The Talon | Issue 6 | March 18, 2014 by The Talon

Los Altos High School, Los Altos, CA ■ March 18, 2014 ■ Volume XXIX, Issue 6

READ MORE ONLINE

lahstalon.org

UC tightens approval policy for online courses SOFIA GUO Staff Writer

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

CLUB RETURNS FROM HAITI TRIP Get an in-depth look into Haiti Solidarity Club’s experience in Port-Au-Prince meeting the important leaders involved in the area. Features, 13

The University of California (UC) Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools has implemented a new stricter approval policy for online courses. From now on, all online courses must be submitted to the UC Board for review in order to be considered for UC admission requirements ‘a-g’ approval. If approved, the online course publisher or school district must submit the course again for review and approval after three years, according to the new policy. “The main impact this has on our students is related to when students are looking at taking online courses

outside of our school district,” counselor Ryan Carter said. “The UC is closely examining online courses to see if they meet their same approval standards as approved in-seat courses.” Students who wish to fulfill one or more of their UC ‘a-g’ requirements by taking online courses, such as trigonometry, must check with their counselor before registering. “It is becoming increasingly difficult for these [outside] online providers to gain approval,” Carter said. “Some of the providers and courses that have been approved in the past are no longer approved for the upcoming school year. For these reasons, it is imperative that our students make sure [with

their counselor] that the courses they’re considering are approved. This will ensure that they will receive high school ‘college prep’ credit and that UCs, CSUs and other universities will recognize these courses when students apply to college.” Students who have previously completed an outside online course that was ‘a-g’ approved during the year in which they completed it will still receive ‘a-g’ credit for the course, even if the course has lost its approval in subsequent years. However, all students taking or considering taking online courses in the future should talk to their counselor. In addition to confirming UC ap-

New shops grace new sidewalks in Los Altos

AP Physics B to be Split into Two Sections Find out why the Advanced Placement physics courses will be changed beginning next year. News, 4

ALICE DAI, JAMES SUN, KATHERINE YEN, KEVIN YEN, WILLIAM JOW

Focus on Russian Human Rights Should Continue Past Olympics Read writers’ opinions as to why there should be a larger focus on human rights issues in Russia. Opinions, 9

Innovative Ice Cream Store Uses Liquid Nitrogen Smitten Ice Cream has taken the Los Altos community by storm through its modern technology of ice cream production. Features, 11

True Detective: A MustSee Crime Drama HBO has introduced a fresh, addicting crime show that has been lauded for being one of the best shows on television. Entertainment, 17

Lacrosse Expands Teams, Begins Promising Season The LAHS team is looking to build upon their last season, hoping to capture a consecutive league title. Sports, 20

Mar. 18 – 19

CAHSEE Makeups Mar. 19 @ 2:30 p.m.

Teen Job Fair Mar. 21

Sports Assembly Mar. 25

ASB Elections Mar. 26 – 29

Camp Diversity Mar. 26 – 28 @ 7:00 p.m.

Spring Concerts

Apr. 1 @ 6:30 p.m.

College Case Studies Apr. 2 @ 6:30 p.m.

LUCHA Latino Awards 2 6 7

Features Entertainment Sports

Staff Writers

that,” Jack said. The official maximum occupancy of the library building is 103, but on many days the number of students far exceeds that number. PARMIS TAIDY Jack stressed that the library can be in violation of fire code even if it doesn’t seem to be packed. Jack has developed an accurate way to approximate the number of kids in the library.

In the past few years, downtown Los Altos has seen a burst of construction projects and new businesses. In an effort to revitalize the downtown scene, many new store concepts have sprouted from these establishments, including a used book store (Know Knew Books), an exploratorium science center (Helix Community Science Center) and an arts and crafts store (The Makery). While a steady stream of shops have opened in the past few years, there have been an especially high number of new stores in this past year. Below are some of the most recent additions that have come or are coming to the downtown area. Eight new stores are owned by the H&H company, a local company run by Los Altos couple Mary and Brian Heffernan that caters to the family friendly, small town environment of Los Altos. Other establishments are owned by Passerelle, another investment company. Besides these company-owned stores, others are independently managed.

SEE ‘LIBRARY’ ON PAGE 2

SEE ‘DOWNTOWN’ ON PAGE 5

Library occupancy limit can’t accomodate enough students AMELIA BAUM Staff Writer

Following increasing concern over overcrowding, the library has in recent weeks begun to consistently turn away students when the building reaches maximum capacity. The catalyst for the enforcing the occupancy limit was a presentation made to the school board by the librarians from both schools about library services, including the issue of an increasing student body in a static space. “[The space] is going to stay the

same,” Librarian Gordon Jack said. “But more and more students are going to need to use the space.” Following the presentation, the district has asked the library staff to be more vigilant about making sure the number of students does not exceed the maximum allowed occupancy. “The district has asked us to be more attentive to that number and start to close the library when we get past

The evolution of Chef Chu’s SITARA SRIRAM

at home. It was this cook who taught Chu the basics of cooking, and exThe restaurant began as just one posed him to the world of food. room, with a mere twenty seats. Only “In the old days, unlike today’s food to-go was served in small take- modern world, we didn’t have [the inout boxes, and fine china was practi- ternet], we didn’t have TV, basically we cally non-existent. Little did every- didn’t have anything,” Chu said. “The one realize that this one room would food was what brought people togethsoon expand to a sit-down restaurant er, it was the snack everybody talked with multiple rooms serving over about. In this kind of environment, I 200 people a night, the likes of which basically learned how to eat first, and would include politicians, popstars got interested in food in general.” and world-class athletes. Chef Chu’s, a Much of Chu’s experience with food restaurant at the corner also came from visiting of El Camino and San markets in Taiwan with Antonio, has been servhis stepmother. I had a dream. I ing Chinese cuisine for “In [Taiwan]... it over 44 years under the didn’t care who wasn’t like America,” instruction of its owner came—American, Chu said. “They didn’t and master chef, Law- Chinese, Asian— give you a bag. I’m the rence Chu. one who carried the everyone would Chu grew up in Taibasket because I was wan where he and his love the food. the oldest boy in the family had a house cook family. That allowed me — Chef Lawrence Chu Business Manager

UPCOMING EVENTS

News Editorial Opinions

proval, students must always check in with their counselors to have the school approve the online course for high school credit. “It is critical that students see their counselor prior to registering for any outside coursework,” Carter said. “Your counselor can help you determine if the course is UC approved. Additionally, students need to get each outside course preapproved by our administration. Students can pick up the MVLA outside coursework pre-approval form from their counselor. This will ensure that students receive appropriate credit for the course on their LAHS transcript.”

10 14 18

IAN MACKEY

A cook prepares a meal during a busy night at Chef Chu’s. The restaurant has seen great success over the years, serving politicians to popstars. to have a very early [exposure to food because I] started to go to the market with my stepmother.” Chu’s stepmother taught him various tricks in determining which ingredients were the freshest, whether or not a vendor was trying to cheat him and how to determine which

meat was the best. “It’s easy to distinguish between death and life,” Chu said. “How long [something] has been dead is another story...You use your eyes, your nose, all these things and these tools to help you get the right ingredient.” SEE ‘CHEF CHU’S’ ON PAGE 12

The Talon March 18, 2014

Get daily LAHS updates and read the news archives at lahstalon.org/news

Common Core implementation progresses SOFIA GUO Staﬀ Writer

The new Common Core standards are a set of academic standards for grades K-12 in English language arts and math aimed at better preparing future generations for college and work. New science standards, called the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), were adopted by California in September 2013 and will be finalized in May 2014. The state is currently implementing Common Core standards into public school curriculum. Student understanding of these standards will be evaluated through assessments produced by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, a federally-funded association of educators, researchers and state policy makers working to finalize a Common Core assessment by the 20142015 school year. The fully computerized Common Core exams will be administered for the first time to juniors at all three schools in the district in May of 2015. The only mock Common Core exam will take place at Alta Vista this May. “The state chooses one school per district to conduct a field test of the Common Core,” Associate Superintendent Brigitte Sarraf said. “For our district, the state chose Alta Vista. All juniors at Alta Vista, a total of about 35 students, will participate in the field test this spring. ” A shift from previous years, the sophomore life science CST will be the only CST given this year, as it is a federal requirement under the No Child Left Behind Act and the NGSS have not been implemented yet. Common Core exams will be

Library CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE “Usually [Ms. Bridges and I] can tell that if every chair is taken then that’s 110 [students] right there,” Jack said. “But there are always people in the stacks.” With rainy weather and free periods causing massive amounts of students to flock the library on a regular basis, the school faces a dangerous problem. The 103 number is a mathematical calculation set by the Oﬃce of the State Fire Marshal, taking into account the square footage and floor plan of the building. Santa Clara County Fire Marshall Fardean Amadkani emphasized that this number is static, and cannot change unless the total square footage of the room does. “The only way to fix this is more square footage, or less students,” Amadkani said. What this means is that according to the fire marshall, rearranging furniture, creating more emergency exits, or other internal measures will not have any eﬀect on the maximum occupancy level of the library building. Since the space cannot be

proctored online, so expanding the internet bandwidth has been the major technological issue surrounding Common Core preparations. The school is installing more wireless routers to resolve this issue by next school year. The district will address computer availability concerns once the state releases more information about Common Core testing. With a focus on studying fewer subjects with more depth than the former state standards, the Common Core standards also emphasize critical thinking and analysis. Although most of the standards emphasize academic skill building, there are also technology skill standards incorporated into the academic ones. “There are Common Core technology standards asking that students learn how to incorporate diﬀerent types of media and use diﬀerent types of presentation formats in their learning,” history teacher Carson Rosenberg said. District technology instructional coach Shelley Carranza has spent the past few months helping teachers adapt to new technology programs such as Edmodo and Padlet, which enhance students’ understanding of the more challenging concepts of Common Core. “I learned about these [technologies] through conferences,” Carranza said. “I’ve been able to [organize and find] a lot of resources that are online that build upon the Common Core standards.” In addition to consulting Carranza, teachers in each department from each school have formed voluntary Common Core technology

easily expanded to meet increasing demand, the library staﬀ has been working with Tutorial Center Coordinator Quyen Nguyen and College Career Center Coordinator Dawn Allen to find ways to more evenly spread out students. “Ms. Nguyen, Ms. Allen, Ms. Bridges and myself are going to start talking about how we can spread people out and give them other places to go,” said Jack. Jack said he would also like to see the school create alternative spaces for the many students who come to the library just to “hang out,” including the cafeteria and some outdoor spaces. He also wants kids to take advantage of some of the other places to study around campus. “The tutorial center usually gets as crowded as we get, especially on rainy days,” Jack said. “But right now [the College and Career center] is not being utilized as much as it could be”. The library staﬀ hopes that the problem can be remedied in a way that gives students more places to be comfortable and productive on campus. “It’s nice that people want to come to the library,” Jack said. “In one sense… this is a very good problem to have. To read updates about the library, visit lahstalon.org/news

NOY ANISMAN

course teams who collaborate and attend professional development relating to technology integration in the classroom. Through these course teams, teachers have learned to assist students in learning both academic and technology standards with the same online programs Carranza has worked with. English teacher Margaret Bennett believes that technology has made a positive impact on the way her students learned certain skills required by the standards.

“We need students to be able to use new technology as it comes out, and the idea is that [both teachers and students] are adapting,” Bennett said. “The technology is really powerful in that it is more engaging and individually accountable.” However, teachers are unsure of the exact exam format. “The standards themselves make a lot of sense,” Bennett said. “What remains to be seen is how the [finalized] exam is going to assess

those skills learned by the standards, as [English teachers] don’t know what is going to be tested.” Overall, the district believes that the schools are very well prepared for the Common Core assessments. “The schools have made enormous progress to prepare for the changes that the Common Core will bring,” Sarraf said. “I believe the district is in a very good position, and we are ready for our students to take the Common Core exams.”

Mock Trial argues prescription drug case SITARA SRIRAM

during every trial you are scored by a ‘jury’ of 3-4 From September to Februreal-life attorneys,” Anary, the school’s Mock Trial neliese said. “They score club has been busy particieach person on a scale of pating in various competi1-5, and then at the end, tions in an attempt to gain they add up all the scores a deeper understanding for each team, and the of court cases and to learn team with the most points about the various roles withwins.” in the judicial system. Regardless of whether This year, Mock Trial has the team wins or loses, competed in four oﬃcial members have found competition days. The deMock Trial to be a refense team faced Lynbrook warding experience that and Lincoln’s prosecution gives them the confiteams, beating Lincoln, dence and the ability to while the prosecution team think on their feet. faced Saratoga and Prospect “For me, the highlight of TALON FILE PHOTO High School’s defense teams, competitions this year has beating Saratoga. Though Junior Anneliese Gallagher is sworn in as a witness been delivering the closing the club is one cohesive unit, during a practice. The team studied a drug case. arguments for defense,” within the club itself there Anneliese said. “Defense are two separate teams, the defense had a prescription, that it was in always gets the last word, and you and the prosecution, which compete Rae’s car that bags of 5 pills each only have one minute to rebut [the independently. were found along with a list of prosecution’s arguments]. Closing The entire team’s season began names and money,” junior Annie has been so much fun for me bein September when Mock Trial re- Gaﬀney said. cause I have to think on my feet and ceived a “case packet” with informaThe defense team’s strategy was choose my words carefully, because tion about this year’s case, which is focused on casting reasonable everything I say has a lot of impact.” called People v. Concha and focuses doubt by finding holes in the proseIn the future, the team hopes to on the trial of a high school stu- cution’s argument. Both the defense expand the number of members dent (Rae Concha) who has been and the prosecution used planned and continue to advance their uncharged with possession for sale of strategies to get the verdict to be in derstanding of the judicial process. a controlled substance, Adderall, as their favor. However, determining “This season has been great, and well as manslaughter for selling Ad- which side wins during a Mock Trial we’ve come much closer to making derall to a student who he knew had Competition is much more compli- the quarterfinals than we have in a heart condition. cated than simply declaring a side previous years,” Mock Trial Presi“[As the prosecution], we ar- guilty or not guilty. dent senior Cole Limbach said. “I gued that Rae was the one with “The ruling [itself] actually am hopeful that we will continue to access to Adderall, that he/she doesn’t count for anything, because build on this success in later years.” Business Manager

The Talon March 18, 2014

Speech and Debate team excels at competitions RILEY SOWARD Staﬀ Writer

With a roster of strong student debaters, the MVLA Speech and Debate team has been performing consistently well throughout the season. Lincoln-Douglas debater and club president, senior Salim Damerdji, is currently ranked ninth for LincolnDouglas debate by debaterankings. com in the nation. In February, he competed in three major tournaments and placed within the top five in all three: The Golden Desert Invitational in Las Vegas, Nevada (2nd place), The Berkeley Invitational (3rd place) and the Stanford Invitational (5th place). Salim’s performances at these tournaments have earned him three “bids” to the Tournament of Champions (ToC), the most prestigious high school debate tournament in the nation. “The ToC determines which tournaments deserve bids based on which are the toughest within the nation,” Salim said. “They determine the bid level that each tournament gets...[they] say that if you are top ‘x,’ then you get a bid at this tournament.” All debaters who receive at least two bids qualify for the ToC, which means Salim has secured his spot, becoming the first student from the school to receive a ToC invitation since 2011. While the ToC isn’t until May, Salim is already preparing for

COURTESY SALIM DAMERDJI

Senior Salim Damerdji reads his debate case for the Lincoln-Douglas circuit. Salim has won two bids to the Tournament of Champions this year, one of the most prestigious debate tournament in the United States. the Lincoln-Douglas Debate topic, which is whether developing countries should prioritize environmental protection over resource extraction when the two are in conflict. Debate techniques often vary depending on geography, so Salim anticipates that his biggest challenge at the ToC will be knowing how to debate people with diﬀerent styles. “I’ve been able to be successful on a national level by [mostly] debating in California, but...these de-

baters who I infrequently see, only when they travel to California, will be at the ToC,” Salim said. “I am now preparing against tricky debaters, for instance, who I rarely deal with [such as] debaters who read critiques and are from Texas.” Although he’ll be facing the best of the best—the top 70 debaters from across the nation—Salim is optimistic about his chances of placing highly. “If I work as hard as I’m expect-

ing to work, [my] realistic goal would probably be quarter-finals, so top eight, but of course, you always want to think about winning it all,” Salim said. One of the school’s public forum teams, comprised of juniors Ben Gardner-Gill and Ashwin Vaidyanathan, have also been having a strong season. “We’ve made it to the elimination rounds of all but one tournaments we’ve been at, and we’ve

had a winning record in each,” Ben said. “In November, we made it to the finals at the University of the Pacific tournament, where we also earned a bid to the Tournament of Champions.” The duo did not receive a second bid this year. However, there’s still a small chance that they might be able to attend the ToC. “We are going to apply for the Tournament of Champions in April,” Ashwin said. “You usually need two bids to get in, but sometimes they allow teams with one ToC bid to enter.” If Ben and Ashwin are accepted into the ToC, they’ll be spending most of April preparing for their assigned topic. Public forum has a different debate topic each month. “The topics are usually very relevant to current world events… [for example] during Iran’s nuclear buildup in October, our topic was unilateral military force by the U.S. is justified to prevent nuclear proliferation,” Ashwin said. If they don’t qualify for the ToC, Ben and Ashwin will be competing at the upcoming Santa Clara Invitational in April, where they’ll be trying out diﬀerent events. “We’re both just hoping to have a good time and learn about these new events at the [Santa Clara] tournament, not to win,” Ben said. Overall, the Speech and Debate team is on track to keep improving over the next few years.

