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VOL . 3, NO. 2

O C T O B E R 2 7, 2 0 2 3

THE YELLOW PAGES BASIS Independent Fremont Journalism Club

THE HAMAS ATTACK ON ISRAEL

At 6:30 AM on October 7th in Israel, rockets launched from Gaza by the Hamas militia rained down on Ashkelon, Rehovot, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv, Israel — the start of what many have called “Israel’s 9/11”, making international headlines within minutes, and becoming the forefront of all political issues. But why, and how, did this happen? In order to understand the triggers of the current conflict, one must understand the complex history of Israel and Palestine, and how it has led to longstanding tensions between the two countries today. Around 930 BCE, two Israelite kingdoms were established in what is Israel today, or called “Syria Palaestina” by the Romans, with one of their capitals being Jerusalem, the holy city for all Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism). Until the end of World War I, the area was conquered and controlled by various other European and Middle Eastern powers. This saw the growth of Christian and Islamic rule and the initiation of the Crusades, which resulted in fighting for the holy city of Jerusalem, during which many Jews faced further religious persecution and expulsion by other large empires. At the end of World War I, Britain took charge of what was then called Palestine and split the land between Palestinians (who made up a majority of the population) and Zionists (who supported establishing a Jewish state in Palestine due to the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust), sparking tensions between the two groups who saw the land to be theirs. During World War II, more Jews immigrated to British-controlled Palestine, fueling tensions between Jews and Palestinians. In 1947, the UN proposed a two-state solution to decrease disputes — 56.5% of Israel would become a Jewish state and the rest of the land would remain Palestinian, leaving Jerusalem as an international city for religious purposes. In 1948, Britain officially established Israel as a nation, which resulted in the displacement of many Palestinians. This shift led to the alliance of five Arab nations declaring war on Israel because they believed in a unified Arab state and not a Jewish state in what they believed to be Palestine. The war, otherwise known as the Six-Day War, ended with Israeli forces pushing further into Palestinian territory and displacing more civilians, an event referred to by Arabs as the Nakba (The Catastrophe). Back and forths between Israel and Palestine and its allies continued until 1973, when Egypt and Syria allied against Israel in an attempt to win back lost Palestinian

territory (also known as the Yom Kippur War, as the attack was launched on the holiest day in Judaism). In the end, Israel came out victorious and continued growing their settlements in Gaza and West Bank (shown in the map to the right). From this, came the creation of Hamas, the terrorist group at the center of the conflict today. They stated that the conflicts between Israel and Palestine could only be solved through “jihad,” a struggle or fight against the “enemies of Islam” — from their perspective, Israel and Jews. In 2003, the former Hamas leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, conveyed his goal to expel all Jews from the Israel-Palestine territory, stating that, “By God, we will not leave one Jew in Palestine. We will fight them with all the strength we have. This is our land, not the Jews...” (ADL). Since then, Hamas has continued their message of annihilation against Israelis and Jews around the world. In 2005, Israel reduced its control over Gaza and West Bank, leaving Hamas as the dominant party of the Palestinian people. Since its occupation of Palestinian land in 1947, the Israeli government has faced backlash for its treatment of the Palestinian people, much of which includes the infamous airstrikes of schools and hospitals. In addition, because the Palestinian population is made up of over 50% children and has an extremely vulnerable population and is closed off from resources, many Palestinian supporters have labeled Gaza as the “largest openair prison” in the world. So what’s happening now? Trigger warning: mentions of violence, death, and rape. Hamas, one of two Palestinian political parties, currently comprises the Palestinian government as the ruling party of Gaza. Fatah (the Palestinian opposition group) has viewed Hamas’s method of “jihad” and suicide-bombing attack methods on Israelis as counterproductive to achieving peace and justice for Palestinians in the region. Unlike some of its other Middle Eastern counterparts, Egypt has continued to maintain peaceful and diplomatic ties with Israel for over forty years and has helped broker peace between Israel and Palestine. On October 7th, Israel was unprepared for the violence to come as thousands of Hamas rockets, with many intercepted by Iron Dome, Israel’s defense system, and up to 1000 armed Hamas forces stormed through the Gaza Strip’s border and began their attack on Southern Israel. According to IDF (Israel Defense Force) reports and US Secretary of State

DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY A HOMECOMING RECAP

By Alicia Peng and Shreya Sadhwani

As a long-standing high school tradition, Homecoming is integral to the high school experience. BASIS Homecoming Spirit Week was filled with fun days of dressing up from Monday, October 16, to Friday, October 20 — a week filled with fun and school spirit! Yellow Jackets showed their school spirit throughout the week by dressing up to the different themes every day! On Meme Monday, students recreated various viral memes, including the Smurf cat. Students paired with their friends for Twin Tuesday, wearing identical outfits. Barbenheimer Wednesday was an ode to their respective movies, Barbie the Movie and Oppenheimer, released on the same weekend this July. The hallways were filled with contrasting pink bedazzled outfits, black suits and hats, and combinations of both. Zoom Formal Thursday was a throwback to online school, where students juxtaposed their pajama pants with blazers and collared shirts. Finally, the entire school dressed for Class Color Friday: middle schoolers in yellow, freshmen in purple, sophomores in red, juniors in blue, and seniors in green.

Student Panel members decorated the hallways with colorful notes of their class spirit. The first hallway was filled with dollar signs and green streamers, alluding to the senior’s love for money. Next, a hallway filled with yellow for the middle schoolers. Pasted to the wall was a life-size inflatable Elmo from the sophomores. Finally, the most magical hallway had a dimmed blue light for the junior’s Under the Sea theme. On Friday, students packed into the MPR for the pep rally. Each grade sported flamboyant pom poms that corresponded to their class color. The band showcased their talent through beautiful pieces, including an instrumental version of “Bad Guy’’ by Billie Eilish. Then, the senior class surprised the school with a dance to Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic and Finesse, organized and choreographed by Aditi P. (12). The pep rally ended with each grade competing in a game of charades where a representative acted out a classmate. The entire time, the MPR was filled with great energy, high-pitched screaming, and a lot of school spirit! Homecoming officially came to an end with the homecoming dance! High

Antony Blinken, Hamas has killed over 1400 Israelis, wounded thousands, and taken ~230 more captive, including 13 American citizens, children, parents, the elderly (NBC), and a Holocaust survivor (Blinken). Many graphic videos filmed in Gaza and released by Hamas have shown captors taking bloodied and distraught captives into their vehicles, tying them up, and parading them around. Other pictures taken in the aftermath of the attacks show crushed cribs and bloodied, destroyed houses. Over 250 young Israelis were killed at a peace music festival, and many others were kidnapped and taken into Gaza. IDF’s military forensic team raises concerns that the prisoners in captivity will be tortured, raped, or killed. Another shows testimony from 21-year-old captive Mia Schem, asking to be brought home as soon as possible and telling her family that she is reportedly

being given medical care. So far, Hamas has released 4 of its hostages. The Israeli government has warned over 1 million Palestinians in Gaza to leave their homes as soon as they can due to Israeli reprisal efforts that will endanger any Palestinians still there. However, such efforts have led to fatal and controversial consequences. So far, the Israeli cabinet has surrounded Gaza’s borders and has directly cut off fuel, electricity, and water, resulting in many Palestinian hospitals breaking down due to lack of power from their generators and many Palestinians resorting to drinking contaminated ocean water (AP). Moreover, as Israeli forces continue retaliation on Hamas, even more hospitals and vulnerable civilian areas have been bombed, killing over 5000 Palestinians, many of them children and elders, as of October 24th according to the UN. Between Hamas urging Palestinians to stay instead of evacuate, airstrikes of a disputed origin killing 70 Palestinian evacuees, the Egypt-Gaza border being blocked due to a densely packed flow of those trying to flee, and many medical help services unable to access Gaza, civilians are caught in a conflict that is not of their own making. The United States of America has agreed to fulfill any Israeli needs for supplies and ammunition and has expressed support as one of Israel’s allies. The leaders of both countries agreed to remain in contact as the situation develops. At the time of writing, the European Union, consisting of twenty-seven European nations, reversed their claim on suspending aid to Palestinians and will continue providing them any necessary aid.

Aftermath of an airstrike on a mosque in Gaza City. (mahmud hams/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)

schoolers returned in the evening to enjoy a night of pizza and music to dance with their friends. The dance featured performances from our fellow students. Aashirya V.M. (12) sang Diamonds by Rihanna and received applause and support. Besides our BASIS students, the MPR was filled with high schoolers from all over the Bay Area — current students, former students, and friends from other

schools were all in attendance to dance the night away. Former teacher Ms. Ray made an appearance, and students were overjoyed to meet her again. After all the dancing and mingling, we woke up the following day with sore legs. Thank you to Student Panel and Auxiliary, who planned this event and made this week possible! We can’t wait till next year!

