The Talon | Issue 2 | November 5, 2021

Los Altos High School, Los Altos, CA ■ November 5, 2021 ■ Volume XXXVII, Issue 2

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

MVLA District’s Sexual Harassment Policy Update Learn more about the recent changes to the District’s sexual harassment policies in accordance with state regulations. News, 2

Inside iChakras Find out what mental health services the Downtown Los Altos spiritual wellness center has to offer. Features, 5

Vaccine Mandates in Schools Read staff writer Audrey Zhu’s perspective on why LAHS should immediately require students to get vaccinated. Opinions, 10

Hot Lunch, Ranked Check out how your lunchtime options compare, according to Features Editor Nathaniel Joffe and senior writer Natalie Wei. Arts & Culture, 14

ALLAN FELDMAN

New freshman Survey curriculum aims to increase students’ reading interest The new curriculum focuses on independent reading, rather than typical assigned novels.

ALLAN FELDMAN Copy Editor

“The freshman Survey of Composition and Literature curriculum was reworked this year, featuring a larger focus on free reading, a new unit on student-led book clubs and a revised selection of short stories. This comes after the Survey pilot program ended last year, with many of its elements

having been integrated into the main curriculum.

The English Department hopes to change the fact that some students may not read assigned texts in classrooms, according to English Department Coordinator Margaret Bennett. The new curriculum is designed to increase the amount spent reading and a love for literature across all students.

‘Dune’: a visual masterpiece short on storytelling

“If you want to be a good basketball player, you can’t just think about being a good basketball player,” Bennett said. “You have to touch the ball, dribble, shoot — you have to do the skills. It’s the same thing with reading.”

The pilot program was modeled after educator Penny Kittle’s book “Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in

Adolescent Readers,” which emphasizes giving students ample time for free reading. The pilot program ran for three years, beginning in the 2017–18 school year, with four English teachers — Margaret Bennett, Carrie Abel, Susana Herrera and Bruce McCormick.

By its final year, the program took up a third of all Survey classes.

“Survey” continues on page 2

Eagles to fight for football league championship title tonight The football team reviews its successful season and future goals.

ALLAN FELDMAN Copy Editor

AP CAPS PAGES 8–9 WARNER BROS. PICTURES

UPCOMING EVENTS November 1–November 30

Food Drive

ROSE LIU

November 1–November 30

Native American Heritage Month November 7

Daylight Saving Time Ends November 11

Veterans Day November 22–26

Thanksgiving Break November 25

Thanksgiving Day November 28–December 6

Hanukkah

November 28

Festival of Lights December 6–10

Wellness & Gratitude Week News Features Editorial

In-Depth 2 Opinions 5 Arts & Culture 7 Sports

Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) prepares for a dual that will determine his place as one of the Fremen. “Dune” is a visually stunning adaptation of the 1965 novel with a poorly-translated plotline.

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Business Manager

Alejandro Jodorowsky, the first director to attempt “Dune” in the 1970s, said that it is a work “impossible” to adapt. Many directors in the last decades have tried to adapt the legendary 1965 science fiction by Frank Herbert, but have had little success. It appears the newest adaptation by director Denis Villeneuve is no exception.

Although “Dune” plays with an interesting score and enjoys visual effects available only to 21st century moviemakers, the execution of the plot is extremely lacking, and even a star-studded cast can’t compensate for its flaws.

The story is set in an empire that had colonized the universe. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the heir of House Atreides, follows his noble family to become the ruler of Arrakis, a dangerous

desert planet that produces valuable spice. But, due to a treacherous political plot against his family, Paul must embark on a thrilling quest for vengeance.

The vast universe painted by Herbert combined with modern-day filming technology delivers a breathtaking visual experience. From the first scene — a stirring shot of the desert with spice shimmering in the wind — I was fascinated by the brutal and mysterious world of Arrakis. The film uses many designs originating from the novel, such as the dragonfly-shaped aircraft and the hunter seeker — a deadly tool used to assassinate Paul. Detailed prop and costume design, like the enormous sand worms terrorizing the desert, add to the grand visual depiction of an alien world.

“Dune” continues on page 11

Los Altos High School’s football game against Cupertino High School tonight will determine whether the Eagles are declared champions of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s El Camino division.

If the team secures the championship, it will earn a spot in Central Coast Section playoffs.

There’s also the possibility that the team moves up a higher league to the De Anza division, joining schools like Mountain View High School and Palo Alto High School; but a number of other factors would have to be considered, including program

size and JV standings, so this move isn’t yet clear.

If Los Altos loses, there will be a three-way first place tie between Los Altos, Cupertino and Gunn High School. The team’s determined to not let that happen.

“We don’t want to share this title with anyone else,” linebacker and running back senior Dhruv Butani said.

Los Altos remains undefeated in league play and beat Lynbrook High School 36–7 during the homecoming game last Friday, October 29.

The game was held on campus for the first time in history due to the new stadium lights, and fans were decked out in an all-white theme.

“Football” continues on page 15

ROHAN VASWANI

The football team huddles together before the start of a play. The Eagles are currently undefeated in their league season with one game remaining to win the league championships.

The Talon November 5, 2021

Read more news articles at lahstalon.org/category/news

Survey CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE “I think [free reading] was one of the fun parts of class because you got to read whatever you want,” said junior Stuart Cash,

a former student in the pilot program. “With a lot of reading notes, the class showed me what to look for in passages.”

Seeing growth among students in the pilot class, the Survey team decided last March to integrate some of the program into the main curriculum. While their plans were pushed back a year

due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the revised curriculum is in full force this year.

The first unit, which ran during the first quarter, introduces independent reading to students.

At the beginning of the year, students pick their own book and are expected to read 30 minutes at their own pace between classes.

OLIVIA HEWANG

A photo of English teacher Arantxa Arriada’s freshman Survey of Composition and Literature class. Arriada’s class is one of many implementing the revised curriculum this year.

As evidence of reading, students take notes and have a teacher-student book conference at the end of the unit.

Freshman Ava Cheng feels that the free reading has been an enjoyable experience, but sees minor f laws in the way it is structured.

“I feel like it would be a great idea if we had more time to pick [and research] a book because the first book I read, I didn’t enjoy that much,” Ava said.

Students also read short stories in the first unit with a larger selection of 25 texts. Each teacher chooses anywhere from two to five short stories to analyze in their classrooms. Many of the texts are new from past years in an effort to develop students’ reading comprehension levels.

“We realized that some of the short stories we used to teach that are tried-and-true were now being read in middle schools and so forth,” Bennett said.

For freshman SJ Ly, these short stories have been engaging and teachers are supportive throughout their lessons.

“I actually enjoyed reading the short stories and taking annotations and writing essays,” SJ said.

At the end of the first semester, students will have a poetry unit with an independent reading focus, similar to the previous curriculum.

Second semester will include a new book club unit, where students will pick one book from ten choices and split into smaller

groups of students. Each group will have their own reading calendar and discussions, but the unit will also be supplemented by taught material on a theme — such as fear or courage — that students will connect to their own books.

“The book club was highly successful [in the pilot program],” Bennett said. “The kids loved the unit, they really grew on the discussion skills and it was great to see them do the synthesis skills as well.”

Since these groups are ultimately student-guided, there are both benefits and drawbacks, according to Stuart.

“I think the book clubs went pretty well, except a lot of the discussion was hard if somebody didn’t read,” Stuart said.

These new changes to the Survey curriculum don’t mean assigned novels aren’t still a part of the curriculum. Students are currently reading Cristina Henríquez’s “The Book of Unknown Americans,” which is a new addition, and next semester students will read William Shakespeare’s classic “Romeo and Juliet.”

While Bennett and other teachers are supportive of the new curriculum, they are prepared to continue to revise it and adapt to students’ needs.

“This District has a value of continuous improvement,” Bennett said. “We’re constantly reflecting on what we’re doing, how we’re doing it and how it could be better.”

District approves revisions to sexual harassment policies NATALIE WEI Senior Writer

The Mountain View–Los Altos School District revised its sexual harassment policies on Monday, October 25; changes encompass what classifies as sexual harassment, how to file harassment reports, gender-inclusive language, new staff training requirements and updated staff contact information.

These changes narrow the type of sexual harassment reports the District can consider locally and follow the U.S. Department of Education’s decision on Wednesday, May 20 of last year to include sexual harassment under Title IX, a law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools.

“This batch of updates is mandatory and the language isn’t developed by us locally,” Board of Trustees President Fiona Walter said.

“For this reason, public input wasn’t part of the process. We presented them publicly at our previous meeting before approving them to give the community or others that might be interested plenty of time to review them.”

Sexual harassment must take place in an educational program or activity to be reported to the District; off-campus incidents may be considered if the District decides that they generate a “hostile school environment” for the affected parties. Following the update, the respondent must also be attending an MVLA school.

The new policy defines discrimination based on pregnancy

or related medical conditions as reportable sexual harassment, along with discrimination based on sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation. Stalking, domestic violence and dating violence are other new additions to the reportable sexual harassment examples defined by District policy.

Existing support systems for victims — which include free counseling, modifying work or class schedules, campus escort services and mutually restricting contact between the affected parties — will not be affected. Faught says that the new policy will contribute to a more “formal investigation” as each role has to be performed by a different individual, involving more District staff in the process.

To account for their greater participation in the reporting procedure, all staff will be required to complete a training program reviewing what constitutes sexual harassment, procedures for reporting or filing complaints, how to manage an unofficial complaint and how to avoid biased investigation.

Parents, students or third parties should report instances of sexual harassment to a teacher, principal or Title IX Coordinator Leyla Benson — a role designated specifically for implementing new regulations and coordinating investigations.

After students and parents or guardians submit an unofficial verbal report, they may file a formal complaint with the Title IX Coordinator so the allegation can be addressed through official procedures.

ROHAN VASWANI

The MVLA District approved revisions to the Title IX sexual harassment policy, modifying the types of reports the District can consider.

If the victims’ safety is threatened, tigation will inform the District’s Coordinator’s contact informathe Title IX Coordinator can file a written decision, released within tion at (925) 788-3038 and Tiformal complaint at their own dis- 60 business days from the com- tleIX@mvla.net, the procedures cretion even if the victim decides plaint being received. It will also for reporting sexual harassnot to, although the victim will be help the District decide whether ment, the rights of the involved given notice if this occurs. disciplinary sanctions such as sus- parties and the responsibilities Within 10 business days, the pension are appropriate. of the school will be posted in District will contact compliance “I don’t anticipate any changes to all on-campus bathrooms and officers associated with the Police reporting or awareness as a result locker rooms in order to keep Department to provide a fair inves- [of these revisions],” Walter said. students informed of their optigation; the results of the invesPosters displaying the Title IX tions.

