Jan. 26, 2016 | Issue 4, Volume 4

FHS Diversity

part one, see pages 6-7

Discovering Soundcloud see page 10

The 50th super Bowl comes to the Bay area see page 12

Fremont High School

the

PHOENIX

Vol. 4 Issue No. 4 Jan. 26, 2016

POOJA SUDHALKAR walking Manuela Rodriguez to the podium during the Hall of Fame rally.

Fremont Hall of Fame

by Susannah Schulze Staff Writer

LEFT to right: Manuela Rodriguez, Charlie Olson, Francie Larrieu-Smith and Tully Banta-Cain.

STUDENTS with Francie Laurrieu-Smith.

Photos courtesy of Sue Larson

Fremont High School has plenty of alumni who have been successful in their fields of work and is now recognizing some of them.

On Jan. 15, four inductees were honored and inaugurated into Fremont’s first Hall of Fame.

The four original inductees this year were Troy Tulowitzki, Charlie Olson, Francie Larrieu-Smith and Manuela and Tino Rodriguez. Due to family and professional obligations, Tulowitzki cancelled and Tully Banta-Cain was invited in his place. The inductees this year were chosen because they had several accomplishments after graduation and represented what FHS students could become.

The Hall of Fame rally was history in the making. The three alumni who came to the rally were all welcomed home. Due to a delayed plane flight, Tully Banta-Cain was unable to attend the rally but still showed up later to meet students after school.

ASB students had worked hard since November to organize this rally.

Pooja Sudhalkar, a member of the senior cabinet, escorted Manuela during

the rally. She was inspired by how much Manuela valued her education, making her grateful for her own and motivating her to stay focused for the remainder of her senior year.

Having the inductees at the rally allowed the current population of FHS to connect with the Hall Of Famers and catch a glimpse of Fremont’s history. Mr. Rosado was impressed by the amount of love and support students showed the inductees, overall making the rally a great success in his eyes.

Tully Banta-Cain graduated in 1998 and played football at the University of California, Berkeley. He was a linebacker for the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers and earned two Super Bowl rings while playing for the Patriots.

Francie Larrieu-Smith is a five-time Olympic track star. She graduated from FHS in 1970 and was a female athlete before sports recognized female athletes at lower levels of competition. As a result, she trained with the boys team in high school and ran for the San Jose Cindergals. Her first Olympic appearance was in 1972, where she ran the 1500 meter at 19 years old

and was later the flag-bearer for the United States in the 1992 Olympics. She has been coaching cross-country and track at Southwestern University since 1999.

“Athletics was my window to the world to be able to see the world, experience other cultures and grow and learn as an individual so I feel very fortunate, but that all started right here at Fremont High School,” Larrieu-Smith said.

Charlie Olson graduated from FHS in 1952, took over his family’s orchards in 1975 and witnessed the development of the Silicon Valley from orchards to computers. Olson still works in the orchard behind the Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum.

All the inductees were appreciative of everything Fremont gave them, especially Manuela and Tino Rodriguez, who both graduated FHS in 1944. While college was not an option for them, they are grateful to Fremont for the education they both received.

“Today I’m 89 years old and I’m still volunteering at the senior center teaching the school kids how we lived a hundred years ago because I really enjoy that,” Continued on page 2

News 2

Continued from front page

Rodriguez said. “This comes from my years at Fremont, which have never left me.”

The Rodriguez Scholarship Fund, created in 1997, awards $5,000 to an FHS senior each year to help them receive the college education they could not afford themselves.

The Hall Of Fame dinner at the Sunnyvale Community Center was a fundraiser for FHS geared toward the community.

Speakers were also given more time to share their experiences.

“The speeches by the inductees [at the dinner] were full of great stories from their days at Fremont,” Rosado said.

This year the fundraiser earned over $6,000, which will be used to establish the Hall of Fame fund and support athletic programs at FHS. Each inductee will have a plaque hanging beside a picture of them on the wall in the lower level of the B building. This new tradition will be continued in the future, each time inducting four more alumni.

Jan. 26, 2016

Biotechnology:

Discoveries, applications and opportunities

by Caroline He Staff Writer

In the past decade, massive advances have been made in the biotechnology field. Now, it is possible to print living tissue, edit DNA and cure previously thought of incurable diseases. All this growth, however, needs workers to power it.

According to IBISWorld, the biotechnology industry grows an average of 9.2 percent every year.

“Biotechnology is exciting,” Jennifer Rilea, Fremont High School Biotechnology teacher, said. “It’s where there are a lot of jobs, future jobs.”

FHS has the unique bragging right as the only school in the Fremont Union High School District and among only a handful in the nation that offers a biotechnology course.

Biotech prepares students for future careers in this field, which is why it’s considered both a career

technical education and science course by FHS and the University of California system.

“It’s a chance to learn about cutting edge technology, lab practices and it can help prepare you for college, for your future, or just to be a more informed person,” Rilea said.

One example of this cutting edge technology is Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. CRISPR, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is a way to engineer and edit the genomes of living organisms. Genomes are, as explained by the National Institute of Health, a collection of all the genes in an organism.

This technology makes it possible to cure a multitude of diseases and disorders. According to Business Insider, it has already cured duchenne muscular dystrophy, beta thalassemia and

halted Huntington’s disease in lab mice.

However, tampering with the human genome raises a variety of ethical concerns.

“Anytime you start doing genetic engineering, there are mistakes that will happen,” Rilea said. “When you start making mistakes with embryos, that’s where people get a bit upset, because what do you do with the mistakes?”

The human risk in gene tampering is currently deemed too high. There are also concerns about a future with ‘designer babies,’ where parents can choose the traits and aspects of their children, and how that will impact the future.

“I think it’s exciting to think about the possibilities,” Rilea said. “However, I also worry about what people might do with that type of technology.”

Less controversial is bioprinting, the manu-

facturing of living tissue.

According to Nature Biotechnology, an accredited scientific journal, bioprinting can soon create living tissues and organs for transplants, solving an important problem in the medical field, as approximately 6,500 people die every year in the United States alone because there is not a transplant organ available.

With bioprinting, scientists have already used it to manufacture multilayered skin, bone, heart tissue, as well as cartilaginous structures.

Biotechnology is also used in many other less noticeable parts of everyday conveniences.

“Look at the jeans you wear. The fact that they’re soft, it’s because of an enzyme,” Rilea said. “People have whitewashed jeans, different colors in them, that’s because of an enzyme.

The fact that you have apple juice is partly because apple

companies use an enzyme to make more juice come out from an apple than normally would. They get a higher yield this way. Look at the foods that we eat. Almost all the corn and wheat comes from genetically modified crops. Biotechnology is probably in every part of your life, and most people don’t realize it.”

Just like its uses, the biotech field encompasses a variety of careers, not all just science-related paths.

“I had an average student who took biotech, and they were able to land him an internship in the summer marketing for a biotech company,” Rilea said. “He wasn’t doing labs, but marketing for the company. He loved it, and it opened up a whole world that he didn’t know about before. Now he wants to go into business and marketing, specifically in the biotech industry.”

Changes in adminstration Current Events: What’s going on around you?

by Hannah Butay Online Editor

During the second half off this school year, changes have been made in Fremont administration after former assistant principal Ben Gonzales moved to the Santa Clara Unified School District.

Noe Ochoa, former dean of students is the new assistant principal. Since Gonzales left during the middle of the school year, it was more difficult to find a person to replace him.

“At this time of year, it’s real hard to get good, outside candidates, particularly for the [assistant principal] position because people don’t want to leave their current positions,” Principal Bryan Emmert said. “Since we had someone that we thought very highly of and we felt like [Ochoa] would be someone who knows the school, the work, and has the support of a lot of the staff, we opted to appoint him to the position.”

Anne Butterworth now holds Ochoa’s past position of dean. According to Emmert, the process of selecting a new dean was more complex than finding an assistant principal.

Butterworth applied online on a site in where schools post positions available and those interested can apply. Members of the district then comb through the various applicants and find the best ones.

Fremont Union High School District and Fremont High School staff then interviewed those selected and the pool becomes smaller. The remaining

by Manavi Chandra Staff Writer

Additional Gun Control: - Obama plans to increase gun control due to the high amount of shootings in past years - According to CNN, the solutions Obama wants to implement include more gun-safety technology, where fingerprints will be used to unlock guns for use - Now, firearm employees must receive a license and conduct background checks for the criminal and psychological history of customers online

NEW Dean of Students adjusting to her position.

applicants are brought onto campus for additional interviews and to meet other members of the staff. Members of the district reference check the candidates by calling past coworkers and employers. After all this, the candidate is chosen. “[Butterworth] exuded a calm and thoughtfulness that some of the other candidates didn’t necessarily exhibit the same way,” Emmert said. “When she met people, she just gave them a good sense from what she had to say.”

Butterworth comes to Fremont from North Tahoe High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Colorado State University, her master’s degree at Lesley University and is currently working on her doctorate degree at the University of La Verne.

“I think I was born an educator,” Butterworth said.

“I’d always play teacher as a kid and made my friends be

the students.”

She wanted to go into administration after seeing her sister struggle in school and not have the support she needed available to her.

She saw things in the education system that she felt needed to be changed.

“I wanted to get more up to the systematic level so that I could help build change in some structures that would support students and gave them the opportunity to learn in a more realworld, relevant environment situation,” Butterworth said.

As a teacher, she taught construction and computer programming, engineering and woodshop. She noticed that students who struggled in other classes enjoyed coming to her class and were excited for school.

“I was wondering, ‘What can I do that spread the students’ excitement for my elective class to other classes in school?’, ” Butterworth said. “That has

Sami Jin | The Phoenix

been one of my continued motivations to keep working for supporting schools in developing innovative learning environments.”

While she has only been at Fremont for a short amount of time, she already sees things that she enjoys about the school. She likes the support that is available to students, the close bonds between the staff and their students as well as the diversity.

For this year, Butterworth has two main goals.

One of them is getting to know Fremont and its family. She also aims to help Fremont and its students as best she can.

