2023 Documentary Magazine Vol 1

FREESTYLE ACADEMY

Student Documentary Articles

Design by Luiza Rufeisen

Freestyle Academy proudly presents

2023 Documentary Articles

Junior students were challenged with:

For the Junior Documentary Project, students portray an intriguing person, group, place, idea, or issue, gathering primary and secondary research sources to develop a distinct perspective about their subject’s significance in the community and/or world. The research-based paper from English serves as the copy for the magazine articles in this publication. This unit emphasizes narrative-style journalism.

Students in Digital Media learned to use Adobe InDesign for article layout, Adobe Photoshop of image editing, and Adobe Illustrator for graphic design to produce these articles. Each student in Digital Media also produced a documentary website.

Film students additionally produced a Documentary Film. Animation students additionally produced an Animated Documentary. Design students additionally produced a Documentary Book.

All documentary productions can be viewed through https://freestyleacademy.rocks/documentaries

“How do you creatively and truthfully portray a significant person, group, place, idea, or issue in the community?”

Contributing Authors

Aditi Biswas

Greta and Green Team by Aditi Biswas

The sounds of clicking keyboards and conversation fill the air in Room 117, hidden in a corner of the science wing of Mountain View High School. This is where Green Team meets every Tuesday to work on various projects, from setting up compost bins to creating presentations for middle schools. Their work may seem like a drop in the bucket, but every drop still makes a difference towards saving the environment. Unfortunately, it has become common today to dismiss the impact of youth and not take them seriously. Many believe young people lack the intelligence and seriousness to create meaningful change, as shown by the backlash Greta Thunberg faced while protesting against climate change. She was even criticized and dismissed by Donald Trump

while he was president. As climate change and global warming wreck the environment, Green Team and Greta Thunberg are doing their part to show that it is more important than ever for America’s youth to step up to protect the world they have inherited. During a TEDxStockholm presentation, Greta Thunberg talked about how she first learned about climate change when she was 8 years old. She was shocked and confused that such a large issue was rarely talked about. Thunberg made many lifestyle choices to be more environmentally conscious, such as becoming vegan, avoiding flying, and upcycling. According to an article by Context News, on August 20th, 2018, when she was just 15 years old, Thunberg started skipping school and protesting outside of Parliament for more action against climate change. As more people began to join her, she began “a

Green Team club officers

regular ‘strike’ from classes every Friday to protest climate issues”. As the movement grew, she started speaking at events across Europe, and was even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in March 2019. On September 23rd, 2019, Thunberg delivered her infamous speech to “leaders at the U.N. summit, accusing them of having ‘stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words’”.

A more local group of youth dedicated to fighting climate change is the Green Team club at Mountain View High School. Green Team was restarted last year by thenfreshman Adeline Kopp after Mountain View had gone a couple of years without a Green Team when the seniors who were formerly in charge had graduated. She noticed that Mountain View wasn’t “exactly the most sustainable school” and wanted to improve that. Their goal was to “spread environmental consciousness on campus and also make our campus more sustainable”. Now a sophomore and president of Green Team, Kopp reflects that she wanted to restart this club because “...I have had a Green Team at my elementary school and my middle school and I’ve always just been interested in the environment, so I kind of thought it would be a good idea for Mountain View…”

Since most students at Mountain View were already well educated on the climate crisis, Kopp focused more on implementing sustainability practices on campus, such as composting and more environmentally friendly transportation methods like biking or walking. She discussed how “our school is…small on a global scale, but it’s like 2000 kids, right? Which is like…that’s a lot of people that you can have an impact on. So even just changing the habits of our school is helping the climate crisis in some small way”.

One of the most famous ways youth advocates are fighting back against climate change is the movement known as Fridays For Future. Thunberg started this movement in 2018 by protesting outside

club member working

flower bush

smiling club members

of Parliament by herself. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “Although alone for the first day of the strike, she was joined each subsequent day by more and more people, and her story garnered international attention. After the [Swedish] election Thunberg returned to school but continued to skip classes on Fridays to strike, and these days were called Fridays for Future. Her action inspired hundreds of thousands of students around the world to participate in their own Fridays for Future”. The goals of this movement, are to pressure people in power to, “Keep the global temperature rise below 1.5C compared to pre-industrial levels, follow the Paris Agreement and ensure climate justice, [and] listen to the best united science currently available.”

These strikes have not been for nothing though, and they have led to significant change. According to a 2020 study done on company leaders by the World Economic Forum, “Nearly eight out of 10 respondents believe last year’s climate strikes helped raise awareness of sustainability and energy issues within their organization.” Because of this increased awareness, 82% of those surveyed believed their organization would be more committed to improving sustainability in 2020 compared to 2019. Furthermore, an article on Earth.org by Martina Igini states that all the media attention the movement received put pressure on governments to push for environmentally friendly policies, like the “new net-zero goals and commitments to reducing carbon emissions while investing in renewable energies” which were announced at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021.

In the past couple of years, Green Team has also worked hard on many projects to both spread awareness and fight environmental problems. One example of this is the presentations they create for

elementary and middle schools about topics like how to recycle and compost properly. This educates them early on so they are more receptive to the information and so they grow up understanding proper waste management.

Another project they’ve implemented closer to campus are the compost bins across Mountain View High School, with one located in the science quad and the other in the main quad. According to CalRecycle in a chart showing the composition of waste at schools, 50.8% is organic material which could have been composted. In an article in the Oracle by Ella Persky, statistics like these “...sparked an idea in Kopp: to expand the usage of the scarcely-touched compost bin. And that’s exactly what the club did. After four months of planning and preparing, Green Team members were finally able to put their ideas into action, starting off with the two widely successful bins.”

Many youth activists face backlash because they are believed to not have the maturity or intelligence to create significant change. For instance, in Christopher Caldwell’s criticism of Greta Thunberg in the New York Times, he says, “Normally Ms. Thunberg would be unqualified to debate in a democratic forum…Kids her age have not seen much of life. Her worldview might be

waste management poster

unrealistic, her priorities out of balance.”

However, younger generations are the ones who are inheriting the planet, so the current environmental crisis directly affects them and their future the most. As stated by Thunberg in an interview for Democracy Now, “...what we do now, future generations can’t undo in the future. We are deciding right now how we want our future to look like.” Through the efforts of youth activists, “Despite their young age, they are able to inspire older generations through their anger, frustration as well as their curiosity to learn about modern issues and to play an active part in the society to make the world a better place”. Because younger people tend to notice more of the injustices of the world, they are more motivated to bring change compared to older generations who have perhaps grown used to these problems.

As shown by the success of various global and local projects, from Fridays For Future to implementing compost bins on campus, youth are more than capable of creating meaningful change, regardless of their lack of experience in the world.

It is especially important that youth are the ones taking the lead in combating climate change because there is more possibility for change with them compared to older generations. Historically, it has always been younger generations who have recognized problems and brought a fresh perspective to the issue. According to Pew Research Center, 71% of Millennials and 67% of Generation Z believe that the climate should be the top priority to ensure a sustainable planet for future generations. Additionally, “Younger Americans – Millennials and adults in Generation Z – stand out…particularly

for their high levels of engagement with the issue of climate change. Compared with older adults, Gen Zers and Millennials are talking more about the need for action on climate change; among social media users, they are seeing more climate change content online; and they are doing more to get involved with the issue through activities such as volunteering and attending rallies and protests”.

Seeing statistics and facts about climate change can often feel disheartening, especially for youth who may feel like they’re too young to make a difference. However, Kopp believes that “the small choices we make every day, whether we realize it or not, have a big impact. So just processing when we’re making a decision that negatively impacts the environment, like choosing plastic over paper or accepting a plastic straw, bringing a reusable water bottle instead of grabbing one at the store, even buying a canned soda is better than buying a plastic one because aluminum is so much better to recycle. So I think just like thinking more consciously about our consumption could really help on the individual basis.”

Kopp also encourages other youth who want to be more involved to “look into local action groups that protesting around local advocacy for laws and policies that will actually make an impact on the global scale.” Laughing slightly, she adds, “And if you want help out in our community, you can join Green Team because we’re really working hard to try to improve the sustainability of our school.”

"The small choices we make every day, whether we realize it or not, have a big impact."

About the author

Aditi Biswas is a junior at Mountain View High School and Freestyle Academy, where she takes Design. She is an only child and lives in Mountain View with her parents. Outside of school, Aditi enjoys reading, crocheting, playing video games, and spending time with friends.

Alex Sharp

Haiti: The Heartbeat of Black Liberation

By Alex Sharp

When most people think of Haiti they think of an impoverished country that faces many natural disasters. However, they don’t think of why it’s impoverished: it has suffered a history of colonial exploitation and has been paying off the debt of freedom, both financial and metaphorical, from its creation to the present.

Haiti became the first free Black nation in 1804 during the Haitian Revolution. To free itself from French colonization, it had to pay over $20 billion as a debt over the next centuries. Ever since its formation as an independent country, it seemed like Haiti couldn’t catch a break. It dealt with multiple dictators, violence, and civil unrest (on top of the debt) that continue to this day. The current conversation is if the U.S. should intervene in Haiti, which is a recent topic because of the increasing instability.

The Haiti Action Committee, which was formed in 1990, is an important voice in this conversation. Pierre Labossiere, who grew up in Haiti and remains deeply involved in the struggle, is a co-founder of the organization. They do demonstrations, webinars, and fundraisers to promote solidarity with Haitians. Haiti is important to the U.S. and all around the world because the struggles that Black people face in both countries are linked. If you stand by Haitian people you are essentially standing by the entire idea of Black Liberation.

The History of Haiti

Haiti was founded by formerly enslaved people breaking free from French colonization. An independent Black-led nation is a radical idea now, it was radical when Black Nationalism gained popularity in the U.S. in the 60s, and it was definitely radical in the 1800s. Thomas Jefferson, a slave owner himself, refused to recognize it as a country because he was scared it would inspire slaves in the U.S. to revolt. The ideals that Haiti stands for have always shocked the status quo and inspired change. As Pierre Labossiere puts it, “They broke free of slavery. Not only did they break free of slavery, but they overturned the system completely and totally.” The Haitian Revolution inspired other revolutions around the world to rebel against colonial powers. A significant example is how they’ve supported the struggle for freedom here in the US, such as Haitian activists leading slave rebellions and in the present day, supporting Black Lives Matter. However, their freedom came with a cost, both metaphorically and literally. To become a country, Haiti had to pay a debt to its enslavers, which amounted to 20-30 billion dollars in today’s money, over the next century. It wasn’t France that had to pay a debt for putting the people of Saint-Dominique through centuries of slavery, but it was Haiti who had to pay their former colonial captors. This debt crippled the economy. It

represents the cost of freedom especially for a Black country.