The Talon November 5, 2021

District releases results to homework survey following changes to District policy NATALIE WEI

said. “It is also meant to help our community see and understand The Mountain View–Los Altos how others, perhaps those with School District released the re- different opinions, feel about sults of a homework survey on these issues. It is as much about Wednesday, October 13, includ- informing the community broading participation demographics ly about how people are thinking and key thoughts; topics includ- as it is about making decisions.”

The survey’s administration ed frequency and type of homework, grading policies, barriers through the “ThoughtExchange” to homework completion and platform allowed respondents to rate others’ answers on a scale homework breaks.

The most popular stances were from one to five, indicating how lessening the amount of home- much they agreed with the reply. work, increasing the frequency Responses were also depicted as diagrams showof homework-free ing popular “sides,” weekends, assignthe most prevalent ing homework diof which advocated rectly related to tests The information for the assignment and standardizing we collect is of less homework. where homework is meant to help The top three rated assigned and when replies suggested hoit is due. Feedback provide data to mogenizing Canvas will help the District leadership and and Google Classidentify areas for im- staff as well as room use by teachprovement in future students and ers, encouraging a policies.

The survey was families, so they balanced schedule and lessening depenproposed by Dis- can determine dence on homework trict Community what the best as a teaching tool.

Outreach Special- course of action “Students should ist Michelle Bissonshould be. not be learning manette following dis— Michelle Bissonnette terial at home and cussions on student then reviewing in wellness that took place among administrators last class,” an anonymous response spring. From Wednesday, Sep- to the latter reads. “Teachers tember 15, to Wednesday, Oc- should teach the class and have tober 6, high school students, students review at home. A textparents, teachers and staff mem- book should not teach the class.”

Bissonnette, who was appointbers were invited to provide any homework-related feedback, ed to the role of community outtotalling 1,154 respondents and reach specialist over the summer, 1,047 comments. A summary is proposed the survey as a “launchnow available to the general pub- pad” for the first ThoughtExchange of the year in response to lic.

“The information we collect recent discussions about student is meant to help provide data to wellness. The topic of homework leadership and staff as well as was selected for its applicability students and families, so they can to both students’ and teachers’ determine what the best course daily lives.

“We liked the idea of a first of action should be,” Bissonnette Senior Writer

OLIVIA HEWANG

The Mountain View–Los Altos School District recently published the results to a homework survey, detailing participant’s concerns with stress, unhealthy workloads and the lack of standardization between classes. topic that is not too controversial, affects everyone in the district, feels topical and will help us inform our thinking going forward,” Bissonnette said.

The survey was released a day before the Board voted unanimously to increase homeworkfree weekends on Monday, September 14, and comes as part of an ongoing conversation on the role of homework. The District also hopes to continue discussing homework not only in terms of workload, but also as a means of upholding equity in education.

“If you leave school and go home to a quiet environment with parents who are collegeeducated and can help support you academically, and are not required to work after school to help support your family, you have considerably more opportunity and time to complete homework,” Bissonnette said. “The fewer of those options are available to you, the less a grade on an assignment requiring completion outside of school is measuring what you know as opposed to how much of an opportunity you had to show what you know.”

In continuing to widen the scope of their feedback, the District is currently planning other online discussions which will be unveiled throughout the year.

“In this District we have a long history of lifting up and seeking out student voices,” Bissonnette said. “We also want to find ways to incorporate the voices of students and parents that we do not always hear a lot from. Hence the use of ThoughtExchange: it allows for anyone who has a phone in their pocket to participate in the conversation and have their voice heard.”

Long lunch lines at LAHS: What’s being done NAYEON KIM REBEKAH PARK Journalism I

Los Altos High School currently offers four lunch lines for over 2,000 students to get food within a 45-minute lunch period. The

result? Students rushing to long lunch lines, students cutting and a frustrated student body.

The state’s free lunch program has also led more students to get lunch at LAHS, a leading cause of the longer lines. However, LAHS cannot open up additional pizza

carts to combat this problem due to Mountain View Los Altos School District cafeteria service funding issues. More pizza carts require more cafeteria staff, which is in the District’s control. There are also fewer Parent Teacher Student Association vol-

ROHAN VASWANI

Students at Los Altos High School have been facing long lunch lines because of the influx of students recieving lunch from school.

unteers to staff the carts, accord- these 13 minutes, about 13 people ing to Assistant Principal Galen cut in front of him in line.

Rosenberg.

“People either cut you or you Due to the lengthy cut them,” sopholines — spanning the more Georgia Bradlength of the quad or ley said. “You have to longer — some stu- People either cut into the front if dents prefer to simply you want to eat, othcut you or you wait out the crowd erwise they’re like, of people for about cut them. You ‘Oops, we’re out of 15–20 minutes before have to cut into food.’” entering the lines. the front if you Many students But sometimes there want to eat admitted to cutting isn’t enough food rewhen asked, most — Sophomore maining for students just seeing friends in Georgia Bradley who arrive late at the the line and grouppizza carts, due to ing together to talk. the District’s waste management “Cutting isn’t a big enough efforts and funding limitations problem for us to address,” imposed on the District through Rosenberg said. “It’s morally amCalifornia’s free-lunch program biguous because students don’t funding allocations. think it’s cutting when they’re Exacerbating the long wait talking with their friends.” times, students often cut in front Rosenberg said there are meaof one another, in hopes that sures being taken to this issue their wait time will be shortened. through parent volunteers and Cutting is the most prominent teachers. However, there has student-induced issue that has been no administrative action as risen from the long lines. Stu- this issue isn’t pressing enough to dents, frustrated with the exten- warrant immediate attention. sive line, approach their friends “There are problems that are a to reduce even a minute’s worth concern, but there isn’t really a of wait. clear or cost-benefit-wise reason Sophomore Dylan Gibson re- to address them as a priority,” corded the time from when he Rosenberg said. “I would not put first stood in line to when he re- it up in the list of critical issues ceived the pizza, which took ap- that need to be addressed immeproximately 13 minutes. During diately.”

!"#"$"% Section

Talon Publication Date 44 TheThe Talon November 5, 2021

LAHS set to produce ‘Mamma Mia,’ meeting pandemic safety guidelines AUDREY ZHU Staff Writer

Los Altos High School’s musical production of “Mamma Mia” will follow a number of

COVID-19 protocols outlined by the M o u n tain View–Los Altos School District, including a smaller cast, spread out rehearsals, a mask mandate and the theatre doors open at all times.

All participants in the musical will be required to wear a mask at all times in the auditions, rehearsals and during the performance. Masks will not affect microphones’ ability to pick up

NATALIE WEI

Los Altos High School is set to produce its musical production of “Mamma Mia,” following COVID-19 procedures and guidelines. Guidlines include mandated mask wearing at all times, open doors at all times during rehearsals, and required air filtration systems.

sound, but they can make it more there were so many people at the difficult for singers to open their workshops,” senior Carina Huang mouths to create a said. “I’m thinking tall, resonant sound that maybe only a important for projecquarter of the people tion while singing, That’s a comat the workshops are according to LAHS promise begoing to make it in, chorus teacher Lauwhich is scary.” cause it will disren Diez.

The size of the orAnother require- rupt the lights, chestra will be smallment for the musical but it would be er as well, according is that the doors to worth it to keep to Moran. The music the theater will refor “Mamma Mia” the air safer. main open and the does not include any — April Oliver air filtration system wind instruments, will be running at which coincidentally all times to maintain worked out well with continuous air flow, according to COVID-19, Oliver noted.

LAHS acting teacher Nancy Mo“I am very eager for the time ran. However, the construction when we will be able to do away noises might disrupt cast mem- with some of these restrictions bers’ ability to hear and play and get back to how things were,” music, Diez noted.

Diez said. “I’ll be very excited “That’s a compromise because when that day comes, but for it will disrupt the lights, but it now, I respect and understand would be worth it to keep the air why the restrictions are in place safer,” dance teacher April Oliver and I think it’s better to be safe said. than sorry.”

The audience will be limited Despite restrictions, students to a 50 percent capacity, with a are looking forward to particimaximum of 188 audience mem- pating in the musical this year. bers. The cast of the musical has “I’m pretty excited,” junior also been significantly reduced Margot Johnsen said. “Mamma from the usual number of 40–60 Mia is a real crowd-pleaser, and members to 25 members. the songs are fun. When I was “I think what is most intimi- in [High School Musical], I was dating about the COVID restric- a nervous freshman and I didn’t tions is the smaller cast because really put myself out there that seniors and juniors are supposed much. This time, I’m really in it to have priority this year, but to have fun and go all out.”

LAHS named Top 100 school by National Speech and Debate Association ROSE LIU

the number of new recruits over the years, long-term committed Los Altos High School has members of the club and an inbeen recognized as a Top 100 crease in competition participaSchools by the National Speech tion overall.

The speech and debate team’s and Debate Association for Los Altos debaters’ success in success in these areas comes the Mountain View–Los Altos from past student leadership Speech and Debate club last teams’ prioritization of bonding year, at 63rd place out of 3,000 and student wellness. Their efspeech and debate chapters na- fort overcame the high dropout rate among first-year members tionally. as they strived to “[The designacreate a comfortable tion] shows that Los environment for evAltos has a really We have been eryone. strong history of hugely commit“The student leadcompetition,” Head ted to inclusion ership in the last Speech and Debate several years has Coach Julie Herman activities, espebeen really outsaid. “It’s an indica- cially for novstanding,” Herman tor that the team ices [first-year said. “We have been as a whole is build- debaters] so hugely committed ing a tradition of to inclusion activistrength, competi- that they could ties, especially for tive excellence and actually stay on novices [first-year participation over the team after many years.” being recruited. debaters] so that they could actually LAHS was also — Julie Herman stay on the team afnamed as the leadter being recruited.” ing chapter for the While the transition to online California Coast District, out of 48 chapters in Santa Clara and practices was challenging, the Alameda County. The California leadership team and coaches’ Coast District District is known dedication to team bonding had to be the most competitive in kept over 100 active members the nation, according to Her- from both LAHS and Mountain View High School to atman.

“Our district is almost twice tend practice twice a week and as strong as the next best dis- participate in dozens of virtual trict nationally,” Herman said. tournaments.

“I really enjoyed the club “And we were chosen to be the special chapter this year for our bonding activities we had last year,” varsity Speech and Debate district.”

Maya Yung Both honors take into account member, junior Senior Writer

said. “I think the community aspect definitely helped motivate me to continue participating in debate.”

As the club returns to in-person practice, Speech and Debate President senior Aman Shah hopes to continue building a sense of community through club activities and educational programs.

“I want to bring us back together as this huge community this year,” Aman said. “I’m trying to increase how active we are as a team, but also make sure that we’re able to stay focused and provide an environment where we can enjoy and have fun debating.