TAYLOR SWIFT AND TRAVIS KELCE AT THE CHIEFS GAME By Selena Peng

The hottest new couple, NFL player Travis Kelce and 12-time Grammy-winning musician Taylor Swift, set the internet ablaze with the announcement of their new romance. Speculation about their relationship has swirled since July when Kelce said on his podcast that he had attended the Eras Tour. Kelce explained he was sad because he couldn’t “hand her one of the bracelets [he] made for her but, [he] wanted to give Taylor Swift one with [his] number on it.” Fans trade bracelets at her concerts as a reference to the lyrics “so make the friendship bracelets/Take the moment to taste it.” However, it seems Travis did end up giving the bracelet to Taylor! Their connection deepened as he invited her to watch him play football at the stadium where he enjoyed her concert. On September 24, their relationship was hard-launched when Swift, seated next to

LAPHONZA BUTLER’S RISE TO POWER

By Angela Cao and Sarah Wu

On August 2nd, Laphonza Butler became one of the most powerful people in the country, rapidly ascending like no other. Only a few days prior, California Senator Dianne Feinstein passed away after serving in Congress for more than 30 years. Her sudden passing still shocked many despite her old age. The open Senate seat came with the question of replacement. On October 1st, Gavin Newsom made the controversial decision of choosing Laphonza Butler to be the interim senator, fulfilling his promise to appoint a black woman in place of Feinstein after growing concerns about her health. Representative Barbara Lee, a black woman and one of the candidates running for the next election after Butler, was not chosen. Newsomsaid he would avoid choosing candidates already campaigning for

O C T O B E R 2 7, 2 0 2 3 Kelce’s mother at the Kansas City Chiefs game, as she wore a Kansas City Chiefs jacket while cheering on the team. Kelce was also seen looking up and smiling in Swift’s direction multiple times during the match. After the game, Taylor and Travis were seen leaving together and driving away in Travis’s convertible. On October 1, Taylor was spotted arriving at her second Chiefs game, this time with friends like actress Blake Lively, actor Ryan Reynolds, and singer Sabrina Carpenter! Swift’s enthusiasm for cheering on Kelce was evident. The NFL has also been playing into this rumored relationship, with the camera panning to Taylor 17 times during the game. The new relationship led to a significant increase in viewership for the Chiefs vs. Jets game, with 27 million people tuning in. This surge in viewership made the game the most-watched Sunday football game since the Super Bowl. Additionally, Travis Kelce’s jersey sales spiked by 400% the day after their first public appearance together. The launch of this relationship has left many fans surprised and excited for more to come, creating a significant buzz on the internet. We can hardly wait for more of their love story!

the position, giving Butler an opportunity to fill the seat. This was a controversial decision that no doubt involved Lee’s status as a Republican. To many, Butler seems like the ideal California senator. Throughout her career, she has been highly involved in the Democratic Party and even served as the senior strategic advisor for Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign. Not only do her political views align with Californian voters, but she’s also had a lifetime of experience in advocacy. Butler began her career as a union organizer and worked her way up to president of California’s largest union, the SEIU United Long Term Case Workers. Her connections and background could bring her gain support from California’s most powerful unions. Additionally, as the former president of Emily’s List, a political action committee that supports the candidacy of women in favor of abortion rights, she has a working knowledge of the functionalities and formalities of Congress. Many also believe that as a black lesbian woman, she brings a new perspective to Congress.

KEVIN MCCARTHY OUSTED AS HOUSE SPEAKER: WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT? By Abheek Batra and Nick Lin

In a recent controversial vote, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted off the job, merely nine months after his victory following a dramatic 15-round floor fight. This is a historic event, as it has never happened before in the history of the United States. The vote ended in a close decision of 216-210 to overthrow the powerful Californian Republican. Floridian Republican Matt Gaetz, the initiator of this vote, had been accusing McCarthy of breaking promises made to conservatives regarding reduced spending. However, many speculate that McCarthy’s ousting wasn’t a purely political attack; rather, it might have been driven by a personal feud between Gaetz and McCarthy that had been simmering ever since McCarthy was voted as Head Speaker. However, his removal may have been caused by how he was elected. During the election, McCarthy failed to secure the vote on the first ballot, forcing him to make deals with far-right Republicans, including one that allowed any one person to initiate a vote to vacate the speaker. This deal caused the end of McCarthy’s Speakership. McCarthy also made many other controversial decisions throughout his time as Speaker, such as angering the Chinese Communist Party by meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ingwen. He also sparked the fury of fellow Republicans because he didn’t ask for enough demands in change during a debt-ceiling crisis (the Government needed permission from Congress for more money) and closely worked with President Biden when many members were against him. This idea of removing McCarthy from the top job was initiated when he struck a controversial deal with the Democrats to avoid an approaching government shutdown for 45 days, which sparked dissent from the far-right Republicans. There were indications that McCarthy’s speakership might come to an end after

90 senators from his party opposed his bill to avoid the shutdown. However, McCarthy obtained the most votes and successfully avoided the incoming shutdown. To avoid being ousted at the time, McCarthy had to work with Democrats, which the Republicans didn’t like at all, leading to the vacancy of the speaker seat. He also failed to cut a deal with Democrats, leaving both parties against him. On Tuesday, October 3rd, McCarthy announced that he wouldn’t be running for Speaker again, which shocked America. Currently, the Speaker seat is being held by Rep. Patrick McHenry, an ally of McCarthy. Next in line for the top job were Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise. The GOP hoped to elect a Speaker on Wednesday, October 11th, to prevent more chaos in a Speakerless House. The timing couldn’t be worse. With an incoming government shutdown, a war in Ukraine, and the recent developments in Israel with the Hamas Organization breaching Israeli borders, the military was caught off guard. . McCarthy spoke out, raising questions on why they had to vacate a Speaker during these unstable times. As long as the United States doesn’t have a Speaker, there will be an abrupt halt in most political activities, such as administering aid and passing resolutions, which could potentially create chaos. There is an even bigger divide in the government now, as many Republicans are against Gaetz and believe he is not a “team player.” In the end, Steve Scalise won the nomination from the House with a 113-99 Republican vote. Jim Jordan plans to vote for Scalise and is encouraging many of his supporters to do the same. However, Scalise dropped out of the race due to many not supporting him because of his need to address his blood cancer and his lack of a plausible plan. This led to Jim Jordan being the primary candidate and he hustling to consolidate support.

Despite her many triumphs, there are a number of controversies surrounding her selection. Many have begun to ponder her legitimacy as a California resident. Unlike most Californian senators, Butler was born and raised in Mississippi, where she attended Jackson State University before living in California for an unknown amount of years. Since she assumed the role of President of Emily’s List, she has been living in Maryland. In fact, she only registered to vote in California a few days before she filled Feinstein’s seat in the Senate. She has also strayed further and further away from her origins as a labor leader. Butler drew criticism from liberal organizations after representing Uber in conversations with unions that aimed to prevent drivers from being classified as employees. The consulting firm where she worked at the time, SCRB Strategies, had strong ties to Gavin Newsom and many other Democrats. Although she said that she had the interests of drivers in mind, her actions caused labor unions to no longer view her as an ally. Soon before Butler was sworn in, a letter surfaced regarding her relationship with Los Angeles City

Council Member Mark Ridley Thomas, who was recently convicted of bribery, conspiracy, mail fraud, and wire fraud. Butler wrote to the judge who sentenced him, describing his support of her family and the instrumental role he played in increasing the minimum wage in California. When asked about this by the San Francisco Chronicle, she replied, “I would say to people to look for humanity at every opportunity.” Her words of support for Thomas, a public service member convicted of federal corruption, have made her a widely unpopular choice for many. What does this mean for the Senate race in 2024? It is unclear whether Butler will run for the Senate seat in 2024. Butler currently has a strong advantage over the other candidates, who will not have the chance that she does to demonstrate themselves. Although she might not have plans to run for a new term, she plans to tackle abortion and gun control in her short time in office. These plans heavily align with the goals of Emily’s List, perhaps to show the public that she still hasn’t forgotten what she initially set out to do.

