Volume 45, Issue 6, March 11, 2015

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estoque MONTA VISTA HIGH SCHOOL elestoque.org

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MARCH 11, 2015 Issue vi, Volume XLV

hand

... is invisible to the privileged one but not to the others

WHITE MALE COLLEGE-EDUCATED PARENTS LIVES IN CUPERTINO HETEROSEXUAL

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“We live in an environment where we are too comfortable saying whatever pops into our minds at any moment because the consequences of our behavior are not apparent.”

NEWS

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OPINION Coding for equality Hackathons expose gender inequality in technology, but are we doing enough?

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Calling for a signal

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Mathemagician

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Controversy over possible cell tower at MVHS concerns community Sophomore Ethan Chang shares mental computing skills

It’s not about us Out of the blue

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Hacker University Women are increasingly going into Hackathons

When no one is watching Casual Racism threatens to undermine our values

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Breaking through stereotypic television

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No mystery meat

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Terrorist, Inc.

Minorities are more accurately represented than we think Is cafeteria food worth the money

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Outside the box

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DiversiTV

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Girl Scouts beyond the cookie sales Students’ takes on minority representation on television

What to do... ... when there’s nothing to do

Non-hydrogenated oils The new Bite Club promotes ingredient awareness

No snaps for Snapchat She’s the man

On higher ground

Dear privileged, P

rivilege is impossible to define. It means something different to everyone. If you followed our Scholastic Journalism Week challenge, you’ve seen how the First Amendment offers us five privileges that affect us as students on a daily basis.

Undoubtedly, there are other sides of privilege that you think about too. Like the color of your skin. Or your gender. Your ethnicity. Your family income.

But, it’s unlikely that you think of things like internet access, a cell phone, or even a car 2

as a privilege.

That makes sense. After all, we live in Cupertino. Our city’s median per-capita income

est city with at least 50,000 inhabitants in the United States.

Some sociologists like to define privilege a little bit differently. They say that privilege is the “failure and unwillingness to acknowledge benefits that one has received as NATHAN DESAI AND a member in our society.”

DANIEL FERNANDEZ So, it turns out that those seemingly universal amenities LETTER FROM THE EDITORS are privileges. In fact, they are arguably the most important privileges that we have. is greater than our country’s average houseThis creates a clear problem: As some of hold income — by a lot. We’re the 11th rich- the most privileged people on the planet, how EL ESTOQUE

el

estoque

21840 McClellan Road Cupertino, CA 95014 mv.el.estoque@gmail.com

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SPECIAL REPORT

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Check your privilege

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Gender privilege

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Economic privilege

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Privilege isn’t what’s there, it’s what isn’t there Nonbinary-gendered student define privilege The reality of MVHS attendence expenses

Racial privilege Finding racism inside and outside of the classroom

can we talk about privileges we don’t regularly think about? Is it possible to seriously discuss things we cannot experience unless we witness them first hand?

More than being able to experience things, how do we empathize with people who live so differently from us without turning them into the other? Because it’s easy for those who have less than us to become the people who we donate money to. Or build houses for. Or serve at soup kitchens.

Now, we aren’t here to just to say that you are unaware, or have it really easy. We’re sure you hear that enough already.

We remind you of these things because MARCH 11, 2015

SPORTS

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Fit club Cross-country captain encourages running with prom workouts

Comeback kings How boys soccer made CCS

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Out of bounds

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The final lapse

Casual culture on community courts draws students Rookie of the year

What’s in your bag?

Senior Rhea Chowdury’s bag holds memories of her former coach

some of the stories in this issue may strike you as not believable. Or at least not that big a deal. Something you could probably live with.

When the reality is that you would probably be miserable. You would probably resent all the people who think you have it easy. You would probably feel frustrated even towards the people who seem to care, but really have no idea what you are going through.

When you read the stories our special report staff have dutifully reported this month, we hope you take it as more than an opportunity to show pity, or to feel grateful for all the privileges you have. We hope you take it as an opportunity to see the world from a different

Editors-in-Chief: Nathan Desai, Daniel Fernandez Managing Editors: Yifei Wu, Kathleen Yuan Copy Editors: Rahul Iyer, Jady Wei, Varsha Venkat Webmaster: Varsha Venkat News Editors: Elia Chen, Maya Murthy, Dylan Tsai Sports Editors: Alina Abidi, Amol Pande, Malini Ramaiyer Entertainment Editors: Christine Liang, Sarah Ramos, Lydia Seo Opinion Editors: Gabriella Monico, Pranav Parthasarathy Special Report Editors: Kristin Chang, Harini Shyamsundar, Mingjie Zhong Beats Editors: Ashmita Chakraborty, Avni Prasad Photo Editors: Justin Kim, Aditya Pimplaskar Design Editor: Rhonda Mak Graphics Editors: Rhonda Mak, Sharon Tung Business Editors: Claire Lu, Sarah Weinberg Staff Writers: Brandon Chin, Aditi Desai, Brian Fan, Kalpana Gopalkrishnan, Pranav Iyer, Pranav Jandhyala, Trisha Kholiya, Elliot Ki, Anjana Melvin, Sanjana Murthy, Vishal Nagar, Colin Ni, Neha Patchipala, Vanessa Qin, Caitlyn Tjong, Anushka Tyagi, Joshua Tsuei, Emily Zhao Adviser: Michelle Balmeo Credits Some images in this publication were taken from the stock photography website thenounproject.com.

Mission Statement El Estoque is an open forum created for and by students of Monta Vista High School. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the journalism staff and not of Monta Vista High School or the Fremont Union High School District. The staff seeks to recognize individuals, events, and ideas and bring news to the MVHS community in a manner that is professional, unbiased, and thorough in order to effectively serve our readers. We strive to report accurately, and we will correct any significant error. If you believe such an error has been made, please contact us. Letters of any length should be submitted via email or mail. They may be edited for length or accuracy. Letters cannot be returned and will be published at El Estoque’s discretion. We also reserve the right to reject advertising due to space limitations or decision of the Editorial Board that content of the advertisement conflicts with the mission of the publication.

perspective and to understand that our experiences are narrow. To realize that we cannot fully understand what it is like to live a life that we have not lived.

So if you feel like you are privileged, there’s no need to feel guilty. Just remember that despite this vast gap in experience we have the capacity to learn from our privileges. n.desai@elestoque.org | d.fernandez@elestoque.org

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NEWS

Coding for Equality Hackathon brings attention to childhood gender pressures

BY BRIAN FAN AND ELIA CHEN

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hile her friends played with Barbie dolls and wore pink dresses, senior Sowji Akshintala grew up with Legos and computers.

“I never thought about it,” Akshintala said, “but compared to other girls I know ... my upbringing was pretty unusual.”

Akshintala credits her childhood as a major influence in her pursuit of computer science. Growing up, Akshintala received gifts that had a large impact on her decision. While many other girls played with Barbie dolls, Akshintala only had one Barbie doll, and she lost all of its accessories in one week. Instead of replacing her doll, her family gifted her with Legoes and computers instead.

“One time, my dad brought home a computer,” Akshintala said. “Even though it wasn’t my own, I got to mess around with it, and that was my favorite thing.”

Akshintala grew up in a STEM family. Her father is a mechanic and her mother is a technician. She was raised with the belief that she should pursue whatever garnered her interest, as long as it was productive and educational. As a result, she seldom saw efforts against her plan to foster a career in computer science.

Akshintala’s childhood environment is an important influence on her career path. In a situation where you are free to chose your interests, students like Akshintala do not need a catalyst to get into technology, say, a hackathon.

According to JAVA teacher David Greenstein, the ratio of boys to girls in his Computer Science classes has stayed at

3-to-1 for the past few years. Although the fact that this ratio has stayed constant is worrying, the trend is starting to reverse itself at MVHS: Hackathons, like MV Hacks, are aiming to increase the proportion of women involved in computer science. A hackthon is an open environment where everyone can come and code for a code for several hours, using computer science to tackle certain challenges.

Pressure to change Greenstein believes that cultural pressures often deter girls from further pursuing computer science. He also notes that girls often still hesitate to get into technology because of the daunting number of males in the classes.

“I think it’s because programming is still not the cool thing to do,” Greenstein said.

Sophomore Oeishi Banerjee also considers the stereotypes of computer scientists to deter girls from pursuing computer science.

“None of my school friends code for fun, so I feel like such a nerd, so it’s not the cool thing to do. It’s not up there with parties and shopping,” Banerjee said. “If it’s more cool, I think that people would be more interested in trying it and realize that it’s actually a lot of fun.”

Along with cultural pressures, Banerjee believes that exposure to computer science at a young age also plays a role in many girls’ lack of interest in computer science. She notices that her male peers in Robotics, however, have been coding

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percent of students have not attended a hackathon

85

percent of girls say they do not hesitate to take computer science classes made up of mostly boys

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percent of girls do not see themselves pursuing a career in computer sciences 4

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percent think that too many boys in computer science classes affect girl participation in technology EL ESTOQUE

“I think that that’s sexist,” Joshi said, regarding many hackathons’ decisions to lower the bar of entry for girls. “That’s not very respectful to women in general, and that makes it unfair to women.”

Future of women in Computer Science In the future, Joshi would like to see more efforts to get women involved in computer science.

“Women need to participate in computer science more,” Joshi said, “and we need to do a lot more to get women to participate.”

According to Joshi, it will take more than hackathons to fix the underlying problem of sexism in computer science. For instance, while men can code at hackathons in pajamas and casual clothes, women are still socially required to “dress up”.

At hackathons, the attitude remains consistent that students are not supposed to judge someone by what they seem to be able to do – an attitude that Joshi hopes will extend to women.

“You can only judge someone by what they have done and what they can do because everyone has potential, and computer science examines that potential,” Joshi said. “The lens through which everybody sees women in technology or women in business needs to be cleaned a bit.”

Qualifications controversy Zhou said that some local hackathons, including HackGenY, lower the bar of entry so that more girls can join. These hackathons are so competitive that they require an application process, and over the years, they have found that very few girls meet the standards that they set for boys.

“Lowering the bar and providing more opportunities for girls will attract more girls into computer science,” Zhou said. “For now, I support the lowering of standards for women who are going into technology. It’s the best temporary solution for now.”

Joshi and Greenstein, however, believe that this practice is unfair to girls. Joshi believes that hackathons can have categories based on skill level, but should not judge women’s applications for hackathons differently from men.

b.fan@elestoque.org | e.chen@elestoque.org

Justin Kim | El Estoque

since they were young, as their parents encouraged them to pursue Computer Science.

“I know many guys from Robotics who have been coding for much longer [than me] and they’re much more experienced,” Banerjee said. “I think it’s just not encouraged as much, and girls don’t see it as an option.”

Although hackathons may help alleviate the gender disparity, Joshi and Banerjee believe that hackathons cannot solve it. The roots in the disparity lie in students’ upbringing.

“From the Monta Vista perspective, we’ve made a lot of progress in getting people to explore and not be afraid of it, and hackathons are the first step in getting people to explore more,” Joshi said.

Senior Bill Zhou, the HS Hacks representative for MVHS, said that hackathons are actively trying to recruit more girls into pursuing computer science. According to Zhou, despite progress, the average ratio of girls at most professional hackathons is still around 15 percent. Zhou, however, believes that this proportion will increase as more hackathon organizers become aware of the need for more girls to participate in technology.

“It’s not enough. One hackathon isn’t enough. But it’s the only way we can start,” Zhou said. “It’s one step where we can make people realize that if actions are taken, we can get great results.”

Hackathon central (Top) Senior Bill Zhou helped organize HSHacks at Paypal HQ on February 7th. (Top right) Presentator Jeremy Rossmann at HSHacks teaches girls and boys. (Right) Students present their projects at MVHacks.

Elia Chen | El Estoque

MARCH 11, 2015

5

NEWS

Calling for a signal FUHSD community protests implementation of cell phone towers in schools

BY DYLAN TSAI AND JADY WEI of Trustees from giving the final approval.

Many community members are also concerned about the health risks that another cell tower at CHS would impose.

“It’s different from using cell phones. We use cell phones for five minutes at a time,” said Jing Gao, a parent who attended the March 3 Board meeting. “When students are near cell towers, it’s long-term exposure.

On the other hand, students seem to be unsure whether cell towers have negative effects. In a survey of 170 MVHS students, only

Implementation in FUHSD At one point or another, all FUHSD high schools have issued the proposal of building cell phone towers on campus. Of the five schools, however, only two denied these proposals, with MVHS being one of them.

“A few years ago, I think the cell phone tower we were considering [for MVHS] was for the company Cingular,” facilities manager Chris Kenney said. “[The specialists] came and were ready to do the install.

Then, [the plan] went to being passed by the board, and I think the board got wind of the community being unha py about it, so they stopped it.”

Despite early efforts “Some people were concerned that probing into the possibilthe [tower] might cause cancer. There ity of implementing cell phone towers on camhas never been specific scientific pus, health repercussions soon became a concern. evidence, but there are critics, “Some people were of course. concerned that the [towFacitlities Manager Chris Kenney er] might cause cancer,” Kenney said. “There has never been specific 64 believed that cell towers are detrimenscientific evidence, but there are critics, of tal to an individual’s health, while 106 incourse, who don’t want those near us. That’s dicated that they do not see any negative repercussions. However, students like junior a big controversy.”

