Volume 41, Issue 7, April 8 2010

e

e

EL ESTOQUE ONLINE

CHECK OUT ELESTOQUE.ORG FOR INTERACTIVE CAREER DAY HIGHLIGHTS THE NEW MEAL IS

WHY IT’S WORTH PUTTING UP WITH CALCULUS NOW

NO MEAL.

Flip the paper over for a Q&A with Calculus teacher and helicopter pilot Jon Stark.

FINALFOUR

An exploration into our addiction to the betweenmeal pleasure of snacks and snacking.

CENTERSPREAD pages 11-14

Meet the best of the best from the Intramural basketball tournament Sports page 15

VOLUME XLISSUE 7MONTA VISTA HIGH SCHOOLCUPERTINO, CA

A family matter

Rejected

Meeting Gwendolyn Fisher’s family

by Kanwalroop Singh and Sabrina Ghaus

O

rbit the dog just had cataract surgery.

Her face was a brown and white wasteland with two beady bulbs for eyes, surrounded by a coneshaped collar resembling a satellite dish. She had been blind for a while now, so the strange new sense of sight made her uneasy. Every few minutes, she let out a a long, gruff growl, and she wheezed and whined and snapped her jaws—attempting unsuccessfully to bite. Out of the corner of her eye, Gwen Fisher watched with a hint of friendly annoyance.

“Shut up!” Gwen told Orbit, when the dog let out yet another loud growl. Kim Fisher, Gwen’s mom, hugged the dog comfortingly.

Because of her surgery, Orbit needed attention. And the rest of The upward the Fisher family was willing to slide of give it. Gwen is just like Orbit. She Gwendolyn also needs attention, except she is not a dog and she doesn’t have a Fisher cataract in her eye.

This is part two of Gwen was diagnosed with aua three-part series tism when she was seven years old, looking at the journey already in first grade. For Brooks of Special Education and Kim Fisher, it was a shock. student junior Gwen had been a little slow with Gwendolyn Fisher and her speech, but they had never exher community, the pected that she would be autistic.

Perspectives class.

“You feel very protective of your children, and when you find out there’s something different about them, it’s very difficult to get over,” Brooks said.

At first, Brooks and Kim thought she had hearing trouble, so they had her ears tested. When Brooks went to get the test results, he was told, “The tests are fine.”

“But she can’t hear,” replied Brooks.

“The tests are fine.”

“But she can’t hear, she can’t understand what I’m saying.”

“The ears are fine...if there’s something going on, it’s between the ears. “ Brooks and Kim laughed, as they recalled the memory, and Gwen gave a chuckle.

“You have to find the levity in every situation, don’t you think?” Kim asked Brooks.

“I do,” he answered.

Kim and Brooks are still learning. They are students for eternity on an educational course that never ends. Because Gwen was diagnosed so late, they had a steep learning curve to figure out how to raise a special needs child.

Proposal for rejection wall shut down by administration

by Somel Jammu

I

n the last gray column of the spreadsheet, labeled “Rants?

Complaints?” there are responses that range from frustrated tirades to sarcastic humor, to philosophical advice. While one kid vents, “WOW, SD STATE SERIOUSLY?!,” another displays cool confidence, “Don’t regret it later when you see me get a Nobel Peace Prize...,” and yet another spiels about life’s meaning, “Life goes on...if only other Monta Vistans could understand that.”

Officially started by senior Naicheng Wangyu as a School Loop discussion post for the class of 2010, the “Wall of College’s Mistakes” is a virtual wall of rejections from colleges—a Google spreadsheet with three simple questions that are all optional: the student’s name, the names of the colleges

from which they were rejected, and lastly, whether they have any comments. Only posted for two and a half weeks, the spreadsheet has already garnered well over a hundred responses, many of which with student names and comments.

But a Google spreadsheet with a link only accessible through the class of 2010’s School Loop accounts was not the original plan Wangyu and friends had in mind.

Modeling their plan after other high schools in the area which Wangyu and his friends had seen carry out a similar idea, such as Gunn High School, Palo Alto High School, and Lynbrook High School, a motion to have a tangible wall at MVHS for posting college rejection letters was successfully passed through Leadership Council on March 23. Yet, the motion was ultimately denied by administration.

“I found out from Leadership that the motion didn’t pass,” Wangyu said. “I don’t know if this is true or not, but I heard it was because it would make [MVHS] look bad. I personally think that our image shouldn’t be tainted just because of rejections [from colleges].”

Dean of Students Denae Moore agrees with Wangyu, adding that the proposed wall would serve a good purpose, but that in the end, it would be a reflection less on the students, and more on MVHS as an educational institution.

“Our name is associated with being a very good school--people move to this area because of that,” Moore said. “It’s not a good perception of the school if someone sees all this rejection going on. I think we should really be focusing see REJECTION on page 6

see PERSPECTIVES on page 4

Voting-age seniors join the effort

Alumni return for Career Day

by Aileen Le

by Mansi Pathak

Government teachers raise civic awareness Former students return to give job advice swing the school measure in 2004 from here’s an army mobilizing. About a victory to a loss. Board member Hung240 students are eligible to Wei Chen informed Dean of Students participate in the upcoming local Michael Hicks that there have been two election, and a few seniors and their cases of parcel taxes in California passing teachers are organizing the campaign to by a single vote.

After the failure of Measure G, a get their voices heard by May 1.

While in federal elections 200 [votes] proposed parcel tax renewal, in November, doesn’t sound like a lot, at a local organizers are trying a new tactic—get eligible voters election like the one registered for Measure B, 200 to vote. In seniors could be the addition to the margin of difference strategies of between winning and phone banking losing,” Government seniors will be eligible to and precinct teacher Christopher vote in the local election walking used Chiang said. in the fall, a Chiang explains registration that during the November elections, few seniors are 18 drive aimed toward students will be and eligible to vote, but by spring, when taking place with the sole purpose of local elections occur, over 200 seniors getting eligible seniors to register to become eligible to vote. Chiang notes that vote—regardless of how they vote. those 200 votes from the senior class at see PARCEL TAX on page 4 MVHS alone would have been enough to

T

240

C

areer Day, which took place at MVHS March 26, was planned and executed with one main goal in mind: to introduce students to careers that they might not have previously considered. And it achieved just that.

Career Day coordinator Sally Erickson and the recruitment team were determined to provide an array of job opportunities to students. Erickson was hoping to introduce students to jobs that pertained to their interests and that they may not have previously considered. To achieve this result, the team had to find speakers through MVHS alumni, parents, friends and cold calling.

“If students wanted to see a park ranger, we would call Santa Clara Parks and Recreation and ask them.”

The group’s determination resulted in just over 100 speakers, ranging from careers, such as physicians and engineers, to F.B.I. agents and radio broadcasters. see CAREER DAY on page 3

Natalie Wong | El Estoque

MAKEOVER A representative from the San Francisco Institute of Esthetics and cosmotology does a makeup job for a MVHS student as part of a lunch time fair that offered alternatives options and college visits.

EL ESTOQUE NEWS

PAGE 2

APRIL 7 , 2010

BRIEFING: IN SHORT

FROM THE EDITORS

2 | CLASSES Juniors take part in CSU-requirement waiving English test

1

Shades of gray

THE BIG PICTURE

by Aileen Le and Samved Sangameswara

March 24, 2009 Impromptu Prom

Nothing is as simple as it seems. More often than not, our world is colored in shades of gray rather than black and white.

Issues are complicated and multi-faceted, such as the controversy presented in senior Somel Jammu’s story “Rejected” on page 1 regarding the wall of rejection from colleges.

And as reporters here at El Estoque it is our job to cover both the black and white—and shades of gray inbetween.

We approach complicated issues from both sides to gain greater perspective and insight—interviewing both administration who did not approve of the wall as well as the students who were behind the creation of it. Only by opening our minds to both sides are we able to truly look at an issue and realize that there isn’t always a clear right or wrong.

However, as humans it is nearly impossible to look into issues purely objectively without having our emotions kick in. We may strive to approach a story from both sides and with an open mind, but we can’t help but to form an opinion—and find where we stand in the spectrum of grays regarding the issue, such as the opinion formed in the in the staff editorial “Rejection of wall destroys liberties” on page 7.

Those opinions that we form drive us to make a statement—a significant change in the community that we belong to. As reporters, it is our job to cover a story objectively and represent both sides to inform and educate our audience. But as human beings, we innately feel emotions that challenge what we believe in and inspire us to invoke change in the world that we belong to.

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

When junior Samuel Young’s girlfriend freshman Kimberly Lin couldn’t go to Junior Prom, he decided to do something special for her. He staged an impromptu Junior Prom in the rally court because his prom was “wherever she was.”

After singing to her, Young danced with Lin to the Junior Prom theme song “On a night Like this.”

Samved Sangameswara | El Estoque

3 | TECHNOLOGY Computer system to change 2010-2011 For the upcoming school year, the schoolwide computer system School Administration Student Information will be replaced by Infinite Campus.

Training for staff is scheduled to begin May 5 and 6. IC representatives have already spoken with assistant principal Trudy Gross, math teacher Scott DeRuiter, and guidance counselor Sylvia Lam to familiarize some staff members with the IC system.

Unlike SASI, IC is web-based, not server-based, meaning anything done in IC is processed instantly.

Guidance counselors can make schedule changes at ROTB without a time lag, and there is no chance of the system failures that sometimes occurred in SASI. “There’s some glitchy kinds of things that we won’t encounter anymore,” Gross said.

4 | DISTRICT MVHS student selected as next student board representative FUHSD’s new student board representative, junior Kriti Garg, was selected two weeks ago. Garg was chosen to represent over 10,000 students to the Board of Trustees.

“It was a different way to get involved, an opportunity most don’t have, so I decided to give it a go,” Garg said.

Garg hopes to implement improved communication throughout the district.

“There’s confusion in terms of the budget situation going on—renovations, what programs are going to be cut,” Garg said. “Better communication is definitely needed both ways, in representing the students to the board, and representing the board to the students.”

This is the second consecutive year that a student from MVHS has been selected for the position. Garg will also serve as an ASB officer next year, replacing current student board representative senior Christopher Chui.

9 | COUNT OFF OPEN MIC NIGHT

On March 19, juniors participated in the Early Assessment Program, a placement test accepted by all California State Universities and similar to placement exams administered by the UCs and private colleges.

Students take the exam to determine their college readiness. The focus is not on passing, but instead on figuring out if students are able to write at a college level. If they are not, they simply have to focus on toning up their skills in senior year and taking the exam again after college acceptance.

Juniors will be notified of their score during the summer, and a pass on this exam means direct placement into entrylevel English upon entrance to a CSU.

5 | CITY

7 | STAFF

City in running for Google Fiber

Teacher of the Year selected

Cupertino has a chance to be a part of Google’s newest project.

Google is launching a new initiative called Google Fiber, which has an internet speed of over one gigabyte per second, more than 100 times faster than current internet speeds.

In February, Google invited interested cities to apply for a chance to be test subjects for the new network, and Cupertino hopes to win the job.

According to Mayor Kris Wang, Cupertino is a technologicallyadvanced community and is currently underserved by Internet Service Providers, meaning that there is a lack of speed, carrying capacity and choice in the ISPs offered. Wang urged residents to take action and nominate Cupertino for Google Fiber.

The deadline to nominate Cupertino has passed, so for now, residents are waiting anxiously for the results.

6 | ASB Student government elected ASB officers for 2010-2011 were announced on April 3. Positions are as follows:

President: Daniel Ki Vice President: Elaine Tang Secretary: Kelly Woodruff Treasurer: Jordan Lim Social Manager: Yeshar Hadi IDC Representative: Angeline Chen FUHSD Student Board Rep: Kriti Garg

2.5 $1,291.07

Duration of show, in hours Total amount collected from sales

Elected by his peers, social sudies teacher Christopher Chiang was named 2010 Teacher of the Year.

“It’s an honor to be noticed by colleagues,” Chiang said.

After studying in UC Irvine for his bachelor’s degree, Chiang attended Stanford University and Columbia University for his graduate education.

The excitable face of the Government Team landed his first job at MVHS in 2004, but left to spend two years teaching in New York.

He returned to MVHS afterward.

This summer, Chiang will be finishing graduate work at Columbia University with his research focused on methods of teaching, including technologybased learning.

“I make many mistakes [and] my desire to make mistakes and learn [is what I feel makes me unique as a teacher],” Chiang said.

8 | FOR THE RECORD Corrections from El Estoque’s March issue Page 21: The photo of the dance team is courtesy of Kelly Woodruff. It took place Feb. 27.

Page 24: Junior Ryan Michelfelder and freshman Trisha Mitra’s names were misspelled.

13 1

Total number of acts Number of “deaths” in the show

APRIL 7, 2010

EL ESTOQUE NEWS

One woman, multiple jobs Attendance supervisor awarded for helpfulness and efficiency

by Christophe Haubursin

F

or attendance supervisor Monique Orozco, the work day hardly ever stops. When she’s not sitting behind her desk in the office, she can be found taking the calls that come in regarding absent students, keeping attendance records for the state, and entering attendance records for substitute teachers.

And when she’s not doing that, she’s fulfilling her duties in the campus Health Support, dealing with situations ranging from the distribution of BandAids to the transportation of injured students to the emergency room.

And yet even when the work day wanes and Orozco has completed all of her own duties, she just can’t stop.

Instead of going home as soon as she’s finished working, she stays behind to assist other members of administration, taking on parts of their jobs when they feel overwhelmed.

“She’s a total team player,” Executive Assistant to the Principal Diana Goularte said.

“If she sees someone who’s ever stressed out with something that they’re doing, she always is the first one to jump in there and help.”

Though a job comprised of dealing with the truancy and injuries of over 2,500 students may not seem like gratifying job, the rewards are more numerous than you’d think.

“I like interacting with the students, the families and the community. It’s nice to have that different relationship with them,” Orozco said. “After just meeting them, or seeing their picture on the screen once, I’ll know who they are, and it’s great to know their family too.”

But last month, all of Orozco’s effort paid off with one particularly significant reward.

MVHS’ employee of the

PAGE 3

BHARGAV SETLUR

Say it like it is

The girl who saved prom

E

Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque

ROLL CALL Attendance supervisor Monique Orozco updates the attendance on March 24. Orozco was named “Classified Employee of the Year” last month. year awards were given out in March, with the classified employee award going to Orozco and the certificated employee award to social studies teacher Christopher Chiang. The decision was made based on a two-part vote conducted by the MVHS staff.

“She’s invaluable to us,” Assistant Principal Brad Metheany said. “What she does makes it so much better for all of us.”

Just about everyone in the office seems to agree with Metheany, and that’s not hard to believe. Even parents of students who Orozco works with appreciate her contribution, including one parent who brought her flowers after feeling bad about her daughter arriving to school late for the first time.

All staff members who she’s worked with acknowledge her proficiency in her career, especially her tendency to arrive early, leave late, and rarely miss a day of work. As an attendance supervisor,

Orozco excels at showing up on time every day herself. And where most would find a job as demanding and fast-paced as hers difficult, Orozco enjoys the nature of her work, finding that it suits her own natural personality.

“I’m usually pretty upbeat anyways, so I don’t feel overwhelmed,” Orozco said.

“I like challenges and feeling like I always have to keep up.

I have to be constantly doing something. The job fits me perfectly because it’s constant, all day.”

But when the weather clears up and spring rolls around, things start to change in the attendance patterns Orozco reports. Fewer students show up on time to class each day, and some don’t choose to show up at all. Senioritis occasionally kicks in, and so does the intensity of Orozco’s work.

“It gets a lot more hectic,” she said. “I just have to manage my time even more throughout the day.”

And that’s no surprise. On

days that a large number of seniors skip class, Orozco has to deal with over 500 calls that come in from the students’ parents. All of those calls have to go through the office’s single attendance line.

Few doubt that Orozco was the proper choice for the award, though they also remark that she is only one of a generally hardworking set of employees, many of whom are taken for granted in spite of their contribution.

“I was surprised because I think that everyone does a good job at what they do,” Orozco laughed. “I was just shocked that I got it.”

However, fellow staff members believe that with a career passion as strong as hers, Orozco is sure to continue to be recognized as the perfect symbol of a dedicated MVHS staff member.

“It was all very well deserved. I see her in action every day, and her helping out is really appreciated,” Goularte said. “She’s a dream for us.”

CAREER DAY: Former students return, give job advice

Natalie Wong | El Estoque

EXPLORING OPTIONS Students listen to a representative from Everest College at the Career Day fair on April 26. Other vocational booths were featured as well. continued from page 1

“There were a lot of job opportunities to choose from,” junior Christine Yoo, who attended a presentation by two firefighters, said. “[Their presentation] was really interesting. We even got to wear their firefighter costumes.”