Model U.N. club participates in local conferences SITARA SRIRAM

bly, to more obscure, specialized committees. Model United Nations (Model “There are usually 10-15 countries U.N.) strives to educate high school that represent the different kinds students about global affairs, and of committees in the U.N.,” Konrad give them a deeper understanding of said. “The general assembly is usuinternational politics. ally the biggest one, then there’s The school’s Model U.N. club [also the] economic and social comtypically participates in three mittee and all these other different conferences a year. This year, they [committees] that happen in real have attended the “Inter-Gener- life. [There’s] also these specialized ational” Model U.N. conference committees which each individual at San Francisco State, the Santa conference makes up that solve speClara Model U.N. conference and cific problems or [include] somea conference held at thing cool like being the UC Berkeley. cabinet of a president.” Before each conStudents prepare for ference, the school Just seeing conferences by writing gets assigned a everyone position papers. These country, or mulpapers allow students to tiple countries, that working so hard familiarize themselves they will be respon- in committee with their country’s viewsible for represent- and having it point on specific issues ing at that confer- pay off...is the before actually attending ence. Members the conference and parbest part of the can request certain ticipating in the mock countries, but are conferences. assemblies. ultimately assigned “The [student] chairs, — Junior Samantha Dadok randomly. the people [selected to] “When you regisrun each committee inter [for a conference] you get coun- dividually, they write you a chair try assignments, and sometimes if letter which gives you background you’re in a specialized committee on your topic so you...know what’s [instead of a country, you represent] going on,” Konrad said. “[Then]... a person or an organization of some you write a position paper [that insort,” Model U.N. President senior cludes background]...summarizes Konrad Niemiec said. “You come in what they told you, adds in new knowing the topic you [are going to] information about the topic and talk about, and they give you usually [includes] what the U.N. has done two topics per conference, [that re- in the past about this topic.” late to world issues].” The position papers also require The majority of the time, the members to include their countries school gets assigned one country position on the topic designated. and the members in each school will However, discovering certain counparticipate in different committees. tries’ opinions on specific issues can “[For example, if you were] repre- often be challenging. senting Somalia...most people from “I was Mozambique for one conyour school would also be Somalia, ference and who knows what Moand [everyone would be in different zambique thinks about renewable committees] solving different prob- energy?” Konrad said. “So you kind lems,” Konrad said. of infer what your country’s position The committees within a confer- would be based on the information ence can range from basic com- you find, and then you offer some somittees, like the General Assem- lutions and thats all written in your Staff Writer

COURTESY KONRAD NIEMIEC

Los Altos Model U.N. club members Ben Gardner-Gill and Konrad Niemiec pose for a photo with representatives from other schools at a conference. Students represented different countries in committee groups. position paper which you submit to your chair.” Once the position papers are submitted, research awards are given out to individuals who have particularly in-depth or interesting research. Once at the conference, students work together to pass resolutions, which is the primary mode the U.N. uses to solve world problems. “You want to try to stay on your country’s policy, so [for example] the U.S. isn’t going to work that closely with North Korea or something,” Konrad said. “And you want to have some fun so you get in little arguments with people, you work together with people, at the end you go into what it is called frivolous debate [where you] just have some fun.” Awards are given out at conferences to delegates that do the best job speaking at influencing people and trying to get people to agree with them. The awards that are given out range from a verbal commendation to an honorable mention, all the way to an honorable or

best delegate award. The best delegate award is the most prestigious award oﬀered at conferences, and is often referred to as “gavelling.” “[This year], a lot of us have personally aimed for research or best delegate awards at the conferences we attend,” junior Samantha Dadok said. “Overall, just seeing everyone work so hard in committee and having it pay oﬀ either through improvement of their public speaking skills or through receiving an award is the best part of conferences.” In addition to doing well at conferences, one of the biggest goals for the club this year was to try and expand and include more people. “I think we accomplished that, at the beginning of the year we had almost 30 people coming to meetings, now its dwindled to almost 20 or 15 [but we’ve still] kind of made a name for ourselves,” Konrad said. “This is the first year we’ve ever won major awards at LAHS so that’s pretty cool.” Seeing Model U.N. expand so

much from last year was one of the highlights of the season thus far for the club. “I didn’t know that we could pick up the club like that and really expand [it] to kind of become a force,” Konrad said. Ultimately, the club hopes to continue recruiting members and making a name for themselves on campus. “Model U.N. is a blast,” Konrad said. “It seems really weird to kind of talk and explain your ideas but when you’re actually in committee you’re having so much fun and it’s really an experience that I think you need to have in high school. Just being in a room with people and trying to work together on a common goal, I think that’s really powerful.” To read updates about Model U.N. club, visit lahstalon.org/news

The Talon March 18, 2014

AP Physics B to be split into two classes DAVID WU ROBERT CHIN

of exceptionally motivated and interested student[s]... so we think Sports Editor there’s going to be a population Senior Writer of students that can successfully Starting next year, the school handle AP Physics 1 and 2 and then will be changing its current AP a general population who want Physics B course in favor of re- just a taste of physics, [which] will placing it with two separate full- serve them very well. That’s my year AP physics courses, “AP proposal and Ms. Davis’ proposal; Physics 1” and “AP Physics 12,” as its our coordinator, Greg Stoehr’s named by AP Physics C teacher proposal and Mrs. Satterwhite is Adam Randall, who will poten- on board with it. There’s never gotially teach one or both of the ing to be an offer for AP Physics 2; the second AP course will never be courses next year. The decision to split the course a stand-alone course.” According to Randall, the AP comes in light of a recent change Physics 1 course will by the College Board. offer students a host The call for change of benefits because arose when the reit gives them a full sults of an in-depth We think year to study physstudy conducted there’s going to ics topics currently by the National be a population only allotted a semesResearch Council of students ter of time to learn. (NRC), concluded The class will serve that AP Physics B is that can a variety of students a very broad course successfully well, not only offerthat “encourages handle AP ing those interested cursory treatment of Physics [12] in the sciences a solid important topics in and then understanding of the physics” rather than subject matter, but cultivating a “deeper a general also students hesitant understanding of population who to take an AP physics key foundational just want a enough time to principles.” As such, taste of physics. class learn the content. the AP Physics 1 and — Physics Teacher “What we’re go2 courses were creAdam Randall ing to offer…is this ated with the intenAP Physics 1 course, tion of cultivating a more in-depth understand- which is a much kinder and gening of the topics covered in the tler course…[with] less content AP Physics B course by spread- than I currently teach in my physing the course material over two ics classes,” Randall said. “It’s years of instruction, with AP much less content, which is better Physics 1 covering AP Physics because it allows me to have weekB’s first semester content and AP long labs, so it’s more out of seat Physics 2 covering AP Physics B’s time and more experiential learnsecond semester content. A new ing…There’s no need to hurry. I’m curriculum framework was also going to be able to revisit, cycle developed for the two courses through, re-examine, reteach and by the AP program, and will be re-experience [topics] and stu“organized around seven foun- dents will be able to look at difdational big ideas in physics that ferent things in different ways and structure the courses,” according get a holistic feel for how mathematics and physics work.” to College Board. AP Physics 12, meanwhile, will “The College Board isn’t in the mix at all,” Randall said. “On their be a course designated for stuwebsite, it says if your student dents looking for a more mathpopulation is able to handle both ematically-challenging physics of these AP physics courses in a course. The class will retain the year, then go ahead and give it to same course material as the curthem. We’re a unique population rent AP Physics B class, but aims ADVERTISEMENT

$2 MINI

MINI BURGERS K A E R B

to incorporate some aspects of the AP Physics 1 course, such as longer labs and more experiential learning, in order to foster a deeper understanding of the topics taught. “It’s the same topics [as AP Physics B], but Ms. Davis and I are committed to transitioning away from the memorization that is required in the AP Physics B course and teaching through experience, through experiential labs,” Randall said. “A big part of what [College Board] is asking me to do is to have students build models of reality in mathematics, test the model of reality in the lab and then meld the two. There will be a learning curve in the beginning, but then, really, after the first quarter or so, students should be more proficient at the experimental set up and making models of reality with mathematics and then testing the models in the labs and figuring out where the model breaks down or where the model can be changed.” Though there is basically no doubt that there will be an AP Physics 1 and 12 course next year, the logistics surrounding the courses such as how many periods of the classes will be taught, what lab equipment will become necessary and what teachers will teach them have yet to be finalized. “That kind of thing doesn’t happen until we know how many students are enrolled in classes, and we know who’s going to be teaching what math classes what periods and how music and art fit together,” Randall

NOY ANISMAN

said. “The master schedule is a very organic thing, so at some time we’ll know, but right now we don’t know.” Regarding administration and district-level planning for the implementation of the courses, there is also work to be done. Some of this work includes aligning the classes with Mountain View High School. “We have to refine [plans for the courses] and coordinate it with our sister school [Mountain View High School],” Assistant Principal Perla Pasallo said. “We take it to our leadership team here first, which is administration and all of the [department coordinators]…then Ms. Satterwhite goes to the school board meetings with all of the presidents, she talks about it there, then we bring it [back] to leadership, and we talk about what are we going to do. Then I submit our courses to College Board and the UCs and define them.” Though much has yet to be planned, the general consensus is that the College Board’s decision to split AP Physics B into two courses was a good one.

“It’s a really great split to me,” Randall said. “It makes a lot of sense, the way they’ve done it. I think the positives are that we are going to be teaching through doing, [having] more lab based experiences and actually preparing students to get out of college [by] giving them the skills necessary to get out in four years. It really will be preparing them well. We’re providing a world class opportunity.” More specifics about the new AP Physics 1 and 2 courses and their respective AP exams can be found via the new curriculum framework developed by the AP Program here: media.collegeboard.com/ digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap-courseexam-descriptions/ap-physics1-and-ap-physics-2-course-and-exam-description.pdf.

Last year’s Sprint for Sport’s however brought in the desired amount of money needed to support the sports programs and cover a large portion of the debt. As of the press deadline, the money hasn’t been counted yet, so Dawson and ASB cannot determine if they have reached their goal or not. Although the actual Sprint for Sport’s event is over, people can still donate money. “It can be a successful Sprint for Sports without physically being there, as long as kids donate money, you can still turn that in without having to run,” Dawson said. One hundred percent of the money raised for Sprint for Sports goes to support the sports programs at the school.

with your high school ID

NEWS BRIEFS

MONDAY-FRIDAY 11am-6pm

Blood Drive:

Sprint for Sports:

On Friday, March 7, the YEAH (Youth Engaged in Advancing Health) Club hosted a blood drive from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the large gym. Students aged 16 or older and staﬀ were eligible to donate a pint of their blood. The process for donating blood was students and staﬀ registered in the system and got screened for the minimum requirements to donate blood according to the Stanford Blood Center; eligible participants donated one pint of their blood. The accumulated blood was then donated for use in blood transfusions to treat patients with blood loss. Upon donating a pint of blood, donors received a gift card for a pint of ice cream from Baskin Robbins. As of the press deadline, March 12, the YEAH club estimates that over seventy pints of blood were donated.

On Saturday, March 1, the school hosted another Sprint for Sports fundraiser from 8 a.m. to noon on the football field and in the large gym. Sprint for Sports, a fundraiser which raises money for the high schools’ sports teams, was a response to the debt of the sports programs’ at the school in previous years, mainly caused by the fact that most sports don’t generate money. “Before last year, we were losing about 20,000 dollars a year in athletics, so we needed to start to generate some money,” Dawson said. “In the past, we would do a car wash or Chevy’s night... We wanted to create a big thing that would allow coaches to focus on the act of coaching and the team’s success rather than go out and create money for their [individual] sports.”

Valid only at the Mountain View location. Expires June 15, 2014.

get MORE out of the TALON! Updated daily, lahstalon.org is your student-run source for breaking news, school updates and Eagles sports coverage.

@The_Talon

TALON FILE PHOTO

Students in college prep physics listen to their teacher discuss the specifics for an upcoming exam. Regular physics will become AP Physics 1 next year, while AP Physics B will become AP Physics 12.

Like us on Facebook

To read updates about the physics classes, visit lahstalon.org/news

-Compiled by Johnny Scher

The Talon March 18, 2014

Downtown Los Altos, revamped. To read about more of the new stores downtown, visit lahstalon.org/news

THE MAKERY OPENED JUNE 2013 ON 170 STATE STREET The Makery is a high-end arts and crafts store on State Street. Mary Heﬀernan created the unique concept for the store, because she wanted to inspire others to take on crafts and hands-on projects. The store has both a retail and studio space, so customers can pick and choose from a variety of craft supplies in the store and then complete art projects in its indoor studio and its courtyard studio. The Makery has a wide range of art supplies to choose from: party supplies, kits, felts, stationery, gift wrapping supplies, books, fabrics, yarns and knitting needles are just some of them. In addition to this, The Makery also sells store-made goods like screenprinted flags and shirts. Besides retail, the Makery oﬀers classes ranging from $30-$250 for all levels of crafters. Some classes include: sewing, knitting, letter pressing, book making, art classes, leather working, DIY crafts and calligraphy. “We have been very successful,” store manager Danielle Brill-Lehn said. “Most people that come in that hear our story are really happy we are here and that Mary and Brian have brought this to Los Altos...We hope to be here for a very long time.”

KNOW KNEW BOOKS OPENED OCT. 2013 ON 366 STATE STREET By its clever name, Know tion developments as well as the Knew Books can be thought of changing landscape of the suras a used bookstore. In practice rounding downtown area. Book though, it aspires to be much genres sold in the store range more than its bookstore inten- from young adult fiction to histions, by expanding its mer- tory to poetry and plays and chandise and community out- “just about anything you could reach. The store currently sells think of.” Burruss notes that he used jewelry and new has books that are cards, while also hostout of print as well ing chinchilla adopas some that are still tions and monthly Know Knew on the new arrivals poetry nights. It also Books curshelf in other bookhas a drawing board stores, depending rently sells in the back for anyon who comes in to one who wishes to used jewelry trade their books. express their artistic and new cards, In addition, Burruss creativity. Addition- while also hostscouts for books ally, owner Bill Bur- ing chinchilla from garage sales, russ hopes to set up auctions, estate silent movie nights adoptions and sales and even other with live music ac- monthly poetry bookstores. companiment some- nights. Despite more than time soon. 30 years of experiKnow Knew Books ence dealing with is the ultimate community gath- them, Burruss didn’t always love ering place for people of all ages. books. He was dyslexic as a child Burruss opened the store in 1988 and was unable to enjoy reading on California Avenue in Palo until he got to college, where a Alto, but decided to relocate professor helped him figure out after 25 years due to construc- a way to overcome his dyslexia. Despite this early, major setback in his life, Burruss has managed to develop a passion for books and now looks to the future with optimism. “Hopefully, the store will not only succeed financially but it will also succeed in giving Los Altos [residents] a place to have fun and to relax and to do what they want to do,” Burruss said. “As far as the future goes, I will try to adapt to what the community needs…[and] what they want me to provide for them.” STOREFRONTS BY BRANDON HONG MAKERY COURTESY DANIELLE ERILL-LEHN GRAPHIC BY PARMIS TAIDY

THE MAKERY

1. THE MAKERY 2. KNOW KNEW BOOKS 3. HELIX 4. RED BERRY COFFEE BAR

RED BERRY COFFEE OPENED MARCH 2014 ON 145 MAIN STREET Red Berry Coffee Bar was previously situated in downtown San Jose, but owners Lisa and Jeff Hampton decided to relocate to downtown Los Altos because they knew the Los Altos area well and felt that “Red Berry [would be] an excellent fit for this community.” Plans for the coffee bar were in place by March 2013, but hiccups such as power supply problems and project management issues delayed the normal construction timeline. The business began serving customers on March 3 while still training its staff and officially opened its doors on March 10. According to the Hamptons, the store is “not a coffee shop in the traditional sense [because] we showcase artisan coffees...and feature many well-known artisan roasters, including Ritual, Barefoot, Wrecking Ball, Temple, Intelligensia [and] Verve.” In addition, the coffee bar offers specialty cafe fare such as scones, pastries, sandwiches and Lisa’s Weekend Waffles as well as an espresso bar with a daily selection of three different coffees. Red Berry plans to host barista contests, art exhibitions, coffee preparation training events and coffee cuppings (coffee-tasting events). This coffee shop targets all demographics, with a “special focus on those who enjoy exploring specialty coffees.” Besides coffee, the store also lists natural artisanal teas on its menu, all of which are loose leaf and prepared to “high quality standards.”

HELIX OPENED NOV. 2013 ON 316 STATE STREET Helix, an extension of the San Francisco Exploratorium, is a temporary two-story science museum on State Street that opened last November after Passerelle approached the Exploratorium with a one year grant. With a “pay what you wish” admission, Helix is currently set to be in Los Altos until this November. “The Exploratorium is a leader in informal learning, and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to experiment in a small, downtown setting, where we will develop new programs and activities that connect with this community,” Director of Helix Anne Richardson said. “We’re here for everyone—for families, for adults, for kids, for schools—we’re just creating a place where people can engage in learning in lots of different ways.” Although the site is small, the building showcases more than 20 exhibits while additionally situating the store portion on the bottom floor. On top of its dynamic set of exhibits, Helix hosts various programs for visitors to explore science topics. Each month has a theme; February’s theme was “Attraction” which included weekly heart dissections and talks about the neurotransmitters and hormones involved in sex, romantic love and attraction. March’s theme was “Time”—every Sunday visitors can learn how to animate images with flip sticks, flip books or stop motion techniques. Future months will cover “Language” (April), “Chaos” (May), “Spin” (June) and “Monsters” (July).

The Talon March 18, 2014

Please send letters to the editor to lahstalon.eic@gmail.com Los Altos High School

NHS based on flawed principles ■ NHS at the school lacks focus on service and permits apathy ■ National organization is unnecesarily exclusionary

Would you join NHS if you could do it over again?

