The Phoenix Volume 7 Issue 5

Islamic art in mainstream culture see page 4

Serial killers in media, See pages 6 & 7

In defense of Affirmative Action, see page 8

Fremont High School

the

PHOENIX

Vol. 7 Issue No. 5 March 8, 2019

Vaping at Fremont High

by Thomas Poplawski

Staff Writer

Vaping has become increasingly popular among the students of Fremont High School, which has raised concerns from the administration.

The administration sees vaping as a large nuisance and as an unhealthy addiction for the students who partake in the activity.

However, even though some students agree with the administration and see vaping as addictive and unhealthy, others see it as a safe and enjoyable activity.

Vaping was first introduced as a way to help adult smokers stop smoking by giving them a seemingly healthier alternative.

However, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved e-cigarettes as an approved way to stop smoking and there has been no scientific evidence that it has been useful in quitting regular smoking.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that by 2016, 3.2 percent of adults in the US were using e-cigarettes. Vaping has overshadowed even tobacco use in teenagers in the US and has become a growing concern for many.

Juul Labs Inc. is one of the largest companies in the e-cigarette market, capturing 68 percent of the US e-cigarette market in 2018, according to Nielsen data.

Juul Labs spokesperson, Victoria Davis, said that the Juul is for adult smokers who want to switch from combustible cigarettes, though Professor Gideon St. Helen of the University of San Francisco warns that Juul could be very harmful to younger people.

Nearly one in every twenty middle school students reported that they had used electronic cigarettes in the past thirty days in a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2018 which was a 0.6 percent increase from 2011.

This increases to one in five high school students reporting the use of e-cigarettes in the past thirty days from the same study.

According to The New Yorker, younger people have “taken a technology that was supposed to help grown ups stop smoking and invented a new kind of bad habit, molded in their own image.”

This is further supported by some students

who say that “[smoking cigarettes is] gross… juuling is really what’s up,” and describing vaping as a social pastime that people do while driving, at parties or with their friends.

The sentiment that vaping is much healthier than smoking is shared among many people who vape. Though when compared, there are many similarities. According to WebMd, the nicotine in vaping can harm the developing brains of kids and could affect memory and attention.

Different flavorings in vapes like diacetyl which give a buttery taste can give a lung disease called popcorn lung according to Erika Sward, assistant vice president for national advocacy.

Aside from nicotine and flavorings that may be harmful, there are a lot of other chemicals in a vape that can be harmful when inhaled according to University Health News. An example is toxic carbonyls like acetone that are exposed up to fifteen times higher when vaping than when smoking cigarettes.

Nicotine addiction is very prevalent in teens and pre-teens according to a study by the US National Library of Medicine. The study stated that high schools students who used e-cigarettes were 7 times more likely to report continuing use of e-cigarettes or switching to regular cigarettes 6 months later. This was connected back to the amount of nicotine in the e-cigarettes that had the students wanting more.

The nicotine addiction caused by vaping can be seen as the larger problem; however, for Truth Initiative’s CEO, Robin Koval, there are other problems that vaping can lead to. For example, he states that nicotine has effects on young people’s cognitive abilities and can lead to other addictions such as food cravings that lead to unhealthy eating habits. Koval also states that when people are younger, it is much harder to quit nicotine than when they are older.

The same is true for quitting smoking.

Dr. Nicholas Chadi, a clinical pediatrics fellow at Boston’s Children Hospital, says nicotine increases sensitivity to other drugs and causes greater impulsivity. Chadi also states that an effect he has seen from intense nicotine cravings teens get after only a few

months of vaping is a loss of hope that they will ever quit.

The withdrawal symptoms for teens are less severe than they are for adults. However, according to the Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies, symptoms appear quicker and 85 percent of those who try to stop end up relapsing.

The administration of FHS believes that vaping is a problem on campus and can have harmful effects for the students that partake in it.

“They do say that it is less harmful than cigarette smoking. But who’s to say that [the] level of harmfulness is not any worse in terms of actual health,” said FHS math teacher Somsack Chaitesipaseut when asked about the differences between smoking and vaping.

The FHS administration does not seem to think that vaping is mainly a problem for the campus but is mainly concerned about the well-being of students as it is a harmful addiction according to Chaitesipaseut.

“Kids do it at school because they could easily hide it in the bathrooms,” Chaitesipaseut said. “I’ve heard of kids vaping in the middle of class when there’s a sub and the sub doesn’t see because we can’t really see or can’t smell it as easily as regular cigarettes.”

Both Dean of Students George Bechara and Chaitesipaseut have agreed that the increasing amount of students that vape is a result of peer pressure.

“In

terms with guys, if they’re vaping there’s more pressure to vape,” said Chaitesipaseut. “They think it’s cool or because it’s less harmful than actual smoking.”

At FHS, the punishment for vaping is a suspension, though the punishment is more severe if students continue to be caught vaping. However, there is a far greater consequence if students are caught selling Juuls or vape pods.

In terms with guys if they’re vaping there’s more pressure to vape. they think it’s cool or because it’s less harmful than actual smoking Somsack C.

A few students who vape have admitted to vaping on campus because it is much easier to get away with it than at home. It also contributes to the

social setting if they are vaping with other friends.

The students did not view vaping on campus as problematic at all. The students believed that it should be made legal to vape on campus because it doesn’t harm anyone, although there have been complaints about the smell of vape smoke in bathrooms.

The reason that students at FHS like to vape is that it “feels good” said two anonymous vapers. All of the students interviewed were completely aware of the level of nicotine addiction vaping and juuling can lead to but still did not want to stop because they either enjoyed vaping or other reasons such as appetite suppression.

“No, it’s not healthy, but it helps with diets and stops appetite,” said one of the vapers.

Although there is no evidence to completely support that vaping leads to weight loss, it is possible that it could be used for weight control according to Associate Professor Marewa Glover of Massey University’s

School of Public Health.

No it’s not healthy, but it helps with diets and stops appetite. anonymous vaper

When interviewed, some students did say that they felt that they were addicted and needed to vape because of it. One student, however, said that vaping helped with their ADD, and helped them stay focused and on task.

The administration of FHS and their students agree that vaping is an addicting activity that can have detrimental effects, though the students are not completely against the use of them and still participate in the activity while the teachers and staff are completely against the use of them.

Samhitha Tumkur and Maddy Garcia | The Phoenix

News

march 8, 2019

2

The Hate U Give added to freshman curriculum

by Caroline He & Vivien Su

Collaboration

This year, freshmen in the Literature and Writing classes taught by Fremont English teachers Monica Dery and Monica Schuet read The Hate U Give, a 2017 bestseller which explores modern racial tensions and the implications of police brutality, instead of To Kill a Mockingbird.

The Hate U Give follows the narrative of an AfricanAmerican teen, Starr Carter, as her life takes a turn for the worst when her childhood best friend, Khalil, is fatally shot by a white police officer.

The curriculum change is in its pilot stages, and was made, in part, in an attempt to improve academic equity within the classroom.

“When thinking of the mission statement of Fremont, we believe in excellence and equity,” Schuet said. “And, particularly in English classes, while the literature is classic and canonical, if you really examine whose writing those books and from whose perspective they’re telling the story, it is predominantly a very male and white western perspective. So while To Kill a Mockingbird is a good book, and it has a solidified place in American history, it is told from the perspective of a white woman who was

writing a really long time ago.”

The process behind the change stemmed an indepth discussion within the entire department, indicating that the change was anything but simple.

“In order to pilot this text, there were many conversations with our Lit/Writ team as well as the English department as a whole,” said Dery. “It was agreed upon that this is the direction we would like to go.”

This is not the first time the Fremont English teachers have implemented diversity and different viewpoints into their curriculum.

Two years ago, a similar step was taken to diversify the perspectives in the sophomore World Literature curriculum with the addition of a In the Time of the Butterflies, a narrative from the perspectives of three Dominican sisters set during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo.

The addition of The Hate U Give follows a similar line of reasoning.

“The Hate U Give brings a new, diverse perspective that provides more representation in conjunction to the literary canon and privileges a minority voice that is currently not represented in our curriculum,” Dery said.

Before this shift, Literature and Writing explored the texts Romeo and Juliet,

Fahrenheit 451 and To Kill a Mockingbird. All three of those stories are told from the perspectives of Caucasian characters, and have little representation of people of color. However, replacing To Kill a Mockingbird with The Hate U Give has allowed Literature and Writing classes to explore the same themes relating to race, gender and justice, but through a different and more direct perspective and through a lens that holds more relevance to contemporary issues.

“We are living in a time, now, where race, politics, gender, the intersectionality of all those things is very much a real part of our daily existence,” Schuet said. “And if we are serious about making a positive change for future generations, we cannot do that with text written in the 1960s. There are texts written by people of color which have the same human issues that we are exploring, like empathy, identity, morality, justice,

Cafeteria food at Fremont

by Leann Bast News Editor

Cafeteria food: in the movies, cafeteria food is notoriously bad, usually pictured as some mystery slop that is served to kids.

However this is not always the case.

An example of a lunch meal at Fremont, according to the Fremont website, is a nacho bar with turkey taco meat, nacho toppings and corn tortilla chips which would cost $4.50.

However, the food in other countries is much different. For some examples of what a standard meal may be somewhere else: Brazil: Pork with mixed veggies, black beans and rice, salad, bread and baked plantains; Italy: Local fish on a bed of arugula, pasta with tomato sauce, caprese salad, baguette and some grapes; Finland: Pea soup, beet salad, carrot salad, bread and pannakkau (des-

Suryan Bhatia | The Phoenix

sert pancake) with fresh berries.

The difference between a standard meal offered in the United States and a standard meal offered somewhere else is that the standard meal offered here is not as healthy as some of the options they have in other places.

Another way to prove that the United States does not have meals as healthy as other countries would be to break down the nutrition facts. As an example, compare a standard meal from Spain to a standard American meal. A standard American meal consists of about 882 calories (calculated using nutritionix), while a standard meal from Spain contains about 520 calories, about 362 less calories than an American meal.

In our school, some students feel that the meals served are not as good as they could be.

“I think the food

quality is bad for the price they’re putting it at,” said Steven Bhirdo, a sophomore here at Fremont. “If you go to K’s or Longhorn, you can get better quality food for about the same price.”

This same opinion is shared by another FHS student.

“From what it appears, most of the food has been frozen at some point,” said Hanna Chellali, a sophomore at FHS. “Maybe if it wasn’t made in a factory and then shipped over here, it would taste better and be more appealing.”

It is understandable why Fremont uses food that is frozen because catering for so many stsudents at one time is no easy task.