MVHS alumna and daughter of principal April Scott, Allyson Scott, participated in the event, speaking about her career at the UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco.

Her Powerpoint presentation focused on her tasks as a genetic counselor and the education she was required.

“I didn’t hear about genetic counseling until after college,” Scott said. “A common misconception [I told students] was that you don’t have to become a doctor first.”

Scott, who attended MVHS in 1986, never had the opportunity to attend Career Day, which started in 1991, but says the experience was extremely enjoyable and worth participating in again.

At the moment, the Career Day committee is collecting and reviewing the evaluation forms student were given at the beginning of the event and looking for ways to improve the event for the next Career Day, which is expected to be held in 2012. “[In my opinion, one of the main problems] was that I didn’t know we had to go to classes when I signed up, so I just signed up for interesting jobs, not necessarily ones I was interested in pursuing,” Yoo said.

Erickson is also in the process of putting together a binder of information and contacts for the future coordinators.

“This year we couldn’t find [representatives from] some jobs that students wanted,” Erickson said. “But next time we have a good list to begin with and a lot more leads into where to look.”

ver since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education ended segregation, schools have been one of the most important battlefields in the fight for civil rights. Now, I’m aware that here at MVHS we don’t exactly deal with pressing social issues every day. But for some students, like senior Constance McMillen at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Mississippi, a long-awaited rite of passage—senior prom—turned into a fight for equality.

Presumably, school officials really didn’t want to see McMillen, who is lesbian, in a tuxedo. Or maybe, it was her plan to bring her girlfriend as a date that really bothered them. In any case, McMillen was informed that she had violated school rules and was not permitted to attend senior prom.

Understandably outraged, McMillen called in the big guns. With the help of the ACLU, she and her family filed suit against her school district.

Officials overreact

And that’s when things took a turn for the worse. Her school, undoubtedly terrified of further legal trouble, overreacted in a huge way. They canceled prom, leaving the whole senior class out in the cold.

That, without a doubt, was probably the worst decision her school could have made. It’s one thing to unjustly exclude one student from a school function. But it’s entirely another thing to take it away from everyone else. That cut-off-the-noseto-spite-the-face attitude not only angered students but also caused McMillen, who only wanted equality, to be disliked and reviled by her peers. The school essentially sent a terrible lesson to young people everywhere: if you want to fight for your rights, expect others to suffer and blame you for it.

But then, as they did in Brown v. Board and Tinker v. Des Moines, the courts came to save the day. Kind of. A district court found the school district guilty of violating McMillen’s first amendment right to free expression. Even after finding the school district at fault, however, the court did not require it to reinstate prom.

The times they are a-changing

So although it’s unfortunate that McMillen’s school got away with its severed nose, it’s important to take comfort in the important constitutional victory that the court granted. In the long fight that people have been waging for LGBT equality, McMillen’s victory is a step in the right direction at last.

With the passing of each year—and, let’s face it, the passing of citizens from previous bigoted eras—it’s becoming clearer and clearer that someday gays and lesbians will get their fair share. The key is changing attitudes, and evidence of that is everywhere. Following the cancellation of the IAHS senior prom, students at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, CA invited McMillen to their own prom in a show of solidarity with her fight for justice and equality.

This sentiment, I’m sure, is reflected in our own progressive student body. It’s reassuring that forward-thinking students from MVHS to THS will be the policymakers and powerbrokers of tomorrow, translating our ideas into real, tangible change.

Today, after a long and courageous struggle, a girl can wear a tuxedo and bring another girl to prom. Who knows? In a few short years, she might even be able to marry her.

PAGE 4

EL ESTOQUE NEWS

APRIL 7, 2010

PARCEL TAX: Students PERSPECTIVES: A look at one student’s story find ways to help continued from page 1

“Measure B has brought [registering student voters] to our attention. We haven’t been doing enough to prepare or excite our students about voting,” Chiang said.

On April 1, ASB president senior Samuel Lui visited Government and Economics classes with a list of eligible seniors and handed out registration forms. Forms can be returned to the office or Government and Economic teachers by April 9.

“It’s not about the parcel tax and more of a civic act that we should all do,” Lui said. “[Our generation] never had to go through anything; we already had the right to vote. It’s a blessing placed upon us and it’s great to express our opinions.”

ASB IDC Representative and IDC President senior Kevin Nguyen explains that IDC wants to get involved.

“Not IDC council, but IDC council students are getting together,” Nguyen said.

“We’re trying to plan mass demonstrations or a way to get [the importance of voting for Measure B] to people.”

Nguyen envisions each school arranging a demonstration where students would go to a popular site in the morning and hold signs. The tricky

part is separating themselves from the district, since they can’t use school resources—a fine line that teachers must follow when encouraging their students to register.

“Measure B [campaigning] outside of school is trying to get voters to vote for the measure. For personal reasons in school, it’s not our job to try to advocate for the campaign and it’s illegal,” Chiang said. “It’s illegal for the staff to use school time to advocate for one side. The voter registration [drive] is really neutral. Just register and vote.”

Chiang sees the work done by students and teachers as a continuation of work done by students on Leadership’s voting commission, which existed in past years.

However, other than senior teachers speaking to their students, Chiang feels like they have not done too much to get students to participate since there have always been 200-300 students eligible.

“These local elections are so close. [Students] really do have power,” Chiang said. “ There’s no school I know of that has all their [eligible] seniors registered and voting. For MVHS to get 100 percent voter registration or 90 percent, it would be an amazing achievement to be that politically empowered.”

Sabrina Ghaus | El Estoque Photo Illustration

FORWARD THINKING Junior Gwen Fisher, shown with her parents Kim and Brooks Fisher, lives with autism and approaches life with optimism. She and her parents have developed a close relationship of respect and understanding. continued from page 1

They had to find therapists, doctors, medical clinics, child psychologists, educational advisors, special education programs—“Stop, Dad!” Gwen said.

Her parents know that there are certain things that set Gwen apart.

She has an exceptional memory and sense of direction—but, as her parents learned, she needs directions to be explained visually, not simply listed.

In middle school, Gwen’s teachers had a hard time understanding her method of learning. They pushed her, encouraged her, assigned her homework—all normally designed to help students learn. But for Gwen, that same behavior just raised her anxiety levels, stopping her from working. Her parents even went to speak with her

teachers, but they didn’t understand.

“My parents know me best,” Gwen said. “[The teachers] just didn’t listen.”

Brooks recounts Gwen telling him that her teachers would secretly give her homework, even though he and Kim had told them not to.

“Really?” asks Gwen. Brooks laughed. “Yeah, you did!”

Gwen is also unique in that she does not nod and smile blindly during conversation, letting words fly over her head if she cannot understand them.

“She doesn’t let things slide,” Kim said.

Gwen seldom hides her feelings, especially when she is with her parents.

Mutual respect drives conversation— “Stop me if I say something wrong,” Kim told Gwen as she and Brooks

conversed.

Gwen, Brooks, and Kim gathered together on the couch. Outside, cold rain softly plip-plopped down from the dark, cloudy skies.

But inside the Fisher family home, there was only warmth. Brooks picked up the end of the red blanket draped over Gwen’s lap and put it over his head, like a babushka, making a funny face and eliciting bouts of laughter. As they settled down to take a picture, Gwen asked if she needed to smile.

“You don’t have to,” Kim said.

“Don’t smile, Gwen,” Brooks warned, a serious look on his face.

“Don’t smile.” Kim attempted to rein in a laugh.

Gwen couldn’t hold it in. She smiled.

APRIL 7, 2010

EL ESTOQUE NEWS

PAGE 5

Don’t worry,

be happier.

Stefan Ball | El Estoque

Happiness Project discusses positive psychology through Tal-Ben Shahar’s ‘Happier’

by Vijeta Tandon

A

fter two brisk steps, social studies teacher Christopher Chiang suddenly pauses and looks off into space.

“While you’re walking, just stop and notice: ‘Wow, that’s a beautiful cloud’ or ‘Wow, that’s a beautiful person,’” Chiang tells the students. Although they laugh, a few also silently nod their heads. Such simple pieces of advice are symbolic of what is to come the rest of the school year, as this is only the first meeting of the MVHS Happiness Project.

Within the next 10 weeks, Chiang plans to lead a group of about 25 students into researching the science of positive psychology and learning how to implement it into their own lives. Each of the 10 sessions will be based off of the most popular course taught at Harvard University by Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar. The accompanying text to the sessions is Ben-Shahar’s book, “Happier.”

Chiang heard about Ben-Shahar on the radio approximately two years ago and was intrigued by what he heard. Aside from lecturing, Ben-Shahar has published two books, both essentially self-help books based upon the principles of psychology. His website’s deck reads: “Teaching the World to Focus on the Good,” and that is what his books and lectures aim to do.

Chiang read Ben-Shahar’s book, “Happier” and immediately thought about the interest it could spark in MVHS students, especially considering there is no Psychology course offered on-campus. Ben-Shahar offers

a different approach than many other authors in that he first explains the science behind happiness and then offers practical suggestions on how to be a happier person.

All Happiness Project participants have bought a copy of “Happier” and will be reading and discussing sections from it, as well as learning how to implement the strategies offered into their own lives.

“The goal is definitely action,” Chiang said. “[Students] study it and then apply it to themselves.”

Although Chiang initially hoped that at least 10 students would sign up to be a part of the project, he was pleasantly surprised to see that about 25 students wanted to partake.

Senior Kelli Sum, one of the participants in the project, joined for a multitude of reasons.

“I never took a Psychology class, and I’ve always been interested in it, so this is kind of like my first experience with it,” Sum said. “I think it would be kind of interesting to learn what makes people happy, and then maybe use it towards other students.”

Sum describes herself as a happy and optimistic person and agrees with all of what she has heard regarding BenShahar’s philosophy on happiness thus far. While Chiang describes happiness as a lifestyle, Sum seees it more as an attitude. Both Sum and Chiang agree with Shahar’s doctrine, however, that happiness is not about reaching any sort of fixed-plateau.

“That’s why Ben-Shahar calls his book ‘Happier,’ not

‘Happiness,’ because he wants to help people understand that it’s not about reaching this one point of nirvana where you’re all of a sudden happy,” Chiang said. “It’s about that everyone can always be a little better.”

Sum also agrees that many times, people may set an unrealistic ideal for happiness and so fail to achieve that state of mind.

Another participant in the project, junior Srishti Agrawal, feels that especially at MVHS, sometimes people may be afraid of admitting that they are happy.

“There is that general stereotype where people are scared to admit that they do have down time for themselves and they do spend three or four hours just sitting there, contemplating,” Agrawal said. “They don’t necessarily go home and hit the books right away.”

Regarding the project itself, Chiang has the hope that it will help students understand positive psychology and research better, but also make an impact on their lives. He feels that the biggest misconception that people may have is that the Happiness Project is a place for therapy or sad people, when in reality it’s more about research and selfdiscovery.

Although both Sum and Agrawal admit to not knowing exactly what to expect, they are optimistic that the project will teach them more about the study of positive psychology and about themselves.

And of course, make them happier.

Six Happiness Tips Here’s some advice on making yourself happier from Tal-Ben Shahar’s website.

1) Accept your emotions so that you can overcome them, and allow yourself to make mistakes.

3) Happiness depends on our state of mind. View the glass as half full.

5) Take care of your body.

2) Take part in activities that you both enjoy and find meaning in.

4) Simplify your life.

6) Be grateful; don’t take things for granted.

PAGE 6

EL ESTOQUE NEWS

REJECTION: Wall vetoed

APRIL 7, 2010

A chance to tie up loose ends Social studies substitute finds closure upon returning to teaching

continued from page 1

by Roxanna Wiswell

on celebrating our successes, not advertising our failures—or, ‘perceived’ failures.”

And so it is that only ‘perceived’ success is celebrated—on the white board in the Career Center, there is a list of more than 30 schools into which MVHS students were accepted. Career Center Representative Miriam Taba started the board when she saw it at other high schools and felt that it was a good idea. “[The Wall of College’s Mistakes] is a good idea, too,” Taba said. “It’s worked at other schools where students put up rejection letters in library windows, career center windows; it means students are strong enough to know [rejection from a college] is nothing personal.”

However, Taba finds that it’s more important that students realize rejection from a college does not mean there is something wrong with them, and that rather than being upset, they understand the outcome.

“Hopefully students realize that there are reasons for not getting into a certain college, which are not in their control,” Taba added.

Though the idea of publicizing where students have been accepted was not one initiated by administration, there now exists the question as to why there can’t be a wall of rejections alongside a wall of acceptances. For now, the various discussions of walls will remain at having a white board for acceptances, and a virtual spreadsheet for rejections.

“Really, we choose to make ourselves vulnerable by putting this information out there, and it’s a form of community bonding between students,” Wangyu said.

“But in the end, this is their school, so I guess they can do what they want.”

C

ockatoos, Cockatiels, and African Grays: long-term substitute APUSH teacher Jim Bahnsen has a veritable aviary in his house. His African Grays, J.J. and Ginger, speak with the vocabulary of a threeyear-old. They also imitate noises—Bahnsen recalls the time that J.J. learned to imitate the ringtone of the phone so closely, it was impossible to tell if the phone was actually ringing or if it was the bird.

Once in a while, J.J. will repeat the sound of Bahnsen’s late wife’s laugh.

From caring for birds, Bahnsen transitions to caring for students. His time teaching at MVHS is a final return to an extensive teaching career.

Although he hasn’t taught at MVHS previously, his job as a long-term substitute for social studies teacher Maria CarterGiannini is a return to the classroom after a seven year absence. Bahnsen taught at Lynbrook for 36 years, until his forced retirement due to his late wife’s health.

“I didn’t have that feeling of closure, and that’s part of the reason I came back here: to see if I could still do it and finish it off,” Bahnsen said.

Bahnsen began as a teacher at LHS and remained there for the rest of his career. After his retirement from his many years

Patrick Mi | El Estoque

FIRST LECTURE Starting March 30, long-term substitute Jim Bahnsen took over three of social studies teacher Maria CarterGiannini’s classes. of teaching in the classroom, Bahnsen made a pact with himself never to set foot back in a high school.

“There’s nothing quite as sad as seeing an old teacher sitting in the lunchroom, waiting for company,” Bahnsen said.

However, a full year after his original retirement, Bahnsen found a purpose on campus with his mentoring work: he helped new teachers at Lynbrook set up testing, select reading lists, and grade student essays so that they could learn and adjust more easily. This evolved into substituting, and finally, Bahnsen accepted his current

long-term substituting job. He is covering Carter-Giannini’s three APUSH classes for the rest of the year, while she is on maternity leave. Bahnsen feels comfortable teaching APUSH according to Carter-Giannini’s lesson plans, since the course is so fast-paced that there is little room for variation. To smooth the transition between teachers, Bahnsen sat in on CarterGiannini’s classes for several weeks before her departure. “[The transition] has been good,” junior Melissa Wang said. “[Carter-Giannini and Bahnsen] helped us ease in.”

During his time away from

teaching, Bahnsen got his closure in another area: he had always wanted to travel. A local to Silicon Valley, Bahnsen has seldom moved, purchasing only one house in his entire life—a house down the street from his parents’ house.

“After my wife passed away, I got to thinking of the stuff I’d like to do yet,” Bahnsen said. Just before joining MVHS, Bahnsen did some serious traveling with a trip around the country by Amtrak, through 32 states and one Canadian province.

While not traveling, Bahnsen is home with his pet birds.

For most of his life, Bahnsen was a dog person, but his wife introduced him to birds as pets.

The two of them raised birds that began as shared pets, but after his wife passed away, Bahnsen’s birds became his companions.

Bahnsen and his birds watch TV together—usually football.

Now that he’s back in a teaching environment, Bahnsen is tallying up his career statistics.

“I have now been a teacher for six decades, across two centuries and two millenia,” Bahnsen said. “Not many people would be able to say that.”

He’s achieving his closure, wrapping up his career. Mostly.

“I assume this will be the last time I teach,” Bahnsen said.

“But one never knows, keep those options open.”

n o i n i p o

7 Rejection of wall destroys liberties PAGE 8

Career Day changes needed

PAGE 9

AP Tests about brains, not brawn

PAGE 10

Supportive alumni deserve kudos

Administration demolishes Wall of Rejection, saves face while trampling upon student rights STAFF EDITORIAL

M

isery loves company, and when college decisions are released, a lot of people are miserable.

There’s really no better way to overcome the disappointment of college rejections than to commiserate with others. To make this collective grieving process more efficient, many schools—including our neighbor, Lynbrook High School—put up a “Rejection Wall” on which students post rejection letters from the various colleges they applied to. It reassures students that they’re not alone—and that others as hardworking and talented as they also met a similar fate. This year senior Naicheng Wangyu’s attempt to initiate such a wall fell short in the face of opposition from administration. What Wangyu and many other seniors view as a way to get over the pain of rejections is, in administration’s eyes, a shameful monument to failure.

