November issue 2017

THE BURLINGAME B theburlingameb.org

November 20, 2017

Issue 3 Vol. 111

The Fourth Amendment is permeable in schools

BY DARRION CHEN

Senior Reporter

Despite belief that students’ privacy at school is protected by the Fourth Amendment, students at school have few to no rights guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment according to state, district and school policy.

“There is confusion among the students about their rights,” senior Caitlyn Rusley said. “They think that their backpacks can’t be searched because it is a personal belonging, but their locker can be checked because it is school property.”

Even among the students, “some people say that they can, and some people say that they can’t,” senior Katie Caulfield said.

The San Mateo Union High School District policy states that “school officials may search any individual student, his/her property, or district property under his/her control when there is a reasonable suspicion that the search will uncover evidence that he/she is violating the law, …[or] other rules.”

The United States Bill of

Rights declares the “right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” However in the 1985 New Jersey v. T.L.O. case, the United States Supreme Court decided that schools are subject to a lower standard of the Fourth Amendment that would only require “reasonable suspicion” and not a written warrant to start a search or seizure.

In the Supreme Court case, a student was seen smoking in the bathroom, and was consequently brought to the administrative office, where her purse and bags were searched by administrators.

The Supreme Court ruled the search constitutional because there was “probable cause” and “reasonable suspicion,” albeit there was no specific written warrant.

In other words, anything on district property can be searched by district employees. A car parked on Carolan Avenue, however, cannot be searched by the district, but it can be searched by Burlingame police given reason-

able suspicion.

Although there is no exact constitutional definition of “reasonable suspicion,” Dean of Students Fred Wolfgramm lays out some clear boundaries.

“Any student who leaves campus should expect to be searched when they come back,” said Wolfgramm, referencing the Student Code of Conduct. “It’s protocol. Also, any student engaging in suspicions activity, for example grouping in a bathroom stall, should expect to be searched.”

Contrary to popular belief, “reasonable suspicion” is enough to override a student who does not consent to a search.

A student who is to be searched would be brought to the administrative offices, put through due process, and searched by two or more district employees. When there is probable cause, the school acts in the name of parents, but the school will call the parent as soon as possible.

“After all, it all revolves around safety and security,” Wolfgramm said.

To read more about district policy, visit www.gamutonline.net/district/sanmateounionhsd/

What’s Inside?

PAGE 2 - Staff reporter Annie Sun writes about the revisions being made to the Academic Honesty Policy PAGE 3 - Staff reporter Payton Toomey recaps the Nov. 10 Model UN conference at Stanford PAGE 4 - Editor-in-Chief Maggie Murdoff and Design Editor Stella Lorence offer a helpful graphic for totaling cost of applying to college

PAGE 8 - Is the College Board ripping people off ? Business Manager Priscilla Jin gives her answer PAGE 10 - Senior Editor Lily Page profiles the Burlingame University facility dogs

The right of the people to

be secure in their persons, The district can search anything on district property (CA state law)

houses, papers, and effects,

Admin decides upon reasonable suspicion (CA state law)

shall issue, but upon probable

Not needed if you have gone off campus (Code of Conduct)

against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants

cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or

Admin decides on “probable cause” (CA state law)

Anything on school property (SMUHSD policy)

things to be seized.

kNOw Limits is not being put on due to lack of participation

BY LOGAN TURNER

Staff Reporter

“I really wanted to put on an event like this because I had seen many pictures and heard stories about what a great event it was,” senior and former Student Impact Team member Vivian Yuen said.

However, in more recent years the participation in this wellknown event decreased dramatically. Last year, the team struggled to gather participants, guest speakers and donations.

The decision to terminate this event was made by the club advisor David Kimura. Many students including former members of the Student Impact Team are unsure of why the event is no longer being put on.

“We didn’t really have a say since we were graduating, but I think it was related to lack of attendance,” former co-chair Char-

lie Jones said.

Every year, the Student Impact Team worked hard to publicize kNOw Limits and encourage their friends to attend while working toward the goal of 100 participants.

For the past few years, the team has struggled to reach this goal.

In 2017, the event did not attract even half of this number. The lack of demand for kNOw Limits led the teacher advisor and administration to make the choice to stop holding the event.

Although the participation decreased, students would have liked to try to continue to promote the kNOw limits event and put it on again.

“I was really hoping to continue the event and was pretty sad to hear that the club wasn’t coming back,” Yuen said.

Even before 2008, the popular and long-held tradition of the kNOw Limits event put on by the Student Impact Team will not take place this year. In addition, the Student Impact Team is no longer an active club at school. kNOw Limits was recognized by many students as a way to meet new people and get to know peers on a deeper and more personal level. Two years ago, Nidhi Bandrapall, the club’s president, said in the club’s 2016 promotional video that the event “is an 8-hour bonding event to help break down social barriers and to kind of unite the whole school.”

Various team-building activities during this day-long event allowed students to understand the struggles of their peers that are different from and similar to their own.

The event that promoted kindness and diversity inspired those who attended it.

Former co-president Reivo Trio said in the video that “it allows people that don’t talk to each other every day at school to go deeper than the shallow conversations.” Both Bandrapall and Trio graduated two years ago.

“After participating in kNOw Limits, I really felt more connected to my peers,” senior Halle Friedeberg said. “I gained perspective on the entire school community and saw how everyone’s lives can be so alike and different.”

Many students were eager to attend the event or even be a part of BHS alumni Nicole Chin, Audrey Oliver, and Jamie Carey bond the Student Impact Team. during kNOw Limits 2017.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NICOLE CHIN

SPREAD - See the winners of the B’s November photo contest!

The Fourth Amendment

2

News

November 20, 2017

The moment that shaped a rivalry

BY BEN NEUMAN

Staff Reporter

35 years ago, on Nov. 20, “The Play” occurred. It was a moment that changed the Cal-Stanford football rivalry forever.

Stanford, on the verge of a seemingly inevitable win in a hard fought game was poised to kick off to Cal with four seconds left on the clock. In a crazy play involving five laterals, the University of California football team miraculously pulled off the win that no one saw coming, especially the Stanford band.

Due to the seemingly impossible comeback for the Cal Bears, the Stanford Band ran out onto the field before time had expired.

Little did they know, the Bears still had some fight left in them, causing the oncoming players to collide with members of the band.

In a flurry of activity, Kevin Moen, the Bears ball-carrier spiked the ball on a band member’s head before running into the endzone.

That unlucky player happened to be a trombonist: Half Moon Bay resident, Gary Tyrrell.

“We were still playing a song, so I turned around to look at our drum major and around that time, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a Cal football player running

through the band,” Tyrrell said.

“The next thing I knew, I was down.”

It has been 35 years since “The Play,” and the awe of it has not begun to fade.

“I’ve never seen anything to match it and I’ve had the pleasure of broadcasting 49ers football for 22 years and over 40 years for Cal football,” longtime Bay Area announcer Joe Starkey said of the end to the game. “A lot of lives were affected by that play.”

To Stanford students, the worst part about the game was not that it was a close loss, it was the fact that it was a Big Game loss. The Big Game is the title given to the football game between intense rivals Stanford and Cal. More often than not, this game is closely fought until the end, with the better team barely prevailing.

This 125-year-old tradition has had reach beyond the college sports world. The Big game spurred the naming of the annual rivalry game between Burlingame High School and San Mateo High School football. Known as “The Little Big Game,” the two teams meet head to head, year after year, in a highly anticipated matchup.

Although tense, similarly to the Big Game, the fans of the teams

Plans to launch new website in December

PHOTO BY BEN NEUMAN

are friendly until gameday.

