URLINGAME B THE
Facilities set for a summer upgrade
BY JASON LU Staff Reporter BY PEILI BROWN Staff Reporter
This summer, Burlingame plans to modernize classrooms as part of the Classroom Transformation Project, meaning teachers are expected to clear their classrooms by Friday, May 29, at 3 p.m. The project is funded by Measure L, a $385 million obligation bond approved by voters in 2020 to facilitate capital facility improvements across the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD). The bond recently funded the construction of the school’s gym. Alongside Burlingame, the Classroom Transformation Project is also taking place this summer at Capuchino High School.
According to SMUHSD Director of Facilities and Construction Charlie Royce, the plan at Burlingame includes replacing flooring and ceiling tiles, switching non-dimmable LEDs to dimmable LEDs, repainting classroom walls, redoing teaching walls, adding two whiteboard walls per classroom, and upgrading Wi-Fi by replacing fiber-optic cables.
While classroom items are expected to be cleared out by the end of May, the operations team began removing items over eight feet high in mid-April.
With many expected modifications to the classrooms, chemistry teacher Joshua Dyl said he was concerned about whether the construction would be completed by the beginning of next school year.
“[What] I’m really worried about is they’re starting construction the day we leave, and they’re supposed to be done by the first day, a couple days before we’re back next year,” Dyl said. “And I kind of doubt it’s gonna be ready.”
Freshman Revell Garner said the classroom renovations could improve students’ comfort and ability to concentrate during class.
“The classroom having dimmer lights and better flooring will make the learning experience better, and the lights will make it so much easier to focus on things and not have your head hurt all the time,” Garner said.
While some students are in favor of the project, others feel that resources spent on classroom development would be more beneficial elsewhere.
“It’s worth the effort to improve Wi-Fi and the lighting,” freshman Avalon Harbin said.
“I’m not sure what’s wrong with the floor or the ceiling. I think that could be used for better projects and stuff. But I like that they’re trying to improve things.”
Despite concerns surrounding the construction, Royce said Cahill Contractors, SMUHSD’s contractor for Burlingame, has organized and divided the various classroom renovations into disposal, electrical, and renewal work groups to ensure an efficient project.
“The schedule that they’ve mapped out has every four days they’re in 10 classrooms, so they’ve divided up their work groups into seven work groups,” Royce said.
Along with transforming classrooms, SMUHSD plans to construct 23 new parking spaces at the front of the school over the summer, funded separately from the
See “ENROLLMENT,” page 2
Burlingame High School, 1 Mangini
PHOTO BY HENRY GARDNER
PHOTO BY ADDISON CHU
GRAPHICS BY EMMA YU
B
THE BURLINGAME B
Editor-in-Chief Joelle Huysmans
Managing Editors
Evelyn Du
Henry Gardner
Iny Li
Design Editor Kaylee Hwang
Sports Editor Kai Shah
Social Media Manager Josie Wettan
Business Manager Paige Cornelius
Arts Director Emma Yu
Head Photographer Oscar Bill
Diversity Coordinator Abby Zarahn
Social Coordinator Audrey Wei
Copy Editors
Alex Bertelli
Akira Nakamura
Olivia Newman
Senior Reporters
Chiara Wesley
Staff Reporters
Andrew Barrera
Peili Brown
Leia Burlingham
Abigail Chou
Addison Chu
Lea Von Hagen
Claire Hwang
Scarlett Ko
Chantal Lay
Faith Lee
Jason Lu
Jonah Moss
Eddy Josue Ortiz
Elsa Scimeca
Teacher Adviser
Melissa Murphy
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 Burlingame B staff, the administration, or the faculty of Burlingame High School, or anyone 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@smuhsd.org>. Letters may be considered for publication. The Burlingame B reserves the right to edit for clarity, length, and accuracy. We welcome all comments.
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Address: 1 Mangini Way, Burlingame, CA 94010
From pg. 1
obligation bond.
Next school year, Burlingame also expects to welcome around 50 more students than the typical class size, which will mean shifting classroom sizes and hiring new staff.
“We have a staff lounge that I’m intending on making smaller in order to make the rest of it into a classroom,” Principal Jen Fong said. “And we have A206 upstairs, A208 is a little bit small, so we’re intending to move the wall between A206 and A208 to make it so one of the rooms is very big, and one of them is very small.”
Fong said the Classroom Transformation Project and the plans to address increased enrollment are unrelated, and attributed the latter to recent housing construction in Burlingame.
“The community of Burlingame opened up mixed-income housing over the last couple of years, and that’s caused an increase in the population of the Burlingame neighborhood, which is then going to cause an increase in enrollment at Burlingame High School,” Fong said.
Currently, Burlingame’s maximum class size is 35 students. According to math teacher Sonny Lau, classes reaching this size create minor challenges for students and teachers.
There’s always gonna be something that pops up and that we are gonna have to troubleshoot and work around. I like the challenge.”
- Joey Tipton, SMUHSD facilities manager
“For math, I really think it’s a subject where students require a personal touch at times,” Lau said. “So with more students in a class, then it’s a little harder to assist students within their personal needs. But overall, the amount of students in a class is still within the acceptable range.”
