Teacher Goodbyes Page 4
Hillsdale Senior Spotlights Page 5, Page 9
May 22nd, 2018
News In Brief Congratulations to Thomas Karpishin for throwing a perfect no-hitter on March 29th, the only no-hitter that was thrown in the entire league this season!
Senior Sports Profiles Page 8, Page 9
Editor’s Goodbye Page 10
Website: www.hillsdalescroll.org
Students March for Social Change Anya Lance-Chacko Senior Staff Writer After the school shooting in Parkland that followed countless other gun related incidents throughout the United States, many youth and teachers alike decided to partake in the national March For Our Lives movement. Hillsdale seniors Micah Dayag and Kyle Guanzon and their peers led the student body in a protest of their own. Students like these hope to make a crucial difference in these pressing time- as they’re the ones running tomorrow. Guanzon explained, “We know that this is a very polarizing issue and it’s been going on for a while, and no one has brought it up for a long time. And then due to the recent events, we were inspired to do this because of the momentum from the March for Our lives event, and the students in Florida are just like us. It’s hard to do something like this, there just regular students and
they want to bring change, and this is why we’re doing it–we want to create a platform in our community through March for Our Lives addressing issues around The organizing committee meets with Jackie Speier. school safety, and just being Photo Credit: Eilleen Zhang more accepting.” So the sparked.” Guanzon added,“There was a students decided to take on the responsibility of necessary political action. lot of extensive planning. We had Monday D a y a g e x p l a i n e d h o w t h e meetings every week at room 110 and it demonstration ignited: “It all started was an open invite to everyone, it was a with Superintendent Skelly and we all coalition of twelve schools, and not just met up and were invited to go speak at a schools in our district but other schools, like Student Panel and we met other students private schools around San Mateo County... (continued on page 2) from different schools and that’s how it
Knight Under The Sea: Sink or Swim? Sean Tjoa Staff Writer
Congratulations to the Varsity Boys’ Tennis Team for having their best season in school history, making it to the second round of CCS!
This year ’s prom, A Knight Under the Sea, was held on the night of April 14th, lasting all the way until midnight. Taking place at The Galleria in San Francisco, a spectacular venue with two stories, the turnout for prom was great, and the venue was packed but not overcrowded. Various employees were serving drinks to students at the counter, checking in bags, and taking photo-shoots for groups. Prom-goers could choose to party on the dancefloor itself or even pack into the brightly lit elevator to dance while ascending and descending between floors. The entrance to the venue was great despite the flurry of people in suits and
dresses, rushing inside to refuge from the cold wind outside. The interior of the venue remained a perfect temperature for the entire dance, letting everyone dance to their heart’s content. Although the line for check in was long, the sight of the dance floor awaiting you was amazing. Lights were going off from the DJ’s stage, elegant tables were placed at the sides of the dance floor, and the bright elevator behind the stage served as a nice contrast, outlining the first and second floor. At the back of the room was a large table piled high with cookies, brownies, chocolate-covered strawberries, and more. To the side was an open-bar, serving sodas with an easy access to water. As throngs of people began to fill up the dancefloor, the energy rose exponentially, but the experience may have been less than the best for some.
While the music was loud and filled the room, the energy was low at some points of the dance. Huge crowds of people were dancing on the floor, but it was clear that the music didn’t fit everyone’s tastes. There were a few times during the dance when a large amount of the crowd tried to get the DJ to switch the song by holding up their fingers in an easily-recognized shape: L. Hillsdale senior Katia Promono said, “I was disappointed by the music because it was a lot of songs that nobody really knew, so we didn’t get excited by them”. Although not everybody loved the music that night, prom still remained a great experience for many. Hillsdale junior Kathryn Jia noted, “I think prom is something that everyone’s really excited for… (continued on page 2)
One Year of Thursday Late Starts Jamie Ip Staff Writer
Support the Art Department in their art show Wednesday, May 23rd, 6:30 - 8:00 PM, in Room 421! Do you have comments, feedback, letters to the editors, or want to buy an ad? Contact us at: thehillsdalescroll@gmail.com
A valuable break in the week or an inconvenient break in the schedule? As curtains slowly fall on the school year, it concludes the first year of Hillsdale’s new bell schedule. This year, Hillsdale changed the bell schedule in hopes of promoting healthy sleeping and accommodating teenage workloads. Instead of starting normally at 7:45 and finishing early at 1:49 on Thursdays, the Thursday schedule now begins at 9:20 and ends at the normal time of 3:15. This allows for an extra hour and thirty five minutes of sleep time in the morning; to some, a much needed break. To others, it marks the end of minimum days. Responses to the new schedule have been generally mixed. Some are in strong support of the late start, with senior Zack Berger stating that “If my sanity is dental floss, then I’m all out of dental floss and late start Thursdays are like a little bit of extra toothpaste.” A late start on Thursday helps many survive arduous school weeks.
An anonymous senior describes the extra bit of sleep-in time on Thursday as “a much-needed break for preventing zombie outbreaks on Friday”. Beyond the mental benefits, the extra sleep time has physical benefits as well. Studies have repeatedly proven the importance of getting quality sleep time; for teens especially, sleep is crucial for healthy growth and development. Sleep deficiency can result in decreases in both physical and mental health, while students who sleep properly can function productively throughout the day. The late start may only last Thursday, but the extra sleep time it provides still serves as a great relief for sleep deprived teenagers. On the other hand, the new schedule has its flaws. For one, it can be inconvenient for parents and students who don’t live near Hillsdale. As an anonymous junior concisely stated, “Late start Thursdays are unhelpful for people who don’t live within walking distance of school.” The further away one lives from Hillsdale, the more troublesome a constantly
changing schedule can be. By disorganizing the bells, it can be confusing for parents to know what time to drop off and pick up their children. Furthermore, on Thursday block days, the switch back to a normal starting time of 7:45 can be disastrous for those unknowing of it, and morning classes can be decimated as hordes of students unintentionally sleep in. Some students have also shown a dislike for the new tutorial time; both in the fact that it’s mandatory and for how late in the day it is. Along with that, the pushed back schedule also marks the end of minimum days for those who have seven periods. The extra length of the Thursday schedule prevents one from going home early, taking away precious time for homework and extracurriculars. The new schedule, which has had a profound impact on the school, is beloved by some and hated by others. While it remains impossible to please everyone, hopefully Hillsdale can accommodate both sides and work towards a perfected bell schedule in the future.
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May 22nd, 2018
Club of the Month Club Name: Hack Club Advisor: Ms . Mariucci Leadership: Henry Gu, Eilleen Zhang, Esha Kher Purpose: To teach basic programming skills to students at Hillsdale, and then moving on to more advanced topics. Members practice writing code in essential programming languages and improve their typing skills. As a part of the Hack Club organization, the students are connected to a larger community of young coders. Activities: During a typical meeting, the club leaders lead a walkthrough of a new workshop each week to implement a certain feature into the projects that the club is working on. In the middle of each meeting, the club takes a break from coding for an intense game or two of online speed typing competitions. The club members also get free work time to improve their projects, get help from club leaders, and work with other members. After having demos of projects every few weeks, a variety of computerscience related prizes are distributed. Meetings: Every Friday after school in Ms. Mariucci’s room (248) from 3:30 to 4:30. How to Join: Contact the club at hhshacks@gmail.com or join the Remind by texting @hhshac to 81010 to be reminded in the fall.
Prom
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Girls Who Code Hacks Movie Night Esha Kher Senior Staff Writer
Wo m e n i n t e c h n o l o g y a r e underrepresented all over the world; they hold disproportionately less jobs in the tech industry and less tech related degrees, which has created a huge gender gap for women in S.T.E.M fields. The gap comes from misinformation and lack of education of what can be done in the technology field because computer science is marketed towards people who are interested in products of it, like video games or robots, which mostly boys are interested in. The Girls Who Code organization focuses on providing high school girls with an authentic exposure to the possibilities in the computer science and tech space. As their yearly community impact project, the members of Hillsdale’s chapter of Girls Who Code club hosted a free movie night featuring Code Girl, a documentary that offers a positive representation of the steps women of our generation are taking to bridge the tech gender gap in our society. Directed by Lesley Chilcott, the movie follows the journey of groups of high school girls who had participated in the Technovation challenge in 2015.
