The Oracle February 2021

11 | through the looking glass The Gunn Oracle volume 58, issue 4

TikTok pushes a skewed beauty standard to new heights— and onto teen’s screens.

The Gunn Oracle

7 | the times they are a-changin’ Or are they? Echoes of past

decades have re-emerged, creating striking parallels to recent events.

10 | editorial Finals formats should be adjusted to relieve stress amidst online situation

the oracle oracle the 2020-2021 2020-2021 editorial board

staff

Editor-in-chief Joshua Yang

business/circulation sophia stern

managing editors madison nguyen nikki suzani

copy editor kate mallery

news editors julianna chang catherine chu forum editors jessica wang jessica zang features editors dori filppu mia knezevic centerfold editors annika bereny katie shih sports editors calvin cai devon lee lifestyle editors haley pflasterer arjun shah online editor genna bishop photo editor mia knezevic graphics editor sophie fan

oracle/sec liaison annika bereny graphics artists Sarah chang madeleine chen clair koo mihika sane chinyoung shao zora zhang reporters lise desveaux paul garofalo carly liao hila livneh vandana ravi raphael semeria safina syed rebecca wu adviser kristy blackburn contact us (650) 354-8238 gunnoracle.com in this issue cover graphic: sarah chang

Table of of contents contents Table 11 | through the looking glass TikTok pushes a skewed beauty standard to new heights—and onto teen’s screens.

7 | the times they are a-changin’ Or are they? Echoes of past decades have re-emerged, creating striking parallels to recent events.

04

10

16

monthly news: updates in brief

editorial: finals formats should be adjusted to relieve stress amidst online situation

students, teachers find community online

18

20

public romantic displays introduce stressful peer pressure, vulnerability

the story behind gunn.app

22

24

students express creativity through podcasts

good news found amidst pandemic

26

27

trader joe’s hidden gems

which type of online learning student are you?

4 | news

Gunn Theatre prepares for production of “Something ROtten” Musical Gunn Theatre’s 2021 Spring Musical will be “Something Rotten,” a light-hearted musical comedy about two Renaissance brothers competing with Shakespeare to write the world’s first musical. The performance will occur virtually in March, and the theater team hopes to experiment with different media and styles of recording to bring out the essence of the story.

Costume co-director junior Anna Toksvig emphasized the commitment to the spring musical regardless of whether it’s in-person or online. “It’s all very new,” she said. “Tech-wise, pretty early on we start with set design and trying to figure out what the concept is, because you have to base everything off the set… [this year,] I’m not sure if there’s going to be a set

whatsoever.”

Toksvig adds that recreating a sense of community will be crucial for the success of the performance.

“You get to be in this group where you spend so much time with these people, and it’s so fun, and you really get to bond,” she said. “I know it’s not going to be the same, but I really hope that we can carry that on into COVID times.”

—Written by Vandana Ravi Top: the cast of Gunn Theatre’s fall play, “The Laramie Project,” pose for a picture in front of green screens. Gunn Theatre plans to produce “Something Rotten” for this year’s Spring Musical.

Bottom: senior James Chen, sophomore Lucía Perez-Rubalcaba and sophomore Sydney Cook take part in a scene from “The Laramie Project.”

Photos courtesy of Payton Dick

monthly news: TEDx Speakers share ideas for “redefining normal” in virtual conference

Photo courtesy of TEDxGunnHighSchool

On Monday, Feb. 8, the TEDx club brought nine innovative speakers to share their ideas with the students and faculty in their TEDx conference, which was organized around a theme of “Redefining Normal” this year. These speakers ranged from students at Gunn to prominent authors, including Rebekah Taussig and Chanel Miller. Due to COVID-19, the conference was held entirely over Zoom in the form of a webinar.

Junior Scott Hwang, a student speaker at TEDx this year, noted the adjustments to the conference.

“I’m going to be pre-recording my speech because there’s really no point in doing it live if we’re not all there,” he said. “I would have loved to do it in Spangenberg in front of

people, but that’s obviously not going to happen.”

The TEDx club made adjustments due to the pandemic in more ways than one. According to junior Cary Lai, head of speakers for the TEDx club, the theme of the event is based on how the concept of “normal” has changed throughout the speakers’ life experiences as a whole. “We wanted to do something that was related to current events,” he said. “So, in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic and other social justice events, we decided that possibly redefining normal was the best encompassing theme that we could give.”

—Written by Carly Liao

news | 5

SEC celebrates Black history month, black historical figures Each February, Gunn celebrates Black History Month as the Student Executive Council (SEC) plans a series of events to commemorate and celebrate Black history and Black figures.

SEC Diversity Commissioner junior Inés Garcia is in charge of this year’s preparations.

“We’ve decided we are going to do a similar format to National Hispanic Heritage Month where we have a theme for each of the four weeks,” she said. “The themes will be [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math], leadership, athletics and humanities, and we’ve gone and selected figures for each week.”

Throughout the month, SEC highlights monumental, current and historical Black figures. “Our goal is also to feature people who don’t get talked about that much and have made some impacts more recently in our nation’s history,” Garcia said. “For humanities, we want to talk about Jason Reynolds and Amanda Gorman, two writers who’ve made some impact recently.”

SEC is partnering with the district’s 21-Day Equity Challenge, which was created in honor of Black History Month. According to Garcia, SEC will also be creating a playlist recognizing various Black artists.

Student Activities Director Lisa Hall has also helped Garcia organize these events.

“There are a lot of different people in our society that are contributing and they don’t necessarily get the recognition and the acknowledgment of their contributions,” Hall said.

In addition, to help students further understand Black History, Garcia and the other members of SEC have made different infographics, many of which are posted on their social media and have been shared on SEC’s Instagram account.

—Written by Lise Desveaux

Photos courtesy of Inés Garcia

updates in brief united computations club organizes virtual Gunn Hack-a-thon Gunn Hacks 7.0, a 36-hour high school hackathon, was held important thing is to simply participate. “Show up,” he said. virtually this semester from Feb. “That’s it. You don’t need to have 12 to Feb. 14. lots of prior programming experiThe event consisted of mentor ence. The point of the hackathon is “If it works out, that’s talks, workshops and a main goal mostly to have fun, and to try to make of constructing a project from things.” awesome, and if it’s a scratch. Completed projects were Li echoed that prior experience is colossal disaster, that’s eligible for a number of prizes, not a prerequisite. “We have workawesome.” including $500 of Bugsee credits shops that are tailored for beginners, or an Adafruit gift certificate. and the hackathon is definitely a lot Hackathon head organizer about learning. So if you’re a begin—Computer Science senior Serena Li remarked that ner, that’s actually perfect.”

Teacher Joshua Paley hackathons are an effective way Paley emphasizes that the focus of to improve coding skills and a the hackathon is on learning. “You’ll chance to collaboratively build a work with other people [and] try to project from scratch. “Hackathons are for anyone who is inter- make new things,” he said. “If it works out, that’s awesome, and ested in computer science,” she said. “They can be really fun, if it’s a colossal disaster, that’s awesome.” and you learn a lot from them.”

—Written by Vandana Ravi Computer science teacher Joshua Paley argued that the most

6 | AD

perspective | 7

the times they are a-changin’ —or are they?

echoes of past decades have re-emerged, creating striking parallels to recent events.

by Annika Bereny Zora Zhang

8 | perspective

A

young, left-leaning crowd clashes with an overmilitarized police department. Videos of police brutality and arrests flood the news. A moderate Democratic politician is up against a “law and order” Republican politician in a nailbiter of an election season. A beloved civil rights movement figurehead dies, causing the country to confront its racist systems.