Priyanka Agarwal believe that even a slight health consequence should deter the impleHealth risks On March 3, parents, district employees mentation of cell towers.

“If the cell phone towers do have a and other citizens who are against the implementation of cell towers in FUHSD met at negative effect, I don’t think [they are] MVHS to protest. After the city sanctioned going to be worth it,” Agarwal said. the implementation of a cell tower at Cu- “Because in the end, cell phone signal pertino High School this January, parents isn’t as important as health.”

The city and school board, on the began protesting to stop the FUHSD Board 6

Vanessa Qin | El Estoque Illustration

O

n the corner of North De Anza Blvd, there is a distinctive feature that, to many passengers, may look slightly out of place. Near the top of a 15 meter high wooden pole, antennae and disks of various sizes extend outwards in a circular fashion.

The rod is supported by wires and attached to the ground for support. Commonly referred to as the “Guyed Tower,” the cell phone tower is partially concealed by the surrounding trees and buildings.

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Possibilities for the future Though the school board is generally doubtful of health risks, officials are taking time to consider whether or not to build the cell tower.

Before a Verizon cell tower is placed on the CHS campus, the Board of Trustees must give its approval. When it reviewed the proposal on Feb. 3, the Board requested more information from independent sources on the proposed cell tower. Therefore, it will most likely not meet to make a decision on the cell tower until after April.

“FUHSD is committed to providing clear and strong signal, and dedicated to fostering student and staff health,” Larson said. ”So we are always looking for ways to combine those two important areas.”

Parents will continue to speak against the implementation of cell towers at the next Board Meeting, taking place at Lynbrook High School.

“This is a wake-up call to not only care about ourselves, but care about everyone and our children,” Gao said. “When we’re not sure about something, letís not put our children at risk as a test.”

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Feedback from the community Some MVHS students are also averse to the implementation of cell towers.

For Senior Sara Ye, a student who uses Tmobile, stalled cell phone signal is not a common problem. Additionally, Ye believes that students should not have to use cell phones frequently on campus, and thus signal issues would not be a pressing concern.

In the broader community, some citizens are grateful for the increased signal strength that cell towers bring, while others are troubled by the alleged health issues. Although sources such as The National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society maintain that there is no evidence of negative health repercussions to cell towers, citizens remain averse to this prospect.

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Impacts on the community According to Larson, cell phone companies approach FUHSD with cell tower proposals, rather than FUHSD initiating the proposal. In return, FUHSD receives remunerations to compensate for allocating land to the cell towers. FUHSD receives $2,200 a month per tower from Verizon.

According to Kenney, cell towers do not benefit students on campus. In what is called the umbrella effect, signals from a cell tower form an array that provides the strongest signal for the community around it, but not those who are in close proximity.

“If you’re directly under the array, you won’t get any [increase in] signal strength,” Kenney said. “But as soon as you get away from it, you start picking up the signal. As you start traveling down McClellan, the signal becomes stronger.”

Larson, however, states that cell signal is extremely important for schools. Though students in the school may not have stronger cell signal, cell towers would increase the chance of being able to reach those in the community using cell phones.

“In the case of emergency, it’s just essential that school administrators and students have the opportunity for students to call home and their families, and school administrators to call emergency personnel and communicate with parents and staff and the community,” Larson said.

po ro gp ri n i de ns co are

other hand, contend that there are no significant health risks. Similar to Kenney, District Facilities Specialist Sue Larson says that health risks are negligible.

According to the American Cancer Society, cell towers do emit radiofrequency (RF) waves, but the RF waves from cell towers have long wavelengths, and therefore it would be “unlikely that the energy from RF waves could be concentrated enough to affect individual cells in the body.”

“The case could be made that proximity to cell phones can be more dangerous than any kind of encounter with a cell tower high above a building,” Larson said.

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“I think cell phone towers on campus would look really tacky. They may be an eyesore. I think cellphone towers won’t be too helpful because they would only benefit the carriers of cellphones from [that company].”

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RF Waves: Electromagnetic waves that have frequencies between 3 kilohertz and 300 gigahertz The eyes and testes are particularly sensitive to RF radiation Cell tower waves have energy well below the level that is necessary to harm a human body’s cells T h e Sprint/ Nextel cell tower at CHS. FUHSD is payed around $ 2 0 30,000 per implemented cell tower.

d.tsai@elestoque.org | j. wei@elestoque.org

Justin Kim | El Estoque

MARCH 11, 2015

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News

Mathemagician Abacus students share lifelong experiences in their study of mental math

BY KALPANA GOPALKRISHNAN

Sophomore Ethan Chang can finish them all in 10 seconds.

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k.gopalkrishnan@elestoque.org

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Ye t , Chang k n o w s that his affair with abacus has lasted too long to give it up.

On the other hand, MVHS’s affair with abacus has just begun. The Abacus Club had its first meeting on Feb. 27. Sophomore Nathan Wong started the club in the effort to share a part of Chinese culture and show that abacus can be a lot more fun than it seems.

Unlike most participants, sophomore Steven Liu, who only started abacus this year, pursues abacus as a hobby rather than a competitor.

“It makes you think reactively,” Liu said.

“It makes your brain feel a lot cleaner. It flushes out a lot of distractions. It helps you focus.”

Only the clicks of abacuses can be heard in Chin’s class. The students, who finished the oral portion, have moved on to paperwork for the last hour of class. Chang progresses the fastest and often completes a sheet 30 seconds before his classmates.

Chin occasionally provides a word of advice in Mandarin. Others put their hands on their heads to concentrate.

One hour of repetition, of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

However, the students need those hours of repetition to be able to solve a problem in 2.5 seconds.

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students continue to hone their talents.

Chin, the head of Jin’s Mental Arithmetic Academy, has taught several MVHS students from a young age. The younger a student begins, the clearer the image of the abacus will become in their minds as they become older. When Chin immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan in 1985, a mere five students enrolled in her abacus classes. Thirty years later, Chin’s small enclave of students has grown into an internationally renowned group.

“Only some kids can do [abacus],” Chin said.

Sophomore Ethan Chang was one of them.

He began classes with Chin in kindergarten and focused on the paperwork section of abacus. In particular, Chang’s speed at doing division put him at the same level as some of his older classmates.

Eleven years later, he can solve 50 division problems in under five minutes. He no longer uses a calculator for arithmetic. His success at competitions has won him trophies that occupy half-a-closet of space.

6 2 9 “As time goes on the HOW TO READ AN ABACUS numbers Each bead under the bar is “one.” b e c a m e Each bead above the bar is “five.” implanted in This is 4,629. my head,” Chang said. events.

She “When I see a two-digit and three-digit plays another number I can multiply them instantly because I’ve memorized all the numbers.” sequence.

There’s no secret method to how Chang A b a c u s math uses the attained this ability. The simple answer: counting tool repeat, repeat, repeat. After 11 years of with beads to practice, the mental math gears in his head instill mental turn faster. However, Chang admits that the math skills in constant practice could become tedious.

“My greatest challenge is to keep trying to students.

At MVHS, an abacus community with students get myself to improve,” Chang said. “Honestly, of different levels has begun to bloom as sometimes [abacus] gets kind of boring.” wo and a half seconds.

A group of about 15 students sit in a classroom tucked above the Baskin Robbin’s on De Anza Blvd. All but one are Asian, and a first grader sits only two seats away from a senior in high school. It’s a Tuesday night over February break. The teacher, Jin Chin, switches on a computer monitor.

In 2.5 seconds, a sequence of 10 two-digit numbers flash on the computer screen.

In those 2.5 seconds, the buzz of noise recedes into complete silence. The students must memorize those five numbers.

Now, it’s time to add those numbers together. They have about five seconds. And all calculations must be mental.

Chin fires out three names. When these three most advanced students strike out, Chin turns to Jackie Machale, whose older brother was an abacus legend. He’s in elementary school, but he seems to have the same gift as his brother. When Machale answers correctly, Chin nods her head as the class giggles at the turn of

NEWS

It’s not about us As much as we all hate vaccines, the pain is necessary

W

hen I was, oh, about six, my mother took me to one of those drive-thru vaccine clinics, one of those places where a line of cars twists and bends beyond the horizon. The entire process should have lasted no more than 30 seconds — open door, show shoulder, get shot, cry for a moment, drive home. I suppose the worst part for most people was the godforsaken wait, as if we were all in line for tickets to go kiss the hem of whatever dress Emma Watson was currently wearing, rather than have a needle jabbed into our least useful bicep.

I think by this point you have realized that I’m not exactly most people. Now usually, my strangeness is characterized as “quirky” or “funny” or “you’re super weird but sure I’ll cover for you when you sleep in class.” In this case, the more likely descriptor would have been were along the lines of “demon hellspawn” or “recommended for exorcism” or memorably to my dad who later came in a separate car, “Wait.

Wait, so you’re that kid’s dad? Oh my god she was in here 30 minutes ago with her mom and she screamed for like 10 minutes!”

Now, why am I telling you this incredibly embarrassing anecdote? The correct answer is not “you enjoy public humiliation,” no. What I’m doing is establishing credibility for what I’m about to say.

I hate vaccines. No one would be happier if somehow evidence was found linking vaccines to some horrible illness that harms more than my poor left bicep. Although I would be that person dancing in glee on the boxes of unused syringes (with shoes on, of course), I am telling you n o w that there is nothing that is more important than keeping vaccines up to date.

Because I don’t know if you’ve heard, but recently there’s been an outbreak of measles, one that actually started at our very own Happiest Place on Earth (also

now our Most Contagious). Children all over the country, but especially in California have been coming down with a dangerous disease that was supposed to have been eradicated. And this happened, because some decided that science was something that only sometimes applied and didn’t give their kids the shots they needed.

Alright, quick lesson in immunology. The basic concept behind vaccinations is herd immunity. The idea is that once a critical mass of a population is inoculated, the virus in question dies out because it can’t find a victim. Ever heard of polio? Yeah, that disease that left FDR in a wheelchair. It killed my great-grandmother, but now it’s merely a story my mother used to tell me, of walking into Indian slums to vaccinate the poor, of reaching that critical mass in one of

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people have had measles this year

cinated because these are the people who will be hurt the most by our decision not to.

Oh, and that whole “oh my god my darling beautiful child will get autism if I get them vaccinated!!!” thing is actual lies, according to research published in the 2013 Journal of Pediatrics. Just to be completely clear, the research was debunked, proven false, punctured, flattened and destroyed like the criminally irresponsible piece of faux-science it was.

That last point was probably not as relevant to us nonparents, but is still something to keep in the back of your mind.

Look, god knows that getting a flu shot is no fun, nor is getting any of the other ten bajillion shots we’ve all had to take over the course of our lives. They’re painful, and annoying and usually take me like two hours between the shaking and crying and curling up into the nearest parent’s lap while a bemused nurse jabs a childsized needle into my delicate baby skin. But in the end, its not really all about us, is it?

Think of the children people, just think of the children.

MAYA MURTHY OUT OF THE BLUE

the greatest triumphs of modern medicine.

Now, you might be wondering about that so called “critical mass.” I know, because the first time my mom told me about vaccines, the question running through my head was “Hey wait, what if everyone else

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the immunocompromised, for whom catching any of these diseases would be catastrophic, people whose immune systems are so weak that a weak form of a disease in a shot would be debilitating, much less the real thing. These are the people we as society are obligated to protect by getting vac-

correlation between autism and vaccines

got shots and I didn’t? Win Win!” Nice try, 8 year old me. The reason that this mentality is wrong in addition to being unbelievably selfish, is that while people like me don’t want to get our shots, there are actually people who can’t. People like infants, and

m.murthy@elestoque.org

EL ESTOQUE

OPINION before the hackathon. Volunteers taught the basics of Javascript and C++ in classrooms around the school, thus preparing students to be active participants in the MV Hacks competitions.

In addition, winners of the hackathon were not chosen based on the complexity or sophistication of their programs. Instead, programs were judged on their potential impact on our community and the creativity of ideas expressed. MV Hacks’s method of determining winners shifted the focus of the competition from raw technical ability to comprehensive ingenuity and originality.

Senior Archana Simha believes that one of the best aspects of the Hackathon was the new tools that programmers learned to use. As an officer in MV Technovation club, Simha helped organize the hackathon and found sponsors for the event. CodeEnvy was Rhonda Mak | El Estoque Illustration one of the sponsors that donated monetary prizes for the coders. Tyler Jewell, CEO of CodeEnvy, gave a speech at the event and introduced their online platform through which programmers can write, compile, and run their code. In addition to CodeEnvy, programming languages. To encourage an programmers at MV Hacks were also enatmosphere that was hospitable to newcom- couraged to try MIT AppInventor and JApers and new ideas, Joshi created opportu- plets. By using these tools, new coders were nities for people of various interests to be able to begin quickly; they did not have to involved. download extensive software platforms, in “We wanted to make sure that anyone order to start. This exposure to new tools who came would be comfortable working and platforms streamlined the programming and they wouldn’t feel like they had to be an process for novices and experts alike. expert coder,” Joshi said.