“It’s rooted at a friendly rivalry with respect, but at times it can get really competitive and the fans can BY VISHU PRATHIKANTI get really aggressive,” BHS sopho- Webmaster more Ricardo Maldonado said.

On Dec. 1, the San Mateo and families with visual impairThis respect is present in the Union High School District plans ment and other disabilities.

Big Game too. “The Stanford-Cal One of the biggest new feaRivalry is very much unique in to implement new websites for all tures of the website is the ability schools, including Burlingame, that there is a lot of respect there, for students to translate any page using the new “Schoolwires” proexcept for those four hours on on the website into a variety of gram instead of School Loop. game day,” Tyrrell said.

The change is part of a dis- different languages, including Even among teammates and coaching partners, come game trict initiative to make school Spanish, Portuguese, Traditional time, emotions are at a peak. Near websites uniform because all the Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Arthe finale of the game 35 years ago, high schools currently use dif- abic, Turkish, Korean, Filipino assistant coaches had a heated de- ferent platforms. The change is and Persian. The district has the bate on whether to stop the game intended to make navigation ability to add more languages as clock at four seconds or eight sec- across all school websites in the well, with these being the default onds. The eight second group won district much more intuitive and options.

“I think as a district we have the debate, but the extra time end- user-friendly. gotten much better about trying Instead of the current infored up being Stanford’s downfall, to find ways to communicate mation-heavy layout, the new due to the fact that Cal regained with all of our families in a more website will host a slideshow of possession with four seconds left.

“There were some literally pictures with headlines and cap- user-friendly way,” Arbizu said, physical skirmishes between stan- tions advertising news and events which is the main reason for the website changing. going on at BHS. ford coaches,” said Starkey.

Despite a promise for a more “The way we’ve organized this As far as the Little Big Game goes, in a strong showing this year is that you can move school to user-friendly interface, there are BHS came home with a victory: school and the same information students who are hesitant to sup20-3. In the Big Game, the two is displayed on it, and it’s post- port the change.

“I think the website is perfect teams met last Saturday, Nov. 18 ed in the same manner, so our to fight for the “axe,” a trophy giv- menus at the top are consistent,” the way it is, you don’t need to en to the winning team, not unlike said Valerie Arbizu, the BHS ad- change it,” said junior Kristina Jiministrator leading the initiative ang. “I’ve been using this website the “paw.” for almost 3 years and just lookat BHS. However, apart from simply ing at it makes me happy.”

Still, many others embrace the making the system more uniform, the new website is much “clean- change to the websites, including er” Arbizu said. The information senior Grecia Tapia.

“I’ve been dealing with this is more easily accessible for students and more visibly appeal- since freshman year, and I’ve ing, with an increased amount of gotten used to it, but it just rehigh definition pictures being the ally feels compacted with get piles of information right at your dominant face of the website.

“We have some quick links face, and it just feels squished,” on the side, for example, our Tapia said. “I feel like it could bell schedule is there, [avoiding] be improved, and I welcome the someone clicking around trying change.” to find it,” Arbizu said.

Other useful links include the school calendar, log in to canvas or schoolloop, staff contact information, donation information and the cafeteria menu.

Arbizu also expressed the fact that the new website is Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) On the new website, the staff compliant in terms of the images, and counselors page is updated making it available for students with more information.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VALERIE ARBIZU PHOTO COURTESY OF VALERIE ARBIZU

Gary Tyrrell, the trombonist during the “The Play”, stands in front of a trombone in his dining room.

Academic honesty policy under revision by administration and staff

BY ANNIE SUN

Staff Reporter

Due to the prevalence of cheating on campus, the school administration is looking to revise the academic honesty policy. “[The administration] is trying to make certain that [the policy] is representative of how we want to best address issues of academic integrity violations,” principal Paul Belzer said.

The goal in revising the old policy is to modify it so that teachers know exactly how to act when cheating occurs and encourage improvement among students.

“It is a very important issue to pursue and we want to see if we need to make adjustments to support students’ needs and be applied to students today,” dean Fred Wolfgramm said. “We want to be certain that there is a clear and effective policy that we can use to address academic dishonesty and violations.”

According to the current policy, students who are caught cheating are sent to the dean to sign a contract which tells them that they will receive a drop F if the are caught cheating in any class a sec-

ond time.

The administration feels that the problem with the current policy is that it does not allow students to make mistakes.

“We are trying to help students be more responsible and learn by making mistakes, but not get in too much trouble to where there is no room for growth,” Wolfgramm said. “We wanted to address how teachers were not implementing the old policy in the same manner, and how some were more flexible than others.”

The administration is also concerned about how the current policy is being enforced.

“The current policy is not being adhered to consistently, so our goal is to support our students in addressing misbehavior and breach in the policy,” Belzer said.

So far, the details of the revised academic honesty policy are unavailable because it is under the review of teachers, and most of the revisions are not set in stone.

The administration is looking into adding a third level in which students are given a drop F after being caught cheating three times instead of two.

A sample of the new policy has been written and sent to teachers to get feedback. The administration is also hoping to get feedback from students later in the process.

“We are hoping to implement the new policy as soon as possible after the teachers have reviewed it and edits are made,” Belzer said.

The new and revised policy may be implemented as early as next year.

The above is screenshot of what the homepage of the new website will look like as of Dec. 1. The homepage would be a scrolling slide-show of news events in front of a photo.

3

News

November 20, 2017

BY MOYA LIU

Staff Reporter

The Animal Rights club will be screening the movie “101 Dalmatians” on Dec. 8 in the Burlingame High School Alumni room.

Animal rights have long been an important issue for many people; students have been taking actions as well. The Animal Rights Club concentrates on raising awareness and spreading compassion in the community regarding animal testing and harsh conditions animals face in today’s environment. Animal Rights Club aims to inspire and educate others in order to develop awareness in food and consumer decisions and encourage a cruelty-free lifestyle.

“I would say the encroachment on their [animals’] habitat and the industrialization of the livestock business to be the biggest problems that animals face today,” club

adviser Heather Johnson said.

In order to raise awareness of these issues, the Animal Rights Club has been collaborating with and volunteering since this August at Sweet Farm, an animal sanctuary and vegetable farm in Half Moon Bay. “Volunteering at the farm would be a great experience and the animals don’t deserve to be treated in the way humans are treating them right now,” sophomore Namiha Yasuda said.

This year the club will be screening the movie “101 Dalmatians” to raise awareness for their club and their cause.

“101 Dalmatians” is a Disney animation classic. The movie won BAFTA Film Award, Best Animated Film, in 1962.

The movie tells the story of a litter of dalmatian puppies who are kidnapped by the villainous

Cruella de Vil, who wants to use their fur to make into coats. This Disney released movie does not only entertains audiences of all ages but preaches an important message about animal rights.

“101 Dalmatians will teach children compassion over cruelty,” Yasuda said.

“This movie screening is meant to be a fun event for people in the community of all ages and an opportunity for our club to educate them about the environmental effects of animals agriculture,” senior vice president Kaili Shan said.

“Proceeds from this event will go towards Sweet Farm.”

In addition to the movie screening, the club also plans on visiting elementary and middle schools to spread awareness about Guest speaker from Sweet Farm tells stories about animal sanctusustainability and partnering up with other environmental clubs in ary at a Thursday club meeting at lunch in C201. joint fundraising projects.

PHOTO BY MOYA LIU

Animal Rights club spreads awareness with movie screening

Model UN excels in this year’s Stanford conference Staff Reporter

Burlingame’s Model United Nations club participated in this year’s Stanford Model UN Conference on the weekend of Nov. 10 to Nov. 12, which draws students from all over the country.