The Technovation challenge, sponsored by major tech companies such as Adobe and Google, asks girls to identify a problem in their community. They program an app to address the solution to the problem, and then learn to communicate, market, and ultimately sell the app to a panel of judges in an attempt to launch it into a full-fledged business. The grand prizes for the regional and national stage are scholarships for the girls to make their project a reality. Girls all around the world tried their hand in this contest; girls from Nigeria all the way to suburban Massachusetts eliminated isolation from each other to join hands for a greater cause. Even though the documentary followed the intense competition competition and showed the contrast of selected teams advancing and others eliminated, it was clear that each and every girl learned something valuable along their journey. The competition aspect of the movie pushed the viewers to the edge of their seat throughout the whole movie, as they wanted to know which of the teams had won the prize. The majority of the movie focuses on the challenges of creating the almost impossibly ideal prototypes of their apps
where problems in their communities would be solved in the most conventional manner. In Nigeria, the problem is waste disposal. In India, it’s employment for the disabled through NGOs. In Portmund, it is water conservation. A subtle motif of the Technovation challenge was also to provide a sense of perspective on community problems from the female app builders. For example, Team WOco from Andover, Massachusetts, built an app to encourage positive text messaging, complements, and invites to school events; the perfect society from their point of view. The pace of the movie is pretty steady as the director tries to capture the struggles that different teams faced with the constraints in their respective societies during the three-month, fifty-hour intensive restrictions of the competition. The movie ramped-up at the competition at the end where the fruit of all their labor rested: the prize of the 2015 Technovation challenge, the ten-thousand dollars and an opportunity for their app to go public in the market. Overall, this was a great opportunity for members of the Hillsdale community to gain insight on how women in technology are overcoming the tech gender gap, one app at a time.
March for Our Lives continued from page 1
...Nueva, Crystal Springs, literally every concrete actions that administrations have educators, who can continue to implement school in our district except for Peninsula and taken.” Education is a powerful tool and these ideas in their curriculum as the students move on. Dayag explained, DTech was also involved, some people “we hope people will do it again, from Carlmont were interested.” since we’re not going to be here next These particular students year. But we hope that it will continue. have been the leaders of countless We do have siblings here and friends other important movements at that have become involved, Juniors. Hillsdale. They’ve been the ones So maybe they’ll be empowered to address issues in the community enough and have the courage to do through action, and continue to do what we did,” and Guanzon added, so, from DACA rallies and walkouts “I hope that they’re inspired by to meeting with Jackie Spears. our actions to do the same thing.” Additionally, they explained their In the end, wherever these leaders next mission, in which they are go, change and activism will be teaching the teachers in a presentation carried on. Dayag explained how about immigrant students. “We want she plans on majoring in Political to bring about the issues that we have A speaker at Hillsdale’s National Walk-Out Science and Guanzon explained how for the teachers to create solutions on Photo Credit: San Mateo March For Our Lives he considered himself an activist and the problems that us students have.” how, “ our whole group are activists, It’s a matter of teamwork as both their actions are quite admirable as their youth and educators voices are important. allowing the empathy and understanding to we’re the ones who start activities based “We’ve raised awareness but there’s no be passed on through their education of the on social issues and create social change.”
continued from page 1 ...seeing all of it finally happen is pretty amazing, like you can’t believe you’re there.” Near the end of the dance, the DJ announced this year’s prom court, Hillsdale seniors Lauren Izumi and Ben Liao. Lauren Izumi recounted, “Being on stage was a little bit nerve-racking, but I saw all my friends cheering me on which made me very happy!” Invited up to the stage and accompanied by many screams, the two went up onto the DJ’s platform for a brief dance. “It was definitely a little bit scary, especially when Ben and I had to slow dance in front of everyone,” said Lauren, “but it was something that I will never forget. It was, and always will be, a fun and cute memory of mine.” Overall, A Knight Under the Sea was a fantastic night for many of Hillsdale’s juniors and seniors. Thanks to the hard work by the Leadership class, the venue was gorgeously decorated, giving the juniors and seniors a very memorable night and a fantastic time. As always, prom continues to be an awesome tradition for Hillsdale, leaving many waiting in anticipation for next year’s prom.
Above A large group of seniors takes pictures before heading to prom. Above Right: Students typically take formal pictures together before prom. Photo Credit: David Berger Below: Some of the very tasty food snacks served at prom.
Photo Credit: Jen Doyle
Above: A group of juniors posing for a couple pictures at prom. Photo Credit: Rosie Goity, Rachel Izenson
May 22nd, 2018
School News School News
Website: www.hillsdalescroll.org
KMXX Celebrates Anniversary Elise Raphael and Eilleen Zhang Staff Writer and Editor-in-Chief
Moves incorporated many historic dances from past years. Jackson Gilbert, senior, explains that “I liked how they brought back stuff that I recognized because I’ve been watching Knight Moves for ten years. I’ve seen it before and I knew I liked it then, which means I like it better now.” Between dances, many alumni were shown
stress levels skyrocket because I always feel like there’s more pressure, and the stress of making the show look good,” Tiana Thich, senior, explains. “When you’re onstage it feels really surreal.” After putting together months of sweat and dedication, dancers finally get the satisfaction of performing their pieces on stage during Knight Moves. As Reiyan Motiwala, junior, says, “Having the audience watch was thrilling, especially when they yelled your name. After the first dance I was shaking after seeing the audience.” A common theme from all the students and alumni that spoke was the familial bond after so many hours working together to make the show a reality. Haley Takeda, senior, recounts: “The ensemble has become a home away from home. It is a big commitment, but being around all these girls and Sabrina… even though it’s somewhat difficult, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” Sabrina says: “[To the] the principal at the time, and my department, the faculty and the people who were so wonderful about embracing it and creating these classes, and trusting that this program would be beneficial to the school and the students, I am always so thankful and grateful to have had the opportunity to find myself in such an amazing community of people.” Ultimately, the twentieth Knight Moves truly demonstrated the “circle of life” that continues to bring the community together year after year.
People say “X marks the spot”, but for Knight Moves XX, it also marks twenty years of tradition for Hillsdale’s dance program. On April 26th to April 28th, Knight Moves, Hillsdale’s annual dance concert, took place in the auditorium with a total of sixty-six dancers taking the stage. These dancers carried the legacy of hundreds of past dancers as they performed for the classic, sold-out show for three outstanding nights. The show started with a vibrant performance of “Circle of Life” with a musical theater version from the soundtrack of Lion King. This Afro-Haitian The senior dancers walk up to take bows in the finale. dance style was attentionPhoto Credit: Ben Liao grabbing and energetic. It showed off the dancers’ speaking in video clips about their powerful skills and kicked off the night with colorful, experience in the production and how it animal-themed costumes. One very unique has affected them. Other clips showed piece of the show was the performance of parts of dances from previous years as “On A String”, a contemporary, mechanical- the alumni reminisced on the music and looking dance that turned the dancers into choreography, dances that were echoed in puppets tied to strings. “It wasn’t anything this year’s performance. Sabrina says: “It that I expected to happen at Knight Moves,” shows how much we’ve evolved, how the Addison Eftekhari, junior, explains. skills of the dancers have evolved, how our The musical theater came back production team has evolved. But if you to the show with “Favorite Son”, a piece listen to the people talk, they’ve walked inspired by The Will Rogers Follies. This away with the same thing over twenty performance featured the male dancers years. Some things really change, coordinating in arm movements and in and other things didn’t at all.” dapper suits and top hats, with red and white In order to display such lined shirts. A very memorable dance by an awe-inspiring show, performers the male dancers was the seniors’ variation a n d c h o r e o g r a p h e r s s p e n d of the classic ballet piece Swan Lake months practicing their dances from Tchaikovsky. Feathers flew from the to perfection. Mara Kristiansson, talented and synchronized seniors’ white senior, describes the yearly tutus as key dancers acted out the story. process as “first semester is just The production made a bold finale with practicing and learning pieces, a last dance called “Under the Big Top”. second semester is staging them. The choreographers were originally going It’s when it really amps up and to use a circus-style soundtrack and as all the fun happens.” Yet with director Sabrina Braccini says, “it’s funny so many hours of planning and because then the movie came out, and practicing dances on top of school Nathaniel Mata, sophomore, speeds ahead of we were like ‘oh my god this is a sign’”. and homework, dancers must find his competitors at track varsity trials. The twentieth showing of Knight ways to cope with stress. “My Photo Credit: Alison Pineda
Orchestra Earns Superior at CMEA Jamie Ip Staff Writer
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orchestra a superior rating, something easier said than done. The orchestra practiced their three selected pieces for months, working tirelessly to polish the final product, a mixture of dynamic, solemn, and vigorous pieces. While many were nervous for the performance, which had been unexpectedly
class, finally bore fruit. After an almost perfect sight-reading performance, the sight To uproarious cheers and applause, reading judge complimented the Hillsdale the Hillsdale Chamber String orchestra orchestra and band as the “highlight of the was awarded a unanimous superior for festival” and was thanked enthusiastically their performance at this year’s California in turn. The musicians left the festival Music Education Association (CMEA) tired but happy, eager to begin preparing festival. They were one of two string for their final concert in May. orchestras to achieve this rating at the For graduating seniors of the festival, the only other being Aragon. orchestra, some who have played in It was a major accomplishment for the it for an entire four years, it marks a group, marking their fourth year in a momentous occasion and a legacy row of earning the highest possible for future students to remember award at CMEA. The orchestra has them by. Wesley Hwa, a senior who been under the directorship of Jim has played first violin for his entire Yowell for four years, who was just as stay at Hillsdale, stated, “CMEA ecstatic as his students to receive the festivals have been a great experience award. When asked for his thoughts for me throughout my four years in on the performance, Mr. Yowell Chamber Orchestra. It was especially enthusiastically responded, “It was special for me when we got our fourth really gratifying to see everyone straight Unanimous Superior. For Seniors surprise Mr. Yowell with gifts at the last take on the challenge, something me, the highlight of my CMEAs was concert of the year. they do every year, and this year looking out into the audience and Photo Credit: Alleria Li was no exception. The music we seeing the judges with that surprised, played was incredibly challenging, fun, bumped thirty minutes earlier on the very amazed look of disbelief at what they had and expressive, and the judges liked that.” day of the festival, the orchestra performed heard.” Although ten seniors are graduating The judges must have liked it without incident. Every student played from the orchestra this year, they have indeed. To receive an Unanimous Superior, to the best of their abilities, and hours of faith that the next year of musicians can all four judges at CMEA must give the practice, from both inside and outside of continue to carry the torch they set ablaze.
