BHS Jacket 2022/23 Issue 3

Climate literacy initiative strives to ignite youth engagement

On November 3, 2021, the climate literacy resolution was passed unanimously by the Berkeley Unified School

District School Board. According to the final draft of the resolution, BUSD was committed to graduating “students well-versed in climate change science, issues, and solutions.”

The climate literacy

resolution is an initiative to ensure all BUSD students are educated on and can recognize the impacts of climate change.

“Our goal is to already start planning the curriculum to implement by the end of

the year in May,” said BUSD School Board Director, Laura Babbitt. “Next year, we’re going to start to pilot different pieces of the curriculum, so I would say hopefully by the 2023-2024 school year, you could start seeing this in your

daily life at school.”

According to Berkeley High School senior Ella Suring, the climate literacy initiative is for all students across all grade levels, and it will be interdisciplinary and holistic, meaning it will create

more time for students and teachers to have a focused time to learn and talk about climate change.

Aryn Faur, a BHS English teacher, further mentioned that BHS expects to have the initiative fully

Senior pride: A privilege game

BY AVA RAMSDALE staff writer BY MAYA DANG staff writer

hallways as students pack together like a herd of sheep. A rancid smell washes over the walkway, eggshells and other miscellaneous items littering the ground. Students line the windows, shouting

from above into the swarm of students below. As more students join the mass of people, shouts of “23! 23!” echo throughout the breezeway. Despite this loud and cohesive show of school

pride, a defined difference remains between students who are rallying for class spirit and those who are simply trying to get to their class.

Senior activities have grown in rowdiness over the past few years. with issues like drinking and drug use. making them less accessible to the student body. While some students can afford to skip class and partake in risky activities, others can’t risk having any bad actions on their record. It is undeniable the role that privilege plays in senior culture at BHS.

Events such as Freshman Friday and Rally Day are long standing traditions at BHS, and remain defining characteristics of the BHS experience. Despite that, these activities weren’t always as wild as they are PAGE 5

FEATURES

Students thrive in Independent Study

BY MADELYN PHILHOWER staff writer

“Of all the bad things that COVID shed the light on in our education system, the one good thing (it showed was that) there are kids out there that can thrive in an alternative learning environment,” said Tamara Mays, mother of students in Berkeley Independent Studies (BIS). “We need to move away from (a) one size fits all approach, and really give some resources, time, and effort into developing

programs that these kids thrive in.”

For a growing number of families, BIS is the program that lets students do just that.

BIS is a program where students can receive school credit outside of the traditional classroom setting, completing work independently, and meeting weekly in small group classes with schedules they design themselves.

Although it entails a lot of work, “If you can structure your time and you have good self

ROBERT GELLNER

ANNELISE SCHOUTEN

This outdated trend promotes disturbing ideas of eating disorders and fetishization to teens on social media.

Coquette

BHS

BUSD establishes Longfellow enrollment zone to increase diversity

BY ARIANA YEROVAM staff writer

On June 15, the Berkeley School Board unanimously voted to add a third enrollment zone for Longfellow Middle School, in an effort to desegregate the BUSD public middle schools. The policy will take effect at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.

In a BUSD press release from June 16, 2022, former Superintendent Brent Stephens wrote, “The Three Zone model, which ensures that our three middle schools are diverse and integrated, divides the city into three middle school attendance zones, similar to our current elementary school assignment model, with Sylvia Mendez Elementary School feeding into Longfellow Middle School.”

Longfellow Middle School was previously a “choice” school, with Berkeley divided into two zones for Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School

and Willard Middle School. Under this policy, the school has had a disproportionately large share of Black and Latino students. The third zone will be located in the middle of Berkeley, bringing students from the hills, South Berkeley, and central Berkeley

at BHS and Longfellow alumna, also described students’ impression of Longfellow, as well as how she believed these new policies would benefit the district.

“Amongst kids, a lot of the time, there’s this stereotype about Longfellow being more ethnically diverse and with less funding,” Boozaglo said. “At the end of the day, there’s going to be more diversity and a mix of people at every school (with this policy).”

to Longfellow. However, there are still decisions concerning these district developments.

Stephens stated, “As part of the vote, the Board of Education instructed BUSD staff to bring back to the Board additional thinking related to middle school transportation and programs. These presentations to the Board will take place during the coming academic year and could inform the Board’s decisions about budget and policy.”

Ori Boozaglo, a sophomore

Toby Jacobson-Bell, a junior who went to King, explained the impact of diversity on broadening students’ understanding of the world, exposing them to new experiences and conversations.

“Diversity is important because it allows you to make all kinds of friends and meet different people,” JacobsonBell said.

While in support of the diversity created by the new policy, Jacobson-Bell also explained the negative repercussions for families who live far away, and will be forced to commute to the

school.

“Kids from South Berkeley going all the way to King is going to be hard, especially if the parents are preoccupied, and same with kids from the hills going to Longfellow,” Jacobson-Bell said. “It’s a good idea but there should still be some choice. Not every family can have a 40 minute round trip commute everyday just for school.”

Boozaglo expressed her

optimism that issues like these could eventually be resolved with the help of resources from the district.

“There’s things that can happen to make it work out for everyone,” Boozaglo said. “I feel like BUSD has the resources to make it less of an inconvenience for people to get to school.”

Jessica Hipona is a sophomore and serves as the BHS Commissioner of

Multicultural Affairs. She added that the extent of the policy’s impact will be seen in the future years, partially depending on how the district responds to any concerns.

“The effect of this will really depend on how each school goes about showing and emphasizing that diversity, and how the district handles people who may have difficulty going to and from school,” Hipona said.

BHS club fair displays diverse selection of student-run clubs

BY AVHA MEISELS staff writer

On Thursday, September 8, Berkeley High School students had the opportunity to sign up for clubs during the annual club fair. The fair took place during periods one through three and advertised a diverse range of clubs.

The club fair allows students to learn about different extracurricular activities they can take part in to meet new people and gain new experiences.

Students were also able to start their own clubs and display them at the fair.

For many clubs, the fair is the main way they spread the word and gain new members.

According to Evelyn Chou, a junior and member of the BHS Women’s Student Union, the club fair allows students to learn about new clubs.

“We don’t really do a ton of other marketing outside of this, so it’s a good way for us to meet new people and introduce new people to our club,” Chou explained. According to Chou, the BHS Women’s Student Union works to create a safe environment for women while trying to fight inequality at BHS. “We really want everyone to feel safe and accepted, and we want to make this school a better place,” Chou explained.

Senior Adele Motamedi, a member of the Ultimate Frisbee Team, feels similarly that the club fair is the main way for clubs to reach out to people. According to Motamedi, many of the games last year in the girls league didn’t go very well due to the lack of people.

Sophomore Katelyn Burmester attended the club

fair to check out the clubs and for the free candy.

“It’s super fun to learn about different clubs and opportunities I wouldn’t have known about otherwise, and it’s nice that the fair isn’t during lunch, like last year,” Burmester said. The clubs at the fair represented a wide variety of activities including sports, politics, and hobbies.

Among the political clubs was the BHS Green Team, a club dedicated to sustainability and the environment. Senior Naomi Nickolaus, a member of the BHS Green Team, said the club organizes projects to make the community more sustainable and informs people about the environment. These projects include trash pickups and elementary school teachins, and they plan on teaming up with other environmental groups in the future.

“Our goals this year are to build a stronger climate coalition and hopefully do a

little bit more climate action and maybe some political action,” Nickolaus said.

Another club at the fair was Amnesty International. According to junior Amelia Monagle-Olsen, a club member, it is devoted to human rights and raising awareness about issues in the community.

Amnesty International has worked on making calls

to representatives about gun violence, writing letters to free prisoners who were unjustly incarcerated, and speaking out for reproductive rights.

“This year a lot has been happening in the news,” Monagle-Olsen said. “I just want to give people the opportunity to do something and put any anger or feeling they have into action.”

MALINA MEISSNER

Longfellow Middle School is no longer a “choice” school, now a part of a third zone.

PATRONS & SPONSORS Manager, 1980 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA, 94704. Checks can be made out to the Berkeley High Manager Ada Rauber at bhsjacketbusiness@gmail.com

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

“There should still be some choice. Not every family can have a 40 minute round trip commute everyday just for school.”

Toby Jacobson-Bell BHS junior

Ultimate Frisbee Club talks to prospective members.

Students crowd the campus green to explore the club fair.

CLARA ELM NETTESHEIM

New climate literacy curriculum to be finalized by May 2023

issues.”

developed and the curriculum completely finalized by the end of June, 2023. Though Faur doesn’t expect there to be a full curriculum map soon, teachers will start to have regular meetings to discuss what it may look like.

In addition, BHS students are having a climate summit on October 12.

With the climate literacy initiative, courses at BHS would align with permaculture, a process which involves sustainable food farming with aspects such as plant diversity and environmental studies.

“We want the climate literacy initiative to be very holistic in the sense that it’s going to be for everyone, regardless of grade level, what classes you’re interested in, etc. It wouldn’t be just taught in math classes or science classes.

… It’ll be (included in) English classes and history,” Faur said. “We want it to be a focus on environmental justice specifically and how it relates to all these other

Erin Smith, a BHS biology teacher, hopes to gain more knowledge about what students care about and where they want to take their future action around climate change and eco-literacy. She wants to connect students who are passionate about climate action with resources that will amplify their voices around climate justice.

“We’re hoping to have an influence on students’ daily lives, meaning (in class) maybe you’re writing a letter to a representative, maybe you are learning about different forms of civic action and protests,”

agency to make changes that they want to change in their community.”

According to Babitt, the goal of the climate literacy initiative is to change the way people think about their impact when it comes to climate change related issues, such as using a plastic bottle versus a reusable one.

If students understand the impact of climate change on the environment, they can learn and use their own ingenuity to combat the increasingly warming climate.

“You have to understand what the problem is, which is the first step, and then you have to understand what you can do, or what we as a society can do to address the problem,”

former teacher at Longfellow Middle School and developer of the climate initiative Martha Cain said.

shift from being anxious to feeling empowered.

She believes through the initiative, students will take control and understand their actions.

By learning the important skills of decision making now, she said that students will achieve greatness in the future for themselves and their community.

manufacture, where we put our plants and the kinds of emissions we put into the

“It’s really important for students to be climate literate so that they see the problems and begin to think about what they can do to help.”

“From what companies manufacture and how we

air. ... It means so much to human health disparities and life in general. It’s impacting

your socioeconomic status when you’re battling health imperatives and you have less access to quality work that you can keep and maintain,” Babitt said. “What I hope people will learn is how climate change and literacy is what really is having a ripple effect on all the major industries in our world. From healthcare, to auto industries, to the food industries, to the clothing industries, everything is connected.”

Smith said. “Maybe you are designing invasive species removal, it could look different depending on what class you’re in. The key thing is that in all the curriculum, students are going to have

“It’s really important for students to be climate literate so that they see the problems and begin to think about what they can do to help solve the problem.”

