Volume 41, Issue 6, March 10 2010

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EL ESTOQUE ONLINE

CHECK OUT MORE CENTERSPREAD HOME PROFILES ON ELESTOQUE.ORG

OPEN HOUSE Take a step inside the homes of your classmates and hear the stories you never knew they had to tell. Welcome.

CENTERSPREAD Pages 11 to 14

LOOK OUT

MVHS staff to participate in fourth annual charity dodgeball tournament tomorrow night at Lynbrook High School at 6:30.

FRUGAL FORMAL Learn how to use your money efficiently when it comes to getting ready for prom.

ENTERTAINMENT page 19

Sports page 15 MARCH 10, 2010

VOLUME XLISSUE 6MONTA VISTA HIGH SCHOOLCUPERTINO, CA

DAY OF ACTION

First and lasting impressions Part one of a look into the life of a perspectives student

by Kanwalroop Singh and Sabrina Ghaus

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Stefan Ball | El Estoque

MARCH MADNESS Locals, mainly De Anza College students, march through the campus on March 4 before going to city hall. The march was part of the Day of Action, an effort to protest the state government’s education funding cuts.

Education funding cuts protested by students and teachers

by Samved Sangameswara

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here is a problem that isn’t being solved. That’s the message that the students and faculty of the California public school system aimed to send last Thursday. All around the state, activists held protests and marches, all with the goal of sending the message to state officials that the financial needs of public schools are not being taken care of.

March 4 was the Day of Action, put together by the organization Stand Up for Schools. The day of activism was initiated by college students to protest the fee hikes that the public universities and community colleges have recently imposed. When the California Teachers Association heard about it, they decided to join in and voice their concerns regarding the government’s

handling of public education funding. The deadline set by the state for handing out pink slips, which inform teachers that they will not be returning for the following year, is March 15.

With that date looming, the educators of California joined the effort to raise awareness that they too are being hurt by what they believe to be poor governing at the state level.

“The state’s method for solving funding is not going in the right direction,” MVHS Fremont Education Association site president and band teacher Jon Fey said. “[Day of Action is for] getting the message out to our community.

[We want to] make sure that people in Sacramento know that they need to stop cutting funds in education.”

In support of the effort, MVHS staff wore black on March 4 to “symbolize the slow death of the school system,”

Mail-in ballot proposes new tax

If passed, revenue will help curb shortfalls

by Vijeta Tandon

shortfall for the 2011-2012 school year.

The main difference between this parcel veryone deserves a second chance. tax, Measure B and Measure G, defeated On April 5, Cupertino voters are last November, is that it has a specific end getting exactly that. Voters will date and contains no inflation clause. receive a mail-in ballot that gives them In addition, it allows senior citizens to the option to vote bypass the tax and for an emergency past year to apply parcel tax that has for an exemption.

All ballots for Measure similar proposals With these B must be mailed in by to the previously changes in place, defeated Measure superintendent April 28.

G, and will secure Polly Bove hopes about $5 million of that the main funding for FUHSD. concerns of voters For the ballot to be received in time for it will be addressed. to be counted, it cannot be mailed in any Once again, the parcel tax will need later than April 28. to pass with a two-thirds majority.

The ballot will include an initiative to According to Bove, during the time of renew the current $98 parcel tax for six Measure G, there was very low voter more years, which will help fund various turn-out, especially among parents. programs and pay for teacher salaries.

“Fewer than 35 percent of our parents Its passing will ensure about $5 million voted [during Measure G], and you worth of funding for FUHSD, which would know,why?” Bove said. cover roughly half of the estimated budget see PARCEL TAX on page 6

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according to Fey. It was an action that teachers all across the state took hoping to send the message to their local communities.

In addition to wearing black, teachers that received pink slips wore pink on the Day of Action. Although no pink slips will be handed out at MVHS this year, the Cupertino Union School District was not so fortunate. According to Cupertino Education Association president Dave Villafana, by the March 15 deadline, 109 pink slips will be given to teachers in the district of elementary and middle schools.

The reason behind the high number of dismissals is a deficit the district is currently facing, which Villafana conservatively estimates to be $8.8 million.

welve-year-old Gwendolyn Fisher slid down the slide. Suddenly, her stomach began to churn in circles, around and around until she felt like throwing up.

She started to get jittery. She needed to stand up straight. Anxiety struck her, and as her brain chemicals were thrown out of whack, her thoughts began to wander to the place she tried so hard to keep locked and hidden, deep in the depressed recesses of her mind. She was having a panic attack.

They do not go as easily as they come.

It is Tuesday and Gwen is in class. She is now a junior and has come a long The upward way since that day in seventh grade. slide of In the classroom, a Gwendolyn poster on the wall Fisher warns, “There will This is part one of be a $5.00 charge a three-part series for whining,” and looking at the journey classical music plays of Special Education in the background, student junior interrupted by the Gwendolyn Fisher and occasional burst of her community, the laughter and “Excuse Perspectives class. me, I need a Kleenex.” Surrounded by her quiet classmates, she lets out a yawn and a brief smile.

Gwen is sleepy and autistic. She thinks Daniel Radcliffe is hot. She is excited for Sadies, as it’s the first time she’s going to a dance with a date. And she wishes she liked to read, but it’s hard for her to focus. Bonnie walks by.

“You okay, Bonnie? You seem like you’re really in pain,” she says.

Bonnie is fine. And so is Gwen, for now.

The emotions in Gwen’s life are as varied as the length of the gingery-blonde curls in her hair. There are good years, there are bad years. This is a good year.

see ACTION page 3

see PERSPECTIVES on page 4

Changes to course selection

No more knowing teachers before year starts

by Tammy Su

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s March begins, and campus organizations and individual students alike make plans for the next school year, the entire campus becomes engaged in a common forwardlooking activity: course selection. However, some may find that this year’s course selection comes with a bit of added pressure.

Traditionally, students receive two sets of tentative schedules before they arrive on the first day of school – one at the end of June and one over the summer before Running of the Bulls.

The first is a listing of the courses that students have signed up for, in no order.

The second more exactly resembles a schedule, as class periods and teachers are also provided. Starting in the 2010-2011 school year, students will no longer be told the teachers for their classes. Instead, teacher assignments will be released with final schedules on the first day of school.

Administration made the policy change in response to the large amount of schedule change requests occuring before and immediately after the starting of school, based on students’ teacher preferences.

“What I found is that we’d be at Running of the Bulls all day, and all these changes would be made,”

Assistant Principal Trudy Gross said. “The computer can’t process each change as it is being made, so the numbers get off track, and we end up having to spend time going back and fixing the classes. Here’s the thing: we’ve basically made work for ourselves because we’ve spent time fixing a problem that we allowed to happen.”

Gross explains that two weeks prior to Running of the Bulls, all classes are balanced, with the proper amount of course sections and number of students in each section. Each schedule change, which can occur for a multitude of reasons, affects this equilibrium. see SCHEDULE page 4

EL ESTOQUE NEWS

PAGE 2

MARCH 10, 2010

BRIEFING: IN SHORT

FROM THE EDITORS

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Your stories

by Aileen Le and Samved Sangameswara Everyone has a story. That’s a phrase that gets tossed around a lot here at El Estoque.

The very foundation of this paper is people and their stories. After years of saying this merely as an ideal, we finally decided to put it to practice what we preached. For our Centerspread [Open House page 11], every El Estoque print reporter spent a few hours in the home of a fellow MVHS student with the single instruction of finding their story.

We interact with our peers everyday and see the same faces without thinking about their story. The day passes by and when the bell rings, everyone goes home to houses that look very alike on the outside. But it is each building’s contents and the secrets, laughter, joy, memories and relationships that it houses which makes it home.

That’s what we strive to do, tell the stories that would otherwise go untold. We pride ourselves on being more than just a newsletter or a bulletin board of a newspaper and it’s because we work extremely hard to ask questions and write stories that go beneath the surface. We hope that as you flip through this issue you see more than just information. There are dozens of stories in this paper that come from the digging that we do to find them.

It may sound stereotypical that we are a staff of reporters who will do whatever we need to get our story. But to the contrary, we do so because we care. As reporters, we search for stories to inform and entertain our readers. As people, we write to do justice to our sources and tell their stories. And as readers, we hope that you appreciate the emotion that each story evokes and see them not only as stories, but a snippet of a person’s life.

el estoque 2009-2010

Editor in Chief Aileen Le Samved Sangameswara News Editor Varshini Cherukupalli Tammy Su Opinion Editor Vijeta Tandon Jiachen Yang Centerspread Editor Jane Kim Ashley Wu Sports Editor Jordan Lim Hannah Lem A&E Editor Victor Kuo Mansi Pathak

Layout and Design Editor Sabrina Ghaus

Managing Editor Stefan Ball Bhargav Setlur

Business Editor Natalie Chan Christophe Haubursin Sarika Patel Photography Editor Erin Chiu Copy Editor Kanwalroop Singh Print Staff Writers Joseph Beyda Christine Chang Somel Jammu Sahana Sridhara Roxana Wiswell Adviser Michelle Balmeo

Disclaimer 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.

Credits Some images in this publication were taken from the royalty-free stock photography website sxc.hu Mission Statement El Estoque is an open forum created for and by students of Monta Vista High School. The staff of El Estoque seeks to recognize individuals, events, and ideas and bring news to the Monta Vista community in a manner that is professional, unbiased, and thorough in order to effectively serve our readers. We strive to report accurately and 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 e-mail or mail. They become the sole property of El Estoque and can be edited for length, clarity, or accuracy. Letters cannot be returned and will be published at El Estoque’s discretion. El Estoque also reserves 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.

Contact Us El Estoque 21840 McClellan Rd. Cupertino, CA 95014 mv.el.estoque@gmail.com

THE BIG PICTURE March 5, 2009 P.E. Dance Showcase Sixth period dance students surround sophomore Tal Hadar in an act of the 12th annual Dance Showcase.

Themed “...To Love!” the Showcase was hosted by P.E. Dance classes last Friday. Performers included students in all five periods of dance classes, teacher assistants, dance team, cheer, and song. Music selections included various selections, such as “The way you make me feel” by Michael Jackson and the “Glee” soundtrack version of “Proud Mary.” Preparation for the showcase has been underway since January. Dance teacher Lori Graham and her teacher assistants choreographed all of the routines.

Patrick Mi | El Estoque

2 | CLASSES AND CLUBS School fundraises for Haiti In five short days, MVHS managed to raise $3,085.38 to donate to One Dollar for Life, an organization founded by two Los Gatos High School teachers to support the three million left homeless after Haiti’s earthquake. The organization has inspired 28 California high schools to host fundraisers and events toward a total goal of $50,000

by Feb. 12. MVHS helped contribute to ODFL’s goal by encouraging student and staff donations. They also gave clubs a chance to make a difference as well.

“At the last Leadership Council, lots of motions were passed by clubs [to help Haiti],” Bull Spirit officer junior Lucia Lin said. “So Bull Spirit organized the [Feb. 12] basketball game [against Cupertino High School].” The game raised $1,175, which went to ODFL.

3 | CAMPUS EVENTS Career test available for students For the second year, MVHS is offering the ASVAB Career Exploration Program to help students plan for careers. Used originally by the Department of Defense for those entering the military, the three hour test is meant to match students to over 400 different careers.

Unlike the assessments on Naviance, the ASVAB test is comprehensive, with skill and aptitude tests. It has questions covering many subjects, including paragraph comprehension and electronics. Only 64 students took the test last year, so SAVE THE DATE Career Center Date: March 15 adviser Miriam Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Taba hopes for a Place: MVHS Library higher number.

“It depends on what students have planned,” Taba said. “It’s a matter of how much you want to take a three hour test.”

8 | COUNT OFF ONE DOLLAR FOR LIFE

5 112

4 | STATE POLICIES Governor proposes bill targeting obesity in schools

6 | CAMPUS Football light debate put on hold for further research

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger attended the second obesity summit on Feb. 24 in Los Angeles. His proposed bills aim to lower the number of overweight or obese people in California, especially children. Citing that one in three teenagers as part of that number, Schwarzenegger stated ideas for new regulations in public middle and high schools.

Schwarzenegger’s bill includes eliminating sports drinks, requiring physical education classes to spend at least half of class time on moderate to vigorous exercise, and afterschool programs to do the same for half an hour.

“We already have in place vigorous exercise,” dance teacher Lori Graham said.

“If anything, it would bring to life the importance of PE. It’s not just academics.”

Though much has been done to advocate for and against football lights on the school field, a decision is far from reached.

A c c o r d i n g Days that the EIR draft must stay in circulation to Associate before review Superintendent Glenn Evans, an Environmental Impact Report is in the process of being drafted, which will analyze the scientific information that lights may have on a community. The EIR might take into account the amount of light spilled into neighboring areas and the effects of crowds and noise compared to the community standard established by the City of Cupertino.

The draft is estimated for release to the public mid-May to early June and must stay in circulation for at least 45 days. Community members will view the information provided by the studies and pose questions, which must be formally answered before the final EIR is completed. Even once the EIR is complete, the Board of Trustees will have to look at all sides before making a decision. “[The EIR] doesn’t give us the answer,” Evans said. “[It] gives us a piece of the answer. It gives us the data.”

Superintendent Polly Bove believes that the issue is not black and white— more about finding a middle ground between having lights every night and having no lights at all. A decision and plan is not likley to be finalized until the 2011-2012 school year.

From the California Center for Public Health Advocacy—weight issues impact:

3 in 5 adults 1 in 3 teens 1 in 9 children 5 | CAMPUS EVENTS Challenge Day returns to campus Challenge Day is now completing its second year as a schoolwide program.The next Challenge Day session will be taking place tomorrow, March 11, in the gym, and is the last Challenge Day session of the school year.

Even during a chance encounter with an MVHS alum in a grocery store, Student Advocate Richard Prinz was reminded of the powerful impact Challenge Day can have on students, teachers, and parents. “[A student] told me, ‘I didn’t know popular people have problems, too,” Prinz said.

Duration, in days, of ODFL fund raising Number of collection envelopes distributed

45

7 | FOR THE RECORD Corrections from El Estoque’s January issue Page 19: Meg Murthy is a sophomore.

$3085.38 $1175

Total amount raised by staff and students Amount raised at Feb. 12 basketball game

MARCH 10, 2010

EL ESTOQUE NEWS

Applying research to reality

Senior works in Stanford lab to study and experiment with stem cells

PAGE 3

BHARGAV SETLUR

Say it like it is

Worried about webcams

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Photo courtesy of Karen Chan

LAB RAT Senior Karen Chan analyzes mice kidneys at Stanford University on March 1, looking for ten-week old human bone grafts.

Chan has been researching stem cells as an intern in the lab for the past six months. She’s currently working on two projects.

by Aileen Le

R

ock, paper, scissors. If senior Karen Chan wins, her partner does the dirty deed. But if she loses, she has to kill the mouse.

Even though it’s with the carbon dioxide hose and all in the name of science, Chan still feels queasy whenever she has to take the life of a live animal—even when it’s simply a mouse.

As an interning researcher at Stanford University, Chan is currently working on two research projects and hopes to use the knowledge she gains to positively impact others in the future. One is with her college mentor and another high school intern researcher regarding bone stem cell progenitors. The hope is that when bone stem cells are injected into humans, either bone or cartilage can be grown. Chan explains that scientists currently cannot do so, and that growing bone where cartilage is found could result in negative implications.

Her second project, done individually, involves using hormones to dictate the blood component produced stem cells grow into. Chan hopes to find a way to manipulate hormones, which control what stell cells can become, to create a more efficient immune system.

However, when asked what she does as an intern researcher, she prefers a more

animated response to describe of writing it in your resume. her work.

[Professors] can recognize if “I slice open a mouse, pop you’re there just for the heck out its kidney, inject stuff into it, of it or to learn,” Chan said. pop it back in, and then staple it “You have to inspire them. You back together,” Chan said. have to have the passion to In reality, Chan explains show someone else that you’re that she only observes her interested. It’s very much like mentor as the live mice are a college interview, but I didn’t handled because she can’t know that walking in.” touch live subjects as a partIn order to be able to work in time researcher. However, she is the lab, Chan had to convey her allowed to work with dead mice interest and recognize what it and, so far, has dissected many was that she wanted to learn. of them in the lab.

“I want to do this because I’m W i t h interested. five older QUOTE IT Not because siblings my mom in various I slice open a mouse, pop told me to fields, Chan this,” out its kidney, inject stuff do b e c a m e Chan said. into it, and then staple it “It’s interested not in science some fancyback together.” through —senior Karen Chan s c h m a n c y her oldest thing to brother. add to When she was younger, my college resume. Stem cell she watched him conduct science isn’t fully discovered, so experiments behind their house there are lots of things for me in Los Angeles. She read two to discover—I can [potentially] boxes of National Geographic rejuvenate a body [with what each week. Chan felt she could I’m studying]. Now that I got do greater thing with science. in, I need to take advantage of When her brother became a it. It’s really a once in a lifetime stem cell researcher at Stanford, experience.” she asked to go with him.

And Chan does have dreams Since the lab was open of making a difference in the during office hours, she just lives of others. She believes that walked into a professor’s office, the research she is doing can asking to be able to shadow help people with cleft palates, someone, because she was really and hopes to do research to interested in seeing the process potentially improve cleft palates and a researcher at work. and lip surgery. Right now, the “You shouldn’t try to get scar can still be seen even after an internship just for the sake surgery, but Chan believes that

“

can be changed if injected with stem cells that to tissue back and decrease visibility. So, she decided to begin MV Operation Smile, a club that spreads awareness and raises funds for children affected by cleft palates.

