CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY: TWO INDIVIDUALS SHARE THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES NAVIGATING THE WORLD AS MEMBERS OF THE BLIND COMMUNITY
BY TAYLOR ATIENZA Co-Features Editor
“Being open to having our assumptions challenged, I think, is important,” the steady voice on the other end pauses momentarily before resuming, words crackling through my computer speakers. “I think one of the important things as well is realizing that blindness is not the barrier. External factors are the barrier. The environment can be a barrier, whether it’s a physical or social or institutional environment. The blindness itself isn’t the barrier.” I met Ms. Laura Yvonne Bulk — a Ph.D. candidate and occupational therapist — through Mrs. Joyce Oshita, a family friend. Oshita proposed I join her in working with that the Being Blind Project as a sighted guide. The project, developed by Bulk, aims to increase awareness and understanding about the blind community. Oshita is blind herself, and she needed my help operating and navigating digital aspects of the project. The world isn’t always easy to navigate when you’re blind, as Oshita explained to me. Sometimes, parts of daily life — such as having conversations with others — can become points of distance and discomfort that make her reluctant to continue connecting to sighted society. “I can interact with people on the phone very easily. But what I started noticing is that when I interact with people in person, it’s getting more difficult. It’s becoming more uncomfortable,” she explained. “It’s like I can’t see someone’s expression . . . You don’t even know if they walked away! All of that stuff just becomes uncomfortable, and it makes me not want to do it. Why would I want to put myself into a situation where I feel uncomfortable?” Some of Oshita’s most prominent concerns center around the barriers that inhibit her from fully appreciating and engaging with the sighted world. Recently, she’s been struggling with her continuing vision loss and her de-
sire to continue viewing and enjoying visual media. Joyce has made use of the inclusive features on her phone or computer —such as voiceover or text-to-speech tools — but sometimes they fall short. Ironically enough, even accessibility tools can be difficult to master. While the technology often facilitates an improvement in experience, they can also prove difficult to use for the blind. “The technology advances have really been a benefit to the blind community. But learning how to use the technology has kind of been a hit or miss. There’s not a lot of training that’s so specialized. You kind of just have to learn it on your own or look for resources,” she said. “A lot of organizations will say, ‘You can get training if you just come to our office.’ And I’m thinking, ‘It’s not easy for me to come to your office.’” Even if the Internet can be difficult to navigate, Oshita has still been able to enjoy articles and websites. But as she lost more of her vision and as websites have become increasingly visual platforms, Oshita described feeling closed off from things she used to enjoy. “I do like reading articles and stuff like that because I’m able to know what’s going on, having interactions outside of my own little world, right? But I’m losing the pictures,” she remarked. “I used to really look at websites a lot and read websites a lot. I don’t do that anymore . . . I’ll look up information, and find the information [I need], but . . . As [the Internet] becomes more visual, it kind of closes that world down to me.” Oshita described instances where using text-to-speech features on her phone would allow her to understand written text on websites and social media platforms, but it would often “read” photos by describing them only as “images.” The tool might also read out the file name as it passed over a photograph, spewing a nonsense sequence of letters and numbers. Neither the gibberish of a .jpg file name nor simplistic descriptions such as “image” or “picture” were of assistance to Joyce. Worse still, the inability to interact with visu-
al media with provided inclusive features has decreased her interest in graphics and images as a whole. She voiced her unease in regard to her dwindling interest in the information that accompanies visual media. “What we’ve been talking about with the Being Blind project is how blind people are having difficulty engaging in society . . . I wonder if that’s a danger. I’m at the stage where I’m losing my vision. I still have a little bit left, but I’m still very connected with society in a lot of different ways . . . [But] if I’m starting to lose interest in what pictures people are sending because I don’t know what they are, will I start losing interest in reading the story itself? Will I just start losing interest in engaging because I’m missing so much of it?” she questioned. “And I’m wondering . . . if I’m just going to have less interest in reading stories, or in what I can’t see. And that’s sad, if that’s what’s going to happen.” Despite some of the technological aids and services that have been developed for the blind, it’s easy for the sighted community to unwittingly push away an entire group by neglecting accessibility features. Without considering those outside the mainstream audience, the sighted world becomes harder to access for the blind, whether we’re aware of it or not. Oshita explained that even very simple actions — such as labeling image files with a description of their contents — can increase her understanding of and interest in visual media. “I don’t think that accessibility has to be expensive,” Oshita said. “But really, there are so many simple things that you can do to keep things accessible, like labeling your picture files a certain way so when I hear it on voiceover it tells me what the picture is. Just little things make it more enjoyable, and it makes you feel welcome.” That sense of feeling welcome is what makes inclusivity important. Oshita described a visit to the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, where an employee at the site helped her to interact
with the artifact when he noticed her disability. “[The employee] took [my daughter and I] into the roped area, and he took my hand and had me feel the bell, and showed me the crack. He put my hand in the crack of the bell, had me touch the lettering. It was really neat!” she laughed. “It was neat to see that he reached out and saw that it wasn’t accessible to me, and found a way to make it accessible.” The biggest hurdle to approaching blindness from a sighted and privileged position is often the accompanying sense of awkwardness or apprehension. It’s nearly impossible to truly understand the experiences of someone else; despite this, it’s essential that the sighted world continues to open up platforms of discussion. Laura explained that it’s essential to have blind people actively involved with helping to create technology for the community, as they are the ones who can truly understand the needs of blind and low-vision individuals. “If someone’s making mainstream tech, I think [they should] consult people who are blind when you’re building. And that’s with any disability. You need to be consulting people who have expertise in the area. Have blind people try it out, try out your mock-ups. Consult people in order to make sure that what you’re building is good from the start, you don’t need to go and retrofit,” she said. Ultimately, education is requisite to progress. It’s what makes projects like BBSW so crucial to generating more understanding and deconstructing stigma. But what’s another way for the sighted community to understand the experiences of the blind and to work toward inclusivity? Oshita has an answer. “You just have to get to know a blind person and not be afraid of doing that. I think there’s some good movies out there, some good education, if a sighted person is interested in that community. But really, how are you going to get to know anyone, any group of people — you have to get to know them one-on-one.”
INDEX 3 | FREE SPEECH
6 | “AVENGERS: ENDGAME”
4 | SENIOR WILLS
7 | LACROSSE END OF SEASON Q&A
MAY 28 2019 NEWS AND FEATURES DVHS ADMIN RESTRICTS DAVID FERRER ENDS HIS TENNIS CAREER AT STUDENT ABILITY TO POST IN SCHOOLLOOP NEWS SECTION THE MADRID OPEN
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BY SANA SHEHABI Staff Writer
David Ferrer retires at age 37 after playing his last match of his tennis career on May 8 at the Madrid Open, because he was unable to play at the level he would like. Ferrer became a professional tennis player at the age of 18 when he joined the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). During his 19 year career, Ferrer has won 27 titles and reached a career-high ranking of third in the world. Ferrer retired because he felt he was not physically fit to continue playing at such a high level. The average age of retirement for male tennis players is 36 years old. He’s had elbow and knee injuries that have prevented him from being able to perform at his best. “It’s a reality that physically I cannot play more than two straight matches at the level that I would like to play and that is another symptom that says that my life as a tennis player is finishing,” Ferrer said. He has played a total of 1,111 matches during his career. His last one was against Alexander Zverev in the round of 32 of the Madrid Open and lost 6–4 and 6–1. “It’s a privilege for me to be here right now playing against you in your last match,” Zverev said after the game. Although Ferrer lost the match, the night was special to him, especially since it was played in Spain, his home country. In addition, several ATP stars, including Rafael Nadal, paid a tribute to Ferrer by having a special ceremony in the main stadium of the tournament. Many players such as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer attended the ceremony to honor him. “I have been very lucky to be able to choose the moment, the place, and to share it with all of you and with all the people that I love,” Ferrer stated after the ceremony. Ferrer made many friends through playing professionally, including Feliciano Lopez, the Madrid Open tournament director. Lopez became one
of Ferrer’s best friends on the tour. Lopez stated that Ferrer is one of the most respectful players, and he’s really going to miss Ferrer. Although Ferrer will forever cherish the friendships that he has made, he will also miss the adrenaline of the sport. “Competing will be the thing I miss the most,” said Ferrer. Ferrer has always been extremely competitive, so he loved that type of environment. Even though his retirement was sad for him and for his fans, he’s inspired many new players and motivated them to pursue their athletic goals. This is true for many young players at Dougherty Valley as well. “He is a very mentally strong player and that has always influenced me in a positive way,” said Radith Ekanayake, a senior on the DVHS varsity tennis team. “His positive attitude and drive to win taught me determination and perseverance on and off the court.” Ferrer is proud of the impact he has made, and he’s happy he has been a positive influence on many players. He is looking forward to do other things after retiring, such as spending time with his wife and 1-year-old son. “I feel happy with my transition into accepting that I’m going to stop playing and that this was going to be my last year. My goal is to be happy,” said Ferrer. “Thanks to the career I’ve had, I can look back and feel proud of everything I’ve achieved.”