Track Ends Season Elise Raphael and Eilleen Zhang Staff Writer and Editor-in-Chief
Even in a highly individual sport such as track and field, a culture of family and support prevails. At Hillsdale’s track team, over one hundred athletes participate in many running events that range from the 100M dash, to the 3200M, to the hurdles, as well as field events including shot-put, discus, high jump, long jump, and triple jump. With so many events, every team member learns from each other and from the coaches. As Lance Chong-Kit, senior, describes, “In the past I felt like it was my responsibility to teach the younger hurdlers, and I really enjoyed it.” The sport begins in early spring with practices from 3:30pm to 5:00pm five days a week. Athletes and coaches of the team like to describe the team culture as open and refreshing after a long day. Athletes come to inclusive practices to a team of one hundred workout buddies, all motivating each other to be their best. Caitlin Siler, a freshman and sprinter on the team, described the atmosphere being “pretty chill, everyone’s calm and wants you to do your best even if you’re racing against them”. During the workouts, as Laura Whang, junior, says, the atmosphere is “friendly, when you go down to the track someone always says hi.” Kaeden Young, senior, described how “the coaches, they were like ‘oh hey, let’s accept him in, join the family’, and now I’m here. Because it was my first year, everyone accepted me so easily, and at the same time supported me.” When first joining, athletes are able to choose events they’d like to compete in and focus on improving their abilities. Unlike other sports offered at Hillsdale, Track & Field is a no-cut sport, however, that doesn’t mean it is any less challenging. Success in this sport is very much dependent on the athletes themselves and the dedication they are willing to put into their training. Head Coach Chris Chaika refers to the legacy of the track team, saying: “This is now the other thing that I think is really cool: this is the second generation. It’s cool to see the younger siblings of the older brothers and sisters that I had first… The seniors have paved the way for us to get here. Now all of a sudden you guys are adding your own flavor to it. I like the camaraderie that we’ve built.” This year the track team has had a successful season with many athletes having competed in the JV Finals and Varsity PAL Trials and Finals. “We won in an event this year. We’re talking about going against sixteen high schools, with one hundred athletes in each team,” Chaika explains. “It’s the first time that our girls beat the boys in finals.” For most of the team, track has come to an end, allowing runners to take time to recuperate from the season and prepare for end-of-the-year tests. A few varsity athletes’ season remains ongoing as they prepared for CCS Trials in Gilroy on May 19th, and Finals on the 25th. These athletes include Kayla Burns, Connie Sanchez-Peral, Natalie Mazlumian, Elise Raphael, Lukas Stoiber, and Nathan Mata. In the future and next season, the team hopes to hold off-season practices during the summer and fall. The team is also working to introduce a new pole vault event to the track next year, to give students an option to train in this skillful discipline. Official practice is set to start in February of 2019 and the team welcomes anyone who would like to try out.
Says Goodbye 4 Hillsdale Hillsdale Says Goodbye May 22nd, 2018
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Ms. Uskert Timbuktu: History
Anya Lance-Chacko Senior Staff Writer Q: What is your favorite memory from working at Hillsdale? A: One of my favorite things is when the students that I’ve taught that have already graduated come back and surprise me. I just get to open the door and see their faces. That makes me feel really good. Also, during the GSA’s/LGBTQA+ sponsored week, Sabrina helped organize a flash mob that the teachers did, which was pretty fun. Normally I’m too embarrassed to participate in things like this, but it was very fun. Q: Have you always worked at Hillsdale? A: No, I started working at East Palo Alto High School, which was where I first learned to be a teacher and Mr. Gilbert was my mentor teacher; he taught me the basics of teaching. I was there for five years and then I moved up to Gateway High School and was there for four years. After that, I came here, and I’ve been here for four years. Q: How does the environment at other schools compare to Hillsdale’s? A: Hillsdale, by far, has stolen my heart–it is a wonderful school. The schools that I’ve always worked at have been these small learning communities. Hillsdale’s kind of like that too but it’s big so you have the fun stuff. We have a football team and we have journalism and yearbook class and we have an art club that drew an amazing mural. I feel like this has the best of both worlds. You get small personal learning, and you also get to have all these other ways you can be creative and be invested in your school.
Q: What’s your favorite unit to teach? What do you like about teaching social studies? A: I love US History, I think, because I get to just tell stories through [the curriculum]. I get to see how students relate to the stories they bring in from so many things in their own lives, so that’s very cool. For Government and Economics right now we’re doing our financial plan, so students have to create a budget for their future self in the year 2028 and that’s fun because it’s so practical. You get to spend time learning about and from others and their stories. There’s some investigation work where you have to figure out what side of the story is right, and how this story is different from that story. It has mystery and intrigue and love and war, so to me it’s like a great Netflix series. Q: What will you miss? What will you not miss? A: I just love my students. They are so fantastic. I was just telling the underclassman the other day... “I hope you find a job that you love and that you are fulfilled by”, because that’s where you spend more than half your life, right? If you can find a place you love going to, then it’s worth it and I love coming here because I love my students. They’re kind and thoughtful and funny so that’s the part I’ll miss the most. And, actually, my co-workers are pretty fantastic too. Q: Where are you heading next? A: So my family and I are moving to the North Bay, we’ll be in San Rafael, which is not too far away. But we’re moving an hour or more from here and unfortunately I just can’t do the commute… I’ll be at a school called San Andreas High School next year.
Ms. Robledo Marrakech: History
Eilleen Zhang Editor-in-Chief Q: Could you talk about your overall experience of teaching at Hillsdale? A: I’ve loved it at Hillsdale. I have grown so much as a person and as a teacher and really everyone from staff to students have taught me so much. Q: Have you always taught Marrakech history classes? A: I actually began in Timbuktu, upper division, and I taught there for three years. Then I was in Marrakech and I taught US History and Government.
before this, it was always kinda like, you could be a rockstar on your own, but at Hillsdale it’s definitely like a symphony. You’re part of this team that helps support all students. Q: Out of all of your years teaching at Hillsdale, what has been the most difficult part? A: I think, growing up, I was the last generation without social media. Helping kids cope with this new world that we live in is very challenging because it’s not one I grew up in.
Q: What was your favorite memory of being at Hillsdale? A: Just… time spent with my advisory. I really loved hanging out with my advisory and spending time with them.
Q : W h a t ’s i n t h e future for you? A: So I’m going to be going to Mountain View High School. It’s closer to where I live, so it’s cutting my commute down, which is really the only reason why I’m leaving. I love Hillsdale, it’s just the commute’s been really hard on me.
Q: What would you consider as your favorite part about Hillsdale as a school? A: I would say how teachers are organized around having teams of kids. At other schools
Q: Is there anything else you want to say? A: Just, thank you to all the students over the seven years, they really made me feel like part of a bigger family and they’ve taught me a lot.
Ms. Colloran Cusco: Child Development
Anya Lance-Chacko Senior-Staff Writer Q: What is your favorite memory from working at Hillsdale? A: I’ve been teaching at Hillsdale for seven years. I had a class called “Alternative/ Green Energy”and we did a bunch of cool things. One was where students made electric windmills, and a couple of the students made windmills that generated about 2.5 volts that were just built really well. Q:Have you always worked at Hillsdale? A: No—I taught 15 years up at Atherton High School before I moved down here, and in the district, I’ve been in the district office up here and lots of other places. Q:What’s your favorite unit in your class? A: We do a few that I really like, but one of the things we do is design toys. Students have a preschooler they work with in the fall semester, and they make a toy that’s specifically for the preschooler. It’s nice to see the creativity and work the high school kids do… some of those projects have been really thoughtful and beautiful. And just working at the preschool is really fun too. Q: What do you like about teaching your class? A: I think it helps you understand how brains work. Hopefully, in addition to students getting a sense of how to teach
their own children or to be a teacher, it also helps them to understand why their strengths are what they are, and give them an understanding of “this is harder for me to learn because maybe at some critical point in my development I just wasn’t exposed to the things I need to be exposed to be successful”. Q: What are your plans for the future? A: I have a friend who works with gorillas in Africa and she studies how diseases move between humans and animals. ...My big long term project is to try and figure out ways to help sustain her program by doing fundraising and things for her... I also travel and spend some time with my dog, friends, and husband in Europe this summer. I’ll be back subbing so hopefully I’ll see students again next year, maybe even sub in the preschool. Then there’s a lot of lifelong projects that I’ll finally have the time to do, without having to worry about things I usually worry about. Q: What will you miss what will you not? A: You guys–the students. And preschoolers were adorable, I’ll miss that, all these colleagues I’ve gotten to know even though I’m kind of isolated over here. What I won’t miss is having to get up at six in the morning to get here by 7:45 , that’s probably the part I’m looking forward to. But other than that it’s been fun!