Previously, Burlingame used classroom sharing to keep the num-
A letter from the editors
For us, A120 is like a second home. If you’ve ever been friends with a journalism student, you know how many hours we’ve spent interviewing sources, writing articles, and stressing over deadlines. You’ve probably also questioned why we dedicate so much time to something as seemingly trivial as a student newspaper.
The thing is, we don’t regret a single minute.
Journalism may have started as just a class, but it quickly became something more. As we explored what journalism
had to offer, A120 became a space where we could be passionate. Whether it be data journalism, opinion, or breaking news, each of us found our niche and pursued it inside and outside of the newsroom.
For the third year in a row, we were one of the first 20 school publications in the nation to earn the School Newspapers Online (SNO) Distinguished Site Award. We also expanded our multimedia program, earning our first-ever Best of SNO in multimedia. We can’t mention our achievements without addre-
ber of classes below this maximum threshold. However, Dyl said sharing has negative effects on teachers.
“There’s probably no positive effects,” Dyl said. “When I share a room, there’s somebody in here when I might normally be setting up labs, when I might be grading stuff, when I might be getting things together.”
With numerous facility changes underway, SMUHSD Facilities Manager Joey Tipton said his workload has increased this school year due to the newly constructed gymnasium, but he is prepared for the year ahead.
“I feel like we are [as] prepared as we can be,” Tipton said. “There’s always gonna be something that pops up and that we are gonna have to troubleshoot and work around. I like the challenge.”
ssing our advisor, Ms. Murphy, who has fundamentally changed our program through her energy and support for the last thirteen years.
Whether it’s robotics, arts, sports, or activism, we encourage you to put genuine care into what you do. A little bit of passion can go a long way.
Signing off,
History teacher Annie Miller has been working on packing up her classroom all semester with help from her teacher’s assistant, senior Avery Speight.
PHOTO BY JASON LU
District rescinds Bay Academy relocation
BY AKIRA NAKAMURA
Copy Editor
BY CLAIRE HWANG Staff Reporter
Over spring break, Burlingame Bay Academy parents received a phone call announcing the closure of the program at Burlingame, meaning their children would need to relocate to Hillsdale or Mills High School. The Bay Academy program serves students requiring supplementary educational support. According to San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) Superintendent Randall Booker, the decision was made to improve the quality of education for Bay Academy students.
“By placing the Burlingame-based classes on campuses that already host multiple Bay Academy classrooms, we will create more robust, connected program sites,” Booker said, as quoted in the San Mateo Daily Journal.
Mills,” Berkovits said. “They would never have done that with a GenEd population. To think that our kids could be so easily moved around was just horrible.”
Families and community members voiced their concerns by sending emails to the district, including to Director of Special Education Rochelle Hooks, and by attending the April 16 board meeting.
I talked to a lot of the kids about it when they first found out, and they were all just sad to be leaving their friends.”
“We reached out to our friends and to our families and to our kids, doctors, to their therapists, to their friends at Burlingame, and we asked them to please reach out to Superintendent Booker and to Dr. Hooks and to the school board to let them know how detrimental this move would be to our students and to Burlingame at large,”
- Scarlett Gemmer, senior
Nina Berkovits, whose son Zane is a student in the Bay Academy program, said the lack of communication and the abruptness of the decision were reckless.
“It was discriminatory. I thought it was careless, thoughtless. Wrong on so many different levels, and there was no way I was sending Zane to
a program for students with special needs who have graduated from high school. Because the class is small, Gemmer said she formed close connections with the Bay Academy students and heard their perspectives on the district’s initial decision to transfer the program.
Nina Berkovits said.
“I think we had probably 40 people and 17 speakers who spoke to the board and spoke to Superintendent Booker about what this would do to everybody.”
Senior Scarlett Gemmer is enrolled in Unified Physical Education (P.E.) alongside Bay Academy students, an inclusive program that brings together students with and without disabilities. Gemmer is also the president of Best Buddies, a club that works to foster connections with Bay University,
“I talked to a lot of the kids about it when they first found out, and they were all just sad to be leaving their friends,” Gemmer said. “Also, it’s just less convenient having to go further for school, so I’m glad that it was retracted.”
According to Unified P.E. teacher Malcolm Davis, the change would have been especially problematic for Bay Academy students who may have difficulty adapting to new environments.
“Being a student who has special needs, or that is maybe neurodivergent, it can take longer than somebody who is considered to be gen ed, for them
to get acquainted to a new space,” Davis said. “So having already taken a long time to get acquainted to Burlingame High School, trying to now have them go to another school would have been something that definitely would have had its major challenges and issues. So I definitely understand the reasoning behind why people were concerned.”
Freshman Bay Academy student Zane Berkovits said he likes the Burlingame Bay Academy program and would feel sad if he were forced to relocate. According to Berkovits, he has made connections during his time at Burlingame, including his work as the team manager for the football team.
According to Bay Academy teacher Patrick Myers, on April 21, just three weeks after parents were told about the relocation to Mills and Hillsdale, Booker retracted the decision.
“While our original intent
Fong and Malcolm depart from Burlingame
Principal Jen Fong first started working with children when she was 16. Since then, she has spent the last several decades working at multiple schools across the country. Fong started teaching in New York City when she was 22, and after a brief stint in the United Arab Emirates, spent the next 30 years in California.