On top of students’ efforts, the collective hard work of

coaches, especially Herman, is the reason behind the club’s many achievements.

“Our club would not exist without Julie,” Aman said.

“We have an amazing group of student leaders, but the club would not function without Julie there to ensure leadership runs smoothly and everything administrative runs as well.”

COURTESEY MVLA SPEECH AND DEBATE

Varsity Parliamentary Debate Captain Keira Chatwin and varsity parliamentary debater Karen Glenn work on their case file. Due to Los Altos High School debater’s success, LAHS was ranked 63rd in the nation, and was given the National Speech and Debate Association’s designation of Top 100 Schools.

The Talon November 5, 2021

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Read more features articles at lahstalon.org/category/features/

iChakras fuses spirituality and science in the heart of Silicon Valley NINA CROFTS NATALIE WEI

Her mother, a meditation teacher, introduced her to guided mediSenior Writers tation as a child; she went on to Caffeine from Peet’s and carbs inform her training under the from Le Bou aren’t the only men- tutelage of spiritual leaders and tal health offerings in Downtown monks, where she learned not Los Altos. On the corner of Main only about the complexities of and First Street, iChakras’s shelves the chakra system, but also how are stacked to the brim with heal- to reconcile her Christian beliefs ing crystals, meditation chambers with her Eastern practices.

“The more I learned of spiritual modeled after the Pyramids of Giza and chakra analysis via brain- wellness, the Bible and science, wave monitoring — but crystal-in- the more I realized it’s all connected,” Starr said. “It’s fused body butters all just different and water bottles barely scratch the Imagine these balls aspects of the same goal: to heal and to surface of what it emitting frequenreach a higher conprovides. sciousness.”

Since 2016, busi- cies in your body.

With her knowlness owner and They are all responedge, Starr opened founder Krystal sible for your mind, a small business ofStarr has combined your body, and your fering one-on-one both science and life-coaching and spiritual wellness spirit. meditation sesfor holistic healing; — Krystal Starr sions, but felt that iChakras Owner her services include her services strayed the aforementioned too far from her crystal products primary goal of teaching people as well as guided meditation, life about the power of God. coaching and chakra consultaSo Starr says that when a huge tions.

“The word chakra literally means fire started in her office — a day energy,” Starr said. “Imagine these after she prayed to God to further balls emitting frequencies in your her work — she saw the event not body. They are all responsible for as a tragedy, but as an opportuniyour mind, your body and your ty. With her old office burned to she opened spirit, and each one holds a differ- the ground, iChakras ent responsibility.” shortly Starr wanted to share thereafter holistic healing with and hasn’t her community even looked before starting back. iChakras.

“I realized that it was God answering my prayer in the deepest, most profound way,” Starr said. “iChakras is so much bigger and so much grander than what I had before.

It taught me that when God’s doing something, you surrender.”

Starr says she turned to God again during the COVID-19 NATALIE WEI pandemic, when safety concerns meant she could no

NATHANIEL JOFFE

Located at the corner of Main and First Street in Los Altos, iChakras offers spiritual wellness services ranging from brainwave monitoring to life coaching in a meditative environment. longer rely on in-person sessions or tools like “chakra bowls,” which are Tibetan standing bells she says emit chakra-targeting frequencies. Realizing that her only tool was her voice, she returned to her core spiritual beliefs.

“I couldn’t use the chakra bowl through Skype, the sound doesn’t come through the same,” Starr said. “I decided to start praying for my clients, teaching them about my belief in the power of God and leading them to pray for themselves — mimicking things that Jesus did in the Bible, like asking God to send power through him to heal other people. It was so powerful, so miraculous, that it was stronger than any of the bowls.”

While Starr expected engineers to be drawn to her business, she found that about 50 percent of her clients were local students; she attributes this demographic to academic stress. She has developed personalized forms of meditation she claims can help students struggling with ADHD, OCD, anxiety or depression obtain better grades.

“The school system is so difficult for a lot of students,” Starr said.

“People travel all over the world

just to go to the schools [in Silicon Valley]. But on the flip side, the stress of it is creating depression and anxiety.”

As part of her current healing arsenal, Starr uses headband-like devices equipped with sensors that are meant to track the frequencies of different brain waves

NINA CROFTS

In the iChakras meditation room, clients can bask in the glow of “chakra lights” beneath walls angled like the Pyramids of Giza.

ACROSS: 1. GROUP OF “MAMMA MIA” PERFORMERS, FOR EXAMPLE 5. COMPEL 6. EMPTY AS IN A YOUTUBE VIDEO 7. SITE OF SUEZ 8. FAILS TO WIN

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— alpha, beta, delta and theta — in response to stimuli like chakra bowls. The sensors then upload the data onto a mobile app developed by iChakras called “Smart Healing,” which will be released to the public following its private testing stages.

She says that theta brainwaves — associated with mindfulness and healing — occur at a greater frequency when the individual has entered a “spiritual awareness state.” By analyzing brain activity, she explained that she can see which treatments best suit a specific client.

The app is also meant to help STEM-minded individuals visualize how her treatments work.

Starr believes that she operates in the realm of “intelligent chakras,” with scientific studies informing her work with frequencies.

“The majority of my clients are normally engineers, people who are coming from the tech world,” Starr said. “How is the engineertype brain, trained to think in numbers, going to suddenly shift into the idea of wellness, which is vague? My goal is to bring these two worlds together.”

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DOWN: 1. AFRICAN RIVER AND NAMESAKE OF TWO COUNTRIES 2. THEY HAVE THE MEATS 3. FOLLOWS TELE OR HORO 4. THEY GET ANALYZED IN ENGLISH PROJECTS 5. IT KEEPS THINGS RUNNING NATALIE WEI

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NATHANIEL JOFFE

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The Talon November 5, 2021

Linden Tree thrives through the pandemic with community support AUDREY TSAI Journalism I

Plastic gold stars and red curtains adorn the open store window of Linden Tree Books. Children and parents are scattered across the colorful chairs and couches outside the store, enraptured by the storytelling of author Christine Evans, a Bay Area local, as she delights the crowd. Soon, pedestrians begin to congregate around the store, drawn in by the bright decorations and riveting narrative.

Amid a harrowing pandemic, Linden Tree has stood resilient while countless other stores have closed its doors. Flo Grosskurth and Chris Saccheri, the current owners of Linden Tree, bought the store to save it from closure in September 2019, just a few months before the pandemic hit.

Neither of them had any experience running an independent bookstore, let alone during a pandemic, but they felt they had to try. Against all odds, Linden Tree not only survived the pandemic but even managed to increase its profits since the acquisition.

Grosskurth and Saccheri initially stepped up to take over the store when the original owners couldn’t find another buyer and were planning to close. From the start, they had wanted to make the store a hub for the community, and now partner with nearly every elementary school in the Los Altos School District to schedule free author visits. During the pandemic, they were forced to move the talks online but hope to return to in-person when restrictions relax.

“Local authors are what the store is all about,” Grosskurth said. “It’s about creating an environment for people to get to know local authors .... It’s such a small, intimate setting, it’s not scary, especially for kids. And kids need to be able to see them as real people.”

COVID-19 led its staff to turn to more creative solutions for increasing sales and fostering relationships with its customers.

Since customers couldn’t go to the store in person, the store set up FaceTime appointments so shoppers could virtually browse and receive book recommendations.

People would sign up for timeslots and log into an online meeting where they would be taken

NATHANIEL JOFFE

Linden Tree co-owners Flo Grosskurth and Chris Saccheri had a tough task ahead of them when the pandemic hit just months after they purchased the bookstore located in downtown Los Altos to save it from closure. Since then, their innovative strategies and strong connections to the community have helped the store continue to prosper. through the store by one of the employees.

This aligns with the store’s increased focus on personalized services as a way of connecting with the community. Nearly all of the books at Linden Tree have been are carefully handpicked into a curated selection based on popularity. The employees’ familiarity with the store is evident in their recommendations and passion for books.

Alan Whitehorn has been working at Linden Tree for eight years and is one of the most experienced booksellers on its staff. He still finds that recommending books for customers to be the most rewarding part of his job.

“I’m a big reader, so it’s like being seven years old in a candy store,” Whitehorn said. “Finding the right book for somebody, when it works well, it’s really, really, really satisfying.”

Linden Tree employee and Los Altos High School sophomore Noor Khan treasures the relationships she’s forged while working in the store. Prior to her employment there, she was a regular at the store, going there every week

with her family. The opportunity which helped the store expand. to help other people discover a Only once restrictions were relove for books has only grown her laxed did Linden Tree open its own passion for reading. doors to its customers again, this “One time someone came in and time through private appointwas like, ‘You helped my daughter ments. Still, this came along with find her new favorits own set of chalite book.’ And I just lenges. was like, ‘Oh,’ and “In the beginwent to the bath- What we’re doing ning, people were room and cried,” here is building really scared to Noor said. “That I relationships betouch the books was able to impact and it took some tween readers and someone the same convincing that it’s way that Linden books, between us okay — you can Tree impacted me and the commutouch the books,” was so valuable to nity.

Grosskurth said. me.”

Slowly but surely, — Flo Grosskurth Despite the deditheir clientele beLinden Tree Co-owner cation of the staff, gan to return to the COVID-19 natustore. Their return rally reduced the amount of work shows that Linden Tree doesn’t needed to run the store. Many have to undercut corporations booksellers wanted to work more such as Amazon on pricing or sehours, but didn’t need to work at lection. Unlike large corporations, the register or in-store when there Linden Tree can directly interwere no customers. Nevertheless, act with the community in a way they persisted, developing online wholly unique to independent options for ordering books and bookstores. growing the store’s social media “What we’re doing here really is presence. The owners found new building relationships, relationprojects such as hand-delivering ships between readers and books, book orders to nearby addresses, relationships between us and the

community,’’ Grosskurth said.

“And so if that all goes away, we will become a work of fiction. It’s very cheesy, but it’s true.”

Their effort to give back to the community has not gone unnoticed. During the pandemic, the community has responded to Linden Tree with support. Many have realized the importance of local stores and rediscovered their love for reading.

“Sometimes I realize some [books] are like maybe one or two dollars more, but my husband and I, we said we support our local businesses,” said Vivian, a frequent customer at Linden Tree.

“Otherwise, they’ll all close.”

Indeed, it is difficult to miss the sign taped to the store window, reading in bold, black font, “Don’t let indie bookstores become a work of fiction.” According to Linden Tree’s owners, the fight to preserve privately owned stores is one every person in the community can get involved in.

“Keep buying local, and keep participating in how to make your own world better,” Grosskurth said. “Essentially, we’re just a small part of that.”

Green Team president accepts Green Ribbon Award ALLISON BRICCA Senior Writer

Los Altos High School Green Team president senior Diya Gupta and Assistant Principal Galen Rosenberg flew to Washington, D.C. to claim the school’s Green Ribbon award on Tuesday, September 28.

