengthen the educational experiences of all BHS students.

Widholm and Rodriguez Gerstein also organized last year’s show, but neither plan to pursue a career in fashion. However, they say other students who participated have been inspired and are planning to go to fashion school.

Kiran Delbanco modeling Isabel Rodriguez Gerstein’s designs.

Student vendors sold a collection of t-shirts and various art.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LINDEN KOSHLAND

Sam Wise, Cole Stark, Reuben Zinner, and another musician perform jazz before the fashion show begins.

Models wait in line for a dress rehearsal prior to the show.

Iris Le Liboux and students do one another’s makeup as they get ready.

ENTERTAINMENT

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024

13

Period dramas offer audience escape from present-day woes dramas allow viewers to escape their current worries by immersing themselves in another century, where they carry none of the same “Downton Abbey.” concerns. Many of these “Bridgerton.”

“Peaky shows focus on romance Blinders.”

“Outlander.” and heightened drama in “Reign.”

Jane Austen order to keep audiences adaptations such as “Pride engaged. No period drama and Prejudice,” “Sense and can perfectly depict different Sensibility” … the list goes historical periods, but they on. Period dramas have can help viewers discover become a staple new interests and in the world of genres. enter t ainment, Of course, Period dramas allow viewers to captivating some period dramas escape their current worries by au d i e n c e s face backlash for not immersing themselves in another globally with accurately educating century, where they carry none of viewers about history. their lush settings and intricate It’s important to the same concerns. narratives. While consider what the some series strive show promises to for historical accuracy, ever. With these soaring deliver to its audience. If a others choose to incorporate ratings and the recent surge series is claiming historical historical fiction to enhance in popularity of period accuracy, that is one thing, their storylines and capture dramas, it’s worth exploring but many of today’s popular the attention of certain the reasons behind their shows make no such audiences. widespread appeal. promises. Many of these Both “Reign” and Additionally, it’s types of dramas — intended “Outlander,” for instance, fascinating to observe the for casual viewing — do draw inspiration from different approaches to not need to replicate every historical events and history that these shows historical detail to convey figures (Mary Queen of take — some adhere closely themes that immerse Scots’ fascinating life story to historical facts, while audiences in their world. and the Jacobite risings others lean heavily into Some argue that of the 18th century), but fiction — depending on the including people of color in also incorporate many goals they have for engaging certain period dramas set creative twists and fictional their audiences. in times where it wouldn’t relationships to heighten It is easy to idealize the have been common, or drama and intrigue. This past when the present is possible, undermines the blend of nostalgia and filled with unknown fears credibility of that series. imagination allows millions and complexities. Period However, this perspective

BY HANNAH GROTHREIDY staff writer

to be transported to another era through romanticized portrayals of the past.

Netflix reported that 82 million households around the world watched “Bridgerton” in the first 28 days of its release, surpassing Netflix’s own predictions by 20 million.

In 2013, PBS declared that “Downton Abbey” was the most-watched drama

is inconsistent and hypocritical, as the majority of period dramas are already romanticized, dramatized, and fictionalized. Historical dramas are not typically designed to educate viewers for the first time about history according to factual records — this is what school and research is for.

Many turn to period dramas as a brief, leisurely escape from the challenges of understanding the present.

Including people of all backgrounds and skin colors is an important present-day aspect to consider when casting for a project.

Ultimately, period dramas offer viewers an

escape into a different era, allowing them to experience the past in an imaginative and captivating way. Whether they closely adhere to history or take creative liberties, these shows continue to delight audiences by blending romance, intrigue, and adventure.

THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL UNDER CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

SLAM Spoken Word Club hosts long-awaited poetry showcase

BY EVA DICKINSON staff writer

On Friday, April 12, 2024, the Berkeley High School Student Led Arts Movement (SLAM) Spoken Word Club gathered for their first-ever Slam Poetry Showcase in the school library. Members of the club seized the opportunity to share their innermost thoughts and emotions with their friends, family, and BHS peers.

Club members, along with two guest poets, performed a total of 15 poems that encompassed a wide range of personal themes. The audience was encouraged to interact and think about the performances, creating a unique environment of closeness and connection.