Not just financial, but systemically, because Haiti has been the target of foreign intervention and invasion by other powers like the U.S. such as the U.N. and France.

Haiti has been a target of Imperialism from other countries like France and the U.S. ever since its creation. However, one of the biggest examples was the U.S. occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934, where the U.S. carried out the massacre of thousands of Haitians. The U.S. took control of Haiti’s bank and was in control of Haiti’s finances up until 1947, years after the occupation ended. The U.S. soldiers who were stationed there partook in acts of violence against the Haitians, echoing what is still happening today. There were stories of lynching, shooting at crowds, and killing dissidents, according to The Washington Post. The bitter memory of those 19 years of U.S. intervention continues to motivate Haitian activists to speak out against foreign intervention today.

Haiti became the first free Black nation in 1804.

Current Situation

The legacy of colonial violence is still present to this day. Students, activists, and protesters are repeatedly targeted by military gangs and police as a way to silence dissent. One example is a student named Gregory Saint-Hilliare, who was killed by the police in 2020. A professor who joined the ensuing protest said that it was the

first time a student was killed by law enforcement inside a school. The frequent tragedies in Haiti are almost too much to keep up with. This problem is only made worse by the fact that the U.S. supports the Haitian Police.

Clearly, Haitians are sick and tired of the corruption of the government and police force within their own country, but

Haitian immigrants who try to escape this instability also face an uphill battle, especially when coming to the US. The Biden Administration deported 20,000 Haitian refugees in 2022.While some were returned by plane, U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback infamously chased Haitians back across the border. This is particularly disturbing because it conveys an image of slave owners riding horses and carrying whips. It’s

2021, gang violence became more of a crisis than ever. There were kidnappings, massacres, and gender violence against women, not to mention the ties the gangs have with the government, where they use voter intimidation and violence to help political elites gain power. In 2022, the Biden Administration gave 219.2 million dollars to support the Haitian government, including funding the police. Now the question is, with what’s currently happening as well as considering the history of intervention, should the U.S. get more involved?

Should the U.S. Intervene?

and interfering with elections. It’s no surprise that the Haitian government is advocating for further U.S. intervention. To many Haitans, this recalls the darker time of the occupation and say that the U.S. should stop supporting the government of Haiti and support the people instead. Monique Clesca, a Haitian activist and advocate for women’s and girls rights, wrote in the New York Times, “Perhaps the Biden administration and other foreign leaders feel they are doing what’s best for Haiti by standing behind Mr. Henry. They are actually standing in the way of what’s right: letting Haitians save our own country.”

like history was repeating itself. Haitians are always met with opposition by their own government or the governments of other countries.

Whether or not U.S. intervention should happen is such a pressing issue right now because of the current situation in Haiti. After President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July

There are many voices in this conversation in both countries, from the administration to the people. In Haiti, the government and the people have opposing views.. The current Haitian administration has called for U.S. Marines to settle the situation. The Haitian government and the U.S. government are closely tied, with the U.S. government funding them

So, why should we even care? Why should people in the US feel like they have a stake in this issue? Haiti’s ideals and its people have been tied to Black Liberation movements around the world and in the US. Even while they were continuing the struggle for independence in their own country, they also supported movements in other countries. “Be it in Africa, South America, Asia . . . During the period of the decolonization and also against apartheid, Haiti stood very strong with all those forces for equality and justice,” Pierre Labossiere said. Haiti is so much more than people portray it as, which is usually a country dev-

“They are standing in the way of what’s right: letting Haitians save our own country.”

Kiyoshi

Taylor at a protest

astated by natural disasters and violence.

Even people who didn’t grow up in Haiti are influenced by it. For example, Kiyoshi Taylor is an activist who works with not only the Haiti Action Committee, but other organizations like Justice Vanguard that fight racism locally in the Bay Area. He talks about how Haiti is important to all Black people and how Haitian struggles and U.S. struggles are connected. Taylor says, “They’ve stood by Black America and the struggles we’re going through. So it’s very important that we stand by them. . . . Haiti has always been the heartbeat of Black liberation.” This is why it’s so important to understand and stand

in solidarity with the Haitian struggle, because of what it can teach everyone about building community and fighting against oppression. Knowing the history of Haiti and why it’s important around the world, now is the

Haiti’s past connects to its present, and not to mention the inherent ties between the Black Liberation movements of both the US and Haiti.

time to take action. Taylor says that the Haiti Action Committee can benefit from having young people care about the struggle and be knowledgeable about what’s going on in Haiti. His voice is important in this conversation because he shows how much

The Haiti Action Committee has supported Haiti in every crisis it faced. Haiti is connected to revolutions all around the world, even in the US. It connects to people who didn’t even grow up there. It’s also a lesson on U.S. Imperialism that not everybody knows or wants to talk about. Since its creation as a country, Haiti has always been a symbol of resistance in the face of racism and oppression, and everybody has something to learn from the Haitian struggle.

“Haiti has always been the heartbeat of Black liberation.”

Alex Sharp is currently a junior at Freestyle Academy and Los Altos High School. He is interested in all type of art such as filmmaking, animation, drawing, and music. He plays cello for the Los Altos chamber ensemble and is learning the saxophone. He also enjoys dyeing his hair. His favorite movies are Scott Pilgrim, High School Musical 2, and Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse.

Annie Hua

Homelessness in Silicon Valley MUSICAL CHAIRS

by Annie Hua

People all around the world experience homelessness, unfortunately, especially in the US with California in the lead. The Public Policy Institute of California found that “as of 2022, 30% of all people in the United States experiencing homelessness resided in California.” Ironically, in the most privileged places we can see the most impoverished. In a place like Silicon Valley where living costs are pricey, it is incredibly difficult to find financial stability, resulting in higher concentrations of the homeless population in urban areas. Society incriminates the homeless and stigmatizes them as “bad people”, where in reality, it’s us– we’re the problem. The anti-homeless stigma circulates around society which fuels more negativity in the government’s attitude towards homelessness. Anti-homeless infrastructure and policies have been on a rise, and our tax dollars are funding them. The National Homelessness Law Center reports that “[anti-homeless] laws in 187 cities and city-wide bans on camping have increased by 92%... [and] a 1,300% growth of homeless encampments have been reported in all 50 states.” However, many people think that reallocating funding to rehabilitating the homeless would prove to be useless. Many believe that the unhoused dealing with drug abuse will only return back to their bad habits. What can we do to change? Is eradicating homelessness possible?

HOMELESSNESS IN SILICON VALLEY AND WHY

In Silicon Valley alone, we see a disproportionate amount of homeless compared to other urban areas. Sarah Gonzalez, the Case

Manager at LifeMoves* homeless shelter, says, “what I’ve seen here [at LifeMoves] is mostly a lot of females, a lot of families, single parents, a lot of people who are elderly as well.” Why is it that Silicon Valley sees more of these types of people?

While there are countless factors, we can boil it down to the lack of affordable housing and the absence of government aid. The lack of affordable housing is a common problem for many places with a high number of unsheltered people, however Silicon Valley’s housing market only exacerbates the problem. The market is outrageous, with an average single family residence costing a staggering 1.97 million dollars (Pope-Handy 21). The article “The Obvious Answer to Homelessness’’ by Jerusalem Demsas discusses the main factors of homelessness. Demsas acknowledges that many unhoused people may be a result of their lack of competency for the modern world, poor decisions, or disabilities, but pushes the idea that homelessness is mainly caused by lack of housing.

Above, A homeless man sleeping on an anti-homeless bench, the arm-rests are purposely too close together for comfort.

* LifeMoves is a homeless shelter that has multiple locations, including some in Silicon Valley.

She explains, “some who study this issue use the analogy of children playing musical chairs” (Demsas). By referring to people as children in need of housing and chairs as houses, Demsas calls attention to the unfair nature of the game. However, rather than it being a physical disadvantage that leaves kids behind, it was technically always because they had a lack of chairs. All of the children fought for those chairs, but because there wasn’t enough in the first place, some were left behind. Demsas claims this is the same case for homelessness. We can apply Demsas’s analogy to homelessness in Silicon Valley too. Since there is a lack of affordable housing, those at a financial disadvantage cannot compete with those more fortunate than them.

ACCESSIBILITY AND REAL AFFORDABILITY

If 10-14% of houses are vacant in Silicon Valley, why are there still homeless people on the streets? For example, “more than 15,500 units remain vacant in Oakland alone, according to the latest US Census Bureau data, while 4,071 people are homeless” (Ho 20). Maria Marroquin, the Executive Director for the Day Workers’ Center of Mountain View, works to help unsheltered and/or jobless people secure financial stability and housing. Marroquin stated that those in unstable financial situations are incomparable to those better off when it comes to buying a house/presenting an offer. She explained, even when it comes to the smaller things such as presenting themselves to the seller, people in worse circumstances may not be able to dress as

well as their competition, communicate effectively due to a lack of access to social media, or even meet the seller on time due to the lack of an accessible personal vehicle. All these factors and more contribute to homelessness. Marroquin added that many homes and apartments need the buyer to meet certain requirements, such as having a certain minimum income. For example, “For the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro, buyers need to make at least $250,000 a year to afford a median single-family home price of $1.4 million, a 20% salary increase. The median annual household income in the city of San Francisco was about $119,000 in 2020” (Varian 22). Where the federal government defines a house as affordable if it consumes 30% or less of a household’s income, it is essentially impossible for a homeless person to buy a socalled “affordable house” (Local Housing Solutions 22). This cookie-cutter definition of affordable housing is applied to everyone. The unhoused typically live off around $35,000-$50,000 per year on average (Father Joe’s Village 22). In extreme cases, “70 percent of the lowest-income households (those with less than about $15,000 in annual income) are severely cost burdened” (Local Housing Solutions 22). Thus, not only does housing need to be equally accessible, but also realistically priced for someone with little to no income.

HOW REHOMING REALLY WORKS

Although housing a homeless person is easier said than done, it is neither a difficult nor costly process. The National Alliance to End Homelessness employs a process called Rapid Rehoming, or RRH. RRH has three main components: housing identification, rent and move-in assistance, and case management. Preparing affordable housing units starts with building relationships and trust with landlords, ideally those with as many vacant housing units as possible. Programs for rehousing the homeless should prepare these units in advance. Then comes rent

The problem is, if there are enough chairs for all the kids, why can’t each kid find a seat?

and move-in assistance, where programs work with individuals who have identified a suitable housing unit to secure financial stability. Flexibility is key; this should not be a onesize-fits-all “package” deal, for every individual has different needs. Lastly, case management is where programs help individuals navigate around barriers to housing, such as healthcare, employment, child care, education, etc. These three steps are important but not all of them are always necessary for each person. Gonzales found that housing the homeless is very fruitful. She described a story of working with a client; “I think one of my I was working with a client who was pretty much kind of neglecting their overall health… And because of the trust that I built with him, he was able to go to his doctor to get his health fixed and so forth. And through this, he was able to get help, and even now he reaches out here and there and says how grateful and thankful he is that that was really there for him in that moment.”