VOL . 3, NO. 2

I don’t know when or how or where I’m writing this. But I am. Please read it. I don’t know who you are, but you need to read this. I was your schoolmate. You probably don’t remember me. Plenty of students leave the school and never come back, disappearing into the world. I disappeared, but I never left the school. It all started in the multi-purpose room as I nervously waited to begin my PSAT exam. The proctor shouted “ You may begin NOW!” As I flipped open the test booklet, a debilitating agitation shot through me. The words swam on the test page, and my heart began pounding — a slow jackhammer against my rib cages. My legs twitched under me, as I shifted uncomfortably around in my chair. Panicked, I hurriedly flipped through the test booklet, trying to find a problem I could comprehend. But the ink on the page swirled into one incomprehensible blob. Accompanying my thunderous heartbeat seemed to be a glassy, hollow tap, coming from the top of the multi-purpose room. Dink, thonk! Dink, thonk! I looked up — the sound was undeniably coming from the tiny cubicle sitting above the MPR. I had never given much attention to the cubicle — it sat directly oppo-

I opened my eyes, and I saw three rectangular panels. Wait. Three windows — I was still in the cubicle above the MPR. How long had I been here? I couldn’t move — or maybe there was nothing to move. I couldn’t see or feel my limbs, or my nose, or my eyelids. There was nothing other than the three large windows. As I focused my vision out of the windows, the MPR seemed normal. The basketball hoops were lifted up. The curtains to the stage were closed, and the room was quiet. White, plastic tables, were spaced out evenly across the room, just like they arranged it during exams. I tried once again to move — but I was stuck. I tried to look around, but my eyes didn’t seem to cooperate, or maybe I didn’t have eyes? Panic coursed through my body — or whatever was left of my body. What happened to me? Was I still alive? I probably am alive, given that I am thinking. But why can’t I move? Why am I here? Why? Why me? Will I be stuck here forever? Will I see my friends again? Did my friends even notice I was gone? Did my parents? Are my parents worried? Will I ever see them again? Maybe it’s better that I’m left here. They won’t have to live with their burning disappointment. Maybe they’ll have another kid who checks all the boxes for them and lives up to their expectations. Maybe the world was better off

site the stage, hovering several meters above the bleachers. I’d never seen anybody in it, but I always assumed it was just for some tech stuff — controlling the lights, displays, nothing of interest. The tapping didn’t stop, and the beat seemed to rise and fall like the blearing of a siren or the wail of a sorrowful mother. I flipped again and again through the entire test booklet, but no matter how much I tried to work on the exam, my mind could only focus on the mysterious tapping. I knew I had completely failed the PSAT. But it didn’t bother me like it should have. My mind was focused on other things, on one other thing, rather — the cubicle. What was making that noise? What was up there? Why couldn’t I focus on that test? I made the mistake of telling my parents about the exam. “ Why don’t you study a bit more, huh? Instead of staring at your stupid phone and playing your stupid video games! Why are you such a failure!” they yelled. I had never been the star student my parents always wanted me to be. I was always the little-worse-than-average student, always coming short of their expectations. In the beginning, I felt sorry for disappointing them, but that sorry feeling sometimes turned into resentment. Why do they expect so much from me? Why can’t they just treat me like a normal kid? Why are

without me. The sound of the MPR doors opening jerked me back to reality. Unfamiliar faces filed into the room, placing their pencils and calculators on their tables. Who were these kids? A grown man’s voice boomed through the room, “It is Tuesday morning, and you are taking the PSAT.” The PSAT? Had it been a full year already? I couldn’t recognize any of these students! How many years has it been? I felt alone and weak, overwhelmed by everything I had seen. I missed my parents — their warm embrace, my mom’s comforting whenever I cried, my dad’s homecooked meals, and the dinner table chatter. They would do everything for me — make me food, do my laundry, drive me to school — without asking for anything in return. How could I have ever hated them? They were always there for me at my lowest lows, but now I had no one. I wish I could have told them one last “ Thank you,” one last “I love you.” But I couldn’t. “PICK ONE,” a raspy voice coming from behind me growled. Startled, I tried to flinch away from the voice, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t turn to face the voice nor could I run away from it. “Pick one what?” I wanted

they always putting pressure on me to do things I can’t? And in those moments, I hated them. As I lay in my bed, an idea struck me. If I could find out who or what was in that cubicle that day making that tapping noise, I could prove to my parents that it was not my fault. I could prove to them that I’m not a complete failure and that perhaps some things are just out of my control. Then maybe they would stop yelling and love me again. I fell asleep that night planning how I would get into the cubicle. On the day of Halloween, the time came. The teachers and students were out in the quad and on the blacktop playing various Halloween games in their loud costumes. I secretly slipped into the empty MPR. I circled around through the back doors and sprinted

up the stairs to the cubicle. Adrenaline pumping, I finally reached the door and pushed it open. The cubicle was dark and gave off the musty smell of old carpet. The only light coming into the room was from the three large windows providing a full view of the MPR. I stood in awe for a moment staring down at the large space. I wouldn’t have called the view beautiful, but seeing the MPR from such a different perspective made the place seem so small, so manageable, so aesthetic. I could see how someone could stay up here for an eternity staring down at all the busy events that happened below. For a moment, I forgot the reason why I had come up here — a shadow moved in the corner of my eye, and as I swiveled around I was met by a blinding pain, then darkness.

to ask, but no sound came out. “PICK ONE,” the voice repeated. I stared out the windows. What am I picking? A window? A table? A test booklet? A student. My vision centered on a student with dark wavy hair, dark eyes, and dark pink skin. Their eyes were bright, and they sat confidently awaiting their test. I didn’t know how, I didn’t know why, but I knew the moment I looked at that student, they were the chosen one. As the exam began, the student’s feet began tapping nervously against the floor as they furrowed their brow. Their eyes raced along the page as they desperately flipped through the entire exam packet. They restlessly shifted around in their seat, trying to find a more comfortable position. Suddenly, it hit me. I was just like that student during my PSAT. My feet had twitched around. I had rapidly flipped through the entire test. I had just chosen the next victim. I had to tell them. I couldn’t let them share my fate — frozen in space and drowning in regret. I tried to

scream and shout as loud as I could — no sound came out. I tried to punch and kick the windows — but they stood unscratched. I was helpless. The student I had chosen was helpless. I began crying. Not a tearful cry as I was sure I no longer had physical eyes, but a crying of the conscious mind, a weeping of the soul. Dink, thonk! Dink, thonk! A sound all too familiar. For a second, I stopped weeping, and the tapping stopped too. Dink, thonk! — that was the sound of my voiceless cry. The chosen one looked up at me and stared. The more it made sense, the more it hurt. The more it hurt, the more I mourned. And the more I mourned, the more intense the DINK, THONK became. I hope I’m getting to you, chosen one. I don’t know your name, but please, no matter what you do, no matter what the circumstance, don’t let the cycle continue. Don’t come to the cubicle above the MPR.

O C T O B E R 2 7, 2 0 2 3

K-POP SURVIVAL SHOW: AMERICA2KOREA REVIEW By Emma Ma

As the K-pop industry continues to expand, entertainment companies are stretching their limits for what they can achieve. JYP Entertainment recently began a survival show named A2K, or America2Korea, with the end goal of forming an American-based global K-pop group. J.Y. Park, the founder and former head of JYP Entertainment, is looking to “find American talents to create a girl group through the K-pop system.” He’s merging American culture with Korean culture to create a national sensation that will appeal to everyone world-wide. The show started with regional auditions held in 5 different cities: Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, Dallas, and Los Angeles. A selected group of 11 girls were chosen to be contestants and were invited to the L.A. Boot Camp—the first step of their journey. There, they were evaluated on 4 criteria: singing, dancing, star quality, and character. Through these evaluations, the contestants who were deemed ready to begin the process of training at JYP were sent to Korea. Now receiving professional training from the staff at JYP, the girls will continue to develop their skills until a final group is decided. I found this new survival show very entertaining and enjoyable to watch due to multiple factors, including the content it holds, its unique premise,

EUROPE’S BED BUG PANIC

By Vera Lin

On October 3, 2023 Paris Fashion Week, filled with stunning presentations and showcases by designer labels such as Miu Miu, Chanel, and Saint Laurent among several others, came to an end. Many could say the week ended with style — that is, with the addition of “punaises de lit,” otherwise known as bed bugs. Bed bugs, insects that feed on the blood of other animals, were reportedly found everywhere in the city, from the metro to well-maintained cinemas. Given that bed bugs are attracted to carbon dioxide, warmth, and human scent, it was no surprise when reports of increased sightings of the pests took place in crowded public areas. What’s more worrisome to people is the prospect that the resurgence of bed bugs could travel overseas. Paris is the world’s most-visited city with over 44 million tourists a year, and with good reason; aside from its many art galleries and historical landmarks, Paris inspires such niche fashion styles and designs that hundreds of tourists are willing to travel overseas for it. As influencers and fashion enthusiasts returned to their homes from the festive week, the widespread paranoia of bed bugs penetrated global social media. “I think a lot of it is probably getting hyped up,” said Richard Cooper, a pest control expert at R. Cooper Consulting and a research associate in the Urban Entomology Lab at Rutgers University.

