BHS Jacket 2022 Issue 12

BERKELEY HIGH

PUBLISHED BY AND FOR THE STUDENTS OF BERKELEY HIGH SCHOOL

www.berkeleyhighjacket.com • friday, march 4, 2022

no. 12

since 1912

The Age of Achievement: Emphasis on Prodigy Hurts High-Achieving Kids BY SOFIA RODRIGUEZ, MIMIA OUSILAS, & ESTELLA ZHOU staff writer, investigative editor, & editor-in-chief

By age five, Dylan Heinstein was already topping podiums at national snowboarding competitions within a year of starting the sport. By age ten, Heinstein was driving seven hours each way to and from Mammoth Mountain every week to train during the winter season. His routine: leave for Mammoth as soon as classes ended on Wednesday, do homework in the car, snowboard for the next five days, and return to school after having missed several days of class. Now a senior at Berkeley High School (BHS), Heinstein experienced a childhood that is not unfamiliar for a growing set of “prodigies” — children who excel and specialize in a sport or creative pursuit at an unusually young age. In the five years since his last snowboarding competition, Heinstein has continued to work through the mental effects. “Once you have that taste of being the best at something on such a high level, it’s really hard to rewire your brain to be okay with not [being the best],” he said. The obsession with extraordinary achievement in early childhood has become common in mainstream American awareness. Stories of 14-year-olds reaching the Olympics or 17-year-olds winning a Nobel Peace Prize have shown a whole generation that they don’t need to be older in order to break boundaries in their chosen disciplines. Yet, along with record-shattering achievement and early specialization comes a host of issues — burnout, injury, self-esteem struggles, and a loss of the exploration that comes with a normal childhood, to name a few. PAGE 11

NEWS OLIVER PARSONS

FEATURES

The Multilingual Student Experience BY JONAH LACHS staff writer

“My dad used to speak Spanish to me, but he kind of forgot the language, so now we just speak English,” said Isa McKerley, a bilingual sophomore in Berkeley International High School (BIHS). As the most populous state in the country, California’s borders have historically been home to people from many different places. Although the US has no official language, English is what is spoken throughout the public school system. McKerley’s experience — one of learning and struggling to balance multiple languages — is shared by many other students at Berkeley High School (BHS). Sota Hayashi, another bilingual sophomore in Academic Choice (AC), speaks English and Japanese. “I don’t necessarily feel more

connected to a certain language,” he said. “When I’m at home, I usually speak Japanese because it’s just easier for my parents.” According to multilingual students at BHS, there are a variety of ways to balance their use of each language, lest they forget one. Antonio Nordman, a sophomore in AC, is fluent in both Italian and English. “It’s complicated,” Nordman said. “Of course I speak English in my day-to-day life, so I do feel connected to English in that way, but speaking Italian really makes me feel connected to Italy and my family and my heritage.” “I don’t necessarily feel more connected to Spanish, it’s just a language that I like more,” said McKerley. “I just feel more connected to my mom’s side of the family. My mom and her family are Mexican, and they are people I just have a great appreciation for.” PAGE 11

BHS Student Survey: Social Media’s Impact on Teens The Jacket surveyed over 350 students about their experiences with social media and breaks down the data. PAGE 8

J HORSLEY

INVESTIGATIVE

Inside Intervention Counseling at BHS BY JASPER LOVVORNBLACK staff writer

In the seventh grade, Alaya Alexander was pulled out of class one day to speak with an intervention counselor. Over the next several years, even as she began high school, she engaged in

regular meetings with her counselor, who offered both emotional and academic support. Now a sophomore in Academy of Medicine and Public Service (AMPS), her meetings are still consistent. Alexander is just one of over 300 Berkeley High School (BHS) students who have greatly benefited from Intervention Counseling

Women’s History Month: Submit art and writing to the Jacket ! Scan to submit by Sunday, March 13.

(IC). The three intervention counselors, Nashwa Emam, Jasdeep Malhi, and Jessie Levin, work to support the 100 new students each year who are chosen by middle school counselors. Each student that enters the program stays with them all four years, checking in once a month — or more, if need-

ed — throughout their time at BHS. Why exactly is intervention counseling so helpful? According to Alexander, intervention counseling helps to “[deal] with things that you can’t deal with alone.” On top of that, IC counselors collaborate with the broader community as well as the Restorative PAGE 8

Why Do People Love to Label Themselves? From sexuality to politics, the labels people crave can both create a sense of belonging and breed animosity. PAGE 13

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

NEWS BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

news editors: Naomi Rubalcava Levinthal & Clara Brownstein

naomirubalcavalevi@students.berkeley.net

BUSD Considers Public Input in Search for New Superintendent BY ELLA CREANE staff writer

“It’s b e e n an i nte ns e three-year period. I’m really proud of all of the things the district has accomplished during this time, and it’s also been exhausting,” said Brent Stephens, the superintendent of Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD). “I’m finding myself at this moment wanting to spend more time with family and have a little bit of time to rest.” On February 9, Stephens announced that he would be leaving his position as

superintendent at the end of the 2021-22 school year, choosing not to renew his contract with the district. Stephens has worked as BUSD’s superintendent for the last three years. “I joined the board a little bit before Dr. Stephens got there, so the majority of my time as a board member has been under Dr. Stephens’ leadership,” said Ka’Dijah Brown, president of the BUSD school board. “I’ve had the opportunity to have really strong and important conversations about our schools, our priorities, and our roles, and it’s really been a joy for me to be able to work

with Dr. Stephens.” Juan Raygoza, the principal of Berkeley High School (BHS), shared similar sentiments. “I’m going to miss Dr. Stephens,” Raygoza said. “In my year and a half working with him as my direct supervisor, I think he’s been extremely accessible and transparent about the state of the district. He’s highly invested in wanting to see success for Berkeley High and for Berkeley High students … and he follows that up with his actions.” Stephens’ t ime as superintendent was selfdescribed as a tumultuous one, with the COVID-19 pandemic

ZOE FUNG

creating many difficulties. Stephens referenced the environment of uncertainty — further exacerbated by constantly shifting guidelines — as the single hardest element of his superintendency. However, Stephens still reflected positively on his time in the district. “It’s been an amazing experience over the last three years,” Stephens said. “Berkeley is filled with dynamic, engaged, opinionated individuals who care deeply about public education, and I’ve been lucky to work with such smart people, both in schools and the central office.” Finding a brand ne w superintendent to fill Stephens’ role has now risen to become a priority for the district. Stephens’ contract ends on June 30 of 2022, and according to Raygoza, finding someone able to start soon after he leaves is critical. The process of finding a fitting candidate may be a difficult one. However, leaders hope to involve the Berkeley community in the process. “The board will continue to meet and determine what the next steps look like, but what’s important about the

superintendent search process is that it is one that includes the entire school community,” Brown said. “What I love about Berkeley is that we’ve always been like this: we’ve always been a community-based city and we will have a search process that reflects that.” In agreement with Brown’s goals, Raygoza discussed the importance of BHS having a part in the search for a new superintendent. “We’re about a third of the district, and I really want to make sure the high school has seats at the table,” Raygoza said. For BHS students, both Brown and Raygoza encourage them to get involved in the search process in whatever ways possible and continue advocating for their wishes. “I wou l d l ove , w h e n students have the opportunity, to get their input about what they would like to see in our next superintendent and what values they think our superintendent should have,” Brown said. “We want to hear from all [BHS students].” The strength of the Berkeley community and its ability to speak out is part of what makes Stephens so confident that this transition will be a

positive one. Stephens said he will remain dedicated to his role throughout the rest of the school year, and maintains his faith in Berkeley, which Brown agreed with. “Our district has a really strong foundation,” Brown said. “This transition won’t be a moment where we fall apart or crumble, but a moment of pride to look back and see how far we’ve come and how far we are going to continue to go.” In terms of Stephens’ future plans, personal growth is something he is prioritizing. “ This is a moment of reflection for me and my family,” Stephens said. “It’s one that I’ve been promising myself for quite some time.” Brown mirrored his attitude in regards to the district, looking for ward to the possibilities of a new superintendent. “I’m excited for whoever comes next,” Brown said. “[Berkeley] has a really strong community of students, families, community partners, and teachers, who hold [Berkeley] values close to their heart, and … [the new superintendent] will experience the Berkeley that I love so much.”

Berkeley Community Reacts to Incident of Anti-Semitic Flyers BY JOSEPHINE MORASKY staff writer

North Berkeley families were the latest targets of the Goyim Defense League (GDL), a hate group run out of Petaluma, California. On the morning of Sunday, February 20, hundreds of North Berkeley residents awoke to find plastic baggies carrying anti-Semitic flyers containing messages blaming Jewish people for COVID-19. According to Berkeleyside , GDL, led by white supremacist Jon Minadeo, randomly distributed these flyers the night before along the streets of Grizzly Peak and Marin Avenue. The flyers, titled “Every Single Aspect of the COVID Agenda is Jewish,” contained conspiracy theories surrounding Jewish public health officials. According to

the SF Chronicle, the flyers Beach, Newport Beach, and media, then no one knows named more than a dozen other areas of Southern about it, and then it enables it government officials who they California. and normalizes it, and doesn’t claimed influence or control Shayna Silberzweig, a scare away [the perpetrator].” COVID-19 policy. Links to student at Oakland School for Berkeley Police videos on various political the Arts (OSA) and president Department (BPD) urged topics were also reportedly of the Oakland B’nai B’rith anyone who has information attached to the flyers. Youth Organization (BBYO) on this incident to report it. GDL has been promoting chapter, a nationwide Jewish Berkeley Unified School anti-Semitic propaganda District (BUSD) in similar ways since Superintendent Brent 2021. Last year, the “Anti-Semitic attacks [receive] Stephens shared a brief on group distributed February 22 in solidarity very low media coverage.” similar flyers in Beverly with the Berkeley Jewish Hills, California, and community. anti-Semitic posters in “BUSD stands firmly Shayna Silberzweig, Austin, Texas. united against antiPresident of Oakland BBYO According to Semitism and all forms Berkeleyside , almost of hate, and we stand identical incidents were youth nonprofit organization, with our Jewish students, seen across the countr y discussed the low media families, staff, and neighbors,” in Colorado, Wisconsin, coverage this event attracted. Stephens wrote. Texas, Florida, Virginia, and “It doesn’t surprise me that Lula Rosenbach, a Berkeley Maryland. The baggies were much, because I think that’s High School (BHS) sophomore also found in surrounding Bay a pattern,” Silberzweig said. and member of the Oakland Area communities such as San “Anti-Semitic attacks [receive] BBYO chapter, said her view Francisco’s Pacific Heights, very low media coverage. And of the Bay Area shifted after Palo Alto, and Tiburon, as well it’s scary. Because if things this event. as Los Angeles, Huntington aren’t [highlighted] in the “[Berkeley] feels not less

safe but less supported, since so many people do not recognize that anti-Semitism is such a relevant issue,” Rosenbach said. “People not knowing about the news and things like this contribute to that.” Rosenbach said no one in her classes nor her non-Jewish

friends seemed to be aware of the incident. “So many people just think, the Holocaust happened, the Holocaust is over, nobody cares, there’s no more anti-Semitism, [and] that’s absolutely not true,” Rosenbach said.