STIGMATIZATION AND CRIMINALIZATION

Anti-homeless policies have increased in many urban areas. This harms the homeless population by criminalizing them and putting them through legal court, which places more financial burdens on their shoulders. These policies also feed the stigma that homeless people are bad people, “druggies”, and mentally ill. This cycle of promoting anti-homeless ideas leads people to believe that redirect- ing funding to help the homeless find shelter and rehabilitation would be useless. Many think that homeless people will only revert back to drug abuse and lose their homes after they are assisted. However, an arti- cle from San Jose Spotlight on the homeless crisis finds, “In 2015, her* team

worked with 400 unhoused people with significant substance use and mental health problems, and helped 91% of them move into permanent supportive housing. After seven years, 93% of those who got into housing continued to stay housed” (Nguyen). Therefore we can conclude that not only is sheltering the homeless highly successful, but also effective in the long run. Marroquin elaborated on the humanity behind this topic.

She said, “Drug abuse is a symptom, not a cause. [When] You bring the opportunity to make people happy, to make people have dreams, to improve themselves, [there is] no need to give back to the addiction.”

THE SOLUTION TO HOMELESSNESS IN SV

Ending homelessness is difficult, but not impossible. Luckily, Destination Homes has identified their own strategy to end homelessness in Santa Clara County and has made significant progress. They define their approach with 3 parts:

1. Address the Root Causes of Homelessness Through System and Policy Change

2. Expand Homelessness Prevention and Housing Programs to Meet the Need

3. Improve Quality of Life for Unsheltered Individuals and Create Healthy Neighborhoods for All.

A big part of ending homelessness is taking preventative care. We must eliminate policies that push people into homelessness– this includes a multitude of actions. Destination Homes takes

* Margot Kushe is the executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness

precautions by helping vulnerable people access safety net services and prevent those with criminal records end up unhoused. Residents at close risk of displacement and eviction are protected through adopting new local rent/ tenant policies, legal assistance, and funding. Additionally, Destination Homes ensures that residents make a living wage by supporting efforts to increase the minimum wage, partnering with corporations to create more living wage jobs, and training such residents to manage their finances. As musical chairs highlight the lack of affordable housing, Destination Homes works with local governments to create more housing for extremely low-income individuals. They also employ the Rapid Rehousing program, which, as of 2020, housed “10,000 people...through Rapid Rehousing programs that provide short- and medium-term support” (Destination Homes, 15). Currently, their “system serves about 1,700 households per year through Rapid Rehousing, of which roughly 72% are able to successfully maintain stable housing upon exiting the program” (Destination Homes). In order to care for the currently unsheltered community, Destination Homes is working to double the number of temporary housing beds and increase mental health/substance abuse services, as well as access to other amenities. This improves their quality of life which leads to healthier neighborhoods and a more positive image of the homeless community. Lastly, Destination Homes aims to create communal safe-spaces where housed and unhoused residents can communicate and work together to build a better future.

CURRENT PROGRESS IN SILICON VALLEY

Destination Homes has taken big strides in battling Silicon Valley’s homeless crisis. They have set a goal that by 2025, starting back in 2019, they will have 20,000 people housed and a 30% reduction in new households becoming homeless. So far, 9,645 people have been housed through their program, which means Destination Homes is 48% to their 2025 goal. In addition, there is currently a 27% reduction in new households falling into homelessness, which is only 3% away from their 2025

goal. Throughout 2016-2019, each year 92-96% of people have remained stably housed for at least 12 months (Destination Homes Community Plan). Over 23,000 people have received Homelessness Prevention Assistance and upwards of 15,000 have been placed in temporary housing through Destination Home. Destination Homes is only one of many programs in Silicon Valley fighting the housing crisis.

DO YOUR PART

Destination Homes and other homeless crisis programs cannot do it by themselves. Everyone needs to work together to help raise awareness and provide for our unsheltered community. You can spark change by participating in campaigns that increase awareness of homelessness and efforts to end homelessness. Donating at your local drive, whether it be old clothes or canned food, can make a big difference.

Volunteering at a local homeless shelter can make a huge impact too, one small step at a time.

If not, changing your mindset towards the less fortunate can make a world of difference.

As Sarah Gonzales says, “In the end, you know, they are us. They are people too.”

Above, Anti-homeless design in San Fransisco, the uneven surfaces prevent the homeless from sleeping.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Annie Hua is a Junior at Los Altos High School and attends Freestyle Academy as an Animation student. In her spare time, she likes to draw, play video games, and dabble in photography. Her favorite media are oil painting and digital art, where she uses Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint for digital painting. Annie also loves music, especially R&B, and plays the flute. Her aspirations are to become a full-time concept artist and/or animator.

Having grown up in the Silicon Valley, Annie wants to give back to the place she calls home. Annie decided that, in order to make Silicon Valley the best version of itself, we need to start at the base: the community. More information about the Homeless Crisis in Silicon Valley can be found on Annie’s website. Scan the QR Code for more details.

Annie Marcelino

By Annie Marcelino

When you first meet Haelee Choi, the first thing you’ll notice about her is her style: sleeves bunched at her elbows, elegant knitted cardigans with holes from years of wear-and-tear, and leather shoes splattered with spray paint splotches. The second thing you’ll notice, the most apparent when you first try to talk to her, is that she’s always moving. She floats around crowded tables filled with children, passing around art supplies, like a head chef commanding her kitchen during happy hour. The noise hardly bothers her. She has one mission: to get her students to college, and you can see her determination in the way she directs group art projects and teaches her students.

Right beside her, sitting at one of the many studio tables, is Jordan, one of Haelee’s art students. Hunched over, eyebrows pinched, he focuses on the third installment of his college application portfolio. His art stems from a given prompt: “Show us an original art piece that reflects you in some way.” As his charcoal scratches the paper, he pauses, a thought crawling through his mind. This thought has intrigued him many times before, a constant nagging in the back of his head. He wonders if he is making the right choice: art college.

Haelee Choi standing in front of her works

For some, art conservatories provide a foundation to refine technical skills and perfect their craft. However, many others find that it is detrimental to their passion and creativity, calling on the question: Is art college beneficial or detrimental to art students? The answer depends on your priorities, whether they’re creative freedom, networking and preparing for a career, or affordability.

Pushing the Boundaries

From an outside view, art college can seem like a monotony of charcoal still life after charcoal still life, rows of canva presenting the same painting, and students merging together into one collective. It’s alien in a way, you go into the machine as individuals, but come out as a sea of unidentifiable robots. This image paints art colleges as corporate and evil, meant only to mass produce obedience. However, many artists who have gone through the process would disagree.

Lori Nock, an art educator and graduate from Columbus College of Art and Design and Ohio State University, looks at the topic of conformity through a different lens. She references the foundation year, the first year of college that prepares students for their chosen degree. She clarifies that “if you’re going to be drawing, realistically, you don’t get to put a little style flare in there. I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing… because then it teaches the student that maybe they may or may not have what it takes” (Nock)

Nock reflects on her own experience: “They wouldn’t give you an F, but they would recommend, maybe, if you want to stay in art you should continue and do supplemental work to enhance your technical skills. So there’s a lot of people that get emotional and hurt during freshman and sophomore year because you feel that you’re being crushed. But the truth is that it’s a pressure cooker, but it’s great.” In other words, an artist would be held to the same standards as a doctor going through rigorous training would.

The structure and rigor of classes often lead to burnout, which Nock acknowledges. But she urges students to persevere and look towards the outcome.

“That freshman year, that foundation year, you’re going to burn, you’re going to build, you’re going to destroy, if that makes any sense, by the end of the freshman year, everything is kind of a pile of ashes, but it’s cooled down there and you’re ready to stand on it and make your choices.”

Samuel Kim, another art teacher, summarizes it as “freedom within boundaries”. Kim graduated from RISD, the Rhode Island School of Design, one of the most prestigious art schools in the nation. He explains why art schools start with a foundation before helping you narrow down your major: “they don’t want you to pigeonhole yourself. They want you to go basics first, then build out. If you throw a blank canvas in front of somebody, it’s going to be difficult to know what to do with it. But when you have a goal in mind, that (structure) could be seen as a constructive boundary. I can do all sorts of things if it’s with a goal in mind, which some could see as a constraint, like a constraint can help you towards that goal” (Kim).

However, there is some truth to the “burning” that Nock mentioned. Kim recalls one of the first

assignments he was given his freshman year: “I think back to my time when I tried to play with the bounds a little bit. I did the assignment, but I was told that that wasn’t exactly what they were looking for.” (Kim).

Like Kim and Nock, the boundaries and guides given by the school may be helpful for some. But the first few years of college are very rigorous, and you have to be willing to sacrifice some of your independence during the foundation year.

A foot in the door

It wouldn’t be possible to discuss art colleges without acknowledging art careers in general. You’ve heard it all before - the starving artist, busking in the street for just a measly quarter. The most common response to “I want to be an artist!” is an immediate “So you want to be poor?”

Haelee Choi is an art teacher and founder of the studio Suha Suha, as well as a graduate from Sookmyung University in Korea and the Academy of Arts in San Francisco. She looks back at her time in college, and one of the major benefits she had compared to an academic school was networking. She says it led her down a path of internships and job opportunities at animation studios. According to Choi, “art is all about networking. You need to have alumni. You need to know who is working there. So the school is helping you to guide you to the next level.”

Art college can open doors for you, and it can be your way of getting your foot through the door that is the art industry. It’s easy to forget that you’ll be surrounded with future innovators and artists, yourself being one of them.

Choi also acknowledges the workshops that her art school provided, which introduced her to big animation companies such as Pixar, which the Academy of Arts had close ties with. She recalls that “At colleges, what they are doing from junior year, you get to see a lot of field people, they visit you and they check what you are doing. So they give you a name

card so that you can see what kind of companies are out there, what they’re doing there, and then they give you feedback” (Choi).

Lori Nock adds to the importance of networking by looking at her own experiences. She smiles, saying that “I pretty much knew everybody by name. And then somebody had an art show locally. I would see it- like you stepped off the campus and went to the gallery to support your friend. It’s a lifelong relationship. So I feel like that’s what it looks like for not just me, but for everybody. And I dream of that for everything, especially those who think like, Oh, I’m so scared of college. No, it’s a wonderful thing. It’s going to hopefully take you in and turn you into like, more of yourself.”

She also references some specific art colleges, like the High Art Center in Los Angeles, saying that “the job outcomes are really consistent. Like 100% of those people become either creators of culture or traditional corporate designers or teachers” (Nock).