Sound familiar? Well, don’t think of 2020 so soon—all of those events also happened in 1968. It seems we’ve gone through a year echoing a series of eerily familiar watershed moments: in 1968, protestors clashed with police outside the Democratic National Convention; in 2020, protestors clashed with police at Black Lives Matter protests across the country. In 1968, moderate Hubert Humphrey took on Nixon for the White House; in 2020, it was Biden versus Trump. In 1968, the world lost Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; in 2020, John Lewis and C.T. Vivian.

Why are there so many prominent parallels throughout history? What leads history to seemingly repeat itself? And, if “those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it,” what’s next for us?

Here are three similarities the 2020s share with the late 20th century; perhaps, through these similarities, we can gain some degree of insight.

government distrust

E

Zora Zhang

xtraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary leadership. It’s no surprise, then, that the federal government’s dismal response to a raging, uncontrollable disease has inspired mistrust of the government, especially among marginalized communities. Though once again, we’re not just talking about 2020—we’re also talking about the global HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, which has claimed the lives of almost 800,000 Americans, as of 2018.

It didn’t have to be that way.

Dr. Timothy Seelig, the Conductor of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, who is HIV positive and lived through the AIDS epidemic in Texas, is unrestrained in his criticism of the government from that period. “Had the government paid any attention, we would have massively fewer deaths,” he said. “The government

didn’t kick in, didn’t even notice [and] wouldn’t even say the word [HIV/AIDS] for so long. And all of the things that we did discover then, the cocktail of medications, and then ultimately a maintenance drug—all of those things could have happened so much sooner.” That negligence planted seeds of distrust in the LGBTQ+ community.

Seelig sees obvious parallels between HIV/AIDS and the current pandemic facing America. Even 40 years later, according to Seelig, the uncertainty at the beginning of a pandemic stays the same.

“The early days of COVID were like the early days of AIDS; in the early days of AIDS, nobody knew how you could get it,” Seelig said. “Everyone was afraid to touch anybody or touch anything. People were completely freaked out by touch.”

Seelig also draws numerous distinctions between then and now, specifically with the push for a vaccine. In the 80s, the government stood by idly as AIDS progressed into a global epidemic. This time, they scrambled—the project to create a vaccine was literally called Operation Warp Speed. “The whole world wanted this vaccine; and the whole world wanted this to happen,” he said. “And the whole world wasn’t even paying attention when AIDS became a pandemic. So yes, the loss of life could have been drastically less.”

Since its start in 1978, the Chorus has lost over 300 members to the disease.

Seelig remembers the impact the losses had on him and the chorus. “The chorus was in every stage of grief all the time,” he said. “When you were shocked by a death, and you moved into anger about that, someone else died, and while you were shocked at that one, you’d already moved on to bargaining for the first person. We couldn’t catch our breath. We couldn’t rest long enough to even come up for air and know what was happening.”

It’s not just the LGBTQ+ community; there’s also residual mistrust of medical institutions in the Black community. A recent study released by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases noted over half of the Black adults in the U.S. are hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine; only 16% of that same demographic believe the vaccine will be distributed equally.

perspective | 9 The rise of social media—and social breakout, young progressive politician media’s role in shaping the narrative on who has successfully overturned a moderrecent events—has had a similar effect ate Democrat in a primary election (think he evolution of media, too, has on us in modern times.“I think we are Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Corplayed a dramatic role in shaping mov ing more tez), there the late 20th century as well as left and more have likely today. right,” Firenzi “The younger generation comes up been tens While it’s true that 2020 was mostly said. “Which with an idea. and the old ones say, o f c a s e s downhill from its inception, with the 21st is probably not where such century explosion of social media sites the best way ‘oh no, that’s never gonna work.’ young proand a 24-hour news cycle, it’s worth beg- forward.” well, how do you know until you g r e s s i ve s ging the question: is more happening, or is A P United try?” failed—in the presence of social media just making States History fact, now—Ap united states history teacher us hyper-aware of everything occurring in teacher ChrisCongressthe world? Especially with the pandemic, topher Johnchristopher johnson w o m a n when screen time has skyrocketed, we s o n e c h o e d Cori Bush have now become more dependent on Firenzi’s sentiment. “There were a lot of lost her first primary election to moderate our devices to keep busy in lieu of human conspiracy theorists on social media talk- Democrat Lacy Clay in 2018 before taking contact, as well as to deliver us a barrage ing about if this election does not go for his seat in 2020. of constant updates, welcome or not.

Donald Trump, then there’ll be another Youth-led groups are often ridiculed Along with amplifying stress and anxi- Civil War,” Johnson said. for being idealistic, or being naive. Where ety, new forms of media have also fanned have we heard that before? “I think that the flames of our country’s polarization. the big mistake that has been made, gen“The internet allows us to engage in the a new wave of activism eration after generation, is the immediate ways that are the most seductive to us and reaction of dismissiveness [to deviations our psychologies,” Foreign Policy Honors t was in decades such as the ‘60s, as from the norm],” Johnson said. “So the teacher Tara Firenzi said. “And I think we polarized as they were, that many younger generation comes up with an want to get into arguments; we are drawn young people became optimistic, idea. And the old ones say, ‘Oh, no, that’s to conflict. The internet unfortunately unabashedly idealistic and dared to hope never gonna work.’ Well, how do you know brings out this part of us that explodes for better. until you try?” things rather than tries to look at them in Back then, such individuals were lanuanced and careful and thoughtful and beled as hippies and famously dismissed empathetic ways.”

by Nixon as a “vocal minority” fighting Again, 1968 presents a striking simi- against the “silent majority.” “Even those larity: thanks to the advances of televi- more left-wing movements in the US in sion technology, the Vietnam War was the 1960s were not a large segment of the the first war population,” broadcast Johnson said. directly into “The internet allows us to engage “A n d t h a t ’s the homes of what consert he A mer i- in ways that are the most vatives really can public. seductive to us and our focused on— S e ei ng t he the silent mah o r r o r s o f psychologies”. jorit y, those war live and —foreign policy teacher p e o ple w h o in technicolju st wa nted tara firenzi to keep doing or strongly shifted pubwhat they’re lic opinion and support for the war. Foot- doing, raise their families, maintain their age of young soldiers, thrust unwillingly jobs, and keep a roof over their head, and into a pointless war, led anti-war activists [who] don’t really want dramatic change.” to rally moderates with calls of “Bring In much of the same way, the same pheback our boys!” Meanwhile, staunch war nomenon is still seen today: despite endsupporters used those same images to less vilification of the progressive cause as argue marching against the war was an imminently and unstoppably dangerous affront to the troops and all they were by conservatives, the movement is still a serving for. small and burgeoning one. For every one

the rise of new media

T

I

10 | editorial

EDITORIAL: the opinion of The Oracle finals format should be adjusted to REDUCE stress amidst online situation

W

ith the start of another semester to immerse themselves in studying while Along the vein of mid-test mess-ups, inonline, it’s likely that finals will juggling household and technological ternet instability poses a significant threat again be virtual. Last semester, distractions. We don’t have Flex time or to a successful submission. It’s proven to virtual finals varied drastically by class, live classes, and teachers often dedicate be an issue for many students throughout spanning Schoology multiple-choice ex- valuable Office Hours to retakes. We need the year—school has been interrupted by ams, Desmos more opt ion s, a nd sudden neighborhood internet blackouts, free responses teachers can do better and it’s not uncommon for students to holding finals online and Google exacerbates many of the than forcing students drop from classes without warning. With Docs. For some to take finals in an so many things that could go wrong durissues inherent to distance unpredictable format ing an intense exam, it’s evident that the classes, Dead learning, which lead to with only themselves typical timed finals format will not work Week—the additional stress during to rely on. week before fisynchronously online. an already stressful time. nals usually alMoreover, online Instead, Gunn should establish cumulotted to studylearning has changed lative final projects tailored to specific ing—was blocked with last-minute new the final exams themselves. Some require classes. Asynchronous evaluations give content. On top of that, many students students to draw or upload their work, students more time to present their lacked the support of steady WiFi, study some have free-response or multiple- knowledge while allowing them to seek groups and adequate studying resources. choice sections and most are timed. These instructor guidance and avoid interIn essence, holding finals online options add clutnet issues. Cumulaexacerbates many issues inherent to ter for students tive final projects or Amidst reopening distance learning—a heavier reliance on to filter through considerations, there are presentations place self-studying, convoluted test formats, when facing an students in control few decisions that unstable internet connections—all of already stressof their final exam. universally benefit which contribute to additional stress ful final exam.