Burlingame had six participants in the conference: three seniors, one junior, and two sophomores, all participating in different types of committees.

Throughout the conference, students were given a country or person to represent and a committee they took part in. The committees were separated into two categories; the first one being Crisis Committees and the second being General Assembly and Specialized Bodies.

Crisis Committees focused more on historical events such as the Trojan War and Frederick the Great’s Court at Sanssouci. In these committees, the students reenacted wars and work together on topics, so these committees tend to be more historical when compared to General Assemblies.

“It’s like you are living in that time period,” senior Vivian Yuen said.

Yuen participated in the Joint Crisis Committee, a part of the Chinese Communist Party in 1945. They are given crises by Stanford students in a crisis “backroom,” where they respond to requests for committee resources.

Delegates are told to debate on how they should proceed. The student taking part in Crisis Committees are given brief information in the beginning of their event and prepare based on this.

During General Assemblies

THE BURLINGAME B STAFF

and Specialized Bodies committees, students discussed modern topics such as race relations in the Black Lives Matter committee and genomics in the World Health Organization. These committees took place in a more formal setting compared to the Crisis Committees. They were told to prepare by writing a position paper on the issue at hand and debated during the conference based on this paper. This committee required more preparation compared to those regarding crises.

Every student had their preference on which committee they prefer to participate in based on their own interests. Each committee session took place for about three hours at a time with five throughout the entire weekend.

A ceremony took place during the opening and closing of the conference, and awards based on public speaking and research abilities were given during the top delegates in their conferences. Senior Anton Bobrov won “Best Delegate” while portraying William Pierce, a Georgia representative, in 1787 at the United States Constitutional Convention committee. As a committee, they were to rewrite the Constitution after the Articles of the Confederation.

“Our first questions was whether or not we wanted to keep the Articles of Confederation,” Bobrov said.

Following Model UN tradition, Bobrov received his committee chair’s gavel to commemorate his high achievement in the conference.

The Model UN club had previously organized and participated in the Mills High School confer-

Teacher Adviser: Melissa Murphy

ence, West MUNC, as preparation for this conference and other upcoming ones.

Model UN is a way for the students to participate in politics and debate in a setting that differs from that of a classroom. During their meetings, the club members will enthusiastically discuss current events and issues going on throughout the world. By participating in these conferences, students bond with other students, who have the same passions as they do, whether it be history, current politics, environmental science, and more.

“I am still friends with people I met at a conference even though I only knew them for two or three days,” Yuen said of the bonding she experienced as part of the organization.

Model UN is a way for students to have an interactive view of history and how politics work in the real world. The Model UN club meets on Tuesdays at lunch in Mr. The Greek block of the Joint Crisis Committee: “Trojan War” dressChin’s room. es up in togas to debate on how they should proceed with the war.

Webmaster: Vishu Prathikanti

Staff Reporters: Tekla Carlen Madeleine Greene Editor-in-Chief: Chief Photographer: Claire Hunt Maggie Murdoff Sofia Guerra Tyler Idema Allie Kennedy Managing Editor: Copy Editor: Moya Liu Charlie Chapman Jilly Rolnick Ben Neuman Hanna Sato Design Editor: Senior Reporters: Annie Sun Stella Lorence Sasha Benke Caden Thun Darrion Chen Payton Toomey Business Manager: James Lowdon Logan Turner Priscilla Jin Lily Page

PHOTO BY SOFIA GUERRA

BY PAYTON TOOMEY

Policy Statement:

The Burlingame B is a student-run newspaper with the sole purpose of providing an open forum for student expression. Anything printed represents the opinion of the writer, but not necessarily that of the The Burlingame B staff, the administration or faculty of Burlingame High School, or any person affiliated with the San Mateo Union High School District. The Burlingame B does not discriminate against race, political orientation, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

Although The Burlingame B will never refuse to publish guest submission based on the aforementioned factors, we reserve the right to edit or not publish them.

Letters to the Editor: Disagree with the writers? Bring your letters to the room A120 or email them to <theburlingameb@gmail.com>. Letters may be considered for publication. The Burlingame B reserves the right to edit for clarity, length and accuracy. We welcome all comments.

4

Features

November 20, 2017

Adderall dealing on campus reflects California to legalize marijuana next year increasing academic pressures

BY SOFIA GUERRA

Chief Photographer

The marks students gave themselves in emotional strength in 2016 were the lowest ever in 31 years.

According to the aforementioned student seller, people that buy Adderall from him are typically “either stressed out with exams or [people] who need to pass a class to play sports. All types of people buy, even gamers who want to play better.”

One junior, who asked to remain anonymous, said she started using so-called designer drugs like Tramadol, an addictive narcotic used to treat pain, during her freshman year out of mere curiosity, but purchased Adderall during her freshman year out of sheer

pressure to succeed in high school. BY CLAIRE HUNT “I could get so much done and Staff Reporter I understood everything,” she said On Jan. 1, 2018, the state of of the first time she bought. However, the complications revolving California will begin to give out around non-prescribed stimulant permits for dispensaries to sell use--including restlessness, anxi- marijuana to people over 21 years ety and increased risk of overdose of age for recreational use, in line and addiction-- make using a risky with Proposition 64.

California citizens over 18 endeavor.

According to Dr. Steven Sust, years old can still obtain medical a psychiatrist at Stanford Univer- marijuana cards from a doctor, a sity’s School of Medicine, a com- policy which is unchanged by the bination of a shortage in child passing of Prop. 64. Currently, psychiatrists who best suited to the recreational consumption of diagnose ADHD and the unpre- marijuana is allowed for people dictability of growing up using of legal age, which is 21, but 2018 prescription stimulants makes for marks the beginning of legal sale an especially risky prospect for among dispensaries in California.

Adderall misuse.

“There is no one size fits all treatment,” said Dr. Sust on the many approaches to an ADHD diagnosis. “It is always medically unwise to take medication that’s not prescribed by your doctor.”

For some, using one stimulant without accompanying “parent training and cognitive behavioral therapy” can be risky. When using a stimulant like Adderall without With the increase in the availabilother treatment or even a diagno- ity of the drug, new questions are sis, the risks can be even higher. being asked about the impact the Nevertheless, unprescribed Ad- legalization will have on minors.

Studies show that marijuana derall use remains a source of acause in minors can lead to learndemic strength for some.

“I feel like if you’re using pre- ing and cognitive developmental scription drugs without a prescrip- problems later in life. Since Prop. tion because you feel like you need 64 increases the availability of them to function on everyday life marijuana, as well as reduces the then that’s fine,” said the junior, punishment for juveniles caught also acknowledging the divisive- with it, many anticipate an inness of her stance. “But just using crease in teenage use of marijuathem recklessly is just a waste of na.

Consequently, Prop. 64 is time and harmful to your being.”

For now, Adderall remains a becoming an area of concern lifeline for many students in the among parents and schools, who midst of a stressful school envi- are trying to deal with the upcoming changes and educate kids ronment. on how to stay safe. At BurlinPHOTO COURTESY OF ANONYMOUS

At a competitive school in the shadow of Silicon Valley and elite universities, there are many times when studying alone doesn’t cut it.

In these times of need, students buy and sell Adderall out of pocket to keep up with the intensifying national trends of competitive college admissions.

One student, who asked to remain anonymous, became one of many teen Adderall dealers in the Burlingame community shortly after he was prescribed the medication for Attention Deficit Disorder.

“I was super happy but I felt I was cheating a bit, so I started giving to people I know who were not doing so well when they had tests,” he said, emphasizing the academic pressure involved in buying the medication from peers. “I don’t turn a profit, I just do it to help the people around me.”

Medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has been a godsend for many struggling with the disorder since the approval of Ritalin in 1955, but Adderall is a relatively new beast.

Adderall, a millennial-era prescription stimulant medication, has been prescribed in droves since its approval by the FDA in 1996.

As prescriptions have increased in the last few years, study drugs are becoming more and more prominent.

A national survey of college-bound high school graduates have shown that they are struggling with emotional health problems at levels not seen in more than three decades. Every year the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) conducts extensive

interviews of more than 150,000 college freshmen at nearly 2,000 U.S. universities. In one part of the questionnaire entitled “emotional strength,” students rate their ability to cope with daily stressors.

Ratings by both male and female respondents have consistently declined since 1985, when the section was first added to the national survey. The marks students gave themselves in emotional strength in 2016 were the lowest ever in 31 years. Emotional vulnerability is tied to increasing pressure to receive high academic marks. The students who buy Adderall at BHS are also part of this extensive, diverse group of grade-conscious teens.

game High School, all students must go through a mandatory semester-long health course, which includes a general overview of drug abuse.

“It comes down to students’ safety, not getting students in trouble,” health teacher Nicole Carter said.

Instead of installing the “just say no” attitude, the health class creates discussion to help students make healthy and informed decisions regarding drug use.

Another problem parents and schools are facing are technological advancements that Prop.

64 is going to make available to teenagers. Technology such as the odorless and practically undetectable dab pen will be legally sold for recreational use, making consuming marijuana on campus easier than ever before. This change poses a huge problem for many schools as increase in the product’s use is expected.

“Because it can be done so much more discretely, it’s probably being done more often,” Carter said.

All of the changes that come from Prop. 64 have not had any effect on the school’s disciplinary code yet, and only time will tell if this change in California’s laws will affect school rules.

“It’s student choice in how they want to live and how they want to carry themselves in and out of school,” dean Fred Wolfgramm said.

Prop. 64 is predictably going to change aspects of life for many teenagers, but Burlingame will just have to wait to see exactly how, Carter predicted.

“I think that the next year and a half is going to be really interesting.”

November 20, 2017

Hallmark and the heat, “a recipe for disaster” topped off in the low nineties and Hallmark Park, a cross country course in Belmont, is notoriously On Tuesday, Oct. 24, sophodifficult even in mild weather. more Brendan Creeks spent the “You feel like you are meltlast hundred yards of his cross ing,” sophomore Sonja Dommen country race stumbling and crawl- said, describing race day. “It’s a ing to the finish, barely getting recipe for disaster.” one hand across the line before Hallmark Park, otherwise race officials had to carry him known as the Crystal Springs off the course. He earned first Cross Country Course, is a 2.95 place, finishing just three seconds mile dirt track with multiple difbefore the next runner, before ficult hills. The course is considcompletely collapsing. ered the most arduous in the area.

“I went too hard and my body “Imagine a desert with a few just stopped working,” Creeks shrubs in the middle of the Belsaid, who vomited, but did not mont Hills,” Dommen said. require further medical treatment Coach Steve O’Brien was after rehydrating. worried even before the races On race day, temperatures began. The heat index for the

BY JILLY ROLNICK

Copy Editor

5

Features

day, which is the combination of temperature and humidity, was coming perilously close to 160, the number that requires officials either to call off the race or take special precautions to protect runners from developing medical issues. O’Brien favored postponing the race.

“Tuesday was one of the toughest days I have ever seen,” said O’Brien, who has been coaching for 28 years. “Probably more young people got taken off in ambulances than any other meet I have been to.”

O’Brien estimated about seven runners between the 17 schools competing had to be taken off the course and rushed to a hos-

pital. It could have been worse because there were hundreds of runners on the course that day.

Juniors Margaret Barber, Makenna Mahrer and Jessica Masterson ended up having to stop their race part way through to help a Terra Nova runner who was struggling.

“When we got to her, it was obvious that she was having trouble breathing and likely dehydrated,” Barber said. “I sat next to her and put her arm around my shoulder to keep her upright while the other girls asked her questions to make sure she was responding properly.”

Eventually a parent found the group and called race organizers

to get the student much-needed medical attention.

Despite the evident difficulty of the course, Hallmark Park is an iconic track for high school runners.

“It’s a course that I think a high school athlete will always remember their experience up there because of all the people that have run before them, the past Panthers and past people from other schools,” O’Brien said.

“There’s a lot of history.”

Despite this experience, Creeks plans to keep competing and even showed up to practice the day after his race.

PHOTO BY JILLY RODNICK

PHOTO BY JILLY RODNICK

Creeks and sophomore Cooper Glavin smile before their first race.

Dommen was one of only two runners from Burlingame who qualified to compete in CCS this season.

20% projects in Psych

BY TEKLA CARLTON

Staff Reporter Psychology is a long-established class, but this is the first year students are doing semester-long 20% Time Projects, in-depth research projects about any psychology-related topic. The idea is that students spend 20% of their time in the class on the project.

“The purpose of the project is for students to work on independent research and to identify an essential question that they would like to then research and then to follow up on and present a ten-minute TED-style presentation of their findings,” said Michael Zozos, who has taught Psychology for the past two years.

The research project is based on a method Google uses with its employees, which led to the development of Google Drive, as well as A. J. Juliani’s Genius Hour. Zozos hopes the 20% Time Project will give students a chance to individualize their learning and work on skills they will need to use in college, such as researching a specific topic, writing abstracts and making heavy presentations.

“A lot of research I’ve been doing says that students aren’t being prepared for jobs that will be available to them in the future, so I was looking for an opportunity to bring some creative endeavors where students are in charge of their research and how they’re moving forward,” said Michelle Riley, who has taught Psychology at BHS for 13 years. Zozos thinks that the students’ opportunity to direct their own learning and decide for themselves what is most important makes the class and the project unique.

“It’s your choice of what you want to research on,” junior San-

dra Lee said. “You have a lot more freedom with this project compared to projects from other classes.”

Lee appreciates the project-heavy nature of the course, especially because the class is only a semester long and has a lot of information to cover. Lee is researching the effect of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep on learning and the memory process.

“Psychology is such a broad subject,” junior Neha Patkar said.

“It encompasses science, the humanities, and societal studies. The 20% Time Project has allowed me to look deeply into one aspect of psychology. I’ve learned a lot about how our brains think and how we store memory and what affects our memory. We also get to discuss with our peers in class, so I’ve learned about things that they’ve been studying.”

At this point in the semester, students are finishing research and are starting to put their projects together. Apart from working on the 20% Time Project, Patkar, who is in Riley’s Psychology class, says her class also watches informative movies, videos and learns about studies that have been important to the field of psychology. Zozos considers psychology a very important subject because of how it relates to students’ everyday lives.

“My favorite part of psychology is having students make individualized connections to the material because everything we talk about is pertinent to them as people and as students,” Zozos said. “My goal is to make this class as personal as possible for them to reflect, grow and learn more about the topic and themselves.”

What are you thankful for?

2nd place: Kate Hua, 10

1st place: Evan Glatt, 12

Honorable Mentions

The Burlingame B hosted a photo contest for the first time during the month of November with the prompt, â&#x20AC;&#x153;What are you thankful for?â&#x20AC;?

Students sent in a diverse array of submissions, ranging from pictures of friends and family to photographs of pets and nature; to images of important life events such as weddings. We received almost 40 submissions.

The pictures were put to a staff vote. We awarded first, second and third places and seven honorable mentions. All of the submissions are posted our website theburlingameb.org. Thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to the winners! We enjoyed seeing your work.