How did the faculty adviser affect your NHS experience? 3% OMITTED

61%

Worse

No Influence

Better

Significantly Better

How did NHS affect your motivation to do community service? 61%

Significantly Decreased

Decreased None 60.7 %No Influence

Increased

Significantly Increased

More than 60 percent of LAHS NHS members would not join NHS again if they had the chance. With How much of the time that you spend on NHS is worthwhile? statistics like these, it is clear that 51% the school’s NHS chapter has fundamental flaws. 26% According to the National Honor 21% Society (NHS), “The purpose of this 2% organization shall be to create enthuNone or Nearly None NoneSome Most All or Nearly All 60.7 % siasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote FOR THIS POLL, 61 NHS MEMBERS WERE POLLED DIRECTLY AFTER A NHS MEETING. leadership and to develop character in the students of secondary schools.” NHS is largely used to bolster college 30 percent of NHS members report regardless of their GPA. Restricting The LAHS chapter of NHS fails to applications, students have little mo- that the group has “increased their membership to those who perform fulfill these objectives. At the school, tivation to do more than the mini- motivation to participate in commu- well academically is elitist and unNHS serves little purpose other than mum number of service hours. Addi- nity service,” while 60 percent report necessarily exclusionary. If students to reward academically motivated tionally, service projects are intended that the club has had no influence. with lower GPAs want to help their students for completing nominal to be supplemented by student pro- For an organization whose focus is community, they should be encourposals. However, on community service, this presents aged and receive equal recognition community service because students a serious problem. Additionally, the and opportunities as their peers with requirements. lack commitment, majority of members feel that most higher GPAs. This is partly Little good can come few suggest any. of the time they spend on NHS isn’t Because NHS is flawed both locally caused by a culture However, the worthwhile. At LAHS, the organiza- and nationally, students should rewithin the organiza- from a community problem extends tion simply isn’t productive. consider joining. Although prospection where students service organization beyond the memIf the problems with NHS were tive members have already applied, assume little effort is where most members bers to the adviser, limited to the school’s chapter, they those who are accepted should not needed. Rather than are not primarily Terri Salsman de could be remedied. However, the na- automatically join the organization. working hard to iminterested in Rodriguex. An ad- tional organization’s core philosophy Rather, they should see if other comprove their commuviser is obligated to is itself flawed. To even be eligible munity service groups align better nity, most put in just community service. improve the orga- for NHS, students must meet a GPA with their goals and beliefs. enough effort to stay Many students incorrectly believe in the organization. The root of this nization. However, most members requirement of 3.0 nationally and problem is likely that so few students say Rodriguex has “not influenced 3.5 at our school. NHS is based on that if they have high GPAs they join the club because they’re inter- their experience” with NHS. Advis- the belief that the high performing are in some way obligated to apply. ested in community service. In fact, ers should push students should be are uniquely obligated to help the Just because one achieves academiwhen polled, less than 10 percent of pushed to do more than meet mini- community. Its motto is “noblesse cally does not mean NHS is right participants cited this as their pri- mum requirements. Students should oblige,” which translates to nobility for him or her. The organization is mary motivation for joining. Instead, be encouraged to pursue community obliges. This phrase harkens back only considered the default for these most joined to put the organization service in order to help those around to the French revolution and was students because hundreds keep on their college applications. Little them, rather than to make them- part of why the lower classes rose up applying. Students should choose against the nobility. It is quite literally other community service organizagood can come from a community selves look better to colleges. When combined, student apathy a symbol of elitism. tions so that the pervasiveness of service organization where most In truth, all are able to benefit so- NHS will decrease and with it the members are not primarily inter- and an unproductive advisor create ested in community service. Because a lackluster organization. Less than ciety through community service, pressure to apply.

Response of district, MVPD to overdose is commendable The Talon commends the administration and the Mountain View Police Department for its sensitive handling of the incident involving a Mountain View student’s suspected drug overdose on a new psychedelic street drug, DOC (2,5-DimethoxyChloroAmphetamine). An open letter sent from the Mountain View Police Chief, Scott Vermeer, and MVLA Superintendent Barry Groves provided students and parents of the MVLA district with the details of the apparent drug overdose. The administration also made an announcement on the intercom to students on Wednesday, March 12. This decision, and decisions like this in the future, will help to open a dialogue on this important issue. Keeping quiet about drug abuse only serves to further its proliferation. Talking to students openly about these issues is the first step towards dealing with them.

District must take action to fix online health Last semester The Talon published an editorial urging the district make the online health class offered through adult education more comprehensive, specifically in the area of sex education. According to the district, no fixes have been made. The district claims that “the curriculum is determined by the vendors [Odysseyware] and not us.” However, this logic is flawed. If the district is offering a course, even one online, it has a responsibility to make sure that the curriculum adequately covers the subject matter. This is not the case with Odysseyware. The

Managing Editors Rebecca DeShetler (Print) Jared Eng (Print) Dhruv Madhok (Web)

health course almost completely excludes any elements of comprehensive sex education. The only form of contraception it discusses are male condoms. It also doesn’t adequately discuss the issues of dating violence and rape. Additionally, the online course fails to address the experiences of LGBT students. These topics are crucial for students to understand. The flaws in the online course become especially clear when one compares it to the in-seat course. That class covers all FDA-approved forms of contraception as well as information about sexual assault. It is also an

Opinions Editor Shiktij Dave Features Editor Casey Pao In-Depth Editor Carly Cohen Entertainment Editor Zach Cohen

26%

What was the primary reason you joined NHS?

Editor-In-Chief Zoe Morgan

News Editor Tony Sun

26%

Significantly Worse

201 Almond Ave., Los Altos, CA March 18, 2014 Volume XXIX, Issue 6

inclusive environment, specifically for LGBT students. There are speakers who come in to talk to students, including one from Planned Parenthood. Sex education is one of the few subjects whose content will inevitably affect nearly every student at some point in their lives. It is irresponsible to allow students to take a course which barely scratches the surface. The district ought to prioritize the well-being of students by either supplementing the course material offered by Odysseyware or looking into alternative vendors that offer more comprehensive health education.

Interested in writing, taking photos, drawing or designing web content for The Talon? Pick up an application in room 409.

Sports Editor David Wu Media Editor Parmis Taidy Copy/Content Editors Maya Acharya, Steven Cui, Ariel Machell, Yuki Zaninovich Business Managers Perla Luna, Sitara Sriram Social Media Editor Emily Sims Senior Writers Robert Chin, Alex Cortinas, Cassidy Craford, Chase Eller, Sam Lisbonne, Joey Malgesini, John Naumovski, Jordan Stout Staff Writers Noy Anisman, Alex Barreira, Amelia Baum, Alice Dai, Salim Damerdji, Sofia Guo, Perla Luna, James Merrill, Yashar Parsie, Danny Rosenbaum, Johnny Scher, Riley Soward, Sitara Sriram, James Sun, William Jow, Maya Varghese, Katherine Yen, Kevin Yen Photographers Brandon Hong, Ian Mackey Graphic Artists Noy Anisman, Michael Zhu Webmasters Yuki Zaninovich, Michael Zhu Adviser Michael Moul

POLICIES Los Altos High School’s Compositional Journalism class is solely responsible for The 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. Its members are Cassidy Craford, Rebecca DeShetler, Sam Lisbonne, Dhruv Madhok, Jordan Stout and Tony Sun.

ADVERTISE & SUBSCRIBE Send advertisement and subscription inquiries to Perla Luna and Sitara Sriram at business.lahstalon@gmail.com.

Talon Supporters Honorary Pulitzers Ken and Debbie Munro, Emily Goto, David and Hadas Anisman, The Acharyas, Holly and Andy Cohen, Quyen Ngoc Nyguen and Chuyen Huu Do, Haiyan Gao, Mary E. MacLellan, Rongchun Sun, Afsaneh Golestany, Dan Shen, Su-Jane Hsieh, Yongmei Zhou, Susan and Ken Sims, Dusanka Rosenbaum, Steve and Thea Merrill, Lisa Gordon and Sean Mackey, Michael Zaninovich

Silver Supporters The Falos, Kris Moore, Elliott and Linda Dan, Corinne Arrouye, Kristian Family, Bruce Cohen, Srinivasan and Subadhra Sriram, Lewen Stempler, Randall Stempler, Maria Lippert, Qin Chen Shirley and Allan Soloman, The McDonalds

The Talon March 18, 2014

Read more opinions articles at lahstalon.org/opinions

College Board shows right mindset with new SAT TONY SUN News Editor

Beginning in the spring of 2016, the decade of 2400 SATs will be over. Gone will be the days of mandatory essays and archaic multiple choice problems, but its replacement still remains an elusive mystery, a “project in the works.” College Board, however, is taking the right approach by scaling back the contrived tenets of the test and making it a more practical evaluation of student achievement and college readiness by aligning the test more towards schoolwork. The president of the College Board, David Coleman, criticized the SAT and its rival the ACT, saying that both had “become disconnected from the work of our high schools.” The SAT was designed as a means to an end; the exam satisfies an innate desire to place a “numerical” and “quantifiable” measurement for a high school career. Life’s never black and white, but the gray area of admissions decisions makes a whole lot more sense when there are solid numbers attached. As such, there is value implicit in the existence of the SAT.

“The intent of colleges to forming a thesis that using the SAT is to have an can just barely answer the an objective assessment prompt but then be supfor an applicant...it’s not ported by pieces of evigoing to go away in the dence that some students near future.” College and who prepared before hand Career Center coordinator can put on the page, while Dawn Allen said. anyone else who tries to But, even as such, the think for more than five exam as it currently exists minutes will inevitably be follows large-scale modicut short. Unfortunately, fications that were instiwith only two to three tuted in 2005: an entire minutes for readers to read section dedicated to writthe essay, the single best ing and a mandatory essay, predictor of score on the which becomes more and SAT essay becomes length, more an anachronism. not content. This isn’t the first time Ultimately, while the that College Board has College Board has great BRANDON HONG called for change. The intentions for the new 2400 point SAT marked A student prepares for the SAT. College Board is displaying the right mindset with changes SAT, there still is a flaw a turning point in Col- to the test that will hopefully make it a more objective evaluator of student achievement. implicit in the reform with lege Board’s proctoring the new exam. The new tenure; in 2005, it was introduced students lost a quarter-point for ally feel like all our high school work SAT still remains an extremely “exas a “new” exam, something that each wrong answer, forcing them wasn’t accurately [reflected] in the pensive” exam, in that the College narrowness of the exam.” was designed to accurately test the to choose which questions to skip. Board can’t avoid that it can be tuBy way of obscure diction quesThe dominating characteristic tored. The partnership with Khan rigors of a high school education. Unfortunately, the “2400” SAT be- tions, contrived essays and a ri- of the current SAT is tedium, so Academy, while seemingly useful came the literal exemplification of diculous five-hour duration, the the new test puts into place sev- can’t possibly scratch the surface exam appeared more to be a “trial eral changes that trim the fat off of of all the tutoring that money can an “ignominious” test. The old SAT’s need for reform by fire” for high school students the test. For one, making the essay buy. Thus, College Board’s inherarose because it would ask ques- than it was an appropriate indica- component of the SAT examina- ent goal to use the SAT as a compettions entirely unrelated to the tor of college-preparedness, which tion optional is a move that erodes itive measure of high school ability testing of a skill which is not all that and driving factor in college admistypical high school’s curriculum, the exam sought to test for. “I think the SAT is an outdated useful as a standardized prognosti- sions seems impossible, at least in and relied on tricks, not content, to increase difficulty. In addition, test,” senior Henry Park said. “I re- cator. The essay mostly came down today’s sense.

Starting a Kickstarter: a word of caution ALEX BARREIRA Staff Writer

Last November, two Los Altos seniors, singer-songwriter Zach Gospe and his manager Riley Soward used the popular fundraising platform Kickstarter to raise $10,606 for the professional recording of Zach’s latest album. It took only one month and 161 backers to reach their $10K goal, an incredible accomplishment defying expectations of all that’s possible for individuals armed with a dream, ambition and just maybe a quirky video appeal. Whetting such appetites is the essential function of Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform that has grown from its startup in 2009 to funding over 150,000 projects for a total $1 billion. Kickstarter has funded two academy award-nominated films, a movie for Veronica Mars fans and Zach Braff (the actor and director behind critically acclaimed “Garden State”), along with hundreds of video games, albums and products of all kindw The website has become a valuable resource for many wellthought-out projects that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. The site’s popularity and exposure have grown, but so have the site’s less-advertised risks. Before investing in a campaign or starting your own, it’s important to be aware of what Kickstarter is and isn’t. “We can all make great things,” reads the banner on the Kickstarter homepage. It’s a hopeful message for anyone who’s put off crafting their own novel or board game far too

long. Unfortunately for many dreamers, the slogan is also a misleading one. Certainly we can all make great things, but can we manufacture, market and sell them to an audience? Not just anyone can organize the complicated processes and connections involved in turning such projects into a reality. Even for some of the most successful Kickstarters, failure to secure a comprehensive plan to use their requested funds effectively can lead to disaster. For some entrepreneurs, such as boardgame maker Ed Carter, the cost of a successful campaign can be worse than a failed one. Carter raised nearly four times his pledged goal of $21,000 for his “Glory to Rome” game eschewing the corporate world, but ran into unexpected costs of manufacturing and distributing the product. He soon had to pay out of his own pocket to keep his promise to Kickstarter investors, eventually losing his home and declaring bankruptcy. It’s important to keep in mind that Kickstarter is not a charity nor an instant success story. Each backer is an investor, a helping hand in the project’s fulfilment but also a person whose expectations and promise of a product need to be respected. It turns out it’s much easier to fill a six minute video with optimism and quirky self-deprecation than it is to devote the careful attention to detail necessary to manage large sums of money efficiently. For donors, it’s easy to get caught up in the hype of projects’ optimistic projections. Donating appeals to the excited kid in all of us that just can’t wait for the next big idea to become a reality. Though Kickstarter is not a charity, it appeals to the charitable

MICHAEL ZHU

temptation of helping a passionate individual realize his dream. At the same time, it’s not hard to see competence and feasibility where only hope and ambition may be stated. To entice backers just a little bit further, many Kickstarters feature a rewards system, the closest function to a guarantee that certain levels of donation will receive some token of appreciation such as personalized CDs, thank you notes or even prototypes of the product. Donors should remember, however, that Kickstarter is not a preordering service, and their money is liable to a fair (read: hefty) amount of risk. This message came too late

INTERESTED IN GUEST-WRITING FOR TALON?

for thousands of unfortunate investors in ZionEyez, a cutting-edge pair of glasses that could record video in the wearer’s line of sight and upload it to Facebook. The wildly successful campaign of $343,000 (one of the largest ever at the time) quickly fell flat. Donors of $150 were promised a pair of the glasses by the winter of 2011, instead receiving sparse and defensive updates, which, inspired threats of a class action lawsuit. After a cryptic reference to seven more months needed, the campaign page stayed silent for over a year. Kickstarter provides the platform for ambitious projects, and will sometimes take action in the face

of outright scams, but there are no guarantees against campaign failures and subsequent backer disappointment. Fortunately, Kickstarter’s policy prevents a single dollar from going to projects unless all fundraising goals are met on time. When engaging in this exciting new platform, students would best be served choosing wisely, and be comfortable with the place and purpose their money is going towards, and into whose hands. Donors and starters alike should remember to be smart and realistic about their expectations. Kickstarter may feel like a godsend for many ambitious projects, but it’s no miracle.

If you would like to write about your stance on an issue that’s affecting students at our school, email Opinions Editor Shiktij Dave at opinions.lahstalon@gmail.com with a summary of your idea.

The Talon March 18, 2014

Public speaking should be emphasized in curriculum

Just Maya Thoughts

AMELIA BAUM Staff Writer

Spiders...failure…death…and presentations? For years, public speaking has been at the top of surveys of America’s most common fears. A study by the National Institute of Mental Health found that nearly three quarters of Americans suffer from speech anxiety. So why are we so scared? For many, fear of public speaking stems from a fear of making a fool of ourselves. “I guess what scares me [is that] when I get up there…there’s a sense of judgment,” junior Ryan Adibi said. “I care more if someone thinks I can’t articulate my opinion than if they disagree with what I’m saying.” But like so many fears, the key to conquering it comes with self-confidence and a whole lot of practice. “We are most afraid of things we haven’t ever done,” English Department Coordinator Keren Robertson said. “The more we face our fears, the easier it becomes to move through them. Getting that practice in a safe environment such as a classroom with peers who know them is a great training ground for other, scarier environments such as the work place.” So when does public speaking become something more than just talking in front of people? For many proponents of oratory education, it’s when a mastery of this skill is an invaluable asset to those who possess it. Experts argue that experience and ability with public speaking are related to higher self-confidence, better social proficiency and increased productivity. An analysis of these benefits reveals an important truth: public speaking skills have real benefits for high school students and should be emphasized in academic curriculum. Pre-professional clubs like Speech and Debate, Model United Nations (UN) and Mock Trial provide skills, instruction and practice for many kinds of public speaking. Members of these clubs overwhelmingly insist that the

By Maya Varghese

Coke Ad Response a Reminder to Appreciate Our Diversity

MICHAEL ZHU

public speaking skills they obtain through their participation are invaluable assets both in school and in their daily lives. “[Speech and Debate] just makes you so much more comfortable and confident when you are talking in class,” freshman Shruti Janeja said. “It makes you feel like you are saying something that you want other people to listen to and then take you seriously, if you can say it well.” Being exposed to public speaking scenarios on a regular basis can help overcome initial hesitancy. “Coming from an initially very shy person, learning how to speak and present myself in front of large audiences definitely had far reaching benefits,” Model UN member junior Samantha Dadok said. These clubs provide excellent opportunities for students to develop public speaking skills. For just that reason, however, it is imperative that there is more of a push to integrate these valuable skills more into curriculum so that this gaining skillset is not limited to their participants. Teachers and administration at the school recognize this potential. Both freshman and junior English classes specifically emphasize expository speechmaking as part of their curriculum. But the reason that these aren’t emphasized more in the curriculum is because the

English department hopes to bal- people, but a lot of other people ance these skills with others they don’t enjoy them as much because they don’t get the practice and so deem necessary. “I think the opportunity and the they aren’t as capable.” Students with oratory abilities teaching go hand in hand,” Robertson said. “We build in scaffolding not only have advantages in the towards assignments such as the classroom, but in the workforce speech [unit] through minor as- as well. “No matter signments such what you want as Socratic discusto do with your sions, and group future you are presentations.” We are most afraid always going to In its essence, of things we haven’t need to talk to public speaking is ever done...Getting people or explain about communiwhat you do,” cating effectively, practice [speaking] Bayley said. an increasingly in a safe environment In a survey done important skill in such as a classroom by the National a dynamic, global with peers...is a great Association of society. Colleges and Em“[When you training ground for ployers, employspeak] you really other, scarier environers in a variety of have to be able ments such as the fields ranked “the to say what you work place. ability to verbally mean clearly,” Coordinator communicate sophomore James - English Department Keren Robertson with persons inNaumovski said. side and outside “A lot of the times if you are trying to make a point the organization” as the number but you don’t really know how to one most important skill potensay it, it really detracts from the tial employees to have. “Even the techy types will go off message you are trying to convey.” Knowing how to speak well is and be part of some kind of work vital for effective communication group in their engineering class, in a variety of settings, including and they’ll have to present the school and many professional project to the class, and the perfields, so why aren’t we doing son who has those public speakmore of it? English students have, ing skills [will] get to present the on average, just one unit to prac- project,” Keefer said. “That pertice their public speaking skills son gets recognized in a way that due to the goal of pursuing many other people in the group don’t, different and distinct skills in stu- and they get opportunities that dents. This just isn’t long enough the other people in the group to master a skill that requires a lot don’t necessarily get.” As the school mirrors a naof practice. “I think that this is so impor- tional transition in education tant, that we should do even more towards a STEM focus, it is imthan the five weeks we work on it perative that we not forget the more basic, less f lashy skills. in English,” Ryan said. On an even bigger scale, propo- Whether students end up as nents of public speaking educa- computer programmers or sotion recognize that proficiency in cial workers, public speaking public speaking can be a leader- will be an invaluable skill. Public speaking skills are the ship skill. “It has been my experience basis for successful communicaover the years that the students tion with a group, which is necwho come out of high school essary in many workplace setwith [public speaking] skills al- tings. By teaching students to ready have an advantage when it speak effectively in public and comes to a lot of things that re- giving them ample opportunity quire leadership,” MVLA Speech to practice, schools are preparand Debate team co-head coach ing their students for a competitive workforce. Karen Keefer said. The merits of public speaking This leadership translates to more success in a variety of both skills are both abundant and diacademic and workplace settings. verse, and high school is a criti“It’s definitely helpful in presen- cal time to develop them. For tations in classes and on our So- this reason, the school should cratic seminars in English,” MVHS continue to emphasize these lesfreshman Bayley Tuch said. “I persons in academic curriculum, sonally really enjoy them because and look for even more opportuI enjoy speaking in front of other nities to do so.