Babitt desires to see students have the ability to

BHS teachers push back against letters of recommendation

letters of recommendation. More and more schools are requiring individual letters about that student and they take about an hour to write,” Villagran said.

Naville expressed her support for the teachers, saying that she thinks that the workload is overly excessive, and that teachers should be given alot more time to write these letters. She added that this could potentially improve the quality of the writing drasticly.

recommendation per year, spending up to 60 hours working on them without being reimbursed. He described the strain that letters of recommendation add to teachers’ already overworked lives.

them, and this way we don’t have to do them over the weekend,” Villagran said.

BY OHAD AVIRAN-FINKEL STEIN staff writer

This year, several Berkeley High School teachers are refusing to write letters of recommendation, as they are not receiving compensation. This has put pressure on many college applicants, including France Naville, a senior in Berkeley International High School (BIHS).

So far, Naville hasn’t been able to secure any letters of recommendation due to the teacher strike, which has been a source of frustration and anxiety for her.

“Currently, most of the teachers that I have asked

are striking, so I’m not even getting a letter, which is really stressful,” Naville said.

While teachers have only started to withhold recommendation letters recently, they were already voicing their concerns in previous years, according to Naville.

“A lot of teachers threatened to strike last year, and they are finally taking action,” Naville said. “They aren’t going to write letters of recommendation until they get paid or they get days off to do them. Most of the humanities teachers won’t be writing letters this year.”

Becky Villagran, a BIHS history teacher, explained how writing

letters of recommendation is not included in teachers’ contracts. The contracts instead describe submitting grades, attending professional development meetings, and other similar duties.

“Letters of recommendation are something that not all teachers have to do, and so it’s not part of our contract,” Villagran said.

She continued, describing how the number of colleges requiring letters of recommendation has increased in recent years, which has added to teachers’ workload.

“Some teachers, predominantly junior teachers, are being asked for

“They get one day off for every 12 letters, which is not at all enough time, especially for humanities teachers who get a lot more requests,” Naville said. “The teachers would be much more willing to do them and would put more effort into them, since they would get more time to do them … (This) would end up positively affecting the students because the overall letters would be better as well.”

Ian Segall, student school board representative, also commented on the large workload of teacher recommendations. He said that teachers can be expected to write anywhere from 10-60 letters of

“We are asking our teachers for more and more every day, we are asking them to be (on some level) mental health counselors, asking them to provide safety for our students, we are asking them to create an environment in their classrooms with very limited resources,” Segall said.

Villagran shared a solution, where teachers would be compensated for writing these

Villagran added that it is realistically possible to fund these recommendation letters, as the school board and Berkeley High School Development Group already give out grants to many different groups and clubs.

“I heard that the school board has been giving out grants for a bunch of things, so I figured, why not use some of that and give it to teachers? We don’t even get new books every year, so (funding) has got to be somewhere in there,” Naville said.

Naville explained that paying teachers for these recommendation letters would also improve teachers’ quality of daily life.

recommendation letters and given ample time to complete them.

“A lot of teachers just want a time (to write), so (the district could) pay for a substitute to teach our classes for a certain day, so we can go to a coffee shop or just stay home to write

“This would really positively impact the teachers’ mental health. It’s nicer to see your teachers happier, and these letters become part of their jobs and eat away at their lives,” explained Naville.

“If you or a parent have a frustration with what’s going on, don’t direct this at the teachers. This is not their fault, this is just a result of us not caring about our teachers,” said Segall.

WINNIE HUANG

LINDSEY RAYON-PIXTUN

“In all the curriculum, students are going to have agency to make changes that they want to change in their community.”

Erin Smith, BHS biology teacher

Martha Cain, former Longfellow Middle School teacher

“We are asking our teachers for more and more every day... we are asking them to create an environment in their class rooms with very limited resources.”

Ian Segall, student school board representative

BHS Development Group funds new CNC router for Team Berkelium

BY AVHA MEISELS staff writer

The Berkeley High School Development Group has made a six thousand dollar donation to Team Berkelium, the BHS robotics team, funding a CNC router. It will allow the robotics team elevate their creations, and allowed students to continue furthering their knowledge of engineering, according to Dirk Wright, faculty advisor to the team.

James Underwood, a senior in Academic Choice, managed the fabrication of the robots last year. He described the function of a CNC router, as well as the opportunities it opens for students.

“A CNC router is a tool that if you give it a computer file, it will cut out what’s in that file,” Underwood said. “It has allowed us to train a bunch of new students on industry standard tools that they would use if they then got a job in the

manufacturing industry.” He added.

Underwood added that the CNC router has sped up the club’s manufacturing and prototyping process considerably.

“We actually built most of our robot out of parts cut from that tool specifically,” Underwood said.

Before the donation, the robotics team experienced difficulties with their old CNC router, according to Underwood. He described how the tool was inefficient and required a few people to spend all their time working with it, which meant that it was a huge time commitment.

Additionally, many team members didn’t know how to operate the router.

According to Underwood, the new CNC router allows the team to take the time to train new students, as well as manufacture robots for competitions.

Wright elaborated on this, explaining how last year, after the team had

acquired the new CNC router, they had one of their most successful seasons.

“In the past, we felt like the technical precision of our robot wasn’t as capable, and [was] less precise than other teams we were competing against,” Wright said. “Last season, we felt that our robot was a reliable

machine, and that kind of reliability connects back to the tools you have access to.”

Underwood said that the BHS Development Group has been donating to Team Berkelium for the past three years, helping them secure the materials they need.

Jennifer Morgan, copresident of the BHS

Development Group, started working with the non-profit six years ago. She described how their main goal is to use the donations they receive to provide funding for the things that students need, but that the school or district can’t afford, such as additional chromebooks for the multilingual program

and teacher training.

“ The reason why the BHS development group succeeds is because there are so many generous donors in the community,” Morgan said. “People connected with the school, and because of that, we’re able to help these programs.”

School board: SLP assesments and parking lot construction

many aspects of their job successfully.

“(Last year) I was expected to complete over 20 assessments,” said Andrea Gallegos, an SLP for BUSD. “For myself alone, that was an additional 300 hours on top of case managing up to 48 students, providing direct services, supporting students through MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports,) and attending IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meetings.”

BY YSABEL CHU staff writer

On Wednesday, September 7, The Berkeley Unified School District School Board convened, discussing compensation for teachers writing recommendation letters, speech language pathologist (SLP) assessment limits, the 2021-22 Unaudited Actuals, and the Milvia Street Project.

During the public comment section of the meeting, several teachers spoke about the need to either financially compensate teachers for writing letters of recommendation, or grant them release days.

“Between now and November 15, I will easily spend 30 hours writing

letters of recommendation,” said Korianna Austera, a Math 3 and Advanced Math 3 teacher.

“And where will these 30 hours come from? Largely from my own unpaid time on weekends and after school.”

Austera added that, since the beginning of this school year, she has already received 32 recommendation letter requests.

Johannah Bearg, a biology teacher, also commented on how teachers lacking sufficient resources to provide all students with a letter of recommendation

creates an issue of equity.

“If I were to limit the numbers (of

RUBY LEAVERTON year, find it harder to get a letter because many teachers are maxed out. This is an equity issue.”

The board also received a presentation on the 202122 Unaudited Actuals, describing the amount the district spent in expenditures and earned in revenue last year. The presentation focused on the District’s Unrestricted General Fund, which holds the district’s operating revenue.

Director of the Facilities Division, recommended that the district operations building not be included in the parking garage, as it was revealed that the parking garage will require a “short-span” structural, which would impede the use of the parking garage as an operations building. Additionally, the operation facilities would produce added noise, air, and light pollution, which would require strong mitigation strategies.

recommendation letters) I was willing to write, it would negatively impact my students and put a burden on other teachers,” Bearg said. “Students who do not have the family support encouraging them to ask first, in June of the prior

Throughout public comment, multiple BUSD Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) expressed their support for a proposal that would limit the number of speech language assessments SLPs are expected to complete in the course of a year. With each assessment taking 10-15 hours, the SLPs discussed how the absence of a formal assessment limit prevents them from completing

According to the fiscal team, The Unrestricted General Fund’s ending balance exceeded predictions by $1.1 million. This surplus was partially attributed to the lower expenditures for employee benefits, as a result of the higher than expected amount of vacant positions and substitute teachers last year.

Towards the end of the meeting, the board approved the removal of a building for district operations from the Milvia Street Project, the planned construction of a new parking garage on Milvia Street, its purpose being to provide more parking for BHS staff.

John Casile, Executive

The planned parking garage has 220 parking spaces and rooftop tennis courts, and is projected to cost $27.5 million. Though, some board members suggested that before BUSD continues attempting to build a new parking garage, they should explore purchasing parking spaces at Center Street Parking Garage from the city, which would allow them to use the space allocated for the new parking garage for other purposes.

“I don’t want to have to go before the community and not have an answer to this very simple question: what did we do to make sure we could partner with the city before we spent x amount of money building a new parking lot? And then tell them I don’t have space to do x, y, or z for your child,”

Vice President Laura Babitt said.

Casile committed to continuing to explore the option of purchasing parking spaces from the City of Berkeley.

WINNIE HUANG

“For myself alone, (completing assessments) was an additional 300 hours on top of case managing up to 48 students, providing direct services, supporting students through MTSS, and attending IEP meetings.”

Andrea Gallegos, BUSD Speech Language Pathologist

OPINION

It ’ s time to rework Mindfulness Mondays

BY SIMONE FAULKNER staff writer

The soothing British voice behind Headspace meditations fills some Berkeley High School classrooms every Monday. The lights turn off as teachers press play and retreat to ungraded papers and unread emails, ignoring their listless students, and the resounding voice telling them to relax. At that same time, earbuds are put in, homework is taken out, heads go down and eyes close. Almost no one pays attention to the guided meditations every Mindfulness Monday, so why do we play them?

The idea behind Mindfulness Mondays is to use the short periods to

manage students’ mental health and stress levels.

The practice is sound and undoubtedly wellintentioned, but often the time is not taken advantage of and could be used more productively. It is not an issue of Mindfulness Mondays subtracting from valuable instruction, but rather they are not the only way for students to take care of their mental health. For some, having a free period to finish their homework relieves more stress than forcing them to be mindful.

The value of Mindfulness Mondays is diminished by its lack of adaptability toward individual students and could be replaced with flexible periods that give students time to manage mental health on their own terms.

Mondays are the perfect time for this practice, as classes are too short for a satisfactory amount of instruction, but are too long for just mindfulness. While the intention is often to give students a break from the monotony of lectures and classwork, mindfulness and meditation may not be the only route. Restorative justice circles are another method of mental health care some teachers utilize.