Amidst a pandemic students, but altering the and reopening conduring an already stressful time. As such, For instance, the traditional final exam is until school returns fully in-person, The simple act of upsiderations, there are Oracle urges Gunn educators to replace loading images undoubtedly one of them. few decisions that finals with asynchronous assessments or might involve usuniversally benefit projects better suited to virtual platforms. ing AirDrop, downloading from a Google students, but in the view of The Oracle, First, online learning places more Drive or rigging methods through website altering the traditional final exam for this stress on independent studying. Previ- platforms. At each step, there are many semester is undoubtedly one of them. ously, much of finals preparation relied ways the test experience can go wrong.

—Unsigned editorials represent the on collaboration and review. With online Confusing finals formats introduce a majority opinion of the staff (assenting: learning, study groups have all but flown plethora of stressful logistical obstacles, 26; dissenting: 2; abstaining: 0). out the window. It’s difficult for students all while the timer counts down.

Chinyoung Shao

Cover Story | 11

Sarah Chang

Through Through the the looking looking glass: glass: tiktok tiktok pushes pushes a a skewed skewed beauty beauty standard standard to to new new heights–and heights–and onto onto teens’ teens’ screens. screens.

By Mia Knezevic and Haley Pflasterer

12 | cover story

T

ikTok has taken over the world. The app has become so ubiquitous among younger generations that the platform, which consists of five to 60 second videos of everything from comedy sketches to dance routines, rarely bears explanation. With over 2 billion downloads and 800 million active users, the app is the most downloaded app in the App Store. So just why is TikTok so popular, and why is it so much more popular than other social media apps?

For one, TikTok content is easily digestible. It’s easy to create an account, and an endless stream of videos will appear on a custom-tailored For You page, even if a user doesn’t choose to follow anyone. This For You page is one of the main draws of the app. “This feed is powered by a recommendation system that delivers content to each user that is likely to be of interest to that particular user,” ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, said in a press release explaining the app’s algorithm. “Part of the magic of TikTok is that there’s no one For You feed—while different people may come upon some of the same standout videos, each person’s feed is unique and tailored to that specific individual.”

“The For you page defaults to promoting content from skinny, attractive and young creators.”

The “tailored” TikTok algorithm, however, belies a darker reality. In the past, TikTok has admitted to blocking videos created by individuals with facial disfigurements, autism and Down Syndrome from appearing on the For You page. Last year, “The Intercept” published a document given to TikTok moderators advising them on content to restrict: “Abnormal body shape, chubby, have obvious beer belly, obese, or too thin (not limited to: dwarf, acromegaly)” was one rule. “Ugly facial looks (not limited to: disformatted faces, fangs, lack of front teeth, senior people with too many wrinkles, obvious facial scars) or facial disformities (not limited to: eye disorders, crooked mouth disease and other disabilities)” was another.

The justification issued by the company is that such content is highly vulnerable to cyber-bullying and the creator—rather than the content—is the focus of the video. Yet, regardless of intention, the end result is the same: the For You page, the heavily visited and viewed centerpiece of TikTok, defaults to promoting content from skinny, attractive and young creators.

“every day i would see these guys, and they’d have these perfect bodies. It kind of changed my perception of perfect, and i wanted to look like those guys.”

—Sophomore kyle reyes A Narrow beauty standard

T

here’s no better place to witness the beauty standards promoted and perpetuated by TikTok than “content houses,” collaborative groups of popular creators working together to create videos. The Hype House, boasting alumni such as Charli D’Amelio, the most followed creator on TikTok, and Addison Rae, the second most followed creator on TikTok, had a photoshoot with its original 14 members—all of whom were white and fit a narrow, constrained definition of beauty. Similarly, the Sway House, a content house consisting of 16-to 22-year-old boys, is perhaps most well-known for videos of the creators working out without shirts on and showcasing toned abs.

The trickle-down effect? When ordinary teens scroll through their For You page, the uniform beauty standards scream out at them. For senior Hannah Schendel, who herself boasts close to 30,000 followers on TikTok, the repetitiveness is more than noticeable. “Not everyone wants to look like that, but then I feel like seeing it over and over drills it into our minds that that’s what we’re supposed to look like,” she said.

Sophomore Kyle Reyes also experienced a similar feeling after scrolling past the regularly promoted influencers on his For You page. “All the super famous guys, like the Hype House—I feel like they’re all like the same men, in terms of their build and their hair and their race,” he said. “Every day I would see these guys, and they’d have these perfect bodies. It kind of changed my perception of perfect, and I wanted to look like those guys.”

As a result, Reyes recently decided to delete TikTok. Rather than actively taking steps toward diversifying beauty standards that appear on the app, it seems as if TikTok only continues to reinforce a harmful standard on a platform reaching millions.

cover story | 13

Tiktok currently has

The average user spends

active montly users

per day on the app Data from Global Digital Insights Madeleine Chen

And, of these millions, it’s the teens who are especially susceptible to self-comparison, according to psychiatrist Maria Daehler. “[Teens] are going through puberty, and sex hormones are creating differences and changes in [their] brains that are causing them to be more aware of their own body,” Daehler said.“There are literally parts of their brains that are changing to be more aware of differences between them and another.”

The popular content that teens witness, for the most part, does not reflect the diversity of bodies in society. “What gives us this standard of beauty doesn’t necessarily tend to be very diverse,” Wellness Outreach Coordinator Rosie Castillo said. “I think it does give us a really tiny perception of what’s beautiful and what’s acceptable and what’s normal, and the folks that deviate from that may not necessarily get as much attention, which is unfortunate because really, [social media] should reflect our society just the way that it looks.”

And it’s not like creators are au naturale on TikTok. Before filming a video on TikTok, digital beauty filters may blur a creator’s skin, erase away any blemishes or pimples, and make the lips appear larger while whitening their teeth and altering their face shape. A clear message is sent: in order to be considered “beautiful,” lips should be bigger, skin clearer and the face skinnier.

Such filters reflect directly on self-esteem. “‘Are we looking at authentic images reflected back of ourselves?’ is a question we have to ask if we have to put the Zoom makeup fixer on our face every morning,” Daehler said. “If I’m putting it on because I think that I need to look better than who I am, that speaks to low self-esteem, and we internalize that more and more.”

Un p l u g g e d f r o m r e a l i t y

T

he COVID-19 pandemic, predictably, has only worsened the discrepancy between beauty on TikTok and beauty in reality. When students cannot interact with each other in person, the only main exposure they get to other teenagers is through social media, especially TikTok. Senior Shira Tamler, a frequent TikTok user, noted how social

media has impacted her self-confidence during the pandemic.

“I think [TikTok] gives us really unrealistic self-standards and makes us way too hard on ourselves, especially in quarantine, where you do not see people a lot,” Tamler said. “You’re just with yourself, and thinking about how you look. Being on TikTok kind of makes it a little bit worse because you see all these girls, and you see a lot of people saying really mean things about them.”