A seemingly harmless Coke ad shown during the Super Bowl last month spiked controversy throughout the country and on social media, lending an interesting look at our nation’s stance on immigrants. The ad featured children of different nationalities singing “America, the Beautiful” in the background while they were shown engaged in what might be considered American activities, such as eating popcorn at the movies (and drinking Coke, of course) or practicing skateboard tricks. The aspect that made this controversial to those who opposed it was that the children were not singing the song in English, but in their native languages. Many people flooded social media with negative responses to the ad because they felt it was “un-American” to sing “America, the Beautiful” in foreign languages. However, only nine percent of Americans come from an English background. The other 91 percent come from families that spoke a different language before immigrating to America and probably continued to speak their native languages at home for a while, even if some of those families later abandoned the language and now only use English. And today more than a quarter of Americans are bilingual, a substantial portion of the population. The reaction to the ad shows more than an attachment to the English language. It shows an aversion to the assimilation of other cultures into our society which is strange in a country comprised almost solely of immigrants. American society is formed from the mixing of cultures to create something new. This very mixing can be said to define American society. In very few other countries in the world are there Caucasian, Latino, Middle Eastern, African and Asian students all in the same school. As an Asian Indian American I’ve learned to eat rice with my fingers, attended Diwali parties and worn “dupattas” to school as scarves. Because my friends are from a variety of different cultures I’ve also gotten to attend Hanukkah parties and eat Asian sweets to celebrate the Lunar New Year. America is defined by this variety of cultures. I know very few students felt the ad to be “un-American,” but at the same time it is a reminder to celebrate the individuality we have within this school and in our country. It’s a reminder to be open to the variety of beautiful cultures that America gives us the chance to experience right here at home.

The Talon March 18, 2014

Rationale for cheating is counterproductive YUKI ZANINOVICH Copy/Content Editor

We’ve been taught that cheating is academically dishonest, morally wrong and absolutely despicable since we began our journey into academia in elementary school. Despite this stigma associated with cheating, it is hard to go without noticing the various forms of cheating that occurs at seemingly every juncture in our high school: from plagiarism in essays, tests and homework to the more subtle asking of previous periods for “advice” on tests. “[Cheating is] gaining an unfair advantage over someone else,” math teacher Carol Evans said. “It means putting yourself ahead of someone else by deception. Is that how you want to live your life? Unfortunately, some people would say yes.” It’s this nonchalant acceptance that allows cheating to permeate into the culture and atmosphere of life as a student. After all, there is little consequence to those who get away with cheating, and bystanders have no incentive to tell teachers. “It’s everywhere,” senior Lillian Zhou said. “I think students have become so numb to the idea of what exactly cheating is that they’ve allowed it to become kind of an accepted practice. It’s like ‘Oh, I didn’t study for this test but I’ll just ask a couple of my friends from the early period about what it was like and then I’ll look up the FRQ.’ And, somehow, many students begin to think it’s remotely okay.” Many delude themselves into the presumption that if everyone cheats, it becomes justifiable. However, it is not fair for a student who cheats to be seen as equally successful as harder working students who truly understand the material. Though this may

seem trivial at first, the recent surge in competitiveness of college admissions means a student’s peers’ academic performance is more relevant than ever before. The overproliferation of the practice also pits students who opt to take regular classes at a disadvantage. “Some kids say ‘We’ll just all get A’s,’” Evans said. “‘Yeah so we’ll all get A’s [and] so we’ll all cheat and then I didn’t hurt anybody.’ Well you did because you took an honors class and got an A and another kid knew the honors class was going to be too hard for them and so they took a regular class and got an A. Is that fair? … [Colleges] only have so many slots.” Not only are some students ignorant of the impacts of cheating on other students, they are also confused about the ethics of what they are doing. However, this is not completely their fault; the current cheating policy only seeks to punish students for academic delinquencies, and there is little guidance from the school to educate them on what was wrong with their action. “Sometimes [as teachers], we don’t do a good job of teaching students the moral aspects of what we are doing,” economics teacher Derek Miyahara said. “When we divorce what we’re doing in the classroom from the moral aspects of what we’re teaching, then it’s pretty easy how those things get split apart in students’ minds, and they conclude that one doesn’t affect the other. Students need to be given the opportunity to learn the consequences of their behavior and reflect on what their actions mean.” However, the administration has recently stepped up to correct these problems by considering a change to the cheating policy. Tentatively planned to be implemented at the beginning of the next school year, the new policy aims to handle various levels of offenses more appropriately and provide a medium for students to reflect on their misdoings.

“We want to have a school in which cheating is seen as wrong, and when students get caught, they walk out knowing what was wrong, why it was wrong, and not wanting to do it again,” Assistant Principal Galen Rosenberg said. The current policy is essentially a “one size fits all;” regardless of how severe the offense, whether it be copying one homework assignment or plagiarizing an entire paper, students received a zero on the assignment. However, this will no longer be the case come August; though the specifics are still under discussion, the new policy plans to establish an entire hierarchy of levels of cheating, with each tier being handled in different ways. The new policy integrates “restorative justice” into its system. The idea is to have the offender, victim(s) and a moderator discuss the effects of the act on the victim(s) and community, and devise a plan for the offender to compensate. This aspect of the new policy effectively accomplishes what the current policy cannot: turning the misconducts of students into educational opportunities. Now, not only are students able to reflect on their actions, they have the chance to learn about the impacts on their peers, and actively seek to restore the damages. “We want [the person who cheated] to understand that they don’t live in this microworld of their own desires for higher grades or not wanting to do homework, and that it really costs other people,” Rosenberg said. “The problem with the traditional [cheating policy] is that the person who does something wrong feels victimized by getting punished, and there’s no reflection on the original act and its consequences, and no real acceptance that they deserved it.” From the many successes in the history of its applications to dealing with crime and encouraging good behavior, the “restorative justice” ap-

proach hopes to mitigate the harm inflicted by academic misconduct, and drastically reduce the number of repeat offenses. It is even being considered to be implemented in other disciplinary systems within the district, with an initial meeting to be made with Mountain View High School on March 19. Though the new policy effectively addresses many of the current problems associated with cheating at our school, there is still one main intrinsically-occuring issue: the inherent belief of many students that the

value of the grade ultimately supersedes the learning process and other experiences within the classroom. No matter how much the policy is changed, cheating will continue to occur at the school if students don’t realize that learning comes before the report cards and transcripts. “If students come out of high school with the experience that it’s all about [the end result], without considering the ethical or reflective aspects of learning, then they’ll wind up cheating wherever they go,” Miyahara said.

MICHAEL ZHU

Focus on Russian human rights should continue

MAYA ACHARYA ZACH COHEN Copy/Content Editor Entertainment Editor

With the closing ceremonies on February 23 extracting Olympics-covering journalists from Sochi, international attention has since turned away from the hot-button issue of inhumane anti-gay legislation in Russia. Leading up to and during the Olympic games, many gay rights activists like Sir Ian McKellen publicly decried the nature of the anti-gay laws in Russia. The “Lord of the Rings” star worked with 27 laureates to write an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin sharing their opposition to a new law that prohibits “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations to minors.” We should care about human rights outside of the context of the Olympics as well. Even though the games are over, we should not turn away from the LGBT community of Russia and turn a blind eye to the blatant violation of their human rights, sheerly because the impetus for protests and petitions, the Sochi Olympics, has come and gone. Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter claims that discrimina-

JUDSONMEMORIALCHURCH / FLICKR

Protests of Russian anti-gay legislation occur outside Russian Consulate in New York. A focus on Russian human rights abuses should continue even past the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics. tion is “incompatible with the Olympic movement.” During the Games, Principle 6 was upheld only in word; it was backed only by a soft hand and diverted eyes. Russian President Vladimir Putin vaguely claimed that while Russia’s anti-LGBT laws would still be enforced, gay people visiting for the games would remain safe. And thus, when on the first day of the Sochi Winter Olympics opening ceremony, six activists were arrested simply for peacefully protesting the anti-gay laws by un-

furling a banner with Principle 6 on it in St. Petersburg, the Olympic Committee and most of the world chose to turn a blind eye. Many people called for an end to the debates: the Olympics are about sports, these people argued, not political animosity. But this statement reduces the issue of LGBT people to a political issue, while it is indeed a human rights issue. And, if human rights cannot be guaranteed during the Olympics, we certainly cannot expect them to be guaranteed after. But now the games are done,

and we have a ready-made excuse mosexuality. Occupy stages men to turn our minds away and divert and women within their ranks to our attention from Russia. We contact people whom they believe must not do this. to be gay, inviting them to a priOf course, it would be wrong to vate location. If the victim shows say that the U.S. is a shining bea- up to the meeting, Occupy films con of LGBT rights. With 31 states gruesome segments in which they having anti-gay laws written into torture the suspect and publicize their constitutions, we are far from his or her identity on social media. equality. Furthermore, it is not Because of homophobic legislathe U.S.’s place to decide how an- tion within Russia and a general other country should define mar- homophobic attitude within the riage. However, the situation in Russian populace (85 percent of Russia is more polled citizens of the severe and far Russian Federation more dangerous opposed a bill that than marriage Now that the Olymwould allow samediscrimination pic games are done, sex marriage), Occulaws, as the antipy members are very gay laws in the we have a readyrarely detained for country legiti- made excuse to turn their acts of violence. mize systematic our minds away and More often, victims violence against divert our attention of Occupy’s abuse are people in the imprisoned, pursufrom Russia. We LGBT commuant to the anti-propanity. The some- must not do this. ganda legislation. what vague and This issue goes broad law also beyond politics and means that parents and teachers religion. Even people who do who attempt to help LGBT stu- not believe same-sex relationdents can be fined and imprisoned ships deserve the same marital for their actions. rights as opposite-sex couples Occupy Pedophilia is an example can agree that violence and murof the terrible consequences of the der are terrible and should be law. Occupy Pedophilia is a neo- stopped. If we can participate in Nazi terrorist group that is gaining an international sporting event traction in Russia. The group asso- like the Olympics with Putin, ciates pedophilia, a sexual assault surely we can open a dialogue on a minor by an adult, with ho- about LGBT rights.

The Talon March 18, 2014

Read more features articles at lahstalon.org/features

Teacher once assisted in death row release RILEY SOWARD Staff Writer

Before history teacher Seth Donnelly became a teacher, he was a member of the Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty (ICADP). When Donnelly graduated from Oberlin College in 1992, he moved to Chicago where he worked at a homeless shelter for half a year before applying for the full-time job as the director of the ICADP. He visited a death row prison each month with fellow members. The coalition had full access to all three death rows in Illinois and spent time with prisoners to learn more about their backgrounds and conditions of each facility. “[One of our arguments was] there was probably a minority fraction that were wrongfully convicted... Our job was also to monitor the conditions on death row and look into other issues that were wrong with the system,” Donnelly said. During his visits, Donnelly witnessed and gathered evidence of guard brutality and racism. This information was used to support the argument for abolishment. “I started to become aware of the level of corruption in the police...and prosecutors and even the judges, and the incompetence of many lawyers,” Donnelly said. “It was staggering to me how broken the system was.” As Donnelly got to know the inmates better, the story of one black man, Aaron Patterson, stood out to him. Patterson was wrongfully convicted for murder after being tortured into confessing to the crime by former police officer Jon Burge. Donnelly worked closely with Patterson’s mother and the rest of the ICADP on a campaign to free Patterson from death row, hoping the case could be a rallying point for their argument against the death penalty. They reached out to Illinois politicians, religious leaders and community leaders to educate them and recruit them to oppose the death penalty. At one point, the campaign brought Donnelly into the same room as Barack Obama, who was a state senator at the time. “We made a pitch to Obama and shook his hand...he was pleasant but I don’t think he ever took a stand,” Donnelly said. The coalition also brought attention to their issue through press

conferences and civil disobedience. They organized street demonstrations and went to prisons the night of executions to protest. A couple times, these non-violent protests led to the arrest of Donnelly and other coalition members. “One [time] we went to the state’s attorney office...and had a sit-in,” Donnelly said. “We said, ‘We’re not leaving the lobby until the state attorney agrees to stop blocking a new hearing for Aaron PatPARMIS TAIDY terson and give [him] a new trial.’” Through these various tactics, Donnelly worked on Patterson’s case as well as the general campaign against the death penalty. In 1999, he moved out to California to be closer with his family. “I put in a lot of work... I felt like there was [enough] momentum established where a good friend of mine [could] take over the coordination function of the campaign,” Donnelly said. “I [went] back... to Chicago a few times to continue to work.” Finally, one day in 2000, Donnelly received a phone call from Patterson’s mother. “She said that Aaron was going to be released in a day or two,” Donnelly said. “I was just floored.” The case was sent to the governor, who ended up freeing Patterson. Upon hearing the news, Donnelly immediately bought a plane ticket to Chicago and flew out that weekend to meet with Patterson and his mother. While there, they went to Patterson’s hometown church, a place he hadn’t been to in over 13 years. “We walked [in]... and the people in the church stood up and the minister said... ‘Aaron Patterson is home’ and it was powerful, it was really powerful,” Donnelly said. The efforts of the ICADP caused previous Illinois Governor George Ryan to suspend the death penalty in 2000 and current Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to abolish it in 2011. “My take away was that our criminal justice system and our larger system of power in this society is profoundly corrupt and abusive, but that ordinary people, when properly aware and organized and willing to take action, can make a serious difference,” Donnelly said.

In-Depth does not appear in The Talon this issue; it will return next issue.

English teacher’s interesting past and her optimistic future

her dad’s death. Herrera now tries to gressed, Herrera was losing hope for a recovery for her son, but her huslive optimistically. English and film teacher “I think my childhood was the band helped her through this time. “My husband and I decided to Susana Herrera is a former best experience I could have had as member of the Peace Corps, a a child because... it really made me make the most of the time that mother of two children and an become very much a helper, and we had, and just to love him as aspiring screenwriter. Despite a very focused on understanding hu- much as we can, because falling into despair and depression was multitude of obstacles, Herrera man emotion,” Herrera said. has gone through life with vigor Although Herrera can find the not going to help him get better,” and optimism. silver lining in her childhood now, Herrera said. As the family prayed that NaHerrera started her life in New as a young woman, she struggled York, but when she was seven her to cope with the situation. To take thaniel would outgrow his epilepsy, parents got divorced. Most of her her thoughts away from her fam- Herrera realized an important life early childhood years were spent ily life, after graduating from U.C. philosophy one day, when she diswith her younger brother and Santa Cruz majoring in Ameri- tracted herself from Nathaniel’s sitmother in Fremont, California. can and English Literature, Her- uation and watched television. One During her freshman year of high rera embarked on a two year and of her favorite movies, “Lord of the school, Herrera moved to New three month adventure in Af- Rings,” was playing that day. “[Gandalf] is such a powerful Orleans, Louisiana, to live with rica. There, she joined the Peace her father. Growing up, Herrera Corps in Northern Cameroon and force of positive thinking in that had a very spiritaught students whole movie,” Herrera said. “When tual lifestyle; English as a sec- Frodo says ‘I wish this ring never happened,’ Gandalf says, ‘So do her mother was ond language. Catholic while “Africa seemed all who live to see such times, but her father was like the most ex- that is not for us to decide. What a Buddhist, otic place in the is to decide is what to do with the Carthusian and world at that time time that’s been given to us.’ That Trappist monk. for me,” Herrera really is the bumper sticker for my “I never resaid. “I wanted life. That really was the big game ally was a kid,” to be a volunteer changer for me.” Herrera’s prayers were anHerrera said. in the world...a “At four years teacher and I re- swered when Nathaniel’s condiold, I was doing ally wanted to get tion improved. He has been seimeditation and as far away from zure free for a little more than being quiet in home as possible.” three years now. “The difficult experiences in life monasteries.” After her trip Howe ve r, to Africa, Her- make us who we are,” Herrera said. she faced rera started seri- “The happy moments are great, many difficulously pursuing but really, when you find out who ties at home. her teaching you are and what you’re made of, COURTESY SUSANA HERRERA Herrera’s Nacareer. Herrera it’s when horrible things happen.” Herrera also attributes her tive American had a temporary grandparents and her mother teaching credential from the Peace success to her mentors, includwere alcoholics while her dad Corps, and using that credential, ing teachers that helped her was severely bipolar. she taught middle school while during her depression after her “My dad was able to function taking classes in the evenings to father died. “Honestly, the teachers saved my for a large period of time,” Her- get her official credentials. Her first rera said. “When he was dys- teaching post was at Santa Clara life,” Herrera said. “Now I’m a teachfunctional, he was very emo- High School; in 1999, she started er, so it’s like I’m paying it back in a lot of ways. I’m about the long-term tionally challenging.” teaching here. Herrera went on a spiritual In addition to a new teaching relationship. Just because someone journey at age 14 when she career, Herrera also created a fam- leaves your classroom doesn’t mean shaved her head and decided to ily. Herrera married at the age of that [he or she is] not my student join a Soto-Zen Buddhist mon- 18, but she divorced five years lat- anymore. It’s an open door.” At a young age, Herrera knew astery while also doubling as a er. Her marriage with her current Catholic school girl. The public husband, however, has been going she wanted to be an author and a playwright. In 1999, she published school system in New Orleans strong for 17 and a half years. was subpar at the time, and “I was lucky enough to find her first book, “Mango, Elephants most students attended Catho- Prince Charming,” Herrera said. in the Sun,” which talks about her lic private schools if they had “He was not royalty... I was just time in Africa. Currently, Herthe means to. lucky enough to find one of the rera is writing another book about “I noticed that the Catholics did kindest, funniest, handsomest hu- overcoming her rough childhood that has been in not appreciate my shaved head,” man beings in the the works for the Herrera said. “They didn’t appreci- world, and he’s got last 14 years. ate my questioning anything the the biggest heart.” “Writing my secNew Testament said.” Herrera has two Whatever it is ond book has been Herrera’s stay at the monastery kids; Nathaniel is that we’re going like a 14-year birthwas cut short when her stepfather eight and Emma is through, what ing experience passed away. She moved back with three. Nathaniel bewe really want where you’re in her mother, who had relocated to came very sick with pain and contracSanta Cruz, California. Six months Myoclonic-Astatic is to feel love for tions, yet there’s later, her dad took his own life on Epilepsy when he was ourselves and for the flutters and the Herrera’s 16th birthday. four, and he had un- other people, and kicks of the baby, “My dad’s death makes me re- controllable seizures to feel love back. and there’s a lot ally think about my birthday in for six months. Na— English and film of joy but it’s been a different way,” Herrera said. thaniel was in and out teacher Susana Herrera probably the most “It’s a celebration of my birth, of the hospital and difficult thing I’ve but it’s also understanding that was at times on five life is this crazy circle. Like the different seizure medicines. Doc- ever had to write,” Herrera said. Herrera’s life today is the result of Buddhists believe, we’re born, tors feared that he would either die her past, as she has undergone a 45 we die; we’re born, we die. It’s young or be mentally disabled. not something to be taken for “Nathaniel’s illness was...the year metamorphosis into the person granted. Everyday is a gift.” worst experience of my life,” Her- that students know today. “Whatever it is that we’re going During high school, Herrera rera said. “It was heartbreaking to became depressed and contem- see my son have seizure after sei- through, what we really want is just plated suicide. But with the com- zure, back-to-back for 24 hours, he to feel love for ourselves and for other people, and to feel love back,” passion of her high school teach- didn’t have any consciousness.” ers, Herrera began healing over While Nathaniel’s sickness pro- Herrera said. “It’s really very simple.”