David Ferrer retires from his career at 37. // ATP TOUR
BY SANJANA RANGANATHAN Staff Writer
On Apr. 16, DVHS administration restricted student ability to post in the Schoolloop news section to prevent offensive content from reaching the community. This district-wide rule, which had already been enforced in all SRVUSD high schools in except DVHS, came into effect at DVHS as well, only allowingto post in Schoolloop news teachers or administrators. Now, in order for students to write content for the news section, a teacher must post it on their behalf and an administrator must review it before it gets officially submitted to the homepage and becomes available for students. Debbie Butler, the computer systems assistant at Dougherty Valley High School, explained that this was due to offensive and unprofessional content that had been posted by students in the news section earlier this month. “Anything that got posted in news didn’t just get posted on our website but went out to every single person who had a Schoolloop account in our district,” Butler explained. “So parents were getting it, district staff was getting it, there was a lot of people besides DVHS [students] who were getting it.” She concluded that in light of numerous complaints by community members to the district, the DVHS administration faced strict rules from the district to enforce restrictions on the news section that they had thus far exempted their students from. However, as essential as it may be to maintain a safe learning platform on Schoolloop, these restrictions have also become a barrier to the over 80 clubs on campus. David Jung, president of both the California Scholarship Federation and Future Business Leaders of America, explains that in his experience in a multitude of clubs, Schoolloop is used widely to post nearly all volunteering events,
fundraisers and reminders for club meetings. Vivian Kuang, secretary of Interact reported that Schoolloop news had become an essential part of her communication and outreach efforts with club members and the general school community.
“Schoolloop is the most important form of communication between us and our members because not all of them have social media, so the recent change in posting policy has definitely made it harder for us to get that information to our members.” “Schoolloop is the most important form of communication between us and our members because not all of them have social media,” Kuang stated. “So the recent change in posting policy has definitely made it harder for us to get that information to our members.” But this inconvenience may only be a shortterm issue as Butler and school administrators have begun creating an alternate communication platform only accessible to the DVHS community. Butler explained, “Our goal for next year is to set up a club webpage that would allow you all to submit news.” While these posts will also undergo review, the process will be much shorter and is projected by Butler to return the efficiency once provided by Schoolloop News.
THE “GREENWASHING” PHENOMENON HIDES DARKER REALITIES UNDER THE GUISE OF ECO-FRIENDLY INTENTIONS BY TAYLOR ATIENZA Co-features Editor Recyclable,biodegradable, eco-friendly – all words that make consumers feel a little better about what they purchase, assuring them that they’re not contributing to the problem. However, as greenwashing becomes more common, not all of these business promises align with the realities of the product. The term — first coined in 1986 by environmentalist Jay Westerveld — was first used to describe the expansion of media and advertising with the aid of new technology. With said trend came a torrent of appeals to consumers’ increasing awareness of environmental issues. The interest in sustainable living has only grown over the years, as evidenced by a 2015 report by the Nielsen Company. “Among the 66% of global respondents willing to pay more, over 50% of them are influenced by key sustainability factors, such as a product being made from fresh, natural and/or organic ingredients (69%), a company being environmentally friendly (58%), and company being known for its commitment to social value (56%),” read the report. Corporations met these demands, but mostly with manufactured truths. Unfortunately, while some companies implemented genuine policies and modified their practices to address environmental concerns, some turned to greenwashing. “[Greenwashing is] the dark side of a
very positive development,” remarked Jason Ballard, CEO of sustainable architecture company TreeHouse. He added, “It’s misdirection, and it’s intended to shift the customer’s focus from a company’s appalling behaviors to something that’s peripheral.”
“Most brands that have allegedly greenwashed their products or services haven’t necessarily been telling outright lies, but broad terms like “eco-friendly” that seem fairly innocuous are usually enough to convince consumers to overlook the questionable practices and pasts of certain companies.” Although greenwashing isn’t especially new, it has grown increasingly difficult to see through the sustainability façades put forward by corporations in recent years. Most brands that have allegedly greenwashed their products or services haven’t necessarily been telling outright lies, but broad terms like “eco-friendly” that seem fairly innocuous are usually enough to con-
vince consumers to overlook the questionable practices and pasts of certain companies. According to a 2018 press release from Nestle, the conglomerate pledged to “make 100% of its packaging recyclable or re-usable by 2025.” Their claims were criticized for being unspecific in their problem-solving approach by organizations like Greenpeace, suggesting a lack of true commitment to tackling issues such as plastic pollution. “It will not actually move the needle toward the reduction of single-use plastics in a meaningful way, and sets an incredibly low standard as the largest food and beverage company in the world,” said Graham Forbes of Greenpeace. “The statement is full of ambiguous or nonexistent targets, relies on ‘ambitions’ to do better, and puts the responsibility on consumers rather than the company to clean up its own plastic pollution.” Business moves like the Nestle pledge to reduce single-use plastics and encourage recycling may hold some potential should they follow through with their 2025 goals; however, some argue that these types of promises are only smoke screens for darker histories. Nestle is one of many companies whose practices have been questioned in regards to water rights and tapping into water supplies from smaller communities throughout the U.S. Most recently, they were criticized for obtaining a subsidy to withdraw more water from White Pine Springs. According to EcoWatch, White Spring Pines is only a 120 miles away from Flint, Michigan,
a fact that drew criticism from local residents and accusations of privatizing water supplies during the continuing crisis. However, the phenomenon isn’t limited to just bottled water — the beauty industry, natural resource industries and numerous energy providers have also come under fire for making questionable claims about sustainable practices. Chevron’s “People Do” campaign series, for example, has showcased images of progress in the form of environmental improvement projects. According to the watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), these ads have existed alongside a record of offshore drilling projects and links to Superfund sites. Vice reported on UK clothing company Boohoo and their promise to stop using wool in their products. They also reported the subsequent withdrawal of their statement when it was found that they used fake furs made of non-biodegradable plastic instead of actual wool. According to Vice, no further commitments to reducing or eliminating this practice were made by the company. Although attitudes towards climate change have shifted, partly due to documentaries such as “An Inconvenient Truth,” the rise of young climate activists like Greta Thunberg and the youth in the Juliana v. U.S. lawsuit, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) identification of irreversible tipping points in the progression of climate change, greenwashing may serve to undermine this shift. A
lack of information has led consumers to be comforted with advertisements selling the idea of “making a difference” and placated with promises of “eco-friendly” practices. An interest in “going green” is instead fueling companies that aren’t necessarily telling the whole truth, paradoxically leading to less progress overall. However, not all companies are at fault; some are committed to keeping the environment and ethics in mind when creating products, and they are highly transparent. There are also a fair number of services available to evaluate company practices and keep consumers informed in an effort to combat greenwashing. According to Vogue, consumers can look for a COSMOS Organic Certification on their beauty products to ensure they contain at least 95% organic material. For clothing, the Global Transparency Index by the non-profit Fashion Revolution provides ratings on how truthful major fashion retailers are with their production methods and policies. Good On You is a similar organization seeking to reduce the impact of fast fashion and advocate against unsustainable practices. Other applications and websites provide data on products and companies, and watchdog groups continue to warn consumers about greenwashing. Thus, while the market isn’t free of greenwashing, the availability of new sources of information can bring about more consumer awareness of such practices and ways to truly support a cause with purchases.
