The Californian Paper

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Californian California High School

The new SpiderMan trailer has fans spinning with excitement. Read more in A&E on page B8 Wednesday, October 13, 2021

9870 Broadmoor Dr. San Ramon, CA 94583

Volume XXXI, Issue I

Grizzlies roar back on campus

Students return to in-person school for first time in 17 months Tyler Aronson Staff Writer Students have finally returned to Cal High’s campus in a traditional setting after spending last school year in remote or hybrid learning.

Nearly half of the student body is experiencing high school on campus for the first time.

“It’s exciting as we get to see our friends, meet new people and our teachers,” freshman Priya Mistry said.

Sophomores like Connor Watson are experiencing high school for the first time this year as well. Although Watson took hybrid classes last year, not being able to take classes entirely in person affected his first year of high school.

“Last year, it wasn’t the same experience of being a freshman

who has just started high school since most of the school year was remote,” Watson said. “It’s pretty good to be back, but it’s more tiring.”

Many students are facing challenges being back after getting used to last year’s at-home routine. Returning students who were enrolled in remote learning all last school year are having trouble adjusting after being stuck at home for school.

Senior Mihir Harshe said getting reacquainted with being on campus hasn’t been easy.

“It’s stressful getting adjusted to coming back,” Harshe said.

Harshe said he is glad to be back on campus because he wants to enjoy his senior year and focus on his courses moving forward.

Junior Tian Li Pollinger shared similar sentiments as

See CAMPUS page A4

Cal High students walk to their classes on campus, something most haven’t done since March 2020.

Photo by Ryan Syms

Vandals hit classrooms, bathrooms

‘Devious ‘Licks’ trend responsible for thousands of dollars in property damage Andrew Ma Staff Writer

Illustration by Carol Chen

Cal High and other district school are following many safety protocols to help reduce the impact felt by the medical community and ensure the safety of everyone on campus now that students are back on campus for in-person learning.

Schools follow new safety protocols Cal has had 23 COVID cases Tyler Raymond Staff Writer With school now back in person, Cal High and other district schools are following many safety protocols to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Despite these safety mea-

News Lite

sures, which include a mask requirement for everyone while indoors, Cal has reported 23 positive COVID-19 case as of Oct. 11, according to the district’s case dashboard.

When someone contracts the virus, school protocol affects both the sick person and the peo-

Ode to online school Some students are actually missing remote learning from the comfort of their homes.

PAGE A8

ple they come in contact with.

One sophomore boy, who contracted COVID-19 two separate times, is intimately familiar with coronavirus protocol. The boy, who is not being named because of medical privacy issues, said he tested positive for COVID-19 in August and stayed home after initially catching the virus a year

Features

and a half ago in March of 2020.

The boy said the virus made him very sick the first time, but when he tested positive again this August, he had no symptoms.

Cal’s COVID protocol made the boy feel safer and reassured that more people weren’t getting sick because of him.

See VIRUS page A4

New Staff at Cal

Check out The Californian’s profiles on the new faces on campus.

PAGE B4-B5

When sophomore Jackson Polus went to the second floor boy’s bathroom during brunch last month and saw 10 guys huddled by the largest stall, he decided he didn’t need to use the restroom anymore.

After hearing rumors of something happening in the same bathroom in his Geometry class, Polus returned at lunch and found an entire stall door missing.

“The door was gone!” Polus said.

The stall door has since been reattached, head custodian Roberto Manrique said. But the incident was far from the only instance of vandalism on campus since school started in August.

A&E

Polus is one of many students who have seen firsthand the damage from the viral TikTok “Devious Licks” trend and other student vandalism.

The trend, in which students post videos of themselves stealing from or vandalizing their schools, first hit Cal and other San Ramon Valley Unified District schools in mid-September.

While TikTok has censored the videos, they can be found under other synonyms, like “diabolical” or “dastardly” licks.

The trend at Cal resulted in students damaging every boy’s bathroom and possibly one girl’s bathroom over the span of a few weeks, assistant principal Jeffrey Osborn said. “[Students] are destroying the soap dispensers, the paper towel dispensers, the toilet

See VANDALISM page A3

BTS bummer

Iconic K-pop band cancels its “Map of the Soul:7” tour because of COVID-19.

PAGE B7

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Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Underclassmen juggling more weighted classes this year Trend could continue for students competing for college spots

Senior portraits due next month The deadline for senior portraits is Friday, Nov. 12. Studio One will be at on campus to take portraits on Oct. 26 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students should schedule an appointment by calling Studio One (925) 361-0430.

Photo by Lili Loney

Sophomore Alexander Pak does work in his AP Calculus BC class. More underclassmen are taking AP classes this year.

Von Sosen said he is still tired when he wakes up, even after getting seven hours of sleep.

Rishi Chandrasekaran is another sophomore taking four weighted classes. He is taking AP Computer Science A, AP Calculus AB, AP European History, and Honors Chemistry.

Chandrasekaran said he is taking multiple weighted classes because he feels pressure getting into college. Because he is Asian, he said h believes there is a lot of competition to get into a top-ranked college.

Sophomore Arisha Islam

is also taking four weighted classes. Islam is taking Honors Chemistry, Honors Biomedical Science, AP European History, and a weighted, one semester Calculus course at Diablo Valley College.

“I only had one honors class last year, and it wasn’t that bad,” Islam said.

Islam said her older sister took the same weighted classes she is enrolled in when she was a sophomore, so she feels she can always ask her sister for help if needed.

Freshman Ira Kaur also feels

like she can take on more than her current weighted class. Kaur is taking Honors Precalculus this year. Although she describes the class as fast-paced and her most challenging class, she still hopes to take more weighted classes as a sophomore.

Although many students seem to have this attitude when it comes to weighted classes, Nguyen advises students to prioritize what classes they want to take based on their future interests, rather than just for a weighted grade.

Von Sosen and Islam decided

to take their respective Calculus classes online after dropping the Calculus course at Cal. Islam said that she wanted to focus on extracurriculars for this semester, and wants to take Calculus next semester.

She also says she believes the course will be easier for her by taking it through DVC. Von Sosen said she was not prepared for the class. Instead, Von Sosen is learning AP Calculus BC through Brigham Young University’s online programs.

“I feel like I can learn way better,” he said.

Luca Alioto’s hydrogen car is one unique ride Parwaan Virk Staff Writer Cal High’s students often own older cars or small sedans.

But senior Luca Alioto has taken his ride to the next level by owning the only hydrogen-powered car in Cal High’s parking lot.

Alioto owns a 2020 Toyota Mirai, one of the two hydrogen cars available on the public market. The other vehicle being the Hyundai Nexo.

There are only about 6,500 hydrogen cars in the U.S., according to energy.gov.

“I got my car from my uncle last year when I had just learned to drive,” Alioto said. “It’s kind of weird driving it though.”

Alioto said that the driving is smooth, soft, and silent.

The sounds and refueling are completely different from a gasoline car.

“The engine is silent when you start it and while you are riding it,” Alioto said. “It also [sounds] different refueling a hydrogen car than a regular gas car.”

When refueling a hydrogen vehicle, a nozzle is used just like at a regular gas station.

When refueling, there is a

Four-day Halloween weekend After Grizzlies enjoy Halloween on Sunday, Oct. 31, school is off on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. That Monday is a school recess and Tuesday is a staff development day.

Trisha Sarkar Staff Writer As freshmen and sophomores jump into their first year on Cal High’s campus, more underclassmen are juggling multiple weighted classes than in previous years.

Teachers have noticed an increase of underclassmen in their weighted classes.

“When I first started teaching AP Calculus in 2012, less than five percent of my students were sophomores,” AP Calculus teacher Janice Saiki said. “But this year and last year, about a quarter were sophomores.”

AP Computer Science teacher Anh Ngyuen also said she noticed a slight increase in sophomores in her class, stating that about 10 percent of her students in AP Computer Science A are sophomores this year.

Sophomore Trenton Von Sosen is among a growing number of sophomore is enrolled multiple AP and honors classes. Von Sosen is AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science A, Honors Chemistry, and Honors Biomedical Sciences.

“I feel tired a lot,” Von Sosen said.

News in Brief

hissing sound, which is normal but makes the process sound risky and prone to an accident.

The hissing from the nozzle pump is actually just for separating the oxygen from the hydrogen, like a vacuum.

It can be risky refueling with hydrogen, considering how dangerous hydrogen is without proper safety measures, such as secure nozzles and educated drivers.

Hydrogen is extremely flammable when in contact with oxygen present in the air, according to osha.gov. In the past, there have been many accounts of stations exploding when faulty nozzles didn’t properly separate hydrogen from oxygen, resulting in death of customers.

One example is in Santa Clara, where a hydrogen refueling tanker exploded, resulting in a shortage of hydrogen in the Bay Area for a month, according to Cnet.

It is also very expensive to fill up the car with hydrogen, with prices reaching $16 for a kilogram of hydrogen, Alioto said.

Hydrogen is expensive to harvest, according to a story in The New York Times. Harvesting hydrogen involves separating it from a substance, such as water

Den Reps program new to Cal High Cal High started a program this year where one student and one alternate from each first period class report to the theater to learn about upcoming information and provide feedback to school staff. There are more than 100 Den Reps and they each present the information they gathere to their first period classes every two weeks during student support.

Theater 3 and 4 performances The first Theatre 3 and 4 show of the year will premier on Oct. 27. There will be a second performance on Oct. 28. The shows feature three one-act plays.

The Californian strives to cover the news accurately, fairly, and honestly. It is our policy to correct all significant errors.

Corrections should be emailed to californianpaper@gmail.com or bbarr@srvusd.net.

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Luca Alioto’s 2020 Toyota Mirai is the only hydrogen-powered vehicle parked in Cal’s parking lot. It is one of two hydorgen-powered cars available to the public. or fossil fuels from a refinery. It is then transported to the station.

While burning hydrogen is emission-free, harvesting it creates greenhouse gases, causing more pollution than burning diesel, according to the Times story. It’s ironic, considering that hydrogen power was meant to decrease greenhouse gases, but is creating more at the same time.

Filling Alioto’s tank requires about 5 kilograms of hydrogen, which will take him about 100

miles. So, a full tank costs Alioto roughly $80.

Alioto’s car is a certified clean air vehicle, which is an added bonus to using hydrogen. Clean air vehicles have rebates ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 tax credit, special access to carpool lanes, and fuel savings for the state government of California, according to SF Environment.

Alioto said that there are only three hydrogen stations in the Bay Area, with the closest

one in Bishop Ranch. The other two stations are in Hayward and San Leandro. The lines at these stations are really long, and one time he had to wait three hours to fill it up.

Alioto has had some interesting experiences with his car.

“One time, my car [ran out of fuel] while I was waiting in line, so I had to leave it there for the night,” Alioto said. “I had to go home and refuel it the next day.”

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A3

Vandalism echoes ‘Devious Licks’ trend VANDALISM From page A1 [paper] dispensers, seat cover dispensers,” Manrique said.

“And not just that, the supply too.”

The second and third floor boy’s bathrooms closed for five days because of the lack of toiletries and the absence of one of Cal’s three campus monitors, who help supervise the restrooms.

Manrique’s custodial department has spent about $1,800 on nearly 50 various replacement dispensers alone. Osborn estimates soap and paper towel dispensers cost more than $75 each, while metal toilet paper dispensers cost about $100 each. Sink faucets have also been damaged and repaired by custodians.

“This is sad,” Manrique said.