ALICE DAI Staff Writer

The Talon March 18, 2014

Senior records professional EP in LA to cover the costs. Launching a five testing out the microphone and “fidand a half week Kickstarter fund- dling around with some parts.” The rest of the trip saw Zach, with To say that senior Zach Gospe raising campaign in early November is into music would be an under- 2013, Zach and Riley successfully the coaching of Mazzetti and sound statement. raised $606 over their $10,000 goal. engineer Anthony Brodeur, recordStarting at age five, he learned pia- As a result, they—along with Zach’s ing vocals for each of his songs. For no, drums and bass guitar before set- mom Mary Gospe—flew down to each song, Zach sang through about tling on the guitar. As a freshman, he Los Angeles the Friday before Febru- six to eight takes. The trio listened to took on the challenge of songwriting ary break to record a studio-quality each take to find the “best words or lines of different tracks” and has continued writing steadily. EP with Mazzetti. and then spliced these Over the years, his musical, vocal In preparation parts together using a and songwriting abilities improved. for the trip, Zach I don’t try to make technique called vocal He released his first Extended Play had already started comping. (EP) last spring as a junior and par- working with Maz- sales predictions, “Some people might ticipated in a selective GRAMMY zetti in November but I think it’s the think that’s cheatcamp over the past summer. to complete the beginning of a siging, but it’s still my While attending the West Coast song development, nificant career for voice singing the same Songwriters Conference at Foot- also known as artthings,” Zach said. “It hill College on September 7, Zach ist and repertoire this young man. — Mark Mazzetti, takes the pressure out and his best friend and business (A&R) stage of reproducer of Zach’s EP of singing everything manager, senior Riley Soward, cord production. perfectly in one take handed a copy of Zach’s EP with Through twice-aa name and number to world- week Skype sessions, they mapped [because] nobody can really do famous music and entertainment out the lyrics, melodies, phrasings that....A lot of times the best take is producer Mark Mazzetti. and corresponding instrumental ar- also the worst take....it’s hard to bal“I didn’t know it at the time I rangements of each song, with Zach ance what you need.” Mazzetti guided the EP with a heard [Zach’s first EP] that I would bouncing ideas off of Mazzetti. be working with him profession“It’s a process of stepping back “big picture” vision of how the songs ally, but after I spent some time from the artist easel...and adding a should sound, and Brodeur worked listening to the music over the bit more color, discussing how the with Zach on the finer details of indicourse of the next week and a half, brush strokes will go, what happens vidual vocals and guitar parts. “It’s a very interesting environment I started to feel very strongly that I in the background,” Mazzetti said. got Zach’s musical vision,” Mazzetti Finishing the A&R stage before- where it weighs the needs of the artsaid. “I was really excited about his hand allowed Zach to maximize his ist as well as the producer and the ensongwriting and his voice, the two time in the studio. On his first day gineer,” Zach said. “We work as much things that matter the most.” there, Zach spent his time trying out as a team as we can even though at Mazzetti offered to help Zach pro- each of the three guitars that he had some parts, I wanted to just keep duce his first professional EP, on the brought with him. He acquainted going for it, or the engineer wants condition that the duo raised $10,000 himself with how the studio worked, something that’s perfect whereas the producer wants something slightly less perfect so [the song] is more human….It’s a lot of this talking back and forth, creative collaboration [and] communication.” As a fledgling artist working with two music industry veterans, Zach also recognized that if he wanted to create the best record possible, he had to set aside personal pride for the bigger goal. “When you go into the studio, you have to leave all of your ego, all PHOTOS COURTESY ZACH GOSPE of your pride at the door,” Zach said. Senior Zach Gospe (right), with his best friend and manager senior Riley Soward (left), traveled to Los Angeles over February break to record a “It’s not about being right. It’s never about being right. It’s about making professional Extended Play. Zach started playing music when he was five.

KATHERINE YEN Staff Writer

the songs as good as they can be....but there’s a little more humanity in [songs] when you hear mistakes…. [Mistakes] give something special to the songs.” That being said, there’s a line between mistakes that build a song and ones that undermine it. Sometimes, Zach encountered days where he hit rough patches and could not play a certain guitar part or sing falsetto. “There was one instance when...I just couldn’t get a part, my voice was just too raspy and not strong enough,” Zach said. “The way I’m programmed as a person is just to keep trying and trying, but I was very fortunate with Mark...that he can tell when those things are happening...and so we took the rest of the day to do editing and relax.” Though the recording process of the EP is now completed, it must be mixed and mastered before it is officially released. The mixing and mastering process brings the entire EP together to make it sound like an album instead of “just a collection of songs”. When reflecting on the highlight of the trip, Zach and Riley both agreed that it was the process of seeing Zach’s songs “come to life.” Riley attributes one of the most fulfilling moments to be when the two of them drove back to their hotel from the studio on Saturday night while listening to the six songs that they had spent the past week creating. “[We were] driving back...and hearing all six songs in a row in the order they’re supposed to be in and thinking, ‘This is something we created together, this is something we’ve been working on for 13 years of friendship basically,’” Riley said. “‘This is something we’ve been working toward forever.’” If nothing else, Zach comes out

of this experience with a deeper appreciation for music and the sheer amount of work that goes into every record. “That’s probably the biggest takeaway—that the world of music is so much larger than I thought it was before,” Zach said. “There’s so much more to explore and at the same time there’s so much more to listen to even within the songs I already know and I already love. There’s so much more to understand and feel within recording. The world of music is this encapsulating entity...and I have a better appreciation [of it] now that I’ve attempted to create my own [music] and set it out there.” Riley anticipates that the EP will be released sometime around the end of May or the beginning of June. Mazzetti fully believes that Zach possesses the talent to become a fullfledged artist in the music industry. “I think his songs are going to be incredibly compelling and catchy,” Mazzetti said. “They’re intelligent, but they’re not over your head…As an artist I think he’s across the board like John Mayer or Jason Mraz and I think he’s going to do well. I don’t try to make sales predictions, but I think it’s the beginning of a significant career for this young man.”

Smitten Ice Cream uses liquid nitrogen for new take on ice cream NOY ANISMAN Staff Writer

Imagine having the freshest, purest, creamiest ice cream on Earth, made-to-order and easily accessible. Smitten Ice Cream, located in the Whole Foods in Los Altos, prides itself in serving just that—ice cream made from “the best of the best local and seasonal ingredients,” according to founder Robyn Sue Fisher. “I’ve always had a passion for ice cream—my mom used to say that I had one stomach solely reserved for ice cream,” Fisher said. As she was getting a graduate degree in Business at Stanford University, Fisher decided to pursue her passion professionally and begin a self-proclaimed “ice cream adventure,” which led her to attend Penn State after graduating in 2007. At Penn State, she took an introductory course about frozen desserts, which, according to the Penn State website, teaches “the basics of ice cream composition, formulation, and processing.” Fisher learned how “far from the cow” the process of making ice cream had become— conventional ice cream is full of preservatives and other unnatural ingredients in order to prolong shelf-life. “I thought that if I could reduce the time between production and consumption of the ice cream, I wouldn’t have to include any of those artificial

additives,” Fisher said. “I’d tweet my location and hope Thus, Fisher decided to explore the that hungry ice cream eaters would world of made-to-order ice cream, show up…and they did,” Fisher said. and she began experimenting with a “It was scary at first, as I was overprocess that could fulfill her vision— whelmed by the sheer number of freezing with liquid nitrogen. people, but it was super exciting— “I…started tinkering...in basement exhilarating actually.” engineering shops with the help of Though Fisher was new to the some talented engineers,” Fisher world of ice cream and “the street said. “My parents were secretly a little food movement...was still very worried about me when I didn’t take young” at the time, she was able to a job [after graduate school] but in- have truly valuable experiences. stead started working in a basement “The community was super welshop on a custom ice cream ma- coming and quickly adopted me as chine, but they kept it to themselves one of their own,” Fisher said. “There and showed their support.” were a few times that I had to smile While Fisher’s idea seemed viable, and use my delicious ice cream to a challenge came in turning her idea my advantage when not-too-pleased into a reality. police officers were kicking us out of “I needed to design something parks and public places not zoned for that could automate and perfect the food trucks at the time.” process, and thus began the process With developed knowledge and of building Brrr, which continues to- experiences in the world of ice day,” Fisher said. cream, Fisher began In 2009, after the next stage of spending a few years adventure—she We like to call our ice her planning and developened up an ice oping the prototype cream ‘new, old-fashcream store named Brrr machine, Fisher ioned ice cream.’ Smitten Ice Cream in joined the street food San Francisco. — Robyn Sue Fisher movement in San “It was a huge chalFrancisco. She would lenge,” Fisher said. “I put the ice cream machine atop a had to learn how to create and manRadio Flyer wagon (rigged with off- age a team, run a whole store, and road wheels and a homemade bat- not be the only face of the brand.” tery pack) and walk around the city, Now, over seven years since she bemaking ice cream for customers. gan her ice cream adventure, Fisher’s

vision has become a successful reality, as she has established her brand. “Since I do this all for the love of ice cream, ‘Smitten’ is a natural fit for our brand,” Fisher said. “It’s a slightly nostalgic word reminiscent of old times; we like to call our ice cream ‘new, old-fashioned ice cream.’” With stores open in San Francisco and Los Altos and more opening in Oakland and Lafayette later this spring, Smitten Ice Cream has been able to spread throughout the Bay Area. However, Fisher still remains focused on refining the production process of her ice cream and being patient in expanding her business. “I did, and still do, want to make many people ‘smitten,’ but I wanted to make sure we had really honed in on our menu and our internal operations before growing,” Fisher said. “We wanted some time to test things out, see what worked best and make sure we found the right place at the right time.” Amid Smitten Ice Cream’s growth, Fisher and her team continue to improve their Brrr machine in order to perfect and standardize the freezing process in each location. Along with this, Fisher works on the ongoing patent process, which has proven to be very tedious and expensive, but it has gotten easier as Smitten has expanded. “At first, I didn’t have a budget for

COURTESY ROBYN SUE FISHER

Robyn Sue Fisher established Smitten Ice Cream, a brand that freezes ice cream with liquid nitrogen using a patented machine. intellectual property, so I read every patent book I could and wrote provisional patents myself,” Fisher said. “I now work with a patent attorney but it is still very hands-on.” Though busy with this process and her expanding business, the results of Fisher’s ongoing ice cream adventure have “certainly [been] a dream come true,” and Fisher credits the people around her with her vision’s success and her own happiness. Ultimately, they have been crucial to her achievements. “Having a team has made all of the difference in the world,” Fisher said. “They have helped to create the reality, and sharing the progress with each other creates the real joy.”

The Talon March 18, 2014

Junior plays bass at All-State Conference SOFIA GUO Staff Writer

While most students were hitting the slopes this winter break, junior Mikailo Kasha was hitting the notes at the California All-State Music Education Conference in Fresno. Mikailo was the only upright bass player in the entire state to be selected for the California All-State high school jazz band. The annual conference ran from February 20-23 and was a collection of clinics for band directors and performances by students hosted by California’s most prominent music education associations. Consisting of only junior high and high school students, the All-State bands, which range from classical to jazz, performed assigned pieces in concerts after a day or two of preparation in clinics. Students selected to the All-State bands were required to audition two months before the conference. Mikailo received a message in January that notified him of his acceptance. “[The school jazz ensemble director], Mr. [Ted] Ferrucci, told our seventh period band about this organization’s conference,” Mikailo said. “I prepared a week or two [before recording the CD] and practiced the tunes maybe 10 times within 2 weeks... I honestly didn’t think I would get in. I was kind of shocked, and then I was like ‘Okay, I can do this’... I was thrilled.” After being accepted, Mikailo was required to turn in registration forms and fees, which cost around 400 dollars, in addition to preparing for the actual conference.

“The organization sent me the music in a package, and there were seven tunes but two of the tunes were about 15 pages long,” Mikailo said. “I played through them, and they [weren’t] too hard.” Upon arriving at Fresno, Mikailo reported to his first rehearsal with the band. “We played our first time through the program, and I got lost because I [didn’t practice enough],” Mikailo said. “The band director expects you to have everything ready by the first rehearsal.” After meeting and rehearsing with his bandmates, Mikailo was awed by the distinct personalities and talents of the players. “The guitarist had never played jazz before,” Mikailo said. “He plays progressive metal, but when he soloes, it’s just a blur. Our excellent vibes player was the only girl, and our piano player was off the charts. PARMIS TAIDY The drummer was zoning out the whole time, while the trumpet players complained about how the classical trumpet players couldn’t hit the high notes.” For the next two days, Mikailo followed a strict schedule of three hour practices, meals and sleep. Before his big concert on Friday night, Mikailo attended an exposition, which featured booths from music companies and colleges from all over California, as well as a celebratory dinner with his bandmates. Then it was showtime. Mikailo believes the concert was the best he has ever played. “I could not sleep [after the concert],” Mikailo said. “I would lie in bed for hours and be like, ‘That was awesome.’ I’d listen to the recording again and think, ‘I can’t listen to

this or else I can’t go to sleep,’ but then listen was super good at jazz,” Mikailo said. “I was to the recording again.” like, ‘Wow, I want to do that.’ I went back to the Returning to his school life two days later, house in New Jersey, and I just looked through Mikailo maintains that the conference was a all the records we had, all the CD’s. I looked for beneficial experience. anything jazz and put it on my computer and “[Being in the All-State band] was an amaz- just listened to it. [Since] I didn’t actually have ing feeling,” Mikailo said. “I miss it... I want to a bass [in New Jersey], I would just imagine I go back and play with that group. They’re so was playing [what I was listening]. I’d try to play good...I definitely would do it again.” the notes [in air] and figure out how I would’ve His path to success began 13 years ago, when played it if I had a bass with me.” Mikailo began taking private piano lessons. He By then, Mikailo was hooked on jazz and later transitioned to play saxaphone and cello knew that he would never return to his classical and became involved in the elementary school roots. His parents invested in a starter upright band and orchestra. bass for him; once sophomore year began, he “I don’t actually know why [I joined the school’s jazz ensemchose two instruments],” Mible and continued playing with kailo said. “I was just like ‘Why the zero period jazz class, where not?’... I stopped saxaphone and I could not he plays electric and upright played only cello in sixth grade sleep [after the bass, piano and the marimba. because you can’t do both band concert]... I’d After the school year ended, and orchestra in middle school.” Mikailo auditioned for and In addition to being in the jazz listen to the was accepted into the Stanford band, Mikailo began playing his recording again. Summer Jazz Workshop. Offimain instrument, upright bass, cially an adult-only program, the — Junior Mikailo Kasha in the Graham Middle School workshop accepts under-18 muclassical orchestra. sicians only through very selecMikailo acquired his first taste for serious tive auditions. Mikailo received a $1,000 scholjazz in the summer after freshman year. He arship in addition to his acceptance and played attended the Florida State University summer with students from all around the country. jazz camp where he learned the basics of jazz “Larry Grenadier, who is [an awesome] bass from professor Rodney Jordan, a member of player...taught me lots of things that made me the acclaimed Marcus Roberts trio. enjoy playing bass more,” Mikailo said. “He had That same summer, Mikailo had the experi- us all prepare a song to play, and we’d play our ence that inspired him the most to pursue jazz. song the next day. You [would] get to see how On a trip up to New Jersey to visit his uncle, good you were compared to everyone else.” he attended a Paquito D’Rivera jazz concert Currently, Mikailo is the school’s jazz enat the Blue Note Cafe in New York. D’Rivera semble bassist, plays saxaphone in zero period is a Grammy award-winning Cuban alto saxo- jazz and plays bass in the audition-only San phonist, clarinetist and soprano saxophonist. Jose Jazz All-Stars high school band, a separate “It was my first time seeing anybody who year-round group.