and the girls themselves. The content of a show is the base on which special characteristics that make it unique can then be added—if the show has boring content, it’ll be a boring show. A2K has an incredibly strong base of content as I never felt uninterested while watching it, and I was always on the edge of my seat. The intense evaluations, the struggles, the performances—I loved it all. It was incredibly exciting to watch the girls receive difficult assignments and see how they tackled it, whether it be long hours of training or working together in groups. Being a huge K-pop fan myself, I loved seeing them perform songs from some of my favorite groups and watching them put their own twist on it. A2K is like no other survival show that I’ve ever watched, and it brings a fresh “ This is just getting attention again. And I promise these bed bugs have been there for a while.” Bed bugs have taken over social media channels, particularly TikTok. People have and currently are posting and sharing ridiculous amounts of content centered around bed bugs, such as roleplays from a bedbug’s point of view, videos of bedbugs on public transportation in London, and mini-podcasts sharing how they think the insects will infest the United States. Fortunately, exterminators who are legitimately knowledgeable about the bedbug infestation situation agreed that the media has exaggerated the crisis yet again. Professor and urban pest specialist Dini Miller claims, “It has the media excited, but in all honesty, these populations don’t develop just overnight.” Bed bugs have existed for millennia, and they’ve never entirely disappeared. In fact, New York City experienced a similar mass infestation of bedbugs in 2010, leaving a path of sleep deprivation and panic. “I think there are too many people are aware of bed bugs now,” Cooper adds. Cities were able to fend off the crisis under less awareness in the past, suggesting that chances of Paris sparking an outbreak now are slim. Still, the pest resurgence has raised questions, many regarding Paris’s plan to host next year’s Olympic Games. Europe’s bed bug crisis notably reflects how social media skews information. The situation may not be as inescapable as we think — as long as we ignore the hype and carry out hygienic practices, bed bugs will likely have a harder time hitching a ride in the future.

concept to the table. The first element that stood out to me was the cultural aspect. It piqued my interest that many of the contestants come from different backgrounds such as Lexus (17), who is ethnically Hmong, and Kendall (17), who is half Vietnamese and half American. This brings a level of diversity to A2K that other shows of its kind don’t have. It also raises a few questions—will they be a “true” K-pop group or just a group of girls singing in Korean? Are those the same? What even makes K-pop K-pop? Through watching the show, you may find the answers to some of these questions. J.Y. Park is truly opening a door for future possibilities—the start of A2K begins a new era of K-pop. Another element of A2K that differentiates it from similar shows is that the number of girls who made the fi-

NORTH KOREAN… TOURISM?

By Shubh Bachkethi

We all know South Korea is famous for its K-Pop stars and K-Drama series. But what about its neighbor North Korea, also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)? Unfortunately, North Korea is entirely different from South Korea. Ever since the Korean War ended in 1953, North Korea and South Korea have both claimed that they are the legitimate government of the Korean peninsula. They have maintained strained relations, only allowing limited interactions between citizens of the two Koreas. However, North Korea’s disputes are not just limited to South Korea; they often clash with western countries like the United States . As a result, tourists tend to not choose North Korea as a vacation destination due to their own countries warning them to stay away from this isolated land. In the United States, there is a travel ban preventing US citizens from going to North Korea. In December 2016, a young US citizen named Otto Warmbier went to North Korea as part of a tour group and was taken into North Korean custody for supposedly trying to steal a propaganda poster. He was later released by the government and was taken back to the US in a coma. Tragically, he passed away due to the effects of brutal interrogation and torture. In September 2017, the Secretary of State at the time, Rex Tillerson,

nal group was not determined from the start. Every contestant could debut or become a member if they were talented and skilled enough. This surprised me because of how competitive survival shows tend to be. Usually, we see contestants acting very tense around each other, sometimes even fighting or arguing. This strained environment is nowhere seen in A2K, and all the girls are solely focusing on improving and enhancing their talents. They can help one another to achieve the same goal— debuting. Lastly, the girls are also another reason why I love this show so much. Ranging from ages of 13-18, I adore each of their personalities and seeing their growth throughout this journey. Some of them are around my age, so I find them really funny and relatable. When they first arrived at JYP in Korea, they were all freaking out which was just so similar to how I’d react in the same situation. After all, they were common people before and now they could possibly be world-famous idols—it’s quite a drastic change. I enjoyed watching them improve through evaluations and criticism to become a better version of themselves, and not only in skills, but also mindset. Overcoming the obstacles in their way was an essential factor for their pathway to success, and I was rooting for them the whole time. In conclusion, A2K is a great show and I thoroughly enjoyed every part of it. It combines compelling content with components that make it unique, such as a diverse cast and engrossing structure full of twists and turns. I’d recommend it to anyone as it was nothing less than an emotional rollercoaster. invalidated all US passports for travel to and from North Korea, except for those with a special passport validation issued by the US Department of State. This travel ban has been extended twice and is ending in August 2024. If one checks the site where the US Department of State issues its travel advisory warnings, it shows a Level 4 Do Not Travel warning for North Korea. The US also advises those who get the special validation to prepare a will, given the potential risks associated with visiting North Korea. Although many heed this warning, some do not. There have been at least 17 individuals , potentially hundreds more, abducted from Japan by North Korean agents. One of these victims, Hitomi Soga, later became the wife of Charles Robert Jenkins, a US soldier who defected to North Korea. There have also been several cases of people defecting to North Korea, including a recent case this July. Travis King, a US soldier, defected to North Korea due to his anger at the racism in the US military. A few days ago, North Korea expelled him and returned him to US custody without any known injuries. In 2014, Matthew Miller intentionally ripped up his tourist visa to get arrested and experience prison life in North Korea. He later reported, after his release, that he was subjected to isolation and worked in the fields for eight hours during his detainment period. We can infer from the experiences of these individuals that it is important to be cautious when traveling anywhere, not only North Korea. As I say, have fun, but stay safe as well!

VOL . 3, NO. 2

PERSPICACIOUS PAPARAZZI LIL TAY: HER CONSPICUOUS COMEBACK

By Katherine He

Lil Tay, a 15-year-old internet celebrity who first gained fame in 2017 at the young age of nine, captured viewers’ attention due to her nonstop wealth “flexing”. She was well aware of all the attention she was receiving and liked to call herself the “youngest flexer of the century.” She often engaged with other popular creators of that time, such as Bhad Bhabie and RiceGum, expanding her audience to several communites. Although she seemed like a typical stuck-up child, there were certain sketchy aspects surrounding her and her rise to fame. . In 2018, a video of Lil Tay being “coached” by her brother, Jason Tian, to be “more ignorant” surfaced and immediately became viral due to her popularity at the time. This video marks one of the first instances of her family situation becoming a significant topic in her career. Two months ago, 6 years after Lil Tay’s initial rise to fame, an Instagram post made on her own account announcing the deaths of herself and her brother brought the young star back into the headlines. The public’s response to this stunt was enormous,and people instantly went online to share their opinions. Of course, a lot of people had a feeling this was done for attention, but others were unsure due to the severity of the suppositions. A few days later, Lil Tay allegedly made a statement, stating, “I want to make it clear that my brother and I are

LOVE IS BLIND: SEASON 5 REVIEW By Ailsa Wu

Is love truly blind? The popular reality Netflix show Love is Blind sets out to answer that question once again in its newly aired fifth installment! The new season, taking place in Houston, Texas, is 10 episodes long (excluding the reunion and After the Altar episodes, which will be released later) and continues with the aim of casting aside the common practice of dating based on superficial aspects, such as appearance, and instead seeks to determine if contestants can establish relationships rooted in deeper emotional connections. The premise of the show involves (literally) blind dating in separated “pods,” where couples must find their match and get engaged without ever seeing any of the people they’re dating. Later, they must decide at the altar whether or not to marry their fiancé. Since the announcement of the new season, fans have eagerly anticipated the unfolding events and whether the new cast will once again demonstrate that love is truly blind. The following review will contain spoilers for the events of Love Is Blind season 5! The first four episodes of the season depicted the preliminary round of the experiment in the pods. Dating without being able to physically see your partner and relying solely on their voice can be an awkward experience at first, which, coupled with the limited episode time and the show’s taste for dramatic

safe and alive, but I’m completely heartbroken and struggling to even find the right words to say.” This whole situation gave the public more insight into her personal life, as it is common knowledge that her Instagram account is owned by her parents, making what happened seem like exploitation of Lil Tay and her brother for fame. On September 30th of this past month, Lil Tay went on Instagram Live to pave a new path in her career. Initially remaining silent, she evoked awe from everyone watching by showcasing her remarkable skills in playing different musical instruments… Her musical transformation was not the only surprise; she now looked like an ordinary teenager. After her talent show, she started exposing her father, Christopher Hope, as an abuser, displaying printed documents as evidence on camera. Needless to say, everyone watching was absolutely floored by the onslaught of information Lil Tay was sharing. Although her Instagram Live did not last long, her message did and continues to, as she also released a song and music video titled “Sucker for Greens” right after, which quickly became #1 Trending on YouTube. Everything about Lil Tay has changed, except her online personality. She continues to flex on other creators on platforms such as X/Twitter. Overall, she has greatly changed her image in the past few months, going from a spoiled kid to an unfortunate spoiled kid who was exploited by her father. However, this is just the start of Lil Tay’s career revival, and I’m sure that she will only continue to grow as a music artist over the next few years.