Chan feels that if someone has a passion for something, they should step out of their comfort zone and pursue what they love—something that vice-president of MV Operation Smile, Christine Wang, feels when working with Chan.

“When she first came to me asking for help starting up the club, I knew it was something she was really interested in,” Wang said. “It’s been an exhilarating experience. I’ve come to love it, and I think it’s brave of her to do what she does.”

For Chan, the thing that she is most passionate about is stem cell research and all the possibilities of change that she can evoke if she pursues it, of the personal knowledge and enrichment that it can bring to her—and to others.

“Everyone has a hectic schedule at MVHS with so much to do,” Chan said, “but at the same time you can leave a little time and space and energy to do something for someone else you don’t even know on the other side of the world. These kids are completely shunned by the community around them.

A little bit of time, effort, and energy can completely change someone’s life. You’re giving them back their life.”

ACTION: Students, faculty protest state funding cuts continued from page 1

Although it is too late to rescind any of the pink slips, Villafana says CUSD teachers are taking part in activism in hopes of rousing community interest to address their financial woes.

“We want to let the community know that Cupertino schools get funded less than most districts around us,” Villafana said.

“Los Gatos gets $45 million more than us. If that was the case for us, we would be talking about raises, not pink slips.”

In addition to getting the message out, Villafana also hopes that the efforts will garner support for two propositions in the November election that would give more funding to schools.

The first of these would eliminate a corporate tax exemption, the result of which would send $2 billion to the public school system. The second proposition would lower the majority needed to pass parcel taxes from a two-thirds majority to 55 percent. If this proposition passes, a much higher percentage of parcel taxes would pass. For example, the FUHSD parcel tax Measure G, that failed in November with 59 percent of the vote, could have passed with the same number of votes.

Support for such legislation is also what students at De Anza College were trying to inspire with their Day of Action march to Cupertino City Hall. At 12:30 p.m. students began to gather and

walk around the school, entering classes and stopping passersby with the messages “Education not incarceration” and “Fund schools, not war.” After covering most of the campus within an hour, the group of more than 50 took to Stevens Creek Boulevard and began the walk to the City Hall. Despite the fact that the city government has almost no say in these cuts, those involved with the march still found the idea of raising awareness more effective than simply contacting those in power.

“It’s not just five or 10 people who are going to get some letters,” De Anza sophomore Keegan Black said. “[The march] is more of an informative way to get the word out to other people.”

It was that mission of raising awareness that all three groups had in common. From teachers in black to students in the street, public school employees and attendees all over the state sprung to action last Thursday to make sure that those in Sacramento as well as those in the community were aware of the financial problems California public education is facing. Although the actions that took place may not directly lead to any results, De Anza freshman Felicia McMullen believes that immediate action was not necessary to make the Day of Action a success.

“One march won’t start a change in [education] cuts,” McMullen said. “But large changes start from these small, significant changes.”

ou know when you’re being watched.

It’s a repulsive feeling, and one that invariably makes the tiny hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. All it takes is a furtive glance or a suspicious stare.

Or, in the case of Philadelphia high school student Blake Robbins, an illuminated light on his school-issued MacBook.

On Feb. 18, the Lower Merion School District in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania made headlines when the Associated Press reported accusations that administrators at the district’s Harriton High School had used the webcams on school-issued laptops to spy on students at home. Student Blake Robbins alleges that he was disciplined last year by the school for “improper behavior” that took place in his home. Robbins, along with his parents, has filed a lawsuit accusing the school district and various administrators of unlawful use of electronic surveillance.

Under surveillance

Assuming that the accusations are true, Harriton High School has given us all a sneak peek—pun intended—into the future. With daily life becoming increasingly saturated with technology, it’s only becoming easier for our actions to be monitored. And worse, our privacies are being eroded in many more subtle ways than just intentional webcam surveillance.

For starters, virtually everyone at MVHS—myself included—has a Gmail account. Most days after school, I keep my inbox open while I do my homework and browse the Internet. The other day, I found out that every keyword I type into Google while logged in is stored and saved. Quite honestly, this bothers me. Even if my last ten searches include mundane things like new shoes or directions to a new restaurant, I don’t want this data to be recorded. If I don’t need that information, Google—or any other corporation—doesn’t either.

Substantial abuse

Once an entity collects so much data on the habits and actions of private citizens, the temptation to abuse that information grows. All it takes is a few more terrorist attacks before a terrified federal government finds a way to access all of Google’s stored data in the name of national security. Then, it’s entirely conceivable that innocuous searches land innocent people in serious trouble. My attempt to grow a cool goatee could very well be misinterpreted as an attempt to grow a beard that would allow me to perpetrate various crimes without being identified. And before I know it, the FBI is knocking on—or down—my door.

The future is now

You may be wondering what exactly was the “improper behavior” for which Robbins was disciplined. According to his lawyer, Robbins was eating Mike and Ike candies in front of his laptop when the webcam took a photograph. In the grainy shot of a webcam, the tasty junk food can be mistaken for pills. And so, Robbins was disciplined for the alleged use of drugs in his home.

In the world of tomorrow, every action and every word will be saved and remembered. The benefits of a wired society will be clearly evident: our world will be safer, with less terrorism and other crime.

But it will also be less free, with innocent searches leading to suspicion. Ben Franklin once said, “He who gives up a little bit of liberty for a little bit of security deserves neither.” That just about says it all.

PAGE 4

EL ESTOQUE NEWS

SCHEDULE: Students’ teachers left a mystery continued from page 1

Sometimes, the changes can even have unfair consequences for students who have never requested a change—the school’s computer system, SASI, does not keep track of which student’s change tips the class population over the limit, so Gross has had to simply transfer students out seemingly unfairly before. The school will switch to a new system next year called Infinite Campus, which is web based and will be able to make changes in real time, alleviating some of the problem. However, Gross explains, altering previously balanced classes may still remain an issue.

Typically, schedule changes need to occur for one of several reasons: residency issues of students, course changes, and student requested changes. While the administration can’t control students moving in and out of the district, they can control the course offerings for the year, and having that knowledge helps to reduce the stress in the workload. According to Gross, nondisclosure of teacher names is “the next step” that can be taken.

Gross and guidance counselor Shari Schussel

can both recall students asking for schedule changes related to teachers. In accordance with that, the student reaction has not been nearly as enthusiastic.

“I think it’s not fair because for some classes, you don’t really have to study and you can still get a good grade, and other teachers it’s hard to get an A even if you study,” sophomore Karan Kankariya said. “Then, how hard the class is is based on the teacher.”

For some students, not being able to switch out of classes influences the courses they choose.

“For some of the harder classes, there are only a few good teachers, and so it’s not worth it to take the risk,” sophomore Leija Zhang said. Zhang made her decision on which science course to take based on the fact that she won’t be able to pick her teachers.

In spite of concerns, Schussel and Gross believe that this new policy will create a more realistic and practical process.

“In college, there’s a registration date, and after that there’s nothing you can do,” Schussel said. “We justify it by saying it’s a really good preparation for college.”

MARCH 10, 2010

PERSPECTIVES: A look at one student’s story continued from page 1

Somewhat appropriately, the wall across from her desk is adorned by posters proclaiming “Happy” in large block letters, surrounded by drawings.

Back in elementary school, people were rude to her. There was the bossy girl who pushed her, who she bit back.

There were the girls that wouldn’t get off the swing, that hit her, and that were consequently scolded by her father.

Then there were the teachers that did nothing about any of it.

A lot of the time, her happiness at school depended upon the people around her: her friends and her teachers.

Some people just understood her and some people didn’t.

“I’m kind of really unusual,” Gwen said slowly, looking up from her folded hands. “It’s hard because everyone wants to be the same in high school.”

Middle school was full of ups and downs. She recalls sixth grade as a time when she “didn’t know how to deal with [her]self.” But in seventh grade, she met her friends: Luke, Giles, Matt, Zach, she rattles off.

“They’re just really nice guys. They’re just hilarious guys. They’re so funny,” she gushes.

Don Vierra, her teacher, speaks to middle school special education students about what they want in high school. They always have one answer: we want friends. When Gwen came to MVHS, her answer was also the same.

“At MVHS, everyone was in their little groups,” she said. “I thought it was hard to fit in here.”

But eventually she did.

Gwen melts into the flow of the Perspectives classroom easily. The classroom runs in slow motion.

Everyone says please and thank you.

Sabrina Ghaus | El Estoque Photo Illustration

FORWARD THINKING Junior Gwen Fisher, a member of the Perspectices class, lives with autism but approaches life with optimism.

Everyone listens to announcements.

Everyone thinks about life. Everyone holds a different niche in the class, and everyone else respects it. It’s all a part of being independent. And being independent is part of the curriculum.

The students must be independent, so that they will be prepared for the unknown: life after after high school.

Special education students are only entitled to government services until they are 22 years old. After that, they are on their own—usually. At MVHS, they learn to be on their own long before that.

“I try to make the classroom a safe harbor in the first three weeks, but after that, the students should be able to navigate the campus on their own,” Vierra said.

The road to independence begins with knowing yourself. Gwen knows who she is. So does everyone else.

Nancy Sullivan, the head of the

department, is a busy woman. She doesn’t know all the students in special education, but she knows Gwen.

“Gwen likes to talk about emotions, how people connect, how you develop friendships,” Sullivan said. “She is very reflective of the people in her life.”

The two of them are in the girl’s club, an elite, highly sophisticated, high school organization, that meets twice a month to make bracelets, paint nails, and talk about boys. These things keep Gwen’s thoughts from straying, so she won’t have a panic attack. Sometimes, anxiety will still slither out slyly, but she knows how to take care of herself. And the people she has surrounded herself with know what she needs, too.

In seventh grade, when Gwen slid down the slide and felt the pangs of an oncoming panic attack, she looked up at her friend Matt. He was six feet four inches, and he looked back down at her.

“You’re gonna be okay,” he said.

MARCH 10, 2010

EL ESTOQUE NEWS

PAGE 5

A greener route

What would it take to offset the negative effect of our daily commute? Turns out, a forest

by Joseph Beyda

E

ver since Al Gore threw it onto the public stage with “An Inconvenient Truth” in 2006, the problem of global warming has become of great concern to much of the country. Most of us have become good acquaintances with the steps we need to take to make our lifestyles “greener.” We turn off light switches and computers when we leave the house, close the blinds on warm days, and lower our thermostats on cold ones.

Yet global warming persists. Though these “small steps” are easy to take, their effects can be correspondingly minute when considering the immense scale of the problem at hand. How, then, can we take larger steps to preserve our planet’s future?

At least for students, the answer may lie in how we get to school. Campus Commission is involved in a district-wide competition to reduce Carbon Dioxide emitted by MVHS students by changing how they commute. Even though most students live within walking or biking distance of the school, a seemingly endless supply of cars throngs to MVHS in the morning and early afternoon. How much of an environmental impact does this transportation trend have?

El Estoque set out to determine just that. We conducted an online survey that inquired about the commutes of 158 MVHS students. Those who said they get to school by car were asked about the specific details of their commute, including its length, how long it takes, and how many students they carpool with. Using this information, El Estoque was able to determine approximately how many cars ferry students to and from school and how much Carbon Dioxide these cars emit.

The results are nothing short of shocking. An estimated 901 cars are on the road taking the student body to and from school on any given day. And, according to Carbon Dioxide absorption statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency, to absorb the Carbon Dioxide these cars produce just taking students to and from school this year, 109,944 trees would have to be planted.

The impact of student actions isn’t going completely unnoticed, however. Efforts are being made by some students to decrease Carbon Dioxide emissions. The Campus Commission, headed by senior Frances Jih, is trying to help reduce the environmental repercussions of student actions. The commission is involved in the district-wide “Spare our Planet—Go Green Competition,” which aims to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide

emitted by students going to and from school. The competition tracks how students get to and from school over a four-week period, using an online form to collect responses.

Students who opt to take part in the competition are e-mailed each Monday over the four weeks about how many times they plan to walk or bike to school during the coming week, and again e-mailed on Friday about how many times they actually walked or biked to school. They are then shown an estimate of how much Carbon Dioxide they reduced during the week. The participation of each class is recorded. At the end of the competition, the school’s total Carbon Dioxide reductions are compared to the reductions of other FUHSD schools. The prize? “A trophy, and pride in having helped save the planet,” Jih said.

Jih explained that the goal of the competition was to increase awareness as much as possible about the emission problem. “Our goal is to get as many students to participate [as possible], even if we’re not reducing Carbon Dioxide emissions as much as the other schools,” she said.

Jih emphasizes that students should try and get to school without going by car.

“Something as simple as walking to school versus driving to school takes only 10 minutes out of your day,” she said. “It’s not that big of a commitment, so students should just make it and help out the environment.”

Some students have gone to the next level, taking larger steps to help the environment.

That’s exactly what senior Yujia Ding did. With the help of the City of Cupertino, Ding started Helping Hands, a city-sponsored organization that cleans up local parks and adds native plants to beautify them. Though Helping Hands was originally intended as a way to bring the community together, its clean-up and planting programs have had a significant environmental impact, especially at McClellan Ranch, where the group removed a sofa, a coffee table, and 156 bottles and cans on one of its first visits.

“It’s something that I thought would be beneficial to the community,” Ding said. “[I did it] because the community gave me a lot, and I want to give back.”

And to give back to the world community in which we all live, the least we can do is plant 110,000 trees—or, walk and bike to school.

109,944

Sabrina Ghaus and Joseph Beyda | El Estoque Photo Illustration

BEHIND THE

NUMBER

Here’s why we’d need to plant 109,944 trees to make up for our emissions commuting to school.

901 cars

1.88 miles

In an online survey of 158 students, 87 (55 percent) said they got to school by car.

Due to some carpooling arrangements, these 87 students got to school in an estimated 57 cars. On average, each of these cars made a 1.88 mile commute that took them just over eight minutes.

Each car made an average 513 trips to and from the school during the 180 days of the school year. If these results are extrapolated to the rest of the 2500 MVHS students, 901 cars are on the road on any given day.

Making 513 1.88-mile, eight-minute trips a year, each car emits the same amount of Carbon Dioxide as 122 trees would absorb over the same time period, according to conversion rates from the EPA.

8 minutes

With 901 cars on the road, for the year this totals to 109,944 trees.

513 times = 109,944 trees

PAGE 6

EL ESTOQUE NEWS

MARCH 10, 2010

PARCEL TAX: A new, cost-effective opportunity to aid schools in need continued from page 1

“Parents are among our biggest supporters, and busiest people. What we need to do is help them find the time and know that their vote is going to matter to us a great deal. We need a much higher voter turnout than 35 percent.”

In order to help raise awareness about the parcel tax, the district has created a campaign committee, which is responsible for coming up with the overall plan on how to raise awareness throughout the community, as well as for providing specific school sites with instructions on which aspects of the campaign they are responsible for. Specifically at MVHS, there will be two days of precinct walking on March 27 and Apr. 24, along with three phone-banking nights which will be manned by volunteers.

Aside from the formal campaigning, however, Principal April Scott believes that awareness about the parcel tax can be raised simply through informal conversations

about the topic. Students play a large role however, the district does have some in raising awareness, as well. strategies on how to make up for the lost “As an ex-math money. Some of these teacher, I always say THE 411 strategies include it’s that exponential lowering the reserve math problem,” Scott Measure B, the parcel tax, unlike level, the amount said, “that if you tell Measure G: of money that the two people, and each district has inof those two people Terminates after six years hand, to the lowest tell two people, and allowed, which is 3 now those two people Doesn’t have an inflation clause, percent. Currently tell some other which would adjust the parcel tax the district’s reserve people—the word depending on the yearly inflation rate level is at 5 percent. can get out very, very By lowering it, the rapidly and it doesn’t Exempts senior citizens (people district would have a take too long.” one-time lump sum over the age of 65) A s s o c i a t e of $2 million.

S u p e r i n t e n d a n t For more information regarding the parcel The installation Glenn Evans also tax, visit the district’s website: of solar panels agrees that students www.fuhsd.org in Homestead, play a very vital role Cupertino, and in publicizing the Lynbrook parking parcel tax, since it directly benefits them. lots has also proven to be an efficient In case the parcel tax does not pass, solution. MVHS will also receive solar

panels over the summer. By conservative estimates, solar panels in their first year of use are expected to save $1.2 million.

As far as cutting programs goes, the district is currently in the process of reviewing parent feedback received through the surveys mailed out last month, which asked parents to list which programs they value the most. According to Bove, before any sort of decision will be made regarding cuts, the Board of Trustees will consider both community and teacher input.

With the governor’s new proposed budget and cuts in educational funding, the district may also stand to lose another $2.4 million of funding, making the need for the parcel tax even more urgent.

“If the parcel tax passes, you can anticipate that our goal will be to salvage as much as we possibly can between now and when the economy recovers,” Bove said. “Our real goal is going to be, ‘How do we make up for that other $5 million?’ And we’ll work hard to figure that out.”

Caught between a rock and a solar panel

Administration struggles with decision regarding solar panels and historic rock placement

by Sarika Patel

W

hen Measure B was passed in 2008, FUHSD schools were granted money for repairs and construction projects to renovate classroom buildings and other facilities. One of the projects is to install solar panels and renovate the student parking lot. Homestead High School has already finished this project, and many other schools like Lynbrook and MVHS are scheduled to begin. This summer, MVHS will face a unique situation that no other school will, a situation which may cause some hassle but gives MVHS historical significance.

The student parking lot is home to California Historical Landmark No. 800. The rock that resides in the middle of the parking lot is a state-recognized historical landmark and was placed in honor of Saint Joseph of Cupertino, an Italian saint who Cupertino is named after. Come summer 2010, the historical monument will be in the middle of a construction zone for the solar panels.