Although jobs in the art field may seem uncertain, there is a place for artists to thrive and spread their work. With the resources available at art colleges and the right approach, an art job is possible. However, similar to the “conformity” of art conservatories, you have to be willing to sacrifice some of your expectations of what that job may look like. It may take years to become the animation director or the sought out fine artist you wish to be, but that’s not to say

that attending an art conservatory won’t give you a push in the right direction.

Is it worth it?

it was like $60,000 for tuition for one year…but if it’s only for the sake of gaining connections, really, at this point, I’ve seen a lot of people offer online courses that are essentially the same as (art colleges), if not better.” Kim remembers observing his classmates around him, some who weren’t fortunate enough to pay off student debt right away or who weren’t fortunate enough to find a job in the art industry immediately after graduation. Most art colleges are very prestigious, and “student debt being very, very prohibitive to a lot of people being able to go in the first place, I would say it’s not worth trying to scrounge hundreds if not thousands of dollars” (Kim).

“Is it even worth it?” “Should I just go the more reliable route?” “Can I even afford art college?” Not only is there the possibility of a dead-end after graduating art school, but most students fear that not only will they not be able to earn money, but they’ll be in debt because of the high expenses of art school.

But why is it so expensive? Is the payoff worth it? Julia Barajas asks these questions to Ravi Rajan, president of CalArts, who answers that “students rarely pay the sticker price” and that “90% of students receive scholarships, most of which are need-based” (qtd. in Barajas). Rajan holds an interesting viewpoint on the matter, noting that “you’re using the terms of capital - of buying and selling and investing - for education, which is not a salable good”. Instead, he believes that you should weigh the cost of art colleges with other aspects, such as resources or education quality. Rajan states that “Can I afford college?’ is the wrong question…Frankly, I don’t think anyone can afford not to get educated” (qtd. in Barajas). He also brings up that there are many different paths to becoming an artist, whether it’s going to community college and eventually transferring into a different school, or choosing a cheaper option.

However, Kim holds a more realistic view of student debt and tuition costs. He finds that “if you have the capability to pay off a debt quick, then you would stand to gain more out of going to art school” (Kim). He emphasizes this point by saying that it “is a financial burden. If I remember it right,

There are many paths you can take in order to best fit your financial situation, and if you wish to go to an art conservatory but student debt may be an issue, it’s probably best to take a different route. However, there is a way to reduce the sticker price of art conservatories through art scholarships.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, whether art college is right for you or not is a personal decision. There are many factors to weigh, all of which differ from person to person. The most important factor is confidence in your decision. If you’re feeling hesitant about the risks and you’re unsure about the student debt aspect of art conservatories, there’s always the option of going the more academic route with a minor in the arts. There are many different routes to follow, and the one you go down will be the best fit for you. If you’re passionate about art and would like to pursue it further, an art conservatory will help you further your skills. Despite what naysayers will argue, there is a future for upcoming artists in the industry.

At the end of each of my interviews, I asked my interviewee this question: “So in your personal experience, is art school worth it?” Each and every interviewee said yes, whether it was because of the memories they made, or the person they learned to be at art school, or the resources they were given. They all found value in their time at art school.

Meet the author

Annie Marcelino is a juinor at Mountain View High School, as well as a design student at Freestyle Academy. She hopes to further her art career and major in graphic design in college, as well as possibly minor in biology.

When she’s not drawing, Annie can be found out on the softball field or running around downtown with her friends. She spends her free time binging Friends episodes as well as harrasing her cat and sister.

Annie has been attending Suha Suha since she was in fourth grade. Recently she has been going around 3 times a week to expand her college application portfolio. Her favorite medium is painting, and she is excited for the many art pieces ahead.

cheesy photo i took downtown with friends a self portrait i drew

Arthur Kim

By:Arthur Kim

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A closer look into the untold truths of STEM Education

Throughout our lives, we often experience significant advancements in technology and society. For example, the average 40 year old born in the 1980s can likely testify to how much modern smartphones and PCs are an improvement to the clunky, boxy computers of the past. But what instigates this change? Well, most people would probably say the innovation of large tech companies and the people behind it are responsible–specifically, their skills in the STEM field. However, many seem to disregard important facets lurking beyond pure brainpower which propel tech giants to success, aspects that are commonly overlooked by the general public.

Many people assume that CEOs are intellectually skilled and knowledgeable, which is what allowed them to achieve their position. While the hard facts and knowledge are useful in leading a company, this is simply a cog in the machine. Other aspects such as communication, advocacy, and marketing are equally essential

to overall success, but people don’t seem to acknowledge this. For example, the conferences that Apple hosts, known as WWDC, gives them a chance to present and explain their new products so that consumers know what to expect. Being transparent and forthcoming to your customers is essential to increasing sales–if people don’t even know what a company is selling, they probably won’t buy it.

STEM education is highly emphasized in modern society and students often rush to take only the most advanced math and science classes, but the benefits that non-STEM classes, such as English and the humanities, provide skills in the real world such as public speaking and writing that aren’t taught in the STEM curriculum. While STEM is an important factor to success especially in today’s era, the significance of non-STEM classes is often overshadowed by its counterpart–however, non-STEM classes provide useful, real-world skills that can be used in tandem with STEM.

One of the most prominent examples of the significance of STEM is the Science Olympiad, an organization which hosts competitions around the world where students can participate in various STEM-related activities. “Yeah, it’s pretty fun. We’ve sort of formed a community and then we talk with each other at practice and we go to tournaments and it’s pretty fun,” says Daniel Lief, a student at Mountain View High School participating in the Science Olympiad. There are two main types of activities: build events and written events. Build events are where students get to design, build, and test a physical mechanism that performs a certain function, like a catapult hitting a target. Written events are paper tests in which participants study beforehand, typically via memorization, and then take an exam to demonstrate their knowledge. One instance of this is codebusters, an event where students decipher an encoded quote. In Silicon Valley, however, this competition is much more competitive and rigorous than it is in other parts of the world. It is seen as one of the most prestigious programs one can be a part of during

school, and thus many students attempt to try out. The STEM skills that Science Olympiad provide are extremely useful in the real world, and the plethora of events that the Science Olympiad offers cater to a variety of different fields like biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, computer science, and engineering. According to Southern Illinois University, a student who is skilled in STEM “tends to be an innovative and critical thinker” and can “apply what they’ve learned to real world problems” (SIU). This is, to an extent, true; in a rapidly changing world, these skill sets are needed in order to adapt to new, more difficult challenges. “You always learn a lot of stuff that you wouldn’t learn in school,” says Lief, “like cryptography, decrypting the cipher, learning a lot of random facts and learning some engineering stuff. Definitely stuff you wouldn’t find in normal school classes.”

However, this isn’t the entire picture. In today’s world, a lot of focus is placed on the pure intelligence and skill of a certain individual and less so on other significant factors; the foundational pillars holding these things up are often trampled over. Communication and presentation are two of the most essential skills that everybody needs to have in order to exchange ideas. This isn’t to say that students are never given opportunities to practice these skills, however; programs such as the Science Olympiad encourage and even require collaboration among team members. “Teamwork is pretty important to being successful [in the Science Olympiad],” Lief notes, “because you need to have good relationships with your teammates to work together to solve problems with each other.” Collaborative environments and competitions where students

actively engage in their work are highly beneficial as they prepare students for real world situations that don’t always reflect the typical school environment. According to Tulane University, classes and programs that emphasize discussion and communication can “prepare students

“Teamwork is pretty important to being successful because you need to have good relationships with your teammates to work together to solve problems and do tasks.”

to be successful in a variety of work settings” (“How Humanities Courses Can Help You”) such as consulting, publishing, sales, and advertising, all of which are important aspects of a successful company. In addition to extracurricular activities, nonSTEM classes such as English and History also provide essential skills in writing and analysis. Lief, who is taking American Literature Honors and AP U.S. History states, “I think US history and American Literature have taught some writing skills in those classes, which is sometimes useful in the STEM classes. Like when you have to do a free response or when you have to communicate with others and write about it.” The ability to write coherently and communicate clearly is extremely important and is often needed unknowingly. A student may need to write up a lab report pertaining to a certain scientific phenomenon or a presentation about an engineering contraption.

The false assumption that all STEM-related activities are solely based on learning as much content as possible can be detrimental to how the STEM field is perceived

in general. “People think [the Science Olympiad] is really serious. They hear stories about people studying so much, taking it so seriously. But at the practices, it’s not as serious as people would think. You know, people are talking to each other and joking around and laughing.” It is important to have a sense of community when working in a team, especially when collaborating on a difficult task. Knowing each team member makes everyone feel more comfortable and more willing to share their ideas with each other, which ultimately facilitates efficient teamwork. Michael Chai, a student at UC Berkeley, says “Being friends with my team members really made working hard and sometimes going above and beyond much easier for me.” He also noted that it helped him become more open to receiving criticism from friends as opposed to strangers–it felt less personal knowing that it was for the group’s best interest. Most importantly, feeling a sense of belonging will encourage others to join in as well. Everyone wants to feel welcome when joining a new activity or club, and having that strong connec-

tion between members will make that happen. The Science Olympiad addresses this aspect very well and rejects the idea of a hyper-competitive, cold atmosphere. In fact, the Science Olympiad doesn’t

even require its applicants to have prior experience with STEM; anybody who is interested is able to try out. Lief remarks, “Anyone can definitely try out because months before a tryout you start attending practice and they will teach you a lot of stuff that we’re interested in. You definitely don’t really need experience.” Anyone should be able to learn something new and STEM provides students with more opportunities that they can ease into. The STEM field incorporates a lot more than what is typically thought of, and that alone means that someone who hasn’t taken one advanced course in STEM will find that their skills will be of some use. For example, in various scientific fields, students need to know vocabulary and terminology that is specific to that science subject. However, many students who aren’t proficient in reading or writing may struggle with memorizing these words, which is why the process of learning vocabulary is extremely import-

ant for science. This also extends to writing; Sally Mitchell, a STEM teacher and distinguished educator, claims that one of her best students in AP Chemistry was also a talented writer (Stevens). When scientists publish papers about a new discovery, they need to make sure that it reads clearly and convincingly so that other scientists can understand what exactly is being talked about, which English helps with. The ability to definitively express ideas and communicate with others in a professional manner is vital to all STEM fields, and learning these skills along with STEM content will undoubtedly benefit students and help them achieve success.