Recognizing failure is not the same thing as glorifying it, and the Rejection Wall certainly doesn’t do the latter. When it comes to something as potentially painful as college admissions, it’s good to know that you’re not alone. When students have the opportunity to share their failure with each other, it gives them strength to overcome what seems, at least in the short term, like a major setback.

In itself, however, the disconnect between students and the administration over the concept of a Rejection Wall is symptomatic of some major ideological differences. Administration’s decision to prohibit any sort of visible Rejection Wall stems from the belief that student success is a reflection of the school. By that reasoning, a compilation of failure only reflects poorly on the school—and by extension, on the teachers and faculty who staff it. It boils down to this: prohibiting a Rejection Wall is nothing more than a face-saving measure on the part of administration. If teacher success is measured by student success, can students please keep their failures private?

Unpleasant though it is, choosing to prohibit a Rejection Wall tramples on some sacred student rights. The Rejection Wall is a form of student expression—after all, it’s a free exchange of information that takes place on paper instead of in person. And numerous times, the right of students to engage in free expression has been affirmed by the law. In Tinker v.

Des Moines Independent School District, the Supreme Court ruled that students had a constitutional right to wear black armbands in protest of the Vietnam conflict. Compared to that, a Rejection Wall is completely harmless. It isn’t vulgar or obscene, it disrupts no learning environment, and it doesn’t exactly compel students to riot or leave class. Add to this

the fact that Leadership Council approved the measure by a vote of 33-3, and it’s clear that the Rejection Wall is both permissible and popular. Administration should know better than to make decisions that contradict the desires of an overwhelming minority. Over 40 years ago, the Supreme Court declared that “students do not shed their rights at the schoolhouse gate.” Those words are no less true today.

Unable to find a place in the Rally court,

the Rejection Wall has instead gone online.

Students can post their rejections on a Google spreadsheet named the “Wall of College’s Mistakes” and band together in cyberspace. It’s a good idea, but it lacks the open acknowledgement of a Rejection Wall with tape and paper. Students have every right to share information about where they didn’t get into college. Sure, administration might not like it—but it doesn’t matter. The wall isn’t for them. It’s for us.

Diving into Diversity Day demands action Get the vote out, ASB can infuse spirit into celebrations by enlarging their scale or we’ll lose out

by Sarika Patel

DIVERSITY DAY

M

ost people think Diversity Day at MVHS is a joke because they are under the impression that we are “all the same.”

A closer look at the demographics will show that we are composed of a variety of ethnicities; it’s just that the majority at MVHS is different from those of most other schools. Perhaps a reason that people fail to see the diversity at our school is because Diversity Week is done on a smaller scale than it should be.

Just because our majority is different, people fail to see that MVHS is home to a wide range of races and hybrids. We try to celebrate this diversity during Diversity Day with an assembly, but very few people know that Diversity Day is merely just one part of Diversity Week.

Kudos to ASB and administration for continuing this tradition, and kudos to students who are willing to showcase their talents, but why is something which can be done on a big scale treated as such a small project?

We should take comfort in the fact that we have not just a Diversity Day

QUICK TAKE

by Stefan Ball and Bhargav Setlur

A snapshot of the issues surrounding campus today

Although Diversity Day is a great idea, it could be even better with just a few changes. Here are some possible changes Leadership should consider: 1. Advertise Diversity Week far in advance in order to attract students attention and make them better prepared to participate in the events planned for each individual day.

2. Place more emphasis on the activities occuring throughout the entire week, instead of just the assembly, so students get more chances to celebrate diversity.

3. Give clubs on campus some sort of an incentive for showcasing and planning activies for Diversity Week, so all of the unique perspectives on campus can be represented.

4. Make Diversity Week similar to the Spirit Weeks to encourage the same amount or even more participation from all the students. but an entire week to celebrate the multitude of cultures in which we are immersed. Unfortunately, no one really makes use of the week since all the emphasis is placed on the last day.

During the week, ASB attempts to persuade the ethnic clubs on campus to have lunch time activities, but clubs mostly resort to information boards, music and food samples.

Most of the student body has no idea about this since the only time

this is advertised is right before lunch on the announcements. There is very little prior information given, and clubs do not seem to be that interested in spending time, energy, and money in an activity that does not give them a wide and excited audience.

Everyone knows about Diversity Day only because it’s an assembly they are forced to attend and it’s a great chance to miss class.

Promote the cause until people pass the parcel tax

by Samved Sangameswara

I

t’s time once again, hopefully for the last time, for us to talk about and advocate the upcoming parcel tax.

In the last six or so months, we’ve discussed the topic of a parcel tax from almost every possible angle. From advocating the initial Measure G to lamenting its failure and searching for solutions, we’ve really tried to show the magnitude of this event.

By now you surely know all about the consequences of Measure B failing and where the FUHSD will stand in future years if it does not pass. So instead of reiterating those points we want to talk about something else. The cruel irony of parcel taxes is that the majority of the people whom the tax affects the most—students—cannot vote on its outcome. And while at first such a truth may seem to leave us entirely powerless, there are still things those of us who are under 18 can do to help this measure pass.

Over the next few weeks there will be a variety of activities, such as phone banking and going door-to-door, aimed at increasing support for Measure B. They’re small acts by individuals, but if combined they could end up making a big difference. It would truly be a shame if those of us who will be hit the hardest by a potential failure of Measure B sat back and did nothing to help it pass.

see DIVERSITY on page 9

see PARCEL TAX on page 8

Germs for gents

Students self-destruct on EAP

Intentional infection

I like to think there are a few basic rights we should be granted as people and students. The right to our own desks, the right to food at brunch and lunch, and the right to wash our hands. But still, after weeks and however many bathroom checks and cleanings, the lower A-Building boys bathroom remains soapless. What’s worse than that? Every time someone uses the bathroom, they try to wash their hands, touching the same soap dispenser, touching everyone’s germs that went before him.

In order to be deemed ready for college English classes, students must first pass the Early Assessment Program, a test of English language skills. Requiring an essay and a 15-question addendum to the STAR test, the best way to get through the EAP is to just grin and bear it. It’s too bad that many students, their brains already stressed, see the “Optional” label on the addendum and promptly put down their pencils. Come on, it’s not that bad.

Just answer the questions.

Nothing makes coping with difficult classes and lots of homemork more unbearable than sickness. So why are there so many sick students still in school? Everyone knows that missing school is tough, but getting other people sick is worse. To students who cough their way to class: stay home, and give others’ immune systems a break. There’s nothing worse than an epidemic—especially when it started in AP Environmental Science.

PAGE 8

APRIL 7, 2010

EL ESTOQUE OPINION

Taking initiative to promote wellness Happiness Project offers unique opportunity for self-discovery and study of psychology

by Tammy Su

T

he MVHS Happiness Project’s goal isn’t to make you happy, it’s to make you happier. Led by Government teacher Christopher Chiang, who uses the book “Happier” by Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar of Harvard University, the project is one of the first of its kind here, both in terms of subject matter and in discussiongroup type execution. As with any type of resource, though, it’s up to students to take action—and use it to the most of their potential.

It’s no surprise that MVHS, as an academically-focused school, comes with its own set of stereotypes. Once in a while, though, an organization on campus will pop up to counteract them—and the Happiness Project is the latest of these efforts. The energy that the initiative captures in terms of focusing on the mental and spiritual wellness is one that should be welcomed onto campus. It’s commendable that this initiative offers a different genre of resources to students, especially those who find themselves falling into and blaming the stereotype.

By following a discussion group

format, students in the program are forced to focus on, or at the very least acknowledge, the positives in their lives.

Along with weekly meetings and passage reading, each student will also keep a journal on related topics—for example, writing down five things to be thankful for daily. This format both emphasizes one of Ben-Shahar’s tips for happiness, to realize that happiness “depends on our state of mind” and to therefore “view the glass as half full,” and, furthermore, breaks down the tips in a way that is accessible and actually helpful to teenagers. Discussion sessions based on this kind of topic serve as a landing pad among the daily mayhem of a student’s life, to keep the thinking fresh in their minds.

The students who find it hard to believe that curriculum content will ever be helpful outside of school may find a change in the Happiness Project, too. BenShahar’s course, Positive Psychology, was one of the most popular courses offered to upperclassmen by Harvard University in 2006. Similarly, people of all ages around the nation and the world are concerned with the topic—the science of happiness is one of the core elements of total-

body health. Knowing this fact makes a discussion group concerning the topic at a high school level a very valuable resource indeed.

Like any resource, though, it’s up to a person to use it, to actualize it.

Along with realizing the value of these seminars, students should take part in them, and contribute to their longevity on campus. Students currently signed up in the program should realize the impact of the decision they’ve made; students not signed up should consider taking advantage of it next year, when it returns to campus.

As the school year winds down, everyone seems to be lost in their own worlds—of finishing up standardized testing, or debating course selections for the next year, or dealing with college decisions. For an individual student, it can become easy to lose perspective when facing such objective measures of judgment from outside sources. The Happiness Project offers a way to regain that sense of perspective—not as a therapy group or an outlet, but as a tool that students can actively utilize in their own lives.

Career Day novel, but organization faulty

Incorporating speakers into classes would better serve purpose

by Joseph Beyda

C

areer Day has come and gone, bringing with it yet another week without a late start. Students don’t like that. Not one bit. We hate losing that extra sleep, so much so that it would be easy to write off Career Day as a failure, regardless of the quality of the sessions.

And, according to an online survey of 123 MVHS students, many of us did just that. While only 16 percent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement, “The content of the presentations on Career Day was useful to me,” 65 percent had the same dissenting response to the statement, “Career Day should be repeated with the existing schedule.” If students resented Career Day, it’s clear that the program’s organization, not its intent, was the problem.

Career Day was a great idea. Students would be able to map out a clearer path for the rest of their lives and understand why all the things we learn in class matter—at least in theory. But for Career Day to achieve its goals, late start must not be compromised.

To achieve this, administration could give Career Day a day of its own, or give it its own time slot during a regular, sevenperiod day. Both of these situations would be impractical, however. An entire day’s worth of two-hour-long careerrelated speeches would tire students out, and teachers would not be happy with having their class periods shortened to accommodate for the event on a sevenperiod day.

The optimal solution to the Career Day conundrum would be a program that disrupts the schedules of neither teachers nor students. The easiest way to achieve this is to set aside an entire day for Career Day, but maintain the sevenperiod schedule. In each class, someone involved in a field related to that class’ subject matter would be invited to come speak to the students. Teachers and administration can invite people they know in the industry, or just use the existing presenters in classes.

As icing on the cake, such presentations would have added relevance to students.

Any given student would get to learn the significance of every class they are taking, instead of attending three short sessions that may all have to do with the same

EL ESTOQUE POLL

The content of the presentations on Career Day was useful to me.

Agree 44%

Strongly disagree 5% Strongly disagree Disagree 2% 10%

I appreciated getting to hear the presentations from someone in the industry.

Disagree 2% Neutral or no opinion 15%

Strongly agree 42%

Neutral or no opinion 26%

Agree 39%

Career Day should be repeated.

Career Day should be repeated with the existing schedule.

5% Strongly disagree

Strongly disagree

9%

Disagree

10%

Disagree Neutral or no opinion

Agree Strongly agree

“It’s different, new. It’s interesting. I’m most looking forward to the discussions.

They’ll tell me more about myself.”

—junior Kevin Wong Jiachen Yang | El Estoque

“I don’t expect to all of a sudden be enlightened, but through this process, I hope to learn more about the science of happiness and find myself a little happier.”

—junior Jenny Kwon Jiachen Yang | El Estoque

Jiachen Yang | El Estoque

“I’m really interested in neuroscience. I would tell people that it’s interesting from the science aspect but also learn more about happiness and our wellbeing.”

—sophomore Rona Berger

PARCEL TAX: Last chance for passage continued from page 7

In an online survey, 123 MVHS students were asked whether or not they agreed with the following statements. Here are the results:

Strongly agree 15%

STUDENT VIEWPOINTS

39%

37%

subject matter or something unrelated to their studies.

This solution would still have its problems. Students would not like to listen to speakers in classes they don’t like, but Career Day would be a good way to ignite their interest in such classes. In addition, some professionals (such as lawyers) would have few classes to present to, despite their relative prominence and abundance. To combat this, administration can continue the Career Fair at lunch, but with presenters from these professions instead of representatives from colleges, as is now the case. This aspect of the program would be popular, and 66 percent of the respondents to the online survey said they would take advantage of it.

As of right now, administration is planning on alternating between Job Shadow and Career Day every other year.

With Career Day in the classes, this would mean that students would only learn

23%

38%

27% Neutral or no opinion

6% Agree

7% Strongly agree

about the significance of their coursework every other year. For Career Day to work as intended, it must be repeated every year without fail. Job Shadow can be added as an additional event if it is still valued, and can be moved to earlier in the year to spread out the burden on the professionals who volunteer.

If Career Day is repeated, administration should consider changing the way in which the event is organized.

Deep down, students understand the importance of learning about the types of things they may find themselves doing for the rest of their lives. It’s just that the small number of short sessions, the mandatory attendance and the lack of a direct connection to what is being learned in class all prevent the event from reaching its potential. Let Career Day happen in the classes, and annually at that. Students would fully learn about the importance of every single subject.

And, of course, keep their late start.

That is why it is the responsibility of every student to try and engage themselves in one of these activities.

It may be easy to blow off any responsibility regarding this tax because the true effects of a failure won’t be felt until after 2012—when the current tax expires—meaning that only a quarter of our school will still be around to suffer the consequences. However it is naive to think that the other 75 WAYS TO HELP percent will not experience any In the next few weeks, voters c o n s e q u e n c e s will determine the fate of if Measure B Measure B, FUHSD’s lastdoes not pass. ditch effort to prevent school The FUHSD will funding from fading faster than begin bracing expected. After the failure of themselves for the Measure G, it is absolutely vital looming deficit as to pass Measure B. A precinct soon as possible, walk is planned for April 24. meaning the classes of 2012 •Starting point: Lincoln and 2011 will Elementary, 9 a.m. feel the impact •Volunteers will go door-toi m m e d i a t e l y. door and distribute hangers And although the class of 2010 •All votes for Measure B must may be getting be mailed by April 28 out just in time, •All volunteers welcome they may have to •Contact Dean of Students Decome back to visit nae Moore for more informaan alma mater tion, such as voter registration where many of their favorite teachers have been let go and programs they’ve worked hard to establish have been cut.

The point that we are trying to make is that, in the coming weeks, instead of asking yourself if one hour of hanging flyers on doors will really do anything, ask yourself how much the programs and teachers in our district are worth to you and if you’re willing to donate that hour to save them.

It’s time we finally start to hold ourselves accountable for what happens in our community. We have an opportunity to help out our district and we must capitalize on it. One way or another, the failure of Measure B will have an effect on every one of us and chances are that it’s going to be a negative one. We have four weeks left to make sure that this does not happen and we implore each and every one of you to do something, even if it’s only for just an hour, to exert a final push to pass the parcel tax.

This is our last chance to save our schools, so let’s make it count.

EL ESTOQUE OPINION

APRIL 7, 2010

Early prom end leaves time for irresponsibility Junior prom ended at 10:30 p.m. instead of 11:30 p.m., supposedly to allow time for crazed couples to reach home before curfew. The move exercised extreme idealism on the part of those who made the rule. To think that students let out earlier are just going to head home earlier, instead of forgoing other unsupervised activities, is simply naive.

Aileen Le | El Estoque

AP tests should not induce acute arm pain Allowing AP essays to be typed reduces stress, increases efficiency

by Jiachen Yang

Y

our mind is racing. Your heart is thumping. And your forearm is burning away with an excess of lactic acid, intruding on the clarity of your focus. Again, your wrist, too fatigued to respond to the command center, has made a blunder—never mind, just a few quick strokes and the error is crossed out. But your numb limb repeats the mistake. You check the time: an hour and 30 minutes more of the AP English Language exam remains ahead. How you wish for a keyboard.

We are all familiar with the above situation, in which a test of mental capability becomes a challenge of physical endurance instead. That’s no big deal for a short 20-minute sprint for the SAT essay, and it’s relatively bearable for a 40-minute in-class essay. But to produce three consecutive essays in two hours in an AP exam? Maybe weight training for our forearms, wrists, and fingers should be incorporated into our preparations, but an easier way would be to take away the “Arm Pain” from “AP” and embrace the modern age— with computers instead of cramps.

Undeniably, allowing students to type their written responses to the U.S. History, English Language, English Literature and U.S. Government exams will greatly reduce stress. We can focus more on the creation of ideas and worry less about the untidy process of transferring them onto paper, and this will eliminate two hours of tangible, physical stress on our body.