One of the poles to be installed is planned to go exactly where the rock is placed, and in order to continue with construction, the rock will have to be moved.

According to the Office of Historic Preservation, a California Historical Landmark is “a site of statewide significance and [has] anthropological, military, political, architectural, economic, scientific or technical, religious, experimental, or other historical value.” Landmark No. 800 used to encompass a much larger area and was actually an arroyo, or a creek.

“They picked the site years ago, and that site has shrunk down to that little plan,”

facilities manager Chris Kenney said.

The arroyo was first discovered by Spanish explorers in 1769 and in 1776, it was the site of Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza’s camp number 93 on the way to San Francisco. De Anza found an estuary in the MVHS area and used it to reach the San Francisco Bay. There he started a mission, presidio, and a colony.

According to Assistant Principal Brad

Metheany, in order to move the rock or do any major construction, the school must send a report to the state regarding all the changes that will be made to the area. The report must include all tree species which will be removed, animal habitats, and organisms affected that live around the rock.

This report informs the state that we will be moving the monument in case anyone inquires about it. In the past 20 years, the

rock as been moved several times.

“We are lucky that this monument is so easy to move. If we couldn’t move it, we would be in trouble,” Metheany said.

Since the rock represents a general area of significance, it can be moved to anywhere on campus. According to Metheany and Kenney, it will most likely be moved closer to McClellan Road, toward the front of the student parking lot.

BLAST IN THE PAST

Who: After extensive research, Louis E. Stocklmeir proved that Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza had camped near Stevens Creek when traversing Cupertino.

When: Bautista camped there 233 years ago on his way to found a mission in the San Francisco Bay Area. The rock was placed in an orchard, before MVHS existed, in 1964.

How: After extensive research, Stocklmeir applied for it to be a landmark—specifically, California Historical Landmark No. 800.

What next: The rock will probably be shifted to the front of the student parking lot. Before beginning construction, the school must create Samved Sangameswara | El Estoque MEET THE ROCK This historical landmark is located in the student parking lot. a report including all the changes that will affect the organisms that live around the rock.

It will most likely be moved to accomodate the solar panels.

n o i n i p o

7 Student success taken for granted PAGE 8

Challenge Day offers unique chance

PAGE 9

Group projects, individual struggles

PAGE 10

Course selection chaos

Parcel tax deserves community support, student and teacher efforts should be rewarded STAFF EDITORIAL

I

t’s all relative. We have no sense of reality without perspective, and with the failed Measure G forgotten, perhaps it’s time to gain some.

El Estoque has covered the parcel tax issues in great depth, from showing the facts and officially endorsing the parcel tax to supporting the measure in articles just like this one. It’s the easy argument to say education is important, our schools need money, we’ll lose all programs and our students will read from carved stone. Perhaps a logical appeal is all the community needs to pass June’s emergency parcel tax proposal. Cut and dry.

It’s the cliche of clichés—at MVHS we care about our academics, and most of the parents do too, if not more so. And we deliver. In their last round of ranking, their June 8 issue, Newsweek put MVHS 140 out of all the nation’s schools. MVHS manages to perform very similarly year after year at a fraction of the per-parcel cost of similarly and often lower-ranked schools.

Take Palo Alto High School. It ranks 554, but spends $2,957 more per student than we have spent on ours, its neighbors paying over $500 a year while we refuse to pay, well, much of anything. Less than $100 a year. Two dinners out. Twenty Frappucinos.

Palo Alto reaps some benefits from this—they have more programs. They have an award-winning journalism website, a magazine, and a print newspaper, as well as x, y, and z other programs. But their students perform very similarly.

Perhaps our neighbors are taking our performance for granted and providing no reward for the school and students’ efforts.

We’ll continue to perform for the time being because of self-motivation, because many of us see it as important, but whether or not we get the money we deserve—an insignificant amount for many—is another question. So is whether we’ll always perform with so little, and so is the question of whether our residents are being greedy.

Will our school come crashing down if June’s parcel tax does not pass? No, it probably won’t. But that credit’s on us, the students and the teachers who make do with less—but nothing is certain. With a lack of reasonable funding, the community is essentially gambling on our ability to maintain our performance.

With this gamble comes another—the gamble of housing values. A house that may sell for $200,000 in Idaho may sell for over $1 million in Cupertino, some of which can be attributed to the “location, location, location” aspect of living in the heart of the Bay Area. But beyond this, a large percentage of the difference has to be attributed to our local schools. Gamble on

Aileen Le | El Estoque

that, assume you don’t have to pay for the high-quality education and performance of our district, and it’s not entirely unrealistic to find $98,000—or more—out of your wallet rather than the comparatively measly $98 a year for six years, less than $600 in total.

If you went door to door every February asking people if they’d trade every year what they spend twice in a Coscto run for better,

School interference causes unfair prices Varying prices of Advanced Placement exams causes disparity

by Sahana Sridhara

QUICK TAKE

by Christine Chang

A snapshot of the issues surrounding campus today

Take responsibility, make an effort Go Green initiative can only succeed with student help

W

hen it comes to AP exams and their prices, everyone seems to have different opinions on what price is acceptable.

Some say our tests come cheap, while others find it difficult to fathom a reason to charge $95 for a couple of grueling hours and a few sheets of paper. But what we must agree on is that every student who takes the test should be paying the same price.

For starters, College Board only provides a suggested price for the AP exams. The districts then calculate their own prices, which solely depend on their administrative costs, as will suit their needs.

Taking this into account, the truth is that each district charges a different price for the exam. The fifth page of the AP exam pamphlet, under the section titled “Fees,” states, “The fee of each exam is $86. The amount you pay, however, may vary.”

The only reason for the lack of standardized fees is the district’s involvement in setting the price. It is completely unacceptable that schools in a different district can pay a lower

higher-quality opportunities for students, if not better test scores, they would say yes.

It’s harder to say no to a student’s face, so here we are, neighbors, asking you. Face to face. Regardless of misconceptions about the never-ending yet always-increasing nature of Measure G, May’s Measure B will end in 2016 if passed. So let’s put away the fear, and the misinformation, and focus on the cold hard facts of this important issue.

by Samved Sangameswara

1

denying them AP accreditation.

On a more fundamental level, we can’t forget the original purpose of the AP test. The test is the one and only exam that allows us to fairly acquire college credit and sets us on a fair level of comparison with every other student in the nation.

09,944 trees. Acres upon acres of nothing but trees. If the idea of such a forest is overwhelming, here’s some food for thought . This 109,944 tree monstrosity would only absorb enough carbon emissions each day to cancel out what MVHS students and parents create coming to school every single day.

Such an intimidating number is frustrating to say the least. We can safely assume that no one wants to be at fault for the deterioration of our environment, but sadly, we have been contributing to such a trend with our driving practices every day. What is especially annoying about this issue is that it’s not as if MVHS is a massive factory that pollutes the environment with no regard for the consequences. Rather, it’s the little things that lie at the root of this problem—five neighbors taking five different cars to and from school, or a person who only lives half a mile away who chooses to drive instead of walk or bike.

But there is a bright side to this situation. These little things that have been contributing to our environmental woes are quite simple to eliminate. And ASB Leadership’s Campus Commission is on the right track to remedying this problem.

see AP TESTING on page 9

see CO2 on page 8

Anyssa Karnkaeng | El Estoque

or even higher rate for the exact same exam. So why not take the districts out of the equation?

College Board has proven, through their administration of numerous SATs, that a district’s help isn’t necessary to set an exam price.

So, College Board should disallow schools from setting prices without

Stoplight Day Due to a shortage of participation, Stoplight Day, which gave students the chance to advertise their availability for Sadies through apparel color, was a confusing jumble of traffic signals. Those oblivious to the event unintentionally wore stoplight colors completely irrelevant to their status.

Though a creative proposal on the part of the ASB officers, the partial flop was one reminiscent of failed mating calls. Let’s hope for more success next year when the event won’t be something new.

Freedom at last

Doodle for Google

While last year’s seniors bemoaned the lockdown that kept them occupied in the gym during the Course Selection Fair, seniors this year got lucky. Permission slips turned in the day before allowed the soon-to-be graduates to leave, while juniors and underclassmen explored courses and prepared themselves for the coming year of classes. Staff members guarded campus entrances to check for wristbands on exiting students.

Administration made the right decision in allowing students to leave.

The era of “starving artists” may just about be over. Google, arguably one of the world’s most powerful companies, is scouting for the innovative doodles of students to beautify their trademark logo.

Submissions by MVHS students, which were selected by art teachers to be sent off on Mar. 5, were designed to the theme “If I Could Do Anything, I Would...” There couldn’t have been a better time to promote such auspicious compositions, when the thought of three more months until graduation has many students weary and apathetic.

PAGE 8

MARCH 10, 2010

EL ESTOQUE OPINION

Take on a challenge, and Be the Change Challenge Day provides opportunity for students to connect on emotional level

by Varshini Cherukupalli

T

hree hours. That’s all it took for Challenge Day to make its impact.

Not two weeks, not even two days.

In three hours, almost everybody had experienced an empowering sense of hope—that they could “Be the Change.”

Challenge Day happens twice a year.

However, contrary to popular belief, Challenge Day doesn’t consist of merely sitting around, talking about your feelings and crying. It’s about courage, self-exploration, and building positive relationships—and this is why both students and teachers should attend.

Sure, this may sound cliché, but that’s not a reason to dismiss Challenge Day. Haven’t we all read articles or heard lectures about disregarding stereotypes?

Or about putting aside judgments to accept our peers for who they are, not for who we’d like them to be? The problem is that the experience of Challenge Day cannot be put into words; it really is something that people must go through themselves. Think back to when you completed your first piano recital or when you won an important basketball

game. Is it possible to do justice to that powerful experience with just words?

Challenge Day is no different—you must feel it to believe it. Don’t let the thought that Challenge Day could be cliché keep you from attending it.

Challenge Day is original in that the people with you are those you have seen or interacted with before. If you’ve just walked out of third period having failed a math test, you most likely won’t call your summer camp chum in Montana.

Instead, you’d talk to your friend who’s eating lunch next to you. Why not take the opportunity to connect better with those friends? You will see those people through a different perspective and hear stories that might surprise you. Although it might seem intimidating to let your guard down in such an environment, this characteristic makes Challenge Day extremely special.

If you are attending Challenge Day tomorrow, take it seriously. When I went to Challenge Day, I learned lessons that I remember to this day. One of the activities, in which we finished the statement, “If you really knew me, you would know…” helped all of us understand ourselves

Letters to the editor Letters of any length should be submitted via e-mail [mv. el.estoque@gmail.com] or mail. They become the sole property of El Estoque and can be edited for length, clarity, or accuracy. Letters cannot be returned and will be published at El Estoque’s discretion.

Opposition to lights to be overruled by majority After reading the article [“Let there be light?” by Stefan Ball and Bhargav Setlur, Feb. 3] in the recent issue of El Estoque, it was evident that the dissociation of opinions between the district and the community regarding installing football lights will continue to be amplified as time passes.

Although I intend to remain impartial in this conflict, there are some aspects of this problem that failed to be noted in the article.

Fremont Union High School District, as a public high school district recognized by the state of California, has full jurisdiction over issues which relate to the welfare and state of its high schools; in this case, the district’s flagship high school MVHS. Personally, I believe that while homeowner David Radtke‘s complaints are valid to a certain extent, he simply has no right to interfere with the rulings of the district.

While founding fathers of this country intended for the people to voice their opinions in the government, it must be noted that everyone, to a large extent, has different beliefs and opinions as a result of differences in culture and environment. At times, when all opinions cannot co-exist, compromises that favor the majority must be made.

In this case, judging from the fact that dissatisfactory comments have only been voiced by 140 citizens who signed the petition against the lights, those who stand in opposition are merely the minority. The entire MVHS community, including homeowners, students, and faculty, far outnumbers the opposition. Thus, it can be concluded, from a democratic process, that the district’s decision, does, in fact, reflect the general consensus of the community.

Unless evidence of a change of opinion in the majority of the community surfaces in the near future, the district must act in the name of democracy and justice to install the football lights which the school has been longing for.

Of course, the rule of the majority does have its flaws; those in majority are often left behind as a result. However, history suggests that the majority is the only socially stable form of government for a large community. As sad as it sounds, unless Mr. Radtke can convert more members of the community into the opposition party, he and his voice will be lost in the flow of time.

— junior Bob X. Cao

Parcel tax benefits all, not just students After perusing the most recent issue of El Estoque, I have come to fully support the district’s motion to renew the parcel tax. The article [“Emergency Vote in May” by Aileen Le, Feb. 3] served the vital role of exposing the severe

and one another better. Instinctively, I would think about things that were very personal—things that I hadn’t shared with anybody before. It highlighted how much my closest friends didn’t know about me, which made me realize how much more I could add to my friendships.

That is one of the main purposes of Challenge Day—to find meaning in our personalities and our relationships. The most memorable feature of Challenge Day was the change it brought about in how we, an eclectic group of students and teachers, treated one another. We entered the gym at the beginning of Challenge Day as 100 individuals, but we left as 100 companions.

So, next time Student Advocate Richard Prinz comes to your class to talk about Challenge Day, or you hear the announcement during fifth period, don’t disregard it. In the grand scheme of life, missing one day of school is not going to cost you anything. However, one day of challenging yourself to look past stereotypes might just be the dose of reality you’ve needed. Take a chance, accept the challenge and maybe you can be the change too.

consequences that a lack of a parcel tax would entail.

In particular, I thought that the projected restrictions on students’ ability to enroll in math and science classes to be an especially ominous possibility. Note how this would hinder a student’s chance to excel and obtain the robust education that distuingishes our district from the rest. More importantly (at least to us MVHS students), a limitation in classes would prevent students from being accepted into good colleges; seeing how anxious all the MVHS students are to attend top-tier universities, a lack of a parcel tax would be extremely bad for our school. Detractors of the parcel tax, including those without children, may declare that education does not concern them.

They are wrong.

If the parcel tax were to fail, then our district’s prestige would plummet, which would then cause property values to plummet. It appears to me that naysayers have two options: Either vote “yes” on the bill and pay a mere $98 per year, or sit back and watch their home value drop by the thousands.

So before anyone votes “no” on the parcel tax, they should whip out a calculator and do the math. Otherwise, our schools may not even have calculators for us students to do our own math.

— sophomore Akshay Agrawal

Common practice of cutting in line causes problems The publication of a story in El Estoque draws the attention of not only student readers but also the few teachers still in touch with with their students. It is for this reason that I propose you write an article about an activity casually undertaken by multitudes of students, something that infuriates many while remaining under the staff radar.

It is no less than a blatant disregard for basic rights and social rules. It is the act of cutting in line. More specifically, it is the slow integration of large groups of obnoxious upperclassmen into the front of lunch lines.

I find it saddening and frustrating to see the disrespect and malevolence possessed by the individuals who choose to ignore fundamental constraints, and is magnified by a complete lack of response from those who wield the authority to stop this behavior.

I do not know how many of the students at MV buy lunch from the school on a regular basis, nor can I give an accurate estimate as to the number of people who choose to cut the line. But I can tell you that it is humiliating to be pushed around by someone younger than oneself.

At one point last semester, a stocky freshman barged his way to the front of the line that I had been waiting in for 15 minutes and ordered his lunch. I confronted him and told him to get out of line, or at least behind me—and didn’t even swear at him! He responded with an offhand “Shut up” and went on his merry way, but not before yelling to those within earshot that I had cut in line!

And so, the sad truth is that I too have been forced to cut in order to receive food at a reasonable time. And yet, the sense of righteousness that is a result of my upbringing manifests itself nonetheless: “Hey! Beat it! I cut first!”

— sophomore Maxwell Ruckstuhl

STUDENT VIEWPOINTS “It brought a lot of new connections between people you generally wouldn’t talk to. It was a great way to mix up grades.”

—Sophomore Christina Aguila ”It’s natural to think something about a person, but [I learned] that there’s a reason behind everything, and to look past that judgment.”

—senior Frances Jih “I felt like my stress levels went down because we actually expressed feelings about things in the past that we hadn’t talked about before.”

—junior George Chen

CO2:

Initiative must be taken seriously continued from page 7

The commission recently entered MVHS in a district-wide competition to reduce our carbon emissions. It offers an opportunity for students to track their carbon emissions throughout the month of March. The competition makes use of a function on the Go Green Foundation website that allows students to input how they commuted to school and then tells them how much carbon they emitted and saved. As an added motivation, students can chart the progress WAYS TO HELP of other schools and other classes This month MVHS is in a competition in their effort to with the other schools in the FUHSD to see who can reduce their be the greenest.

The effort carbon emmissions the most. The is laudable. competition calls upon students to H o p e f u l l y , find alternative means of traveling to gaining a school. Here are some ideas on how q u a n t i t a t i v e to reduce our CO2 emissions. and definite • Drive to school earlier to understanding of the consequences avoid traffic of our actions • Use public transportation will instill the to get closer to school, motivation we then walk need to right • Bike or walk, even if it’s our wrongs. not everyday However, the • Set up a carpooling only way we will reach the desired schedule with neighbors result is if we take • Find a group of friends this initiative to walk to school with seriously.

If we blow this off, or rely on others to pick up our slack, this project will fail without a doubt and our entire community will be left to reap—or rake up—the rewards of a polluted environment.

What makes ideas like this work is that they don’t require any major lifestyle change. All we need to do is take baby steps that would reduce our carbon emissions. Giving your neighbor a ride to school cuts the carbon the two of you emit in half. Imagine if everyone capable of such an action did so, even for only a month. The results would be instantaneous and enormous.

For too long we have ignored the environmental repercussions of our daily commuting practices.

