BHS Jacket 2022/23 Issue 14

BERKELEY HIGH

PUBLISHED BY AND FOR THE STUDENTS OF BERKELEY HIGH SCHOOL

www.berkeleyhighjacket.com • friday, April 21, 2023

no. 14

since 1912

INVESTIGATIVE

‘Financially impossible’: Parental leave limitations strain BUSD teachers

BY AELIA GYGER staff writer

“I would have loved to stay home with my newborn child longer than I did, but it was financially impossible,” said Yoshi Salaverry, an English teacher at Berkeley High School. This situation is not uncommon in Berkeley Unified School District, where teachers’ salaries are further reduced when they take leave for the birth or adoption of their child.

“You’re only paid 25 percent of your salary while you’re on leave,” Salaverry said. “People may have this misconception that during parental leave, you’re receiving all the pay that you would normally get. Within the Berkeley Unified School District, that is not the case.”

Teachers at BUSD are given the choice of taking child rearing leave or parental leave, two different options which affect how long teachers can leave and how much they get paid.

Teachers who take child rearing days are given PAGE 4

ALEX MORGAN

FEATURES

ChatGPT influences shift among teachers

BY SAGE FELDMAN staff writer

The current iteration of AI chatbot Chat Generative Pretrained Transformer (ChatGPT), GPT-4, has quickly developed into something difficult to ignore in everyday life. AI technologies like GPT-4 have made pernicious inroads into areas as varied as art, coding, and possibly education.

When Academic Choice (AC) English teacher Yoshi Salaverry asked the AI to write him an essay on the theme of unrequited love in “The Great Gatsby,” which he has read and discussed many times, he was impressed with the resulting analysis.

“It was relatively effective,” said Salaverry, who believes that GPT-4 is very good at answering broader prompts like his. “I’ve had conversations about this with some of my colleagues,

and what some of them have pointed out is that if you have … specific (or) narrow … requirements … it’s very hard for Chat-GPT to navigate its way through all of those very specific requisites,” he said. In addition to moving to more in-class, single-day assessments, Salaverry will consider reframing his essay questions to be far more specific.

Brooke McKinney, also an AC English teacher, views the emergence of the AI as a wakeup call for teachers to take a closer look at the prompts they offer to students. “ChatGPT is really calling out the formulaic nature of a lot of essay writing,” she said. “It gives us the opportunity to rethink … how students can more creatively respond to something.”

In her opinion, these essays were already close to being formulaic and pseudocomputarized. GPT-4 takes that a step further. PAGE 11

ANNELISE SCHOUTEN

FEATURES

Elective advertising options limit teachers

BY LAUREN HUANG staff writer

As students made their course selections for the 2023-24 school year this month, word-of-mouth and the course catalog were available for students to gain information on classes.

However, certain lessrecognized classes might have been underrepresented by these existing systems. When

it comes to a class’s survival, student sign-ups for a course can make or break its debut the next year, and during following years.

This year, Berkeley High School teachers have been given a different option for endorsing their classes, the goal being to level out the playing field for those with less flexibility to advertise. Each teacher has the opportunity to post a one-slide description of their offered courses onto

a communal slideshow that gets emailed out for students to view. The issue stands with how less mainstream courses could go unnoticed without the option of proactive classto-class advertising.

“It can be difficult to get solid/comprehensive information out to BHS students through our existing channels,” wrote BHS Mechatronics teacher, Ellie Buehler, in an email.

It is Buehler’s first year

teaching Mechatronics Engineering, a science elective class where students learn design and engineering through hands-on projects.

The class meets once a week for a three hour lab at Berkeley Adult School. As a nontraditional high school class, Mechatronics is offered outside of the regular school day so it doesn’t interfere with required class schedules.

Kate Rosen, an Academic Choice (AC) PAGE 9

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2 FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

NEWS BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

news editors: Kaiya Jordan & Kira Rao-Poolla

Kaiyajordan@students.berkeley.net

2023 Berkeley High School election results

BAY BRIEF GURSIMAR KAUR

(We) want to make sure that “What we want to do people have what they need. (more of is) monitoring the And they feel like they have BHS website. And I think help.” that’s something that our On March 31, the Berkeley Sofia Bloom and Sophia campaign did a good job of High School 2023 election N i s h i o k a w e r e e l e c t e d explaining. (It’s) an issue that results were announced in an Sophomore Class President I think is really prevalent, email shortly after the end of and Vice President. During because people don’t really school. The election that had their campaign they focused know what’s going on… even taken place on March 28 was on communication with just the election, is a good participated in by 70 percent the students they would representation of how people of the student body. All grades be representing. Nishioka are a little disconnected. So fell short of the 90 percent described their plan for we’d want to kind of bridge participation goal, however gaining the perspective of the that gap. Like we want to be the junior class came closest student body. a conduit, basically, for kids, with 76.6 percent of students “Sophia and I are going and then leadership, and then voting. to create a club to hear about admin.”

Drew Henderson won ASB issues that impact a larger The election announcement President, and Erin Freeman amount of the community also included a statement was elected ASB a t B H S . We saying that the election Vice President. k n o w t h a t for Chief of Publicity will According to we’re only two b e re p e at e d w it h m ore “I will make it possible for me and other people, so it’s information to come.

Henderson, in the future they people on leadership to accurately represent really important The ASB Leadership elects voices that are in the student body.” plan to focus on for us to hear focused their goals on student restructuring different ideas,” welfare and making resources leadership to s a i d B l o o m . more readily available to all Zariyah King, make it more “ We’r e a l s o students. Many discussed Junior Class President-elect effective. They going to hold ways to better learn the needs plan to do this host fundraisers of their peers and their plans by focusing ... and supply to effectively create change cl ass te ams on sp e cif ic that are in the student body.” drives ... they’re both to kind based on the feedback they goals and working to build During junior year, many of help the bathrooms because received. A large focus of more accountability for students start preparing for currently they’re a mess and the election convention was representatives. Henderson has college by taking the SAT and we’ve heard from our fellow communication between also been in communication ACT. peers that it’s a really important students, leadership and the with the administration Clark discussed plans for issue to them.” administration. This point and has been working on resources for the junior class In addition, there was continues to come up in the improving the services offered to aid them in an especially also emphasis on acting as a plans of the elected leaders as to students. This includes difficult portion of their method of communication they find ways to improve the talking with Jasmina Viteskic, education. According to Clark, between the students and student experience at BHS. Berkeley High’s Title IX among these plans were “a the administration. Bloom coordinator, about expanding mental health day, where we discussed their plan for Winners Drew Henderson, consent education. can bring animals … A lot of communication next year Katelyn Liao, and Mei Saphir Eliza McGlashan was juniors are going to be taking and specifically talked about are members of the Jacket staff ele c te d as S enior C l ass the SAT and the ACT… and wanting to keep the students but were not involved in the President with 51 percent start taking more AP classes. informed. reporting of the story. of the vote. According to McGlashan a large focus of her campaign was supporting students in what they want to do after high school by providing them with resources.

When speaking on plans for the future, McGlashan also brought up prioritizing and promoting existing resources for students.

“A big part of my platform is making everything that we have at Berkeley High, readily available to students and making sure that everybody knows about it,” McGlashan said.

Zariyah King and Zamarah “Winta” Clark were elected Junior Class President and Vice President with King receiving 52.5 percent of the vote. Their main focus was centered around the student A lunchtime meeting of the candidates happened outside of the BHS cafeteria on March 7.

MALIN MORELL

BY ELOISE THOMAS staff writer

While talking with my coworker recently, I found out that her mom’s college debt had been forgiven. Her mom went to grad school and many years later, in 2023, she finally received a letter of her student debt forgiveness. This made me recall recent news stories about student debt. While news stories regarding student debt are common, its impacts on individuals are overlooked.

Student-debt is a harsh reality for many people in the U.S., and breaking down those news stories is essential to understanding its impacts.

In September of 2022, the Biden administration announced a studentdebt forgiveness plan. The proposed plan is essentially to forgive up to $20,000 of student debt for low-income individuals who qualify. However, this headline event became a Supreme Court case as Biden’s plan was challenged and sued. One of the arguments against Biden’s plan presented worries about whether a president has the authority to enact the proposed plan. The lawsuit presenting these worries was filed by the U.S. states of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and South Carolina following the announcements. We expect to hear from the Supreme Court on that case by June or July.

Student-debt forgiveness is an incredibly relevant issue for us as students. Debt has a huge impact on marginalized communities because those are often the people who take out loans, get charged higher interest rates, and/or don’t earn high enough wages to pay back their debt as soon as they would like to.

This disadvantage perpetuates the poverty cycle for thousands across the nation who hope for the bill to be passed. Why might people struggle to pay back these loans despite having college degrees and jobs? 48 percent of Americans, as of February 2023, live paycheck to paycheck. People are barely paying for necessities, leaving them with little to put in savings.

The pandemic also imposed a financial strain on many — savings were used up during times of need and current inflation makes it increasingly difficult to save. This is just the tip of the iceberg when breaking down the financial stress on individuals. Overall, student debt forgiveness provides hope for many Americans, but politics delay action on numerous such issues of importance.

To read more, visit berkeleyhighjacket. com.

experience and providing resources to aid them. They also discussed events to help the school build their sense of community and other plans to help students feel connected and heard.

“I want to make sure that the student body has more say in different events that go on at Berkeley High, and all the small schools have a chance to interact with each other.” King said, “And I want to make sure that there’s more diversity in leadership … I will make it possible for me and other people on leadership to accurately represent voices

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

SPONSORS

Chuck Smith, Aidong Ni and Arrol Gellner, Laurel Leichter, Steve Jackson, Elliot Shrag, Julian Currier, Pearl Gauthier, Ahmet Gyger, Kathrine Chynoweth, Kate and Scott McGlashan, Natasha Reichle, Robert Stepsis, Claudia Polsky

NEWS

FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

3

African American Success Framework begins development Raygoza, reached out to the student body via email with an application form, encouraging students to The African American consider applying to be Success Framework (AASF) student representatives is a project for next adopted by year’s African the Berkeley “How do we begin to change institutional A m e r i c a n Unified School and organizational culture so that it aligns S u c c e s s D ist r i c t to a framework, so that we can do our best A d v i s o r y (BUSD) in Committee work on behalf of students?”

2022.

The (AASAC). The framework committee is described advocates and Kamar O’Guinn, on the BUSD the BUSD African American Success Manager advises website as Superintendent, “a written Board of document that expresses students.

Directors, and other staff the district’s and On February 14, Berkeley while they create the community’s view of the High School’s Principal Juan framework. By now, two

BY AARON STEVENS staff writer

strengths, opportunities, and challenges present for African American students,” and aims to create a plan to dismantle barriers towards success for Black BUSD

OLIVIA HIBSER

BHS students have been do our best work on behalf and face,” said Haleemah selected for the committee, of students,” said BUSD Mujahid, a current junior Yemarej Alexander and African American Success who will serve as one of the Haleemah Mujahid.

Manager Kamar O’Guinn, student representatives for “The Superintendent’s who created the program. the committee next year. “I AASAC was identified as O’Guinn also shared would like to see improved a key element in making that from the start, the outcomes for African sure the AASF was framework has addressed American students and implemented and effective,” the lack of resources for families in my community.” said Matthew Espinosa, one many students by working Yemarej Alexander, a of the facilitators for the with programs such as junior who will soon serve committee. “The voices of College Bound, Stepup as a student representative as our community, especially Academy, or Young Gifted well, stressed the importance our Black/African American and Black, as those three of having Black student community, were critical programs help provide voices represented in these in the development of the direct services to students. types of conversations.