OPINIONS
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May 28 2019
ENDING ON A HIGH (SCHOOL) NOTE BY ELISA FANG Editor-in-Chief
I’m trying to appeal to our combined high school experience, which is actually probably the wrong way to do this. At
If I had the credibility to write an article about what you will learn in high school, which people should influence you or what the best way to survive high school is, I wouldn’t be agonizing over how to summarize high school in a few paragraphs and instead would have written multiple self-help books that would’ve made me a millionaire by now, cackling about how I’ve conned the masses. In an alternate universe, I’m smart enough to do that. Unfortunately, I have a conscience. The theme of this article is that I don’t know anything about anything ever. And I don’t feel bad about that, if that’s even something I’m supposed to feel bad about. My high school experience definitely isn’t the worst anyone’s ever experienced — I’d be able to point out quite a few moments where I am purely and inexplicably happy. I’ve been lucky enough to have healthy relationships and the opportunities to explore whatever the heck I want to explore. But the road from adolescence to adulthood is still paved with a lot of trial and error. When I first started writing this article, I struggled, HARD, with how to holistically represent these last four years of my life. High school, block letters, all caps. American media always makes high school seem like a person’s first look into feudalistic hierarchy and despair. Though honestly, I feel like I hated middle school more. Here’s the problem I ran into: unlike the giant educational chunks of my life I experienced before, there’s no one thing that I can characterize high school as. Elementary school was whatever my child brain desired. Middle school was angst. High school (...).
“Everything you’ve ever heard about college is probably false. And I’ve heard a lot of things, from all sorts of people.” this point in our lives, on the road from adolescence to adulthood, high school is only the stage where the poignant chunks of our lives happen — there’s no way for me to holistically describe high school because my experiences began before high school and will extend far beyond it. So essentially what I’m saying is, I don’t know anything about what a high school experience is, or should or shouldn’t be like. All I know is what I’ve stumbled upon, so here is a brief compilation of my own experiences, in some aspects of life high schoolers seem to treasure the most. College Everything you’ve ever heard about college is probably false. And I’ve heard a lot of things, from all sorts of people. Luckily for me, however, the first that I’ve heard about college applications was from people who were similar to me, in that we were all passionate people who did things because we enjoyed them. Amanda, one of our beloved Editor-in-Chiefs last year, also wrote about this in her farewell article last year,
talking about how she joined every single thing her freshman year, then proceeded to quit them one by one until she found what she really enjoyed. The first time I heard about college applications was from people who really succeeded in the process, and that lifted such a weight from me so that I was actually allowed to enjoy some of the mind-numbing essay writing. I’d say enjoy your college application process, ignoring all your weird worries about what the colleges want and/or what will make or break your application — because you will not understand, even a little bit, what colleges want even after you go through the application process. I was rejected or waitlisted at most of the schools I applied to, and received a supplemental request from one of them. I could’ve very easily been rejected from this one school, based on reasons I would never know, and even though I was accepted, I have little clarity on why that was. All I know is that my self-esteem would’ve tumbled if I was rejected, but I haven’t felt much difference since I was accepted, which is interesting considering that both are built on an equal amount of ignorance. Most of us were probably fed the college spiel from when we were little kids — big brand colleges whose logo on a shirt holds the same exclusivity as luxury goods. But to those who I have the honor of telling the first time: your college admission isn’t going to be your greatest achievement in your life. It’s wonderful to be excited and proud of yourself after immense stress and struggling. And whether or not you get into your preconceived dream school is irrelevant to that pride. Friendships When you become more of yourself, the byproduct is that you begin understanding others; you realize who you should keep close, and also when it’s
super valid to break away from them. Seeing young adults navigate their relationships while being unsure of what they want have, above all, taught me an important lesson about toxicity. Some people are toxic, naturally, but I’m in the belief that these people are few and far between. The real culprit of this toxicity is a lack of communication — the keystone and pinnacle of all things. People are meant to change all the time and drift apart, but the worst way is sitting down with them after a year of miscommunication and neglect, and feeling like you have to meet them all over again and not having the energy to do so.
ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF ELAINE PARK
My biggest reconciliation with myself was that I owe nothing to them — but also that they owe nothing to me. Better communication creates empathy, which drives mutual understanding. And this is going to be true in any situation, whether people end up growing together or growing apart. Relationships This is another one of those things that people don’t ever know more than
other people about, even if they’ve been in relationships before. What I mean by this is that every relationship is truly an individual experience between two people — maybe there’s some viable advice in the weird dance people do to figure out who likes who and how to get them to know, but beyond that, there’s nothing except your own self-evaluations of what you want and what’s good for you. Your dating friends will likely never listen to your advice. Save it for single people. As a general rule of thumb, don’t date because you feel like everyone else is dating (they’re not), or because you desperately want to be in a relationship. Our cultural emphasis on dating in high school probably harkens back before modern medicine when our lifespans were 30 years long. Or puberty. Either way, getting in relationships for the sake of relationships only work when the other person also does the same — and even then I question how much you can really get out of that relationship. It’s really a matter of intention. I doubt anyone is looking for their marriage partner in their teens, so if two people mutually like each other, there’s really no harm in trying it out. It could be a really fulfilling experience. But know your priorities, and don’t turn it into something you regret. But like I said before, I don’t know anything — the intricacies of your life, the relationships you have, what your priorities are — which means that you probably shouldn’t listen to what I say. This advice wasn’t even told to me by someone who has arguably more credibility than I do; it’s just me. I had the privilege of watching everybody else make these mistakes, instead of me, and know what exactly not to do instead of what I should. And honestly, I thought my high school life was pretty good.