One opinion that students at Fremont have however, is that they like the variety in the food that Fremont offers each day.

“I like how they have variety in their food, like it’s a different thing everyday,” said Chellali.

“The types of food they have varies, so that’s a plus,” said Bhirdo.

School meals in Fremont and around the United States do not seem to compare to school meals around the world nutrition wise. However, nothing major seems to be done regarding unhealthy school meal choices made around the United States.

injustice… And it’s a really good jumping off point to talk about things that are happening now, rather than to have to only talk about it in a historical lens.”

The unit which encompasses the reading of The Hate U Give includes background research on African-American history, ranging from slavery to recent incidents of police brutality. Freshmen also take an implicit bias test, which measures an individual’s unconscious and automatic biases towards specific races.

The Hate U Give, being a text that is told from the perspective of a young African American female, serves as the perfect text for this particular unit.

“We hope that the representation of the African American voice as prominent and important will aid in our teaching of perspective taking, acceptance, and identity,” Dery said. “We also want

students to feel a personal responsibility to be an active member of the various communities they exist in through the recognition that their voices and perspectives are important and vital for positive change.”

Student engagement also served as another driving force behind the implementation of The Hate U Give.

“The change initially stemmed from a growing frustration with lack of participation and low reading rates,” Dery said. “We also hope that this book acts as a ‘gateway text’ for students who might not normally enjoy reading. We would love for this to be the book at the 9th grade level that makes students want to read more.”

However, concerns have been raised ever since the change surfaced. Some believe that the removal of To Kill a Mockingbird from the freshman curriculum will impede learning. However, Dery disagrees.

“To be clear, we are still teaching the historical significance of To Kill a Mockingbird as well as examining excerpts and connecting it to serious issues that still exist in our society today,” Dery said.

Additionally, some were uneasy with the change in the curriculum because they questioned the

literary merit of The Hate U Give. Schuet believes that the book holds much literary merit due to its meaningful insights and ample symbolism.

“I’ve been asked by several people if [ The Hate U Give] is truly ‘literature’,” Schuet said. “And I would say ‘yes, it is.’ Because how do we define what is true ‘literature?’ If you really unpack that, you’ll find that what makes it to the English literary canon--the people that are deciding what is a truly meritable book or not--are usually not people of color. So you have a group that is historically white making the decision that this book, from a traditionally dominant narrative is legitimate, while novels that offer alternative perspectives tend to be viewed with skepticism. Great literature must represent the nuances of our humanity and that must include diverse narratives.”

As of now, Dery and Schuet are the only teachers who have incorporated The Hate U Give into their respective freshman literature and writing classes. Both hope that the numbers will increase with the coming years.

Graphic courtesy of Goodreads

Canvas is taking over

by Asaf Shchory Staff Writer

Fremont Union High School District has used School Loop to directly communicate with students and parents and post important student information such as grades, homework and future assignments. However, recently, FUHSD has decided to replace School Loop with Canvas, a system mostly used by colleges to enter grades and contact students.

Though similar to School Loop, Canvas has some useful features which may outpace School Loop causing Canvas to be more favorable.

John Magee, a biology teacher at FHS believes Canvas will benefit teachers once they get comfortable with the system.

“I think Canvas has the potential to be a better, more powerful platform for teachers to use,” Magee said. “Canvas has more capabilities than School loop. Canvas can allow teachers to share classroom [materials], develop curriculum together and facilitates common formative and summative grading and assessment practices as well as providing a distribution mechanism similar to Google Classroom-- though not as clean and intuitive as Google Classroom. For students and parents it offers the possibility of a single platform where all information from the school is hosted.”

Magee thinks that Canvas is better than School Loop, but still thinks that Canvas is a work in progress.

“No, Canvas was not easy to use to begin with as a teacher. It requires time and effort to learn how to use parts of it well and consistently,” Magee said.

Magee also thinks that Canvas has downsides, but that it has the potential to be a good system.

One of the problems Magee has with School Loop is the poor design and how it

is not comfortable to use for the teachers due to lack of features and detail.

“School Loop has an inferior grade book and a poorly designed website for depositing worksheets which, despite the improvements in webs design, has not improved in ten years,” Magee said. “It is antiquated and poorly designed and I do not use it because it does not solve any of the problems I need solved in my classroom.”

But like every application, whether it is online or on a mobile device, Canvas also has its drawbacks. One of them is the design not being very user friendly to students.

“I prefer School Loop rather than Canvas since Canvas is much more complicated than School Loop and is not very student friendly,” said FHS freshman Jason Kaila. “Also, you can’t see your grades unless you go in the grade section in the class page which makes it annoying since instead of just logging in and seeing your grades you need to do extra work just to see grades. School Loop is just much easier to use overall.”

Another FHS freshman Aviv Ben-Zeev also has a negative point of view on this topic, specifically, the poor design, lack of feature and detail of Canvas and how extra work is necessary to see the information students care about most grades of assignments and class grade.

“Canvas could exceed over School Loop, but it may take time since School Loop has been used for years and everyone is familiar with it,” Ben-Zeev said.

Despite its unfriendly design and lack of features and detail, Canvas still has great potential.

News

march 8, 2019

3

How universities view testing

by Diana Piper Online Editor

As the spring SAT and ACT testing dates approach, many students remain confused about how universities value and process standardized tests.

Universities have several ways of evaluating student scores and different requirements. This article will review the respective demands of University of California colleges, California State Universities and some other prominent universities.

One important aspect to note is that universities value the SAT and the ACT equally. The choice of which one to take is entirely up to the student’s own preferences and strengths. Concerning the SAT, students ought to choose to send scores to universities as soon as they register in all circumstances, as four score sends are free with registration.

For the UC’s, all prospective students must submit SAT with essay or ACT with writing scores.

Students only have to submit scores to one UC, and those scores will be sent to all schools that one is applying to. It is encouraged to submit all SAT scores, since there is no disadvantage in doing so. Admissions officers focus on the highest combined score from one test administration for both the SAT and the ACT. UCs also encourage the submission of other standardized test scores.

For example, submitting Advanced Placement test scores after doing AP courses demonstrates mastery of those subjects. An-

other lesser-known type of standardized examination are the SAT subject tests or the SAT IIs, which are one-hour long tests about a specific subject. Submitting SAT subject test scores show UC admissions officers a deeper understanding of certain topics. Students are not penalized for not taking SAT subject tests, but they do boost applications.

SAT subject test scores can be especially significant when the student is applying to competitive majors, which tend to be STEMfocused programs, as stated

by Dan Amezquita, guidance counselor at FHS. “[UCs] sometimes use [SAT subject tests] for engineering and math majors,” Amezquita said, “It’s just to have an extra piece of data, since those are very hard-toget-into majors.”

Cal State examination requirements are quite different than those for UCs. If a student has a 3.0 GPA or above, they are eligible for an application without a submission of ACT or SAT scores. For those with a lower GPA, the Cal State University website provides an “eligibility index,” which shows what the SAT or ACT score one needs to have based on one’s GPA. Students are not required to take the SAT with essay or the ACT with writing, as the extra writing scores are not included in the calculation of “eligibility index.”

Cal State schools will also “superscore” the SAT, unlike UCs. “Superscoring, they will mix and match,” Amezquita said, “They’ll take your best math score, from one date,

and your best English score, from another date. They’ll just consider those [scores].”

There are also universities that opted to make standardized test score submissions optional. Schools in this category include University of Arizona, Bowdoin College, University of Chicago and several others.

Many who do attend these schools, however, will still submit test scores. This may be to get merit scholarships, get into certain programs or to give the admissions officers an extra data point to support the application.

Amezquita details how test-optional universities value test score submissions.

“They’ll look at the SAT as another piece of data, but it is not required for admissions,” Amezquita said, “Another way they use it is that, if you want scholarship money, you have to take the test.”

Another category universities fall into is those that allow students to substitute SAT/ACT scores with other standardized test scores. These colleges are considered test-flexible colleges. For example, New York University, is test-flexible. Students can submit three SAT subject test scores or three AP exam scores in lieu of the SAT/ACT without

writing test. Some other test-flexible colleges include Brandeis College, Colorado College and Middlebury College. All test-flexible schools have different rules, so extra research is required for those schools.

Although standardized test scores are generally required or recommended for admission to universities, it is important to understand that test scores are only a fraction of a student’s application.

Test scores do not have to be perfect for students to be admitted to a selective university, as stated by Amezquita.

“I think a lot of colleges look at standardized testing as something that supports the grades. A student might take the SAT or ACT four times,” said Amezquita, “That’s four days out of a student’s four years of school. I think [standardized tests are] a piece, but not the whole pie [of college admissions].”

Even though this article has outlined many of the standardized test score rules for different universities, every college tends to be at least slightly different. It is necessary for students to do their own research on admission requirements for different colleges as well.

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No more on-site sports physicals

by Sampreetha Tumkur Staff Writer

Fremont High has been holding onsite physicals for over five years, however this year, onsite physicals are no longer going to be an option for student athletes. Many doctors are finding onsite physicals to be more difficult to attend and consider the event prone to liability issues.

Originally, onsite physicals began as an option for athletes who could not get an appointment with their physician.

On average, onsite physicals used to be about four minutes and, due to the large amount of students waiting, there was little privacy. Regular physicals are around 30 minutes and have more privacy and involves the student’s parents.

The physical procedure consists of taking the blood pressure, doing basic muscle evaluation, listening to the heart and lung and checking past medical history. According to Mary Rhatigan the athletic train-

er, doctors would donate their time to help student athletes who could not see their health provider.

“They donated the time because they knew it was hard for a lot of our students to get in to be seen by their primary care doctors, so rather than risk them not able to get a physical and not play a sport, they helped us out, which was a common practice a few years ago,” said Rhatigan.

In the past, students used onsite physicals as an alternative to visit their personal doctor, which can be time consuming and expensive for many students.

“They meant I didn’t have to go the doctor, which was inconvenient and time consuming for my parents,” said FHS senior Meghna Shankar.

Onsite physicals being cancelled is inconvenient for many students especially because they have been available for many years and it is no longer available. In addition, the schedule for onsite physicals differs from the sports season which may

make it harder to fill out forms on time.

“A lot of our regular appointments don’t line up with the sports seasons so students might have a lot more trouble getting the forms filled out on time, especially depending on their insurance,” said Shankar. “It sucks that we have to go out of our way to get this now.”

Most schools have stopped holding physicals due to liability issues. A lot of doctors do not want their names on the physicals because they do not have time to give a proper physical according to Rhatigan.

Doctors do not make much money from conducting onsite physicals.