Fong attended Yale University and earned a degree in biology before receiving a principal certification from Stanford University and a doctorate in education from the University of California, Berkeley. While she initially intended to become a doctor, Fong realized education was her true path and became a teacher. After working in the San Francisco Unified School District for 20 years, she came to Burlingame.
“I thought Burlingame was a great way to combine my experiences as a
said. “I was a student athlete, and Burlingame is such a big school for athletics, and I thought it would be the perfect fit for me.”
Fong is retiring at the end of this school year to spend more time with family and pursue her hobbies. As her career concludes, Fong hopes she has helped and inspired students as they have grown into young adults.
“I hope that while I was at Burlingame, I have been a voice for students that feel they don’t fit in,” Fong said. “I hope I had the kind of impact where I was a role model for people.”
In her first interview with the Burlingame B, Assistant Principal Aimee Malcolm said she wanted the school community to feel seen, heard, and validated. As she leaves Burlingame four years later, Malcolm said she hopes she has achieved that goal.
Malcolm joined Burlingame in the fall of 2022, though her career in education spans over 20 years. She said she was drawn to education, specifically teaching English, because of the impact it could have on students.
“I had several teachers that really had a positive impact on my life and made me believe in myself,” Malcolm said. “I always thought that the ability to read, communicate, and analyze well are super important and powerful for students. I thought it’d be fun to teach reading and writing.”
was to strengthen program access and opportunities for students, I recognize that the value of an established, supportive community is equally important and must be carefully weighed,” said Booker in an email to the parents, according to Nina Berkovits.
Instructional Aide Steve Meyer, who uses sign language to communicate with nonverbal or hard-of-hearing Bay Academy students, said he agrees with the district’s choice to retract its original decision.
“There’s a proper process for things like this, and the decision to move them was made with not enough input from the community,” Meyer said. “They heard the awesome, inspirational stories of parents and students from inclusion. I believe they made a wise decision to keep the program here.”
*We reached out to Booker for comment, but he did not respond to our inquiries.
BY OSCAR BILL Head Photographer
After graduating from high school, Malcolm attended California Baptist University and the University of California, Berkeley, receiving a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s in Educational Leadership and Administration. Throughout her career, she has worked as a teacher, department chair, and assistant principal. Next year, she will serve as the principal at Graham Middle School. While Malcolm is excited for her next step, she said leaving Burlingame is bittersweet.
“I’m closing a chapter that I have some really fond memories of,” Malcolm said. “It’s bittersweet because I’ve had so many positive experiences with Burlingame, but I’m opening a new chapter that will grow my leadership skills.”
Junior Jamieson Trefz and freshman Angelo Vega-Delgadillo draw scientific ideas on a worksheet.
PHOTO BY AKIRA NAKAMURA
Students stride onward to military
BY KAI SHAH Sports Editor
Hu pursues ROTC program Saldana scores Marine Corps
he will major in political science.
cer Training Corps (ROTC) program, which trains students to become commissioned officers in the armed forces while earning a degree. Hu will attend the University of Washington, where
Although he first became interested in joining the armed forces as a kid, Hu said he did not take it seriously until high school, when he joined the Sea Cadets, a United States youth naval program focused on leadership development and community service.
“A lot of the volunteers were officers in the military, that really exposed me to that life,” Hu said. “And during the winter and summer breaks, I was able to go to military bases for more formal training.”
Hu said he hopes the experience will teach him responsibility, a necessary skill when leading a platoon of 30 to 40 people.
“At the end of the day, you’re gonna really improve as a person and also become a more philosophical person,” Hu said.
the opportunity for financial stability motivated him to enlist directly after high school.
“When I was looking at the Marine Corps and other branches, I was understanding that some branches would lower their overall standards to make
their quotas for enlistments, but the Marine Corps would always be very strict about it. And even if you need a waiver for anything, they’re very strict about it,” Saldana said.
Saldana said he looks forward to his first year as a Marine and appreciates that the Marine Corps covers housing and medical expenses.
“And with that, it’s very easy to invest and scale up your investment strategies, so you can prepare yourself for your future,” Saldana said.
Saldana also said he wants to learn to be a good leader, along with becoming more disciplined.
“I like to think of myself as a follower before I’m a leader,” Saldana said. “And then from there, just try and see how it would be for me, how would I be the best leader, and how could I be the best disciplined individual.”
Quilliam sets sail to Navy Crawford commits to Cal
liam said. “I also thought I wanted to leave the Bay Area, because I call it a Bay Area bubble.”
Senior Pollyanne Quilliam will enlist in the Navy after high school, continuing a family tradition and embracing an opportunity to begin her career in a new environment.
“I wanted to travel after high school, and I think the Navy can defi nitely make that work for you,” Quil
Quilliam said boot camp will re quire her to become “comfortable with the uncomfortable.” According to Quilliam, one concern is her history of injuries, which could limit her partici pation in camp.
“I was one of those kids who would always be in the nurse’s office over something new every day,” Quilliam said. “When they’re looking at your medical history, they can disqualify you for certain things.”
Quilliam said she is excited about finding out where she will be stationed.