Now that someone has taken the initiative to give us a push in the right direction with this competition, it’s imperative that we take advantage of it and do everything in our power to wipe up our carbon footprint. To continue obstinately in our old pactices would be more than simply ignorant. It would be downright irresponsible.

EL ESTOQUE OPINION

MARCH 10, 2010

Goodbye to the overhead

Bhargav Setlur and Vijeta Tandon | El Estoque

The project started in August is finally complete—all classrooms have projectors and speakers.

Despite significant investment, in many teachers’ classrooms the newly-installed devices collect dust. Why introduce new technology into the classroom if teachers don’t bother to use it?

It is not a matter of convenience.

This technology will make it easier for students to learn. If not for anything else, do it for the kids.

Individual struggles in so-called group projects Arbitrary distribution of responsibilities defeats teamwork ideal

by Vijeta Tandon

I

t’s always the same. A group project is announced, and heads turn every which way with students trying to make eye-contact with each other before the teacher is even done announcing directions. It’s not that everyone just wants to work with their friends; there is one common fear—being stuck in a group with slackers.

Because the truth is, the vast majority of students graduate without ever having worked in a real academic team atmosphere where everyone is passionate about achieving the same goal. Inequitably-divided group projects often leave a bitter taste in students’ mouths rather than teach them about true collaboration. Whether you’re the one who does no work, or the one who does all the work, we’ve all been there at one point or another.

Aside from the actual subjects that we study, school teaches us skills necessary for us to succeed later on in life—including how to build interpersonal relationships with other people. Once we actually begin our own careers, it won’t matter how fast we can figure out the derivative of a function if we don’t know how to explain its significance to someone else.

There exist relatively few, if any, jobs that allow an employee to work in complete solitude.

That’s why when assigning group projects, teachers should carefully consider the kinds of expectations that they ask from their students. In projects such as AP Biology’s Product Development Project, students are given an individual

role which they must fulfill. Although everyone must help each other out, at least each individual is aware of what his personal contribution to the team is expected to be. This way students are held accountable for specific tasks, and gain a deeper sense of responsibility. They know that if they don’t do a good job, they also run the risk of letting their peers down.

Suddenly, fear of getting a bad grade isn’t the only motivation present to do well.

Granted, the point of the project is to simulate how an actual bio technology company works and not all subject areas can model projects that way, but individual responsibilities can still be clearly defined.

Consider the Social Justice Project that all American Literature students recently had to complete. Although each teacher had individual specific requirements, in general students were placed into small groups and were responsible for researching and presenting to the class their chosen topic of social injustice.

However, although students were supposed to contribute equally, there were no checks and balances in place to ensure that they did, inevitably leading to arbitrary distribution of responsiblitites.

If each student had been assigned one specific part—video editor, researcher, or service project planner, to name some—the process would have been a lot smoother. Instead, many came out of the project complaining about how they had to do an unfair amount of work, instead of actually taking away from the experience and learning something about the outside world.

The solution to this problem is simple: hold each student responsible for a piece

Why, then, are the fees not set up on that same equal level?

The fact that even $86 is an exorbitant amount is one that must be overlooked, solely for the fact that College Board is a business, and in that, a monopoly. There is neither a way to demand cheaper tests from them, nor is there any chance that those prices will be going down. The only thing in our control is that extra $9 that our school sets.

We pay for proctors, administrators, a school coordinator, custodians, and testing rooms whose prices vary year to year. It is never guaranteed, however, that each district will be paying that same amount.

By allowing College Board to take over, we can be assured that each proctor and test center costs the same amount, meaning each student gets to pay the same price.

SARIKA PATEL

It’s all in your Head

MV Gives me Hope (maybe)

A

merican Literature classes have taken on the annual task of fighting social injustice in our society.

The goal is to find a problem, come up with a possible solution and actually try to implement this change in society.

Taking inspiration from websites such as fmylife.com, mylifeisaverage.com and givesmehope.com, which allow users to post life experiences that correspond to the website’s title, one group decided to make a blog called “Monta Vista Gives Me Hope.”

The blog allows anyone to post incidences or experiences of times when they felt that the Monta Vista community gave them some inspiration. According to the MVGMH website, the student group is striving to “reach out to our community and provide inspiration and hope for any individual, no matter what situation they may be in”.

They aim to do this by bringing awareness to the social injustice in teen depression and suicide.

Or maybe it doesn’t

Anyssa Karnkaeng | El Estoque

of the puzzle. It’s highly unlikely that in a professional setting everyone will be responsible for every aspect of the execution of the final product. It’s more likely that each person will have a highly specific task that they need to accomplish. Consider the launch of a new product—certain team members are responsible for the design element, others for marketing, and so on. Not everyone does everything. In the same way, if group projects were designed so that each person was held accountable for one piece, the process would be a lot more representative of actual professional teamwork.

Instead of just one or two students shouldering the burden while the rest slacked off, a clear system of accountability would be a lot more benefical for students in the long run.

AP TESTING: Standardized testing, non-standard prices continuted from page 7

PAGE 9

CHANGING PRICES College Board charges $86 per AP test. The school applies an $8 per test administrative fee, but other schools charge different amounts. Here is a look at a few:

• Palo Alto High School [Palo Alto, CA]: $110 • Byron P. Steele High School [Cibolo, TX]: $50 if enrolled in the class, $96 if not • Lawrence Central High School [Indianapolis, IN]: $86 Another advantage of College Board taking over is their ability to reduce the money we pay for tests we might never take. Calculated into our AP exam price are the BOSE headphones for an AP test with a listening section that we might not be taking, or a music theory recorder for a the

music theory AP. College Board should follow its example set by the SATs, in which those students whose tests require a listening section are asked to pay an additional fee to cover the costs. By handing over the reigns to College Board, AP exam takers could avoid this cost as well.

Our problem essentially exists within the variable costs that the price of the AP exam comprise of, and the easiest way to reduce the variables is to let College Board take over. At least then each student will be paying the same amount of money to College Board, instead of arbitrary fees to local school districts.

An actually standardized test is one where every aspect, including the price, is in fact standardized. It isn’t fair that students in different parts of the nation have to pay different prices for the same test. Let’s work to make things equal.

Now some of you might just barely be able to contain the retort, “But Monta Vista doesn’t give me hope!” Don’t worry, you’re not the first to think so. Another group decided to create a spoof of the same website, called “Monta Vista Doesn’t Give Me Hope”, which looks identical to the MVGMH website.

From one point of view, it’s completely inappropriate to create a website bashing your school, not only because it’s rude, but also because it’s disrespectful to publicly ridicule a group that aims to spread awareness and inspiration. But, on the other hand, if someone is taking the trouble not only to create an identical website, but also to create a Facebook group and a Facebook identity just to tell people about the “negativity that permeates the Monta Vista campus” and “expose these problems.” there must be some grain of truth in their message. Especially when there are other people actively promoting the negativity.

Rethinking our distrust

At the risk of being presumptuous, I’ll assume that you choose to work hard and are challenging yourself at school. I’ll assume that you have countless stories that you can post on MVDGHM about yourself and your peers being self centered and caring only about school work. I’ll also assume that you are very well aware of the academic atmosphere at this school. So if most people already know what is going on here, what is MVDGMH trying to do?

They aren’t uncovering a new problem, shedding different light on a new situation, or stating anything novel; all they are doing is creating an avenue for complaints.

A Cupertino student who came across this site said, “We all have it equally bad.

Students from [other schools] don’t make websites complaining about their troubles.

Honestly, I couldn’t have said it better myself. We are well aware that all of us are seeking academic success and that we live in an extremely competitive environment, so to the creators of MVDGMH, all I have to say is this: thank you, Captain Obvious.

Although the websites seem to be polar opposites of each other, they actually have more in common than just their appearance.

They were both created because of the academic pressure and the major difference is that one is solution-driven and the other is fixated upon the problem. One aims to create comfort and give hope to students in need, whereas the other simply complains and does nothing to rectify the situation.

PAGE 10

EL ESTOQUE OPINION

MARCH 10, 2010

Overriding teacher recommendations too easy Complete Students take on more than they can handle when selecting courses schedules help

by Somel Jammu

Knowing teachers means smooth start

T

ap a single domino and watch it fall into the pattern we know as the ‘domino effect’—an effect which counselor Sarah Hershey uses to describe what happens when students override teacher recommendations and then drop out of the class.

Though it may not seem as though one student dropping a class would create much of a fuss, it really does. It forces issues into administration’s hands that were supposed to have been dealt with over summer, such as student and teacher schedules, budget expenditures, staff hiring and allocation, and contracts with the staff. Yet in the minds of students, this negative effect is almost never linked together with its cause; the idea that perhaps our current problems with ever-changing schedules are due to something that starts during course selection time—the process of overriding teacher recommendations. In fact, according to Hershey and Assistant Principal Trudy Gross, schedule changes are often made because a student that overrode a teacher’s decision now wants out.

To begin, the student only has to work through a threestep process—the first step being when the student meets with his or her alphabetically matched counselor and parents to discuss the options that are available. Whether or not the counselor agrees with the teacher’s decision, if the student is willing to continue trying, they are sent to meet with the department chair of whatever subject the student is interested

by Roxana Wiswell

I

Somel Jammu | El Estoque

in enrolling in. Again, regardless of what the department chair may suggest, the student is allowed the opportunity to continue their overriding process and meet with their respective assistant principal.

Gross speculates that over the years, the process has improved. But clearly, bigger steps are still needed, as seen with the classroom size crisis at the beginning of this school year. After the dissolution of three literature classes, the displaced students as well as those that were in the expanding classroom felt the effect of schedule changes. To be fair, not all the students that had dropped out did so due to a regret in overriding teacher recommendations. But the ease with which students were able to override recommendations

allowed too many students to do just that.

A teacher’s refusal to recommend a student for a certain class is like a red flag. By allowing students to have the opportunity in the first place to bypass that red signal, we already begin laying down the pathway to more problems in the future. As Gross points out, MVHS is a school that values student opinion and allows the student body to choose what they wish to enroll in.

But with that privilege should come a sense of responsibility.

Responsibility cannot always be taught, but it can be enforced through stricter policies.

For example, rather than weighing a student’s viewpoint and their academic record equally, administrators should give academic records more

weight since in reality, a student could just about say anything to get into a class. It should also be harder for a student to be able to meet with a department chair or an assistant principal—at the moment, students are given too much leniency when all it takes to get the process started is a simple piece of paper requiring name, date, and the basics.

On the other hand, to prevent students from being outrightly denied opportunities, the power vested in a teacher or counselor would continue to be spread out in a system of checks and balances amongst teachers, counselors, department chairs, and assistant principals.

Errors are an inevitable part of life, but as the saying goes, an error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it—or in this case, prevent it.

Reorganize low priority classes, curb future deficit Drastic measures needed to awaken community to budget crisis 1930s. What twisted logic would allow industries to continue producing cars to fuel the American Dream in the midst of a ou are not allowed to take a science class next year. Calculus crippling depression, when the decadence of the Roaring Twenties BC will not be offered. Your voice shall be drowned by more had been dead for a decade, and the nation was at the brink of than 30 other students in your literature class. war? Automakers switched to aircraft production and a consumer Outraged? Scoffing at this impossible conjecture? This doomsday economy turned into a combat industry. Discrimination between scenario lies in wait for our freshman and sophomore classes. ideals and rational ideas was imperative.

FUHSD faces a $10 million deficit by 2011, and recently, parents Thus, our Sheltered classes—arguably “luxury” classes that received a letter requesting that they choose five items that they cater to a minority of students—should bear the brunt of cuts. absolutely want the district to protect against potential cuts. The Chemistry Sheltered and Physics Sheltered, which support fewer letter included the situations mentioned above. than 20 students, can be removed without a tremendous impact, The most effective way to awaken our students and community because students will not face an undue burden if integrated to the grim financial reality and to weather treacherous fiscal into the regular level despite language challenges because of the terrain in the—but still avoid predominance of math. This would terrifying cuts to our treasured SOLUTIONS, SOLUTIONS reduce the number of small classes core classes—is to combine and save resources for core classes. the smaller and less essential Possible solutions administration should consider: These solutions undeniably offer classes. And before everyone a grim picture of the future. Aspiring Integrate classes that cover similar subject matter: whips out a pen to write a businessmen, architects or artists • Principles of Business, International Business flaming letter to the editor to will have no means to demonstrate attack this subjective use of “less • Drafting 1, Architectural Drafting their devotion to colleges or even, essential,” here’s a definition: • Ceramics 1-2, Ceramics 3-4 at the very least, to develop their not required for graduation and • Photography 1, Photography 2 passions. Science classes—already Integrate small Sheltered classes: college admissions. packed like sardines—may threaten Suppose you splurged on • Chemistry Sheltered with Chemistry Regular to burst. But administration must credit card purchases, incurred a • Physics Sheltered with Physics Regular shove this picture in front of our few hundred dollars of debt and benighted eyes. your parents adamantly refuse If any of the above seems like to solve your insolvency. You’ve no choice but to pay up with a cruel and unusual punishment inflicted upon helpless and measly allowance. To complicate matters, you can neither stand innocent students, we must start by evaluating our “innocence.” the thought of going to school without buying a breakfast, nor last Did we think about the district’s budget crisis as often as we fretted a day without eating lunch. What’s the most apparent solution? over our GPA crises? Did we explain to our neighbors, or even Spend an intermediate amount of money on brunch, of course. family members, the importance of Measure G? Or did we figure, Continuing this line of reasoning, administration should handle “Oh, we’re in Cupertino, what could happen?” All administrators, situations that are unsolvable by an either-or solution with the teachers and support staff loaned leftovers from salary funds-same method—integration. Integrate Principles of Business into which are rightfully theirs--to the district to retain teachers for this International Business, Drafting 1 into Architectural Drafting, Art school year. A 40 percent reduction on the summer school budget 1 into Art 2 and combine Ceramics 1-2 and Photography 1 with has happened. An annual loss of $5.2 million is happening. their corresponding advanced classes.

And termination of the classes so dear to our academic culture Furthermore, consider the economy of the U.S. in the late will, and should, happen—unless we act.

by Jiachen Yang

Y

t’s the annual ritual. Every summer, students frantically search for information about their teachers in the coming year.

Maybe they only find small things— materials to bring on the first day of school or a teacher’s pet peeve. But these small things can add up to a smoother start.

This summer, all of this will be impossible because students won’t discover who their teachers are until the first day of school.

Administration is trying to pare down the number of schedule changes. We can all agree that schedule changes were troublesome this year. And if we’re honest, we can all agree that most schedule changes are made in order to acquire “better” teachers. So if we eliminate the option to change teachers, we’ll have fewer overall schedule change attempts and more successful changes.

However, there is a new factor in play at this year’s ROTB. Infinite Campus will replace SASI as the program used to track class enrollment. This means that changes will be much easier, because they will

SCHEDULE

Upcoming dates: April 28: Course verification End of June: Class schedule mailed home Aug 23: Class schedule with teacher information (first day of school)

not involve the overlap problem.

In SASI, guidance counselors couldn’t immediately see what other g u i d a n c e counselors were doing because their computers weren’t synchronized— they had to log out of the system

every half hour or so and let the main system update all the changes they had made. Not only did this slow the entire process down, but it created problems like overfilled classes, since two students might have been placed in the same open spot in a class. Now that class would have one too many students, and a random student would have to be kicked out.

But this year, Infinite Campus is capable of updating changes instantly. So schedule changes will be faster and more accurate.

However, there’s still the problem of priority—who is more important, a person who didn’t finish the summer reading and needs to drop APUSH, or a person who wants to switch teachers? Administration believes that the teacher changer is less important, since students should focus on classes, not teachers. If we retained last year’s way of doing things, a teacherchanger might have taken a class spot away from a class-changer.

If it’s a question of priority, we should establish a priority system. Separate lines for class changers, schedule rearrangers, and teacher changers. If you really want that teacher change, you can wait until all the other kinds of changes are made and then see if it’s still possible to get your teacher change.

Enforcing a priority system might be difficult—couldn’t you just lie about what kind of change you want? There’s already a bouncer-like system in place, where an assistant principal must approve your request first. To improve this system, students could fill out forms beforehand where they must prove that their reasons for a change are valid. With practical schedule changes and a priority system, teacher changes won’t disrupt the start of the year.

Balanced classes are important, and so is a non-hectic ROTB. But so are the students who want to know their teachers, or even make changes. School policy should reflect a compromise between convenience and student interests.

PAGE 11

EL ESTOQUE A CLOSER LOOK

MARCH 10, 2010

Open House

What makes a house a home? Is it the the furniture, the decor, the building itself? Or is it the people who live there and the moments they share? These are the questions that El Estoque set out to answer when we sent every one of our reporters into the home of an MVHS student to spend a day there and find out exactly what makes the house they live in their home.

Pushing through the past

Despite past heath issues, family-oriented household stays strong

by Christophe Haubursin

T

he sun is setting on the outskirts of Cupertino, and today, like most foggy midFebruary days, sophomore Ian Ford-Holstege is sitting slouched in a swivel chair, wearing a tan AC/DC T-shirt and faded blue jeans.

Cradled in his arms is a Schecter Diamond Series electric guitar whose neck bears a vinelike engraving that tangles down to the 12th fret, where classic is etched on a drawing of a white scroll. He spends most of his time here when his parents are at work, spinning out licks from Van Halen and Ozzy Osbourne from the Marshall amplifier at his feet. He likes these types of afternoons. They free him to let go of his worries and escape into his own world.

The house

Ford-Holstege lives in a four-story house with a view out onto Silicon Valley in front and the base of a hill out back.