RIOKA HAYAMA

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

NEWS

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BHS Plans to Support Students Using COVID-19 Relief Money

of the relief money to aid academic departments and areas, such as technology, where more support was needed to better the productivity of students in class. There are also plans for the funds to be used in the future, specifically for the Multilingual Program (MLP) and Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Program. With the money, BHS purchas ed eight G o ogle Chromebook carts this year. “This pandemic showed

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use of it to access education BY KAIYA JORDAN [are],” Raygoza said. “Our staff staff writer here and our students could always benefit from greater Due to the COVID-19 access … and we don’t have pandemic and the educational enough computers here for all challenges it brought, the state students.” of California has given school Raygoza also said that BHS districts relief money to use as has created Math 1 support they choose. classes this year in response According to Berkeley to COVID-19 and the lost High School (BHS) Principal learning time with distance Juan Raygoza, BHS received learning. These classes aim around $619,000 in one-time to support students in upper relief funds. The goal of the grades to move on to Math 2. COVID-19 relief funds is R aygoza worked with to support teachers and Kiernan Rok, the vice students during in-class principal of the Math The goal of the COVID-19 D e p a r t m e n t , a n d instruction. The school has until 2024 to spend relief funds is to support teach- Monique Duncan-Harris, the money, which was ers and students during in-class a lead teacher of the Math extended from BHS’s Department, to hire a instruction. original one-year former BHS alum as deadline in order to allow faculty. the school more time to make u s j u s t h ow i mp o r t a nt In addition to programs decisions on spending. technology… access for all that are already funded, BHS has already used some students and appropriate Raygoza has visions for future

projects and areas that can be The MLP is also looking ones the school is planning supported by the money. to provide students the on moving forward with: art Raygoza said that BHS opportunity to go on field trips, packets, art carts, and a textile also plans on using the funds many of which were previously making class. to support the MLP, a small canceled due to COVID-19, Art packets, specifically learning community for those and more materials in the 500 sketchbooks and pastels, who do not speak English as classroom, such as binders and will be provided to students their first language and who notebooks. and targeted at those who are have been in California public Harrison Blatt, a vice currently not in an art class. schools for less than six years. principal, said he is working “K i d s a r e s t r u g g l i n g Daniella Maaze, co-lead closely with VAPA staff emotionally, and having a of the MLP, outlined four to come up with projects sketchbook with pastels different areas where the centered around art, aiming will give them a chance to program would benefit from to build community with express their inner struggles the COVID-19 relief funds: students and support their in a private, non-academic, technology, mental health, social emotional development. and creative way,” Blatt said. field trips, and materials. “ T h e v i s u a l a n d “Studies show that having The MLP will be allocated a performing arts department access to creative ways of certain portion of the funds was … highlighted by the expressing oneself leads to by Raygoza, and Maaze will administration as one that better academic outcomes and decide where it goes together does really well in supporting emotional wellbeing.” with other heads of the s t u d e n t s a n d b u i l d i n g The art cart would be a learning community. community and happiness … cart with various art supplies In terms of technology, the at school through making art,” that would allow students to MLP is looking to increase Blatt said. dedicate some time during the access to Chromebooks for Similarly to the MLP, Blatt school day to a quick workshop their students to use on spray painting, oil in the classroom and painting, or other forms at home. The MLP is of visual art. “Studies show that having access also looking to increase The final proposal to creative ways of expressing mental health services for te x t i l e m a k i ng oneself leads to better academic would involve smaller for the whole school. “Everybody needs groups of students outcomes and emotional more access to mental joining a teacher during wellbeing.” h e a l t h t h i s y e a r,” lunchtime to learn how Maaze said. “We’re to knit, crochet, and Harrison Blatt, still in the process of create art with yarn. BHS Vice Principal collaborating with an “ This is totally outside organization different [than other that provides mental areas being funded] health services like counseling is allocated a certain portion because it’s really targeting one-on-one and small group of the COVID-19 funds and student’s joy and so cial counseling … [and] social has the freedom to use it how emotional wellbeing through emotional curriculum training he and the VAPA teachers see making art,” Blatt said. “[It’s] for MLP teachers … so our fit. He highlighted a few of the a really great way to use these students are immersed in it.” proposals, naming three main funds.”

Black Student Union Holds Black History Month Celebration BY SAMUEL FELDMAN staff writer

Berkeley High School’s (BHS) Black Student Union (BSU) hosted a Black History Month event at lunch last Friday, February 25, to celebrate the diverse cultures of the African diaspora. The Black History Month event was one of community — many students gathered together to mingle and participate in or watch the attractions. The event began with a showcase of BHS’s African Diaspora dance classes on the campus green, led by

teacher Dawn Williams. The dents and adults. of good vibes and people drummers who provided “There was fried chicken, celebrating … Black Hismusic for the dancers stayed mashed potatoes, spinach, tory Month,” said Spento play afterwards, and and peaches,” Solomon said. cer Pritchard, a teacher in speakers also gave the the African American rest of the event a musi(AFAM) Studies Decal atmosphere. partment. “We’ve planned the whole “The drumming and Posters showcasing the dancers were amaz- event, from sparking the idea key values and mottoes to making it a reality.” ing,” said Merhawi Soloalso filled the campus mon, a sophomore in green for the event. One Academic Choice (AC). poster titled “Imani,” Miles Davis, Following the dance the Swahili word for BSU Vice President performances, the audifaith, read: “At the Black ence was invited to parStudent Union, we have ticipate in games and faith in our community races, enticed by the prize “The food was delicious.” that we will grow, prosper, of first in line for the food. Lines for the food were and rise against the system Many tables were set up to long throughout lunch, and that is meant to keep us provide students with free students filled the campus down.” soul food, staffed by stu- green eating. “[I saw] lots Another poster de-

Eric Riley, Diamond King, and Amanda Moreno work the BSU table at the recent Black History Month event.

scribed the principle of Ujima, or collective responsibility, while a third featured Kujichagulia, or self-determination. It spoke of “coming together as a community and [bringing] Black people together.” The event also featured several booths. One described the principles of the BSU and provided instructions on how to sign up, another sold t-shirts to raise money, and the last was an altar for spirits. Miles Davis, a senior in AC and vice president of the BSU, worked for the entire month with the other members of the BSU to organize

Students compete in a trash bag race for the prize of being first in line for food.

the event and get it into its final form. “We’ve planned the whole event, from sparking the idea to making it a reality,” he said. Davis said he extends gratitude to Pritchard, BSU President Ny’Aja Robinson, and Irma Parker from the Parent Resource Center for her help coordinating the event’s food, as well as to all “the help from our BSU family.” According to Davis, it took a team effort to put this event together. “We encourage[d] everyone to come out to support and help us celebrate Black History Month,” he said.

PHOTOS BY EMILIA FREILICH

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

NEWS

Eli Kane Spirit Award Celebrates Traits of Late BHS Graduate BY LAUREN HUANG staff writer

In honor of the late Berkeley High School (BHS) graduate Eli Kane, the Eli Kane Spirit Award, launched this year by Eli Kane’s family, will allocate a $3,500 cash prize to one BHS junior or senior in April 2022. Nominations for the award are open until February 27. Eli Kane graduated in the class of 2019 from Berkeley International High School (BIHS). He drowned in the summer of 2021 while counseling at Camp Tawonga, near Yosemite, according to a Berkeleyside article. The Eli Kane Spirit Award is meant to commemorate Eli Kane by honoring BHS students who embody his spirit. “He was such a positive, big-hearted person who loved and lived life to the fullest,” wrote Eli Kane’s father, Scott Kane, in an email to the Jacket. He said Eli Kane would always be “the first to offer a hug, and the first to break out into a dance.” Anyone can nominate an unlimited number of students for the award — ex-

cluding their family members — according to the fund’s website, elikanefund. org. The criteria for nomination is listed on the fund’s website and will be considered to determine the winner of the prize. Among other attributes, nominees will be evaluated on their exhibition of engagement and respect “both inside and outside the classroom,” their efforts in establishing connections with people, and their ability to spread “joy and laughter by being their authentic self.” The application and further details on individual characteristics can be found on the fund’s website, elikanefund. org. According to BHS boys soccer varsity coach, André Hébert, Eli Kane was an exceptional soccer player, leading the BHS varsity soccer team to their championship win in the 2018-19 season. “He was like having another coach on the field,” Hébert said. “His questions were always excellent. … He made you a better coach.” Eli Kane continued to play the sport when he joined the University of Michigan’s mens club soccer team his freshman year

of college. According to the fund’s website, the club retired his jersey number in his honor. On the days when his team would play at BHS, Kane would store his bag in BIHS English teacher Karl Kaku’s classroom. When he came to retrieve his bag, Eli Kane would ask if Kaku could attend the games. “If I’d say I’m going, he said, ‘I’ll be there,’” Kaku said. “I remember him standing at the door and he’d point at me and he’d say, ‘I’ll be there.’” A number of photos are displayed on Kaku’s classroom wall with snapshots of his past classes, one of them showing Eli Kane beaming and embracing his peers. Kaku recalled when Eli Kane would come into his classroom during lunch to work and talk with classmates. He said Eli Kane could work with anybody, acknowledged all of his classmates, greeted Kaku when arriving to class and thanked him before leaving. Kaku said Eli Kane fully embodied the traits outlined in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Profile, such as being knowledgeable and open minded. The

The Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) School Board met on February 16 to discuss Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) equity challenges, the special education program, and updated COVID-19 protocols. As in their last meeting, board members displayed Zoom backgrounds

inspired by Black History Month. Community and board members shared words of gratitude for Superintendent Brent Stephens, who announced on February 9 that he will leave BUSD at the end of the school year. BUSD School Board Director Ty Alper said he appreciated Stephens’s strong leadership skills during the COVID-19 surges and his work in keeping schools open and safe.

termine the winner. She said they are relying on the community to contribute to the fund and give grants to BHS students. Scott Kane said the Eli Kane Fund is open to donations, which will “help spread joy like Eli did throughout his life” through

RIOKA HAYAMA

grants and programs. “Our hope is that this will become an annual award at BHS that will continue for many years to come,” Scott Kane wrote to the Jacket. “We hope to recognize dozens and dozens of students who embody Eli’s spirit and love of life.”

The performance gave sager said. “When we serve BUSD will maintain its way to the first topic of the our students who have the testing and contact tracing board meeting: lack of di- most needs, we’re serving program following the lift versity in BUSD’s music everyone.” on outdoor masking. Steprograms. Mansager said BUSD’s phens said that BUSD will Following much analy- special education depart- maintain these practices sis, head of VAPA even if the indoor Pete Gidlund said he masking policy in found that the diver“Having a fully vaccinated staff BUSD schools changsity in middle and and student body will open up the es. high school music “A l t h o u g h most opportunities with the least the indoor mask reprograms largely deamount of disruption.” clines after elemenquirement has been tary school. lifted in most setHe attributed this tings, it continues to Matt Meyer, to several factors, be a requirement in BFT President such as an undiverse the K-12 educational teaching team, prosetting that students hibitive school structures, ment aims to continue wear masks indoors,” Steand a need for both cultur- working with general edu- phens said. ally relevant teaching strate- cation teachers and values Following last meeting’s gies and parent input. all student voices and opin- discussion, Berkeley FedGidlund said in recent ions. eration of Teachers Presiyears, BUSD has made progSuperintendent Stephens dent Matt Meyer said that ress in diversifying its music reported on the updated field trips and events can program and he hopes to see COVID-19 policies for now happen more regularly, OWEN BLAIR that progress continue. BUSD schools. He said that although many restrictions Executive Director of as of February 28 the out- are still in place due to vacSpecial Education Shawn door mask mandate will be cination requirements. Mansager and his team lifted on all BUSD campusMeyer said he is in coldiscussed their upcoming es. laboration with the district plans for special educaBUSD School Board Di- to balance mitigation meation services throughout all rector Julie Sinai said BUSD sures with the health and “Coming to the decision grade levels. should maintain COVID-19 safety of students and staff to step away from precautions to keep as guidelines shift. Berkeley was a really schools safe, even as Meyer also said that the tough one,” Stephens cases decline. Sinai vaccination policy being dis“Special education benefits evsaid. “I am looking added that Berkeley’s cussed for next school year ery student. When we serve our test positivity rate is will give the district time to forward to finishing the next three students who have the most needs, still more than two ensure all staff and students we’re serving everyone.” months on a strong percent higher than it are vaccinated when school note.” was in June 2021. starts next year, and that any The board meet“We still need vacancies can be filled. Shawn Mansager, ing opened with a to be careful, and “Having a fully vacciDirector of Special Education performance by stusince we have been nated staff and student body dents from Longfelstrong with CO- will open up the most oplow Middle School to VID-19 precautions portunities with the least illustrate the achievements “Special education ben- we can keep schools open,” amount of disruption,” Meyof BUSD’s VAPA program. efits every student,” Man- Sinai said. er said.