Design By Stella Lorence

Olivia Bollinger, 10

3rd place: Emily Steinberger, 11

Brennan McDonald, 10

Gianela Gutierrez, 9

Gianela Gutierrez, 9

Casie Rickman-Crisostomo, 12

Gianela Gutierrez, 9

Emily Steingberger, 11

Opinion

8

November 20, 2017

College Board’s monopoly takes advantage of students

BY PRISCILLA JIN

Senior Reporter The College Board has assumed a leading role in high schools and the college application process.

For many Burlingame High School students, the month of May is a frenzied cycle of crash courses, practices tests and the AP exams. The College Board regulates these AP exams and also controls the SAT and SAT subject tests that are required from each student who wishes to apply to college. Such a heavy dependency on one organization is alarming, especially when it monopolizes education and profits off of students’ anxieties about improving

their chances to get into college.

As the stress from the college application season reaches its apex, many seniors are starting to realize the heavy financial burden that the process entails. There is a price for almost everything: sending transcripts, score reports and sending in the applications themselves.

The SAT, SAT subject tests and AP exams are all benchmarks that students are strongly encouraged to take to show their academic prowess to colleges. However, there is a hefty price tag for each type of test.

The SAT costs $46 with no essay and $60 with the essay to take each time, a cost that accu-

mulates quickly, as the average student takes the exam two or three times for an optimal score. Once students take their SAT tests, they are charged $12 to send an official score report to each college. Because the average college bound student is applying to an average of six to eight schools, this cost adds up.

SAT subject tests cost a baseline fee of $26, and an additional $21 for each regular subject test and $26 for each test with a listening section, applicable for tests of foreign language. This cost also proves to be insidious as many students take multiple subject tests to showcase their preference and talents for individual subjects.

PHOTO BY PRISCILLA JIN

Mr. Dhyne helps a student navigate the College Board website in the College and Career Center.

The closing of our political divide relies on unbiased education

BY CHARLIE CHAPMAN

Managing Editor

Horace Mann, whig politician and a 19th century member of Massachusetts state legislature, is credited in history for being the forefather of modern day public education. Mann famously characterized education as “our only political safety.” Mann’s assertion is rooted in the commonly held belief that the backbone of a functioning democracy is a well educated electorate.

The oft-quoted 2014 Pew Research report on political polarization found that “43% of Republicans and 38% of Democrats now view the opposite party in strongly negative terms.’’ Such deep divides are the product of fear, not of the effects of specific policy, but of malicious intent of the opposing party.

The difference between these two is notable; disagreements about the solution to a mutually acknowledged problem results in

political factions. The belief that an opposing political party has malintent suggests that they are inherently evil, which results in an inability to be empathetic to their beliefs. Educating and exposing people at a young age to varying political beliefs informs the population that each issue is complete with a diverse range of policy solutions. The acknowledgement and study of the policies of varying political factions and parties establishes the fact that the views of different people are legitimate in their own regard and that opposing political parties each hold the same goal in their sights: the improvement of the lives of the American people. Ignorance to opposing opinions creates mystery over intentions, which results in fear, an emotion which has no place in dignified political discussions.

Educators hold the responsibility of exposing the electorate to the range of political opinions present in our democracy. Teach-

ers have the duty of providing the youth of America with an unbiased view of American politics and history. Imposing bias and fear when students’ brains are malleable can have a long lasting impact on their political beliefs and prejudices. While it is impossible for teachers to avoid making any remarks in the classroom that are politically charged, providing information on both sides of an issue proves to students that opposing opinions are dignified and valuable. The refusal of educators to allow for dissenting opinions in the classroom imposes the idea that those opinions do not deserve consideration or respect.

Such actions lay the foundation for deep-seated fear and prejudice.

The discussion and acknowledgment of varying opinions creates mutual understanding of one another’s beliefs, as opposed to fear.

This is the first step to quelling our nation’s ever-widening political divide.

Letter to the editor Editor, While I understand the cries of consternation regarding NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, such as the one expressed by Charles Chapman in the October issue of the Burlingame B (“Stand Up”), I find it to be imperative that our first amendment rights are maintained on the football field.

In reaction to what has become a recurring event, the President and others have complained that kneeling is a sign of ‘not respecting the country.’ But

should individuals stand in respect of a symbol of unity when they feel subjugated? By kneeling, are they not respecting it by celebrating their right to protest?

It is essential for this country to snap out of the utopia; there will never be a moment when the entire country stands for the national anthem and everyone feels jubilant to live here. In the same way, we cannot ignore politics while playing football. Our problems do not go on a leave of absence while we tackle one another, they exist until we work

to address them.

Ultimately, the President has failed once again to unite the country. His sharp criticism of NFL players and owners and attempt to undermine our first amendment rights has only polarized this nation even more.

Can we truly claim to be greatest country in the world if we falter at criticizing ourselves?

Alec Abramson Burlingame Sophomore

The AP exams are by far the most costly. The fee for each AP Exam in 2016 was $92. This was a slight increase from the $91 fee in 2015. In general, the cost for AP exams tends to rise by a dollar or two each year. In the future, students can expect the fee to rise slightly to $94 in the next year.

The cost of these exams can amass exponentially, especially at BHS where a myriad of AP classes are offered and the competitive environment pressures students to take multiple AP classes per year.

To make matters worse, they also tack on multiple extra fees for “optional” services, such as “rush orders” and the “question-and-answer” service.

By the end of their high school careers, students can expect to spend hundreds of dollars on exams-- a price tag that is masked by the mentality that these tests are vital for success on college admittance.

Senior Julia Rajkovic emphasized the financial stress that sending each individual score report adds to the already stressful college application process.

“I was very surprised from seeing my receipts from sending my ACT scores, SAT scores and AP scores,” Rajkovic said. “I think it totalled to around $600, and that was only for my first five colleges.

I think this is discouraging kids to take more tests and do the best that they can, especially if you’re not eligible for a scholarship. It’s a lot of money and I think that it’s unfair.”

This financial toll is magnified for students with limited resources. Although Burlingame tries to cater to many students’ needs, the system can work against students who don’t have that same luxury.

Senior Sam Aspin reflected on these circumstances.

“It’s pretty shocking, especially for kids at under-funded schools,” Aspin said. “Last year I took three AP tests, and it totalled to $300.

BHS has resources that tries to match students’ varying financial needs, but I imagine that kids that go to schools that can’t afford to help everyone would struggle much more to come up with the money.”

After assessing the cost for all of these tests, Aspin and Rajkovic were surprised when they were reminded that the College Board is a non-profit organization.

“I’m finding it hard to believe that they are a non-profit,” Rajkovic said. “I’m sure they use the money for scholarship and making the tests, but it seems a little overpriced, especially since we’re just trying our best to take all the tests to achieve our educational goals.”

The College Board capitalizes off of the perceived and exaggerated importance of all of the tests they offer-- a result of the pressured environment that students face. They have acquired a virtual monopoly, making it increasingly difficult to believe that they have students’ best interests in mind.

Abstract nouns

BY DARRION CHEN

Senior Reporter

9

Opinion

November 20, 2017

BY LILY PAGE

Senior Reporter

PHOTO BY LILY PAGE

Sophomore Olivia McCaa thought she was to perform solely in the background of her grade’s dance at the Little Big Game Rally in front of the entire school. She thought wrong.

Two days before the rally, the sophomore skit had not yet been choreographed. After it became clear that the people in charge of it had backed out, the responsibility fell to her and some other students. They met once to decide on the song and hastily made up dance moves during the first three periods on rally day.