Karl Kaku, a BHS literature teacher, holds quarterly circles to check in with his classes as a whole. He sits in a circle with his students as they pass a microphone around answering questions like how they have been feeling, what they are looking forward to, what they are struggling with. While it is

still a form of mindfulness that uses classtime, it is a more engaging form of mental health care, working to simultaneously build community and lower stress levels.

While some students do take advantage of and participate in guided meditations, it would be more beneficial for students to have multiple options for how to spend their Mindfulness Mondays so that all can participate.

Having flex periods in which students can choose what’s best for them is an alternative to having just one mindfulness practice for the whole class. With flex periods, students can choose whether they want to participate in a guided meditation, have a mindful conversation, or catch up on assignments that are causing them stress.

Students should be able to choose a method of handling their mental health that is best for them. More flexibility means that students can work on assignments, draw, or talk to friends while still having the option to participate in mindful meditation.

SHINING A LIGHT DEPRESSION

SIMONE ZABARSKY

ELLIOT SCHRAG

“I would prefer to have free work time during those periods where I could finish anything I needed,” Rosie Bessette, a BHS senior, said. “Finishing my work would lower my stress level more.”

Senior culture is embedded in privilege

known to be today. Spirit Week used to include competitions for service and community activities, and each class would help to clean up the campus in a friendly competition. In recent years however, Spirit Week and Rally Day have caused safety concerns between students and staff.

Problems arise when students are peer pressured and have to choose between their academic and social life. While many students may be attending senior parties or doing drugs on campus, others have to tend to younger siblings at home or work jobs after school making it impossible to participate in the wild side of spirit events. Students involved in after-school activities like tennis or football have the ability to choose how they use this time, while students who are forced to make necessary commitments cannot.

In the past few years, students have become so out of control that the Berkeley Police Department (BPD) was been called to the school on multiple occasions. In 2014, one of the vice principals was hit in the head with a glass bottle, and in that same year, 15 students were arrested. BPD has played a vital but controversial role in BHS spirit events, with their involvement disproportionately affecting less privileged students.

Richard Conn, a teacher in Berkeley International High School, expressed his frustration with the way students are disadvantaged during spirit events. While many students have the ability to drive themselves home after school, leaving their consequences behind as they leave the gates, Conn said other students are forced to stay after school for a variety of reasons and therefore they feel the consequences of spirit

activities more than others do. Conn said that BPD has been known to “harass” the students who remain after school, and often they are ones who bear the weight of the student body’s actions.

Additionally, students are often afraid of the retribution they could receive from participating in Rally Day, and other large events. The consequences for reckless actions instill a fear of being punished for any actions school pride actions. The power that the administration holds over the student body incites equal amounts of fear and rebellion within the student population. Consequences on Rally Day can range from warnings to expulsions. Harsher punishments can often appear on a student’s permanent record. This can impact letters of recommendation as well as possible acceptance letters from colleges, with extreme cases causing them to be rescinded.

Students trying to achieve good grades in high level classes or trying to get into colleges through scholarships and aid can’t afford to, “stay in the halls past (the) passing period doing these chants,” said Harry Waterman, a senior in Academic Choice.

Waterman said that kids who have less to lose aren’t as worried about how they are viewed in the eyes of the administration. Waterman also clarified that he believes in the unifying aspects of spirit events for the senior class.

While students hope to feel a heightened sense of community through spirit events at BHS, they can’t be a unified body if some experience undeniable privilege when it comes to accessibility and outcome of spirit activities. For our school to truly be inclusive for all, we need to recognize the difference in privilege that exists, whether we intend it to or not.

When I was younger and the topic of depression came up, my mind always went straight to me having a meltdown in IKEA because my mom wouldn't buy me the ice cream I wanted. For the rest of the afternoon I would give her the petty silent treatment, kids tend to think that will make an impact on the outcome. I thought that was the lowest of lows, that my life was over, that the thunder would never stop, and I would never see the sun again. I thought that was depression.

I don’t blame my clueless seven year old self for not knowing any better, especially because mental health wasn't talked about at school. My best source of information was to ask my family, which I didn't feel very comfortable doing yet. When the time came where I did feel comfortable, they often couldn’t answer my many questions. Sometimes I wonder if I had been taught what depression really was or if I understood the extent of its impact, I would have been more empathetic towards others.

Mental illness has been taboo ever since it was recognized as important, or even recognized at all, and it is something I have always wanted to know more about. How can something so normal be considered weird and bad?

The World Health Organization states that “there is no health without mental health.” Although not everyone struggles with serious mental illnesses, everyone goes through challenges with their overall mental well being. That's what makes us human.

So I ask yet again; why is this taboo?

I believe the answer to this question is fear. Fear is the basis for a lot of unspoken about global social issues. People are scared that letting others break down their walls and letting themselves be vulnerable will result in judgment. However, the people who judge mental health are lying to themselves because they have had those similar feelings, whether they like it or not. It's a toxic, endless cycle.

In 2020 the National Institute of Mental Health reported that 17 percent of U.S. adolescents ages 12-17 have had at least one major depressive episode. That's 4.1 million teens. Just because something is taboo doesn't mean people aren't going through it.

People and teens who struggle with depression may find it hard to talk about it because of this box we have put around it. Talking about something is a good strategy to start understanding the emotions you are having and ways to cope as best as you can. Opening up to the people we trust is a way to help depression. This taboo just makes helping struggling teens even more difficult. The first step to offering a helping hand to people who have depression, is eliminating this unhealthy lie we have created around the idea of being vulnerable.

If there was more talk around depression and the seriousness of it, would it still be taboo?

How can BHS heal from collective trauma?

We found out at 5:35 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1. Ten days after our former classmate threatened to commit a crime which was intended to result in “death or great bodily injury,” according to the Berkeley Police Department. One summer break later, and Berkeley High School is learning to cope with the traumatic experiences of the attack which was supposed to happen this year. But without the proper acknowledgement by the administration, the dust has yet to settle.

In recent years, BHS has been through event after event that rocked the foundation of our school, leaving many students feeling defeated. It is in times like these when we must be the most proactive and engaged in our community, in order to combat the draining effects of isolation and

depression. BHS is in desperate need of resources, the baseline of which needs to be based in education on why these events occur and how we can prevent them from happening.

While classrooms already frequently discuss the right to bear arms granted by the Second Amendment, it’s important to recognize that events like this are a product of not only a physical component, but a psychological component as well. The history of the Bill of Rights and the possession of firearms remains at the forefront of thought, as it is able to be backed up by concrete information that students can analyze academically. Only in recent years, however, have we begun to thoroughly recognize and research the state of psychology, specifically in young people. The term “mental health” has become a one-size-fits-all explanation and a crutch to be used when we don’t wish to delve into the broken down science, despite said science being the leading factor that will push the needle forward in prevention of causing harm.

Let’s get specific: what mental health resources do we need? BHS students need to explore, deeply and genuinely, what mental health is. What are the effects of depression and anxiety? What aspects of life affect our mood, thoughts, and feelings? What are the signs we need to look for in our peers to know if they need help?

We need to make space for these questions to be answered and discussed in classrooms, assemblies, and more, so that we know the steps necessary to take to help ourselves and our peers.

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While it’s indisputably unfair to ask young people to envision and strategize around a threat to their safety, running from addressing the problem is not an option. We must acknowledge that events like this are a very real possibility anywhere, even here.

Without the reported threat police received from an anonymous student, BHS may have had to face the reality of joining the group of grieving communities such as Uvalde, Newton, and Parkland that suffered at the hands of gun violence in their schools recently. Students must make sure to adopt this attitude in their lives and abandon any pre-existing reservation around a subject that may be intimidating due to the level of intimacy.

Every student must encourage open discussion that will unite our community and include everyone in conversation. We must call upon ourselves to become familiar with topics that can be extremely difficult to confront, no matter how hard. We need to work on changing the culture around mental health in order to catch it before individuals become too far gone.

Of course, it’s important to recognize that even with these vital resources, it’s very unlikely that we’ll reach an understanding to the level we desire. But we already have enough of an understanding to recognize the urgency of mental health. There is no time to be passive. Our community must learn to be proactive, diving head first into the circumstances we face without hesitation. We must learn to see the unseen.

No fix-all solution: Every effort counts against climate change

BY SHANZA SYED staff writer

Everyone in the Bay Area on September 9, 2020 remembers waking up to an apocalyptic orange sky. The sky resembled a great big ball of fire, but the sentiment was dark and ominous. That day we caught a glimpse of the world’s bleak future if nothing is done to stop climate change. Now, two years later, fire season has become such a regular part of our lives that we often forget that having entire forests burning down is anything but normal.

In such a situation, it can be easy to feel powerless, especially when forest fires are caused by an issue as vast as climate change. But we can’t lose hope. And most importantly, we can’t lose momentum. Berkeley High School students are protesting climate change and advocating for policy change within the district to increase climate education and reduce Berkeley’s carbon footprint. The work

is far from over.

Just last year, the Berkeley Unified School District passed a Climate Literacy Resolution, which was written by a BHS teacher, Aryn Faur, and Ella Suring, a senior at BHS. It mandates that all students learn about the threat climate change poses to the future, as well as how to contribute to solving the problem. This is a big step for the district, because being informed about an issue is what allows solutions to take shape.

Another initiative is being spearheaded by middle school students and Oxford Elementary teacher Jacqueline Omania in partnership with The Center for Environmental Health. Their aim is to get rid of disposable silverware in school lunches by investing in reusable metal utensils.

Then sixth grader, Sam Felix Domingo, stated that “(If) you take 3 million tons of plastic, only 8.7 percent of that is actually recycled. That's a very small fraction.”

He added that “hundreds of health threatening

chemicals are found in all types of disposable foodware.” After hearing what students like Domingo had to say regarding the pollution that disposable silverware causes, as well as the danger of eating in PFAS coated silverware, the school board was moved to action.

From national and state legislation to youth-led change locally, every effort counts. Events such as wildfires are a symptom of climate change, and there is no way to fix the symptom without getting rid of the cause. The BHS community can start with local advocacy for small actions that the district and the city can take, such as educating the younger generation about the climate crisis and reducing the use of singleuse silverware and plastic, which are the key to solving the climate crisis.

There isn’t a magical fix-all solution, it is the culmination of efforts to mitigate climate change that will create a lasting impact and save our planet.

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The gendered experience of social media

pictures. While they may still experience physical pressure, the objectification between boys and girls is not comparable. When we look at the objective of social media and its design, we must consider its relation to pre-existing gender expectations, and how harmful culture may be perpetuated on different social media platforms.

A PLANTER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY

TOBI HAIMS

BY SERENNA REDWOOD staff writer

Social media use largely impacts the mental health of today’s teens and is commonly blamed for a big part of their struggles with mental health. It has deep implications on people’s self-perception, which often leads to significant issues. While this is very widely discussed, something that should be talked about more is the difference in how girls and boys interact with and experience social media. Gender generally affects the lens through which people see themselves, and this is even further exacerbated by the use of social media.

One of the biggest issues

with social media is the culture of having to look perfect and present only your best, most edited self.