Mrs. Calvo
Dean and Cusco Advisor Ben Liao Editor-in-Chief Q: How many years have you been teaching, and how many at Hillsdale? A: I started teaching when I was really young, at nineteen. This is my tenth year at Hillsdale. I started as an English teacher and taught AP English and I came here to Hillsdale as a co-principal. I was an administrator for seven of those ten years. Q: What have you enjoyed the most about teaching here? A: I think that we have a really wonderful student community here. The reason for that is because we also have a really great teaching community. I think that the students notice [collaboration amongst teachers] and notice that it’s on their behalf. Many students come back and share that they miss...the Hillsdale community. Students have told me that they start talking to students [in college], and a lot of them don’t speak well of their high school experience... We talk so well about our high school experience, but that’s not everyone’s high school experience. Q: What will you miss the most in retirement? A: I’ll miss the many places to engage with students and staff at activities. But I think that I’ll miss that multi-pronged engagement, you can go to a concert, you can go to Knight Moves, you can be on the quad just
listening to music with the kids, whatever; there are so many places to connect. Q: Do you know what you’re going to do after? A: I’m a writer, I haven’t done much writing since I’ve been at Hillsdale, so I want to do some writing. I’m also a visual artist and I want to return back to that. I’d like to do some traveling—I already have a plan to go to the Philippines in August. Q: What’s your favorite memory at Hillsdale? A: I have a lot of positive memories with kids, and I love the graduations; they felt really special to me. I also was the co-principal here when we had that bombing incident, and what I remember most is how the community here, especially the staff, really pulled together, and really showed each other what a community is all about. Q: Parting words for fellow teachers, students? A: For the students it’s that everything does matter. I don’t think ninth graders always get it... There’s big high hopes out there, even when you leave Hillsdale you don’t have to know absolutely everything you’re going to do. And in terms of teachers and staff, I think following their instincts in what is the right thing to do on behalf of the kids; the teachers themselves have talents and ideas and hunches about things; just trust them see where they lead them.
May 22nd, 2018
Senior Activities Senior Activities
Website: www.hillsdalescroll.org
Senior Day
We sent out a form to all seniors asking them to nominate fellow seniors who have talents or endeavours that aren’t well known. We then picked four and profiled them on page 5 and page 9!
Ben Liao Editor-in-Chief Senior Day at Saratoga Springs has become a tradition at Hillsdale. Instead of telling you about the activities that seniors did, here is a photo article of many of the activities that we enjoyed!
Senior Spotlights Alex Rotundo: Musical Composer
Setting down at the tables with big smiles all around for the day...
Intricate henna tattoos covering the hands and arms of many seniors...
...a game of basketball (above), throwing footballs, and a big volleyball game...
Ben Liao Editor-in-Chief Alex Rotundo is a very musically gifted member of the class of 2018. Starting music on the piano at the age of six, violin a year after that, and jazz bass during sixth grade, he can play a huge variety of classical instruments. However, the field that he really shines is in musical composition— something that very few people can do. He says that he discovered his passion for the activity when he was in elementary school, he started to compose music “through music theory exercises that my piano teacher would give me and I would start to compose music”. His parents discovered him doing this and quickly bought him composition software, where he would continue to demonstrate his talent and seal his future in composition. And succeed he has in the composing world! Alex has participated in youth composition competitions at an international level and regularly takes classes and seminars at local conservatories. In fact, the work that he is most proud to have created, “Metamorphosis and Elegy”, was created from an assignment for his composition seminar class at a
conservatory, using a difficult method of composition called the twelve-tone method, which generally produces pieces with lots of dissonance, but in the right hands, it can create some interesting effects. Composing music is truly a way to communicate for Alex. “What happens to me when I compose music,” he explains, is that “it helps me speak the unspeakable, like what cannot come out of me in words come out of me in music.” He can listen for these feelings and communications from pieces that he listens to as well, citing Gustav Mahler’s Symphony #1 as his favorite piece of classical music. “When I listen to it, I hear all these sounds… kind of wash around you, and there’s this feeling of hope and exuberance.” That piece is a source of inspiration for Alex. After getting his degree in music composition at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, he does want to make a living out of his passion, writing works for ensembles and orchestras around the world. He did mention that, for fun, he also “does want to try my hand at film music”. Who knows, maybe Alex will compose the soundtrack for the next big Hollywood movie!
Brend Meng: Fencer
...a game of ping pong and a pool table in the background, and a nice valley with redwoods and a creek...
...and games of spike ball with way too many people!
Senior Knight
Ben Liao Editor-in-Chief Senior Night is an annual tradition that takes place the night before Senior Day. The graduating class goes to school to hang out, play games, and just generally have a great time in the Great Court and cafeteria with their fellow classmates. Seniors also have a chance to receive and read through yearbooks. In the Great Court, we were provided with several pump-it-up obstacle courses and fun challenges, such as a race course where you and your friend could race each other up and over through several slippery hills. There was also live music being played by a DJ and a net set up on the Great Court stage for people to play volleyball; almost everyone agreed that the DJ was
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very good, and much better than the one at prom. However, Brend Meng wished “there were more bouncy houses or activities” since the lines got rather long at times. Food was also served: tacos, deserts, and a makeshift candy shop. Everyone agreed that the tacos were extremely and unexpectedly tasty. Finally, there was also the showing of the senior slideshow, which showcased how our class has grown over the past four years and all of our classmates could cheer for each other. Overall, Senior Night was a fun way to spend an evening with fellow graduating seniors. Vivian Luc exclaimed, “I’ve known [my classmates] for 8+ years since I went to elementary and middle school with them, and the feeling of being with them one more time was amazing!”
Eilleen Zhang charge of what happens during each match. Editor-in-Chief He started off with regional competitions, Brend Meng began fencing in and then moved on to nationals, and eighth grade, finding a unique sport for made it onto the national team in 2017. himself and connecting with his family For Brend, fencing is especially and the culture on the east coast. Since intense because of the nature of the mind then, he has gone as far game that goes with as competing for the the sport. A big part of national team in the the sport is outthinking Junior World Cup in his opponents. “It’s February, against skilled not just physical,” he fencers from all around explains. “You have the world. Brend climbed to premeditate what up to the rankings to the you’re going to do based top thirty to represent the on what’s already going US at this event. Brend’s on and what happened goals don’t end there, before.” He carefully as he explained that “it calculates his next was pretty tough because moves by using multiple everyone was really touches to set up what Brend, left, fences at the World good. Hopefully I get to happens next. Between Cup against the number two under go again to another World the times that the 20 men’s fencer in the world. Cup and do better. My referee says “en guard, hope is to make it to the Olympics in 2020.” ready, fence!” Brend is already analyzing Brend Meng trains for fencing what just happened as he walks back to the at the Peninsula Fencing Academy in San line, not wasting a single moment of time. Carlos about six times a week. In this highly In the very near future, Brend plans individual sport, Brend is able to focus on to be in NCAA fencing at Boston College improving himself and becoming fully in and to continue fencing at the highest levels. Q: What have you enjoyed the most about Hillsdale? A: Lower class advisories. There’s a unique community built in lower class advisories, where so many confused Vanessa Yu and lost high schoolers are guided by really nice and caring teachers. Lower class advisories are also just generally more fun, as teachers have bonding games and activities (such as the Florence chalk festival) that make really great memories and helped me build friendships my first few years of highschool.
Q: What have you enjoyed the most about Hillsdale? A: Being able to be an advocate for Special Education at school so they are equally included in the school and Nicholas Motamed its activities. My teacher, Mrs. Henderson feels more included than when I first came freshman year. But she still needs help in getting everyone to include Special Education in the school like everyone else and for the school to help meet her needs. She needs help from everyone.
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May 22nd, 2018
Sports Profiles Sports Profiles
thehillsdalescroll@gmail.com
The Hillsdale Scroll profiled seniors who have shown exceptional leadership and dedication to their sport and have been integral members of their teams. We chose the seniors by contacting the coaches on the various sports teams and referring to Mr. Stevenson, our Athletics Director, for coaches we were not able to contact.
Girls’ Water Polo Madison Luzar
Madison Luzar has been on the Hillsdale water polo and swim team for all four years of her high school career. She started swimming at a young age and because of this, felt obligated to continue swimming in high school. Madison was initially unsure about water polo, but after getting dragged to a practice by a friend, she found that she loved the sport. To her, these sports were not only a great way to get in a daily workout, but also to meet new people and have a good time. During her first three years of swim, Madison felt that she didn’t care or try as much as she should have. But in her senior year, the team’s new coach, Coach Mike, helped her feel motivated as well as improve her times. This year as captain, Madison’s organized many events to create a welcoming community within the team such as potlucks, tie-dying shirts and laser tag. As a freshman at Berkeley next year, Madison looks forward to joining a water polo club but will definitely miss her teammates from the Hillsdale team.