McCaa attributed the dance debacle to internal issues between the sophomore class cabinet and the Leadership class. “[The sophomore class cabinet] was supposed to find people to set that up, and I think there was a lot of miscommunication,” McCaa said.

This occurrence is a prime example of the disjointedness of the student bureaucracy at Burlingame High School. Things fall

through the cracks very easily. To coordinate the rest of the student body, designated leaders need to have focus and unity. Right now, they have neither.

It seems wrong to blame the disconnect between the Leadership class, class cabinets, and the Service Commission class on mere slacking off. To do so would only be comprehensible if one did not understand the roles of each organization.

There is a definite hierarchy among these groups, specifically between Leadership, the class cabinets, and Service Commission.

Although several students are simultaneously involved in more than one of these, they are separate organizations.

In theory, the Leadership class, led by members of the Associated Student Body (ASB) cabinet, functions as the brain of the student government. The class cabinets organize activities for their own grades, and members of the Service Commission class volunteer to work on hand at school events.

In the case of Leadership, the

Senior Meghan Mercurio, a Leadership Legacy Commissioner and Fundraising Merchandise Commissioner, was an announcers at the Little Big Game rally, along with senior Jasmine Samsami.

amount of responsibilities differs from student to student.

“If everyone wanted to be a leader [in the class], nothing would get done. If everyone was a follower, nothing would get done,” ASB vice-president Priya Koliwad said. “And a lot of things get done at our school, so it shows that we have a good mix.”

She’s not wrong in her description of the class’ productivity. The Leadership class plans rallies and spirit days throughout the year, creates a multitude of posters, organizes clubs and holds many fundraisers and charity drives. The amount of activities with which Leadership is involved demonstrates that work ethic is not the issue at hand.

Rather, it is the fact that all students in the class have separate authority on many different topics, from “spirit” to “health and wellness.” Every single person has an official title. The class is divided into “commissions”, which are groups of students with roles that have similar aims and are led by members of the ASB cabinet.

This decentralized system would work if every single commissioner was a “leader,” but like Koliwad said, there is a “mix” of commitment. Because members of the class focus on so many things at once, every single person has the responsibilities of a leader. This division of work does not necessarily correspond to the amount of effort that different students are willing to contribute to the class.

None of the individuals in the Leadership class are responsible for this conundrum. Many go the extra mile- staying late after school to complete duties is a commonplace occurrence.

PHOTO BY LILY PAGE

Student leaders are spread too thin

Sophomores perform their dance to High School Musical number “We’re All in this Together” at the Little Big Game rally. From the left: Sophie Aziza, Julia Schensema, Olivia McCaa, Kali Veimu.

“When people come into Leadership, initially, they are very overwhelmed,” ASB President Tori Crisostomos-Rickman said.

“There’s a lot to learn. There’s a lot of people you have to meet, whether it be admin or Ms. Mosqueda, you’re gonna have to make a lot of connections with those people. And then again, there is so much paperwork.”

Yet because singular efforts of Leadership students are divided into many different causes, and because the makeup of class authority does not reflect the range in student diligence, they are less successful than they could be.

Without a concentrated focus, student leaders are stretched too thin, leading to coordination issues with other organizations on campus, as seen with the miscommunication over the sophomore skit.

Last year, the 2016-2017 ASB president, Johnny Kershner, who has since graduated, introduced a measure that would require grade cabinet presidents to join Leadership.

“From a Leadership perspective,” Crisostomo-Rickman noted, “a lot of students were interested in this to get class cabinets more informed in our activities.”

However, it did not pass. Opponents of the measure argued that it would be unnecessary to mandate students participation in an elective class that is neither a CTE or an art, and does not offer any graduation credits.

Kershner’s attempt at centralization might have failed, but it did shed light on the complexity of the student bureaucracy at BHS. Giving students authority is clearly a balancing act. It might need more fine tuning.

“[Communication] is one of our biggest problems lately.”

Tori Crisostomos-Rickman

The need for an academic testing schedule is increasing

BY HANNA SATO

Staff Reporter

dents would all be given an equal opportunity to study and learn the material on tests. This would abide by the United States Department of Education’s policy that all tests should be equal for all students by receiving a more accurate measurement of a student’s intelligence.

Another possible policy is assigning each department a specific day to have tests, preventing the stressful overlap in a student’s life.

The stress of tests would decrease and students could give their undivided attention to studying for one specific test.

However, all of the blame should not be placed on the teachers. Students must also consider the commitments of the classes they enroll in and the immense amounts of studying they entail.

For those taking AP classes, the stakes are much higher because students are taking college level courses and are expected to provide the same effort as college students. Students are often unprepared for the transition into the never-ending cycle of test taking.

“Most students take AP classes just because it is an AP class or because everyone else is taking

one, not necessarily because they are prepared for it,” Navab said.

When you choose to do an AP class, you need to understand that commitment.”

Students feel overwhelmed by the number of tests they have throughout the week because of the rigor of the courses and the lack of coordination between different subject departments. The testing situation has grown to be a looming issue for students, showing the overwhelming need for the implementation of testing regulations at BHS. PHOTO BY HANNA SATO

The problem of test overlap has become a serious concern for students, and the implementation of a more regulated test schedule is a necessity.

The United States Department of Education has declared boundaries for teachers to abide by when assigning and creating tests. Some of the testing regulations include limiting the amount of tests students take to maximize learning time, accurately track the progress of students and equally represent a student’s needs. However, some of these regulations are not properly implemented throughout BHS. The majority of students experience testing overlaps, especially as the six-week grading periods or semesters come to an end. With this excess of testing, students are forced to confront more stress than they can manage.

“It would really help if the teachers and the departments could coordinate about when they have tests because it is overly stressful to study for multiple tests at once,” junior Lily Navab said.

Students have also expressed feelings that teachers do not fully understand the extent of their stress which they must confront on a daily basis.

“Most teachers only think about the tests they assign, not the ones other teachers give,” freshman Margot Bender said.

The majority of teachers do not coordinate with others and set high expectations of their students’ studying. Without acknowledging other tests, work, extracurriculars, social issues and more,

teachers expect a student’s full and undivided attention towards studying for their classes.

“We do not coordinate with other departments,” chemistry teacher Alexandra Kirkpatrick said. “It is hard because we [the chemistry department], plan so far ahead. I will know three or four months out when we will have a test in chemistry because we have to plan the whole year. At that point, I can’t check with other departments to see if they have tests.”

Students are given multiple tests within the same week and are forced to make the best out of their stressful situation. If teachers cannot coordinate with one another, students are given multiple tests at once. They do not take into account the amount of time dedicated to the other work and activities students engage in. The traditional fun times of high school no longer apply to today’s students.

“I had the opportunity to be more active in my ballet school’s Nutcracker that I had been performing for the past 11 years,” Navab said. “I decided to take a break from taking part in the production because of my studying and homework load.”

In order to fix this issue, certain limitations need to be put in place.

To prevent students from having unfair advantages over others by being given an extra day to study, the chemistry department implemented their own policy of no tests on block days.

However, the policy does not carry to other departments throughout the school. If this policy were to be in place, stu-

“To a certain extent I think the teachers do understand our stress,” junior Lily Navab said. “But, they can’t really do anything about it, they need to cover all of the curriculum by the end of the year.”

Navab is one of many students caught in the difficult balancing act of managing in-school activities, out-of-school extracurriculars and an academic workload, all while maintaining personal health.

Student Life

10

November 20, 2017

Six students honor veterans through Band of the West Staff Reporter The Band of the West is the only sea cadet band in the United States. Six Burlingame High students play with the band: Lilli Hirth, Madison Kong, Verona Teo, Vanessa Teo, Ella Tarara and Madelyn Tarara.