School Board Covers VAPA, Special Education on 2/16 BY AVA RAMSDALE staff writer

profile lists attributes BIHS encourages in its students, many of which are similar to the spirit award’s criteria. “He’s the type of student [who] we aim to graduate,” Kaku said. “He touched my life.” According to College and Career Center (CCC) counselor Mary Jacobs, BHS counselors helped the Kane family decide how to allocate their funds toward students. She said they eventually chose to aid juniors and seniors since they need the most academic-related financial support. In January, Jacobs sent the first email to the BHS community about the Eli Kane Spirit Award. Although she did not know Kane personally, she was moved to help distribute information about the award. “I feel it is my mission here to give out information,” Jacobs said. “Only good could come from this, to keep his legacy alive, to give some comfort to the family, and to help students recognize their accomplishments or their personality traits, and give a little monetary award too to help ease the college costs.” Jacobs said the family will review the applicants to de-

OPINION BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

opinion editors: Anjuna Mascarenhas-Swan & Lianna Leung

Prom Exclusion Policy Is Discriminatory BY MIRIAM REICHENBERG staff writer

After nearly two years without any communitybuilding events, Berkeley High School (BHS) will finally host a long-awaited prom, to be held at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria on March 19. How-

ever, some BHS students will not be permitted to attend the starry night themed event if they have received a prom exclusion letter due to uncleared absences. Many students face attendance issues because of a number of personal factors, which this exclusion rule fails to adequately address. The reality is that no one should be excluded from prom, regard-

ANNELISE SCHOUTEN

less of attendance. This year, many are hoping that prom, a high school milestone, will revive student morale. Unfortunately, according to the January 7 student bulletin email, students with over 30 unexcused absence periods, or about five days of unexcused absences, were added to the exclusion list. This year, over 350 juniors and seniors — about 25 percent of all eligible students — are on the list. Many students have personal reasons for missing class, and some absences cannot easily be excused by a parent or guardian. Perhaps some students don’t want the administration to know about household or mental health issues. Or maybe a student is facing issues concerning harassment and isn’t comfortable reporting the offense. During the pandemic, some students have had to care for family members and many students dealt with health issues. Hana Medhkour, a BHS senior, landed on

the prom exclusion list due to absences related to various illnesses. While cutting class isn't excusable, there are cases in which excusing an absence isn't easy. While it's possible to get off the prom exclusion list, the process can be challenging. According to Aman Watson, the dean of attendance, 2019’s prom exclusion list had 383 students listed, and only 35 of those students were able to clear their absences by the time prom rolled around. To clear these absences, students must attend tutoring in the College and Career Center or complete a two-week attendance log. With packed schedules and a multitude of extracurriculars, many students don’t have time for hours of tutoring. Prom is an important high school experience. With disproportionate impacts on marginalized students, prom attendance barriers need to be lifted so that all BHS prom attendees can enjoy the best starry night of their lives.

Peer Tutoring Requirement Benefits All BY ELIOT HERTENSTEIN staff writer

At Berkeley High School (BHS), many advanced classes require students to tutor for lower-level classes in order to receive a grade of A. While it can be argued that “required volunteer hours” is an oxymoron, there are many benefits to having advanced students tutor their peers. BHS must do more to encourage students to explore tutoring, and make tutoring accessible for all students. When entering high school, many students are put off by the idea of tutoring other students: they either aren’t interested in spending more time on academics or just don’t want to try to teach other students. However, tutoring can actually be very fun. Teaching is a rewarding activity in itself, and there’s no better feeling than when a student you’re teaching finally understands a concept. Many students don’t consider these benefits, and therefore never get to experience what it’s like to tutor. Another great thing about mandatory tutoring is that teaching others is an incredibly useful tool for learning things for oneself. This is known as the protégé

effect, a well-established concept in psychology. Essentially, teaching a subject to someone else allows you to internalize the information as you retell it. This is especially helpful in subjects where the concepts are fairly universal and don’t depend on memorizing specific information. The protégé effect also has the bonus of increasing people’s motivation to learn a subject. When someone else depends on your knowledge, you’re more likely to take time to learn it beforehand. Finally, as one might expect, tutoring is also highly beneficial for its recipients. Because of tutoring requirements in Advanced Math, there’s almost always

a student in the tutoring room who can help a Math 1 student understand their homework or study for a test. Having students available as tutors also makes receiving tutoring more appealing to many students. While some students don’t feel comfortable going to their teachers for help with academics, they may feel perfectly fine asking their peers for guidance. Furthermore, students can be better than teachers at explaining things in simple terms, as the tutors have recently learned the subject, and thus understand which techniques make topics more approachable and easy to learn. So then, how can BHS best make tutoring more

accessible? By pairing up regular and Advanced Math students, each student would have a specific person to go to for help. Oneon-one tutoring also would allow tutors to get to know their tutoree's learning style, leading to more effective learning. Additionally, assigning tutors a specific date to visit the tutoring room would allow teachers to schedule tutors, so someone will always be available, and more tutors could come when there are upcoming tests or finals. This approach was used during the 2020-21 school year and was very effective at making sure tutors were always available for those who needed one.

A BHS student completes mandatory tutoring in the library by teaching a peer.

YASMEEN BAWANY

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

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anjunamascarenhass@students.berkeley.net

BEAUTY AND TIME ELI KNISBACHER

An ethereal magnolia dances in the wind. It sways and bows as its petals pirouette and its leaves sashay. As the magnolia laughs, tickled by the wind, it frees a petal. And with the petal floats an aroma: faint yet sweet. But with time the aroma fades and the wind loses interest. The magnolia was but a dream. While dreaming, we witness beauty beyond eyesight. But when our eyes open, we limit ourselves. We think beauty exists only in sunsets and smiles and soulful steel-blue eyes. By contrast, coffee and computers and the everunfurling road — the day-to-day — seem ugly. And the ugly is rarely looked at. But in looking away, we forget. We forget about the present moment and spiral into the past and future. We don’t notice the mourning doves lining roofs as we drive to school. We don’t hear them cry for the magnolia, and unheard, their cries cease to be beautiful. In noticing beauty, we bring it into existence. Unwitnessed sunsets lack beauty, for beauty is in the beholder’s eye. And beauty dies as eye contact breaks. But in witnessing a sunset, we experience beauty, and as the beauty did not previously exist, we create it. Yet beauty cannot exist without time, for beauty is fleeting. Sunsets are beautiful because they fade into dusks, and summer is beautiful because it freezes into winter. Removed from time, a perpetual sunset would become trite and perpetual summer would become bland. Beauty can be found only in that which will die and is subject to change. And only we who will die, who are subject to change, can find beauty. We, fearing death, attempt to seize the moment, but we fail. We pine for money and fame, thinking they lead to happiness. We try to become immortal by giving birth and writing books. We fear all forms of change, not just death. But we are also drawn to change. Only objects subject to change are beautiful, and to truly seize the moment is to search for beauty. Searching for physical beauty leads us to oceans and mountains and oases. Searching for beauty of mind and heart leads us to love. We search for beauty because we fear dying. Further, because of time, we die. Beauty, thus, exists because of time. It is not defined by properties of objects, for pretty objects remind us to look, but looking, in and of itself, creates beauty. When we choose to look, we free ourselves from samsara, the Buddhist cycle of suffering. We are freed from schedules and deadlines and our tumultuous lives to focus on the present. And in focusing on the present, we stop time. Time follows our eyes, and envelopes that which we are beholding. It then radiates warmth and sanctity from that object. We perceive this radiance as beauty. Essentially, beauty is nature’s clock. With each tick, a fawn is born and a doe dies. After each tick, the magnolia’s petals shift from milky coral to mystic amethyst under a darkening sky. Each tick represents one less day to live, and a new twenty-four hours to find beauty in the day-to-day: to find beauty in time.

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

EDITORIAL

It’s About Time to Reconsider Porn In the last 15 years, pornography has become more accessible than a bag of potato chips. In this same time frame, the rate of teen sex has dropped significantly. We are living in what some have dubbed “the sex recession,’’ with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting teens having less sex on average than their parents did at the same age. Additionally, surveys from The Guardian indicated an increase in reported erectile dysfunction (ED) among people under 30. While there are undoubtedly many reasons for this decline in sex and increase in dysfunction, emerging research is pointing to porn use as a potential culprit. The desire to watch porn isn’t sinful. It comes from the biological urge to procreate. However, humans were not wired for high-speed internet porn. Think of a human living in hunter-gatherer times. Chances are, they would only be able to meet a handful of different mates in their lifetime, making it crucial that they jump on every opportunity to get it on. Additionally, humans are wired to seek novelty to avoid inbreeding. With the internet, however, a person can be exposed to essentially infinite “mates'' without ever leaving their room. What’s potentially dangerous about this is that it acclimates the brain to a high level of stimulation, where one requires constant newness in order to stay aroused.

OPINION

Consider switching between videos while masturbating. This desensitization of the brain can also lead people to desire more shocking sexual behavior that they may feel uncomfortable doing in real life, such as violence, orgies, and incest. Compared to porn, real sex may feel boring, and this can cause sexual dysfunction. Ever heard the term “supernormal stimulus?” Probably not. It means an exaggerated version of something that may end up being preferred instead of the real thing. Scientist Nikolas Tingberg first coined this term when he observed that he could get animals to prefer fake mates to real ones. “Male jewel beetles will ignore real mates in favour of futile efforts to [mate] with beer bottles. To a beetle, a beer bottle … looks like the biggest, most beautiful, sexiest female he has ever seen,” wrote Gary Wilson in Your Brain on Porn. One could argue that porn works this way too. Say Jimmy is at home and his friend invites him out to a party. Jimmy is horny, and wants to find a lover. Before internet porn, the prospect of real sex would probably seem much more exciting than a magazine. However, Jimmy is now faced with a tougher choice. He can either go out and try to hook up with someone, expending his energy and facing potential rejection, or he can stay home where he is comfortable and watch some hardcore sex videos. This is not mean to imply that people should feel pressure to have sex when they don’t want to, but for those who do want to have sex, porn may serve as a quick fix that ultimately does not satisfy the true desire for sexual intimacy. This is just like the beetle desperately humping the bottle. However, this issue goes deeper than simply preferring porn to sex. In many cases, porn use may actually lead people to be unable to have sex at all. Erectile dysfunction. It’s a term that often evokes embar-

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rassment or laughter. Generally, there are two types of ED: psychogenic and natural. Natural ED is caused by physical problems such as age or alcohol use, but ED in young people is typically psychogenic, meaning it has to do with the brain. This type of ED can be caused by performance anxiety, depression, and potentially, porn use. A number of surveys compiled by The Guardian show that between 14 and 35 percent of young men experience ED. According to Mary Sharpe, head of the Reward Foundation, data from clinicians and sex therapists also showed that up to 80 percent of the ED cases they recorded in young men were porn related. Other related sexual dysfunctions, in both the penis and vagina, include an inability to orgasm, lack of sensitivity, and lack of arousal, which all occur with a real sexual partner, but not during porn use. Though porn is not always the cause, there is documented evidence on online forums such as Reddit/ NoFap of people who stopped using porn and saw their symptoms of sexual dysfunction go away. So should people stop watching porn? It really depends. For those not experiencing dysfunction, it may seem unnecessary. However, for those experiencing problems or those who are yet to have sex, considering whether they use porn excessively is a good idea. Many proponents of the porn “reboot” suggest quitting porn for at least 30 days and observing changes. It’s important to remember that porn is not inherently bad, and feeling ashamed of watching porn can be more harmful than helpful. At the end of the day, most people want good sex and real life connections. If watching porn is detracting from reality, then it may not be worth it. To learn more about porn addiction and sexual dysfunction, check out Your Brain on Porn, where much of the data for this article was pulled.

Letter to the Editor: Economic Disparity Feeds Education Gap I am very encouraged by the number of excellent articles and opinion pieces in the Jacket this year, which have questioned the status quo at BHS! In particular, as a math teacher, I applaud “BHS Math Must Support Black Students” (Holden Elias, 2/11/22). Elias presents data showing that in BUSD, Black students are far behind white students as early as second grade. Elias goes on to say that for reasons of equity, Advanced Math, at least in 9th grade, must be eliminated. The Math Department is nearly unanimous in agreement, and although we were very disappointed by the Board's recent decision to keep it going, we have not given up the fight! The only way in which this article falls short is that like the vast majority of similar articles deploring educa-

tional inequality, it implies that the enormously unequal outcomes are the fault of the public school system, and that resources exist whereby equal opportunity could be achieved. In fact, for at least a couple decades we have known that the terrible economic inequality in this county (especially dramatic in Berkeley) is by far the largest factor in unequal educational outcomes. Kids coming from families with more money have better health care, better homes in better neighborhoods, better technology, better access to extracurriculars, access to private tutors, more family members with a good knowledge of math, etc. Furthermore, poverty and the stress it puts on families actually inhibits the development of executive function in a young child, the foundation for

good student skills. The gap Elias describes at second grade – that gap is already huge when children enter kindergarten. When we ignore or deny the impact of socioeconomic inequality, when we only blame public schools, we effectively ensure that the axiom of corporate profits over people will not be challenged, and we thereby doom an everincreasing proportion of children to a lack of opportunity. This was Dr. King's conclusion in his final years, when he called for the eradication of poverty as the primary goal for the civil rights movement. I hope that in the near future, students and staff can come together to protest economic inequality which damages us all. - Dan Plonsey, BHS math teacher

Submit to the Jacket ! Women's History Month Special Issue What does Women's History Month mean to you? The Jacket welcomes any BHS student to submit original pieces of art and writing to potentially be published in our celebratory issue on March 18. Send submissions to Lianna Leung at liannaleung@students.berkeley.net by 7 PM on Sunday, March 13.