AASF initiative, and we Members of the “In a large school such knew there would be a need committee will consist of as Berkeley High with for ongoing input a large, often from our students, disproportionate, “I see and experience firsthand the families, and percentage other community effects of students like myself not having of non-black partners as we students, Black enough resources, so to be able to give implemented the voices are often back to my community in such a way actions in the talked over or always feels good to me.” framework.” not even a part of According to the conversation, Espinosa, the which can also Yemarej Alexander, primary goals of Incoming Student AASF Representative leave the Black the framework students feeling are to improve like outsiders in a academic performance, students, family members, community we should be a provide high-quality and community members part of,” Alexander said. learning, create a safe whose organizations work Alexander added: “As and inclusive climate and for African-American an African American culture, and engage with success. student with siblings, I see families and communities.

“I joined the AASAC and experience firsthand “The framework itself because I wanted to the effects of students like is saying, how do we begin try something new and myself not having enough to change institutional discuss the many problems resources, so to be able to and organizational culture that many African give back to my community so that it aligns to a American students in our in such a way always feels framework, so that we can communities go through good to me.”

BHS reflects on the implications of President Trump’s indictment voicing a similar joy, Sam Matsumoto, a film photography teacher, explains their rationale as On Tuesday, March to how Trump’s indictment 30 after former president might further intensify Donald Trump was arrested current tensions in our in New York, he became the political climate. first former president ever “Sadly, I see it as further indicted with federal crimes. polarizing a really already The indictment including 34 polarized political climate felony counts of where sort of business record the Trump falsifications brand of “I think a lot of his candidacy and centers around politics, it can holding office kind of turned it into a $130,000 kind of fire entertainment spectacle as opposed to payment made them up and like, wow, these decisions and behaviors from Michael cause further affect a lot of real life people.”

Cohen, Trump’s divisiveness,” now former, Matsumoto p e r s o n a l said. “So I Sam Matsumoto, attorney, to adult don’t see it as BHS Film Photography Teacher film star Stormy good news in Daniels.

The that way at all. payment was exchanged ignite.

And ideally we would have days before the 2016 “I think it’s crazy that common goals of making election in late October. The a former president has our country better and “hush money” was intended been indicted on crimes,” safer and things like that, as to do as such, and cover up Pajarillo Kifuthu said. “I opposed to, I see it a lot as an alleged affair between don’t think as a country we theater, as entertainment, Daniels and Trump from fully grasp how crazy that is which I think a lot of his years prior. because like, sure, we’ve had candidacy and holding The Manhattan’s District presidents been impeached office kind of turned it into Attorney began their five- while they’re in office… But entertainment spectacle as year-long investigation this is a completely different opposed to like, wow, these into Trump during his thing. And I think that it decisions and behaviors presidency in the White says a lot about how what affect a lot of real life people House, revealing the we value in our presidents is in their real lives.” contents of the indictment kind of changing and maybe Matsumoto continued: on Tuesday to the public. kind of going down.”

“It’s sad to me that it had to Though arrested, Trump Concerned for the even get to this point, that pleads not guilty to the 34 possible pushback following we as a country allowed counts of business record Trump’s indictment but that kind of personality

BY JOSIE MORASKY staff writer

falsification brought forward by the prosecutors.

The trial is not predicted to start until early next year.

Emily Pajarillo Kifuthu, a sophomore, shared her initial reaction of joy and surprise after hearing the news of Trump’s indictment.

She explains the historical impact this event might

to get so far… I think it’s like an embarrassing, sort of shameful incident in our history and it doesn’t make me proud to be an American.”

Joseph Smith, a World History and AP economics teacher in AC expressed similar concerns. Smith explained how, in some ways, Trump may twist his indictment to in such a way to obtain a larger campaign base.

“He is going to use this to his own benefit because his big argument ever since 2016 is that you, whoever that is, have been wronged by immigrants, you have been wronged by the liberals, you’ve been wronged by the government, and I will fix

your issues,” Smith said.

“But now that he’s being indicted, he can now say, I am being wronged, I am the victim now. And so he’s going to use this to drum up more support for his presidential campaign.”

Prior to Trump’s indictment, his election campaign had raised only $14.4 million over the span of three months at the beginning of 2023. After March 30, over 300,000 individual donations were made, accounting for over $15 million towards funding his presidential campaign.

More specifically, 24 hours after the indictment was unsealed, at least four million dollars worth of donations were made.

Looking for upsides, Smith reflected on the possible future effects that Trump’s indictment may have on whoever steps into the White House after the trial.

“He’s had such a such a historical impact on his behavior as a president.

And, I’m sincerely hoping that these court cases could act as a dampener for the precedent that he set in office,” Smith said.

“I’m sincerely hoping that these cases could prevent future authoritarian minded presidents from behaving Trump-like. Because they could know that even after he leaves office he can’t run away from his crimes forever.”

ADEA HANSEN-WHISTLER

4 FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

INVESTIGATIVE

Lack of financial support for maternity leave burdens teachers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

at BUSD had a similar experience when she had 89 days off, with 25 percent her child as a teacher. She of their usual salary. This had her first child four leave begins the day the years into teaching, so she child is born or adopted, had a fair amount of sick and any days taken before days saved up. But when must be counted as sick she had her second child leave. the following year, she had During sick leave, the fewer sick days to use. She staff member is paid 100 was therefore paid less, as percent of she had taken their normal child rearing salary.

Full leave and was “But (parental leave pay) is such a small time teachers only paid 25 fraction of your normal salary that it’s are given 11 percent of her not really sustainable.” sick days per salary, when year, and they she could have Yoshi Salaverry can accumulate been paid her and save up full salary the BHS English Teacher throughout amount of sick their years days she had.

NOLAN WHITEHILL John Becker, BHS AHA English teacher, used sick leave when his children were born. of teaching within BUSD. Disability or something,” “So I didn’t make any Teachers can use as much or said Lona Kelly, one of money. Twenty five percent The current state of If the SDI program was children. as little of their sick leave as three human technicians at of my salary, which was child rearing leave within to put teachers on their “When my son was born they want. nothing. That’s, like, in BUSD may be negotiated if list, teachers would have a … in August 2016, I had a BUSD. Alternatively, teachers Most teachers find it diapers. So I had to depend the Berkeley Federation of somewhat better income lot of sick leave built up,” can go on parental leave, an difficult to comfortably on my husband,” Gascot- Teachers (BFT) comes to during their child rearing Becker said. “I was able to idea that was put into effect support themselves and Rios said. leave. The only use my sick leave for child within the BUSD contract their newly growing families “But this obstacle: the rearing leave which means in 2022. Teachers who with only 25 percent of their is a bigger “So I didn’t make any money. Twenty five price. If the that I got full pay.” Becker choose parental leave can salaries. This means that problem with teachers were was able to be with his son percent of my salary . . . I had to depend only take 60 days off and most teachers don’t take the state. They to join the SDI, for the first half of the school on my husband.” have to exhaust all of their their 89 or 60 days off. should cover each teacher year until winter break. sick days, no matter how “(We’re being told that w o m e n ’ s would have to His daughter was born Glendaly Gascot-Rios many they currently have. we’re) welcome to take as m a t e r n i t y pay 0.9 percent a little over a year later, This is a contrast to much time off as we want. leave for full BUSD Human Resources Director of their income leaving him fewer sick days teachers who take child (They’re) just not paying pay. This is a yearly towards and was only able to take a rearing leave and choose us … But it’s such a small state problem, SDI. month and a half off, rather how many sick days they fraction of your normal that districts (and) public that conclusion.

John Becker, an English than four to five months. use up. Teachers taking salary that it’s not really schools districts don’t have Currently, BFT is teacher in the Arts and The first six months are, parental leave then get sustainable,” said Salaverry. the money to cover… The debating whether to join the Humanities Academy “the most important time paid the difference in Glendaly Gascot-Rios, the federal government too State Disability Insurance (AHA), has been teaching in a baby’s life,” Becker said. between their salary and the director of human resources should be involved.”

(SDI) program. here since 2007 and has two “Just loving them up.” substitute’s salary. Teachers can have input in who their substitute can be, but they can’t necessarily choose.

If any emergencies come up for teachers, “(Teachers) can request an extension of unpaid leave or if they are ill after the birth of their child, then they may be able to qualify for Pregnancy

BHS transfer students on the unique qualities of Berkeley High

The diversity of BHS stands out as one of its defining features for transfer students.

most attractive to me about (Berkeley High School) was the diversity and the size of the school,” said Lenka Simon, a sophomore. “My previous school, Black Pine Circle, was not as diverse

JAHAN INGRAHAM

Sophomore Tyler Banks similarly said the “diversity, new people, and freedom of choices,” were what made Every year, students from her want to go to BHS. private middle schools and Banks said in her nine years neighboring school districts at School of the Madeleine, a face a decision to private Catholic either continue school, she never their education had a very diverse “The thing that was most attractive in their current class. This made about (BHS) was the diversity and school district or the increased the size of the school.” private school, diversity at or transfer to a BHS the most different district appealing Lenka Simon that would better factor when BHS sophomore fit their needs. transferring.

Many students Until high transfer in hopes of finding or large in any way. And so school, sophomore a larger and more diverse I was looking to break out Charlotte Livermore of that and try something attended Oakland Unified school.

“The thing that was new.”

School District schools.

BY MAYA DANG staff writer

But her closest high school to the kids that went to are very different from was McClymonds High their other house in Oregon when they went to private School, which, according every other weekend. Being or schools in other districts. to Livermore, had many Black was a completely For Livermore, BHS fights, an issue with lead different topic,” said has been more community poisoning, and was “just not Williamson. “Being one of focused than the schools a good school.” Livermore the three Black girls in my she previously attended. said she and her brother grade always made me feel The Universal Ninth Grade tried to get into Oakland like an outsider. My mom hive system, as well as Technical High School, but experienced this with the the small school learning were placed somewhere in parents as well.” communities allowed her the 200s on the waiting list.

Banks said she never to feel like she was “able to “So, my parents made the had good relationships have a smaller school while decision to look in BHS.” at other districts, Wi l liams on “Being one of the three Black girls which were really explained that only Piedmont there are no in my grade always made me feel and Berkeley.” expectations like an outsider.”

“I think that for her at BHS. it’s a great school “Berkeley is Lea Williamson for the right huge.

There BHS sophomore person and I have isn’t just one so many great type of person. experiences from This leaves so it, but at the time, a lot was with her classmates at her much more space for me to new in my life. It was my previous school. “To be explore myself and room to first year of high school and honest, I never really liked make mistakes,” they said.

I was doing it in a city that the people I went to school “At Drew there is this set was all new to me,” said Lea with. Most of my classmates standard that you have to Williamson, a sophomore only had something racist be good at school and rich,” who used to attend Drew or homophobic to say. I had while BHS is much more School, a private school a terrible experience where diverse, with “kids with so in San Francisco. “I didn’t one of my ‘friends’ called many different experiences know anyone and didn’t feel my skin dirty,” said Banks. and backgrounds.” supported enough, and I feel “Additionally, I noticed “If I went straight like this time in most teens’ how little we learned about from one private school lives is where they need the current issues or even past to another, I felt like I most support.” issues like slavery. We had a would just have one way Williamson said that not very quick unit then moved of thinking or one view of being wealthy or from San right back onto religion.” the world,” Simon said. “I Francisco made her feel When students transfer wanted to really experience isolated. “I couldn’t relate to BHS, their experiences different environments.”