The U.S. Department of Education awards schools with this ribbon for their contribution and commitment in each of the following areas: reducing environmental impact and costs, improving the health and wellness of schools, students and staff and providing effective environmental and sustainability education. LAHS is one of 40 schools

nationwide to receive the award, covering all three “pillars,” which provide the basis for their recognition.

In addition to formally accepting the award, Diya and Rosenberg had the opportunity to travel to Capitol Hill and meet with Congressperson Anna Eshoo to discuss Green Team’s goals and how they overlap with current climate-driven legislation on a national level.

“We talked about Green Team’s initiatives and the impact our students have on the environment,” Diya said. “It was neat to get a congressional point of view on our district.”

They also toured the D.C. Bilingual Charter School — another

Green Ribbon award recipient — and learned how other schools with different resources are fighting the climate crisis.

“The school actually grows everything that they feed their students,” Diya said. “They have a whole garden system that consists of fruits, vegetables, herbs and beans. Some of their science classes are spent out in the garden which brings together interactive learning and a love for the planet.”

While Diya acknowledged that such a system may not work to feed the student body at LAHS, which is three times as large as the one they visited, she sees an importance in understanding how different schools approach the environmental crisis based on

the resources they have available.

In the same way that a garden may not be feasible for the LAHS campus, the walk and bike culture is something that may be much harder for more rural schools; and, of course, it comes down to the individual level, she said.

“Just because we’ve won this award doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t stop throwing your food waste in the correct bin or start driving to school,” Diya said. “Every little thing matters.”

Without the individual contribution from community members, students, and the administration, LAHS wouldn’t have been able to achieve such an environmentally aware culture.

“The forefront of this applica-

tion began a couple years ago with different co-presidents and club members,” Diya said. “So it feels so special that I was able to accept this, not only on the behalf of the Green Team, but also on behalf of everyone who has helped contribute their time and their energy to this club since it started.”

For Green Team, accepting this award was a milestone, but certainly not a finish line.

“Electric busses is something we haven’t even started talking about yet. Keeping our recycled items and making something out of it to display on campus is another idea.

How we can make our sewage system more sustainable. These are all conversations that Green Team is ready to start bringing up.”

The Talon November 5, 2021

7

Please send letters to the editor to talon.lahs@gmail.com

An AP cap won’t solve student stress Los Altos High School 201 Almond Ave., Los Altos, CA November 5, 2021 Volume XXXVII, Issue 2

Editor-In-Chief Cedric Chan Managing Editors Rachel Rudyak (Print (Print)) Kaavya Butaney (Web (Web)) Olivia Hewang (Media (Media)) News Editor Anika Sikka Opinions Editor Emilie Enser Features Editor Nathaniel Joffe Arts & Culture Editor Kaley Kwan Sports Editor Mira Sundar Copy Editors Allan Feldman, Vaishu Sirkay Senior Staff Allison Bricca, Nina Crofts, Naomi Ichiriu, Elyssa Kennedy, Rose Liu, Naomi Schulze, Rohan Vaswani, Natalie Wei Staff Audrey Zhu Adviser Michael Moul

POLICIES Los Altos High School’s Compositional Journalism class is solely responsible for The Talon, Talon, which is published eight times a year. The Talon also updates its website, www.lahstalon.org, with full-time coverage.

The Editorial Board sets the policies of The Talon and crafts its editorials and thumbs.

ADVERTISE & SUBSCRIBE Send advertisement and subscription inquiries to talon.lahs@gmail.com.

OLIVIA HEWANG

Amid a growing conversation about student stress, an Advanced Placement cap — a limit on the number of AP courses students may take — has again come into public discourse. But an AP cap is a surface-level solution that ignores underlying issues and will worsen student stress in the long run.

Los Altos High School culture pushes students to participate in a college applications rat race, piling on taxing course loads and extracurriculars in an effort to stand out from their classmates in college admissions. Unless this attitude is significantly changed, limiting AP classes would have little effect on students’ mental health: Instead of an AP course, they might take up another club, sport or Foothill class. Cultural change doesn’t happen overnight, and we have to take action, but putting an arbitrary limit on AP courses won’t help students; it’ll just push them toward

different resume-builders.

And given the general emphasis on STEM courses at LAHS, it’s likely that students will drop humanities APs in favor of math and science, should an AP cap be implemented. Many students will lose out on their last opportunity to take a challenging humanities class, as many will skip out on that during college.

Rather than implementing generalizing course restrictions, we should be encouraging students to use the resources at their disposal to make informed academic decisions. Students often believe they already know what classes they should be taking, but they should carefully consider their course load before picking classes. Teachers and administrators have ensured student access to class information — students just have to take advantage of it.

To support students, the school

should mandate counselor meetings dedicated to class choices for those with four or more AP classes after classes are chosen with the option to change their choices after the meeting. Currently, counselor meetings are often after the class registration deadline when students cannot change their classes, so if a student genuinely has a change of heart, there is little they can do until the beginning of the school year. If we are to make these meetings meaningful, students have to be encouraged to reassess their options.

There should also be standardized question and answer sessions for these classes with students and teachers. While the quick videos and course information sheets are helpful, talking directly to students one-on-one can help make more informed decisions. Students are more likely to listen to a fellow student because they have more

applicable experience. In the past, many different variations of information sessions have been attempted but students often do not feel as though they would be useful or that they are encouraged to go and they were not uniformly publicized.

And if the school wants to send a clear message to all students on incorporating wellness into their academic decisions, there are less intrusive ways to do so. Promoting non-binding limits on AP classes, such as the maximum of two per year suggested by the Palo Alto Unified School District, may provide a reality check to students who do not realize the difficulty of these course loads.

We don’t believe piling on APs is a good option for most students but that doesn’t mean an AP cap is the solution. Students have to realize the consequences of their actions and make their choices accordingly.

THUMBS UP for in-class COVID-19 testing

Talon Supporters Honorary Pulitzers Melissa Joffe, Anjana NagarajanButaney, Louis Roehrs, Purnima Sundar

In late August, The Talon advocated for in-class testing and by the 14th exposure, the school has finally instituted in-class testing. Given close contact notices are usually sent to everyone in a class with an infected person, it makes sense that classes would go get tested together, which makes testing more convenient for everyone. The recent institution of direct transfer of test information from Inspire Diagnostics, the testing company, also makes testing more efficient.

THUMBS UP to the Homecoming activities

Silver Supporters Sonia Brunner, Neil Chainani, Leon Rudyak, Tim Schulze, Preeti Sikka, Elliott Song, Ramya Tallapragada and Samir Chainani, Deborah Tolomeo, Jennifer Urmson

As the first big school event after quarantine, students had high expectations for Homecoming week and they were well met. The dance was successful, even if mask usage wasn’t perfect and the outside atmosphere and song recommendations made the dance more engaging than in previous years.

8

The Talon November 5, 2021

AN OVERVIEW OF THE AP CAP DEBATE VAISHU SIRKAY

NINA CROFTS

ROSE LIU

Copy Editor

Senior Writer

Graphic Artist

A cap on the number of Advanced Placement classes a student can take has long been discussed in the Mountain View–Los Altos School District, and the discussion resurfaced at the September 13 Board meeting, when District Teachers Association President Dave Campbell advocated for an AP cap.

“In a survey regarding homework-free weekends, many teachers pointed out that limiting homework isn’t enough if we’re truly seeking to improve the quality of life for our students in the district,” Campbell said. “If we truly want to make a change, we need to limit the number of AP classes our students take.

But it’s complicated, and not everyone agrees that an AP cap would be in students’ best interests. The debate around AP caps largely centers around student wellness, academic choice, and college applications. Here’s a breakdown of the main considerations around this divisive topic.

that an AP cap would decrease student stress levels.

Some students believe that adding an AP cap doesn’t address other underlying issues that negatively affect student mental health, and not being able to get college credit for their courses could increase student stress One of the main argu- in the long run. ments in favor of an AP cap “I’ve struggled significantis that it will increase student ly with my mental health, wellness and decrease stress and the classes themselves related to an overwhelm- aren’t the issue,” Sophoing workload. According to more Julia Pletcher said. “If MVLA Board President Fiona you’re struggling a lot menWalter, students might feel tally, any class is going to be less pressure to take more a lot. Adding a cap when it’s AP classes in order to keep not inherently necessary just up with their friends or build is not a productive way to a competitive college appli- help people.” cation if an AP cap was enInstead, Julia suggests inacted. creased clarity around AP “The argument would be workloads, including univerthat as a student, you could sal and standardized queschoose the three tion-and-answer topics that were sessions for proyour favorite, or spective AP stuthe two that you re- Sometimes dents. Julia also ally wanted to do a students don’t proposed mandeep dive on,” Wal- know their limidatory counselter said. or meetings for tations and fall Math teacher Hecstudents intertor Arias cited its into biting more ested in taking ability to ensure stu- than they can more than a set dents aren’t taking chew. amount of AP significantly more classes, but As— Hector Arias AP classes than they sistant Principal can handle, and Galen Rosenberg suggested limiting AP classes said this likely would not be to two or three per year. feasible.

“Sometimes students don’t A key concern stemming know their limitations and fall from capping AP classes is into biting more than they the workaround potential can chew,” Arias said. by students. For example, But the community is split LAHS students can take colas to whether an AP cap lege classes through Footwould decrease student hill College’s dual enrollstress levels. ment program, which allows Of 394 respondents to a high school students to take survey on The Talon’s Insta- classes at Foothill with pagram, 48 percent believed rental and counselor ap-

WELLNESS

proval, as well as receive AP paths they want to take, and weighting for them. the potential of an AP cap While such alternatives restricting that. could negate the efforts of “There are students up an AP cap, Cathryn Krajew- and down the spectrum, ski, ’21, who parwhere one AP is ticipated in both perfect in their AP classes and world,” Walter dual enrollment, It may be worth said. “There are found that dual also students at enrollment was thinking about the other end a better option restrictions on who aren’t happy than AP courses large numbers if they’re not busy for her because of AP courses, every 20 seconds of a more flexible six or seven a of the day and work schedule. suddenly would “Some students year, but I think be limited.” are just going to do there are betOne concern things that destroy ter solutions to about an AP cap their mental health the underlying is that students and wellbeing,” Krawho wish to chaljewski said. “And problem. lenge themselves — Matthew Kim you can’t really stop will not be able them, unfortunateto, or that they ly. College courses will be forced to sacrifice AP [taken through dual enroll- classes they’re interested in. ment] are hard, they’re rigor- Though college and career ous, but I found them to be a counselor Laura Duran sees lot less stressful than AP cours- the potential wellness benes. I’m not just handing in as- efits of an AP cap, she also signment after assignment af- recognizes some potential ter assignment all the time. My downsides of such a policy. grade is really made up of my “There are going to be knowledge of the course and outliers that are negatively not constant assignments.” impacted...” Duran said, “... if a student who maybe has a language or a math class, where it’s just like the next class in the sequence, you might have to make a hard decision elsewhere.”