And this goes beyond benefiting students. Since the exam graders that College Board hires will not have to decipher students’ handwriting—which usually ranges from jigsaw puzzles to abstract modern art to miniscule ones worthy of the fine print on legal contracts—typed essays greatly increase grading efficiency. Reduced time spent

Stuck in the past

Habitat: A.P. United States History test hall Exhibit: Student savagery in the 21st century

Habitat: Everywhere else Exhibit: Civilized expression of ideas Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque

on grading means reduced cost of grading for College Board, so this clearly is a winwin situation.

Furthermore, removing the need for decoding handwriting roots out a fundamental problem. Despite all those theories that link handwriting to personality and—for some ridiculous ones—to one’s potential of success, a written AP exam should judge students not by the gracefulness of their handwriting, but by the level of their thoughts. This proposal will abolish handwriting discrimination to further achieve equality in the evaluation of thoughts.

But however attractive this scenario may be, we face monumental obstacles: 63 computers in the library, half of which will be wasted to establish a 6-foot distance between test-takers, cannot accommodate the 196 students taking the AP U.S. History exam; two technicians cannot set up software for so many students taking so many different tests; the school simply has no space or money for additional computers—and even if it did, placing them all in the gym and field house for two weeks would critically injure the performance of our indoor sports teams.

From a practical standpoint, we cannot overcome this logistical nightmare in the short run. But a coordinated and persistent effort, by students and administration, can materialize this dream into reality for future generations of test-takers.

We can advocate for College Board to mimic the administration of the computerbased Graduate Record Examination— students would complete AP exams that require extensive writing at external test centers, rented by College Board, that possess the appropriate technological accommodations. A slight increase in price and a 15-minute drive are well worth a significantly less stressful exam experience and the elimination of handwriting as a factor in grading.

Thus, administration and the district should begin by introducing this idea to the electronic discussion groups on College Board’s AP Central, while students can also contribute to this effort by presenting their viewpoint to the AP program. Even a simple restatement of the above arguments would do much to highlight this issue.

So take a minute of your time, send that email, and contribute to eliminating acute arm pain from the AP exams.

DIVERSITY: Expand activities to increase participation continuted from page 7

Most schools don’t have the capacity to have Diversity Week, and we should be making use of this to celebrate how we are not all the same. There are a total of 13 ethnicity-based clubs on campus, yet only a few are seen during Diversity Week doing a meager activity that does little to engage the student body.

If ASB provides some sort of incentive for clubs to create interesting lunchtime activities and gives them enough advance notice, and perhaps

some monetary aid, then maybe clubs will be more inclined to help out with the event.

If there are other clubs which are involved and there is a little bit more planning put into the entire week in addition to Diversity Day, we will be able to extend our celebration of all the cultures beyond a mere hour on Friday.

Another way to create more enthusiasm and actually celebrate our diversity would be to incorporate the idea of spirit week into Diversity Week. Each day is supposed be themed according to a region. On that day, the ASB Leadership class should encourage

people to dress up accordingly and, just like any other spirit day, hold a class count. The class at the end with the most points will receive some sort of reward.

The initial steps required to make Diversity Week a bigger project is completely in the hands of ASB. Once initiated, ASB does not have to do it on its own but merely has to to provide incentives or publicity in order to increase enthusiasm for this event. Hopefully, once Diversity Week is celebrated as a full week, we will begin to appreciate and acknowledge the fact that we are actually not “the same.”

PAGE 9

SARIKA PATEL

It’s all in your Head

Pro(m)blem

I

like to think of high school as a string of several rites of passage. Every one of these rites has an unsaid responsibility to leave you with a memorable and typical “high school experience.” Every step or major event should have some good feeling attached to it. But a lot of these “high school moments” seem rather useless and more than a little overrated.

Let me start by emphasizing that I’m not a cynic, Leadership hater, or a feminist.

I go to almost all class events, fundraisers, and spend $10 on a class shirt every year to make sure I have class spirit. No offense 2011, but I think we all got a little bit carried away with junior prom.

If the shoe fits

I like to think that if I had truly wanted to go to prom, I could have found a date and made it possible. But for these past few weeks I couldn’t help but think, “If the shoe fits...” both literally and figuratively.

Panicking about dates, stressing about dresses, arranging chaotic limo rides, choosing tuxedos and manipulating parents to cough up $75 all these seem like something the ugly stepsisters would do.

Let me explain.

We all know the story of Cinderella: how she loses her glass slipper at the ball and her ugly stepsisters try to pretend that the shoe belongs to them and take turns trying to shove their feet into the shoe. For the past two weeks, prom seemed like nothing more than an ill fitted shoe which everyone was simultaneously trying to put on. For some Cinderellas it worked out easily and the Three D’s fell into place: the date, the dress and the dinner. Most others struggled in all areas.

The plot thickens

For almost two weeks straight I haven’t been able to walk into a group of juniors without encountering the topic of prom, and it usually didn’t include excited giggles.

The conversation has ranged from awkward to annoyed. Two girls wanted to go with the same guy, one got asked, the other went with her sloppy seconds. Guys who were indifferent about prom were frustrated with girls as they went on and on about limo arrangement. Thoroughly apathetic, it didn’t really matter to them. Don’t try to tell me you haven’t either been one of these people or witnessed these scenes.

Sore toes, contented souls?

Prom has been hyped up for so long that when bid sales finally started, everyone had it engraved in their mind that they had to go. I’m sure it was a beautiful night, but when I estimate how much drama, arguing and perhaps even tears went into it, it definitely doesn’t seem like it was worth it.

I would never suggest to cancel prom altogether only for two reasons: I know if I did I would immediately be attacked verbally and maybe even physically, and it’s something which everyone has come to anticipate. For those of you who think I’m bitter, there’s another side of the argument to consider.

What if the drama, the excessive planning and endless email threads about prom were actually part of the experience?

I’m sure at some point or another you’ve all heard someone say something along the lines of “Nothing in life is worth it if you don’t have to work for it.” I’m not entirely sure whether this applies, but what if all the prom pre-work is an unoffical part of prom? Of course I can’t be the one to answer that. So if you were one of those people who forced the shoe to fit, now that it’s been five days, I want to ask you, was it worth the sore toes?

PAGE 10

EL ESTOQUE OPINION

APRIL 7, 2010

Fulfill frustrated stomachs

New generation of student snackers need quicker access to food

by Sahana Sridhara

I

f the one vital ingredient for human survival isn’t offered to MVHS students when they need it, they can do nothing but complain. Yes, it’s true, we are being deprived of something we consider essential for life: food.

Something must be done.

The absurdly long lunch lines, the limitations on when and where we can eat, and the availability of food in general are all problems that are very pertinent and should be addressed. Reducing the chaos by providing alternative ways to purchase food and changing the currently existing policy to a more comprehensive one are steps that should be taken.

The campus only provides food at two times during the day—brunch and lunch.

While some may believe it is enough to provide food only at these breaks, waiting in the long cafeteria lines can change anyone’s mind.

Food lines stretch and wind through patches of stationary students, and while many choose to wait without complaint at the back of the line, others try to cut the line or pay their friends in line to buy their food for them.

Order must be brought to this chaos, or the students in the back of the line will never move while the front of the line continues to swell.

Some students would rather go hungry than whittle away their break in a line. Club meetings, teacher conferences, printing papers from the dreadfully slow library computers, or

Activities organizers should uphold quality over inclusion

by Samved Sangameswara

T Sabrina Ghaus | El Estoque

studying for a test the next period can leave little time to wait in line for lunch. This is a serious problem that should be acknowledged.

If we could find a more organized way to serve food, and enforce this new order, we can assure students a quicker lunch line experience.

Opening up more counters, hiring more staff, or offering food in different locations around the school can expedite this process. Installing vending machines with the same choices offered in our lunch lines can disperse the crowd that is only looking for a quick snack or drink.

Being a generation of snackers, it’s not rare that everyone wants to snack once in a while. If the cafeteria was opened up throughout the day, students can stock up during passing and free periods. Furthermore, placing

vending machines on campus would alleviate many hunger cramps. With machines stocked with healthy alternative snacks, students can easily purchase a quick snack and munch on it in between classes.

It is proven that students perform better and are more alert when they are full. Before large exams, students are always encouraged to come to class having eaten a hearty meal.

Why then is it acceptable for students to be missing out on food on a day to day basis?

Students should be allowed to eat whenever they feel hungry, and in turn they will be able to perform at a higher lever.

Our no food and drink policy should be rescinded and a new policy allowing certain foods should be put into place.

Instead, to maintain students’ attention, snacking should be open to the first 10 minutes of class. A hungry student can fill

his or her stomach quickly and continue to perform at a higher level throughout class.

For the cleanliness issue, being high school students, a simple reminder to pick up after ourselves can maintain a clean environment.

Furthermore, many teachers already allow food consumption in class.

If they face no problem with granting this privilege, then it seems odd to say that food is such a distraction.

It seems absurd that the school can restrict a generation of snackers to two solid meals— which are sometimes difficult to get. The human right to ingest food should not be a sort of underground railroad business. Students need the liberty to eat freely when and where they choose and should be given the tools, vending machines and open cafeteria, to fulfill their eating needs.

May the chowdown begin.

Return of supportive alumni unites generations Alumni immerse in activities, deserves appreciation and emulation the sea of badminton players whom he helps coach nearly every day. Likewise, class of 2009 alumnus Brian Miller works closely t select times of the year, persons of vague familiarity with drama so much so that he appears to be simply a more appear on campus, gliding in and out of classrooms in a experienced student, but not at all an outsider. The countless déjà vu trance. But most days of the school year, they’re hours he spent guiding and mentoring students the past few busy putting on that freshman 15 or cramming their way to a months contributed to the magnificent Odyssey production that Ph.D.. The Matadors of years past are often so busy bustling about debuted this March. college campuses or even the Sometimes they’ll make a grand working world that they seem to GENEROUS GRADUATES entrance on our own auditorium come back once in a blue moon, stage. On Feb. 13, Class of 2008 and only so shortly. alumna Jenny Suk made MVHS Key Who they are and how they have given back: Shortly, if at all. At most, Club’s Hope for Haiti benefit concert they’ll usually sit quietly in the a hit by offering to perform alongside very back of classrooms, almost YouTube star AJ Rafael, and helped Brendan Dinh, Class inconspicuous in the throng of to raise over $1,400 for Haiti relief. of 2009: Helps coach students who only do as much as The orchestra’s annual winter concert the badminton team, glance briefly in their direction. dazzled audiences with a special particularly new members, Yet sometimes they make more appearance of soprano Michela nearly every day notable appearances. They do more Macfarlane, who returned to sing18 than just drop by to relive high years after her graduation.

Christine Chang | El Estoque school for a few hours like visitors These are the alumni who, of the past. They come again with regardless of having retired from their a mission in mind—to build and Matador years, deserve a purple pin Brian Miller, Class of preserve a legacy of MVHS spirit. of recognition. They’re the real bull 2009: Worked closely When alumni, with their hands spirit champions, because it’s easy with the drama class as full managing college or careers, for high school to become little more assistant director on “The voluntarily involve themselves than a memory once those diplomas Odyssey” production with high school matters, they are all handed out. are offering a truly noble deed.

Giving back is easier said than Sabrina Ghaus | El Estoque Alumni who come back not only done, and those who’ve done more instill a sense of pride in fellow than simply offer their appearance, Matadors; they contribute a feeling whether behind the scenes in drama of timelessness to MVHS—a feeling that MVHS isn’t merely a fouror in the spotlight, exemplify what loyalty really means. year learning center. It says something about the respect for the So as our senior class graduates, may the farewells be shortconstituents of this school that graduates have. lived. Whether they’re aiming to be the next NBA stars or Often times these exemplar veterans become such an integral running for senator, it’s the ones who come back with the same part of student organizations they seem to blend right in. Class of humbling Matador pride that really become an enduring part of 2009 alumnus Brendan Dinh isn’t conspicuously different within MV’s collective identity.

by Christine Chang

A

Aim at target, increase involvement

his month, for the second year running, the Student Life Commission paired up with Basketball Club to run a free intramural basketball tournament.

The response was overwhelming: 27 teams of six, over 150 participants.

What made intramural work so well was the fact that it focused on a particular interest group. The fact of the matter is that the majority of the participants were upperclassmen and male, and that’s perfectly fine.

There’s an fixation that has permeated through all of our student activities. Clubs a n d activity organizers think that six participated in e v e r y s i n g l e intramural basketball person on this year campus should be thrilled a b o u t participated in total e v e r y single activity. This is simply too idealistic. Not everyone likes all of the same things.

The Student Life Commission and Basketball Club did an excellent job in recognizing this and capitalizing on it. They made no compromises in terms of quality of play or competition to make the event inclusive of different types of people, and they still achieved an enormous turnout.

The games were fast-paced, intense and even sometimes violent. And everyone loved it.

Imagine how different the games would have turned out if the organizers had decided to split up the brackets by grade or gender to try and encourage more people to come out and play. Not only would it have turned off a number of the teams, it may not have even been successful in its endeavor to include more people.

Furthermore the partnership between Student Life and Basketball club was a victory in and of itself. This is a prime example of maintaining the quality of events while increasing involvement of passionate students. Clubs have the following and ASB Leadership has the resources—clearly a recipe for success.

The point is not that student activities should be planned with the intent of dividing groups of students instead of uniting. Rather, organizers of activities should be aware that oftentimes, compromising the quality of the event to be more inclusive of the rest of the student body does no one a favor.

A prime example of this is Quiz Bowl week, which the Student Academics Commission will be putting on in the coming month. The focus of this event is to engage those who are truly interested in academia and trivia. It would be a shame if the activities of the week were “watereddown” in any way to make the event more appealing to those who don’t necessarily enjoy the intellect of a quiz bowl.

For too long activities organizers have wasted time, energy and event potential over trying to find ways to make every single activity on campus inclusive of every single person on campus. The solution to lies in events like these. They’re short and specialized. If other groups can emulate this we will have the range needed to involve ever single student in something. Only then will we finally achieve the student involvement that we all want so badly.

27 teams of

162 students

PAGE 11

EL ESTOQUE A CLOSER LOOK

APRIL 7, 2010

The new meal IS

N MEAL Small snacks reign supreme Munching on snacks has become a substitute for three square meals a day

by Victor Kuo

O

reos, Twizzlers, Starbursts, Doritos, Snickers, Lays Chips, candy bars, cookies, chocolate, trail mix, snack bars. The list goes on. From the piles next to the grocery store registers to the huge boxes at Costco, our generation is, without a doubt, surrounded by snacks.

Sit-down meals have become increasingly rare throughout the years, almost a thing of the past. As families move toward a busier lifestyle, dinners are no longer considered a necessity. Constant snacking, eating whenever convenient and smaller meals throughout the day have, for many, replaced consistent family meals, or just meals in general.

"I don't really figure time into my day for eating and I'll get caught up in doing something and then after I'm really hungry I'll go get a snack that kind of holds me off rather than having a dinner," senior David Katz said. "My parents are usually at work and they want me to [make dinner] but instead I end up just snacking."

And it's not just dinners. "Sometimes I skip lunch and I eat later when I get hungry," said junior Christine Yoo. "I eat snacks or minimeals, like microwavable [foods] or, like, a sandwich."

Snacking has become a norm, as opposed to the rarity that it was in the past. The availability of snacks within our grasp exemplifies the spread of snacks within the past few decades. The first reaction to hunger is no longer “wait until the next meal” but “grab a snack from the pantry.”

According to a study conducted by the New York Times, American children, on average, “reach for [snacks] about three times a day, consuming nearly 600 daily calories...[while] half of American children snack about four times a day and some children appear to be consuming either snacks or meals as often as 10 times a day.”

Time is key. Especially for a student, saving time is more essential than eating regularly. After-school sports, tutoring, and various other lessons are of a higher priority than sit-down meals. Thus, eating quick meals or snacks on the road are more time efficient, leaving more time for everything else.

Senior Justin Shie, who has powerlifting practice at night, no longer has time to eat with his family. "I eat by myself because I have practice from 6-8 p.m. and my parents aren't home at 6 p.m. to eat dinner with me," Shie said. "I eat sandwiches before and beans after."

And what's worse is that the snacks are becoming more and more unhealthy. Again according to the New York Times, the most common snacks are desserts such as cookies and cakes, followed by salty snacks such as chips and pretzels. Candy and fruit drinks are third on the list. Each of these categories contain foods made with saturated fats, processed chemicals, and other such ingredients which are harmful to the human body.

"They are eating more times, and they're not eating healthy foods," said Doctor Barry M. Popkin, co-author of the study and director of nutrition epidemiology at the University of North Carolina. "It would be great if they were eating fruits and vegetables and reduced-fat milk—and every now and then a cookie or two. But the foods are going from bad to worse.”