Band of the West is a unit of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, which is a youth program sponsored by the Navy that teaches “leadership, musicianship, basic seamanship, courage, self-reliance and discipline,” according to the band’s official website. The musicians travel all across the country and have recently performed in Washington D.C. at the World War II memorial, at Fleet Week upon the SS Jeremiah O’Brien and at veterans’ homes. Frequently at these performances, Band of the West members meet well-known and respected military figures.

“In late September, we had a performance where there were three medal of honor recipients,” Hirth said. “The year before that… there was an astronaut.

We’ve also met members of Seal Team 6.”

Sisters Vanessa and Verona Teo and sisters Ella and Madelyn

Tarara have participated for under a year while Kong joined almost two years ago. Hirth has been a member for almost four years, and recently won the Daughters of American Revolution Outstanding Cadet Award.

To be accepted into Band of the West, applicants must pass a physical examination, have their musical skills assessed by the music instructor and pay a small fee to be issued uniforms. During both practices and performances, musicians must observe a military dress code and follow a strict code of conduct.

“We’re sponsored by the Navy, so we get money from them and we follow their guidelines and regulations,” Hirth said. “We also wear their uniforms, which means that we have to act very professional while we’re drilling and practicing and performing.”

The band has more to offer than music. After attending a two week boot camp, Sea Cadets are allowed to participate in trainings, which many members consider to be one of the highlights of being in Band of the West.

“There are music trainings, officer trainings, all kinds of different options,” Verona Teo said.

“I’m really excited for those.”

Hirth went to a week-long session of marksmanship training last summer, and considers it one of her favorite experiences as part of the band.

“I knew nobody there going into it, but, at the end, I felt like they were all my best friends and we all had so much fun,” Hirth said.

The students also spoke highly of the Band of the West community, where they can interact with peers who share their passion for their country and for music.

“When I first joined, everyone was like a mentor,” Kong said.

“They give you advice about how to be a better musician and how to hold yourself to a higher standard.”

“I really enjoy meeting new people,” Verona Teo said. “Everyone in Band of the West is really fun, and everyone has this common interest in playing music, and getting better, and serving people, and it’s amazing.”

Band of the West practices from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturdays in Redwood City, and they recently had a performance at the Golden Gate National Cemetery Junior Lilli Hirth (far right) and three other Sea Cadets parade the on Veteran’s Day. You can find colors during the national anthem at a college football game. more information at http://www. seacadetbotw.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BAND OF THE WEST

BY ALLIE KENNEDY

Burlingame University dogs leave impact on community PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNA SMITH

Burlingame University student Justin Entenmann sits with the facility dogs Cecil (left), Moose (middle) and Ellie (right).

BY LILY PAGE

Senior Reporter Almost every day during lunchtime, Burlingame University student Justin Entenmann, wearing a baseball cap and dark sunglasses, walks his three-legged Border Collie named Ellie over to a patch of grass next to the senior quad. He throws a neon green tennis ball, and the dog fetches it.

Along with daily walks and games of fetch, Entenmann feeds and pets Ellie. Their close bond is a result of the service dog program at Burlingame University, an institution located on Burlingame

High School campus that teaches life skills to students with special needs.

“It makes me feel very happy, being around the dogs,” Entenmann said. “Especially her.”

The program employs one other pooch, a lab-golden retriever mix named Moose. Both are facility dogs trained to work in settings with kids.

“We started using dogs in the program pretty much since the get-go,” said Jenna Smith, the founder of the program.

Initially, the dogs were primarily employed to calm students on the autism spectrum in potentially

uncomfortable situations.

“I had a student who was pretty afraid in public, like when we used public transportation, because they take that to and from their job sites,” Smith said. “The noise and the people would bother him, but when the dog was with him, she would sit at his feet and he would just focus on her and pet her. He could deal with the stress of the bus in order to make it to his work site.”

Having to take care of Ellie and Moose teaches students about responsibility, and allows them to experience, as Smith said, “the unconditional love of a pet.”

Manish and his mridangam

BY CADEN THUN

Staff Reporter

least two hours long a day, so it’s very physically demanding,” Mahadevan said.

In addition to the Cleveland festival, he played for Burlingame students at the school’s cultural assembly last year.

“My mother just saw it in the news bulletin and said ‘Manish, you should go play at it,’” he said. “I was reluctant at first, but I just went there and said ‘Hey, I might get some publicity.’ I tried out, they liked it and I performed.”

The most important event currently on Mahadevan’s horizon is his arangetram, a three-hour long concert played with a singer and a violinist. In it, Mahadevan will be able to demonstrate everything he’s learned throughout his years of training.

He hopes to complete it in the next year or two.

Until then, Mahadevan will continue to practice, perform and possibly play again at this year’s cultural assembly.

“If they let me do it again I hope to,” Mahadevan said. “And I’ll probably do some more complex stuff, because honestly, what I did last year wasn’t that complex in the grand scheme of things.”

PHOTO BY JASON RUNDLE

At last year’s annual cultural assembly, sophomore Manish Mahadevan was thrust into fame. His South-Indian drumming performance dazzled the audience, and he became instantly recognizable.

But while many are now aware that Mahadevan drums, few know much about his particular genre of drumming, and what it means to him.

Mahadevan plays the Mridangam (mridung-um), an ancient South-Indian percussion instrument often used to accompany singers. He has been playing it since he was a third grader in Manchester, U.K., and his passion for the instrument has more than sustained itself over the years.

“My favorite part about it is what my hand is capable of doing,” Mahadevan said. “Just the small movement of my fingers and how much sound it can make.”

Mahadevan now takes lessons from two different teachers, sometimes as frequently as every other day. Since his move to Burlingame, he has been taking his drumming especially seriously.

“Here it’s really intense,” he said, comparing the mridangam scene in the Bay Area to that of Manchester. “The standards are a lot higher, so I don’t perform as much.”

That isn’t to say he doesn’t perform at all, though. Just last year, Mahadevan traveled to Cleveland to participate in a massive Indian classical music festival where he played alongside singers, violinists and sitar players. It was a grueling but rewardMahadevan played at last year’s Culing experience, he said.

“The practice sessions tend to be at tural Assembly in January.

Monday, Nov. 20, 2017

Student Life

Former student discusses his path to education after high school

BY PRISCILLA JIN

Senior Reporter

year college. However, Abellana emphasized that he was not only an exception, but one of many who transferred to a UC school.

He also focused his presentation on the financial benefits of transferring schools.

Abellana’s presentation had an effect on many of the senior students.

“Based off of his presentation I learned you can do anything you set your mind to,” senior Emily Shatz said. “Everyone struggles in high school for different reasons and grades are definitely one of the biggest thing students have to

Drone enthusiasts find a home in room C113

BY BEN NEUMAN

deal with. I learned you still have opportunities after high school.”

“Schools like UCLA seem completely unreachable based on the acceptance rate,” Shatz continued. “But after two years of trying at community college, that rate can double and give you the college experience you didn’t think could have otherwise.”

In the end, Abellana had dispelled many of the stigmas attached to attending a local community college. Students were surprised at the benefits of this path and the different options they had.

PHOTO BY PRISCILLA JIN

Staff Reporter

Every Thursday for 30 minutes, friends gather in room C113 to fly drones and socialize over lunch. During the club meetings, which were started by experienced drone pilot sophomore Aristotle Marangu, students learn to navigate the controls of drones and eventually perform certain tasks with them.

“We learn how to fly drones and we get used to it so we can be educated in it,” sophomore Josh Wong said.

Wong, an original member of the club, describes the it as a fun weekly experience.