It is unclear what the future holds in the tech industry, but we are very likely to see significant technological advancements in our lifetimes. As Lief puts it, “It’s growing quite a bit, especially in technology and engineering. The new ad -

Teamwork and communication are vital to success

vancements are really important to the future of society.” However, one thing is for certain: the value of communication, in the form of writing and speaking, will continue to increase as technology evolves and ideas become more complicated to express. Ultimately, the key to progress and growth isn’t always

Arthur Kim is a Junior at Mountain View High School who also attends Freestyle Academy. He is taking animation and thoroughly enjoys his experience at Freestyle. Arthur likes to code and play video games in his free time, and is also particularly fond of traveling and eating delicious food. He is also interested in game development and hopes to incorporate his skills learned at Freestyle into his future projects.

trying to chase the latest trends or most influential industries; everybody has a choice, and that choice may contribute to a larger cause just as communication does to STEM. “It depends on what you’re interested in. So I don’t think there should be a heavy emphasis on either one.” Documentary behind the scenes and more!

Avani Chhabra

Voices of Haight-Ashbury

Wear some flowers in your hair! Rock some tie-dye! Promoting openness and opposing society’s restrictions and conformity, the people of the hippie movement used activism and rebelled against the status quo and the war in Vietnam.

What was once the center of the hippie movement, the Haight-Ashbury district—simply known as the Haight—was filled with vibrancy, Victorian architecture, and activism. Today, it is a completely changed place, having suffered the aftershocks of the Summer of Love (a counterculture hippie movement during the summer of 1967) and commercialization. The bright colors and symbols of the movement remain.

Booming tourism has been a double-edged sword for the Haight. On the positive side, tourism brings in a significant amount of money to the area through increased business activity, job opportunities, and tax revenue. Additionally, businesses promoting the cultural and historical significance of the Haight increases awareness and appreciation of the local arts and music scene, and fosters a sense of community pride. On the other hand, tourism has led to overcrowding, increased cost of living, and decreased diversity. The overcommercialization of the Haight-Ashbury district threatens its authenticity as a counterculture center and the uniqueness that draws people there.

From Hippies to Yuppies

Sibling tour guides and long-time residents Pam and Bruce Brennan were involved in activism during the 70s, and currently give tours of the Haight. When he was in high school, Bruce was at a peace march protesting the war in Vietnam and got arrested. It hit the papers, and school authorities were not impressed and accused his mom of being negligent when she was right next to him at the peace march. He would also wear and sell peace buttons that said ‘Bombs, Bullets, and Bullshit’, and the conventional school that he went to thought he was a bad influence. While he got mail from supporters from the news about the peace march saying that he was such a hero, and thanks for the commitment to stop the war, etc, he also got hate mail saying things like ‘If you don’t like America get your ass out’, which was a common phrase used at the time against protesters and people who were against the war.

Bruce tried to move to Canada, where he built a geodesic dome (sustainable architecture in which it enclosed the same amount of space as a conventional building, but for 1/3 the cost due to the stronger structure of it), but unfortunately had visa issues and he ended up finishing high school at this alternative school in Santa Cruz, Pacific High School.

Kids were free to go wherever they wanted to go, as long as they were being educated in some fashion, even on school days. They would often go to the beach and see sea life, and just walk through the woods. One time, Bruce and his peers were on the beach and got asked by police questioning what they were doing at the beach (asking why they were not at school). They said they were in class, and the police responded asking where is the teacher, and they said the teacher is the sea. His physical education consisted of swimming naked in the lake, and physics class was welding an enormous yellow submarine, and seeing how much water it displaced. Their mom was involved in activism, and Pam elaborates how later she became part of it, “Well you can’t hear about the 60s from just anybody, but I was there, in the middle of a lot of it. And my mom was real active, my two brothers were active and as young as I was, therefore I was active.”

Pam needs tourism for her business as a tour guide and inn to survive, but how much does it actually affect her

and other locals? She elaborates how, “There could have been less dramatic change in that regard (tourism) as we have lost a lot of local stores that were essential.”

Pam also discusses the concept of “Yuppies” (young, upwardly mobile professionals), like people who work at big tech companies. She emphasizes how this category of people try to say they are hip and live in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, but are not sustainable and do not do anything to help the environment. Hippies were the opposite: working unconventional jobs, practicing sustainable living, and overall counterculture. Yuppies increased the price of rent and housing, and after the fall of the hippie movement, displaced the hippies. Additionally, the rise of yuppies coincided with a period of economic instability, which may have contributed to a widening wealth gap and increased homelessness. Yuppies are characterized by their materialism, consumerism, and focus on career success. According to the urban studies blog Proto City, “Because the Haight-Ashbury district evolved into a predominantly minority-run neighborhood, rent remained affordable to tenants” (“From Hippies to Hipsters”). San Francisco is one of the most gentrified cities, experiencing that change rapidly after the decline of the hippie movement, and the city itself is not helpful to homelessness. As the LA Times reports, “... its result is spiraling housing costs, clogged traffic, an exodus of middle-class and poor families and declining black and Latino populations” (Morain). Similar to the hippie movement, homelessness is now distinguishing the area of Haight-Ashbury.

The business cycle in the Haight is very cyclical, according to Naomi Silverman and what she has seen from her time running Mendel’s Crafts as businesses come and go. There are often resurgences in certain types of stores, like the recent vintage clothing stores popping up in the Haight. However, the recent presence of national chains such as Ben and Jerry’s and Whole Foods in HaightAshbury could be seen as a sign of commercialization and gentrification in the area. These companies are part of larger corporate entities and are associated with mainstream, middle-class consumer culture showing the increase of yuppies in the area, which does not align with the counter-cultural history and values of Haight-Ashbury.

Some may see them as a positive sign of economic growth and development, while others view them as a threat to the neighborhood’s authenticity and character. Tara Monks, student at the Urban School of San Francisco, has observed how there is a line of people in Ben and Jerry’s on the weekends, taking pictures with the Haight-Ashbury street signs. Often locals believe that tourism is ruining the authenticity of the Haight- Ashbury, as the whole hippie movement was about counterculture, and these corporations introduce mainstream culture to the Haight. However, “... visitors may pick up the impression today’s Haight Street is a movie set designed around the Summer of Love. A local who has lived on Ashbury Street since the 1970s complained the neighborhood’s businesses now revolve around tourists rather than residents” (“Revisiting San Francisco’s Haight”). Increased tourism can lead to the commercialization of the neighborhood, with businesses catering to tourists and losing sight of the unique cultural and historical character of the neighborhood. Haight-Ashbury was also primarily a minority run neighborhood before the Summer of Love, which commercialization threatens. Pam’s personal reason for moving to San Francisco was for the diversity, as she previously lived in New York, an area similar to SF. In recent days, she notes, it has definitely been more white than in the past. (P. Brennan)

“There could have been less dramatic change in that regard [tourism] as we have lost a lot of local stores that were essential.”

Con c l u s ion

The commercialization of the hippie movement begs the question, how does something so unique and authentic suddenly become mainstream? Furthermore, is there a way to preserve it?

Understanding the story of the Haight and its struggles with gentrification and homelessness is important for several reasons. Firstly, the Haight is a symbol of the counterculture movement of the 1960s and its legacy. As such, it has cultural and historical significance beyond its physical boundaries. Secondly, the changes that the Haight has undergone in recent years are indicative of broader issues of gentrification and displacement that are affecting many urban neighborhoods across the country. By studying the story of Haight-Ashbury, we can gain insights into larger social and cultural movements and better understand the forces that shape our cities and communities. We can also learn from the successes and failures of the past in order to create more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable urban environments. Furthermore, Haight-Ashbury remains a source of inspiration for artists, musicians, and activists who continue to draw from the values and ideals of the counterculture movement. Pam expresses how, “It was an amazing time and it gave a lot of us the notion that we could change the world.”

The legacy of Haight-Ashbury can be seen in the ongoing struggles for social justice, environmental sustainability, and creative expression that continue to shape our world today. By understanding the challenges facing the Haight, we can gain insight into the larger forces at work that are impacting the fabric of our cities and communities. Haight-Ashbury is often put in perspective as a reflection of what is going on in San Francisco as a whole, as Naomi points out. When places of a cultural significance gain national traction, new changes are bound to come about, positive and negative.

ASHBURY HAIGHT

“It was an amazing time and it gave a lot of us the notion that we could change the world.”

About the Author

Avani Chhabra is a junior at Mountain View High School and is studying Design at Freestyle Academy. She was born and raised in California, and plans on going into Psychology and Design. She spends most of her time with her family and friends, and when she isn’t doing that, you can find her traveling, drawing, listening to music, and running in track and field. Avani’s current favorite artist is Mac Miller, and you can often spot her at the beach.

Ayan Chhatrala

An Immigrant’s Journey: The Inspiring Story of My Grandfather, Rajvir Singh

By Ayan Chhatrala

Rajvir Singh’s life is the quintessential example of a rags-to-riches story. He started in a tiny, poor Indian village still under British rule and ended up in swanky offices in Silicon Valley. His big dreams, hard work and entrepreneurial spirit drove him to succeed beyond his expectations as an Indian immigrant in America. In doing so, he also helped pave the way for other immigrants, especially tech immigrants from South Asia. Singh’s story also shows that immigrants are a net benefit for America and can help to create wealth for all.

Singh led a quiet childhood in a small village in Northern India called Idrishpur. Life was not easy in India. When Singh was born, India was still under British rule and wouldn’t gain independence until August 15, 1947. British colonists had extracted much of India’s resources, turning it from a rich country to a poor one. Thus his father, like many of the small farmers in India’s predominantly agrarian society, received few resources or help from the

newly-formed Indian government and didn’t have much family wealth or savings to fall back on. “My grandfather would wake up at the crack of dawn and work till dusk in the fields, toiling away just to be able to put food on the table for his children,” recalls Mona Singh, Singh’s eldest daughter who was born in India and spent her early childhood there.

The village lacked basic amenities like electricity and running water, so he used to complete his homework by the light of a lamp at night.

Singh didn’t have much growing up - some pajamas, a couple of pairs of clothes, a pair of school shoes and slippers - constituted his entire wardrobe. TV, phone, and even electricity were unavailable in his household; food was cooked on a mud stove which used cow dung as fuel. But his mother gave him loads of love and affection and his father taught him the value of hard work and endurance. Growing up, Singh focused diligently on reading and doing his schoolwork, which earned him high grades in school. He excelled in his studies and often ranked first or second in his school. Singh’s high school was six miles away, and he would have to walk or bike there and back every day, even in inclement weath -

er. “If it is raining, we had not an umbrella, but a polythene sheet or piece of plastic,” Singh recalls as he reminisces how he and his siblings had to manage in the wet monsoon season.

Singh’s good grades would earn him entrance into the Electrical Engineering program at Roorkee University, some 75 miles away from his village. Although his father’s earnings through the farm were meager, he was able to afford college through the help of a scholarship which paid for half his tuition.