On Instagram, influencers and people with large followings curate their pictures to show themselves in a certain light. Though this is present throughout all parts of social media, it is most widely felt regarding body dysmorphia, which greatly impacts young girls. People on social media who identify as female and have large followings tend to post only posed and specifically angled photos that make them look unrealistically pretty. Girls viewing this content believe it to be the standard they should hold themselves to, and often aspire to look like

J HORSLEY

these impossible images. In this way, social media is a great factor in body image issues and eating disorders.

On top of this, girls with large followings receive huge amounts of hate regarding their bodies no matter what they look like and constantly see comments about the way they look. This reduces girls to their appearance and contributes to feelings of self hate. Also, the culture around these standards pushes girls to value their appearance over everything, while seeing it as determining of worth.

Boys interact with social media differently in that there isn’t the same level of expectation to post one’s body through perfectly staged revealing

Social media and what takes place on it has an impact on your real life and what you feel like at school and in your daily life. Let’s not downplay the weight of negative effects of social media. Social media is a constant thought for most female-identifying students at BHS.

Ultimately, how we use social media and how much we use it is every individual’s personal decision, but we cannot deny the innate side effects of feeding into the toxicity of a culture based in the degradation of a specific group. Women have historically been reduced to mere objects that are meant to be looked at and not seen. The philosophy surrounding social media platforms, the purpose of which are to highlight appearance, will inherently be fueled by that ideology. The extensive impact of social media must be recognized.

Mask stigma: A new perspective at BHS

BY PHILIPPA ZLATEV staff writer

Wear this or wear that, join this club or the other? Everyday we get presented with choices influenced by peer or social pressure. The hot new topic of the year: should we continue to be as cautious about masks as we were last school year?

Wearing masks is currently a controversial topic. And so are the reasons for choosing to wear or remove them. Berkeley High School students shouldn’t feel pressured to wear masks as much as last year unless it is a personal choice.

For the majority of last year, students at BHS wore their masks because of the Berkeley Unified School District requirement. Most students were in the process of getting their COVID-19 vaccines and with new variants constantly spreading, many students preferred to wear their masks. Even when the requirement was lifted in the second semester, most students chose to keep them on in at least a few classrooms.

This year, only a handful of students are wearing masks in each class and

many students don’t even carry masks with them. The majority of students are vaccinated and are tested regularly due to school sports and COVID-19 tests provided by the school.

With case numbers down and a smaller fear factor regarding COVID-19, students are able to feel safe enough not wear masks.

However, that is not the case with all students and some still feel unsafe or are at risk. These people can ,and should, wear masks, as it’s what will make them feel best. Masking should be a personal choice, free of pressure.

Despite this, there is an apparent standard this year of not wearing a mask, considering the majority of students don’t. This can cause students who prefer to be masked to take them off in order to not be judged and to feel the satisfaction of fitting in with their classmates and friends. It can be intimidating to stand out which might not feel worth it. Even teachers are indirectly discouraging mask wearing by no longer having a box of masks in class for students to easily access, which further promotes the idea of a no mask culture at BHS.

As long as no students are forced to feel the pressure of masking or not masking, then the environment that BHS cultivates is acceptable. Masks are no longer required, so it is up to each individual student to make their decision. From a medical standpoint, the risk of getting COVID-19 in Berkeley is significantly lower than last year and personal preference is the

deciding factor.

“I don’t think wearing masks should be quite as big of a concern this year as it was last since the corona situation seems to have stabilized, (though) the people who feel at risk or unsafe should continue to mask,” said Olivier Laurent, a BHS junior. “But for the rest, the mask culture currently at Berkeley High seems reasonable.”

Apples are baked into American culture like pie. The easily-available fruit is exceptionally mainstream, with 2,500 varieties grown in the U.S. alone. However, the story of any Gravenstein or Gala is a little more interesting than what would be expected from such a humble fruit.

Many plants, including apples, produce seeds, which are the product of sexual reproduction. I know, plants can’t have sex! But, they can get pollinated. Take the example of a bumblebee (the pollinator) flying around an apple tree (the plant). The bumblebee disperses pollen from flower to flower as it feeds on nectar. When pollen from one apple blossom gets into the blossom of another apple tree, it fertilizes the ovules (eggs) and creates seeds. The important thing is that the DNA from both pea plants become mixed together, creating new DNA and incorporating traits from both plants.

Apples are an example of “extreme heterozygotes”; their seeds display impressive genetic variability. If you were to remove seeds from a Honeycrisp, plant them and then wait two to eight years for the new trees to start producing fruit, you would not wind up with an abundance of Honeycrisps. These new apple trees would produce fruit that barely, if at all, resembles their parent’s fruit. The apples would most likely be small and inedible, receiving the name “spitters” because they are so bitter.

Many of the first apple orchards in the U.S. were started from seed, but by the pure chance of genetic variability, let’s say one tree produces really tasty fruit, and the orchard owner wants to reproduce this wonderful tree. Sadly, the seeds from these apples will grow into trees bearing spitters. But don’t fret, this tree can be cloned using a process called grafting.

At the time, apples were not eaten raw, they were used to make cider. Hard cider was an incredibly popular beverage at the time, given it was safer to drink than water; the fermentation process kills harmful bacteria.

Grafting is when a cutting from a chosen tree is wedged into a rooted stem of another similar tree. If done correctly, the two stems will meld together and continue to grow as one plant. Grafting is how most fruit trees, including peaches, cherries, and pears, are propagated. When plants produce seeds (through sexual reproduction), the species becomes increasing genetically diversity. Grafting (asexual reproduction) is how humans create genetic copies of one desirable plant. This means that every Honeycrisp apple is a genetic clone originating from a single tree.

Next time you are walking down the street and see an apple tree, or you are in the grocery store and you pick out the most lovely Granny Smith, I hope you remember one thing: even though that apple is a clone, love was put into it. Love is what is baked into every apple pie and churned into every batch of applesauce. Let love be what you carry throughout the world. The world sure loves apples, and the world sure needs love.

The crushing pressure of academics on high school relationships

BY CHARLIE TAMAGNO staff writer

As students return from summer break, they face an onslaught of harder classes and excess work. High school is known to be challenging with students often taking on course loads of Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) classes. On top of this, teens feel pressured to cultivate a stellar list of extracurricular activities, leaving very little time left over for anything else.

These unattainable standards create an environment where students are not only permanently stressed, but they also don’t have the time for a life outside of school. The pressure to have high performance in both academics and extracurriculars at Berkeley High School detracts from students’ experiences regarding romantic relationships and dating in high school.

Academic pressure can form in a few different ways. Challenging AP or IB classes create competitive environments where students want to be on top. Parents often encourage their students to take these hard classes and expect the same grades that would come

from a regular-paced class. On top of the difficult content, workload expectations are often drastically different, with students sometimes having up to three or four hours of collective homework a night.

Although there are options to take easier classes and a lot of people jump on these opportunities to take school at a calmer pace, the higher academic expectations are felt by every student. High achieving peers exacerbates the already present stress.

Despite the fact that most students deeply feel the pressure to attain those soughtafter high grades, some students explain that they feel most of their pressure coming from after-school extracurriculars. With good grades just not making the cut for prestigious colleges anymore, students hope to create well-rounded resumes that will impress these exclusive institutions.

Magdalena Johnson, a BHS junior, said, “I definitely feel a lot of pressure, but it’s more from my extracurriculars. With them, I’m always busy after school and I just don’t have the time to date.”

the time it takes to have a significant other, as very little free time can make managing a dating life near impossible. With clubs, jobs, and sports, people’s schedules can already be overfilled even without homework.

“Academic pressure has affected me in that my grades definitely take a priority over my dating life,” said Juliet Mortier, a student who participates in many organizations at BHS. “I participate in extracurriculars because it creates more balance in how I spend my time … it does, however, create some stress with the amount of time I have.”

This stress makes students much more hesitant to enter into serious relationships, which take up a lot of time and energy. Dating requires one to focus all of their attention on a single person, which teens can’t do when they’re already dedicating their attention to school, extracurriculars, and other responsibilities. Romantic relationships can be rewarding for young people to explore before adulthood, but without available emotional and mental space, this commitment becomes impossible.

Dating requires one to focus all of their attention on a single person, which teens can’t do when they’re already dedicating their attention to ... other responsibilities.

She participates in rowing, practicing five days a week.

Adding homework on top, Johnson doesn’t have

The question, “Does academic pressure at BHS interfere with dating?” tends to have one answer: yes. The pressure is there, and we all feel it as we work towards a balance between school and life. Yet again, high school students find themselves sacrificing their youth for their futures, a trade that should never be on the table. More realistic expectations must be set to stop academic pressure from reaching into all aspects of student life.

“Academic pressure has affected me in that my grades definitely take a priority over my dating life .”

Juliet Mortier BHS student

FEATURES

BHS literary magazines reignite creativity through writing

BY AELIA GYGER staff writer

The Redwood Literary and The Foundress, both student-made magazines at Berkeley High School, are starting up again this new school year. The Foundress is a BHS class, and publishes regularly on their website, and distributes hard copy editions at the end of the school year.

Redwood Literary Magazine, a club at BHS, writes short stories and poetry and publishes every quarter. It is student run, with Auden Svoboda serving as the magazine's editor in chief.

“(Redwood) is super fun,” said Claudia Johnson, a senior who joined Redwood as a freshman and joined the Foundress class this year. “(At Redwood) we get to read each other's writing, you get a lot of feedback

on everything that you do. (We) publish pretty often, so you get lots of chances to write.”

According to Johnson, writing for the BHS magazines improves writing skills. She said, “It helps because you get to improve your editing skills for yourself and know how to give constructive feedback to yours as well.”

Ms. Faur, a teacher at BHS, teaches literary magazine, English for English language newcomers, and is the creator of the literacy magazine class.

Faur explained that she created the course three years ago. Any teacher can decide to create an elective if they feel the desire to do so. The job of the teacher is then to create a curriculum, and get it approved by the school district. The literary magazine class serves both as an elective, and a way to get credit for English

class. It is in this class that students create and publish the BHS literary magazine, The Foundress.

“I like (The Foundress) a lot. We're doing a lot of writing, which I feel like I don't do very much in English classes,” said Otto Harris, a senior in Academic Choice, who is taking the class this year.

The Foundress focuses heavily on the craft of fiction, short story and flash fiction at the beginning of the school year. Until mid year, where the class focuses more with creative nonfiction and poetry.

“We develop that body of work over the course of the year, we assemble the website, and then we do one hardcopy per year,” said Faur. “That hardcopy gets distributed for free amongst students … we get like a couple 100

copies of it and we sort of spread it around that way.”

The Foundress hardcopy is the official magazine with at least one story submitted from each writer in the class. The magazine is also filled with art and photography. “We have an art department and they work on both creating art for the magazine

submissions and managing artists from photography, video production. All of the art classes are encouraged to submit,” said Faur.