scenes, is probably why these episodes mostly skipped over the participants’ “getting to know each other” phase and dove straight into trauma dumping right from episode one. These scenes showed audiences the importance of vulnerability in a relationship but also revealed the pitfalls of being too vulnerable with someone you’re not fully committed to yet. The contestants were very open with each other from the beginning, resulting in complex relationships and the inevitable formation of complex love triangles and quadrangles. Ultimately, these complications resulted in multiple breakups that caused many participants and viewers to feel blindsided. At the end of episode 3, the show uncovered a huge and unprecedented plot twist in Love is Blind history: two of the participants, Uche and Lydia, actually knew each other and had dated prior to the experiment. This revelation, disclosed by Uche to his partner Aaliyah, who had become close friends with Lydia in the women’s living quarters, quickly escalated tensions within the trio and with Lydia’s partner, Milton. In an unexpected turn of events, Aaliyah left the experiment with no explanation right when Uche was about to propose in episode 3. The two officially end their relationship in episode 7, and the entire situation raised questions about the casting for this season. Only 3 pairs—Taylor and JP, Stacy and Izzy, and Lydia and Milton, were able to get engaged — an all-time low in Love is Blind history. Following their engagement, the couples embarked on a show-sponsored getaway to Cancun. However, we soon find out that love isn’t actually blind for one

TRAVIS SCOTT’S UTOPIA TOUR: TICKETS & ASTROWORLD IMPACT By Josh Peter

One may say Jacques Bermon Webster II, known more commonly as Travis Scott, is one of the most popular and successful rappers in the world. With four number one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, a total of 80 charted songs, a Billboard Music Award, Latin Grammy Award, and more, his success is undeniable. His most recent album, UTOPIA, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. So, why are tickets for his upcoming tour so cheap? This is likely due to a couple of reasons. Firstly, this tour marks Scott’s return following the notorious Astroworld tragedy in which ten people died and hundreds were injured. During the opening night of Travis Scott’s 2021 Astroworld Festival on November 5, 2021, a tragic incident unfolded — a fatal crowd crush at NRG Park in Houston, Texas. The festival had been contending with crowd control problems since the day preceding Scott’s concert, and unfortunately, a fatal stampede occurred during his performance. That fateful night claimed the lives of eight individuals, with two more passing away in the hospital in the subsequent days. Moreover, twenty-five people needed hospitalization, and the festival’s field hospital tended to over 300 individuals with injuries. Unfortunately, the surging and excited crowd made it difficult for emergency vehicles and ambulances to make

their way through, preventing access to individuals who could have potentially been saved. Many people are thus worried about a similar fate in future shows, and their skepticism leads to fewer tickets being sold, reducing demand for the tickets. Secondly, scalpers and resellers speedily purchased tickets, miscalculating the demand of the tickets. In recent years especially, individuals and larger groups and companies buy tickets purely with the intent of reselling them to turn a profit (a practice known as scalping). Many speculators who scalped tickets on this tour, however, did not expect the steep decline in demand due to the Astroworld tragedy. Thus, they face major losses, even in the millions, as shown by PFC, a reselling group that is confronted with a likely loss of over $1 million. As of writing this article, some seats currently go for as little as $5! However, a large portion of the population sees this loss as rightful retribution for scalpers, hoping that this will lead to less profit-incentivized reselling of tickets, making it easier for more fans to attend their favorite artists’ concerts. In light of the tragedy at Astroworld and unexpected market dynamics, Travis Scott’s upcoming tour tickets now offer an opportunity for fans to experience his music at an unexpectedly affordable price.

couple: Taylor and JP. They break up after a conversation about the awkwardness of their physical relationship, which revealed JP’s unsavory views on makeup and infuriating lack of self-awareness. Viewers believe that Taylor dodged a bullet by breaking up with JP the next day, leaving the show with only two couples heading back to Houston for the next phase of the experiment, where relationships are put to the test: seeing if they can survive real world issues. In addition to the fact that this segment was incredibly formulaic — fiancés met each other’s families, visited each other’s apartments, and argued over silverware and credit scores — there were only two engaged couples to follow, as compared to the 4-5 seen on previous seasons. To compensate for the lack of interesting content, the show tried to stir the pot by arranging a reunion party with everyone on the show, where contestants were insistent on airing out unnecessary dirty laundry. Many “chats” led to full-on arguments, and the contestants all seemed to agree that the best way to get their point across was to talk over each other until not a single coherent sentence could be heard. Some of the arguments were clear instances of the contestants digging up past irrelevant issues for screen time; others led to embarrassing public meltdowns. The entire reunion was the epitome of reality TV dramatization and added another layer of uncertainty for the future of the engaged couples. In the final phase of the show, the two couples prepared for their weddings. More personal conflicts between the couples occurred on the eve of their weddings, with a noteworthy first for the show: only one couple, Lydia and

Milton, got married at the altar, the lowest by far of all five seasons. While the show is titled Love is Blind, it tests way more than just the blindness of love. Season 5 has shown that while it is entirely possible to fall in love based on an emotional connection, it is incredibly difficult for the connection that is made in such a controlled environment to last in the real world, shown by the abysmally low successful marriage count at the end of the season. The show made a lot of choices in its production this season that I felt were supposed to increase viewer engagement, such as the questionable casting and the organization of the disastrous reunion, but overall did not contribute to the show’s purpose of testing whether or not love is truly blind. However, as always, the drama is really what made the season interesting to watch!

O C T O B E R 2 7, 2 0 2 3

CRICKET WORLD CUP

HOW DO I MANAGE MY MONEY?

By Sachit Parekh

This year, India is hosting the 13th installment of the Men’s Cricket World Cup, an international event hosted every four years where cricket teams from across the globe compete for the coveted championship. This event is the pinnacle of One Day International (ODI) 50-over cricket and is organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Through the ICC Super League and the qualifier league, ten teams qualified to play at this stage. The teams participating in the Cup are, in no particular order, India, Afghanistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands. The event is organized into two consecutive stages. First, all teams will play against each other in a round-robin format in 45 total games. Teams are ranked based on their win count and net run rates. After that, the top four teams will advance to the semifinals, and the winners of each semifinal match will advance to the finals. Matches will be played at ten different venues scattered across India. These include the world’s largest cricket stadium, Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, with a seating capacity of over 130,000. This stadium hosted the long-awaited India-Pakistan match and will also host the World Cup Final. The list of stadiums also includes the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium, which is situated in the beautiful Himalayan foothills in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. The very first match of the World Cup on October 5 saw two major forces in the world of cricket compete, England and New Zealand. Coincidentally, these were the two teams that faced each other in the 2019 World Cup Final. In that match, England narrowly beat New Zealand during the Super Over, cricket’s form of a tiebreaker. Four years later in 2023, New Zealand celebrated a decisive victory over the defending champions. England scored 282 runs for 9 wickets (outs) during their innings of 50 overs (6 pitches is one over), while the Kiwis scored 283 runs required to win in only 36.2 overs (36 overs of 6 pitches, plus two pitches in the 37th over). New Zealand’s Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra scored an impressive 273 runs together, with both batsmen achieving a century (100 runs individually). On October 14, India and Pakistan faced off in the most anticipated match of the entire World Cup. The rivalry between these two countries transcends beyond cricket—the countries have been pitted against each other ever since they both gained independence from the British Em-

CHATGPT NOW CAN SEE, HEAR, DRAW, AND SPEAK? By Tycho Young

As the power of AI grows, the line between what’s human and what’s AI is blurring. With the release of GPT-4 and its integrations, as well as advances in deep fake technology, AI has become unequivocally powerful. With a wide breadth of knowledge and immense speed, AI is now far superior to humans in many ways. Improvements are continuously being made to AI’s capabilities, pushing the boundaries of what we consider true intelligence. Recently, OpenAI has released two new major integrations with ChatGPT, enhancing its abilities and pushing the boundaries of AI as a service in our everyday lives. While we all know ChatGPT is capable, it can also be verbose and struggle with understanding complex problems, but this problem may be solved with recent updates.

A. GPT-4

GPT-4 is OpenAI’s most advanced model, boasting deep understanding and enhanced problem-solving. Compared to GPT-3.5, GPT-4 performs 40% better on academic benchmarks, comparable to that of a human. For example, GPT-4 receives a 4 out of 5 on the AP Calculus BC Exam, whereas GPT-3.5 receives a 1. GPT-4 also has a myriad of integrations, which allows it to write code and execute it, which OpenAI calls “Advanced Data Analysis”. The improved system can also

By Pranesh Saran

In a world filled with inflation, tempting impulse purchases, and increasingly complex many economic incentives that become increasingly hard to navigate, personal finance skills have become essential. But do we know how to develop them well, if at all?