Senior Tyler Crawford will pursue the ROTC program at the University of California, Berkeley while majoring in economics. He said the program is
Mr. Larkin al ways knew how to make me laugh when I was having a bad day, with his positive attitude and dad jokes. He always made me feel very seen as a student.”
Katie Trevor – Mr. Larkin
Thank you for making me feel so welcome in an environment where I felt out of place.”
disciplinary mindset, and I just love to train my body and stay in shape.”
Before leaving for college, Crawford said he is attending a three-week New Student Indoctrination this summer.
“I’ll definitely get pushed physically, mentally, get yelled at, and I’ll have to maintain my composure with a lot of the stressors,” Crawford said.
For Crawford, one challenge will be balancing academic rigor with his commitment to the ROTC program, but he said he looks forward to building a strong brotherhood with his peers.
“I’m excited to meet these people
I would like to thank Mr. Zo-
for always putting his students first and making learning interesting for everyone.”
Vinny Marucco – Mr. Bennett
Sophia Yarmo – Ms. Murphy Zaphiro Carabantes – Ms. Edwards
zos
Nicole Montalvao Nascimento
GRAPHICS BY SCARLETT KO
GRAPHICS BY SCARLETT KO
– Mr. Zozos
PHOTOS BY KAI SHAH
Four seniors earn Posse Scholarship
The Posse Scholar Scholarship is awarded to outstanding seniors of diverse groups who are leaders and changemakers in their community. Students are granted a full-tuition scholarship to one of over 60 Posse partner universities. Ten scholars per partner school are accepted, and each cohort is mentored by Posse staff throughout college.
Senior Adriana Tjader decided to apply for the Posse Scholarship after learning about it from College and Career Advisor Jonathan Dhyne. She was one of the scholars who received a full-tuition to the University of Puget Sound.
“Genuinely, it’s probably the best thing that could have happened to me,” Tjader said.
According to Tjader, the interview process began with thousands of Bay Area candidates and was narrowed down to fewer than 100 students.
“It means that somebody saw potential in me that I didn’t necessarily know was there,” Tjader said. “I always pictured going to college, but I never thought that someone would be like, ‘I’ll pay for you to go to college because I see all this inspiring potential in you.’”
Senior Max Lomeli was initially hesitant about a Posse Scholarship to St. Olaf College, but accepted it after realizing the scholarship would help his family in the future.
“I’m glad that I went through St. Olaf in the end, because my sister can get more money for her school. If she wants to go to a better school, she definitely can,” Lomeli said.
Lomeli said the scholarship helps create opportunities for families, especially those with multiple children.
“It’s important to have [the scholarships] because a lot of parents, a lot of families, have multiple kids, and although they can send them to school without many issues… it’s good to have them overall,” Lomeli said. “That way, we don’t really lose a lot of bright minds that can’t afford to pay for college.”
Senior Mia Robelo never considered Lehigh University before receiving a Posse Scholarship there, but she now believes it is a perfect fit.
BY ADDISON CHU Staff Reporter
BY LEA VON HAGEN Staff Reporter
“The scholarship kind of made me fall in love with Lehigh, in a way, because I didn’t really know the school at first, “ Robelo said. “So then once I got the scholarship and started researching it, I started realizing, ‘Wow, I really like it.’”
Robelo said the scholarship has given her a sense of community among the students in her Lehigh cohort.
“I really look forward to [going to college] because it’s with people that are like me and we can just talk about really deep and personal things like political views or religion and race and stuff like that,” Robelo said. “I think that’s really important.”
Bon Voyage: students go abroad
Every summer since freshman year, senior Bella Brosnan has traveled with a group of high school students around the world for two-week-long projects. She has gone to Mexico for community service and to Iceland for photography.
In the fall, Brosnan will attend the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, majoring in history and Spanish. Her love for travel, combined with Scotland’s proximity to the rest of Eu rope, compelled her to apply and eventually commit to St.
Since he was young, senior Jian Acoba has dreamed of be ing a commercial pilot. When going on vacation, one thing he always looks forward to is the plane ride.
In the fall, Acoba will attend De La Salle University (DLSU) in Manila, Philippines, as an economics major. At DLSU, Acoba will be able to earn his bachelor’s degree in three years rather than the traditional four-year timeline. After graduating, he plans to attend the two-year Philippine Airlines pilot train ing program.
Andrews.
“I love travel, and so I think that really stuck out: being in an international school where I’m meeting a bunch of different people, and then the aspect of getting to travel and being so close to so
When senior Nicholas Khishigbat received a follow-up message from the Posse Foundation requesting another interview, he expected another round of selections. Instead, they announced he had won a full-tuition scholarship to Boston University.
“I went into the Zoom meeting after that, and out of nowhere, they just said, ‘Oh, congrats, you’re in.’ I was crying, I was shocked, because a full ride to Boston is pretty, pretty crazy,” Khishigbat said.
Khishigbat said earning the scholarship gave him external validation and confidence to pursue his future goals.
“Being a Posse Scholar means a lot to me because it shows that people are invested in my future and seeing that I can be a future leader,” Khishigbat said.
BY ABBY ZARAHN Diversity Coordinator
For senior Grace Nash, finding a major that could complement all her interests was a priority, which is why she chose the University College Dublin (UCD) in Ireland.