“This is just a group of students, and because of their fun, all the students are paying for this.”

The culprits have not been caught because there are no cameras inside of the bathrooms, Osborn said. Administrators can only monitor who goes in and out of restrooms.

“It’s a very long investigation to do all that,” Osborn said. “I really need students to help us keep bathrooms safe by letting us know.”

To mitigate further vandalism, campus monitors have been regularly sweeping bathrooms. Students who are caught will be disciplined and asked for restitution, Osborn said.

The “Devious Licks” incidents come after classrooms in the world language and main

Photo by Ryan Syms

Left, a soap dispenser in the third floor boy’s bathroom is one of many that have been destroyed by students following the “Devious Licks” TikTok trend. Several bathrooms have been closed on campus because of vandalism.

Photo courtesy of Brian Barr

building were vandalized.

French teacher Miranda Kershaw’s classroom in the World Language building was broken into and vandalized on the night of Sept. 5. Two students were caught by surveillance cameras and legal action is being taken against them, assistant principal Tucker Farrar said.

About $2,100 in damage was done to Kershaw’s classroom, San Ramon police Cpl. Jarred Pereira said. The vandals entered through an unlocked window and broke through the window screen.

The pair smashed Kershaw’s personal computer monitor, poured hand sanitizer on the floor, damaged two ceiling tiles,

broke a Chromebook, and tore the classroom projector screen.

One of Kershaw’s two singing meditation bowls, which Pereira said are worth $130 each, was missing. Kershaw used the bowls to start her classes’ daily one-minute meditation sessions.

Kershaw entered her classroom on Sept. 6 a half an hour before her first period to find the damage. She promptly called Farrar to assess the situation.

Farrar and Kershaw began cleaning up the classroom and made sure other classrooms had not been affected before students arrived.

After asking a few students to help clean the mess, Kershaw

started teaching about 20 minutes after first period started.

“It is very unsettling, to be a teacher and have your space vandalized, and then have to teach right away,” Farrar said.

Junior Stephanie Hunt, who is in Kershaw’s first period French IV, Honors class arrived early that Monday morning and with one of her friends helped Kershaw tidy up the room and remove debris from the ceiling with Kershaw’s vacuum.

“I just wanted to help because I really respect her as a teacher and I could tell she was really frazzled,” Hunt said.

Added junior Laura Byrne, “I think she was a little shaken, class started a little late, but other than that we were basically able to continue as normal.”

That Monday was the only day the class didn’t do their

morning meditation, since the projector was damaged, so Kershaw couldn’t show her daily slides, Byrne said. “[Kershaw] was obviously very upset, and it kind of scattered her thoughts,” Hunt said.

“The rest of the day she was stressed about trying to get back on track for the actual work.”

Kershaw declined to comment about the break-in.

“I had my car broken into 15 years ago, and they stole a photo album which was the only valuable thing,” said Farrar. “It felt like that, so violating.”

The break-in comes after the main building was also vandalized in late June.

In this instance, two teenage vandals from another district damaged computers, keyboards, monitors, and tables throughout the first floor of the main building, Osborn.

They also wrote with Sharpies

on white boards, and emptied fire extinguishers, resulting in thousands of dollars of damage.

Cal is working with police and the district attorney’s office to seek restitution from the families of the vandals for the damaged items and the dozens of hours custodians spent cleaning the mess, Osborn said.

At the time, custodians were in the middle of summer cleaning, and furniture had been transferred to the hallways while the carpets were cleaned.

“It took weeks to dust the floors, to disinfect the lockers,” Manrique. “It took weeks, and then in 3 to 5 minutes, it went from good to really bad.”

Manrique had just left work at around 3 p.m. that day in June when he got a call that the fire alarms had gone off and started driving back to campus. When he entered the main building, he could only see fire extinguisher powder everywhere.

“Three fire extinguishers were released,” Manrique said.

“The whole first floor was a mess.”

He called five other custodians to help clean the first floor, but it wasn’t until after clearing the discharge from the fire extinguishers that they found the broken furniture and technology.

It took two entire days and 10 custodians to clean and repair the furniture and scrub the first floor from top to bottom.

“Teachers didn’t have a clue what happened,” Osborn said. “Our custodian crew is amazing, and they were able to restore the classrooms back to how they were.”

New ethnic studies class engages students Course to be required for graduation for Class of 2030 Alice Oh Staff Writer Cal High’s new ethnic studies class is encouraging students to make a major impact on campus and in the San Ramon community as a whole.

The class unpacks the intersectionality of the histories, cultures and identities of people of color and inspires students to go into the community as activists to advocate for social change.

Ethnic studies is fueled by the mission to understand and analyze identity, relationships and power dynamics to change the world for the better, according to the book “Rethinking Ethnic Studies”, which was published

by Rethinking Schools in 2019.

California public schools will be required to offer at least one ethnic studies course by 202526 school year. Taking ethnic studies or any other class the qualifies will be a graduation requirement for the Class of 2030, according to KCRA News.

Senior Chris Iordanov joined the class after ethnic studies teacher Benjamin Andersen recommended it to him. Iordanov has begun to appreciate the community of interaction and the expression of honest identity.

He said he is looking forward

to sharing his own experiences and hearing from others as well.

“This class gets people engaged and passionate about learning,” Iordanov said. “A lot of people don’t really care about other classes and don’t pay attention. I think this is one of those classes that changes that narrative.”

After one month of taking the class, Iordanov said he has witnessed a sense of community that he has never witnessed in any other class.

While he learns more about his own identity, Iordanov also hopes to become more aware about other cultures and their experiences.

“I’m passionate about learning different perspectives of history,” Iordanov said. “There have been a lot of misconceptions about certain topics and I feel that it’s important to learn different sides of the story in order to get a better understanding.”

Junior Isabella Waziri feels that ethnic studies is much different from classes she has taken in the past.

“In other classes, I dread the work. But with this class, I’m excited to learn,” Waziri said.

“I just feel safe in this class to say what’s on my mind and not

Photo by Erica Dembrowicz

Ethnic studies teacher Benjamin Andersen walks among his students, who are learning about the different histories and cultures of people of color in the first year class. be judged.”

Waziri said the class has helped her to form her own opinions, reflect on current events, and express herself.

Senior Traniel Brown enrolled in ethnic studies for the opportunity to learn about his Black culture as well as others’ cultures.

“At school, it’s the same thing over and over again, specifically with Black people,” Brown said. “ It’s just Martin Luther King,

Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman.

The three people rotated over and over again.”

He understands that others’ experiences may be different from his and encourages them to take the class in order to learn about their identity.

Andersen, who also teaches world history and global studies, was the only teacher who volunteered to teach ethnic studies this year.

“As a white male, I feel [eth-

nic studies] is a class that should be taught by underrepresented groups, but since no one else was stepping forward that’s why I ended up teaching it,” Andersen said. “I think sometimes it’s compassion. That’s all that really matters in the end.”

Going beyond the walls of the classroom, Andersen believes ethnic studies can transform the school and San Ramon community.

“I hope to create students who

are confident enough to stand up for those things and have the knowledge and understanding of where those ideas, beliefs come from in order to push back against them and create a new campus culture that is more accepting,” Andersen said. “I feel that there are some people who do believe that the class teaches certain things like anti-whiteness or anti-Americanism but really, it’s about teaching the truth.”

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Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Students provided with chromebooks

District uses COVID-19 funds to buy devices Katya Vial Staff Reporter

San Ramon Valley Unified School District has issued more than 32,000 electronic devices this year, with second through 12th graders receiving a Google Chromebook.

Cal High assistant principal Tucker Farrar said students in transitional kindergarten through first grade received iPads for school use.

The district was able to purchase devices for all students due to state funding provided in March 2020 to address the transition to online school because of COVID-19.

The state allocated $16.2 million to the district, including more than $10 million for technology, said Greg Medici, the district’s chief business officer.

Photo by Erica Dembrowicz

Students work on their Chromebooks, which were provided by the school district this year for the first time.

Farrar said the district provided the technology to help create greater equity among students by giving all of them equal access to online tools and curriculum. Chromebooks have since been integrated into most classes on campus.

“The pandemic made them [the school district] realize that all students need devices,” Farrar said.

While providing students

with chromebooks is beneficial, the rollout of these devices didn’t go smoothly for everyone.

Freshman Lauren Ko was one of many students who received the wrong charger for her chromebook.

Ko said it took about a week for her to receive the correct charger. During that week, she borrowed other students’ chargers, used her phone for virtual classwork, and copied online

Cal has new COVID cases VIRUS From page A1 “It wasn’t helpful with school, though,” the boy said.

“It was hard to keep up with all the work from home.”

The protocol when he first got sick was nonexistent because school was online. Still, he missed almost a month of learning.

When the boy caught COVID-19 the second time in August, new protocols required him to stay home for a week and get tested twice since he wasn’t vaccinated.

“The protocol has worked so far this year,” the boy said. “The office told all my friends and people I was around that they had to get tested for COVID-19 and test negative to go back.”

The school district is strict

about students who have tested positive or have been exposed to COVID-19.

These students have to leave campus to be tested, assistant principal Nicole Main said.

Students can only return once they test negative.

“Students who do end up testing positive and showing symptoms have to go through a strict protocol,” Main said.

Main said that when the school receives notice that an individual on campus has tested positive for COVID-19, it first checks when symptoms started or if they’re not symptomatic,” Main said.

“Then we go back about 48 hours and we retrace their steps on campus for 48 hours leading up to where they tested positive,” Main said.”

For contact tracing, if a

person is fully vaccinated and shows no symptoms, they are allowed to continue at school.

It’s recommended the person get tested but not required, according to districts protocols.

But anyone who not vaccinated and is exposed to someone who tests positive may have to quarantine at home until they test negative depending on if both were masked..

For Cal nurse Niko Holmes, the workload has never been this heavy. Holmes must make sure everyone understands the protocols and that they are being followed. Parents whose students came into contact with someone with COVID-19 have contacted her in confusion about the protocols, asking why their kids can’t go back to school.

“The protocols are fine as is,” Holmes said.

assignments onto paper.

“It was especially hard during the first two weeks of school because we started to use Schoology instead of Schooloop,” Ko said. “My chromebook didn’t stay charged long and it was a consistent problem.”

Freshman Onyi Onyema has mixed feelings about her chromebook. Onyema says It is helpful in class because much of her classwork is online, but there

are also some inconveniences.

Turning on her laptop is time consuming and it loads slowly.

The battery drains very quickly, making it troublesome to constantly use.

Farrar said that in the future, the district will provide one type of charger for everyone, instead of different types for different students.

“Each year the distribution process will get easier as we get

used to this system,” Farrar said.

English teacher Abraham Kim said at the beginning of the year there were a lot of issues, but students’ use of chromebooks in class is going more smoothly now.

“The only negative I’ve noticed was that some students are getting distracted on other sites during class,” Kim said.

Many teachers agree that logging onto Schoology and other online resources during the first week of school was very messy.

Algebra teacher Saumya Rakesh said she faced problems with two of her online resources, Big Ideas Math and Clever.

Many of her students couldn’t log on because the apps weren’t set on the portal, and other students had trouble logging onto the portal in general.

Rakesh said these problems were resolved through the IT help line, searching online, and students helping each other. The IT help line is a platform run by the district that allows students, staff, and parents to get help with technology problems.

Students glad to be back on campus CAMPUS From page A1 Harshe. Pollinger said she is both glad and nervous to be back in person.