SPEAKING THE TRUTH ON FREE SPEECH BY KAVIN KUMARAVEL & VIVIAN KUANG Co-Opinions Editor & Staff Writer
“Free speech” has never been free. Common conceptions of free speech have always been based off the notion that speech affects each individual equally and that each individual has the same access to speak in the first place. Unfortunately, in many instances this could
“‘Civility’ sustains a paradoxical power dynamic that expects the oppressed to somehow liberate themselves while simultaneously being conciliatory to their oppressor.” not be further from the truth, and because of the inherent disparities in how speech affects different demographics in our society, opinions cannot all be tolerated simply on the circular reasoning of it being an opinion. With the rise of polarization and discriminatory, violent or false rhetoric, condemnations of such speech by activists are met with cries criticizing their lack of tolerance. Protesting Trump’s hate-filled rallies are viewed as violating the free speech of bigoted individuals. Calling for UC Berkeley to deplatform conservative speakers spewing hate is viewed as a form of intolerance. But what these defenders of “tolerance” fail to realize is that sometimes, combating discriminatory rhetoric is necessary to preserve tolerance, which is outlined by philosopher Karl Popper’s “paradox of tolerance.” The paradox of tolerance states that “in order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance.” Unrestricted tolerance of intolerant opinions will eventually allow intolerance to gain so much traction
that tolerance is overrun. Essentially, there is a distinction between opinions on, for example, economic policy, and opinions that fundamentally threaten minorities, like the opinion that LGBTQ+ individuals don’t deserve equal rights, or that white people are superior. Tolerating the first opinion is part of a diversity of social and political discourse, while tolerating the second excludes certain groups from that discourse entirely, ultimately reinforcing intolerance. Treating both opinions as valid lends credence to the idea that discriminatory rhetoric is excusable with an almost comical defense of “that’s my opinion.” “Bad speech” is exemplified by political commentator Ben Shapiro. His 2014 Youtube video “The Myth of the Tiny Radical Muslim Minority” argues that 800 million Muslims are “radicalized,” an assertion that was debunked by Politifact as false due to its over-extrapolated data and broad definition of “radical.” Coupled with tweets like “Arabs like to bomb crap and live in open sewage,” Shapiro espouses some of the most dangerous opinions in mainstream media today. This has already had disturbing implications. In May 2018, a gunman who killed six Muslim men at a Quebec City mosque was revealed to have visited Shapiro’s Twitter page 93 times in the month prior, more than any other account. More recently, the Christchurch shooting which left 50 dead was found to have been the result of internet radicalization. The shooter’s appalling manifesto mentions influences like PewDiePie, and nine of Pewdiepie’s videos have been found to include antisemitic and Nazi imagery by the Wall Street Journal. Pewdiepie also has endorsed Youtuber E;R, whose channel features unedited videos of Hitler’s speeches. Even if PewDiePie himself does not espouse hate (arguable), the individuals he hosts in his videos serve as a gateway to such hate. It requires willful ignorance to deny the responsibility of certain right-wing commentators and entertainment figures in the manifestation of violence against minorities. Hate crimes surged by 17 percent the year after Donald Trump took office and reiterated the same rhetoric spewed by those individuals. Hate has become presidential, and fighting it has become “intolerant.” Respecting different
opinions is blindly considered sacred in the name of civility, while bigotry is tolerated. “Civility” is overrated. Its advocates are almost always those who can afford not to care about politics and hate speech, because who is in office or the opinions they voice will not affect their access to basic rights and respect. These individuals can afford to value “professionalism” in politics over the lives lost to unfettered hateful rhetoric. Countless marginalized individuals do not have that luxury. The perpetuation of prejudiced opinions can promote shifts in societal attitudes that lead to discrimination in employment or education, government negligence that entrenches poverty in minority communities and even life threatening situations like Christchurch. “Civility” sustains a paradoxical power dynamic that expects the oppressed to somehow liberate themselves while simultaneously being conciliatory to their oppressor. Yes, free speech undoubtedly needs protection. The government probably shouldn’t be the one to regulate speech because it often provides yet another tool for it to persecute minorities, because what’s to say something like speech against Israeli abuse of Palestinians wouldn’t be deemed hate speech for being anti-Semitic? But claims of a “slippery slope” 1984 dystopian society miss the point. The actions we should pursue are not through Congress, but rather the active deplatforming of those spreading hateful rhetoric. Colleges should refuse admittance to speakers like Milo Yiannopoulos and Shapiro, while entertainers like PewDiePie should do the same. Social media networks should remove hateful individuals from their platforms and those on television should deny any airtime on their shows to said people. While colleges may face litigation due to this denial, the courts should reinterpret the current legal doctrine to allow colleges to suppress speech that is a threat to public safety. In a different method of resistance, the onus falls on counter-protestors to demonstrate sustained and forceful opposition to hate speech on college campuses, ensuring colleges are able to deny entry to these speakers based on “threats of a public disturbance.” Essentially, this gives colleges an excuse to deny entry to hateful speakers without facing the possbility of litigation. This method would additionally
ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF MAI WEBER
effectively protect far left speech because of the absence of said counter-protestors to progressive movements, despite their mass presence at events of hateful speakers. While even this may constitute censorship, preventing white supremacists and other hate groups from accessing the mainstream is worth the potential censorship of certain progressive opinions because of the sheer number of lives saved. There is a definitive link between hate speech espoused through mainstream venues like colleges and entertainers and violence against marginalized groups, whereas far left opinions have still been able to succeed in alternative channels. For example, the backlash after President Trump said “both sides” of the Charlottesville protests, including the anti-fascist demonstrators present, were at fault shows that the public has a higher tolerance for ultra-progressive opinions. Far-right speech can usually only thrive and has a substantially higher risk of promoting violence when it is legitimized in the mainstream, while far-left speech historically has found other ways to succeed. Because of this, we would argue that the trade off that could result from deplatforming certain individuals, if it exists to begin with, is worth it. The belief that every opinion must be respected by virtue of it being an opinion is a facade that sustains violence against minorities. Not all opinions are equal. Some are entirely worthless. Change requires opposing injustice — condemning and suppressing it when need be. Popper put it best: “We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant.”
FEATURES
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I want to leave the position of ASB secretary to Angelica Armesto, who I know will do an amazing job and be the best officer she can be. I want to leave my blue morph suit to Nathan Nguyen to make sure that the spirit and the tradition of Big Blue Fridays lives on in the best and most spirite d way possible. I want to leave all of my Dougherty pride-wear and love for DV with Lauren Ottley. - SAM GOLDSTEIN To Shamini, AJ, Cici and so many more of my wonderful underclassmen, stay cringy. Do what you love and be embarrassing about it. I’m leaving but I should be able to hear about all the dumb things/fun memories you make throughout the rest of your high school career. Also thanks Mom and Dad; y’all really are the best. - NIKHITA DODLA Thanks DV for all the memories and adventures. There’s been ups and downs, stressful times and times of happiness. You’ve helped me grow in more ways than I could imagine. To all the juniors, sophomores and freshmen, I hope you’ll take as many opportunities as you can throughout the rest of your high school career. Make the most out of your high school experience; you won’t regret it. - JONATHAN LUM Being nice to everyone, cherishing every moment in this place, and seeing every little thing positively. - RUOFAN JIA To my brother Nick, all the food that be on the ceiling of the 1k. To my basketball team, luck (you will need it). To my teachers, my appreciation. - SARAH MILOTA To Nathan, I leave behind an empty void that my absence will create at home. To Sarah, I leave endless supplies of wasabi. To the girl of Clyfe, I leave the hours of stress lip dub planning and filming. And finally, to my teachers, I’ll leave my senioritis behind. - AMANDA CARRICK To my teachers, thank you for believing in me. To my underclassmen friends, good luck! It won’t be as bad as you think it is, but time will go by much faster than you may think. Enjoy it while it lasts. - JASMINE HUNDAL My teaches who has helped me get to where I am today. Personal finance was my favorite class this year with all the jokes. - MAANAV NARULA To LeAnn Zhang and Daniela Wise, the secret ending of my People of DV interview. To Marco Estaban, you deserve a chair. To Nathan Wang, cookie. To Nathan Wong, how did you pass Chinese and APES? To Ms. Woodward, thank you for letting me hangout during 5th period. To Mr. Kravetz, will you please buy a reusable water bottle? To all the other classes, TAKE BRIT LIT XD - STEPHANIE SWEE I love my prep speech babies (Leah, (s) ada, puja, shannon, sruthi) and everyone else that’s supported me (y’all know who you are) - POOJA CHIMATA
MAY 28 2019
Before they graduate, the class of 2019 leaves their final farewells and wordly teachers and students of Dougherty Valley. To my dearest juniors (you know who you are), do something big senior year … like anything! Try a new sport or try a new diet (I recommend pescatarian). But do something big this last year...please don’t be afraid of change, it might just work out for the best. Thank you for adding imense joy to my last year; please remember me when you guys are famous :) - DESIREE LEI To Aditya and Shlok: my first semester math friends. You both’ll kill it in the next two years. To Rahul, for the humor that lightens up my day. To Shakthi, one of the few people I felt good being around. To Conrad, Prad, and Jared, for being my Freshman friends. To Rahi, for all the amazing memories we’ve made together. I’ll miss you guys. - AKSHAT PATEL To my favs, Megan, Vikram, Jasmine, Anika, Jennifer, Allyson, I will miss eating lunch and laughing with you guys everyday. Thank you for always being there for me through all the memories. To my amazing teachers, especially Jen lao shi, for believing in me and motivating me endlessly. To Schnell, thank you for everything you do for the swim team and always cheering me on in my race. - ASHLEY WONG To Andrew, Caroline and the rest of my lovely Key-uties, the fate of DVKC now rests in your hands. Always remember to be SAFEKEY and recite the four core values every morning as if it’s your religion. Nah but seriously I love you all so much and wholeheartedly believe that the CNH family is lucky to have you. Please send your mom some WHOLESOME SERVICE pictures and last but certainly not least … how do you feel?!? - ALLYSON WU To Irene (Bean), Jenny (Benny), and Erin (best stand partner!), thank you for making high school a better place. To Lauria (Not Moon), I hope math won’t be too boring without me! To Janice (Banice), my amazing friend, for all the wonderful memories in orchestra and school. Good luck next year! - CAITLIN SIM I would like to thank teachers for helping me fill out a W-4 form when I got my first job because high school wanted me to know how to factor polynomials instead of filling out a tax form. - COURTNEY CANOS To Mrs. MacDougall, a teacher that really cares and shows it, I hope everyone is blessed enough to have her in the future. To Anika, the leaves on the trees outside. - ISHA LAMBA Anurag Rao … you may have all my love - TRISTAN SHAUGHNESSY
To Ruchir and Puja for getting through all the crazy loops, Neha for being the fibbins god and Dhruti for the short but real real time we spent — good luck and I can’t wait to see the amazing things you do!! And to all of my teachers, thank you for always inspiring me to be my best! - VISHRUTI GANESH To Bernard and Sophia: I hope you will find happiness in your time at Dougherty. Relish in all the good, the bad and the other moments in between. Remember to embrace the four precious years you have in high school and also remember that I’m just a phone call or 45 minute drive away (lol). Stay grounded in your pursuits and never forget where you came from. Love you both endlessly! <3 - ISABEL LEE To the Ladki Love ambassadors, thank you so much for your help. Keep Ladki Love and our mission alive. To Jasmine and Arshia, keep being amazing. I’ll see you on the senate floor. To Sahil, please bring your own pencils next year. To Sahithi and Himaja, best of luck for your next three years. - SAISHRUTI ADUSUMILLI To my brother Ryan, I leave the tree where my friends and I shared many memories together. I know you probably won’t use it, but better you than someone else. - SEAN GRIFFIN To Amy, Madison, Cecelia and Manaz, thank you for making me laugh and pushing me to be the person I am today. To my teachers, thank you for taking your time to teach me your lessons and allowing me to thrive in your classes. And to my fellow seniors I wish you all the best and hope to see your successes in the future. - TARA HOSSEINI I leave to the freshman class the most uncomfortable and unusable AP testing desks I’ve ever encountered in my life. Good luck! - SID PRABHAKARAN To Mrs. Uscian, I leave my poems and appreciation. To Meera, Sanjana and Priya, I leave my support and love for the future. To Nida and Saima, I leave my power walking memories. To Riya, I leave memories of stress, hoping that she can actually find some calm for once (lol).