“Computer Science is the one field where Joshi and other organizers focused on everything is changing continuously. If you providing resources for people from differ- don’t know how to keep learning as you ent backgrounds. This included providing work, then you can’t progress,” Joshi said.

Every single person who goes to a hackathon or is working at Google or Facebook, is learning on the job. The only requisite of being a programming languages successful programLEARN (javascript, c++ and Python) mer is a penchant for learning, creating, and innovating. inspired by speeches from

Hacker University

Yes, you can be a coder too!

Hackathons foster creative expression

By Sarah Weinberg

“W

hen people think about computer science, they imagine people with pocket protectors and thick glasses who code all night,” CEO and president of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer said during an interview cited by Business Insider.

The stereotype of the reclusive and awkward computer science enthusiast is a generalization embraced by a huge segment of our society that we must reevaluate. Computer science, particularly computer programming, is not limited to only experienced technical professionals – a diverse array of people enjoy and benefit from this medium of creative expression.

At MVHS, coding enthusiasts worked with officers of Technovation, a club that allows girls to gain exposure to technology industries. Together, they organized MV Hacks, the first ever hackathon at MVHS. By appealing to students of various grade levels and programming abilities, MV Hacks promoted inclusivity and drew participants from many segments of the MVHS community. For many including the founder and main organizer of MV Hacks, senior Ruta Joshi, the purpose of the event was to learn new skills and create exciting projects.

Joshi became an even better programmer through organizing MV Hacks. By attending other Hackathons and practicing coding with friends, Joshi learned and experimented with multiple

MARCH 11, 2015

Hackathon Benefits

BECOME

DEVELOP

business leaders

s.weinberg@elestoque.org

LEADERSHIP AND TEAMWORK SKILLS

classes throughout the school the day 11

OPINION

Wh en

g n i h c t a w s i e n o no

Justin Kim | El Estoque

12

EL ESTOQUE

The words we use

e our character

uences determin ere are no conseq

when th

absence of external judgement, then he or she should behave with dignity. We should tions those outside our community hold. think twice before making that racially inThe answer is rather obvious — there are sensitive joke, calling that last test gay, or alk down any hallway or the rally few consequences. Because only 3.8 percent describing our math homework for the night court at MVHS and it is very likely of our student body identifies as “other” — as retarded. As a community we fervently aryou will hear words like “fag” casu- African American, Latino or Native Amerigue that we are accepting, but too often we ally thown around. Take another look and can. Because our words fall on deaf ears, fail to meet our expectations, turning them you will most likely notice that the targeted ears that are too accustomed to such words. into mere words unsubstantiated by action. group is conspicuously missing. We wonder We live in an environment where we are Whether we are the largest in number, or the if those words would still be said if they too comfortable saying whatever pops into smallest, we must remember that our words weren’t. our minds at any moment because the conhave lasting impact and that if we are to ask “The true test of a man’s character is sequences of our behavior are not apparent. for dignity, we must show it in return. what he does when nobody is watching,” We completely ignore the meaning of the former UCLA basketball coach John Wood- words we are saying, even if we insist they en once said. are in jest. We use racial slurs because more Wooden’s iconic quote extends beyond likely than not there will not be a black or the court hispanic stuOf students experienced and highdent present lights a to make us discrimination Based on fundafeel uncomrace mental fortable usissue: ing it. We OPINION OF THE EL ESTOQUE how we Of students Think race make jokes EDITORIAL BOARD choose to about homoBased discrimination act when sexuals beexists at mvhs there are cause chancno consees are a gay MVHS vs. National RACIAL quences for our actions. When there are no or lesbian person won’t be there to react. witnesses. When there are no obvious judgeAccording to Student Advocate Richard DISTRIBUTIONS 79.8% ments passed.

Prinz, that is unfair. *based on an El Estoque For some of us, that person may be less “Even if the intent is not hurtful, these survey of 170 students than admirable. comments still are,” Prinz said. “It’s not up 62% We are quick to describe our campus as to the person who says these comments to MVHS “diverse.” We boast about our medley of decide whether or no they are hurtful. The races, ethnicities, even ways of life as we do groups in question have the right to decide US our API scores and ranking. that.”

Certainly, there is some merit in this Prinz also references a campaign on camviewpoint. We are a school comprised pri- pus which helped reduce targeted language, marily of minorities. But, our situation is the GSA’s effort to stop students from makrather unique. ing jokes at the expense of homosexuals, Despite our “minority” status, 79.8 per- specifically “That’s so gay!” By hanging cent of MVHS students identify as Asian, posters and raising awareness, the GSA has minorities raised in an environment where been able to reduce the number of slurs acthey are the majority and where many of the cording to Prinz, representing a disadvantages of being a minority are not good first step toward conquering 38.2% applicable. Many of our Asian minority stu- the problem. dents who have grown up in Cupertino have “I definitely don’t hear [“That’s not experienced the often ostracizing treat- so gay”] so much anymore,” Prinz ment that Asians in other parts of the US said. “Once they [the student body] experience. Many have not had their name become aware of the issue, I defimispronounced at a restaurant, had their nitely think they try to say these cultural practices referenced as “strange”, hurtful comments less.”

16.4% or had to explain the reasoning behind their But part of the problem with dietary habits. these slurs is how easy it is to get Despite being a school of minorities, we away with saying them. At MVHS often slight members of racial groups not there are very few people watchpart of our local majority. ing. It’s easy to belittle those who 4.4% 3.8% This prompts a rather unsettling ques- are not there to defend themselves. tion: why do we choose to promote stereo- Yet, it’s also cowardly. types of other minorities when many of us If a person’s character truly is shake our heads at the common misconcep- defined by his comportment in the

W

Racial Minorities at MVHS

STAFF EDITORIAL

41%

65%

other white asian

March 11, 2015

13

OPINION

StriCt Asian Parents

INDIAN 7/11 OWNER

Indian ArabTaxiDriverFLAMBOYANT Mexican Gardener Gay Guy Doctor A s i a n E n g i n ee r White C E O Funny Black Sidekick Fa s h i o n a b l e G ay G u y DUMB BLONDE JEWISH B l a c k R a p p e r Banker R i c h W h i t e L a w y e r GIRL

Beyond the screen Minorities deserve accurate representation in the media

BY PRANAV JANDHYALA

T

raditional television: All white. Patriarchal household with a diligent and submissive housewife. Four children, exactly four. All eat breakfast and dinner together, having relatively peaceful conversations. No discussions of sexuality. And of course, no devations from the underlying status quo.

This selective portrayal of society was constantly seen in popular television shows like The Brady Bunch and was the state of television just a few decades ago. It can be hard to imagine that this was the media atmosphere that some of our parents grew up in— an idealization of reality.

But television has been changing over the years, as arbiters of social influence are now willing and even eager to explore difficult concepts like homosexuality and racism in the shows that we watch on a regular basis.

Television shows like Fresh off the Boat and Blackish discuss racial issues, and shows like Orange is the New Black and Modern Family bring to light topics of sexual orientation. We have come a long way since television was used as a tool to maintain the status quo, but as we proceed into a more diverse future for television, an essential question must be asked. Are the groups we are attempting to represent being represented properly?

Media needs to represent the diversity within our society, but we must look critically at the quality of that representation.

Modern family is one of the most popular television shows of this generation. It aims to showcase the “modern family” with all

its chaotic moments, eccentricities, and deviations from the “norm” of what a family should look like. It is a clear attack on the status quo perception of what a family should look like, featuring a married samesex couple who had adopted a daughter.

Even though they are sometimes stereotypically portrayed for comedic effect, their

The necessary step is to create more shows that feature minority families, each with their own characteristics. inclusion demonstrates that a gay couple and their daughter equate to any other family. The trials they must go through almost every episode like trying to raise a child or balancing work with home life are similar to those of any other family. This surpasses the one- dimensional perception of homosexuals in our society.

Fresh off the Boat, a popular new television show about a Taiwanese family that struggles to assimilate after their move to the United States, seems especially relevant to the largely comprised Asian- American student body of MVHS. Fresh off the Boat is the first full Asian- American television show to air in the United States in over 20 years. Leading up to its premiere, it started

to receive more and more acclaim as firstgeneration immigrants waited in anticipation. Finally, someone was attempting to document the shared experience of foreigners who were placed in a situation of clashing cultures.

The tricky thing about making a comedic sitcom about a minority group’s struggles is striking the right balance between distasteful yet amusing generalizations and politically correct but non-comedic material, which tends to produce a slightly inaccurate characterization while being absolutely boring.

Although harmful generalizations are addressed, thy are addressed in a way that satirizes those with preconceived notions rather than the minority family itself. When the white members of the family’s community see the mother cutting cake into equal slices, they believe that this egalitarian behavior is due to the fact that she comes from a Communist country. The stark absurdity of this statement is an attack on those who generalize rather than those who are generalized.

Despite this, many have claimed that the show is racist because it creates a onedimensional perspective of what an Asian American family looks like. This is only because they expect the show’s characterization to apply to all Asian American families.

If they expected Modern Family to apply to all white families, the show would likewise fall short of their expectations and come across as racist. The necessary step to solve this problem is to create more shows that feature minority families, each with their own unique characteristics. p.jandhyala@elestoque.org

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EL ESTOQUE

OPINION

Building a better lunch Students would be willing to pay more for better quality school lunch

By Elliot Ki

Alternative Meal Choices *prices from Whole Foods

L

ast year, the school witnessed the or juice. There are other a la carte options, demolition of the old cafeteria. There ranging from cookies costing 50 cents to were some inconveniences, like the fact tater tots, which cost $2, to vegetable fried that three-quarters of the rally court was rice costing $2.25. Considering that students fenced off due to the construction and food can get dairy, protein and carbohydrates in trucks replaced the cafeteria. The cafeteria this meal, it is a good value , but too often came with classrooms as well as an adja- the portions are small and do not fill up a cent building. Along with the cafeteria came hungry adolescent. Therefore, adding more the E building, with four new rooms meant to the meal would be a good idea, in order to for modern learning. When the cafeteria get more students to buy this deal. was unveiled last spring, students were imWe cannot, however, view the cafeteria pressed with the layout and the sleek look. as solely a place to get food. It was a much However, the food at the cafeteria has yet to needed change from the small and old cafattract many MVHS students. eteria we used to have. For seniors, it may Some public schools have resorted to sell- be hard to feel an emotional attachment to ing fast food, for example at Amador Valley the E building and cafeteria; after all, they High School, McDonalds, Quiznos and Sub- have not even been present for a calendar way are sold, and Panda Express and Little year yet. There will be no memories of the Caesarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pizza is sold in a Livermore high E building if one does not have any classes school. These schools are not adhering to in it. Those who have their own lunches or the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which go off campus to get lunch or even buy their has not been welcomed by students as the lunch at school will not necessarily use the food has not been of high quality. Under this cafeteria at all. However, just because someact schools are supposed to follow strict cal- one does not venture to a part of a school orie, sugar, fat and sodium standards. While very often, or at all, does not mean it is not MVHS should still adhere to the nutritional part of the campus. Others use it, which policy, makes it a part of A m a school. Students The $4 million used to renovate dor Vallearn, socialley and ize and gather in the cafeteria has not significantLiverthese areas. ly improved the quality of the m o r e Clearly, when h i g h the unveiling of food served there. school these new parts are proof of the school hapthat stupened, with the dents are wiling to pay more for food. ceremony held to commemorate the newest The $4 million used to renovate the cafe- additions at MVHS, it was a big deal as it teria has not significantly improved the qual- signalled a new look for the campus that had ity of the food served there. While the new not been seen before. Students climbed up and more modern look is a welcome sight, the stairs to get a look at the four classrooms the prices have remained the same. Many and the staff lounge, and sampled pasta and students are willing to pay more if the qual- cookies from the cafeteria. ity gets better, but if it does not students will Whether a student will have the E buildcontinue to look outside campus grounds for ing and cafeteria as part of their high school lunch options. Those who do not have a li- experience for the full four years, or only cense do not have many food choices â&#x20AC;&#x201D; only one, both parts of the school represent the 7-Eleven is within walking distance, where MVHS community just as much as the buildkidds purchase generally unhealthy food. ings that were first erected in 1969. ImprovCurrently, a meal from the cafeteria costs ing the quality of school lunch will make the $3.75 and includes an entree, which changes building that much more useful. ki.elliot@elestoque.org depending on the day, along with a side, usually vegetables, and a choice of either milk

MARCH 11, 2015

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15

Opinion

Terrorist Incorporated ISIS is basically a corporation, so let’s treat it like one

PRANAV PARTHASARATHY ON HIGHER GROUND

campaign, raising them from relative unk nowns to a group which more than 70 percent of Amer icans recognize as a credible threat.

So how should we address the threat of ISIS? By treating it as what it is, an evil cor poration. We should target their source of funding, working with Iraqi forces on the ground to seize their oil reser ves and at tempt to make their illegal ar t sales as difficult as possible. But most impor tantly, we should neuter their marketing campaign. With more than 20,000 foreigners leaving home to fight for ISIS, their recr uitment effor t s constitute a significant por tion of their overall war effor t. If we discovered a way to stem or infiltrate this adver tising, we could put a significant dent in their operations.