Ashley Wu | El Estoque Photo Illustration

EL ESTOQUE A CLOSER LOOK

PAGE 14

APRIL 7, 2010

Eat this, not that!

Inspired by David Zinczenko’s book, “Eat this! Not That!”, El Estoque looked for healthier alternatives to snacks, lunches and beverages. The nutrition facts are based not on the serving size but on what seems to be realistically eaten in one sitting.

For snacks 2 rice cakes Chocolate Crunch Rice Cakes Calories Total fat Saturated fat Sodium Cholesterol

120 2g 0g 60 mg 0 mg

1 cup Chex Mix Traditional Trail Mix Calories Total fat Saturated fat Sodium Cholesterol

For lunch from 7-11 1 Chicken, Beans & Rice Chimichanga Calories Total fat Saturated fat Sodium Cholesterol

310 10 g 1.5 g 590 mg 20 mg

1 Bean & Cheese Grandito Calories Total fat Saturated fat Sodium Cholesterol

480 12 g 4g 1380 mg 10 mg

195 6g 0.75 g 570 mg 0 mg

For lunch from Chipotle 1 Chicken Salad Bowl For beverages 1 Pomegranate Green Tea Calories Total fat Saturated fat Sodium Cholesterol Sugars

1 Arizona Green Tea 175 0g 0g 25 mg 0 mg 45 g

Calories Total fat Saturated fat Sodium Cholesterol Sugars

210 0g 0g 50 mg 0 mg 42 g

Calories Total fat Saturated fat Sodium Cholesterol

650 28 g 14 g 2020 mg 190 mg

Tomato Salsa,Corn Salsa,Green Tomatillo Salsa,Lettuce,Chicken (4oz),Sour Cream,Cheese,Pinto Beans

1 Chicken Burrito Calories Total fat Saturated fat Sodium Cholesterol

1070 40 g 18 g 2840 mg 190 mg

Tortilla,Tomato Salsa,Corn Salsa,Green Tomatillo Salsa,Rice,Pinto Beans,Cheese,Sour Cream,Lettuce,Chicken (4oz) All photos taken from official websites

Snackless: Three square meals and nothing else for a day Staff reporter goes through one day without snacking, reflects upon his experiences

T

here are certain unalienable rights of of a snack would be anything containing life, certain organic certainties many flavor eaten apart from a meal, my coffee refuse to live without. Coffee. Love. cup stayed dry. This made me angry. I Hugs. Friday nights. Sunsets. And snacking. spooned myself my standard half-bowl The definition of that word is somewhat of cereal, all I can manage at 6:30, and ambiguous, in some sense, and as I starved bolted to school caffeine-free. First period.

I couldn’t compensate for my myself of snacks for the 24 hours small breakfast like I usually of Tuesday, March 30 I would do around 8 a.m. with a Nature be posed with many a furrowed Valley or two. I was told that “if brow and hard question. Black you’re hungry it’s not snacking” Tuesday. by a classmate and I disagreed.

Why do I snack, and by As I looked ahead at the fact I had extension, why do we snack? to make it through three hours It’s a simple question. I’d never of glorified daycare until lunch, before given it the time of day.

I found myself not drained or But I hold the habit close to my heart. I figured I should probably senior Stefan Ball lethargic, but angry. It was Black Tuesday. give it a go. Let’s take the basic, I felt this same sense of anger knowing formulaic answers, answers presented under questions posed to you in the survey there would be no snacks before fifth period. I felt the same anger knowing there within this spread. would be no snacks before homework. I’d 1. Snacker is stressed or emotionally remember I couldn’t fill the void and it breaking down. would make me angry. Withdrawal.

2. Snacker is bored.

I was hungry, yes, but I know how to 3. Snacker’s snacking helps aid handle hunger and I snack whether or not concentration.

Number four though, was the most I’m on the brink of starvation. I analyzed this emotion in the time now freed by a lack common: of my fix. I wasn’t angry about the hunger.

4. Snacker is hungry between meals.

The logical counter-answer to this is also I was angry because I couldn’t break up my simple. Eat bigger meals. Pour more cereal. day. I was stripped of a simple pleasure. I Add an extra slice of ham. Boil more pasta. was stripped of a pleasure that, rain or We’re in denial, then. If we were hungry shine, A or F, stress or joy, never leaves me. between meals we could make bigger Snacking is always close by, walking down meals. It would take little to no extra time. dark hallways with me, holding my hand, Do you smell fish? Are you hungry, then? and while he may make my fingers a little Or dissatisfied, unhappy, and trying to fill sticky, how can you blame the little guy?

After all that he’s done for us? He means an unknown void?

As I mentioned, I have a lot of stock no harm.

I did meet somebody else on Black in snacks. Black Tuesday lit a fire in the back of my mind from the first flick of Tuesday, though, and that was the bettermy kitchen light. Deciding my definition valued meal. Lunch and dinner that

Black Tuesday

Regular day

Breakfast 6:45 a.m.

Breakfast 6:45 a.m.

Half a bowl of Special K cereal

Half a bowl of Special K cereal

Snack 8 a.m.

Lunch 12:45 p.m.

Cup of coffee Two granola bars

Brunch 10:15 a.m.

Turkey sandwich Wallaby Vanilla Yogurt Banana Nature Valley granola bar Three Musketeers candy bar

Lunch 12:30 p.m.

Dinner 6:30 p.m.

Chips Chocolate bar

Banana Sandwich Yogurt Juice

Afterschool snack 3:30 p.m.

1.5 Togos sandwiches Plate of Pasta Five brownies

Dinner 5:30 p.m.

Macoroni and cheese Fruit

Study snack 8 p.m.

Fruit snacks Chocolate bar Juice

Tuesday were a pleasurable satisfaction that leaked from mouth to stomach. It all tasted better. But I ate more. I over compensated.

I had two plates of pasta and three halfsandwiches for dinner. I was still hungry.

I’m sure my body needed to get out of the habit of snacking, but the romantic in me interprets the hunger I felt differently.

We can deal with hunger. Do we snack because of stress? Yes. Do we snack because we’re bored? Hell yes. But what else do we do when we are stressed or bored? Think about it. We have fun.

My lost day with snacks made me angry

not because I had no release from stress or boredom. It was not a stressful day. It made me angry because I enjoy snacking. I snack for the love of it, for the love of food, and for the love of eating for the sake of eating.

Things are better when you do them for the sake of themselves. Listening to music for the sake of listening to music. Walking outside for the sake of fresh California air.

In all the “bad” reasons we snack, there is one all-encompasing, completely benign reason: It’s nice. Apply the common logic of all pleasures, moderation, and you’re good to go. Snack and be merry.

5 1 Pitching past helps coach PAGE 16

Meet the Boys Tennis Team

PAGE 17

MVHS Intramural Basketball

PAGE 18

Grant Manley plays two spring sports

Courtesy of Brian Sullivan

Sabrina Ghaus and Minh Bui | El Estoque Photo Photo Illustration

LOOKING BACK On the right is a photo of varsity baseball coach Brian Sullivan from when he was a professional baseball player in the Montreal Expos organization. On the left Sullivan donned his old jacket and hat for a portrait on the MVHS baseball field. Sullivan now cites his playing experience as tool that has helped him become a better coach.

Varsity baseball coach Brian Sullivan’s professional baseball past helps him instruct team

by Samved Sangameswara

B

uried in the attic of varsity baseball coach Brian Sullivan’s attic is a check that’s never been cashed.

It not a large one, only $5, but to him it’s worth quite a bit more.

The check is from Topps, a company that produces baseball cards for professional players, and it’s a piece of Sullivan’s baseball past.

After playing collegiate baseball at four different universities, Sullivan went into a brief stint with coaching at De Anza College when a few of his players encouraged him to try out for a minor league baseball team.

“It was kind of like the movie ‘The Rookie,’” Sullivan said. “The players were bugging me, telling me, ‘Hey, you can still throw.’”

So he tried out for the Reno Silver Sox but was unsuccessful.

However coincidentally, the team made a trip down to the Bay Area to play the San Jose Giants and Sullivan decided to try and impress the coaches once again. On his second effort, he was successful and so began a career that took him across the country playing for various minor league teams, including the farm teams for the Montreal Expos.

Although Sullivan looks back on those times fondly, he

knew that his calling wasn’t playing baseball -- it was coaching baseball.

“I knew I wanted to coach baseball back when I was in junior high,” Sullivan said. “I got the coaching bug early.”

So in May of 1990, when the tiresome work and travel of playing professional baseball finally got to him, Sullivan officially retired from it. He went on to get a teaching credential and taught physical education and coached various sports around the FUHSD and the Bay Area before coming to MVHS four years ago.

When he first got here, he took the position of assistant coach to the varsity baseball team. Four years later, he is at the head of the team.

Looking back two decades later, Sullivan credits his former career as invaluable experience to his current one.

The skills and techniques he picked up as a player are now paying huge dividends to him as a coach.

“I’m very analytical, I don’t think I could watch a game for the pleasure, “ Sullivan said. “I always think a step or two ahead and I try to get my players to do that, too.”

Sullivan also believes that his experience is a valuable tool in helping guide his current players when they look at their baseball futures.

“Some of these guys have the dream [of playing

professional baseball],” Sullivan said. “And knowing what type of work ethic and commitment it takes helps.”

The varsity assistant coach, social studies teacher Nick Bonacorsi also briefly played collegiate baseball at San Diego State University and agrees that the experience from that higher level of play is invaluable.

“It validates us a little more in terms of what we’re saying,” Bonacorsi said. “Knowing what it’s like and what skills it takes to play at the college level.”

More than anything the experience gives both Bonacorsi and Sullivan and air of authority with their players. Senior Aaron Mack who is in his fourth year as an MVHS baseball player, noted that knowing their coaches past does have an effect on the players.

“I just trust what they say,” Mack said. “And I try to listen to what they say because I know they know what they’re talking about” And they know what they’re talking about because even though they can no longer play, they still love the sport. Although Sullivan stopped playing relatively early, he noted that every spring since he stopped he gets a little excited. And when asked if given the opportunity he would try to play again, his response left no room for debate.

“In a heartbeat.”

CrossFit training system modifies routine swimming workouts New intense coaching program changes up the pace of swim team’s morning practices

Minh Bui | El Estoque

FLY AWAY Senior Chelsea Fong races the 50 yard butterfly and placed first at the Los Gatos High School meet.

by Victor Kuo

E

very athlete knows the feeling of a tough, long workout. It’s hard during the actual training but the feeling of euphoria that comes after makes it more than worth it. And any tough, long workout should have certain characteristics: strengthen the body, build the endurance and hone the skills. And the girls swim team has taken this idea to heart.

The girls swim team has undertaken a new training

program this season; called CrossFit. The gym, centered in San Jose, is maintained by coaches who successfully train swimmers through that program. Different or multiples coaches come every session and help the girls through different exercises.

“As well as teaching and coaching [at MVHS], I coach at DACA and one of the coaches there who is also the women’s assistant [swim] coach at San Jose State [University] is a big advocate of CrossFit and has her own CrossFit gym,” girls swim coach Don Vierra said. “A lot of the teams at San Jose State right now that are doing CrossFit are improving.

The workout is by no means easy. Usually every other week, it takes place in the wrestling room, rather than in the pool. It consists of the timed repetition of standard excercises such as push-ups, sit-ups and squats. During the workout the girls compete against the time and grow stronger by working to beat previous records. It’s no walk in the park. It’s tough.

“It’s super intense. We don’t do it for very long but by the end you can barely move and your muscles are like quivering,” senior swimmer Emily Wong said. “The first time I did it I could barely move my arms for like a week, but it just means you’re getting stronger and in better shape, so it’s nice.”

The concept of the entire program focuses on the basics of human fitness. The dry-land training does not focus on specifically swimming skills or techniques but rather on the

big picture, on the essentials, such as strength, endurance, flexibility and stamina.

“Philosophically it makes a lot of sense from my stand point,” said Vierra. “The beautiful thing about CrossFit is that it starts at the core of the body—and that’s what swimming is, it starts at the core—and works itself out to the limbs.”

The core, essential for every sport, is maintained through basic training as described above. And while this is accomplished by other teams in the weight room, the girls swim team has decided to utilize the CrossFit program instead of lifting heavy weights.

“It helps you learn how to lift weights without the weights,” junior Sonika Singh said. “We don’t know how to use techniques [in the weight room] at all, so it’s conceptually good.”

Tough, but worth it. Tough, but successful. The duality of this feeling has registered in many of the girls on the team. With the huge success of the program, the girls swim team hopes to continue with this in future years, since the program has ended for this season. Meanwhile, the girls of this year’s team reflect on their experiences with the new workout regement.

“I guess it’s just one of those hate/love relationships,” Wong said. “You hate it when you’re actually doing it, but when you’re done, it feels so good and it’s something to be proud of.”

PAGE 16

APRIL 7, 2010

EL ESTOQUE SPORTS

THE PAGE THE PLAYERS

A LOOK BACK AT THE MONTH IN SPORTS VARSITY SOFTBALL VS SANTA CLARA

THE GAME

VARSITY BADMINTON

Gary Wang Boys singles varsity number one junior Gary Wang has been an integral part of the team since his freshman year. As a freshman, Wang competed as the varsity number two for the team, behind his brother Michael Wang. After his brother graduated, Wang played as the varsity number one last year, when he placed third in the boys singles CCS tournament. Wang also competes at a high level outside of high school. Last December, Wang placed third in mixed doubles at the Winter National Tournament.

Erin Chiu | El Estoque

El Estoque: You’re varsity number one this year. How long have you been playing for?

Jordan Lim | El Estoque

SWING FOR THE FENCES Left fielder #15 senior Yugia Ding swings at a pitch from Santa Clara pitcher #7 Mikaela Ebner in the Matadors 1-6 league loss to the Bruins on April 1.

GW: Yeah, I play at the Golden Gate Badminton Club once a week, every Friday. I also practice every Saturday with a smaller group.

Gary Wang: I’ve been playing badminton for about three and a half years. It’ll be my fourth year in a couple months. I started playing in my freshman year.

MONTA VISTA MATADORS

EE: What would you say your playing style is? Do you have a particular game plan that you try and stick with?

EE: Did you play any other sports before playing badminton?

by Jordan Lim

T

he varisty girls softball team had a tough 6-1 loss to the Santa Clara Bruins in a league game on April 1. Currently, the Matadors have a record of 2-1 in league and have nine games left in their season.

The game against the Bruins proved to be an exercise in resilience as they gave up too many runs too early in the game and were forced to play catch up for the remainder.

The game started off poorly for the Matadors.

Santa Clara went eight batters into their rotation and scored four runs in the top of the first. MVHS responded with three singles and a stolen third base that put them on the scoreboard at the end of the first inning with one run.

Both teams had strong pitching in the second inning and no runs were scored. In the third inning, Santa Clara had another strong hitting streak, highlighted by a triple that went deep to right field.

The bears scored another two runs during the top of the third, putting the score at six to one, and building their lead to five runs.

The Matadors were able to find an answer for

GW: In badminton you can’t say specifically what kind of game you are going to play. It all depends on who you are playing. I try to tire the opponents out and play a really fast game. But let’s say that I’m playing someone more conditioned than me. Instead of making the guy run around with slow placement shots, I’d play more aggressively and try to end the match quickly.

GW: I used to play basketball, but I was really short. I was like 4’ 11” or something. I was definitely below five feet. Not the best size for a basketball player. My brother suggested that I switch to badminton when I got to MVHS. EE: Are there any skills that you had from basketball that helped you out when switching to Badminton?

EE: Is there some move or skill that you utilize that others don’t?

GW: I know that I’m one of the only players who jumps on every shot in the back court. The reason I do that is because if you have a higher contact point, you can get more angle on your shot and you can use less energy and hit it just as far.

GW: Yeah. The agility and conditioning you get from basketball helped me a lot in badminton. Both are quick games that require a lot of endurance.

EE: Do you play anywhere outside of the school team?

1

THE TEAM

SANTA CLARA BRUINS

6

Santa Clara’s offense in the top of the fourth. Strong pitching from sophomore Alanna Onishi and some nice defensive plays from the Matadors’ infield held the Bruins at six runs for the rest of the game.

“Our defense was much better than our offense this game,” right fielder junior Lucia Lin said. “We only had one error, which was in the first inning when they scored a bunch of runs. After the third inning, we played better defense.”

The defense improved as the game progressed, but MVHS ran into a hitting slump. MVHS only got one runner on base in the fourth inning and had three batters ground out in the fifth.

The batting slump ended at the end of the game.

The Mats found their bats in the seventh and eighth innings, finishing the game with eight hits, only one less than Santa Clara. Sophomore Julia Peters was an integral part of the Matadors batting success, hitting four for four, and finishing the game with two doubles and one RBI. Their improved hitting put runners in scoring position multiple times, and the Matadors had the bases loaded in both the sixth and seventh innings.