“I think that, just as an educator, whether I’m a dean or a teacher or a principal, my goal is making sure that students are receiving a relevant education that prepares to go out and do what they want to do for the rest of their life,” Butterworth said.

- Senator John Cornyn claimed Obama’s ideas were un-American and violated the Second Amendment

ISIS: - The attacks on Paris have led France to join the fight against ISIS as reported by the Jerusalem Post Israel News - According to CNN News, U.S. political leaders are aiming to convince the Sunni population of Iraq to remove ISIS from their lands so the world can agree on a plan to stop the war against ISIS - ISIS recruits from around the world have reportedly quit the organization after experiencing life there according to the Huffington Post, and shared their experiences with the rest of the world

Every Student Succeeds Act: - The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) replaced the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) on Dec. 10 last year - The ESSA reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and commitment to equal educational opportunities for all students, according to the U.S. Department of Education website - The ESSA includes identification and intervention for the bottom five percent of schools and school rating based upon other measures besides testing

News

Jan. 26, 2016

3

Declining student population at LHS

by Chau Nguyen Editor-in-Chief

Twenty-three items were on the meeting’s agenda—but the community was really there for just one of them.

On Jan. 12, some Lynbrook High School community members and the Fremont Union High School District Board of Trustees met for roughly five hours in the Shannon Theatre to discuss the projected declining LHS student population.

According to data collected from demographic firm Enrollment Projections Consultants, Lynbrook’s population will lose roughly 300 students by 2020, the largest downwards trajectory in the FUHSD. Soaring house prices in the Silicon Valley is a potential reason for the fewer amount of families with children able to afford living in the LHS boundaries.

Projected declines in student enrollment has some consequences. Fewer teachers would be needed, potentially leading to fewer robust core classes and electives offered, essentially limiting the academic choices of the students.

Amulya Raju, LHS senior, spoke to the Board on Jan. 9 about the importance of the arts, specifically theatre. Raju asked the Board to “ensure that electives at Lynbrook are kept alive irrespective of the decision they choose.”

“I want to make sure

that even after I graduate, there will be enough students taking drama to put up productions every year,” Raju said.

Over 1,000 community members attended the Jan. 9 meeting. According to Sue Larson, FUHSD Communications Coordinator, this meeting had elements of tension from those who did not fully understand the process, or had strong feelings.

“What you saw at the Shannon Theatre [on Jan. 12] was tame,” Larson said.

“There were some unflattering behaviors at that meeting on Jan. 9. There were things people wouldn’t necessarily do that likely occurred because of the large number of people who attended.”

After the Jan. 9 meeting, some parents also confronted Raju, asking if the district or school had forced her to speak.

“I didn’t think anyone would have a problem with my speech because I showed no loyalty to either party at the meeting,” Raju said.

“Aren’t we allowed to have our own voice?”

Because of the potential consequences, the FUHSD leadership team initially proposed a combination of open enrollment and area of choice (AOC).

Open enrollment is a lottery based system allowing students district-wide to request attending LHS. The conflict is that

some of the LHS community supports open enrollment, but does not support AOC. At 11 p.m on Jan. 12., however, the Board finalized a temporary solution for Lynbrook’s predicted enrollment decline.

For the 2016-2017 school year, eighth grade Miller Middle School students and their siblings who live outside LHS boundaries can choose to attend LHS. Furthermore, a district-wide citizen’s advisory committee will be formed to study the district’s enrollment needs to prepare for the 2017-2018 school year.

We’re going to be out at Lynbrook a lot trying to make this all work in the community because it’s our community.

Nancy Newton The Board initially considered designating the John Mise Park area as the AOC due to its “close proximity and easy commute” to Lynbrook. If approved, the approximate 200 students in the AOC could have chosen to attend Cupertino High School or LHS. But some of the LHS community critiqued the AOC for potentially causing many problems, like increased traffic or potentially

compromising Lynbrook’s academic standing.

“Open enrollment is the most fair, most open and most inclusive process of allowing students to choose their schools,” Ryhou You, LHS parent, said.

Some parents also feared the introduction of different families from the John Mise Park Area, according to Larson.

According to a website created by concerned Lynbrook community members, the district “did not include Lynbrook area residents in communications until they were questioned by a few uninvited residents at a meeting on Nov. 16”, and the proposal lacked transparency and was misinformed.

“We are the community,” Jenny Zhao, supporter of open enrollment, said.

“We are stakeholders. We deserve the right to be notified of these things. We have a lot of questions, but we don’t get good answers.”

Despite the interruptions and tension, Nancy Newton, Board of Trustees Clerk, ended the Jan. 12 meeting with high hopes to continue working with the concerned community.

“We’re going to be out at Lynbrook a lot trying to make this all work in the community because it’s our community,” Newton said.

“So let’s work together. Let’s make it work.

Villagomez on maternity leave

by Sami Jin Staff Writer

Fremont High School’s college and career advisor Lorena Villagomez will be on a maternity leave from early Feb. to April.

Though seniors rely on her as a primary source for college information, Villagomez has prepared more resources for them in order to lessen the impact of her leave.

As college and career advisor, Villagomez assists students with community service, job opportunities, college applications, scholarships, resumé writing and college test prep. Although her absence will especially impact seniors, the school still has plenty of resources to help them plan for the future.

“Everything is set,” Villagomez said. “We have volunteers ready to come and facilities set for the visits. I feel comfortable leaving because there is already a plan; I scheduled everything six months ahead of time and worked with the guidance counselors and substitutes.

I’ll be back for the last two months, so if anyone missed the placement tests or

important documents, I can help guide them through the process because we still have enough time.”

While Villagomez is on her leave, Desirie Torres, who has been working with Villagomez for the past year, will be stepping into Villagomez’s role. Torres and FHS guidance team have also been trained by Villagomez on how the important documents for colleges work. Senior Guidance Counselor Sandy Woosley feels confident that the guidance team will be able to do everything to support the seniors.

“We feel very prepared,” Woosley said. “As guidance counselors, we will do our best to support the seniors who come in to talk to us about college.”

During the maternity leave, Villagomez will not be available by any means of communication. However, she promises to be back in time to help seniors look at the financial aid packages from colleges, which usually arrive in April.

Villagomez also mentioned that the level of impact for seniors differs depending on their future plans.

the

PHOENIX

1279 Sunnyvale Saratoga Rd. Room 145 Sunnyvale, CA 94087 (408)-522-2200 fremonthighphoenix@gmail.com fhsphoenix.com Editor-in-Chief Chau Nguyen

Managing Editors Sarah Arkoh Jasmine Salik

News Editor Kelly Zhong

Sports Editors

Maggie Bernauer Essam Rao

Arts & Entertainment Editor Emily Wright

Opinion Editor Julie Wi

Online Editor Hannah Butay

Copy Editor Nicole Stibbard

Staff Writers

Michael Alva Nadia Anees Manavi Chandra Mira Dhingra Caroline He Sami Jin Jessica Lara Momina Nadeem Jenny Nguyen Dana Nissan Susannah Schulze Sam Tumkur Ambika Vaidya Michael Wang Allyson Wilbur

Adviser Stacey Stebbins The Phoenix, protected under the California Education code, is a public forum for the students of Fremont High School. The Phoenix staff will publish features, editorials, news and sports in an unbiased and professional manner.

Sami Jin | The Phoenix

LORENA Villagomez hard at work, days before her FHS departure.

“For the community college-going students, I’m leaving when they have to apply to colleges which is the most crucial moment for them,” Villagomez said.

“However, in regards to my role to four-year-collegegoing students, those two months are not critical.”

Some seniors also agree. Senior Oded Tzori claims that students who are motivated enough will be able to get help.

“I don’t think it will affect me too much since college applications are over. However, it would have been nice to inform her about the results and thank her for her support,” Gianna Pezzella, senior, said.

Before her leave, Villagomez wants to remind all seniors to stay on top of their emails.

“Email becomes so crucial this semester for seniors,” Villagomez said.

“That’s how they are going to hear from colleges, get words from School Loop, find out about any open scholarships and stay up to date with deadlines. They have to pay attention to all the emails.”

Villagomez assures, however, that seniors do not have anything to worry about. “[My leave] should not ultimately ruin anyone’s life because we definitely have great resources on campus,” Villagomez said.

Editorials are the official opinion of The Phoenix.

Opinions and letters are the personal viewpoints of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Phoenix. All content decisions are made by the student editors and in no way reflect the official policy of Fremont High School, nor the opinions of the administration, faculty, or the adviser.

Business advertisements are accepted in The Phoenix.

However, The Phoenix reserves the right to deny any ad.

Those interested in running advertisements can call the school at (408)-522-2200, or email fremonthighphoenix@gmail.com. An online version of The Phoenix is available at fhsphoenix.com.

Letters to the editor and questions for the advice column, may be submitted online at www.FHSphoenix. com, to room 145, Ms. Stebbins’ mailbox, or emailed to fremonthighphoenix@gmail.com. Identities of those who submit questions will remain anonymous. The staff reserves the right to edit letters to conform to styles and policy. Letters to the editor will be published at the discretion of the staff.

The Phoenix is the official student newspaper and is distributed free of cost to the students. The Phoenix publishes eight issues throughout the school year.

Opinion 4

Jan. 26, 2016

Giving fame and money to those who don’t deserve it

by Jessica Lara Staff Writer

In 2007 Kim Kardashian entered the public eye when a sex tape made with ex-boyfriend Ray J was leaked. The scandal lead to a TV show proposal for “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” that would follow their dramatic lifestyle.

Now in 2016, the Kardashians have continued to be watched, loved and hated by millions.

The show exploits a glamorous lifestyle of fame and fortune. Fancy cars, petty fights over where to vacation from a not-verytiring routine, a mansion in LA—everything you would expect from your typical high maintenance group of women. In 2009, the show did become more relatable when Kourtney Kardashian

became pregnant and Khloe Kardashian married former Lakers basketball player, Lamar Odom. However, it was still shocking to many that they were still on air.