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

OPINION

Beneficial or Performative: Should Politicians Publicly Volunteer? CON PRO BY OHAD AVIRANFINKELSTEIN staff writer

The actions of celebrities and politicians have massive effects on society. Although many public figures have taken their power for granted and used it to make little to no difference, other public figures have used their power to make a significant impact, working for the betterment of society. In the past few years, many celebrities have joined protests to fight for what they believe in. At the height of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, politicians and celebrities such as Beyoncé, Barack Obama, Ariana Grande, and countless others went to protests, all knowing their influence on the actions of those around them. Hundreds of other celebrities used social media to show their support, which filled their followers with passion for the movement as well. By getting involved, these celebrities are combating racism, while bringing their millions of followers alongside them. While it’s true that a strong motivator of philanthropic deeds is public image — particularly given the increasing relevance of cancel culture — these actions have still had a massive impact on the BLM movement. Cancel culture, a form of withdrawing social support from those who have done something offensive, has become prevalent in today’s society, and being canceled is always on the minds of celebrities and politicians. Due to the huge impact that cancel culture has on these public figures, they follow and support big movements just so that they won’t get canceled by their fan base. Although this isn’t an ideal motive, it doesn’t change the fact that they are doing something to support said movements. When a politician has an idea like the Green New Deal, or a celebrity starts a new trend, their supporters and fan bases spread the word, which helps create change. Recently, Governor Gavin Newsom arrived in the East Bay to help his Clean California initiative by picking up trash on the side of the road. This launched a wave of activism around where he had visited, which led to the removal of 63,000 cubic yards of trash around the Bay Area. While doing this, he ordered for Berkeley’s largest homeless encampment to be removed, which is absolutely unacceptable, but saying that he hasn’t done anything to combat homelessness would be false. Since his election, Gavin Newsom has set aside 22 billion dollars to fight homelessness, the majority of which will go towards affordable housing and services. This plan won’t immediately impact California’s homeless population, but will make sure that in the future, it will be much smaller than it is now. Although there are many public figures who don’t do much for their communities, it’s important to recognize that many do make an effort. Despite their motives not being completely altruistic, in the end, politicians and celebrities are still making a positive impact on their communities. Without these public figures spreading information about modern issues, it would be much harder to get anything done. Therefore, when public figures volunteer, it may not always be from the heart, but it does make a positive impact.

BY ULYSSES NOE staff writer

As public servants, politicians rely on the support of constituents. For the sake of their careers, politicians will go to great lengths before elections to win support of the majority. Because they can often seem distant from the community they serve, it is not uncommon for them to show up to do volunteering. Whether Barack Obama is serving soup at a meal kitchen, George W. Bush is helping in reconstruction following Hurricane Katrina, or Gavin Newsom is picking up trash at a Berkeley underpass, volunteer work seems to be a staple of most campaigns. Despite the prevalence of political volunteer work, it does not positively impact surrounding communities. It’s hard to imagine something wrong with volunteering for a good cause. Politicians, however, don’t volunteer for the sake of volunteering. Instead they volunteer when cameras are pointed at them. Unlike the everyday citizen, politicians are in a unique position to create change beyond small-scale local work. The purpose of a politician volunteering is to give the idea that they bring positive change to a community. Governor Gavin Newsom received a lot of attention around the East Bay for cleaning up trash on the side of the I-580 in Berkeley. His appearance was part of his promotion of the Clean California program, but also coincided with his campaign to remain governor after threats of recall. The area that Newsom helped clean had been one of Berkeley’s largest homeless encampments until it was cleared in the days leading up to his appearance. Newsom received criticism for sanitizing the image of California without actually making a dent in helping the state’s large unhoused population. Similarly, it is easier to find pictures of George W. Bush happily screwing together two-by-fours as part of the effort to rebuild Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina than it is to find real praise for the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina. While there is nothing inherently wrong with a politician showing up to volunteer somewhere, it is usually done without being paired with beneficial policies. Ultimately, politicians volunteering is closer to political theater than making real change. While their local appearances have the potential to spark attention surrounding an issue that needs awareness, they tend to serve the interest of the politician first. Constituents would gain a lot more from being able to actually interact with the politicians that serve them. Instead of focusing on large self-promotional events, it would be most beneficial for society if politicians looked for ways to actually get in touch with citizens and stay up to date on their needs.

GABRIELLA BUSANSKY

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

INVESTIGATIVE

The Social Media Experience Across Genders The Jacket surveyed a sample of 368 students to explore the role of gender in the perception of social media among teens. Additionally, interviews gave students a space to share their views on social media and how it affects them personally.

Students Who Agreed that 'Social Media Negatively Affects My Mental Health'

“[For girls], people are gonna expect things from you based on what you post. You gotta watch yourself, especially when you're young.”

Girls: 45.0% Non-Binary: 29.2%

Konani Chinn, she/they, IS junior

Boys: 25.3%

'I Am Addicted to Social Media'

"For men, there's a lot of sexual insecurity. The way that algorithms are set up can feed you content that feed you really bad [misconceptions] of sex.”

Disagree/Strongly Disagree - 29.3%

Agree/Strongly Agree - 45.2%

Travis Baldwin, he/him, CAS senior Neutral - 25.4%

Students Who Agreed that 'Social Media Is Good for Me'

“Social media has enforced the idea that we exist to be consumed, and if certain things aren’t documented, they didn’t really happen or they weren’t meaningful ... my sense of identity sometimes feels a little bit warped.”

Boys: 19.9% Girls: 7.4%

Non-Binary: 5.2%

Raquel Matthews, she/they, AC senior BY ERIN BARTHOLOMEW & TOBI HAIMS GRAPHS BY ELIOT HERTENSTEIN & MIMIA OUSILAS

J HORSLEY

‘Someone Has Your Back’: Inside BHS Intervention Counseling CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Justice program in a mediation if one of their students is involved. The connection between the two programs is strong because they previously worked together in On Campus Intervention (OCI). The two systems also help each other due to the lack of staff working in these programs, especially in the midst of a global pandemic. The program has significantly helped Alexander. Each student can speak with one of the three counselors to be there “to talk to or talk through certain things." Arts and Humanities Academy (AHA) senior Ashanty Moreno-Silva used intervention counseling all four years of high school. “[Malhi] being there was so great for me be-

cause I finally had an adult I could talk to, and it made me stronger,” Moreno-Silva said. “I’m not as emotionally messed-up as I used to be because of her … She never told me that she was annoyed with me and never told me to get out, which is something that adults have done in the past.” Communications Arts and Sciences (CAS) junior Sofia Rico believes one of the best parts of the program is that it's confidential. According to Rico, the program is extremely welcoming to its student body and each counselor makes a huge time commitment to look out for their students. “I love it because I know that that person isn’t going to run away and tell somebody something or tell my family something,” Rico

said. Another large part of supporting students is academics. “Academically, you could go to any academic counselor and they keep you on track with your work, make you look through everything, so for me, that’s very helpful,” said Alexander. The program also annually takes its juniors to the College and Career Center to do a college presentation and set up their meetings with counselors before the rest of the school gets access. The main objective of intervention counseling is getting “every student to graduate,” according to Emam. This goal is achieved in many different methods, including reviewing work and checking in on each student. Counselors can also get in touch with teachers and up-

date them with a student’s whale-watching to support to attend school with a more perspective and what they marine biology, or taken positive outlook. may be going through. This students to Google, and [we “Honestly, I’ve never helps them realize that “this have] done a tour there and been the type of person to is serious, this isn’t really enjoy school,” some [stuff] that this Rico said. “But ever kid is making up, this since I’ve been meet"I finally had an adult I could is actually a problem talk to, and it made me stronger.” ing with Ms. Jessie, I that is going on,” said almost look forward Moreno-Silva. to coming to school, Ashanty Moreno-Silva, Moreover, Interespecially when I have BHS senior vention Counseling my appointments often offers career with her.” and college exploraFocusing on the tion field trips, as well as met with staff members to students, the minimal staff streamlines its students into learn about fields in com- members of the intervencommunity college classes puter science,” Emam said. tion counseling system into make sure a student can “We change the field trips tend to keep students movachieve their dreams. In- every year based on what ing forward in high school. spired by her own counsel- students are interested in.” “The best part is knowing or, Moreno-Silvia is pushing These features push students that someone has your herself to become a thera- to pursue their interests and back,” Alexander said. “If pist and just recently ap- look towards their futures. you have the opportunity to BY if it’s plied to both the University Intervention counseling haveILLUSTRATED counseling, even RANELLETTI, layout outside chief; J HORSLEY, of California (UC) Berkeley canSTELLA also change a student's of school,staff I would illustrator; and Stanford University. view on school.TALLULAH For Rico,BENVENISTE, definitely gocontributor for it, especially “We’ve taken students the program motivated her if you feel like you need it.”

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

FEATURES

Georgia Davidson and Travis Baldwin, BHS students, eat lunch at Civic Center Park.

ISABELLA TASSO

Will BHS Make Lunch Longer? BY KIRA RAO-POOLLA staff writer

Two years ago, a freshman at Berkeley High School (BHS) noticed a problem: many of her fellow students weren’t eating. Concerned, she brought the issue up with her mother, Sara Rahimian, who has since taken action to modify the lunch schedule. “The idea actually came from my daughter coming home, talking about how often people don't have enough to eat, and asking me to pack bigger and bigger lunches so that she had food to share,” Rahimian said. Rahimian continued, explaining how “inequities became clear” during the pandemic, with more visible differences in access to food, and other resources. This highlighted issues with the current lunch system, such as disparities in terms of a student’s financial situation and the amount of help they receive from their parents. “There's really a lot of in-

equity in kids who have the means and whose parents have the time,” Rahimian said. “Sometimes, the means is time to prepare food, to pack it for them. They have a very different experience than [students with] parents who don't have time.” The bell schedule committee, a staff committee that advises the principal, has taken the project under its wing, according to Berkeley International High School (BIHS) Vice Principal Harrison Blatt. “We're investigating the way we use time at BHS,” he said. “Lunch is an important part of the school day when students and staff can take a break, nourish themselves, and build friendships. Part of our work involves determining the best way to incorporate a lunch period into the school day.” Blatt added that the committee is currently in the “listening and learning phase” of the work, gathering information and studying academic literature that will inform the proposed redesign.