OPINION BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

opinion editors: ella creane & ellora mookherjee amodt

Popularity must not decide ASB elections

BY SOPHIE DRESKIN staff writer

Right before spring break, Berkeley High School held the annual schoolwide Associated Student Body (ASB) elections. In this election, students had the sole power to decide who should be elected. This is a lot of responsibility to put in the hands of teenagers, especially teenagers who are so easily influenced by their friends and peers. Far too often, ASB candidates are chosen because of their popularity which ends up negatively affecting the entire school.

One of the main reasons this happens is because teens are so easily influenced by others their age. Oftentimes, if a student doesn’t know who to vote for, they’ll simply ask their friends who they’re voting for. Another possible way to choose who to vote for is to check out different campaign social media accounts.

Some may think that if one candidate has more followers than the others, they're more well suited for the job. However, a large reason that the followings on these accounts grow is through the reposting of it

by the candidates personal account, and/or their friends accounts. In turn, these follower counts are much more likely to be a reflection of the amount of followers that the candidate already has or their friends have.

Students need to stay focused on the policies and actions that candidates want to take, rather than silly methods of campaigning.

During the elections, every hallway at BHS was covered in campaign fliers and posters. While some posters were more informative and serious, many decided to take the funny route instead.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it draws attention away from the real point of the campaign.

While a lot of this is students’ responsibility to educate themselves on the best candidate, they aren’t solely responsible. Students had a few different resources to learn about candidates, but not everyone had access to all of the information.

For example, though there were bits and pieces of each speech in the video bulletins, many students didn’t get the opportunity to watch them.

This is mainly because not all teachers uphold their responsibility to show their

students the bulletin every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

While some may say that students should just be able to vote for who they like the best or who their friends are voting for, this is untrue. Students have a responsibility to make BHS a better place. That means that they shouldn't elect the funniest or “coolest” person if that person isn't the best fit for the position.

Students at BHS deserve

to have the best equipped ASB leaders possible. They need to be thoroughly educated on the policies of every candidate in order to make accurate, informed decisions. They also need to realize that popularity shouldn’t be a factor in who they choose to help make important decisions and changes for the school. To make BHS the best it can be, students need to make objective decisions when selecting ASB leadership.

CLAUDIA BLOOM

Teen relationships build social pressures

BY ARIANA YEROVAM staff writer

It seems that for most people when they eventually forget every bit of information from a highschool math class, they still remember with perfect clarity their first high school relationship. High school relationships can be fun, exciting, and meaningful, but they also have the capability to create deep feelings of insecurity and sadness.

Amber Safir is a Berkeley High School sophomore.

She, reflecting on her own high school dating experience and high school relationships in general

shared what she believed are three major elements in such relationships. The first point being, “we are kids,” and due to this people have less experience than a lot of adults. This evidently can be detrimental to some aspects of effective communication and provide stress on the relationship. Second, “high schoolers tend to be notoriously busy.” This is true, while managing school, extracurriculars, family, and social lives it can be tremendously difficult to balance and still prioritize all these things.

Lastly, Safir pointed out the negative effects that occur when a couple breaks up.

Reinforcing this idea, an issue of the Behavioral

LEILAH DOOSTAN

Sciences Journal describes how, “Post-relationship concerns (including breakups) were also more likely than pre- or duringrelationship concerns to be associated with concurrent mental health issues (36.8%), self-harm (22.6%) and suicide (9.9%).”

Teenagers may also feel pressure to be dating or engaging in sexual relations.

“I think having the societal narrative, that it’s really impactful to have sexual relations actually ends up making it more possible for there to be all the pressure that we see, especially in like hookup culture nowadays, where people feel like they have to or should be having sex,” Safir brought up.

These implications are extremely relevant given that, as a research paper by the Pew Research Center describes, “Nearly one-inseven teen daters (15%) say a current or former partner has pressured them, via the internet or text messaging, to engage in sexual activity they did not want to have.”

This pressure being present in teenage relationships

impact teenagers immensely throughout this period as well as throughout the rest of their lives.

Another factor that can play a role in affecting ones self worth is a person forming an unhealthy reliance on their partner for validation. Validation and confidence are things that some teenagers can have a difficult time with on their own, regardless of their being in a relationship.

Safir also explained what this idea of reliance could look like, “If I'm making them happy, that must be good in some way.”

Ultimately dating in highschool can be a beautiful and thrilling experience, but the potential negative emotions it can summon must also be recognized.

Breakups, pressure to do sexual acts, and destruction of confidence can all be negative parts of a romantic relationships. Both the positive and negative aspects of romantic relationships must be validated so teenagers can be fully supported. There's no rush to jump in.

FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

5

mayamookherjeeamodt@students.berkeley.net

WHAT AM I? YANCY MICEL ALEGRE-PACHECO

I am a woman. And although Women's History Month is over, there are still a few things that I would like to bring to the light.

Being a woman, it’s difficult to realize that your experiences with backhanded compliments, creepy men, and unfair rules aren’t usually unique. Being a woman is both a gift and a curse.

Something I have never understood is the toxic treatment of women towards each other.

Some girls could have a lasting vendetta on a girl who bumped into them in the hallway in 8th grade. Being a listener, I’ve heard countless rumors circulated through the grapevine — including plenty of things about other people that I don’t want to know. These harmful comments have the power to deeply hurt people, and I start thinking to myself “I hope no one is talking about me this way.”

Furthermore, there’s often no negative intent behind gossip — people just like to talk about others because of a lack of interest in their own lives. Gossip culture needs to vanish. Growing up is realizing that rumors are for girls, not women.

Women are often victims of harmful catcalling and demeaning nicknames. No matter the intention, these can feel incredibly degrading — even something simple, like calling a woman “baby.” The looming word that is “baby” always hits me out of left field, unexpected and strange.

Another way girls are often dehumanized is through unfairly strict dress codes, such as the one at my elementary school. No spaghetti straps, no skirts that go above the knee, no open toed shoes. Personally, I never thought of shoulders to be distracting, but knees really get me going, and don’t get me started on toes. Just the whole concept of a dress code prohibiting people, young girls especially (as they rarely targeted boys), is wild to me. At elementary school age, most boys weren't worried about how a girl has shoulders, they were more worried about “cooties” and recess, yet the school administrators thought it would be a worthy use of energy to create and enforce these rules.

The struggles that we face as a community shouldn’t be struggles in the first place. No one should be in control of our bodies, not the top dogs at the government, not the photoshopped women on social media telling you that they only consumed Bang energy drinks for a month to get their conventionally attractive, photoshopped body. It's hard to grasp how much of ourselves other people are in control of — Roe V. Wade being one of the big ones, telling people they cannot terminate an unwanted pregnancy, as if the pregnancy was their business in the beginning. Leave it up to the cookie-cutter people in power, changing up the rules for things that wouldn’t have affected them in the first place.

6 FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

OPINION

Students require more power to contribute to school district decisions and changes

BY OHAD AVIRANFINKELSTEIN staff writer

Berkeley High School is filled with students who are eager to create a better atmosphere. But can they change the community when they don’t have many direct pathways to get their say about major decisions?

BHS has several different leadership programs, but the most influential and largest one is Associated Student Body (ASB) leadership. ASB leadership is composed of students from all small schools and grades, all working together

to create a better school for all students. Despite there being around 75 students on ASB leadership, there is only one student who can vote in school board meetings: the Berkeley Unified School Board Representative. The School Board Representative is the only true bridge between BHS students and the school board, meaning that BHS students can only contribute one out of many total votes for any given resolution.

BHS students should be able to contribute more towards school board decisions.

In the past few years, the idea of exchanging the current class schedule at

BHS for a block schedule has been talked about.

There are several types of block schedules, but the most popular types utilize three two hour long periods a day and have schedules swapping either every day or every semester. The block schedule that utilizes different schedules every semester would negatively affect students’ learning.

Languages and AP classes would only be taught for half a year, and students taking AP classes would possibly take an AP class in the first semester, which would leave many students extra stressed and underprepared for their exams.

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Additionally, sitting in class for two hours can be very hard for many students, especially since they are learning the same topic for two hours straight. Students with ADHD specifically struggle to sit still, and this could lead them to fall behind in their studies. It's clear that students don’t want a block schedule, as they have already voted against a block schedule multiple times, but the idea continues to be presented to students.

In addition to this, many problems around BHS that have been around for a long time that are very much affecting students haven't

been solved. An example of this is the conditions of the bathrooms on campus.

The BHS bathrooms are constantly destroyed and are sometimes left in a completely unusable condition. This has been a problem at Berkeley for several years now, and little to no progress has been undertaken to fix them.

ISA SHIMOMURA

This problem affects all BHS students, and if students had more power when it comes to executive decisions, this problem would receive more attention than it currently does, and will possibly even get solved. If students had more power for changes happening in our school, we would vastly improve the quality of our school.

Online activism must incite engagement, not just reposts

BY JULIA BRIMMER staff writer

On March 13, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration approved the Willow Project, an oil drilling initiative on Alaska’s North Slope that left people all over the globe angry, confused, and concerned.

In a fight to spread their opinions on the controversial political move, people took to social media, posting about the dangers of the Willow Project online. However, solely partaking in social media activism convinces aspiring change makers that a daily Instagram story repost fulfills whatever goals they may have.

On sites like Instagram, letting your followers know that you believe in something takes just one click: the share to story button. Particularly when a friend or multiple friends start constantly reposting the same post, people might feel inclined to join in.

However, this makes it easy for the majority of Instagram users to get sucked into a mix of wanting to fit in and wanting to show that they care about social and environmental issues without doing real research on the topic or fighting further than that initial click.

Another platform demonstrating this phenomenon is TikTok, on which a viral #StopWillow campaign prompted over 3.7 million users to sign a Change.org petition against the project. Again, signing Change.org petitions takes one click, and although an uptick in supporting numbers does wonders for a

campaign, Change.org is so popular because they’re easy, even if more demanding forms of activism like donating and volunteer work make greater impacts.

The slang term “slacktivism,” or “activity that uses the internet to support political or social causes in a way that does not need much effort,” perfectly ecompasses this practice, and the negative connotation behind the word “slack” shows that taking the easy road can harm the movements one’s supposedly trying to help.

The majority of social media users are young people like teens, meaning that BHS students have surely witnessed or partaken in social media activism.

So, it is important that they understand how to correctly use their impact to make the change that they want to see.

That can be accomplished through more than online reposts.

So, how can aspiring activists use social media to uplift their campaigns rather than replace them?

Social media makes it

easier than ever for people to share their opinions, so when someone reposts an article or graphic, leaving their own comment on why it’s impactful has the power to get their followers to care about the original information. Building on the informative aspect of social media, if an activist’s goal is to educate their followers, specifically asking them to “read” the information at hand provides a concrete task, rather than leaving the viewers unsure of what to do about the article placed in front of them.

Finally, no one wants to be guilt-tripped into caring about a social issue.

Activists know the reasons behind supporting their causes, and the best way to get others involved and amped up is by explaining those reasons and showing others how they can help.

Spreading information about the Earth’s issues is always beneficial, but when that information stays on the base-level and provides minimal guidance or incentive to act, it isn’t real activism.

JESSIE LEE

OPINION

FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

7

Rising gentrification impact on BHS students cannot be ignored

BY KALI PROUD staff writer

Housing prices in Berkeley have seen a more than 229 percent increase since 2010, with a median price of $1.625 million in 2021. The average rent in Berkeley is $3,358 per month, with an average apartment size of 696 square feet; surrounding cities such as Oakland, Albany, and Emeryville have larger apartments for roughly $600 less per month.