His abode is complete with three cats (one of whom is named after Nat King Cole), a snake, a number of frogs and fish, and a bat house that accommodates little brown bats in warmer seasons.

Lining the walls of nearly every room are bookshelves, stacked high with novels and an assortment of sciencerelated artifacts—there’s even a saber toothed tiger skull replica positioned by a leaking sink.

Everything in the house has a story.

Medals in the entryway cabinet date back to the high school track career of Dan Ford, Ian’s father. A globe of the moon from Dan’s childhood is half blank because of the limited knowledge of its hidden side when he received it.

And the black marks on the ceiling, as Dan recalled, are from the year that

Christophe Haubursin l | El Estoque

the family had to painstakingly carry a Christmas tree inside themselves.

A risky beginning

When Ian’s parents arrive home from work, they gather in the kitchen to cook dinner together while watching the news from a small tube television in the corner.

“We’re a pretty cooking-intensive family,” Dan said. “We don’t buy much fast food, really.”

Tonight, it’s tomato soup and mixed rice with duck bathed in blackberry sauce. It’s a tradition for the two to eat the dish when Mary Holstege, Ian’s mother, is away on business trips.

When dinner’s finished, Ian gathers up the plates from the table and Dan walks over to his computer, where he has started a genealogy project tracing his close relatives back to his most distant ancestors. He has even managed to trace Ian back to the Wild-West sharpshooter Annie Oakley.

Fourteen years ago, things weren’t like this. When he was around one and a half, Ian developed an abscess in the remnants of his umbilical cord that shifted into his abdomen and blocked his intestines. The obstruction of just one section presented the risk of that section dying and having to be removed, leaving Ian with a shorter set of intestines and a handful of lifelong digestive problems. It didn’t take long for Ian to get sick.

Dan and Mary were alternating days at home from work to look after their son. It was only three years before that Ian’s sister, class of 2009 alumnus Eileen Ford-Holstege, was born with a complication in her throat, and they were worried. Prolific vomiting and dehydration led doctors to send Ian, clutched in the arms of his father, to Stanford University in an ambulance.

There, physicians admitted that they didn’t know what was wrong with Ian’s body, and that they had to resort to “emergency exploratory surgery.”

“That’s the scariest feeling I’ve ever felt in my life,” Dan said. “You hand over your kid, and you don’t know whether you’re going to get him back alive or not.

It’s the worst thing you can imagine.”

The family spent the next four days in the hospital after the operation, during which doctors had found and removed an orange-sized abscess from Ian’s intestines. For nearly 96 hours, they stayed there and watched reruns of “The Lion King” on the room’s television and loosened up after realizing what could have happened. They were together, and they were relieved.

Charitable tradition

From that day on, it became a tradition for the four of them to stop by Toys-R-Us each Christmas to buy stuffed animals to deliver to sick kids who were in the hospital over the holidays, where Ian had been in the years before. It

became their annual “pile-of-toys.”

“We did that until about last year, when a guy stopped us and said that we didn’t have security clearance,” Ian said.

“They didn’t let us do it.”

But as the four were leaving the hospital, presents in hand, they noticed a woman, who was a new mother going in to visit her children, in tears as she passed through the doors. Though they didn’t know her story, they asked her to take the toys upstairs to distribute them.

And she did.

Family

When he’s done washing the dishes, Ian finishes up his homework before heading back to his room for bed.

Behind the glare of his laptop screen, Dan is watching the winter Olympics while working on his genealogy project.

He points to a small gray square on the screen.

“See that?” he asked. “That guy fought in the Civil War, and he’s related to Ian.” He adjusts his glasses on his nose and grins at his discovery. From the box labeled “Ian Ford-Holstege” branch a series of names that stretch into a spiderweb of relatives, the product of almost five years of meticulous work.

Nineteen generations lie before his eyes, the earliest being from the 1400s in France. It makes Dan proud.

Because, after all, that’s what it’s all about in this four-story, cat, science and guitar loving home: family.

IN THE HOUSE Sophomore Ian Ford Holstege and his father Dan Ford (first from left), Ian playing guitar (second), guitar collection (third), and hallway family photos (last).

PAGE 14

EL ESTOQUE A CLOSER LOOK

MARCH 10, 2010

Tipping the balance of symmetry

Beloved dog harmonizes the household symmetry with his whimsical, carefree ways

by Sarika Patel

T

wo candles, both burned down to precisely the same height, sit across from each other on the dining table. A small basket holding the TV remotes sits on the center of a doilie on the kitchen counter. Two forks lay parallel to each other on both sides of the sink divider. Outside in the backyard, four patio chairs are symmetrically placed around a circular table. On either side of the kitchen wall, there are two small oval mirrors reflecting into each other.

Freshman Anu Varshneya walked into her equally symmetrical room: two stuffed animals on the dresser, six Victoria’s Secret Body Spray mini bottles lined up in two rows and an oval carpet placed in the center of the empty space.

Everything in her house has a line of symmetry to it. The bed with the black and white comforter had two large pillows with two smaller pillows resting on them. One even smaller throw pillow was at the top creating a pyramid. The bookshelf, the living room sofas, even the dog treats seemed to be aligned, aware of the symmetry they were to maintain. She walked into her room only to be greeted by the most asymmetrical object in her house: her mini Australian shepherd, Fifo.

Frisky by nature, Fifo jumped up and tried to put his paws on her shoulders. The black and white random pattern on his belly is the only visual proof that he offsets the symmetry. He barked and sniffed the floor until he reached the trash can, for there was no line of symmetry he lived by. He tried to shove his hoary nuzzle into the top of the plastic can, almost tipping it over and spilling the contents out into an asymmetrical

mess. Varshenya’s voice pulled him back and he settled for licking her toes.

Fifo’s asymmetrical personality doesn’t seem unfit in the house. In fact, he fits perfectly with Varshenya who is now the only child at home most of the time since her brother left for college.

“If it wasn’t for Fifo, I don’t know what I’d do,” said Varshneya. “Either I’m doing homework, or playing with him.”

She sat there clicking away at her computer and he curled up by her feet under the table. But when Fifo moaned and whimpered, it was time for a tempo change. Play time.

Fifo’s mood controls the tempo of the house and gives Varshenya an off beat rhythm to her life. Once he curled up on the bare floor and closed his eyes, the asymmetry was momentarily gone, leaving everything perfectly lined up once again.

Hadi household: A tucked away ‘Blingle’ family home Humble abode serves as both living space for son as well as working space for mother

by Mansi Pathak

T

he sweet smell of Persian spices emanated throughout the small rooms of junior Yeshar Hadi's apartment as he sat, eyes glued to his computer screen, aiming his virtual weapons toward the opposing player’s. Yeshar's mother, Maryam, busied herself between the rattling pans on the stove and pieces of half-stitched cloth and sewing tape in the adjacent room.

It is said that one can tell much about a family from the decorations in their house. This was especially true in Yeshar's case. On the right side of the living room a green curtain was drawn, separating the house from Maryam's work space as a seamstress. "[Working from home] gets crowded, but you don't have to drive and be someplace at certain hours," Maryam said. "Everything has downsides and upsides."

In the short hallway hang two unframed paintings of vivid flowers painted by Maryam, a measuring board propped up against the wall and two hand-sewn female costumes hanging on the outer knob of a cabinet.

The artsy hallway comes to a distinct end at Yeshar's room: framed baby pictures on a shelf, a measuring chart with marks by a five, six and 10-year-old Yeshar and a bookcase of stuffed animals, including an immaculate Pikachu sewn together by Maryam.

“Oh no, don’t take that out!” Maryam said as Yeshar removed the Pikachu from the shelf. “It’s so dusty!”

In the center of the room Yeshar was busy downloading a new computer game, Borderline, while simultaneously coordinating a game plan with a friend over the phone.

“I bought [Borderline] on Ebay for, like, $20 from this Ukrainian guy,” Yeshar said as he followed the directions to download the game onto his computer. Then he laughed when the game prompted him to choose between “Blingle Player” and a two person game. “I guess it's 'blingle' player, not single player. This is a little sketchy.”

OFFSET SYMMETRY Freshman Anu Varshneya plays with her dog Fifo.

Varshneya’s home is perfectly symmetrical, with every piece of decor having a match. The only thing that doesn’t have a counterpart is Fifo.

Sarika Patel | El Estoque

GAMEBOY In his apartment, which he shares with his mother Maryam, a seamstress who works from home, junior Yeshar Hadi plays games on his computer.

Mansi Pathak | El Estoque

sports PAGE 16

Meet the hurdling team

PAGE 17

Boys volleyball season preview

PAGE 18

15

Swim suit banned for being too fast

DODGEDIPDUCKDIVE

DODGE

All photos by Minh Bui | El Estoque

WATCH OUT From top left clockwise, PE teacher Sarah Jensen prepares to throw, the teacher team rushes to the center line as the game begins, math teacher Brian Dong watches out for a ball, English teacher Matt Brashears dives for the ball, English teacher Sara Borelli winds up to throw the ball, and Dong watches Brashears catch a ball.

For the fourth year straight FUSHD teachers compete in dodgeball tournament at Lynbrook

by Victor Kuo

I

t all began with the T-shirts. Walking into A212 with a voice recorder and a notebook full of questions in hand, ready to ask about a sport for which I had little knowledge, I joined a long line of students, reviewing my questions talking to a weary-looking Spanish teacher, Molly Guadiamos. Yet, at the mention of “an interview for teacher dodgeball,” her face lit up .

It began for the T-shirts. It was a simple idea, a fun way for teachers to bond during their free time. A stress reliever. But it was mostly just for the T-shirts.

“When the idea came out for dodgeball, it came out of pure silliness and us being silly at lunchtime,” said Guadiamos. “We just wanted to get T-shirts.”

The spontaneous idea, however, matured and spread far beyond what the teachers could have imagined. And as they began to take it more seriously, more and more voices chimed in and added to it.

for the co-ed teams, which have 10 players.

Guadiamos smiled as she reflected.

The rest of the rules are mostly the same: a “People said, ‘Why don’t we actually play?’ player is out if hit below the head, players So I called a friend of mine at Homestead run from the starting line to grab balls lined because I used to teach there and he said, out on the center, a player is out if he or she ‘Yeah, we would totally make a team. Not crosses the court boundaries, etc. Besides only that, we should make this districtthis and the strategies that the teachers wide and we’ll turn this into a fundraiser,’” employ—such as throwing multiple balls explained Guadiamos. at once—the rest of the game is up to the And thus began the sport of teacher skill of the players dodgeball as SAVE THE DATE and teams. we know it.

And now, three The rules were years later, the found and Date: March 11 team has grown adapted online, Time: 6:30 pm in both numbers according to Place: Lynbrook Gym and support. Math the National Brian A m a t e u r Ticket price: $5 in advance, $8 at the door teacher Dong, who joined D o d g e b a l l All proceeds go to the Haiti Relief Fund the team when Association, it first started, agrees that the number of and they were modified to fit the teacher players has definitely increased. “Support league, such as no substitutions and has grown. I think the students think it’s shorter playing times. hilarious to watch the teachers throw balls The sport involves four divisions: men, at each other,” Dong said. “More teachers women, co-ed and co-ed over 40. Each have definitely joined now that they see team is comprised of six players, except

what it’s like.”

As for practices, the MVHS teachers meet on Fridays during lunch.

“It’s mostly just for fun, so many of our practices are informal,” Guadiamos said.

“People just show up and we kinda throw the ball around. We found it as a really good way to unwind on Fridays and get together and be really silly.”

Dong grinned when asked why he decided to start playing.

“Well, I love sports and I think it’s hilarious and fun playing dodgeball with the other teachers.”

And so with the student anticipation and the team practices, the fourth annual game is taking place tomorrow.

“I’m looking forward to the game,” social studies teacher Nick Bonacorsi said. “We have some new recruits this year, so we’ll be a lot better.”

As for senior Adithi Chandrasekhara, she’s looking forward to the game.

“I think it’s a fun event and I think it’s funny watching teachers throw balls at

Girls soccer falls short of CCS repeat, loses 2-1 in semifinals After going all the way last year, lady Matadors defeated in overtime by St. Francis Lancers

by Jordan Lim

T

he varsity girls soccer team had high expectations. Coming into the season, the team was ready to defend their CCS title and become Division 1 champions for the second year running. Although they felt they had the talent and the drive, the Lady Matadors fell short of these expectations as their CCS run ended in a 1-2 overtime loss to St. Francis in the semifinals.

The Matadors finished at 14-3-4 overall and 7-1-4 in league. The girls played well throughout the season, shutting out their opponents in half of their league matches, and only losing to Archbishop Mitty, CCS semi finalists Mountain View, and CCS champions St. Francis.

Even though they were unable to reclaim their title, coach Alan Kute still considers the season a successful one.

“Of course I wish we could have made it to the finals, but I’m not disappointed,” Kute said. “I’d be disappointed if we didn’t play well, but that isn’t the case. We played well in the semifinals and we played well

this season.”

The team, which once again finished near the top of the De Anza leauge, is led by coaches Kute and Greg Wendschlag. Junior captain Zohar Libermensch credits their coaching for the girls’ success.

“The coaches are awesome. We are like a big family,” Liebermensch said. “The chemistry we have as a team has definitely been a big part of our success over the last couple of years.”

It was that coaching that had the team going deep into CCS again this year. After beating Claremont High School in the CCS quarterfinal 2-0, the lady Matadors advanced to the semifinal game on March 3 when their run came to an end.

The semifinals match was competitive throughout, with both teams putting roughly the same amount of shots on frame and possessing the ball for the same amount of time. The Lancers struck first with a goal in the 17th minute of play.

“Our keeper bobbled it, but we didn’t follow our marks. They scored that goal off of our mistakes,” senior captain Cheryl Kute said.

After almost an entire half of play, senior captain Michelle Pao tied it up with a goal from the top of the box. Although both teams had scoring chances, no one converted and overtime commenced.

The Lancers were able to strike in the first minute of overtime and in spite of several goal scoring chances, MVHS could not come back.

“Player for player, they weren’t any better than us,” Cheryl said. “It was a good game, we played well, we just couldn’t score when we needed to.”

With a CCS championship last year and a semifinals finish this year, the girls varsity soccer team is one of the most successful sports programs currently at MVHS. However, eight seniors will be graduating this year, including leading scorer, striker Michelle Pao and assists leader, center midfielder Cheryl Kute.

“We are losing eight seniors, three starters, out of a team of 19,” Alan said.

“The JV team got first and we’ll have some good players coming up for next year.

Combine that with the eight other starters that are returning, we should be just fine.”

Minh Bui | El Estoque

FOOTRACE Senior Crissy Stuart goes up against a St. Francis player while trying to get the ball in the CCS semifinal game on March 3. The girls were unable to win in that game and defend their CCS title, losing to the Lancers in overtime 2-1.

PAGE 16

MARCH 10, 2010

EL ESTOQUE SPORTS

THE PAGE THE PLAYERS

A LOOK BACK AT THE MONTH IN SPORTS THE GAME

VARSITY SOFTBALL

BOYS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL—PRESEASON GAME

Alanna Onishi & Kristen Tatsuno Defense wins championships as the saying goes, and there is no position more vital to the defense of a softball team than the pitcher.

Sophomore Alanna Onishi and junior Kristen Tatsuno fulfill that important role for the varsity girls softball team.

Coming off a lackluster season, the lady Matadors moved down to the El Camino league this year. Although they are in a less competitive league, with Onishi and Tatsuno’s defensive leadership, the team hopes to contend for CCS. Erin Chiu | El Estoque

El Estoque: What’s different about this season compared to the last?

Alanna Onishi: Well, this year we’re in a lower league, so we’re up against teams that we have played before and we beat them.

Our team is really young this year [with five freshmen], so this year we’re really just trying to rebuild our team and get back up into a higher league.

EE: What do you think your strengths are in terms of the types of pitches that you do?

Kristen Tatsuno: Pitching wise, I don’t throw very many fastballs, so I tend to throw a lot of screw balls and curve balls.

EE: Kristen, other than her pitching technique, what makes you believe that Alanna should be the main pitcher on the team?

KT: Well, I think that Alanna brings a positive attitude and is always really happy. I personally am always mad on the field, so Alanna is always the one who keeps me level headed. It really helps because usually pitching is the one position where you don’t rely on anyone else on the field.

EE: Being the only two pitchers on the team, are you under a lot of pressure?

KT: Personally, I don’t feel any pressure because I don’t think I’ll be pitching very much; Alanna is our team’s main pitcher.

EE: Has your coach changed anything about the way your team is practicing this year?

KT: My freshman year during practices we didn’t really need to work that hard because we had a really good team, but now I feel like I actually have to try.

AO: Yeah. Our practices are definitely more intense and serious this year. Our coach had us go to practice half and hour early one week so that Kristen and I could get in some extra practice.

EE: What are your hopes for the upcoming season?

AO: I really hope that since we’ve moved down a league, our team can dominate this lower league and go to CCS. I think if we do, we’ll be able to get back up into the league we were in before.

THE TEAM

Patrick Mi | El Estoque

GO FOR IT Junior Ben Alberts and senior Justin Maple both lunge for the ball in a match against Cupertino High School on March 3. The varsity Matadors defeated the Pioneers 3-2.

MONTA VISTA MATADORS

3

by Jordan Lim

T

he boys varsity volleyball team won their second game of the season on March 3, beating non-league opponent Cupertino and starting their season with a two-game winning streak. It took them five sets, but the Matadors were able to finish strong and pull out a win.

The Matadors began with a decisive first set, winning 25-17 due in part to strong net play from junior Jason Hodges and hitting from junior Ben Alberts. The Matadors had a strong five-point run to finish off the first set, three points coming off of quick sets to the middle hitter.