“I’ve been able to get things done and I hear better than being online,’’ Pollinger said. “I was nervous coming back because things were a little different from what I was expecting, the limits in spacing during lunch time and places to go.”

Returning to campus has come with a variety of new rules, many related the COVID-19 pandemic. These adjustments include the indoor mask mandate and the relocation of lunch to the quad.

Students have mixed opinions about wearing masks at school.

Despite being glad to return to Cal, junior Benjamin Lewis has concerns about students when it comes to wearing masks.

“Even though you can still wear masks outside, people do have the option to not wear them,” Lewis said. “I feel safe because I’m always wearing my mask, but it’s a little unsettling to think about.”

On the other hand, sophomore Johnathan Bouch said he doesn’t like having to wear a mask but he understands that it’s required. He said he feels safe to be in the classrooms and appreciates some of the changes Cal has made to its lunches.

“I feel safe being back doing in person learning, and I like the decision of free school lunches,” Bouch said. “I like being back on campus, and it’s good to see my friends again.”

A range of emotions are apparent for Cal students.

After overcoming the struggles of distance learning, students are excited to be back in a physical classroom.

Despite students feeling different about their learning experience from last year to the start of the new year, most have one thing in common.

“Everyone has a positive outlook of being back,” Algebra 2 teacher John Muscarello said.

our Wh at wa s y we e n o l l a H e t i r o f av c o s t ume?

Photos by Lili Loney

“Probably in sixth grade when I was a ’70s hippie.”

Mia Andrews Freshman

“First grade. My Spider-Man costume.”

Matthew Malfatti Sophomore

“It might have been when I was Glinda the Good Witch when I was three. My hair was stunning.”

Ava Olguin Junior

“Seventh grade I was cow. I wore it because I like cows.”

Gabby Meidberg Senior

“Probably in kindergarten when I dressed up as Winnie the Pooh.”

Alex Aghighi Senior

“I really liked Tinkerbell, so I was Tinkerbell when I was six.”

Maddy Gregersen Junior

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

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A5

District and site budgets reflect pandemic Focus shifts to technology; arts departments find new fundraising strategies

Shravya Salem Sathish Staff Writer The focus of the district’s budgets has shifted during remote and in-person learning.

In March 2020, the state issued learning loss mitigation funds, which addressed the transition to online instruction and COVID-19 related obstacles for students and teachers.

California allocated $16.2 million to the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, with technology receiving more than $10 million of these funds, said Greg Medici, the district’s chief business officer.

He said the decision was crucial at that time and crucial now.

“The chromebooks and all other software, PCs and other things for a virtual learning environment were paid for by this COVID relief money that was very specifically for technology,” Medici said.

But this state grant wasn’t the only source of money that changed. Medici said school departments operate on an independent budget, and the money available to each department varies.

For example, departments relying on copy machines and paper supplies more would have had fewer costs while online, Medici said. But this doesn’t translate to hands-on classes like ceramics.

“In a virtual setting, [ceramics classes] must have been do-

ing a lot more virtual ceramics, or they were doing kits that were sent home,” Medici added.

This isn’t far from the truth for ceramics and 3D art teacher Dominique Santos.

Santos said that families contributed fewer donations last year because no one knew what to expect in virtual classes. This resulted in a spending freeze for art classes.

“If [we] ran out of classroom donations, we’d just have to do something else,” Santos said.

To prevent limiting class activity to the screen, Santos chose to use her own money. Santos said she purchased ceramics kits, plastic boxes, and more for each of her students. “[It] was more expensive because I had to buy all the materials for all my students,” she said. “In class, I can just buy one for six, but online, it was one for everyone.”

Despite these costs, the ceramics class’ small district-provided budget also helped keep it successful in a remote setting.

Still partially supported by the district while back in-person, the money is now being directed toward the same materials as pre-pandemic times.

It’s a slightly different story for programs like the Associated Student Body, which collects funds through school events, not from the district. ASB treasurer Jack Heinz said the pandemic may have caused the starting balance to decrease from around

Illustration by Keertana Sreekumar

Technology received nearly 2/3rds of COVID-19 funding for the district. $30,000 to $26,017.

“It’s not drastic, but we did spend money making the virtual experience more engaging last year,” Heinz said.

He predicts that they will quickly recover from the initial decrease as the year continues, but ASB card sales were lower than anticipated, totaling to approximately $60,000 as of early September from $80,000 from last year.

“We were expecting it to be higher, but it wasn’t, and that

could have been because of COVID,” Heinz said. “We don’t really know.”

Similar to ASB, performing arts isn’t funded by the district.

Instead, funding generally comes from showcasing their work. Theatre arts teacher Laura Woods said their self-sufficiency grants them an even more flexible budget, allowing the program to bounce back from the repercussions of the pandemic quickly.

As in the past, the theater

program has used an online campaigning platform called Snap Raise, where students request donations to relatives around the world through email.

“We raised $8,000 in one year,” Woods said.

Although their fundraising efforts have been successful, Woods hopes art and tech are given equal significance in the district’s budget.

“Kids need art as much as tech,” Woods said. “They come to [these] classes to feel

connected. It’s where they learn each other’s names, where social-emotional learning happens, where they feel safest.”

Medici agrees, hoping for a future where all departments have the chance to flourish with more funding.

“We need to advocate and find a way to get more dollars flowing into our public school system so that we can have more ceramics, and have more music, and have more arts and theatre and tech,” Medici said.

A short timeline of the Taliban takeover Lexi Broughton Staff Writer After almost 20 years of war, American troops retreated from Afghanistan in August, leaving the country under the control of the Taliban.

The Taliban’s takeover, 20 years after they lost control of Afghanistan’s government in 2001, has impacted the Afghan community in the Bay Area, one of the largest in the country.

“When I was in elementary school and middle school people didn’t know where Afghanistan was and now it’s like the center point of all this chaos,” said junior Ali Ahmad Taheri, whose family is from Afghanistan.

The United States’ involvement in Afghanistan started with the Soviet-Afghan War from 1979-1989, when the U.S. funded various militia groups, called mujahideen, who fought against the Soviet invasion of the country.

“The United States made a series of very short term decisions,” World History teacher Tyler Gulyas said. “Everyone in the United States saw it [as we’re here to fight the Soviets.]”

The conflict resulted in an estimated five million refugees fleeing Afghanistan to other countries. “[The Soviet-Afghan War] is the reason that my parents

This map of Afghanistan shows what the country looked like on Aug. 15 when Kabul fell to the Taliban. moved out [of Afghanistan],” Taheri said.

One of the militia leaders in Afghanistan fighting the Soviets was Osama bin Laden.

Originally a group that aided fighters against the Soviets, Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda launched several international terrorist

attacks after the conclusion of the Soviet-Afghan War. These attacks included the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the 2000 attack on an American warship harbored in Yemen, and the attacks on Sept.

11, 2001.

President George W. Bush signed into law a joint resolution on Sept. 18, 2001 authorizing military action against those responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

That October, the U.S. began a bombing campaign against the Taliban.

Courtesy of Wikemedia

Fast forward 19 years, and in February 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar signed a deal in which the U.S. agreed to withdraw troops from Afghanistan within 14 months. In return, the Taliban promised to begin negotiations

with the Afghan government, sever ties with al-Qaeda, and not harbor terrorists.

The United States agreed to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners that were being held by the Afghan government. In addition, the Taliban and the United States agreed not to attack each other.

“I feel like the Taliban missing 5,000 people would have definitely helped [limit their rise],” Taheri said. “I genuinely hate speaking the same language as these people.”

When the U.S. began withdrawing troops in August, Taliban forces overthrew the Afghan government and captured Kabul on Aug. 15.

On Aug. 21, two suicide bombers from ISIS-K, which is ISIS’Afghanistan branch and an enemy to both the Taliban and the U.S., killed 13 U.S. service members and at least 60 Afghans.

Thousands have tried to flee Afghanistan and escape the persecution of the Taliban.

“I’ve seen videos of Taliban being in people’s houses and messing around,” Taheri said.

“They have no idea what kind of power they have.”

Local organizations have helped Afghan refugees relocate to the Bay Area, such as Jewish Family and Community Services East Bay, which resettled 80 refugees in August and at least 28 in September.

A6

Opinions

Read The Californian online at www.thecalifornianpaper.com

Wednesday, October 13 2021

STAFF EDITORIALS

The Voice of California High School

Students need to respect campus Coming out of a whole year of online learning has taken a toll on students returning to in-person schooling. While most would say they prefer it to the Zoom-ruled classroom, there are still things that require adjusting to.

Most notably, students have missed out on an entire year of what is considered a child’s most formative years. It’s hard to learn about oneself and develop as a member of the larger society when you are confined to the walls of your bedroom.

Take for example the class of 2025. The last time they set foot on campus was halfway through middle school as seventh graders. For many, middle school is that awkward but necessary transition between elementary and high school, going from baking soda volcanos to frog dissections and learning to be responsible for one’s own time and work. Instead, they were thrown into the dog-eat-dog world of high school, with barely any time to prepare.

Returning to campus also comes with a lot of pent up energy, slowly collecting as students anticipated the day they would find themselves walking through the gates of Cal High again, ready to make up for lost school dances and football games.

This pent up energy combined with a lack of maturity did not come without consequenc-

es, and it manifested itself into a series of destructive events.

Before the school year could even begin, Senior Chalk Day was ruined by a group of vandals, covering the parking-lot decorations with their own drawings of explicit and obscene imagery.

At the first varsity football game of the year, Cal High students could be heard chanting “F**k you Antioch” to the opposing team and throwing water bottles and popcorn within the crowds of students in the stands.

The following day, fences were found broken and porta-potties tipped over.

Now, a TikTok trend known as “Devious Licks” is ripping through the country, and it has hit Cal High too. The trend encourages students to steal or destroy school property and post a video of it on social media.

One such video depicted a Cal High student kicking a soap dispenser in the boys bathroom.

Overall, students have returned to campus with a lower sense of accountability and pride for their campus and school community. Even if this attitude does not apply to each individual on campus, as a student body we must perpetuate a culture of accountability for one another.

Now, more than ever, we need a strong sense of community to combat the obstacles that the pandemic has brought us.

New Texas reproductive laws threaten women When people think of healthcare, they may think of the basics like yearly doctor checkups or getting braces. Healthcare is what keeps us alive and healthy.

It is without a doubt a necessity in everyone’s lives.

Ignorant Texas lawmakers draw the line on healthcare when it comes to female’s reproductive health and rights.

In August, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law the TX SB8 legislation that bans women from getting abortions after six weeks into their pregnancy, with no exceptions.

Anyone who helps a women recieve an abortion can be sued by any citizen who needs no requirement to show proof of relation to whom they are suing.

Six weeks may seem like a long time, it is not enough time for many women to even notice that they are pregnant. For many, it’s well before they even have the chance to decide whether an abortion would be the best option for them.

The state is ultimately taking into account the potential life of a fetus before the preexisting life of a woman.

In California, women’s reproductive rights are attainable and even encouraged. The California Proclamation on Reproductive Freedom signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019 reassures protection of reproductive rights and health care. From this document, reproductive care

that includes abortions can be easily accessed. Reproductive freedom is described as, “...a fundamental right for all Californians”. This recognizes the importance of women’s health.

Texas needs to realize that women are protected through the prioritization of reproductive and sexual health care. A woman’s choice to an abortion will ultimately affect her the most. Potentially being a mother under poor and unmanageable conditions is an overlooked outcome that many women will face under Texas’ new law.