Bonnie Christensen, Director of Nutrition Services for Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD), described the constraints of the current lunch schedule, which the redesign aims to address. “The ... cafeteria is not big enough for all students to be released at the same time and also get their meals in the cafeteria,'' she said. “We should be able to get these quality meals out to as many students as possible, especially those who don't have access to healthy fresh meals when they leave school.” Christensen added that BUSD middle schools and elementary schools have a lunch structure with several periods, an option that could be considered for BHS. However, she explained that this would create significant challenges for administrators when scheduling classes for students. Christensen also said that teachers and teaching minutes must be considered in the lunch periods. “Schools are in the business of educating and often

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focus on that business al- definitely makes it harder to “The problem is that a lot most exclusively. We know get through my classes and of people eat off campus,” that this isn't enough,” do my work.” Wolff said. “We don't have Christensen said. “Schools She added that the lunch enough time to get food and need to look more broadly schedule can be especially actually sit down and enjoy at how we support the child difficult for athletes. our food without being late throughout the day, as each “[I] have been in a bunch to our next lesson.” aspect is impactful, includ- of different sports, and I Rahimian summarized ing meal periods.” know how important lunch her vision for a lunch break Modifications to the is,” Bedolla Garcia said. “If where students have the time lunch schedule would lead you just take that out, that's to eat and socialize without to success in students’ phys- actually a huge bunch of nu- stress. At a time when the ical, social and emotional trition that you're not get- school is considering a reperformances, according vised bell schedule, she to Christensen. encouraged students to “[Missing lunch] makes Paola Bedolla Garcia, take the opportunity to me really tired and really, a junior in Berkeley Inexpress their support for ternational High School really hungry. I tend to also a longer lunch break. (BIHS), described her be really cranky, and I don't “If the students and experience with the families don't advocate want to listen to people." lunch schedule. Since she soon, we will miss this doesn’t have time to pack opportunity. It will not Paola Bedolla Garcia, her lunch the night behappen for [the] next fore, she must go off camBIHS junior school year,” Rahimpus to get lunch during ian said. “What we want the break, which often to do is encourage the doesn’t give her the chance ting out on the day. That is students and everybody to to eat. just really, really bad, espe- advocate for using this mo“I rarely [have enough cially for people who have ment, when we're revisiting time to eat lunch],” Bedol- practice after school, and the schedule, to increase the la Garcia said. “[Missing they can't eat after school.” amount of lunch, maybe lunch] makes me really Magnus Wolff, another break it up into multiple tired and really, really hun- junior in BIHS, echoed periods so that more kids gry. I tend to also be really these sentiments, describing could be served [and] it's cranky, and I don't want to how the lunch schedule is not such a short intense listen to people. [This] most rushed. window.”

LILY FROST

Many BHS students feel that the current amount of lunch time is insufficient.

ISABELLA TASSO

Online Word Game ‘Wordle’ Brings Welcome Relief to Students BY HANNAH GROTHREIDY staff writer

A new trend has taken Berkeley High School (BHS), as well as the rest of the world, by storm. Wordle is an online word game in which players attempt to guess the daily five-letter word within six tries. Although it came out in October of 2021, Wordle didn’t blow up to its grand scale until much more recently. Anyone can participate on their own device for free, which is part of Wordle's appeal. Unlike many online games and apps today, Wordle is not targeted solely at youth. Many adults play it as well. Elise Nudel, a junior in Academic Choice (AC), for example, heard about the game through her mom. “A lot of my mom’s Facebook friends played it,” Nu-

del said. “They would post their answers on Facebook, so she got me into it.” Lately, however, social media has upset many invested players due to its ability to spoil the word of the day. Just recently, according to the Washington Post, Twitter suspended an account for spoiling the solution to the next day’s Wordle. The idea of spoiling someone’s fun for no good reason is displeasing to many. Kate Badoud, a junior in AC, shared that she has been playing Wordle every day since she heard about it. When asked whether she had heard about online incidences like these previously, she said, “No, but how dare they?” Nudel agreed. “I actually did not know that people post the answers,” she said. “But when you get the word, there’s a share option, so a lot of my

friends will send me their answers. But I think it’s messed up if you spoil the word.” For the majority of BHS students that were asked, spoiler accounts weren’t the focus. Rather, they seem to enjoy the pleasure that 30 minutes of word-puzzling a day gives them. “My favorite thing about it is that it’s always a five-letter word and it’s pretty easy to guess,” Nudel said. “It’s usually a well-known word, so it’s not just totally weird.” In late January of 2021, 14 percent of US adults said they played Wordle daily, according to Statista. In January of 2022, Twitter revealed that Wordle had been mentioned more than 840,000 times across the platform since its release in October 2021. The game has by no means gained its hype by coincidence. If it's a distraction, a mental challenge, or

simply a spark of joy, Wordle is most certainly beloved by many. “It makes you think,” Badoud said when asked what

drew her to it. Other students added on to this, saying they "think it’s so popular because people can prove how smart they are to each

other in a friendly way.” The joy coming from playing Wordle is as simple as the game itself, enabled by its accessibility.

LUCY RICKART-WEBB

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

FEATURES BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

features editors: Raven Fonseca Jensen & Amelia WIley Moreira

GUEST COLUMN: MULTILINGUAL PROGRAM

Meatless Monday Inspires BHS Students BY AELIA GYGER staff writer

NAOD HABTE

I moved to the US from Eritrea in May of 2019, almost three years ago. I didn't know anything about Black History Month until I moved to this country, mainly because the whole Eritrean population is Black. Back home we never celebrated it. I remember my first Black History Month, in February 2020, and since then I've been celebrating the month like everyone else. Black History Month is a big deal in the US and means a lot to Black people because it is a month to celebrate Black excellence. Black excellence is the mindset, backed by continuous action, to look within ourselves and act in ways that progress our communities. The month of February was chosen for Black History Month because it coincides with the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln, the US president who issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and Frederick Douglas, an African American writer and abolitionist. Throughout history, we have had a lot of iconic Black politicians and activists, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Obama, Oprah, and Harriet Tubman. One of the most well-known Black activists was MLK. He died on April 4, 1968, and is known for his “I Have a Dream” speech that he gave on August 28, 1963. There are also numerous influential Black athletes, for example Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, and Tim Howard, one of the first Black professional soccer players from the US. There is a long history of racism in this country that has affected many groups, but it has deeply affected the Black community. Black people went through a lot of racism and slavery in this country. Maybe racism is not as bad as it used to be, but there is still racism nowadays. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 46-yearold father was pinned beneath police officer Derek Chauvin. He kept saying “I CAN’T BREATHE." Nobody could save him and Floyd passed away. After the incident, a lot of people protested, saying “BLACK LIVES MATTER.” According to the Bay Area Census, 7.5 percent of immigrants in the Bay Area are Black people. I interviewed my friend Aziel Habtemichael, a senior at Berkeley High School (BHS), who moved here from Eritrea in March of 2019. I asked him about how it feels to be a Black immigrant at BHS. He said, “There are not many Black immigrants in BHS, and most of us that immigrate during high school … [understand] … poverty in Africa. Most of the resources [we] get here [are] very important to [us] because since we [were] born in Africa, we were told to take every opportunity we get.”

Ravenfonsecajensen@students.berkeley.net

Berkeley High School (BHS) has countless different clubs, and one that has steadily gained attention since the beginning of the school year is the Meatless Monday Campaign. Sophomore Zaia Bachrach created the club last spring, when she, like many other teenagers, wanted to find a simple way to help the planet and reduce her carbon footprint. “[The] media is basically telling us that we can either sit back and watch institutions fail at solving climate change, or try to take really insignificant actions every day to reduce our personal carbon footprint,” said Bachrach. “So I was looking for something as a kind of middle ground.” Bachrach found that an easy way an individual can lower their carbon footprint is by changing what they eat. “Diet change for climate change [is] essentially changing the diet, or changing what you eat. For example, reducing the amount of meat that you eat to help mitigate climate change,” Bachrach said. “I was just re-

ally blown away by this concept, especially [in] finding out that animal agriculture produces equivalent — if not more — greenhouse gas emissions than the transportation sector.” According to a study by National Geographic, it takes 1,799 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef, compared to the 11 gallons required to make a slice of bread. Carbon Brief, a UKbased website covering the latest climate change discoveries, reported that meat and dairy are responsible for 14.5 percent of greenhouse emissions. Ysabel Chu, a BHS freshman, joined the Meatless Monday Campaign to find people who were also passionate about the environment, and said that each student can help through their consumption. “Sometimes people think you have to … either be completely vegan or nothing at all. But that's really tough,” said Chu. She added that she had been a vegetarian for the past year, and that it has felt worth it to her despite being a challenge. Chu hopes to become vegan in the future. The Meatless Monday

Campaign's goal is to make it easy for BHS students to create a positive impact on climate change. “If you cut meat out of your diet just one day a week, that would be saving the equivalent of over 300 miles driven in [a car],” said Arya Winer-Fashing, who is part of the Meatless Monday Campaign committee and has been a vegetarian for the past five years. “So if every person contributes just a little bit, we could cut down on carbon emissions by 10 or even 20 percent depending on how many people participate.” The Meatless Monday Campaign has also tried to

make the BHS cafeteria food more appealing to vegetarians and vegans. Although there have been more vegetarian options, vegan options are still lacking. “We're trying to get the cafeteria to offer more plant-based and vegetarian options that are appealing to our student body, as well as more options that are inclusive to the many, many dietary restrictions that we have at BHS, [and] just to improve food offerings in general,” Bachrach said. Winer-Fashing concluded that when it comes to climate change, “every single person can make a difference.”

The Meatless Monday team holds discount flyers.

CLARA ELM NETTESHEIM

Controversial Opinions in U9 Classrooms BY FINOLA JACKSON staff writer

When it comes to opinions at Berkeley High School (BHS), the student body generally agrees on political issues. As such, students don't have much experience interacting with opinions different from their own. To combat this, BHS’s Universal Ninth Grade (U9) is striving to make processing different perspectives part of the curriculum. Students in U9 recently finished a project in which they wrote an essay taking a side on a controversial topic. Julie Panebianco, a U9 English teacher, said that the assignment led students to recognize that many issues are more complicated than

they originally seem. “Students thought they had [strong] opinions about things until they started digging more deeply into the issue and realizing that most issues are more complicated than they seem from first glance,” said Panebianco. “The good thing was a lot of them wanted to do additional research to learn more about their topic.” Khethani Tombs, a U9 student, said that he felt the project helped him to better consider other perspectives. “Sometimes I am not really willing to listen to other people that much, but it really helped me understand where other people might be coming from,” said Tombs. Panebianco has witnessed her class process different perspectives outside

The Multilingual Program (MLP) is a BHS small learning community serving students who speak a primary language other than English. MLP students represent nearly 30 different countries and speak over 20 languages. LYDIA KIM

the curriculum. She said that earlier in the year, a student said something hurtful to his classmates. Instead of stopping there, the class fostered a discussion where students could grow from listening to each other. “The cool thing was that we were able to have a conversation about it,” said Panebianco. “It was a great lesson on intent versus impact, and I feel like everybody's minds were sort of opened from that experience.” However, constructive discussion around a controversial opinion doesn’t always happen. Freshman Margaret Graham said that the student body can be very vocal in disagreeing with controversial opinions. “In class, I feel like when someone shares something that others don’t agree with, there's yelling and a lot of disruption in the classroom,” said Graham. Jessica Hipona, another student in U9, said that while some opinions are dominant, BHS does promote discussion. “A lot of the conversation is dominated by certain opinions, though, and

individuals may have a hard time sharing less supported opinions,” said Hipona. “But for the most part, I'd say there's a lot of communication and conversations in BHS itself.” Freshman Sybille SimonThomas said BHS students will speak up if a student says something hateful or offensive. However, SimonThomas also noted that she hasn’t heard anyone voicing conservative perspectives. “I’m sure there are people at BHS that are Republicans, but I haven’t experienced them voicing their opinion," said Simon-Thomas. Panebianco said having discussions around controversial opinions is important in creating a less divisive society. “We have to learn that outside of the Bay Area bubble, there are people with different opinions and that we can’t assume anything about how they arrived at those opinions unless we have a discussion,” said Panebianco. “And I think in order to send kids off into the world and leave this area, they need those skills to create a less divisive society in the future.”