The second set started off well with a big outside kill by junior Ryan Michelfelder, but their strong start turned into a game of catch up. Missed serves and passing errors at key moments gave the Pioneers plenty of opportunities to put points on the board. Strong hitting from the middle brought the Matadors back into the game at 22-22, but two missed hits into the net ended the chance of a comeback and the Pioneers took the second set 25-23.

What went wrong in the second set was fixed in the third. A return to the quality net play that MVHS had in the first set combined with fewer unforced

CUPERTINO PIONEERS

2

errors and a better passing game from senior libero Justin Maple and the rest of the back row, helped MVHS overcome CHS’ scrappy “ball wall” play and take the set 25-19.

The momentum from the third set carried into the beginning of the fourth, but didn’t last long. Poor passing, missed serves, some unforced errors, and a couple of costly lift penalties kept the Pioneers in striking distance. The set ended with three break points in a tight back-and-forth finish.

Missed serves and some hits into the net helped CHS scrape out a win at 27-25.

“They were just ball walling us at the end of the fourth set,” junior outside hitter Ryan Michelfelder said. “They didn’t really have anything going for them, we just had unforced errors left and right.”

The Matadors responded well and played a much cleaner game in the fifth set. With only four errors in the final set, the Matadors were quickly able to win the the set 15-6. The game winning kill came from a solid hit by Hodges off of a quick set in the middle from senior Charlie Huh. “It took us five sets to do what we should have done in three,” Michelfelder said. “If we don’t cut down on our unforced errors, we are going to be in trouble this season.”

THE PLAYERS AND PERSONALITIES OF THE TRACK AND FIELD HURDLE TEAM Patrick Mi | El Estoque

Sophomore Phoebe Tai Tai is well known on the team for her long shins and her inablilty to stretch like everyone else.

Freshman Chris Ma Ma is considered the only “normal” person on the team.

Senior Chris Chui Chui is nicknamed “FBLA” on the team because he is the president of the club FBLA.

Senior Giotta Silveus Silveus falls on her head a lot when she trips over a hurdle.

Sophomore Ryan Chui Chui is called “Granola” by his teammates after the “Chewy” granola bars.

Freshman Liam Silveus Silveus is considered to be the biggest whiner on the team.

Sophomore Ryan Chen Chen is nicknamed “New School” on the team because he is the newest person on the team.

Sophomore Christina Aguila Aguila is often seen giving back massages to her teammates.

MARCH 10, 2010

EL ESTOQUE SPORTS

New coach on veteran team Paul Chiu takes the reins of experienced varsity volleyball team

by Samved Sangameswara

F

amiliarity is their strength. The boys volleyball team prides itself on the fact that almost every player on the team has played with each other in the past, whether it be on a club team, in middle school, or just last year. The level of comfort that the players have with each other is a power the team plans on harvesting and ironically enough, no one is more aware of this than the varsity Matadors’ newest member, head coach Paul Chiu.

Chiu, the father of junior Alex Chiu and freshman Derek Chiu, took the reins of the team this year, making him the third coach the team has had in as many years. After serving as an assistant to the junior varsity girls team earlier this year, Chiu applied for and received the coaching position.

A volleyball player and coach for over 30 years, Chiu’s experience with the sport and MVHS athletics landed him not only the varsity coaching position, but the junior varsity one as well because the coach they had backed out a few weeks before the season began.

And the experience shows. Senior Charles Huh, a three year member of the varsity team, noted that Chiu’s volleyball knowledge has added an element that had been missing in previous years.

“Coach Chiu is more organized and he’s more committed,” Huh said. “He knows what he’s doing. We have a really strong program this year.”

The players hope the experience that Chiu is bringing will complete the already established team and help them work toward a spot in the CCS playoffs. The team is coming off a disappointing season, one in which they only won one league match and finished second to last in their division.

Although they’re in the same competitive league this year, Chiu is confident they will improve.

“We may not be ready for a league title,” Chiu said, “but we have to be in contention for CCS.” While Chiu’s goals are lofty, the players remain confident that they are not unrealistic. The team only graduated two seniors last year and has a core of players that have been together since middle school adding an element of experience that the

SAMVED SANGAMESWARA

For the LOVE of the GAME

Root, root, root for anyone

I

have a confession to make. Although I pride myself on being a fairly active and aware sports fan, there is one sporting event that I find myself completely ignoring year after year: March Madness. Each and every spring I spend the month of March sitting around, counting the days until this tournament is over so I can start reading about something else in the newspaper and on the internet.

I was never able to pinpoint exactly why this competition has never peaked my interest. I enjoy watching basketball and March Madness is the cream of the crop when it comes to seeing fresh talent, but something just never clicked. After giving it some good thought I think I realized why I care so little about this thing. Out of the 64 teams in the tournament, I don’t have an ounce of investment in any of them.

Who cares?

Samved Sangameswara | El Estoque

PEP TALK Paul Chiu, the new coach of the varsity boys volleyball team, talks to the players during a timeout in a scrimmage against Mountain View on Feb. 24. team hopes will work to their advantage.

“Everyone has basically bonded and gelled together as a team,” junior Ben Alberts said.

In addition to the experience, Alberts says the return of senior Krish Rangarajan, who didn’t play with the team last year, will change the dynamic of the team. “[Rangarajan’s return] adds a whole new offensive element,” Alberts said. “He was hard to stop two years ago, and now he’s two years more experienced.”

Still, the team knows they are facing

an uphill battle. A young team with experiences ranging from club team players to first timers, and a brand new coach, the varsity boys are aware that it’s going to be hard to hold their ground in the competitive De Anza league.

However, Huh believes that they will be able to make CCS and accomplish their season goals not in spite of these obstacles, but rather because of them.

“We know we’re good,” Huh said.

“This is going to be our most successful year. We have something to prove.”

Sports coaches create summer athletic camp Skillbuilding program to be run by teachers, former athletes

by Christophe Haubursin

INFORMATION

tarting this summer, some in the physical education department will begin a new way for athletes to have fun in the sun.

PE teacher Jeff Thomas has initiated a series of summer sports camps open to students of any school and skill level designed to fulfill the needs of both dedicated athletes and those just looking for a chance to play a sport they enjoy. Prices range from $100$200 for one to two-week long camps organized and coached by the varsity coaches of each sport. All programs except for golf will be held at MVHS, though summer construction may interfere with the availability of fields. Any sport coached by interested teachers are offered.

In addition to a collection of traditional MVHS sports, the camp will also offer a speed and agility camp, led by Kennedy Middle School PE teacher Toby Robinson, made specifically to improve the swiftness of athletes.

“This will build into something that’s going to last a long time,” Thomas said. “When I was in high school, we had a similar camp that was started when I was in high school, and they’re still doing it today.”

The camp was put together following similar programs set up in Morgan Hill and Los Gatos high schools. As the courses are entirely organized by the varsity coaches themselves, each will be run in a style unique to each instructor.

Senior Diane Keng, a four-year member of the varsity badminton team, is currently helping out with the badminton camp by recruiting potential members and planning to contribute to the course itself over summer. She expects the number of participants per session to be around 30-45, with an emphasis on frog jumps, lunges, and footwork. The advanced sessions will focus on competitions and improving game strategy.

“Something like this has never been organized before, and I think that it’s going to be really successful,” Keng said. “Kids can get a chance to get to know the coach better, have team bonding,

What you need to know in order to be apart of the camps

S

PAGE 17

What: A series of sports How much: $100-$200 camps to take place over the When: Summer 2010 summer Who: High school students Where: All sports except taught by MVHS coaches golf are to be held at MVHS and former athletes and make sure they’re at the top of their game even before the season starts.”

Thomas has wanted to organize a sports summer camp ever since he was in high school, and views this summer as an opportunity to fulfill his lifelong aspiration. According to him, the program allows for the opportunity for sports team members to focus on the fundamentals of their sport instead of strategy, while still having fun. And while the camp presents several individual benefits for athletes, it also serves as a way to bring the community together with a central vacation activity.

“We’re starting it as a community resource,” PE teacher Matt Tait said. “It gives them somewhere good to go during the summer, but also helps improve any skills in sports they’re involved in.

It’ll give them a place to be together during the summertime.”

And most importantly, the camp will be an educational opportunity. Thomas says that at its core, the camp is a chance for high school students to get a crash course in how to play the sports of their choice.

“It’s a fundamentals camp. The things that you can’t teach during the season because you just don’t have time to go over,” Thomas said. “This is a great opportunity to just focus on the fundamentals, having fun and learning the right way to play.”

The idea of sitting down to watch a game and having absolutely zero care for who wins or loses does not entice me in any way. Don’t get me wrong, a great game is a great game and I enjoy nothing more than seeing top tier athletes performing at their best, but March Madness isn’t like that.

It’s not the Super Bowl or the NBA finals where you get to see the best of the best for a few short games, or a tournament full of Lebrons and Kobes. March Madness is some amazing basketball buried under dozens of games that, unless you have a team you’re pulling for, are entirely forgettable.

The problem is that I have no attachment to any of the schools involved. I don’t go to a college and therefore can’t find myself getting behind any of the teams. I don’t even have a rival team to root against.

When that type of emotional investment in the game is nowhere to be found, I find myself losing interest quickly.

I will watch anything

I was finally able to come to this understanding because of the Winter Olympics. The 2010 Vancouver games were filled with a variety of events I find entirely uninteresting. However, I love America. I’ve traveled enough to realize what an amazing country we live in, and I will enthusiastically support our teams in any competition.

So this February I found myself sitting on the couch and watching an embarrassing amount of sports like curling and cross country skiing just so I could chant U-S-A when anything mildly exciting happened.

It didn’t matter that I had no clue what the biatheletes were shooting at or that I was probably more pumped than the curlers themselves. When it came to pulling for America, I couldn’t care less what was on the screen. What a difference having a team makes. I love basketball and I find myself ignoring March Madness, but I will sit through anything for the USA.

Go for broke

But I think I’ve found a solution for my college basketball woes. Even though I’m not going to have any emotional investment in this tournament, at least not this year, there is another way for me to have a stake in this tournament: a monetary investment.

For the sake of being culturally aware I want to pick a few games out of the tournament that I feel I should care about and place bets on them. I’ve thought long and hard about it and this is the only way for me to care. So, March Madness begins in six days and my wallet is ready to start caring. Any takers?

PAGE 18

EL ESTOQUE SPORTS

MARCH 10, 2010

For bowlers, strikes a sign of success Junior Andre Shepard and senior Eric Rubin bowl competitively as part of dual team

by Hannah Lem

“S

trike” is a word that some athletes don’t want to hear. However, for senior Eric Rubin a strike is just another step towards a perfect game. Rubin has gone bowling since he was young, but it was just the occasional game with his family every month. Rubin joined his first bowling league around four years ago. When he first started playing in the league at Homestead Lanes. Rubin was basically just throwing the bowling ball down the lane with bumpers on each side making sure that the ball would hit the bolwing pins.

“It’s not hard to learn how to bowl. One of the most important things is being patient,” Rubin said. “You can’t just rush up to the lane not thinking about each step.

During other kinds of activities, you have to use patience and it’s about taking it in steps. It’s not something fast paced like soccer or football. “ Rubin practices bowling every Saturday for one and a half hours.

For practice, his league is split up into a team of three people. His teammates include Nick Carlson, another high school student, and MVHS junior Andre Shepard.

During practice, they play round robin, where Rubin and Shepard’s team, the Sharks, play against other teams. At the end of the season, all the individual scores are added up, and whichever players are in the top three wins either a trophy or scholarship

Samved Sangameswara | El Estoque

READY TO STRIKE Senior Eric Rubin bowls at Homestead Lanes in Sunnyvale on March 6. A longtime bowler, Rubin competes in a competitive league and is a teammate of junior Andre Shepard. money, depending on the season.

During the summer, winners recieve a trophy and during the winter, they receive scholarship money. During these small games, there are coaches on the side whom players can ask for advice.

Both bowlers began playing the sport as a hobby before they got serious about it. Shepard started bowling when he was about three years old. When he was young, it was something that he and his family would do once

every week. “[Bowling] started more as a family thing,” Shepard said, “but about three and a half years ago it started becoming more of an individual and coach thing.”

Shepard is also in another league, different than the one that he and Rubin participate in. For Shepard, bowling definitely takes up more time, because he is in two leagues and he practices with a private coach.

“It does take up a lot of time,

but I enjoy every moment of it,” Shepard said.

Rubin, who also enjoys the sport, says that his parents support his bowling and sometimes his dad will come to practice on Saturdays to watch him play.

And just like any serious athlete, Shepard supplies his own equipment, bringing his own bowling bag and shoes each week.

Rubin also has two bowling balls, one of which is a spare ball which has a special material that makes

the bowl go straight, the other one is a regular ball which curves down the lane.

On Saturday practices they are a team, but when they go to outside tournaments like in Santa Cruz and Reno, they play against each other because they are in the same age group.

“The closest tournament that I’ve been to was the one in Santa Cruz, “ said Shepard, “We’ve also gone to a huge bowling center in Reno for bowling nationals that is almost as big as [the MVHS] campus.”

Rubin’s latest tournament was in January at Santa Cruz and he says that he did okay. Rubin says that for a typical tournament, the competitors sign up for a squad to play in. The squads are composed of people who have the same average. Each competitive bowler has an average. Rubin’s average is a 156. He says that when he first started he was around a 70 and the highest he has had is a 224. Each time you lose a game, it lowers your average and each time you win, it goes up. For Rubin, even though he has been playing for four years, he says that he is still learning every time he plays.

“I am always learning something new. It just takes consistency. You have to do something, like, a thousand times to get it perfect,” Rubin said.

In order to start bowling competitively, Shepard gives a couple words of advice. “Just find a league and a house to join, you don’t need to know how to bowl, and start there.”

Streamlined suits banned from use in swim competitions

Use of Fastskin FS-PRO swimsuits at meets prohibited due to possible unfair advantage

by Erin Chiu

T

o an unknowing swim meet spectator, the difference between the racing suits that the swimmers sport may be nothing more than a mere variation in color. However, competitive swimmers put on their suits knowing that the different aspects of them help shape their posture in order to perform at their best. In previous years, the CIF-Central Coast Section has allowed swimmers to use Speedo’s Fastskin FS-Pro suits, but this year they will be banned from competition.

In 2007, swimwear company Speedo created a racing suit for swimmers made of a lightweight, low-drag fabric that was extra slippery. The release of this suit allowed many swimmers to improve and even break records, creating controversy shortly after the 2008 Summer Olympics. This conflict among officials led to the eventual ban of the Fastskin FS-Pro and other swimwear that does not meet the current standards. One year later, the restrictions reached the high school level, prohibiting students from using suits that are long-length or “nontextile” (meaning suits made out of non-woven material) suits. Though

many were opposed, special education teacher and varsity girls swim coach Don Vierra was supportive of the new swimsuit regulations.

“In my personal opinion, I think that it took away from the sport,” Vierra said.

“Not everyone could afford it, so it was not a level playing field.”

Though very few MVHS swimmers used these suits in the 2009 swim season, many personal and league records were broken. Now, with this year’s season having already been kicked off by the team’s first pre-season meet on Feb. 26, it is the general expectation that because of these restrictions there is a disadvantage for some MVHS’ swimmers to go to CCS. However, Vierra doesn’t believe so. Though other schools may adjust their training to make up for the lack of the Fastsuit, Vierra is making no changes, believing that all his swimmers have enough skill in maintaining good posture to not have to make significant adjustments in the girls’ workouts.

“We have always focused on posture, line and balance before we even start thinking about going fast,” Vierra said.

Last season, less than half of the varsity girls swim team used the newly banned suits, most of which graduated in 2009, but senior Chelsea Fong is one of the

@ Niledriving.com or Call (408) 249-3186

few that had to learn to cope with not wearing the suit. However, swimming in big meets for her club team before the MVHS season started has allowed her to adjust well, and as a result she believes that she will be able to swim at her best when leagues begin.

“When you put on a racing suit, it’s more mental than physical,” Fong said.

“When you think you’re going fast, you usually go faster.”

However, many swimmers find it difficult to justify spending $190 on a suit that provides little more than a percieved mental advantage.

According to Fong, the suits are more beneficial to swimmers with a higher body mass because it creates a lowerdrag situation inside the pool, allowing the swimmer to go through the water more smoothly. As for the rest of the swimmers, she believes the suits simply provide a mental head-start in the form of a perceived advantage.

As the team proceeds with preparations for the beginning of league swim meets, they will continue to practice the proper swimming posture, keeping their arms straight, shoulders rolled back, and head held high — all in hopes of a season filled with success.

SECOND SKIN

The Fastskin FS-PRO incorporates new technology to help swimmers cut through water faster than the rest of the competition: High-density microfiber: chlorine-resistant nylon thread is lighter than other materials and offers greater flexibility and stretch Water repellant: prevents water absorption, reducing resistance and minimizing drag force on swimmer Firmness: material provides support to maximize muscle efficiency and reduce unwanted movement Seams: stitches are vertically designed to reduce friction on swimmer, and sewing method offers more resistance to fraying or tearing

Image from Speedo.com

Do you want to see your ad here?

Contact us at

mv.el.estoque@gmail.com

a&e

19

PAGE 20 Music enhances drama production PAGE 21 Sophomore uses instrument to connect with culture PAGE 22 Raw denim allows for a perfect fit

Classy, not costly

Save money on prom this spring without deflating your wallet.