After leaving the Navy, Singh started a small business venture with a friend, using up all his savings, and some even of his father, but which failed. However, he did not let these setbacks deter him from his vision of becoming an entrepreneur. He persevered and did not lose hope.

In the meantime, his parents arranged his marriage, as was a common practice in India at that time, to a young lady from a nearby town - someone he met for the first time only on the actual day of their engagement! (Thus far, they have been married 52 years and have raised three children.) After marriage, the couple moved to New Delhi, where he completed his diploma in Mathematics at Delhi, an elite public university that admits only the brightest students. Interestingly, many of today’s

tech movers and shakers in the USA attended one of twenty-three IITs in India.

Singh was a dreamer. And he didn’t let his humble upbringing restrict his vision of where he wanted to go. And where he wanted to go was America. “I knew that America was the dream place…that gives you opportunities - it gives you an environment, infrastructure of education,” Singh says.

Most Indians were only allowed to immigrate to the USA after 1965. According to the Migration Policy Institute, “Large-scale Indian immigration to the United States is relatively recent, following the move by Congress in 1965 to abolish national-origin quotas that largely limited immigration to Europeans” (Hoffman & Batalova). So, shortly after his marriage in 1969, he learned of these changes to US immigration law and took the opportunity to apply to study for his master’s degree in the US. He was thrilled to be accepted at the University of California at Berkeley! Alas, he had to use up all the money he had saved up to help his parents pay for his sister’s wedding and thus could no longer afford the plane ticket. Thus he had to turn down UC Berkeley and forgo the dream of moving to the US…for now.

Singh was a dreamer. And he didn’t let his humble upbringing restrict his vision of where he wanted to go.

After working for a few years in India, Singh moved to the Middle East with his family and worked as an electrical engineer. While there, he again applied to the US and was granted admission into a computer science

program at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. This time he did have the money to buy a plane ticket, but only one ticket, so the rest of his family would have to join him a year later when he had been able to save enough of the small salary he earned as a teaching assistant.

Singh was part of a stream of Indian immigrants around that time. The historian Vijay Prashad states in The Making of a Model Minority that, “...from 1966 to 1977, about 20,000 scientists immigrated from India to the United States, along with 40,000 engineers and 25,000 physicians” (qtd. in Venugopal).

After finishing his Masters, he secured his first job in Silicon Valley and moved his family of five to Santa Clara, California. The company sponsored him and his family for an H-1B immigration visa, which is a visa that allows employers to petition for highly educated foreign professionals to work in “specialty occupations’’ that require at least a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent.

In between his day job, Singh cowrote a technical book, “Digital Design with Verilog HDL,’’ which taught the popular Verilog language used widely in the Semiconductor industry. The first publisher he met turned him down, claiming that no one would read a book by Indian and Jewish authors! “So I decided to publish from home and it became a bestseller and many saw my book flourishing,” Singh recounts. He

did not let this instance of discrimination dissuade him and found a way around this particular obstacle.

At this point in his life, Singh was financially and personally settled enough to be able to take the leap of finally starting on the entrepreneur journey that he always dreamed about. Singh founded several startups over the years, including StratumOne Communications, InterHDL Inc., Advancel Logic, and Fiberlane Communications. These companies were at the forefront of innovation in Silicon Valley . Whether it was chip design, networking, communications or processors, Singh was at the center of all these companies. Singh then went on to help fund over 100 companies in the USA and guide countless entrepreneurs who wanted advice and contacts.

Singh believes, “Immigrants come here and they all want to succeed because they migrated to do something to be successful, to make money, to have a good living for their family. So they work hard and they don’t give up…” Singh draws attention to the reality that many immigrants arrive in a new nation with a strong desire to prosper and support their family. Since they lack a support system of family or other resources, this motivation often pushes them to work hard and endure despite the difficulties.

Singh highlights that many Indian immigrants arrive in a new country with a solid educational background and important skills that can benefit the

economy: “…They are highly educated people and the best of the breed in those countries. They get admission to colleges, they get local education, then they pick up local jobs and then they try to perform better because they have come here with a dream and they want to fulfill their dream.” Immigrants are frequently strongly motivated to achieve and consider entrepreneurship as a way to succeed. According to an MIT article by Peter Dizikes, “ …per capita, immigrants are about 80 percent more likely to found a firm, compared to U.S.-born citizens. Those firms also have about 1 percent more employees than those founded by U.S. natives, on average.”

Vivek Wadhwa, a well-known American Indian author on this subject, explains this trend as it relates to Indian-Americans in an article, Why Indian-born leaders dominate American tech’s top ranks. According to Wadhwa, “In a land of more than a billion people, most of whom are hampered by rampant corruption, weak infrastructure, and limited opportunities, it takes a lot to simply survive, let alone to get ahead…”

Today, Singh is semi-retired, but still meets regularly with budding entrepreneurs from all backgrounds who seek him out for his guidance, hoping to help make a difference and give back to the tech community that has given him so much over the years. Some people might think that your 70s are a time to take it easy, but not Singh, who thinks of himself as a “restless” person. He has become an avid traveler over the last five years, shar -

ing that he has “finished 77 countries and I’m about to go out on another trip. My goal is to travel to 100 countries by the end.”

Rajvir Singh’s immigrant success story is one of many Indians who have come to America in the last five decades to create a better life for themselves and their families, and in the process end up giving back to their adopted country as much as they have received, if not more. His journey showcases perseverance, hard work, ingenuity, and assimilation which are common traits in many of those who come here to pursue the American dream. America started with immigrants who brought with them their unique cultures, talent and perspectives and made it the great country it is today, the envy of many nations around the world. We should continue to welcome those who seek to make America their new home - just like Rajvir Singh - otherwise, we will miss out on the potentially amazing contributions they have to offer. Singh dreamed big dreams in his little house in a little village in India and, with conviction and hard work (and a US visa), was able to live a reality even bigger than his dreams—the American Dream.

About The Author

Ayan Chhatrala is a Junior at Mountain View High School and Freestyle Academy. Usually, you can find him listening to music, out with his friends, or making films which he plans to pursue in college. Ayan keeps close relationships with his friends and family and value them more than anything.

QR code to his website which has the full version of this Documentary.

CJ Hoo

By CJ Hoo

THE RUGUNDER

In the ballet studio, the music of soft piano notes and pointe shoes beating the ground in unison reaches the tall ceilings. The scarred, black marley bends under the weight of time and reflects endlessly in the floor-length mirrors. This is where Jane Doe, a precocious and dedicated dancer, was sexually assaulted as a young teenager by her trusted instructor. In the waiting room, the tired, green rug tries to hide what has been swept under it.

A Brief History of Sexual Assault in Ballet

Since its creation in the 15th century, ballet’s focus on external beauty has bred a strict hierarchy of power kept in place by a culture of silence. But more recently, in light of the #MeToo movement, ballerinas have begun to come forward about their experiences with sexual misconduct. In 2017, New York City Ballet director Peter Martins stepped down after being accused of sexual abuse and harassment (Liu). In 2021, Sage Humphries filed a lawsuit against Boston Ballet’s Mitchell Taylor Button and his wife, Dusty Button, for grooming and coercing her, among other dancers, into sexual acts (Leavey). While there has been some progress in holding perpetrators accountable, the problem persists. An anonymous study on the Paris Opera Ballet in 2018 revealed that 77% of 108 dancers felt that they had been verbally harassed, while 26% had either been a witness or a victim of sexual assault at work (qtd. in Sulcas). These statistics clearly show that the majority of ballerinas still do not feel safe telling their stories. So how can we encourage them to speak out? What can we do to prevent sexual assault from occurring in ballet in the first place? And how can we reconcile our love for ballet?

Jane's Story

Jane is a passionate and motivated ballet dancer who was sexually assaulted at her former ballet school. Yet her experience with ballet’s unforgiving hierarchy and culture of silence has not discouraged her from pursuing a professional ballet career. Ballet has been a part of Jane’s life since she was three years old. She was born in Germany and danced at a little studio until she was six years old. Her family then moved to

the San Francisco Bay Area, where she started her seven-year education at The Ballet Academy.

Jane started private lessons with the instructor who assaulted her when she was in sixth grade. Private ballet lessons are a costly yet effective way to improve one’s technique because they entail one-on-one time to work on specific skills or adjustments with a teacher. During their private lessons, Jane’s instructor pushed her harder and harder. He began telling her, “I just need to work you harder,” and even though The Ballet Academy is a non-competitive dance school, he urged her to compete in the Youth America Grand Prix, commonly known as YAGP, because he said he saw so much potential in her. When the sexual abuse started occurring, Jane was conflicted about speaking out because she still wanted to prove that she had “potential to be something great.” Once she told her parents, Jane immediately left The Ballet Academy, but she didn’t tell anyone else for four years.

The real names of the victim and the ballet school are altered to protect their identities.

77% of 108 dancers felt that they had been verbally harassed, while 26% had either been a witness or a victim of sexual assault

"Dead" pointe shoes

After both Jane and a young female teacher came forward to The Ballet Academy about being sexually abused by the same man, the studio did nothing to address it. Instead, the directors quietly removed him from their performances and watched as a mass exodus of dancers left their school. Since then, The Ballet Academy has successfully continued their Nutcracker and Spring Showcase performances, along with expanding their programs to include more contemporary styles of dance.

Only last year did Jane finally confide in her best friend at MPAOD, where she moved to after leaving The Ballet Academy. She recalls, “I talked to her for a long time. I was just, like, crying the whole time. I was like, ‘I don’t know why I’ve never told anyone this before, I don’t know why." Jane gratefully remarks, “she really helped me believe that it wasn’t my fault.” Perhaps this is the most powerful thing for a ballerina to do: to tell someone. To break the silence that has kept ballet’s strict power hierarchy in place for centuries.

Both Jane herself and Gaby, a former The Ballet Academy student who left the school after sexual assault allegations against a male teacher surfaced, agree that The Ballet Academy, partly because it is a non-competitive dance studio, was able to create a relaxed yet motivated community where they were able to express themselves. Gaby explains, “It was always fun. I really liked all my friends there, obviously. I liked having the group that I danced with [...] the community part of that.” But this sense of community and security is exactly what made The Ballet Academy’s decision to cover up the sexual assault incidents feel like such a heavy betrayal. It severed the trust which students like Gaby had built over the past several years. When Gaby’s mom told her that she could no longer dance there, Gaby remembers, “I was really upset because I didn’t want to leave. I mean, all of my friends were there. I’d been there for so long. I spent hours there every week.” For Jane, it was alienating. She admits, “no one really knew except my parents until even, like, I think last year.” Coming forward as a victim of sexual assault, which is already an excruciating process, is even more complicated in ballet

because it is very normal for ballet instructors to touch their students’ bodies in order to correct their form. In Ellen O’Connell Whittet’s book about her relationship with ballet, titled What You Become in Flight, she writes, “at no point in any ballet class I ever took was there a chance to revoke or rethink my implicit consent to teachers, choreographers, and partners who must, for the aesthetics of ballet, touch women’s bodies to perfect positions or movement—either directly or by encouraging us to dance even when our bodies felt very, very wrong” (qtd. in Liu). This “implicit consent” is exactly what gives ballet instructors so much power over their students, power which they are trusted to use wisely, but which is too often abused.