Sol De Ugarte, a senior in AC, has been on the Redwood Literary magazine since their freshman year, and has now been promoted to be an editor, where they edit other peoples stories as well as write their own

“We kind of have like a peer editing situation,” said De Ugarte “So like, everybody edits each other's work, but the editors are the first ones to like, do broader comments ... the editors are like a starting point.”

The mission of both of these BHS Magazines are to help students find their creative voices and be able to share it with people. Creative

writing, short stories, and poetry are arts of writing that most students who have regular English classes don’t do as often as non fiction.

“We just don't write enough creative writing in school,” said Faur.

People who are not taking the Foundress class are also invited to submit a piece of writing to the magazine's website. Students have the opportunity to submit as many times as they want.

“(The Foundress class) is a writing intensive, serious English class. It's not like a workshop where people just come in and hang out and do whatever they want. It's actually a very structured class, and sometimes students aren't prepared for that,” said Faur. “A lot of students who don't think they're writers at first really discover a passion from being committed to their own creative work," she said.

‘Eager and ready’: CCC brings on new staff and student support

BY SASKIA FREEDBURG staff writer

Erika Pistoni

Pistoni is the admin assistant in the College and Career Center (CCC) this year, a job filled by Mary Jacobs for many years prior.

“I book the appointments with the college representatives, manage

their meetings with students, in person or online,” Pistoni said. She communicates with seniors and parents, and will begin talking to juniors this spring.

This is her first year working in this position at the CCC, but Pistoni has been working in the district since 2020, before COVID-19 lockdowns.

“I took a test to enter the

district … and they hired me as a sub on Friday, and on Monday we were on lockdown,” Pistoni said.

“That weekend I was so happy, like ‘Yay! I've been hired, I got some work,’ And then no one worked for two years.”

As school reopened, she worked in various positions such as substitute teaching and as the student record

assistant, maintaining academic records. When the admin assistant position became available, she was happy to take it.

I really enjoy being with students, so I really pushed to be here,” Pistoni said. She hopes to carry on the tradition and add smiling faces to the photo wall Jacobs left up at her old desk.

Sakima Williams

For Williams, a new CCC counselor, “(the) goal is to be a part of the new legacy of Berkeley (High) … and the amazing talent that's about to come out of here." Williams also teaches two classes at BHS: Pop Culture: Inventing Hip Hop, and Audio Recording and Engineering.

In the CCC, Williams helps students find jobs and internships. He has a list up on the center’s wall with

potential jobs available to teens in Berkeley. In his role, Williams emails students about opportunities for jobs and internships.

“(I) also bring industry into the school to do pop ups and signups, for everything from auto mechanics to bioengineering ... both within the city of Berkeley as well as the Greater Bay Area,” Williams said.

Previously, Williams worked in audio recording and music production.

He also worked as a counselor for alcohol and drug prevention, and as an advocate for African American male achievement.

“I've been in youth development for the last 25 years,” Williams said. “I dodged bullets in Rodeo at the refinery in the housing projects, all the way to playing guitar for kids … in an after school program.”

Williams struggled as a student with learning

Maya Martinez Martinez is the new College Adviser Fellow in the CCC.

I don't have a whole repertoire of being a counselor, but I'm still eager and ready to get things going,” Martinez said. Working with the Destination College Advising Corps and the Early Academic Outreach Program (DCAC EAOP), she assists low income,

disabilities, and the experience of “educational trauma” gave him “insight into what young people go through.” As a teacher, he understands the purpose of his work at BHS is to be a part of the school’s legacy.

“Now is the time that I step back and facilitate the opportunity for young people to do it themselves,” Williams said. “Because let's face it, music, revolution, change, everything comes from y’all, not us."

first generation, and underrepresented students with support to reach college goals.

Martinez supports about 100 students with “intensive advising,” making sure they meet requirements and preparing them for the college process.

“I remember when I was about to go to college I was like, ‘Out of sight, out of mind,’” Martinez said. “We want to familiarize people

with (the college process) … so that way it's not like a scary monster under the bed.”

Martinez is a graduate from UC Davis, interested in education. At Davis, Martinez was a teacher’s assistant and planned to become a teacher. That door is still open; College Adviser Fellows in the DCAC EAOP program stay for a few years.

Martinez has big goals to equip her students with as

much expertise as possible.

“I would love to see a lot of people … not only being enrolled but actually getting some fruit from (the program),” said Martinez. “Because let's be real, college can affect you for the rest of your life. I want to inspire kids, and make sure that y'all are equipped in the best way possible.”

To learn more about the program visit

@EAOPDCACBHS.

Erika Pistoni has replaced Mary Jacobs in the CCC.

Sakima Williams helps students find jobs and internships in the CCC.

Maya Martinez is an 'intensive advisor' for about 100 BHS students.

JAHAN INGRAHAM

J HORSLEY

New BHS clubs: Cultivating contemporary student discussions

Girls Who Lift

to lose weight and become skinny,” Thomas said.

BY MATEO TSAI staff writer

Period Education Club

Empty vending machines and outdated period products are just some of the obstacles people with periods face at Berkeley High School. Stigmas surrounding periods and a lack of information about them can also make some people’s first periods a stressful experience. The Period Education Club, founded and run by Elodie Chinn and Edith Galvagna, seeks to create a space for conversations about periods and works to improve accessibility of menstrual products in Berkeley.

Chinn was motivated to start the club after multiple experiences during the last

school year where their teachers refused to give them permission to leave the classroom while they were on their period. “It was after the first 10 minutes of class and nobody was out. … So I said, ‘I'm on my period, it's really an emergency. I have to go to the bathroom, and clean myself up,’ and (my teacher) was being very reluctant,” Chinn said.

Chinn and Galvagna plan to spend the first few months of the club sharing resources and personal stories, as well as talking about how to destigmatize periods. Later in the year, they would like to present in elementary and middle school classrooms as well as fundraise to donate period products to people in need.

Period Education Club meets Thursdays at lunch in H103.

Girls Who Lift aims to build a tightly knit community for people who don’t feel comfortable in the gym. The club, which is led by Nevaeh Angel, Angelina Thomas, and Rosie Tomin, got its start with an Instagram post. “I didn't think anybody else would want to help me start the club,” Thomas said. “But I posted something on my Instagram story about gym … something, and then Nevaeh, she replied to me, and she was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I've been wanting to start a girl's weightlifting club!’ ”

The club also hopes to empower people to lift to improve their mental health and fitness, as opposed to solely for their appearance or ego. “I want to see Berkeley High women and girls start to look at weightlifting as more of a sport or a way to build strength instead of how I started, which was

The club meets Mondays during lunch, in C206. There, they teach beginners the fundamentals of lifting and help them feel confident in the weightroom. Later in the year, the club’s leaders plan to use the weightroom at BHS to work on form, and in collaboration with their sister club, Female Athletes Strength and Conditioning.

In the end, the club hopes to offer a space for people to lift and talk about lifting away from the maledominated energy often present in the gym. “I hate to see that because I think it also scares people — women — (from) joining the weightlifting community because they're afraid to be judged,” Tomin said. “It's not a competition and I think that a lot of people have made it this, ‘Oh, I can lift heavier than you,’ and I think that it's a personal journey and it's about how it impacts you.”

Outer Space Club

On the campus green, where the club fair was hosted on September 8, the Outer Space Club literally stood out, with their 10 foot tall omnidirectional radio receiver standing higher than any other object there. This year’s club president Quincy Paulos and vice president Quinn Schwartzburg are shooting for the stars — or at least, looking at them.

Outer Space Club, which meets Wednesdays at lunch in G203, is a club for all things astronomy, rocket science, and spacerelated. Aiden Blair, the project coordinator for Physics Club, was intrigued by the antenna at the club fair, which was receiving an image from a satellite broadcasting back to Earth.

“When I followed up, (it turned out that) this whole project had been created in two weeks,” Blair said. “So I

was really, really, impressed by what the Outer Space Club had done before it even really became a club and I wanted to put my skills into making some more cool projects.” Blair also knew Paulos, which further contributed to their decision to join the club.

Each club meeting begins with a short bulletin containing news about space, followed by time for free discussion about the topic. Paulos and Schwartzburg also plan to have meetings outside of school, where they would visit an observatory or work on a long-term project in addition to weekly meetings.

“Maybe we could launch a weather balloon that we could track throughout the US, or just design model rockets,” Schwartzburg said. “It's really up for discussion, but I hope that I can incorporate some sort of more intensive program like that.”

Title IX office boasts new plans to better address ongoing BHS student concerns

BY PEARL GAUTHIER staff writer

Berkeley High School’s Title IX office has been host to a myriad of controversies spanning the past few years. Largely due to near constant staff turnover, a complex reporting process, and general lack of support for students that need its assistance, Berkeley Unified School District has faced student concerns, and is making a conscious effort to improve its infrastructure.

So how will the Title IX office be different this year, and how will it strive to serve the students?

A big development comes in the form of hiring new staff members. Jasmina Viteskic, who was hired last year, is BUSD’s new Title IX Coordinator and Compliance Officer. On top of that, the district is looking to hire a new Title IX Investigator, as well as fill a newly developed position — Title IX Student Support Counselor.

BHS teacher Genevieve

Mage developed the position of Student Support Counselor and had it approved by Berkeley Schools Excellence Program (BSEP) last year, to address a lack of emotional support for students going through the trying Title IX reporting process. When students report instances of Title IX violations like sexual assault and harassment, many have found the filing process daunting and confusing. This counselor will work closely with students to guide and advise them through the process, as

fruition,” said Viteskic.

Additionally, the Title IX office is hoping to gain more student feedback, by meeting with the student Sexual Harassment Advisory Committee (SHAC), a collection of leaders of BHS student clubs working on Title IX focused issues.

“I think it's really important to have a clear connection between Title IX and the student body,” said senior Elise Nudel, SHAC member and president of the BHS Stop Harassing club. She explained that SHAC aims to provide that connection.

experiencing it, because they don’t have information and resources to know what they’re going through.”

Nudel also further emphasized the need for more accessible information about Title IX for students, another major focus for SHAC this year.

well as advocate for their emotional and physical well-being.

“To provide that mental health component was very important for me, and I was very happy when Miss Mage’s idea came to

SHAC will help recruit the next consent educator, who will conduct consent education presentations for the student body. They are also focused on further educating the student population about how to file reports and recognize instances of sexual harassment.

“Sexual harassment is not talked about a lot,” Nudel said. “So many people experience it, but some don’t even know they are

Viteskic also noticed that students felt a disconnect from the Title IX office, because there weren't enough Title IX staff members on campus. Because of this, she has decided to establish her own BHS office hours on Tuesdays and Fridays. “I really want to make my presence known, and be accessible to students,” she said.

Senior Ava Murakami, who serves as the commissioner of Women’s Rights and Equity at BHS, has dedicated herself to ensuring that sexual harassment and assault survivors find support through Title IX this year. She explained that she personally found the reporting process to be confusing and challenging, so she has a desire to educate students to her best ability.