Gentrification has made it cheaper for families to live near Berkeley rather than in Berkeley. Several students still attend Berkeley High School even after moving.

Berkeley High School is ranked 266 in California High Schools, while Oakland’s high schools don’t get any higher than 306.

Although BHS may have lots to offer, it’s still difficult for the district to prioritize inter-district transfers over Berkeley residents. The district, especially BHS, must find alternate solutions to aid students impacted by gentrification.

Berkeley’s issues with gentrification and affordable housing are nothing new.

Berkeley was the very first city in the U.S. to establish single-family zoning laws, preventing apartments or multiplexes from being built.

With less housing in any given area, prices began to rise, displacing low-income residents.

Single-family zoning ended in February 2021, allowing for more housing in coming years.

However, it’s worth noting that there’s no guarantee that this housing will be affordable. If the prices are too high, then the increase in housing will do nothing to help low-income families and former residents trying to move back in.

This issue is not something that BHS or the Berkeley Unified School District has a lot of control over. One thing that BHS can do to support students that have been forced to move out of Berkeley is to simplify the process of obtaining inter-district permits.

Unfortunately, there is also only so much the school can do about this, as permits are limited. If the

school accepted every interdistrict transfer it received, in addition to the enrollment from Berkeley residents, it’s likely that class sizes would be far too large for teachers to handle. This would only create more issues for both students and teachers.

However, the school does have the ability to prioritize former students of the district when examining transfer applications and to consider the possible impacts gentrification might be having.

Besides making enrollment easier, BHS should also be supporting students currently enrolled through mental health support. Coping with the stress and disruptive change of gentrification and living in such a high-cost area increases individuals’ risk for mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety.

Mental health has been an ongoing issue at BHS, and it was frequently brought up by candidates in the recent BHS elections. Prioritizing student mental health and support systems for possible transfer students is an effective way for

BHS to support students dealing with the effects of gentrification.

While gentrification might seem like an issue that BHS has little to no control over, that doesn’t mean that it’s doing all it can. Although the school can’t really fight the problem at its source, the entire student body would benefit from an increase in mental

health support. Making more resources available to students is the best way that BHS can help students impacted by gentrification for the time being.

Gentrification likely won’t force BHS to shut down any time soon, as BHS is the only public high school in Berkeley, but gentrification undoubtedly affects the student community.

If BHS cares about every student and their different circumstances, then more improvements need to be made to the mental health care, so that students from all backgrounds can receive support. Diversity is at the heart of BHS and its culture.

To ignore the problem of gentrification in Berkeley is to disregard this critical aspect of BHS.

JAY TRAUNER

Interpersonal segregation limits student exposure to diversity

BY SHANZA SYED staff writer

The term “interpersonal segregation” refers to the idea of individuals socializing with people to whom they have similar backgrounds. This can be on the basis of race, gender, age, disability, etc. At Berkeley High School, interpersonal segregation is something that inhibits students from being able to learn from the diversity of their peers.

One form of interpersonal segregation at BHS is through Small Learning Communities (SLCs).

Berkeley International High School (BIHS), for instance, has long acknowledged that it needs to work on increasing diversity.

According to The Daily Californian, only 11 percent of BIHS students identify as Black, while this number is 15 percent for Academic Choice (AC), 26 percent for

Communications Arts and Sciences (CAS), 31 percent for Arts and Humanities Academy, and 38 percent for Academy of Medicine and Public Service (AMPS).

“I think, honestly, the largest determiner of the segregation, more so even than race, is socioeconomics, though race is definitely also a big part,” Savannah Johnson, a junior in BIHS, said. “For example, a lot of wealthier, white, private-school kids end up in BIHS.” This lack of diversity is something that extends to many AP classes in AC. Laniya Kirkwood, a junior in AC, said, “I think classes should be way more mixed because in my (AP) history class that I have next period there are only two Black people in the class, which is not a very comforting environment.”

This points to another form of interpersonal segregation at BHS. For

ELIOT PERDUE

people belonging to historically marginalized groups, there can be safety and security found in being surrounded by people with similar backgrounds.

This is because they don’t have to worry about being judged for their identity, or misunderstood.

“I have to be more mindful when talking to some people because sometimes I just have a feeling that I might be seen in a different way when talking about my background and my up(bringing) and in my past people have said rude things,” Haleemah Mujahid, a junior in CAS, said.

This, paired with the fact that humans naturally gravitate toward people that are similar to them, makes interpersonal segregation difficult to tackle. According to a study conducted by Dr. Angela Bahans and Dr. Chris Crandall of the University of Kansas, “future friends or partners are already similar

at the outset of their social connection.”

Such types of segregation mean that students are constantly surrounded by those who share similar backgrounds, experiences, and by extension, viewpoints.

They are inevitably going to end up making friends with those people, creating a cycle of interpersonal segregation.

Not only can this make students oblivious to other peoples’ realities, but it can give them a narrow minded view of the world.

“I don’t think it’s a conscious thing, so you can’t really do anything about that unless (BHS Administration) could make the classes more diverse,” Kirkwood said.

One of the important steps BHS has already taken toward helping students learn from the diversity of their peers is the implementation of Universal Ninth grade, which allows students to interact with a variety of people before interpersonal segregation occurs via SLCs. Perhaps this approach can be taken regarding other classes. Maybe all students should be made to take certain higher level classes, while subjects like math have only one “level” for all students.

“I don’t know how to help desegregate the school,” Johnson said. “It’s funny because I feel like I’m in that documentary about Berkeley High from the 90s,

School Colors, which says a lot about how little we’ve improved in 30 years.”

The documentary she referenced talks about the lasting impacts of segregation on students at BHS 40 years after Brown v. Board, both socially and academically. When it initially came out, the Seattle Times wrote that “Berkeley (High School) had total integration by 1968. Yet the overwhelming feeling from this dynamic report is that the integration has resulted in a new kind of segregation, the segregation of multiculturalism.”

This same division can be felt at BHS today, and acknowledging it is the first step towards building a unified school community.

8

INVESTIGATIVE

FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

INVESTIGATIVE

investigative editor: Erin Bartholomew

erinbartholomew@students.berkeley.net

‘Mental health is an isolating subject’:

BHS student survey on mental health diagnoses, struggles, resources

The Jacket surveyed a sample of 176 students to explore experiences of mental health struggles and diagnoses across the BHS student body.

GRAPHS BY ELIOT HERTENSTEIN

never felt uncomfortable when people why you can't do school. It's your fault. complete.” have come to me with their problems, You have ADHD. You can't do these Abiad explained that he sometimes but it's always been hard for me to reach things.’ I was really hard on myself in isolates himself due to his mental health. out with my own (problems),” she said. the beginning," she said.

“Let's say I'm in class. I'm fidgeting, “Mental health is an isolating “I want to be there for other people, but Lim-Moreno struggled with her getting up, doing something,” he said. subject,” Berkeley High School junior sometimes it's hard to let other people diagnosis so much that she would avoid “I feel embarrassed, I guess, as if people Kai Lim-Moreno said. “It's never an be there for me,” she said. taking her medication. She explained are judging me for moving during class easy subject to talk about. There's such For some, a diagnosis can provide a that seeing the improvement in her when they're not moving.” a stigma about (mental health),” she sense of clarity. Auden Svoboda, a senior, mental health that the medication To help provide support for struggling explained. Lim-Moreno stated that this said about his anxiety and depression caused made her diagnoses undeniable, students, Berkeley High School employs stigma and aversion to speaking about diagnoses: “I definitely knew that I was which made her self an array of mental health mental health can make struggling with mental conscious. “Over the years resources, including the “(Is) this is me just issues like depression a health, but it was still as I work on accepting Health Center and its “I want to be there lot worse. validating to hear that from myself more, I’ve become being a teenager or is free on-site therapy and for other people, but a professional,” he said.

Despite the this something that I counseling for students. more comfortable,” she isolation that mental “Anxiety and depression said, explaining that she “Berkeley is genuinely sometimes it's hard should seek help for?” health causes, many to let other people be have been a part of my life takes her medication a great place for people students struggle with for such a long time that now because it allows her who are struggling with there for me.”

BHS junior who wished mental health … because their mental health, it’s sometimes hard for me to feel like herself and either diagnosed to differentiate between accomplish more. “It took to remain anonymous of the infrastructure or undiagnosed. BHS junior who wished those disorders and my a while, but I came to that we have setup According to the to remain anonymous personality.” He added. terms with the fact that this is who I am. everywhere,” Abiad said. “The Health survey, anxiety and Senior Milo Abiad There's nothing I can change about it. If Center alone is a great place. Having depression are the two explained that his people don't like me for who I am, it's free therapy accessible for anyone at most common disorders students have diagnoses with anxiety and depression not my fault.” school at any time is a very good idea.” or believe they might have. simply confirmed what he already Mental health issues can greatly He added. In the end, one of the best While she has not been diagnosed, knew, but the impact students’ resources for students struggling with one junior who wished to remain medication that came relationships with their mental health can be their peers.“I “Anxiety and depression anonymous wonders if she may have with those diagnoses school. “I've always feel like I know a lot of other people that anxiety. “I feel constantly overwhelmed have been a part of my life was beneficial. While had a love-hate also struggle with mental health and I'm and I have a hard time sleeping all the his ADHD diagnosis relationship with pretty open about it,” Svoboda said. “I for such a long time that time,” she said. “I'm over thinking was unexpected, it did school, ” Lim-Moreno don't really see it as a shameful thing.” it’s sometimes hard for me everything I do and on the nerve of help him understand said. She stated that Abiad explained that he doesn’t feel to differentiate between mental breakdown, pretty much every why he struggled when she’s off her different from other students at BHS those disorders and my other day… It's just this overwhelming with paying attention, medication, “I have because he has met many peers who feeling of dread, and it doesn't feel personality.” fidgeting, and energy a really hard time have had similar experiences with like it's going away, which is scary.” levels. sitting still for a ADHD, depression, and mental health She wonders if, “this is me just being Lim-Moreno was whole period.

I'm issues in general. Many of his friends Auden Svoboda, BHS senior a teenager or is this something that I also diagnosed with usually out of my struggle with their mental health as should seek help for?”

ADHD, but felt that desk standing next to well, and they’re able to rely on each She explained that while she does her diagnosis was difficult to come to it … I can do (my class work) to some other for support. “A lot of people feel want to get help, its hard to open up terms with. “When I first got diagnosed extent, but mostly I ask my teacher if I uncomfortable talking about their that discussion. “In my friend group, with ADHD, I definitely saw things can take it home and turn it in the next mental health, but I think talking to I'm the person who's supposed to be the differently,” Lim-Moreno said. “I kind of day because I just can't concentrate other people is one of the best things you ‘normal’ one and the ‘sane’ one. I have blamed myself and was like, ‘Oh, this is for the period of time that it takes to can do about it,” Abiad said.

BY PEARL GAUTHIER staff writer

FEATURES

FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

9

Teachers promote elective classes amid advertising restrictions that current Mechatronics students will spread the English teacher at BHS, used word about the class to to teach Senior Short Story other students for future for six years. Today, the class class sign-ups. According to is taught by another teacher.

Buehler, Career Technical According to Rosen, Education and other the class has historically elective classes were able to always had an set up a table abundance of during lunch in sign-ups, and February.