Hurtful comments and a general lack of empathy online only worsen the problem. When there is something acutely “wrong” with a person, people in comment sections frequently point it out, and bullying has become a frequent problem. “Sometimes I’ll see someone who’s not traditionally or conventionally ‘pretty,’ but then everyone will be very positive in the comments,” Schendel said. “But then, other times, like I remember seeing this one girl and people thought that her eyes were a little bit far apart, so they just kept commenting that on her post.”

It’s not just the creators who are negatively impacted. “Let’s say there’s this guy,” Reyes said. “He has a perfect body and someone comments, ‘Wow, you look weird.’ People are gonna think that’s not a perfect body. Do I have to do even better than that?”

Schendel has noticed a similar effect from TikTok comments. “I think it could definitely have a really bad impact on people’s perceptions of themselves because of other people making negative comments about their appearance,” she said. “They’ll probably think less about themselves and maybe even develop insecurities that maybe they otherwise wouldn’t have had.”

The end result is a strongly negative atmosphere on the app.

“It’s inevitable that you’re going to see a bunch of unrealistic beauty standards and people cyber-bullying each other in the comments,” Tamler said. “At this point, it’s so easy for people to bully others on the app that it’s become normalized.”

It’s also harder to view what’s beneath the surface online. According to a BBC survey of female university students, women reported that they tend to compare their own appearance negatively with both their peer group and with celebrities. The comparison group that had the strongest link to body image concerns, however, were the distant peers, or acquaintances.

In other words, women are often aware of that fact that

14 | cover story celebrities’ social media posts are heavily edited to appear artificially “perfect,” while it’s already understood close friends don’t have perfect lives, despite what it might look like online.

Yet when it comes to the in-between acquaintances, it’s difficult to perceive the extent of editing tools used—and the artificiality of what’s portrayed—making it easier to force a comparison.

While the effect is sometimes subconscious, the constant reinforcement of a certain beauty standard can have a lasting impact on teens’ perceptions of themselves. Castillo frequently interacts with students and, before the pandemic, watched students engage with TikTok. “The way that [TikTok] has been negatively affecting our students is pretty apparent,” Castillo said. “There are mental health issues that stem from cyberbullying and body-image issues because of what they see online.”

One example? “What I Eat in a Day” videos are a common phenomenon in which users on TikTok share often unrealistic diets and unhealthy weight loss methods. “I think it’s promoting a lot of eating disorder behaviors,” Schendel said. “I see really young girls in some comments be like, ‘I’m not gonna eat today because I don’t look like that.’ It’s definitely very concerning.”

Seeing certain body types on social media can create the per-

ception that there’s an ideal body type for teens. “Social media makes it easier for people to see the wide differences in the way that we look,” Castillo said. “The money that you see YouTubers and Instagrammers spend[ing] on altering themselves to look a certain way—it’s like they’re trying to fit into a mold. And when the user can’t, for whatever reason, it creates some distress. We’ve seen definitely an increase [of distress], and it’s widespread.”

With each passing year, it seems, the age at which children are first exposed to social media becomes younger and younger.

On these platforms, kids have access to content past generations certainly never had, but there’s also an immense pressure that their parents didn’t feel. “When [our parents] were our age they got to live more in the moment, and they didn’t have to worry about looking a certain way over social media,” Tamler said.

Part of the pressure adolescent creators feel is to look the way popular, older influencers look, resulting in a skewed perception of what behaviors and appearances are “normal” for any given age group. “There are 13-year-olds who look like they are 20 [on TikTok].” Schendel said. “That is weird for me because I am 17, but I don’t even look like that. So how does a 13-year-old look like that?”

Do you think TikTok promotes diverse

Has TikTok affected your overall idea

beauty standards?

of beauty?

20.7%

35.9%

18.5%

29.3%

18.5% 45.7%

I don’t KNow No

31.3%

yes

I don’t know

yes, positively

No, it has not

Yes, negatively

Data collected from student survey with 92 responses sent out by The Oracle.

Madeleine Chen

cover story | 15

“It’ s inevitable that you’re going to see a bunch of unrealistic beauty standards and people cyber-bullying each other in the comments. At this point, it’s so easy for people to bully others on the app that it’s become normalized.”

–senior shira tamler Creating New movements

I

n the face of all this, new movements are striving to promote different and diverse beauty standards; there has been an increase in social media influencers gaining popularity for their body positivity videos and posts. 16-year-old Sienna Mae Gomez, for example, is known for showing videos of herself after eating, when she’s bloated, or for squishing parts of her body that women are traditionally insecure about—such as stomach rolls and cellulite—in an attempt to normalize such features. Other creators such as Victoria Garrick, a former Division I athlete, frequently discuss taboo subjects about women’s bodies, including counting calories and an “intuitive eating” approach.

Body positivity activists, such as pop singer Lizzo, have also posted videos of their bodies in their natural state to challenge the idea of the “perfect body.” Lizzo recently made a video displaying her body at all angles, discussing her struggles with body positivity and encouraging viewers to accept themselves, no matter their size. “I’m so proud of you for making it this far in a society that gives us a headstart into self-loathing, that hands us a dysmorphic mirror and leaves us desperate to catch up with who we think we should be,” she said.

Besides individual creators, some brands have also shown their support for more inclusive beauty standards. For example, Dove has committed to “always feature real women, never models” in their ads, and launched the Dove Self-Esteem Project,

aimed at educating the next generation on body confidence.

The American Eagle brand Aerie has also made steps toward promoting women of all body types in their ads and has pledged to no longer airbrush their models.

Daehler thinks that campaigns like these provide a more hopeful outlook for teens.“The more that [girls] click and look at social media, they tend to have a lower sense of [body-image],” she said. “But there are some studies that are suggesting that the way the body is presented on social media can counteract some of that. So, instead of just blocking social media or blocking teens from seeing social media, show multiple different types of bodies and focus more on women’s personality and their intellect and not objectify them so much in terms of just their physical appearance.”

Even though body positivity content is hardly the focus of TikTok—while Gomez has amassed over 14.5 million followers in the last few months and Garrick has 703,000, these numbers are only a fraction of Charli D’Amelio’s 108 million—the steps being made by these creators and brands are showing that there is push for a more diverse idea of beauty on social media.

As for TikTok, viewers are urging the app to highlight all types of creators. “TikTok should promote different body types, different races and pull away from the current standard that’s set in stone,” Reyes said. “What they’re doing right now with only putting muscular, white guys or skinny white girls on the For You pages, is not [acceptable]. They definitely should pull away from that and promote more diverse people in terms of skin, race, body type and content.”

“The way that [TikTok] has been negatively affecting our students is pretty apparent. There are mental health issues that stem from cyber-bullying and bodyimage issues because of what they see online.”

–Wellness outreach specialist rosie castillo

16 | VIRTUAL COMMUNITY

Students, teachers find community online Gunn has always been known for its sense of community: From counter-protesting the Westboro Baptist Church in 2010 to building the strong mental health supports we have access to today, our campus has always been able to come together despite many obstacles along the way. Now, students face yet another roadblock: a lack of face-to-face interactions.

Making friends in high school has proven difficult for some students, and this has only worsened without in-person connections. To ensure students remain focused during class, teachers sometimes disable the attendee-attendee chat function, leaving students’ means of connecting with new people virtually severed.

Still, students have found ways to connect despite the distance. One such method is by joining the schoolwide Discord server, an online hangout where over 450 verified Gunn students can converse with each other and make new friends.

The server was created in May 2020, in part to create a space where people could talk to each other despite being barred from in-person contact. It is complete with automated helper bots, daily community updates and even an announcement channel named after Student Activities Director Lisa Hall.

Because the server is completely run by Gunn students, moderators are appointed to keep the server in check. Moderator and senior Serena Li finds that regulating the server is usually quite simple. “As an admin, we have to moderate the chat and delete messages because people can be weird online,” she said. “Recently, though, we haven’t had to do that very often.”