Boys’ Water Polo Grant Romberg
Grant Romberg has been doing water polo for 8 years and swimming for the past three years. He “mainly (does) water polo”. Grant Romberg doesn’t just do Water Polo for the school team, but also for the Golden State Water Polo club team. His main position on water polo is wing. When asked what he enjoyed about water polo he explained, “Just the competitiveness that comes with it and I’m just a competitive dude and I like the aggressiveness that comes with the sport.” He recalled that his most memorable moment would be, “probably last year as a team we had never won a CCS game, ever, in the history of Hillsdale and we won last year and that was just a really cool moment.”
Wrestling Trevor Church
From finishing second place in the Del Mar frosh/soph tournament to executing an 8 second pin against a challenging opponent as a senior, Trevor Church has channeled his will power, stamina, and strength to turn his hand to wrestling. He has been on the team for four years, serving as co-captain for three of those years. Apart from doing well individually, Church has had a huge role in how others on the team performed. “I cocaptained the team for 3 years but behind the scenes, I helped organize a way for the team to wrestle for the two years Hillsdale didn’t have a wrestling coach. I also worked with many of the wrestlers one-on-one to help them improve with their technique as well as give them credit for sticking with one of the toughest sports at Hillsdale”, he said of his contributions. Overall, Church has played a huge role in the wrestling team at Hillsdale, dedicating time, energy, and hard work to the sport.
Spirit Squad Nicole Jester
Felix Miyago, a senior, has been running track for 3 years at Hillsdale High School. When asked what he liked most about his sport, he responded with how “Track has something for everyone. You don’t have to be fast and you don’t have to be strong—you just have to find an event you enjoy.” For those thinking of joining the Hillsdale track team next year, according to Felix, “track is especially fun the first year, when you haven’t found what you’re good at yet. It’s very satisfying to discover the event you find the most enjoyable and then progress from a beginner to a master at it.” Personally, Felix recommends the 4 by 4 relay races.
Nicole Jester has been on the spirit squad since she was a freshman at Hillsdale, but has been doing cheer since she was in second grade. When inquired about what she enjoys about cheer and some memories she’s had, Nicole explained, “I enjoy performing and cheering in front of my friends and family because they always cheer me on and provide so much support for me. I also enjoyed...performing in rallies with fun routines and dances.” She continued, stating her most memorable moment are her “first homecoming rally and half time at the game my freshman year.” In the future, Nicole would “like to see and tryout for Sonoma state cheer team in the fall and see where I’ll go from there.”
Girls’ Soccer Alex Santos
Alex Santos has been playing soccer for ten years, playing club soccer for nine of those years, and playing on the Hillsdale team for past three years. This year, a memorable moment was the game against San Mateo, since “it was the team everyone wanted to beat so bad”. To calm the team’s nerves, she gave a pep talk: “We have to do this, so put everything else on your mind away”. They ended up defeating San Mateo 3-0 and then continuing on a long winning streak. Though she isn’t planning on playing soccer after high school, she does say that being the captain of the team has given her an opportunity to be a leader, where she wouldn’t normally put herself out there.
Girls’ Track Kayla Burns
Girls’ Basketball Dannyle Thomas
Badminton Jason Lin
Jason Lin has played on the badminton team for four years. As one of the leaders of the team, he says that he “helps people who are new to the game… with their various skills to get them started”. What makes badminton special is the “self-motivation” and the special “connection between the players and the coach”, and it makes the team and the game that much more fun and happy. His most memorable moment is making it to CCS in an extremely close, three-set match against Mills that went into a win-by-2 at the end of the third set. It was a dream come true for him, especially after two tough losses last year in the PAL tournament to teams they had beaten before. In college, he hopes to make time to play badminton and meet and be inspired by people who are much better than him at the game.
Boys’ Track Felix Miyago
Dannyle Thomas has been playing basketball for Hillsdale for four years, JV freshman and sophomore year,; varsity for junior and senior years. She explained how basketball “made a big impact on my life. It was something that was so fun for me and it was a good hobby, a way to relieve stress. It kept me in shape at the same time–it was really fun overall.” Her favorite memories were that of the senior night games against Aragon: “Senior night was so much fun, one of my most fun nights I’ve had at Hillsdale, I almost cried because it was so emotional. So many of my friends...at least 40-50 people in the stands [were there] for me, including my mom and family and friends. There were balloons for me, posters, gifts, it was so much fun. We played Aragon, and honestly, that was the most fun part. I’ll definitely miss playing with my cousin and my sister and my friends because we’re all splitting into different places for college.” Dannyle hopes to continue with intramural basketball at San Jose State next year.
Kayla Burns has been running in Hillsdale’s Track & Field team since freshman year. Kayla first decided to do track after thinking “why not?” when many people had commented on her speed on the field during her eleven years of playing soccer. In her four years Kayla has had lots of success on the track, including getting first place at PALs for triple jump in her freshman and junior years. This year, she is going to represent PAL at CCS for both Triple Jump and the 4x100 relay. During her years on the team, Kayla had had lots of crazy memories and times full of laughter. She’s loved being part of a team where she could meet new people and bond with coaches that have supported her throughout her Hillsdale career.
Boys’ Basketball Eric Bower
Eric Bower has been playing basketball for Hillsdale for four years. As a member of the team, he leads by “being there for your teammates as much on the court as off the court”, saying that it’s “when things start to really click on the court, because that’s when you have trust in your teammates”. Reminiscing about his favorite memories, he pointed out the quads, because the energy from the crowd is “surreal”. He’s stuck with basketball since 4th grade because he likes “how fast paced [basketball] is” and how “the only way to really win is to be able to play well with your teammates”. Next year, he is going to UCSB with the hopes of walking onto the team there.
Golf: Jackson Gilbert Jackson Gilbert, a senior, picked up his first golf club when he was 2 years old. He has played on a school golf team since 6th grade. The golf team practices 4 days a week, sometimes going to ranges to play. Jackson stated that the “strong community” of the golf team was why he enjoyed the sport, which he plans to continue to play in the future.
May 22nd, 2018
Senior Spotlights Senior Spotlights
Website: www.hillsdalescroll.org
Sports Profiles (cont.)
Baseball Arjun Mahanty
Girls’ Tennis Jamie Zhang
Girls’ Volleyball Julianna Eng
Senior Spotlights (cont.) Max Rothe: Entrepreneur
Samuel Chen Staff Writer
Arjun’s baseball journey began at around age five, when he started playing tee-ball and developed a strong interest for the sport. He played on Hillsdale’s varsity team for all four years and has been a crucial part of many important plays at shortstop, infield, and third. Arjun says that he enjoyed “being able to learn from Madison and all the other players. All the players on the team have been great and taught me a lot about how to deal with adversity.” His favorite part was “just showing up to practice every day and hanging with a bunch of guys… we share one common goal and we can generally just enjoy each other.”
Jamie Zhang has been on the Hillsdale tennis team for all four years, and has been playing tennis for four and a half years. For Jamie, tennis helps her relieve stress and she loves the inclusive and supportive environment that tennis team has, especially with all the different players with different personalities. “I try my best to make everybody feel comfortable and to bridge the gap between different ages,” Jamie says. Her favorite memories are when there are meets where “one match determined the win, and most of the team is always there to support until the last point.” In the future, she hopes to continue playing in college.
Boys’ Tennis: Ben Liao
Ben Liao has been playing tennis for eight years, since he was 10 years old. Ben started tennis with influence from his dad, and in middle school found true enjoyment for the
sport. He played for all four years on Hillsdale’s tennis team. He explained how much had changed since freshman year, when they only won one of thirteen games; now, they have won seven. He explained how the team gets along better after playing through tough games against schools like Carlmont and Woodside. He enjoys tennis because it’s “not as physical, but more of a mental solo sport, and it can be a calming game.” He hopes to keep in touch with his teammates, although he won’t be playing for his school team in college–although possibly for intramural sports.
Softball: Bella Zalba Bella Zalba has been playing softball since age four and has been playing for Hillsdale all four years. She has been on the varsity team for three years and her position is outfield. For Bella, the team has an easy and instant bond, and can depend on each other. She recalled her journey and how she thought about softball games: “As a little kid I grew up watching that game… and then you finally get to play in it. All these little kids are watching you and I’ll probably come back as an alumni to go watch the younger girls too… it’s just a full circle type of experience.” She fell in love with softball, in part because of her family’s involvement with the sport. “The feeling I get when
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I play is just so indescribable and so different than anything else... I just couldn’t imagine my life without it. I want my team to know I love them very much and that I’m so glad that this is the team I get to finish my senior season with. Let’s go win CCS!”