To the class of 2020, the strength to get through one last year of high school. To the class of 2021, the courage to take on the SAT and ACT exams that they will for sure do great on. To the class of 2022, the luck to make it through another three years. - ANTHONY SAVIO To the language department: ¡Me encantan y los extrañaré a todos! To my friends: I’ll miss laughing at someone other than myself; thanks for getting me through life. - GABE LEE I leave all the joys of high school to my Potato, Minty. Remember, when life sucks, just DoorDash ice cream! - SAPNA SANGHA To Kate and Breezy, future upperclassmen, you’re going to continue growing as people in so many ways over the years. To Manley and Burnside for sneaking in moments of laughter during an academic lesson. - ASHLEY RAIZES To Schnell for giving my the best case of Stockholm syndrome! To DV for preparing me well. - POOJA TALLAPANENI To all my friends in the band program, you guys are amazing and I can’t wait to see you evolve throughout your musical journeys. 2, 3, GO BLUE! - ELISA GONZALEZ To all my band babies, especially my flobs, y’all will kill it next year! Keep the band program thriving and never run out of food. 2,3 go blue! - CINDY LI Lime, Emlay, Pooyas, Biticha, four years already? @stringygirl13, deuces @doNkY. BlueCrew children/grandchild, my whole heart. You gifted Var. ladies inspire me, and lol cheers to Coach Pat. Little/littlest Lei, YA WELCOME. LEASE, you lookin’ at me? Cheese, wanna dance instead? May 31st, we coming! - ANGELA LEI DEL RIO The nerves of college decisions with the class of 2020. To my sister, all the lessons I learned from my mistakes. To my band juniors, the power of DoorDash. - ERIN YI
I, Manav, would like to thank my teachers, my friends and lastly my parents! I will always remember these halls and the school spirit!
To Cam — the mantle of Bass Section leader and the future of the Choir program. To Mr. Kim — gratitude for preparing me for the CS life (Go Bears!). To future Sci Fi kids — bonus exp, raids, fishbowls, and eucatastrophe. And to my sister Ava — hope for the next 3 years; it will all be ok!
- MANAV SHAHI
- AIDEN VEHEMENTE
- ROHAN TRIPATHI
To my cross country team, who I have had the honor of racing many miles with. Thank you for being by my side in 100 degree weather and for cheering me on in every race. Thank you for the memories, the tears, the sweat, the laughs, the victories and the failures. I wouldn’t be who I am without you. - SOFIA CUEVAS To Lydia, Audrey YeEee, Lucas, Big Chengus, Rishi, Raf and Broken Femur, I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the hurdle squad with you all in my final year of track, and I know you all will accomplish so much both on & off the track next year. - BRYAN KIM To ALL of my wonderful children of the Track and Field Team, I leave the precious family that I have learned to build, cherish and love for the past four years. To Liz, Philip, Sarayu, Sanyu, Aryaman, Hari, Nina, Gabe, Bardan, Shriyans, Abby, Katelyn and Nolan, I leave you my legacy of our 4-Hundo Fam (Heart of the Team!). And no matter what happens kids, whether or not you decide to continue to run after I leave, I will always support and love each and every one of you unconditionally. Take care my little ducklings; I’ll be back before you know it. - ISIS BORROMEO To my teachers for being encouraging and to my friends for being cool, I leave you my thanks and coolness. - JAMIE XIA To my pseudo-children, Rhea and Sahil, I leave to you my cross country race fortune teller to relieve some of that pre-race stress and the rest of my motivation to get extra mileage. Thank you for the xc and track family memories!! - YSABEL AURELIA YU To Riya, Vivian, Sanji, etc., the future of DV PF, thanks for making 4 years amazing and you all will kill it next year! To UCSJ, nothing would have been possible without you, thanks for everything… - SHREYAS KIRAN To all my friends (you know who you are)! Thanks for getting me through all the highs and lows of high school. I don’t know what I’d do without you guys! Can’t wait to see your success in the future. Advice: you’ll have to sacrifice in order to grow as a person! (Elias, you know what to do)! - GUOYOUNG WU To Neeraj Sathe and Jason Lee. $20/hour bois. - DAVID LEE
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I pass down the pain of morning practices to my fellow swimmers.
y possessions to the To the students of DV, please be more sustainable — pick up your trash and don’t waste your food. You are not only building good character, but you’re also saving our amazing janitors a lot of trouble by not being lazy. Think about all of the people who could benefit from the food you throw away, and always remember to be thankful that you have what you do. - KARA SANGHERA To my cat, Sesame FishGus, for being my best friend! To Project SmArts for allowing me to spread the importance of creativity to the cutest kids. To my teachers who have encouraged and supported me and helped motivate me to consider pursuing a career in education. To the art program, (shoutout to Mrs. Wengel!!!) for inspiring me to major in studio art! - CRYSTAL LIU To my best friends that have put up with me for the last four years, I love you guys. To all my teachers that believed in me and taught me lessons I will continue to use outside of the classroom, thank you. And last but not least, to the C/O 2019, we made it and I’m excited to see what the future holds for all of us!