The eventual outcome for women in desperate need of reproductive care, especially regarding abortions, will be to find a clinic that can perform the medical procedure in states that are more progressive and respectful of women.

And if federal courts authorizing laws like the one in Texas continue to be enforced, it is very possible for other states to impose laws restricting the female body and reproductive choices.

Texas’s new laws were designed to prioritize fetuses that aren’t considered a living, breathing organism yet. The undeniable truth is that one cannot kill what was never alive.

Reproductive rights must be seen as important before more women are put into threatening situations like those in Texas are now facing.

Illustration by Shua Lee

Teachers have gradually begun asking students for their preferred pronouns over the last several years.

The

Californian Editor in Chief Nicholas Harvey Managing Editors Shiphrah Moses

News Editors Andrew Ma Samyuta Tripasuri

Opinions Editor Gabriela Jimenez

Features Editors Nimisa Panda Daphne So

A&E Editor

News Lite Editor Saachi Sharma

Sports Editor Tanner Curtis Eli Mayerson Photo Editor Carol Chen

Dylan Allen Asiyah Ally Tyler Aronson Vishwas Balla Alexia Broughton Allison Cavanagh Sydney Cicchitto Hallie Chong Anika Choudhary Samantha Contreras

Sophia DiGiovanni Wyatt Golla Evan Heinz Aniruddha Lappathi Melody Mulugeta Kaustav Pal Tanvi Pandya Aarna Prashanth Abhinav Purohit Tyler Raymond

Artists Shua Lee, Judy Luo

Social Media Editor Kylie Thomsen

Staff Writers

Graphics Editor Ari Harvey

Shravya Salem Sathish Trisha Sarkar Hannah Shariff Kira Sidhu Keertana Sreekumar Jordam Vereen Katya Vial Parwaam Virk Michael Zarich Ylin Zhu Photographers Erica Dembrowicz, Lili Loney, Dannika Shah, Ryan Syms

Adviser: Brian Barr Principal: Megan Keefer Printer: Folger Graphics

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Letters must be signed and should not exceed 150 words. Letters may be dropped off in room 321 or e-mailed to californianpaper@gmail.com.

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Wednesday. October 13 2021

Read The Californian online at www.thecalifornianpaper.com

Opinions

A7

In-person school maintains safety Abhinav Purohit Staff Writer After spending all my freshman year online, and practically forgetting how it felt to be in an actual classroom, I was ready and excited to return back to in-person school.

But as much as I told myself that things would be “normal”, there was still a little hint of doubt whether in-person school would really be safe?

Now, after being back at campus for about two months, school appears to be safer than expected.

As the first day of school approached, I wasn’t so sure that the mask guidelines would be followed. I mean, come on, they expect us to wear masks every time that we are indoors?

But to my surprise, most of the teachers from day one were really strict about the mask guidelines, almost always instructing students to wear their masks properly. I also found that most classrooms have also had hand sanitizer, with some teachers requiring students to use some before starting class.

These are just some of the many ways the school and district are following to make school as safe as possible. In addition to mask mandates and asking students to socially distance, the district is also

Photo by Ryan Syms

Students in Mr. Allen’s class do work while wearing masks, which is a requirement of everyone on campus while they are indoors. Masks are reinforced in all classes as a precaution against COVID-19. encouraging classrooms to have ventilation in the classroom by opening windows and doors to let in fresh air when appropriate.

Some classrooms even have small air filters.

The district states it has addressed the issue of improving air filtration by “[upgrading] all HVAC air filters to MERV13, which meets the guidance from the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) on how best to handle COVID-19.”

Despite all these efforts to

keep students and staff safe, there is still a chance of some people on campus catching COVID-19. In order to limit the spread, the school is heavily emphasizing students to stay home if they show any symptoms of COVID. If unvaccinated, students are required to get tested and quarantine. They can only return until after a negative COVID test and they have remained symptom-free for 24 hours.

Participation in on-campus activities such as after-school sports is also not permitted

during an illness.

There are also ways the school is using to accurately track students to create a further layer of protection. If students need to leave a classroom, they have to scan a QR code to fill out a Google form providing their information and where they went.

Other than serving as a bathroom pass, this also allows the school to know who students might have been in contact with so they can be notified if there are any issues with exposure.

Given these measures the

Principal Megan Keefer states, “Regardless of whether the perpetrators are caught, we must work together as a community to make sure everyone feels welcome and safe.”

While I agree this is true, many students cannot and will not feel safe until these perpetrators are caught and properly disciplined for their actions of disrespecting entire groups of students on campus.

Two sticker incidents happened twice within less than a year of each other. The only reaction the school provided was sending an email explaining what happened, rather than addressing actions that can help prevent further incidents from occuring in the future.

And that’s not all. The first time the stickers were discovered, it took administrators more than a month to address it.

This shows the school doesn’t care about the gravity of the incidents and the well-being of those who were negatively affected by the environment these incidents were creating on campus.

Next, the school’s solution to racist remarks drawn in chalk before the first day of school was to hose off everybody’s work all together. This is misguided considering this was

mostly punishing the people that worked hard on decorating their parking spots, not the actual offenders who should’ve solely been punished.

Seeing as Senior Chalk Day was a school-sponsored event school officials should’ve been present to be able to stop anything like this — which did not happen.

The offenders put no thought in writing these racist remarks, which prove their most likely careless attitude to it being hosed off.

The solution should have been focused on the individual rather than everyone as a whole.

The rate at which racism has steadily continued at Cal shows that the actions that must occur needs to sprout from a more structural change.

Currently the solution consists of an anonymous tip line and a handbook discourging hateful acts of any kind.

After all, look at the school’s reaction to years worth of racism compared to the reaction to a single incident at this season’s opening football game, where chants with curse words were directed toward an opposing team.

Den Rep meetings, a schoolwide video and an apology letter to Antioch High quickly

resulted from that incident.

This clearly shows the school’s priorities, valuing athletic reputation over students’comfort on campus.

This stark comparison highlights two issues. It’s clear after this event that the school cares more about avoiding punishment from NCS and how others perceive Cal High than it does of the students themselves who are impacted by hateful incidents that have been ongoing for years.

Secondly, if the school wanted to enact real change and have students listen through a schoolwide workshop as it did after events of the football game it easily could.

Sadly, it has chosen not to do this. Admin needs to re-direct the focus of the current race and equity forums to specifically address what policies can be changed.

Seeing as the school is capable of administering workshops that highlight actions that must be corrected, this should’ve been used following countless incidents instead of the ineffective emails and lack of consequences for students involved.

The football game behavior has seen improvement after the workshop, so it may be a vital solution to implement such

school and the district have taken, the number of cases specifically in Cal High has been low compared to other schools.

As of Oct. 11, Cal has reported 23 positive cases of COVID-19 since Aug. 10.

The number of daily cases also has been significantly lower than when we were at the peak of the pandemic.

In California, we’re currently averaging around nearly 9,000 cases a day compared to the nearly 40,000 cases in January, according to the New York Times.

Despite this new “normal”, there hasn’t been much of a compromise of regular school activities such as athletic events and on campus rallies, which are being hosted outside in the hopes of achieving the feel of normalcy.

It will be very interesting to see how these rallies and school activities will be hosted as the school year progresses, and more such activities begin to resume.

But we can be rest assured that Cal will continue all abide by every policy to keep us safe.

Racism at Cal continues without consequences

Hannah Shariff Staff Writer When looking at how Cal High has handled racist incidents on campus over the past years, it’s clear to see the solutions aren’t beneficial in helping the progression of making this school a safer space free of racism.

Just within the past year there have been a number of racist incidents, including over Zoom classes during online school, writing in chalk on the parking lot for what was supposed to be a fun Senior Chalk Day, and placing offensive stickers that were racist, transphobic and antisemitic all over campus.

These numerous events have continuously caused minorities who have been targeted to feel unsafe in an environment they should be allowed to enter without judgement.

In the emails sent addressing the multiple racist incidents

Photo courtesy of Cal High administration

Racist and transphobic stickers were plastered across Cal high campus, but were only addressed in a school email. actions following future racist incidents in order to achieve a better outcome.

Solutions may discourage students from engaging in hateful actions from the start and allow for more open discussions, instead of the current taboo attitude.

Discussions will allow for more closure for students that have been made to feel unsafe because of these hateful acts.

When a pattern of appropriate punishment for those responsible becomes apparent then maybe will students begin to feel truly safe on campus.

A8

ews Lite

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Say goodbye to sleep and hello to Schoolog

An ode to online schooling Saying goodbye to our old friend

Jordan Vereen Staff Writer

Students face roadwork trouble

Evan Heinz Staff Writer Zoom, oh where art thou?

I have fallen under the care of Schoology, a cruel mistress.

I await your comforting smile.

Hurry home.

There are many things I miss about online school. I know many students enjoy being back on campus, but I am not one of them.

In online school, classes were regularly cut short and assignments only took a few minutes to complete, leaving the rest of the day for me to walk the dog, watch Netflix and call my friends.

Online schooling felt as if summer hadn’t really ended.

Almost all class time was spent resting in bed. Activities like calling friends and getting a snack were easy to take part in without consequence. When a teacher got too caught up in a rant, students could turn the class volume down and watch a show or play a game.

Of course, I never did commit any of these heinous acts.

Food was often a highlight of my day. There was always an opportunity to go downstairs and grab something from the kitchen when I felt my stomach growl. Now I have to wait for the bell to ring to bring out my delicious Goldfish and satisfy my cravings.

Teachers during quarantine were almost as casual as the students. Watching them get used to online school was almost painful. We’d frequently be interrupted by a teacher’s kids crying or the sound of the gardener mowing their lawns.

Teachers were out of their element, while their students, of course, shut off their camera to go hang out with friends and nap.

With online school I could

Many students have fond memories of attending school online from the comfort of their own beds. listen in on classes from Starbucks, the park and even my car.

The possibilities were endless.

It was liberating. Going outside to take class felt like listening to a podcast. Very few times did I ever have to turn my camera on and actually participate in class.

Another great aspect of online learning was not having to wear a mask. I have no quarrel with masks, but it was nice when I wasn’t fogging up my glasses and my skin wasn’t being irritated by my warm breath.

Breaking out with bursts of acne has become another common occurrence, but masks do come in handy when hiding those aggravating red bumps on my face.

Being trapped inside meant we didn’t have to deal with the weather outside. Every day I awoke comfortably wrapped

in the pleasant temperature set by my AC. Now I roll off my soft bed sheets and go to school where hoodies are necessary inside the chilly classrooms but immediately need to be taken off outside in the 90 degree heat.

During online school, students often met with friends to hang out during and after classes. I miss the days when I could pick up donuts and coffee before spending the day sitting next to my friends as they listened in on a class they weren’t even in.

Sometimes we would even help each other with assignments to speed things up, and by help I honestly just mean help...

More studious students could work undisturbed by their fellow classmates while less studious students could ignore their class to their heart’s content.

During online school, the

Typical shenanigans start faster than ever

denly my hands smell like a pub. There’s so much ethanol in those giant jugs that my Irish ancestors are weeping.

And is it just me, or was the car conga line going to and from school a few hundred cars shorter during my freshman year. A nice added bonus is that one car on Newport Avenue that just has to rev it’s engines every day like it’s a Formula 1 race car. You know who you are, pal.