The fertility issues and threats of divorce were fun to watch for a while, but the more you watched the more you realized that the family had become infamous for ridiculously overreacting and staging arguments. There is no embedded talent, their wardrobes are revealing and slightly tacky at times and they display a low sense of morality.

Millions of dollars from the entertainment industry seem to be going to a singular family with no inherent talent. The question is: why do we support this, even more so today?

Fame should be given to those who contribute to society or have unique talents. If public following allows their fame to thrive, why haven’t the Kardashians and celebrities alike gotten the boot yet?

A part of why we so actively allow the Kardashians to persist in the media is because it’s fun to judge them. It’s fun to feel better

about ourselves, average everyday people, when those who seem to have it all seem unethical and live fulfilling lives. We love to hate the Kardashians because it makes our own lives seem much more meaningful.

Another example is when Charlie Sheen’s drug abuse came to the public’s attention in 2012, when he was removed from the cast of “Two and a Half

Men.” Sheen had countless interviews and was offered different roles that used his womanizing image to his advantage. His odd terminology and mishaps due to the drugs were the source of entertainment for weeks. While the abuse must have been hard to talk about, there’s no doubt it only brought attention to Sheen—and he didn’t even have to act.

In 2014 Kylie Jenner became sensationalized for her voluptuous lips, which is not a trait that requires any skill. That same year girls around the nation began filming themselves doing the “Kylie Jenner Challenge.” The challenge lead to broken glasses and ruptured lips in hopes to be just like Kylie. But what has she done to better society?

As viewers, it was entertaining to see Sheen make mistakes on national television. It also brought up important conversations about drug abuse and the effects it can have.

And some of the challenge videos were hilarious, but Jenner didn’t do anything impactful or worth recognition. We can call celebrities trashy, dumb or untalented, but until we stop acknowledging them they will continue to get paid.

So if you watched “Kimye’s” televised $12 million wedding only to talk with your friends about how needlessly extravagant it was consider this as a thank you, because you helped pay for it.

This is why we must

think about what we choose to watch and who we choose to follow on social media. Competition shows like “The Voice” and “The Amazing Race” reveal true artists and talented individuals all the time, and researchers slowly figure out our world everyday, but we never hear about it nearly as much as celebrity drama.

We must remember that as viewers we have a say in who is famous and who deserves recognition as well as monetary compensation. Celebrities like Kylie Jenner are worth $10 million purely for big lips and relations to another celebrity. Is it really rational to spend our hours watching shallow “reality” TV shows and practically giving money to those who have done little to nothing to earn it? If our views determine celebrities’ payrolls then we should have a larger say in whether or not they are justified.

Photo courtesy of Fashion Style Mag

The difficulties of living far from FHS

by Gwenlyn Cabiltes Guest Writer

How many of you live in the Fairwood, Lakewood or Columbia area? Of those who do, how many of you find it hard to get to school sometimes? In this article, I will address that topic because I believe the community should do more to provide for students living on the outskirts of the district.

I first want to talk about the history of the Fremont Union High School District. I did some research and discovered some interesting things. In the past, the district was composed of six schools: the five current ones, and also Sunnyvale High School, which is now known as King’s Academy.

My scope of the history of the school was limited, so I asked Mrs. Sue Larson (who now works at the district office) about the story behind the closing of Sunnyvale High School.

I learned that this was essentially a demographic issue. She told me about how the baby boomers had already passed through their high school years which led to the decrease in high school enrollment,

therefore the district had a decision to make.

Initially, the decision was between closing Fremont or Homestead since they are within two miles of each other. They couldn’t close Fremont, since it is the heart of the district. And Homestead High School parents lobbied to keep HHS open, so the Board of Trustees decided to close Sunnyvale High School instead. This obviously put students living further from Fremont at a geographical disadvantage.

After looking into it, I found out that students who live closer to schools such as Fairwood, Lakewood, and Columbia live substantially closer to King’s Academy compared to Fremont. According to Google Maps, for instance, Columbia and Fairwood are around one and two miles away, respectively, from King’s Academy.

This is a shorter commute compared to Fremont, with one being four miles away from Fremont and the other being six miles away.

While on the topic of geography, the district lines are poorly drawn. Looking at the aforementioned schools, it became apparent there are other schools closer to that general area than Fremont, such as Wilcox High School. Fairwood is three miles away from Wilcox and Columbia, around three and a half miles away.

For a lot of students living in that area (including myself), a longer commute time can be inconvenient at times, especially financially. If you drive to school or get a ride from a parent, that means more money spent on gas compared to students who live closer.

Clearly, walking or biking is not an option if

you live in that area, so if you can’t get a ride, your only option is the bus. The school does provide free bus passes for those who qualify, and even if you don’t, you can still purchase a monthly bus pass from the school for $15.

Although that does beat paying the regular bus fee of $1.75 twice a day, that still doesn’t account for the combined three weeks in Aug. and June in which the school does not provide bus passes. And those three weeks already add up to $52.50. Even if you overqualify for a free bus pass, that is still $175 you are spending just to get to school. That is a whole $175 students who walk or bike to school don’t have to spend.

Not only is a longer commute expensive, it can also waste a lot of time.

Speaking from personal

experience, taking the bus home after school is one of the biggest hassles.

The bus ride itself is only around 30-40 minutes, however, there are no bus stops in Fairwood, which means I waste an extra 2030 minutes walking home from the bus stop. That hour wasted could have been used for more productive things, such as getting homework done or getting some rest.

Some may ask, “Why not just do your homework on the bus?” or “Can’t you just sleep on the bus?”

However, with so many people taking the bus, most of them being noisy high school students, it is nearly impossible to get any homework done, let alone be able to hear yourself think.

All in all, students who live further away from Fremont are not only at a financial disadvantage, but potentially have an academic disadvantage.

Don’t get me wrong. There have been many accommodations made for these studentsw such as

the provision of bus passes and the newly introduced bus route, 55x (55 express).

This route has fewer stops which allows students who live in that general area to get home quicker.

However, there is a lot more to be done. Let’s take my experience, for instance.

The creation of more bus stops in these further areas means easier and more convenient ways to get to and from Fremont.

More importantly, if we want to see any change, we need the district to recognize this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.

This means that a group of people need to voice this issue so that the district can resolve this problem—and I’m not talking about just me. There are bound to be other students, parents, and even other staff members that feel the same way that I do.

Similarly to how Homestead parents fought to keep their school open, with enough support, I believe we can help these students obtain the privilege to succeed socioeconomically.

To submit a guest opinion to the phoenix, contact us at fremonthighphoenix@ gmail.com

Julie Wi | The Phoenix

Opinion

Jan. 26, 2016

by Julie Wi

Opinion Editor

You can’t spell terrorism without “terror”.

Throughout the past decade the threat of bombings has drowned out news outlets and dominated every political debate. The attacks are frightening because they are unpredictable and unknown, making anyone a potential victim.

These events are also often associated with foreigners, causings Americans to become more and more paranoid about “intruders”.

This kind of fear is the kind that, in history, has caused people to make rash decisions and baseless accusations in the hope of safety.

5

There’s nothing like the looming threat of a bomb to bring a country together.

But how has media affected the way we talk about terrorism? Maybe news outlets aren’t able to tell us what to think, but they do choose what we think about.

The news determines what images come to mind when we hear the word “terrorism”: ISIS, the Middle East, bombings in Paris and New York. It is difficult to ignore the fact that all of these images have to do with one thing: Islam.

The dictionary defines terrorism as “the use of violence or threats to intimidate or coerce”. In other words, terrorism is using terror to get what you want, politically or otherwise. The definition makes no mention of religion, yet religion is what often comes to mind.

Former Fremont High School student and current senior at John H. Pitman High School, Hasna El-Nounou has held presentations at FHS, talking to World

History students about what it means to be a Muslim in an effort to reduce false stereotypes associated with Islam. According to El-Nounou, the media has created a stigma around Muslims, portraying them as dangerous and unpredictable.

“Muslims are portrayed as something that’s ready to combust at any moment, and [people are told] to not get near them, almost,” ElNounou said.

When the only appearance Muslims make in the media is in news stories associated with violence, for many Americans that is all that they see. People are afraid of terrorism, and therefore become afraid of Muslims.

“The media never says it but that’s what they’re implying,” El-Nounou said.

“They’ve definitely planted that phrase, that stereotype that Muslims are terrorists.”

The issue is that most of the terrorism in America isn’t done by Muslims. The 2015 Global Terrorism Index by The Institute for

Economics and Peace found that 70 percent of deaths from terrorism in the West since 2006 were done by lone wolf terrorists. Of those deaths, 80 percent were driven by right-wing extremism and nationalism—not Islamic fundamentalism.

Surrounding news stories with graphic language and images is a way of making people more afraid and more desperate. Graphs

by Shana Gadarian in The Washington Post depict a study that showed that of the subjects who watched a news item, those who were shown scary visuals in a terrorism story were more likely to support “hawkish”, or non-diplomatic, foreign policy.

“Not only did the scary visual condition increase support for hawkish policy by about six percent compared to the news story which did not talk about terrorism, but the TV news item with scary visuals increased support for militaristic policies more

than the TV news item with neutral visuals, even though they provided the exact same information,” Gadarian wrote.

News media is meant to cover what is important, but the reality is that the media itself determines what is relevant and what is forgotten. The power of the media is vast; it can both create villains and erase victims.

One hundred and thirty people were killed in Paris last Nov., earning the sympathy of everyone in America. The reactions to the Paris bombings are valid, but it still seems strange how little news coverage other countries receive in comparison. A few writers noted how attacks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 37 to 43 people, were overshadowed by the Paris bombings, which occurred the day after.

The numbers of terrorism deaths in non-western countries are shocking.

According to the 2015 Global Terrorism Index, in 2014 Nigeria accounted for

7,512 deaths, Afghanistan accounted for 4,505 deaths, and Iraq with 9,929 deaths.