And we need to put a significant dent in their operations because ISIS still represent s the largest ter ror ist threat to this nation. T hey have established control over an oil-r ich region and br ing in more money than nearly all other terror ist groups combined. T hey have revenues greater than several small countr ies. And they show lit tle to no respec t for any thing, whether it s the people living on the land they have siezed or the cultural landmark s that represent more than 2000 years of histor y.

And as I tur n 18, all I can think of is the more than 400 years of Amer ican histor y. I love this countr y more than the average citizen loves burgers and fr ies, and a symbol of my love lies on Ellis Island: a tough, tall iron statue. As her torch bur ns my affec tion for the Stars and Str ipes only continues to grow br ight. And that’s something ISIS will never be able to destroy. Because Liber t y’s f lame bur ns in ever y Amer ican’s hear t. And when I go to the polls for the first time, it will bur n br ightly in mine.

Sharon Tung | El Estoque Illustration

16

ument.” W hat they haven’t destroyed, they have systematically eliminated regardless, smuggling several other ancient Assy r ian statues and selling them in nearby countr ies. In fac t, this whole time they have manufac tured a bunch of counter feit statues and destroyed them on video to spread fear, all the while selling the real work s for more money.

W hen you str ip away all of the obscene doc tr ine, the head-chopping, the limb-bur ning and the rest of their fanatical beliefs, ISIS behaves more like a malignant cor poration than a “state.” T hey hold any where from $875 million to $2 billion in asset s, make $1 to $5 million a day off of bootlegged oil and r un a complex distr ibution scheme in order to make those profit s to boot. Even their gr uesome execution videos could be constr ued to be a sor t of sick marketing

Sharon Tung | El Estoque

T

his maga zine publishes on March 11, 2015. My 18th bir thday.

I’ve now reached the age that signals matur it y, and as a result gained the full r ight s and pr ivileges of an adult.

I can sign legal contrac t s, smoke (not that I’d want to), get drafted, sk ydive and most impor tantly vote. But at the same time, I’ve lost a lot of my protections.

I am no longer entitled to shelter or education. I can be treated as an adult in the legal system. From this point on the IRS will constanly monitor my ac tions, look ing for any oppor tunit y to raise revenue. It’s so fascinating that one day can change so much. After this day passes, my life will never be the same again.

I now have a new sense of civic dut y, of ser ving my countr y and communit y now that I have been invested with the r ight to vote.

As a result, aspec t s of this nation have new s ig n i f i c a n c e for me. T he Constitution seems par t icularly pointed. T he Declaration par ticularly insight ful. And all of those monument s in DC I visited five months ago have a new meaning.

T hey stand for a countr y with values, a countr y with a meaning ful civil code and a long histor y of respec ting individual r ight s. R ight s that are not respec ted in many other places.

Take par t s of Iraq and Sy r ia for example. ISIS has locked the area down, refusing to allow women to work, chopping people’s ar ms off as punishment for pet t y theft and even decapitating those who at tempted suicide. But ISIS does not stop at disrespec ting human r ight s. It also has ver y lit tle care for human histor y.

See, ISIS has star ted tear ing down monument s. T hey are destroying the ar tistic and religious her itage of Iraq and Sy r ia. In fac t, they tore down the alleged tomb of the Biblical prophet Jonah and the famous Assy r ian “winged mon-

p.parthasarathy@elestoque.org

EL ESTOQUE

A&E

Outside the Box There is more to Girl Scouts than cookies

BY SHARON TUNG

D

uring Girl Scout cookie season, it’s easy to forget that selling cookies is only a small portion of what Girl Scouts does. Contrary to popular belief, girl scouts do more thWan handiwork activities like sewing and art. Even the adorable cookie sales pitches have real world applicability helping scouts learn business and entrepreneurial skills.

In their troop meetings, they plan volunteering events for the elderly and special needs children. Through bonding activities like hiking and camping, girls find a common ground with each other. Girl Scouts covers a broad scope of life lessons that sticks with many of its members.

Girl Scouts strengthens...

Volunteer Work Fluffing ice from a snow machine, senior Iraa Guleria and her troop transformed a hill at Saratoga Walden West into a snowy slope for special need kids. While Guleria admits some troops focus on earning awards, hers focuses on volunteering, such as ornament making during the holiday season, singing to the elderly and helping children learn English.

“When we sell cookies, people ask, ‘Why is it so expensive?’,” Guleria said. “It’s going towards Girl Scouts. We’re doing things that will help other people.”

The Girl Scouts of Northern California receive most of the profits from cookie sales, which are then allocated to different groups and communities.

Relationships

Business Junior Sierra Rodrigues knows that you can’t sell cookies without taking initiative. She believes joining Girl Scouts made her more responsible and less shy, and taught her how to handle rejection through selling.

“A lot of times people just associate Girl Scouts with Girl Scout cookies,” Rodrigues said. “[They ask,] ‘Do you really do anything else?’ We do — we have different camps that we learn skills at, and a lot is about leadership.” Rodrigues manages two different campsites each year, where she is in charge of planning activities with younger Girl Scout volunteers.

18

Senior Hannah Pollek is involved with younger troops, such as showing them how to set up tents on the grass fields of Kennedy Middle School.

Pollek also teaches camping skills, like knot tying and building fires.

“It’s nice to know you’re passing on knowledge you definitely wouldn’t [learn] at school,” Pollek said.

“We learned how to teach others, and get along with people our age and people older than us.”

She built a bond with the members of her troop, some of the relationships tracing back to kindergarten.

Her mom is her troop leader, and their mother-daughter relationship became stronger after Pollek saw how much effort her mom puts into Girl Scouts. s.tung@elestoque.org

EL ESTOQUE

DIVERSI TV Weighing in on the representation of diversity in TV shows today

BY LYDIA SEO AND ANUSHKA TYAGI

M

odern family, Fresh off the Boat, Orange is the New Black, Parks and Recreation and Blackish all represent humor and entertainment — attractive factors for teenage viewers today. TV channels such as ABC, Netflix and FOX all attempt to diversify their shows by introducing characters representing a variety of races and sexual orientations. MVHS students are among a highly targeted age group and have various views on what current TV is offering, and what it should be offering.

Sophomore Michael Burgess

F

resh Off the Boat, aired Feb. 4, 2015 is an ABC series that depicts an Asian family’s journey from Washington D.C. to Orlando, Fla. Given the largely Asian community at MVHS, many students connect with the characters and their own family’s lives, giving a new perception of the effects Fresh off the Boat has on the students.

Senior Bill Zhou

EE: Do you think TV represents a fair amount EE: There is some controversy surroundof racial diversity? ing the show’s often offensive humor.

MB: I think that there is still a lack of Asian- What are your thoughts on this?

American portrayal in television. I feel that it has come very far, but there is still a long BZ: I think some people might not get that way to go to achieve equal representation of hyperbole that is showcased in this show, but I can definitely relate to the characminorities. ters, especially Jessica, the Asian mother.

It is supposed to be exaggerated to create EE: Why do you watch Fresh off the Boat? that humor. I feel like it is a good repreMB: I can relate to it. It’s the first TV show to sentation of Asians even though Fresh off have Asian-Americans in its main role in a the Boat can be seen in some ways as a long time, so I feel that it’s a huge milestone. little stereotyped.

The humor in the show is really relatable for me because my mom is similar to the mom on the show.

Junior Nupoor Gandhi EE: Do you think that this show accurately portrays these groups?

I

n addition to the racial diversity of its cast, Orange is the New Black features characters of the LGBT community. A Netflix-original show, it portrays the lives of prison mates at a women’s federal prison. For some MVHS students, the show’s representation of diversity is accurate in that diverse groups are present, but does not necessarily portray the entirety of any group.

NG: How can you have one individual portray an entire population? I think the bigger question is not whether they’re displaying [diversity] accurately, but the fact that they’re displaying it at all. [The show] is breaking the stereotypes. Like, should a transgender woman behave in this way and is she accurately portraying what a transgender woman according to society should behave like? And I don’t think that she does. I think she just behaves as that character would, as a human being. l.seo@elestoque.org | a.tyagi@elestoque.org

MARCH 11, 2015

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EL ESTOQUE

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21

A&E

Take a bite

Bite Club promotes healthy eating styles with hands-on experiments

BY ADITI DESAI

H

ealth. It’s often taken for granted at Monta Vista, with a series of allnighters for finals the next week, going on an extensive diet for prom, and frequent visits to fast-food restaurants, are common occurences at MV. However Bite Club encourages healthy lifestyles for the MV students by exposing club members to healthy alternatives through hands-on experimentation.

Mission

Activities For Bite Club’s first meeting, members separated layers of salad dressing, hot sauce, and chocolate milk using a centrifuge. After the samples were seperated, members analyzed each layer. Water was used as a control during the experiment to compare the results from each sample. As a result the hot sauce was separated into a red liquid and pepper powder; the chocolate milk was separated into water, protein, and chocolate powder; and the salad dressing was separated into fat, poppy seeds and, vinegar.

“Today we did a demo, separating sauces for members to see what they are eating [and] how much fat or oil they are consuming,” said officer Anne Zhang, am officer for the club.

Bite Club is MVHS’s first science basedfood club that helps students eat healthier by balancing out the types of food members consume. The club’s main goal is to promote eating foods with ingredients that help improve one’s daily lifestyles. The club hopes to provide more healthy yet tasty food options that can improve one’s health.

In addition, Bite Club hopes to debunk food myths by offering simple healthy dishes. Compared to other health-based clubs, Bite Club offers a more hands-on experience The officer team is planning a tour of with various opportunities to learn about TCHO Chocolate, a luxury chocolate comhealthier options. pany in Berkeley.

“Bite Club will allow members to dis“If we are able to raise $200 dollars then cover healthy alternatives through scien- we would be able to have a chocolate-tasting tific experimentation and create sustainable s e s s i o n. diets,”junior T h e r e Aditi Kilam- Bite Club will allow members to dis- would be bi, the club’s represenp r e s i d e n t , cover healthy alternatives through t a t i v e s said. from difscientific experimentation.

Bite Club ferent junior Aditi Kilambi hopes to acchococomplish its late facgoals by experimenting with various types tories [with their] own chocolate samples of foods. and teach us how to enjoy our chocolate,” “For example, we would take multiple Chung said. brands of the same product and conduct exThe hope is that the club will be able to periments on them to figure out which one give members an experience, in which they is the healthiest,” president junior Rebecca can enjoy such pleasures, but be educated Chung said. in a way which will be beneficial for one’s Often, experiments are used to demo health. As for other plans, they are in the nstrate the quality and importance of cer- process of planning more activities to actain aspects of food. complish the clubs goal of educating members of healthy ways to eat.

Events

Used with permission of Amy Liu

TEST TUBES (TOP) Junior Anne Zhang places food samples in a centrifuge to seperate the layers.

(ABOVE) The samples above are the result of centifugation.

MEETINGS B101, Wednesdays at Lunch Visit: mvbite.weebly.com or their Facebook page

Fit Lifestyle 3 tips to a healthier lifestyle Take a shower at night.

A warm shower at night helps the body stay relaxed and helps one get better sleep.

Sleep in multiples of 90 minutes. A cycle of 90 minutes is the amount of time that your body can remain in deep sleep.

Color your plate. A variety of foods with different colors offer different health benefits.

a.desai@elestoque.org

22

EL ESTOQUE

no snaps for snapchat I

Snapchat should stick to what it knows best

Rhonda Mak | El Estoque Illustration

will admit to being on my phone as much as, if not more than, the next person. I pick it up and check notifications and updates hundreds of times every day, getting embarrassingly excited by the smallest notifications — even the red number bubble that appears on the app store.

Why wouldn’t I be? App updates make phone use so much easier (especially when I feel as if app developers somehow heard my qualms and tweaked the code to improve inapp experiences). I was over the moon when Instagram changed its masthead, Yik Yak enabled voting on fictional “peek” locations and Tumblr allowed you to clear previous reblogs on photos.

Call me an addic t — you’re lying to yourself if you don’t spend time every day on your favorite apps.

I was beyond displeased,

MARCH 11, 2015

however, when Snapchat released their 9.0.1 version back in January. The new “Discover” tab, revamped chat system, contact list redesign and destruction of “Best Friends” were four changes too many. Instead of gradually introducing new features — such as video, My Story and filters — as they have in the past, Snapchat decided to pile on drastic (and rather unfavor(mugshot) able) updates in the app’s ninth version.

Let’s face it — Snapchat is trying to be too many things.

The new chat system set-up is reminiscent of Facebook messenger, except with disappearing chats so you conveniently forget what you said three minutes ago and can avoid sending your face all together. But really, it’s not friendly or intuitive. Why do messages disappear right away? If I can’t remember what I said in a normal Snapchat, what’s going to make me remember the Snapchat message I sent you? And what if I accidentally close the chat without reading the message first? Well, that conversation is dead.