Chef Chu’s CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE “Hong Kong is a culinary [capital] of Asia, compared to Taiwan,” Chu said. “Taiwan is basically Chinese food, all regional Chinese food. When I went to Hong Kong, I saw other types of food, especially Western food.” This exposure to different foods proved to be very valuable and instrumental in the building of his restaurant later on. “The first thing you need to do when learning how to cook is to go out and try different foods,” Chu said. “Try [different] foods, get familiar... and try to learn [about] the foods.” Once he immigrated to America, Chef Chu began working at Trader Vic’s, a restaurant where he learned many of his culinary skills. However, the bulk of his technical training came from working at a restaurant his father started: Mandarin House. “My father’s restaurant was pretty much like a dining hall,” Chu said. “When I came in and helped him I met the master chef. I found out that [the chef, Master Leung] was one of the best. I learned from him. I learned about almost all the basics from him for four or five years before I opened my Chef Chu restaurant.” As Chu began to open his restaurant, he soon realized that the Silicon Valley was, and continues to be, a prime location for opening an Asian restaurant. The valley has always been a highly diversified community and, starting in the late 1900s, one that has boasted a large Asian-American population. In addition, the Silicon Valley has grown in population due to many job opportunities in the tech world. This has also been beneficial to the restaurant. “[All these people] need to eat,” Chu said. “Eating is a necessity. You make the food more dramatic, more presentable, you become fine dining, then you have a greater advantage. “ The original concept Chu had in mind for the restaurant was very different than the familystyle sit down restaurant customers experience

PHOTOS BY IAN MACKEY

Larry Chu (right), the son of the the man who started the Chinese dining institution, Chef Chu’s, takes part in restaurant operations. Lawrence Chu founded his business 44 years ago; it was initially a take out restaurant. today. In the beginning, it was intended to be a fast food restaurant that only served food to go, similar to Panda Express. “I wanted to open a restaurant on every corner in America,” Chu said. “I had a dream. I didn’t care [who came], American, Chinese, Asian, [everyone] would love the food. That was the idea.” Chu believed at the time that people in this area needed take-out food. However, after a six month trial period, Chu recognized that with the atmosphere of Silicon Valley, such an enterprise would not be possible. “I realized people wanted a restaurant that was a family restaurant. [A restaurant where they could] bring the family and enjoy a family style meal. [A place where] children could come in, eat, throw rice everywhere and [their parents would] not get embarrassed,” Chu said. As the restaurant gradually became a place catered to families, the food also began to evolve. The food served at the restaurant began to include a wide variety of Chinese food, which Chu believes accounts for much of the restaurant’s success. “We didn’t concentrate on just one province, we cooked Sichuan food, food from Shanghai and Beijing, we even cooked Cantonese style dishes from Hong Kong,” Chu said. “We have always looked at Chinese cooking as a whole, rather than as just one isolated local cuisine.” Their menu also includes dishes familiar to people who are not of Chinese descent.

“[You must have] the familiar dishes to the Americans,” Chu said. “Sweet and sour pork, almond chicken, chow mein, fried rice, wonton soup, the list goes on and on. [If you are an American and you go into a Chinese restaurant] and you see no dishes you recognize you’re not going to eat there. Don’t you think when people come to a Chinese restaurant they envision very clear items that will be on the menu? It’s common sense [that your menu would include those dishes].” In addition to the restaurant’s high quality food and excellent location, local community support is what played an instrumental role in popularizing Chef Chu’s. “Above all, it’s the word of mouth,” Chu said. “It’s the quality of the food, the taste of the food, and whether we fit the lifestyle in this area, especially when you talk about the Silicon Valley [that makes a restaurant popular].” As time went on, Chu began to see opportunities for growth, and began thinking of things the restaurant could do to set itself apart. Thus, he began implementing a Chinese New Year banquet 35 years ago after customers expressed interest in learning more about and trying different “banquet” dishes. “It started in 1980, we had a Chinese New Year banquet and we were packed every Wednesday for four weeks,” Chu said. “This year we celebrated our 34th chinese new year banquet. The restaurant has been there 44 years, and we have been doing this 34 years, that’s a record. That’s achievement. That’s attention to detail, that’s commitment.” Through implementing unique features like the Chinese New Year Banquet, Chu began to see his restaurant as not only a place dedicated

to serving high quality food, but also as a vehicle to promote Chinese culture. “Back then it wasn’t like Chinese cuisine was very well known,” Larry Chu, Chef Chu’s son said. “Chef Chu was introducing Chinese food, and by doing so, introducing Chinese culture to this area.” After years of developing his dining institution, Chu has established Chef Chu’s as a prominent dining institution in the Silicon Valley. Over the years, Chu has truly learned what it means to create a successful restaurant. “Your [goal] in opening a restaurant is to make money, to keep a family going,” Chu said. “Thats baseline. You’re opening a restaurant [at a basic level to try and] make bread and butter. That’s a career. A career is different than a hobby. A lot of people don’t understand that. [People say] ‘Oh, I’ll follow my heart, I want to be a dancer, I want to be this and that.’ That’s a hobby. [You have to ask yourself], ‘Is this a career you have a passion [for or is this a hobby]?’” In addition, one of the most important parts of being a “restaurateur” is being flexible. This idea of being able to adapt to the times fits well with the spirit of the Silicon Valley. “What makes Chef Chu different is that we always change,” Chu said. “Not for the sake of change, [we] change because lifestyles change. Nowadays people want to eat healthy, [so] our menu [should] reflect that. There’s no solution or formula. If you just sit there, the restaurant will not stay forever. You have to learn as you go, and listen to what the customer has to say.” The customer-server relationship is integral to the success of a restaurant. “Remember, you cook for your client,” Chu said. “You don’t cook for yourself. Most of the people I [know say that when they] cook Chinese food, [they] cook for [themselves]. No, you cook for your client. That’s very important. Most people will make a mistake and say ‘Oh, that’s how I cooked in China for fifty years!’ Forget it. This is America. It’s a lifestyle change. The bottom line is that people will prove whether or not your dishes are truly good.” At the end of the day, though it is tiring and at times frustrating, a restaurant business can be an extremely fulfilling project if one has the passion and dedication necessary to make a restaurant succeed. “When you do something willingly... you are still happy,” Chu said. “When you play for yourself, you never become tired because you want to be a better player. That’s what a restaurant brings you. Self-satisfaction.”

The Talon March 18, 2014

Haiti Experiences: Meet the people behind it all BY CARLY COHEN AND CASSIDY CRAFORD, In-Depth Editor and Senior Writer

Paulette

n January 12, 2010, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, plunging the most impoverished country in the western hemisphere into a deeper struggle. A little more than a year later, Los Altos High School became the official sister school of SOPUDEP, which educates preschool through high school age students in one of the poorest areas of Port-au-Prince. This February, a delegation of 27 students from Students for Haiti Solidarity, teachers and parents led by advisor and history teacher Seth Donnelly travelled to Haiti to aid in the construction of a new school site for SOPUDEP and to build lasting connections with local Haitian educational and political leaders. As members of Students for Haiti Solidarity, we are inspired not only by SOPUDEP students, but by the leaders within their community who fight for the education, rights and survival of the poor. Our goal is to form relationships with these community leaders and stand in solidarity with them while they inspire the next generation of Haitians. Below are the people who continue to meet with us year after year, helping us to be a part of the Port-au-Prince community.

Rea

Rosalin

Rosalin is the director of MOJUB, a women’s group that works to empower Haitian women to become independent and self-providing. They are part of a larger initiative spearheaded by Rea to provide “microloans” to women to begin small businesses or to do textile work. Women are loaned money that they must pay back with interest. If they succeed in paying it back, they can loan more money. Organizations like MOJUB then place a certain percentage of the paid back funds into an savings account for each woman. Rosalin also works to improve the conditions and safety of MO-

Jean

On our fourth day in Haiti, we visited one of Port-au-Prince’s many tent camps. The tent camp houses 32,400 people with little to no sanitary materials, such as toilets and drinkable water. One of its leaders, Jean, spoke to us hoping to help us understand life in the tent camp and to emphasize the need for change. Jean lives among the poorest men and women in Haiti and has witnessed millions of dollars intended to help these tent communities disappear into the government and NGOs (NonGovernmental Organizations). Ultimately, Jean wants to create a community in which people can become self-sustaining and create a life for themselves. “Today, five gourde [the Haitian currency] will buy me food, but tomorrow I will be hungry,” Jean said. “Give me a house so I can work hard and think better everyday, and I can make a difference.” Jean’s passion for a better life for thousands of Haitians living in tent camps is at the center of his life. The people of this tent camp continue to meet with us year after year, and they represent the ultimate spirit

JUB’s neighborhood—one in which women are often sexually assaulted on their walk to work, school or the market. Recently she has put in some lighting on the street, making women feel safer and less vulnerable. Sexual violence is extremely common in Haiti, but Rosalin says many women are afraid to speak up for fear of increased violence. MOJUB provides a safe haven for these women—a place in which they can discuss their role in Haitian society and their own personal experiences. Both Rosalin and Rea emphasized that the key to Haiti’s future is the power of Haitian women. “Even though the wind is shaking these women, they will not fall,” Rea said. of Haiti’s grassroots community. Striving to make change in Haiti, however, comes with many setbacks. Many students in Haiti Solidarity who had visited the tent camp before found it difficult to process the lack of change that had occurred since their last time at the camp. As students who are trying to understand the dire position these tent camp inhabitants are in, we find ourselves motivated by the bravery of individuals like Jean who push forward. “If you are fighting for freedom, you are always in danger,” Jean said. “We will all die, I want to fight first.”

At the heart of our ties to Haiti is Rea, affectionately known as “Mama Rea” or “Tati,” the director of SOPUDEP. Rea and her husband, Bataille, have facilitated the many transitions of SOPUDEP: Originally a group of community members working for social and political change in the early 1990s, then an adult literacy program in 2002, and now also a K-12 school that serves more than 800 impoverished children in the Pétion-Ville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. Through Rea’s extensive community ties, Students for Haiti Solidarity has been able to expand its scope of aid, sense of awareness and depth of understanding in Port-au-Prince. Throughout the early 2000s Rea faced various struggles to keep SOPUDEP open. In 2004 when Haiti’s popular, elected President JeanBertrand Aristide was kidnapped in a coup, the Haitian governmentsubsidized lunch program was cancelled and political figures involved in the coup tried to close the school. In 2008 SOPUDEP could not afford to pay its teachers and again faced closing. Each time Rea was met with the challenge of continuing to educate SOPUDEP youth she found the money or the means to move forward. Often thanks

Malcolm

Malcolm [name changed to protect identity], a Haitian journalist, met with us in secrecy. Like many Haitians looking for political and social change, Malcolm has been forced into hiding. Malcolm described to us two types of journalists in Haiti. The first consists of journalists who support the government’s picture of Haiti. These journalists paint a picture of a recovered and stable Haiti, one with-

to international support, Rea was able to keep the school open. When one is in Rea’s presence it quickly becomes clear that she is always trying to find a way to better the circumstances of those around her. Whether it’s divvying out supplies, funds or food between organizations, or opening up her home to Students for Haiti Solidarity members, Rea remains our inspiration to do good. “What Rea gets, she shares,” Paulette, another community leader and director of grade school FOPAD said. Currently Rea and Bataille are overseeing the construction of the “new SOPUDEP,” a building that plans on providing for the education of hundreds more SOPUDEP students once finished in the coming years. This is the project our Los Altos community has been primarily supporting. Through Rea we have learned that her overall philosophy of sharing what she has is at the root of the Haitian culture. While working alongside the Haitian people to build SOPUDEP and understand their society this is the philosophy we embody.

Paulette, one of Rea’s closest friends, met with us on our second day in Haiti. She was the first of many devoted political and educational leaders that we would meet with over the course of the trip. Paulette, like Rea, both runs a school, FOPAD-Excelsior, and speaks out for political and social reform. FOPAD-Excelsior is a primary school that serves children of all economic classes, but focuses on helping those who cannot afford a private school education. Paulette has been an active democratic protester since she was 16, often facing challenges and death threats. As a protester, Paulette was one of many who supported former President Aristide. President Aristide was the first democratically elected president of Haiti, and largely supported by its poor population. Haiti, as a country, has a notoriously corrupt and abusive government which is often backed the small, wealthy elite. Those that opposed the government and support the poor, including many of those who supported President Aristide, wound up in dangerous, if not fatal situations. In 2006, Paulette was forced to leave Haiti to escape threats against her life. When she returned to Haiti in 2010, Paulette opened the FOPADExcelsior school. The school has grown from 50 to 500 students. Paulette helps these students in every way possible. When she can find food to give them, she provides what often is the only meal they will eat all day. Paulette is one of many activists and educators who keeps the Haitian spirit bright by striving to improve the lives of the children and citizens who surround her.

Paulette out immense poverty, tent cities and an untrusted government. The second type of journalist is one like Malcolm who reports on the many crimes that impoverished Haitians face daily. As a journalist, Malcolm takes controversial footage of violent, gruesome crimes committed by the government or organizations involved with the government. These

are shared on small liberal stations that support the grassroots perspective within Haiti. This footage does not air on mainstream and international news stations. As a man running from the government, Malcolm hardly finds food to eat day to day. Although he lives in constant struggle, Malcolm is passionate about the work he does. He is a true example of someone who is willing to risk his life to promote public awareness within Haiti.

lthough important, providing financial and material aid to SOPUDEP is only a small part of Students for Haiti for Solidarity’s mission. As students involved in service work it is essential that we do not only see, but understand where our aid is going. Incorporating direct involvement and forming community relationships are the most effective ways to avoid the kind of “parachuting” aid (dropping in, providing funds and leaving) that is discouraged by many. The work that individuals such as Rea, Paulette, Malcolm, Rosalin and Jean do is a constant reminder that progress can be made in countries as impoverished and corrupt as Haiti. Their inspiration to work towards a better future for the youth of Haiti is what fuels our efforts in Haiti and at home. As we stand in solidarity with these community leaders we hope to continue to bring positive change to the lives of those we work with in Haiti. PHOTOS COURTESY KATIE TRITSCHLER

The Talon March 18, 2014

Catch reviews of new movies, music and more, plus read the entertainment archives at lahstalon.org/entertainment

Toro y Moi Chaz Bundick is all about mixture. From his stage name, Toro y Moi, which is a Spanish-and-French expression meaning “bull and me” to his half-Filipino, half-African-American ethnic background, to his actual music, Bundick’s M.O. is mixing and mashing. Bundick adopted his moniker, Toro y Moi, when he began producing music as just a bedroom project while he was a graphic-design student in 2001. At the time, Toro y Moi’s music was a hazy, vintage swirl of Daft Punk, The Smiths and Super Nintendo. Over a period of eight years, Bundick prepared a few album’s worth of material with a sound

that is musical medley at its finest: a careful composition of French house, R&B, contemporary pop and alternative hip-hop. It’s impossible to experience Toro y Moi’s music without being drawn in by the hypnotism of his instrumentals, which feature heavy sampling and are laden with ‘80s retro nostalgia and electric synth-lines. The particular sound has become associated with “chillwave,” a sub-genre of indie electronic pop that blends effects processing, synths and sampling. The trend of blends for Toro y Moi is retro and electropop. Toro y Moi’s stellar 2010 debut album, “Causers of This,” has tracks

ANDREW SUBIELA / FLICKR

Chaz Bundick, nicknamed Toro y Moi, creates a medley of synth and bass to captivate his audience.

Beats by Barreira SHIKTIJ DAVE Opinions Editor

like “Say That” which are built on an energetic boogie funk and a modern electro style. “Harm In Changing” and “Studies” and even the more contemporary production of “Cake” all emphasize a number of different types of dance/techno-disco styles fusing with a mix of hauntingly chorded keyboard based melodies. “Touch” and “How It’s Wrong” slow down the pace for more probing jazzfunk numbers. However, the best track of the album is “Talamak,” a searing ballad that has Toro y Moi pining for a lost romance in a tried-and-true formula that somehow still sounds fresh. It’s an unheralded classic that truly epitomizes chillwave—a retro bassline kept lively with synths and a quiet crooning and introspection from Toro y Moi lyrically. Toro y Moi globalized chillwave with 2013’s “Anything In Return,” an album that was radically experimental for a chillwave project, blending in elements of jazz and blues that juxtapose the soft voice of Chaz with the eclectic, electronic backdrop. Somehow, the album remains dance/funk at its core, with Toro y Moi delving into the past with a rhythmic and melodic blueprint crafted from ‘70s disco to late ‘80s house and even some ‘90s retro funk revival along with a

combination of modern electronic loops and retro synthesizers all synthesized in an organic manner. Toro y Moi has gotten a good amount of buzz from music blogs, and with good reason. The bass-filled beats in these songs and the manipulation of samples is very psychedelic. However, the whole album is cohesive, and there is some genuine, personal lyrical content here as well. Toro’s beats are sometimes danceable but not overtly so. The monotonous vocals are lost in the swirl of heavy retro effects, synths and bassline. However that doesn’t mean at all that the songs don’t need vocals or, rather, that they would be better served as instrumentals; the monotnous croon of Toro y Moi provides some semblance of sanity and balance to some degree, and the songs would just be empty without them. It’s interesting that something which sounds so universally reminiscent can, at the same time, sound unique. For all intents and purposes, as an artist Toro is neither “unique” nor “groundbreaking” and it’s certainly nothing that hasn’t been done before, but the manner in which it was created and executed is strikingly impressive and makes for a fun, nostalgic trip, no matter the era in which you grew up.