The server is used for many purposes, such as coding modifications in #n-building and sharing artwork in #mbuilding. Most importantly, it is a means by which students can make new friends and forge new connections. “There is a lot more interclass communication here, where seniors and freshmen might not talk otherwise,” Li said. “It really helps people make new friends, and I personally have done so through this server.”

In addition to making friends with other classmates, the typical Gunn community also involves the relationships built between students and teachers. In a normal school year, math teacher Rachel Congress likes to greet students as they walk into every class. “Even small interactions like that have disappeared,” she said. “That’s hard because I think it’s important to know all of you and see all of you–not just see visually, but seeing you as a person, and understanding you as a person.”

Many teachers open their classes with a question to answer, prompting students to participate and share a tidbit about their lives in the Zoom chat. To Congress, an important aspect of building community is maintaining this practice for the duration of the class, past the initial introduction phase.

“Sometimes we assume that everyone knows each other from the introductions in the first month of school, but that’s not really true,” she said. “So having those kinds of get-to-knowyou activities throughout the year is really valuable to me.”

For Congress and many other teachers, the transition to online school and the rearranging of content has already been a time-consuming struggle. “It’s hard to split my focus to so many things like building community when I’m also running classes and organizing the curriculum,” Congress said.

“Sometimes I have to tell myself to stop and take a break. I have to remind myself that I can’t do everything, no matter how much I want to.”

Even over Zoom classrooms and online chat servers, the Gunn community has continued to grow and develop, bringing with it the hope and strength needed to carry students past the temporary distance and back into schools. While we still can’t laugh with our friends face-to-face or raise physical hands in class, the teachers and students at Gunn have proven that frienships can still be maintained and new ones formed, reaching past the computer screen to connect with each other.

—Written by Jessica Zang

VIRTUAL COMMUNITY | 17

Freshman reflects on starting high school, forming friendships virtually

Safina Syed Without a doubt, no freshman imagined starting high school on a computer. Before the pandemic, I remember hearing about all the classes and events going on at Gunn from my older siblings, waiting for my turn to experience it all. Now that we’re online, schoolwide events have been replaced, and classmate interactions and activities changed. Still, not everything has vanished–it’s adapted to our new Zoom setting. As a freshman, adjusting to high school online has come with its fair share of social and academic challenges.

However, this experience has been an adventure and has helped me grow as a person.

In this era of online school, with the date of our full, maskless return out of sight, there is much uncertainty of what’s to come; many high schoolers are waiting to go back to their old normal, but freshmen know no normal.

As high school scatters middle schoolers, splitting them into two different schools, forming friendships can be difficult. On campus, making friends could be as simple as sitting next to someone in class, but we don’t have that capability anymore. Instead, we must find creative new ways to get to know other students through the help of student government, staff and other students.

First semester, I looked into numerous clubs for a variety of my interests as well as other new things to try. Debate, class council and theater auditions have helped me get to know the Gunn community.

Joining the first debate meeting, which involved logging onto a group of 40 to 50 kids while having to keep my camera on and continuously speak about various subjects introduced thirty minutes prior, was intimidating. Every Tuesday, as 5 o’clock rolled around, my mouse hovered over the link and I questioned whether to log on or to hop into bed. But deciding to go was the best thing I could have done: it reintroduced me to my love for debate—something I had lost during quarantine–and it continues to be a fun experience, opening me up to more human interaction and a chance to become more comfortable with public speaking.

Another way I’ve made friends is through forming study groups.

Whether with old friends or new classmates, study groups are a great way to get to know others. Last semester, I emailed a student who shared a similar schedule to me and even now, we still talk often and reach out whenever one of us needs help.

One of the biggest things I took away from this year of isolation is that fear cannot control your decisions. Don’t be afraid to try new things, afraid to put yourselves out there or afraid to fail, because this will only hold you back from making the most out of this year.

—Syed, a freshman, is a reporter.

Graphics by Mihika Sane

18 | Forum

PUblic romantic displays introduce stressful peer pressure, vulnerability

Jessica Wang

Here’s how it’s always pictured in the movies: a glittery poster with a goofy pun and a Very Important Question, a large bunch of red roses wrapped in cellophane, a boombox for good measure and a crowd of excited onlookers. This is high school romance, according to pop culture; it’s the tried-and-true recipe to the teenage dream. However, while public romantic displays are part of American tradition, they generate unnecessary peer pressure, create a power imbalance and remove all sense of intimacy, leading to an unstable relationship foundation.

First, public proposals or similar romantic gestures take place in an unhealthy,

potentially disingenuous situation. Con- ship. We continue to overcome these assider the perspective of the recipient: it’s sumptions as a more progressive society, a Very Important Question to answer on but the bottom line remains that tradition the spot while people observe. Not only is limited and outdated and may, in some that, the moment might be recorded with- cases, force people into gender roles. It’s out consent, posted and broadcasted on not pretty, and it certainly isn’t romantic. media. In a study funded by the National Lastly, involving the public turns a priInstitute of Mental Health, peer pressure vate affair into a sensationalized spectacle. is defined as “restricting individuals’ ca- Possible feelings between the proposer and pacity to make decisions and engage in the recipient are the concern of two peobehavior of their own volition by making ple, not twenty. Why should a friend manthem feel uncomfortable about assert- age the intimate affairs of another friend, ing their own opinions.” Introducing an promise “yes” on their behalf and submit audience does exactly that. The recipient them to public spectacle for the sake of must weigh their true feelings against the tradition or “romance”? It’s good to do positive or negative background research consequences of their on availability and in“possible feelings response. Given that between the proposer terest, but everybody the potential reperand the recipient are talks. Matchmaking cussions include pubbecomes food for the the concern of two gossip grapevine; high lic embarrassment, the people, not twenty.” school becomes a realrecipient might feel compelled to say “yes” ity TV show, and with to save both involved reputations, despite that comes the pressure to perform. In what is in their best interest. Whether the essence, the proposer should conduct result is a true or forced response, the pos- business lightly, if at all, and keep away sibility of starting a relationship out of pity from the crowds. or peer pressure is not worth it.

In the end, romance is meant to be inSo why even have this strange peacock timate. It’s fair to say that an unwelcome display? The prevailing reason is that crowd of excited onlookers ruins the scene. it’s tradition. It’s expected. However, Paired with the element of surprise, this that doesn’t mean it’s always the best can lead to a stressful, vulnerable and way to go; said tradition automatically even terrifying moment—not the recipe creates a striking power imbalance. The for intimacy. Rather than showing up with proposer arrives at the scene armed with a poster made by a grudging sibling or the boombox, the flowers and the poster, artistically-inclined friend, start genuinely while the recipient is caught unaware. It’s and simply. Try a more relaxed setting, not mutual. The proposer takes a risk with whether that’s in a private message chanthe support of friends and props. The nel, over a call or safely face-to-face. It’s recipient might have no support and lower stakes for both parties and leaves certainly does not have time to room for honest conversation. If the public prepare. display is a must-have, discuss it beforePlus—to strike at hand. That way, both the proposer and the a d e e p e r c u l t u r a l recipient are prepared, and, as an added norm—typically it’s plus, there’s a 100% probability of success. depicted that the guy asks the girl out in a —Wang, a junior, is a Forum Editor. heterosexual relation-

Forum | 19

dating over zoom presents viable, if subpar, alternative

Sophia Stern

Of 240 students s u rv e y e d, 15% had tried dating since the start of the pandemic. of those, half had just tried in-person dating.

Of those dating, 47% had started a new romantic r e l a t i o n s h i p, w h i le 38% h a d m a i n ta i n e d a preexisting one.