The whatever-you-wanna-call-it “Discover” tab is a sad version of Yahoo! News for advertisers. Snapchat was one of the few apps left in 2015 that had not fallen victim to advertising, but the “Discover” tab is a cruel reminder that app developers will give up their dignity to advertisers. The “Discover” tab gives real estate for 12 companies to advertise through ten-second video clips. It seems like Snapchat also jipped their advertisers — I don’t think these brands realize there’s no genuine news you can get across in 10 seconds. Not to mention the fact that you don’t have to look at the “Discover” tab at all. Which, I’ll admit, is pretty nice.

And while the concept of a Snapchat “story” was promising, My Story has become two things — a less-thought-out version of Instagram and an annoying notification that requires clearing. “Serious” Snapchat users utilize their Story as a place for photos that are unworthy of Instagram. I’m not sure if that bothers me more or less than the people with 180 seconds worth of Snapchat story.

You may have too much time on your hands.

My Story is one of Snapchat’s newer features that I can appreciate, but I can’t appreciate how it has evolved into the “Live” stories from the most obscure events. What makes Snapchat think that I want to see a hot air balloon festival, polo tournaments

SARAH RAMOS SHE’S THE MAN

or parades for festivals that I’ve never even heard of?

Sure, I was excited just as much as the next user when Snapchat introduced videos and filters, but they honestly should have stopped there. There are a few newer aspects of the app that have improved the user interface, including the ability to continue playing music while taking a video.

This feature is still a little buggy, but it’s a response to a qualm I know many Snapchat users had, so it is progress. The new method for adding friends is also pretty handy — thank you, Snapchat, for remedying the headaches caused by all those _xtinasdfghjkl712389172’s.

With all these newfangled features, I can’t help but reminisce about the original Snapchat. The app was released in Sept. of 2011, playing an instrumental role in social media usage as long as I’ve been in high school. To be honest, I can’t remember a time during high school that I didn’t catch someone awkwardly sending triple chins to their friends for two seconds (to avoid screenshots, of course). Back then, Snapchat did exactly what it needed to — all it needed to. Snapchat was engineered to be an simplified version of picture messaging, and as a loyal user for the past few years, I hate seeing the app try so hard to be something it just doesn’t need to be.

TL;DR — a once gloriously simple app has tried to evolve into something so much more, and in the process the Snapchat train has veered far off its tracks. s.ramos@elestoque.org

23

Check your

Choose one....

Gender Economic Racial

privilege.

The concept of privilege we know today — the systematic oppression or exclusion of groups of people from positions of power or the revoking of their basic human rights — dates back to the early 1900s. Back then, it was plainly characterized by American sociologist and African-American activist W.E.B DuBois as institutional discrimination.

More than 100 years later, we view privilege differently. It is not the result of prejudiced individuals, racism, sexism and other categorization, but the result of invisible systems: the pressure to change your name to sound more “American.” The fear of being the only girl in Weight Training.

The classes that require a 100 dollar graphing calculator.

These are all a part of our system. We never realize when we’re included, but we know when we are excluded.

We have highlighted the stories of four students to reveal that privilege does not exist in the abstract. It affects people on our campus every single day, even though many of us are accustomed to discussing privilege only in literature class. The reality is that unseen privileges on our campus have shaped the actual experiences of students. These experiences are not abstract. They are not hypothetical. They are not distant.

24

EL ESTOQUE

By Kristin Chang

GENDER PRIVILEGE

“What if someone has a vagina and The surprise of the day’s topic, they’re a man?” that initial hope that people would

Biology teacher Supriya Moore asks the question from the front of her seventh period class on Jan. 9, the PowerPoint behind her listing multiple-choice “warm-up” questions about the day’s big topic: gender and sex determination. Each student holds plastic remote controllers that can be clicked A, B or C in response to the questions, which Moore reads aloud. The tinny click of buttons punctuates the usual hum of gossip and small talk. But what is also audible is laughter.

Freshman Marie Venzon, who prefers the gender pronoun “they,” sits in the second-to-last-row of the class, trying to focus. But they can’t quite ignore the snickers of the boy behind them.

It isn’t a nice laugh.

And Venzon heard it so clearly. It had been a welcome surprise when Moore began discussing gender as separate from biological sex characteristics, especially because Venzon is used to the usual “XX for girls, XY for boys” explanation, which wasn’t really an explanation at all, as Venzon came to feel.

But the laughter had been happening all morning, ever since the lecture began, ever since Moore had attempted to explain that biological sex was not the same thing as gender — that yes, someone could have a vagina and still be a guy.

Venzon recalls putting down their pen and turned around on the high blue stool, glaring at the boy with all the resentment they could muster. But then Venzon stops, trying to stabilize their shaking voice and uneven breath, realizing then that they should get out of there before anyone realized. Venzon’s voice is starting to tremble, breathing uneven. As confirmed by classmates, Venzon quietly walks up to Moore at the front of the room and asks to leave the classroom.

Choose one....

is invented. is fake. is here.

use pronouns because they don’t know, and they’re afraid to ask.”

And Venzon, more often than not, hasn’t told. It’s difficult to correct someone midspeech without weathering a barrage of questions. Though Venzon was “out” among friends, an affectionately “very gay group of friends” who wholeheartedly accepted Venzon’s identity, they also find themself conforming to other people’s expectations.

“P.E. can be weird,” Venzon said. “I was told to ‘dance with someone of the opposite gender.’ Who am I supposed to dance with? The void?”

Under the fluorescent lights of the gym, the command “Girls on one side and boys on the other” doesn’t seem like discrimination. In P.E., voting on whether a girls versus boys or a jerseys freshman Marie Venzon versus no-jerseys soccer game will be more fun rarely qualifies somewhat better. Venzon told Moore that as an act of exclusion. they was crying because they was transgenBut to Venzon, it is. der, and Moore responded that Venzon could Standing in front of two doors, each with leave anytime they were uncomfortable. its tacked-on blue triangle and little white And Venzon was, at the moment, certainly figure, pants for men and dresses for womfeeling uncomfortable. Feeling anxious. Feel- en, doesn’t result in a miniature existential ing frustrated. Yes, Venzon was angry. Ven- crisis for most people. It’s not even a matter zon was angry at the laughter. The laughter of debate. Choosing is mindless, and often, that seemed to trivialize a simple truth their so is expecting other people to choose. life relied on: that the day Venzon was born, And that’s exactly what privilege means, the doctors took one look at them and called according to Venzon.

Venzon a girl.

“Privilege is not having to think about it,” That the doctor was wrong.

Venzon said on the topic. “It’s ... not realizing Venzon prefers the pronoun “they” as certain things.” an alternative to “he” or “she” and is nonEveryday acts of assumption, sometimes binary, meaning that they doesn’t identify called microaggressions, aren’t the obvious with either gender. Though it makes some result of an oppressing majority belittling an people uncomfortable or confused to call a oppressed minority. In Venzon’s case, the single human being “they,” Venzon explains, privileged often don’t quite understand their feeling similarly uncomfortable or confused own privilege. (and more often these days, angry) is some“It’s like an invisible wall,” Venzon said. thing Venzon has lived with every day.

“Only, one side can’t even see it. But the “I would prefer ‘they,’ but people still other side does. The other side sees that it’s use ‘she.’ I’m kind of used to it because I huge. It’s giant. It’s always in your way.” expect it,” Venzon said. “People will call me Although freshman biology classes at‘she’ or ‘he’ sometimes or they just try not to tempt to expose that invisible wall of privinow begin to understand, had so quickly faded.

Today wasn’t quite the proof they had been looking for.

Outside, crying now, Venzon remembers thinking about whether or not the other classes could hear Venzon. Or how to make the smoothest entrance back into her own class. The last thing they needed was any more judgment.

Standing outside Room B103, Venzon felt

[PRIVILEGE] IS LIKE AN INVISIBLE WALL. ONLY, ONE SIDE CAN’T EVEN SEE IT. BUT THE OTHER SIDE DOES.

MARCH 11, 2015

25

SPECIAL

lege by educating students on the realities of gender diversity, Venzon is still unsure about whether everyone will learn to question the binary they’ve been told to accept.

According to Moore, it’s never too late.

“Learning is life-long,” she said. “Though early exposure can be very helpful.”

According to Moore, students should learn that gender and sex are two completely different things, but this is hindered by both being used interchangeably in the nonscientific community.

“There is always some confusion,” Moore said. “[But] it’s really powerful when education also comes from the students, if they hear student voices say, ‘We are among you.’”

In the classroom, Venzon eventually spoke up about their experience as a nonbinary student.

Moore felt that the rest of the class listened: “It was immediate,” Moore said.

“The whole class listened, and it was very influential for the class to hear, for them to hear a fellow student say, ‘This is a real thing, this is not made-up.”

As a part of the minority even in the LGBT community, Venzon often has to gauge whether other people will believe them, to categorize which people might accept them, which might reject them.

“After [crying in that Biology class], I was fine. I think [the class] helped, at least they know that transgendered is a thing,” Venzon said. “But I can’t necessarily know if they believe it.”

But at least the laughter receded by the time the bell rang for the end of school.

When Moore reviewed the lecture one last time at the end of class, people listened seri-

ously. Were people starting to understand?

Or was the joke simply getting stale? Nevertheless, when classmates exited that class to go home at last, it the other students’ privilege not to think about it, perhaps not until their next exam.

It was different for Venzon. At a wedding, they wore a dress despite their longings for a tuxedo. When they go to a church, they remember to dress femininely.

“On the first days of school, I remember[ed] to dress so that I look like I fall on one side of the spectrum or the other,” Venzon said. “The teacher wouldn’t know how to place me, which can be weird.”

While many teachers ask for nicknames to be written on cards, sometimes even asking students to share their hobbies or quirky facts, the idea of a preferred pronoun on

NONBINARY

raised his voice and threatened to climb out and fight them.

It might have been a comical incident if not for his next words: “You’re lucky your girlfriend is in there, or your boyfriend, or whatever the [expletive] that is,” he said.

Venzon was annoyed. And scared, though they don’t remember the exact order.

Venzon avoided eye contact, and it was only after the light flickered green that Venzon began to panic in their seat.

Venzon wanted to get out too, wanted to cuss at him until he would feel the way they did. But they didn’t. They didn’t know about their gender status at the time, but Venzon can still always remember that insult. That day had turned permanently ugly.

“I was angry,” Venzon said. “I kept thinking, ‘This is so dehumanizing.’” But Venzon didn’t say a word to that man that day. And now, beyond middle school, midway through freshman year, they still haven’t told very many people about the incident.

Venzon never knows how much other people know, and this self-consciousness, this monitoring of other people and how they look to those people, can be exhausting. The invisible burden.

“I decided to tell these two boys once.

They were acting very privileged and said, ‘Oh, you’re not oppressed, I bet if I were annoying on the internet I’d be oppressed too,’ and so I told them [about my gender],” Venzon said. “Now they act uncomfortable around me...”

Venzon realizes that what other people see is what they want to. For the most part, Venzon doesn’t care about what people see: Venzon wears the same jeans every day, t-

(adj.) a “catch-all” category for all gender identities other than male and female school records is not yet an option.

Again, this proved to Venzon that privilege isn’t what’s there. It’s what isn’t there.

“I saw staff bathrooms that were genderneutral, and I was so surprised,” Venzon said. “I thought, ‘Wow!’ This school has everything.” But the doors were locked. Venzon was disappointed but used to it.

“Most people know or see me as a girl, so I just use the girls bathroom, [which can] be uncomfortable to me,” Venzon said.

Some incidents have transcended discomfort. Once, over the summer before seventh grade, Venzon was sitting in the passenger seat as their car glided to a stop at a redlight. Their neighboring driver, a white man enraged at the driver of Venzon’s car,

MALE

AGENDER

no gender identity 26

expressing many genders at the same time

PANGENDER

EL ESTOQUE

shirts, the same jacket. Venzon can’t always control how they see themselves, either.

Gender dysphoria, or the feeling that you don’t fit in the body of your biological sex, sometimes alters their image in the mirror.

“If you were to look at yourself in the mirror, [and see that] something’s just wrong and that the person looking back at you isn’t entirely you. Or your real body is just being covered up by something,” Venzon said.

But while mirrors are easy to avoid, the binary world around Venzon is akin to a funhouse of distortion. Despite this, Venzon still believes in their right to define themself; and the right to have that definition be not only unquestioned, but understood.

Broadening the definitions of “standard” or “default” is a mission of the Gay-Straight Alliance, which despite its name (GayStraight does not imply gender), helped Venzon adjust by educating people about nonbinary gender for several days.

“There are many privileged people here.

Many people don’t learn about [nonbinary] gender. If they were to learn about it, they might understand and identify with it,” Venzon said. “More people might come out.”

Venzon’s own process of self-discovery would have sped up if the complexities of gender expression were common knowledge. Suddenly, the band of “tomboys” Venzon formed at the age of six made a little more sense. Though Venzon’s friends grew out of it, Venzon didn’t.

“We’re a minority,” Venzon said. “People calling us that, that’s what’s making us a minority. The fact that people look at us and say, ‘They’re a minority, they don’t matter, we shouldn’t care.’”

When in fact, Venzon believes that more students would come out if they knew that people like Venzon existed.