“Normally the amount of money [doctors] make with appointments in their offices is more compared to seeing a 100 students,” said Rhatigan.

In addition to liability issues, doctors are having a hard time finding a day when they are available.

“It’s a combination of both [liabilities and scheduling],” said Rhatigan.

Previously, other schools in the Fremont Union High School District used to have onsite physicals, but over the years, they have also stopped conducting onsite physicals. Before cancelling onsite physicals, Fremont was the only school that still did them.

Although onsite physicals have been discontinued, Rhatigan hopes to bring onsite physicals back next year.

“Ideally I’ll have one day in the summer. Going forth, I would like to have one big [physical] with stations, said Rhatigan. “It will have to become more formal process which takes a lot of time and manpower and we don’t have much of a budget because it’s hard to organize.”

Until then, CVS minute clinic and WellnessMart can be alternatives for students who cannot meet their primary healthcare provider.

Both clinics offer walk in appointments and are easily accessible to students.

Fremont High School 1279 Sunnyvale Saratoga Rd, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 (408)-522-2400 | fremonthighphoenix@gmail.com Advisor | Emer Martin Mission Statement: 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. 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.

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Arts & Entertainment Frank Ocean: mystery behind the music

March 8, 2019

4

by Patrick Ramos Sports Editor

Music is one of the many staples of human culture. Each musician has something to bring to the table. However, many modern artists oversaturate their discography with a plethora of music. And more often than not, the quality becomes worse as the quantity produced increases. From two hour long mixtapes to watered down albums for commercialized audiences, these can come off as boring and repetitive, enough to the extent where the fans start to distrust the artist.

What can make a fan base loyal is when an artist does the opposite. Releasing music in small doses gives fans enough time to build up excitement between releases. Of course, the only reason buzz would be built up is if the music is of good quality. The more time spent on a song or album, the better quality the album should be. Some great musicians fall under this category ranging anywhere from Childish Gambino to Tyler the Creator, but perhaps the most fascinating of them all is Frank Ocean.

Frank Ocean is one of the most powerful artists of our time. Despite having a

much smaller discography than his contemporaries, he remains at the top of his game. With only three albums and a mixtape in the past eight years, Ocean is still endlessly listened to, not just because of the high quality of music he produces, but also because of how rare it is for him to drop music.

Last year, Ocean was featured on two songs, Purity with A$AP Rocky and Carousel with Travis Scott. He released only one single, Moon River, a cover from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Yet despite the low trickle of stuff he releases, Ocean still gets over eight million streams on Spotify and his album Blonde (2016), remains on the Billboard 200 chart.

Ocean understands the fine line between too much and too little. Between the releases of channel ORANGE (2012) and albums Endless (2016) and Blonde (2016), both of which were released within days of each other, Frank exclusively only featured himself on others’ projects during that four year hiatus.

The reason behind this move was not because he did

not want to release music, but because he wanted to exit his two album record deal with the label, Def Jam who is known for having artists like Kanye West, BTS, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga and many more. Large record labels like Def Jam would tirelessly push for artists to constantly release music and take a majority of the revenue.

Ocean knew this after the release of his first album and spent four years firing his entire legal team and finding as many loopholes

as he could in the Def Jam contract. Eventually, Frank released Endless, a visual album exclusively released to Apple music. It was received well by critics but some found it to not be the great follow up to channel ORANGE. The album’s release was used as an easy exit out of his Def Jam contract.

Ocean was given $20 million to produce Endless. Very little was actually spent on Endless and was mainly used on Frank’s other project Blonde. After the release of Endless, Frank quickly finalized a deal with Apple music worth about another $20 million dollars all while not having to

pay a dime back to Def Jam since he had already exited the contract.

As A$AP Rocky described it to Angie Martinez, “[Frank Ocean] figured out how to finesse the record industry. [...] Do you know how embarrassed the record industry was? Do you know how hard they have been whipping f*cking artists since then?”

Four days after Endless, Ocean then released Blonde. Blonde is regarded as one of the best albums of the 21st century for its immersive storytelling and experimental directions.

The interesting storytelling keeps bringing listeners back. Along with its very spacious instrumentals and powerful verses, the album solidified Ocean as the dynamic artist he is known to be. It was also released with Frank’s own record label Boys Don’t Cry. The following year, Ocean released four singles Provider, Chanel, Lens and Biking, featuring JayZ and former Odd Future associate Tyler, the Creator, which were all well received.

Ocean also

featured himself on four projects with A$AP Mob, Calvin Harris, Jay-Z and Tyler, the Creator.

Today, Frank has been seen as one of the smartest and influential artists of the 2010s with newer artists like Rex Orange County, Steve Lacy, Berhana and Daniel Caesar all taking notes from Ocean. These artists are proceeding into the musical industry without any major record label and releasing small doses of music to fans.

Frank remains very secretive about his personal life despite being one of the most sought out artists to work with. Despite having done his first interview in years with GQ and making public, his Instagram account, Frank has been one of the more lowkey artists.

He has not done a live concert since 2017 and is barely even active on the social media he is on.

Ocean claims to have finished his newest album, but has not dropped anything since being featured on Travis Scott’s Astroworld.

Other than showing snippets of new music on his Instagram, fans have been patiently waiting for new music. And they will remain patient, as long as the music quality is at its best.

Photos courtesy of Pinterest

The rise of Islamic art Girl Scout cookies

by Vikash Kumar Staff Writer

Art and fashion have always been a staple in society. Pieces of art and clothing have become more complex as different styles of art across the world have been implemented more and more each year.

Recently, Islamic art has become more popular due to its eye-catching symmetrical pieces and unique patterns. Consequently, many pieces of clothing have started incorporating designs that echo the style of Islamic art.

Besides clothing, Islamic artwork has also gained popularity in recent years. Islamic art is very vibrant and distinctive, as it possesses its own unique characteristics. Additionally, Islamic art implements the Islamic language within paintings. The De Young Museum in San Francisco, California, has held Islamic art shows that displayed the vibrant culture that Islam has to offer with religious and abstract paintings.

Islamic fashion has also gained ground in today’s society. Islamic fashion consists of either basic, solid colors that go together to create a very versatile outfit. Islamic fashion also consists of reGraphic courtesy of Etsy

peating patterns that cover the whole clothing piece.

This has become very popular in very noticeable luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Supreme.

These brands have pieces of clothing and accessories that contain repeating patterns of their logo throughout their clothing.

A popular Islamic design found on many clothing items is the floral shape. This shape creates pieces of art that are very appealing to the eye. It also contains geometrical shapes such as squares and circles interlacing multiple times to create symmetrical, beautiful shapes. Some Islamic brands known to use these designs are 5ivePillars and The Next Ummah.

These brands have pop-culture designs that are influenced

by Islam’s art fundamentals that result in a stylish piece that’s appealing to the eye that also is very trendy.

A partnership between Skateboarder Stefan Janoski and Nike made floral print popular with Nike SB (Skateboarding) collection of skater shoes that contain floral patterns.

Pieces of clothing

from Islamic culture have longer lengths than traditional fashion. An outfit is normally composed of one whole piece instead of separate pieces of clothing. Some examples include a Dashiki, which is a men’s button up shirt commonly worn in middle eastern countries and a Dishdasha, which is a long suit that is commonly white, that is worn for religious reasons. These pieces of clothing originate from ancient times of Islamic culture, and have since come a long way to how popular they are For women, articles of clothing, such as rompers or shawls, have influenced western culture a lot, and as a result, have become very trendy clothing choices in women’s fashion. These types of clothing pieces have also majorly influenced the surrounding cultures and countries. Islamic women clothing has also made its way around surrounding countries. In Asia, shawls have become a main staple in women’s wardrobe because they not only keep you warm, but also contain repeating patterns of flowers or geometric shapes.

Without the influence of Islamic art and fashion, the world and its types of art and clothing would be drastically different.

by Sophia Suon

Staff Writer

Girl Scouts of Northern California, one of the biggest youth organizations for girls, have recently begun to sell Girl Scout Cookies again. Girl Scouts sell in front of numerous schools, shops and local grocery stores around the Bay Area, as well as across the US. There is a wide variety of cookie flavors. A few of the most well-known flavors include Samoas, Thin Mints, S’mores and Savannah Smiles. Girl Scouts also offer gluten-free and sugar-free flavors.

Girl Scouts incorporate many outdoor activities within their organization to expose young girls to different experiences that help them succeed and survive. The organization offers camping trips, group hikes, searches for waterfalls together and more.

Setting goals and earning achievements are important to Girl Scouts. The girls are given badges when they achieve a certain skill. They have badges, like the “Senior Adventure Badge,” that represent their outdoor skills with canoeing, biking, rafting and more. They also have the “Cadette Trees Badge.” This badge is earned by showing consistent skill in using resources.

Badges are very important to the women who earn them because it is also seen as a representation of their hard work and experiences from being a Girl Scout.

There are many strong women role-models who got their start in Girl Scouts, like Michelle Obama and Serena Williams. Girl Scout Mikaila Profeta, a sophomore here

Graphic courtesy of Pinterest

at FHS, says, “It [Girl Scouts] helped me to be a better person because we are always thinking about how we [as girl scouts] can help people.” Girl Scouts encourages women to help care for their community.

Profeta also adds, “My sister and I received our silver award, which was for making care baskets for children in the hospital.”

Girl Scouts is said to make the world a kinder and more welcoming place. The organization is helpful to all communities in the US. Their achievements are outstanding and how much they’ve impacted our world is unbelievable. Girl Scouts help donate money to numerous fundraisers for hospitals and also participate in local campaigns and parades. They’ve also involved their girls in activities that teach them how to save lives and STEM programs to educate young girls how science and tech can change the world.

Supporting Girl Scouts is important because it greatly benefits the lives of young women in society. They are given the opportunity to develop important leadership and problem-solving skills.

One of the easiest ways to support Girl Scouts is by buying their cookies! The cookies are well-liked by many and many agree they are delicious. Andre Lowe, a freshman here are FHS says, ¨My favorite Girl Scout cookies flavor is Thin Mints, they are the best.¨ Try them all to find out what YOUR favorite is!

Locations Near Fremont: Grocery Outlet 1180 N Fair Oaks Ave Starbucks 231 W Washington Ave Lowe’s 811 E Arques Avenue Bank of America 444 Castro Street

Arts & Entertainment 5

March 8, 2019

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World soars through the roof

by Atharv Panditrao Staff Writer

On February 22, 2019, the third installment of the How to Train Your Dragon series was released. The first two films have been often regarded as some of the greatest animated films of all time, with both films receiving nominations at the Oscars. They have introduced us to the adventures of the viking boy-chief Hiccup, his innocent young dragon Toothless and their quests to save the dragon community from human extinction. How To Train Your Dragon 3 came into theaters on Friday, February 22nd.