DON’T STUDENTS ALREADY KNOW IT?

pire. As a result of this rivalry, both teams faced incredible pressure and were compelled to perform their best. During the match, in a shocking turn of events, Pakistan’s team severely blundered, suffering ten wickets for only 191 runs in 42.5 overs. This shocking turn of events allowed India to easily snag the victory. One of the biggest upsets in World Cup history came the day after the India-Pakistan match, when England played against Afghanistan. Although both teams suffered ten wickets, England could not overcome the powerful bowling (pitching) and fielding of the Afghan team and scored only 215 runs compared to Afghanistan’s 284 runs. This match was England’s very first loss against Afghanistan, and critics questioned whether the English team is really as good as it was in 2019. As of October 16, India leads the standings, with 3 victories and a net run rate of approximately 1.8. Behind India is New Zealand, also having 3 victories. In third is South Africa with two victories and a net run rate of about 2.4, and in fourth is Pakistan with 2 wins and 1 loss. The defending champions are England, who defeated New Zealand at the 2019 World Cup held in England and Wales. This year, India is strongly favored to win this World Cup, especially since they are on home soil and have great batters such as captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and skilled bowlers such as Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah. However, India will not win the title so easily. The incredibly powerful New Zealand, South African, and Pakistan teams will always keep India on their heels as they trail India in the standings. Many students and faculty around BASIS are closely tracking the events of this year’s World Cup, rooting for their respective teams, with India being the most popular. In all, The 2023 Cricket World Cup will see millions of people across the globe tune in to root for their teams or simply enjoy the great sport that we call cricket. use Bing search to retrieve information from the web, essentially eliminating previous problems with repetitive computation, visualization, and knowledge cutoff. GPT-4 is now available through OpenAI’s API or ChatGPT Plus for $20/ mo.

B. CHATGPT VISION

One of the fundamental differences between GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 is the fact that GPT-4 is a multimodal model. This capability allows GPT-4 to accept different types of input, and in this instance, visuals. ChatGPT will now be able to accept any image as input, allowing it to decipher handwriting, read diagrams, and so much more. Not only is GPT-4V (GPT-4 Vision) capable of describing images, but it is also able to reason and think about them practically. While not as adept as humans in real-world scenarios, Vision provides a major boost to ChatGPT’s capabilities. Why does this matter? ChatGPT can now analyze things that may be hard to describe with text. This capability has massive implications for the everyday use of ChatGPT, allowing users to simply take a picture of a handdrawn diagram and ask ChatGPT for help. Vision will roll out to ChatGPT Plus users in early October.

C. CHATGPT CONVERSTATION

Another feature coming to ChatGPT is conversation. ChatGPT can hear and understand speech, while also responding with intonation and expression. This feature allows users to engage in back-andforth conversations with their assistants. For instance, the chatbot can read a bed-

Well, not exactly. In a 2019 report conducted by EVERFI, just over half of university students in the United States felt prepared to manage their personal finances, while everyone else felt unprepared to enter the corporate world. According to Phil Schulman, an executive director at Indiana University, while most high school students gain financial experience through working at a parttime jobs, their exposure is limited to basic aspects like ; even then, they are only introduced to managing, saving, and investing money. According to a 2015 poll organized by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA-CIMA), college students actually overestimate their money skills in some respects. 57% of 751 college students believed their personal finance skills were “good” or “excellent,” but only 39% stuck to a monthly budget and saved a portion of their income to put towards their tuition. This doesn’t mean they don’t want to learn about finances, however. 99% of college students in the same poll claimed that developing personal finance skills was extremely important to them, and 84% want to make better money choices. However, only 23% actively educated themselves on and adopted better financial principles.

WELL THEN, WHAT DO THEY NEED TO KNOW?

For starters, young adults don’t usually have much money left over to work with. According to the Education Data Initiative, the cost of college tuition has doubled in the past two decades, with students paying, on average, $36,436 annually (this includes living expenses, and costs other than tuition, such as textbooks). Factoring in student loans, many young adults face an extreme financial burden long after they graduate. time story or help users practice their foreign language skills. OpenAI states in a blog post: “ The new voice capability is powered by a new text-to-speech model, capable of generating human-like audio from just text and a few seconds of sample speech.” Why does this matter? OpenAI is finding new ways for users to use ChatGPT in their everyday lives, making it increasingly easy for users to simply pull out their phone and talk with ChatGPT as if it were an assistant standing right next to them. As ChatGPT becomes more thoughtful, competent, and conversational, some may find themselves befriending the chatbot, using it as a therapist without the labor of typing every word.

D. DALL•E 3

DALL·E, OpenAI’s image generation model, wowed the world as one of the first significant advancements in AI when DALL·E 2 was released. Despite this publicity, DALL·E 2 had poor attention to detail, mutilated fingers, created unidentifiable objects, and was incompetent when rendering text. The new and improved DALLE·3 is able to generate highly stylized images in a matter of seconds. OpenAI states in a blog post about DALL·E 3: “Modern text-to-image systems have a tendency to ignore words or descriptions, forcing users to learn prompt engineering. DALL·E 3 represents a leap forward in our ability to generate images that exactly adhere to the text you provide.” Furthermore, OpenAI has integrated DALL•E 3 with ChatGPT, allowing ChatGPT to process users’ prompts and create multiple variations with more nuance. Despite these

One way to help mitigate this issue is by establishing a budget to prevent overspending and accumulating further debt. to establish a budget, so you never spend more than you have and risk going into further debt. Leftover money should be split into thirds: one for luxury or entertainment expenditures, the second to pay off debts, and the third invested or saved, according to Andrea Janssen, interim director of the University of Montana’s Financial Education Program. If you want to use a credit card, you should be absolutely certain that you have or will have money left over to pay back your balance at the end of the month. As you continually accrue and pay back credit, you can build a positive credit score that will give you a financial edge and improve your prospects for job opportunities or home purchases. make you a better candidate for getting a job or purchasing a house. One oOther ways to tamp down on spending and help keep yourself in check isare to track your spending habits. This ensures that you know where exactly where your money is going, and don’t blindly spend more than you need to. You should also be aware of the terms of the student loan you’re taking out, and review its obligations to make sure they’re not predatory or troublesome for you. In addition, students can qualify for federal aid to help offset their tuition; one way to do so is by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), or FAFSA.

WHAT’S THE CURRENT PROBLEM?

We’ve seen the advantages personal finance education offers students, but is it actually being provided to them? According to a 2022 report by NextGen Personal Finance, only eight states have required that all students attending public high schools take at least one personal finance course before they graduate. The other forty-two have yet to pass such a requirement or implement the necessary procedures. According to Laura Levine, president and CEO of the Jumpstart Coalition, there are many issues with requiring personal finance education, such as financing and finding time to give such instruction. Nevertheless, as the benefits clearly outweigh the drawbacks, it is vital that students learn and apply this knowledge early on to prepare them for their future life. For now, state legislatures are making progress on legislation to require personal finance courses, and you can do your part by contacting your local representative to encourage them to support these measures. improvements, ChatGPT still often misinterprets the prompt and creates bias, leading to morphed images of what the user had in mind.

IMPLICATIONS ON HUMANS

ChatGPT is becoming more prevalent in our everyday lives. While it may have been used initially to draft ideas or write emails, recent improvements have made ChatGPT a truly impressive and revolutionary tool. GPT-4 brings advanced reasoning capabilities, Bing adds the knowledge of the vast internet, DALL·E 3 gives the ability to draw with stunning quality, and vision and conversation allow ChatGPT to see and talk as if it were human. As ChatGPT gains these abilities, one may question what defines human intelligence. With 54% of Americans having a literacy level below 6th grade, ChatGPT is already more literate than a large portion of the American population. AI is faster, cheaper, and will continue to improve itself. Does this mean humans will be replaced? Most likely not. Despite the technical prowess of ChatGPT, it is only as good as the instructions provided. ChatGPT is simply a tool to improve the efficiency of humans, and the real value of human workers is their independent problem-solving ability. So while workers might not be replaced by ChatGPT itself, they will be replaced by someone who effectively uses ChatGPT to do both of their jobs in half the time. Those who don’t have critical thinking skills and initiative will be replaced by those who do. Taking initiative, learning how to use ChatGPT, solving problems, and going the extra mile will always get you ahead, regardless of how smart AI becomes.