After a brief introduction and acknowledgement for the LGBTQ+ Day of Silence, the event kicked off with SLAM Spoken Word Club members performing

a melodic duet. The performance power of the piece was seen again and again throughout the entire showcase.

The performance was followed by a piece titled “Microplastics” by BHS SLAM Spoken Word Club president and BHS junior, Julia Segre. “It’s kind of about how we have narratives around climate change that can feel so hopeless and inspire apathy.

I think we can turn what we

already have into a force for good in regards to climate change.”

Guest poet Gabriel Cortez joined the showcase and performed two poems.

Cortez’s second poem was particularly notable, featuring resonating themes including the lineage of Berkeley and California as well as the power of education and student movements. Each of his performances employed a captivating rhythm that left an impact on the audience.

The next poet touched on themes of familial relationships and dynamics.

Following that performance

were three shorter poems about subjects including Palestine and the experiences of transgender youth in America.

“Whenever I’m anxious, stressed, or I have something really hard going on in my life, I write poetry. It helps me process my emotions and my thoughts,” said BHS senior Merhawi Solomon, who performed a striking poem about the effects of climate change and environmental racism, inspired by a series of wildfires that occurred in Chile this year.

The second guest poet of the night was

environmentalist and Berkeley City Council Chair Member Terry Taplin.

Throughout his two poems, Taplin juxtaposed Old English and ancient Greek against American slang. His creative performance felt refreshing and new amidst the more traditional poems.

Segre’s second performance of the night was a duet titled “Pomegranates” alongside one of her fellow club members. The poem used pomegranates and the story of Persephone to embody the meaning of love and romantic relationships for women who are living under the patriarchy.

Listen to the Jacket’s podcast:

THE BUZZ

This episode: Our Monologues

A student performs their poem in the BHS library at the Slam Poetry Showcase.

ATTICUS LABANG

The Jacket’s podcast brings you an episode guiding you through the history, present, and future of Our Monologues, a student production vital to Berkeley High School culture and community.

14

ENTERTAINMENT

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024

Dev Patel’s debut film ‘Monkey Man’ has more than just action unfold like puzzles, littered with little details that will turn the battle later — a dropped knife here, a Monkey Man’s existence convenient drawer there. defies all odds. Directed by, Plenty of moments are gaspwritten by, and starring Dev inducing, and even simple Patel (who also hand-to-hand bouts starred in Slumdog are exhilarating. ... in combining his world-class Millionaire).

The action is action with a mature cultural Monkey Man is his not the entire movie, directorial debut. though. While there framework, he strengthens both.

The film was almost are two massive, canceled several climactic action times due to everything from Patel is going to kill a guy, set pieces, lots of coolCOVID-19 shutdowns, and it will be very cool. down material surrounds to budget concerns, to The action in the film them. This material, often concerns about its political is brutal and outstanding. more serious, is also much messaging. And yet, it exists, For a debut film, especially more hit-or-miss. Several an underdog story that is one made on a low budget, flashbacks explain Patel’s itself an underdog story, and Monkey Man is the gold character’s backstory out-ofone that is fully Patel’s film. standard. The camera whips order and in an intentionally For one thing, confusing way hardly any other for a little while.

Brawls unfold like puzzles, character matters.

And examinations Monkey Man of the antagonist littered with little details that will is about a poor party’s politics are turn the battle later. underground not under-realized, fighter (Patel) but perhaps who seeks revenge on the with such ferocity that every underexplored. It’s likely oppressive government fight feels truly life-or- that viewers with a better that killed his mother. He death, and the choreography understanding of Indian has an implied love interest is insanely inventive. Brawls politics will greatly

BY ZACH YOO staff writer

(Sobhita Dhulipala) and a mentor (Vipin Sharma), but they are used for little more than motivating him to punch harder. Though the film is a solid two hours, the plot is totally simple: Dev

THE CROSSWORD

appreciate these parts of the movie but for those without, they only vaguely gesture at villainous depth.

Much of the film concerns the marginalized in society. The best example of this is the hijra, a religious community of gender nonconforming people, who take in and mentor Patel’s character.