Blind dates are always awkward: there’s the anticipation of who will be sitting across from you, the question of if you’ll like them and what to talk about. Blind dating on Zoom is even more uncomfortable—but has now become somewhat of a norm in our current society, where we can no longer safely meet faceto-face. I’ve never been set up on a date before, but I decided to give it a try to find out what it was like to go on a virtual date.

It wouldn’t be Zoom without technical difficulties: I immediately encountered some as I sat down for my date. I had sent the wrong Zoom link, so both my date and I had waited on an empty call for 10 minutes, thinking the other person had been late, or worse, stood us up. After everything was sorted out, the conversations began.

I prefaced the date by explaining the idea of the story I was writing, that I had never been on a blind date before and that this wasn’t the typical way I went about meeting someone.

Connor, who was chosen by fellow The Oracle staffer Madison, reassured me that this was also not normal for him. Luckily, with all of the crazy things going on in the world, we weren’t short of things to talk about.

The obvious conversation starter was the ongoing pandemic, especially given the virtual setting of our date. However, we also ran through the topics I felt were typical of a first date: college, school, travel and families. I can confidently say that by the time 45 minutes had gone by, I knew Connor better than when I had first logged onto Zoom. The date wasn’t life changing, but it was nice nonetheless.

Looking back, it definitely went a lot better than I expected.

My biggest concern was not having anything to talk about; awkward silence in the virtual format feels a lot worse compared to when you’re face-to-face with someone. Once I got into the flow of talking, this worry mostly faded away.

I’m not sure if blind dates are the best for virtual dating, because being face-to-face with someone—especially if you have never met them before—is beneficial for connecting. Still, if you’ve been talking to someone and want to meet up in person but can’t, a video call would probably be really fun.

Overall, I would recommend going on a virtual date as a second-rate alternative. Dur ing these challenging times, we must make do w ith what we have, and Zoom can provide an opportunity to connect with others.

—Stern, a junior, is a Business Manager.

Clair Koo

20 | FEATURES

The Story Behind Gunn.App A semi-anonymous Facebook account and music video-producing YouTube channel make this schedule-tracking app unique.

This issue ending in 8 pages Gunn’s plethora of schedule changes over the past few years is hardly foreign to many students and staff. That’s where the Gunn App (gunn.app) comes in: an interactive website created by senior Sean Yen, featuring the class schedule of the day and current events.

Yen discovered his passion for computer programming in elementary school. “I first started in fifth grade when my friend introduced me to Scratch, which is a programming platform,” he said. “In seventh or eighth grade, I decided to go beyond Scratch. Making websites was the natural next step given what I had.”

For many of his computer science endeavours, Yen approaches his projects with a simple goal in mind: to solve a problem. The original Gunn App, which was created and maintained outside of Yen’s involvement by the iOS App Development club, was exclusive to mobile phones and could not be customized as easily. When Yen was unable to access the original app, he decided to create his own.

“The Gunn App already existed when I first went to Gunn, but it only worked on phones,” he said. “I don’t have a phone, and I only use a Chromebook during school. So I decided to make my own version. Since the maintainers of the mobile app graduated, mine took over because it’s more up to date.”

According to Yen, the most difficult aspect of making the website was creating a schedule that could adopt to Gunn’s frequent changes. “The hardest part was definitely

dealing with alternate schedules,” he said. “Especially in previous years, Gunn would sometimes change the schedule only a few days in advance, so I made UGWA [Universal Gunn Web App] use the school’s Google Calendar directly so its schedule would always remain up-to-date.”

The Gunn App features five main panels with several tools to help students navigate their way through the school day. These include utilities, clubs, schedule, staff and options. Primarily, these functions serve to help students stay up-to-date with school news, events, activities and provide an easy and efficient platform to find schoolrelated information.

One user of the app, senior Kaden Lau, finds the color-coded schedule to be the most useful tool on the website. “My favorite part is the schedule because it tells me exactly what time is the next class and what time my class ends,” he said.

While Yen is the main programmer and contributor to the Gunn App, the “Ovinus Group,” as they’re called, has also contributed as well. The cohort consists of seniors Sean Yen, Timothy Herchen, Steven Xue, Brandon Chung, Edmund Lam and Henry Poole. Originally, the group was created as a joint Facebook account between Yen, Herchen and Xue, but later expanded to other members.

Besides maintaining the website, the group has also cultivated a presence on social media under the anonymous account Ovinus Real. To help promote the Gunn

Features | 21

App, the Ovinus Group posts updates and advertisements on social media and YouTube, including, most recently, a rap music video. “My major role in it is making the app itself,” said Yen. “But overall, the entire group is meant to make propaganda to advertise the website.”

While Yen believes his motivation for creating the website was solely enjoyment, Ovinus member Timothy Herchen believes otherwise. “I think Sean’s motivation is obviously to make a usable app,” he said. “That’s why I think it fills a niche, and why I think it’s pretty popular.

The rest of us want to make the app better.”

Herchen admires Yen’s skills as a programmer.

“When he gets focused on something, the work he does is truly incredible,” he said. “We’re working on a Minecraft server, and we’re using a function card called data packs, and in two days or less than a week, he created this online editor for us. I was just so impressed because it’s complicated to do that, but he just did it.”

Yen has also helped students through creating other handy websites. “Last year, before COVID, SEC [Student Executive Council] asked me to host the Gunn Elimination site because the old one went down, and so I made that,” Yen said. “Also, for Chemistry Honors, we had to make our own periodic table for some planet. We were supposed to cut out pieces of slips of paper to rearrange the elements physically, but I thought that was pretty annoying, so I made an online version of that.”

Yen hopes to pass on the responsibility of maintaining the Gunn App to the next class of Gunn students.

“I don’t like it when there is just a mysterious app some Gunn alumnus made,” he said. “I’m thinking of either handing over ownership of the app to someone else, but I think there are other students that have already made their own. I might advertise theirs on the app after graduation.”

—Written by Devon Lee

Photos courtesy of Ovinus Group Instagram and YouTube

Mihika Sane

22 | Features

60 3 y t e i c o S

Your Confidants

Fools R Us

Chinyoung Shao

Students express creativity through podcasts Fools R Us

A

myriad of harmonizing voices, singing a creative jingle, flood into the microphone: this is the way the most recent episode of “Fools R Us”—a podcast created by junior Quincy Rosensweig and Gunn alumna Katie Brown—opens.

The Holiday Special marks the ninth episode of the podcast since it was created in July with the hopes of keeping in contact with others during a time of social isolation. While many other podcasts are created with a purpose or message in mind, Brown notes that “Fools R Us” is simply produced for fun. As such, she usually ignores the number of viewers. “We don’t care that much if people are watching [the podcast]; it is more just to chat and share what’s going on,” Rosensweig said.

The name “Fools R Us,” which is derived from the popular island survival TV show “Survivor,” is quite indicative of Rosensweig’s and Brown’s favorite discussion topic: “Survivor.” But in addition to ranking and debriefing of the new seasons, Rosensweig and Brown enjoy discussing unpopular opinions, ranking desserts and simply talking about life. By doing so, Rosensweig hopes that the podcast is a way for listeners to relax. “If they’re stressed

out, or anything, it’s just a nice way to sort of chill,” he said.

Looking forward, Brown hopes to continue producing “Fools R Us.” “I think one of the biggest goals is for us to continue [the podcast] because I was in Palo Alto this semester for college, but now I’m going to college,” she said. “So, it might be a little trickier [to produce], but I believe we’ll survive.”

Society 360

W

hen you hit play, four steady beats fill the room, followed by an introduction: “Hi everyone!

My name is Anshika, and welcome to ‘Society360.’” “Society360”—a podcast created to dissect pressing societal issues—has this same start to each of its 11 episodes.

Along with a few of her peers, senior Anshika Agarwal started “Society360” after COVID-19 spotlighted numerous societal problems. “I really wanted to help break these issues down into different perspectives and be able to analyze them from different angles,” Agarwal said.