Since 2000, just 2.6 percent of deaths from terrorism happened in western countries, 0.5 percent excluding September 11. So why is it that such a large percent of terrorism victims are being ignored?

From social media platforms to news channels, media is our scope of the outside world, and a reflection of the world we live in. Many people accept what they see in the news as the whole truth with little suspicion to how the stories are framed and whether the information they see is the whole story. With topics like terrorism, the media has the dangerous ability to distort reality in the eyes of their viewers. Having news outlets change the way they have always been might be too much to ask for, but it might not be too much to ask for people to be conscious of what they are told.

Difficulties of dealing with divorced parents

by Nicole Stibbard

Copy Editor

Divorce and separation are seen everywhere, in movies, television and in our daily lives. Due to its frequency, you may not realize how large of problem it is and how much it affects children of divorce or separated parents.

According to the Guinness World Records, the United States comes in third globally with the highest rate of divorce. Although, its competitors for first and second place have far less of a population than the U.S. In second place, Belarus, Europe, has a population of

9.4 million. In first place, Maldives, South Asia, has a population of roughly 345,000. In terms of population we come in third in the world with roughly 322.5 million. Even if Belarus and Maldives have higher statistics, since the U.S has such a greater population more people are ending up divorced. So I guess you could say we’re leading in divorce. According to the American Physiological Association, there is a 40 to 50 percent chance of divorce in the U.S. Also, the subsequent marriage divorce rate is even higher than first divorce.

The second marriage divorce rate is 67 percent and the third marriage divorce rate is 73 percent.

Many people believe that the leading cause of divorce is infidelity, but statistics show that simple incompatibility is the leading cause of divorce. This leads people to think, why get married in the first

place?

A child’s mental health relies heavily on the functionality of their parents’ marriage. Due to divorce, a child can suffer mental, physical, educational and social issues, the APA claims.

Personally, the separation of your parents feels the most strange when you have expected it your life. Rather than suddenly be brought life-changing news, the thought that at some point, any point, there would be a permanent division in your family is terrifying. You predict your future, envisioning a possible wedding and the tension between families, having to somehow invent a perfect seating chart.

Then after a look into your future, you realize you have to think about your next few weeks, strategically tip toeing, making sure not to upset anyone, especially your parents.

If I were telling the truth, I didn’t think I was

going to be as sad as I was.

What leads to mental, physical, educational and social issues is simply sadness. Mentally, I constantly was trying to cope in my own way. Although, my own way wasn’t too healthy. I started slacking in school, just not willing to put forth any effort. I always felt tired due to my unusual sleeping patterns. With a lack of sleep, this lead me to physical laziness and weakness because of how tired I was.

The strangest part about the effects was that I didn’t really notice them, or perhaps I ignored them.

I was convinced that it was simply the stresses of high school, when in reality I struggled due to my parents separation. Although of course my amount school work didn’t help the problem.

Even now, it’s stressful trying to maintain proper relations with each parent and speaking to the rest of your family in appropriate

terms.

No child can prepare for separation or divorce, no matter how much thought they put into the possibility.

I thought I would be ready, but I wasn’t. No amount of time can give you an accurate mental picture of what it‘ll really be like when divorce happens within your

family.

The most important thing is to make the best life lesson from your experience. If someday you choose to have children, use the separation of your own parents for incentive to give them the best example of a healthy marriage.

If you have a Question contact us at fremonthighphoenix@gmail.com

Special Feature

Jan. 26, 2016

6

Diversity and the Fremo Fremont is a diverse place. This diversity is most evident in the school’s population. With so many different backgrounds come many different stories.

by Manavi Chandra and Ambika Vaidya Collaboration

Being an Indian

student in our society seemingly comes with higher expectations than usual. As parents motivate their kids to earn good grades in school, friends also start expecting them to be hard workers, smart and academic achievers.

Hence, many students of the other cultures believe the stereotypes that all Indian students are smart and always score high on tests.

“Because I’m Indian, a lot of my other friends who are not of the same race expect me to do better on tests and quizzes,” said

freshman Esha Saini. “I feel like as an Indian, people don’t expect me to be a very cool person and they expect me to be all about studies and academics; when in reality, I’m anything but that.”

Actually, Indian parents having high expectations of their kids can have something to do with their own background. Some family members of these Indian parents may have been illiterate or financially disabled as a whole. As a result, once these parents were all grown-up and had earned their careers, they moved to the United States to seek a better life for themselves and their families. And now, they motivate and encourage their kids to work as hard—or harder than they

did—because they want their children to attain success and wealth. There are other parents who believe that education is the key to success. Since they rose up in life by working hard and earning good grades, they pass their academic values and beliefs on to their children.

“For me, personally, I expect myself to get mostly A’s and maybe one or two B’s. My parents [also] expect me to get mostly A’s and a few B’s,” Fremont High School freshman Kate Richardson said.

Freshman Bryan Carrillo responded to grades by saying, “I expect to get just A’s and B’s. If I get a C, I won’t feel bad. But A’s and B’s, I’m aiming for that.”

Contrary to this, many

Indian parents expect their kids to receive straight A’s and not even a single B; however, this is a goal which some students may feel pressured to achieve— although, there are some Indian parents who are okay with their children getting grades in the B range.

“My parents [do] expect me to get B’s or higher, but when I get B’s, they don’t get mad, but they let me know that I can do better,” Saini said. “I [personally] expect myself to do the best I can and not any less.”

According to the FHS website, approximately 20% of students at Fremont High have their roots in Asia. Out of that 20%, around 12% of those students are of Indian

Commu

ethnicity. The expectations of Indian parents for their children tie into few Indian students attending FHS. Most of our Indian friends’ parents believe in many stereotypes about the school. Since they have high expectations for their kids, some of them go out of their way to send their kids to a seemingly better and higher-rated school with a higher Academic Performance Index (API) score.

Several Indian parents remain ignorant of Fremont’s social and academic environments. Some parents go as far as to believe that Fremont students do not get entrance to Ivy League colleges because of poor academic standards at the school.

Yet, not all Indian par-

ents believe that Fremont is a low-performing school.

As years progress, several Indian parents are beginning to realize that FHS is not such a low-end school after all. In fact, many parents whose children are currently Fremont alumni say they would rather their kids go to FHS than another FUHSD high school.

It is important for students as well as adults to know that many a times, the stereotypes they have about Indian students are false. Instead of believing in these stereotypes, people should get to know an individual’s personality—this way, they will not hold any misconceptions about a person, and will get to know them for who they really are.

African-Americans students make up a mere 2.6 percent of Fremont High School’s population. While FHS proves to be a safe haven for many of these students, society in general doesn’t seem to be as accepting. Three FHS students share their experiences and what it means to be African-American.

What does it mean to you to be African-American?

Darius Clewies, Grade 10: To be African-American means to be different. When it comes to Fremont, I have just as many privileges as other students. When it comes to other students at other schools, I feel it wouldn’t be the same.

Amari Mouton, Grade 12: My cousins and I call it the beautiful struggle. It’s kind of hard but it’s fun.

In what ways does your skin color affects the way others view you?

Elijah Presley, Grade 12: I feel like I’m pretty good kid. I could be worse. I could be bad. Because of the way I look, people judge me before they even know who I am. In the store, workers will constantly ask if I need help. Or they’ll follow me around.

Clewies: There was this one time, a girl came up to me and said ‘Oh my god. I can’t believe you live in a house. You’re black.’ I was just really confused. I don’t know why she would think that. She was so surprised that I spoke properly too.

Mouton: I could make a 70-year-old feel scared and I’m a 17-year-old kid.

What stereotypes have you heard about African-Americans and to what extent do you think they are true?

Mouton: I’ve heard that African-Americans are athletic and then also lazy. Stereotypes come from somewhere so some have some truth. Others are just stupid.

Presley: I’ve heard that all of them are ghetto. Everybody loves fried chicken and koolaid. I feel like the food stereotypes are kind of true but people make it into a joke.

Everybody being ghetto? I don’t think that’s true. Every race is going to have good and bad people. You can’t label a whole race as bad.

What struggles have you faced being an African-American student at FHS? Presley: One struggle I face is not feeling like my culture is at this school. You almost feel like an outsider. There aren’t many people who can relate to you.

What privileges do you think come with being African-American?

Presley: There are a lot more scholarships. People are trying to help AfricanAmericans get out of bad places. That help is all fairly recent.

Mouton: Expectations aren’t as high as other races so it’s easy to exceed expectations.

Dewies: When you do certain things, it’s more of a big deal. People notice you. When Barack Obama became president, because he was black, it was a big deal. Other things like getting a 4.0 GPA and being on the honor roll are also a bigger deal because you are who you are.

Interviews by Sarah Arkoh

by Momina Nadeem Staff Writer

To a Muslim like myself, the word “Islam” is always associated with a strong sense of faith and community. However, the general public seems to think otherwise. One of the words that is most commonly associated with Islam is “terrorism.”

According to Dictionary.com, terrorism is “the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.”

As a Muslim living in the United States, this stereotype follows me everywhere. Every time I go to the airport, I get stopped by security for a “random” searching. I often get looks from people in public whenever they see my hijab.

When I was in middle school, some kids would see that I’m a Pakistani Muslim and tease me as being related to Osama Bin Laden. Being stereotyped in this way often times made me feel unsafe going to school for fear of being made fun of.

I had begun to develop a deep sense of distrust in some people. I was always cautious during conversations, never letting them drift towards topics relating to religion. It was always a sensitive subject for me to talk about, especially when the other students had mainly only heard negative things about Islam.

Although people have generally become more accepting of me as time passed because I make my personality stand out more than my race or what religion I follow, there are countless other Muslim children who get bullied for the same reasons that I did.

I was easily offended at the stereo-

Special Feature

Jan. 26, 2016

7

nt High School

nity Part 1

Population 43.32 percent Hispanic/Latino 21.51 percent White 20.74 percent Asian 11.57 percent Filipino & Pacific Islander 2.6 percent African American 0.26 percent American Indian or Alaska Native

Illustrations by Julie Wi

Staff Writer

Where are you from?