Ostensibly, they’re a sort of random (but welcome) inclusion — their reason for helping Patel is slightly flimsy. Yet, they help to ground the film in

DOWN

1. Non-copyrighted Frisbee 5. Worship location 10. Tall, ___, and handsome 14. City home to over 1.5 million Norwegians 15. Uninspired color in interior decorating 16. Sacred image 17. Hold back, with “in” 18. Cady’s crush in “Mean Girls” 19. What’s often held in a yard or a garage?

20. Middling 22. Like a well-trained puppy 24. Human/goat in Roman mythology 25. ”Bubbly” Nestle chocolate from the Commonwealth 26. Fills in 29. Spell beginning 30. Tolkien tree creature 33. Untrustworthy people 34. Biblical tower 35. Dessert often used in slapstick comedy 36. Charitable donations 37. Challenged 38. Objects used in bowling or sewing 39. Less-formal debutante?

40. Shabby 41. Truths 42. Capital of Senegal?

43. Egyptian hieroglyph meaning “life” 44. Elevator inventor Otis 45. Puts two and two together?

46. Family 47. Code 50. Cleric 54. Dull pain 55. German submarine primarily used during World Wars I and II 57. ”… or ___!” (an empty threat, often) 58. “Star Wars” princess 59. Option on an either/or test 60. Japanese buckwheat noodles 61. Join together 62. Washed-out 63. Had delivered

1. College residence 2. “Ahh…” 3. Skidded 4. Pine trees, for example 5. Ancient calculator 6. Memorize 7. Exhaust 8. “Long, long ___ …”

9. Performed, as a service 10. 1970s music genre 11. Berry rich in antioxidants and vowels 12. Basic move in gymnastics 13. Body part with an often-torn ligament 21. Clods 23. Like a presentation spoken in front of the class 25. Road for monks and Beatles 26. Cutting-edge?

27. Annoys, with “up” 28. Feet used by Shakespeare?

29. Cry of frustration 30. ”The Odyssey” and “The Iliad,” for two 31. Last baseball inning 32. “Thor: Ragnarok” actress Thompson 34. River edges 37. Flakes in one’s hair 38. Adjective advertising many dentists’ work 40. Created 41. Flutter 44. Overjoyed 45. Winning 46. Pursue 47. Emotion associated with the color blue 48. Drink that comes in cherry or blue raspberry 49. Comic-relief dad on “Modern Family” 50. What can cause a runny nose 51. Sunburn-relieving plant 52. Book identification number 53. Tidy 56. Sheepish bleat

IRIS LE LIBOUX

has sometimes been abused by the system. I wanted to give it real soul, real trauma, real pain.” In other words, the action and its corresponding culture are a package deal.

Patel is right: in combining his world-class action with a mature cultural framework, he strengthens both. Like most first-time directors, he may bite off a bit more than he can chew, but like its hero, Monkey Man’s roughness only makes it more charming.

Leadership hosts Spelling Bee

BY AMAR WALKER staff writer

ACROSS

the realistic struggle against oppression, and besides, are a respectable representation of a vibrant community.

They are what elevates the film beyond just “Indian John Wick” or “Indian Bruce Lee.” By depicting the vulnerability of so many in India, Patel creates a much more believable and compelling underdog narrative for his vengeance quest.

Patel has made his stance on this clear in interviews, saying, “The action genre

Berkeley High School’s first annual Spelling Bee took place on Friday, April 12, 2024 in the Community Theater. It was hosted by the sophomore class leadership team, and offered a $100 cash prize to the victor. All the participants made a valiant effort, and freshman Violet Kessler won after spelling the final word “connoisseur.”

“I’m actually very surprised.

I did not think I would even come close (to winning), so it’s a very exciting surprise,” said Kessler, recounting the experience.

With 17 participants, the rules allowed for more flexibility compared to the typical rigidity of spelling bees, such as the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The judges were able to propose a do-over of a round after

recognizing that words given in the same round were not at equal difficulty levels. Participants tackled words like “colloquial” and “proscenium,” and whoever verbally spelled them correctly was able to move into the final rounds.