But MVHS was unable to capitalize off of their chances late in the game and didn’t score.

THE PLAYERS AND PERSONALITIES OF THE VARSITY BOYS TENNIS TEAM Erin Chiu | El Estoque

Junior Alex Chin Chin has the most lucky shots out of all the players on the team.

Senior Suhas Shekar Shekar does a “Shake ‘n Bake” victory dance on the court every time he wins.

Junior Dewal Gupta Gupta makes too many grunting noises while playing, according to his team.

Junior Jonathan Cheong Cheong is “the singer” because he sings a lot during practice.

Senior Thomas Chow Chow is described by his teammates as the most serious person on the team.

Junior Ryan Mui Mui wears a three foot long bracelet around his wrist for good luck.

Junior Neeren Patki Patki makes up raps on the court during practice.

Sophomore Nathan Law Law has to go wipe the sweat off his face with a towel about every 30 seconds during matches.

Junior Saumit Bhave Bhave is known for his “opposite biceps,” because his biceps stick out in an abnormal way.

Freshman Jeremy Liu Liu is known to be the biggest giggler on the team.

Senior Aditya Mangipudi Mangipudi was nicknamed Mango because he’s “so sweet on the court.”

Sophomore Ryunosuke Goto Goto has the most expensive racket on the team.

Junior Kevin Jiang Jiang’s teammates know him as “the one who shows up to practice.”

Junior Leon Nguy Nguy does a secret handshake with doubles partner junior Neeren Patki before matches.

Sophomore Alan Nguyen Nguyen is the most injury-prone player.

APRIL 7, 2010

EL ESTOQUE SPORTS

The lunchtime final four

PAGE 17

SAMVED SANGAMESWARA

For the LOVE of the GAME

Take us out to the ballgame

E

very time April rolls around, I end up spending an excessive amount of time doing something I find wholly unnecessary: defending baseball.

Year after year, I have to deal with people who choose to spend their spring whining about how “baseball is boring.” As a fan of the American classic, I take it upon myself to do the sport justice and tell these people that they are plain wrong. I’m not saying that it’s the most exhilarating event, but baseball games certainly have a character that I think is just going unnoticed. Simply put, I think I need to do my job to show those around me that they are missing a diamond in the sports rough when they blow off baseball and show them why it’s important to acknowledge the sport.

All photos by Sungwoo Lee | El Estoque

HIGH SCHOOL MARCH MADNESS (Top left) Freshman David Lai blocks senior Samir Bhatt while keeping hold of the ball, (top right) senior Ambuj Punn twists away, (bottom right) sophomore David Ching guards sophomore Jalaj Punn, (bottom middle) sophomore Blair Li runs down the court, (bottom left) senior Aditya Mangapudi dribbles the ball down the court.

Fairy champs 20-12 final score, Ball Hogs lose game

FINAL FOUR Meet the members of the top four teams of intramural basketball

DUCK SQUAD

BALL HOGS

by Natalie Chan

T

The two teams Foothill Express Fairies and Ball Hogs played the final match of Intramural Basketball on April 1 in the main gym.

The game started slowly with both teams scoring evenly, but Foothill took the lead in the middle of the first half, they held onto it and finished the game with a 20-12 victory.

Although the Ball Hogs scored the first points in the game, they couldn’t keep up with the pace of the game.

But even several turnovers later with Foothill in possession, the Ball Hogs held a solid defense.

Foothill senior Aditya “Mango” Mangipudi made the first three-pointer of the game, making the score up to 7-6 with Foothill in the lead. For the rest of the game, the Ball Hogs never took back the lead.

by Natalie Sophomore Blair Li attempted Chan multiple solo fast breaks that started from the backcourt, often times attempting to drive to the hoop in one versus three situations. Foothill made it tough for him to finish, contesting each drive, going up for blocks and sometimes fouling. The result of the heavy pressure was a 14-12 lead for Foothill going into halftime.

At the start of the second half, Ball Hog freshman Wajhee Amer stole the ball from Mangipudi near half court and scored on an open layup. That was the last time the Ball Hogs scored for the rest of the game. They were unable to get their shots to fall and ran into trouble getting into the lane. Strong defense and some clutch shots allowed Foothill to cruise to an easy 20-12 victory.

Although Foothill won with an eight point lead, the team was not satisfied with the level of play in the tournament championship match.

“Both teams played pretty badly, but we played slightly better. However, it was still pretty bad,” senior Foothill player Shan Hansra said.

Jordan Lim | El Estoque

From top left clockwise: Sophomores Blair Li, David Li, David Ching, freshman Wajhee Amer, senior Jon Yao, freshman David Lai

Jordan Lim | El Estoque

From left to right: Juniors Kaushik Kondubhatla, Akshat Keshan, Ajit Ravisaravanan, Sukrit Dhir, Saumit Bhave, Ajay Swaminathan

FOOTHILL EXPRESS FAIRIES

BYE

Jordan Lim | El Estoque

From left to right: Sophomore Jalaj Punn, seniors Aditya Mangapudi, Abhishek Khurana, Shan Hansra, Ambuj Punn, Samir Bhatt

Samved Sangameswara | El Estoque

From left to right: Seniors Ankit Dubey, Sid Menon, Jonathan Huang, Tomer Lev, Vikram Ramadas

The tournament wound down from 27 teams and 25 games to a final four. On March 31 and April 1 the final four teams duked it out and after defeating the Duck Squad, the Foothill Express Fairies defeated the Ball Hogs 20-12 and claimed the title of Intramural Basketball Champions.

BYE-16 Ball Hogs - 12 Ball Hogs - 17

Foothill Express Fairies

Foothill Express Fairies-12 Foothill Express Fairies-20 Duck Squad - 11

You need to be there

First, I will concede one point, watching baseball on television isn’t exactly thrilling.

I understand that if you don’t get the sport, watching it on the small screen isn’t too great, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

What truly makes watching baseball a noteworthy experience is going out to a real game and watching the sport live.

I think what makes live baseball work is the fact that it’s an entirely different experience. On any level—professional, high school, even little league—it’s not like other sports. Baseball isn’t about edge of your seat entertainment or fast paced action. Watching baseball games is more about being able to sit back and take it slow.

Calling baseball boring for that reason is like discounting a nice bike ride because you can drive fast cars instead.

Take it slow

More than anything, the attitude I see people take toward baseball is what I find frustrating. Instead of taking the sport at face value, people draw out comparisons with the goal of just putting the sport down. Baseball may not have frequent scoring like basketball or jaw-dropping hits like football, but it doesn’t have to.

Going to a baseball game is such a good experience because the pace allows for the kind of relaxation that’s seldom found in sports these days. It’s comparable to soccer, another severely undervalued sport. Both soccer and baseball share the experience of the casual spectator experience. It’s mellow with a few moments of sheer excitement and recognizing that fact instead of drawing unnecessary comparisons makes the experience much more enjoyable.

Play ball

Baseball has its place in Americana because of its association with that tranquility. People associate the game with the dog days of summer and the freshness of spring and it would truly be a shame if that appreciation was lost because of our shorter attention spans.

It’s sad to see the turnout at our baseball games. Aside from the handful of parents that show up, it’s a victory if there are even five students there on their own free will.

We have a prime opportunity right here in our backyard to experience this bit of American culture and we’re putting it to waste.

I defend baseball not because I particularly love the sport, but because I feel like people are cheating themselves out of an experience. The comparisons they draw to put down the sport do no one a favor. I can almost guarantee that if you all slow down and take baseball for what it is, you won’t regret it.

PAGE 18

EL ESTOQUE SPORTS

APRIL 7, 2010

Young team learns badminton quickly Junior varsity team deals with having fewer experienced players after tryouts for season

by Ashley Wu

M

VHS badminton suffered a devastating loss this year. It wasn’t just a match, it was something much bigger. As the new season began last month the team lost over one-third of their players from last year to graduation.

The result of the loss is that the team is now working hard to train a new crop of players for the current season as well as future years. In addition to increased training, senior co-captain Tiffany Chang noted that the loss of so many players has left the varsity girls team in a unique position.

“Basically for tryouts, it was really hard because there were barely enough girls to form a team,” Chang said. “Then for guys, there was double the number that we needed. For guys, we had to make a lot of cuts, and for girls, everyone made the team.”

Chang predicted that due to the small turnout this year, the team as a whole will have to work harder. The junior varsity team is almost all new players, as they had to put all the returning, more experienced players on varsity. The new team isn’t too comfortable playing with each other yet. According to Chang, the junior varsity girls have extra Friday practices to improve.

Natalie Wong | El Estoque

FLYING BIRDIES The girls junior varsity badminton team practice throwing birdies to improve their form.

“If you’re able to play with your partner more, you definitely communicate better on the court,” Chang said. “You know how your partner moves. Like every sport, you need to practice; the more you practice, the better you’ll get.”

Because both the junior varsity and varsity teams have large shoes to fill, they hold extra practices to

learn the basics and the best ways to work together. Both teams won first place in the Santa Clara Athletic League last year, but they lost some of their best players to college. Assistant coach and class of 2009 alumnus Brendan Dinh is admittedly a little worried about the outcome of the season with all the new players.

“Last year, junior varsity tied with Lynbrook for first, but [at the last game] they beat us easy,” Dinh said. “Also, we only beat Fremont 8-7 [this year], which is not good because we’re in a higher league than they’re in.”

According to Chang, because members of the class of 2009 made up about a third of the previous

team, the new players are working to step it up to match the skill of the former team. However, a lot of the other schools in the Santa Clara league have had ‘09 players leave as well, so the current players in all the schools have to step it up.

Dinh predicted that varsity will be pretty well off because of the experience in the returning players, but that junior varsity will have to work extremely hard and take their playing to the next level to beat the tough teams in their league, especially because some of the new girls on the team even had to be taught the basics of how to play badminton.

“Personally, I need to work on my power, shots, and footwork,” varsity player sophomore Rachel Chiou said. “But overall, [junior varsity] just needs to work on their shots, and because most of them haven’t played before, they need to work on their basics.”

Despite the tough start to the season, Chang thinks that with enough training and playing in games, the team has a good chance of doing well in league, but as of now, it’s still difficult to predict how the season is going to turn out.

“We’ve only had a few games,” Chang said, “so it’s hard to judge [the competition] right now. We have yet to see.”

High school student finds time to do two sports in one season Junior Grant Manley plays varsity baseball and hurdles for varsity track and field in spring

by Erin Chiu

I

Minh Bui | El Estoque

BATTER UP Junior Grant Manley prepares to swing at a pitch thrown by Wilcox’s pitcher in a league game that took place on April 2. MVHS lost 0-9.

Manley is an outfielder and a pitcher on the team, and he also hurdles for the track and field team.

t’s not very often that you see a student finish baseball practice, then rush to a track and field meet. However, for junior Grant Manley, practice doesn’t just end at 5 p.m.

After transferring from Saint Francis High School in Mountain View to MVHS earlier this year, Manley was put in a complicated predicament as the spring season approached.

Last year, Manley did not play baseball at SFHS and instead did hurdles.

“Baseball had always been my main sport,” Manley said. “But when I didn’t make the team at [SFHS], I did track instead. I was good at it and it was fun.”

Though that may have worked out for Manley at his previous school, it was hard for him to choose at MVHS when it came down to deciding which sport he wanted to play. Manley deliberated for a long time and entertained several options, but then came up with an idea that he hoped would work.

Upon ending the winter boys soccer season, Manley and his father approached baseball coach and physical education teacher Brian Sullivan

with a heavily scheduled but workable and feasible plan. Manley wanted to do two sports in one season.

This idea was not new to Sullivan. In previous years, a few others have approached him with this idea with the hope that they would be able to participate in two sports in one season.

When Manley approached him, Sullivan was not hesitant to allow him to participate in both track and field and baseball.

“You’re only in high school once,” Sullivan said.

They came to an agreement. Baseball would be his first priority, and if he had time after baseball practices, he would go to track practice. So far, Manley says he has been balancing this well. Prior to the season beginning, Sullivan and track and field hurdles coach Ray Cornell communicated by phone to work out any conflicts between baseball games and track meets.

“There haven’t been any conflicts yet, but we’ll just have to wait until SCVAL finals for track and CCS for baseball,” Sullivan said.

As for next year, Manley is waiting to see how the balance of school work and two sports will work out for him.

Let’s bounce

Get your Summer Blast Pass and GO with VTA!

On Sale May 1st

20

10

UT

H

SBP

YO

s st Pas er Bla 31 Summe 1 – August

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

Jun

3AME GREAT PRICE AS LAST YEAR 00 $75 00/NLY

s &OR KIDS 1 YEARS UNDER s 'ET UNLIMITED RIDES IN *UNE *ULY !UGUST s 'ET FREE OFFERS DISCOUNTS FROM 64! PARTNERS s %NTER TO WIN ONE OF TEN 7ESTFIELD -ALL GIFT CARDS www.vta.org/sbp s s TTY (408) 321-2330

1003-7210

a&e

PAGE 20 Students use body as canvas

PAGE 21 Matadors take on three local food challenges

19

PAGE 23 Find the trendiest downtown in the area

We are the world

Diversity Day brings MVHS around the globe in one assembly

by Joseph Beyda

Hawaiian heritage Stefan Ball | El Estoque Photo Illustration

DIVERSITY PERFORMERS (From left) senior Reva Bhatt, junior Alex Shung, senior YeeAnn Chen, sophomore Sammi Howard pose for portraits April 3. The Diversity Day assembly on Friday will feature MV Bhangra Team, Martial Arts Club, Chinese dance club and hula along with other cultural groups.

MV Bhangra Team

Martial Arts Club

Chinese Dance Club

Hawaiian Hula

M

M

C

T

V Bhangra is back again at this year’s Diversity Day assembly.

Their performance, energetic and loud as ever, blends together classical Indian and modern Western dance.

Bhangra team captain senior Reva Bhatt thinks the audience will like the modern aspects of the performance. The decision to move in this direction was made primarily to ensure the audience’s enjoyment.

“We want them to be as excited as we are,” she said.

To produce this effect, Bhatt and the other captains designed costumes they hope will be more exciting than in the past, though they are a secret for now.

MV Bhangra faced an interesting challenge in creating the performance, as nearly half the team graduated last year. The new faces, many of them underclassmen, have been practicing with the rest of the team for Diversity Day since November.

It’s Bhangra’s first performance of the year, but Bhatt feels the team is prepared.

“We always tell them that the things we’ve done so far all boil down to Diversity Day,” she said.

artial Arts Club has a challenge of its own in finding something original to please the crowd in the ancient form of defense. According to club co-president junior Alex Shung, that task gets harder with each and every Diversity Day assembly.

But this year, Martial Arts Club is using a sparring sequence with a weapon that will leave everyone surprised—and laughing.

“We’re going purely for humor here,” Shung said.

Another notable aspect of the performance is the sequence at the beginning, featuring the club’s newer members. Here, they are punching, kicking and shouting in tight formation, instead of sparring with weapons That is left to the more advanced members, who display their abilities with swords and wooden sticks. The ending sequences they participate in are focused primarily on suspense; expect to see performers flipping around the gym floor.

“We want people thinking, ‘Wow, what would happen if something went wrong and he died,’” Shung said.

hinese Dance Club usually sends out orders for its costumes, but this year, they designed and made their own. Each dancer bought their own shirt and felt, and then members and their parents helped sew on the felt on to create the desired designs. Senior YeeAnn Chen explains that the effort required much planning and work on the part of the entire club, especially the officers.

At this Friday’s Diversity Day assembly, the club is performing a Dai dance, which comes from a Chinese ethnic group of the same name.

Two years ago, the club’s dance utilized fans, but this year, they are using bright red umbrellas to imitate a peacock as well as putting peacock feathers in their hair.

“We thought that it looked really uniform, but cool in that sense,” club president senior YeeAnn Chen said.

Chen expects the club to be more prepared than in the past years. The dance, called “Red is Red, Green is Green,” is a modern Chinese dance that the club has adopted in order to include all club members, regardless of their skill level.

hough sophomore Sammi Howard connects with her mother’s homeland, the Hawaiian islands, through visits to relatives, she gets in touch with her heritage on an even more frequent basis.

Howard took up hula dancing when she was four; ever since, she has been practicing with the group Hula Halau O’ Pi’ilani as often as five times a week. With the group, Howard has traveled to competitions in places such as Hawaii and Oregon.

She plans to apply that experience at the assembly as she performs a hula dance of the relatively modern Auana style, which utilizes the ukulele over the more ancient drums. The dance features grace, as well as constant movement of the entire body.

Howard expects her performance will be fresh to MVHS. “It’s something that people haven’t seen before,” she said.