Fremont High School’s

types that are associated with Muslims, but recently I’ve begun to gain an understanding of why people think the way they do about Islam: it’s the only thing they ever hear in regards to the religion. Different types of media such as television, news and social media emphasize Muslim’s violent acts of terrorism. It would be described in a completely different manner if somebody else were to be the one doing the violent action; if the person was white, the person would be considered “mentally disabled” and if the person were black, the hate crime would be “gang-affiliated.”

The true Islam, a religion of peace, is almost never portrayed in the media. As a result, not many people are educated about how the violent acts that the terrorists are committing are against Islamic teachings.

The concept of jihad is often misunderstood, which adds to the misconceptions about Islam being a violent religion. The denotation of jihad is “a holy war undertaken as a sacred duty by Muslims” and it’s understandable why this definition can be misleading to some. This definition has led some people to believe that it’s permitted in Islam for its followers to use violence as a means of spreading the religion. However, what people don’t understand is that the jihad concept is more about a struggle to become a better Muslim and spreading Islam through mutual understanding.

As a Muslim, I get many questions from people about my religion. A common question I get is “Do your parents

by Mira Dhingra

make you wear a headscarf?” Some other stereotypes people assume are true when they look at me is that I am oppressed because I wear a hijab. They assume that all Muslim women who wear a hijab are forced to do so. But for the most part, it’s false. I started wearing a scarf because I decided to do so for myself, not because I was forced to.

As for the other questions and comments I get, they aren’t always so serious and sometimes senseless. It’s absurd how many times people have asked me, “Do you wear that thing in the shower?” or even, “How do you go 30 days in a row without eating anything in Ramadan?” Although these questions may seem ridiculous, it’s comprehensible why people may ask these kinds of things. Since the public isn’t very educated about Islam, they may have unusual misconceptions about the religion based on what they see or hear. Some of these misconceptions are nothing more than just misunderstandings, and prove to be nothing but minor annoyances for Muslims to answer again and again.

Some of the other ones, however, impact how we live on a day-to-day basis because some of them are so negative that it makes Muslims feel unsafe.

It’s important for people to be educated about minority groups because a lack of understanding leads to fear, which is exactly why Muslims are always discriminated against. It’s vital for the public to have a sense of trust amongst one another. It is important for everyone to feel safe being themselves in a diverse community.

“Like, really from? You know, what are you?”

Such questions seem to follow me everywhere.

Strangers seem to think that if they know my race, they’ll have figured out what and who I am.

So starts a guessing game. I don’t make it easy for them. I would tell them I’m Californian, but again that’s not what they really, really want to know. It’s clear they want to know my race.

I ask, “What do you think?” Usually, people give up, and I finally confess, “Hey, I’m Asian. What “kind” of Asian? Well, my dad’s Indian, my mom is Chinese and I’m 100 percent American.”

After I tell people my race, some are fascinated, but some raise their eyebrows in disbelief and actually question me. “You’re too dark to be Chinese,” they say.

“Your eyes are too big for you to be Asian.” What am I supposed to say in response? I know who I am.

I face this question so often I’ve gotten used to it. Sometimes I even end up laughing when they get frustrated trying to figure me out.

“But what are you?” I always get a little stumped myself about how I want to answer. When this particular question comes to mind, I think of the hobbies I enjoy or the passions I have because to me, these are the things about me that matter. It makes me sad that people would rather talk to me about my “ethnic identification” than what makes me who I am today.

Why are they more curious as to why my facial features or skin tone do not match their stereotypical images of race? When I tell you my race, what do you really know about me? At best you can make guesses based on assumptions, but you do not really know me.

All you know is my genetic makeup.

When I was in elementary school, I took pride in being Chinese and Indian because I was unique—nobody was the same as me.

However, throughout middle school, my peers started to learn about stereotypes and their views began to shift. As there were many positive qualities about my races, my mind got stuck on all the negative stereotypes people joked about. As I entered my teenage years, there was the pressure to fit in society in order to be accepted.

Instead of trying to embrace my race, I tried to hide it because I was concerned about what people thought of me, and most importantly, how I would be able to fit in. I did not like being Chinese and Indian anymore, because now being different was not good.

I began to worry about if I didn’t have “enough” of either Chinese or Indian culture in me, or if I didn’t belong because I did not look one way or the other. I worried that the people who came up to me, already trying to guess “what I am” had already made the decision of “who I am” for me.

But, I also didn’t want to reject one of my parents’ culture and abandon the other half of who I was. Picking a “side” was not an option. I felt conflicted, because everyone else was in a category and I didn’t know where I belonged or how I would belong.

Fast forward to today. Since middle school, my mindset has turned around drastically. I no longer see race as a barrier stopping me from being able to feel accepted.

Being mixed-race and being aware of my diversity has enabled me to make better connections with others from diverse backgrounds. I am very happy to have a diverse group of friends that give me a place where I do feel like I belong.

I have grown to appreciate my features, even if they may not match perfectly. I am proud and grateful to be able to appreciate and explore two different cultures.

Why do people feel the need to place everyone into a category? Do I need to be simply just “Asian” or “Chinese” or “Indian”? People often try to use race as a shortcut to make assumptions to figure out who I am.

They can try to know me by making robotic assumptions based on my race, but I’m glad that I do not fall into any group.

There’s no “right” way for my races to have been mixed and my features to have been made. I have learned to appreciate that I do not immediately look one race or the other, but blended like how both of my cultures come together. Now, I love that people can’t look at my features and decode “what I am” at first glance, because they are a part of me and not in a category, and I proudly do not belong in one.

According to social scientists, it only takes a blink–two seconds to be precise–for a person to look at you and form their first impression.

“What are you?” I think next time I’ll just pause and say nothing. It’s going to take a lot more than two seconds to know who I am and that’s fine with me.

Arts & Entertainment The most popular, trending songs of 2015

Jan. 26, 2016

8

by Nicole Stibbard Copy Editor

According to Official Charts, in 2015 these were the top three songs heard and enjoyed the most, even though all of these songs were not released in the year 2015.

Taking second place was Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix), by OMI. According to Official Charts, this song remained number one for 14 weeks. Prior to his hit, OMI focused his talents around being a Jamaican artist with his only album being his Tui Ekta Nam E.P. In America, though, he is considered as what is known as a “one-hit wonder.” The original song was released in 2012 but the remix made its way in May of 2014. Many appreciate the slightly reggae feel to the song. Again, with the seemingly apparent break from electronic music, OMI also applies a gentle pop sound, making the song more enjoyable for most.

Photo courtesy of Stereogum

At number one was Uptown Funk, by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars. According to Official Charts, this song remained number one for an amazing 39 weeks, although Uptown Funk was actually released in Nov. of 2014. During these 39 weeks, the song was everywhere, with kids, teens and adults enjoying it. The song appealed to a broad spectrum of listeners, leading it to fame. Similar to Hozier, this song brings elements of past music genres, such as funk, soul and boogie. Many adults are prone to enjoying this song because it sounds eerily similar to something of their music generation. Young kids are able to enjoy it due to its upbeat rhythm and absence of profanity. Teens and young adults took a liking to the song because of beloved young artist Bruno Mars and cultural references, such as actress Michelle Pfeiffer, Chuck Taylors and others. This song definitely deserves its rank as number one.

Photo courtesy of Chromatik

Although Adele did reach the top ten, she failed to make bronze. Coming in third was Take Me to Church, by Hozier. According to Official Charts, this song remained number one for four weeks. Initially, Hozier’s Take Me to Church Extended Play (E.P.) was released in 2013, making the song much older than 2015. The following year he released From Eden, another E.P. Finally, within the same year, he released his first album, sending Take Me to Church straight to the top.

Take Me to Church is not only popular for its sound but its meaning as well with its message of breaking away from heteronormativity. Over the years many different genres have regained popularity, and for many, Hozier has sparked interest in a modernized version of soul and blues music.

With an epic rasp to his voice and meaningful lyrics, he continues to inspire the comeback of these genres. Within recent years, this generation has taken a step back from electronic music and fallen straight into indie. Hozier completely fits this description, bringing a gentle feel back into music, making it a perfect song for almost any setting.

Photo courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment

Sadie Hawkins Hip Hop: Understanding the culture

by Sam Tumkur Staff Writer

Due to the extremely low sales of winter formal tickets last year, Fremont High School’s Associated Student Body is replacing the dance with a Sadie Hawkins dance on Feb. 5 in the large gym.

“Winter formal last year wasn’t really a hit, we sold six to seven tickets, so we didn’t even have a crowd to go,” Tatum Wozniak, a member of ASB, said. “So we thought this year instead of completely getting rid of the formal or the winter dance, let’s try something new.”

The Sadie Hawkins dance originates from cartoonist Al Capp’s comic, Li’l Abner. Sadie Hawkins was the “homeliest gal in all of them hills”—in other words, she was ugly. After waiting for a suitor for over 15 years, her father called all the unmarried men in the town to a race, in which if Sadie caught a suitor, they’d have to marry Sadie. People liked this idea so much, they named a dance after Sadie Hawkins, where girls ask guys out.

Even though the Sadie Hawkins dance is traditionally a girl ask guys dance, Wozniak and Eric Siegel, another member of ASB, imply that it doesn’t have to be that way. According to ASB, the theme for this year’s dance is Sadie Goes to Hollywood, so students can dress up as celebrities, movie characters, etc.

“It can be, ‘Oh me and my group of friends want to come dressed up as the Ninja Turtles,’” Wozniak said. “It doesn’t always have to be the traditional thing. It’s not super formal like winter formal.”

“Because of the theme, we’re trying to not have it like the strict rules of girls ask guys,” Siegal said. “We could have whatever people want.”

Although the original date of the dance was slated for Jan. 15, it was pushed back because of Fremont’s first ever Hall of Fame rally. ASB had trouble finding a date for the dance due to conflict with sporting events and teams.

by Jenny Nguyen Staff Writer

Centered towards a shared love of hip hop culture, Hip Hop Club was formed to show Fremont High School what hip hop is all about.