HOW TO SAVE A BUCK

3. Tuxedo for four dances Savings: $78.68

1. Homemade Corsage Savings: $15

Flowers by Sophia Homemade $25 $10

2. Homemade Dress Savings: $59.99 Rented: $320 Used: $241.32 Includes four vests and ties

Buca di Beppo for two

Home dinner for four

Small caesar salad: $10. 45 Small mom’s lasagna: $16.95 One tiramisu: $9.99 Two Italian sodas: $7.90 15 percent tip: $6.79

Safeway Fresh Caesar Supreme: $4.49 One Pizza Hut Tuscani lasagna: $7.99 One liter Italian soda: $2.99 Trader Joe’s tiramisu: $6.99 Tip: $0

TOTAL: $52.08

TOTAL: $22.46

Savings: $29.62

Total savings per couple: $183.29 Macy’s $79.99

Where to purchase: 1. www.flowersbysophia.net, 2. macys.com, 3. Tuxedo Warehouse (with MVHS special offer) and Greattux.com

Homemade $20

Mansi Pathak and Sahana Sridhara | El Estoque Photo Illustration

Mother-daughter sewing team

Junior Kelly Woodruff finds alternative to dress shopping

Student customizes corsage Junior Mary Matsunami utilizes florist job to design own corsage

by Stefan Ball and Aileen Le

M

any girls see looking for a prom dress as a momentous high school experience, but shopping can be just plain painful when you can’t find the perfect dress.

However, junior Kelly Woodruff takes a different path—daughter of a longtime hobby designer and sewer, she has had every Sadies’ costume as well as a homecoming dress made for her.

“It’s a little bit frustrating to go and buy your own dress because you have to find the right size, it has to be affordable,” Kelly said. “I think it’s a lot more convenient. It’s more fun to design your own dress.”

Kelly will sketch a design and consult her mom, Ampan, about whether it’s viable.

From there they will take a trip to Fabrics R Us or Joann’s Fabrics and begin the sewing process. This can range from four hours, for a Sadie’s costume, to a month for a formal design. With the need for such dedication, it’s a work of passion, not profession.

“I’m not a professional, but I learned

Mansi Pathak | El Estoque

Stefan Ball | El Estoque

PASSION FOR FASHION Junior Kelly Woodruff has many of her formal dresses sewn by her mother, Ampan.

from experience,” Ampan said. “The more you do, the more you know. I know her body, too. It’s easier when you know your own body.”

Her formal training extends as far as a six month college course where she learned the basics, but for an unexperienced promgoer on a budget, the goal of designing a dress isn’t entirely impossible. Ampan has simple advice: use old clothes to find what fits and for patterns you like and rework them. Keep it simple. Simple and cute.

El Estoque: Why did you decide to make your own corsage and boutonniere for Winter Ball?

Mary Matsunami: I work at a flower shop, Flowers by Sophia in Sunnyvale. I called the owner and said, “I need a corsage pretty soon. I really, really need one.”

And she said, “Mary, you work here. You can make your own. I’ll teach you.”

EE: If someone is interested in making their own corsage and boutonniere, what would you suggest they do?

MM: I would go to a flower shop and ask if they had extra flowers or I would just take flowers from a garden. I’d go online and look up how-to videos. You just have to be patient. Your first one may not come out perfect.

EE: How long did it take you to make them?

MM: Around 30 minutes with [the owner’s] help. If someone is making it on their own, I’d set aside at least one hour.

EE: What flowers would you recommend to use?

MM: [My corsage] had orchids in it, which looked really nice with roses. A lot of people also do carnations.

EE: What did you learn from this process?

MM: Flower arrangement is hard, but it’s worth it in the end. At first I had doubts— how am I supposed to make it? I’m just a high school student! In the end, it was not the nicest corsage I’ve worn, but it means and is worth more to me.

EE: How is making your own corsage different from just buying one?

MM: You don’t always remember everything about a dance, but if you take the time to make your own corsage you will remember that part. And you can dry it and keep it for later.

A show of passion: Show opens doors for new performers Open Mic Night sponsored by class of 2010 attracts a variety of student, teacher acts

by Christophe Haubursin

I

t is not every day that you get to fight your own teacher with a sword. But that’s exactly what math teacher Jon Stark and junior Daniel Ki, competing in the class of 2010’s Open Mic Night, plan to do.

The event, with potential acts ranging from acoustic duos to Speech and Debate-style monologues, will be presented at MVHS on March 26 as a fusion of various performing arts genres.

“The thing is, there aren’t many people around who can fence,” Stark said. “We haven’t decided if we’re going to use the foil, his specialty, or the epée, which is mine.”

In order to prepare for the night, informational meetings were held to give all those interested information before the series of auditions that followed. Since it is traditionally held at the end of “Take on Your Teacher” Week as a culmination of a series of lunchtime activities, the show will include some teacher acts, such as Stark and Ki’s fencing.

“So far, we’ve got [Chemistry teacher Kavita Gupta] choreographing a bhangra dance routine and [math teacher Jon Stark] fencing,” 2010 class president senior Jocelyn Ou said. She expects tickets to be sold in advance and at the door for around $5 to $7, with proceeds going to fund this year’s senior ball.

While some debut performers view Open Mic Night as a

chance to unveil their talent to the public, Stark signed on simply for the allure of competing against a student in an uncommon sport.

“The hope is that we’ll be able to have some fun and entertain the troops a bit,” he said.

Among a number of guitar duos planning to perform are sophomores Aaron Ho and Libby Cha. It was just over two months ago that Ho approached Cha to ask her if she would like to get together to jam. The two had met in choir class the previous year and Ho had already been playing acoustic guitar for a number of years. They had the time, and they had the potential. So they gave it a shot.

Only a few weeks later, Ho and Cha—under the name Passion and Passionette—stood together under the glare of the blinding auditorium stage lights to accept a secondplace award at Youth Commission’s Battle of the Bands on Jan. 8.

“The two of us just fit together musically, and we can just gel like that,” Ho said of the duo formed on a whim.

After their success at Battle of the Bands, Ho and Cha have their sights set on playing at Open Mic Night. With the date approaching fast, they haven’t yet confirmed a set list, but Ho assumes it will conform to their usual style of putting soulful spins on popular songs.

“I guess you’d call it acoustic soul,” he laughed. “But

Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque

MUSIC FROM THE HEART Freshmen Kalie Haynes and Saee Bhide perform Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen” on Feb. 25.

Haynes and Bhide are only two of the many new faces eager to perform at Open Mic Night on March 26. music is just something that stays with you. We’re really passionate about what we do.”

But that’s all that performing is about, isn’t it? Passion.

And, of course, Passionette.

PAGE 20

EL ESTOQUE A&E

MARCH 10, 2010

Clubs in a flash Fixing corrupt corporations

by Sahana Sridhara and Natalie Chan

W

hen students heard of Chevron’s damage to the Ecuadorian environment from oil drilling or Google’s online censorship in China, they were given even more reason to participate in Amnesty International’s annual Human Rights Week. This was the hope of Amnesty International members from March 1 to 5. During that week, the club focused on businesses that violated human rights.

Although the official Human Rights Week for Amnesty International is in December, the time conflicted with first semester finals. In previous years, Amnesty International has designated the week to issues including women’s rights and children’s rights.

“We have two goals, ocial manager junior Aditi Shakkarwar said. ”To educate the community about violations on human rights by corporations and to get people to be active.”

The club offered many different ways for students to get involved. The officers invited William Butkus, an Amnesty International organizer, as a guest speaker on March 4. On March 5, students watched the documentary “The Yes Men Fix the World,” and throughout the week Amnesty International offered to mail letters students wrote to businesses, voicing their opinions about the violations.

“It may not sound like much,” Amnesty International advisor Ben Recktenwald said. “But when thousands of letters from around the world come in, [businesses] pay attention.”

Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS On March 4, Amnesty International organizer William Butkus speaks about the arrest of Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist sentenced to 10 years in prison after Yahoo! Mail’s Hong Kong office leaked an email he sent to the Chinese government. Butkus’ speech was a part of the club’s Human Right’s Week.

Leading the fun

R

Eat this, not that

10 years for a cure

elieving stress and reuniting students are the main goals at Link Crew’s largest event, Freshman Fling. On March 19 from 4 to 10 p.m., Link Leaders and freshmen will have a chance to participate in carnival games, jump through inflatables and challenge opponents to a friendly game of dodgeball. At 7 p.m. they will begin serving a dinner of pizza and snacks. During dinner, Link Crew will be hosting a movie night similar to the previous Link Movie Night.

These events are held with the hope that a bond will be created between link leaders and freshmen.

While the freshmen can spend time with their Link Leaders, the upperclassmen get a chance to de-stress before heading into their season of exams.

Charging $3 in advance or $5 at the door the event is reminiscent of middle school socials. The Link commissioners hope for a large turnout for Freshmen Fling.

N

ine years ago, MVHS Octagon decided to help cure cancer through an entertainment show and delicious meal. The club began an annual one night fundraiser known as Cure Cancer Cafe for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. On March 7 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Quinlan Center, Octagon officers hosted this year’s CCC. In addition to various entertainment including magicians, dancers and musicians, a delicious course of Italian cuisine from A. G. Ferrari was served. The silent auction consisted of various donated items including signed jerseys, gift cards, and jewelry and a raffle for an iPod shuffle in order to raise money.

Octagon was hoping for a turnout of 300 to 400 people to raise $10,000 for the cause.

With the event being solely organized by students either performing, setting up or serving food, Octagon took pride in their unique event and encouraged all students to attend.

M

any teenagers think a food pyramid consists of artificial cheese puffs and carbonated, liquid sugar. The Youth Engaged in Advancing Health Club, suitably called YEAH Club, wants to change that. The food pyramid will return to what it was meant to have—real food.

YEAH Club is planning a cooking demonstration during the week of March 22 that will let students prepare healthy food for themselves. With the nonprofit Pacific Coast Farmer’s Market Association, YEAH Club will focus on teaching students how to cook an organic meal in just 15 minutes.

This simple idea only goes back to the roots of real cooking and real food. In co-president senior Akshay Ravi’s words, “Eating healthy doesn’t have to be disgusting.”

The demonstrations allow only about 15 people to participate, but if more show interest, Ravi stated that they will hold more demonstrations.

Classic Greek epic transformed into new, musical adventure

Drama department presents ‘The Odyssey,’ complete with a set of unique instruments

by Christine Chang

T

he enchanting tunes sung by the Sirens in Homer’s Odyssey are up against some competition. It’s safe to say that the drama department’s winter production this week is infused with soulful music comparable to the very melody that supposedly left Odysseus dying to hear more. Starting March 12, the stage in MVHS’s auditorium will come alive with a version of “The Odyssey,” adapted for the stage by American playwright Mary Zimmerman. The play will be airing March 12, 13, 19, and 20 in the auditorium.

As an integral part of this year’s spring play, the music is anticipated to be one of the most captivating aspects of the production. The different sounds of a rainstick, maracas and a didgeridoo, a long, pipe-like wind instrument indigenous to Australia, resounded several times throughout rehearsal.

Production manager junior Hema Kopalle noted that the sensory elements incorporated in this specific play uphold a crucial role in impressing the intended mood upon the audience. The spirit of the

music itself expresses an emotional aura reflected in the entirety of the play.

“There’s an overall steam punk sense to it,” Kopalle said. “Like, imagine being underground, where you have all these pipes and steam, kind of like that. It’s not a conventional play. It has a very nitty gritty feel to it. Or think amber colors and music.

Lots and lots of music.”

The use of more primitive instruments generates music that is simplistic, but also very human. Commonly acknowledged as the universal language, music is crucial in making this Ancient Greek play resonate with audiences.

“I personally think the play gives an ancient kind of feel—a bit somber,” senior Michelle Chow said. “There’s also a sense of mysteriousness which you can hear in the low sounds of the music.”

Drama teacher Holly Cornelison decided to make music such a major part of the play to overcome the impression that “The Odyssey” is archaic, and thus boring.

“It has old themes, but I wanted it to jump out at the audiences a little bit, be a little more tangible and feel less old fashioned,” Cornelison said. “This adaptation takes an

epic story that is mostly narrated and turns it into more of a dramatic piece.”

Another aspect of the play that sets the production apart from some of the previous ones is the role of teachers and administration in the play, including social studies teachers Bonnie Belshe and Viviana Montoya-Hernandez, English teachers Vanessa Otto and David Clarke, Dean of Students Denae Moore, and science teacher Katheryn McElwee.

One of the reasons Cornelison chose to include teachers as performers in the play was to heighten the realism of the characters’ relationships. For example, Clarke’s role as Laertes, Odysseus’ father, would underscore the age difference between father and son.

“They are super excited but super scared about being on stage,” Cornelison said. “But I thought it would be nice to give teachers on the staff an opportunity to learn about the rehearsal process and what it is like to be part of a production at Monta Vista.”

Hence “The Odyssey” will be a production of breakthroughs, with teachers busy eliminating stage fright and new instruments coming into play.

Photos courtesy of Ana Gash

Christine Chang | El Estoque

PLAY YOUR HEART OUT Sophomore Max Sorg displays his skill at the didgeridoo on Feb. 22, one of the few instruments used in the musical score of “The Odyssey.”

MARCH 10, 2010

EL ESTOQUE A&E

PAGE 21

Drum beating promotes Korean culture Amateur percussionist looks beyond first impression, engages in Korean instrumentals

"I don't know why but it calms me down," Kim said.

"It's almost like a part of me now."

Being part of and learning about samulnori gave Kim he first time sophomore Younha Kim heard the booming noise, she hated it. It was loud. It did not a way to connect to her heritage and develop her personal sound pretty. And did she mention that it was loud? interests and strengths. Eventually, Kim began to enjoy It seemed as though everything about the Korean drum, the activity so much that she would spend hours with her classmates, learning each drum tap and resonating sound. jangoo, was unattractive.

Except that after a while, she liked playing it. She liked In addition to her own drum — the jangoo — she learned to play the other three instruments it was “funny” shaped. She liked the used in samulnori: the kengahri, jing, way it allowed her to partake in her THE INSTRUMENTALS and buk. Though two drums and two cultural heritage. And she liked the Different types of Korean gongs make a nice quartet, samulnori way it sounded with the other Korean percussion equpiment: can expand to include even more percussion instruments. instruments, ultimately involving up "I didn't like playing [it] at first," • jangoo: An hourglass-shaped midto eight percussionists at a time.

Kim said. "But I realized that [the sized drum that can be handheld Kim first performed for the MVHS percussions] sounded beautiful in a • jing: small high pitched gong-like student body during last year’s different way." drum hung from an arching frame Diversity Day assembly along with Originating from Korea, the tradition • buk: trashcan-sized drum placed fellow samulnori percussionists of samulnori, or Korean percussions, upright and beat with two mallets seniors Julie Hong, Richard Kwon, is one that has been around for Jenny Kwon and Jay Hong. generations. Koreans bring out the Outside of school, however, Kim has played between drums in celebration of yearly harvests, and while most would listen and simply call it music, the percussions were 10 and 15 times at a number of shows over the past six actually simply meant to bring everyone together. In fact, years. The names of each show or cultural event are long according to Kim, for today's Korean-Americans, they serve forgotten, but Kim recalls the various occassions for which she performed with others — everything from the Korean that purpose more than ever.

"Today it's more of a recreational activity because the New Year to Chuseok, the harvest festival.

Six years after picking up a drum for the first time, Kim drums lend to a sense of community bonding," Kim said.

Kim began learning how to play the drums in fourth continues to pursue her passion. About once a week, she grade. As part of the Korean school she attended, she was gathers with other percussionists at Saratoga High School allowed to choose an elective class. Kim decided to try out to practice. And it’s a sure bet she won’t be late.

"I always bug my mom when we're leaving to go faster," the jangoo, a drum used in samulnori, as a new activity.

What seemed to be a nuisance at the time later turned out Kim admits. "[Korean percussions are] just something I really want to be doing." to be a great way for her to relieve stress.

by Somel Jammu

T

Somel Jammu | El Estoque

PASSION FOR PERCUSSION Sophomore Younha Kim beats her Korean drum outside her house on Feb. 22.

Korean percussion is an unconventional form of music that Kim has grown to appreciate over time.

Kick team anticipates commendable results after hard work Marquesas take loss to Lynbrook as indication to clean up routine in time for Nationals

by Sarika Patel

O

nly months before the national competition, the Marquesas received a reality check at the Forte Competition on Jan. 30. At the first competition of the season the Marquesas’ esteemed kick division finished second to the Lynbrook Valkyries. Their medium dance and character divisions placed second as well.

“It was a shock for us and made us realize that we had our work cut out for us for this season,” dance team coach Hilary Maxwell said.

The Marquesas kick division was undefeated all season two years ago and placed fourth at nationals. Last year, they only suffered one loss; as a result, the girls were not prepared to lose. According to Maxwell, part of the reason why the girls did not place well was simply because they were not prepared to compete. They were also aware of their strong record and were over-confident going into the competition without realizing that all the other teams had also gotten better. Discouraged by

their loss, the girls began to focus on their strengths and worked to clean up all of their routines.

“We started watching our performance tapes and we noticed that overall our routine was actually better, but the other teams had really clean routines,” senior officer Katherine Ong said. “We knew that if we cleaned up our routines we could beat [the other teams].”

After only a couple weeks of sharpening their routines they earned back their first place title for the kick division at the United Spirit Association regionals competition at Granite Bay High School in Sacramento. In addition to watching previous performance videos, the Marquesas used feedback from judges to gain better insight on how they were being judged.

During each performance the judges speak into a recorder and comment on the routine. The team used these comments and implemented changes into their routines accordingly.

“It’s interesting to hear because sometimes [the judges] laugh, but it’s a really intimate way of communicating

with the judges,” senior officer Mayaan Cogan said.

In order to prepare for nationals, the Marquesas have been trying to have more practices in the gym since the dance room is too small to practice their spacing and trafficking patterns. This means that the girls have later practices after basketball and have started their Saturday practices in order to prepare for nationals.