Sophomore Matthew Kim agreed, feeling that a cap would ultimately be too limiting, and would ineffectively address the reasons students become academically overloaded.

“It may be worth thinking Another factor when co- about restrictions on large sidering an AP cap is the numbers of AP courses, 6 wide variety of students at or 7 a year, but I think there Los Altos and the academic are better solutions to the

ACADEMIC CHOICE

The Talon November 5, 2021

underlying problem,” Matthew said.

Instead, Matthew believes that policies ensuring that AP classes stay within the five hours-per-week guidelines would more effectively reduce student stress. Over 70 percent of students reported having more than four to five hours of homework per week from an AP class, according to a survey of 332 respondents conducted through The Talon’s Instagram. Matthew also suggested that allowing students in AP classes to turn in incomplete homework without penalty, given that they spent the expected amount of time on the assignment, could help maintain a lower homework load without requiring teachers to assign less homework.

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS One of students’ main concerns about an AP cap is that it would harm their college applications, as they wouldn’t have the availability to demonstrate their course rigor. In terms of an AP cap’s effect on college applications, 68% responded that they felt it would have an impact according to a survey conducted through The Talon’s Instagram, with 379 respondents.

However, any proposed AP cap would have limited effect on college admissions.

“There’s a box that you can mark on student transcripts

that says the district limits this character component,” APs,” Walter said. “You can Duran said. “And if students say what that restriction is, have no time to do anything or whatever is unique about but academics, it doesn’t your district.” benefit their real world exInstead of colleges evalu- perience or opportunities to ating solely on the actual build your self-esteem or to number of APs a student connect with different peotook, Walter said the focus is ple or to demonstrate that on whether students chose you’ve explored something as much rigor as possible outside of the classroom.” given school constraints.

“Colleges will look at whether a student took advantage of the opportunities in front of them,” Walter said. “They could take three APs at any given time, and they did. Or they didn’t.”

College counselor Laura Duran also supported this point, explaining the viewpoints colleges take when The idea of potentially inevaluating applications. stalling an AP cap is still in “You’re not penalized for the works, according to Wala school policy,” Duran said. ter, and enacting it would be “Colleges wouldn’t expect a lengthy process. that students go out and “Both schools would need take additional APs through to want this, because we online courses or outside of can’t have a unique policy school.… It wouldn’t reflect at one school,” Walter said. poorly on the student. But “I would anticipate a recwhen it’s uncapped, and col- ommendation coming from leges know all the APs that the schools and our assiswe offer, they know how tants, to Dr. Meyer, to the many periods that we have board. … It could easily be classes...” part of a graduaAs a result, untion requirement capped AP classes conversation, becan lead to stu- Colleges will cause we would dents feeling presbe looking at a fisured to overload look at whether nal result on a stuthemselves with a student took dent transcript.”

AP classes, ac- advantage of Walter anticicording to Duran. the opportunipates talk of AP She also pointed caps soon, and out that capping ties in front of that a heavy APs could help them. amount of comstudents have a munity and stu— Fiona Walter more well-rounddent feedback in ed college appliimplementing a cation by freeing up time for policy, and would expect extracurricular activities. info sessions and multiple “We have noticed, espe- board meetings for public cially with colleges going comment, but a concrete more test optional, or with time frame is still unclear. the inaccessibility of testing, that colleges are looking at

DATA Do you spend more than 4-5 hours on homework for an AP class?

72% 28%

Yes

No

THE PROCESS

Would an AP cap decrease student stress?

48% Yes

52% No

If an AP cap were to be enacted, would you be concerned about it affecting your college applications?

68%

32%

Yes

No

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The Talon November 5, 2021

Read more opinions articles at lahstalon.org/category/opinions

Let’s end this pandemic and mandate vaccines AUDREY ZHU Staff Writer

Protection against the COVID-19 virus should be Los Altos High School’s main concern. As of now, students wear masks in class and are encouraged to social distance, but that’s not enough.

With the Delta variant on the rise, it is more important than ever to make sure students are fully vaccinated.

Students with religious or medical exemptions should not have to transition back to online school because of the vaccine mandate.

However, students who are capable of getting the vaccine should be vaccinated in order to come to school in person.

The vaccine works. Those who are unvaccinated are five times more likely to get COVID-19 and 29 times more likely to be hospitalized compared to those who are fully vaccinated, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention. The Pfizer vaccine is 95 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 infection in people who are fully vaccinated.

Despite the national, enforced suggestion to get the COVID-19 vaccine, there has been significant

controversy around the decision of whether or not people should get the vaccine. Although the vaccine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, some people doubt the safety and side effects of the vaccine. If you haven’t heard them yourself, here are some of the reasons unvaccinated people have shared with me: “I don’t trust it, because who knows what’s in there?”

“I don’t know the long-term effects.”

“I don’t need it. I’m young and have a good immune system.”

The 95 percent effectiveness rate of the vaccine and the fact that the majority of COVID-19 related deaths have been among the unvaccinated should be enough to show that the vaccine works.

Although some might say that the vaccine mandate allows the government to dictate people’s choices and what they do with their bodies, it is simply a requirement to ensure the safety of all students. The COVID-19 vaccine mandate will be just like other vaccine mandates that have been in place for years, including the requirement for the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine.

Several school districts in California, including Oakland and Los Angeles, have issued a vaccine mandate for all in-person students

and will be effective next semester.

Many other districts are starting to follow their lead and consider a vaccine mandate as well, and LAHS should do the same.

Governor Gavin Newsom issued a vaccine mandate for all students in California that will likely become effective during the 20222023 school year. However, there are still eight months left in this school year, and with 12 positive cases within the Mountain View Los Altos district already reported, this number can continue to increase.

The decision to get vaccinated does not only affect one’s health — it affects that of everyone around them as well. Choosing to not get the vaccine and continuing to come to school in person can create an unsafe environment for everyone else.

Those who don’t feel comfortable getting vaccinated should stay home to protect themselves and other students. There is another virtual option that LAHS offers where students do not have to come on campus and still be able to learn.

I know I am not alone when I say that I want the United States to return to normal as soon as possible.

With schools across the nation opening back up, the first step is ensuring all students are vaccinated

to prevent getting COVID-19 from others on campus.

It’s simple. Los Altos High School should require vaccinations for all in-person students — except those with religious or medical exemptions — to lessen the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus. Otherwise, I fear that the increasing cases will give us no choice but to go back online.

ROSE LIU

NINA CROFTS Senior Writer

Imagine yourself in a café in London, preparing for a philosophy seminar at your university, planning to hit the town with your “mates” after class. For someone seeking study abroad opportunities, this may sound great, but the process to get there can be radically different to that of the standard application process in the United States.

You may have already heard that applying to international schools can help you save money, see new areas of the world and experience different styles of education. But the application process isn’t talked about much.

The majority of my family lives in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and because of that, I’ve known for years that I wanted to attend college in Europe. Curious about differences in the application process, I came to realize that the bulk of admissions decisions come down to SAT/ACT scores, Advanced Placement test scores and a personal essay.

For many U.S. students, this is a complete turn off. We work four years to balance classwork and extracurricular activities to have an impeccably well-rounded high school portfolio, because that’s what we think earns you a place in a competitive college.

In the U.K., however, students specialize in two to four classes (math, english, etc.) in Grade 11, depending on their academic performance. They take long AP-style tests on these subjects in Grade 13 and those scores dictate which colleges and which majors they can be accepted into.

I won’t delve into whether test scores as a core admissions criteria is fair, but it is some applicants’ strong suit. If you’re the type of person who’s known your passion from a young age, like I have, or excels in specific subjects, the U.K. admissions process and university experience might be a perfect fit.

For this same reason, particularly in England, it is extremely difficult to change majors midway through. And going into college undeclared is unheard of.

The U.K. admissions portal, UCAS, calls for a 4,000-character “personal statement” asking why you are qualified for the course

you’re applying for. As a politics major, I know an internship at a medical lab wouldn’t boost my application much, regardless of the activity’s prestige. I’ve learned that commitment to the individual field is of utmost importance.

And while I’m loving the process thus far, May will be a stressful time of the year. For a U.K. university, a four versus a five on an AP test could make or break my application.

Obviously, not everyone will find this admissions process suits them, and if you’re seeking a more holistic overview of your grades, extracurriculars and essays, maybe consider applying in Scotland or Ireland instead. Their school systems don’t call for as much specialization in high school as schools in England do. Europe has so many countries with very different systems, and research can help you to find out which one might be a right fit.

Additionally, as this year many schools are test optional, admissions could be much more appealing to international students.

It’s daunting to know I might not be living in this country a year from now, and that I could be committing to studying a subject inside and out for the next four, leaving general education behind.

But in a way, it’s refreshing. The U.K. admissions process offers you the chance to delve deep into your passions, and be surrounded by people equally as enthusiastic. And if a Scottish experience, for example, is more suitable from the application stand-point, it will still provide a drastically unique cultural and educational experience that I strongly encourage others to consider.

I, personally, cannot wait to study internationally and I think far too many students don’t look into the opportunity, when we all should. The majority of deadlines are in January or February, so there’s still plenty of time. If you know what you want to do, the U.K. may be for you. But the whole world is your oyster.

Nina’s Notes

By Nina Crofts

Idolizing Influencers Scrolling through my TikTok “For You” Page, I came across a video by creator @ salemilese, which racked up hundreds of thousands of likes. In the video, she laments her perceived differences between herself and rising TikTok creator Emily Mariko, saying it feels as though they don’t live in the same world, and even captioning the video “i wanna be @emilymariko when i grow up.”

It’s common for people to idolize influencers beyond reason, based on the polished version of their lives we see. From their ever-positive energy to their jam-packed routines, we tend to seek to imitate these figures we admire. But failing to live up to these publicized, manipulated lifestyles can leave us feeling unsuccessful.

The flawless picture influencers portray through their content is not real life. From the endless parties to the mega brand sponsorships, their lives are effectively a business, making an income from retaining followers and maximizing their engagement. They curate their lives to be appealing, not realistic.

When we are attracted to these ideals, we tend to view these microcelebrities as better than ourselves, making us far more susceptible to placing them on a pedestal. Often, we reach the point where they can do no wrong in our eyes, making social media an extremely toxic environment, polarized by random people defending celebrities they’ve never even met.

For this reason, when influencers get “canceled,” or their actions deviate from their public image, some people find it jarring.