The club meets every Friday at lunch, as well as almost everyday after school to practice through teaching and displaying discipline, commitment, leadership and confidence.

“We understand how tough it is to perform in front of people you don’t know,” Kenneth Sabado, president of the club, said.

“That is why when you join the club we make sure the people who want to dance are with the dancers and the people who really like the music or other aspects of it stay with the people who are more knowledgeable in those areas.”

Most members have been in the club since freshman or sophomore year and have since dedicated their time into making the club into a family.

“Hip hop is a family because we’ve been through so

much in the past three years that when there is something wrong in the club, we’re able to just talk it out,” Sabado said. “I’ve performed with these guys so much that I can’t imagine working with anybody else.”

Sabado choreographs many of the performances students around FHS see with the help of Jaydino Angeles, vice president of the club; William Luna, secretary of the club; along with other members of the club.

In past years, the club’s focus has been mainly directed towards dancing.

However, this year, the club is showing students that hip hop is more than just rapping about “the hood”. Hip hop is an art that consists of multiple rudimentary aspects: MC-ing, DJ-ing and B-boying.

MC-ing originated from Jamaica and is often associated with rapping, but rapping is only one piece of the puzzle. It includes beatboxing as well as ‘call and response’ techniques.

The art of DJ-ing also originated from Jamaica in the 1950s and 60s, an inno-

vative time period for music. Hip hop DJ-ing is a way to combine many genres of music from original pieces to create an entirely new piece of music that people can enjoy.

The arrival of a new music genre also gifted the world with a new dance form known as “B-boying”.

Influenced by Kung Fu and Capoeira, an African-Brazilian martial art, this culturefused dance style made its way across the world. “[MC-ing] is the oral aspect of hip hop, what you say,” Luna said, “DJ-ing is the aural part of hip hop, what you hear. B-boying is the physical part of hip hop, what you do.”

In addition to teaching about the aspects of hip hop and helping members grow as dancers, the club helps them with building characteristics like confidence, courage and commitment.

“It’s normal to be scared, but once you burst out of your comfort zone, you will start to enjoy dancing, so don’t be afraid to express yourself,” Brandon Dajano, a Fremont alumni, said. “Hip hop is a way to ex-

press myself through good times and bad, a way to socialize with other people and to have the same experience as them.”

Despite their differences in backgrounds and interests, hip hop brings the members together through their love of dance. Each member has a different role model, ranging from older siblings to Michael Jackson, and each has a different reason as to why they joined the club or even started dancing in the first place.

Many aspire to continue dancing throughout college, some even attempting to find a college that offers dance and fine arts, while some are just making dance a hobby. “[Hip hop is] a way to meet new people and communicate, regardless of if you’ve never met each other before,” Justin Mallari, a member of the club, said.

“You kind of speak the same language because of hip hop. It’s a universal thing, something that you both can share and talk about.

You can meet so many people through it.”

Arts & Entertainment 9

Jan. 26, 2016

Stars Wars attracting new generation of fans

by Essam Rao Sports Editor

With the recent release of its seventh film in the franchise, the world has once again been captivated by the magic of Star Wars.

J.J. Abrams brings the franchise back to the big screen after ten years with the release of “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” last Dec. George Lucas first brought the franchise to life in 1977 with the release of “Episode IV: A New Hope.”

The following two sequels, “Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back” and “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi,” were released shortly after, and are all together called the original trilogies.

Lucas then brought back the franchise in 1999 with the new prequel trilogy of “Episode I: The Phantom Menace”, “Episode II: Attack of the Clones” and “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”. Despite the box office results, the films received a lot of hate and disappointment from audiences, leaving a bad taste in your mouth when you hear the words “Star Wars.”

Despite all the pressure put on director J.J. Abrams shoulders, he definitely manages to deliver. A Star Wars movie is no easy task, thanks to its extremely picky fan-base, but TFA has received positive feedback from critics and fans alike.

The film has received high praise from sites like Rotten Tomatoes, which rate the movie at 93 percent.

TFA is set 30 years after

the defeat of Darth Vader, where a new face of evil deemed the “First Order” plans to rule the galaxy. A scavenger and rogue storm trooper aid the “Resistance” in defeating the First Order and locating Luke Skywalker, whose whereabouts are unknown.

Despite following a similar formula to previous films, TFA has a lot to offer.

Abrams does a great job of reintroducing the Star Wars universe with a fresh take and new faces, along with some old fan-favorites.

The film has a great cast with superb acting that pull the movie through. Lead characters Finn and Rey, portrayed by John Boyega and Daisy Ridley respectively, provide exceptional and convincing performances. The film also delivers a lot of nostalgia from the old films, all of which is well delivered through action sequences, the film score and returning characters such as the beloved Han Solo and Chewbacca.

TFA has received

multiple awards and nominations, including five nominations for the Academy Awards. Aside from the critical and audience praise, TFA has also broke box office records, as it is now the highest grossing film in

America, beating previous records like “Avatar” and “The Titanic.”

According to the box office records, the film has reached $1.8 billion worldwide against a budget of $200 million.

The commercial and critical success of TFA confirms the future films planned for the franchise. TFA is only the first film in a

three-part trilogy. Filming for “Episode VIII” has already begun, according to the Hollywood Reporter, and is set to release Dec. 2017. Rian Johnson is directing “Episode VIII,” and Colin Trevorrow (director of “Jurassic World”) is set to direct “Episode X,” which is slated for May 2019.

Disney has also announced an anthology series of Star Wars films that will follow stand-alone stories apart from the new trilogy.

According to Disney, Rouge One: A Star Wars Story is set to release Dec. of this year, and will follow the events right before “Episode IV.” Two other films have been announced, including a Han Solo origin film.

Aside from the millions it’s making through merchandise and toys, Disney still has bigger plans to bring the spectacle of Star Wars to its fans. According to the LA Times, both Disneyland and Disneyworld will be going under construction for a Star Wars-themed area in both parks.

As the world continues to indulge over the magic of Star Wars, whether it be through its movies or merchandise and theme parks, a galaxy once far, far away comes closer to us than it ever has before.

Photo courtesy of Disney/LucasFilms

Making money playing video games competitively

by Emily Wright

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Many people enjoy gaming as a hobby, but for Tony Nguyen, it’s more than just a hobby—it’s his obsession.

Nguyen, a senior, has been gaming since he was around five-years old, and hopes to make it big in the world of competitive gaming once he turns 18.

“When I was young, I didn’t really have anything going for me,” he said.

“Gaming was one of those things that was really there for me from the start.”

His love for gaming soon turned into a greater fascination and obsession, when Nguyen first competed at Major League Gaming Anaheim 2013, where his team was in the top 30s— despite only having roughly a month to prepare and become familiar with a new gaming system. He hasn’t looked back. “[Gaming is] just a burning passion I’ve always had inside of me, and I wanted to exceed that level [I was] and take it [to the next level], and just see how well I can perform in competitions,” Nguyen said.

Throughout the year,

Nguyen competes at various tournaments throughout America. Typically, there are around 300 teams, each with four players, and that’s not even including tech support and other staff. He’s visited Orlando, Florida; Anaheim, California; Dallas, Texas; and Ontario, California because of his passion for gaming. He says his favorite part of competing at these tournaments isn’t entirely the gaming, but the people. “[I enjoy] just meeting a lot of people and networking with them, and [seeing] sponsors and companies,” he said. “It’s just meeting a lot of people that I’ve never met that’s cool.”

Sometimes, though, his love for gaming can interfere with school.

Nguyen generally has to miss the Friday of school in order to make it to some competitions that go from Friday to Sunday, like when he attended UMG Cali in Ontario, California.

“There are times where I have to miss school to attend these competitions,” Nguyen said. “Sometimes it may affect school, but I always make time.”

Nguyen is part of the eSports League, one of the

largest leagues in the world.

The league has partnered with Activision, the makers of Call of Duty—Nguyen’s preferred competitive game—to create a world league where people around the globe compete for $3 million. As of now, though, Nguyen isn’t part of that league or a team.

“Unfortunately they have an age rule and you have to be above 18 years old in order to compete and I’m currently seventeen,” he said. “So I’ve just been playing solo. I’ve been finding fighters to play with [in] online tournaments.”

Once he turns 18, Nguyen can enter pro leagues where he can play and earn money. In order to qualify for the Call of Duty World League, Nguyen must place in the top 8 in a local area network qualifier—gamers must be invited

by ESL or Activision—or place top 4 in an online qualifier. Once you become a pro, according to Nguyen, there are scheduled matches every week in those leagues and gamers can potentially make $1700 a month just off the matches—not counting sponsorships. Many pros live stream their games for money as well, and build fan

NGUYEN competes at UMG Dallas in July, 2015.

bases and revenue through YouTube. However, for Nguyen, the money isn’t the only reason he wants to continue competing after high school.

“It’s not really the money for me, because I started gaining a passion [for gaming],” Nguyen said.

“My parents really heavily support me on this. They’ve seen how good I’ve gotten. They’ve seen how I’ve performed. They’ve traveled

with me before. Some friends, here [at Fremont] as well, they’ve supported me throughout this.”

Nguyen’s last tournament was in July in Dallas, Texas, where his team placed in the top 32 out of 300 teams. Before then, he’s placed in the top 30s and 40s. His various sponsors, which have included Scuf Gaming, Cinch Gaming, Elgato and Honey Badger— an energy drink, usually

Photo courtesy of Tony Nguyen

pay the traveling, hotel and equipment costs of going to competitions.

Throughout all of this, Nguyen continues to feed his passion with plans to continue gaming after high school while he attends community college.

“I mean, at the end of the day, all I care about is the fun of it,” Nguyen said.

Arts & Entertainment

Jan. 26, 2016

10

New requirement for choir audition process

by Dana Nissan Staff Writer

This year, the Fremont choir is changing up the process of auditions. In addition to performing in front of Joseph Howard, the choir teacher, students who audition have to record themselves singing a song of their choice.