Murakami detailed plans for a Title IX launch day, a walkout, informational posters, and an option to submit suggestions for alterations to the program.

“I want to amplify survivors' wishes and hear their stories, because it's a really painful process to go through, and I know that,” Murakami said. She emphasized the importance of students and faculty continuing to hold the

administration accountable.

Additionally, at the beginning of the year, BHS held a meeting with the administrative team to inform staff of protocol surrounding student reports of sexual harassment and violence.

“I think that going into the school year, we have a very good team that has been trained to address (Title IX issues),” Viteskic said.

Quincy Paulos presents to the Outer Space Club.

MADIBA NATHAN

Club members attend Period Education Club meeting.

Founders of Girls Who Lift present to members. MADIBA NATHAN

NAVEEN SANKA

“I really want to make my presence known, and be accessible to students.”

Jasmina Viteskic, BHS Title IX coordinator

Traditional school drawbacks highlighted in transfers to BIS

motivation and time management skills, then it’s a really good option,” said Louise Fitzsimmons, a senior in BIS.

Mays, who leads a support group for incoming BIS families, which she created earlier this year, said “... This year, I’ve seen a big influx of parents very interested in (BIS).”

Holly Nelson, a BIS Spanish and PE teacher, has also noticed an increase in the awareness of students and families about the BIS program. This has incresed since the COVID-19 pandemic began. “... Many students and families … are looking into alternatives to returning to classrooms full of people. Learning in a one-on-one or small group environment is much more appealing to students now,” Nelson wrote in an email to the Jacket.

Students in BIS take three classes per quarter, completing 10 hours of homework per class every week. Over the COVID-19 pandemic,

students not in BIS had a similar schedule, with three online classes per day cycling throughout the week.

“I really liked having three classes at a time,” said Logan Thompson, a junior who transferred to BIS this school year. “I feel like distance

imagine if you’re an adult, and you have six different bosses every hour and 30 different coworkers?” Mays said. “That’s essentially what high school is. That is a great social structure for many people, but it’s not for everybody.”

Students often also make the transition to BIS because of the freedom it gives them to play sports, have jobs, and pursue their passions.

learning proved (to me) that (BIS) could work.”

The pandemic was also a significant factor for Fitzsimmons, who transferred to BIS last school year. “I decided to (switch to BIS) because I felt so drained at the end of every school day, and especially coming out of quarantine, I realized… the way school was structured was (not) benefiting me,” Fitzsimmons said.

The burnout that students can experience in a traditional six hour school day is no surprise to Mays. “Can you

Calder Fritz, a senior in AC, previously transferred to BIS in order to “pursue personal interests in more specific topics… (and have) more flexibility in my schedule. I’m a rower, so it’s really time consuming, and being able to structure my classes around that … has been really helpful.”

For Thompson, BIS frees him to do his work at his own pace.

“A lot of time at school was wasted (for me), I would get all my work done and then I would just be sitting in school for the rest of the day. In BIS, I can get all my work done a lot faster and have a lot of time to do stuff I want to do, like (train for) the mountain

biking team…and ride my bike,” Thompson said.

The atmosphere at BIS mirrors that of higher education, where students complete three classes both in the fall and the spring.“It’s quality training for college…(students in BIS) are very prepared, and it is a smooth transition when they get to the college,” said Mays.

The increasing number of transfers to BIS since the pandemic has raised questions about if BHS needs to change its current

school environment to better suit students.

“Being able to learn remotely showed me that…

8:30 to 3:30,” Fritz said. To Fritz, if BHS allowed for more flexibility in their schedule and curriculum, all BHS students could feel more engaged in their education.

you didn’t have to follow the standard process of six periods a day going to school from

To improve students’ experiences, BHS and Berkeley Unified School District can learn from the structure of BIS, Mays said. “(We) have a program for which (flexibility and student driven curriculum) is the structure, and it is working,” Mays said. “It’s not something that can’t be done.”

‘A coming of age’: Students balance driving and high school

BY JULIA BRIMMER staff writer

For many teenagers, getting a driver’s license is viewed as a significant step in becoming an adult. It is common to say that with this privilege comes great responsibility, but how can teens go about getting that responsibility in the first place?

“I wanted to start driving mainly so that I could hang out with friends whenever I wanted to without the struggle of waiting on my parents to drive me,” said Eitan Treiger, a Berkeley High School sophomore with his driver’s license. Another student, Elie Kansa, said that for her, driving is “definitely about freedom.” BHS senior, Max Kaneko, added that being able to drive could be helpful when commuting to college.

Some students that meet the age requirement for driving are not as interested in getting behind the wheel. Ian Miike, a BHS junior, doesn’t drive because “cars contribute to global warming and that’s bad.” In terms of commuting, Miike intends to stick with his bike, saying that he is more likely to get his driver’s license in his twenties.

The high crash rates among teenagers add to the necessity of responsible and committed driving students. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated

that 1,885 young drivers (ages 15-20) died in car accidents in 2020. This was a 17 percent increase from 1,616 in 2019.

Miike said he thinks that a lack of adult supervision contributes to driving-related teen deaths. “Most people probably don’t care if their kid goes out for a drive or they are unaware that the kid took their car keys and drove off somewhere,” explained Miike.

There are multiple steps to getting a driver’s license as a minor. Requirements can entail dozens of hours of driving practice and education. Other time commitments could include taking written and behind-the-wheel exams.

“I had an appointment, so we didn’t have to wait in that super long line at the (DMV) entrance … It was pretty frustrating, and people weren’t very nice.” Kansa said, recounting her first experience at the DMV. “It was crowded, diverse, loud, it was mad crazy,” Kaneko said. “I didn’t like it.”

Students getting their licenses also need to ensure that they can balance their schoolwork with learning to drive. Treiger said that he completed the process over the summer so he wouldn’t have to balance it with school.

Driving was less of a

priority than schoolwork for Kansa. Only after finishing

do it and didn’t really have that much schoolwork,” Kaneko said, showing that the time necessary to balance driving and school varies from student to student.

homework would she work on driver’s ed.

“I just had the free time to

Over 20 years ago, BHS offered its own driver’s education. However, schools across the country have been moving away from teaching driver’s ed, due partly to budget cuts and an increased focus on collegeentrance requirements.

Treiger said that driver’s ed should be completed outside of school, to show students’ commitment to the task. “If it were offered in school, kids would take it and not pay attention, only endangering others if they do pass and get their license,” Treiger explained. However, he added that offering driver’s ed as a zero or seventh period, or as a club, could be a good replacement.

Kaneko said that driver’s education classes offered during school could be

beneficial for students. He said, “Berkeley High should do that because (learning to drive is) kind of part of being a teenager.”

Kansa added that having a driver’s ed course could provide more accessible opportunities for students otherwise lacking in resources to practice.

“I made the mistake of waiting because I was too lazy,” Kaneko said. “But I say get (a license) as quick as you can. And make sure you study a lot. Make it a high priority.”

Students can take their driving tests at the Department of Motor Vehicles, located in Oakland.

LUCIA RADILLO

“(High school) is a great social structure for many people, but it’s not for everybody.”

Tamara Mays, BHS parent

“Being able to learn remotely showed me that… you didn’t have to follow the standard process of six periods a day... ”

Calder Fritz, BHS student

“I wanted to start driving mainly so that I could hang out with friends whenever I wanted to...”

Eitan Treiger, BHS student

ENTERTAINMENT

AVOIDING A FASHION FAUX PAS

MADDY KELLY

924 Gilman club rocks across generations

BY LUCY GRIFFITH staff writer

924 Gilman is an allages club that has been open for 35 years and is a generational staple for the Berkeley community. The decades of stickers in the bathrooms and street art covering the walls recall the voices of past performers and attendees. Bands like Green Day and Operation Ivy, who were established in Berkeley’s backyard, created Gilman’s original focal point

of punk music and culture. Now, the venue is open to a variety of genres.

Since its conception, Gilman has never had an individual owner. The club is managed by members who meet monthly to solve issues and make decisions.

The owners prioritize making Gilman a safe space, as can be seen in a sign listing the beliefs they chose democratically, such as “no homophobia” and “no racism.”

The club’s mission was to create a space where people

of all backgrounds could perform and appreciate music. Georgia Fishman, a BHS senior who performs and attends Gilman, recognized that this fosters a more diverse environment.

“You see people all different styles, wearing whatever the hell they want,” she said.

Alex Botkin, Gilman’s current organizer, observed two particular groups among the audience. He said, “We have a lot of nostalgic people, in their mid fifties and sixties being one.”

it welcomes just about everybody,” she said.

These performances are an opportunity for students to support musicians their own age, as well as connect with each other.

Everyone can attend, regardless of their financial situation. Tickets are ten dollars, and if you can’t pay that fee then you can volunteer. Volunteers can see shows for free, the only requirement being that they show up an hour early.

Entering Berkeley High School can be overwhelming, to say the least. As a freshman, I can attest to this. You are bombarded with new information almost every day. Freshman Friday (don’t get egged), school sports (you didn’t know about tryouts?), and something that feels obvious: the school fashion. It almost feels like the more unconventional, the more confidence you must have. So, as a freshman trying to ‘be original’, fashion seems like the easiest way to accomplish this form of authenticity, but is it?

Now, people say the late ’90s to early 2000s were the pinnacle of high fashion and that those trends are making a comeback (think low rise, Y2K, and oversized band t-shirts.)

On the other side of that argument though, there’s the skeptic, the one reminding us that while some styles may be coming back, many are better left in history (capris, pocketless jeans, etc.) Additionally, some argue that due to the growing popularity of body neutrality and positivity movements, the entertainment industry’s toxicity regarding body image was too severe to let these trends truly come back.

But looking around BHS, one may argue that these are back, and here to stay. Low rise and cargo pants are a staple and graphic baby tees have almost become commonplace, and even less popular, waist chains do occasionally make appearances.

So, you might be wondering, how is one supposed to make fashion-forward choices at BHS? And the answer to that is don’t do the exact same thing. It’s easy to forget what made these 2000s trends so popular, they were different. So, yes, try those bootleg jeans but maybe try a tube top (those are allegedly coming back after all), maybe pair that mini skirt and ripped tights with a blazer and a body chain. Androgynous looks are also slowly becoming more popular. So more on the hair, nails, and makeup side rather than clothing.

If you’re wondering about more masculine trends, suffice to say they’re dramatically less interesting. Traditional men’s clothing has been done to death, so now they are dipping their newly pedicured toes in the world of “basic” women’s fashion (yuck). Don’t believe me? How often nowadays have you seen guys in men’s pants and a baby tee? Or maybe Harry Styles is just trying basic women’s clothes? And yes while they may look good, and men’s 2000s trends might not be coming back with the same intensity, rest assured I still have some proposals for possible looks. Pearls. Pearls are making a comeback in fashion, regardless of whether it’s feminine or masculine and so are linen shirts. On top of that, maybe through in a cardigan or five? So until Burberry stops making shirts akin to Regina Georges when she gets her shirt cut in Mean Girls, we will all be left to wonder, what will September fashion bring? And more importantly, will it be good?