Nash will study English, drama, and
BY AUDREY WEI Social Coordinator
I was looking at schools abroad, and I found this program, it just sounded really interesting to me, and with the different pathways, I thought I could use it well.”
Nash is also excited to reconnect with family and Irish culture while attending UCD.
Acoba also has family in the Philippines and hopes to build a stronger connection to Filipino culture while attending DLSU.
“I’m really excited for this opportunity to just step out of my comfort zone a little bit and try to adapt to my surroundings,” Acoba said.
Having grown up in London, senior Chloe French-Evans always wanted to return to her childhood home. In the fall, French-Evans will be studying human nutrition at the University of Westminster.
“I chose it because I’ve always been interested in going internationally, and I think it’s a good opportunity to gain my global experience,” French-Evans said.
“My family and I are from Ireland, and most of my family is from there anyway,” Nash said. “So I thought it would also be a nice opportunity to spend time with people that I don’t really get the opportunity to see.”
French-Evans also said she is excited to be living in a big city.
“The school has a big international population … and I look forward to being in central London in a big city,” French-Evans said.
With parents from Ireland and Australia and many friends living in the United Kingdom, she saw going abroad as a good opportunity to reconnect.
“Both my parents are immigrants, and so being international is normal to me,” French-Evans said. “I have some friends that I’ve grown up with. They’re all going to university in the U.K., but not in London, and it’s exciting to be there.”
Bella Brosnan
Jian Acoba
Grace Nash
Mia Robelo
Max Lomeli
Adriana Tjader
Chloe French-Evans
GRAPHIC BY SCARLETT KO
GRAPHICS BY OLIVIA NEWMAN
Washington
Gonzaga University
Udhanta Mishra-Agoram
Mason Patch
Seattle University
Salaumi Lamichhane
Colorado
University of Puget Sound
Ea Leialoha
Adriana Tjader
University of Washington
Nicholas Armstrong
Jack Clarke
Hyman Dai
Keira Good
Max Hu
Dax Mytels
Dylan Rossen
Anthony Wen
Cole Weyer
Oregon
Oregon State University
Hermela Flowers
University of Oregon
Samantha Arce
Scarlett Bounds
Jake Druskin
Fabian Falconett
Liam Philibosian
California
California Lutheran University
Joshua Lim
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Keira Au
Leyla Baghirova
Aidan Berryman
Daisy Burruto
Thor Chew
Jackson Davis
Mia Espinosa
Andrew Gall
Dylan Hackos
Lydia Jiang
Aisling Muldowney
Rachel O’Brien
Madeline Rothstein
Brooke Schuman
Aria Sherwood
Cal Poly Pomona
Victor Mendiluce Cobos
CSU Chico
Caden Brosnan
Madeleine Enriquez
Sophia McGlenon
CSU Long Beach
Olivia Medina
Cañada College
Kimberly Rivera Hernandez
Preet Mallen
Devin Sosa
Chapman University
Aine O’Toole
City College of San
Francisco
Sophia Guzman
Bryce Quinn
College of San Mateo
Gladys Aguilera Motino
Sedanur Batkitar
Chinguun Batpurev
Aaron Marshall Cifuentes
Angel Pantoja Cruz
Thierry D’Aguilar
Cara Dowdall
Dorothy Fung
Jeffrey Galvez
Kinsley Grabow
Ricardo Gutierrez
Colorado College
Emma Dugoni
Colorado State University
Lyla Cairns
Nikita Mardakhaev
University of Colorado Boulder
Ellery Adams
Skylar Arcenal
Caden Droese
Maeve Ganguly
Grayson Howard
Sebastian Lamb
Halle Newman
Miles Reeth
Darren Wagner
Thomas Wright
Natalie Wylie
Minnesota
Carleton College
Kaylee Hwang
St. Olaf College
Maximiliano Lomeli
University of Minnesota Twin
Cities
Jack Karel
Eli Wright
Alina Haddadin
Ryan Han
Rodrigo Ferrer Hernandez
Joaquin Herrera
Tommy Khlyupina
Rachel Kim
Georgy Kuxin
Grace Legos
Nathan Lierman
Aiden Ma
Braian Goncalves Martins
Grif n McCoy
Mele Moengangongo
Adam Neel
Daniel Carmona Perez
Ivan Popov
Geovanna Ramos
Angel Rojas
Genesis Sazo
Zoe Scopazzi
Timur Sere ddin
Ashley Rueda Shashte
Andrew Shevach
Givanna Shqair
Kylan Sojda
Natalia Spaelti
Christopher Spinoso
Lily Storseter
Spiros Taptelis
Luciano Valencia
Kai Von Hagen
Ryder Warren
Kyle Weitzman
Quincy Yu
Rasmi Zeidan
Foothill College
Alexander Bermudez
Menlo College
Idaho
Paola Vasquez Gonzalez
Austin Tsai
Santa Barbara City College
Daniel
Stack
Santa Clara University
Sara Balach
Kyle Igushi
Boise State University Adi Evans
Utah
Wisconsin
Edgewood University