Star Wars changes hands to Disney MAYA VARGHESE Staff Writer

In December of 2012, Disney completed the acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, paying over $4 billion for all of Lucasfilm, Inc. Though many people were shocked that Disney now owns the rights to Star Wars, it may actually be a good thing for the franchise. It all depends on how Disney handles it, but there is one exciting result of the acquisition—a new trilogy. Soon after the acquisition was affirmed, Disney announced that it would be continuing the Star Wars movies, adding Episodes VII, VIII and IX. Episode VII is scheduled to hit theaters in 2015. The new movies are said to be original content, though little is certain at the moment due to Disney’s understandable secrecy about the new movies. George Lucas originally intended to make nine movies, but the movies which would have taken place after the original trilogy were scrapped when several key plot points were added into the sixth movie instead. The movies will not be based off of Lucas’ screenplay drafts or the novels written about the universe, but the ideas will draw from a database Lucas calls the “Holocron,” which contains detailed sketches for activity around the universe in various periods spanning 20,000 years and for 17,000 characters. Original content will be approved by Lucas, but he won’t be creating it. However, Disney typically creates unforgettable storylines. Since most people from Lucasfilm have stayed on, including President Kathleen

Kennedy and George Lucas, who remains as a creative consultant, they should also be able to ensure that the new movies stay true to the feel of Lucas’s previous ones. Though it’s possible Disney will simplify or water down the storyline in comparison to the other movies, Disney is probably aware that a large part of their fan base does not consist of children but the people who originally fell in love with the movies 30 years ago. And following movies such as “The Revenge of the Sith,” the most dark and complex Star Wars movie created thus far, it’s very likely that they will make this movie slightly more adult than their usual and make it appealing to an older audience, while maintaining the themes and intensity of the previous movies. IMDb has already listed several old Star Wars cast members as returning to the new movies. Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Leia Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) and Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) are all set to return for Episode VII. Bringing the old actors back will allow viewers to see their favorite

characters again years later and enjoy the continuation of the movies where they left off in 1983. However, it is more likely this is going to be a nostalgic revisiting of the old movies with the same characters trying to say the same witty lines but failing. It has been 30 years since the original trilogy finished, and the actors have grown up and gone on to have careers in a variety of roles. If they come back 30 years older, they will have to have aged gracefully as the characters they once were, rather than come back unchanged. However, none of these actors are intended to be the main character,

so they may be able to pull this off by taking more of a back seat for old times’ sake while not distracting from the new story at hand. In addition, Disney is starting a new television series in the style of their previous television series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” The new show, “Star Wars Rebels,” takes place in between Episodes III and IV, in a time period where the Empire has mostly taken over and is focusing on hunting down the last remaining Jedi. A new villain MICHAEL ZHU called the Inquisitor will be introduced as well as a new cast of heroes. This will be an interesting period to explore and should contain the same beautiful animation and intriguing storylines as The Clone Wars. Disney’s new movies and TV shows for Star Wars could definitely be a total flop, but they do have the potential to be a valuable addition to the franchise. With a talented director (J.J. Abrams), composer (John Williams) and actors, along with George Lucas as creative consultant, it will be exciting to have new movies and TV shows to take fans back to a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

By Alex Barreira

Spotlight: Neutral Milk Hotel If “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” was an album of innocence fatally doomed, then it’s precursor, “On Avery Island,” depicted those first attempts at guarding and preserving it. Jeff Mangum, the masterful center player of Neutral Milk Hotel, struggles with similar themes in both albums—the celebration of birth, the mourning of early death or life lived in loneliness. Plagued with self-doubt, struggling to reconcile meaning and sometimes failing, Mangum’s journey is characterized by a longing for something pure that no longer exists, and may never have. “On Avery Island” is loosely tied together by the story of the Pree sisters. Their hopes to welcome a child into the world are dashed early on, and each subsequent return paints a more desolate picture of their state. Like “Aeroplane,” which was sparked from the pages of Anne Frank’s diary, “On Avery Island’s” lyrics are so consistently poetic that it’s hard to include any one here in particular. The album’s climax at “April 8th” erupts into a 15 minute journey of harsh, expansive noise that Mangum intended as the sound one hears as they pass into the next life. The arrangements that bring these lyrics to life are simple and beautiful. Fans of My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth will resonate with the fuzz-heavy bass and harsh analog synthesizers characteristic of the ‘90s. As with “Aeroplane,” however, Neutral Milk Hotel distinguishes its sound from contemporaries with an odd assortment of trumpets and flugelhorn, among other obscure sounds. The archaic sound and surreal lyrics evoke the feeling of a bizarre, fantastic world that died a thousand years ago. These soundscapes, however, feel incredibly habitable and human, as some of Mangum’s best songs have no words at all. The triumphant funeral march of “Fool” and “Marching Theme” exemplifies this strange juxtaposition, with a glorious lo-fi ensemble of synths and lurking, overblown guitars. It could just as likely take place at the front of a parade as it could on the edge of a cliff. What a lot of Neutral Milk Hotel evokes is something apart from traditional considerations of feeling, which for this purpose seem too cynical. It’s something timeless, which perhaps explains their fervent cult following of the last 10 years, while they’ve been on hiatus. Mangum is willing and able to perform again, though, and he’s coming to Fox Theater this April. I highly recommend checking them out.

The Talon March 18, 2014

Six albums to look forward to this year ALEX BARREIRA Staff Writer

Get ready for more mountie hats; more Ocean, more Yeezy, more Gaga glitter and pouty Lana Del Rey lips; more love songs and country-pop; another helping of Fleet Foxes and watered down Beck-rock. There will be controversy (Lily Allen’s next album, “Sheezus”), there may be blood, but regardless there will be plenty to talk about long after 2014 ends. The following are a few of the sure-to-be interesting releases of the this year.

DAVID_HWANG / FLICKR

Frank Ocean, TBD, Summer

2014 will also see the release of R&B singer Frank Ocean’s second album. After his 2011 mixtape “Nostalgia, Ultra” made online waves in the music world and hinted at the stunning talent to come, Ocean followed in 2012

COLUMBIA RECORDS

Pharrell, G I R L, March

It appears Pharrell and his iconic headwear are here to stay. The star-feature of 2013’s biggest singles, Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” recently signed with Columbia Records for a solo album to follow his 2006 debut “In My Mind.” His single “Happy” was featured in “Despicable Me 2” and broke a world record for the longest music video of all time, at 24 hours long. His face (and his hat) have been practically everywhere since the summer, most recently at the Oscars and covering the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” on their 50th anniversary special. His rise is no fluke, however, as he’s worked as a featured artist, writer or producer in nearly every major pop/ hip-hop record of the last decade. His next album, “G I R L”, was released March 3, and features Daft Punk, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys.

YNE VAN DE MERGEL / FLICKR

Lady Gaga is no stranger to experimentation, whether in her fashion sense or public image, but critics have often questioned whether that willingness to push the envelope translates to her music, synth-saturated dance pop.

ALEXKORMISPS / WIKIMEDIA

Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett, “Cheek to Cheek,” March 18

ADELE, TBD

After nearly three years of wait, in the coming months Adele fans might get the new music they’ve been eagerly waiting for. The English singer-songwriter has reportedly been taking her time with her latest album, rumored to be called “25,” in an effort to make it fully her own: writing, recording, producing and mastering it all herself. If she keeps in touch with her traditionally autobiographical songwriting,

with his studio debut, the superb “Channel Orange,” which became the year’s best reviewed album (netting an incredible 92 on Metacritic) and was certified gold. Ocean’s excellent performance on the charts and critics’ year-end lists has been as much a discussion as the singer’s sexuality, as after 2012 he revealed in an open letter that he had been in love with another man. Ocean’s successes have continued to further dialogue about acceptance in the traditionally less tolerant hip-hop community, a positive by any measure. While “Channel Orange” skillfully evoked the classic R&B feel with contemporary appeal, his next effort is rumored to be a ‘60s, beachinspired work, with contributions from Tame Impala, Danger Mouse, Pharrell and fellow Odd Future member Tyler the Creator. With her next album, “Cheek to Cheek,” Gaga will have the chance to prove them wrong. Gaga will collaborate with veteran jazz singer Tony Bennett on a self described, “big swing album” of jazz standards. While the two singing personalities seem like opposites, both share an admiration for each other’s talent and work ethic. “I consider Lady Gaga the Picasso of the entertainment world,” Bennett said. “She is very intelligent and she is very right and she is a very talented person.” The pair sang a well-received duet of “The Lady is a Tramp” at the 2012 Presidential Inauguration. Soon after, while touring in Australia, Bennett received an unexpected call from Gaga. “She said she wanted to do a jazz album with me. She was very adamant.” The question remains whether Gaga will put an avant-garde interpretation on the classics, or if she’ll take Bennett’s lead and show a different side of her performing abilities. “25” looks to be a glorious triumph of a record. In the past two years she’s battled the dirt-flinging British press and Joan Rivers as well as an ill-timed rupture of a painful, but benign polyp on her vocal chords. During that difficult time she refused to hear her songs on the radio, fearing she may never sing again. Ultimately she prevailed, resuming touring and welcoming into the world her first child with philanthropist Simon Konecki, while returning to recording her latest album.

DAVID SHANKBONE / WIKIMEDIA

Taylor Swift, TBD

When Taylor Swift blew up the country music scene in 2006 with singles “Teardrops on my Guitar” and “Tim McGraw,” she was on her way to becoming the instantly divisive figure she is today, within her own genre and all of popular music. The likeable, dorky, somewhat naïve persona of her songs and interviews often overshadowed the fact that, at seventeen, she possessed the maturity of songwriting and ambition of someone a decade older. Her natural shortcomings as a live singer were thrust awkwardly into the spotlight—at the 2010 Grammys, her off-key performance alongside Stevie Nicks was proof to many skeptics that Taylor was little more than a pretty face. Even though her music would not

RODRIGOFERRARI / FLICKR

Kanye West, TBD, Summer

As always, Kanye West has been a busy man lately. Somewhere between his epic world tour with Kendrick Lamar and Drake, his soon-to-be fashion line with Adidas and search for fighter jets to perform at his upcoming marriage to Kim Kardashian, he’s found time

satisfy country purists, it drove the genre into the mainstream and paved the way for Lady Antebellum and similar border-striding artists to make a significant impact on radio airwaves. Swift’s rise to fame has shown remarkable staying power, and her maturing artistry the past few years serves as proof that she is continuing to grow. She quietly won the American Music Award for best artist in 2013, and her last album, “Red,” was followed by another performance at the Grammys, this one a knockout. Much of the spotlight, once again, however, was on her naïveté rather than her professionalism. After she mistakenly celebrated at the “Best Album” announcement, hearing “Random Access Memories” win (and confusing it with “Red”) abundant Tumblr gifs and Twitter tweets snarled to the theme of “there she goes again!” How could a pop-country celebrity, they wondered, arguably as talked-about for her boyfriend choice as for her music, expect to win? Like Pharrell’s hat, her enthusiastic misread became a meme, but the laughs were coming at, rather than with, Swift. Though she’s still derided in some circles as more image than substance, Swift’s improving output proves she takes herself seriously as an artist. Perhaps with her next album more of her most ardent aggressors will, too.

to hit the studios for his next release this summer. He was too busy, however, to attend the Grammys, where his most recent album, “Yeezus,” was snubbed with only two nominations (and not the coveted “Best Album” title) despite its presence on many critics’ year-end lists. Little has been said about what exactly West is working on, but it could be the rumored Part 2 album from the alleged 20 tracks drafted during the “Yeezus” recording sessions. This next release could be a follow-up of a different kind—a sequel to his collaborative hip-hop album “Cruel Summer” with fellow G.O.O.D Music labelmates Big Sean and Kid Cudi among others. Whether his next album or fashion line is received well by critics and the public (or he finally gets the recognition he thinks he deserves) the results are likely to be controversial, and as always, worth watching.

Forest on First is inviting but overly expensive AMELIA BAUM Staff Writer

Forest on First

American

129 First St. Los Altos, CA

★★★☆☆ Forest on First caters to young families with hefty price tags. Forest on First is the latest of several new businesses in downtown Los Altos owned and operated by H & H company, a local startup. Designed as a “play cafe,” Forest on First is a family restaurant; it emphasizes fresh, local fare and features a jungle-gym style “treehouse” for its younger patrons. Located just steps from its “sister cafe,” Bumble, Forest on First’s inviting atmosphere is consistent with the rest of H & H’s local

businesses, including “The Makery,” a hobby shop, “The Botanist” a garden store, “Area 151,” a children’s arcade and others. The cafe serves up some delicious California-style breakfast and lunch options—for a hefty price tag. Served with butter, maple syrup and fresh blueberry compote, the “blueberry danish pancake” is a beautifully plated, texturally unique alternative to a traditional breakfast pancake. However, at $10 for what is inarguably a one-person serving, it is certainly no bargain. The restaurant’s fresh-squeezed juice blends make up the heart of their advertising. The “double apple” blend is a lovely combination of pineapple, pippin apples, and refreshing mint, but at $8 for an 8-ounce serving, it’s not a good value in any respect. Though Forest on First seems to be

doing an excellent job with its quality of food so far, there are undoubtedly some places for real improvement. The drip coffee is a bit of a disaster, especially for a place that prides itself on its breakfast options. It’s thin, bitter and tastes like it’s straight out a can. Additionally, an efficient kitchen allows for a quick food service, but an inexperienced and poorly trained waitstaff means Forest’s customers are left waiting for forks and coffee creamer before digging in. Forest on First represents just one of many new additions to downtown Los Altos aimed at families with young children. With a cute atmosphere and unique fare, it has already been drawing a steady stream of intrigued patrons. Only time will tell if the restaurant’s heavy markup and mediocre service will be a hindrance to its long-term success.

IAN MACKEY

Forest on First is one of the many new restaurants to open in Downtown Los Altos. While the food is good, the price tag carries a hefty weight.

The Talon March 18, 2014

“Scandal” blurs line between good and evil corruption is exposed further with each episode. Like many antiheroes Managing Editor before her, Olivia walks a thin ethiCopy/Content Editor cal line, but her desperate clawings for power soon seem far more pragmatic than amoral. “Scandal” Like her clients, Olivia has a taintABC: Thursday @ 9 PM ed past to keep hidden. The dispar★★★★☆ ity between Olivia’s expertise in fixing the messes of others and her We are no strangers to sympathiz- inability to repair her own forms a ing with evil. From meth kingpin continuing theme in “Scandal.” AfWalter White in “Breaking Bad” to ter the first season, the sticky cobcongressman Frank Underwood in webs in her closet begin to emerge. “House of Cards,” antiheroes fill our Her father, with an uncomfortable TV. Whether they’re charming or number of sins to his name, lurks sympathetic, these deeply flawed in the shadows, threatening to individuals slowly convince viewers move closer. Sordid details about to overlook their sins and even qui- the presidential election that Olivia etly root for them. While the line be- helped to run along with chief-oftween good and evil has been blurry staff Cyrus Beene and first lady Melfor some time, ABC’s political opera lie Grant threaten to emerge. On top of that, she “Scandal” has been struggles to make smudging it further. sense of her turbulent The show introduces While the affair with President the infamous Olivia Fitzgerald Grant. Pope (Kerry Washing- line between Their relationship ton), the woman that good and is compelling—full of Washington, D.C. calls evil has been secrecy and tension— when it needs fixing. blurry for some but it’s also unhealthy. Olivia makes a livThey’re terrible for ing whitewashing the time, ABC’s each other: he’s dedirty laundry of D.C.’s political soap pressed and she’s rich and powerful, opera “Scandal” from congressmen has been smudg- standoffish. At times, the president emoto CEOs. Each of the tionally manipulates members of her team ing it further. Olivia, exploiting his of crisis-managers are infinitely loyal to her; she hired each power to fulfill his ever-changing after rescuing them from trouble. romantic wishes. And while they The charismatic team, self-styled as are clearly the defining couple of “gladiators in suits,” will even lie to the show, their relationship keepthe press or bleach murder scenes to ing several plotlines together, it’s hard to want them to end up toprotect its prominent clients. Leading the team with an iron gether. Despite the propensity of “Scanfist, Olivia relies on her gut to decide whether to take on a client or how dal” for melodrama, much of the to spin a disaster. Though Olivia’s show candidly breaks down barriteam insists that she wears the pro- ers. For one, Washington is the first verbial “white hat,” she’s far from be- female African-American to perform ing morally pure—her complicity in the lead role of a network drama

REBECCA DESHETLER ARIEL MACHELL

Five Guys offers excellent taste for egregious price

ABC

Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) holds her ground while effortlessly handling the dirty work of Washington’s elite. Scandal is currently in its third season and shows on Thursdays at 9 PM. You can find seasons one and two of Scandal on Netflix. since 1974. Olivia’s relationship with the president, in turn, puts an interracial relationship into the spotlight. The refreshing thing about this, however, is that the show doesn’t dwell on it. The drama surrounding Olivia and Fitz’ relationship is centered entirely around their circumstances, rather than race: who they are, not what they are. The show further challenges a number of stereotypes. The president is, in fact, a Republican, but one who fights fiercely to pass the DREAM Act. Cyrus, the president’s chief of staff, is openly gay and married despite being highly visible in a Republican administration. His marriage to a journalist isn’t glossed over; their relationship is explored in terms of their highly contrasting personalities, not their sexuality. These details are

IAN MACKEY

Senior Writers

A new Five Guys location opened early this February on the corner of Rengstorff and El Camino. Five Guys is a popular burger chain throughout the country. It did not upset its reputation of making a tasty burger, but its high prices cannot be overlooked. Five Guys’ general ambiance is a draw. It offers an extremely large seating area, red and white checkered walls, complimentary peanuts for all customers and highly automated soda fountains, the Coca Cola Freestyle machines, that seem to offer just about every drink out there. Five Guys offers sandwiches such as grilled cheeses and BLTs, hot dogs, burgers, fries and drinks. When ordering, the customer picks a burger and then adds from a list of either free or priced additional toppings. The burgers are extremely tasty with soft buns and juicy patties. The possible addition of bacon is crispy and adds a sweet meat taste to the burger. The bacon is one thing that Five Guys

has that In-N-Out does not. The sides such as grilled onions offer a diverse variety of flavors to the burger. It is soft, tender and bursting with flavor. Five Guys would be an incredible addition to the food scene surrounding the high school if not for its high prices. The “Little Hamburger,” the smallest and cheapest burger option offered is $3.99. The normal sized cheeseburger is $6.49 and $7.49 with bacon. It gives off a similar vibe to that of In-N-Out. The structure of ordering and even the interior designs are reminiscent of In-N-Out. Although the Five Guys’ burger is tasty, paying upwards of seven dollars for just a fast food burger is excessive. When fries and drink are added into the equation, the sum can easily come out to 13 or more dollars.While the Five Guys burger might taste a bit better, it is not worth paying that much more. It is a nice place to try once for lunch, but going there frequently will just be a waste of money. Its location, however, does make it a viable lunch time option for students.

manager—with extreme emphasis on “loosely”—and with it, set out with the goal of proving—to herself and to others—that she could write outside of a hospital-setting. To buy into the intricate schemes and juicy flashbacks that “Scandal” relies on, one can’t expect the show to stay too close to the truth. As the characters sacrifice democracy in the name of favoritism and influence, the ride is too breathtaking to question the somewhat implausible scenarios that pepper the show. But in exchange for the thrilling themes of corruption and romance, Rhimes’ dramatic style is more than welcome. The third season of “Scandal” has returned to air after a winter hiatus, adding to a generation of modern television starring lead characters of questionable morality.