Many of these attendees have enjoyed the space for decades. He added that the younger generation of high school and college students attend more regularly. More recently, bands like Cascade and I’d Rather Sleep, with members from BHS, have been booking their own shows at Gilman.

Fishman, a member of I’d Rather Sleep, explained her reasons for going. “It’s a very welcoming place. I like the atmosphere there,

Botkin said, “We’re not gonna make you work the whole time, we understand that you want to see a band and we don’t want you to miss that. The point is for it to be fun.”

Berkeley youth must keep Gilman alive because of its unique, welcoming, and diverse musical connectivity. You can check out their Instagram at 924GilmanStreet or their website, 924Gilman.org. If you haven’t been to Gilman yet, don’t wait, because there are no other clubs like it.

‘Coquette’ eroticizes childlike innocence

BY SIMON POLICY staff writer

The 1955 novel “Lolita” by Vladamir Nabokov depicts a predatory, sexual relationship between a 12 year-old girl and her middleaged stepfather. For some incomprehensible reason, Hollywood produced two film adaptations, each being just as controversial as their source material. And from those movies, a highly disturbing aesthetic was born, blending the childlike innocence of pastel colors and lace with the sexualization of children.

TikTok users interchangeably call the aesthetic ‘nymphet’ and ‘coquette.’ The style’s distinctive pink bows, glossy lipstick, and frilly skirts now populate people’s feeds, promoting luxurious handbag accessories and elegant perfumes. While the clothes themselves aren’t an issue, the nymphet aesthetic harbors deep thematic undertones regarding the fetishization of young girls. The aesthetic is as twisted as it is cutesy, and knowing the backstory is crucial to understanding why.

In the book “Lolita,” the unreliable narrator is a male professor. The explanation given for his horrifying actions and mentality is

that when he was thirteen, he met a girl with whom he fell in love. She died shortly after their affair began, and because he was never able to consummate the union, he became enraptured by that particular age group of girls. He spends the rest of his life in pursuit of what could have been. He obsesses over the innocence of young girls and later begins to molest his 12-year-old stepdaughter. The professor refuses to see his victim as a human being, and instead refers to her as a nymphet.

aesthetic’s dark side goes deeper still.

There are many critical ways that nymphet is actively harming people on

Nymphet fashion idealizes and sexualizes unhealthy weights, which in turn eroticizes eating disorders.

the internet. The aesthetic depicts childlike petiteness as a desirable and attractive trait. Skinny, pale skin is put on a pedestal and treated like the embodiment of

innocence and purity. This style of hyper-feminine fashion often excludes diversity in many aspects. Nymphet fashion idealizes and sexualizes unhealthy weights, which in turn eroticizes eating disorders. This aesthetic is appalling in every manner, from its origin to its modernday romanticization of pedophilic and exclusionary ideals, and cannot continue to disguise itself as an innocent expression of self.

Coquette draws inspiration from the “Lolita” movies as well as the book, both of which are disturbing. While the aesthetic’s thematic elements may have been drawn from the book, the visual style comes from the 1962 film. On the movie’s poster, the young girl who was subjected to the molestation wears a pair of bright red, heartshaped sunglasses. Similar sunglasses have popped up throughout TikTok in posts displaying the nymphet aesthetic.

It should be clear that coquette is rooted in pedophilia, which is more than a little disturbing. But is it causing current harm to internet users? The answer is undoubtedly yes; this

LILA HALLWARD

Rock power duo Doctor, Doctor jams out at Gilman.

Crime drama podcasts: The art of exploiting traumatic events

Two years after the conclusion of “Serial,” (which concludes its first season undecided on whether the accused murderer, Adnan Syed, is innocent), the family of victim Hae Min Lee issued a statement on Syed’s attempts to secure a new trial. They stated that Syed’s appeals “reopened wounds few can imagine.”

BY ZACHARY YOO staff writer

In the first episode of “Serial,” the 2014 true crime podcast that invented true crime podcasts, host Sarah Koenig explains that in 1999, Korean-American teenager Hae Min Lee was killed by manual strangulation. Koenig doesn’t pause before clarifying: manual

strangulation “mean(s) someone did it with their hands.” It’s a clear indication of who the podcast is for: not anyone in the weeds of the criminal justice system, but the casual audience, who downloaded the show on their iPhone, or heard it on the radio in the place of “This American Life.”

But years later, true crime has grown to be a harmful cultural obsession.

“Unlike those who learn about this case on the internet,” the family said, “we sat and watched every day of both trials.” The family stated they thought it was “more clear than ever” that Syed was guilty. True crime is, unsurprisingly, true. Its coverage of cases, often unsolved ones, garners attention from casual listeners and wannabe detectives alike, which can disrupt the lives of victims’ surviving family and friends. The impact of these podcasts and the grasp they have on the public was demonstrated on Monday, September 19, when Syed’s murder conviction and life sentence was overturned.

True crime podcasts now are a dime a dozen. Such a plainly accepted fixture of pop culture that one of the most popular TV shows of the past year, “Only Murders in the Building,” revolves around the production of a fictional true crime podcast. Four of the ten most popular podcasts on Apple Podcasts are true crime, three of those four coming from the same company, Audiochuck. On its website, Audiochuck describes itself as a “media company focused on bringing our fans edgeof-your-seat storytelling that speaks to the latest generation of podcast listeners.”

deliberate in their narration, reading each word calmly, unfolding the story slowly. These tactics would be eyeroll inducing applied to fiction, but plastered on real tragedies, they’re more than a little insensitive. And the commentary makes light

(Serial’s) coverage of cases, often unsolved ones, garners attention from casual listeners and wannabe detec tives alike, which can disrupt the lives of victims’ surviving family and friends.

“Crime Junkie,” one of Audiochuck’s most popular podcasts, is representative of this philosophy. In older episodes, the show’s background music is comprised of ceaseless low tones, irritatingly attempting to induce tension. The show’s hosts, Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, are

of its subjects too; Flowers and Prawat often interject serious narration with joking remarks like “oh no, baby girl!” Combined with the show’s plentiful sponsorships, from student loan lenders to mobile video games, thousands of paying subscribers on Patreon, and packed live performances, the dramatization of real crimes on “Crime Junkie” is exploitative. There’s no better word for it.

“Crime Junkie” also functions differently from

“Serial.” Though the podcast has plenty of the personal judgements and asides from its hosts (who are both openly not experts), instead of investigative journalism, the show works simply from a compilation of other sources. Worse than being unoriginal, the show also has a bad reputation with plagiarism. In 2019, a journalist from the “Arkansas Democrat Gazette” accused the show of plagiarizing a series of her articles. The show was additionally accused of plagiarizing a Reddit post as well as an episode of documentary series “On the Case with Paula Zahn.”

True crime podcasts are here to stay, for better or worse. To many, from casual listeners to obsessive sleuth fans, the shows are harmless fun. But true crime podcasts cross the line by drawing from others’ lives, livelihoods, and deaths — all for heavily dramatized and monetized internet content.

ROBERT GELLNER

BY ELTA TRACY staff writer

Dancing in a hot, dusty, and crowded room to loud music and shaking bass. Seeing your favorite artist in person, and watching them perform the songs you’ve listened to at least a thousand times. Feeling one with complete strangers as you experience the music together. Live music is a unifying, monumental, and exhilarating experience. An experience that should not only be for the rich.

From watching stars perform at the Greek Theater in Berkeley to smaller artist’s shows at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, concerts are key experiences for people, especially for young people to have. However, a new internet phenomenon,

ticket bots, are quickly limiting the availability of these opportunities.

While concert tickets for huge stadium shows have always been expensive, their prices, even for smaller venues, are increasing rapidly due to ticket bots. A ticket bot is a robot designed to purchase tickets in huge amounts in order to resell them for

The government has made steps to stop this from happening by passing a bill regulating bots and making their endeavors illegal. Unfortunately these laws are rarely followed and even more rarely enforced. Besides ticket quantity limits and the pesky “Are you a robot?” question, there are little defenses against these systems.

WINNIE HUANG

a higher price. Even fans who attempt to buy tickets the second they are live don’t always get a chance because the bots speed through the checkout process while fans are still typing in their credit card information. Fans are then forced to buy tickets that are being resold online at a ramped up price.

Due to this, bots are able to do their business somewhat unregulated. In the past, concerts have been at least somewhat affordable. The average concert ticket price during the 1970s was seven dollars, (around $27 in today’s money). During the nineties, the average concert ticket price was $25, and even highly popular bands like Nirvana only charged $50-75. This price range made shows accessible to the public,

and allowed people of all different demographics to come together to celebrate music and the artists they look up to. Today’s average concert ticket price is $108. Stadium-style shows can even go up to and beyond $300. With prices surging, only those with lots of money to spare can afford to attend concerts, which takes away from the beauty of them.

Bots may not seem like a pressing problem for the music industry, but they have the capability to change the culture surrounding concerts in the foreseeable future.

Instead of being a bonding force that is a staple experience in many people’s lives, concerts may become a luxury that only the extreme upper class can afford. For teens, going to a show can be a great way to spend time with friends and meet new people who share the same taste in music. However most teens don’t have a surplus of money they can put towards concerts. If ticket bots are raising the prices by hundreds of dollars, concerts may no longer be a common part of the teenage experience, and live music may

stop being the familiar escapade that it once was. Other forms of live entertainment are rapidly becoming a luxury only for the rich, an example being live theater, which used to be affordable and is now high end. The concern that ticket bots create is that they will impact the future of live performances to a huge extent. In an extreme scenario, if prices continue to surge because of these computer programs, live music may become irrelevant to society, rendering a unifying and joyful activity as a thing of the past. music unifying,

Youth must diversify music taste

BY AMELIA REED staff writer

Nowadays, it’s common, especially in Berkeley, for people to like underground music artists more than mainstream ones. Artists who are loved all over the world are considered basic to enjoy. It seems like BHS students are in competition to find obscure musicians to listen to, but why?

Many students are often faced with the difficult task of figuring out who they are. In this journey of finding themselves, it’s crucial to explore what they are passionate about. Cormac Foreman is a sophomore at BHS, and a member of the local Berkeleyan band Cascade,

which has been producing its own music for around a year now. Foreman thinks that people should try and discover more music than what is readily available. “If everyone started branching out a bit more, people would have a much more diverse music taste,” he said. “More kinds of people would be introduced to more kinds of music.”