Howard’s costume, specific to the Auana style, accentuates the color green just as her dance does. The song to which she is dancing, “Ka Beauty A’o Manoa,” owes its name to a valley in the Hawaiian island of Oahu and emphasizes the valley’s natural beauty in the form of its green cliffs.

Marquesas bring Kick routine national title back home For the first time in four years, dance team sees return to glory with a win in Anaheim

by Varshini Cherukupalli

S

itting in a circle, the Marquesas remember holding hands and closing their eyes. Two teams were competing in the championship finals round, but only one would take home the prize. A long pause ensued, followed by: “In second place, from Boise..Centennial High School!”

Shock.

“And our national champions in championship Kick...

Monta Vista!”

Last week, the Marquesas competed at Dance Nationals in Anaheim. For the first time since 2006, they placed first in the Kick Division. In addition, the Marquesas placed fifth in the Large and Character divisions, 12th in Medium and 19th in Small Lyrical.

However, the Marquesas will face a different type of challenge next year. With nine seniors on the Kick routine this year, out of a total of 18 members, they must focus on rebuilding and training the new members to achieve their full potential. That will take time, explains coach Hilary Maxwell, but it is all about having the determination within the team as a whole.

“I feel that this was a process that was four years in the making,” Maxwell said. “Next year, we have to have the focus and drive to work as a team to get that done.”

Elect co-captain junior Carolyn Chang agrees, and she believes that with the extra motivation, the Marquesas will be able to do well.

“I don’t think we’re going to do anything different [in terms of practices],” Chang said. “But I really have faith in the new members. We just need to encourage them.

We all have the confidence for next year’s team—instead of just focusing on the end goal, at nationals, we’ll work for it together throughout the whole year.”

And it was that cohesiveness within the team this year that helped the Marquesas become national champions in Kick. Ever since the beginning of the year, they welcomed the new members and were able to overcome the social “awkwardness” that might have posed an obstacle, according to senior Frances Jih. “I felt like this year, there was no line between old members and new members. Everybody just bonded,” Jih said. “There’s that energy that passes on. You just kind of feel it. Next year, it will be all about working with each other and getting to know each other better.”

courtesy of Adam Schadle

GOING FOR THE GOLD The Marquesas’ Kick team’s dedication and hard work paid off, earning them a first place at Nationals on March 27. It was the first time they took the national title since 2006.

For Jih, though, a three-year member of the team, the emotions that the Marquesas experienced after winning at nationals will be forever memorable .

“It’s one of the best moments I’ve had in high school,” Jih said. “It was a mixture of shock and love for the team.

It was true happiness, and it was real.”

PAGE 20

EL ESTOQUE A&E

APRIL 7, 2010

Clubs in a flash Dissecting the future

by Sarika Patel and Joseph Beyda

F

reshman Biology classes dissect pigs to introduce freshmen to frog anatomy, which is similar to human anatomy.

Taking it a step further, Future Phycisicans of America provided students with the opportunity to dissect dogfish, a species of shark. Starting March 29, the club held dogfish dissections at lunch in room B103. There were two sessions which were three days each. The second session began April 5 and ended today at lunch time.

“So many people signed up for [it] that we needed to have two separate sessions otherwise there would be too many people,” junior president Dewal Gupta said.

Future Physicians of America is a newly restarted club which received club status last November. The club disintegrated due to lack of enthusiasm from the members and officer team. Now, the purpose of the club is to better educate students who are interested in being physicians or are interested in the medical field. This is the club’s first activity of the semester and began with a great start.

The dissection was led by the officers of the club who spent the last two weekends watching videos, practicing and studying the dissection procedure.

Sarika Patel | El Estoque

PRACTICE PROCEDURE Sophomores Christina Wong and Jennifer Ho dissect a dogfish during the first session of Future Physicians of America’s dissection. The activity took place at lunch on March 29 and was the restarted club’s first activity. The club officers led the dissection by watching videos and researching the anatomy.

Valuing life through ‘Bella’

Eradicating polio by giving coins

A

lthough called coin wars, these battles, organized by Interact, are for a good cause.

Interact organized a school-wide fundraiser and competition to end polio which started March 29 and will end April 8. Like a traditional donation drive, students can donate coins to provided envelopes in their fifth period classrooms to earn points.

To spice things up, students can also put bills in other classrooms’ envelopes to deduct points from that classroom’s total. The winning class gets a pizza party.

“It adds class rivalry and competition,” Interact officer junior Andrew Shiah said.

Interact hopes to raise $1,000 in the competition, which will be donated to End Polio Now. This year, Interact is also teaming up with its parent organization, Rotary, which has been fundraising for End Polio Now for some time. International Night, which is also organize d by Interact and will be taking place on April 9, will also benefit the organization.

M

V Students for Life, another new club this semester, had their first club movie viewing at lunch on March 25. The club showed the film “Bella” and offered attendees doughnuts hoping to get a larger turnout.

“A lot of people came and just got doughnuts and left,” sophomore founder Maya Lewis said. “But a lot of people stayed who were interested in the club.”

The club used this time not only to show a video but also to promote the club to the interetesd members.

They spent the time explaining the goals of the club and what they are hoping to achieve over all.

The movie “Bella,” which won the People’s Choice award at the Toronto Film Festival addresses abortion and euthanasia—two of the issues which MV Students for Life is trying to spread awareness about.

In the future, the club plans on bringing guest speakers to campus and hosting fundraisers with proceeds going to pregnancy support companies.

A night under the stars

L

iterally “Under the Stars”, viewers watched “The Blind Side” projected on the student center ceiling on April 3 during Youth Commission’s Night Under the Stars event. The event raised funds for Rebuilding Silicon Valley. Viewers were encouraged to bring sleeping bags to the event so that they would be more comfortable.

Tickets were $3 in advance and $4 at the door.

Popcorn and drinks were provided. The commission, which is actually a part of Community Leadership and not a club, hoped to raise $200 at the event.

“We were given the task of organizing a fundraiser for Rebuilding Silicon Valley,” senior Nirali Shah, in charge of Youth Commission, said. “We thought a movie would be cool.”

Each commission runs its own fundraiser, Shah explained. At the end of the year, the Community Leadership class will use the money raised for a service project with Rebuilding Silicon Valley.

Ballet dancer performs for thirteen years without pressure

Even after taking ballet for years, senior Tiffany Woo’s dancing still purely recreational

by Sarika Patel

T

hirteen years ago senior Tiffany Woo sat on a stool for a full hour in order to join the Dancing Sun Foundation for ballet. As a four-year-old, she didn’t know that she was sitting to be able to dance, but an hour later she proved to her to teacher that she wasn’t too young to understand the discipline required for ballet.

Her mother wanted to enroll Woo in some form of dance to release her energy and spontaneously chose ballet. Ten years after beginning, Woo was selected to be the principle dancer for her ballet. Along with being the lead, she got the chance to dance with a male partner, something very rare in the ballet world.

Before she was given the opportunity to be the principle dancer, ballet was not a passion but more of a hobby for Woo. When she was given the lead position, though, she began to take her ballet more seriously.

“I knew that I couldn’t take it easy after becoming the main dancer,” Woo said.

“There were too many people depending on me to let them down.”

As principle dancer, she is given the opportunity to dance at festivals and performances that attract a bigger audience. With her male lead, she is able to perform pieces that others can’t. As Woo continued to learn more complex routines, ballet began to grow on her. Woo recalls that when she first started ballet, she didn’t even know that she was going to end up doing it for so long and assumed it would be a short lived activity.

Unfortunately, the intense discipline her teacher expected of Woo when she was four did not grow along with Woo’s growth as ballerina. Without pressure from her teacher or her parents Woo never thought of ballet as a possible career, but simply as something to de-stress.

Senior Micheal Wu had seen her perform multiple times before and was impressed by how Woo looked so strong but graceful as a ballerina. Her strength and agility inspired him to take a class with her.

After taking one of the—minute classes, he realized there was a lot more to her Woo’s performance than she showed on her face.

“When I took a class with her, I was sweating like crazy, but she was totally fine

and made it look so easy,” Wu said.

After taking classes with her Wu can understand why she would not want to make dance her profession, even though she has all the talent. In class she has the ability to stay focused—not let her mind or body wander from the rountine, but after experiencing the intenstiy Wu sees why Woo would choose not to focus on ballet for the rest of her life.

Woo is certain that she will not pursue ballet as a career simply because she waited too long to make it her profession. She says that she does not necessarily regret that decision because she feels that if she would have been pushed more and pressured, it could have pushed her away from loving the dance.

In order to stay connected with ballet, Woo has considered opening her own studio when she gets older and teaching little kids. She says that wants to incorporate discipline while at the same time pushing them to their full potential.

“I would push students when they are younger because that’s the age you can and the age when they don’t have their own limits,” Woo said.

Photo courtesy of Ken Woo

DANCING WITH GRACE Senior Tiffany Woo poses for a photo at the Dancing for Sun Foundation, the dance studio where she has been taking ballet for 13 years.

APRIL 7, 2010

EL ESTOQUE A&E

PAGE 21

Food fight: Students take on challenge Three students participate in local eating contests with hopes of winning prize and pride country race but harder!”

With only two spectators, there isn’t much pressure on Fernandes. He begins slowly, but as the clock reaches seven minutes, Fernandes starts to slow down. Not wanting to continue soon after, Fernandes stops eating after finishing half of the cookie, just short of the amount that he completed in his previous attempt. Staring at the amount left on the platter, Fernandes is disappointed.

However, even after half of an oversized cookie, Fernandes still had space for some savory food.

“I really wanted to beat my previous record,” Fernandes said. “Now all I really want are some sliders.”

by Erin Chiu

N

ot all dishes are created equal. Sometimes when you order a plate of hot wings you’re under a tight time limit, or your average Pizookie grows by 8 inches, or your typical banana split doubles. Restaurants offer food challenges to test their fans, and El Estoque asked three students to take on the challenge. The results were not pretty.

Smoke Eater’s 911 Challenge

Twenty minutes. That’s all it took for senior David Hurng to soak in the full extent of what he had just gotten himself into during Santa Clara’s Smoke Eaters’ Hellfire Challenge.

It was in those 20 minutes of waiting for Hurng’s order of hot wings when the nerves began to kick in. In the Smoke Eaters’ Hellfire challenge, the eater must devour 12 of their spiciest chicken wings in 10 minutes or less to earn a spot on Smoke Eaters’ wall which is covered in Polaroid pictures of all the challenge winners.

“I got a lot of tips from friends,” Hurng said. “One of my friends suggested that I eat a lot of rice before so that the sauce doesn’t hurt my stomach too much.”

As the suspense of the upcoming task built up, Hurng chewed on Tums, discussing a strategy with several supportive friends.

The wings finally arrived and Hurng’s friends burst into an excited chatter. Restaurant customers began to turn until all eyes were on Hurng in curiosity. Hurng devoured the first wing without even a drop of sweat, then began his second, then third. By the fourth wing, Hurng began sweat and his eyes started to water. Jumping up and down as if in a boxing match, Hurng began his fifth and final wing, but could not continue. An hour after he stopped the challenge, Hurng could still feel the sauce inside his stomach.

“I wouldn’t recommend anyone else doing it,” Hurng said. “I’m still glad that I tried it though.”

BJ’s Pizookie Challenge

Sophomore Neil Fernandes cringes at the thought of devouring yet another 14-inch Chocolate Chunk Pizookie

Baskin-Robbins’ Tornado Club Challenge

Erin Chiu | El Estoque

THAT’S HOT Senior David Hurng takes on Smoke Eaters’

Hellfire Challenge on March 26. He was only able to eat five of the 12 hot wings. from Cupertino’s BJ’s Restaurant and Brewery. The thought of his previous experience, in which he completed three quarters of the cookie and, before long, regurgitated the sweet treat, still brings butterflies to his stomach along with the nerves about completing the challenge once again.

With only a banana from earlier that morning in his stomach, Fernandes readies himself for the onerous task.

Minutes before his second attempt, Fernandes is already certain that he will not complete the challenge.

“I’m really nervous,” Fernandes said. “This is like a cross

Hair wet, toting her swim bag, junior Nikki Danese arrives at Baskin-Robbins with a post-swim practice appetite.

Confident in her ability to complete most of Baskin-Robbins’ Tornado Club Challenge, in which competitors must devour six scoops of ice cream, two bananas, six toppings, whipped cream, almonds and cherries, Danese prepares to order. Having already carefully thought through her own strategy for success, Danese orders her lineup.

“Two scoops of Jamoca Almond Fudge, two mint chocolate chip, a scoop of Pistachio, and a scoop of Strawberry,” Danese said confidently.

The Baskin-Robbins worker adds two bananas, hot fudge, strawberry sauce, raspberry sauce, caramel, six mounding dollops of whipped cream and, to top it off, chopped almonds and six cherries. As Danese hands over her $13, she eyes the ice cream.

“I’m starting to think not even my after-swim hunger will help me finish this,” Danese said.

After seating herself in the most secluded part of the small store, Danese begins. Beginning with the scoop of pistachio, Danese works her way around the bowl. Fifteen minutes later, Danese had finished a little more than four scoops and couldn’t eat anymore. However, after she went home she still had room for dinner.

“I definitely don’t think this was good for my lactose intolerance,” Danese said, “but all the ice cream was definitely worth it.”

Playing to his own tune: Composer finds personal inspiration Senior Jeremy Huey exercises creativity and independence, composes for school and self

by Jiachen Yang

F

or most students devoted music, the ability to express the essence of major works defines success.

But when senior Jeremy Huey positions his fingers on piano keys and infuses life into vibrant notes full of expectancy and adventure, he is not playing one of Mozart’s celebrated concertos or Beethoven’s sonatas. Huey, a self-taught composer since eighth grade, is expressing his personal inspirations—he brings his own creations to life. One piece, titled “Escapade,” will be the first piece written by a student that the wind ensemble will play during the Spring Concert on May 20.

“I thought, ‘If adults can write the music, why can’t I?’ While I was supposed to be practicing [the piano], I made up the songs,” Huey said. “My piano teacher yelled at me, but she liked what I showed her. I didn’t think that it was unusual to compose.

I thought it was normal to do [so].”

This spirit of independence persisted through the next few years and materialized in two pieces: “Theme and Waltze from Overtura” in 2008 and “Recollection of a Party at Midnight” in 2009. While he completed these two at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s summer program, “Escapade” is the result of instantaneous inspiration and independent effort.

“One day I was messing on the

piano, [and] came up with the melody.

I just wanted to try [it], there were a few melodies I wanted to piece together, then I had one minute [of the piece],” Huey said. “[‘Escapade’ is] three minutes now and more complex with more added parts.”

Unlike most students of music who grasp the essence of music through practice, Huey begins with meaning as the foundation of his works. He explains that “Escapade” arose from the premise—a theme with no notes or melodies—of a spirit of adventure. After that came the rhythm, the main melody and the harmony of all 32 instruments.

“There’s always some part I start with first. Sometimes it’s a melody. I don’t do them all at once—I’m not Mozart. He could hear them all at once, but I had to make conscious logical choices,” Huey said.

These choices include recommending the timpani player to hold two mallets in each hand and creating various inversions of the time signature for additional flavor.

He also incorporated eight percussion instruments instead of adhering to the conventional range of two to four. Easy in words, but not in musical notes.

“It was literally eight hours a day for a month. I’d start at 4 p.m., [and] then I basically write all the way to 2 a.m.,” Huey said. “[I was] getting three hours of sleep for days in a row.”

But he was not entirely alone in this creative process. Freshman Wen Lee helped

to check the musical equivalents of grammar; advice from ensemble players, coupled with his personal experience as a clarinet, timpani and trumpet player, made “Escapade” more fun to play; and music teacher Jon Fey aided on the logistical aspects while preserving the independent experience.

“I made him Photo courtesy of Jeremy Huey pay attention to DEVOTION Senior Jeremy Huey tunes the timpani at the Firebird Youth the percussion.

That’s a part most Chinese Orchestra’s annual concert in May 2009. His experience musicians leave playing the instrument, along with the trumpet and clarinet, aided out,” Fey said. “I’m the development of his original composition “Escapade.” flattered as well as impressed at how he could take the out, the creative process was absorbing for Huey, and it will continue to be so as suggestion and put them into the piece.”

Huey has tried to make “Escapade” he collaborates with ensemble performers enjoyable for the Spring Concert performers. throughout their preparation. “[Music composition is] something As Fey observes that “Escapade” will be a I enjoy for fun and for the intellectual fresh addition to their repertoire of music. “[They are] looking forward to the piece engagement. It’s an avenue for escape and and to the experience overall, and [to the] it requires a different mindset,” Huey said.

“I look at music in a different way now. feeling of novelty,” Fey said.

But regardless of how the music plays ‘Escapade’ comes naturally to me.”