And for those who do come out, even in a limited way, the California state laws protect them even where microaggressions and binary-only bathrooms and gay slurs are common; according to Venzon, knowing that

blatant discrimination is illegal is a comfort.

That’s a privilege they can appreciate.

But the law doesn’t mean anything if the people themselves haven’t caught up.

“It’s like when two kids are fighting and the teacher comes and says, you have to stop fighting, you have to be friends, and you know they’re not going to be friends,” Venzon said. “They’re being forced to play nice.”

Still, Venzon knows that people will try.

When Venzon leaves MVHS, they can’t be sure how things will change. They’ll have to reorient themselves all over again. It’s the hardly-welcome task of students like Venzon to wonder if things will be better or worse “out there.”

Privilege, to Venzon, is the invisible wall.

It’s not having to think about something, and most of all, it’s not having to prove anything.

“If we keep thinking things have gotten better, nothing real will change,” Venzon said. “We have to step up and change it.”

PRONOUNS they SUBJECT

ze /zee/ object

them hir /here/

POSS.

their hirs /heres/ themself

REFLEX.

k.chang@elestoque.org

hirself /hereself/

*this is the nonbinary gender symbol

CALIFORNIA is one of

19

states where gender identity discrimination in the workplace is illegal.

ANDROGYNE

a gender identity that is a cross between male and female

NEUTROIS

GENDER-NEUTRAL

FEMALE

THE GENDER SPECTRUM

a neutral gender identity that is neither female nor male SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

27

If YOU DON’T OWN A LAPTOP or computer...

Detailing MVHS’ loaner program and the steps it entails

CONTACT

Contact someone or a teacher will contact you.

DEMONSTRATE Demonstrate you have finaincial need.

make your case Explain your situation to your counselor and ask for a recommendation to bring to library staff.

GO TO THE LIBRARY

The counselor or administrator would then email or call the library staff to confirm the student’s request.

LOAN

The library will lend you a computer.

28

ECONOMIC PRIVILEGE

by Kristin Chang with additional reporting

by Mingjie Zhong

He was just another student carrying a backpack and standing in the lunch line, jostled by various arms and legs and backpacks in the ever-expanding mob ahead of him. It was the second day of the new cafeteria’s opening week, and he felt like he was the only one who hesitated as he stepped onto the yet-unstained linoleum.

This reminded him of his middle school days, when he stood in line for the salad bar or the cafe, shuffling along the dim hallways like everyone else — the main difference being that when he finally emerged at the head of the line, he stepped away as quickly as possible. Pretending to chase after a loose coin, or tie his shoe, or sprint toward the library to print an imaginary assignment he had forgotten at home.

It was merely for show. His friends had the habit of loitering by the line to chat with him or check on him at brunch. And if they’d noticed that he wasn’t in some kind of line, they’d try to give him money or share their own lunches. It was humiliating It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford any kind of lunch. He wasn’t too proud for a free meal plan.

“I was in that weird [space] where I could technically afford lunch,” the anonymous junior said. “But I really didn’t want to spend money on food because I wanted there to be enough for other things.”

These “other things” didn’t mean a laptop (which he didn’t have) or new shoes (he’d been wearing the same pair since his feet stopped growing) or a smartphone (he and his friends tried to steal one once. He tried it because he couldn’t afford one.)

“Other things” meant rent, higher-speed internet, gas money, electricity, water, appliances (a weird smell was returning to his “ancient” microwave), a college fund that was barely even started.

“I’m used to having less than the people around me,” the junior said. He doesn’t live close enough to MVHS to walk, and his father only bought a car two years ago. When his bike broke in middle school, he had to ask his friends for a ride, but his only lasted a week. He hated relying on other people, but conversely, he couldn’t stop relying on other people.

“It’s true that...I’m expected to have a printer, and really good internet and good

Choose one....

doesn’t last. doesn’t exist. does matter.

transportation,” he said. And every year, he thinks that he meets these expectations: he has a cousin within walking distance who owns a printer, his internet is spotty but usable and he can always walk to a library or a cafe, although it’s much farther than a casual stroll. In his opinion, he’s still middle class.

“Prices are inflated here, so being middle class here is actually pretty upper-class elsewhere,” the junior said. “I don’t feel lesser.”

At least, that’s what he thinks until a week or so into the school year.

“Once a week there’s someone in my class who’s like, ‘Ugh, I got the new iPhone 6, finally,’” the junior said. “Or I’ll try to explain to the teacher that seriously, I couldn’t print out those notes, or I couldn’t log in to Turnitin.com, and the teacher tells me something like, ‘You say that every time.’”

He understands that the school itself is often very accommodating. The government offers a free meal plan, and several of his teachers have made it clear that if anyone doesn’t have access to a laptop, the student can always talk with them after class. He’s even aware of a loan program that lends electronics to students for the school year, but his concern is that the teacher most often acts as the link between the student and these programs.

“Taking the first step can be hard,” the junior said. “I haven’t learned to approach people about not having certain things because what we [learn] about all the time as kids is pride.”

English teacher Frank Ruskus believes that many students feel uncomfortable asking for financial help because so many students are economically well-off.

A few years ago, Ruskus offered to perEL ESTOQUE

Economic

MVHS vs. THE NATION Comparing the factors that are commonly used to “quantify” privilege National Average

HOUSING COST

GRADUATION RATE 99.5%

AVG. SAT SCORE

PER SQUARE FOOT

2001

$849*

78.3%

reading 640 writing

664 697

Math: math697

*This number refers to the cost per square foot of housing in the entire city of Cupertino.

Source: Patch.com

MVHS

1497

7

reading 497

1. 4.00 - 3.97 2. 3.96 - 3.86 3. 3.85 - 3.76 4. 3.75 - 3.68 5. 3.67 - 3.53 6. 3.52 - 3.38 7. 3.37 - 3.21 8. 3.20 - 3.00 9. 2.99 - 2.67 10. 2.66 - 0 Source: Patch.com

AVG. CLASS SIZE

writing 487 math

MVHS DECILE RANKINGS

513

ESTIMATED NATIONAL AVG. GPA

STAFF SIZE Source: USNews.com

2.9 Male 3.1 Female

more students in the average MVHS classroom than in the national average.

Source: Patch.com

53.3

STUDENT BODY 854.3

Source: Zillow

Source: Patch.com

$118

2373

114

All MVHS statistics come from the school’s website and the Self-Study Report, Spring 2014

sonally purchase the book for any student who could not afford to pay for their own copy, and yet not once throughout the entire year did one student out of 150 ask for help.

No students approached him the following year either.

“I could see students struggling to do that, but not feeling comfortable enough to go to the teacher because they don’t want to be identified as the ‘poor student’ to the teacher, whereas at more economically disadvantaged schools, it would be less stigmatized because it would be a more common issue,” Ruskus said. “Here, it’s sort of a badge of shame that students decide to carry silently.”

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

The junior only knows two or three other students who have resorted to stealing WiFi from a neighbor or who sometimes have never seen their parents home before 10 p.m. He doesn’t want to be known as one of the “poor” immigrant kids.

“I have to do so many things alone, and struggle by myself,” the junior admitted.

“I don’t want people to be uncomfortable around me.”

When the students around him joke about being “poor” when they don’t want to pay for Prom tickets or complain about the prices of cafeteria pizza and the vending machines, he can’t help but feel even more isolated. And not just isolated. Sometimes

he feels repulsed by it all, the flippancy of kids who don’t know how much their parents make, or the students who have never starved for a day who have claimed to “have no money.”

“I get that it’s common to joke about not having money,” the junior said. “But I know there are always the students who actually don’t have that money, and who are frustrated by that kind of talk.”

He continues to explain that so many club activities, and so many of his classes, increasingly rely on technology. As more and more Chromebooks are distributed, as students are given school email addresses, his assignments and therefore his grades and 29

and therefore his future seem to be at risk.

“I have this mentality, a very common mentality here, of having one little thing become a bigger thing and a bigger thing,” the junior said. “But most [students] don’t have that fear with money.”

Whenever he sees that a math assignment requires a graphing website or Khan Academy, he hardly bothers to write it down.

“I know I can always talk [to teachers] about access to internet and things, but again, I don’t want people to see me as different,” the junior said. “I definitely think that that’s the privilege. I think to myself, ‘Why do I have to go out of my way [for what

seems like] most of the time, all the time?’”

It’s a question that haunts him. Most of the time, he’s glad he doesn’t have a smartphone to check Facebook and see where all his classmates are eating or studying or getting ready for Prom. Similarly, he doesn’t want to be seen.

“I live in a very contradictory place,” the junior said. He wants to ask for help, he wants to tell people that he occasionally buys meals at 7-11 not out of choice, but out of necessity — but he knows that their “sensitivity” to his situation may only lead to a greater sense of distance from his fellow students, as if he isn’t far enough away

RACIAL PRIVILEGE

can’t be real. can’t hurt. can make all the difference.

MVHS were more willing to encourage the already-successful and high-achieving groups of students, rather than equally targeting the whole class. In her experience, teachers allowed “stereotypical” MVHS students — Asian or Indian and high-income — to bend the rules.

“We buy into stereotypes,” Wright said.

“We see high success rates among the [Asian and Indian] majority and want to continue with that.”

She noticed that ethnically homogeneous

RACE TO PRIVILEGE Students weigh in on ethnic privilege at MVHS*

k.chang@elestoque.org

Choose one....

by Kristin Chang and Mingjie Zhong

According to junior Tatiana Wright, who moved to Cupertino High School for the 2014-2015 school year, the level of MVHS’ privileged students is certainly unique, something she only fully realized after leaving the school.

“There’s a definite difference at CHS,” Wright said. “It’s more leveled out ... in terms of favoritism and people getting the resources and help they need.”

Wright, who identifies as Colombian, white and black, believes that teachers at

from school as it is.

“It’s a...total paradox because I don’t want people to act weird around me and not be themselves,” he said. “But at the same time, I want them to stop saying talking about being poor in the same sentence about their new car.”

After being informed that in a survey of 170 students, only 47 percent of students know their family’s income, he was surprised, but not for long.

“Most students here are in that unique situation where money is thought [of] in future tense,” he said.

friend groups, often comprised only of Asian or Indian students, were likely to share resources such as notes, study guides and practice tests from outside classes or tutors.

Meanwhile, isolated minority groups did not necessarily have access to those materials.

“CHS is more [ethnically] diverse,” Wright said, “I feel [that] all students get the help they need.”

Wright believes that at CHS, classrooms are less stratified. In a survey of 170 stu-

THE BREAKDOWN MVHS vs. the Nation

RACIAL/ETHNIC PRIVILEGE Does it exist at MVHS?

65% yes

35% no

41%

3.8%

Other

16.4% White

23% Other

52%

White *Based on a survey of 170 students.

DISCRIMINATION/MICRO-AGGRESSIONS Have you ever experienced them?

30

MVHS students believe they have experienced discrimination at school

24%

Asian

MVHS National Average

79.8% Asian

EL ESTOQUE

dents, 52 percent of students have paid for associated with going to Stanford,” Feather not entirely Asian. Even some of Feather’s outside tutors or classes to supplement their said. “We’re just different like that.” peers have expressed doubt that Feather is classwork, which both echoes and encourIn Feather’s experience, the word “ghet- half-black, instead believing that she is halfages economic differences. “Depending to” is usually associated with black and His- white, half-Indian. on the school, I know where my place is,” panic people. Even one of the teachers she West offered her the chance to switch Wright said. had in her four years here, who is unnamed out of the class, but it was already May and And knowing her “place” has often been in accordance with Feather’s request, regu- school was about to end, so Feather chose more restricting than comforting. larly made black or hispanic-related remarks to stay. She remembers that administration For senior Abby Feather, racial prejudice and associated the word “ghetto” with them said they would speak to the teacher, butshe is not at all a distant bogey-monster that in the classroom. does not know for a fact if administrators exists only in the abstract. Feather has perOnce, Feather recalls, her teacher was followed through. sonally experienced prejudice at According to guidance MVHS because of her race: halfcounselor Nikki Berri, in a black, half-white. situation where a student Feather says that during her feels as if a teacher’s verbal four years at MVHS, people (n.) unintended and unconscious discrimination of remarks and actions are not have said to her multiple times: appropriate, the student someone through casual expressions or behavior “Wow! You’re half-black, and usually begins with telling you got an A?”, “I didn’t think his or her friends. But Berri you would actually want to do wishes that students would your homework!” and “That’s not very black talking about her personal life and remarked feel more comfortable with the counselors. of you!” that she wanted to decorate her bathroom “We like to think that the guidance counRacial remarks often arise because of mirror with gold spray paint when a student selors are the ‘first line of defense’, but stereotypes. Though students making these shouted out in response, “Oh, but black [the students] are more comfortable with remarks often claim that they were merely people do that!” According to Feather, the friends,” Berri said. “joking”, Feather believes they were inten- teacher replied, “Wouldn’t that be so ghetto Feather believes the root of the problem tional since the remarks are not subtle and fabulous, if I painted my bathroom mirror is the differences in — and sometimes, inblatantly include her ethnicity. She believes with gold paint?” compatibility of — cultures in Cupertino. that different racial groups have different exFeather was offended by the association “I definitely think that [students at pectations when it comes to education and of people of her color with being “ghetto,” MVHS] all have the same privileges, but we social life. Living in Cupertino, Feather sees which is often linked to poverty, slums and don’t perform to the same level and it crethat although she and an Asian student may other profligations in society. In May 2013, ates separation between people,” Feather have the same advantages and privileges in Feather went to her counselor, Kate West, to said. “If you don’t perform as well as an education, they are not held to the same ex- discuss the issue; being the only non-Asian Asian, then you’re seen as dumber.” pectations and are even treated differently. student in the class, Feather felt as if her k.chang@elestoque.org m.zhong@elestoque.org “One is associated with ‘ghetto’, one is teacher did not realize that the class was

MICROAGRESSION

SPORTS

Comeback Kings

Boys soccer makes CCS for the first time since 1998

Check elestoque.org/ soccer15 for an indepth season review.