Conversely, receiving physical corrections is one of the most rewarding parts about ballet. This is because they are not only helpful in improving one’s technique, but they also symbolize attention and validation from an instructor. Jane comments, “I love receiving corrections. It’s my favorite thing in the world.” However, this is where the line between corrections and sexual assault becomes blurred. Jane explains, “it was hard for me to kind of differentiate […] was this normal?” She adds, “I just thought this was someone who had really shown a lot of interest in me and I was like, wow. Like they really like how I dance and they really think I have potential to be something great.” Trusting one’s instructor is deeply ingrained in the culture of ballet in that every ballerina must understand that whatever corrections their teacher makes are for the good of the student and for the good of the dance. Even now, Jane is not considering taking legal action against The Ballet Academy or the instructor who sexually assaulted her even though she feels as though “he should reap some sort of the consequences.”

Another factor that made Jane uncomfortable to speak out or confide in someone was her young age. Jane was 13 years old when she took private lessons with the instructor who sexually assaulted her, and the private lessons continued for a year and a half. Gaby, on account of her age at the

An old ballet costume (tulle)

Frayed satin on toe box

time, also remembers not grasping the gravity of the situation when her mother was explaining why she had to leave The Ballet Academy. She recalls, “I don’t think I understood what “assaulted” meant [...] but, I mean, I could tell it was bad.” By not addressing and preventing sexual misconduct, the ballet industry is robbing children like Gaby from enjoying extracurricular activities and from having a place to express herself. After leaving The Ballet Academy, Gaby took a few dance classes at a different studio for a few years, but her passion for ballet never fully rekindled.

The Psychology Behind It

Jane was so young when the incident(s) occurred that it was hard for her to recognize that her discomfort was valid and that what had happened to her was wrong. The Childhood

Development Institute writes, “a child may not be able to clearly disclose what happened because young children do not understand time, have difficulty explaining the order of how things happened, and are still developing their memory skills” (Beniuk and Rimer). Jane reflects now on the situation, saying, “I was younger [...] I didn’t think it was anything out of the normal.” Unfortunately, her experience is not as out of the ordinary as one might wish to believe, especially for young girls.

The Journal of Adolescent Health found through surveys conducted in 2013 that by 17 years old, 26.6% of girls had experienced sexual abuse or assault (Finkelhor et al.). Angela Browne and David Finkelhor, who are both known for their extensive research on child sexual abuse, describe in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry their now famous traumagenic dynamics model explaining both the short and long term effects of sexual assault on children. They conclude that four main factors contribute to sexual abuse based trauma: traumatic sexualization, betrayal, powerlessness, and stigmatization (Browne and Finkelhor).

Concerning betrayal, Browne and Finkelhor write, “in the course of abuse or its aftermath, children may come to the realization that a trusted person has manipulated them through lies or misrepresentations about moral standards. They may also come to realize that someone whom they loved or whose affection was important to them treated them with callous disregard” (Browne and Finkelhor). These realizations make it more difficult for children to build relationships of trust with new people they meet. In Jane’s experience, she reveals, “it was harder for me to trust in other teachers, specifically like a male teacher, again. [...] And it was hard because I was like, I like, all I want to do is dance and get better. And like, why did that have to happen? [...] Just because of, like once you break trust, it’s very hard to get it back.”

Powerlessness and stigmatization also deeply affected

“I don’t think I understood what “assaulted” meant [...] but, I mean, I could tell it was bad.”

Jane’s decision to conceal the sexual assault for so long. In ballet culture, power is not asserted through direct force; rather, directors have the implicit power to fire or blacklist company members, and instructors have the implicit consent of their students. And because this silent power is so deeply ingrained in and understood by ballet dancers, it is easy for them to shift the blame onto themselves (Browne and Finkelhor). Before Jane confided in her friend at MPAOD, she remembers, “I felt a little like, Oh, this is my fault. Like I was kind of blaming myself and how I looked like for what happened to me.” Clearly, something within the very structure of ballet needs to change in order for Jane and other victims of sexual assault to feel secure in breaking their silence.

Prevention and Solutions (and the Patriarchy)

One proposed solution to sexual abuse, grooming, and assault in ballet is reducing or limiting the normalcy of touching students in the studio. Again, this gives instructors a perverse amount of power over ballerinas, and it is difficult to speak up due to implied consent. Francis Veyette from Miami City Ballet School chooses to rely on clear communication and imagery instead of direct touch to correct his students’ technique (qtd. in McGuire). With the consent of both dancers, he has also used a peer to correct another dancer because it involves a lower portrayal of authority and is also a learning experience for both students.

Furthermore, ballet studios and companies also must work to create more safe and encouraging environments where they regularly check in on their students’ well-being. The strict power hierarchy in ballet culture renders students unable to stand up to their teachers or directors, and especially unable to confide in them about sexual assault or other cases that challenge the prestige of the school. At The Ballet Academy, Jane found that the directors did not effectively build relationships with her and the other dancers, which made her feel as though she couldn’t tell them or her friends. She believes, “if I just told one friend it could have probably stopped earlier, but I didn’t really feel as though I could.”

A more systemic way for ballet companies to prevent sexual assault or to encourage victims to speak out entails hiring more female directors. In 2021, Dance Data Project found that 65% out of 125 global ballet companies had male artistic directors, and that 9/10 of the largest ten U.S. ballet companies’ directors were men (Global

Ballet Leadership Report). Considering that 82% of all sexual assault victims under 18 are female, and 88% of perpetrators are male, hiring more women to positions of power in ballet could reduce the number of male-on-female sexual assault cases while also making female dancers feel safer confiding in a director who may have a shared experience (qtd. in “Children and Teens: Statistics”).

What Lies Ahead

Today, Jane is still working on telling more people about the sexual assault, as well as considering seeing a therapist. This shows significant growth from where she was a few years ago—when she was trying to sweep it under the rug herself. Furthermore, her passion for ballet was not hindered; she moved to Texas last year to dance in the Classical Training Program at the Dallas Conservatory where she dances for six hours a day. She takes her academic classes online and completes her schoolwork after dance.

Jane’s goal is to become a professional ballerina within the next few years, but whether that be after college or next year, she isn’t yet sure. Attending college next year is plan B if Jane isn’t immediately able to secure a job as a ballerina, but she reveals that she has already auditioned for multiple ballet companies. It seems like the system itself cannot deter Jane from pursuing ballet; she explains, “from a young age, my mom would always tell me that that’s all I wanted to do [...] I just wanted to dance.”

“I just wanted to dance.”

Light shining through the seams

About the Author

CJ Hoo is a junior at Los Altos high school, and she studies film at Freestyle Academy. Outside of academic pursuits, she enjoys a variety of hobbies, including sketching, sewing, running, photography, and learning new languages. In the context of this article, she was a ballet dancer for ten years, seven of which were at "The Ballet Academy". You'll rarely spot her not wearing her black fleece vest from The North Face.

Elijah Ladd

Saving the Planet One Community at a Time

CRC and the fight against climate change

Imagine

you are baking vegan lasagna on your gas stove. Good for you, right? It’s both healthy for you and the environment! You start by putting a pot of water on the stove and turning the flames up to high. Did you know that the natural gas fueling the flame not only contributes to global warming but also harms your entire household’s health? According to the California Air Resources Board, natural gas stoves can release carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and nitrogen dioxide. According to the Environmental Protection agency, 13

percent of all greenhouse gas emissions are from residential sources. That’s 824.2 million metric tons per year of CO2 alone.

Although not everyone uses gas stoves, electric resistant stove tops and ovens are not as quick or as energy efficient as induction ovens. Induction ovens use electric currents to heat cookware directly, instead of heating the cook top in most conventional stoves, allowing for faster cook times and efficiency. Technologies like induction ovens are only one of many new improvements to homes that both are better at their

Image by Climate Resilient Communities

job, and are better for the environment.

Unfortunately, with prices rising due to inflation and supply shortages, average people are not able to buy and install new green technology because of the high starting price. Towns and communities like North Fair Oaks, East Palo Alto, and Belle Haven are all considered ‘frontline communities’ people who are directly affected by climate change and inequity in society. Climate Resilient Communities, or CRC, is a local company in the Bay Area trying to help those who want to ‘go green’, but can’t. They also provide support by helping citizens adapt to the already present effects of climate change, like flooding or heat waves. CRC is an essential middleman between the California government and underprivileged front-line communities in the Bay Area, providing green technology access and facilitating conversations about health and safety.

The non-profit CRC started as a program with a goal of being a “volunteer-driven commitment to helping residents reduce their energy costs, improve home health, and gain access to local resources like subsidized solar panels and home energy audits, and weatherization upgrades” (“Our Story”). One of CRC’s main programs is called Resilient Homes, which seeks to help eco-upgrade lower income households and fix other problems along the way. Being ecofriendly not only helps the environment, it also helps people living in more eco-friendly environments too. Lesley Lopez, Community Outreach Manager for Climate Resilient Communities, says that when looking back on helping these residents with eco-upgrading, “a lot of the residents we’ve helped with are very happy. They don’t regret it. They don’t regret it at all. Like patience is worth it because it has a good cause on their health.” She says this because “the cooking was bad when they were using gas stoves. And so now that they go all electric, they don’t smell that gas anymore. It’s like all clean, they could breathe better” (Lopez). This is because if products are made sustainable, or use sustainable materials that don’t hurt the environment, most likely they are not harmful to humans too. According to the EPA, “Greener cleaning products usually contain safer chemical ingredients” (“Why Buy Greener Products?”). On a larger scale, this thinking may improve most conventional storage water heaters that heat their water with natural gas. Electric tank-less water heaters heat water on demand, instead of constantly burning natural gas to keep a tank hot. What’s great about all these ecofriendly technologies is there are many programs all over the world to help

CRC’s dedication to helping their community is evident when you walk in the door

people install eco-friendly appliances for their homes at reduced prices. One such example is Peninsula Clean Energy, where they provide tax rebates for switching from gas to electric. This is a core reason why CRC exists, as they were founded to help connect people who want to become environmentally friendly with people who can make that happen easily (“Our Story”).