For example, David Dobrik, a YouTube vlogger, faced considerable backlash earlier this year for allegations of a culture of sexual harassment and an unhealthy work environment within his company. Fans who had followed him for years were rightfully shocked, some even in denial. The disconnect between his online persona and what allegedly happened behind the scenes was staggering, and served as a key example of the duplicity of social media.

Understanding that influencers are essentially a brand, their content cannot be an accurate depiction of their lives.

Their content is their work and they are real people, not infallible creatures incapable of wrongdoing. If we stop glorifying them, we wouldn’t be as stunned when there is dissonance between their public and private lives, bringing us to peace with both their flaws and our own.

OLIVIA HEWANG

INTERESTED IN GUEST-WRITING FOR TALON?

If you would like to write about your stance on an issue that’s affecting students at our school, email Opinions Editor Emilie Enser via the form at lahstalon.org/guest-write/

The Talon November 5, 2021

11

Read more Arts & Culture articles at lahstalon.org/category/ artsculture/

‘Dune’ CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE The sounds and music, coupled with the visual experience, made the film a worthwhile one to watch. I was excited from the moment I learned that Hans Zimmer was the score composer for the film — the genius behind the soundtracks of “Gladiator,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and many more unforgettable works.

In “Dune,” he experimented with unique musical instruments such as the Scottish bagpipe and Indian bamboo flute. When the House of Atreides arrived on Arrakis, the high-pitched sound of bagpipes combined with the gloomy sandstorm created a goosebumpinducing sense of heroism. These unorthodox and majestic sounds simultaneously convey a desolate and mystical feeling that made me feel part of this exotic world.

However, the plot was laborious. In order to showcase those inner thoughts of the nuanced characters, the film tried to portray detailed scenes that focus on

characters' expressions. But this addition comes at the cost of a compelling pace, and ultimately takes away the usual thrill of scifi films.

In addition, the scenes are fractured, with no clear relation to the overall storyline without more context from the novel.

My indifference to the plot was heightened by my confusion; the more I watched, the clearer it became that this film requires some level of background knowledge to watch. Terminologies like Bene Gesserit, Kwisatz Haderach and Lisan al Gaib frequently appear but are never explained, making

the movie confusing for those of us who have never read the book. With all of the plot minutiae and perplexity, my eyes were glazing over in almost every scene.

I was hoping my confusion would be resolved by the end of the film; instead, the film ended

abruptly without answering any of the questions or details.

Though the sequel was recently greenlit — because Villenueve strangely only adapted the first half of the story — the tedium and confusing storyline mean I’m not particularly enthusiastic for part two.

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) looking down on a beach. 'Dune' has a stunning soundtrack and graphics, but its thrill is lost as the plot lags and lingers too much on the innerworkings of character.

Satire: Don’t be gaslit by science, ghosts are real ANIKA SIKKA News Editor

I can see ghosts.

I’ve told this story before, and it’s never gone well, but hear me out. It’s caused me to lose all my friends and most of my family, but that doesn’t deter me.

My purpose on this planet is to spread the truth, so let me paint you a picture.

It was the ripe hour of 4:00 a.m. and I was walking up the stairs after taking a shower while listening to my special collection of British lullabies.

Suddenly, I felt a chill shudder through my body, as if water was cascading down my back, as if my soul had been put into those rapid freezers that you see on Kids Baking Championship. It was then that I saw the child — small, about five years old or so, rocking back and forth on a swing outside my window, singing some sort of lullaby in an indistinguishable British accent. She looked perfectly content.

At 4 a.m. in a sleep-deprived delirium, everything goes, so it didn’t really bother me.

However, when I woke up the next morning, it dawned upon me: logically, I had to have seen a ghost.

Some people say that my experience was because of NATALIE WEI my open windows, wet hair and

lullabies. And, apparently it’s been allegedly proven “scientifically” that this was the case, but I still stand by my theory. I know my rights, I’m allowed freedom of thought.

I already knew I was correct, but just in case, I Googled “do ghosts exist” and came across many highly decorated research studies and billions of Reddit ghost stories — there’s no way that everyone was making up their experiences.

But, this made me angry. All the websites that told me that I had issues because I was seeing ghosts probably told the millions of other people who can see ghosts that they had problems too. These closeminded so-called “scientific” websites are creating a false narrative that those who see ghosts need help.

I would argue that those who don’t see ghosts need help.

“Scientists” merely offer other explanations for why people seem to see ghosts, but I’ve yet to see evidence proving ghosts don’t exist. All the articles I’ve come across in my extensive, five-minute research

just give other reasons as to why people see ghosts, citing exhaustion and sleep deprivation as main factors. Trust me, they’re lying to you.

We know the truth.

Don’t let “science” brainwash you into thinking otherwise.

Also, people have “proven” t h a t ghosts don’t exist due to the fact that they’ve never seen a ghost, NATALIE WEI but I don’t buy it.

Have you ever seen gravity? Do you have friendly interactions with friction or get coffee with air resistance? No, but yet we still believe those exist, so why are ghosts any different?

This is even more problematic because of the sheer magnitude of people who have had ghost experiences. If you search up “ghost” on Twitter, you get over eight billion search results. Considering that 114 percent of the world’s population has experienced a ghost encounter and deemed it important enough to craft a tweet on it, you’d think scientists would start looking into it.

But, they haven’t. Instead, they’ve been ignoring the supernatural realm, allowing close minded ghost skeptics to gaslight 114 percent of the world’s population into thinking they’re crazy. This is not very “scientific,” if you ask me; leave the gaslighting to the business bros, please.

In 50 years, you’ll thank me.

I’ll be the woman in the history books who bravely opposed thousands of professionals significantly more intelligent than her in order to change the foundations of “science.” I face backlash now, but it’s all worth it.

I’m standing up for those who feel suppressed by the limitations

of science, those too scared to embrace ultimate spiritual acceptance. I’m opening up the pathway for all individuals — regardless of education — to have a say in what’s deemed as scientifically correct, setting up the future generation of pioneers in the field of science.

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A R T S & C U LT U R E

The Talon November 5, 2021

Satire: College emails are the light of my life KAAVYA BUTANEY Web Managing Editor

Amid the chaos and stress of first semester senior year, the tears and sweat, there is one beacon of light: automated college emails. Nothing gives me more joy than scanning my phone notifications and watching those babies stack up.

These emails are fantastic! They offer me so many cool opportunities and the email titles are so entertaining. My favorites include Baylor University’s iconic “Sic

’em, Kaavya!” and the simple yet unforgettable “Kaavya” from the University of Minnesota. Even better are emails with admission officer names, like my best bud Timothy A. Wolfe from William & Mary. I once tried to find Timothy so I could email him and ask him about intramural mini golf tournaments, but he hid his information from the Internet.

But there’s an obvious issue with all these possibilities. I can’t possibly respond to all 5,803 emails I’ve received, and I can’t go

to all these universities. And how could I ever reject a college that asks me for a family recipe twice in 12 hours? I didn’t know Duke Kunshan University would be so interested in me, but of course they want to know my mom’s onion sambar recipe. Who wouldn’t?

Just as I wrote this article, I received six emails! Everyone’s getting in on the fun, from the big names like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to the less known Rensselaer Polytechnic University. But I wasn’t sure

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why these colleges had spent their time trying to reach out to high schoolers when they had to have so much to do running admissions. Luckily, though, I was able to find expert Nicholas O’Bradwell from Impasta University, and he sat down with me to explain why he was dying to get to know me.

“Look, Kaavya, it’s all about making sure students want to come to our school, right?”

Bradwell said. “So we figured the best way is to flood their inbox so that they have no choice but to consider us. I mean, imagine how many colleges you’ve considered because they’ve sent you an email?”

And he was right. My college emails date all the way back to January 8, 2020, before I even turned 16, when I was a sophomore who didn't know my junior year classes. But I had to know: was I the only one? So I used our Instagram to find the truth. Turns out 99 percent of seniors loved these emails and 330 percent of them had considered a new college because of them.

“I almost cried when I read one that was sent to me during my birthday dinner,” senior Wren Jojo said. “It said time was running out for me to apply to a once-in-alifetime architecture program at a little-known college in the middle

of the desert. I knew I had to swap majors from marine biology to architecture. Over the course of the evening, they sent me my address and my social security number, which I didn’t even know. I had to apply. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure I’d be dead.”

My fascination with these random emails may seem strange, but the truth is that when the little blue submit button is hanging in front of me, I think back to those emails and am reminded of what is important. These colleges hoped that I would attend their campus, take their classes, live in their dorms, meet their professors and give them exorbitant amounts of money. These email experts spent their precious time clicking “send” on these email templates. I owe it to them to spend hours on their essays.

College application season is so tiring and toxic, with all the competition and comparison and frantic editing. But colleges really want students to be happy. They want them on their hallowed grounds, drinking their water fountain water, eating oatmeal for breakfast for three weeks straight and making fun of their collegiate stuffed animals. This is our first step toward that and it’s such an exciting rite of passage. Those emails will be the reason I push “submit.”

Ten local boba shops’ house milk teas, ranked Teaspoon

1 Boba: Milk tea: Price: Overall:

ROHAN VASWANI

Copy Editor

Photo Captain

Tea Era Cafe

Verde Tea Cafe

2 3 A A+ BA

Tea Annie

6 Boba: Milk tea: Price: Overall:

ALLAN FELDMAN

Boba: Milk tea: Price: Overall:

AAA+ A

Boba Bliss

Boba: Milk tea: Price: Overall:

4 AAA A-

ONEMORE

BB BB

Boba: Milk tea: Price: Overall:

Boba: Milk tea: Price: Overall:

5 AB+ B+ B+

Boba: Milk tea: Price: Overall:

B+ B B B+

Yi Fang

Teacub

9 10

8

7 B B B B

Boba: Milk tea: Price: Overall:

T4

Tea Zone

B+ C+ AB-

Boba: Milk tea: Price: Overall:

B C CC

Boba: Milk tea: Price: Overall:

D+ C+ DD+

A R T S & C U LT U R E

RACHEL RUDYAK

The Talon November 5, 2021

Aurum

Print Managing Editor

OLIVIA HEWANG

VAISHU SIRKAY

Media Managing Editor

Copy Editor

Appetizers Mr. Potato Mr. Potato features a crispy roasted swirl of potato, dusted with cumin and resting in a nebula of yellow peas, tamarind, creamy yogurt and a rich green cilantro chutney. While the potato spiral lacked flavor, and its texture could be described as cardboard-esque, the sauces added the freshness and flavor the potato itself was sorely lacking. Though the dish was difficult to eat (it became a team effort to get individual portions off the skewer), the spiraled potato added a layer of textural interest to a dish that can often verge on mushy.