Oscar Bill
University of Wisconsin–
University of Utah
Kieran Kilgo
Emma Wiley
Madison
Scarlett Gemmer
Syum Mehra
So a Monteverdi
Lily Peters
Cassell Reese
Kailen Shah
Bryan Thompson
Michael Intrieri
Stella Newman
Logan White
Skyline College
Slade Flores
Payton Fong Heady
Stanford University
Allison Duh
University of California,
Berkeley
Noah Chiang
Tyler Crawford
Matthew Derossett
Jay Kang
Libbey Kwok
Lindsey Kwok
Iny Li
Simon Limb
Ivana Ma
Kairah Maqsood
Alexander Minakawa
Lyra Sheng
Levio Stagnaro
Samantha Tom
Elaine Tsai
Gio Velasco
Wellington Costa de Oliveira Filho
Pepperdine University
Lovelle Chung
San Diego State University
Wesley Lindstrom
Rowan Maher
Bella Miranda
Alexia Thompson
San Jose State University
Justin Shihadeh
Herman Sozonovych
Brandon Mark
Avani Singh
University of California,
Los Angeles
Derek Chen
Serena Koopmans
Emily Meng
Mia Suf n
Leah Terry
Sophia Yarmolinsky
University of California,
Merced
Natalia Cerc
University of California, Riverside
Garson Ng
Skyler Wang
University of California,
Chloe Sullivan
Ren Tsunehara
Ella Wilson
Zach Wong
University of California,
Santa Cruz
Melissa Aviles Cerna
Camilla Man
Athan Peters
Jason Purkey
Stanley Situ
Zachary Zamalin
San Diego
Athena Bostonmaer
Mischa Fellner
Ting Ting Wang
University of California, Davis
Oliver Canniffe
Azriel Cruz
Emma Shi
University of California, Irvine
Sarah Chen
Gaelle-Anne Foy
Ryan Frank
Adrian Gong
Camille Man
Sophie Hua
Miles McCormick
Sankar Prathikanti
Natalie Robbins
Sahil Senger
University of California,
Santa Barbara
Micah Chew
Lila Edmondson
Marlejean Mendoza
Eva Mercer
Audrey Sim
Avery Speight
University of San Diego
Brendan Gilmore
University of San Francis-
co
Arlene Aldana
Brianna Altamirano
University of Southern California
Alvina Baghirova
Saskia Dankbaar
Harper Fligel
Katie Friedman
Abigail Gorin
Charlotte Guglielmi
Alexandra Rivas Rosales
Adam Zimmer
Arizona
Indiana UniversityBloomington
Samson Einhorn
Sophie Lin
Garret Wang
Kai Watanabe
Purdue University
Ethan Cyb
Rohan Shah
Michigan
Indiana Illinois
University of Michigan
Francesca Caban
Samantha Hollrah
Jake Simon
Missouri
Washington University in St. Louis Zadie Tsai
Concordia University Chicago
Kendall Gorshen
Northwestern University
Evelyn Du
Henry Gardner
Ron Veksler
University of Illinois Chicago
Grace Topliff
Ohio
New
York
Barnard College
Michelle Chow
Lucia Hayes
Rowan Kelly
Columbia University
Joelle Huysmans
Cornell University
Finlay Hayes
New York University
University of Nevada, Reno
Emerson Burri
Chloe Mendez
Arizona
Arizona State University-Tempe
Jonathan Peterson
Shyla Roy
University of Arizona
Enzo Alioto
Sophia Mausehund
Liam Ososki
Jean-Luc Uharriet
University of Tennessee
Miles Davis
Vanderbilt University
Paige Cornelius
Texas
Alexander Bozinovic
Hayden Haba
Mika Haggarty
Alice Huang
Case Western Reserve University
The Ohio State University at
Lilah Shapiro
Michelle Shay
Syracuse University
Oscar Caban
Noah Woo
Massachusetts
Boston University
Rosemary Conant
Rhode Island
Nicholas Khishigbat
Delphine Matthews
Tyrus Zhang
Brandeis University
Kagan Goldstein
Northeastern University
Gwyneth Thacker
Tufts University
Kieran Clarke
Ravi Krishnan
Pennsylvania
Carnegie Mellon University
Adrian Su
Lucas Zhu
Dickinson College
Maxim Temple
Rutgers University-New Bruns-
Stevens Institute of Technology
Lehigh University
Maya Blouse
Ellora Horan
Maliha Moran
Mia Robelo
University of Pennsylvania
Ryan Liu
Shai Ring
Bryan Zhan
Villanova University
Ellie Nyhus
Texas Christian University
Sophie Glick
Katie Trevor
North Carolina
Duke University
Brinda Iyer
Meghan Lee
University of Georgia
Adelle Farris
Florida
The University of Texas at Austin
Katie Jarrett
Rollins College Haleh Ansari
Hawaii
South Carolina
College of Charleston
Haley Baird
Harrison Evars
International
De La Salle University
Jian Acoba
University College Dublin
Grace Nash
University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Marina Chan
University of St. Andrews
Bella Brosnan
University of Westminster
Chloe French-Evans
*Data accurate as of May 14
GRAPHICS BY EMMA YU
First-gen: bright futures ahead
Olivia Medina
Senior Olivia Medina, who will attend California State University, Long Beach in the fall, said she always knew she would pursue a four-year college education.