“I would like students to know (their she ended up options) so they can choose which classes fit “ I volunte er ing participated in them best.” to teach a that and some section to of my students Ellie Buehler accommodate brought their t h e semester one BHS Mechatronics teacher overwhelming projects to amount of the table,” students. out who liked music on Buehler wrote. “Ideally we Rosen said that teachers campus.” would have many more should be given free rein to Williams currently opportunities to present advertise however they want teaches two classes: Hip Hop at Elective Fairs where to. While some teachers Gold and Audio Recording/ prospective students are might not have the resources Digital Production. encouraged to attend. to make announcements, However, next year, he will Targeted classroom visits she said that they could only be teaching the latter where one might share beseech the help of students due to low attendance information about this and to convince administrators in Hip Hop Gold. At the other electives might also be to provide the teachers a beginning of the year, sign- helpful,” Buehler said. temporary sub to let them ups comprised around 12 Even with the present to students during students and declined as proposal for student class the school day. students left for Berkeley promotions, Rosen asserted “We have that ability Technology Academy. Like that students, as much as here,” Rosen said. “Like if Mechatronics Engineering, they might enjoy a class, we have to go to an IEP the pilot rollout class for would have a harder time meeting, we tell our admin Audio Recording and pitching it. When she taught and then they send in Digital Production is offered Short Stories, she would someone to watch our class during seventh period. send some of her students to for 15 minutes.”

So far, Williams reported junior classes to talk about Meanwhile, teachers for that word-of-mouth has the course. That method, unconventional classes have been largely successful in while more efficient in her resorted to other means of terms of recruitment to the time, was less preferred. getting the word out about class.

“I think that teacher their courses.

Buehler expressed hope announcements … make a CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“I hit the ground running, man,” said BHS teacher Sakima Williams.

“In August, I just busted button and got out there and set up DJ turntables and got sign-up lists and talked to counselors and found

lot more sense because we know what the class is about,” Rosen said. “The students who go are typically like, ‘This is a really fun class,’ but they don't really know the ins and outs of what is going to be expected of them. They don't really get to give the students a sense of what the class actually is.”

Rosen proposed a period in the year where teachers could recruit substitutes to their classes so they could rotate through other classes to advertise.

Today’s class advertising guidelines do not prevent

teachers from “promoting on the yard,” an alternative that takes strenuous effort for instructors. Williams recruited the help of counselors to direct students to his class. He also visited middle schools with the Visual and Performing Arts program to get sign-ups for next year.

Presently, classes that are less mainstream have pressure to have added benefits. Some of these added benefits may include being offered outside of school, with asynchronous work to take in to account

confounding factors in student’s extracurricular commitments.

Ultimately, it might be considered that student interest takes precedence over what methods are considered acceptable in class endorsement.

“Not very many students have heard that BHS offers a mechatronics class, and I would like for everyone to know that this class is an option,” said Buehler.

“Generally, I would like students to know (their options) so they can choose which classes fit them best.”

JO PURCELL

WORD ON THE STREET Have you ever had a crush on a friend?

Maya Hill, a senior, said, “I had a crush on my best friend.” She told her and ended up being rejected. In response to the rejection, however, Hill said, “I think that it helped me move on, because if I hadn’t told her I would’ve kept thinking about it without doing anything.”

Adrienne Melodia has had a crush on a friend a couple of times. Her most significant experience was in sixth grade, when she had a crush on a girl who was straight while Melodia identified as gay. “I never really told her about it. I just tried to become closer friends with her.”

Sevan Minassian-Godner “waited until the last minute of the year and I texted (my friend).” Responding to how he felt about being rejected, he said, “It was just a beautiful, great experience. Honestly, that’s something I would recommend all around.”

Mia Skoble had a crush on their best friend in eighth, ninth, and part of tenth grade. “I was really sad, and I thought that it was bad to like your best friend like that. And then finally, in ninth grade, I told them over text.” Skoble asked if the friend liked them back, and the answer was no. “We just kept being friends, and we still are.”

Cassian Evans, a freshman, said “I did actually have a crush on someone I was pretty close friends with.”

They also told their friend, and ended up staying friends with them.

When asked what came of their crush on a friend, Molly Franklin replied, “We’re dating now. We were best friends for a while, and then they said they liked me, and now we’re together.”

PHOTOS BY NOLAN WHITEHILL staff photographer

INTERVIEWS BY CHARLIE TAMAGNO staff writer

10 F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 1 , 2 0 2 3

FEATURES BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

features editors: Lauren Huang & Amelia WIley Moreira

laurenhuang@students.berkeley.net

BHS students feel the impact of declining UC acceptance rates the decisions. When applying to a UC, students are required to choose four of the eight topics provided and write The 2022 acceptance rate an essay for each topic, each for University of California, essay being a minimum of Los Angeles was 8.6 percent.

350 words. These essays have In 2021 it was 10.8 percent, to be some of the best writing and in 2020 was 14.4 percent. from the student in order to This downward trend is similar attract the attention of the for most UC acceptance rates admission committee of the throughout the last couple of UC they applied to, who reads years. 11.4 percent, through thousands 14.5 percent, and of applications sent 17.5 percent were “A lot of people who were extremely in. Each student's the acceptance rates writing has to be a well qualified for the schools got at UC Berkeley in rejected ... but there’s just not enough needle in the haystack 2022, 2021, and of applications to space.”

2020, respectively. even be considered by This decline in the school. Applicants acceptance rates choose which of the Alana Lee, for most UC’s isn't 10 UC's they want BHS senior happening for no to apply to and the reason. same four essays are Unlike UC Berkeley and which is also probably the attached to the application for UCLA, the acceptance rate at hardest part,” said Academic each UC. By the end of March, UC Riverside between 2021 Choice senior Alana Lee when most UC decisions are out for and 2022 increased from talking about her experience students to see.

66 percent to 68.5 percent. applying to UC's last fall. Lee Although the application Less students are applying to didn’t find the application process for applying to UC's smaller, newer schools like process the hardest part about is daunting, many students UC Riverside, and started applying to UC's, but rather still apply to UC's, but Lee

BY AMELIA REED staff writer

applying to bigger UC's. This makes the acceptance rates at the bigger schools decrease, and the acceptance rates at smaller schools increase. In general, more students are applying to UC's creating lower acceptance rates and a larger struggle for students to get into the school they want.

“You’re writing in a way that you’ve never been before,

expected this process. Lee, who applied to UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego, UC Davis, UCLA, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara, said, “I think the application process was about as hard as I expected it, just because I’ve heard from previous seniors about their experiences, but definitely the process itself,” she said.

L e e found t hat more students who applied to UC's this year got rejected from their top schools. She explained, “A lot of people who were extremely well qualified for the schools got rejected when they deserved to be accepted, but there’s just not enough space.”

From her friends and peers, Lee has noticed that more students than she expected got waitlisted from the UC's they applied to. Although she knew some students that got into their dream UC, there were an overwhelming number of students who got rejected from their top UC's. Especially for schools with low acceptance

In BHS's College and Career Center, college flags hang. YASMEEN BAWANY

rates like UC Berkeley and UCLA, Lee knows very few students who got accepted to these schools.

However, Lee felt like there were a lot of students around her that felt pretty good about their UC decisions, but there were way more schools waitlisted students that she was surprised by. The options of students this year applying to many UC's has become smaller and smaller the more waitlists and rejections they

get. This stresses out students even more about colleges, especially those who only or mostly applied to UC's expecting to get into more UC's they applied to.

Throughout the last couple of years it's clear that UC acceptance rates have de cre as e d sig nif ic ant ly.

Students will still continue to apply to these schools this fall, and it is easy to predict that more students will continue to apply every year.

Winners of this year's 2023 ASB election outline their goals

BY YSABEL CHU staff writer

Associated Student Body Vice President Elect Erin Freeman will work with the administration to ensure voices of the students are heard. Freeman, when speaking about why she ran for ASB Vice President, said “When I was Junior Class Vice President we wanted to accomplish more mental health and Title IX support. That is more of an ASB job, because you have to work more with the administration.

A main priority for Eliza McGlashan, the So my running mate, Drew, and I decided to run Senior Class President Elect, is to make it for ASB President and Vice President to make easier for students to take the path they want. sure those changes happened.”

“For students who want to go to college, we’ll lessen the stress on that,” said McGlashan. “For students who don't want to go to college, more resume building and job finding workshops. If a student likes sports, highlight the games. If they like the arts, highlight student artwork or show art competitions.” Through her leadership experience in Youth and Government she has strengthened her public speaking and communication skills, which she plans on utilizing as senior class president to accomplish her goals.

Giving has always been a large part of the elected Chief of Service Kainoa Tomikawa’s family life. “I grew up doing things like on Thanksgiving volunteering at homeless shelters,” said Tomikawa. “And in sixth grade, my whole family went to Tijuana to go build houses for the homeless there.” As Chief of Service, Tomikawa plans to restart the holiday meal and host blanket drives towards the winter.

In order to accomplish these goals, Tomikawa intends to work with other community minded organizations and students.

As Sophomore Class President, Sofia Bloom will run sophomore leadership meetings and ensure that there is communication between the sophomore class and the administration.

Bloom will apply her experience in leadership from her participation in it this year. She said, “It's really showed me how ASB works, how it runs, what it's going to look like next year. And I can apply what I've learned this year to next year.” Next year, Bloom plans on improving the club list and making the resources available at BHS more well known.

Junior Class Vice President Elect Zamahra "Winta" Clark will work with King to ensure decisions impact all students positively. On why she decided to run, Clark said, “Well, it started when I wasn't really happy with all of the choices that were being made in the school.

And I wanted to have a say in it.” Next year she plans on utilizing Google Forms as well as Instagram to foster strong communication between students and leadership.

Junior Class President Elect Zariyah King plans on making sure more diverse voices are included in leadership next year. “Even though BHS is a diverse school, I felt like all the voices weren't being represented,” said King. She also plans on helping all the juniors prepare for AP, SAT, and ACT tests. “I will make sure everyone is prepared for senior year, and for different things that happened throughout junior year such as AP testing.”

Sophia Nishioka, Sophomore Class Vice President Elect, plans on hosting more fundraisers with the sophomore class president next year. “We are going to have fundraisers and supply drives to hopefully help the bathroom situation, because there's not a lot of locks on bathroom doors and in general it's kind of a mess,” said Nishioka. She also plans on creating a club where students can speak to leadership about problems or suggestions they have.

*Winners Drew Henderson and Katelyn Liao are members of the Jacket staff but were not involved in the reporting of the story.

PHOTOS BY SUNNY BEVIS-LIPTON

FEATURES

FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

11

Taiwan trip provides Mandarin students cultural engagement got to explore the entire students from a Taiwanese Xian Mountain was the island. They visited a temple high school. The Taiwanese ultimate highlight. “It was in Taitung City, went to a high schoolers had been such a great experience and mochi factory and made taking English classes it was so pretty and such At 1 a.m., a plane took mochi themselves with an at their school, so they a good way to appreciate off from San Francisco i n d i g e n o u s the county's International Airport. It tribe, took beauty,” she was a direct flight to Taipei, boat rides, said.

Watching “It was such a great experience and it was the capital of Taiwan, and and visited so pretty and such a good way to appreciate the sunrise on carried over 50 Mandarin multiple street the mountain the county's beauty.” students from Berkeley markets.