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

FEATURES

Prodigies Face Pressures of Perfectionism At age six or seven, Heinstein had long outpaced the snowboarders of his own age group. He then trained together with a team of thirteen-year-olds in order to ensure his continued progress. Similarly, Harris often played at concerts where all the other performers were adults, feeling the increased pressure as he performed. FIONA FIREPINE Heinstein displays his national snowboarding medals. When speaking about her CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 point, I had spent nine or patients, Garcia said, “The ten years doing it, and I had number one stress I’m seeOtto Harris, a BHS ju- to keep doing it … I had al- ing is that people just don’t nior, began playing classical ready put so much time into feel happy, and they can’t reguitar when he was nearly it, I can’t stop now.” ally even put into words why five years old. CommitOn the other hand, Hein- they’re not happy.” ting to the instrument at stein’s commitment was Heinstein affirmed this. a serious level, he studied rooted in true enjoyment. “I “Because I wasn’t up in and performed for the next really did legitimately love the mountains enough, I twelve years despite not en- snowboarding. It was some- didn’t have any long-lastjoying it and losing motiva- thing that I just could not ing friendships there, and tion even as he improved. live withI wasn’t at Due to the difficult na- out. It was home long ture of his craft, “It never felt like my life “In my child brain, it was enough to like I was getting better be- blood,” he such a fall from grace to have longcause I kept getting harder said. go from number one in l a s t i n g and harder pieces, and that To what friendthe nation to just number ships there, demotivated me.” degree, For some, the emphasis h o w e v e r, one or number two at the w h i c h school.” on prodigy and pressure to does outmade me succeed are self-enforced. side influf r ustrated According to Dr. Nora ence imwith the Dylan Heinstein, Garcia, chief of pediatrics at pact how sport at BHS senior the Berkeley Kaiser Medical prodigy is times,” he Office, “The vast majority of shaped? said. kids put their own pressure Heinstein attributed He added that prodigy on themselves. They think at least a small part of his at a young age can be detriit’s what their parents want.” early commitment to what mental to young people’s self This is the case for Simon he called “immigrant par- worth. Starbuck, a junior and the ent perfectionism,” which “In my child brain, it was concertmaster of the BHS he is familiar with due to such a fall from grace to go chamber orchestra. “No- his immigrant mother. His from number one in the nabody is really telling me I parents’ support — whether tion to just number one or have to be perfect, but [for] driving to the mountains number two at the school. every musician, we are all each weekend, arranging … It does give you this reour worst critics,” Starbuck private coaching sessions, ally false perspective,” Heinsaid. “This is magnified if or traveling to Keystone or stein said. you are known to be good Breckenridge in Colorado Additionally, both Har... as that pressure to comply for Nationals at Copper ris and Heinstein described with your own rumors and Mountain — played a major feeling limited in branchstereotypes is a lot.” role in his success. ing out to other activities. Harris felt similarly. “My Many children who ex- “I feel like I lost time that I dad offered to let me switch cel in their field are often could’ve done other things I multiple times and I told surrounded by people far wanted to do more,” Harris myself, ‘I have to keep doing beyond their age group in said. this,’” Harris said. “At that order to accelerate growth. It appears that prodigy is

by nature unsustainable for many. Chief among Heinstein’s myriad of reasons for leaving the world of snowboarding competitions was the risk of injury. By the time he switched to an adult snowboard at age eight or nine, doing halfpipe events meant being up to 30 feet in the air, and his jumps were launching him up to 80 feet above ground. “By that age, I was wearing pads everywhere. My friends were breaking their collarbones, getting concussions, starting to do flips … Getting the wind knocked out to me was a pretty regular occurrence,” he said. One instance stood out to Heinstein. He was six, and while doing a frontside 360 jump, his flexibility caused his knee to come up into his chin, and he bit his lip hard. Afterwards, “I was eating things in tiny slices and drinking out of a straw,” Heinstein recalled. As the medals and complex tricks increased, so did the risk of injuries. By that point, his parents encouraged him to quit. For Harris, it was burnout that made classical guitar unsustainable. After over a decade, he finally quit, due to his increasingly busy schedule and a loss of passion. Though he rarely plays classical guitar anymore, he still enjoys casually playing, and is in some ways grateful for the foundation it gave him. “When you’re doing something at a high level, there’s definitely this expectation for the rest of your life,” Heinstein said. “You will think that if you have the capacity to be the best, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t. I was teaching myself that I was allowed to be bad at things.”

Bilingual Students Seek Language Balance CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

McKerley attended Sylvia Mendez Elementary School, a Two-Way Immersion (TWI) school, but has since gone to mostly Englishcentered schools like BHS. When asked whether or not she thinks her Spanish language skills have regressed after attending primarily English-speaking schools, McKerley said she “100 percent” believes they have. “After I was put in English Language Development (ELD), I started to believe speaking Spanish was bad and that having an accent was bad,” McKerley explained. “I was only put into that program to begin with because I had an accent as a kid.” When asked if there is pressure to speak English in

school, Hayashi said, “Yes, most definitely, I feel like being surrounded by English speakers, I have come accustomed to speaking English.” McKerley echoed this sentiment. “There is definitely pressure to speak English in school,” she said. “I can’t really speak Spanish to anyone in school — I have no Spanish-speaking friends.” “I’ll be honest, right now I’m not as fluent in Italian as I used to be,” said Nordman. “My mom is the only person I can really consistently speak Italian with because I have no Italian-speaking friends and there isn’t an Italian language class at school.” Despite all of this, Nordman says that he doesn’t feel any cultural pressure to

only speak English. “Personally, I think being able to speak another language is super cool, especially a less common one like Italian,” he said. “In my experience, other people appreciate the fact that I can speak two languages.” McKerley explained that being bilingual has impacts

outside of the classroom as well. “It’s a little weird to speak Spanish to someone just based on an assumption they speak Spanish, but if there’s a waiter who I hear speaking Spanish, I’ll speak Spanish to them,” she said. “[It] feels good to connect to someone in that way.”

POPPY CHAMBERS

THE STAGES OF GRIEF AFTER ASSAULT MIRANDA COUCH

They say there are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. In the grief of sexual assault, I started off with denial. I’d always been taught how to say no. I took self-defense classes, I never had issues with peer pressure, I expressed my opinions. Yet, I’d never been taught that I’d actually have to say no. It all seemed so foreign, like sexual harm was something that happened to drunk girls wearing skimpy clothing in alleyways at night, their assaulters being the strangers in vans with candy we were warned of as kids. I never thought it would happen at home, in my kitchen, in my bedroom. I had been safe, I had been sheltered. I thought things like that couldn’t happen in lives as comfortable as mine. The anger was constant. Initially, I wasn’t angry at my assaulter. I didn’t think it could be his fault. I hadn’t understood what had happened at first, only that I felt violated. If I as a survivor hadn’t known, how could he know? Still, I was angry, so I blamed our lack of consent education and the media’s lack of representation. While those are serious issues, I can blame him now. When assaulters make the conscious decision to commit sexual harm, the conscious decision to ignore someone’s lack of consent, their choices are entirely their responsibility. Even the tea video we saw in school covered that much. It felt mature to say I didn’t blame him, but it just made me blame myself. Blaming myself made me bargain with the past. I kept thinking, what if I said something else? Given a different excuse. Sounded more serious. I wanted a reason, a motive. I beat myself up about disregarding warnings. I second guessed, I double checked. I worried I’d blown everything out of proportion. How could I let myself trust him? Still, I knew all the answers, or I knew I could never know. I’ll never know what would happen in a different scenario, or his reasoning, but I did know why I trusted him. Over 80 percent of assaulters are someone the survivor knows, and as in my case, they are someone they trust. Trust amplifies the feeling that this violation isn’t only physical. It’s a violation of being, of self assurance, of trust itself. There are still times I feel where nothing is my own, not my body, not my sense of self, not my home. It felt like betrayal, and in losing that doubtlessness, I felt sickeningly uncomfortable. Enter the depression stage of grief, a slow agony of despondency in the absence of trust. I don’t believe I’ve reached acceptance yet. To be honest, I don’t know what acceptance looks like. It’s almost scary to think someday I might not be affected by something that plagues me so constantly now. I thought acceptance would come when I could trust him again, when I felt safe around him, but every time we talk, I’m more convinced that won’t ever happen. While acceptance looks different for everyone, I think mine will happen when I feel comfortable on campus, and no longer experience so much anxiety about sexual assault. Resources if you have experienced sexual harm include the Health Center (H105) and Jasmina Viteskic (G202A), as well as rainn.org (800-656-4673).

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ENTERTAINMENT BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

Entertainment editors: Asha Baudart-Gehlawat & Ruby Freedman

GAVIN’S FROG LOG GAVIN TROTMORE

Hello avid readers of the frog log! It’s been a bit of a misty minute. To commence, a couple service announcements. Going forward we will have a new segment entitled “Frogger Spotlight” where I will share all of your wonderful frog anecdotes and chronicles. Send all of your tales to gavinsfroglog@gmail.com. Also, be expecting in the coming logs a foragers account and exploration of an unidentified lake in Tilden, which is rumored to contain red legged toads! Ah, to be an amphibian. This log is, if anything, an ode to the impressive grip of a frog’s nuptial pads. Frogs are almost like small patches of the earth itself, sprawling about, bumping into one another and eating the occasional fly. The only aspect that sets them apart from their dewy environment are their protruding pointed corneas. We will now delve into the fascinating Southern corroboree species. These frogs display a bumble-bee-like color palette, with inky blotted strips down their backs and sides. They reside in the high altitudes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia. Weighing in at only 2.5-3 centimeters, their diet consists of beetles, ants, mites, and insect larvae. They are also the first vertebrates discovered to have the ability to produce their own poisonous alkaloid, something which other frogs develop through their diet. Unfortunately, fewer than 20 calling males lived in the wild — as of 2021 — largely due to an infection called Chytrid fungus. This disease envelopes a frog’s skin in fungus to the point where they can no longer breathe. But do not fret yourself frogless! The Melbourne Zoo in Australia has successfully figured out how to breed them in captivity and release them back onto the mountain. Our next species is none other than the African Clawed Frog, known for its regenerative capabilities in the tadpole state. These amphibians look quite sinister, truly emulating a Disney movie villain trope. Their protruding attributes include bug eyes and long pointed toes. This and their faded blurry spots meld together make them beautiful monsters. Scientists are saying that these animals’ incredible abilities could guide future research regarding limb regeneration in humans! While we’ve learned about what these mucusy mud marauders have meant to ancient Egypt, we will now take a trip to China. The toad in ancient China was a female force. They were seen as a negative yin to the positive male yang. As the moon was the symbol of yin, there was a story of the moon frog that was believed to cause eclipses by ingesting the moon. Properly lumbering limbs uphold a figure. Beady eyes protrude from the confines of a rock. A broken branch, you think, perhaps a convergence of algae and other vegetation. In truth, it is an omnivore, unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

ashabaudartgehlawa@students.berkeley.net

Making Classics Books Accessible to Youth BY HELEN KIBEL staff writer

With the arrival of social media and other easily accessible avenues for entertainment, reading has undoubtedly become a less popular pastime. There is no denying that these popular sources of entertainment will be the basis in which our culture will be informed in the future; the goings-on of social media seem set to become the historical records of this generation. Classic literature does not possess the same accessibility and addictive appeal as mainstream media, which compels younger audiences to ignore the crusty

yellowed pages of classic novels. However, these fundamental pieces of literature are necessary for understanding politics and cultural mores. How can books compete with the addictive nature of social media, or spark engagement with literary classics in young children? The answer can be found in the simplification of classic literature. Classic literature is present in almost every aspect of culture. People must be familiar with messages communicated through these stories to interact with and understand much of current media. But works such as Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Of Mice and Men, and various plays by Shakespeare contain

GABRIELLA BUSANSKY

many elements that keep individuals from accessing these brilliant pieces. For non-native speakers, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Shakespeare’s plays are particularly difficult, as the vernacular can be confusing and appear convoluted. Additionally, many classic books contain sensitive topics not typically suitable for young children, such as suicide, rape, and explicit descriptions of violence. Simplifying classic literature for children makes for a way of youth to digest material otherwise incomprehensible or violent or sexual in nature. It also provides an alternative for non-native speakers to become familiar with common stories that would typically be above their vocabulary in their original forms. Abridged classics are a genre of books geared towards middle schoolers that retain the basic idea of a classic piece of literature, while cutting out or altering many of the graphic details, to help with comprehension of the actual piece. If done correctly, the overall theme and mood of the shortened version will mirror those of the original text. The publishing company Penguin Readers, for example, pro-

duces classic books such as Little Women or Phantom of the Opera with abridged options for different reading levels. These lower level books are why so many young children can be familiar with popular, beloved stories. One of the motivators to continue publishing these books is that through these abridged novels, younger audiences may be inspired to seek out the original works as they age. Pushing kids to read earlier on and using vocabulary and concepts they can understand will help these abridged novels and graphics to round children’s concept of fundamental literature and provide parents and guardians an alternative to social media for solitary, sedentary entertainment. Abridged literature benefits all who read it; whether that be for comprehension or for the illustrations that are often included. For non-native speakers, these books provide an alternative to translated texts and can be the segue for children looking to read the original works. For all, the ideas around the culture of classic literature have the potential to be understood and better appreciated.