“A lot of it is endurance and stamina. We know we are getting really close to beating our main competitors because for the last few competition our scores have been 0.3 or 0.7 points off,” Maxwell said.

Although many of their divisions seem to be jumping back and forth between second and third place, the overall scores for all the divisions have been improving.

With increased scores and sharper routines across the board, the national competitions is looking to have promising results.

“I anticipate that our Kick team will do really well,” Cogan said. “Although it’s really hard to tell since we only compete against local teams, but I think it has the most potential.”

Photo courtesy of Maayan Cogan

DANCING TO THE LEAD The kick team performs their routine at the Lincoln High competition on Feb. 13. The Marquesas are working to maintain first in the kick division at the national competition at.

PAGE 22

EL ESTOQUE A&E

MARCH 10, 2010

Rough wear: Students buy raw denim New trend involves wearing untreated denim for at least six months to get the perfect fit

by Jane Kim

R

aw denim gives a new meaning to finding the perfect pair of jeans because in this trend, the wearer creates the best fit, fade and wrinkles himself. Raw denim, also referred to as dry denim, is a type of jean that is not washed after it is dyed. The starch is left in the jeans, causing the denim to feel much stiffer than jeans that are pre-washed. They also use an indigo dye that does not fully absorb into the cotton of the jean. The purpose of the indigo dye is to establish that the lines and wrinkles can naturally form over time according to the wearer’s body and daily movements.

The raw denim jean is usually worn for around six months without washing in order to enhance the natural fading process of the jean, producing a natural look instead of a manufactured one.

Senior Charles Huh first became interested in raw denim jeans after he heard about them from a friend in the summer of 2009. After looking them up and buying the cheapest brand name he could find at $98, Huh officially became a raw denim owner. But after two weeks, the jeans didn’t meet his expectations.

“They felt uncomfortable and were hard to wear because they were so stiff, and after a week and a half they started smelling really bad,” Huh said. “So I decided to give up because they were starting to get too small for me anyway, and I couldn’t wash them or anything.”

Despite Huh’s negative response to raw denim, sophomore Philip Tsai has been wearing his jeans since last November after he had his leg cast taken off. Tsai has had a much more positive experience with the style.

“I found out about them through an online website.

They looked pretty cool. I did some research on them and I realized how much better the quality was [than normal jeans],” Tsai said. “I thought it was pretty awesome because of how they’re made.”

According to Tsai, washing your jeans once in a while when they get dirty or start to smell isn’t bad. In fact, he says that it should help restore the quality of the jeans.

“People think you have to wash them after six months, but I think that if they start to smell really bad or if you get a stain on them, then you should wash them,” Tsai said. “If you don’t wash them all that gunk and all that sweat can make the jeans really easy to rip. So if you wash them the threads will restore, and the jeans will be strengthened.”

Tsai has about a month left before he reaches the point where he can wash and wear his jeans freely.

“I need to naturally fade them first and after a month it will be good enough to wash it.” Tsai said.

But be wary when buying them, warns senior Ethan Krajnovich, who got his pair of raw denim last summer. The price for raw denim is usually high, and so it is important to buy the exact size and color desired. When asked for his opinion on the trend, Krajnovich was ambivalent.

“I think it’s a cool idea, but it’s really a selective audience,” Krajnovich said. “Not everyone is going to do it.”

Krajnovich also claims that the trend originated from Japan, imitating the original raw denim jeans found in America. After the resurgence in Japan, the jeans became a craze in America again.

“Vintage Levi’s is where it started. They’re raw and you break them,” Krajnovich said. “Japanese people started buying what was made.”

Wearing raw denim will take time and patience to reap the benefits of a naturally faded pair of jeans. But for people like Tsai, the wait is worth it.

RAW DENIM EXPERTS

These students have tested the raw jeans style and share their expert experiences

senior Ethan Krajnovich Brand: Nudies Rating: “unrateable” Buy: atticonlineshop.com “You have to think about it first and you’ve got to try it on or else you’ll waste a lot of money.”

sophomore Philip Tsai Brand: Imperial Denim Rating: 5/5 Buy: selfedge.com “I guess they just looked pretty cool. I just did some research on them and I realized how much better the quality was.”

Jane Kim | El Estoque

senior Charles Huh Brand: A.P.C. Rating: 2/5 Buy: tobi.com “You know how handkerchiefs are crispy and uncomfortable when you buy them? [The jeans are] like that around your waist.“

CARE TIPS

Here are some tips on treating and maintaining your raw denim jeans

1

Flip them inside out when you’re drying and do not fold them so you can prevent unwanted wrinkles. Dry in the sun.

2

Do not wash your denim for at least six months to one year. If you wash raw denim too soon the indigo will bleed out and ruin fading at the knees.

3 4

If you need to wash your jeans, wash it in cold water so the indigo dye doesn’t fade as much.

You shouldn’t dry your denim in the dryer, it will ruin the cotton fibers and shrink the jeans. You can just hang them dry.

5

Adding 1/4 cup of salt and 1/2 cup of vinegar to the detergent can help maintain the deep color of your jeans for a longer period of time.

6

If you spill something on your jeans, just wipe it off. Don’t dab it with water because it can get rid of the indigo dye and may leave a bleach spot.

Jane Kim | El Estoque

MARCH 10, 2010

EL ESTOQUE A&E

The classic American burger Discover delicious, trendy and inexpensive hamburger restaurants

by Ashley Wu

W

ith one-third or two-third pound patties, all sauces imaginable and as many toppings as a frozen yogurt shop and a variety of choices for the bun, The Counter in Santana Row has over 300,000 different combinations of burgers. Located between Wahoo’s Fish Taco and Urban Outfitters, The Counter is always crowded, resulting in up to an hour-long wait for a table, depending on the party size.

The atmosphere allows families to eat in peace and includes a bar where people can drink, chat, and watch basketball on TV. Although the price is about $8.50 for a one-third pound patty, some people have trouble fitting the large burgers into their mouths.

And at The Counter, even with the sauces dripping from their chins and bloated stomachs, people still have the stamina, not to mention room in their bodies, to down a side of savory sweet potato fries and then wash it all down with a tall, cold milkshake.

Erin Chiu | El Estoque

S

eat yourself in the casual environment o f St John’s Bar and Grill in Sunnyvale. It has a bustling, fast-paced ambiance, with the service to match. Within two minutes of ordering food, the juicy, flavorful burgers are ready to be picked up at the counter and slathered with condiments.

There are special offers and discounts for orders every night.

Saturday night is “Burger Bash” with all burgers at half price. As for seating arrangements, there’s a choice of sitting at a wooden table or booth with cushioned seats and red and white checkered tablecloths, or at the bar.

But wherever the seat is, it is surrounded by billboards and posters of the San Jose Sharks, with Sharks games playing on multiple TV screens throughout the restaurant.

Made with fresh ground beef, the burgers at St John’s can be paired with fries, salad, onion rings, chili, other choices of sides. St John’s is one of those places that is compatible with both large groups sitting down for a nice meal or small groups grabbing a quick snack.

Patrick Mi | El Estoque

Main Street Burgers 20 South Santa Cruz Ave. Los Gatos

Happy Hound 15899 Los Gatos Blvd., Los Gatos

n the corner of Main Street in Los Gatos is a burger joint where one may use rolls of paper towels as napkins and students can get special deals for under $6.

A platter of large onion rings cushions the stomach for the main course to come, whether it be the classic Main Street Original, Spicy Grilled Chicken, or any of the Natalie Wong | El Estoque 15 other entrées. The $5.98 Student Deal, which consists of a Side Street Original—a much smaller version of the Main Street—and a soda is admittedly not very filling.

The small tables are too small for people to sit comfortable with their food but one tends to forget the cramped space when sharing all the appetizers and reaching over to grab the ketchup or mustard to spread over Main Street’s special sauce.

It’s hard not to notice Main Street’s collection of ice cream which sits right in front of the doorway. The 18 flavors include marble black raspberry, chocolate fantasyand peppermint stick.

Main Street Burgers is a great gourmet fast food burger joint to take a soccer team to after their game, but does not really compare with The Counter in quantity nor quality.

D

riving to downtown Los Gatos requires passing by a number of hidden cafes, shops and restaurants on the side of the road, only noticeable from the dim lights shining inside.

One of these places is the Happy Hound, a burger and hot dog joint located across from the Los Gatos Police Station. Great for their $3 onion rings, not so great for Patrick Mi | El Estoque everything else.

The Happy Hound is extremely small and would be in need of more space if more than a handful people were eating there. The lull of slow business seeps in with the few customers, as everyone sits, talks quietly and chews on their food, not at all like the noisiness of more popular restaurants.

Besides the covert location, the food at the Happy Hound is mediocre, albeit cheaper. There are not a lot of choices in bread or toppings, just the usual tomatoes, lettuce, cheese on a sesame seed bun.

The Happy Hound is the epitome of a fast food place. The burgers and hot dogs, which can be described as merely average, along with the cramped and hurried atmosphere, complete the quick and unsatifying experience.

Earning money through walking and washing Senior’s dog-sitting hobby grows over the years into business

by Natalie Chan

S

enior Vanessa Forney has housed more dogs in the past few years than most people do in a lifetime. As part of her own business, Forney cares for her client’s pets, from a couple of days to weeks at a time.

The animals almost become her own pets. She takes them on multiple walks every day, bathes the pets, and even brushes their teeth.

Forney said her reason for working with animals is not for the work or the money; she simply loves dogs.

In fact, her dog sitting services began more as a favor to her former soccer coach than as a form of work.

“The dog that I watched was my dream dog—a boxer,” Forney said. “I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I get to watch him!’”

That one-time job turned into a true business over five years, a business where Forney still has the same enthusiasm for her job. Even her most difficult to handle pet was, at most, just frustuating. Forney said, “A maltese—no matter how you open

VICTOR KUO

the Temp

St. John’s Bar and Grill 510 Lawrence Expy Ste 110, Sunnyvale

The Counter 3055 Olin Avenue Suite 1035, San Jose

O

PAGE 23

the door, even if you just squeek by, it would jump four feet over your leg and it would run in the yard.”

It took nearly two years for Forney to let go of her leash and offer her services to the general public, but once she did she passed out flyers, posting on Yelp.com, and created her own website. But even so, most people find her through word of mouth, including her neighbor Eve Castles.

“We’ve known [Forney] since she was a little kid,” Castles stated. “She handed out a flyer about a year ago, and we called her when we had a trip. She’s full service, and it’s less expensive [than a kennel].”

Dog-sitting isn’t a walk in the park— though she takes those, too. Over the summer, Forney may have two or three pets staying at her house nearly every day.

Even during the school year, the numbers barely change.

And what does her family think of the litter of animals in their home?

“My parents don’t really care. But if I didn’t get paid, they’d care,” said Forney.

Despite her family’s opinion, Forney is still loyal to what she loves.

Photo courtesy of Vanessa Forney

WALKING THE DOG Senior Vanessa

Forney takes a golden retreiver and her neighbor Eve Castles’ two dogs out to Hunter’s point for a walk in September while dog-sitting.

Gaming tips

A

s sad as it is and as much as I fought it, I have finally succumbed to the deadly illness of senioritis. It is common among high school seniors, especially in their second semester.

Symptoms include laziness, lack of motivation and gaining stupid habits.

As for me, I started playing Maplestory.

It’s an old online RPG—Role-Playing Game—that I played back in my middle school days. It involves little cartoon characters that gain levels and experience by using comic book attacks to kill cute monsters. Yeah, yeah. Laugh and joke all you want, but think of the stupid thing you do in your free time and then think again about laughing at mine.

I started playing it at first just to fill up some of my free time. And then I thought, “Hey, why not turn this into a paying job?”

I had heard from friends in the past that people will pay quite a bit for Maplestory accounts. I checked on eBay.com, which confirmed my suspicions. It doesn’t pay too well, but at least I’ll be having fun. And that is how I found my latest job idea.

Lesson One

People can be complete jerks online behind the mask of their screen name.

Always be wary of what you do and don’t take any of them seriously. So since I had not played this game in quite a few years, there were new additions to the game, such as new jobs, new skills and new items. I read some tips online, but one thing that I didn’t read were the general prices of certain items in the game that can’t be bought at stores.

While I was training by killing Dark Stumps, a high level player approached and asked to buy Flint. After killing a few thousand of these Dark Stumps as training, I had obtained quite a few of this Flint. I naturally didn’t know what it was and I agreed to sell four for 10,000 mesos—the currency in the game. Later, I got another trade request but this player offered 100,000 mesos. My eyes almost popped out of my head. He claimed it was standard price. It was then that I realized that I had gotten ripped off. I guess this really goes back to dealing with other people in the business world. There are jerks out there who are willing to do anything to get to the top. It really is survival of the fittest out there. You need to always make sure you know who you can trust.

Lesson Two

If you want to be successful, you have to be aggressive. You can’t just sit around and think that you’ll come out on top. No, you have to work for it. In Maplestory, there are two ways to get to a high level: doing quests—provided by Non-Playing Characters, or NPCs—or training by killing monsters. For my case, I decided to go to the Sleepywood training grounds and kill Zombie Mushrooms. Yeah, I know they’re mushrooms. Stop laughing.

Anyway, I was at the grounds training when this higher level character came and tried to steal all my kills. And obviously, it worked, so I moved on. And then it happened again. As this repeated another five or six times, I got progressively angrier.

I was wasting valuable time. So finally, on the seventh time, I decided to compete.

I fought back and in the end, the player actually backed off. But it all started with that willingness to be aggressive and fight back. Likewise, you have to be aggressive with what you do, especially in the business world. You can’t sit back and watch others take what’s yours, you have to fight for it.

And believe it or not, video games are actually pretty serious business. Ask any gamer. I’m still working for that high level.

TREND WATCH COMPUTER WHIZ

Senior Diane Keng offers clubs a chance to test out software product interview conducted by Mansi Pathak

Q: Can you tell us about your company?

A: We created a new cloud computing platform

for everyday people to tell them what a cloud computer actually is. You can access your files anywhere, any time, be able to share those files with friends or family and have somewhere to store them online. In this case, we offer one gigabyte of memory, but if you sign up now, the first 500 people get unlimited memory for a lifetime. Our company’s product is very straight forward: if you are outside and don’t have your computer present, you can access [the information on] your computer without actually being there.

Photo goes here

UP2DATE

The best and worst features of the Canon EOS Rebel XSi

by Victor Kuo [The Canon EOS Rebel XSi] is a good starter camera to see if I want to get into photography. It takes high quality photos and has straight forward controls. The kit comes with a 18-55mm lens. the expert: Steve Wang

Q: We heard that you were testing MyWeboo on

MV clubs. How do you think it will help them?

A: We started testing on clubs [during the week of Feb. 22]. The club account gets different drives by year, so you can just drag and drop all the things you need from that folder into that year. That means when [an officer] leaves their office this year, then for next year when [a new officer] comes in, they get to see what [previous officers] have done and use it as a resource, which means they never lose or delete anything.

Mansi Pathak | El Estoque

MYWEBOO PREVIEW Senior Diane Keng shows junior Srilakshmi Ramesh the features of MyWeboo at Quickly’s on March 7.

Basics of MyWeboo cloud computing -Upload documents, pictures or any size files to an online source.

-Access your files anywhere at any time.

-Edit files through a web application.

-Share files easily with friends and family

CAMPUS RUNWAY

Q: Where did you get the idea?

A: We were thinking about working

with groups at colleges and universities, so we wanted to bring it to the high school level and see if it would work here first and then bring it to other high schools in the district.

Q: So

how did you go about telling other clubs and publicizing it?

A: I talked to club commission and they were able to send me the emails of the club presidents. Just last weekend we had about eight or nine different clubs show up and we created a club account for them on the spot. They were able to create personal accounts at home, and with that they were able to add contacts.

Best features: Light weight, straight forward controls, 3-inch LCD screen

Worst features: No autofocus in the body

Uses: Taking pictures, capturing memories, looking artsy

With spring around the corner but February chill still in the air, students mix bright pieces with winter accessories to stay warm and stylish

Cost:

$649.99 with kit 18-55 mm lens

What’s next?

“The Odyssey” March 12,13, 19, 20 from 7:30 to 10 p.m.

Tickets are $8 in advance and $12 at the door.

Reserve tickets at http://www.seatyourself.biz/ montavista

Career Day

Sweater dress Hong Kong

Hot pink tights Macy’s

High-waisted skirt Nordstrom

March 26 MVHS classrooms Students go to three selected courses about future careers.

Floral tunic Urban Outfitters

Junior Prom sophomore Angela Wong

senior

Morgan Wang

freshman

Catalina Huang

sophomore Rei Yamamoto

April 2 from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.

Corinthian Grand Ballroom

Mansi Pathak and Aileen Le | El Estoque

Backpack

Finds

What’s in your bag?

Take a peek into your classmates’ bags this month:

“ ” “ ”

In [social studies teacher Bonnie] Belshe’s history class last year, there was a project where we needed to sing a song and so I needed the harmonica to junior Ryan Michaelfelder play a note so we all started on the same note.

[The racket] is for badminton tryouts. Most rackets have the T-joint, but mine doesn’t.

freshman Mihir Patil

“ ” “ ” Sometimes my friends will play with the key chains. My friends gave me some of these, like the Starbucks [key chain] one.

freshman Trisha Mitri

I got [the pencil pouch] on a cruise to Mexico because there was candy in it. I finished the candy and now I just put stuff in it. I named it MooMoo.

freshman Michelle Tsai

Photo illustration by Victor Kuo, Hannah Lem and Aileen Le