As longtime readers might know, I have a very special relationship with the stairs in the main building. I thought I could escape them during quarantine, but alas, I am no longer in the safety of my own home.

The stairs seem remarkably cruel this month, especially because of the mask. I can breathe fine with it on, but every time I go to the third floor I get smacked in the face by my own cereal-scented breath.

And since I have two classes on the third floor every even day, I get to smell what I had for breakfast and dinner. Yum.

Back to school backfires Wyatt Golla Staff Writer There is one truth at this school: there’s always something going on at Cal High.

It doesn’t matter if we are online or in person. It’s always something.

Honestly, I definitely could have guessed that something wacky was going to happen based on Cal’s track record, but some part of me hoped that this would be a fairly normal first few months.

Boy, was I wrong.

I suppose we should start at the one thing all Califonians know and love. No, not the high rent prices. The smoke.

We seem to have normalized the fact that nearly every year the sky turns orange because of wildfire smoke blowing into the Bay Area.

When one of my classes took the mask break I usually look forward to, I was begging

my teacher to let the class back inside in just a few seconds.

Even so, students now have the opportunity to get free lunches for the first time ever, but fewer students were able to do so as food stock ran out on the first day. While the food no longer costs money, you may still have to pay a lofty price.

I’m no food critic, but I can personally attest that eating the cheeseburger made me feel an odd mix of fear and joy at the same time.

Lunches aren’t the only thing that students got for free. We received Chromebooks that come personalized with all kinds of defects. Now we can turn in our hard work on the most confusing app of all time, Schoology.

Speaking of the school providing supplies, I’m sure many students have caught a whiff of the weirdly thick hand sanitizer that resides in many classrooms.

One drop of the stuff and sud-

playing field was leveled and there were more opportunities for me to share my ideas, while in school there’s always a loud kid that takes most of the class conversation time while others don’t get a word in.

Communication with teachers was quick and easy for me compared to in-person learning I could simply slip into another breakout room if I wanted to talk to a teacher in private without the entire class listening.

Contacting fellow students was easier for me as well because I could privately message them to discuss class topics.

Working at home was comfortable and students could finish work quicker because of fewer distractions and familiar space. Doing work in a seat that didn’t feel like an electric chair was a massive relief for me and

Illustration by Ari Harvey

many others who were taught from a screen.

But now we’re back in class.

Many of us are still stuck behind screens because the district gave us chromebooks to use.

Sadly, the district also gave us Schoology, our new online platform that makes learning more difficult to navigate.

School at home was not only more comfortable, but better organized with Google Classroom. Sigh.

I have written this declaration of my love to sway others to come and rescue me from this foul and smelly diseased lady who dabbles in the dark arts of in-person school with her evil sidekick, Schoology.

Sincerely yours, Evan Bartholomew Von Richard Alexander Christiansion VIII.

Illustration by Ari Harvey

The demon stairs of the main building sadly did not disappear during quarantine.

Many of you who similarly have to ascend the stairs on a regular basis might be familiar with the decidedly adult gratification object that had been residing rent free in our minds and on the second story since Aug. 27.

For those of you who are not aware of what I’m babbling about, unfortunately you will never find out. It’s too late to

witness its glory because it’s finally, less than promptly, been removed.

There have always been some sort of shenanigans going on at Cal High, no matter the time of year, but these first months feel different. But even with conspicuous objects, demon stairs and monumental amounts of traffic, there’s still nowhere I’d rather be.

Students have always struggled with getting to school.

Early wake-up times, transportation, those annoying pedestrians, the works. Who would’ve thought that I’d need yet another obstacle between home and getting a C+ on my first Algebra 2 test?

Well, apparently that’s what the Contra Costa Transportation Authority thought, as they decided it was appropriate to shut down numerous streets around Cal High that had nothing wrong with them.

I pity the poor fools who have an A period. They didn’t even see it coming.

The newest gruesome mutilation of our road system was the work on Alcosta Boulevard.

It began not long after school once again opened for business.

How convenient.

The noise pollution of heavy machinery was only matched by the dirtied air. The dust, along with the smoke from the 700,000 fires around the state, were the nail in the metaphorical coffin for those who wanted to do outdoor activities, and the literal nail in the coffin for asthmatics.

But some thought it couldn’t get any worse. Those people clearly do not learn from history, which, to be fair, is about 90 percent of folks these days.

The next phase of the obstructionist road work came on Aug. 31, ready to enter the new month with a fresh mindset and a new plan to block my “Getting Home” speedruns. The record for me is to be inside my house by 3:10 p.m., if you’re interested.

On that fateful day, a Renaissance of tearing up began.

Unlike the historically illiterate, the devils in charge of this stupid project did study the past.

From Veracruz Drive to Pine Valley Road, the city took a page out of Berlin’s book and erected a great divide. Not a wall, but the effect is the same.

For miles, a ditch where the road once was and traffic cones and signs kept apart the two groups, a people divided by an outside power. See it now?

We’ve yet to see machine gun nests there, but I say patience is a critical virtue.

This further work caused even more unnecessary inconvenience, with crosswalks entirely incapable of function without the constant attention of a crossing guard just like elementary school, and detours that might as well send you through Mexico and back.

Whatever “The Man” decides, the common man will have no say in it, so we all just have to sit down and shut up as our tax dollars are dozing around the water cooler. And, we may yet have more road work on the way.

Photos by Samantha Contreras, Erica Dembrowicz, Alex Gome, Lili Loney and Dannika Shah Page design by Carol Chen

B2

Sports

Read The Californian online at www.thecalifornianpaper.com

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Fall sports make a triumphant return Competition is back to normal Eli Mayerson Sports Editor Last year all sports were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but none were more affected than those that took place in the fall.

Because the season coincided perfectly with the chaos of the beginning of the first ever fully online school year, the fall sports season was unable to continue during its regularly scheduled time.

Seasons were pushed to the winter and spring, and most sports had to deal with shortened schedules with no postseason. But excluding some safety mandates to address COVID-19, fall sports are pretty much back to normal.

Football The varsity football season could not have started any better, with the team undefeated at 6-0 and ranked third in the North Coast Section.

“We’re just playing more disciplined than the other teams we’ve played,” senior Adam Linari said. “Less penalties, right personnel.”

Linari said the schedule for the rest of the season just gets harder, with the difficulty of games ramping up this month.

The game on Oct. 15 against De La Salle is the ultimate test, followed by league games against Monte Vista, San Ramon Valley and Amador Valley.

Cal, which has outscored its opponents 257-92, narrowly pulled out a victory in their last game against Clayton Valley Charter on Friday.

The game was decided on a last second touchdown throw from quarterback Teddy Booras

to wide receiver Jake Calcagno.

Women’s Golf Last year’s golf team may have been impacted more than any other sport. The team only had four members, including senior captain Leah Keswani.

But this season the team has 10 rotating members on varsity which contributed the team being closer, Keswani said.

“We got a lot of new girls to play [this year],” Keswani said.

“It’s good because it means we’ll have a team next year.”

The regular season ended last Wednesday with a narrow 236-238 loss to Dougherty. Cal (6-12) will play in the EBAL Championships on Monday.

Women’s Volleyball The only indoor sport of the fall season, women’s volleyball is in a unique situation when dealing with COVID-19.

Last season, the team had a shortened schedule and was only able to play half the teams in league, senior player Payton Lee said. But this year has featured a full schedule, including tournaments and playoffs.

“The shortened season was fun and didn’t get in the way of my schoolwork,” Lee said.

“But I am enjoying this year’s season because we get more time to establish relationships with our teammates.”

The team is 14-13, 4-10 in league play. Lee believes if the team plays to its potential they will be able to finish strong and make NCS. “Everything’s going well because our team chemistry is really good,” Lee said.

Women’s Tennis Despite the limiting factors COVID created, the tennis team was still able to have a successful season last year.

“It was a short season but a fun one,” senior varsity tennis

Photo by Erica Dembrowicz

Number 5 Natalie Peete and number 15 Emily Sugihara contend with San Ramon Valley to continue Cal’s early lead. player Tina Zeng said. “We got to play with the boys which helped us improve drastically and I’m grateful for that.”

So far this year, the tennis team is 2-8, but Zeng has reason to be optimistic.

“Some players were injured,” Zeng said. “Now we’re more prepared for what we have thrown at us.”

Men’s Water Polo The men’s water polo team is excited to get back to their regular schedule.

Last year’s season was only five weeks long and took place in winter instead of fall, senior Conner Tom said.

“It was super cold and annoying,” Tom said. “It’s way better during the fall.”

This year, the team has had an up-and-down 5-9 start, but this isn’t entirely due to lack of talent.

“We’ve sucked because we’re missing half our starters,” Tom said. “We’re getting better.”

Tom is confident that by the end of the season, the team will improve to a record that they can feel satisfied with.

“We’ll get better,” Tom said.

Women’s Water Polo Similar to the men’s team, the women’s water polo team is off to a rocky start. With an early record of 1-8, they are looking to improve moving forward.

“Our success comes when we talk to each other and listen,” senior Victoria Waller said.

She is hoping the team can learn from what they did right in their lone win and apply it in future games.

“We are trying our hardest and will continue to do so for the rest of the year,” Waller said.

Last season, the pool the team uses was under construction, so they had to travel to practice and play in a smaller pool. They no longer have to deal with that issue this season.

Cross Country The cross country team had a very different season than normal last year.

“Because of COVID guidelines, all courses were around the schools instead of our regular ones,” senior Aryan Sarda said.

The season also was pushed to spring, causing conflicts for those who also ran track. This year, the team is back to normal for the most part.

“Some of the usual meets have been canceled because of lasting COVID effects,” senior Matthew Alm said.

But this hasn’t hindered the team too much. The team won their last meet, and haven’t shown signs of slowing down.

“The team has been looking a lot better than in year’s past,” Alm said. He is optimistic about the team’s chances of making it to the NCS playoffs.

“It’ll be tough [to make the playoffs], because Dublin and Dougherty are really good, but it’s possible,” Alm said.

Grizzlies boast first female player in three seasons Vicky Coninck serves as Cal’s backup kicker Tanvi Pandya Staff Writer For the first time in three seasons, Cal High has a female player on the varsity football team.

Senior Victoria Coninck, commonly known as Vicky, is a new addition to the Grizzlies this year, serving as one of the team’s backup kickers.

Coninck is in her first ever season as a football player, but she said this has been a dream of hers for quite a while now.

“I remember my freshman year, we had Khylie Weed on the team,” Coninck said. “It kinda made me feel like I could do it too.”

Though Coninck had never tried out for the football team before, she wasn’t very nervous because she had been getting help from other football players she knew, one of them being senior Macray Madruga.

Madruga is one of the football captains and is Cal’s main varsity kicker. He had been helping Coninck practice before the

Photos by Samantha Contreras

Senior Vicky Coninck, number 85, watching her team compete in the first home game of the year against Antioch. tryouts and is a fan of having her on the team.

“She doesn’t really change things too much,” Madruga said. “I mean, it’s not like we all treat her differently just because she’s a girl.”

Coninck may not be a seasoned player, but she’s proven herself so far. She’s performed two kickoffs and made all four of her extra points, including one in Cal’s season opening 49-7 win over James Logan.

Although Coninck is new to the team, she isn’t new to Cal’s athletic programs. Coninck has an impressive record when it comes to sports, participating in soccer, track and field, and wrestling in the past.