As the participants dwindled into single digit numbers, Kessler knocked out one word after another.

“The excitement when you got a word right was really nice,” she said.

“I just did it for fun,” said freshman Linus Hohmeyer, who made it to the final rounds before misspelling liaison. “I thought it was spelled L -I -A -S -O -N but it was spelled L -I -A -I -S -O -N. So yeah, that was the hardest word.”

The Spelling Bee was full of welcoming and supportive people, making it a great atmosphere for a friendly competition. “I got to meet some people that

I sat next to, and that was pretty fun,” said Hohmeyer.

Sophomore class president Sofia Bloom spoke about the inspiration for the Spelling Bee, which she credited to the leadership team. “We were brainstorming events that we think people would actually like to take part in. Eliza (McGlashin), the senior class president, was like ‘you should do a spelling bee’ ... and we did it,” said Bloom.

The Spelling Bee may have been relatively smallscale, but BHS leadership hopes to grow the event into a popular tradition.

“It (was) fun seeing all of these people I’ve never met before compete and spell words,” Bloom said. “It was pretty enjoyable to watch.”

Editor’s note: Violet Kessler creates the crossword for the Jacket, but was not involved in the writing or publication of this article.

Raven Fonseca Jensen —— Violet Kessler

*The Jacket would like to apologize for the errors in the previous crossword.

Calder Corson speaks into the microphone on stage at the first annual Spelling Bee.

ALEX TRIPCEVICH

SPORTS

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024

Swimmers send off their seniors and coach

BY ELOISE THOMAS staff writer

On Friday, April 12, the Berkeley High School swim team held their senior night, a goodbye to both their teammates and their coach. The women’s team won, beating Castro Valley, Bishop O’Dowd, and Hayward. The men’s team came in at a close third against the same three teams.

Halfway through the meet, a speech was given for the seniors where their plans for after high school were announced, and they received posters from their teammates and flowers.

Head coach John McDonald reflected on the ceremony and said, “The thing that stood out was the amount of adoration from their teammates, the work that went into their poster boards and stuff like that. It’s a really good group of kids.”

Senior and captain, Abril Esqueda, described the work the team had been putting in and the sense of dedication. “We’ve been practicing really hard all year, and a lot of people have been dropping a lot of times. And as captain, I can say that I have seen a lot of improvement with overall

morning and afternoon was something Esqueda said kids and several aspiring attendance and how well she would miss, especially, Olympians,” according to people swim in their times,” “jumping into the water and McDonald having a good workout and Having been hired by his Esqueda said. former coach, McDonald With an older sister who laughing with friends.” said he was is a senior grateful for his on the team, Gigi Roman“The thing that stood out was the amount of time at BHS. Crago, a adoration from their teammates, the work “I absolutely love it here. sophomore that went into their poster boards ... ” I’ve been on the team blessed with shared that John McDonald three really they felt a wonderful sense of loss.

Swim Team Head Coach y e a r s .

However, she Good kids, said that while While the seniors good parents, athletic they were sad to see the tremendous seniors go, they were excited leaving will create a lot of department, to gain new teammates. “It’ll changes for the team, more amount of support. So just be fun to have a bunch of changes are expected, with absolutely nothing bad to new people on the team McDonald going to coach say. I love Berkeley High for a club team in Raleigh, (School) and Berkeley next year,” she said.

The close community North Carolina. The new swimming. I’m gonna miss “fast it,” McDonald said.

Roman-Crago described team has several

A swimmer dives into the pool at the senior night.

ZIVA AMENDOLA

Competitive skating offers a mixed bag

BY ELSA DIETZ staff writer

In skateboarding competitions, competitors can participate in a variety of categories such as street, park, and bowl skateboarding.

They are given two to three attempts to complete their combination of tricks called ‘runs.’ Judges award points based on the execution, difficulty, and flow of the run.

Zael Johnson, a junior, started competing in skateboarding during his freshman year. “There’s not that much (of a) competitive environment about it … Even in competitive skateboarding, everyone’s cheering each other on.

Even your opponent is super hyped when you land a trick,” Johnson said.