The movie centers around the final part of Toothless and Hiccup’s journey. Just a year after the events of How To Train Your Dragon 2, Hiccup has reshaped his small viking vil-

lage into a large community where both dragons and vikings can coexist in peace.

Hiccup and his friends work as a band of dragon rescuers, where they save dragons from human trappers, much to the disdain of local warlords. In one mission, they unexpectedly discover a Light Fury—a rare dragon similar to Toothless except she’s white. The immediate attraction between Toothless and the Light Fury gives way to hilarious scenes, where Toothless attempts to court her through a variety of tricks.

Meanwhile, however, problems loom. The viking village, called Berk, faces a serious overpopulation problem. As a result of this, Hiccup begins venturing to find the Hidden World, the mythical homeland of all dragons that his father had attempted to find. On top of all of this, local warlords recruit the dragon-hunter Grimmel the Grisly. His ability to constantly thwart Hiccup brings the latter’s confidence to its lowest point.

Collaboration

Memes, tweets, Instagram videos, TikToks, and Snapchat stories. In today’s world, there are so many ways people can find entertainment. Although all these are very popular, two of the most popular entertainment services are Netflix and YouTube. These platforms have very similar qualities but also vast differences.

Why is Netflix better than YouTube?

Netflix is a streaming service where you can watch TV shows, movies, documentaries and cartoons.

Netflix is available for as low as $8.99 a month and has thousands of mov-

ies. Netflix does a great job of offering a variety of much-loved movies like The Breakfast Club and Black Panther. In addition, viewers can indulge in Netflix originals, which are movies and TV shows exclusive to Netflix users. Netflix has no ads and does a great job of creating thriving careers for new actors and actresses who become popular from Netflix originals. Those who love binge watching will definitely love Netflix.

YouTube, on the other hand, has several negative aspects to it. While watching a video, an ad will appear. Also, YouTubers can prioritize fame over good quality content. By bragging about their luxury items, promoting their merch in

every video and adding clickbait titles and thumbnails, it can be difficult for a viewer to actually enjoy the content.

The content creators are also not always positive influencers. Logan Paul, a famous YouTuber with almost 19 million subscribers, has caused controversy on YouTube. On a trip to Japan, Paul went to Aokigahara, also known as the suicide forest. He then proceeded to film a victim of suicide in the forest and uploaded that footage to YouTube.

Paul showed no respect to the suicide victim and the victims family. Displaying this to the young audience that watch Paul desensitizes them to this tragedy. Is this the role model we want to

have for America’s youth?

Why YouTube is better than Netflix?

YouTube is a video streaming platform where anyone can post any content. With billions of videos uploaded to YouTube every day, there are plenty of shows and programs that viewers can enjoy.

Also, YouTube is free. However, if you want YouTube Premium with no ads and YouTube exclusive TV shows, you have to pay $11.99 a month. YouTube recently added TV shows and movies for sale. For example, Family Guy sells for $9.99 per season, The Hate U Give sells for $5.55.

The newer the movie is, the more expensive it is.

YouTube provides users

Staff Writer

On January 10, 2019, Disney Pixar released a YouTube video introducing their new indie film program called SparkShorts.

“The SparkShorts program is designed to discover new storytellers, explore new storytelling techniques, and experiment with new production workflows,” Pixar Animation Studios’ President Jim Morris said on the Pixar website. “These films are unlike anything we’ve ever done at Pixar, providing an opportunity to unlock the potential of individual artists and their inventive filmmaking approaches on a smaller scale than our normal fare.”

SparkShorts are con-

tinuing to break tradition.

Not only are these shorts staying true to their Pixar ideals of exploring lifelong themes, but they are also increasing diversity among their cast and characters.

“We want to nurture our future storytellers and encourage them to share their stories with the world,” Pixar’s Vice President of Development Lindsey Collins said. “Who are the future directors and producers and what crazy new ideas do they have brewing? What is the next big breakthrough in our industry? Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of SparkShorts. The program was created to provide opportunities to a wide array of artists—each with something unique to say.”

One of the more

Photo courtesy of IMDb

anticipated shorts being released under the program is Float. Written and directed by Bobby Rubio, who is Filipino, Float will be the first Disney Pixar movie featuring an all Filipino cast.

According to the Pixar website, the synopsis of Float is, “A father discovers that his son floats, which makes him different from other kids. To keep them both safe from the judgement of the world, Dad hides, covers and grounds him. But when his son’s ability becomes public, Dad must decide whether to run and hide or to accept his son as he is.”

Many Filipinos, including FHS Filipino Youth Organization president Johnia Palacios, are enthusiastic about Filipinos being repre-

with an opportunity to get their opinion heard. Several YouTubers have gained such a large subscription count that they have gained a celebrity status such as Pewdiepie, who has over 84 millions subscribers, and KSI, who has over 20 million subscribers. YouTube has groups of people who lead by example like Dude Perfect, which is a group of guys who do trick shots and make funny videos for little kids to enjoy. YouTube also has music, so you can listen and watch artists’ video.

Netflix has several flaws. In order to use Netflix, you have to pay $7.99 for a limited amount of movies and TV shows. Netflix has taken off many shows that people love such as Family

Guy and Bob’s Burgers.

Netflix adds movies to the platform really slowly.

With Netflix being the best place to watch movies, you would think they would add new movies at a good pace. Netflix has licensing deals with multiple good movies and TV shows, but they depart after a couple of months. YouTube allows you to search up any movie or TV show for a low price.

All in all, both platforms are great and excel in different areas of entertainment. Which is better really depends on the consumer’s personal preference.

Make sure to like, comment and subscribe. Merch link in bio.

Photos courtesy of Broadcasting & Cable and NPR

SparkShorts

The electrifying arrival of

by Kiana Devera

where there is no dialogue present. The animations portray each nuanced expression and every intricate emotion, making this movie the best of the trilogy when it comes to visual effects.

One low point in the movie is, of course, the generic plot.

It’s heavily influenced by other DreamWorks movies, including the previous installment in the trilogy.

The characters of Astrid and Grimmel are not completely developed, and the movie’s main villain is sort of a repeat of the previous villain Drago. It’s also influenced by some Pixar’s films, like Toy Story, as both movies touch on the theme of growing up, and WallE in terms of its comedy routines.

However, all in all, How to Train Your Dragon 3 is one of the studio’s greatest movies and a hilarious and entertaining movie for people of all ages.

: the pros and cons

versus

by Aoibhe Walczak & Enrique Alfaro

The film touches on important themes like discrimination and pacifism, but most importantly, growing up. It centers around Hiccup’s struggle in finding an identity without Toothless, who matures as well. Hiccup is also forced to assume more responsibilities and to deal with the growing population of dragons at Berk. Berk’s huge surplus of dragons attracts dragon hunters from across the world.

Another high point of the film is the incredible visual effects. Like the other How to Train Your Dragon films, the film doesn’t shy away from exciting battles between dragons. The third installment soars even further in this aspect. It showcases multiple clumsy courtships between the Light and Night Furies, and also excels on the various battles between the dragon hunters and dragon riders.

The virtual landscapes and stylized human figures are done to perfection, so much so that the movie is able to undergo several moments

sented in a Disney movie.

“I’m really excited to see how Bobby Rubio implements the culture factor into the SparkShort,” Palacios said. “Being able to see a film on Disney made by a Filipino director is definitely different from what I would expect [from the company].

There’s a misconception that Filipinos are the ones in the medical field or the ones who sing or dance back home, so seeing Rubio represent the variety that we could bring more to the table is really inspiring to say the least. I anticipate Rubio shed[ding] some light on the issue and bring[ing] out the best to what’s behind our culture.”

The film industry, live-action and animated, is slowly incorporating more

aspects of our progressive world to make a more inclusive audience to appeal to.

Over the past 96 years of Walt Disney Animation Studios, only 16 of the 74 animated theatrical feature films consisted of a non-white character as the leading role.

“Media representation is often taken for granted, and I think being able to see Filipinos, an underrepresented minority in my opinion, on screen proves to young fil-ams that it’s possible for us to pursue our dreams,” Palacios said.

“It shows us that we should always seize a chance if we want that dream—film industry, politician, scientist—whatever that dream may be, we have a chance.

This goes without saying,

but that can apply to not only the Filipino community, but other underrepresented minorities in film.”

In the past years, gender, sexual and racial diversity have been successful in grossing at the box office, and many companies like Disney Pixar have noticed. The most recent animated production in the Disney collection is Coco, which grossed $210 million and was nominated for Best Original Song for the song Remember Me. Though these short films might not gross as much as the company’s more high budget projects, taking the initiative by sparking this program to life is a start in the right direction for the future of film.

Photo courtesy of 1000 Logos

Special Feature 6

March 8, 2019

The Consequences of Retellings

By Max Palli When reading about true crime, people usually only read the stories, but not everything that has to do with true crime are the crimes themselves. As with all actions, true crime media has consequences.

Serial hit in 2014. A podcast investigating the murder of a high schooler, Hae Min Lee, back in 1999. People speculated, subreddits were made and new theories forged every day based on the new clues. But to some people it’s real, like Lee’s brother.

And he gave them his take on it.

“TO ME ITS REAL LIFE,” he wrote on Reddit. “To you listeners, it’s another murder mystery, crime drama, another episode of CSI. You weren’t there to see your mom crying every night, having a heart attack when she got the [news] that the body was found, and going to court almost every day for a year seeing your mom weeping, crying and fainting.

You don’t know what we went through. Especially to those who are demanding our family response and having a meetup … you guys are disgusting. Shame on you. I pray that you don’t have to go through what we went through and have your story blasted to 5mil listeners.”

Serial died down. But then, people forgot about Lee’s brother, and the last episode was as successful as the first.

This sort of happening is not unheard of for victims of these podcasts. According to author Jack Miles, publicizing these stories can have very real effects, harming or traumatizing the people involved. Some had even gotten over it. Some had moved on. But, a few years later, a person who was not even involved got ahold of their whole story and told everyone in vivid detail, causing them to be retraumatized.

Some true crime can be considered reporting, documentary-style, professional news coverage, while others can be highly speculative. Author Christiana Gregoriou has analyzed many books of this kind and concluded that many of these suffered from tabloidization, of overdramatization for the purpose of selling more or seeming more interesting.

Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood (1966) was challenged in 2013, with people saying that its facts are incorrect. His second book, Handcarved Coffins (1979), was almost immediately dismissed

as fiction because the book lacked any sort of evidence and too much of the content never happened.