Julianna Eng has been playing volleyball since sixth grade. In addition to playing for Hillsdale all four years, she also plays on a club team, and hopes to continue playing at San Diego State next year. She explained how she enjoys volleyball because “it’s a really big stress reliever. I just love the feeling of playing, and every time I’m on the court nothing else bothers me. If I’m having a bad day at school, or any problems… I forget all about it. My teammates...make me happy, and I just enjoy the relationships and connections I can make through volleyball.” When asked to recall a favorite memory she found it hard to just pick one, but decided on the Saturday practices. Julianna explains, “it was at the end of the week, so we had no games to prep for… We can just relax, and enjoy playing volleyball together.”
Boys’ Volleyball Zack Dwyer
Zack Dwyer started playing volleyball this past season. Though he mainly plays basketball and had played baseball from grades 9-11, he wanted to try something new this year. It was “more fun than I expected”, he said, citing the more “positive” and “chill” environment. For example, during practice, “there’s music going and everyone’s just dancing, hanging out, cracking jokes”. Senior night was a unique memory: since he was the only senior, it was basically “Zack Dwyer Night”. “I thought it was pretty funny and not something I expected at all to happen”, he joked. Overall, Zack was very happy he played, meeting people he wouldn’t have met otherwise. He wishes to continue playing for fun in college.
Q: What have you enjoyed the most about Hillsdale? A: What I enjoyed the most in my four years at Hillsdale was my involvement in our Chamber String Orchestra. I started in freshman year as the principal cellist and continued playing for every year after that. As the orchestra grew, I made a bunch of friends — it was a blast to play music with them every day. It opened up many opportunities for me as well; I had the honor of playing in a trio with Joseph Noh and Victor Lin (the music gods) in my sophomore year, which was an incredibly fun and humbling experience. I looked forward to performing in festivals and concerts every year, working together with everyone to create music. Without music, my life would B-flat!
Jamie Ip
Max Rothe is a senior here at Hillsdale. He enjoys mountain biking and skateboarding with his friends. In addition, he likes to be active outside, be creative, build things, and meet people. His passion for the outdoors led him to found his company, Chain Loose. He started Chain Loose with his friends when he was only in fourth grade, and his current team consists of six people. His initial dream for the company was to make an indoor skate park and sell their products in it. As of now, they are continuing to sell their products and expand the company. His goal with his company now is to make cool products, create great memories, and cultivate a wider interest in the skate community. His company
makes biking and skateboarding gear and merchandise, products made with the help of Max’s father. Their original product was the Chain Bracelet, which helped inspire the company. This idea came about when Max cut bike chains to form a bracelet, and then developed the clasp to make it more wearable. Max builds products in his garage, and also enjoys building obstacles for bikes and skateboards. He builds ramps and has them in his backyard. Not only does Chain Loose make products, Max and his friends perform shows at birthday parties, school, and the Maker Faire. Max is passionate about his work, saying, “It is not about making money, but focusing on helping the community.” They want to show that the skate community is positive and supportive, like a family. For instance, unlike some sports, you can go to a skatepark and find professionals there that you can skate with. In the future, they want to sell bike parts on online distributors and get funding for shows. Max will also continue to run Chain Loose in college. He is a talented senior with ingenuity and talent in product design, and he nd his company have an exciting future that is full of potential.
Victoria Kondratieva: Ballroom Dancer Anya Lance-Chacko Senior Staff Writer
Victoria Kondratieva has been doing ballroom dancing since she was four, participating and succeeding at large competitions since she was eight. In 2015, she finished fourth at the California National Dance competition. “I’ve done a couple of nationals, in Belarus, I was sixth on the nationals out of 200 couples which was really cool. In 2012 I was one of the few couples participating in world championships, which was really exciting and also stressful.” Victoria performs with a team in a private studio in Belmont and hopes to continue working there while going to Santa Clara University next year. Unfortunately, Santa Clara doesn’t have a ballroom team. “It’s something that nobody else does because it’s not a part of a school program. So I guess it’s just something that makes me a little different from other people.” She explained how even in Belarus there’s only ballroom dancing on private teams. However, Victoria added how
this is something “that makes [you] very unique, everyone’s like ‘oh you do ballroom dancing!’ Victoria seemed very passionate about what she does and how unique it is. I “enjoy that it’s couple dancing; the communication that you have to have between the partners is very important. You get to know your partner [whom which she’s been working with for three years] and it’s a lot of fun to not just dance but spend time with him... and it’s just a lot of fun, and also I guess it’s an interesting sport,….It’s more like a performance—it’s something between sport and art.I get to wear elegant dresses and gracefully compete with other couples, recreating a bygone atmosphere of a ball..” She explained how “ there are two different types of dresses: there’s Ballroom which is long and looks like a prom dress and there’s a short one for Latin which is more open..[she prefers] Latin, because it’s more open, you don’t have to be more conservative. You can show your emotions and do crazy stuff.” However, she explained how it is, “really hard to dance in heels. You have to practice in heels every day because you can’t fall during the competition.” In the end, Victoria tells of how she truly enjoys what she does. Despite having to balance school work with dancing, she proclaimed, “Yeah, it takes a lot of time, but also it’s my hobby and such a big part of me, I can’t give it up.”
News 10 Editorial/World Editorial/World News May 22th, 2018
thehillsdalescroll@gmail.com
(News) Facebook Faces Privacy Issue Andrew Chang Senior Staff Writer
Mark Zuckerberg has received a rather substantial deal of criticism lately, to say the least. As Facebook founder, he is charged with the responsibility of resolving the issue of Facebook misinformation, and that of user privacy. While the term “fake news” is often thrown around sarcastically, the accuracy of circulating news stories is of great importance for the preservation of our democracy. With an increasing body of evidence on Russian interference in the 2016 election, the need for greater government regulation in the social media domain is quite clear. However, the optimal course of action is murky at best. For instance, most would agree that — M a r k the Heart of Texas group—a fake Russian propaganda page denouncing “Rotten Clinton”—should have been removed from Facebook. However, what about other sites promoting more radical, controversial ideas? Where’s the line between “true” and “false,” when both are merely constructs of the human mind formed in an attempt to discover reality? Practically, news articles should not be seen as either “fake” or “legit,” but rather, examined on an overall spectrum of accuracy. Fundamentally, resolving
the issue of fake news requires striking a balance between personal liberty and social order—a tremendous challenge. With regards to user privacy, most of the public outrage stems from the Cambridge Analytica scandal during the 2016 election. In essence, Cambridge Analytica is a political consulting firm that obtained personal Facebook data of millions of users from an outside researcher. This data was utilized to
using it to harm other people or to spread misinformation. And it’s not enough to just give people control over their information. We need to make sure that the developers they share it with protect their information, too.” Zuckerberg has assured the public that Facebook is already working on a number of projects that should allow for stronger detection of misinformation, explicit warnings on flagged stories, news quality regulation, and fake news economics d i s r u p t i o n . R e c e n t l y, h e announced the establishment of an independent election research commission examining the effects of social media on elections and democracy. In addition to deploying new AI tools aimed at removing fake comment accounts, Facebook is requiring the verification of all advertisers running political ads, as well as anyone with large pages. Clearly, Zuckerberg is already dedicating a great amount of resources towards filtering out fake news and spam content on Facebook. Perhaps part of the reason he is receiving such harsh criticism from the lay public is that many do not fully understand Facebook’s ad revenue process. In an online comment, Zuckerberg attempted to address some of the common misconceptions surrounding Facebook ad revenue process (see quote, left).
“WeNolet—people we don’t sell information. buy ads to reach you, but don’t give them your info.” Zuckerberg, in a Facebook
conduct “psychographic” analyses of and deliver pro-Trump advertisements t o a t a rg e t e d c o n s u m e r s e g m e n t . In the end, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress on April 10 and April 11. In his testimony, Zuckerberg stated, “It’s not enough to just connect people. We have to make sure that those connections are positive. It’s not enough to just give people a voice. We need to make sure that people aren’t
Editor’s Goodbye
Sky Blue & T-Bone Dear Sky Blue and T-Bone, Summer’s coming up, but I’m not sure what I want to do. I could hang out and relax from school, but ten weeks of that would get boring. Alternatively, I could sign up for a CSM class or do summer camps, but then would it really feel like summer break? What’s your advice? – Feeling the Summer Blues Dear Feeling the Summer Blues, I would go have fun with friends. In my experience, if you spend more time on your own projects and not on meeting new people, you get to the end of summer, look back, and think “Wow, I wished I had more fun and got closer with my friends.” The academic stuff, you can make a club at Hillsdale or explore during the school year. It’s harder to make time to hang out with friends during school.
Sky Blue Dear Feeling the Summer Blues, Summer is here. Be free. You’re the only one who really knows what you’re doing–so spend the summer at home and just pretend that you went to some cool place to relax.