In breaking down these issues, Agarwal and the rest of the “Society360” team hope to spark meaningful discussion to inspire change. “The point of the podcast is not to oversimplify or trivialize these issues,

because the work doesn’t end there,” she said. “Instead, we recognize that becoming aware is only the tip of the iceberg, in terms of advocating for large changes. For us, getting people to the first step of activism is accomplishing our goal.”

On their podcast, “Society360” has featured various individuals, ranging from student activists to Stanford professors, each of them bringing their own perspective to the table. Their episodes have discussed issues such as climate change, educational equity and the impacts of COVID-19.

In addition to their podcast, “Society360” has a blog and an Instagram page that also bring attention to the pressing issues at hand. Still, Agarwal believes that podcasts are a unique form of media that allows speakers to express themselves through thought-provoking words.

“One thing that’s really unique about the podcast is that we really get to use our voices and actually have conversations and discussions that we can bring to wide audiences—a social media post or a blog post or a news article on its own can’t really have that same effect,” she said. “So, really using our voices and having important conversations that can be listened to by a lot of people, I think, has a lot of power.”

features | 23

Your confidants

W

ith a simple play on words, the name “ Your Confidants” is emblematic of the message the “ Your Confidants” podcast hopes to spread: self-confidence. Released in August by juniors Leah Kozakevich and Soleil Lemons, the podcast serves to inspire those who may be struggling with body positivity and self-love.

While participating in an entrepreneurship summer program, Kozakevich noticed a lack of teen representation and discussion in body positivity podcasts. “I’ve always seen people talk about it, but they’re in a little bit of an older age demographic than us,” she said. “ We didn’t see much [ body positivity discussion] coming directly from high schoolers.” As a result, Lemons and Kozakevich created the podcast to reach out to the surrounding teen population.

A lthough it’s aimed towards teens, L emons believes listening to “ Your Confidants” is still beneficial for other age groups. “I think it’s good for other people to listen to it as well, just because they get a perspective that they didn’t have before,” she said.

With casual conversation on a multitude of topics, from skin imperfections to modern beauty standards and individualism in today’s society, Lemons and Kozakevich hope that their 11 episodes will be relatable, relaxing and eye- open i ng. To ga i n traction, Lemons and Kozakevich utilize their Instagram page to not only promote “ You r C on f id a nt s ,” but t o f u r t her spread thei r message. T hei r Instagram page boasts over 250 followers and numerous inspiring quotes.

A lthough exposure is impor tant, K oz a kev ich a r g ue s t h at i mpac t i s much more mean ing ful. “ Even i f a few people can just listen and benefit from anything we say, I think that’s being successful in a way of its own,” she said.

—Written by Julianna Chang From left to right on page 22: photos courtesy of Katie Brown, Quincy Rosensweig, Anshika Agarwal, Leah Kozakevich and Soleil Lemons

The oracle’s Podcast REcommendations “The Last Podcast on the Left” is a true crime and comedy podcast that includes both real and fictional horror stories. The show’s topics range from serial killers to demons and cults, so you’ll be able to find any imaginable horrific creation on this podcast. The creators, longtime friends Ben Kiessel (producer), Marcus Parks (researcher) and Henry Hebrowski (comedian and actor), take a unique approach, using playful commentary to create a lighthearted tone for the dark stories. Each normal episode is around one to two hours long, and each “side stories” episode (shorter true crime cases) is around half an hour to an hour long.

“Stuff You Should Know” is an iHeartRadio podcast that provides all the relevant information you’ll need on current events–especially to be socially aware. The podcast provides the most important information to know in an engaging, fun manner: Each normal episode is around an hour long and each “short stuff” episode is around 15 minutes long. This podcast has everything you need to know to become a more informed person.

“Call Her Daddy” is a feel-good, confidence booster, girl boss-type podcast. Host Alex Cooper (with Barstool Sports) dives into subjects such as relationships, confidence, social scenes and embarrassing moments in each of her episodes. Each episode is around an hour long, but it goes by fast. Cooper regularly has guests on her episodes, and gives a lot of great insight on common problems many women face.

She connects with her audience by inspiring women with the confidence that they need to put themselves out there and have a good time.

Mihika Sane

Have you ever spent hours and hours getting sucked into Reddit stories? If so, this podcast is for you. “rSlash” is a podcast that reads Reddit stories in emotional and funny voices.

Each episode is around 20 minutes long and is the perfect option if you are looking for a fun escape from your normal podcast routine. You’ll never get bored with this one!

—Compiled by Genna Bishop

24 | Good News

good news found amidst pandemic Teachers welcome new babies Physics teacher Catherine Cohn and English teacher Kate Zavack each welcomed newborn babies into the world. In the midst of a global pandemic and virtual school, they’ve had to adjust both their personal and professional lives to new circumstances. However, despite the changes, both teachers agree that their children bring more meaning and joy into their daily lives.

Cohn’s daughter, Iris, was born on Jan. 5. Cohn is currently on maternity leave and has rejoiced in the time that she has spent with her newborn daughter. “One of the best things about newborn babies is how they smell,” she said. “Sometimes when I’m just holding her, and I can just like, smell her... it’s the best feeling.”

Having a child has fundamentally changed the way Cohn approaches life.

“Having a baby has forced me to take a step back,” she said. “I’m still checking my email every day, but I don’t respond within an hour. Right now there’s this baby that needs me to survive and feed her. That’s helping reprioritize this balance in my work life.”

Zavack’s son, Jude, was born on March 26,

2020. At what was then the start of the pandemic, taking care of a newborn wasn’t as difficult as Zavack previously thought. “I was lucky that when he was a newborn, it was the spring semester,” she said. “So, because it was all asynchronous, it was much more flexible.” Though her son is still young, Zavack has spotted many similarities between herself and Jude.

“We like the same foods, we have similar palates and we are very adventurous with what we eat,” she said. “We get a little panicky when food is not in front of us right away.”

Even with the occasional speed bump, Zavack notes how having a young child is a joyous experience.

“Anything that makes him laugh is the best,” she said. “When the baby cracks up, there’s nothing like it. So whatever that is, that’s what I want to be doing.”

—Written by Arjun Shah

Courtesy of Catherine Cohn

Organization aims to create safe overnight parking for homeless Palo Alto is considered a great place to live—the city took sixth project approved soon. “Palo Alto is considering a pilot program place on Livability.com’s Top 100 Best Places to Live in 2018 list. for a little bit over a year; it would run through August of 2022,” However, the infamous high housing costs can also be prohibi- he said. “Should the pilot program get approved, there would tive, leaving some to resort to living in their cars. As a be a 90-day assessment period, and then, result, Move Mountain View, a program meant to depending on how that’s gone, help homeless people live in the safety of their the permit would get extended.” cars, has launched. The Mountain ViewThis project isn’t just a safe based organization’s goal is to utilize parking program; there are also parking lots at churches and let social services programs tied to people living in their vehicle it. Residents of the parking lot rest there safely overnight. will have a connection to a social Jake Dodson, one of worker. “Once a month there’s the head leaders of the an expectation of a connection project, is hoping to with that social worker,” Dodexpand the organizason said. tion to Palo Alto.

The hopes of this project are “[Move Mountain to give people who are living View] started as a in their vehicles a safe space Mountain View-based nonprofit for the for them to rest and to possibly same purpose: to manage a church sponsored find a better housing solution safe parking program,” he said. “They currently for them. “I’m hoping that we Courtesy of Move Mountain View do it there, but this is their first expansion into another could be as helpful as possible city.” to the larger issue of homelessness and those who are unsheltered According to Dodson, the organization has recently filed an in our community,” Dodson said.