Brassica Beets The stack of cauliflower florets come deep fried in a thin, slightly sweet, golden breading with a dollop of spicy chili aioli and a sprinkling of mustard seeds. We’re big cauliflower fans, but even we thought the delightfully crispy coating was the only thing going for this dish. The cauliflower was under-seasoned and undercooked, and the sweetness of the sauce coating the florets was overpowering. Unfortunately, the chili aioli wasn’t spicy enough to provide some much needed contrast. Visually, the cauliflower seemed carelessly piled up, and we wanted more variety in color.

Entrées Dum Khumb This fusion of an American pot pie and a little-known Indian side dish contains a medley of chanterelles, shiitakes and oyster mushrooms, all baked in a creamy tomato sauce, known as lababdar, and encased in pastry. The filling’s velvety gravy had a good balance of spice and umami. Reminiscent of American pot pie, the green peas added a welcome freshness and contrast. The flaky pastry covering the dish was delightfully buttery, and the mushroom filling paired wonderfully with naan.

I’m Not Pasta I’m Not Pasta reimagines saag paneer, a classic Indian dish made with spinach and a fresh cheese called paneer, as a lasagne, with square layers of spinach and cheese surrounded by a garlicky, tomato-based sauce. Since Tyagi won “Beat Bobby Flay” with this dish, we came in with high expectations. Unfortunately, though the paneer, a pasta substitute, was baked to golden, bubbly perfection, the cheese was rubbery and flavorless. The sauce, which packed most of the flavor in this dish, was absent between the layers themselves, making the lasagne incredibly dry and lacking in flavor.

Only At Aurum “Only at Aurum” is Tyagi’s take on bihari pithi pockets, featuring pickled potatoes, yellow lentils and chili flakes wrapped in a chewy yet crispy whole wheat dough and surrounded by a lentil sauce. We adored the unexpected punch of chili bursting from its potato samosa-like inside, but the five small pockets were overwhelmed by the daal on the plate. We’d suggest ordering naan to scoop up the leftover lentils on the plate. That said, we appreciated the inclusion of often under-represented Bihari cuisine, which comes from northern India.

Garlic Naan Aurum’s garlic naan is aptly named: this side consists of traditional naan bread covered in caramelized garlic, herbs, and butter. Naan is usually the most unmemorable part of a dish, but this was a joyous exception.

The garlic naan at Aurum is everything garlic naan should be: crunchy but soft, garlicky but not overpowering, buttery but not greasy. The caramelized garlic effortlessly melted into the fresh steaming bread, and we can confidently say that this is one of the most perfect garlic naans we’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.

Desserts Toffee Pudding Gorgeous and delicious, this toffee pudding is worth ordering even if you can’t think of stuffing your face with yet another delicious dish. In its bed of sweet caramel sauce, the moist sponge cake looks almost too delicate to spoon through. Once you do, though, you’re met with a satisfying ooze of that same velvety toffee caramel glaze. The sauce was wonderfully buttery and sugary, without being cloyingly sweet or too rich, and the array of spices perfectly complemented one another and matched the cozy flavors of the autumn season.

PHOTOS COURTESY AURUM

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The Talon November 5, 2021

A R T S & C U LT U R E

A Definitive Ranking of School Lunch Offerings 1 TURKEY WRAP The much-improved sibling to the turkey sandwich, the wrap features pesto sauce with cheese, bell peppers, onions, turkey, tomatoes and lettuce. It could constitute an actual meal, and even comes with a side of chips.

4 CHICKEN BOWL Although it has come in many variations, including orange chicken, teriyaki chicken and more, it manages to consistently taste acceptable, if not downright appetizing. With the addition of vegetables and rice, it feels like a real meal.

7 SOY BUTTER & JELLY SANDWICH Advertised as aalternative nut-free alternative A nut-free to the to the peanut butter jelly sandpeanut butter and and jelly sandwich, the soy wich, the soy butter sandwich is butter sandwich is packaged plastic feapackaged smilturing smilingplastic childrenfeaturing and cute checking children and cute checkered ered patterning. This is misleading — we patterning. We'd be surprised would honestly be impressed if anyone at if anyone could stomach more all could stomach more than a few bites. than a few bites.

NATHANIEL JOFFE

NATALIE WEI

Features Editor

Graphic Artist

2 PIZZA Pizza is the most convenient, but far from the most tasty.

The mass of greasy, caked-on cheese is neither tasty nor gooey enough to justify its presence.

The pesto option is a welcome alternative, but needs a higher pesto-to-cheese ratio.

5 CHICKEN BURGER The chicken burger’s bun and patty are plain, but it outclasses the hamburger. Its plainness may also be a blessing in disguise, because it means that the chicken burger escapes the slimy mess the school calls cheese used in the cheeseburger.

8

NACHOS The packaging features come a steamTheinviting nachos, perplexingly, inchimichanga a Chinese takeout container. ing stuffed with filling, but Inside a plastic corn the pasty is tortilla insidebag will of leave you chipsdisappointed. and a container of bright sorely The alleged “bean orange sauce that’s supposed to and chicken” chimichanga is sorely lackpass as cheese. The corniness of ing in chicken, and the beans and cheese the chips completely overwhelms blend together into a brown mush that the tasteless sauce. fails to combat the dry tortilla.

33 TURKEY PIZZA SANDWICH You get what you expect with this meal. The turkey and bright orange cheese taste relatively inoffensive. The bread is a little dry. The side of Lays chips as well as mayonnaise and mustard packets make the turkey sandwich acceptable.

6 HAMBURGER Although it has comeisinhot many variations, The hamburger to the touch, orange but unfortunately, that’s including chicken, teriyaki chickone of the only things going for en and more, it manages to consistently it.

The patties are tasteless, the taste acceptable, if not downright appetizbun leaves a bitterofaftertaste ing.

With the addition vegetablesand and the whole burger is squished rice, it feels more like a real meal than together, leaving you to wonder many other options. whether it’s been sat on.

9

CHIMICHANGA The nachos, perplexingly, in a The inviting packagingcome features a steaming stuffed Chinese takeoutchimichanga container. Inside, you with filling.

Instead, the alleged are greeted by a plastic bag of corn chips “bean andcontainer chicken” and a small ofchimichanga bright orange is sorely lacking in chicken, and sauce that’s supposed to pass as cheese. the beans and cheese blend The corniness of the chips completely together into a brown mush that overwhelms the tasteless sauce. fails to combat the dry tortilla.

T he Talon November.5,. 2021

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Read more sports articles at lahstalon.org/category/sports

Football CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE

“The game is pandemonium,” said Phyllis O’Sullivan, a parent on the football team. “It’s super exciting, and there’s a good turnout and lots of school spirit.”

For linebacker and running back senior Mingaang Park, playing the game at home made the experience all the more memorable.

“We get to go in our home locker room, we know where everything is, we can get into that mindset and be able to just march out in our school with the endzones our color and the eagle in the middle of the field,” Mingaang said. “It’s amazing.”

Team tribulations Getting to this point was not easy. During the first game of the season, the Eagles took a 42–7 defeat against the rival Spartans in a nonleague match, and as a result, many of the athletes felt less support from the student body.

“It’s really

ROHAN VASWANI

demotivating,” Dhruv said. “[Students] only come to the Mountain View game and it happens to be the toughest one we play all year.

The school doesn’t owe us anything, but more support would be nice.”

A few weeks ago the majority of the team also suffered a cold, leading many players to skip practices and games, hurting team chemistry. And with a few games being rescheduled earlier in the season, the Los Altos team played three games in a 10-day interval period — something that’s nearly unheard of in a school football program.

“We’re trying to stay healthy because some guys are banged up a little bit,” Head Coach Dave DeGeronimo said. “But these guys are resilient buds and they have learned how to come together and maintain that focus. For that, I’m really proud of the team.”

Of course, not all families get along easily. Mingaang credits teammate accountability as another factor in the team’s development.

“If I’m being honest, the football team isn’t smiles and hallelujahs 100 percent of the time,” Mingaang said. “Ultimately, we’re all working for the same vision and everybody has to do their own job.”

Throughout the season, games have taught the team to stay rooted and focused — particularly the game against Fremont High School. The Eagles had to fight back from a 13–0 score in halftime and eventually won 21–13. “[The game] was a reminder that these teams are also doing whatever it takes to win, and if we take our foot off the gas we may just get overtaken by another team,” Dhruv said.

Team history

The Los Altos team features many talented players, but is also a particularly young roster, according to DeGeronimo. The team has a strong foundation of sophomores, but the team needs to grow in order to compete at a higher level like the De Anza division.

“What I’d like to get to next year is everybody stays and we have tons of juniors and seniors; that’s when I know we will have turned the corner in terms of building something,” DeGeronimo said.

Despite the need for a larger roster, the team is already full of young leaders prepared to take charge after this season. Young standouts such as quarterback and defensive back sophomore Jimmy Flynn and wide receiver and defensive back junior Zach Fagin have both been selected as captains in various games.

“To be a captain felt amazing because usually it’s the seniors,” Zach said. “I wasn’t really expecting to be called, and I got support from my teammates and it felt pretty

The team’s recent success comes with DeGeronimo’s entry as the head coach three years ago, when he brought a new vision to make the program more meaningful and a set of team plays that the athletes had to adjust to. “[Our success] is a culmination of the past three years before, just grinding it out and figuring out what works and what doesn’t,” Mingaang said. “This year is an example of all the hard work paying off.”

DeGeronimo sees the team as family, encouraging players to form stronger bonds with one another. Athletes have embodied that sentiment by spending time together outside of games and practices.

“I love the bus rides after wins — they’re so iconic,” Dhruv said.

“You’ll see some classic 2000s songs like ‘Fireflies’ or something like that blasting and everyone singing in the bus.”

Team makeup

great.”

But the team certainly has a wide base of senior talent. The best players on the team are seniors John O’Sullivan, offensive lineman and defensive lineman, and Cole Rafferty, wide receiver and defensive back, according to DeGeronimo.

“Those guys are our senior leaders, our playmakers,” DeGeronimo said. “John anchors the line and Cole anchors the skill spots.”

Beyond this, many players have stuck with the program through thick and thin. While Mingaang suffered a knee ligament tear his sophomore year, and more injuries at the end of his junior year, his belief in the team’s development has kept him in it.

“Of course there are times where I could’ve easily just been like, ‘I’ve had fun playing football, maybe I’ll call it a day,’” Mingaang said. “But the belief that the team could be something that I could be proud of and the school could be proud of is something that really helped me get through the surgeries and procedures.”

His love of the game has also helped him through these difficult time periods.

“The camaraderie that you get from football is like nothing else,” Mingaang said. “In my personal opinion, there’s no other sport that requires the type of individual and collective efforts every single play, every single second of the game, for something to work.”

The team hopes to continue to grow into the future and maintain their level of play for next season.