T-Bone
HHS Culture Prevails
Ben Liao Editor-in-Chief
degree in engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Unfortunately, I’m not Hello, readers of the Hillsdale certain I’ll have the time to write for the Daily Scroll! It’s been an honor these past Cal (Berkeley’s newspaper), but I definitely three years to be responsible for bringing hope I do, so I can continue practicing the Hillsdale community our monthly journalism and growing my skills in writing. newspaper. I’m very thankful of our staff It is with regret that I leave Hillsdale and fellow editors over and the newspaper club, the years for pushing but I hope that I have the Scroll to greater left my mark on this heights, seeing the paper club. I’ll miss the long grow in the quality of but fun hours spent in content, quantity of the computer lab after content, outreach and school working on the recruitment efforts, design of the upcoming and number of readers. issue of the newspaper, Many people the productive and good at our school think times we had during that this newspaper is school meetings with produced by a group the staff, the nights of students enrolled I spent making lastin a class, but this minute changes and is not the case. The Ben Liao, a staple of the editorial edits to articles and Hillsdale Scroll is page for four years, says goodbye. layouts at home before a club on campus, I hit “Send” to see the Photo Credit: Eilleen Zhang made up of around paper off to the printer. fifteen members, whose hard work each I want to thank Ms. Mylan for month is what you hold in your hands; continuing to support this club even as this fact makes me even prouder to say its outlook seemed bleak. I want to thank that I believe our paper is on par with Jason Miao, Amanda Jew, and Ryan other school newspapers in the district. McElroy (Class of 2015) for offering me I remember joining The Scroll the Editor-in-Chief position at the end of my in my freshman year with the goal of freshman year and opening up this fantastic improving my writing skills, and not much opportunity for me. I want to thank all of else. Little did I know that the newspaper the editors that I’ve worked with the past club would teach me a great deal more three years for making editing and designing than just writing skills: I learned how to the paper more fun than I’d ever imagined: collaborate and communicate effectively Chloe Lau (Class of 2016), Meredith with others through technology, how to McElroy and Karinna Chong (Class of coordinate large projects where each person 2017), and this year’s Eilleen Zhang and is responsible for a small portion of the final Henry Gu. And I want to thank, of course, product, identifying bias and potentially the Hillsdale community for reading offensive language in articles, and how to our work and supporting the newspaper. deal with last-minute changes to a large Farewell, Hillsdale Scroll and staff, project. These skills will be invaluable in and I wish you the best in the coming college and in the future, whenever I am years; I have no doubt that the paper involved in or am leading large projects. w i l l o n l y c o n t i n u e t o g e t b e t t e r ! Next year, I will be pursuing a ~Ben Liao
Advice from
Ben Liao Editor-in-Chief
Many incoming high school freshmen in San Mateo and Foster City have to make the decision about whether to attend Hillsdale or Aragon. Four years ago, I was making the same difficult decision. Hillsdale was the school I was zoned for, and it had this interesting “house system”; Aragon looked better for rigor of academics, number of AP classes offered, and performance in sports. Now, four years later, I’m convinced that I made the right decision to attend Hillsdale. Hillsdale’s faculty genuinely cares about their students, upholding them to high standards, encouraging students to have a strong work ethic and to participate in class. They ask students about their classes so they can improve their teaching. They hold office hours consistently to help students one-onone. Most importantly, the students build strong relationships with teachers, feeling comfortable enough to discuss personal problems with their teachers. This strong support empowers students to get out of their comfort zone in the greater community. In stark contrast, my friends at Aragon report a much more competitive environment. Their experience is that teachers simply let the students work through the material by themselves, depriving them of the safety net that students can fall into should they feel overwhelmed by academic or social pressure. At Hillsdale, people are supportive of each other’s educational endeavours, are almost always honest about their intentions and how they feel, and are modest about their accomplishments. For example, I was hardly ever asked about which colleges I applied to, got into, or committed to. And even if I was asked, it was someone I knew well, and he or she always asked respectfully. When I went to Aragon to play a tennis match in April, a middle school classmate who I hadn’t talked to in four years found me and blatantly asked, “Ben! What college are you going to? Where’d you get in?” Not, “Ben, how’s it going?” or
“Hey, long time no see!” If everyone judges each other based on how much they’re doing to prepare for college and classes, and which college they end up going, that’s stressful. A competitive environment, like that reported by my friends at Aragon, can cause students to be dishonest about their intentions (such as refusing to help others on a test) and boast about their accomplishments (to try to make their peers feel like they aren’t doing enough to prepare for college or tests)—exactly the opposite of what happens at Hillsdale. Hillsdale has many opportunities for students to explore interests. Students are free to make their experience as hard or as easy as they like; the good teaching and social support ensures that regardless of what extracurriculars a student is involved in, they will feel good about themselves. Though there may be more opportunities to expand your interests and assume leadership at Aragon, Hillsdale’s opportunities are hidden better. Therefore, students that find these opportunities truly care about their organizations and are not participating simply because their friends are doing it or that it looks good on resumés. Additionally, in the professional and corporate world, leadership opportunities are not going to fall into your hands—you’ll have to work hard to find and take them, which Hillsdale students are prepared to do. Let me assure you that I do indeed see Hillsdale’s faults. I believe that advisory is extraneous and the method which we execute the Senior Defense project needs significant improvement. And I do recognize that, because of advisory and the house system, we can’t hire more high-quality teachers to open more advanced classes and electives, which forces many students to inconveniently drive up to CSM during the day to take the classes they want. However, the benefits of Hillsdale greatly outweigh the costs. Hillsdale gives you an amazing high school experience, figuring out what you love while being surrounded by helpful peers and dedicated teachers.
May 22nd, 2018
A Quiet Place Gal Balaban Staff Writer
For the characters, silence is essential. Photo Credit: thewrap.com A Quiet Place is the new horror film directed by John Krasinski, who also stars in the leading role of the movie as the father of a family who must stay quiet and not make a single sound throughout their daily life in order to avoid being killed by supernatural creatures. We never see what is going on in the rest of the world and only follow a single family throughout the film, which makes the concept even more compelling. The silence is used to the movie’s advantage to make silent scenes feel more intense and those with sound feel more frightening. The sound effects are maintained very well and the volume of the noises adds to the suspense and terror the family experiences in certain scenes. Fans of horror films will not be disappointed by the thrills this movie has to offer, as there’s plenty of monster action and suspense throughout the film. There’s a good amount of jump scares and chase sequences that horror fans can have a fun time with. It’s quite entertaining for it’s short 90-minute runtime, which surprised me as most movies nowadays are usually 2 hours, but the concept wasn’t as complex compared to other movies, so it doesn’t drag on for longer than it needs to. I do feel the movie didn’t end as strongly as it could have, because the tone of the ending doesn’t feel matching to what the rest of the movie had to offer, it still feels quite pleasing by the end. It’s also got great acting from Krasinski as well as Emily Blunt who do a superb job as the parents of the family. They both show lots of emotion as a protective and loving father, as well as a mother who loves her children and will go to great lengths to protect them. The action and suspense will entertain those who like monster films and horror movies, and it’s not a bad choice if you’re planning on going to the cinema. This movie definitely stands out from most horror movies today, because you see a lot of horror films that have complicated storylines and eventually this results in no interesting suspense at all. However, A Quiet Place tales a simple concept and makes interesting editing and character choices to make it a strong and surprisingly scary horror flick. Other students also really enjoyed the movie. Sophomore Ian Szafranski shared his input on the film, saying, “It felt different from other horror movies. Most horror movies have a lot of noise and suspense but this movie is very quiet. Even the smallest noises make you shake in your seat. In the scene where someone cracks a lantern, everyone freaks out. They work with the idea of how the monsters hear really well and they outsmart them while other horror movies the characters aren’t as smart.” The ending could have used a little improvement but it’s overall an effective thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
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Website: www.hillsdalescroll.org
Battle Royale Sweeps Gaming World RJ Dadivas Staff Writer
Winner winner, chicken dinner! It seems that a new player is now taking the stage, and so far, dominating the gamemode of “battle royale.” That game is no other than Fortnite. Many fans are in love with this crazy game, and the number of people playing this game is rising. Still, where did this all come from? What is “battle royale”, and how did this game become so popular? The whole idea of the gamemode comes from the 2000 Japanese film: Battle Royale. Young Japanese 9th graders are sent to a remote island where weapons are being provided throughout the map. The purpose? Defeat everyone else and become the last one standing. That is what the battle royale gamemode is all about. It wasn’t until March 2017 when PUBG Corporation and Bluehole Studio Inc. launched Player’s Unknown Battlegrounds (PUBG) on the digital platform, Steam, for beta testing, then as a final release on December 20, 2017. Epic Games, one of the developers of Fortnite, had launched a sneak peek in 2011, but was formally launched on June 2017. It wasn’t until September 2017 that the battle royale genre was introduced in the game. The quality of a game can be
determined by three simple things: gameplay and environment, sales, and popularity. PUBG is known for realistic graphics and surrounding environment, giving it a more competitive playstyle. Players use tactics
Players often post Fortnite on social media. Photo Credit: Cheryl Jones
and strategy to help win this sort of battle royale, while employing tricks like 1st to 3rd person view to help see their enemies. Fortnite, on the other hand, is known for its’ simplicity and cartoonish/fantasy style. The basics of winning involve some level of tactics, but the game is mostly absolute chaos. The game plays largely in 3rd person, except when the player is using scopes (which are in 1st person). Using these strategies, Fortnite has touched a simplistic and popular side of the battle royale genre.