In is one of the High School along with Taiwan, street main tourist Sonia Hochchild, parent chaperones and markets are a attractions in BHS Mandarin teacher big part of the Taiwan, and BHS freshman Xin Chen. Students in all culture and Chen had of the Mandarin classes they sell many to book the were eligible for the week- types of Taiwanese and were able to effectively tickets far in advance to long trip and over 50 took Chinese foods, as well as communicate with BHS reserve the opportunity. the opportunity. The flight desserts, jewelry, clothing, students and teach them Taiwan has a tropical departed on March 31 and and candy. Students enjoyed about different gods and was a little over 13 hours drinks from the countless goddesses in Taiwanese long. boba shops selling beverages culture. One god in Everyone arrived on for less than two US dollars. particular was the god of Saturday morning ready In addition to all the food love, Yue Lao. It's said that for a full day of exploration. students were allowed to he has possession over U p o n an invisible disembarking, red thread “If you are limited to a single country, you which ties two everyone quickly piled cannot expand your vision as well and you people who onto two buses cannot experience different cultures and ways are destined and headed to be married of life.” to Sun Moon together.

Lake (called While they Julia Chen, Rì Yuè Tán in were at the Mandarin), temple, BHS Taiwan trip guide a popular students were destination allowed to located in central Taiwan buy at the street market, partake in the tradition of known for its natural beauty. all of the trip’s main meals circling pieces of cut red The bus, equipped with were served family style at string around incense for purple seats and karaoke, ten-seat tables. The students good luck in love. would be the main source of were able to taste a large Overall, the activities transportation around the variety of classic Taiwanese were outstanding, but Sonia island. dishes while learning their Hochchild, a freshman in Taiwan takes five and names in Mandarin.

Mandarin 3, thought that a half hours to drive from On the sixth day of the waking up at 3:00am to go top to bottom, and the class trip, students met with watch the sunrise from Ali

BY SABINE ROSEN staff writer

climate and beautiful scenery. Maya Hammel, another freshman in Mandarin 3, said her favorite part was “the theme park and roller coaster we went on on the first day and all the pretty nature we got to see.”

Chen partnered with Global Devotion Association (GDA), which specializes in culture exchanges in East Asia, to coordinate the trip. Julia Chen, who has at GDA for six years said these cultural exchange trips are important because “if

you are limited to a single country, you cannot expand your vision as well and you cannot experience different cultures and ways of life.”

When asked, she said the Mandarin class' trip to Taiwan is one of the best ways for students to deepen their understanding of the language and also to learn how to comprehend it in a more interactive way. Julia Chen really enjoyed leading BHS students around Taiwan and is excited to continue to do more cultural exchanges in the future.

WINNIE HUANG

BHS teachers rethink instruction amid rise in ChatGPT use CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

McKinney was asked by the Jacket to read and grade four sample essays, each responding to the same reading and writing prompts. Two of the samples were written by students, one by GPT4 that had been given the same prompt as the

students, and one by GPT4 with a prompt revised for a better response from the engine. The two AI responses were scored one letter grade higher than the student responses by McKinney, who did not know who wrote which essay. However, she was also able to correctly tell apart the computer-

generated and the humanauthored responses.

Where Salaverry sees potential in GPT-4 is not as a full-on ghost writer but as a revisor.

“I don't think anybody is going to level up from being a good writer to a great writer by getting suggestions for revision from an AI Chatbot …

ROBERT GELLNER

(but) it is potentially rather than producing the we just don't have time to helpful,” he said. The bot sheer volume of material do all the time. And this draws from text all over needed to run a successful gives us the potential to be the internet, — its writing class. McKinney uses able to do that,” McKinney is not going to reflect differentiated instruction said. her classroom, These technologies high art — but it could in potentially help someone where she tailors the are, some fear, expanding faster than r e a c h rules and proficiency. r e g u l a t i o ns McKinney “In an ideal world, Chat-GPT would be also is used to improve equity both in the classroom can keep up with. excited about and as students are struggling at home.”

“I know the abilities that AI is of GPT-4 Brooke McKinney, supposedly to serve as doing really an assistant, BHS English teacher great work … especially for (but) I would those who wouldn’t otherwise have content she teaches to say I’m pretty alarmed by access to the resources it best resonate with her some of that I’m hearing,” can provide. “In an ideal students’ interests. This said Salaverry, who is world, Chat-GPT would strategy works best when perplexed by what he sees be used to improve equity McKinney has access to a as a lack of control within both in the classroom lot of varied material, the the entire tech industry. and as students are creation of which takes a “They don’t really know what they’re unleashing struggling at home,” she person a long time. “(GPT-4) is a great into the world,” he said. said. Students with more McKinney concured, privilege have access to starting point for me to tutors and technologies — generate these examples thinking that what we see in McKinney’s eyes, GPT- very quickly,” she said. In today is just the beginning 4 could “level the playing McKinney’s ideal world, AI of an artificial intelligence technologies could handle explosion. “I (believe) that field.”

Discussions about some of the grunt work, it’s going to be unavoidable GPT-4 and its analogues as it were, of teaching, … that is concerning, to tend to focus on possible allowing her to focus on figure out how you keep uses for students, but the what matters more, like your … agency while also automation it provides can planning lessons and not ignoring the tools that help teachers concentrate giving feedback. “There's are available to you,” she more on actually teaching a lot that teachers do that said.

12 F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 1 , 2 0 2 3

ENTERTAINMENT BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

Entertainment editors: Ruby Freedman & Marina Howard

ERASE, EDIT, OR REMAKE?: MOVIES WE’RE MEANT TO LOVE CHLOE CARUTH

“Don’t Worry Darling” came out in 2022 among a flurry of drama. The cast has Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, Kiki Layne, Ari’el Stachel, Chris Pine, and Olivia Wilde (also the director of the film). This psychological thriller, set in a utopian 1950s community, was meant to explore women’s unfulfillment in the roles of solely wives and mothers. We were promised shiny sets and female self-realization.

But honestly, after watching the movie, it was quite underwhelming.

I found the drama surrounding the making of this movie more enticing than the movie itself. That’s one of the reasons I waited so long to actually watch the movie. The main drama surrounds Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles. They were dating during the creation of the movie but have since broken up. There was also rumored tension between the cast on set, especially when initially Shia Lebouf, an admitted abuser, was a part of the project. When the actual plot of your movie is overshadowed by a video where it looks like Harry Styles spits on Chris Pine at an award show, marketing for your movie needs to be upped.

The cinematography was highly anticipated for this movie. But when I watched it I felt underwhelmed. All the interesting shots were put in the trailer, which didn’t leave much to look forward to. In between the dynamic shots from the trailer were mostly boring long wide shots. Although there were places where those creative shots would have fit well, like during one of the dinner scenes, they were shot traditionally, making the scene fall flat.

This is the same for many of the aspects of this movie, especially the plot. The entire time I was watching the movie I was waiting for a plot twist that never happened. The entire plot was given away in the trailer and with the promo.

Female pain is something commonly portrayed in the media. There is a fascination with seeing the suffering inflicted on others.

I believe the emphasis on women’s suffering comes from women historically suppressing their emotions and their pain. This movie focuses on how things are taken from the women in this movie by men; their autonomy, freedom of thought, and self-expression are all suppressed to make them conform. This kind of content is harmful because it normalizes women’s suffering. Too often women are made to be the victims of everyone else’s pain. They don’t get to have their own pain or feelings instead they become the punching bag for those around them. This movie brought nothing new, it was just another opportunity to witness women being tortured. With thought and care, this could be remade and likely be a very interesting movie with a unique take on female suffering. However, for the moment, it’s best to just leave it behind.

rubyfreedman@students.berkeley.net

The history and evolution of ‘trashy’ books

BY COLINA HARVEY staff writer

Reading is generally regarded as an intellectual activity. However, highly sensational literature that features formulaic characters and shocking plot twists has had success for decades despite not being considered of the highest quality. The “trashy” novels we are familiar with today have an evolution rooted centuries ago.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the popularity of dime novels, short works of fiction costing ten cents. These novels are characterized by their fast-paced and

dramatic storytelling. They were catered towards the lower class since they were cheap to produce and easy to read. Because the books were not considered to be highbrow, they were looked down on by members of the upper class.

Around the turn of the century, dime novels started to evolve into pulp magazines, also referred to as pulp novels or pulp fiction. Unlike dime novels, pulp magazines were printed on low-cost wood pulp paper. They were especially popular during the Great Depression, not only because they were cheap, but also because they provided escapist entertainment during

difficult economic times.

The pulp magazine industry collapsed after World War II due to paper shortages, the rise of television, and competition from comics and paperback novels.

The legacy of this literature can be seen today in the books that top bestseller lists. Many of the most popular contemporary authors take a quantity over quality approach to writing.

One of the most noticeable examples of this is the popularity of Colleen Hoover. Her rise to fame was so meteoric that in 2022, her books outsold the bible’s 2022 sales by over two million copies. The romance novelist publishes as many as three full length

GWEN WEBER-STOVER

novels yearly. Despite her commercial success, her characters and settings lack dimension. Her books have also been criticized for setting a bad example for young readers about what a romantic relationship should look like.

Another massively popular author is James Patterson. Since publishing his first book in 1976, Patterson has released at least 263 novels, many of which are co-written with authors whose names appear much smaller than his on the cover.

One reason why dime and pulp novels saw popularity was due to the need for escapism. It’s possible that “trashy” novels of the 21st century thrive for the same reason. In a world where news seems to be only bad, the general public doesn’t want to read books about real-world problems.

An exclusively modern factor that contributes to the mass production of lowbrow books is the competition they face with countless forms of media.

Social media, particularly, has corroded the attention spans of many users due to the amount of content that can be accessed. Authors must create fast-paced stories, or else readers will move on to something else.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

DIVYA BENDAVID

Fashion club organizers Maya Widholm and Isabel Rodriguez Gerstein see fashion as both a spirited personal story and one with meaning for our community.

For both, fashion started out in childhood and grew as an experience of self-expression.

“A lot of people had the childhood dress up, to wear your mom’s high heels,” Widholm said. “That was definitely me.”

When Widholm moved from Chicago to Berkeley, her interest in fashion turned into a passion. “The Berkeley culture is the biggest thing that got me to think about (self-expression) when I got dressed,” Widholm said.

“My parents always let me dress

myself,” Rodriguez Gerstein said. “I’ve tried to explore what I actually like versus what everyone else is doing,” she continued.

“Living here is really open and I have the space to do that.”

For Rodriguez Gerstein, creativity through fashion is a process that requires patience. “Sewing is definitely a lot harder than it looks,” she explained. “I feel very fulfilled and proud when I get through a challenge and figure out how to make something I envisioned.”

As both ha ve grown up, the potential for good in fashion has become more evident. “We’re both very aware of the environmental and social impacts of the fashion industry,” Widholm emphasized.

“We use that as motivation to want to be sustainable and to find a change.”

“Some of my favorite clothes have been passed down through my family,” Rodriguez Gerstein shared. “When I get something that was made by my grandma and passed down to my mom, that’s special to me because it holds so many stories,” she said.

Their upcoming fashion show will be the culmination of months of work, featuring designs, models and photographers on Thursday, April 27, from 6-8 p.m. at 935 Carleton St. in Berkeley with a 5 dollars admissions fee.

— Aditya Sridharan

ENTERTAINMENT

FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

13

Chess.com consumes BHS student body, gives new life to game

Students spend class time on Chess.com.

BY OSCAR WALLENSTEIN staff writer

The 2022-23 school year at Berkeley High School has been unique in the rise of in-class casual gaming.

Wordle, Touchgrind Skate, and FIFA Mobile have all passed through, leaving little in their tracks. These games have enjoyed surges in popularity largely

JAHAN INGRAHAM

because they generally aren’t too demanding to play, and success can be achieved with limited consumption of the user’s time and attention.

The most recent beneficiary of the trend is a game with very little recency about it: chess.