“A lot of our juniors and sophomores on the team know how it feels to win,” Zach said. “I think that will translate into next season, that we’ll continue to work hard and want to win.”

But for right now, the team’s focus is the upcoming game, as they look to fight for the league championship tonight. With it, they hope to go down in history.

Simone says: Winning isn’t everything MIRA SUNDAR Sports Editor

The shriek of the whistle cuts through the air. The cheers of the parents are drowned out by the constant, loud splash of limbs against the water. The blood rushes to my legs as I desperately stay afloat. There is pool water everywhere, and I can’t breathe. The pool, normally too big, suddenly feels so small, and I need to get out.

I played water polo my freshman year, and I never thought twice about the sudden anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever I walked onto the pool deck, or the urge to prolong the start of practice. But now, as professional athletes like gymnast Simone Biles and tennis player Naomi Osaka are starting to be more open about their mental health, I realize that my relationship with water polo was not healthy.

It has been overlooked for far too long, but the mental health of athletes is important, and with stars like Biles and Osaka taking this step back from sports for themselves, it has finally gained the spotlight it deserves, albeit with undeserved backlash.

Biles publicly announced her withdrawal from the USA Olympic

NAOMI ICHIRIU

gymnastics team this past summer as they battled for the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics. During her aerial routines, she experienced “the twisties” — a sudden lack of spatial awareness, terrifying in the context of her routine. She took a step back from the competition to focus on her mental wellbeing, and was instantaneously labeled a quitter.

And she wasn’t the only one.

Osaka withdrew from the French

Open after being fined for skipping a press conference that she said caused her much mental anguish. She was told that if she continued to miss these interviews, she risked suspension or disqualification from the tournament, and in a press conference, she began to tear up, giving the world a glimpse into her battle with depression.

It boils down to the immense pressure athletes experience. In an interview with The New York

Times, Osaka explained how rather than feeling happy after a win, she feels relief, but when she loses, she feels an intense sadness she describes as “not normal.”

We put so much stake in our team’s victory. We laugh when our team wins and cry when they lose.

We put these athletes up on pedestals for living the best life possible. After all, why wouldn’t they?

They spend every day playing the sport they love in front of millions, earning millions. We call it the height of success.

But we are quick to forget that they are people too. Their success does not define them, just as our lack of success does not define us either.

I put so much pressure on myself to be perfect at a sport that I had never played before. Sure, I had participated in a two-week summer intensive camp, but I was literally dipping my toes into new waters and I didn’t let myself adapt or even quit.

And that is why, the actions of those like Biles and Osaka are groundbreaking because it opens the door for other athletes. They are setting the example that it is okay to be vulnerable, that it is okay to not be okay, on a global stage where they could have

faced major consequences. They are moving away from the idea of “toughing it out” that has plagued the sports community for so long and instead asking for help.

I often write off any feelings of exhaustion or anxiety during the season as not being conditioned enough, not being good enough.

During water polo, I used my anxiety as an excuse to push myself even further, because quitting was the worst thing I could have done.

But now I am starting to realize that being an athlete means taking care of both your physical and mental health, even if that means “quitting.”

Athletes, by nature, define success as winning, myself included.

After all, what’s the point otherwise? But this idea of doing whatever it takes to win or be labeled as “tough” is toxic because it encourages the sacrifice of oneself to meet their goals.

Rather, this new definition of toughness, as described by Biles and Osaka, is the ability to stomach the idea of not winning and to know when to prioritize yourself, even if that means not being as successful.

That redefinition of “tough” is worth more than any win in my eyes.

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The Talon November 5, 2021

Record-breaking varsity girls cross country sets records ROSE LIU Business Manager

The varsity girls cross country team this year is the best team Los Altos High School has ever had. The team consecutively broke the school team record at both the Crystal Springs and Baylands league meets. Their outstanding performance had qualified the team for the Clovis Invitational, one of the largest cross country meets in the nation.

Prior to the invitational, Head Coach Steph MacKenzie and the varsity girls debated whether they should enter the championship race, which is more competitive than the regular varsity division race. Ultimately, the seven top runners, Riley Capuano, Fiona Bodkin, Jasleen Sidhu, Maddy

Randall, Ella Fadil, Cameron Cox and Shelli Lewis, decided to take on the challenge and became the first LAHS team to run in the championship race. “[The championship race] had two or three of the teams that would be considered the best in the United States,” MacKenzie said. “So it was not just the best in California but the best in the country that the girls were racing against.”

The competitiveness of the race pushed the runners through their limit and broke the previous school team record set in 2013 by three minutes and 26 seconds on Saturday, October 9, setting a new record of 96 minutes and 55 seconds and finishing 15th out of 21 teams in the championship race. “[Except the top two runners], the other

ROHAN VASWANI

The varsity girls cross country team has had a very successful season this year, breaking two records at consecutive league meets and running in the Clovis Invitational meet.

(Pictured from left to right; top row: Riley Capuano, Ella Fadil, Sasha Anderson, Lauren Soobrian, Emily Soobrian. Bottom row: Fiona Bodkin, Shelli Lewis, Maddy Randall, Jasleen Sidhu, Cameron Cox)

five runners were literally in the back after about 1,200 meters because that’s just how fast it is,” MacKenzie said. “In their first mile, even though they were at the back of the pack, it was still the fastest they've ever run for a mile.”

Motivated by the large crowd of elite runners, all seven girls broke their five kilometer personal record during the championship race.

“I didn't even know I was in the very back because everyone was going so fast,” senior Cameron Cox said. “It was definitely a bit intimidating with everyone stampeding. But I caught up 50 places eventually.”

Similarly, Sophomore Jasleen Sidhu surprised the team by passing people left and right in the last few hundreds meters and ended up as the third runner on the team.

While cross country is often recognized as an individual sport, teamwork and community served as an advantage for the varsity girls team. As closely bonded friends, the team drives each other to achieve their best.

“They set this goal as a team that they want to qualify for the state meet,” MacKenzie said. “So they know when they step on that course it’s not about the individual because when you’re just focused on yourself, you can get complacent. However, when you know your teammates are counting on you, you push yourself to the best.”

During the championship race, every runner on the team moved up in position throughout the race after the initial setback.

They were able to depend on each other and maintain a strong mental game, according to MacKenzie.

“We just have so much depth this year, and every single person carried their weight,” senior Riley Capuano said, who was the first runner at the championship race. “The top five scores were all super close so we just crushed the school record, because every

single person is very strong.”

While they support each other during races, the team also motivates each other through competition. Since the beginning of the season, the placement of the top seven runners continued to change as they improved and shifted in the rankings.

“We all love each other but we’re all competitive,” Riley said. “We all want to be the fastest. We all have someone on the team who is around the same pace and speed that pushes each other, and that’s why we’re getting so good. It’s a really good competitive aspect to have because I don’t think I would be as good as I am and Fiona [one of the top runners] would be as good as she is if we didn’t have each other.”

Beyond just teammates, the secret to the team’s success came from hard work and their coach’s efforts.

“Coach Steph gives us really hard workouts,” Riley said. “Usually one day a week we’ll do hills. Everyone after the Clovis race said they passed a bunch of people on the hill because we’re good at hills. Coach Steph also really emphasizes taking our hard days hard and easy days easy so we're all staying injury-free.”

So far this season, the girls varsity team has been fluctuating between the first and second place in the league. If they continue the momentum they currently have, they have a promising chance of qualifying for CCS.

Bump, set, spike, commit NOOR KHAN Journalism I

The bleachers of the gym are filled with pink-clad fans cheering on Los Altos High School in the much-anticipated second game against Mountain View. It’s the second set of the game and LAHS is only up a few points with Mountain View trailing close behind. The ball sails over the net to junior Shannon McCabe, who slides onto the ground to catch it and sends it flying up into the air for junior Megan Wong to set it. Senior Emma Symon approaches the net and slams the ball onto the floor of the other side, winning the second set for the Eagles.

After seeing her play, it is no surprise that Emma is one of Dartmouth College’s newest volleyball recruits. But what is surprising is that she played her first game of volleyball a little over two years before she received the offer her junior year, when most varsity volleyball players start playing in middle school. When asked what gave her the confidence to start playing volleyball in freshman year, she laughed.

“I’m tall, so, you know, it might work out for me,” Emma said.

With a height of 6 feet 2 inches, volleyball was an obvious choice for her. To gain as much experience as possible before her first high school season, Emma participated in clinics and camps over the summer. That is where she met current varsity coach Peter Kim, who can easily recall his first impression of Emma.

“Really tall,” Kim said.

This sentiment was echoed by JV coach Sammie Thompson.

“She was tall, but really determined,”

COURTESY EMMA SYMON

Senior Emma Symon has loved volleyball ever since she started to play in her freshman year. Now she is committed to play for Darmouth’s Division 1 program.

Thompson said. “A little bit uncoordinated.”

Thompson also met Emma the summer before her freshman year and coached her first and only JV season. She entered that season with not even a single game under her belt. She emerged with a passion for volleyball and threw herself into the club season at Vision Volleyball Club, getting more involved in training, coming early to practice and staying after to work on skills.

“I know that she was working, I think, pretty much every day, with one-on-one

training, beach training and gaining as much knowledge as she possibly could,” Thomspon said.

When she started her sophomore year, she was the starting middle for the varsity team — blocking balls from sailing over the net and joyfully slamming the ball onto the opponent’s side — and has played the position ever since. And it was at this time that she began to think about playing in college.

Various college coaches had seen Emma play at tournaments before and had already talked to her club coaches. That summer, she received a text from the girls volleyball assistant coach at Dartmouth College, a Division 1 school and one of the top schools in the nation.

From that point on, she and the Dartmouth coach called about every one to two weeks, trying to see if she would be a good fit for the program. She would also send in highlight reels of her playing every couple of weeks. Although she was talking to a handful of schools in the beginning — including a few other Ivies — Dartmouth quickly became Emma’s first choice.

“As I talked to them more, I was like, this is it, this is where I want to go,” Emma said.

This continued until she verbally committed to Dartmouth in the fall of her junior year.

“I just have this feeling, like I know that’s where I’m supposed to be, I know it’s a great match, it’s a great fit for me,” Emma said.

Despite the security her commitment offers, Emma still feels the usual pressures of a high school student — tests, grades and homework — but she’s excited about the future, and so are her coaches.

“She needs to learn more, because when she goes to play against other D1 athletes or other players, she’s going to have to step up her game,” Kim said. “But because she’s determined and competitive, I think she’s going to do well.”

Emma isn’t the exception to the rule, according to Kim. He simply believes she put in the hard work to get to the place she’s in now and offers similar advice to anyone in the same position as Emma her freshman year.

“Just try it,” Kim said.

COURTESY EMMA SYMON

Emma Symon blocks the ball from crossing the net.