On Jan. 27-28, the choir students can deliver their auditions to Howard.

In last year’s auditions, the students were given a Latin song to sing. But this year, the students get to pick their own song to record and are given an easier song to perform in front of Howard.

The choir has been evolving for 25 years now and Bella, the advanced choir, has been around for 10 years. Over the last 25 years, Howard has been trying to improve the audition process.

Right now, Bella includes mostly seniors and juniors who sing acapella.

According to Howard, the Bella group is known as the

“magical” group since they have different, unique and all a capella songs.

Bella requires a different type of commitment and the songs start being harder. It’s a huge change from A-Choir, according to Howard. According to Yoav Nissan, who is auditioning for Bella this year, to be in that choir, “you need to be a better singer and sightreader.”

Bella student, Kira Papineau, thinks commitment is generally higher compared to the other choirs.

“Since there’s less of us and more performances we’re required to attend [there’s more commitment needed],” Papineau said.

“If one of the members is gone, the balance may be off so it’s important that each member is there.”

Since Bella is losing all its seniors, who make up a large portion of the class, sophomores and juniors have a higher chance of making Bella. Howard’s A-Choir is going to lose a lot of students as well, but

Photo courtesy of Joseph Howard

students from Columbia Middle School are expected to join and fill the space.

It’s anticipated that more than 100 people are going to tryout for all the choirs.

“Those that do well in auditions will do good in [a real] performance, [because] the auditions prepare you for later on,” Howard said.

Every class, Howard prepares the class for the next concert, but now he is preparing his students to do well in auditions by giving them tips and advice on how to improve. To make the Advanced Choir, a student needs to have commitment, a good audition, a signed agreement and be ready to perform to many

people and in many places.

During class time, the students practice for auditions and concerts.

But, the Bella choir has the same amount of class time and more pieces so each song must be memorized faster compared to the other choirs “We practice not only the music that you perform

in the concert, but also prepares you for the skills that are needed and are required in order to be in Bella,” Nissan said.

Howard hopes to gain more students in all his choirs through his audtions and the auditions are a way of doing that.

by Jasmine Salik, Managing Editor

Discover underground artists with SoundCloud

It’s the same routine.

You’re on a car ride with friends and an amazing song you’re really feeling is played. You secretly sneak out your phone to Shazam it and finally satisfy your craving of experiencing the artist your friend is listening to, swecretly annoyed you didn’t know of the song before. You then try finding the song on YouTube or maybe even Apple Music to enjoy it later and it’s nowhere to be found. SoundCloud can help.

SoundCloud is an app created in 2007 that allows you to create a profile dedicated to the songs you love, or you yourself create. Ironically created for a startup company which now functions as a model for Berlin’s “startup-chic feel”, SoundCloud was started in Stockholm by two Swedes, Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, according to Whiteboard.

“Stockholm is a great city, but I’ve always been in love with Berlin – ever since I came here for the first time in 1997,” Wahlforss said. “I think that maybe a reason people mention and recognize us, is that the DNA of SoundCloud is so compatible with the DNA of

Berlin. Berlin as a city, feels a bit like a startup, much like SoundCloud. The city is a melting pot of artists, technicians, and creators.

There’s a ton of artists here, and a ton of tech people.”

You can “like” songs you enjoy that will then be saved in your “liked” list and even repost your favorite tracks so your dedicated followers can see what you’ve been listening to. It’s a lot like Twitter, yet solely devoted to the art of music.

Similarly to any social media site, people can get famous through the app from gaining followers and most importantly, recognition.

SoundCloud, however, didn’t get popular worldwide until 2012-2013, around the same time Vice President of the European Commission, Neelie Kroes, announced Wahlforss and Ljung won the “European Web Entrepreneur of the Year” award on April 24, 2013. This is around the same time many students and teenagers started using the app to listen to music, including Fremont High School senior Vincent Fateh.

“I started using SoundCloud freshman year of high school and I found out

about the app through my older brother,” Fateh said.

“He makes music himself so he gets introduced to other small artists. Whenever I would ask him about his music, he showed me the artists on SoundCloud and that’s how I got to using it.”

There are two different types of people who use SoundCloud: the ones that use the app to discover new music and expand their playlists like Fateh, and those who try to get discovered and put their work out there, like Fateh’s older brother and Homestead High School senior Jonathan Ruggiero.

Ruggiero, or DJ Xephyr, who is also part of a twoperson group known as Gentrify, has come a long way with his artistic pursuits throughout the years.

“When I was thirteen years old, my parents took me to a Deadmou5 concert, and that was the first time I told myself I could actually DJ,” Ruggiero said. “Ever since I was young, I had an iPod and my dad would always let me play the music. I’d always try to make sure that I’d pick songs that would transition well into each other. I would say it’s definitely my parents that

helped me get into creating music.”

For some, creating a SoundCloud account has allowed them to discover more underground artists and genres.

“What I like most about SoundCloud is how you can get lost in it for hours just following one artist after another,” Fateh said. “You can discover music you never knew existed, and even discover new genres. There are just so many things that you can uncover.

Places like iTunes are so straightforward since you search an artist and just get the artist. On SoundCloud you search an artist who recommends others, and those artists recommend other people and it just keeps on going forever until you find so much music.

Instead of just the top 100, SoundCloud allows you to find the smaller people which can be just as amazing.”

For others, it’s a professional website that can help them get discovered.

“I’ve definitely been inspired by artists I’ve found on SoundCloud,” Ruggiero said. “It’s better than other websites just because when you come to somebody in

the industry, and you say you have a SoundCloud, it’s a professional website they can look you up on. When you post on SoundCloud there’s definitely a level of professionalism you need to achieve.

A lot of people use SoundCloud for free, and it’s good to use for free when you’re just discovering music, but once you’re an artist and creating music, that’s when you want to pay.”

Although SoundCloud has helped many emerging artists become discovered, there have been a seemingly endless string of lawsuits, technical mishaps and public frustration in the past.

SoundCloud is finally catching its break by signing an official licensing agreement with Universal Music and Warner Music this month, which will allow them official access to the major label’s catalog, according to dancingastronaut.com.

“We’ve got the majority of the music industry partnered with us now,” Ljung said in an interview.

“For a while, SoundCloud wasn’t actually helping underground artists become more known, it was hurting them, and they

had to find different sites to post on,” Ruggiero said. “I’ve even had some of my music taken down, however things are now getting better with remixes and mash-ups you can post because of SoundCloud’s new label deal.”

Ruggiero has many goals set for himself as an artist in the new year.

“One of my goals for the future as an artist is to get on blogs like edm.com,” Ruggiero said. “Blogs help create SoundCloud, and they post different artists on their site by artists emailing them their demos. If a blog posts one of your songs with five thousand followers, that’s how you get big.

My future goal this year is to get at least three or four songs on a couple blogs, and get over a couple thousand plays.”

You can even check Ruggiero out at this year’s Sadie Hawkins dance on Feb. 5, as he will be DJing the event, and follow him on SoundCloud at soundcloud.com/gentrify.

Photos courtesy of SoundCloud

sports

11

Jan. 26, 2016

Wrestling coach with an epic past

by Michael Wang Staff Writer

Erik Duus’ life was filled with movie-like situations and coincidences—somehow he became a Japanese teacher at Fremont High School.

Duus has been a Japanese teacher and a wrestling coach at FHS for 12 years. Ever since he was six, Duus has been on the mats, engaging in the art of judo and eventually wrestling, where he learned many life lessons he still holds today. “[Wrestling teaches you] how to be real tough, you need to be tough in order to survive in life,” Duus said. “Everything’s a competition: whether you’re wrestling or you’re competing for a slot in Stanford, a job, you’re gonna come up against lots of people that want the same thing as you and it teaches you how to compete and not lose your composure.”

In order to pass on all these valuable life lessons he gleaned from his past, Duus became a wrestling coach. “[Wrestling] teaches you a lot of discipline, how to work hard even when you feel like you want to give up, and it teaches you to never give up,” Duus said.

When Duus was wrestling in high school, World Champion and Olympic Wrestler David Schultz took him under his wing. “[Schultz] ended up being probably one of my main mentors on the mat and off,” Duus said.

“He helped me in my life: decide where to go to college and anytime I had a problem, I could talk

to him. He was like an older brother, and I try to be that same way with my guys.”

From there, Duus’ wrestling career took off— he went to the University of Iowa and University of Wisconsin, both with highly prestigious wrestling teams.

After finishing his college years, Duus was recruited by his mentor Schultz to be a part of the wrestling team Foxcatcher located in Pennsylvania.

It didn’t stop there. Duus was also given a chance to participate in the 1992 Olympic Cycle. From 1989-92 he was a fully sponsored professional wrestler and competed in the world team trials and the Olympic team trials.

Unfortunately, shortly after he competed, Schultz was shot and killed by multimillionaire John du Pont, who ran the Foxcatcher team.

After wrestling for Foxcatcher, Duus decided to come back to California.

He became an assistant wrestling coach at Stanford University and worked serveral sales and marketing jobs in Japan until 2000.

After two years, he went back to Stanford Graduate school and earned a masters and a teaching credential for Japanese. “[Japanese language and culture] is just a huge part of my being,” Duus said. “Seeing other cultures opens your eyes to different perspectives, so I wanted to share my culture with other people. And it’s something I know well and I’m passionate about sharing.”

In need of a job, specifically for teaching Japanese, Duus looked to the Stanford

liaison, who searched for

matches.

And FHS was offering a job that fit his credentials perfectly; they needed a teacher that could teach Japanese, P.E. and coach wrestling.

“I was really excited obviously because I didn’t think I would be able to land such a position and it just happened to work out; it was fate I guess,” Duus said. “I was very fortunate to end up here and be able to teach all three things that I’m a specialist in.”

While he was teaching at FHS,

Duus actually qualified for the 2008 Olympic Cycle for Judo. He was 41 at that time, which was unheard of and placed seventh.