Most often delivered to BHS students through its largest commercial distributor, Chess.com, the game’s rise among youth has

been strange for many adults seeing an interesting clip “The Queen’s Gambit” and for artificial intelligence who know our generation of a Twitch chess stream.” events such as Twitch’s take and machine learning. As by our lack of enthusiasm Social platforms and their on celebrity all star games experiences with Chess. for most “intellectual” increased use have played with internet personality com’s engine tells kids, there activities. Parents who a role. In fact, all facets of amateur chess tournaments, is always a best move, and with such have all but given up on this explosion exposure having well-read children in popularity and teachers who have seem to lead “I had played chess before, but was moved to it, that struggled with students’ back to four to download the Chess.com app after seeing concept can outright rejection of less root causes: an interesting clip of a Twitch chess stream.” be somewhat addicting. accessible learning methods Twitch, Chess.

G u r u n g have noticed the irony of com, TikTok, Julius Rosenbach, finds himself this trend. Their question and the often taking is, “Why now?” Chess is C O V I D - 1 9 BHS freshman consecutive among the oldest and most pandemic. moves back influential games in human Su v a a n history, having been around Gurung, another freshman, PogChamps, that have very quickly, in search of for over 1,400 years. Its is ahead of the curve, and bolstered chess’s popularity what the engine sees as intellectual significance is has been playing for over further, with upwards of perfect. This mechanism nearly unmatched, and the two years on Chess.com, 75 million views between makes chess a fast paced, rewarding activity, with very cultural gravity that has his account predating the them.

In 2018, Chess.com little thinking involved. CEO come with that is enough trend. “I’ve been playing acquired Komodo Erik Allebest said, “Chess. to make a legitimate Monte Carlo chess com is proud to invest in the college degree out of the study of chess Chess.com’s engine tells kids there engine, an artificial future of machine learning intelligence by as it relates to artificial and its history. What is always a best move, and with which moves are intelligence in chess.” And has changed to pique such exposure to it, that concept chosen through win that’s exactly what it is, an kids’ interests at BHS probability instead investment. Here, artificial in 2023? can be somewhat addicting. of the “traditional” intelligence relaxes the Julius Rosenbach, m o v e - b y - m o v e need for close attention and a freshman in Hive 1, got into chess for a while, but have only approach, similar to the mental strain. The website via the internet. “I had started to see chess content probabilistic methods of is also an excellent teaching chess tool, albeit slightly addictive, played chess before, but on platforms like YouTube machine-learning was moved to download and TikTok during this projects. In a way, chess but is overall very appealing the Chess.com app after school year.” Shows like is the perfect platform to teenagers.

LUCY RICKART-WEBB

Playlist curation allows music listeners to express themselves

BY AMAR WALKER staff writer

Listen to the Jacket podcast: Education across the world How do different countries value education? How does that impact the first-hand student experience?

Find out in the most recent episode of The Buzz available on Spotify, Apple podcasts, and Anchor.

For decades, people have been crafting playlists to fit their musical desires. From mixtapes and CDs to the various playlists of today, musical consumption has always been up to the listener to decide. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

In fact, the ability to listen to however many songs you want from however many albums supplies freedom into the musical world.

Many people use playlists to illustrate certain vibes and moods, whether it’s mellow, sad, or hype. Because of this, it becomes helpful for them to take specific songs off of albums and add them into their own personal curation.

Depending on the person, playlists can be intricate

and selective, hours long, or seemingly random.

More often than not, artists will have the consecutive songs in the album flow together so the experience of listening is smooth and enjoyable. It’s always great to listen to an album from top to bottom when it is first released.

Once the listener gets familiar with the music, then they can pick out the songs they like best, or even decide that they love the flow and continue to listen to the album as is. While artists may put effort into storytelling and cohesion with the order of their albums, it should be up to the listener to curate and appreciate the songs how they want to.

It’s undeniable that even the most acclaimed artists will make a couple of

songs that don’t agree with the listener. Playlists are a great solution to sitting through these less than ideal tracks. This way, if there are skippable songs, the only person to blame is the playlist curator themselves.

Playlists are the perfect record of how one’s music taste adapts over time.

People will grow older and appreciate different artists and styles of music, but playlists will always be available for them to reminisce on. Whether flipping through old cassette tapes stored in a cardboard box in the attic or scrolling through Spotify, playlists are an incredible asset for generating feelings of nostalgia, joy, and satisfaction. And while an entire album can also have that effect, it’s much less personal.

14 F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 1 , 2 0 2 3

ENTERTAINMENT

‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ relies on references, lacks plot even remotely interesting going on. You wouldn’t know the movie is directed by the creators of “Teen The 1993 movie “Super Titans GO!” — the jokes in Mario Bros.” is the worst film this movie aren’t nearly as ever made. It’s indescribably funny or even as frequent. bad, baffling at every The plot is a means to turn, banishing everyone’s an end, just an excuse favorite Italian-American to explore the sprawling plumbers to a disgusting, Mushroom Kingdom. This live-action, fungus-infected is essentially the same as the New York City. The 2023 games. The focus is put on “The Super Mario Bros exploration, not on story.

Movie” is seemingly But the difference the polar opposite of is that when you’re its older counterpart. Much of the enjoyment of the movie is playing a game, it’s Instead of a grimy, reliant on the audience pointing at the dependent on your dystopian New York, screen and saying to the person beside input. In a movie, the modern film you passively watch them, “I know that!” portrays a welcoming the flashing colors and bright and nice landscapes.

Mushroom Kingdom. they’re not working with Within the vibrant lands Instead of huge globs of a lot, and they probably of the Mushroom Kingdom horrible fungus, there are weren’t the best choice. are many references to cute cartoon mushrooms The story is barebones, the Mario video games. voiced by Keegan-Michael though that’s to be expected. References might be as Key. Mario characters aren’t simple as something like a The internet erupted last really characters. Rather, restaurant called “Chasse year when the decidedly they’re a collection of tropes au Canard”, with a picture normal-sounding Chris and visual signifiers. It’s of a duck as its logo (a nod Pratt was revealed to be pretty much the same in the to the game “Duck Hunt”, voicing the titular heavily- movie. Sure, characters talk, which came packaged accented plumber. And as but no one has anything with the original “Super

BY ZACHARY YOO staff writer

expected, his voice acting is mediocre. In some lines, he attempts a hint of an accent, but in others he just uses his normal tone. It’s far from intolerable, but it feels far more like he was cast to put his name on the poster, rather than because he really fit the role. This is true with pretty much every performance in the movie comes off. They’re fine, maybe even good, but

THE CROSSWORD

ACROSS

DOWN

1. Often pierced body part, plural 1. Sprite or Dr Pepper, for example 6. Best seat for lanky fliers 2. Greek story, such as the Iliad 11. Keyboard key often pressed after CTRL 3. On ___ and needles 14. Drug derived from poppies 4. Adjust, as an instrument 15. Fine ___ control 5. Unprofessional 16. Locale that checks ID 6. Schiphol airport code in the Netherlands 17. Prima ___ 7. Not even one ___ 18. Ringo ___ 8. Wizard’s weapon 19. Salt Lake City student 9. French region disputed by Germany 20. Things often seized or frozen through WWI 22. Popular curly hairstyle 10. Screw-ups 23. ___ no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil 11. Treat badly 24. Consume 12. In a while 26. Crop growers 13. Arboretum residents 28. Introductions to bigger things 21. Unhappy 33. Group often referred to as al-Qaeda 25. Serbian inventor who worked with AC 34. One of many in an onion 27. Famous mouse 35. CAT or MRI, for example 28. One of the masses 37. Dial up, on a phone 29. Train guide 41. Ireland, to an Irishman 30. A work by Charlotte Brontë, Jane ___ 42. Sharp cutting edge 31. Progress 43. On bended ___ 32. Wound remnants 44. Played the flute, for example 36. Make up on the fly 45. ___ of Sandwich 38. ___ Karenina 46. What you must do with your drivers’ license 39. Look menacingly or library card 40. Crude, offensive 47. ___ to ___, dust to dust 42. Psychologist’s interest 49. Route to a back door 46. One way to sign off a letter 51. Drab-colored goose 48. Insult 55. Code issue 50. Dully grayish brown, to Shakespeare 56. Dream state 51. Grip 57. Have a Holly Jolly Christmas singer Burl 52. Thing of the past 59. Thin 53. Prayer endings 64. Tavern tipple 54. Actor Chan who played Sersi in Eternals 65. Unable to walk perfectly 58. Zoomed 67. Raid, plunder 60. You ___ what you sow 68. Lust or sloth, for example 61. Give five stars to 69. Author of the Iliad 62. Bakery need 70. Points in time 63. ___ Virginia 71. Counterparts of Macs 66. 8760 hrs— Raven Fonseca Jensen 72. Customs, in short 73. Used to buy

— Nicholas McGlashan

OLIVIA HIBSER

Mario Bros.”). Or, a turtle with a blue shell yelling, “Blue shell!” as he blows up Donkey Kong’s go kart.

The problem for viewers unfamiliar with the Mario franchise is not that moments such as the latter don’t make sense (it’s a world where blocks float in the air — who cares about anything making sense?) it’s that they’re utterly

meaningless. Much of the enjoyment of the movie is reliant on the audience pointing at the screen and saying to the person beside them, “I know that!”

Unlike the 1993 film, the 2023 Mario movie is reverent of the video games it’s adapting. Only, the references made are superficial.

At times, the camera

COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES

even mimics the 2D sidescrolling angle of retro Mario titles. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is exactly what you think it is. Aptly enjoyable and inoffensive, made for children first and Mario fans second. While the movie’s greatest appeal is its emulation of source material, it doesn’t quite capture the same magic.

PLAYLIST: BOSSA NOVA

The Girl From Ipanema Stan Getz Agua de Beber - Astrud Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim August Day Song - Bebel Gilberto Perdido de Amor (Lost in Love) - Luis Bonfa

Chove Chuva - Jorge Ben Jor Michelle - Yusef Lateef Batida Diferente Roberto Menescal E Seu Conjunto Brigas Nunca Mais - Elis Regina, Antonio Carlos Jobim

GABRIELLA BUSANSKY

Submit to next issue’s playlist here!

F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 1 , 2 0 2 3 15

SPORTS

Baseball takes win against Castro Valley

BY LULI GALINSON staff writer

On Wednesday, April 12, Berkeley High School boys baseball had an away game against Castro Valley High School.

Players had high hopes for this game, and were confident that they could take home the win after beating them last year. One of these players was senior William Chang, who said, “I’m excited for the postgame celebration in the outfield.”

The game started off uneventfully, with both team’s pitchers allowing no runs in the first inning.

However, the action picked

up during the top of the second inning when junior Manny Selles hit a double and ended up at second base. This was followed by a wild pitch from Castro Valley, allowing Selles to get to third base. Selles managed to take it all the way home and score for Berkeley off of a sacrifice hit from junior Trey Johnson. Castro Valley failed to score during the second inning, and by the third, the game was at a standstill, with neither team able to make any runs.

At the top of the fourth inning, Berkeley was up to bat. Chang was first up and got to first base, followed by senior Leo Asfar also moving to first. With players on first and second,

Leo Asfar completes his swing as spectators look on.

senior Nikhil Beasley had a strong hit into the outfield, enabling both players on base to get to home plate.

Beasley then scored a run off of a hit by junior Marlow Buettner. Berkeley ended the inning with 3 more points, bringing the score up to 4-0.

Nikhil Beasley is the team’s starting catcher, and has been on varsity for two years. He said, “The highlight of this game was definitely the overall hitting, defense did really well too.

A couple errors, but it’s alright.” He thinks this game shows Berkeley’s strength as a team, stating, “We had a lot of great energy and scored runs. We just went in and took care of business.”