As a first-generation student, Medina experienced difficulties during the college application process. Even with help from the College and Career Center, she said she still felt confused.
“It was very frustrating trying to fill out my applications, just because my parents had never gone through it, and so I didn’t have help from them,” Medina said. “I felt like my friends were always more prepared than I was.”
Medina said her parents were emotionally supportive and always left the decision of college up to her.
“I felt like college and going to college and getting good grades have always been my choice,” Medina said. “I’ve never really felt coerced into doing anything, college-wise.”
Medina said she is both scared and excited to step out of her comfort zone. She encouraged future first-generation students to “weigh their options” during the application process.
“I would tell them not to be too hard on themselves, and then to also definitely utilize any resources they can to help them,” Medina said.
BY LEIA BURLINGHAM Staff Reporter
Alex Rivas Rosales Ting Ting Wang
versity of Southern California (USC) in the fall. With the intention of pursuing medical school after graduation, Rivas Rosales said college has always been a part of her plan.
According to Rivas Rosales, the college application process made her feel like an outsider at times. She said she did not understand the importance of Advanced Placement (AP) classes or the SAT until later on in high school.
“A lot of times, I had to ask my peers or my teachers for additional support. So it was just a lot of having to learn how to advocate for myself,” Rivas Rosales said.
Although her parents did not know the details of her coursework or extracurriculars, Rivas Rosales said they still celebrated her efforts.
“[My mom] would clean my room sometimes if it got too messy, and she could tell that I didn’t really have time to do stuff at home,” Rivas Rosales said.
To future first-generation students, Rivas Rosales said not to be afraid to ask for help from teachers and not to doubt themselves during the process.
“Good luck to future first-gen students. Give it your all,” Rivas Rosales said. “If you want it, you’ll get it.”
Senior Ting Ting Wang said she has been thinking about college since she was young. This fall, Wang will attend University of California (UC), Berkeley, which was her parents’ “dream school” for her.
“For me, my parents were just drilling, ‘Oh, good college. Good college.’ That was it, just the phrase ‘good college,’” Wang said.
Wang said she relied on herself during parts of the college application process, such as taking the SAT and finding tutors. Still, she received support from upperclassmen whom she met through sports and AP classes.
“I would reach out to them, and then they would help me out. They would give me general tips and advice through their lens,” Wang said.
Excited to attend UC Berkeley, Wang said her family toured the campus five times.
“I’m most excited to honestly branch out and join a bunch of clubs,” Wang said. “Of course, rigor would be difficult, but I’m excited to meet new people.”
Looking back, Wang advises students to look beyond resume-building and focus on meeting new people and pursuing personal interests.
“Your grades don’t define you. Your extracurriculars don’t define you,” Wang said. “Just have fun and do whatever is meaningful to you.”
Senior Alex Rivas Rosales will attend the Uni-
GRAPHICSBYABBYZARAHN
BY LEIA BURLINGHAM Senioritis Disease Officer
Forget those college decisions and endof-year final exams — seniors across campus have been battling one of the severest epidemics yet: APathy, a new senioritis variant. Symptoms include a complete lack of “chalance,” zero academic drive whatsoever, and needing 11+ hours of sleep nightly.
Senior Seymour Sliep, a victim of APathy, said every member of her friend group has been affected by the disease, including “that one nerd that still sits with us.”
“I mean, the prognosis, really, is that I won’t be able to take any of my AP tests,” Sliep said. “None of my teachers understand my condition, and I just don’t know why. This is, like, serious. My livelihood is at risk.”
Nearly all students who have contracted the disease are unable to take their AP tests, but the College Board has refused to refund their money. However, the College Board did provide a “Sick/Late Test” option for infected students — for an additional $1000.
The No Interest in Homework foundation (NIH) stated that the new senioritis variant stems from Intensified Dissociation and General Academic Fatigue, or “IDGAF.” English 4 and journalism teacher Murphdawg witnessed the effects of APathy firsthand across her six class periods. Upon seeing the numerous toll it took on students, Murphdawg recalled feeling “intensely hopeless and unequivocally enraged.”
“By seventh period, students are completely out of it. As of late, victims have been missing a) School materials, b) Ability to read, and c) Just their intelligence in general,” Murphdawg said.
Administration has taken steps to disinfect the campus, though Principal Jen Fong and Assistant Principal Aimee Malcolm admit it’s a “hard case to crack.” Undeterred, the pair is collaborating with Advanced Placement (AP) Biology teachers to brew a serum that will force synthetic enthusiasm into students’ bodies. Around campus, this serum has been nicknamed “Redbull.”
“Admin is also dealing with patients that are too far gone to be cured,” Fong said. “These measures include flex sweeps, Ms. Carter, and undercover hall monitors. Don’t worry, seniors. We’ll find you.”
BY JONAH MOSS Hacky Sack Expert
“I wish I could forget the whole thing,” sophomore Gerald Goober said.
In a friendly game of hacky sack, a rogue kick ended up striking Goober’s friend, sophomore Kristolph Binkee, in the shoulder, dislocating it and making him cry.
“Man, it was horrible to watch,” Goober said. “He was easily the worst sacker I’ve ever seen.”
Such is an all too prevalent pattern emerging at Burlingame. Filling the halls of late has been the familiar yet excessive sound of students sacking.