Having played on all-girl teams before, Coninck has noticed some differences in the dynamics between that and being the only girl among 40 plus men. Understandably, Coninck says she can’t really talk about

more feminine issues, but also feels that a men’s team has more fun, and less rivalry.

Thankfully though, even with the differences, Vicky doesn’t think she’s treated any differently from the rest of the team, especially by her fellow players.

“I’ve been friends with most of the guys on the team since freshman year,” Coninck said.

“Besides the coaches maybe being a little nicer, I just feel like part of the team.”

Head varsity coach Danny Calcagno has also had a big impact on Coninck’s experience with football so far.

Calcagno had his own apprehensions about Coninck joining the team, but they were never about her gender. Instead, they were about the logistics behind having a girl on an all boys team.

But aside from the physical differences, Coninck isn’t treated as a “girl” on the team.

“We’re a family here,” Cal-

cagno said. “We don’t see Vicky as a female. She’s just another part of our family.”

He also says that Coninck has been a great addition to the team. She has her strengths and weaknesses on the field, but she gets along great with her teammates and is a hard worker.

Calcagno’s positive attitude has caused a lot of people to like him more than the prior football coach, according to Coninck.

Another teammate of hers, junior Brian Kirrane, agrees with Coach Calcagno.

“I mean, I don’t really see any differences from freshman year,” Kirrane said.

Being an avid sports fan all her life, football is no different for Coninck.

When it comes to professional football, she is a strong Patriots supporter.

“People always give me s*** for it around here, but I’m from Massachusetts,” Vicky said. “I was raised being a Patriots fan.”

Vicky has her hands full with football this year, having practices every day, but isn’t nervous about the whole situation.

Rather, she feels excited about what’s to come. It’s been something she’s wanted to do for a while, and she’s not stopping now.

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

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Sports

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District spends $810,000 on new field After 11 years, Cal gets turf replaced

Tanner Curtis Sports Editor Cal High’s field had a little bit more of a shine to it during the first football game this year after the district installed new turf over the summer as part of its plan to replace fields at all four high schools.

The San Ramon Valley Unified School District spent about $810,000 to replace the turf field, which is used by the football, men’s and women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s lacrosse teams.

This marked the first time since 2010 that Cal has had any work done to its field, athletic director Chris Declercq said.

“The old field was very worn down and it made it more difficult to play on.” varsity soccer player Naya Pollack said.

Work on Cal’s field begin early in summer and took about three months to complete. The field was available for use the second week of school in August.

While the project was being completed, the football teams used other practice facilities, such as the turf field at Diablo Vista Middle School in Danville.

The district’s field replacement project actually began during the 2019-20 school year when Dougherty Valley had its new field installed.

Before this project started, all district high schools were given the option of when they wanted to replace the fields.

This meant that schools could

Photo courtesy of Alex Gomes

Cal High’s brand new football field was installed this summer after a year long delay and it has already made a big impact this school year. risk doing construction before the school year and possibly not have a field for football season, or not having the new field for the football season but possibly cost winter sports teams the chance to use it.

Cal elected to do construction over the summer while other schools like San Ramon Valley and Monte Vista high schools are waiting until after football season.

Although the price of the

field seems expensive, the field needed to be replaced to give athletes a better, and safer, experience while playing. Several athletes said the old field needed to be changed because it was starting to become dangerous and affect play.

“The old field had a lot of divots and was worn out,” senior varsity football player Jason Duggs said.

This isn’t good for sports that require quick movements like

football and soccer because it can lead to serious injury and prevent athletes from playing at their highest ability.

If athletes are trying to play sports in college or in an important game and the field affects the way they perform then that could be a big problem.

Some athletes like to put their concerns with the field in more simple terms.

“That old field was horrible,” senior varsity soccer player

Gavin Navarro said. “I’m excited to use the new one.”

The new field has already proven its effectiveness when it comes to the health of the players this year.

“Rolling an ankle and tripping is less of an issue,” Duggs said.

This is a good sign for the health of athletes because it means they will be able to play with more confidence that the surface they are playing on

is safer.

While the field was a large investment, it should be worth the money because the athletes that have already used it have noticed the difference.

“I used it at open field and the ball moved more smoothly and it is much nicer and more fun to play on.” Pollack said.

Added senior varsity soccer play Derek O’Brien, “The new field should be way better. I am excited to use it.”

Freshman Gracie Barco stars for varsity tennis Stand-out newcomer to the team makes big impact Anirud Lappathi Staff Writer It’s usually a senior or junior who is the top ranked player on the varsity tennis team.

Sometimes a sophomore will slip in there and claim the top spot. But a freshman?

That’s what Cal is experiencing with freshman Gracie Barco, who is the Grizzlies top ranked player.

“I’m proud because I’ve been training for a really long time so I feel like it paid off at least,” said Barco, who attended Pine Valley Middle School last year.

The Grizzlies are still growing this season while off to a 2-8 start. Barco has gone 3-6 in the nine matches she’s played, facing mostly upperclassmen playing in the top spot for their teams.

Before tennis, Barco tried her hand at other sports such as basketball, swimming and soccer.

But tennis stuck with her in a way that the other sports didn’t.

She has been playing tennis since she was seven with her parents as her main motivation.

Being the best hasn’t come easy for Barco. She spent four hours practicing each day during

the summer, and currently practicing up to two hours every day during the season.

She doesn’t seem to see all of this practice as work though.

“Tennis is really relaxing to me,” Barco said. “All the time I’m stressed about schoolwork especially with COVID, and tennis has been an escape from that.”

Though COVID-19 has been an obstacle in her tennis career, Barco has persevered through the challenges it brought and emerged on top.

“Gracie is a fighter. She knows she doesn’t have the size or the speed but she makes it up by the technique and strategies,” varsity tennis coach Manuel Vasquez said. “Her strategies are usually what make her win,” Barco’s teammates are fond of her as she’s a newcomer to the school and team. Instead of being jealous, they encourage her to play better, and admire her dedication to her craft.

“When I started I was in JV, and I think it’s really cool that she’s really dedicated to tennis,” teammate Stephanie Woon, a senior, said. “Some of us are not as motivated to play tennis as she is.”

Having great expectations placed on a young athlete can come with great pressure, and Barco definitely feels it.

“I do feel like there might be a little bit of pressure to keep the number one spot and the work expected of me,” Barco said, “but I’ve been training a lot so I think it’s going to be easier than I might think.”

The team’s second-ranked player is senior Bhavya Pandey, who was last year’s team’s top player.

“She has a lot of drive and spirit, and I see that she really puts in the work outside of practice as well,” Pandey said.

“I know that a lot of us get busy and don’t really do that but I can see her putting in that extra step.”

Though Barco is the best on her team, she does sometimes take losses.

“I have a lot of tournament matches where I’m motivated and I’m ready to go but it just starts to slip as I keep playing.”

Barco said. “Nowadays when I play a match and I lose, I’ve been working on letting it go. I’ve been working on regulating my emotions so I can move past it,” Barco has overcome many obstacles to make it to varsity.

COVID, being an incoming freshman, and schoolwork piled on top of her hours of practice.

Photo by Dannika Shah

Freshman Gracie Barco returns a serve during a match against Dublin High.

“I think my biggest achievement was getting up to the number one ranking,” Barco said. “It’s something that I can tell people and they can

understand.”

And if she keeps working and progressing, who knows where tennis can take her.

“She’s only a freshman, and

she’s already number one with this school right now,” Vasquez said. “If she keeps up where she’s going… she will definitely be a college player.”

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Features

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at

Cal High welcomes ne

Cell-ebrating new STEM teachers

Brad Bretzing, sports medicine Sports Medicine teacher Brad Bretzing may be new teacher at Cal High this year, but this is not his first time on campus.

Bretzing is a Cal alumnus, graduating with the Class of 2012. He played football for or three years and ran track for one year.

“The school gave so much to me and I wanted to give back to it,” Bretzing said.

After his time at Cal, Bretzing attended College of the Redwoods where he majored

in psychology. He then went to the University of La Verne and earned his BS in kinesiology.

He is enrolled at the University of Phoenix to earn a master’s in education combined and a single subject teaching credential in PE. He often tells his students that he does homework too.

When not teaching, Bretzing enjoys playing rugby, hiking with his dogs, and staying active.

– Sydney Cicchitto

Hayou Chen, math Math teacher Hayou Chen teaches Algebra 2 and geometry. Chen has been teaching for a total of 21 years and has taught high school physics and middle school sciences before coming to Cal. The main reason why she started teaching was because she enjoyed working with students to help them see the beauty of

learning new subjects and to learn with them. Chen recently moved to San Ramon after teaching at private and charter Catholic schools.

Some of her hobbies are traveling, reading, gardening, photography, ballroom dancing, and hanging out with friends while also making new ones.

– Kaustav Pal

Tracy Foster, honors chemistry When it comes to science, Tracy Foster has taught a little bit of everything.

Although he currently teaching honors chemistry, Foster also has taught AP biology, chemistry, biology, anatomy and physiology, as well as other biomedical classes in the past.

His old teachers inspired him to teach, and he was undecided in college whether to be a sur-

geon or a teacher. He ended up choosing the latter. Prior to teaching at Cal, Foster taught at Malibu High School near Los Angeles.

Some of his hobbies include hiking, camping, archery, and growing ghost peppers. An interesting fact about Foster is that he has been to all 50 states and 13 countries.

– Kaustav Pal

Ryan Hughes, chemistry Science teacher Ryan Hughes is a familiar face in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District.

Hughes taught at San Ramon Valley High School in Danville prior to coming to Cal. He decided to teach at Cal because of his familiarity with this area and neighborhood, and because he liked the diverse population

of the school.

Some of Hughes’ hobbies include playing video games, such as “SMITE”, “Warframe” and now uber populart “Dead

by Daylight”, listening to lo-fi music, swimming in his backyard pool, and cheering for his favorite professional football team, the Las Vegas Raiders.

– Kaustav Pal

Saumya Rakesh, Algebra 1 Math teacher Saumya Rakesh has been teaching in the United States for a total of six years.

For the first two years, Rakesh worked as a short-term and a long-term substitute teacher.

She currently teaches Algebra 1, and has taught eighth grade math and art in the past.

Rakesh also was a physics teacher for juniors and seniors

in India before coming to the United States.

She taught for three years in Fremont and two years in Dublin before coming to Cal. So far, the new school year has been going well. She’s happy with well behaved Cal students are.

Some of Rakesh’s hobbies are drawing, gardening, yoga, and cooking.

– Kaustav Pal

Counting on the Christine Abogado

Christine Abogado used to be a college and career specialist at Fremont High School for five years.

She then decided to get into counseling because she wanted to be able to prepare and help students.

Some of Abogado’s hobbies are watching anime, movies,

Jennifer Beavers Jennifer Beavers is another new counselor that started this year at Cal High.

Beavers started teaching as an English teacher at Monte Vista from 1999-2007 before gaining the experience as a call and instructional coach from 2005-2020. She got back into teaching when she joined the

Kelly Nogueiro

Counselor Kelly Nogueiro was a counselor at San Jose Unified School District for three years before coming to Cal. She started off wanting to study psychology, and then spent two years at a counseling internship during grad school.

Nogueiro liked the experience of helping students achieve goals. She knew she wanted

and crocheting. The Harry Potter series and The Night Circus are among her favorite books to read.

Some of the quotes that have motivated her are “be the person you needed when you were younger” and there are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind” by author C.S. Lewis.

– Ylin Zhu

Cal staff last year.