BY NATHAN DESAI

T

his is how they started.

The last time boys soccer made CCS over half the current roster hadn’t been born yet. Last season MVHS came closer than they had in the 15 seasons before, suffering a heartbreaking loss to Homestead High School in the final game of the season, with the Matadors needing only a draw against their crosstown rivals to qualify.

So it was only fitting that MVHS would square off against the Mustangs in the opening game of this season, seeking vengeance for the devastating defeat from the prior year.

Despite losing five players to graduation, MVHS recruited six-time CCS champion Patrick Lowney to serve as the team’s head coach and with his black glasses, black rain jacket and tan baseball cap, he makes his presence known at every match. As he yelled instructions at his players in their opening match against the Mustangs, his booming voice could be heard all the way from the rally court.

But Lowney found himself at a disadvantage in his opening match, with seniors Dima Gutnik, Anurag Kelkar and Brad Ohadi out with injuries. Without them, MVHS

starting the season on a six-game losing streak. The odds weren’t against MVHS but the momentum certainly was.

It took MVHS almost five hours of play to score a goal and the team continued to struggle with injuries with Ohadi nursing a nagging leg problem and senior Greg Moe injuring his neck in a loss to Palo Alto High School.

So it took the team by surprise when they scored six minutes into the reverse fixture This is how they fell apart. against HHS with junior Radwan Hamwi tapSure, a loss to the eventual league champing in a cross from Ohadi. pions is understandable for any team. But “This is the first time we’ve had a lead all on Jan. 27, MVHS found themselves in the season,” junior Hari Kaushik said. same position they were before that openThe lead only ing match: preparing lasted for three to play HHS in hopes minutes with the of winning their first Mustangs scoring league game. three goals within The only differseven minutes to ence was that this head coach Patrick Lowney bury the Matadors. time the season was They tacked on anhalfway over. other later for good But a scoreless measure, handing MVHS a 4-1 loss, their draw on Los Gatos High School’s wasteland worst defeat of the season. of a field and senior Varun Kalandoor’ stopIn theory, the Matadors could draw all page time equalizer against Santa Clara High their remaining games and still qualify for School were all that kept the Matadors from

suffered a 2-0 loss in Lowney’s first league game for MVHS and although the returning players were upset that they couldn’t exact revenge against HHS, the experienced coach urged them to keep their cool as they had plenty of time left to earn the seven points needed to qualify for CCS. “We can’t worry too much about this game,” Lowney said. “We got 11 games left.”

ENJOY THIS. BUT ENJOY IT SO MUCH THAT WE WANT MORE.

Christine Liang | El Estoque

Christine Liang | El Estoque

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Christine Liang | El Estoque

▶

▶

Christine Liang | El Estoque

JAN. 8

Head coach Patrick Lowney leads senior Brad Ohadi in MVHS’ senior night game against Los Gatos High School.

The Matadors escaped LGHS with a 0-0 draw.

32

JAN. 27

Senior Brad Ohadi tries to weave through the Homestead High School defense. Despite scoring the opening goal in this fixture, MVHS lost 4-1.

FEB. 3

Senior Michael Ligier fights for possession against Palo Alto High School. MVHS upset the league leaders at PAHS with a 1-0 victory.

FEB. 5

Sophomore Alex Dunn defends against Los Altos High School. Despite losing 3-2 to the Eagles in their first matchup, MVHS drew 1-1 this time.

EL ESTOQUE

CCS but the embarrassing loss against HHS clearly had a huge impact on team morale with the players sitting in silence following the loss.

To them, the pain seemed eternal.

They needed a miracle to save them from their misery.

And they got it.

to ensure that his players’ excitement didn’t hinder their focus for the three games that lied ahead.

“If we win another game, we’re gonna be in CCS,” he said to his team. “Enjoy this. But enjoy it so much that we want more.”

This is how they let it slip.

With the form the Matadors were in during the first half of the season, two points Heading into their Feb. 3 matchup at from three games would’ve seemed imposPalo Alto High School, the Matadors were sible. But a win against the league leaders still without a win and sat at the bottom of boosted the team’s confidence and proved the table. On the other hand, all PAHS had that MVHS had the capability to beat any team in the league. done all season is win and “Remember when Brad found themselves in first said we’d win the next four place in league. The visitors preseason wins and everyone laughed?” had payback on their minds Moe said following the vichaving lost to the Vikings tory at PAHS. “We’re gonna 1-0 earlier in the season LEague win [do it.]” but MVHS would have to With SCHS and Mounshut down the unbeatable tain View High School and impenetrable PAHS. standing in the Matadors’ Heading into the fixture, CCS WIN way, all they needed was a the Vikings were a perfect single draw to put an end to 7-0-0 in league, and hadn’t 17 years of misfortune. conceded a goal in over ten But they lost their momentum, losing 1-0 hours of play.

It took Ohadi just 35 seconds to put an to SCHS and the silence that plagued the team after games early in the season was end to that streak.

And from there, all MVHS had to do was back. But Lowney — the team’s constant hold on for dear life. As the referee blew the beacon of inspiration — was there for guidfinal whistle, the Matador bench stormed ance as always.

“I’m going to CCS,” he said to his playthe field to celebrate their season-swinging upset. Ohadi even unleashed his best Mat- ers. “I’m either going to buy a ticket to get thew McConaughey impression, getting his into the stadium because I love soccer or I teammates to pound on their chests like the am going to have the privilege to be there with you.” actor did in “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

And with three minutes left in MVHS’ And amidst the celebration, Lowney had

This is how they turned it around.

6 1 1

final league game, it looked like Lowney would have to watch this postseason from the stands.

This is how they saved their season.

Last year, the Matadors’ CCS chances came down to the final game of the season.

All they needed to make the postseason was a tie. Instead, the Matadors were a mess in defense, conceding three goals and blowing their chances of making the playoffs.

And the exact same thing happened this year too.

Mountain View High School — who had beaten the Matadors 3-2 in the first meeting between these two sides — had a 3-0 lead with just three minutes remaining. All the Matadors wanted to do at this point was give the fans something to cheer about, call it a season and hope that 2016 would be the year the streak finally ends.

All they were looking for was a consolation goal.

So Hamwi gave them a three-minute hattrick instead.

“That was straight out of the Bible,” Adiga said.

Sure, it was a scrappy hat-trick with two goals coming from penalties and the other due to careless defending but no Matador was complaining.

Ohadi’s McConaughey impression was back, the supporters stormed the field and Lowney walked off into the chilly night just as mysteriously as he had arrived.

The decorated coach had worked his magic. And no one knew just how many more tricks he had up his sleeve.

Justin Kim | El Estoque

▶ FEB. 17 Junior Radwan Hamwi scores his first goal in the senior game against Mountain View High School. Hamwi scored five goals in two games against the Spartans this year.

MARCH 11, 2015

33

SPORTS

this is what happened next.

“I still have no idea how we ended up with a seventh seed,” Ohadi said before their first round CCS matchup.

Despite their sole regular season win, the Matadors nabbed a high seed due to their stellar preseason. Although the seniors thought they had already played their final home game, they’d play at MVHS one last time against Evergreen Valley High School.

If the drama of MVHS’ first CCS game since 1998 wasn’t enough, a victory would also be the 250th of Lowney’s career.

The Cougars came out hacking though with Adiga getting kicked in the stomach and Ligier getting elbowed in the back within the first 15 minutes of the game.

“They’re not just going in hard,” junior Peter Enescu said. “They’re going in with their cleats up.”

Hamwi scored a penalty after 30 minutes and EVHS replied with a second half equalizer. The 1-1 scoreline would hold for the rest of the match. MVHS’ first CCS game in 17 years would be settled in a penalty shootout.

Every kick carried the weight of the entire season with it. Some players could barely look. The fans started trickling on to the track. Lowney stared on calm as always.

Srinivas made three saves in the shootout to seal a Matador victory. His teammates rushed in from midfield to dogpile their hero.

Even the fans started running on the field, including assistant coach Pooya Hajjarian embraced Srinivas after the tense shootout.

“I’m so proud of you,” he said. “You just good and which ones draw a lot of fouls.” made my day.”

MVHS’ conservative defense led to WHS’ The thrilling victory was not only a mon- first goal following a blocked shot. But the umental win for MVHS, but a huge one for Matadors persisted and despite being the inLowney too. Although someone had knocked ferior team on paper, they needed just three over the cooler, Ohadi and Kompella scooped minutes to level the score. Senior Dima Gutnik up some ice with their hands and poured — MVHS’ long throw specialist — launched them on their coach just like they said they a ball all the way into the six yard box. The would at the beginning of the season. booming throw took a deflection off a WHS “It was a tie,” Lowney said about the full- defender, making the score 1-1 at the half. time score as he wiped ice off his shoulders.

With his players now drenched in sweat “But we’re goinstead of rain, ing through, Coach!”

Lowney urged Kompella said.

MVHS to push on “We’ll count it as and they appeared a win,” Lowney said to have their reward with a grin on his face.

15 minutes into the assistant coach Pooya Hajjarian So with Lowney’s second half.

250th win out of the way, the Matadors Adiga slid the ball to Hamwi who calmly crossed their fingers that they could lift the passed it into the back of the net. The bench CCS trophy with his 253rd. They’d need a erupted, Lowney celebrated and the fans miracle to get his 251st. cheered. Offside.

In the pouring rain, the Matadors had 80 A minute later WHS fired a ball from 30 minutes to tame the WHS and advance to the yards out which found its way past Srinivas next round. Heading into the game, WHS was and the game was back under Wildcat con17-0-3 and the sixth best team in the nation. trol. An additional goal in stoppage time It was destined to be an uphill battle for sealed the game and the Matadors on the MVHS though, as they’d have to take down field fell to their knees in devastation. the reigning CCS co-champions to make it to “I know it doesn’t feel good to lose,” the semifinals. Not only that, but they were Lowney said. “But you guys did it the right also at a disadvantage due to the referees’ fa- way and I’m proud of you.” miliarity with their opponents.

Though their wild and improbable run was “They referee a lot of games in this area,” over, so were almost two decades of pain.

Hajjarian said. “They know which players are And if Lowney remains at the helm, it probably won’t take the Matadors 17 years to make MVHS proud again.

I’m so proud of you. you just made my day.

n.desai@elestoque.org Christine Liang | El Estoque

▶

Christine Liang | El Estoque

FEB. 25 The Matadors tackle senior Anirudh Srinivas in celebration following their penalty shootout victory against Evergreen Valley High School. Srinivas’ three shootout saves led MVHS to victory.

34

FEB. 28

Sophomore Nikash Narula passes the ball upfield in a CCS quarterfinal match against Watsonville High School. MVHS saw their season come to a close in the 3-1 loss to WHS. EL ESTOQUE

SPORTS

Fit club

Justin Kim| El Estoque

Cross country captain spreads running passion to Prom group

BY ALINA ABIDI

T

he 2016 Junior Prom Dress group on Facebook, created to ensure unique outfits, is filled with sequins, glitter and parenthetical notes about needing to diet.

As notifications from the group and accompanying self-deprecating comments piled up, junior Namrata Subramanian made a post of her own. On Feb. 8 at 8:42 p.m., she created a poll. The poll was not unlike the ones her cross country teammates often created in their private Facebook group, but it stood out among the selfies and screenshots that covered the Prom group as far as the finger could scroll.

A short blurb accompanied Subramanian’s poll — she took issue with girls dieting before prom and thought Saturday running sessions would be a better solution to get in shape.

After 38 likes and 26 excited comments, her weekly workouts were born and if all goes as planned, they will continue long after Prom.

weekly workouts meet saturdays at 4:00 p.m. on the track As the poll dictated, Subramanian and a handful of other junior girls met at 4:00 p.m. on a Saturday by the MVHS track, clad in T-shirts and colorful running shoes. A few minutes into their first meeting on Feb. 14, Subramanian encouraged the girls, mostly her friends, to warm-up with three laps around the track.

She was met with reluctant shuffling toward the red lanes, but Subramanian just grinned.

“If you make somebody run for a week, all of a sudden they’ll start liking it,” Subra33

manian said. “Running is an addiction for me now.”

After a series of stretches, a condensed version of what she would normally do, Subramanian led her disciples down the stairs and onto McClellan Road.