The club is filled with the constant sound of laughter and the whirring of propellers as the flyers concentrate on the task at hand involving the drone. On Nov. 2, Marangu taught the club how to land a drone. Each week has a similar fun task. For the non-flyers, Drone club offers a safe haven from the chaos of the school week.

“We usually fly drones, sometimes I make a powerpoint that teaches them stuff or informs them of new rules in place,” Marangu said, commenting on the average lunch in Drone club.

With the knowledge gained in this club, members will become skilled drone flyers, and will retain the ability to fly drones away from the guidance of Marangu.

Throughout the year so far, the members who have made an effort to learn new skills have become proficient drone flyers.

They have learned so fast that the club decided to mass order drones so those who want can have their own to fly in and outside of school.

This lunchtime club, although already consisting of around 20 people each week, is always open to new faces. The members, along with Marangu, encourage new members to join in on the fun, while also gaining valuable information on the use of drones.

“People with a genuine interest in drones or people who just want to come hang out and stay in a cool club.” Marangu said, talking about the type of people who should join.

To participate in the club, drop by room C113 on Thursdays during lunch to fly drones and enjoy the company of its members.

“We learn how to fly drones and we get used to it so we can be educated in it” Josh Wong PHOTO BY BEN NEUMAN

As the stress of applying to colleges reaches its apex, many students feel that they are confined to follow a very specific education path: to attend a four-year college directly after graduation.

The ¨pressure cooker” educational environment in the Bay Area compresses this stress, especially at Burlingame High School.

However, on Friday, Nov. 3, senior students were reminded that there is not one singular path to success in life after high school.

Former Burlingame student Flavious Abellana spoke to two of English teacher Melissa Murphy’s classes about his unconventional educational route and tried to dispel the stigmas surrounding it.

In high school, Abellana did not realize his own potential until senior year, when he began to challenge himself and take more AP level classes. Not even knowing what the SAT and ACT tests were, he approached the college application season unprepared compared to his peers.

Although he had the choice to go to three state schools, he chose the less “glamorous” option and decided to attend Skyline Community College. In school, he kept up his grades and transferred to UCLA as a business-economics major. He now works as a financial analyst at Spruce Finance in San Francisco.

During his presentation, Abellana concentrated on addressing the stereotypes of attending community college. He explained that many people told him he would be “stuck” there while the rest of Flavious Abellana gives a presentation to Mrs. Murphy’s sixth his peers got a head start at a four- period class about his path to college.

11

Sophomore Aristotle Marangu instructs sophomore Matthew Maslenko on how to properly land a drone.

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12

Sports

Girls’ basketball

BY PAYTON TOOMEY

Staff Reporter Girls’ basketball is striving for a great upcoming season. After the loss of eight seniors last year, the team is looking to find success with strong underclassmen currently in the program.

“We have a great mix of seasoned veterans and younger players who play with a lot of passion and enthusiasm,” varsity head coach Joe Dito said.

The program has been implementing some updates since last season such as a new strength and conditioning program, and new coaches added to the Frosh/Soph program.

“The coaching staff started to prepare for this season last summer,” varsity Coach Joe Dito said.

The players have participated in a few tournaments over the summer in preparation for the challenging season ahead. The girls’ basketball pre-season starts Nov. 25, with a game against Los Altos High School. The regular season begins right after winter break.

Boys’ basketball

tricate and spirited performances at games, and plans on continuing this enthusiasm into the year.

“As a team we’re really trying hard and everyone’s giving 100 percent commitment,” said varsity cheerleader Gracy Burdick.

Cheer will be over for two to three weeks, then they will perform at a holiday parade, and eventually kick back off when basketball starts, usually resuming around the beginning of January.

Wrestling PHOTO BY PRISCILLA JIN

Business Manager With two placers and two champions at PAL championship last year, the wrestling team is gearing up for more success this season.

Although they lost many key wrestlers, the team is focusing on strength conditioning to prepare for the season.

Senior captain Andrew Slaboda emphasizes the team’s confidence and commitment.

“We’re a little short on the upper weight classes because we lost a few big guys from last year but there are a lot of

new players coming out this year,” Slaboda said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to fill in the gaps. We have a much younger, developing team with much more potential.”

Despite this disadvantage, the team is is looking forward to a successful season.

“We’re going to be practicing every day and doing intense workouts in the weight room to develop strength,” Slaboda said.

The team’s first tournament is on Dec. 1 at Half Moon Bay High School. Until then, they will be working hard during the pre-season to prepare for their opponents.

Senior Reporter After weeks of tryouts starting at 6 a.m. and afternoon conditioning, the varsity boys’ basketball season is finally approaching. At the time of publication, the varsity, JV and freshman teams have yet to be announced.

“The jump from JV hasn’t seemed huge, but it takes some time to get used to the tempo at the varsity level,” junior Grant Cosovich said, “You have to learn to react and make decisions more quickly while still staying in control.”

The team is excited for the long awaited home game against the Serra Padres, one of the most popular sporting events at BHS. The Panthers have beat the 2016 state championship winning team for the past two years.

“The whole team looks forward to the game against Serra because it’s one of our favorite matches of the year,” senior Robert Bonnici said. “The past few times we’ve played them, the score always stays pretty close, and this year I think we have a good chance at beating them. It’s also fun to see the crowd getting so hyped up.”

Senior Reporter For the past few weeks, boys soccer has been holding tryouts to see who will make each team. Head coach, Anthony Dimech weighs and looks for a variety of traits when choosing players for the varsity team. “[Coach Dimech] looks for the ability to keep the ball, stamina, and the ability to finish.” Said Junior team member, Alex Ong. And so far, the tryouts have been difficult.

“There are a lot of intense sprints and conditioning,” Ong said. “[Coach Dimech] wants us to be prepared to play 80-90 minutes, or however long the game is, at 100%.”

Boys soccer has always been a widely popular sport, and as a result, the varsity team has the privilege of being chosen through this rigorous process.

“There are a lot of promising young players on the team.” Said Senior Robert Rochel, “I think we have a good chance at CCS this year.”

Girls’ soccer

BY MADDIE GREENE

Staff Reporter After missing out on CCS last year, the girls’ varsity soccer team is gearing up for a fresh start.

Tryouts took place over the weeks of Oct. 30 and Nov. 6 under the watchful eye of head coach Philip DeRosa, who explained how he uses tryouts to identify who fulfills the expectations of varsity soccer.

Teams have been announced, with 18 girls on the varsity team. Of them, there are six sophomores, four juniors and eight seniors.

“This year, I’m excited about playing

with my team, bonding with them and winning,” sophomore Lillian Potter explained.

“This season I’m really looking forward to hopefully building off our team from last year,” junior Allison Bottarini said.

“As a team, I think our goal should be to communicate and learn how to work better together.”

The girls’ first scrimmage is on Nov. 21 against San Mateo High School, followed by a game against Valley Christian on Nov. 28.

PHOTO BY MADDIE GREENE

BY PRISCILLA JIN

BY SASHA BENKE

BY JAMES LOWDON

PHOTO BY SASHA BENKE

PHOTO BY CADEN THUN

BY CLAIRE HUNT

After the Little Big Game, Cheer will be taking a small break from their usual activities. This past season, the team has had a new choreographer and stunt coach to help them with cheers, stunts, and practices.

However, with the recent fires and smoke, a large number of practices were cancelled, setting them behind their expectations. Despite their deterrences, cheer has one of the largest teams in years, and this year’s cheer squad has been dedicated to doing more in-

PHOTO BY JAMES LOWDON

PHOTO BY PAYTON TOOMEY

Boys’ soccer

Cheer

Staff Reporter

November 20, 2017