Beavers moved into counseling so she can work closely with students and families. A fun fact is that she met Cal Principal Megan Keefer when they were both English teachers at Monte Vista. Coincidentally, they both transferred to Cal High afterward. Some hobbies of hers are hiking, reading, and traveling.

– Ylin Zhu to work with high schoolers because students start to have goals and thoughts by then.

Since her aunt used to teach at Cal, Nogueiro thought it would be a great opportunity to come and become a counselor.

Nogueiro grew up in Fremont and used to do track and baseball. She’s very crafty, likes to cook, and enjoys playing with her dog, Zoey.

– Ylin Zhu

Features

at www.thecalifornianpaper.com

ew teachers and staff

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Two teachers for the history books Juliette Garcia, history

As a first-year teacher, Juliette Garcia is in the middle of her probationary period at Cal High.

But the new history teacher hopes to have a long career as a Grizzly.

Garcia got her bachelor’s degree in history at Saint Mary’s College and is currently working towards a master’s degree in history from the same university.

She wanted to be a history teacher because she thinks “his-

tory is in everything” and being a teacher was a long term goal she has had since childhood.

Garcia’s favorite historical events include the Cuban Revolution and World War II. Some activities she enjoys in her free time include graphic design and creating vivid illustrations. She also a huge fan of Disney and her favorite characters include Ariel from “The Little Mermaid” and Baymax from “Big Hero Six”.

– Aarna Prashanth

Lucas Westmoreland, world geo Newly hired world geography teacher Lucas Westmoreland has made his return to San Ramon.

Westmoreland taught for two years at Kimble High School in Tracy before coming to Cal because he said he was “born and raised here.” He chose to teach world geography because he has always had an interest in history and the world around us.

But teaching wasn’t his first job. Westmoreland earned his bachelor’s in marketing at Pep-

ese counselors

perdine University in Malibu, and he worked in that field for 10 years before becoming a teacher.

Some activities he enjoys in his free time are reading books and playing video games. Currently, his favorite video game is “Assassin’s Creed”. To push himself, he’s reading “Where Do We Go from Here” by Martin Luther King Jr. Westmoreland said it’s not easy, but it’s a great book.

– Aarna Prashanth

Adding to the Cal administration nation

Chris deClercq, athletic director The new athletic director at Cal High this year is Chris deClercq.

He was originally a teacher in Walnut Creek, as well as the baseball coach for San Ramon Valley High School.

“I got into teaching and coaching because I want to help kids and guide them, and being an athletic director gives me more people to have an impact on,’’ deClercq said.

Meet Kathi Nichols, Cal’s new college and career adviser

Students looking for help or advice about which college best suits them will most likely meet new college and career adviser Kathi Nichols at some point.

Nichols has been at Cal High since 2000, starting as a volunteer before becoming a substitute in 2008. After that,

she focused on testing, managing SATs, PSATs, and ACTs. As the college and career adviser, Nichols focuses on guiding students on the path to their futures, which includes navigating the website Naviance.

Some of her hobbies are fitting uniforms for the school’s

marching band and color guard.

In the summer, she travels around the country, passing out food as a registered dietitian for the Blue Devils Drums Corps.

She enjoys that Cal High is a very friendly, supporting and welcoming school.

– Ylin Zhu

So far deClercq has enjoyed being able to meet and interact with many Cal students.

When he is off-campus, deClercq enjoys spending time with his kids, 7-year old triplets.

He enjoys sports and staying active, similar to his wife, who is an Olympic bronze medalist synchronized swimmer from the 2004 Greece Summer Olympics.

– Sydney Cicchtto

Nicole Main, assistant principal Nicole Main is Cal’s new assistant principal. She used to teach English, AVID, and academic enrichment at Monte Vista before coming to Cal. Main also has spent time working for the district’s communications department. She saw an open position to become a Grizzly and applied.

“Anything that lets me interact with students!” said Main.

In her free time, Main enjoys

reading, working out, spending time outside, and doing crafts with her kids.

When eating in San Ramon, she enjoys going to the City Center for dinner at C Casa and then stopping by Salt & Straw for their non-dairy ice cream.

On-campus, students may see her eating her favorite onthe-job snacks: cucumbers and carrots with hummus.

– Sydney Cicchitto

All photos by Erica Dembrowicz, Dannika Shah, Daphne So, Ryan Syms, and Ylin Zhu

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Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Masks introduced to band program

Musicians adapt to special face coverings so they can play indoors Kira Sidhu Staff Writer

Ever worn a mask with a slit right in the middle of it?

As the Cal High instrumental music program brings in-person playing back to life, many band students can now answer “yes” to that question.

After a rough year online, music students and staff are adjusting to changes in the program to accommodate COVID-19 safety guidelines and protocols. New Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as the special masks, have taken some getting used to.

Every mask that band students use is produced by United Sound and looks like a regular black mask. But up close, a twoinch slit in the front where the mouthpiece of the instrument goes through is visible.

This slit, which operates as a flap, also properly covers the mouth when no instrument is inserted. There’s also a cloth cover called a bell cover that fits over the end of the instrument where sound comes out. Such PPE is used to stop the aerosol spray produced by musicians when they blow into their instrument from being released into the air.

Throughout multiple band classes, issues with being able to comfortably use the band masks have been common.

“In the beginning it was sort of awkward,” sophomore Alyssa Luu said. “Afterwards you get used to it.”

Javier Cerna, Cal’s new instrumental instructor added, “Some of the masks are very uncomfortable.”

Masks for flautists are different from masks for the other musicians mostly because there are two slits for the flute to slide into. Like with the masks for other instruments, flautist masks have a bell cover, which is a piece of cloth strapped onto the end of the instrument using a rubber band.

The masks for flautists in marching band, which arrived before the ones for wind ensemble, were found to be extremely uncomfortable and tight.

Sophomore flautist Ishika Banerjee said the original marching band masks were so tight that they would cut into her neck and around her nose. To deal with this, many flautists in marching band got a regular mask and cut slits into it themselves, or tried to loosen their mask.

Since then, this problem has been alleviated because marching band regularly plays outside with social distancing.

On the other hand, flautists in wind ensemble must wear masks at all times due to the class being held indoors.

Flautists in this class received different and more comfortable versions of the masks.

Senior flautist Prisha Narasimhan said it takes time and extra effort to insert the flute into the mask. The masks were tight for many at the beginning but the fitting has gotten better as flautists, for whom the masks must be manually tied at the end, have learned to tie them more loosely or to their individual comfort level.

“It’s not comfortable at all,” Narasimhan said, “but you have to adapt.”

Narasimhan said she feels safer with the masks than without but prefers playing outside so she doesn’t have to wear a mask. “[The mask] helps more than if you were completely mask-

Photo by Shiphrah Moses

Members of the Wind Ensemble class play “Sleigh Ride” with their special masks, which include a slit for the instrument. less,” Banerjee said.

Freshman tuba player Sid Arora also said there were some issues with tightness of masks around his ears, but for the most part band musicians have been successful in comfortably adjusting to them.

Junior Dylan Liujanto, who plays saxophone, agrees and said the adjustment to wearing a band mask doesn’t bother him anymore.

Both Luu and Duong said they feel safer because of the special band masks, and all

students interviewed said they are glad their respective music class is back on campus instead of virtual like last year.

Cerna said safety has been a priority this year and the goal is to be able to run the music program successfully without

putting anyone at risk.

Overall, he said he’s really focusing on going back to the basics with students this school year and spending time creating music together.

“It’s starting to feel like band again,” Cerna said.

doing so well either. The hit drama series “Never Have I Ever” has left viewers questioning whether they hit the mark on being culturally sensitive.

With an Indian-American lead, the plot follows a teenage girl who’s going through the waves of high school. Although Netflix did well with writing a show that isn’t about the typical white American teenager, it is very clear that Netflix still depends on racial stereotypes when writing a cliche script.

The plot referenced tired Indian stereotypes, such as arranged marriages, fake Indian accents, an over-controlling mother, and being the “unpopular” kid at school.

But that’s not all. More recently, the phenomenon “In The Heights” has received endless backlash for the absence of dark-skinned Afro-Latinx people in the movie. The musical film takes place in Washington Heights, a heavily populated Afro-Latinx neighborhood.

Despite that, none of the lead actors were of Afro-Latinx descent besides Leslie Grace, a light-skinned Dominican

woman.

“Why are Afro-Latinas who look like me excluded from the lead? Have y’all ever been to Washington Heights? We’re not all white-adjacent. When will they stop erasing us? Representation matters.” Lynn V on Twitter wrote.

It wasn’t until multiple discourses that “In The Heights” music composer and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda took to Twitter to issue an apology for the misrepresentation of Washington Heights.

He admitted that team behind the movie “fell short” and took accountability for the improper casting. Although Miranda recognized where he went wrong, it’s a shame the movie was held back because they couldn’t cast dark-skinned actors.

As ethnically diverse TV shows and movies have become the new normal, viewers can only hope that these shows will lose their racial insensitivity as time goes on.

Until then, Twitter will always be there to warn the public on which strange show or movie to steer away from next.

Hollywood’s representation issue needs fixing

Melody Mulugeta Staff Writer Minority representation is a bone that actors, directors and viewers have picked for decades.

Although our society has definitely evolved from once having an aggressively racist film industry, many of these problematic patterns are scarily repetitive.

Social media users have discovered one of many upcoming directors to put the blame on: Kenya Barris. As the creator of “#BlackAF”, “Black-ish”, “Grown-ish”, and “Mixed-ish”, (and soon to be “Brown-ish”) Barris has perpetuated many acts of colorism and misrepresentation in his work. Crazily enough, a large majority of the actors Barris’ casts for these

Illustration by Judy Luo

Hollywood has become more inclusive but lighter skin tones are continuously chosen over darker skin.

shows are light-skinned.

On the first season of “Grownish”, the similar-shaded Black college friend group addressed issues of colorism. Ironic, right?

As expected, Barris chose to

highlight light-skinned sisters, Sky and Jazz Forster, and their struggles with being excluded from the “desired dating pool”.

Realistically, an episode about colorism would spotlight dark-

skinned people, aka the ones who face colorism in the first place.

Although ABC and Freeform have been bombarded with the these “-ish” shows, Netflix isn’t

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

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BTS ‘Map of the Soul’ tour cancelled COVID-19 creates problems for K-Pop band tour Anika Choudhary Staff Writer As performers of all kinds begin to start up tours and concerts again, all eyes are on the world’s biggest music group and the future of their tour.

In other words: What’s up with BTS? Big Hit Music, the label BTS is under, announced on Aug. 19 the cancellation of the band’s “Map of the Soul: 7” tour.

The tour was supposed to kick off the US leg of the tour in April 2020 at the Seoul Olympic Stadium. Unfortunately, when COVID-19 hit the world with full force, the group was forced to postpone their tour for an indefinite time.

After more than a year of being in a postponement limbo, the tour’s cancellation was announced through a post on Weverse, a mobile platform for fans and artists.

“Due to changing circumstances beyond our control, it has become difficult to resume performances at the same scale and timeline as previously planned,” Big Hit Music representatives announced.

“Therefore we must announce the cancellation of the BTS ‘MAP OF THE SOUL TOUR’.”

Although the tour was canceled, BTS recently announced four concert dates in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium on Nov. 27-28 and Dec. 1-2.

“Map of the Soul” was one of the most anticipated tours of 2020, selling out 39 shows in 18 countries spanning North America, Europe and Asia.