The reason why these communities need

that we’re allowing space and time for new voices, not just to speak, but also to, like, you know, educate those voices to bring them up to speed on what, you know, what is climate change, what are climate justice issues” (Beckman). Beckman says this is already working, because California recently passed Senate Bill 1000, which is a law that requires local governments to identify environmental issues in their jurisdictions and general plans”. Lopez agrees with Caroline,

help is because of an outreach problem, as Lopez explains: “Not a lot of outsiders go into East Palo Alto. Basically, if you’re from outside of East Palo Alto or Palo Alto, you only know Palo Alto. Nobody really knows that there’s an East Palo Alto.” All of the communities mentioned are underprivileged and don’t have the resources to respond to threats like flooding or ‘smoke days’. Talking to your local government to get help and resources for you or others is very important, so that’s what CRC is focusing on right now, says Caroline Beckman, the Resilient Homes Program Manager for Climate Resilient Communities. She describes CRC’s goal: “to create an even playing field” between people and communities with less resources, and ones with more resources. A main part of achieving their goal is “We’re making sure that voices that have had the resources to be the loudest in the room for a long time, are stepping back and

saying we are already on the right track: “I think for right now, we’ll have a better understanding of how to better protect ourselves. And how to. I think we’ll finally have a place to go to if something ever did happen, people will know where to go”. Lopez mentioned that this is a huge change from just 10 years ago, where she had no idea what climate change is or how it affects her.

Global Warming is not just something that affects you right now—it is already hurting future generations. Temperatures have increased 1.1° Celsius on average (1.9° Fahrenheit) since 1880. Many towns and cities in the Bay Area historically have been getting longer periods of drought more and more often, according to Drought.gov. When massive rain storms do happen, the infrastructure and the environment are not prepared, causing flooding. CRC is installing rain gardens that

“We’re allowing space and time for new voices”

increase groundwater infiltration in disadvantaged communities to combat these infrastructure deficiencies. What CRC is trying to do ultimately is create an equal playing field, where we can use resources provided by more affluent cities, or the state to better life and safety in these underprivileged communities.

Global warming, however, doesn’t just affect us at a local level. It is systematically destroying much of the natural ecosystem that we humans rely on. Unfortunately, it seems like the impacts of climate change are only going to get worse and worse unless we drastically change something now. According to the World Health Organization, “Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year” (“Climate change and health”). Because most people won’t be able to affect any large scale actions on their own, we can only strive to work together as a group. Beckman says that one of the best ways to help is to show up at public meetings and try and influence things at your local level: “we really can’t underemphasize the value that like your voice

has, even and maybe especially if you’re not a professional in the environmental space.” Beckman says that the key to sustaining action is “taking that first step to sort of reach out and learn and think.” Even on the national and global level, as more world leaders and industries are finally seeing the effects of climate change. Legislation targeted to help the environment is becoming increasingly more common, and with every new bill being passed worldwide, more and more changes are happening to curb the growth of climate change.

Climate Resilient Communities are not done on their journey to help fight the effects of climate change. In the past year, they have more than doubled their company size to keep up with the demand and expansion of their work, allowing them to help support and educate much faster than before. Their new Youth Climate Collective program is living proof that people are starting to understand how little we know about climate change and how to affect it. With CRC doing their part, what will you do to help your community be more resilient?

Raining in the Bay area is lasting longer through out the year and getting heavier due to Climate Change

About the Author

Elijah Ladd is a junior at Mountain View High School and studies animation at Freestyle Academy. He enjoys reading fantasy books with his cats and playing video games. You may also find him in the wild helping backstage at various theatre productions for his high school and elementary school.

Scan me to learn about other parts of the documentary unit!

Ethan Fey

The Germans from Russia

A people on the run, with a long memory for place and culture

The following is an excerpt from a full documentary paper on the Volga Germans, if you are interested the full paper can be found on my website.

By Ethan Fey

Displacement and Migration

One hundred and fifty years go by. The initial settlements in 1762 were made up of 2700 Germans across the Volga region. By 1910, there are almost two and a half million flourishing across the region. Recognizing their significance during his rise to power, Lenin granted the Volga Germans their own statehood in 1923, which allowed them to govern themselves under the name of the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, or VGASSR. This independence allowed them to prosper and gave them a further sense of security. But the tide turned for this community when Stalin came to power after Lenin’s death in 1924. As Stalin consolidated a more totalitarian approach to power and WWII influenced Soviet fears and priorities, by 1940 Stalin began turning against his own people in order to consolidate his power. Stalin wanted to unite the Soviet Union under one people and one banner; he wanted to purify the Soviet Union and to lead under his own vision; to do so, he needed the population of the USSR to be Soviets (formerly Russians) and the large numbers of immigrant minorities dotting the then Soviet landscape undermined his vision for a growing Communist empire.

However, for Stalins’s vision of a purely Soviet empire to come true, it would be at great cost to the Volga Germans. In 1941, Stalin revoked the autonomy that Lenin had granted the Volga German community, ending

their statehood.

Stalin began to vilify these groups, conflating ethnic Germans with the Nazi regime. He went even further, saying that ethnic Germans everywhere were a racial enemy to the Soviet people. He broadcast propaganda not against the Nazis or fascists or “the enemy,” but against the Germans in his country - the German Russians who had been living in Russia for over one hundred and fifty years - people who by that point had known no other home other than Russia. Stalin pushed his anti-German campaign right to the edge, saying that the ethnic Germans in the Soviet Union were an invading force, and uniting ethnic Russians/ Soviets against them with calls like “Death to the German Occupiers.”

But regardless of what the NVKD had found, Stalin wanted them out. Ethnic Germans are recorded as the largest deported nationality from the Soviet Union at this time, with around 800,000 people being removed from their homes by the NKVD and deported.

To escape this persecution, many groups of German Russians picked up what little they could carry and ran, including my own family. They primarily fled to North America and South America, with large colonies today surviving in the United States, Canada, and Argentina. Life in America posed a whole new set of challenges for these “German Russians” arriving in huge numbers. America’s Homestead Act was in place by the 1920s, allowing them to claim farmland and encouraging them to help settle the West. However, there was a problem: this Homestead Act required new landholders to live on the farmland the government was giving

“Stalin’s regime had no evidence to support the charge that there were thousands of potential spies and saboteurs among the Volga Germans. In the months previous to the deportations, the NKVD (Soviet secret police) had unearthed very few people suspected of political disloyalty among the Volga Germans.”

out. In Russia, these German Russians had not lived on their farms; instead, they lived in villages together and went out to work daily on farm collectives. America’s ‘gift’ of land ownership had the unintended consequence of straining this community’s culture and ties by separating them across vast tracks of rural American farmland. As a result, their culture risked disintegrating. Argentina took a different approach. By contrast, the Volga Germans there better preserved their culture and ties to each other because their setup in Argentina allowed them to live in their villages and travel out daily to farm collectives to earn their livelihood. Though another one hundred years have elapsed since these immigrants arrived in

“They build houses that look like Volga German houses. If you saw some of these places down there, there’s a blue color. They still paint their houses in Argentina that same color, and that comes from Russia.”

Argentina, and though the German Russians have since adopted the local language and moved homesteads, there are still communities there who, three and four generations later, as Germans from Russia, remember and practice their connection to a Russian way of life with German influences long in their past.

The story of the Volga Germans in America versus Argentina showcases the significance of how displaced people are treated when they arrive in a new country. Although America’s Homestead Act offered the immigrants the opportunity for farmland and space, it inadvertently separated them from their culture. In contrast, Argentina’s approach allowed the Volga Germans to maintain their way of life and cultural ties by allowing them to live in Villages

close to each other and work together, allowing their culture to live on.

This grand experiment displays the fact of the two very different possibilities for a displaced people depending on how they are treated when they arrive in a new country. If the country provides support for the immigrants to maintain cultural ties and community connections, that country can help the immigrants build new lives while preserving what they hold so dear, their unique identities.

One Hundred Years and Two Major Moves Later.

The Volga Germans, a unique diaspora with a shared history have settled across the world, and throughout America. Today, the Volga Germans are a diverse and vibrant community proud of their history and traditions. In fact, their perspective is unique precisely because of their intertwined German and Russian heritage.

“The Volga Germans in Argentina speak Spanish, the Volga Germans in Brazil speak Portuguese, but they’re still Volga German”

There are now centers designated to preserving the past, with Dr. Brent Mai leading tours to the Volga-German ancestral homes and chapters all over America led by the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia or AHSGR. Societies around the globe are connected and dedicated to preserving this precious culture.

Today, the Germans From Russia, sometimes called The Volga Germans, are Americans. They are Argentinians. They are Oregonians. They are Californians. North Dakotans. In fact - many are still Russians,

those who never left. A shared historical moment binds together this diaspora, spread out across the globe.

The Volga German perspective is unique, particularly because of their unique history. It is a German history that intertwines with Russia. It is a group of people in North America, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia, who make strawberry pasta from Germany at family gatherings, and Kulich at Orthodox Easter - sweet bread made in coffee cans that celebrate the shape of the Russian onion domes. They do this in places like - Portland, Oregon. They teach their children to make sauerkraut from scratch on their back porches. I know this because I am from a Volga German family; my mom has

made the Kulich and my grandmother has four hundred-year-old photographs of her German Russian ancestors hanging on the wall in her office.

Germans

My name is Ethan Fey, and I am a junior at Mountain View High school.

I love playing with my two dogs, Solstice and Blaze, as well as drumming in the afternoon. In my free-time I am often playing games with my friends, reading books or listening to music.

A core value I hold in life is creativity. I believe everyone has an abundant amount of creativity in them and it just takes practice to reach. Everyone should try to be creative in their daily life, even when it comes to small things. Mix up your day just a little. My favorite movies of all time, which are the movies I grew up with, is the Star Wars movies. I am very passionate about Star Wars and a big nerd when it comes to it. I am very opinionated about the series and could talk a while about which movies are the best. (Its Episode 5, Episode 3 and Rogue 1(in that order)). I’m even trying to build my own lightsaber for my Darth Vader costume I’m going as for the Halloween.

About the Cover Designer

Luiza is a 17-year-old student at Mountain View High School and Freestyle Academy. Her main passion in life is art. Whether it’s fine art, photography, or graphic design, Luiza spends hours at a time being creative. Her dream in life is to turn her passion into a career by studying graphic design in college and obtaining a job in that field. She is fluent in English, and Portuguese, and is proficient in Spanish. Luiza enjoys playing guitar outside of school and spending time with her friends, family, and cat. She has designed various things for the community including The Out Of Darkness T-Shirt

Logo Design, The Turkey Trot Design, The Silent Auction Catalog for Bullis Charter School, the Golden Gate Park Band Festival Program and T-shirt, MVHS Oracle

Youtube Channel Backsplash, and KPOP Dance Club Exec. Board Design, Golden Gate Park Band Festival, and more! Luiza is so thankful to be a Freestyler, for it is the best part of her day.

FREESTYLE ACADEMY