Discovering obscure types of music is a form of finding yourself. For Foreman, stereotypes about fanbases and types of listeners can be very stigmatizing. As a listener of metal, harmful misconceptions make it harder for him to identify as a fan of the genre. “There’s kind of a lot of stereotypes around metal heads … so

it would be cool if more people would become part of that, and realize that they aren’t true,” Foreman said. These kinds of preconceived notions prevent people from exploring new genres, since they worry that they won’t be accepted by their community. Instead of judging those who search for unique musicians, we should celebrate them and encourage our generation to expand their knowledge, even on simple things like music taste. Harmful stereotypes about certain fanbases leads to a lack of originality and self expression. Students must push to discover their own musical interests, instead of clinging to artists who are already mainstream and not relatable for all.

‘Valiant effort’: Field hockey suffers loss

FINOLA JACKSON staff writer

On September 15, the Berkeley High School varsity girls field hockey team took on Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in their third game of the season. Despite a valiant effort, BHS lost 2-1.

Early in the first quarter, Convent scored a breakaway goal about 15 yards from the net, in a passing combination between their center-midfielder and left wing. The game remained evenly matched throughout the first quarter, with runs towards goal from both

teams.

Berkeley made several runs up the sidelines in the first and second quarters, and fought off multiple attempts to score from Convent.

The effort and skill was unsurprising to Coach Anabel Labrecque.

“We’ve got a lot of really smart players on the field that have a good sense of where to be to receive the ball, how to position themselves relative to their opponents, how to lead passes, how to set up plays,” said Labrecque. “We also have a particularly strong defense, (which) makes it pretty tough for our opponents to get into our

circle during play,” she said.

After halftime, BHS held the majority of possession, keeping the ball mostly on Convent’s half, but got unlucky on shots.

“By halftime, you know more about how the other team plays,” said Margaret Graham, a midfielder and forward on varsity.

According to Graham, this means that “you know how to get onto the other side.” She added, “I feel like during halftime, we always get a good pep talk.”

After a second goal by Convent, Yasmeen Bawany, the team co-captain, scored for BHS when a teammate’s missed shot rebounded off

of Convent’s goalie in the fourth quarter, bringing the final score to 2-1.

“The score didn’t really reflect the way that we were playing,” said co-captain Desi Reicher. “And we were playing very well for the third game of the week, too.”

Despite the loss, Berkeley is ready to improve. The players agreed that the new head coach benefits the team.

“(Labreque’s) coaching style is exactly what I think everyone needs,” said Reicher. The team values how Labreque makes drills applicable.“When she sees an issue with a game, we see a solution in practice.”

Nothing about being human is completely binary, and gender is no exception. Being transgender is not just one experience. As Alex Fierro, a genderfluid character in the “Magnus Chase” series by Rick Riordan, states often, not one trans person can give you all the information you need to fully understand what it’s like to be trans. Nor should it be necessary for you to understand fully. Gender is weird, wild, and in many instances something to have fun with. Even cisgender people — those who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth — don’t all experience gender the same way. However, trans people have a slightly different perspective on gender navigating through a world that often does not see them for who they truly are.

Open gym basketball provides sanctuary

BY HANNAH GROTHREIDY staff writer

Berkeley High School’s open gym basketball program opens a window of opportunity, both to improve the skills of the sport, and to make connections with other students. While it’s not a new program, it’s one that receives a lot of interest from students. It’s not merely a time in which students can practice basketball — it’s a chance to forge friendships with peers.

“Camaraderie,” said Daniel Spikes, head varsity basketball coach, when asked what students get out of the program, specifically the girls’ open gym. “It’s a chance for the girls to build with one another. Hopefully friendships start here, and last throughout the program.”

With girls’ open gym taking place Wednesdays and Fridays from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and boys’ on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., the decision to dedicate that time is different for every student. For many, it’s a chance to prepare for the upcoming basketball

season. For others, it’s merely four hours a week that bring them joy and time to exercise.

Jade Terry-Jones, a senior, first started going to the girls’ open gym for the chance to be active even though she has never played basketball before.

“I wanted to do something for my last year here,” Terry-Jones said. She intends to try out for the team, but is keeping an open mind and positive attitude. She added, “I feel like being active now is going to help me prepare for softball, too. And hopefully in the future, if I’m good enough, I’ll play basketball at the colleges I go to.”

The open gyms are very different from, yet the perfect lead-up to, the teams’ seasons. Students interested in playing for the basketball team are able to brush off any post-summer rustiness, and focus on what they can do to prepare for tryouts. However, it also allows students who simply want to meet new people the chance to do so. No long-standing requirement or previous experience is necessary.

“There’s a first for everything,” junior Nohelia Reyes stated.

Ryan Fox, a mental health counselor for special education, runs a separate basketball activity during Wednesdays at lunch. Its purpose is similar to the after-school open gyms.

“A safe, fun, somewhat structured activity,” said Fox. “I think that’s a positive thing in general. It gives a space for folks to have a structured activity during lunch, and honestly, it’s really good for a lot of freshmen and underclassmen to just have a space to socialize.”

When students arrive to a large, bustling school like BHS, these types of physical

activities often open new avenues for learning.

According to VNA Health Care, an extracurricular with some structure can help students gain more self-confidence, develop better social skills, and build positive habits. One round of moderate-intensity physical activity has been found to increase neural and behavioral connections with attention to a specific cognitive task, according to the National Library of Medicine.

While a coach is there to observe and help lead the program, it’s mostly student-led. Since there are no prescheduled plans for the open gyms, students can decide how to spend their time and make the most of it.

Some trans people know from a very young age that something is different, whether or not they have words for it. Some know when puberty hits. Others don’t know until later. This could happen because there are a lot of outside factors — competitive sports, family expectations, social life, etc. — that get in the way of truly understanding one’s gender. The height of the COVID-19 pandemic allowed people to look more inward to figure out they weren’t cisgender. It let people experiment with gender in a way that was just not possible before. Being stuck at home took away the factor of outside judgment, which made it easier to be introspective. The internet is also a great resource for seeing other people expressing gender.

Coming out is also a journey in itself. For trans people who experience little to no gender dysphoria — the feeling that your body does not align to your gender — it can be challenging to feel like they are transgender “enough” to actually identify as such. It is a norm amongst trans people that dysphoria is a deciding factor in one’s validity, which is harmful to many. It is important to know that no matter your gender, or spot on the gender journey, your identity is valid.

That is definitely something I wished I’d known earlier on in my transition. While I am nonbinary, when I first came out I overcompensated in the masculine direction. Even before realizing, I was generally opposed to most conventionally feminine things, which was actually incredibly unhelpful in being the “true me.” That might sound incredibly cheesy, but since understanding that being nonbinary is not just androgynous/masculine leaning, I’ve been a lot happier. Granted, I personally still experience gender dysphoria and tend to lean more masculine anyway, but having the option to broaden my gender horizons has been extremely uplifting.

Being transgender and the concept of gender is such a broad topic, it’s hard to put all of it into just 550 words. I haven’t even breached the cusp of many ideas, but I hope to continue doing that as time goes on. Here are some important takeaways. Gender is something to play with; it is not an expectation or requirement. No matter who you are, there is room to move in your gender. As there is no one way to experience life, there is no one way to experience gender. This should be normalized. You are valid.

PENELOPE GILLIGAN

“You get to laugh, joke, and see your friends,” Spikes said. “It’s a good way to hang out after school, relieve some stress, exercise is always good.”

Students play during lunchtime open gym on September 4. NOLAN WHITEHILL

Shai Eastman, senior on BHS varsity field hockey, faces off with Convent of the Sacred Heart on September 15 at the Jacket Stadium.

Girls water polo fights to score

Boys’ varsity waterpolo defeat shows lack of team chemistry

BY METZTLI OLAGUE GUERRERO staff writer

On Tuesday, September 13, the Berkeley High School varsity men’s water polo team dove back into the water with a game against BHS rivals, Bishop O’Dowd High School.

senior Juan Pablo De Anda Castaneda constantly applied pressure on the opposing team and did an outstanding job keeping the ball. However, he still feels his team had a disappointing game. De Anda commented, “Although I am one of the

the game and scored some nice goals.” Manel Grossi, a sophomore on the team, affirmed the strong defense sentiment. “Our goalie, Lior (Schifrin), had a great game and blocked a lot of the shots,” said Grossi.

On September 13, the Berkeley High School varsity women’s water polo team took on Bishop O’Dowd High School.

In the first half of the game, the teams seemed very evenly matched. Both teams attempted to attack, but strong defense from both sides kept either team from scoring.

Lily Welsh, a senior, attributed their difficulty with shooting to O’Dowd’s strong goalkeeper,

stating that, “We were very intimidated by (their goalie) in the beginning of the game… when (the other team has) a really good goalie, no one wants to shoot.”

Soon after the third quarter began, Welsh took a shot and scored the first goal for BHS. Just thirty seconds later, O’Dowd fired back and scored their first goal.

O’Dowd attacked again shortly after, with two shots that bounced off the goal posts, and then a shot that went in. BHS responded by scoring two more goals. The eventful quarter ended with a score of 3-2 with BHS in the lead.

BHS scored another

goal in the beginning of the fourth quarter, extending their lead. Eden Barnes, a sophomore, said that this goal was a key moment because, “We realized that we were up by two and we could potentially win the game.” A few minutes later, an O’Dowd player took a shot from far out, and scored.

With less than a minute left in the game, O’Dowd scored another goal, tying the game. As time ran out, the two teams battled for one last goal. O’Dowd went on the attack and with only 10 seconds left, scored, putting themselves in the lead and winning the game.

Although they were not able to secure a win, the team believes that they will have a successful season. Reba Gamson-Knight, a junior, said, “We were really strong playing today. We were having good passes to each other. We just couldn’t shoot that well.”

Welsh expressed that they, “just need to keep doing what we’re doing…we’re already such a strong team. We have such strong bonds. We just need to keep practicing.”

The Jackets held the lead throughout the first half of the game. O’Dowd trailed behind, and when they scored, BHS scored shortly after. The teams kept a back and forth pattern going, up until the third quarter, when O’Dowd solidified a lead, and the game resulted in a 1113 BHS loss.

The BHS offense had high intensity and was very effective.

Players like

De Anda said, “A challenge we faced was that we were not finishing all our chances and making small mistakes.” The team is working to combat this by practicing drills that focus on shooting and passing under pressure. Grossi stated that the team struggled to keep good energy and morale. However, he said, “We combatted this by giving supportive comments on the sidelines.” As the season progresses, Grossi hopes to create better chemistry and communication while in the water.

For Lydia Schrag, a senior in Academic Choice (AC), team to do for the freshman,” she added. In a similar spirit of paying things forward, Schrag coaches kids clinics and private lessons at the Berkeley Tennis Club. Schrag emphasized that tennis taught her “resilience, and also how to be centered.” Schrag said that tennis “has been an awesome outlet because, I can release my stress and take everything into the game.”

BY COLINA HARVEY

staff writer BHS senior and captain Brianna Smyth powerfully palms the ball on September 13.

LARSEN

BHS goalie Schifrin towards the ball in the Septemeber 13th game.

GLENN