Jordan Fenigstein, a BHS sophomore, started competing in skateboarding with her skate team in 2021. “(Competitions) are fun, but … the environment can be kind of stressful,” Fenigstein said. In the days leading up to competitions, Fenigstein spends hours practicing her runs and perfecting her tricks. “You just make sure all your tricks are (consistent) …

You practice over and over and over again, so it can get a little repetitive and frustrating, but if you do it right in contests, it’s fun,” Fenigstein said.

For freshman Greyson Grubb-Smith, skateboard competitions gave him opportunities to connect with other skateboarders and explore new skateparks. “(Competing) got me into a lot of different skateparks and stuff that I couldn’t have gotten into otherwise,” Grubb-Smith said.

Johnson stopped competing in his sophomore year due to his busy schedule, but he continued to skate with his sponsor, Squang Skateboards. “(Being sponsored) is both kind of terrifying because there’s so much of a commitment sometimes, but also kind of relieving because it makes me feel very appreciated,” Johnson said.

For Grubb-Smith, the intensity of competitions were detrimental to his physical health. “(Competitions) kind of burnt me out a little bit.

I was skating five times a week, and I was getting injured a lot … I just got knee surgery last week, and I also broke both my elbows.

I was getting hurt a lot which was definitely tough,”

Grubb-Smith said.

Grubb-Smith plans to skate again after recovering from his knee injury, but he is unsure if he’ll go back to competing. “(Competitions) are already making me not be able to live my life how I want to. The injuries are just getting to be so much and so long-lasting. I can’t move my elbows how I want to anymore,” Grubb-Smith said. “My goal is to grow old skating and teach my kids how to skate and just spread the joy of skating to other people when I get old.”

Fenigstein didn’t enjoy the stress and pressure that came with competition and stopped competing after two years. “I didn’t really like (competing). I felt like I was comparing myself to other people and it was a

lot of pressure on myself, which I think is why I quit contests,” Fenigstein said. Even though she doesn’t compete anymore, Fenigstein enjoys producing videos with her sponsor, Squang Skateboards. “We do a ton of tricks and go travel to different places to get clips. Then we make a big video after like a year or two and everyone comes and watches it (which is) really fun,” Fenigstein said.

Although being sponsored comes with its own pressure to perform, Fenigstein finds it less stressful than competitions.

“It’s still pressure because you still want to do good and get good tricks, but (it’s) definitely a lot less because it’s not as competitive,” Fenigstein said.

BHS junior Zael Johnson poses with his skateboard.

GEORGIA PAULOS

INTRODUCING, MY COLUMN ZOE WHITMAN

The honorific before your name: essentially just a box that you tick on forms and polite formal ways to address someone. This changes if your honorific isn’t “Mr.” or “Dr.” or “Prof.” or something else which is earned (or used by simply being a man). Suddenly, if you don’t identify with one of those, you must swap over to marital status or choose an honorific that lots of people will refuse to acknowledge. The difference between “Ms.”, “Miss.”, and “Mrs.” is enormous.

The problem comes with the fact women have to be tied to either their marital status or their job description within their choices of honorifics. Men have options that don’t tie you to either. This creates the unfortunate scenario of people’s personal life getting in the way of their professional lives. By being forced to reveal information about their marital status, women open themselves up to the possibility of marital status discrimination, a very real thing.

All of these problems could be somewhat helped by asking what someone prefers.

Because is it more polite than a first name?

Depends on personal preference. At the end of the day, I would say, simply ask. Ask people what they prefer and how they would like to be referred to, just like you would ask someone their name, pronouns, etc.

Are they elitist? Maybe, but these honorifics also matter. People will see someone very differently if they are being referred to as “Ellie” instead of “Dr. Stevens.” You will automatically change your perception of the person. This happens, of course, because of the type of society we live in. We are all conditioned in small ways for this to matter to us. The importance has seeped into our brains, making it important to not neglect the honorific because of a factor like gender. People earn formal titles, which takes a lot of time and effort, just for them to not be used. The honorific matters more to some than others, mostly because they haven’t received the respect and credit they deserve often enough.