- JOON HA JANG To Nicole Stiles, Ethan Ma, Zoe Ma, Ryan Vu, Danny Quang, Alana Shakra and all the other underclassmen on the swim team: keep going deeper harder and faster! To Jaclyn Chen and Tiffanie Jiang for staying friends with me from right after I moved here from China until now, I leave my sincerest thanks. To Schnell, I hope you have all the chicken fried you ever want. - STEPHANIE SHAO To Noah, Alex, Abhigya and Shrey, keep the team in good shape, you guys are going to kill it next year! To Meghaj and Shourya, don’t lose to 315 next year. - SHARWIN PATIL To my parents, who instilled in me the strength and persistence to continue on despite adversity. This year will be the first time they see one of their children walk the stage. To my brother and sisters, who have gifted me the beauty of hope and laughter. You’ve made happiness a reoccurring theme in my life. Gracias por todo. - ERIKA PALAFOX REYES Life is like a sandwich. No matter which side it lands on, the bread comes first. - ANDREW QIN I leave my four years of unhappiness behind to be collected by other unfortunate souls. - TIM CHEN
- EMILY DONG To my Tree, nutrient rich soil to help you grow and flourish and make your mark on the world; not that you need my help. - BONNIE CHAN To the class of 2020, the stress of college apps and senioritis. To Vignesh, the times in Chemistry when you did our labs. Abhinav, all the all-nighters being unproductive. - ANNIE TENG To future seniors, choose your course options for senior year wisely. You know you are not going to study. Good luck with your senioritis! - CLARE SHIN To all the people that got me through high school, all the tests, rallies and more; can’t wait to see what the future holds for you! My best friends Vel and Christine, thank you for making every year the best with the countless memories and helping me with some of my hardest times. My wrestling sisters, so proud of you and what you’re going to accomplish in the future! My teachers for never giving up on me and constantly pushing me to be the best version of myself. - AAVINIT KAOUR
To my sisters, good luck and my hopes that you will enjoy all that Dougherty Valley has to offer. Thank you for all the craziness and memories, and don’t forget to call me!
To my yearbook squad — thank you for the endless laughs and entertainment and joy you have provided me. I will miss you all so very much and will do my best to come back and visit so we can wreak havoc together again. To Ms. Topf, thank you for being my favorite teacher in high school and being a humorous and steady support system for me. You are one of the people in the world who can lift a corner of the universe and I’m so thankful to have had you as a teacher. - KATELYN ENG To the back row in yearbook, for making the infamous one hour long speeches bearable and memorable. To my teachers, for inspiring me and pushing me to do my best. And to my fellow seniors, for making it through all four years of Dougherty. - INGRID HSU To Shrayes Bhagavatula, I leave the badminton team in your hands — take good care of them for me. To Jeong Michelle Wang, I hope to see you on the news one day, marrying your hubby J Kook. To John Wang, I hope you can be someone’s Jiang Chen. To Helen and Hebe, be buff and kick butt. To my sons Nathan Dornala, Rehaan Patel and Akhil Saranath, try not to get into any fights while I’m gone please. To Sanjana Senthil: keep making people smile. To Ms. Manley: I am leaving DV with my eyes and heart open!!! To my brother: be nice, be kind, brush your teeth everyday please. I love you! To my SO: to the long future that awaits us. - KAILEE NIELTAWEE To my squad, thank you for all of the laughs and the lifelong memories; it has truly been a blessing to have spent my four years with such a dysfunctional, but amazing and supportive group of people. To my teammates and future badminton captains, I leave the team in your hands now; cherish the opportunity you have to share your love for the sport with friends who enjoy it just as much as you do. And, to Dougherty Valley, I leave my hours of lost sleep, extended anxiety and chronic edginess to you; through all this, you have somehow managed to better prepare me for my future endeavors. The end of one journey marks the beginning of a new one, and it’s been a wild one, Class of 2019. I cannot wait to see the amazing things you guys do in the future. Keep in touch. :) - ERIC CHANG
Thank you Dougherty for my beautiful friends. I am forever grateful for their existence. However, your competitive, over-achiever culture has created both ambitious but selfish members of society. I will not fall into the cycle and I hope to save as many people as I can.
I, Martina Zaky, will miss being part of the Leadership family that has made my senior year amazing! To my teachers and counselor for challenging me and motivating me. To my Egyptian family for the continuous laughter at our lunch table. I advise the underclassmen to be present, live life to the fullest and work hard.
- SOFIA RADTKE
- MARTINA ZAKY
- GABBY SONDEREGGER
To the class of 2020, I leave my crippling senioritis. To the incoming freshman class, I have just one piece of advice: nothing matters, so stop stressing about what clubs you have to join, or what internships to apply for, or what college you need to get into because at the end of the day you’ll get to exactly where you need to be in the way that it needed to happen for you. - ELAHA HAMIDY
To Madame Moriya, Ms. Dennis and Mrs. Basu, for encouraging me through the darkest and toughest times of high school, even when you did not know my circumstances in detail — your kindness prompted me to still work hard and do my best to learn even in pain. - GRACE CHOE
MAY 28 2019 To the class of 2020, the burden of college apps and the carefully balanced relief of senioritis. To Sindhu, for being a true friend. To my sister, Aishwarya, felix felicis to use throughout high school. You’re lame if you don’t get the reference. To Prep Speech, the goal to carry on and expand speech at DV in the future.
To Jennifer Zhang and the rest of my math table group: Thanks for breaking your backs carrying me in math this year. Hope I didn’t give y’all scoliosis! - CHRIS WANG
Hey little sis, thanks for an amazing few years in SR. I can’t believe we all are going away and I won’t see you as much next year!!! You’re a strong, resilient person and I can’t wait to see who you become. Love lots, big sis
I will the math assignments I didn’t do to Shruti Kulkarni, the notecards O’Haire gave me to Sraavya Sambara and the general street smarts necessary to survive to Anu Yelisetti (don’t pop a pimple honey). In addition, I will all my love for Spanish to Asha Jotwani (hola, el secreto de Kuf!) and college application advice in perpetuity to all my psych kiddos (Nina, Ryan, Max and Jacqueline).
- NIKITA REDKAR
- KUHU SHARMA
- ASHWATHI NAIR
TRIBUNE STAFF To YY, my miniature model babies, the rest of my G2 pens and a smooth high school career; To Sean, GOT spoilers and the constant drainage of your money; To the bois, 2 a.m. Don’t Starve flashbacks, apologies for the third wheeling and all of my love; To Sraavya and Daniel, the exponential improvements to the Tribune you will make; To Caroline, growth (in various ways); To Harshita, less stress of other people’s affairs; To Ms. Decker, missed deadlines and my forever gratefulness for your presence as I became a real human; To Room 1205, newspapers that will never disappear no matter how many you burn and all of my treasured memories of 9 p.m. editing nights. - ELISA FANG To my very best friends, I leave morning greetings, countless shared laughs, study sessions at Pete’s, shared teenage anxieties and all my love. To the Tribune Staff and Ms. Decker, I leave my most sincere gratitude for helping me grow as a writer, a thinker and as a person. I leave late nights with the editors and awkward first time interviews to all incoming staff writers and editors. To Matthew, Kelsey and Kayla, I leave my appreciation for your ingenuity, adaptability and responsibility. I couldn’t have led the club with anyone else. To all the teachers whose classes I’ve been a part of, thank you for supporting my success. I leave you my gratitude. - TAYLOR ATIENZA To the future Features Editors, I leave the stress, late nights and bagels. To Riya and Anika (if the former doesn’t apply), I leave french fries, lame roasts and all my love (only saying that half sarcastically). To Sraavya, I leave the best conversation I’ve ever had in my life. To Ada, the craziness that is CSF. To Keep It Real (that gc name won’t age well), the laughs and memories. To my teachers, my bad penmanship and even worse puns. To my friends still stuck in DV, I leave my study guides and Snapchat — hit me up whenever you’re bored or depressed or both. - MEGAN TSANG To next year’s class, the roller coaster ride of college applications. To my friends, many affectionate head pats. To next year’s recipient of my AP Econ textbooks, my tear stains on the pages. - SASHA HASSAN To my friends, four years isn’t the end. To Kavin, do a good job on the ops page, and please, no more vegetarianism ops. To Priya and Co., keep prep speech strong. To my sister Shreya, all the advice I gotten and papers I’ve written. To the future of the Tribune, the paper is only getting better. To my teachers, thank you for changing my life. To DV, you can have my stress back. - VIKRAM BALASUBRAMANIAN To my clowns, thank you. Real knows real. To DV, my last braincell. To the Tribune Staff and paper, thank you for giving me the experience of a lifetime. - KATIE WILLIAMS To the rest of the journalism kids, I have a few words for some of y’all. Riya, don’t stress too much about the future, you know you’re smart and capable so relax a little and work a little slower, make sure you’re the reason I remember the Year of the Women <3. Sraavya and Daniel, some of the smartest people I have met, can’t wait to see what you do next year with the Tribune. Kavin, you’re amazing keep writing interesting ops and winning debate rounds. Everyone else on the Tribune, Sheyda, Amruta, Caroline, Michael Harshita etc. keep being yourselves and do good things, can’t wait to see what all of you achieve. - PRANAV CHILLAPPAGARI To the class of 2019, thank you for offering me some of the best years of my life and friendships I’ll value forever. To my community team in leadership, thank you for loving me even when I’m late to class and thank you for reminding me what it means to truly be passionate. To the Tribune, thank you for providing me a place to have a creative outlet and second home. All my love to the future photography/multimedia editors. - SKYLER SPEARS