“I think it helped my teaching and my coaching because on the wrestling team, the guys were motivated by having a coach that was in the olympic trials,” Duus said. “And my Japanese students liked it as well because Judo is a Japanese sport so there was some interesting connection.”

A successful wrestling coach at FHS, Duus enjoys what he does; developing new, squirrely faces into well-developed wrestlers.

“I like being able to see [wrestlers] become responsible individuals that are self-sufficient and believe in doing what’s right and are strong,” Duus said.

“Spiritually as well as physically, and see them go off and graduate.”

Not only does Duus enjoy his role, he is also impacting the FHS community. According to him,

he has hooked many students back into school that wouldn’t have graduated otherwise and has turned them into great students that become interested in certain academic subjects.

His impact goes beyond FHS. By passing on the lessons he has learned from martial arts, especially respect, Duus aims to shape individuals to contribute positively to society.

And he has done just that. Duus has produced many champions at all different levels of the sport and has seen them go on and achieve in life and he finds it rewarding when they return and visit him.

“It’s just really fun to see these guys go on and continue to develop and grow and use the lessons they’ve learned here to continue to be successful,” Duus said. “Once again, they give back because a lot of them become coaches or go under professions where they’re trying to help people as well.”

Michael Alva | The Phoenix

Varsity girls soccer breaks past records

by Kelly Zhong News Editor

The Fremont High School varsity girls soccer team hopes to surpass last year’s standings in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, El Camino Division, and the Central Coast Section.

Last year, the team finished second place in the League and made CCS, but lost in the first game.

“As a team, we agreed to set high, but realistic and achievable goals,” Payam Hajjarian, coach, said. “We want to finish first place [in Leagues], which means we

ELIZABETH LUTTO slide tackles a Branham player.

automatically qualify for CCS. We want to go undefeated and we would like to make a run in CCS, not just make CCS.” The team this year had a more challenging pre-season playing against harder teams who made CCS in previous years. Their

Allyson Wilbur | The Phoenix

preseason record is three wins and three ties, while their current league record for the season is 3-0 as of Jan. 19.

I think this is the year we can go really far; everyone’s really skilled individually, and together we make a really good team.

Laura Sire “I think it was a good confidence booster for our team to play so many teams that made CCS last year and do well against them,” Jessica Yu, team captain, said.

“Personally, I enjoyed it.”

Based on their undefeated preseason record, Hajjarian expects the team to do better in Leagues as well. In fact, the team won their anticipated hardest

game against Gunn High on Jan. 8. “[We should] just stay focused and keep doing what we’re doing because every game and every point is important,” Hajjarian said.

Despite their current record, there is room for improvement.

“I thought we could have scored more as well as defended a little better because we made a few silly mistakes that cost us goals and ties instead of wins,” Leilani Loo, center midfielder, said. “But overall, we did well.”

The team only lost two seniors last year, and the overall skill and depth of the team is better than previous years.

“We have really good team chemistry,” Laura Sire, center-back, said. “I think this is the year we can go really far; everyone’s really skilled individually, and together we make a really

good team.”

The team also credits some of their success to Hajjarian and assistant coach Tanner Santos.

“I think they’re really good at fostering a team environment,” Elizabeth Luotto, team captain, said.

“We do a lot of things outside of school like playing indoor soccer and foot golfing, which is like soccer, but golf. They often suggest those things and I think that makes a really good team environment.”

Overall, the team has a lot of potential this season.

“They had a good team here probably four or five years ago, but as far as I know, they can’t think of any team from the girl’s side that has made CCS, so last year was probably the first successful year,” Hajjarian said. “This year, if all goes well, should be our best year ever.”

sports

Jan. 26, 2016

12

Middle college student, basketball superstar

by Allyson Wilbur Staff writer

The starting center for the Fremont High School basketball team Omar Shorab strives on and off the court, balancing playing basketball while attending the middle college program at De Anza Community College.

At Middle College, Shorab is able to take college classes while also completing high school graduation requirements.

“I chose to do Middle College for an academic challenge,” Shorab said.

“I was looking for more freedom with classes.”

Shorab plans on majoring in computer science or computer engineering. He is currently taking Intermediate C++ Programming Methodologies, a class that teaches a systematic approach to the design, management and construction of computer programs to help prepare him for those majors. He is also taking Pre Calculus III, American Literature and American history. Now that he is in middle col-

lege, Shorab has learned to manage his time effectively and become more independent, especially academically.

“Teachers don’t get on you for grades or assignments; it’s basically on you to manage your own time and succeed in classes at De Anza. Professors there, they don’t really care if you pass or not,” Shorab said. “You just take it and you work hard for yourself.”

Shorab’s main reason for playing basketball is his older brother, who he played with when he was younger. Basketball is important to him, becoming a deciding factor on whether he would attend Middle College or not. Shorab has been a part of the basketball program since freshman year and played varsity as a sophomore.

“I couldn’t see myself quitting after sophomore year just because I’m in middle college,” Shorab said.

The season has only recently

started, but Fremont has already won several games

and Shorab hopes they will continue to win. He is the top rebounder on the team, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game, higher than the national average according to MaxPreps. He also has had four double doubles, where he scored over ten points and rebounded over ten in one game.

I couldn’t see myself quitting basketball after sophomore year just because I’m in middle college. omar shorab He comes to FHS to practice three times a week.

Shorab feels basketball is a great tool to learn life skills such as learning how to deal with others and work together for an overall goal.

Basketball is his way to get rid of stress.

“Any hardships or worries I had on that day, I go and play for a while and it’ll just disappear,” Shorab said.

Balancing middle college and basketball is

mainly time management.

Basketball has not affected his academics yet, but managing both takes a lot of work.

“If I don’t waste time and I do my work when I need to get it done, then it works out,” Shorab said.

“But if I waste time like at home on YouTube or social media then it becomes a challenge.”

Although he believes that being on a different campus hinders the opportunities for team bonding, he believes that his schedule is working out and the team is not too negatively affected by him being on a different campus. In school, Shorab tries to prioritize what he needs to do. He goes to the library and the lab during breaks to get his work done.

“I try to think of the goal I have, which is to succeed in school so I have options to go to college after high school,” Shorab said. “ I like to call myself a hard worker. I put in a lot of time outside of practice and school to make sure I succeed, or try to succeed, in whatever I do.”

Allyson Wilbur | The Phoenix

Super Bowl 50’s impact on the Bay Area

by Nadia Anees Staff Writer

Fans across the entire nation are becoming more and more excited for this year’s Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7 at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. As the excitement increases, the Bay Area is preparing and going through several changes for one of the largest sporting events in America.

Students and staff here at FHS are also looking forward to the Super Bowl happening in the Bay Area.

“It will be special because this year it will be right here. It will bring a lot of money to the community and to the new stadium.

It’s also really great to see people from all over the place come to this area. The Bay Area will be packed but it will be really fun,” Ramandeep Jagdev, FHS Senior, said.

Other students are also hopeful their teams will make it to the Super Bowl.

“I’m really excited because my team, the Denver Broncos are going to the playoffs which gives them a big chance to go to the actual Super Bowl. If they make it, I’ll probably try to get to the game somehow.”

Kayvon Afarinesh, senior, said.

The Pepsi Halftime show will be performed by British rock band Coldplay and Beyoncé, according to CNN. According to The San Francisco Gate, the halftime

show will require about 500 local volunteers to do work such as move the stage onto the field. Although volunteers do not receive free Super Bowl tickets from volunteering, they do get a rare chance to work in the stadium and experience the thrill of Super Bowl crowds for free.

With recent terrorist attacks around the world, security is more than a top concern this year. The NFL and law enforcement agencies has created several restrictions and has called for numerous security plans and exercises including the FBI and SWAT teams to ensure that the Super Bowl will be safe and secure, according to The San Jose Mercury News. More police will not only be seen throughout the stadium but in stores, shops, public transportation, airport terminals and hotels in the Bay Area.

Most of the hotels near the Levi’s Stadium are booked up for the Super Bowl weekend. There is some hotel availability, however the prices have increased drastically. In Santana Row, the four-star hotel, Hotel Valencia, is charging $899 because hotels near the stadium are in high demand.

Lots of residents living in the Bay Area and close to the Santa Clara area are taking advantage of the Super Bowl by renting out their homes or apartments

Photo courtesy of Pacific Community Ventures

for very high prices to fans who are coming to watch.

According to The San Jose Mercury News, people are using websites such as Airbnb, a site in which people can rent spaces to stay, to rent their homes for prices as high as $5,000 and higher.

Not only will Bay Area residents be benefiting from the Super Bowl, but so will the Bay Area’s economy. In previous years, cities have earned millions of dollars from hosting the Super Bowl. Last year, Phoenix earned around $719 million from hosting the Super Bowl, according to The San

Francisco Examiner. The Super Bowl 50 Host Committee is not simply hosting the Super Bowl, they plan to “redefine it” so people are confident that the Bay Area is going to benefit a lot.

The NFL is also hosting several events throughout the Bay Area to get the community excited for the Super Bowl. “Super Bowl City” is a large and free week-long festival near the Ferry Building in San Francisco which will have several activities to celebrate Super Bowl 50 according to the their website.

Along with it there will be outdoor concerts, football themed art galleries, and

many more events that will lead up to the big game.

However, not everything seems too promising for some Bay Area residents with the Super Bowl coming to town. The NFL is taking over a soccer park that is located next door to the Levi’s Stadium which leaves the youth soccer league and the 1,500 people that play there without a field from Jan. 4 to around March 2. The Santa Clara Soccer League is struggling to find available fields for 250 games that have been scheduled.

“I think it’s pretty unfair because that park has been there even before the

plans for the stadium. I just think we deserve to be here” Andrew Robertson, 16, of the Santa Clara Youth Soccer League said to The San Jose Mercury News.

The soccer park will be used as space for building media tents. It is expected that around 5,000 to 6,000 media representatives from around the globe will be coming to work at the Super Bowl.

This year’s Super Bowl is predicted to bring over a million people to the Bay Area which will likely result in many Super Bowl themed events and a busy Bay Area near the date of Feb. 7.