AVA MUSSI

With this season being his last, Beasley expressed that he wants it “to end on a good note.” Beasley emphasized, “Seeing the seniors when I was younger, I saw how important it was to them, and I get it now because it’s my last season.”

In the fifth inning, Berkeley wasn’t able to make any runs. Castro Valley used bunting as a strategy and managed to get one run with no outs in their batting half of the fifth. With Castro Valley’s bases loaded with no outs, starting pitcher junior Julian Ito was replaced by senior Nikhil Newman, and Berkeley was able to recover and end the inning without Castro Valley scoring. In this sixth inning, Asfar was able to score again due to a misplay from the opponent’s midfield player. During the seventh inning, Berkeley pitcher and junior Antonio Nordman was put in play, making his first appearance of the season. Despite Castro Valley scoring once in the final inning, Berkeley’s win was already solidified and the game ended 5-2.

Senior and second baseman EJ Cord thinks Berkeley’s team can make it deep into playoffs this year.

Cord stated, “Our team is strong, and I think we have enough skill to go pretty far.”

Baseball has another league game on April 21, at home against Arroyo High School.

Track team dominates final home meet

BY LEO SILVERBERG staff writer

On April 13, the Berkeley High School track and field team took on Castro Valley and San Leandro, for their final home meet of the season. BHS showcased their speed and skill on the track, placing first in a numerous number of events.

Leading up to a race, athletes have to make sure they are mentally and physically prepared to handle the pressures and challenges that come with it.

Athletes have many different strategies and rituals that help them get mentally locked in right before a race.

“Listening to music (before a race) really helps me focus,” said junior Jadon Redman.

Junior Malachi Katz’s mental strategy is a little different. “I just try to focus on being in the moment, and telling myself that I can do it and to not worry about what’s going to happen in the future,” he said.

Track coach Bradley Johnson shared some tips on how to get into the right

mindset before a race. “The way you work on mindset is by simulating the space that you’re going to be in competition. You have to be in that space. You have to practice in that space.

You have to compete in that space,” said Johnson. He emphasized the importance of maintaining that mindset during practice. “If you’re focused during practice, you start the same way in practice as you do during a race … It’ll translate,” said Johnson.

Redman reiterated Johnson’s statement, “Practice makes perfect,” he said.

Johnson made it clear that mental and physical preparation are equally important when preparing for a race. “The best athlete with a bad mentality (during a race), will run poorly. But if you don’t train, you won’t have the physical capacity to run. It’s not one or the other,” Johnson said.

Mental preparation didn’t seem to be a problem for Berkeley, as they managed to secure many top finishes.

The group of Yair Naftalin-Kelman, Giuseppe Chiappetta, Jalen Madjidi, and Matteo Small took first in the men’s varsity 4x400 relay. Freshman Carina

Nottingham and junior Mason Mullen both clinched first place in the women’s and men’s 3200-meter race, respectively.

In the men’s 110-meter hurdles, Josiah Smith secured first place, while senior Alessandra IonescuZanetti claimed first place in the women’s 300-meter hurdles.

Senior Luke DeValpine dusted his competition in the 1600, nearly lapping another runner en route to victory.

Berkeley’s top runners will compete for glory in the Sacramento Meet of Champions, on Saturday, April 22.

Racers power through the pain under as BHS athletes warm up on April 13.

LARSEN PORTER

BORN A LEADER CARINA THOMAS

Me? A leader? My past self could only laugh at the very suggestion of that title being assigned to me. As a quiet kid, taking on leadership roles was so foreign to me-- as if that title were reserved only for those who were loud, authoritative, or just incredibly confident. And so, I decided to accept the fact that I simply was not born to lead.

That is, up until high school — I began to become informed on how being a leader is crucial to sticking out on my college applications. Thus, as a high achiever obsessed with academic validation, taking on leadership roles became a prioritized task on my college application to-do list.

Being elected as captain of my club soccer team at the beginning of freshman year was the first time in my life where I took on a serious leadership role. I was extremely nervous and confused — I had no idea how to take on the role as captain when my whole life I’d been quiet and reserved. Overwhelmed by this new responsibility, I decided to start by reflecting on which of my qualities made my coach believe I was worthy of the captain role in the first place.

Throughout the prior season, I’d been focusing on my growth and learning to become a better player by changing my reaction to mistakes and how I approached challenges. I realized that I could project my expertise towards adapting a growth mindset onto my teammates, leading by example. I began to lead and enhance group discussions during games and practices, moved onto the next play whenever I made a mistake, increasingly used my voice on the field, and focused on my game every second of the play. I wasn’t a particularly loud or authoritative person, but I found other ways to act as a leader by embracing my qualities which contributed to my team maintaining a positive environment and achieving success throughout the season.

From being captain of both my club and high school soccer team, I learned that having a leadership title is not to place oneself on a “higher podium” or for the sole purpose of standing out on one’s college applications.

Instead, being a leader means taking on the responsibility of inspiring others and lifting them up to reach their full potential, all while being aware of the fact that you, yourself, still have just as much learning to do and work to put in.

If I’d convinced myself that I wasn’t fit for the captain role simply because I didn’t feel that I was at my full confidence, that mindset would have immediately determined the insecure player that I would represent on the field. I instead took a leap of faith by choosing to just trust myself and my ability to step onto the field with confidence I pulled out of nowhere.

Everyone is capable of having a profound impact on the people and environment around them. No matter what your personality or confidence level, your own unique qualities and strengths are what make you just as capable of leadership as anyone else. The only way to grow as a student, athlete, or person in general is to adopt something that you’ve never tried before — adapt to taking on the role of leadership.

16 F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 1 , 2 0 2 3

SPORTS BERKELEY HIGH JACKET

sports editors: Norah lee & Luisa Bertolli

luisabertolli@students.berkeley.net

BHS swim takes on San Leandro meet

BY SIMON POLICY staff writer

ROBERT GELLNER

Athletes adapt to exercising while fasting

BY SASKIA FREEDBERG staff writer

“It’s just hard trying to keep going and keep trying to play your sport when you’re really thirsty and hungry,” said Iman Shaikh, a senior and member of the Berkeley High School affiliated rugby team. For her and other Muslim student athletes, March 22 marked the beginning of a month of fasting while the sun is out in observance of Ramadan. “(Fasting) is an important ritual or tradition of Islam so it’s important for me,” Sami Khayatei Houssaini, a junior on the crew team, said. “But

also it teaches you a lot about self restraint but also empathy towards people or sharing the experiences of some people who may not have frequent access to food or beverage everyday.”

Shaikh described being tired at school and after school. “By the time I come home I’m so exhausted that I just want to go to sleep,” Shaikh said. “It’s kind of hard balancing your school life and your religious life, like trying to pray and read the Quran.”

For Khayatei Houssaini, morning practices are “okay because I still have water in me and some food in me, so it’s not as hard. But towards the end of the day in the

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Boys Lacrosse

10-7 W 14-2 vs Washington 4/25 TBA @ O’dowd

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7-6 L 14-16 vs O’Dowd

4/24 6:00pm @ BHS

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4-11 L 1-5 vs Alameda

4/21 4:00pm @ BHS

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3-14 W 3-2 vs Encinal

4/21 5:30pm @ Alameda

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evening it does sometimes get a little hard because I’m hungry, and also starting to get a little thirsty.”

Khayatei Houssaini remembered feeling hungry and thirsty the evening of the crew team’s individual pace tests, saying that “I didn’t feel super great, but I decided to do it anyway.

It was challenging but I was able to do it better than I had previously done. But afterwards it did not feel great at all, I couldn’t drink any water afterwards so that was a little hard.”

Similarly, Shaikh has continued to put full effort into rugby games and practices, but hasn’t always felt at her strongest.

“I try to try my best as much as I was before, but obviously like during games it’s definitely hard to try to keep like a hundred percent energy throughout the whole time just because it’s like you don’t really get any breaks,” Shaikh said. “And you havent really eaten food all day and you can’t really drink any water.”

Both Shaikh and Houssaini have experienced understanding and

supportive teammates and coaches.

“Everybody’s been very supportive,” Houssaini said. “(They’ve been) telling me that if at any point I don’t feel well just to tell them, that I can stop at any time, and just to take care of myself.”

Senior Basil Adnan described his shift in sleep schedule as a result of fasting, as he wakes up before sunrise to eat, goes back to sleep, and wakes up a bit later than usual. Adnan, who regularly exercises, added that during Ramadan, he tends to exercise more at night, after breaking his fast. Additionally, “The only other change I made in my routine was going for walks and making it less physically intense, so I wouldn’t be as hungry or thirsty,” Adnan wrote.

For Shaikh, part of balancing sports, school, and religion means leaving some practices early to break her fast with her family.

Both Shaikh and Houssaini mentioned breaking their fast with their family or friends as a highlight of Ramadan for them.

ATHLETE PROFILE: OLIVER SHRIEVE

The Berkeley High School swim team soaked in the sun on Friday, 14 April, 2023 as they huddled beside the San Leandro High School outdoor pool. John Mcdonald, one of the team’s head coaches, stood with the athletes as he gave some supportive final words: if any team member were to swim with enough effort to need help getting out of the pool, he’d be the first one there to proudly help them out. After energetically chanting “Juice the Jackets,” BHS swimmers cheered and kicked off the swim meet.

Over the next couple of hours, swimmers shot back and forth through the pool in both relay races and general races of varying lengths. Teammates, friends and family members cheered from the bleachers as BHS won one race after the other.

“Not only do we have talented swimmers, but we have swimmers who are getting better even though they’re already really good,” said Margaux Vuillequez, a junior on the team.

Charlotte Livermore is a sophomore who swims

for both BHS and club. She highlighted a particularly unique aspect of swimming.

“I’ve played soccer,” said Livermore. “It’s a lot more competitive with people on your team. … I’m just a competitive person.

So I’d get hella mad. But with swimming, it’s more competitive with myself because, like, I want to break my time.” Livermore was happy about the results of her races. “I’ve dropped a ton of time and I’m three seconds away from breaking the one-hundred meter (breaststroke) time.”

Annamaria AcostaFerezi, a junior on the team, explained how the individual competition of swimming can be less stressful and more constructive as compared to the competition present in other sports. “(Swimming) has been a mostly positive experience, because it’s an outlet for my anxiety. So it’s helped me do better in school, I feel more relaxed,” she said.

As the sun set and the BHS team cheered around the pool at the San Leandro swim meet, it was clear that each swimmer shared an equal amount of care for not only the sport, but the team itself.

Swimmers dive into their meet under the bright sun.

AVA MUSSI

Oliver Shrieve, junior and Berkeley High School boys volleyball captain, started playing volleyball at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School when he was 11 years old. He played baseball, basketball, football, and did crew before choosing to commit to volleyball. “I picked volleyball up very quickly. It didn’t take that long to get good,” Shrieve explained. He started playing club volleyball just last year in the tenth grade, where he realized both his love for the sport and his incredible potential. Shrieve boasts a jaw-dropping 38 inch vertical jump. Despite his unusually late start, Shrieve is a Division I prospective athlete. “The volleyball community is really welcoming, and that’s probably what I like most about the sport,” he said. Shrieve is one of few returning players for BHS, as most of last year’s squad graduated in 2022.

“This year we’re rebuilding. The goal is to just keep improving as much as we can throughout the season,” Shrieve remarked.

There are many new and younger players on the 2023 roster.

With Shrieve leading the way, there is no doubt the BHS boys volleyball program will go on to do great things.

— Zada Sanger