She was headed for Jamba Juice, once again following the footsteps of her cross Justin Kim| El Estoque country team by mimicking their annual “fun run” to Leading the pack Juniors Julianna Liu and Namrata Subget smoothies. ramnian lead a group of runners on March 1. Though SubraSubramanian paused her running watch before stop- manian created the group for junior girls, anyone can join. ping at a crosswalk. After an inordinate amount prom, but she had a few initial reservations. of time spent waiting on the sidewalk. Subra“[I thought], why do you need to work so manian hopped in place as the last few trailing hard just for this one night? But, at the same members of her group caught up. time, it’s good motivation and you can con“I would have crossed by now,” Subrama- tinue after,” Thé said, then grinned and added, nian said. “But I don’t want to kill you guys.” “and you’ll look even better at Senior Ball.”

She used the pause to gauge her runners.

Subramanian knows she has skeptics and “How are you guys feeling?” she said. she knows that she can’t convince everyone “Like I want to kill myself,” junior Shruti that they can or should run, but she’s going Shankar answered. The rest of the group to try. She referenced one or two comments laughed before nodding solemnly as they ad- noting that she shouldn’t have too intense or justed their ponytails and checked their laces. dangerous workouts, but that isn’t her intention After sprinting the last 500 feet of their run at all. She’s devoted to running and wants to and sipping on some Strawberry Surf Riders, create more converts — if Prom is a catalyst, Subramanian and a diminished crowd headed so be it. to Memorial Park to cool down and stretch.

Like the dresses in the group, the lengths of “[Subramanian] is a great person to run the runs will vary, but Subramanian’s message with because she doesn’t make you feel ter- will remain constant. rible about how slow you are,” Shankar said.

“Try it once, whether it’s for Prom or not,” IDC Representative junior Natalie Thé, cre- Subramanian said. “The hardest part of runator of the dress group, explained that she’s al- ning is getting out of your house.” ways excited to see people’s enthusiasm about a.abidi@elestoque.org EL ESTOQUE

SPORTS Aditya Pimplaskar | El Estoque Photo Illustration

T

Out

Aditya Pimplaskar | El Estoque Photo Illustration

OF bounds Casual pickup basketball brings students to the courts

BY ADITYA PIMPLASKAR AND MALINI RAMAIYER

36

hey agreed on 3:30 — ish. At 3:40 p.m., two people show up. By 3:47 p.m., there are three. More trickle in, place their car keys and cell phones against the concrete wall, put on their worn-out basketball shoes and begin to warm-up while discussing literature homework. The half-court games begin at 3:56 p.m. By 4:19 p.m., they have a full-fledged full-court game going.

On this Saturday, Feb. 21, in the lateafternoon sun, MVHS boys along with some alumni and other stragglers met on the Kennedy Middle School blacktop to play some ball. Junior Abhinav Balaji and senior Venkata Paladuga were the first to enter the school and when they did, some one-on-ones were already going on. Balaji dribbled the ball as they walked in and chose one of the three available courts in the shade. He, along with other players of the MVHS boys basketball team, come to KMS to practice basketball, but also to hang with their friends. They play on most Saturdays, and during vacation, almost everyday. Not everyone plays for school, but that is not cause for much tension.

“It’s just whatever,” junior Ashween Manimaran said.

The night before, the MVHS team had lost their senior game to Cupertino High School. They were out of the playoffs— the season was over. As everyone gathered on the court, they discussed the previous night’s loss.

“We have to get over it somehow. We sleep on it, we talk to other teammates,” Balaji said.

“You gotta just get through it. Play the sport that you love more and more. “ 2014 alumnus Rami Dwidar asked senior Casey Parsay about the season.

“Casey, you star ting this year?” Dwidar said.

“Yeah, season ended last night,” Parsay said.

“You want to play over here?”

“Yeah sure.”

They take free throws to decide teams.

The first five to make their shots are on one team and the next five make up the other.

Those who miss, don’t play.

The boys call their own fouls with their foul mouths. They play sloppily, screaming and erupting randomly. They shout “MONEY” and wildly fire three-pointers, which are valued at two points in their system — more often than not, they miss. Little thought goes into their play, but that’s the point.

A typical play across the court entails traveling, dribbling, traveling again, but no matter — the game continues.

“You can play without any of the pres-

Head in the game (RIGHT) Senior Casey Parsay dribbles the ball up the court toward senior Rohan Nair at Kennedy Middle School on Feb. 21. Parsay was invited by junior Abhinav Balaji to play at KMS. (OPPOSITE) Sophomore Ron Talmor goes for a lay up. The boys practiced their shots at KMS while waiting for others to arrive.

sure of playing for a coach and having other people watching you,” sophomore Ron Talmor said. “You can play to have fun and get better.”

Balaji and Manimaran began playing together five years ago with a group of friends.

They would just play day after day and when came spring seaAditya Pimplaskar | El Esto son came, tryout of the school team. Balaji did not make the KMS basketball team until eighth grade, but he clearly remembers trying out on these very courts. The pre-teenage boys would arrange themselves in two lines and make layup after layup, to prove they’re good enough for the team. Those who made it played for the school. Those who didn’t played at the school.

“All three of us went [to KMS] for middle school so we’re familiar with these courts,” Manimaran said. Taking a water break, he sat on the wall next to Balaji and Parsay.

“I didn’t go here,” Parsay said.

“Yeah you did,” Balaji said. “Didn’t you?”

Parsay went to Christa McAuliffe Middle School.

Ever since, this group has met at the KMS blacktops. Though many have played at the courts at Jollyman Park and Garden Gate Elementary, there is a consensus that the KMS courts are the best. Not only are there six full courts here, but MVHS alumni often visit the KMS courts. Talmor explains that they like to play where the alumni play, but when asked what’s special about playing with the alumni, he shrugs his shoulders and returns to the court.

They invite anyone who wants to play and everyone gets a chance to play, but it’s clear who the punching bags of the group EL ESTOQUE

| El Estoque

“It’s a good way to get away from real basketball, but still play basketball.”

senior Casey Parsay

are. If they screw up, someone cusses. If they don’t screw up, someone cusses.

During water break, Balaji sits on the wall talking to Manimaran. Someone walks up to ask them to join.

“Do you guys want to play? No? Okay. Go f— yourselves.”

After two games, the heat in the air is gone. In this fourth game, the rookies are gone as well, the cackling and sloppy play stops and the threes actually go in. Still, they still occasionally drop the ball because they’re laughing too hard to play.

“Look at Abhi running like that,” Manimaran said, chuckling, to Paladuga watching from the wall.

“I’m never running like that again man,” Balaji said, in down-dog position to catch his MARCH 11, 2015

breath after a sprint across the court.

The boys laugh and swear at each other a lot. But when somebody falls down, they help him up, pause the game for him to catch his breath and continue to play. No harm, no foul and no rules.

“It’s a good way to get away from real basketball,” Parsay said, “but still play basketball.”

The fourth game ends and the sun has set. People call their parents, ask each other for rides home and walk off the blacktop, through the fence and to the parking lot. Balaji and another boy play one on one while three others watch and make more fun of Balaji. They had agreed to end at 6 p.m. At 6:45 p.m. they still stood there, continuing to play as the blacktop emptied. No one knew

Malini Ramaiyer | El Estoque

SOCIAL NETWORK MVHS students rest and casually interact between games on the concrete wall by the courts. They played four games total on Feb. 21 when they would leave.

“One more?” someone calls out from the wall.

“Sure.” a.pimplaskar@elestoque.org I m.ramaiyer@elestoque.org

37

SPORTS

In car racing, the best is saved for last hen the Daytona 500 started, I was playing Bananagrams with my friends. My dad walked in.

“Aren’t you supposed to be watching NASCAR for your column?” he said.

“Yeah Dad, it’s playing on the TV behind my back,” I said.

Focused on how to make words out of my pile of Q’s, K’s and Z’s, I missed the start of the race. My friend won — she had a lot of A’s — so when I finally turned around, I was too grumpy to watch dumb cars drive in seemingly endless circles.

Why do people pay to watch this race live? They have to sit outside in the heat and watch the boring race. At least I got to watch the ads that ran on a split screen with the race — even ESPN thought the race was boring.

Driving is easy. Sure, I thought that cars had a reverse pedal until a few weeks ago, but they don’t even have to go in reverse.

Racers just drive around a track...200 times.

So we watched. We watched as Jeff Gordon immediately took his lead and stayed there. We watched as the cars slowed down to take a break and rejuvenate at their pit stops. We tried to watch as the cars went around and around and around, but eventually ended up taking trivia quizzes online.

Car racing is boring. It doesn’t seem that difficult to press the gas pedal harder and over take the car in front of you. And yet, all the cars seemed stuck in their ranking.

In 30 minutes, they had only completed 41

laps and I was going in circles trying to understand this sport.

Suddenly, a car caught on fire. The wheels smoked, the caution flag went up and the cars slowed down. In the commotion, Joey Logano took the lead from Gordon. They drove side-byside, hitting each other until Gordon slowly began to recede out of the top five.

E ig h t y - e ig h t laps completed and Gordon was out of sight. Logano held first and I went back to the trivia. I looked up from the quiz on words that end and begin with H and saw that now there were only 88 laps left of the race. As I watched the last laps, the volatility of the car racing began to show.

With 51 laps to go, Logano took the lead but with 45 laps left, Carl Edwards was in first, only to be passed by Logano within the next lap. Jimmie Johnson appeared out of nowhere in the last 32 laps. Two laps later, we’re back with Logano who lost it to Johnson and then Dale Earnhardt Jr. But Johnson pulled into first by the lap 183 while fighting off Denny Hamlin close behind.

Car racing is not boring.

The best way to watch car racing is to ignore the first 150 laps. During these laps, the drivers pee into tubes, bear the heat radiating from the 105 degree track and maintain a steady speed to avoid

crashing and burning. While this is still intense, we can’t see them in action, so it’s alright to miss a couple of minutes for a match of Bananagrams.

The action comes at the very end because in the last 50 laps, the anticipation, adrenaline and excitement are visible on the track.

The race, like Bananagrams, builds up to the

MALINI RAMAIYER ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

end. Gordon led for the most number of laps for the race, but he lacked the momentum to finish. If you use up all the good letters in the beginning and keep accumulating those cursed Q’s, K’s and Z’s, in the end, you can’t spell anything. Like Gordon, you’ll be out of the race.

The competitors who remain at a steady pace, can speed up at the end and spell anything out, perhaps even victory.

With 10 laps left, Logano suddenly moved up so fast that he was fourth and first at the same time on the rankings chart. By cutting in on the track, he pulled ahead and temporarily escaped the pack of cars trailing behind.

Five laps: Logano. Four: Logano. Three: Logano. CAUTION FLAG. Two: Logano. One: Logano. Logano won.

After watching Logano’s victor y spins, I was ready for a rematch of Bananagrams.

This time, lesson learned, I would see “victor y.” m.ramaiyer@elestoque.org

38 EL ESTOQUE

Follow in the footsteps Sports bag evokes memories of role model STORY AND PHOTO BY YIFEI WU

U

niforms, T-shirts, running shoes, spikes — the items in senior Rhea Choudhury’s sports bag seem no different than other track and field member. Yet each item has a history, recalling stories from Choudhury’s earliest days on the track and field team. The most unique items in the bag are the running spikes that belonged to former MVHS track and field coach, and former Olympian, Erica Ashley McLain, who convinced Choudhury to join track and field. “[McLain] is the reason that I fell in love with track and the reason that I find it a family,” Choudhury said.

A gymnast for most of her life, Choudhury had not planned on joining track and field — until she met McLain, a former gymnast turned a track and field athlete. Once on the team, Choudhury gravitated to found herself interested in triple jump, an event that uses similar skill sets to gymnastics, an event that McLain also

competed in during the tryouts for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the start beginning of the first season freshman year in freshman year, McLain gave the light-weighted running spikes to Choudhury, spikes that Choudhury continues to use to this day. “[McLain] was always so energetic and so enthusiastic, and whenever someone did something well, she would start jumping up and down,” Choudhury said.

To Choudhury, McLain is not only a coach, but also a role model.

Aside from being a former Olympian and gymnast, McLain is also studying in the MBA program in Berkeley and is trying to become an entrepreneur. Choudhury is motivated by her enthusiasm, energy and breadth of knowledge — characteristics that, nowadays, Choudhury likes to identify herself with.

“She is just amazing,” Choudhury said. “I want to be like her.” y.wu@elestoque.org

1 YEAR OLD Each year, Choudhury gets a new pair of running shoes because she wears them for practices and sprints competions.

4 YEARS OLD

In order to keep the running spikes in good condition, Choudhury uses them sparingly and changes the spikes before each season.

4 YEARS OLD

Senior Rhea Choudhury

1 DAY OLD

1 YEAR OLD

4 MONTHS OLD

MARCH 11, 2015

39

!"#$%&!%'()*%+&,-#*&./)#(&0&!%#$%&1#$-2 “Thanks for making my life a little easier.

Checking all those college apps, going over my essays countless times, and answering my many questions helped me get into college with a smile on my face.”

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