The people involved are not the only ones that can have problems. You, the viewer, can be affected by them.

Professor A.J. Marsden of Beacon College told HuffingtonPost, ”For example, you may find yourself passing up on opportunities to spend time with friends or family because you do not want to risk putting yourself in a potentially threatening situation, [like] leaving a parking lot late at night.”

Consuming too much of this genre can cause intense paranoia and unwillingness to take risks that you might otherwise not experience. But everyone reacts differently, so you might just be able to binge half of Serial and not have any problems. If you think the material is becoming increasingly disturbing or addicting, you should probably take a step back, read a book (not one about crime), and assess your obsession.

Judging from downloads and views, true crime is not going to disappear anytime soon, so just consider these things before switching on Making a Murderer.

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Serial Killer Groupies

By Trixie Rodriguez Recently in popular culture, there has been a growing fan base for true crime based entertainment. This has manifested in different ways like Netflix documentaries, Youtube series and podcasts. One of the more common forms of true crime entertainment is dramatizations.

Dramatizations often feature devastatingly charismatic and attractive actors in the roles of serial killers. In the summer of 2018, Ross Lynch, Disney Channel golden boy, was cast as Jeffrey Dahmer in My Friend Dahmer.

The film focuses on Dahmer in his high school years and shows him as a lonely misunderstood kid. The same Jeffrey Dahmer who raped, killed and ate his victims.

After seeing this, he was elected White Boy of the Month, something best defined by Urban Dictionary (this may not be the best source but it is the only option until Merriam Webster steps up its game) as, “when stan twitter crowns a skinny, attractive white boy as their king to obsess over for a month only then to drop him the next month when a new one rises”.

And yes, Lynch may be an

attractive actor and his portrayal may be intriguing. However, it is important to remember that Dahmer is still a killer and rapist making comments like “Jeffrey Dahmer can get it” insensitive and concerning.

The infatuation with mentally disturbed men goes beyond true crime. Fictional killers also have a place in the hearts of American women as well. One example of this can be found in You, an American television series that follows Joe Goldberg played by Penn Badgley in his pursuit of a young woman named Beck.

As the show progresses Joe’s obsession with Beck increases and he is driven to stalking, blackmail, and even murder. And apparently after watching the series there were some people who decided “ohhhh yes, I want some of that good lovin’ in my life.”

There are dozens of articles on the internet dedicated to people’s attraction to Joe. Even celebrity Millie Bobby Brown justified Joe’s behavior by saying “He’s not creepy, he’s in love with her.” Badgley himself responded to several Tweets about the show in an attempt to remind people the Joe is in fact, a psychopath and

not a misunderstood king.

When women celebrate characters who commit the very crimes we expect society to condemn it has a negative impact. It sends the message that violence, obsession, and acts of unwanted sexual aggression are not only acceptable but desirable.

There is a good reason why crime entertainment is popular. It’s undeniably entertaining. It is also easy to get caught up in these larger than life characters from the safety of a movie theatre or bedroom but these are often true stories or resembling something that actual people have gone through.

By branding people’s real-life trauma as “romantic” or “sexy” it belittles survivors and trivializes aggressor’s actions.

Charles Manson

Jeffrey Dahmer

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Special Feature 7

March 8, 2019

scuss topics of exder, which may be aders. Read at your etion.

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“Kind” Killers Dominate the Media

By Jay Ghate Serial killers are a popular topic of discussion, especially in Hollywood. There have been plenty of movies, documentaries, and TV shows based on their lives. Hollywood’s obsession with serial killers tends to be problematic as they often misrepresent them. Some movies and TV shows portray serial killers as redeemable or sympathetic characters rather than dangerous and sociopathic.

A good example of this is the portrayal of Ted Bundy, a criminal during the 1970s, who committed crimes all over the United States. He was convicted of aggravated kidnapping, murder, rape, burglary and the attempted murders of young women and girls.

He confessed to committing 30 homicides over the span of four years across seven states, but FBI experts believe that he has killed at least 100 women. He was arrested in 1979 and ten years later was executed via the electric chair.

His defense attorney, Polly Nelson once wrote that he was “The very definition of heartless evil”.

On January 25, 2019 a trailer for the movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and

Vile was released. The trailer was received with widespread criticism and controversy because Zac Efron portrayed Bundy as a very handsome and charismatic person, effectively romanticizing him.

I disagree with the controversy in terms of how he was portrayed as many reports have said that Bundy used his looks and charisma to lure his victims. However, the larger issue is that we’re giving serial killers like Bundy exactly what they want: attention. There have already been five movies released about Bundy and due to the popularity of the true crime genre Netflix recently released a four part docuseries called Conversation with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. It was their intention to understand why Bundy brutally murdered girls but it backfired and some girls have been calling Bundy attractive.

The same issue has been happening on Tumblr where girls have been calling school shooters like Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold cute. Harris and Klebold brought guns and shot 13 people in their library on April 20, 1999. This would be later be known as the Colum-

bine High School Massacre.

The FBI have found out the reason Harris and Klebold committed the Columbine Shooting was for attention.

According to Slate, an online magazine the shooters’ “vision was to create a nightmare so devastating and apocalyptic that the entire world would shudder at their power.”

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile at least accurately portrays a serial killer. The only TV show that can confidently claim that they portray serial killers correctly is American Horror Story. They represent criminals as sadists, pathological liars, and sometimes psychotic. On occasion, AHS will give the antagonist a backstory but make it very clear that their history should not excuse their present actions.

Another example of people getting attention for the wrong reasons is Charles Manson. Manson was a cult leader during the 1960s. In August 1969 he was responsible for convincing Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian to commit the Tate and the LaBianca murders. There have been

eight documentaries, as well as 17 movies and TV shows based on Manson. This undeserving attention has been gladly received by many infamous serial killers.

Why do we insist on giving attention to these horrible people who have murdered out of sheer pleasure, rather than forgetting them and honoring their victims instead? The victims have wrongfully died in acts of brutality. Thankfully, most victim’s killers have been brought to justice, which is why everyone should move on rather than continuing to be obsessed with the murderer.

When making films or documentaries on murderers, the producers should account for what every victim’s family had gone through, and the impact it could have on the viewers.

Commercializing Crime

By Sydney Sharp In recent years, true crime has become increasingly prevalent in pop culture. An overwhelming abundance of podcasts, films, TV shows and books have surfaced, retelling the gruesome details of murders and cold cases. Yet one begins to wonder, what could possibly be so attractive about serial killings to account for the extreme growth in true crime media?

For most, it is a simple case of morbid curiosity and a fear of the unimaginable.

Yet in this harmless curiosity, many people, including myself, fail to recognize that the brutality of true crime is a horrible reality for those who fall victim to it.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the simple act of enjoying the occasional episode of Criminal Minds or Serial. Even I like to indulge in an occasional true crime podcast every now and then. But like most things, true crime shows should be consumed in moderation.

An avid interest in serial killers and the crimes they commit can go south fast. As true crime has become a pillar in American pop culture, people have begun to recognize the tragedies of others

as a means of profit. With the growth in true crime media, shops on Etsy have begun to appear, bearing serial-killerrelated memorabilia, including replicas of infamous serial killer Ed Gein’s human furniture and tee shirts bearing the mugshots of famed criminals.

True crime enthusiasts are also encouraged to attend CrimeCon, an annual convention that boasts specialty in “everything true crime”.

With paid add-ons allowing participants to be blindfolded and experience a serial killer simulation, CrimeCon seems to be more of a profit ploy than a grand cause to solve cold cases as it is often advertised.

Both CrimeCon and true crime inspired memorabilia are gross examples of people profiting off the pain of others.

Former FBI agent and criminal profiler Jim Fitzgerald explains that many people are drawn to true crime because “everyone has a rubbernecking aspect to them. If it’s not your car accident on the drive home, it’s the crime you weren’t a victim of.”

The reality is, most people share this mindset; but being thankful that you aren’t the victim does not validate rooting for the killer.

The commercialization of murder is extremely harmful to both victims and consumers. Not only does the overconsumption of true crime stories desensitize people to violence and loss of life, but it also takes advantage of people in mourning, whose lives have been permanently altered by crime.

When you take a step back and evaluate the true crime industry as a whole, it is clear that criminals have become glorified. Looking back throughout the history of true crime, one can easily see that it is almost always the killer who is remembered, rarely their victims.

To forget those who have suffered at the hands of criminals conveys that you don’t care. For most people, this is not at all intentional, but the effects of their actions are still felt by both survivors and families.

To give you perspective, imagine someone you loved was impacted by a criminal, how would you feel to know that the person responsible has not only become famous but now has fans. The situation sounds completely unimaginable, but for some, it

is a terrible reality.

While I don’t expect people to completely eradicate true crime media from their lives, I believe that we all owe it to the victims to treat their stories with the utmost respect. By choosing to endorse the commercialization of serial killer culture, through memorabilia or supporting invasive investigation shows, you are choosing to enable companies to use another person’s pain for profit.

Photos Courtesy of Mugshots.org, Jennifer Dewalt, PngImage.net, Flick Driver, KissPNG and PNG Mart

WARNING:

Opinion

mARCH 8, 2019

8

Affirmative Action : Fremont “stay woke”

by Geoff Wen

History Teacher

Having read The Phoenix article titled, “Affirmative Action: Harming Instead of Helping,” I found myself frustrated. This complex issue was framed as a fear-mongering expression of why Hispanic and African American students who “aren’t qualified for higher education” were taking the spots of those who were more “qualified,” specifically those of white or Asian descent. Sure, this was an opinion piece, but the lack of research into the topic as a whole was concerning, and there was a deficit in factchecking.

The reason why I got into teaching was to educate, build respectful conversation, and challenge my students to a deeper understanding. This is my professional intent in writing this article.

Now I get it. Living, growing up, and teaching in the hyper-competitive Bay Area is alarming and exasperating as an educator.

I see the immense pressures that students today face in the pursuit of higher education. Trying to “calculate the formula” behind top universities’ admissions

requirements in order to gain acceptances is a mindnumbing process. Universities purposely keep this a secret as there is no benefit in revealing this information.

Furthermore, uproar seems to happen when the peers of this next generation see people they deem unqualified admitted. It’s a zero-sum game that cannibalizes the hard work that high school students accomplish, who then need some sort of explanation when the “hard work” goes unpaid. Scapegoats are looked for when the reality is that college admissions change as the winds do. This was not addressed in the initial article on affirmative action.