VOL . 3, NO. 2

HOW THE NEWARK AREA 4 BAYLANDS ARE ESSENTIAL IN THE FIGHT FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

THE PERFECT FALL DESTINATION: ARDENWOOD By Ayush Swarnakar FARMS In some certain popular video games salinity levels in the water throughout

that many would play within the comfort of their home, one would be able to fight for their lives. If one is in a team, they would also fight for their teammates’ lives. However, when it comes to fighting for our lives and the lives of our fellow organisms in the real world, especially major ones like climate change, people from areas that are not well-known to the outside world believe that these issues occur in exotic places that they would need extensive planning to travel to, such as Africa and Antarctica. However, if you are a resident of Fremont, CA, and think that climate change issues arise far from home, you are quite mistaken. Newark’s Area 4 Baylands, only several kilometers from Fremont, have a real possibility of being the key to solving the problem of climate change across the United States of America. The Newark Area 4 Baylands are just south of the Dumbarton Bridge, which is a famous place to view the blue moon in Alameda County. I am sure that many of you remember being here approximately one month ago to see the blue moon this year. Another well-known place adjacent to these wetlands is the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. This is a place that is popular by many to take hikes, watch birds, and view the bay. The Newark Baylands are also adjacent to Coyote Hills State Park, a popular spot to hike, birdwatch, and for boy and girl scouts to come to for certain activities. The Area 4 Wetlands have a unique mix of saltwater marsh, brackish, freshwater marsh, perennial aquatic habitat, and uplands. This diversity in habitat supports a diversity of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. In fact, the diversity of

these wetlands make them reminiscent of estuaries in terms of environmental significance. According to an article from Bay Nature, salt marsh wetlands remove plentiful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - more than forests, in fact. The Area 4 Baylands are a salt marsh wetland that is still alive and working to take in carbon from the atmosphere. They also help to maintain water quality in San Francisco Bay by taking in excess salts and nutrients that would otherwise disrupt the balance of the components in the water, making it inhabitable for many species. Also, when sea levels rise due to global warming, the excess water has an inlet to flow into, saving the mainland from floods. Not to mention, wetlands are also popular places for recreational activities and enjoying views. Aside from the benefits for people, this ecosystem also has many other species that do not just come here for certain activities, but depend on the habitat it provides. Migratory birds often spend winters on the marshes in this area. Also, harbor seals inhabit this area and breed here during the springtime. The San Francisco Bay area has a high population of people, but the amount of essential habitats with specific features, such as the Newark Baylands, are decreasing. Therefore, it is essential to preserve this habitat and other habitats that are among the surviving of their kind. Research across these specific habitats is ongoing. This article relies on recent information and knowledge about the San Francisco Bay Area. Changes are occurring by the day across the Newark Area 4 Baylands, a key to solving climate change across the United States of America.

HUMANS OF BASIS: LIVE TO LAUGH By Shirley Fan

Parents all shared positive reviews expressing appreciation for the passion for physics and learning he sparked in many of his students. “My child told me how much he enjoyed this class and was so sad when it ended,” a parent reflects. “He even started doing problems on his own and did not miss a single lesson. I was so surprised!” His passion for physics is also well evident in the classroom. He always approaches problems in the classroom with interest and dedication, never leaving until he figures it out. He is currently a TA for AP Physics 1 and hopes to impart his knowledge on younger grades. “Louis would always stay behind to work on challenging problems,” reflects Esha, his AP Physics classmate and longtime lab partner. “He was always deeply engaged and very serious, which was the opposite of his normally smiley self.” Apart from teaching and learning in the classroom, he was a front-end developer for Web Security Development, a program which detects errors and debugs code of websites. He was mainly in charge of the user interface, designing the website to make it easy to use and easy on the eyes. “ Working in a more applied manner has only made me more sure that I want to pursue computer science,” he explains. “ This website will make debugging other websites much easier and I am proud of its utility. From here, I would like to dive more into AI and machine learning and am planning on using my senior project as an opportunity to learn more.” He spent his junior year summer applying his newfound skills in machine learning by designing and programming an autonomous ship at UC San Diego, focusing mainly on the data science portion of the project. The ship collected large amounts of data on water quality from a lake in San Diego, which will be used to improve methods in ocean water quality control. “I got to finally apply many topics we covered at school and have a hand at the mechanical side,” he explains. “ The amount of data I was able to collect and the impact that data will make on measuring and regulating water quality really made me think I could make a difference. I even learned how to build a

If you hear someone laughing in class, nine times out of ten, it is probably Louis. There is never a dull moment whilst talking to him — not only does he work to include everyone in a conversation, his cheerful demeanor and constant laugh is extremely contagious. This positive personality is what allowed him to connect with his many students and succeed at his position as a swim coach at Calphin. “At Calphin, I loved being able to have fun with the kids while coaching them,” explains Louis. “I learned a lot about independence and communication, and over the course of the summer, I became much more professional.” Swimming isn’t the only thing he teaches. He volunteered to teach a physics class for middle schoolers and spent hours developing and perfecting a curriculum, which, to the joy of both parents and students, imparted knowledge while still igniting interest.

By Pooja Kanthala

It’s that time of the year again. The time when the leaves change into warm colors and the weather becomes chillier. This period also signals the return of the Ardenwood Farms’s annual pumpkin patch and fall activities! The Ardenwood Farms, a quaint family farm located on Ardenwood Boulevard, is integral to Fremont history and culture and has a century-long legacy. The modern-day farm is a remnant of the once huge estate that George and Clara Patterrson’s

database which was really cool and having a working tangible product is also pretty cool.” Apart from working hard, Louis plays hard. To him, badminton has become more than a sport — it’s a way for him to form and strengthen connections with friends. He has been playing since he was in elementary school in China and has made great friends in both his fellow players and his coaches who push him to be better. “I play badminton twice a week and it feels great being able to play with my friends” he says, “I made a lot of great connections, especially with my coach, who now feels more than just a coach, but rather a friend.” What drives his work hard, play hard attitude is the motto he lives by: “Don’t stress and enjoy every moment.” It is this mentality that draws Louis to challenge himself to try new experiences out of his comfort zone. Even though he is scared of heights, he is eager to ride violent rollercoasters and ski down black diamond trails. To continue pushing his boundaries, he hopes to skydive as soon as he turns eighteen. “I really enjoy trying new things,”

family had farmed on for 100 years. The Ardenwood Farms is open to the general public, offering an experience suitable for all ages. Operating from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Tuesday through Sunday throughout the year (excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas Day), the Ardenwood Farms is the perfect place to relax and enjoy the nature and culture here in Fremont, California. The Ardenwood Farms offer many features and attractions that can be enjoyed by everyone. Among the highlights are the Arden Station and Deer Park Station, where a journey on the time-traveling train takes you back in time to the late 1800s and early 1900s; the scenic route encompasses the beautiful Victorian Garden, the original house the Pattersons lived in, the charming Farmyard Cafe serving delicious food and drinks, the Animal Farms and tours, and of course, the famous fall pumpkin patch! There are so many attractions that truly make the Ardenwood Farms an experience worth the money. As the fall season kicks into full gear, the Ardenwood Farms are ready. With their annual harvest festival, residents can enjoy seasonal activities which they can participate in such as cider pressing. Visitors can also immerse themselves in the late 19th century way of life. The Ardenwood Farms also have spooky nighttime rides through the haunted Ardenwood Forest, ensuring a truly eerie experience. Adding on to their Halloween and fall activities, the Ardenwood Farms also offer scarecrow-making activities for all ages and the opportunity to make corn husk dolls from corn. Along with the pumpkin patch and corn activities, visitors can indulge in warm pumpkin treats and navigate corn mazes. The Ardenwood Farms is the perfect local fall destination for all kinds of fun fall activities such as scarecrow-making, spooky nighttime train rides, and the classic pumpkin patch experience! Louis explains. “And being extremely scared of heights, I really want to sky dive to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone.” And it is with his friends and family that he chases these new experiences. Moving from China caused him to be separated from his father and extended family, leading him to value them even more. The happiest day in his life was going back to China and sitting at the table with his entire family after not seeing them for six years. “I really miss them,” he explains. “I always look forward to going back, eating, and celebrating with them. Family means a lot to me. Of course, receiving red packets is also great.” Last year, during Lunar New Year, he made customized red packets for all of his friends. Collectively his friends all agree that Louis is always there for them, willing to help or talk whenever needed. “Louis always brightens the mood and puts a smile on all of our faces,” said Ajay, one of Louis’s closest friends. “ He is always there to cheer us up when we need it and we all appreciate him for that.”