PAGE 22

EL ESTOQUE A&E

APRIL 7, 2010

Fun and games: Clubs gain from unity Large and small clubs utilize games into their busy schedules to bring members together

by Jordan Lim

W

ork hard, play hard. That’s the attitude a number of clubs on campus take to the work that they do and the reason behind the growing popularity of club socials and bonding events.

The events usual consist of meeting outside of school to just hang out and do something fun. Club officers see it as a way to relax and grow as a club.

Often times the events revolve around games, particularly large group games. Examples of this include Ninja, a game where players stand in a circle and try to “sneak attack” those around them, and Mafia, the popular card game Senior Naicheng Wangyu, the president of the MVHS Friends of Hue Foundation, believes that holding socials for club members is a good idea for any group in general to give members an opportunity to get to know each other. Especially for small clubs, Wangyu notes that the members usually enjoy the experience. “[It’s a] good investment especially if you’re not a huge club,” Wangyu said. “[It’s worth] investing club funds to know members on a more personal level.”

FBLA social event planner Esther Steves agrees, noting that although the events may not be directly related to the club purpose, they help invest members in the club which hopefully pays off in the future.

“The bonding days are very helpful. The people that go and have a good time are more likely to come to the bonding events in the future,” FBLA social event planner Esther Steves said.

And according to Food for All Activities Coordinator junior Tereza Guzman the events are more than worth it. Like Steves said club bonding may be centered around the games, but the contribution that comes from the attendees is invaluable. Food for Activities include making gingerbread houses around the holiday season and a do-it-yourself pizza night. Both are activities Guzman feels are well worth it. “[Club Bonding] is a good way to get feedback and ask what people would like to see happen,” Guzman said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

GAME PROS

The sneaky ninjas of Hue

FBLA takes on the Mafia

Minh Bui | El Estoque

HI-YAH! The Friends of Hue club is having a bonding day at Jollyman Park on Feb. 9. This goups is playing Ninja, a game where a player tries to hit another player’s hand.

I

n between raising money to send to Vietnam and planning community service trips to Hue, Friends of Hue finds time to bring their members together with bonding games. As part of their meetings, members enjoy playing various games to socialize and encourage bonding.

Friends of Hue is a club that supports an orphanage in Vietnam; every summer, a few members travel there to volunteer in the orphanage. During the year, members typically fundraise and hold bonding events.

"The meetings are kind of short and sometimes there isn't enough time for our members to socialize with each other," president of Friends of Hue senior Naicheng Wangyu said. "So having the bonding activities allows people to open up and get to know each other better."

Wangy also described the games they play like “OOO”.

“OOO is a really fun game. The closest —one that is similar to Capture the Flag when played, except that each offensive player must say “ooo” as they run across the field. They try to tag as many people on the opposite side as they can,” Wangyu said.

“And there is a penalty if you are on the opponenet’s side, and you’re trying tag other people, and you stop saying “ooo”. But in the end whatever team has the most people, wins.“ And with all things FHF, OOO finds roots are with the children "One summer when we went to help out the orphanage that we sponsor, the kids their taught us how to play ‘OOO’. Now it's one of our members favorite games to play. Probably tied for first with Ninja."

Victor Kuo | El Estoque

THE FBLA MAFIA FBLA plays Mafia during their meeting on April 1. When they are not busy prepping for competitions, FBLA likes to play games to bring the group together.

F

BLA is a big club and in order for their members to bond, they play a game where they kill each other.

“Our main game is Mafia and we can pretty much play that anywhere”, senior Esther Steves, who is in charge of the clubs’ social events.

Sometimes they also play football and tag. Many of the guys like to play football and when they do, the girls don’t hesitate to join in as well. Not only are boys and girls playing games together, but sometimes they even have friendly competitions.

“We really like to do water balloon fights as well, “ Steves said. “It usually splits up into guys versus girls.”

Not only are these games fun but they help members to get to know each other.

“In the beginning, no one really talks and you don’t know anyone’s names,” Steves said. “So then if you play mafia, well, when we play mafia we say their names too, so then we get to know people and start talking.”

Once people start talking they tend to participate in future bonding events, and also in club activities in general. FBLA has seen an increase in their membership as well as their performance in their competitions, which they believe can partially be attributed to the close-knit culture of the club.

Not only does it help the members of the club, but those who run the club benefit greatly from bonding amongst themselves.

Some activities that they have done in the past are kayaking and a end-of-year dinner at BJ’s.

“If you don’t really know the people you are working with, you won’t work as well,” Steves said.

APRIL 7, 2010

EL ESTOQUE A&E

Cruising around downtown

Discover the best and worst features of four Bay Area main streets

by Hannah Lem and Christophe Haubursin

N

estled between Los Altos’ Foothill Expressway and South San Antonio Rd. lies a quaint little downtown complete with a car-lined main street and a number of European bakeries and delis that shine with picturesque appeal. But besides the lure of the tiny independent Italian food markets and the delectable French crêperie, it can be suspected that the stores were all made for pregnant women. The downtown has dozens of maternity clothing shops, hair and nail salons, and make-your-own pottery stores reminicient of elementary school arts and crafts for young mothers-to-be.

But some of downtown Los Altos restaurants aren’t what they seem. A.G. Ferrari, a seemingly cutesy independent Italian deli, turned out to be a chain with multiple locations across the Bay Area, and Tour Effeil, an apparent French café, ended up being a Vietnamese noodle shop. Go figure.

All things considered, you can eat a meal for under $10, but don’t go to Los Altos to do more than eat, walk, or window shop.

Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque

A

t the entrance of Villa Montalvo Arboretum County Park’s stunning lush green hills lies Downtown Saratoga, a couple blocks lined with trees as luxuriant as the village’s dazzling backdrop. Dozens of motorcycles roar down the streets every few minutes with engines loud enough to burst your eardrums.

Saratoga’s Big Basin Way connects to a winding hill road that’s popular among motorcyclists. Compared to other places, Saratoga’s downtown is based on independent antique and beauty shops juxtaposed with outrageously high-end restaurants like Plumed Horse and La Fondue. You’d have a hard time finding a place to eat without the words “fine” or “gourmet” tacked onto the title or trying to spend less then $10 for a meal.

That’s just about where Saratoga’s appeal ends. The antique stores and one Aegis Gallery of Fine Art are sure to leave youth on a budget with a limited range of options for activities. Nonetheless, the town has a gorgeous scenery and a laid-back ambiance that can prove to be the perfect place to meet for a fancy dinner or stop by after a trip through the County Park.

Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque

San Jose

Los Gatos

ith all the kinds of different public transportation routes, bus stops and stations running through every street, it’s not a surprise that there are all sorts of people walking through Downtown San Jose. There are people returning from or going to work, couples on a date in a nice Italian restaurant and groups of friends hanging out in a nearby bar after a long day’s work. Walking Hannah Lem | El Estoque down the streets, live music can be heard coming from multiple clubs.

San Jose at night, however, is not a place for teenagers to walk around. It’s a nice place for Sharks fans to eat after a game or a college couple to go on their first date, but not for underaged teenagers. Most of the options are bars or clubs and few familyfriendly restaurants. The surrounding area consists of rundown apartment buildings and out-of-business auto repair shops.

As for the day, kids may explore the Tech museum, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library and multiple art galleries.

There are a couple of places to shop but not many brand name stores. In short, Downtown San Jose has just the right forms of transportation to make a perfect day trip, it just wouldn’t be useful for teenagers at night.

D

owntown Los Gatos is the lion compared to the others in the downtown concrete jungle.

It is the biggest of all four areas, spanning a multitude of street blocks and a park that regularly hosts live music.

There’s a broad range of stores suited for audiences with any interest and any budget, ranging from the upscale, like Forbes Mill Steakhouse, to the more affordable, such as Main Street Burgers.

Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque Variety is the theme in Los Gatos, whether it’s food, clothes, books or even kitchen appliances that you are looking for. An abundance of locations make Los Gatos the busiest downtown of them all.

It’s quite entertaining in itself to stroll through the town just to see the multitude of cars that roll through Main St., varying from the newest, top-of-the-line Ferraris to vintage Rolls Royce roadsters. And, unlike so many other downtown areas, Los Gatos is complete with destinations for kids, including an old-fashioned movie theater, an Apple Store and a store specializing in toy soldiers. A few hours spent in Los Gatos are all it takes to realize the truth about this area: there’s something for everyone at every time of day. It’s a must-see spot that suits any occasion, any time during the year.

Studs for studs: Body piercings a new trend Piercings becoming more popular among groups of friends

by Roxana Wiswell

I

n the search for self-expression, some students might turn to art or music, several view their own body as their canvas with piercings. This year, an influx of students have chosen to get piercings, often just after their friends gotten their own piercings done.

Ear piercings are no longer just for girls, as a growing number of boys on campus prove; many senior boys have chosen to get their ears pierced this year. Senior Kalon Zandbergs is one of a few of his group of friends who have pierced their ears recently.

In a three-month span this school year, five seniors in Zandbergs’ group of friends have gotten their ears pierced as each of them turned 18 and decided to go for it.

Senior Peter Im also seized the opportunity to get his ears pierced... but in a uniquely MVHS way. His parents had always been opposed to the idea of him getting piercings, but he kept asking.

Finally, his parents allowed him to get the piercings this year, with one stipulation: that he achieve a high enough SAT score.

VICTOR KUO

the Temp

Saratoga

Los Altos

W

PAGE 23

“It’s a total MVHS type of thing,” Im said.

“They said, ‘If you break 2300 on your SATs, you can get your ears pierced.’”

His score was high enough, so the day after score reports came out, Im got his piercings right away. He was under 18, so he needed a parent to come with him. Im and his mom headed to Cupertino Square.

“I didn’t want to go to all those booths in the middle of the mall,” Im said. “They seemed kind of sketch and I didn’t want my ears to get infected or anything.”

Im and his mom headed to Claire’s go get the piercings done. The decision paid off in the end, since Im’s ears never did get infected. Since he waited for parental permission instead of waiting for his 18th birthday, Im represents a different aspect of the piercing craze.

Junior Monica Kim has a total of eight piercings. Over the past several months, she has gotten five piercings on her earlobes, one in her cartilage, and two on her lip. “[Ear piercing] is almost addicting, it’s really exciting,” Kim said. “I don’t do sports or anything. I don’t put my life in danger.

This is my adrenaline rush.”

Roxana Wiswell | El Estoque

SHOWING OFF THE JEWELS Senior Peter

Im shows off his ear piercings on April 2.

Im pierced his ears several weeks ago and is one among the many who have recently gotten piercings.

Construction pandemonium

I

squinted, trying to read the measurements on the signs as I turned in circles looking at the piles of wood towering above me. It was 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and I was shopping for wood. And cement. And J-bolts. And some others pieces of hardware at Home Depot. I was beginning my Eagle Scout project.

For those unfamiliar with Boy Scouts, the final and most honorable rank is that of Eagle, and in order to achieve that each scout must conduct a large-scale project, among other requirements, demonstrating leadership and other qualities. And for my rank-achieving task, I decided to build a wooden walkway for the handicapped at Peterson Middle School.

Lesson One

Leadership requires listening and quick thinking; making a decision and sticking with it, yet listening to the opinions of others. There are times when things happen that you just can’t foresee. And so you improvise, making do with what you have. Like cutting wood for example.

I had bought around 35 pieces of lumber that needed to be cut. I gathered a group of volunteers and explained what to do.

And then I remembered that I hadn’t had the time to get a table saw. Shoot. I glanced around in the tool shed and thankfully found what look like a saw and brought it.

But I had no idea how to use it. So for a while I played around with it trying to figure it out when one of the volunteers spoke up and mentioned that he knew how to use it.

I handed him the circular saw—apparently that’s what it’s called—and decided to give him control of the group. He looked like he knew what he was doing. I checked up on him later and he, with the help of the group, finished. A task that I had alloted more then seven hours of time was finished in less then two hours. I stared in disbelief.

And I thought I had an efficient method for cutting the wood. As a leader, people look up to you and expect you to know what to do, especially when things go wrong or don’t go according to plan. And at those points in time, it is essential that the leader can improvise, think quickly and appear confident, for the sake of the followers.

Lesson Two

Always plan ahead. Jot it down, mentally go over it, but always have some form of early planning. Back to my introduction, I walked through the aisles of Home Depot and just turned in circles in wonder. Was it possible to have this many pieces of wood? More importantly, how the heck was I supposed to find the pieces I needed?

And then I remembered my handy-dandy project plan. All 22 pages of it. Fully equipped with steps, and even a materials list. Nice. About five hours later I stood in front of 18 bags of 80-pound cement. I had never done anything with cement before.

What the heck was I supposed to do? And then I remember my handy-dandy project plan—and you know the rest. It took me more then five months to finish the plan for my project, and it certainly paid off.

Likewise, in any big project, planning ahead is extremely important. Not only does it allow you to fully explore the possibilities, but it helps when you’re going through the project as well. Granted, there are going to be unforeseen changes, but something is better then nothing.

I’m still working on my project and still coughing up cement dust. It’s tough and tiring but definitely worth the effort. I can’t wait to finish.

TREND WATCH TAKE TO THE SKIES

UP2DATE

Math teacher Jon Stark doesn’t just grade tests all day. He goes flying. interview conducted by Bhargav Setlur

Q: How did you first get into flying?

A: When I was in graduate school at the University of Illinois, I was doing some pretty heavy physics and I needed a way to relax. The university had an aviation training program where you could get credits for taking lessons. I did my first solo in 1974.

The best and worst features of the Alpine SWS-1043D

by Victor Kuo [I would suggest] getting at least two [sub woofers] or getting a bigger one because it’s not loud enough. But with this model, you get a warranty.

Q: What aircraft do you currently own?

A: I have two aircrafts here in my hangar

[in San Martin]: one is a Bell 47G, a helicopter that was built in 1967. It’s the same kind of helicopter that was used on [the TV series] MASH. The other one is a gyroplane, an Air and Space 18A. It was built in 1965 and sat unused for almost 35 years. It had to be rebuilt. It’s a rare aircraft – there are only seven still flying.

the expert: junior Geoffrey Hong Best features: Reliable and durable for the price

Worst features: Not loud enough

Q: Most

people say that flying is an expensive hobby. Is that always true?

A: It really depends on what aircraft you’re flying. For the gyroplane, when you add in lease, insurance, hangar space, and other costs to just fuel, it comes out to maybe $75 an hour. For the Bell [helicopter], it’s about $350.

Q: How often do you go flying, and where do you Stefan Ball | El Estoque

PI IN THE SKY Math teacher Jon Stark takes his gyroplane back to his San Martin hangar on March 30.

Stark learned to fly at the University of Illinois.

usually fly?

A: I try to go every weekend, but it’s difficult to make

time and stick to that. I usually do short hops around the Bay Area – the other day, I flew my nieces up to Marin. But I have done some long trips. I once flew the Bell through a number of cities – including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, and Albuquerque, where I took my mother flying for her birthday.

Uses:

Q: What advice do you have for people who

$150.00

What’s next?

want to learn to fly?

A: Join a flying club. That way, it’s affordable and you

don’t have to worry about insurance or hangar space or any other expenses.

CAMPUS RUNWAY

Cost:

Blasting car stereo music, amplifying bass

Interact International Night April 9 from 6:30 to 10 p.m.

MVHS Auditorium Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Proceeds go to End Polio Now.

As spring rolls around and the skies clear up, students hit the hallways in loud graphic tees to celebrate the sun’s arrival.

IDC Battle of the Bands

White Tree Tee Macy’s

freshman

Alok Singh

Graphic Tee 1620 Brand

sophomore

Joey Shephard

Snoopy T-shirt Forever 21

Seagull T-shirt American Eagle

MV Film Festival

junior

Kate Kim

freshman

Varun Arora

Hannah Lem and Vijeta Tandon | El Estoque

Backpack

Finds

What’s in your bag?

Take a peek into your classmates’ bags this month:

April 9 from 5 to 7 p.m.

Lynbrook High School Tickets are $5

“ ” “ ”

I got [the stuffed monkey] at Great America because my friend had free tickets, and so we went there. I won it by beating other kids at a water shooting game.

April 23 from 5:30 to 9 p.m.

MVHS Auditorium Entrance is free, BBQ will be served

freshman Tiffany Lian

My step-sister gave [this cologne] to me for Christmas. It smells citrus-orangey. I walk to and from school, so I use it around then.

sophomore Ashish Chatterjee

“ ” “ ” I got [this key chain] in the mail from a friend who lives in Vancouver for my birthday. It was one of the mascots for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

junior Michael Xiang

I got [the Google pen] from a Robotics competition. It was Google-sponsored, so they were giving out free stuff.

junior Keerthana Sankar

Photo illustration by Hannah Lem and Vijeta Tandon