Art Competition Shows Inhibit Creativity BY MARINA HOWARD staff writer

Pitting artists against one another is inherently disobeying an unofficial moral code. This code entails that art is subjective, that the viewer and creator form their own opinions on a work. In today’s art competition TV shows, art is “objectively” judged based on qualities such as creativity or craftsmanship. On these shows, art is ridiculed and made out to be better or worse, when in reality, the quality of the art should personally be determined by the viewer. A show that has gained a lot of traction recently is called The Great Pottery Showdown, and it features this exact type of objective art judgment. Potters compete against one another to get the best rating from a panel of judges, based on certain criteria. The judges can also downvote craftsmanship based on the most specific qualifications. In episode 1 of season 4, a contestant named Lee is told

that his cheese dish could have been slightly taller, allowing for more food. This messaging tells young artists that they will be criticized in a one-size-fits-all standard and should adhere to the mainstream, otherwise they will not be considered great. Instead, art is a message to be interpreted, not a book of guidelines or rules. Another show that highlights why competitive art as entertainment leads to unrealistic expectations was Works of Art: The Next Great Artist. Unlike other content in this genre, this show held competitions for artists who work in many different mediums — performance artists, painters, photographers, and others. This variety, while interesting to watch play out, was inherently tilted in the direction of one medium. For example, in episode 1 of season 1, contestants were given an assignment to make a portrait of another competitor. How might the performance artist create a portrait while salvaging the technical integrity of the piece? While it can be done, it is silly to

expect every form of art to be able to compete with one another. Expecting different artists of the same medium to compete against one another runs into a similar type of issue. People have different ways of communicating meaning, and tailoring perceptions of beauty and skill to a standard is impossible. If you faced a cubist against a realist in the early 1900s, of course the realist would be considered better. Objective art judgment has changed with the trends of the time and the perspective of the viewer. Therefore, examining art will always be a subjective activity. In American society, the idea that capitalism breeds innovation emphasizes the

artificial need to be the best at whatever it is you may be pursuing. If you are not the best — or rather, the most commercially successful or rich — you will be swept away by better, more innovative companies. This idea has been translated into the world of art, which is abundantly clear based on these kinds of competitive art shows. Are the trials and tribulations of going head to head with another artist making people better at their art? Does this competition foster an environment for creativity and experimentation? The answer is no, because it instead provides entertainment, yet takes away the truly beautiful side of the creation of art.

In BHS ceramics classes, students can freely explore artistry. MALIN MORELL

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

ENTERTAINMENT

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The Risk of Parenting Books BY SKYLER ROCKMAEL staff writer

Being a parent means having another person’s life in your hands. It means rerouting your entire life to prioritize the success and safety of another. It’s a human’s most significant responsibility. How do parents know how to go about this task correctly? Most parents receive some sort of guidance, and many look to parenting books for answers. Parent education is a multi-million dollar industry that taps into the fears of new parents. According to askwonder.com, “Millennial moms spent $231.6 million on parenting books and $141 million on parenting apps annually.” There are several different kinds of parenting books, but the goal of most is to teach parents how to “successfully” raise children. While the objective of parenting books appears

to be helpful, there are also problems with relying on a book to raise your child. Often, these books have very strong opinions about child-rearing practices and this can cause conflict and confusion for new parents. These ideas can create pressure to do things in a specific manner and build paranoia on what’s “right.” Many books will critique a parental decision without acknowledging the potential cultural reasoning behind it. For example, many American parenting books critique the practice of cosleeping. However, for many cultures around the world, co-sleeping is a safe and effective practice that encourages attachment and healthy sleep. These conflicting messages can increase stress on a new parent struggling to sleep-train their child. Despite these issues, however, many parents do find these resources helpful. Books such as The Whole Brained Child, The Power

of Showing Up: How Parental Presence Shapes Who Our Kids Become and How Their Brains Get Wired, and The Sears Baby Book outline typical developmental milestones and can help parents know what to expect as their child grows. They are great resources for understanding behavior, a child’s needs, and complex problems like toilet training and transitioning to daycare. These books can also alert parents to potential problems, like when to contact a pediatrician, and they can be comforting for those who lack outside resources. This is because parenting books normalize the intense experience of being a parent of a young child and provide concrete advice and information. Parenting is one of the most challenging jobs in the world. The industry of parent education has capitalized on the fears of new parents and their search for answers. While the goal of parenting books is to pro-

vide this needed support, they can also be a source of stress and confusion. Many lack any understanding of cultural norms and have biased points of view. That being said, it takes a vil-

lage to raise a child, and for many, books are incredible sources of support. If a parent lacks resources or help, a parenting book might be a perfect tool for them. The takeaway from this is that

MAHELA CABRINI

the decisions a parent makes — whether informed by a book, family member, or their community — are personal, unique, and, hopefully, what will be best for them.

BHS Artist Profile: Vivien Silas BY AVHA MEISELS staff writer

RIOKA HAYAMA

Labels Help Find Community BY MARINA PELLERIN staff writer

Whether regarding sexuality, gender identity, political stance, or even zodiac sign, members of society constantly labels themselves. These labels can be validating: some people go years without knowing who they are, and once they find something with which they can relate, it can be both scary and a relief. Some people crave labels because of society’s standards and the judgements placed on them by their peers. For many, having a label provides a sense of belonging and community. It brings feelings of validation and comfort, as well as a family to lean back on. Finding a single person or a group of people with whom to connect can make one feel safe and welcome.

However, there are many assumptions and stereotypes that are associated with certain labels. These could be regarding gender identity, sexuality, and more. With the rise of online content tracking, one is often only exposed to people who self-label similarly. This includes zodiac signs, clothing style, and makeup, as well as gender identity and sexuality. While these labels provide many people with a niche group to identify with, they also breed animosity and stereotypes between different groups. For example, people are constantly attacked for identifying with labels like “alternative” or “indie,” when the point of self-labeling is to feel comfortable in your identity. Some positive examples of social media and labels can include finding people with whom you connect.

It can be validating to see a relatable post, as it makes many feel less alone. Labeling yourself is not necessarily a bad thing if you have a positive attitude towards it. What is important is that you are labeling yourself for the right reasons. If you don’t know what pronouns to use, what sexuality you identify with, or even what your clothing style is called, it’s not something you should have to be worried about. Unfortunately, there is a lot of stress that comes from society and social media that causes people to feel like they need to know everything about themselves. As a community, it is important to work on building a safer space for people with labels to be accepted, as well as fostering space for those who are day by day learning more about themselves and their identity.

In the past, any new artist would almost always have to sign with a record company in order to professionally produce and record their songs. Nowadays, however, thanks to new online streaming services and accessible sound editing apps, almost anyone has the opportunity to create songs with music software that can be accessed from one’s home. While this has raised some controversy, it also provides a more diverse array of music to listen to. Due to this drastic change, there are more new artists than ever releasing music, even if they don’t have access to a studio. Vivien Silas, a freshman at Berkeley High School, is one of these artists. Though Silas has been making music for some time now, her first single, “The Next Sunny Saturday,” came out on February 11. This song showcases Silas’ soft vocals and creative songwriting, and features layered harmonies and a haunting melody. Silas’ new single has a distinct feel, similar to some of Billie Eilish’s early work. “I haven’t put too many instruments on it because I produced it on my computer,” Silas said. “I would say it’s very poetic and it’s more of an electronic alternative pop type of sound.” Silas admires Billie Eilish because she also made some of her first music from home. “That was really inspiring, just her work ethic and the way she

makes her music,” Silas explained. Silas has many plans for the future when it comes to her music; she even plans to make an album. “After the album is released, hopefully over the summer I’ll do some shows,” Silas said. Silas also hopes that if her music grows enough in popularity, she may even be able to do a small tour. However, the plans don’t end there. “After this album, I’m going to make another one, hopefully,” Silas said. Silas’ next album is centered around her experience of growing up and exploring

her identity. “This album is rooted in figuring out who I am,” she explained. Silas believes that music helped her find herself, and that’s what her next album will really be about. “I’ve always really loved poetry and expressing my feelings through poems and songs.” Silas’ first single was released on all music platforms, as will her album when it comes out this summer. Silas represents a budding generation of artists in this modern age, with a fresh take on identity and a sound that will hopefully inspire new thought.

Freshman Vivien Silas is a singer and music producer.

JULIAN CURRIER

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

ENTERTAINMENT

‘Phantom Texts:’ Can Science Explain Them or Are We Crazy?

BY ZADA SANGER staff writer

The onset of the age of technology has brought solutions to a myriad of challenges, but our exponential technological innovation has also created a host of new problems. One of the issues brought on by our

increasing usage and dependency on our phones is called the “phantom ringing syndrome,” “phantom vibration syndrome” or “phantom text syndrome.” The phenomenon is characterized by a feeling that you have heard or felt a text or call notification from your phone when in fact, you haven’t at all. This tactile

LEILAH DOOSTAN

hallucination has become shockingly common. Some people hypothesize that the phantom text syndrome is attributed to the phones’ rewiring of our brains, some think the phenomenon is due to habits that we have learned, and other people argue that there is no scientific explanation at all. As smart phones have

Pedophilia or Timeless Love? BY PEARL GAUTHIER staff writer

Twilight is likely one of the most popular romance series among teenagers. The movies have some appealing aspects — the acting and special effects are strange — which only add to the show’s captivating quality. Unfortunately, one feature that isn’t quite as lovable is extreme age differences in romantic relationships. The main character, Bella, is 17 when approached by Edward, a vampire who is nearly 100 years older than her. Despite their age gap and his stalker-like behavior, they become a couple, showing viewers a morally twisted standard for relationships. If Edward looked his age, the movies would face much more controversy. Many accept this age gap because they feel it demonstrates the timelessness of

love. Love may be ageless, but romance can’t be. There is a clear power imbalance between a minor and an older adult. The latter has more knowledge of the world, so it’s easier to manipulate a young partner. When we apply this to Bella and Edward, it’s clear their relationship is unequal. The majority of the films are full of Bella’s much older boyfriend manipulating her, as well as the notso-subtle promotion of abstinence, as Edward refuses to have sex with Bella until marriage. Then, why does Twilight continue to foster a massive fanbase with teenage girls? A younger girl dating an older man is marketed as appealing; the girl is made to feel mature and safe. This ties in directly with how heterosexual relationships are structured within the patriarchy: women are supposed to want men who are more powerful than them.

Even if many of Twilight’s fans will admit the age gap is strange, it’s still regarded as a desirable love story. Though many fans see the issue with this relationship dynamic, young, impressionable people are still being fed the idea that it is glamorous to be seventeen and date a man from the era of the Great Influenza epidemic. A large part of the romanticization of pedophilia is done by women. The Twilight book series was written by a woman named Stephenie Meyer, and a director of the films is also a woman, Catherine Hardwick. They clearly aren’t the only women doing this — Lana Del Rey has received backlash for glorifying the idea of being taken advantage of by older men. While we can still appreciate Twilight, we must consider the line between love transcending time and blatant pedophilia.

RAQUEL CLYDESDALE

practically been adopted as a necessity by much of the population, their usefulness has been checked by developments that indicate they may have serious implications for their users. One of the central studies on phantom vibration syndrome, conducted by Georgia Tech’s Robert Rosenberger, Ph.D., found that over 90 percent of cell phone users experience this phenomenon. Due to his research, Rosenberger believes that this is multifaceted, and has reached the conclusion that the phantom vibration syndrome is due to a combination of two factors. First, we have accepted cell phones as an extension of our own bodies. This has led users to become so highly attuned to the sounds and vibrations of our phones that even a muscle spasm or rustle of a pant leg can trigger our response to a notification we never received. The second explanation has to do with our anxiety about receiving messages and calls. Rosenberger

compares it to anticipating the arrival of a guest; cell phones have instilled a chronic stress and anxiety in many users that leads

Even a muscle spasm or rustle of a pant leg can trigger our response to a notification we never received. them to check their phones excessively out of fear they might miss something. Psychologist Larry Rosen, Ph.D., believes that phantom vibration syndrome is more closely related to our brain’s release of certain hormones. Smartphones are increasing the flow of epinephrine, the adrenaline hormone that is the root of the “fight or flight” response, as well as dopamine, which is the hormone related to satisfaction and motivation. However, smartphones also decrease the flow of serotonin, the hormone associated with happiness, calm, and focus.