GRAPHICS BY ELAINE PARK
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
MAY 28 2019
AVENGERS: ENDGAME SUBVERTS EXPECTATIONS IN AN EPIC FINISH
BY TAYLOR ATIENZA, MEGAN TSANG & SASHA HASSAN Features Editors & News Editor
*THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR “AVENGERS: ENDGAME”* In the long-awaited resolution to the events of “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Avengers: Endgame” floored fans with a dramatic narrative of both sacrifice and new beginnings, a fitting conclusion for the MCU’s Infinity saga. “Avengers: Endgame” transitions smoothly from the events of the previous film, presenting a solemn picture of the remaining superheroes struggling to move past their grief for the Vanished. Trying to find a solution and recover the stones, the surviving Avengers locate Thanos (Josh Brolin) on a distant planet with the help of Nebula (Karen Gillan). Upon discovering he has destroyed all of the Infinity Stones just days before their arrival, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) swiftly — albeit rather anticlimactically and unceremoniously — executes him in a blind rage. The Avengers return to headquarters, despairing and uncertain of how to bring everyone back without the Infinity Gauntlet. After a five-year time skip, Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) emerges from the Quantum Realm with a solution, proposing a “time heist” where the heroes travel into the past to locate the stones and complete an alternate gauntlet that may reverse the events of the snap. Unlike “Avengers: Infinity War,” the newest movie sees the characters being pieced together again instead of being divided into separate teams; Captain America (Chris Evans) and a bitter Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) begin to repair their relationship with one another, and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) are reunited. The film sees the return of all five original Avengers, restoring some normalcy. However, “Avengers: Endgame” carefully maintains a sense of loss, ensuring the absence of characters who disappeared after the completion of the Infinity Gauntlet could still be felt by the remaining heroes and moviegoers alike. Overturning tropes, the protagonists of “Avengers: Endgame” recruit a drunk, misfit Thor, rocking an impressive beer belly, to pull off their time heist. Forgoing a cliche training montage, Thor fights alongside his comrades as an overweight drunk, serving as not only light comedic relief but also a physical manifestation of Thor’s emotionally broken state of mind after the events of “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Thor: Ragnarok.” Cinematically, the movie thrilled fans with visually pleasing aerial shots: namely, Thanos’ Chitauri army charging to contend with the assembled Avengers over the Infinity Gauntlet. Upholding Marvel's standards from previous films, “Avengers: Endgame” presented audiences with immersive CGI scenery and artful combinations of color and light that enhanced the viewing experience.
An extended relay race of Avengers and allies hefted the gauntlet across the battlefield in the final action sequence as they struggled to keep the stones from Thanos. In a cheeky (but somewhat incredulous) last-minute switch, Iron Man snatches the stones from under Thanos’ nose, snapping his fingers to bring an end to the invading army and Thanos himself.
"'Avengers: Endgame' healed post-Infinity War trauma while stunning viewers with cinematic splendor and major character deaths, balancing victories with great tragedy." Filled with fast action and fanservice, the movie was visceral fodder. The Russo brothers prioritized moments heavy with emotion and drama rather than exposition and resolution. “Endgame” was generally satisfying, but a few details seemed somewhat unrealistic based on what the MCU had established in previous films. Captain America’s ability to wield the Mjolnir was believable (and glorious to watch), but the sudden acquisition of powers previously held only by the God of Thunder was more questionable. Hawkeye’s arc — a reckless and bloody revenge mission prompted by the vanishing of his family — seemed a bit cliche and too easily resolved by a quick chat with Black Widow. Ultimately, while these moments were not critical plot holes or confounding elements, they did leave us scratching our heads. Time travel seemed to be a somewhat precarious foundation for the plot line of the film because of how easily paradoxes can form when navigating interference in the past, but the Infinity Stone recovery missions seemed to be handled well by the writers — a chance to revisit moments from the past, both the good and the bad. More casual viewers instantly recognized the battle scenes from the first Avengers film, while more eagle-eyed fans noticed the callback to the elevator scene from “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and the subversion of Iron Man’s dystopic vision from “Avengers: Age of Ultron” that saw Captain America, fallen and shield broken. The mechanics of the theory are never given exposition. Instead, they are explained away in throwaway jokes about “Back to the Future.” Part of the reason it’s difficult to find faults with the “time heist” is that it is portrayed as unique to the MCU, as demonstrated by near constant reminders of how its time travel is not comparable to other famous sci-fi franchises. The main idea is that time is a self-contained and continuous — instead of going back to the future, they’re going forward to the past. The character’s interferences with the past are treated as their present and wrapped up in a existential, comedic tone in the same vein as “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.” In short, “Endgame” seems to secure
the integrity of this plot element by creating their own (somewhat poorly defined) rules. “Avengers: Endgame” dealt jokes and comedic elements with a lighter hand than previous Marvel films, but the movie still retained the signature balance of humor and action. Most impressive was the atmospheric tension that was easily maintained in the final battle; audiences were kept at the edge of their seats with the seemingly hopeless image of a lone Captain America staggering towards Thanos and his army under a bleak, ever-darkening sky before the scene was quickly juxtaposed with a dramatic turning point for the heroes and the accompanying rousing and iconic theme song. Despite being an action film, heavier themes were not lost in the race to find the Infinity Stones or the final battle against Thanos. In contrast to “Avengers: Infinity War,” MCU's latest film took more time to explore characters and develop their perspectives, particularly when handling the struggle of moving on from loss or fighting to restore what once was. Although “Avengers: Endgame” did have its faults, the film provided a deeply emotional conclusion for audiences. “Avengers: Endgame” healed post-Infinity War trauma while stunning viewers with cinematic splendor and major character deaths, balancing victories with great tragedy. While the events in the movie suggest that the Avengers may have assembled for the last time in their final stand against Thanos, the immense cultural impact of the series is sure to last.
"Endgame" is the highly-anticpated conclusion to the popular Avengers series. // IMAGE COURTESY OF FLICKR
NETFLIX'S "KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE" PULLS ITS PUNCHES BY SRAAVYA SAMBARA Co-Managing Editor
"Knock Down the House" masterfully uses the strength of its subjects, particularly Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to vividly illustrate the national grassroots political movement from its own perspective. However, in doing so, it builds a sort of glass dome around the movement — capturing it thoroughly from the inside but never objectively contextualizing it.
"Knock Down the House" is a Netflix documentary about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's journey. // IMAGE COURTESY OF FLICKR
The documentary initially focuses on grassroots political organizations Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress, which aim to recruit candidates to unseat decaying politicians nationwide. From there, the film revolves around four particular candidates — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) from New York’s 14th District, Cori Bush from Missouri’s 1st District, Amy Vilela from Nevada’s 4th District and Paula Jean Swearengin from West Virginia — chosen by the organizations to run in their areas. From the initial, separate introductions of the candidates, the film ardently tries to unite their stories, using their common origin at Justice Democrats as a jumping off point for their thematic convergence. A common thread is explicitly traced throughout all the narratives — the fact that none of the candidates necessarily wanted to go into politics but were all inspired to by their circumstances. Cori Bush seeks to inspire change in her district in the aftermath of Ferguson, Amy Vilela wants to take down the bureaucratic health insurance process after losing her daughter to it, Paula Jean Swearengin tries to run against the coal interests prevalent in West Virginia and AOC wants to bring real working-class representation to Congress. However, since only the subjects themselves describe the issues they are running to solve, the film fails to give a comprehensive, balanced view of the political landscape they face. Instead, the viewer is left with a mildly distorted view of the issues, and the film is thus forced into a vaguely cliche underdog story template. This shortcoming of the film is further highlighted by Director Rachel Lears’s decision to disproportionately focus the screen time on AOC, whose journey to unseat perennial incumbent Joe Crowley is the key plot line of the film. Lears grabs onto her pleasing screen presence and uses it as a vehicle for the grassroots move-
ment. AOC’s election victory — which heavily influenced the film’s editing — thus anchors the movement against the other candidate’s losses.