CORALINE: WHIMSICAL HORROR

By Aarna Kamath

As Halloween approaches, horror movies, such as Scream and It, and horror stop-motion productions, such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, make their annual comeback. But what allows these children’s animations to be categorized in the same genre as classic horror films? When Coraline was released in 2009, it was almost immediately a rousing success, despite initial doubts about whether such a unique movie could find a place in Hollywood. The film was nominated for a Best Animated Feature Oscar and was recently brought back to theaters for a two-day rerun, where it grossed nearly $5 million. The movie follows the journey of Coraline, a young and adventurous girl who has recently moved to a dreary new apartment called the Pink Palace, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Soon into the film, we discover that Coraline feels neglected by her parents and especially lonely in her new home, despite getting to know some of her eccentric neighbors, such as Wybie and Mr. Bobinsky. When exploring her house, she discovers a secret tunnel leading to a parallel world that mimics her own but is seemingly better in every way. This alternate world is brighter, more full of life, and her parallel family, the Other Mother and Other Father, gives her whatever she wants. They shower her with gifts and adoration and pay attention to her — something she feels her real parents never did. Although she is overjoyed at first, her elation is only temporary, as she soon discovers that her parallel family, especially her Other Mother, intends to trap her in the alternate world forever. From just the premise, many underestimate how unsettling and eerie Coraline is, likely because the “horror” aspect of the movie stems less from the story and more from the execution of the movie. Before the movie even begins, the tone of the movie is set from the introduction, depicting a doll being taken apart by a metal hand and transformed to look just like Coraline. While the central idea of the movie surrounds the button eyes that the doll has, rather than the doll itself, the idea of the doll only adds on to the unsettling elements the film adopts. The stop- motion animation style is also extremely significant in this movie, adding to its whimsical aspects. Perfectly merging realism and cartoonish styles, the characters themselves have the appearance of dolls, further reinforcing the common motif. The way the Other Mother and the Other World slowly progress from something so wonderful to something so terrifying is what arouses feelings of unease. Despite the button eyes, the Other Mother initially appears caring and nurturing rather than creepy. Her genuine “love” towards Coraline seems believable to even the audience watching the movie. Coraline isn’t the typical, naive main character often present in horror films.

O C T O B E R 2 7, 2 0 2 3 When she first finds the Other World, she experiences the same emotions as the audience. While she is entranced by the bright colors (contrasting with the dull palette used in the real world) and the welcoming, eager-to-please nature of her Other Parents, she is still wary and skeptical. Although small hints that something is wrong with this alternate reality are dropped throughout the beginning of the movie, both Coraline and the audience don’t want to believe them. The Coraline doll, the mice’s warning, the tea leaf prediction, and Wybie’s Grandmothers’ fear of the Pink Palace all slowly build up the uneasy feeling that something is amiss. However, when Coraline goes back to the Other World, seeing the mouse circus and the Other Father’s garden makes us and Coraline feel as though nothing could possibly be wrong. Throughout the movie, the actions of the Other Mother are very deliberate as she lures Coraline into her trap. She first showers Coraline with gifts and food, then slowly presents the idea of Coraline sewing buttons into her eyes as if it were a mere suggestion, all to ensure Coraline stays with them forever. With the Other Mother’s insistence that Coraline sew the buttons in her eyes, Coraline finally unearths the dark intent behind the Other Mother’s eagerness to please Coraline. However, by that point, it’s too late. Coraline can no longer escape from the Other World as she once could. The Other Mother reveals her true monstrous form, unveiling the extent of her manipulative control over the entire other World. Upon this realization, all the things Coraline once loved about the Other World become sinister. The talking paper dragonflies in her room, the live plants in the garden, Wybie’s inability to speak — these are all products of the Other Mother’s plan, and as she becomes baleful and evil, so do all of her creations. While Coraline doesn’t realize it at the beginning, nothing in the Other World is real. This is demonstrated when Wybie blows his hand away, and the circus mice are revealed to be nothing but sacks of dust. Everything that Coraline believed she knew and loved were nothing more than pawns in the Other Mother’s plan to trap Coraline forever. There are countless things that could contribute to the classification of Coraline as a fantasy horror movie, but it all stems from the unique way the movie was constructed. As a children’s movie, Coraline faces many limitations in strategies that most horror movies use to invoke fear, such as violence and gore. These limitations force the movie’s creators to employ tactics that are more terrifying psychologically, and this is precisely what makes the movie haunting rather than just scary. The stop-motion animation, which is inherently unsettling, is wonderfully executed, creating a new fairytale-ish horror genre that hasn’t been done before. Though some of the thematic elements are similar to animated films such as The Corpse Bride and other Tim Burton movies, Coraline’s attention to detail and thorough execution makes it arguably more unnerving than any other stop-motion animation to date.

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE 101: OUTWIT THE UNDEAD WITHOUT LOSING YOUR HEAD By Sheil Mody and Vincent Yang

The concept of a zombie apocalypse, popularized by various movies, TV shows, and books, has captivated the imaginations of many. While a zombie apocalypse may seem like an event that only occurs in fiction, being prepared with a survival strategy for such an event can be a valuable skill. Not only does one have to consider methods of vanquishing the numerous hordes of undead, but one also must develop methods to obtain and manage resources and personnel to ensure long-term survival. How would one go about building a fortress that will not be penetrated by any pesky zeds, or attempt to ration limited resources such as food and water? In order to thoroughly prepare a reader for the cataclysmic event of a zombie apocalypse, we have composed a comprehensive article detailing the best strategies and tactics that will bear the highest likelihood of survival in case an outbreak ever occurs. The first thing to consider is preparation. No matter how well-versed one is at staving off attacks, it is meaningless without sufficient supplies. Thus, being well prepared should be the highest priority: it is imperative to have a stockpile of food, water, first aid supplies, clothing, tools, and communication devices to make it through Day 1 of a zombie apocalypse. It is especially important to secure a steady food supply. While it would be ideal to have some sort of farm, such as an emergency garden or a hydroponics/aquaponics system, these food sources take time to begin production, making it exceptionally necessary to stock up on non-perishable comestibles such as canned or dried food items. These foods that have a long shelf life can sustain one through the initial stages of the apocalypse before one is able to produce food on their own. However, long-lasting foods cannot sustain life for more than a few years, and assuming that this apocalypse has no foreseeable end, a farm is necessary for long-term survival. Building a farm should then be the main goal for survival since the crops can endure harsh weather, and canned foods should be stored as a backup. A water supply, needed to both maintain food production and hydrate the survivors, is the most coveted yet most scarce ration in a post-apocalyptic world, so creating an efficient filter method to reuse waste water or locating nearby water sources is an absolute must. Establishing a safe haven is also one of the vital steps in ensuring survival in a zombie apocalypse. Humans need rest, and it is not a wise idea to inhabit areas that the undead can easily access. Thus, one should select a location

that is either difficult to encroach or well-defended; for example, one could fortify their house by building barricades that a zombie wouldn’t be able to surmount to minimize the need to engage in combat with them. One thing many people ignore when selecting a living area in a zombie apocalypse is how easy it would be to leave in the case of an emergency. Having a contingency plan ready in case things go wrong ensures safety—if there’s one thing zombie movies have taught us, anything can go wrong at any moment. In the case of a breach, an emergency evacuation plan that has been well thought out and drilled will surely be a boon. Due to this reason, several types of shelters are not optimal for a zombie apocalypse scenario, such as an underground bunker or the top of an apartment complex due to the difficulty of safely vacating these areas. No matter how independent one considers themselves, surviving alone in a zombie apocalypse is a near-impossible task. The lack of manpower will severely limit one’s capacity to gather resources and fight off zombies. Therefore, living in a group will greatly improve one’s odds of surviving. Recruiting people with useful skills such as medical knowledge or combat prowess is a good bet, and to maximize productivity and limit conflict, it is critical to create an organized structure and maintain clear lines of communication. Assigning specific people to specific jobs will limit redundant actions, and effective communication will help groups react more quickly and decisively in times of crisis. Maintaining morale and mental health in such a dismal situation will also be challenging, so having effective leaders and prioritizing emotional support is also salient. Moreover, a zombie apocalypse may feature interactions with other survival groups. Avoiding conflicts with these other groups is key, as resources wasted on squabbling with other humans will be sorely missed when the need to deal with a massive horde of undead arises. There are three major factors that come into play when surviving a zombie apocalypse: resource management, defense, and teamwork. Each factor plays a major role in the outcome of this tragedy and can determine whether one’s group survives or falls victim to the undead. Managing resources, building a safe haven, and working together can help one live life to its fullest possible extent under these circumstances.

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Editors-in-Chief: Christopher Chen, Julee Jiang and Olivia Ma Editors: Esha Bansiya, Vera Lin, Alicia Peng, Anjali Prabhu, and Alan Xiao Staff Writers: Aarna Kamath, Abheek Batra, Ailsa Wu, Angela Cao, Ayush Swarnakar, Emma Ma, Josh Peter, Katherine He, Kevin Weng, Krish Mangrolia, Pooja Kanthala, Pranesh Saran, Sachit Parekh, Sarah Wu, Selena Peng, Sheil Mody, Shirley Fan, Shreya Sadhwani, Shubh Bachkethi, Thanisha Thambidurai, Tycho Young, Vera Lin, Vincent Yang, Zuoyi Nick Lin Graphic Design: Ada Costiniano, Christopher Chen Vol. 3, No. 1 Corrections: Trump Arrests: Timeline and Summary (Pg. 3) “Each time he surrendered, pleaded guilty. . .” => “Each time he surrendered, pleaded not guilty. . .” Thank you for reading the second issue of the third volume of The Yellow Pages! We hope you enjoyed reading the issue as much as we enjoyed the process of creating it! If you have any comments, suggestions, questions, or notice any mistakes in our newspaper, please contact bifyellowpages@gmail.com. We will include corrections for our errors and typos in the following issue.