PUBG sold over 30 million copies on Steam in 2017, 4 million on the Xbox platform, receiving $712 million in revenue. In the first 2 weeks of its release, Fortnite Battle Royale had 10 million players, with a report in February 2018 that there are 3.4 million concurrent players. PUBG has 3.2 million total players, making them the biggest games of the year so far. Twitch, a live stream platform, released statistics showing that the number of people who watch Fortnite live streams is 11 times the amount of people who watch PUBG live streams. Popular streamers such as Ninja on Fortnite can make as much as $500 thousand per month. Moving on the critic side, PUBG received many awards, while Fortnite has received only one—for Best Multiplayer. Although PUBG won with the originality of the game, Fortnite gets the kudos in terms of amount of sales and critical views. Right now, it’s Fortnite’s 4th season. In the end, it boils down to the type of gamemode that you prefer playing with. With its recent rise in popularity, many games are turning to developing battle royale modes as well, such as COD: Black Ops 4 and Paladins. For now, the choice is yours. Well, better get movin’, the storm is coming!
Chappaquiddick Review
Anya Lance-Chacko Senior Staff Writer
Coming into this film I had very specific expectations. I don’t know a lot of the Kennedy family’s history, but I expected the film to make viewers gain more sympathy to Ted Kennedy, similar to the reviews of I, Tonya (the story of the olympic figure skater Tonya Harding who was hated by the media as she was supposedly involved in a violent scandal with a co-competitor) yet this movie made the audience much more sympathetic to her and allowed them to better understand her background. I expected that with more insight into the story, viewers would learn that there was more to it... but Chappaquiddick did the exact opposite as it gave the reader more insight into how Kennedy wasn’t someone to be rightfully sympathetic of. The film follows the story of Senator Ted Kennedy (Jason Clarke) in 1969, the year when he is running for reelection in Massachusetts. He is involved in a car accident mid-campaign and responsible for the death of a woman by the name of Mary Jo. But the film revealed and portrayed Ted as being completely careless in this accident. He drove while intoxicated and then made minimal efforts to actually save this girl or report it as he was too selfishly obsessed with protecting his campaign. At this point, I was gritting my teeth in fury. The movie continued to go on with Kennedy attempting to defend
himself through lies in order to protect his publicity campaign. This selfishness was so infuriating that it made it hard to watch as his personality was just so unbearable and he didn’t seem at all to be a kind man. As it went on, the characters
Chappaquiddick movie poster. Photo Credit: The Baltimore Black seemed to care nothing for the fact that a woman had been killed as a result of someone’s reckless behavior—they were all absorbed along with Kennedy in keeping him running. Those who questioned him were shot down. I found that, although unsettling, this movie was quite powerful as it portrayed things as it did. I feel as though it brought into question humanity’s morality, and our ability to empathize in society’s current internet culture. Everyone is in a similar individual spotlight, what we conceal from the world can likely morph into the same self-absorption visible in Kennedy. I think how morality can be lost is
Q: What was your most memorable experience at Hillsdale? A: My most memorable experience at Hillsdale is dancing in Knight Moves. The show is so much fun to be part of and it is always a great and memorable experience. The different styles of dance allows everyone to exhibit different dance skills and different emotions so it is fun to switch up between styles like modern to jazz to hip hop. All the energy and cheering from the audience also make it even more worthwhile. Despite how long Chan Chan Mao and tiring the rehearsals are, it is always fun to have everyone practicing together and the show always comes together and looks great in the end.
another unique question the film brought up. We see Kennedy being emotionally abused by his father as he’s pressured into holding a certain degree of status and filling a role his father sets out. And in the historical context, we know that Kennedy’s brothers all died, placing an immense amount of pressure onto him. Yet even though these facts were brought to light, the creators of the film didn’t seem to use that at all to make the audience sympathetic. Instead, with impeccable portrayal, Jason Clarke left the audience unsettled and unhappy through a cold-childishclueless-apathetic character. This was unique in as it created a lot of emotions beyond the simple roller coaster of joy and heartbreak so common in film. What made the movie even more powerful was the fact that it was based on historical fact, and somewhat accurately so. Boston Globe reporter Jenna Russell stated, “This is a thoughtful film, attentive to the facts, but it is a film — we understand that it will plug holes with its own inventions.” In the end, although not riveting in the uplifting sense, the film definitely absorbs the audience in a unique story, bringing into light a lot of questions. It is hardly easy to say definitively weather or not it was enjoyable or not. The film making was brilliant, but the characters weren’t ones you’re sympathetic to as per usual. It was like watching a boat sinking, unpleasant but gripping and hard to turn away from.
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May 22nd, 2018
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May Crossword
ACROSS:
1: Tiny rocks on the beach 5: Jeweled crown, i.e. The lost ___ of Ravenclaw 11: Golf benchmark 14: To love deeply 16: Black & White, 88 keys 17: Important on a roadtrip—a car’s odometer abbr. 18: Works housed at the MOMA 20: Mound of ice cream 22: To deliver a sermon 23: Author of BFG, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory 24: Natural logarithm, found on a summer math assignment 25: Father, in baby talk 26: Hawaiian juice with passionfruit, orange, guava 27: “That is to say” abbr. 29: Flatter kitchenware than pots 30: Describes an impressive view 33: Hit Pts. (when playing a card game) 35: Famous circle number 36: Double-helix that encodes genes 38: Missionary with statue you’d see travelling on I-280, condnsed 39: Summers; 1974 Terry Jacks song 43: Recent Nintendo home console 44: In Scotland, you’d hear this instead of “out” 45: First name of poet, wrote “Buffalo Bill ’s” 46: Used to trash an unfavorable person’s house 47: Describes the angle of mountains 49: Washington Dulles International Airport code 53: Father, in Beijing 54: Summer temperature 55: French for “the” 56: Alphabetically Ordered abbr. 58: Half of a famous San Francisco prison 59: Spirits presiding over something 61: A pacesetter 63: Fourth of July explosions 65: Used to cool a drink 66: A formal party or gathering 68: Anagram of “unlit” 69: Famous talks, binge-watched on YT 70: Possibility of injury 71: Candy shop, store at Hillsdale Mall
Comic of the Month!
DOWN:
1: Something you’d get on a Costco spree 2: To make more beautiful 3: Where a wave’s amplitude is zero 4: Rastafarian hairstyle 6: Beer style, i.e. Goose ___ 7: Important amenity on {54-across} days 8: Slang for “that” 9: Abbr. of English 10: Picture from stone, tile, or glass seen in museums 11: Used to get wet 12: Trouble; as in the Shakespeare play, “Much ___ About Nothing” 13: Necessary for ziplining 15: dnal eruseam ot yaW 19: New Hampshire, abbr. 21: Curdled cracker furnishing 26: Grandpa, in baby talk 28: Something put on snow cone 29: Delicious red wine 30: Satisfied 31: Bird home in the wild 32: Keeps preserved food 33: Grand robbery 34: Bucket at the beach 35: “Kung Fu Panda” protagonist 37: News Network abbr. 39: Southwest Airlines abbr. 40: Able to be taken to court 41: Exclamation, “___ what?” 42: Opposite of “she” 48: Made the color of “mother of pearl” 50: @ 51: Used to make lemonade when life gives you it 52: At the west & east, where the ocean lies 55: Oldest kingdom in South Sulawesi 56: Foot joint 57: Rod to cook meat 58: To have gotten 100%, as in a test 59: Nebraska abbr. 60: Rastafarian greeting 62: 1 or 11 in Blackjack 63: Half of Red Sox’s’ stadium 64: Irish broadcasting company 67: Virginia
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April Crossword Answers (Left) & May Crossword Answers (Right)
• • • •
Ben Liao Eilleen zhang Henry Gu
Advisor:
Ms. Mylan
Senior Staff Writers:
Julia Chen Andrew Chang Esha Kher Anya LanceChacko
Staff Writers:
Zachary Berger Jamie Ip Meddy Andaya RJ Davidas Elise Raphael Julia Richardson Elise Raphael
Sean Tjoa Mitchell Yu Gal Balaban Emily Chang Samuel Chen Nicole Valenzuela
Photographers:
Ari inouye Dyana Huarez Elizabeth Donovan
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Compare: polls from May and October (below) on Thursday starts
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Editors-InChief:
May Polls
Polls opened 5/14 - 5/19; 308 respondents. Ask your advisor if you weren’t able to respond to the poll!
Monthly Puns!
A bunch of attacking pens is an arsenal of weaPENry. When math majors graduate, do they get degrees or radians? Do you chop up cubes, or do you dice them? Musicians fighting for what they believe in are taking a stand. Seasons really do vary a lot: Summer good, some are bad.
The Hillsdale Scroll is published by Hillsdale High School’s journalism club. A l l v ie w s , opinion s , and editorials are representative of the Scroll staff and are not necessarily those of Hillsdale High School’s administration, staff, o r s t u d e n t b o d y.
Advertisements are not representative of the opinions of t h e S c r o l l s t a f f. Thank you for reading. Questions, Comments or Submissions? Contact Us At thehillsdalescroll@gmail. com