To begin, let’s define this term. Affirmative action according to Cornell Law is “a set of procedures designed to eliminate unlawful discrimination among applicants, remedy the results of such prior discrimination, and prevent such discrimination in the future.”

While it is oftentimes associated with minority groups based on race, it can also be applied to other underrepresented groups such as women and the LGBTQI community. The original article chose to focus exclusively on race, specifically those in the African American and Hispanic community, which is not the whole picture.

Next, examining the precedent set by the U. S. Supreme Court is important, not only for under-

standing where our working definition originates, but also due to the constitutionality of how affirmative action can be implemented.

The original article focused on how forced diversity due to “affirmative action” is harmful by framing an argument that admitting those solely based on race is wrong. This is true. The Supreme Court has made it very clear that this is not in line with the 14th amendment. But this is not affirmative action. Rather affirmative action has been defined in other terms.

The first case to examine this is Regents of University of California vs.

Bakke of 1964. This case set the standard for future affirmative action cases when the Supreme Court found that admissions based solely on racial quotas is in fact unconstitutional. However, they also ruled that using race as one measure of decision making in order to reach a goal of equality was in fact constitutional.

How do we know this is true? In the second major case of affirmative action in 2003 Gratz vs. Bollinger, the Supreme Court upheld their definition in Bakke ruling that the University of Michigan’s extra point system based solely on race violated the affirmative action ruling from Bakke. This was also challenged in another case, Grutter vs. Bollinger where the Supreme Court did rule in favor of the University of Michigan. The court found “that this plan is narrowly tailored enough to satisfy strict scrutiny,” because

the “program is flexible enough to ensure that each applicant is evaluated as an individual and not in a way that makes race or ethnicity the defining feature of the application….”

Now the original article brought up a few points that I would like to address.

The writers chose to cite a couple pieces of evidence about how affirmative action is a detrimental program, one in particular from the Heritage Foundation citing how “over 50 percent of African Americans in top law schools, many of whom were admitted because of affirmative action, were at the bottom 10 percent of their class and their dropout rate was nearly 20 percent, more than double that of their white peers.”

This is misleading since it does not address if the use of affirmative action is causation or merely a correlation of other outside issues regarding prejudice, inherent bias or discrimination.

Furthermore, as an educator, I instruct students to consider the ethos of their sources. Hence, it should be noted that the Heritage Foundation is an extremely conservative think tank.

Next, the authors also chose to present other authors’ opinions as fact rather than opinion. Specifically, the authors attempted to use affirmative action as a catch-all cause for why different groups are taking away spots from who they viewed as more qualified candidates.

Many of the “statements” used by the authors

as facts were really just opinions from other articles.

Quoting another author’s opinion piece to further one’s point is merely using an opinion within an opinion. It’s not fact, thereby not credible. The authors also pulled from arguably the most conservative judge on the Supreme Court today who has repeatedly opposed affirmative action: Clarence Thomas. Ultimately, framing another person’s opinion as fact, regardless of one’s race or status in society, does not legitimize the claim.

Next, they claim that their incorrect definition of affirmative action paints all Hispanics and African Americans as poor and without opportunities.

While this is a broad and unfair blanket statement against African Americans and Hispanics, there are numerous census and economic reports showing the direct correlation between being low-income and the Hispanic and African American communities.

When the authors state, “In order to better achieve the goals of affirmative action, colleges should solely take into account an individual’s familial income, rather than their race when it comes to admissions.” unbeknownst to the authors, this is affirmative action at work. The authors fail to recognize that the Hispanic and African American communities are systematically disadvantaged for a variety of social injustices, excluding them from opportunities that privileged com-

munities come to expect as a given. The authors’ last point of creating a “better” affirmative action is in fact what affirmative action intends to do.

The American education system is one that is based on equity and democratic values. If our system was to be based solely on test scores, it fails to recognize one of the most unique parts of our country in that we are ALL a part of the diversity. If students are frustrated with the lack of equality and transparency in the admissions process, I urge them to perhaps look at the legacy admissions that more unfairly admit students based on their families’ legacy compared to their merits.

Lastly, the authors referenced Dr. Martin Luther King in his I Have a Dream speech when they quoted, “We have a dream that the nation will rise up and live out the meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that [everyone is] created equal.’” Martin Luther King said this in the context of recognizing the inequalities that plagued America, and in many cases, still continue to plague America today.

While college admissions is simply a small piece to this puzzle, the fact remains that Dr. King’s ideas required equity in order to get there.

Affirmative action gets us closer to Dr. King’s dream rather than pulling us further apart. Stay woke Fremont.

Creative Writing: My most favorite cure-all

by Lauren Panzer Staff Writer

Some of my fondest memories are the late Friday nights of autumn and winter, the warm, yellow glow of my desk lamp lighting my room. I sat at my nail-polish stained desk, my fingers clicking at the worn keys of a decades-old, overheating computer.

I wrote tales of great fantasy, a new mythology sprouting from my fingertips. In the blistering spring and summer, I built a magical land of two kings and a female warrior who defeated evil.

In West Palm Beach’s humid, linen-smelling air, I sat at the translucent patio table, trying to translate my thoughts into words.

I wrote into the waning

hours of the night, drinking sweet Ceylon tea and shoving handfuls of microwave popcorn in my mouth. I devoted my free time into gathering inspiration from DeviantArt fanfiction and anime plotlines. I dreamt of publishing and of future children reading my books.

Three and a half years ago, I began my pursuit of writing. I put my heart and soul into my sloppy, 300-word chapters and used the most exotic words I could find in the thesaurus.

My syntax was choppy, but I thought I sounded like some profound, eighteenthcentury poet.

When I transitioned into middle school, I lost all the motivation I had.

My friends left me for other peers and my grades declined. I was neck-deep in missing assignments. I stayed countless times after school, absently listening to my teachers trying to get me to work. I knew I disappointed them.

I recognized the worried looks on their faces when I came to school with new bandages on my arms

all too well. I always said that it just another cat scratch or a scrape from the sidewalk. I knew they didn’t believe my shaky excuses.

I didn’t mind my teachers’ claims about my potential.

Apathy was a sweet poison that destroyed me even further.

Thoughts of suicide plagued my mind. I tried to fight my urges to cut, but ultimately, I failed. I spent my time in my dark room, unable to find a reason to get out of bed.

I specifically remember the nights when my family and I went to what used to be my favorite restaurants.

I could barely eat anything without losing my appetite, so I choked down as much food as I could possibly stomach, knowing I’d just throw it up later.

Summer camp used to be the one thing I loved in the scorching July, but back then, I spent the lunch break crying to myself because I was too exhausted to carry on.

I was diagnosed with depression a year later and started medication and

therapy around that time as well. Both the former and latter helped me improve substantially, but there was still a hole in my mental health that needed to be mended.

The thing that helped me the most was my old favorite pastime, writing. I wrote some of my proudest works as I recovered. Even if I was too tired to care for myself properly, I would write my thoughts or push all my struggles onto a character I hated.

If I had no story plans, I would write the happenings of my day in immense detail, taking that time to look back on my actions.

Writing stories gave me a sense of control in my life, something I needed in the midst of middle school drama and depression.

It gave me a way to escape from my thoughts, to leave to a world of my own creation. Writing gave me a chance to focus on what was on the page instead of what was in my mind.

The seventh grade was exceptionally tough on me and my mental health.

In late May, as I walked home from school, I was whistled and cussed at by a man, across the street, who looked old enough to be my father. It sent me back down the spiral of depression again, pushing me further down each time it happened. When I arrived home crying, I opened my laptop and began to write, which, in enough time, healed me from the harassment on the street.

Writing has empowered me and has let me grow. I can move on from the past by typing up a page, I can create a new world where I am the queen and where all who have done me wrong suffer.

Watching as my writing style evolved has been a great pleasure to me and I hope that it continues to improve and grow in the future.

Looking back, I finally

realize how important this amazing craft is to me, and how my life has changed because of it. I am currently working on a novel manuscript that I hope to finish

by June.

I hope that I am fortunate enough to publish in the future and pursue my dream of becoming an author, a career that helps me in more ways than meets the eye.

Wherever my passion for creative writing goes, I will follow. I owe my life and devotion to the craft because it saved me from a time when my life was on the line.

Photo courtesy of Susan’s Writing Workshop

Opinion 9

March 8, 2019

Why feeling depressed is okay sometimes

by Anonymous Anonymous

These were the four steps that ironically haunted me when they were meant to help. When I was about four years old, I began attending therapy for my sexual assault experience.

At the time, it was an event I didn’t understand that was stirring emotions I couldn’t comprehend.

All I knew was that it wasn’t a good thing, but it started to really affect me more in my teenage and pre-teen years rather than

when the event actually happened. I started growing frustrated because I could no longer remember my assaulter’s name or the details of how the event happened.

I started fearing I would turn out to be a predator myself, because it became uncomfortable for me to mentally compliment a younger person on say, their hair or their shirt, without wondering whether I was being inappropriate.

In the fifth grade my parents got a separation, and during the summer of my freshman year, they finally filed for divorce. I was filled with rage and confusion because I felt they had given up on the only part of happiness that was supposed to last forever.

I started acting out: I grew more rebellious and stopped opening up to others. I began creating

theories that if I didn’t talk to my parents, they wouldn’t find things to take away from me anymore. I thought that their concern about me would slowly fade away because they would believe my pretence of being fine.

My mother became so angry with my father, I felt all our conversations became about bashing him as if I was a friend she could vent to about her ex-boyfriend. The worst part was that she expected me to side with her.

It wasn’t the things she told me about my father that pushed me away and made me angry but instead they were what brought me closer to him and made me afraid of losing him.

I began to worry that if I also believed the things my mother told me about him, then I would risk losing my father too.

I became really upset with everyone and myself.

I felt unworthy of love most of the time. I started categorizing every bad thing into being involved with or having a relation with love, which, somewhere deep down, was the thing I desired most. Between every big event there were some small ones but the little things started to tear me down as well. Overall my life had become a disappointing one.

Less than a year ago I started to talk about how I felt with a trusted uncle. He would listen and act like he understood what I had been going through, which reflecting back on now, I’m not sure if he did; but that didn’t matter because for once I felt like I could lift all that heavy weight off my shoulders.

He became some-

one I could rely on when problems were happening.

However, when I was finally gaining my confidence in concurring my issues, my aunt was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after a failed suicide attempt.

Hospitalized and treated as though she were insane, it was obvious how my family would handle me the same if I came out with my problems. I knew what it felt to be treated as victim and not a survivor: At four years old, after the incident, I felt worthless, like it was my fault and that I should have known to protect my body. The thought of receiving help still horrifies me: maybe this angry person I’ve become won’t make me vulnerable anymore So what is the solution? How will I get better?