Essentially, phones increase our feelings of ecstasy, in the form of a rush or short term elation, but they decrease our long term sense of peace and ability to have lasting contentment. These hormonal changes are linked to increased stress and anxiety, and a physical manifestation of this imbalance could very well be the auditory and sensory hallucinations of the phantom text syndrome. On the other hand, there is a “chicken or egg” debate about mental health issues related to cell phone usage — do phones just exacerbate pre-existing mental health conditions? Or are they the cause of the climbing rates of anxiety and depression among users? We must continue to investigate these phenomena to understand the technologicallydriven future ahead of us. Luckily, the nuisance of the phantom text syndrome can be combated by unplugging, which we would all benefit from doing more often.

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

SPORTS

Megan Melgaard will step into the role of BHS head swim coach starting this season.

CLARA ELM NETTESHEIM

Megan Melgaard, Seasoned Athlete, Is New Swim Coach the University of Florida, the US National Team, and the World Masters Championships. Melgaard said that she aspires to “[make] sure [she] can support an athlete’s whole self, not just

Melgaard was drawn to the sport for both the physical practice and learning environment. “I’ve found This year, Megan Melthat I really love the technigaard, a seasoned athlete, cal aspect of swimming … swimmer, and coach, is the training and growth, as excited to share her well as developing a knowledge with stuperson’s confidence dents as she begins her “It’s not about being the fastest and character.” Melfirst year as a Berkeley swimmer in the pool, a lot of it’s gaard’s coaching caHigh School (BHS) about character and how you ap- reer was sparked by head swim coach. a desire to share her proach the sport.” Melgaard was born passion for swimin Mission Viejo, Calming through teachMegan Melgaard, ifornia, and her swiming. “I get great joy in ming career began at seeing other people BHS Head Swim Coach a “mommy and me” succeed, which led swim class when she to my desire to jump was six years old. Her first from a swimming perspec- in and continue coaching as coaching experience was at tive.” She aims to encourage part of my career and part of age 14 for a local country “character, growth, goals, my life,” said Melgaard. club. Melgaard went on to learning, and supporting Melgaard’s grandfather swim for her high school, one another.” inspired her to get to where BY ARIANA YEROVAM staff writer

she is today. She said he “always had such a positive attitude and really impacted me.” Melgaard also looks up to the many people in the swimming field she’s gotten to work with, such as Eddie Reese, a coach at the University of Texas, and Dave Durban, a coach at the University of California. Those role models encouraged her, and Melgaard has now amassed a large list of achievements, including playing the part of Megan Hyde in the movie The Guardian, alongside actors Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. Aside from swimming, Melgaard is an adventure junkie. She loves to paddleboard, kayak, and take walks along the beach with her dog. One of her greatest personal achievements has been “seeing the athletes that I coach succeed as [individuals]. It’s a wonderful personal achievement and one that still continues.” Melgaard aspires to guide the swimming program in a positive direction. Melgaard advises, “Stay positive, do the work, set goals, and move towards achieving those goals. It’s not about being the fastest swimmer in the pool, a lot of it’s about character and how you approach the sport.” Finally, Melgaard said, “I am incredibly honored to be a part of the [BHS] community, it’s already been a great start and I’m really excited to see what the future holds.”

Scaled Scoring Enables Unconscious Bias BY STEPHANIE JERSEY staff writer

Passionate sports fans cannot resist offering their opinion when it comes to the outcomes of their favorite teams. When their team doesn’t win, fans are quick to blame the judges, accusing them of bias or error. However, how often is there truth behind these accusations? The answer to this question is complex. It’s safe to assert that bias can affect competitions at any level. Despite that, bias is often unconscious, making it hard to determine whether judges are truly to blame. Sports such as gymnastics, diving, and figure skating are particularly affected due to the fact that judges entirely dictate the score athletes receive, unlike umpires or referees, who simply enforce rules. In these sports, technical skills are assigned a base value, and points can be added based on execution. Though this scoring system is well developed, it is not immune to bias. Research has shown that Olympic judges have favored athletes of their same nationality and given lower scores to the opposition.

This phenomenon is particularly relevant with the conclusion of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China. At the onset of the games, controversy regarding judging arose. Participants and viewers were outraged that Chinese Judge Huang Fen was allowed to return as a technical judge after being found guilty of giving a Chinese figure skating pair unreasonably high scores during the 2018 Olympics, contributing to their silver medal win. Biased judging can occur at all levels of competition. Berkeley High School (BHS) junior and gymnast Stella Wellborn has experienced biased judging in the past. “At one of the last meets I competed in, my team was doing really well on beam. We had barely any wobbles and no falls, but we all got low eights for our scores. But a team we were competing against [made] a lot of mistakes, and some even fell, but they all received high nines,” said Wellborn. While crooked judges can slip through the cracks, most judges take their responsibilities seriously. “We are told to judge impartially and I believe most of the judges do their best to carry that out,” said Lisa Be-

rahovich, an National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) gymnastics judge. The most prevalent bias that impacts judging is actually unconscious rather than active. One example of unconscious bias is reputation, which may cause judges to score athletes or teams higher when they have an impressive reputation. A study done by Henning Plessner, a professor of sports psychology at the University of Heidelberg, found that something as insignificant as the order in which athletes perform — such as last versus first — could impact their score. Since implicit bias cannot be eliminated, certain regulations imposed on judges aim to reduce overt

prejudice. In some competitions, the highest and lowest scores are dropped and the remaining scores are averaged for the final judging result. Derek Douglas, head diving coach at BHS, believes that this policy successfully mitigates error. “When I am judging and I mess up … by scoring too high or low, it makes me feel better that it may be dropped,” said Douglas. It’s important to understand human bias that can impact who comes out on top while also acknowledging the difficulty of judging. As long as humans are judges, error will exist, and therefore regulations must act as a balancing measure to ensure the fairest competition possible.

MAIA KESLER

HOMOEROTICISM IN PLATO’S ‘SYMPOSIUM’ LILIANE LOZAC’H

A time honored classic, Symposium represents almost everything we know about ancient love and can be adapted to the principles of modern day love as well. For those unfamiliar with Symposium, Plato recounts a dinner party held between lively scholars, culminating around one central question: What is love? Though the Symposium mostly serves as a philosophical discussion on the ethics of love and desire, it can also be used to analyze the ways in which Ancient Greece regarded homosexuality. Often, Greece, with Athens at its core, is remembered to have been ostensibly friendly towards homosexuality, as it was so common during that time period. Though this isn’t distinctly the case, it is true that they did have an acutely different atmosphere regarding such relationships compared with now. Homoeroticism in Athens was considered natural, albeit unsuitable, especially among the gentry. It is best that any reader take what these scholars said not as the truth, but as something that was considered truthful at that point in time. Almost every one of the speeches in Symposium discusses love between man and man more than it does man and woman, the reason for this being that women were so intellectually oppressed at the time that it wasn’t even considered they could have feelings or love like men could. For example, Pausianas, a Greek geographer and Agathon’s lover, discusses the duality of the god of love. He claimed that there are two kinds of love: celestial and common. Briefly, he proposed that common love was part woman and part man, and applicable only to the attraction felt for someone’s appearance. Celestial love, he claimed, was only for men, because it revolved around a kind of knowledge that women would never possess — knowledge of the heart, and of the self. A modern reader can certainly find his claims to be ridiculous because we know that all genders are equal. Furthermore, a telling aspect of the respect — if you can call it that — that Greeks had for homosexuality can be found in Aristophanes’ speech when he says, “And women who are offcuts from the female gender aren’t paticularily interested in men; they incline more towards women … and any men who are offcuts from the male gender go for men.” Aristophanes’ speech revolves around the concept of soulmates, where he claims Zeus had fused two people together and split them apart. This opinion is particularly nuanced, accepting the existence of lesbians as well as gay men. No matter if you’ve read the Symposium, want to read it, or never plan to read it at all, we should perhaps borrow some of the philosophies that Plato recorded in matters of acceptance towards the complex spectrum that is sexuality. Gender is but a barrier created by our society. Stop considering love as a notion that only exists for two people of differing sexes, rather, something that “is present in everything that exists.” Because, if love is as fluid as Agathon suggests — “good evidence for the compatibility and fluidity of his form is provided by his grace,” — shouldn’t humanity’s concept of sexuality be fluid as well?

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

sports editors: Luisa Bertolli & Norah Lee

SPORTS BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

norahlee@students.berkeley.net

The Heads and Tails of the BHS Student Athlete Experience BY SOPHIE HORVATH staff writer

BY MATEO TSAI & MADELYN PHILHOWER staff writers

Senior Night Games

Destiny Evans, a BHS senior, goes to shoot during the February 10 game.

Mekhi Boyd, a junior varsity basketball player, jumps with the ball at the February 11 game.

Spirits were high on February 10 as Berkeley High School’s (BHS) girls varsity basketball team decisively closed out its season in a game against Oakland High School, winning 64-22 on their senior night. According to head coach Daniel Spikes, “There [were] a lot of people trying to be heroes, and we lost a lot of close games. But tonight, they were unselfish, they passed the ball around, and they really cheered each other on.”

BHS’s yellowjacket mascot waved at the crowd in the opening of the boys varsity basketball team’s senior night match against the Castro Valley Trojans on February 11. BHS won 70-45. The crowd roared as senior Elijah Williams set up fellow senior Jude Rockafellow for a triumphant dunk. Carter Staton, another senior, said, “I’ve been playing with these guys since middle school. … These guys [are] my brothers right here.”

Freshmen’s First BHS Season

As Berkeley High School (BHS) enters its final season of sports and says goodbye to some of its beloved athletes, BHS also welcomes a new generation of Yellowjackets to the field. Excitement is palpable at the first week of practices, with freshmen eager to impress their new coaches and make their school proud. BHS varsity soccer player Ko Wiedlin, pictured right, scored the first goal on February 9.

On February 11, the Jacket Stadium was filled with handmade signs and raucous cheers as the BHS girls varsity soccer team took on Piedmont High School in their final match of the season. Talia McCloy, a senior and co-captain, said, “The energy of everyone in the stands and on the field [was exciting].” Although there were two injuries of senior players during the game, BHS finished with a triumphant 4-0 win.

On February 9, the BHS boys varsity soccer team stepped onto the field for their senior night game against Mt. Eden High School. Their first goal was scored by Ko Wiedlin, a senior who has been on the varsity team since his junior year. Wiedlin said, “Playing as a team, seeing all the fans … and having everyone’s parents out here, it was just a very magical night overall.” The match ended in a landslide victory of 4-0.

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

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

The BHS girls varsity soccer team huddles before the game against Piedmont on February 11.

Isabel Eknoian, a freshman on the BHS track team, shared her thoughts about starting the spring season: “I have shin splints, so at first it was a little bit of ‘Make sure to pace yourself,’ but I did all the conditioning in the summer and winter, so I’m pretty happy to be on the team.” Eknoian has been running for three years, and this season, she is interested in competing in the 100 meter and 400 meter races.

Bringing focus to the pool, Connor Levi-Lang is swimming for BHS this season. He has been swimming for five years and played water polo in the fall. When asked about his goals for the season, Levi-Lang answered, “I want to go fast and I want to win.” Although his shoulder has been giving him some pain, Levi-Lang remained positive about this season’s swimming and added, “The season’s going to be great — go Jackets!” Other freshmen are trying something new this season and taking advantage of BHS’s range of athletics. Dylan Oliver, who played on the junior varsity football team in the fall, just started playing lacrosse. “I’m excited to learn a new sport,” Oliver said about the upcoming season. PHOTOS BY JEREMY HERPIN, MARINA PEDEMONTE, & SAYLOR COLE ILLUSTRATION BY SIENNA PRAK-PERRY

ATHLETE PROFILE JACKIE DAI is a senior in Berkeley International High School (BIHS) and captain of the boys badminton team. He discovered his passion for the sport after taking a badminton class at Berkeley High School (BHS) his freshman year and found he was “naturally kind of gifted [at badminton].” Dai improved on techniques such as grip, footwork, and angling at his local gym and on the BHS badminton team in order to elevate his game. To his dismay, he found that people didn’t consider badminton a real sport, a conclusion he linked to the lack of people in the class and on the team. Determined to change that, Dai started BHS’ Badminton Club and promoted it through social media, flyers, and a documentary. This year, Dai’s hard work paid off, the gym packed with excited people. As graduation approaches, Dai said that “I will leave Berkeley High with the gift of badminton.” PENELOPE GILLIGAN

— Shanza Syed