—Written by Hila Livneh application to the Palo Alto City Council; through a series of discussions with the surrounding community, they hope to get the

Sports | 7 Good News | 25

Spirits lifting in elderly care centers following vaccine distributions After a year tainted with disease, death and misfortune, many As an essential care worker, Downer, along with her coworkare turning to 2021 with hopes of a brighter future. Indeed, ers, were offered primary access to the vaccine. “The first 2021 offers two shots in the arm: a vaccine. As time I was given the opportunity to get a various vaccines are distributed across the vaccine, I was scared and wanted to wait,” nation, senior Alexy Downer has had the Downer said. “The first person who had gotfirst-hand experience of witnessing the vacten the vaccine in California had only had it cine in action. Downer works at Palo Alto’s two days before. But I did my research and Webster House, an elderly assisted living afterwards, felt more confident getting the facility. There, she helps serve food, prevaccine.” pare meals, bag groceries and distributes Although she was apprehensive initially, snacks to residents. She has also observed Downer feels grateful for the opportunity the sense of security the vaccine brings to and experience. “I feel safer coming home seniors. “Getting the vaccine sooner than to my dad and mom, who are both not the general public has been a big relief, and vaccinated and are at higher risk,” Downer most of the residents are very relieved,” said.

Downer said.

For now, Downer remains confident that Aside from personal safety, the vaccine the spirits in Webster House will remain also provides residents with hope. Its dishigh. “Everyone is in full support of everytribution lifted some of the facility’s health one,” Downer said. “We truly are always regulations and allowed for loved ones to there for one another and have created visit, albeit socially distanced. “Being able really tight bonds. We see each other each to see family and friends through a screen week, no matter how bad the pandemic is, has really raised their spirits,” Downer and having support from my coworkers and said. “Also, knowing that soon they may the residents has made working through be allowed to leave this facility and spend COVID better and easier.” time with their family is really heartwarm—Written by Dori Filppu ing for them.”

Courtesy of Alexy Downer

Shelters see increase in pet adoptions Despite the challenges of the past 11 months, the pandemic Dogs and cats aren’t the only types of pets getting adopted. has brought one silver lining: the demand for pets has increased Junior Anushka Basu recently adopted her guinea pig, Pianetta, dramatically. With the pandemic forcing people to stay home, from a Santa Cruz animal shelter. The process of adoption may many now have the time and capacity to take have looked a little different than in years past—masking and care of pets. social distancing were required—but that didn’t stop Last Chance Pet, a local organization, animals from being adopted. “I remember the had its adoptions increase almost shelter saying that over 100 animals had been 40% in 2020 compared to 2019. adopted that past week,” Basu said.

Senior Anika Rao-MruthyunjaNamed after Basu’s love of the piano, ya adopted her two cats, Zeus and Pianetta never fails to brighten Basu’s day.

Apollo, in April, after her other “When you’re having a bad day you can cat passed away at the start just pet [Pianetta] and she instantly of the pandemic. “We origimakes you feel better,” she said. nally thought we wouldn’t “She’s my little buddy now.” Alget another cat for a while,” though she admits that guinea Rao-Mruthy unjaya said. pigs can take a lot of work, Basu “With the lockdown and the now looks forward to taking weather was really awful, care of her pet: “It’s a chore and we were all just really that I am looking forward bummed out all the time. Not to everyday because she is an having a cat was really getting amazing pet and I love spending to us.” time with her,” she said.

The family found their two —Written by Kate Mallery cats on a Mancoon rescue site, Courtesy of Anushka Basu and couldn’t be happier to have two Graphics by Chinyoung Shao new cats in the home, according to Rao-Mruthyunjaya.

26 | Lifestyle

The Trader Joe’s Crispy Crunchy Mochi Rice Nuggets are one of the best items found in the snack aisle of the store. The name of the snack is a perfect description of the product—it’s a crunchy, cube-shaped nugget primarily made of rice. Each lightly salted morsel makes you crave more. The Mochi Rice Nuggets can be identified at the store by the packaging’s drawing of the nuggets playing in a band. This unique snack can be found at any time of year and serves as a great savory snack.

‘ ’ Trader Joe’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese bites are a delicious and easy frozen meal for any occasion. They consist of small portions of the famous Trader Joe’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese surrounded by a breading. The fried panko breading creates a nice contrast between the crispy exterior and creamy, chewy interior. The bites can be eaten as an appetizer, meal or snack, and are a great comfort food.

These addictive cheesy balls come in frozen packages and come ready out of the oven in just 10 to 15 minutes of baking.

The seasonal summertime Ube Ice Cream is one of the most unique items to have hit the Trader Joe’s shelves. Ube is a purple yam hailing from Southeast Asia, but don’t let the strange combination of yam and ice cream fool you—the unique bright purple ice cream is absolutely worth a try. The quality of the ice cream itself is also spectacular. It’s paired with a soft, creamy texture, perfectly melting in your mouth. Next time you’re on a summer trip to Trader Joe’s, be sure to look out for the Ube Ice Cream.

Everything but the Bagel Seasoning has become a staple in American households, and it would be impossible to not mention it. It consists of sesame seeds, sea salt flakes, dried minced garlic, dried minced onion, black sesame seeds and poppy seeds. This condiment is perhaps the most versatile one since salt and pepper. It can be used to season anything—my personal favorite is to sprinkle it on my sunny side up eggs. However, it can be used to make anything taste instantly better, and add a hint of the everything bagel taste to whatever you choose to add it to.

Sophie Fan and Jenna Han

—Compiled by Calvin Cai

27 | Lifestyle

Which type of online student are you?

Question 1: Where do you work? a. At an organized desk. b. My room. c. Wherever I can. d. In my bed.

Question 2: What can you be found doing during class time? a. Taking notes. b. Trying not to fall asleep. c. Arguing with parents or siblings. d. Texting friends.

Quest ion 3: W hat is t he main reason why you would have your video off during class? a. I have bad WiFi. b. Because I don’t feel like having it on. c. My siblings are making faces behind me. d. To hide the fact that I’m on my phone.

Question 4: What is your favorite part about distance learning? a. The fact that I learn much better and feel more engaged. b. Nothing, it sucks! c. I get to see my family all day every day! d. All the free time I have to do what I want!

Question 5: When do you do your homework? a. Either I multitask during class, or right after school. b. When I have time. c. Whenever I’m not busy with chores or housework. d. Wait, we get homework?

Question 6: What do you do during Gunn Together? a. Uh... pay attention... isn’t that what we’re supposed to do? b. Die from boredom. c. I can’t hear it because it’s too noisy. d. I don’t even click the link.

Question 7: Where is your phone during class? a. Charging somewhere that’s not my desk. b. Next to me. c. My siblings are using it to play games. d. Glued to my hand.

Question 8: Do you go to Office Hours? a. Of course! it’s a great resource. b. Sure, when I have time. c. Nope, too busy. d. What are Office Hours?

Question 9: When I take a test, I… a. Try my best. b. Plow through it. c. Try to focus with my fingers in my ears. d. Google all the answers.

Chinyoung Sh

Fan ao and Sophie

If you answered mostly A’s: It’s a dream If you answered mostly B’s: This is come true! Schools being forced to run online was one of the best things that has happened to you yet. No more trudging across campus and having forced conversations.

the worst nightmare possible. For you, distance learning is the absolute worst. You barely know your classmates, and every day your eyes feel like they’re melting out of your head.

If you answered mostly C’s: You can’t If you answered mostly D’s: I mean... tell the difference between home and school anymore. You’re not a bad student, and you try to do your best, but your school and home life are bleeding together.

is this really considered school? You’re the type of person who joins class, says “here” for attendance and sleeps through the rest of the lesson.

—Compiled by Katie Shih­

Palo Alto Unified School District Henry M. Gunn High School 780 Arastradero Road Palo Alto, CA 94303

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