There were almost twice as many tickets sold for BTS’s tour as the Super Bowl in that respective year, according to StubHub, a ticket exchange site.

BTS was going to start the US leg of the tour on April 25, 2020 with a two-night run at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

Illustration courtesy of Michelle Ngyuen

Members of BTS, who have a tradition of taking group photos at every concert, have not performed live since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020.

“I applied for the ARMY membership but getting the tickets was still kind of difficult,” said sophomore Carolyn Xu, whose tickets for the Levi’s stadium show were canceled.

“So many people were trying to get tickets.”

Conversations were sparked over whether the cancellation was even necessary, seeing as many other artists have started touring again. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced on Sept. 9 the spike in COVID cases as the country enters its fourth wave of COVID. “They did the right thing, especially in these times,” said sophomore Anushri Das, who

was also planning on attending their Santa Clara show. “People can barely effectively enforce masks at school, so it would be impossible to enforce masks in a stadium full of people.”

Although fans who purchased tickets for any of the shows received full refunds, the news of the tour being canceled still upset those who planned on attending.

“Obviously it is very sad, but it was the right move,” junior Margaux Gutierrez said. “People were clinging onto hope that the tour would happen, so the tour being officially canceled gives the fans closure and lets them grieve.”

The members of BTS have

been very vocal about their irritation with this situation.

Through interviews and songs on their last studio album “BE’’, the members have expressed how much they miss performing and seeing their fans.

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, BTS vocalist Jungkook stated, “I’m a person that really loves to be on stage and really loved hearing from our fans, so when our tour got canceled in March last year, it was a bit of a shock, and it was kind of hard to take in.”

Throughout the pandemic, the music group has stayed connected with fans as they continue to perform via online concerts.

“The online shows are a great way to keep performing,” said junior Kayla Romans, another fan who had tickets to the tour.

“It really is the next best thing to an actual concert.”

BTS hosted their first online concert, “Bang Bang Con: The Live”, in June 2020. Big Hit metrics indicated that the show peaked at 756,000 viewers in 107 countries and territories.

Attendance was the equivalent of 15 shows at a 50,000 seat stadium. The concert had the biggest audience for a paid virtual concert.

The K-Pop titans beat this record with their “Map of the Soul ON:E” Concert when they had nearly 1 million viewers from

191 countries tune in. At this virtual concert, they performed the set list they were planning to perform in their “Map of the Soul Tour”.

“Muster Sowoozoo”, their most recent virtual concert, was a weekend-long event to celebrate the band’s eighth anniversary. They broke their world record, with 1.33 million viewers, earning $71 million in merchandise and ticket sales.

“From the clips I have seen, BTS do a great job with making you feel like you are there in person during the online shows,” freshman Daksha Chandragiri said. “It’s not surprising that so many people pay to watch even though it’s online.”

DaBaby bigoted HIV/AIDS comments spark controversy

Allison Cavanagh Staff Writer In a media-driven world, cancel culture is not something that lacks persistence.

Several music artists such as Tyler the Creator, Morgan Wallen and Sia have had past and recent information come to light, initiating what the majority of people like to call “scandals”.

Most recently, rapper Jonathan Kirk, commonly known as DaBaby, became a hub of

criticism regarding his opinions about people living with HIV and AIDS. During his Rolling Loud set in Miami in July, he expressed these opinions by saying, “If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two or three weeks, put your cellphone light in the air.”

Not only is this highly inaccurate, but it’s also harmful to impressionable youth who already lack education about these diseases. Considering Dababy is quite a popular artist, it’s very likely loyal listeners could be led astray.

He also told fans to put their phone lighters in the air if they aren’t having homosexual relations in the parking lot, and to keep it “f****** real.”

Unsurprisingly, this caused an uproar among people, including celebrities. Elton John, Madonna, and Jonathan Van Ness are some of the big names of the LGBTQIA+ community who have spoken out against DaBaby’s comments. Dua Lipa, who recently featured DaBaby on her hit song “Levitating”, renounced any further affiliation with him, saying she was “surprised and horrified.”

Once the backlash started, DaBaby went on a rant on his Instagram story with a total of 19 videos, initially standing by his previous statements. Some of the things he said in defense included “shut the f*** up, what I do at a live show is for the audience at the live show,” and “That’s called a call to actionthat’s what it’s called. Because I’m a live performer. I’m the

best live performer.”

As a result, DaBaby was dropped from multiple sponsorships, brand deals and music festivals, including Lollapalooza, K5 107.5 Summer Jam, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Governors Ball, and DayNVegas.

He later posted a message on his Instagram apologizing. He wrote, “I want to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made. Again, I apologize for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I know education on this is important.”

People have speculated a manager of his curated this post, saying it didn’t come off as sincere. He deleted this post shortly after.

But what can’t be deleted are his harmful comments.

Photo courtesy of HOTSPOTATL

Rapper DaBaby speaks with the media.

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A&E

Read The Californian online at www.thecalifornianpaper.com

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Spider-Man trailer has fans spinning

Third installment of film prompts frantic speculation Samantha Contreras Staff Writer Two years after Spider-Man’s identity was exposed in “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” Marvel has finally released the first trailer of the new “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

In just the first 24 hours of the trailer’s release on Aug. 24, it received 355.5 million views worldwide, beating “Avengers: Endgame,” which received 289 million views.

Some Cal High students even say that once the new movie reaches theaters on Dec. 17, it will be a more successful and higher grossing movie than “Endgame.”

“Oh 100 percent. Spider-Man is definitely making more money than ‘Endgame’,” sophomore Ronak Adhikri said.

“Everyone loves him.”

The new trailer of Marvel’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man caused much excitement since it is the first Marvel movie to finally introduce the Marvel Cinematic Universe “Multiverse”. But it has also received many questions and created confusion over the introduction of this new concept.

Fans recently have seen many examples of the MCU multiverses crossing over, the biggest one being in the Marvel Series, “Loki,” which was released on Disney+ over the summer. One of the examples of the multiverse crossing over in the series are the Lokis from different universes. All of them are “Variants”, or people who did something that disturbed the Sacred Timeline.

This timeline is a path of certain events that must happen.

If these events do not occur,

there is a disturbance in the Sacred Timeline, causing a branch timeline to form off of the sacred one.

In certain scenes of the new Spider-Man trailer, hints of villains from the previous nonMCU Spider-Man movies with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield playing the roles of Peter Parker are shown.

Villains such as Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin and Sandman from the Maguire “Spider-Man’’ films are expected to join the ones like Lizard and Electro from Garfield’s “The Amazing Spider-Man”, in the new “Spider-Man No Way Home” film.

One of the major parts of the trailer was Doctor Strange’s appearance. In the three-minute long trailer, it showed that Peter Parker went to Dr. Strange for help because the whole world knows his identity and it’s causing too much conflict for him and his loved ones.

He asks Dr. Strange to make it so that Mysterio, the villain in “Spider-Man: Far from Home”, never reveals his identity. It appears in the trailer that Strange gladly casts the spell so that all is forgotten, even after Wong, another sorcerer like Dr. Strange, strongly advises him not to.

During the spell, Peter Parker interrupts Dr. Strange, causing some sort of outburst of energy which might lead to more conflicts, like the disruption of the multiverses.

After fans watched the trailer the question they are asking themselves is why Dr. Strange was so willing to cast this spell that seemed to have caused so much chaos.

Dr. Strange even said himself in the trailer, “The multiverse is

Illustration by Shua Lee

Characters from the new “Spider-Man: No Way Home” movie trailer in action which comes out on Dec. 17. a concept about which we know little about.”

Yet he tampered with it just so Spider-Man could have his reputation back. From how Dr. Strange acted in “Endgame”, calculating all the possibilities of how they would win and leading the rest of the heroes down that path, it seems unlikely that he take risks when it comes to Peter Parker’s issue. The only

explanation for fans is that Dr. Strange had some sort of personal gain from this.

“I’m actually wondering if Strange might see a benefit in deliberately crossing the streams of the multiverse to get ahead of a chaotic crisis he knows is coming,” ErikVoss, host of Youtube channel “New Rockstar” said.

The trailer introduced so

many conflicts and plot twists.

Fans are eager to know what is going on in the new film.

“Where are they going with this?” history teacher Ben Andersen said. “Who is the main villain?”

Andersen is not the only one with these questions.

“I was extremely confused, not going to lie.” Adhikri said.

“I’m not sure what to expect.”

But the biggest question on social media is if Maguire and Garfield make an appearance in this universe as well?

“If the Spider-Man villains from the other movies will be in it, I don’t see why the other Spider-Mans won’t be in it either,” sophomore Thomas Coons said.

No one quite knows what to expect until Dec. 17.

Juxtaposed by the venture into his mother’s home of light, Ta Lo, Shang learns to find the balance between the light and dark of his heritage.

“Shang-Chi” has been well received by almost everyone, and there are people who have gone so far as to claim it as their new favorite MCU movie.

The action within the movie is stellar, featuring minute-long scenes of intense martial-arts that has not yet been seen in the MCU. The fight choreography was led by the masterful Andy Cheng, who’s also done excellent work on other classics like the first two “Rush Hour” films.

The scope of the movie is immense, spanning Shang in a one-bedroom apartment in the opening to a final act that closes with a combat scene that nearly matching the scale of the Wakanda scenes in “Avengers: Infinity War”.

The new ideas and themes introduced in “Shang-Chi” bring with it exciting new prospects for fans of the MCU. Adding on to that the exploration of the Multiverse that is coming with other MCU shows

like “What-If?” and “Loki”, the chaos that could ensue is thrilling to consider.

But “Shang-Chi” isn’t just an excellent addition to the MCU because of the combat. It is also the first MCU movie that stars an Asian superhero protagonist.

“Everyone, regardless of the color of their skin or where they come from deserve to see themselves represented in that way,” Liu said in an interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. “What excited me most about this movie is that we were able to provide that for kids and I could be something that I never had.”

The original six MCU Avengers were all white. Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk, and Hawkeye all had white actors.

The first major non-white superhero protagonist featured in an MCU movie was Chadwick Boseman in “Black Panther” with his role as King T’Challa.

This was an important step toward providing equal representation in the superhero world.

Now, Marvel has taken another big step by expanding that with “Shang-Chi”.

New Marvel film adds to representation in MCU ‘Shang-Chi’ features first Asian superhero protagonist Eli Mayerson Sports Editor “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, introduces a plethora of firsts for the films.

Set in the “post-snap” timeline after the events of “Avengers: Endgame”, “Shang-Chi” tells the story of a man whose identity is torn apart by the fact that his parents are the epitome of evil and good.

Shang’s father, Xu Wenwu, owns the Ten Rings, which keeps him immortal and gives him a wide variety of super-abilities. Wenwu has used the rings for thousands of years to make himself more powerful, imposing his will on his enemies.

His mother, Ying Li, was the protector of the passage to Ta Lo, an otherworldly city and her home, until she met

Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore

Actor Simu Liu speaks at San Diego Comic Con in July before the release of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”.

Wenwu. The two married and had two children, Shang and his sister Xialing. In an act of love, Wenwu temporarily gave up his villainous ways until Li died.

Years after Li’s death, Wen-

wu attempts to invade Ta Lo because he believes he hears his deceased spouse’s voice calling him to do so. This prompts Shang’s journey to his old home, the place where he was raised

and trained as a kid.

This physical journey coincides with his journey of self-discovery, as he revisits the dark and painful upbringing his father induced him to.