I guess for now, I will hold

in these emotions sprouted from problems I feel no one else can understand and that is okay.

Mom, I’m sorry for the betrayal. Dad, I’m sorry I’ll never be able to treat you the way you deserve.

Friends, I’m sorry I pushed you away, and Uncle, I’m sorry I haven’t gotten better yet, but in all honesty probably nothing about me will be changing soon.

Most importantly Fremont Firebirds, I’m sorry if you were looking for a happy ending but to those of you who are experiencing similar situations or similar emotions just know: it’s completely okay to not be okay. You will overcome when you decide and that’s okay; everything will be okay.

Pets: the world’s best Composting benefits

by Quinten Seghers Staff Writer

Throughout history animals have always been a crucial and unique part of society. In the past however, most, if not all animals were hunted and slain for food, clothes, furniture, decoration and more.

But in more modern times animals are not always killed but instead are cherished and loved. In some cases they can even prove to be a helpful companion and friend for humans.

The term “pet” has a very loose definition. Pets can differ in many different ways due to this loose definition. Through their personality, species and size just to name a few. All pets are unique in their own way, which is what makes them so special.

Generally, when someone thinks of a pet one starts to think

about animals such as dogs, cats, fishes, rabbits and other smaller animals. But the wonderful thing about pets is that they can also be way more wild and exotic.

Like for example, porcupines, peacocks, and even tigers.

Another reason as to why having a pet is beneficial is because it causes people to become much more relaxed and happier overall. This happens due to the fact that when an individual watches, plays, or interacts with their pet, the brain will in return releases certain chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine.

These chemicals activate the brain’s reward center and cause one to feel much better mentally.

Some people believe that only pets like dogs and cats can emotionally satisfy humans. However, the reward chemicals in the brain; serotonin and dopamine, can be released naturally through the interacting with any type of animal. The same brain stimulating process can be achieved by watching a fish swim instead of for example playing with a dog.

Another aspect as to how pets can help humans emotionally is by having a pet be an emotional support animal as

well. This is a great way for pets to help their struggling owners deal with certain emotional conditions. Pet’s can help individuals relax when it comes to any type of emotional disorder, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD and more.

Even though the vast majority of emotional support animals are dogs, all types of animals can qualify to be an emotional support animal. Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act, there is no limit as to the number of emotional support animals that someone can have. So feel free to get as many pets as needed in order to sufficiently help oneself through any emotionally challenging times!

Pets are not just only emotionally beneficial however, they can also be trained to work alongside humans in certain areas of employment, particularly in law enforcement.

Where pets, primarily dogs however, are trained to help police officers by tackling fleeing suspects, help firefighters by searching for trapped individuals and can also help TSA agents sniff out narcotics from within airport luggage.

Pet’s still have dozens of other possible various traits that can be useful to humans in a physical manner that is not associated with law enforcement.

Making them an important ally in nearly all aspects of humans’ lives.

Regardless as to whether or not certain pets are capable of helping humans physically, they all still deserve to be able to interact with humans on a more daily basis in their lives. All animals need and deserve to be loved and respected.

Drawing courtesy of Natalie Wolff

by Ambika Vaidya

Opinion Editor

We have all heard the following a thousand times over: composting—good for the environment! Almost all of us have heard this message from our textbooks, teachers, parents and other educators. But what many people still do not realize is why composting is to vital to the overall wellbeing and longevity of the Earth.

Composting is the practice of collecting all biodegradable items such as food scraps, yard waste, and card stock plates or paper napkins turning into compost either by tossing all these items into a bin along with some storebought fertilizer at home or instead taking the mixture to a composting facility.

Throwing food scraps into a composting bin instead of into a regular garbage bin may not seem like that much of a difference.

After all, food scraps are biodegradable, unlike plastic, so how could throwing biodegradable material into landfills be hazardous to the environment?

The fact is that biodegradable waste in the landfill is not left out to biodegrade.

Instead it is either incinerated through chemical means with the rest of the landfill trash.

Incineration of material releases harmful chemicals into the air along with excessive amounts of smoke and ash, which can be a cause of various illnesses among humans and other animals.

Using chemicals to treat waste is harmful to the environment because it releases methane, one of the most com-

mon greenhouse gases. Our landfill waste would decrease significantly if biodegradable matter wasn’t included in it.

In fact, a pie graph from Edison Nation shows that almost 28 percent of our landfill waste consists of food scraps.

Thus, food scraps makeup landfill waste more than any other type of waste items do.

Instead, if we could compost most, if not all of our food scraps, our landfill matter would reduce drastically and we would help in making the environment a little bit healthier with each bowl of food we chuck out in a composting bin instead of a garbage can.

Which is why I believe that schools should now introduce composting bins on campus as and complete the landfillrecycling-composting trash bin trio.

Especially in high school, where students find their passions and their voice and become advocators for various causes, it vital that we work together into giving the life on our planet a little more time to thrive.

In classes, all through elementary school until now, we have learned how important it is to ensure the wellbeing of Earth until its inevitable destruction billions of years from now.

It is time we start giving back and making our community an environmentally safer, more hospitable place to live.

Composting is a good practice. It teaches people to give back to nature when nature itself is what essentially keeps us alive.

Compost can prove to be rich fertilizers free of any chemicals and it boosts plants and other crops to grow abundantly. It is a surefire way of reducing the global warming that is slowly creeping its way in and threatening to hurt life on Earth.

Implementing compost bins in school may be a bit costly, but in the long run every batch of compost made is a step further to bettering the nature of our planet’s environment.

Photo courtesy of Recycle Reminders

Opinion 10

March 8, 2019

Tick tock on the clock, senioritis on the dock

by Samhitha Tumkur News Editor

I have such a bad case of senioritis that I can barely write this article.

However you may describe it—a lack of motivation or laziness—senioritis seems to be affecting seniors all over the country this semester, as it usually does.

It has become such a widespread phenomenon that there is even a definition of it on Merriam-Webster dictionary, which describes it as “an ebbing of motivation and effort by school seniors as evidenced by tardiness, absences, and lower grades.”

There are even countless articles online dedicated to describing “how to beat senioritis.” However, no number of tips and tricks ever seem to cure this so called social disease.

We constantly hear it

from our teachers and family that we must not let senioritis infect us, otherwise our acceptance letters may be rescinded. The Fremont High School administration has also gone the extra mile this year to hinder the effects of senioritis by stating that juniors and seniors will not be able to buy tickets for prom if they are tardy for more than ten days or if they have more than a certain number of unexcused absences.

Almost all of us seniors have finished writing our college applications or at least have a set plan for the future and now we’re stuck in this limbo period of waiting for our decisions to come out and/or waiting for graduation. We have essentially done everything in our power to hopefully get into college.

For the past three years, almost everything I had done was with the intention to prepare for the college application season and to hopefully attend college.

I took multiple AP classes and honors and maintained my grades, even relinquishing parts of my social life to do so.

Now that my college

applications are over and I have started getting my decisions back, I no longer feel the need to maintain my grades and work ethic with the same level of efficiency that I had before.

It almost feels pointless to continue studying with 100 percent effort when I know I only have to earn a C or higher on all my classes.

Like many other seniors, I hope to spend some time during my second semester catching up with friends, reconnecting with the hobbies I had prior to the absolute hell that was my junior year and just sleep in.

However, teachers and

by Shira Agnon Staff Writer

For some people, shopping is a hobby, and for others, it is a chore. Love it or hate it, we have to shop for basics like food and clothes.

Fortunately, people who don’t like to go out shopping can easily shop for items even while they’re sitting comfortably on their couch, thanks to online shopping.

I either can go down to my favorite store and pick something nice for myself or order something online in the morning and receive it before dinner is ready.

The possibilities are endless.

However, the real question is which shopping method is better? While there is no definite answer, there are times where one method is preferred over the other.

When shopping for clothes, for example, we have more options than driving to the mall. Especially during the holidays and Black Friday, I like to keep my distance from the shopping fiasco and spend my money elsewhere. On the other hand, nothing beats touring the aisles in search of the perfect dress or pair of jeans.

would be easier to move the college application process into the second semester of senior year or make senior year grades actually matter beyond just getting a C or higher on all of their classes.

Other countries like India have a large test at the end of their high school, which determines which colleges that they will get into. Although this is far more difficult because the college application process is purely based on academic merit, rather than a holistic evaluation of the student, it keeps last year students en-

gaged with their academics.

Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not endorsing these options—I’m simply saying that the system is almost perfectly built for allowing graduating seniors to slack off and procrastinate.

One of the main issues that parents and school administration have with senioritis as a whole is that they are afraid that this reduced effort in school and procrastination will carry over in their higher education or into the real world.

To all the worried parents and school administration out there, I would say, don’t worry, senioritis is not a fatal disease—it’s cured by college or work.

Most students regain their work ethic and enthusiasm toward school after they graduate. Senioritis will likely not infect them again until they become seniors in college.

But for the time being, let us simply enjoy our last days before the time for college comes along.

Photo courtesy of The Wrangler

The shopping debate When shopping for groceries, I always go to the store. But people who don’t have time to do so have their groceries delivered. For me, there is something satisfying about picking out the food I am later going to eat.

Shopping for home supplies and decor can become boring if you scroll through pictures of furniture all day. A way to spice up the dull task is to get some friends and make a trip to IKEA or another store of your choosing. Pretending to live in the different rooms, laying on the beds, and choosing furniture together. Believe me, you will not regret it.

Shopping for electronics can get boring if you are not into technology.

Personally, I don’t even go shopping for technological products unless I really have to. And when I do, it’s always online. I’m not interested enough in technology to spend hours picking out a phone or computer at a store.

Even though I find retail store shopping more enjoyable, there are a lot of practical benefits to shopping online that I consider before making a purchase.

When I want to save money, online is the way to go, and having different sellers to choose the best offer from makes the job a lot easier.

Same applies for product selection and availability. Everything you are looking for is one click away and

school administration have no right to complain about us because the college application system is set up this way. In America, we start the college application season at the beginning of the school year and end up submitting most of our applications around January.

We get our letters of admission back around March and then are expected to maintain our grades until we graduate.

If the high school system in America really wanted to maintain the efficiency of seniors, it

if you don’t find what you are looking for on one site, surf to another. The only downside is that you can’t test the product unless you have a retail store nearby, but this is what product reviews are for.

When compared with online stores, I find customer service better in retail stores. The workers only want to keep their customers happy, and they will help you as long as you have a receipt.