Principal Jen Fong, who is retiring at the end of this year, banned hacky sacks on campus in a final administrative effort before leaving.
“A month ago, students were disrespectful. Now they’re disrespectful and kicking yarn balls in my face,” Fong said while clearing her office.
Fong could not be reached for comment after students began blatantly defying her recent ban, only this time with protest-sloganed sacks.
“I don’t know what peace has to do with a bunch of guys sacking,” senior Baron Quinn said. “But I think it’s the spirit of the thing that counts.”
While members of the staff have shown concern that the ban is radicalizing students, the Athletic Department feels there are
more pressing issues. In the wake of hacky sack’s popularity, two kinds of sack-related injuries have grown rampant, sidelining star athletes and crippling Burlingame sports programs.
Seven baseball players caught terrible foot fungus after playing with an unregulated sack, the first incident to raise safety concerns. Data entry from the nurse’s office shows that over 50 students have visited the trainer in the past three weeks for other sack-related injuries, logs that were found suspiciously hidden behind a toilet in the boys’ bathroom.
“This cover-up by the student body is truly astonishing,” Assistant Principal Aimee Malcolm said while driving away from the school.
Students’ attempts to hide the horrible impact hacky sacks are having on health and well-being are just further evidence of the unhealthy obsession many have with the sport.
Dr. Jimmy Ide Uhno, a renowned
BY ALEX BERTELLI Copy Editor
child psychologist from Stanford University, was consulted to discuss these behaviors.
“We live in a time of advocacy,” Uhno said. “In such a fiery political climate, it’s no surprise such an atmosphere would take root in a high school. And what do children do when they can’t have something they want? They hold organized protests.”
And so they did, or tried to. Students soon lost concentration at a walkout protest as they were all drawn into hacky sack games, annoying parkgoers.
President Donald Trump sent the California National Guard to disperse the protest, but the soldiers ended up joining in on the play. While appearing to be a beacon of light in dark times, there was in fact a darker side to the intervention: approximately 50 members of the National Guard suffered severe injuries due to incompetent sacking.
ACROSS
2. Fong of former high school fame
4. “Because I said __!”
6. Just talk and talk and talk
8. Teachers’ favorite club to be forced to plan around 11. Disease that makes upperclassmen lazy (with a new variant!)
13. See 21-Down
14. Institution many people spend years in
15. “Unpopular opinion, ___...”
16. AVID coordinator with a fun-to-pronounce name
18. Anna who teaches architecture
19. “That’s sad...” or “That’s cute...”
20. Fun event you might try to get a 5 on (2 words)
22. Fun way to sustain brain damage at the school
24. Thing to play with
25. Older man, in slang
26. Class most are relieved to be out of after sophomore year
27. Number of spirit week participants, rounded to the nearest hundred
28. What you may pull when you haven’t studied for an upcoming test (2 words)
33. Students’ least favorite thing to read? (or do homework on)
DOWN
1. Old game console that pioneered Pong
2. Scary word to many students, often paired with “Get a ___”
3. If you don’t go to it you may be swept
4. Morse code distress signal you can tap with a pencil
5. Teachers’ favorite grading tool
6. Okay studying tool, great procrastination tool
7. It forms instantly after lunch starts
8. Gen-Z term for skill with the huzz, per se
9. You’re more than halfway to this age!
10. People’s favorite part of this newspaper
12. Favorite phrase from this year’s administration (2 words)
14. Standardized exam taken to prepare for another one (abbr.)
15. Writer’s ___: common symptom of 11-Across
17. Nocturnal bird with a sleep schedule slightly worse than yours
21. With 13-Across, surprise test!
22. Like this crossword (hopefully)
23. “I swear, __ God bro”
26. Panther __: your assigned yearlong friend
29. Texter’s expression of indifference
30. Burlingame ___: popular student lunch location
31. Zedong of former Chinese dictator infamy
32. “Sure, I guess”
A hacky sack actively poisoning the minds of students during lunchtime.
PHOTO BY JONAH MOSS
PHOTO BY LEIA BURLINGHAM
An infected student is prohibited from entering the AP Statistics testing area.
Edited by Rain Yang
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“My favorite memory at BHS is probably my junior year, when we went all the way to the CCS championship for football. It was just really fun, a great bonding experience. I was still with the seniors above me and lower grades as well, all on that team.”
- Ravi Krishnan
BY CHANTAL LAY Staff Reporter
BY SCARLETT KO Staff Reporter
“My favorite memory was sophomore year homecoming, because it was really fun to get ready with my friends, and the DJ was really good.”
- Sofia Monteverdi
“My favorite memory was probably Breaking Down the Walls junior year, because I was able to be a leader and I thought that it was just such a good activity for our school to get closer with each other.”
- Natalia Spaelti
“My favorite memory would probably be being able to hang out with friends and being able to explore what I like, such as trying different classes such as drama and choir.”
- Michelle Shay
“My favorite memory during high school was my soccer senior night because my friends walked out with me, and it was really supportive. There was a big crowd there, cheering everyone on, and we won on our senior night, so it was a lot of fun.”
- Sophia Mausehund
PHOTOS BY THE BURLINGAME B STAFF
GRAPHICS BY CHANTAL LAY