The documentary follows Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's career in politics. // IMAGE COURTESY OF FLICKR
The documentary is firmly in the corner of the movement, silently helping it to give the message it wants to by manipulating the semantics of the film. A particular instance of this is Lears’s decision to end the film with AOC’s election night, which comes chronologically before Bush’s. Ending on AOC’s win instead of Bush’s loss and giving the film a smooth denouement emphasize how the film seeks to uplift the movement instead of simply capturing it. Lears also uses the soundtrack as an asset to the film’s purpose — she uses lilty, playful tunes as a backdrop for
AOC’s triumphant moments against Crowley to build to the final victory. Despite its overwhelming personal investment in its topic’s message, the film is, undoubtedly, fascinating for the stories it conveys and the behind-the-scenes look it gives of the work behind a grassroots campaign. It does a great job displaying the emotions of the candidates and emphasizing the humility of their campaigns. The cinematography is natural and perfectly mirrors the emotions of the subjects. The camera often "walks" with the actors, shaking and moving along with them to capture the way they see their world. An especially striking moment is when the camera follows AOC’s stride as she walks down the Bronx, a voice-over explaining why she chose to work as a waitress when the recession hit and how she shoulders the responsibility of her family.
"The documentary initially focuses on grassroots political organizations Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress, which aim to recruit candidates to unseat decaying politicians nationwide." But ultimately, the documentary ends up falling into a bracket of Hollywood biopics which are rousing but focus more on a sentimental appeal which leaves the viewers struggling to remember the actual details of the topic. "Knock Down the House" is immediately fulfilling, and that is, perhaps, its problem.
SPORTS
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MAY 28 2019
2019 SPRING SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS LACROSSE(M)
LACROSSE(W)
TENNIS(M)
Men’s Tennis made NCS but lost 7-0 in their playoff game against Amador.
BADMINTON
VOLLEYBALL Team Photo // DVHS INSTAGRAM Women’s Lacrosse finish strong against Dublin but miss NCS for the first year.
DV vs Dublin (4/16) // SHEYDA LADJEVARDI Men’s Lacrosse qualifed for NCS but lost 20-3 against Marine Academy in playoffs.
GOLF(M)
Men’s Golf earns the double victory against Livermore amid a tough season.
BASEBALL
DV vs Dublin (5/3) // SHEYDA LADJEVARDI Baseball qualified for second round of NCS against Foothill on May 17.
SOFTBALL
DV @ EBAL (4/27) // DVHS INSTAGRAM DV vs Foothill (3/28) // SNEHA CHEENATH Badminton takes 4th at NCS and Coach Men’s Volleyball sweep Livermore 3-0 at Annie Nguyen wins Coach of the Year. home despite a dissapointing season.
TRACK
STUNT
DV @ EBAL (4/20) // DVHS INSTAGRAM Stunt earned first in EBAL for the fourth year in a row.
DV vs SRV (3/21) // AUSHMITHA GREWAL Track qualified 27 runners for NCS.
Softball sweeped EVAL rival SRV amid a rough season.
SWIMMING
DV vs California (4/12) // ZOE MA 200 medley relay qualified for CIF finals and set a new team record.
DV LACROSSE PLAYERS: ARE INJURIES RISKING SPORTS? END OF SEASON Q&A BY AMRUTA BARADWAJ & SHEYDA LADJEVARDI Assistant Sports Editor & Assistant Photography Editor
Q: What lessons have you learned from this season? A: Garrick Wong and Hudson Price (Captains) instilled in the team a sense of giving it your all and working hard regardless of how tired or mad we are.
KAYLA GO OCO (W)
Q: How would you describe your past season using three words? A: The best family Q: What one specific moment during a game stood out to you the most? A: One specific moment from the past season that stood out to me the most was when we won our first game and had a mosh pit in the middle of the field. Q: What lessons have you learned from this season? A: From this season, I learned to spread positive vibes on and off the field to make a second family, and that you can always learn from other people. Q: Any final/closing thoughts that you would like us to note? A: Lacrosse season is the best season!
ANGEL RODRIGUEZ (M)
Q: How would you describe your past season using three words? A: Hard work and teamwork Q: What one specific moment during a game stood out to you the most? A: Every time we scored a goal ,we celebrated and stood by as a team, and if we got scored on we still stay united and encouraged each other to score one.
SPRING SPORTS RECORDS
BADMINTON: Season Record: 10 - 0 - 0 League Record: 10 - 0 - 0
BASEBALL: Season Record: 12 - 12 League Record: 5 - 8
SWIMMING: Boys: 3 - 2 Girls: 3 - 2
Q: Any final/closing thoughts that you would like us to note? A: Just to thank the coaches and the fans for showing up to the games and teaching us how to play as a team and represent each other not just as team mates but as brothers.
ERIN KU (W)
Q: How would you describe your past season using three words? A: A growing period. Q: What one specific moment during a game stood out to you the most? A: Monte Vista. We were losing terribly in the first half, then I scored three goals and we ended up only losing by two. Q: Any final/closing thoughts that you would like us to note? A: I want to say thank you to Coach Nate for dealing with us throughout such a trying season. I’ve learned that there not only needs to be a good coach, but there needs to be teammates who are willing to learn and show up. I’m disappointed with this season, being the captain and this being the first year we haven’t made it to NCS, but I think there were a lot of things that went wrong this season. That being said, I intend to bring it next season and finish my lacrosse career off strong with a new coach and hopefully a newly determined team.
MEN’S TENNIS: Season Record: 11 - 4 League Record: 11 - 4
MEN’S LACROSSE: Season Record: 9 - 8 League Record: 8 - 8
BY RONIT KUMAR Sports Editor
On Feb. 3, Super Bowl Sunday, New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung suffered an arm injury, forcing him to leave the game. Consequently, the medical staff immediately rushed to put an arm cast around the injury. This process has been recurring over the years in all levels of sports as more players are undergoing the pain of injuries. Although football is the leading cause of concussions in high school sports, many athletes fail to keep themselves away from the intensity and enjoyment of the game. According to statistica.com from 2017-18, around 1.04 million boys participated in high school football nationwide. In addition to the enjoyment, student-athletes and their parents wish for a bright future by taking pride in the game. The courage to take part in such a rough and high-contact sport is something for any football player to be proud of. The most committed athletes take their pride a step further and attempt to convert their passion into a career by playing in the NFL. The high risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) looms as a major concern for parents allowing their children to play head-to-head contact sports. CTE is a degenerative brain disease due to which athletes experience constant brain trauma,
COMPETITIVE SPORTS CHEER: Season Record: 10 - 1 League Record: 9 - 1
TRACK AND FIELD: (NCS 100 m - 5/11) BOYS: Akshay Talkad (11.29) GIRLS: Swetha Boaz (12.38)
MEN’S GOLF: Season Record: 5 - 14 - 3 League Record: 5 - 13 - 0
WOMEN’S LACROSSE: Season Record: 4 - 9 League Record: 3 - 6
Athletic injuries are increasing in all levels of sports.
which may be caused by symptomatic concussions or even asymptomatic sub-concussive hits to the head. However, the younger generations grow up with passionate love for the sport as they hear everywhere that it is the most popular sport in America. In addition, football also receives the most funds from US high schools and colleges around the nation. Overall, growing athletes consciously decide to play the sport despite the scary injury reports that are trending in the news. In addition, the advice they receive from sports medicine helps them to avoid further injuries. Overall, athletes should continue to pursue sports despite controversies.
SOFTBALL: Season Record: 4 - 18 League Record: 3 - 10
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL: Season Record: 2 - 16 League Record: 2 - 16
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