Additionally, the honorific can be a type of representation. I think that it’s rather important to show representation out in the real world and this is a way of doing that. This is a way of taking diversity out of the media and demonstrating it to people in communities.

Honorifics are important to use because it shows people that there are all kinds of doctors and professors. People who have come a long way to achieve what they have and it’s a diverse group of individuals.

An issue also appears when people must request for their proper titles to be used. It’s considered “not feminine” and “needy” to demand being addressed that way, when in reality, people just want to feel respected. This narrative of non-men “complaining,” when they are simply demanding respect, is another way of demeaning people when trying to do their jobs. Simply asking what honorific someone would like is a small way of working towards finding solutions to address the greater problem.

15

16 F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 6 , 2 0 2 4

sports editors: Colina Harvey & Leo Silverberg

SPORTS BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

colinaharvey@students.berkeley.net

Bring out the brooms: Jackets sweep O’Dowd with home win

BY NATALIE GROSS staff writer

On Friday, April 19, 2024, Berkeley High School’s varsity boys baseball team defeated Bishop O’Dowd High School at home, winning 3-2. This win marked Berkeley’s second win against O’Dowd this season, after beating them in their previous and only other match up two days prior on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

Quinton Hill, a BHS freshman, pitched for all seven innings, striking out five, walking only one, and only giving up three hits.

“You know, there was a lot of weight on my shoulders, especially starting against a rival team,” Hill said, “I think I performed very well.

I just want to continue doing so.”

Going into the game was a bit rocky for both teams.

In the first inning, O’Dowd had no runs or hits. Berkeley managed to get two hits but left both runners stranded and scored no runs. In the second inning, neither team got any hits or runs.

Both teams got base runners on during the third inning but were again unable to bring them home.

It was not until the fourth inning when O’Dowd got a

run across to make the score 1-0. Berkeley was not able to counter in their part of the fourth and neither team was able to do anything in the fifth inning.

“It’s a rival game, so the emotions and intensity of it are at a high level, so everything is magnified during the game,” head coach Curtis Sandeford said.

During the sixth inning, O’Dowd had no runs or hits, but Berkeley managed to score twice from a clutch base hit by sophomore Keanu Moss, giving them the lead in the game 2-1.

In the top of the last inning, O’Dowd was able

to tie the game with a solo home run. In the bottom of the seventh, Berkeley managed to get two runners on.

With one out, junior Parks Ramsdale delivered a walk off base hit, bringing home Hill on third base,

ending the game 3-2.

Audience members jumped up from their seats for the final run.

“There definitely was a lot more energy in this game. I think this was a pretty average game for me, but as a team is a great way

to go about,” sophomore Isaiah Mays said. “All love at the end of the day. I love these guys. We’re gonna keep riding together.”

“We pick each other up when we get knocked down and that’s just what we do,” Hill said.

ATHLETE PROFILE Berkeley High School senior Jonah Lachs began playing volleyball his sophomore year at BHS. “I wanted to play a sport, so I went to volleyball tryouts, somehow made the team, and just fell in love with the sport from there,” he said.

Lachs found a ver y strong community within the team, and watched firsthand how the volleyball program developed over his years on the team. Last year, Lachs had many extracurriculars he had to juggle alongside volleyball. “It was really difficult to manage; it was just about JULIAN NATHAN taking it one bite at a time,” he explained.

He felt that his workload became easier to handle, especially during his senior year. “I felt like I had enough autonomy within volleyball, school, college applications, and my social life, that it felt like none of them were imploding on each other,” Lachs said. He believes that there are always new skills he can try to improve on within the game. He said, “Sports don’t necessarily come as naturally to me as some other things do, so (I try) keeping in mind that it’s always a process. I’m always learning and trying to get better.”

— Luli Galinson Sophomore Isaiah Mays lunges for a pitch in the bottom of the first inning.

LILA HALLWARD

ATHLETE PROFILE

Free SAT® and AP® Diagnostic Tests Free Homework Help *expires 5/25/24

We’ve helped high-performing students get into their dream schools for over 25 years through test prep, GPA management, and college counseling.

C2 Education of Berkeley 510-730-2620