Returns and refunds can be difficult when it comes to online shopping, especially when the seller is a random person on the internet and not a reliable, well-known company.

A lesson I learned is to always read customer reviews and ratings before officially making a purchase. You don’t want to get stuck with an item in bad condition that you suddenly discover has a no return clause.

Even though in-store and online shopping both have their perks, I prefer to go shopping in store.

For me, it’s all about the experience, and going to the store allows me to have that. Seeing and trying on clothes, trying food samples in grocery stores, and testing furniture. These are all enjoyable and wholesome experiences, especially when you get to share them with other people, which is something that you can’t get from online shopping.

taking a break from social media

by Nadia Anees Editor-in-Chief

I decided to take some time off of social media about a month ago when I realized that I was not gaining anything extremely valuable from it. I started and ended my days with social media. On my phone, I was able to see that I spent 1 hour and 15 minutes just on Instagram on average and about 30 minutes on Snapchat each day, and that frightened me.

As a high school student who prefers spending my time in the comfort of my own home, watching Netflix or reading a book over going out or partying, going on social media everyday made me feel insecure about my lifestyle preferences.

What was the point of watching the lives of people I barely even talked to everyday?

What was I gaining from posting to my story frequently, from double tapping every photo on my feed, from anxiously checking my phone every 10 minutes to see if someone sent me a snapchat or commented on my picture.

I came to a sad realization - I was

more invested in other people’s lives than my own, and worse, I was letting myself feel bad when I had nothing to feel bad about. By watching other people’s seemingly perfect lives online, I felt like I was the one left behind, that I was inferior to others. But really, I have all I need to be happy, and I was letting social media make me think otherwise.

These thoughts built up in my head to the point where I became frustrated with myself, for letting something within my control affect me so badly. It’s only been a bit over a month since I have been off of Instagram and Snapchat, and I already feel better. I am not worried if I’m missing out on fun, because I literally can’t see what’s going on in other people’s lives. I am not torturing myself by seeing rich people travel to beautiful places, which a person like me could not afford. I am focusing on myself more now, and using my extra time to better myself and do what I enjoy.

Perhaps social media is a great way for you to stay up to date with your friends and family’s lives, or for you to see the latest in music, art, or another topic of your interest. But if you ever feel a bit drained after going on social media, consider why you go on it and think about how it makes you feel. If you find that it is invoking negative feelings more frequently than it is bringing you a sense of happiness or satisfaction, then I would highly recommend you try avoiding it for a few days or even weeks to see how it may benefit you.

Photo courtesy of Every-Tuesday

sports The effects of dance in Physical Education

11

MArch 8, 2019

by Natalie Wolff Staff Writer

Dance in Physical Education is an important unit that some students dread and dislike. However, PE is needed in the high school system for students’ health, dance included.

Freshmen this year have been stressing over the Salsa unit in their PE classes. Every year, freshmen must participate in a dance unit and sometimes one yoga unit in the PE curriculum and must dance with a partner of the opposite gender, leading many to ask why these units are needed.

“I hated the unit,”

freshman Sharada Mahesh said. “I did not think it was necessary to learn Salsa dancing and the whole process was just awkward for my partner and I.” Lauren Irwin, the PE and Dance teacher at Fremont High School, believes that dance is a vital part of the state standards for physical education.

“Dance is one thing we make sure to do every year,” Irwin said. “It exposes all of our students to a different type of activity they might enjoy, so it gives everyone a chance to have something they might enjoy throughout their PE class.”

Irwin also explained

that there are additional health benefits to having a dance unit in PE class.

“We think about this unit so people might be able to find it interesting and help them maintain a healthy lifestyle after they leave high school,” Irwin said. “Exposing students to dance might help them find something they enjoy that engages them in finding a healthy lifestyle.”

Irwin believes that many students actually do enjoy the dance units. She especially enjoyed teaching them Salsa because it teaches the students how to interact with others, helping to cultivate a creative

Healthy eating tips

by Anastasiia Klymenko Staff Writer

When it comes to maintaining a healthy diet, moderation is key. Eating healthy is not just about restricting yourself to a certain amount of calories per day or depriving yourself of even the thought of the usual junk food you enjoy.

Most importantly, a healthy diet is not about striving for an unrealistically thin and fit body shape.

Making the commitment to eating healthy is a lot of work, it takes discipline and is not always fun, so why bother? Junk food, despite being cheap, can be very harmful towards the body. Unhealthy habits, like eating a lot of junk food and being physically inactive, are one of the leading causes of death in the United States — contributing to approximately 678,000 deaths each year.

Consistently consuming large amounts of unhealthy foods on a daily basis can increase the risk of getting cardiovascular diseases at an older age.

It can also cause obesity, which usually leads to a

shorter life expectancy, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure stroke and osteoporosis. In some very unfortunate cases, it can also cause as many as 12 types of cancer, including breast cancer, liver cancer and kidney cancer.

Smart and healthy nutrition is not just about the quality of food; the quantity and the frequency of meals are more important. The best method of going about the frequency of eating is having meals quite often but have those meals be just some small snacks. A good goal to set for anyone is to eat in good proportions; such as eating at least one and a half cups of fruit per day, at least two

and a half cups of vegetables, at least five ounces of grains one half cups of which should be whole grain and three cups of dairy products. Some might say that healthy eating is more expensive, and in most cases, this might be true but it is still worth your mental and physical condition.

Starting a healthy diet can be hard, so it is best if one makes sure to take it slow and makes small changes at first. Starting can be as simple as finding alternatives to unhealthy snacks like pizza or chips.

Over some time, people begin to realize that even the smallest choices like what you’ll eat today will affect you in the long run.

Whether or not that change is good or bad, is completely under the control of the person being affected. The choices you make each day — from what to eat for breakfast to whether or not to have that extra slice of pie — affects how you feel and perform, which has an impact on everything you do. Choose wisely, and you will soon find that feeding your body well translates into a longer, healthier and more enjoyable life.

Photo courtesy of Gardener’s Supply

mindset in all students by making them perform their routines together in front of the entire class.

“I have always made sure to teach dance,” Irwin said. “Yoga hasn’t always been a unit, we had it for a few years, but the program didn’t really work for us anymore. Although dance has always been something consistent and a part of our curriculum.”

Several students were asked about their recent dance unit and they had different opinions about whether they actually liked it or not. “[The dance unit] was a fun unit that wasn’t very

hard,” freshman Yashvi Rawat said. “I liked that it was a nice break from all the running and other exercises and I definitely prefer this unit over the others.”

Although Rawat is not considering taking PE Dance for PE credits, she still thoroughly enjoyed the unit and would like more units that incorporate similar skills and lessons.

“I found [the dance unit] better than the other sports units because it didn’t involve actual physical education,” freshman Daria Chen said. “But, I didn’t like how we had to perform individually in front of everyone.”

Several students at FHS did find the unit entertaining or enjoyable. However, other students were not as particularly pleased with the units as others.

“I thought it was too awkward,” sophomore Charvi Hoysal said. “I didn’t like the whole boy-girl thing. It would be so much better if you could choose your friends of any gender.”

Dance is an overall effective sport and is usually preferred over the other units in PE class. It is good to learn dance and can be an enjoyable alternative to other contact sports.

Basketball funding

by Suryan Bhatia Sports Editor

“I just wish our team, and for the future especially, got the same opportunity that the boys team has,” girls varsity basketball member, Capri Pezzella, said.

According to Pezzella, the boys varsity basketball team has received more funding this year, giving them benefits such as receiving free warm-up jerseys, which the boys team gets to keep at the end of the year. The girls team, however, did not receive such perks. Pezzella and her teammate, senior LaTanya Lee, believe this is due to lack of recognition the girls team receives.

“We definitely don’t get the recognition as much as the boys do,” Lee said.

“Especially with funding, we have to give back what we borrow, compared to the boys, they get to keep everything and they get their names on stuff.”

Pezzella and Lee stressed this disparity, as the girls team did not receive jackets this year, unless they paid for it themselves. They added that the girls team also lacks recognition; unlike the boys team, they do not have cheerleaders at their games.

“I know for senior night the cheerleaders are supposed to come and a lot of people are supposed to come,” Lee said.

“And I think it’s so unfair that only one night out of the whole season we get that

support.”

According to Lee and Pezzella, the girls varsity basketball team had a better record this season than the boys varsity team, and has also had more wins than any other girls basketball team this season. Yet, they do not see as many viewers at their games nor do they get the support the boys team receives. Pezzella said that girls varsity basketball games only see about 50 viewers. FHS Athletic Director, Jason Townsend, said that the varsity basketball games often get 100 to 200 viewers.

“We understand that [the boys varsity basketball team] gets a lot more fans at their games, but they should still split the funding with us because we work just as hard as they do,” Pezzella said.

When asked, boys varsity basketball coach, Tony Kikuta, said that to his knowledge, the boys and girls team receive the same resources. Townsend agreed with the sentiment adding that the girls team received new uniforms and new basketballs, which the boys team did not receive.

Pezzella, however, presented a different story, stating that the girls basketball team coach, Miguel Castillo, needed to spend all of the team’s funds to buy jerseys and as such the team did not receive team jackets. Castillo could not be reached for comment.

Quick LCS update

by Fiona O’Bannon Online Editor

League of Legends has arguably been one of the most played PC games in the world. Its popularity has soared dramatically since its initial release in 2009.

In 2018, the League of Legends World Championship garnered over 200 million viewers during the grand finals, according to Esports Charts.

This year, the North America League Championship Series has rebranded, dropping the NA and becoming formally known as the LCS. January 26 marked the start of the 2019 Spring Split, where each team faced off against an opponent in a best of one match. Playing each weekend for 18 weeks, ten teams will fight for an eventual spot at playoffs.

Post the 2018 World Championship, many of the teams have made changes to their rosters since last year. One of the most notable changes includes former Cloud 9 Mid-laner Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen moving to Team Liquid. This caused a stir

in the LCS community because C9 was able to reach quarterfinals of last year’s world championship with Jensen, the furthest any North American team has progressed internationally.

However, Team Liquid made it clear that their back-to-back 2018 spring and summer split champion titles were only boosted by adding Jensen to the lineup. Team Liquid dominated the LCS, going undefeated until Team Solo Mid broke Team Liquid’s seven wins and zero losses record on week four day two.

With 13 weeks left in the split, Team Liquid holds first place in the standings, sitting one win above C9 in second. TSM places three wins behind Team Liquid in third place, with the rest of the LCS teams following closely behind.

As the split progresses, teams looking to secure a spot in the spring playoffs must improve their play and take down these top three teams.

Photo courtesy of Imgur

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March 8, 2019