“How I Met Your Mother” ends an era PERLA LUNA

Business Manager

CHASE ELLER JOEY MALGESINI

simply facts—not scandals—proving that an inclusive script does not need to limit a show’s power. A large part of the show’s success stems from Washington’s captivating performance. Charismatic, fierce, elegant and passionate, Washington gives shape to the dynamic character of Olivia, carrying herself with such aplomb that it’s no wonder that she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award, an Emmy and, most recently, a Golden Globe for the role—“outstanding lead actress in a drama series.” “Scandal” is very different from what people have come to expect from writer and producer Shonda Rhimes, most known for her hitshow “Grey’s Anatomy.” Rhimes based “Scandal” very loosely off of the life of Judy Smith, D.C.’s crisis

From slap bets to yellow umbrellas, it’s been a love story nine years in the making. But on March 31 viewers will finally see the legen—wait for it—dary meeting between Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) and the Mother (Cristin Milioti), whose identity has been kept secret for the entire series. The sitcom created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas premiered in 2005 and has since followed the romantic tribulations of Ted on his quest to find “The One” as narrated by an older Ted from 2030 (voiced by Bob Saget) to his children. Helping him through this quest are his best friends, the epitome of a perfect married couple Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), womanizing Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) and news anchor Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders). Despite Ted and Robin’s off-andon-again relationship, it is Robin and Barney’s wedding weekend which season nine centers around, as the last season saw a transformed Barney proposing to Robin. The choice to have the whole of season nine centered on the three days of the couple’s wedding was a bold one. Though viewers and critics alike have expressed frustration with the constricted timeline, the writers have managed to slip in old favorite recurring jokes and settings to varying degrees of success. While fans appreciated the callback to Marshall and Barney’s slap bet in “Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment

in Slapmarra,” the dragged out storyline and its racist portrayal of Asian culture did not strike the right chord. “The Lighthouse” had a similar contrived storyline that spent too much time on the cook-off between Robin and Barney’s mom rather than sweet moment between Ted and the Mother that the flashforward gave us. “How I Met Your Mother” proved with its ninth episode, “Platonish,” that the old charm was not altogether lost. The episode, which thankfully featured the Mother heavily, revealed the reason behind Barney’s decision to marry Robin and served to remind viewers of the reason they are suffering through this seemingly never ending wedding weekend. “Rally” also managed to bring back running gags, like the playbook and Barney’s inability to take a bad picture, in a funny, fast-paced episode that gave us another piece of the Mother puzzle.

Putting aside questionable storylines, a huge point of discontent among fans is the noticeable lack of the Mother in this final season. After the Mother made a long-awaited appearance at the end of the season eight finale, fans assumed the Mother would become a permanent fixture on the show. However, the most viewers have seen of her are in brief flash forwards and only finally received her backstory on the sixteenth episode entitled “How Your Mother Met Me,” which focused entirely on what the Mother has been up to for the past eight years. Season nine has made good on answering unresolved questions and tying everything together. Yet, there are still a number of matters to be settled and questions to be answered. How will Robin meet the Mother? How did a pineapple end up on Ted’s nightstand? Most importantly, how did Ted meet the Mother?

‘How I Met Your Mother’ will reach its season finale in three weeks.

CBS

The Talon March 18, 2014

True Detective: new twist on the classic crime drama impresses CASEY PAO

Features Editor

‘True Detective’

HBO: Fridays @ 9 p.m. ★★★★☆ HBO has had moments of brilliance. It’s known for mini-series like “Band of Brothers” and dramas like “Game of Thrones” and “Boardwalk Empire,” all of which have reached widespread critical acclaim. HBO is now on track to add another one of its series to this golden list. With a combination of relatable characters with notable flaws and sweeping shots of southern Louisiana landscape, “True Detective” is a unique and addicting crime drama that has already been heralded as one of the best shows currently on television. The series stars Matthew McConaughey as Rustin Cohle, a nihilistic yet brilliant former narcotics cop, and Woody Harrelson as Detective Martin Hart, Cohle’s partner who has a questionable sense of morality. Split between flashbacks to 1995 and present-day 2012, the two cops hunt for a serial killer after finding a ritualistic murder of a prostitute, Dora Lange. The drama is more than just a basic crime procedural like “CSI” or “Law and Order,” where everything is wrapped up neatly by the end of the hour-long show. Instead, “True Detective” is filmed

in an anthology format where each season will have a new cast as well as new plotline. There’s no need for creator and writer Nic Pizzolatto to rush and fluff up the current story in order to create more episodes (or seasons) or to film new material. Everything is fleshed out. Character development takes a high priority while the sleuthing action is set at a comfortable pace, balanced with moments of psychological musings and tense character encounters. In addition, the fact that only Pizzolatto, a novelist to boot, is writing the script and only Cary Fukunaga is directing the episodes helps create a sense of consistency and flow that is often lacking in other shows. The dialogue of the script isn’t just police lingo and awkward one-liners like that in “CSI: Miami” (which has thankfully been canceled). Cohle spouts his pessimisms about morality and religion with remarkable fluidity. Hart mostly tells Cohle to shut up but then again, he has moments of banter with Cohle that mark an interesting relationship between conflicting personalities. The direction of each episode is uniquely artistic with starkly bare yet beautiful panning shots that linger on spots in rural southern Louisiana that viewers don’t see often, if at all. But Fukunaga’s crowning achievement might be the six-minute tracking shot of non-stop action, bullets flying and people dying, at the end of episode four. Not only is the writing and di-

HBO

Rustin Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) works with his partner Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson) on a murder mystery case that acts as the centerpiece of the show for the entire first season. “True Detective” is on HBO on Fridays at 9 p.m. and you can catch past episodes on HBOGo. recting on point, but so is the acting. The 17-year difference between the initial investigation in 1995 and the re-opening of the case in 2012 (about a decade after the dissolution of Cohle and Hart’s partnership) certainly accounts for differences in the two characters from then to now. Both McConaughey and Harrelson play their roles compellingly and naturally; the authenticity of the characters is outstanding with McConaughey’s haunting stare and Harrelson’s conflicting

morals. McConaughey, in particular, now stands out to be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to serious acting. Even though he was originally viewed as the rom-com funny man, McConaughey can now be officially regarded as an actor worth his salt. The younger Cohle is rather tortured, opting to avoid all personal connection and living bare and alone. The older Cohle is still rather tortured but more ragged and burned out, drinking cheap beer

early in the day and chain-smoking. McConaughey transitions from earlier version of Cohle to the older version of Cohle smoothly and both of them are convincing of their traits, flaws and all. With all three aspects: writing, directing and acting perfectly executed, “True Detective” has the potential to be one of the best crime dramas of all time. It’s painfully realistic. It’s hauntingly beautiful. It’s time to get ready for a “True Detective” marathon.

What makes mobile games so addicting? SAM LISBONNE JORDAN STOUT Senior Writers

By now, Flappy Bird has become a commonly recognized name. The famously short-lived mobile game rose to rapid stardom, and its prompt removal from the App Store—the creator claimed he couldn’t deal with its unwanted media attention and addicting effect on players—made all but inevitable the introduction of copycats in the ensuing weeks. But the game’s startling rise to best-seller is one worthy of examination. Behind the simple aesthetics and recurring theme of failure lie several game mechanics which bring players back time and time again. These common gameplay tricks slip into the mega-popular mobile games we all know and love, from classics like Doodle Jump and Temple Run to newcomers like Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga. So why do we love our phone games?

Constant failure is an omnipresent theme in Flappy Bird. Flappy Bird offers an intoxicating combination by coupling the agony of perpetual defeat with constant repetition as a seemingly simple method of improvement. Knowing that another session will almost surely improve one’s place on competitive high score boards is a powerful incentive, and the somewhat random nature of the course maintains some notion of freshness. Because of the inherent simplicity in game design, the Flappy phenomenon will likely not have the enduring legacy of mobile game dynasties like Angry Birds, though it does provide a unique context within which we can judge games of past and present. The following is an examination of those iconic games.

Doodle Jump

In the once popular mobile game Doodle Jump, it’s all about the jump.

Its simplistic focus on one task makes it feel like a Flappy Bird predecessor. Simple aesthetics and an even simpler gameplay make the game easily playable and quick to get the hang of. The theme of constant failure is apparent yet again. Every time the user fails, it is due to a seemingly minute mistake, that would easily be rectified with just one more try. Doodle Jump enhanced the formula with powerups and creative backdrops, additional aspects which inspired following acts like Temple Run, Subway Surfers and Fruit Ninja.

Clash of Clans

While most highly addictive games are relatively simple and usually take no longer than a minute to play, games like Clash of Clans attract users with long-term, sophisticated gameplay. Most of these are completely free to play, but in order to be one of the top players, spending money is almost completely necessary. This economic model is commonly referred to as a “freemium” model, in which players are incentivized to spend on in-game currency or credit but retain the freedom to play without pay. In Clash of Clans, money spent expedites processes that otherwise can take up to 10 days to complete. Although this does discourage and intimidate some players, first timers are lured into the game because the pace of early gameplay is highly increased. In the first day of play a user sees a drastic change in the quality of his or her “base,” though after a week of play that same change becomes significantly more difficult and timeconsuming to achieve, while providing less noticeable benefit. Another feature of these games,

SUPERCELL

This is the Clash of Clans home screen. The game uses complex time progression and frequent battles to entice players. especially Clash of Clans, is that they allow players to interact with others, whether it be in anonymous competition or in mutual betterment. Players can share their latest triumphs with friends and see each other’s progress. This interactivity promotes further time investments amongst users as they try to keep up and surpass their friends and opponents. The addictive nature of these “freemium” games is largely due to both communal play and the ease of progress.

Candy Crush Saga

Candy Crush Saga has presented users with a different gameplay than most. Rather than being focused on simple aesthetics, Candy Crush almost attempts to bombard the players with colors. The sounds of the game are very entertaining and users are immediately attracted to continue playing the game. Just like other titles, the repetitiveness of gameplay is supplemented with constant failure and the apparent ease to further

progress. Candy Crush also has the added feature of providing nearly endless gameplay in that the developers make levels faster than the user can play them. The game selfperpetuates its popularity by giving the players the option to invite their Facebook friends to play in return for more levels of play. The future of mobile gaming is unclear, as is how history will remember these short-lived and popular games. However, there is no doubt that between brief stints like Flappy Bird and long-term standouts like Angry Birds, players will have enough content to satisfy even the most insatiable of mobile gaming thirsts. For more about mobile games and why they are so popular, see “Why Angry Birds is so successful and popular: a cognitive teardown of the user experience” by Charles Mauro and “Why Are Mobile Phone Games So Popular Now?” by Academia 21. Links on lahstalon.org/entertainment.

The Talon March 18, 2014

Get daily updates on Eagle athletics and read the sports archives at lahstalon.org/sports

Boys and girls basketball replicate last season’s CCS success GIRLS BASKE TBALL However, starter sophomore Katie Munro went down with an ankle Girls basketball’s season came to injury, exacerbating the team’s proba close on Saturday, March 1, after a lems with injuries. tough 38-60 loss to Saint Francis in The Eagles did not let this dampen the CCS quarterfinals. The Eagles their spirits as they came ready to play nonetheless had a highlight-filled against Saint Francis in the quarterfiseason: Under new head coach nals. But with starter junior Rebecca Jaclyn Brode, they had a 14-game Andrews also out with a knee injury win streak, tied for second in the from soccer, the team was down two El Camino League and advanced starters before tip-off. to CCS quarterfinals for the second Despite these setbacks, Brode time in two years. The team finished described the Eagles as a “no exthe season confidently cuse team.” They took with an 18-7 record. advantage of the play“I learned that this They can take ers they had in a solid group of girls is a tough first quarter which bunch,” Brode said. a beating and ended 17-19, with the “They can take a beat- dish one out as Eagles down by two. ing and dish one out well. They’re This was up until as well. They’re fight- fighters. They’re Meghan suffered a ers. They’re resilient. resilient. They’re shoulder/collarbone They’re hardworking injury while diving and smart. They don’t hardworking for a loose ball which whine or complain and and smart. forced her to come out they accept challenges of the game. At this — Head Coach wholeheartedly.” point, the team could Jaclyn Brode At the end of league not keep up with the play, Los Altos looked poised for a healthy Lancers, ultimately falling deep CCS run. The only thing that 38-60. The end of the Eagles’ CCS stood in its way was injuries to key run also marked the end of an implayers. Senior Malika Kaderali pressive season. sprained her ankle during the end of With the season over, the Eagles league play, which would be the first have created a strong program that of many injuries to come. is on the rise under the first year In their home win in the second head coach. Even with the seniors round of CCS, the Eagles took on the departing, the team will retain Leland Chargers, emerging victori- many young players, notably some ous with a score of 61-56. After a fast- of this year’ top scorers, sophomores paced first quarter with both teams Meg Enthoven and Katie, and look trading baskets, Los Altos was down to build on this year’s performances 13-16. However, the Eagles slowly through the continuation of intense started to take off and created a sev- off-season workouts. en point lead going into halftime. “They put their trust in me and my Los Altos continued to gain mo- staff of coaches, and did everything mentum as they headed into the we asked of them,” Brode said. “They third quarter, making basket after met every challenge and pushed basket while also getting defensive through every difficult situation. I stops. This cohesiveness created a am incredibly proud of these girls. strong lead of 15 points, and from It’s not every day you get a group of there the girls did not look back. such hard working individuals, so I The Eagles closed the game strong, will definitely leave this season feelholding off a late burst from Leland. ing blessed for these kids.”

DANIEL ROSENBAUM Staff Writer

Senior Steven Garverick tries to drive past a Santa Clara defender. IAN MACKEY

BOYS BASKE TBALL back and forth baskets by both teams, and with two and a half minA heartbreaking feeling of déjà vu utes left, the Lancers held its foursettled across the Santa Clara High point advantage. Saint Francis’ 44School gym as the boys basketball 40 lead held for almost two minutes, team saw the curtains close on its and with 52 seconds left, the marCCS run on Tuesday, March 4. The gin remained four: 46-42. A three Eagles suffered a razor-thin 47-49 pointer by Daniel couldn’t hold the loss against Saint Francis in the CCS Lancers, however, and senior Steven semifinals, reminiscent of last year’s Garverick’s game tying attempt with CCS semifinal game, in which Wil- 15 seconds left fell short. low Glen High School eked out a win “I thought we played well—you by the same two-point margin—a never execute perfectly, but you cersingle basket. But while the loss to tainly have a plan of attack,” head the Lancers ended the Eagles’ CCS coach Bob McFarlane said. “We run, the score was representative of got the shots we wanted, but it just how well-matched both teams were. wasn’t our night shooting.” “We didn’t have a While not everything complicated game went the Eagles’ way, plan—it was mostly the game represented just making sure to play It’s hard to all that made the Eateam defense,” senior lose, but I feel gles successful during Steven Garverick said. great about their season and led “It was a hard-fought what the guys them to an upper De game and it could have Anza division chamaccomplished. gone either way.” pionship and through — Head Coach Saint Francis took an CCS quarterfinals to Bob McFarlane early lead in the lowsemifinals for the secscoring contest, leadond straight year. ing just 14-8 after a quarter of play. “The guys on the team filled The Eagles clawed back, however, their roles, and everyone contribnarrowing the Saint Francis lead to uted,” McFarlane said. “It’s hard three after junior Daniel Rosenbaum to lose, but I feel great about what hit two free throws, following a fla- the guys accomplished.” grant foul. By the end of the first half, While the close loss is certainly Los Altos trailed 23-27. a disappointment for the current “[Saint Francis] did pressure the squad, prospects do look strong ball a lot, which is something we for next season, and with two aren’t used to,” captain senior Joey consecutive trips to the CCS semiMalgesini said. “We made some finals, a championship run is unmistakes on defense… a lot of little doubtedly possible. things that hurt us [in the first half].” “Next year, [Los Altos] will have The third quarter began with a solid team,” Joey said. “A lot of four unanswered points by Saint juniors will need to step up and Francis, forcing a Los Altos time- work together.” out with 6 minutes and 42 secLos Altos has 10 juniors, including onds remaining in the quarter. The one of this season’s leading scorers, Eagles responded with a six-point Daniel, along with several players run of their own and with only a who got a taste of upper division minute and 33 seconds remaining play, such as juniors Sami Nassif and in the period, Saint Francis main- Thomas Kelleher. tained a fragile 33-32 lead. The “I’m excited about the guys coming quarter concluded with the score back, and everyone works hard—it’s 35-32 in favor of the Lancers. a great group of [returning guys],” The fourth quarter witnessed McFarlane said.

SAM LISBONNE Senior Writer

FEBRUARY 27 Girls basketball played Leland in the second round of CCS, holding off the Chargers to take the game 61-56.

MARCH 1 ► Boys

Basketball Los Altos cruised to a 57-43 victory over Santa Clara in CCS quarterfinals. Basketball The Eagles were met with stiff competition, Saint Francis, in CCS quarterfinals. Though Los Altos was only down by two after the first quarter, the team ultimately fell 38-60.

PHOTOS BY IAN MACKEY AND BRANDON HONG

► Girls

MARCH 4 Boys basketball faced off against Saint Francis in the CCS semifinals. The closely contested game ended 47-49 in favor of the Lancers.

BRANDON HONG

Co-captain senior Meghan McDermott holds off a player from Leland High School in girls basketball’s second round CCS game. The Eagles would go on to defeat the Chargers 61-56 to advance to CCS quarterfinals.

The Talon March 18, 2014

Girls soccer’s season ends in near fairy-tale fashion in CCS JOEY MALGESINI Senior Writer

It was almost the perfect ending to a narrative that started a year ago with Los Altos’ 1-0 upset over Archbishop Mitty (then ranked third in the nation) in the CCS semifinal game. On Tuesday, February 25, the Eagles took the field against Archbishop Mitty once again, but this time in the first round of CCS. The game was nothing short of nail-biting and gut-wrenching, with the Eagles and Monarchs in a 1-1 deadlock after regulation play. Two 10-minute periods of overtime did nothing to tip the favor in any way, and the outcome of the game was determined by a shootout, in which the Monarchs scored all four goals that they needed to secure the win. The Eagles went into their first round CCS game against the soccer powerhouse already at a disadvantage, having played their last several games without a number of their key starters. This game would see two mainstays of the field sit out: junior Rebecca Andrews and senior Katie Winters. The first half of the game was characterized by stiff offense by the Monarchs. Mitty maintained aggressive play throughout the game, and consistently kept the ball on Los Altos’ end of the field; however, the Eagles managed to stave off every attempted push. Ten minutes into the second half, junior Allie Crum managed

to break free of Mitty’s defense and score the first goal of the game. It appeared as if the game would end in the same fashion as last year’s matchup. But the Monarchs, desperate to even up the score, would continue to push relentlessly and ultimately returned the favor in the 83rd minute of the game with just seven minutes of play left. The clock expired on the tied game, but in CCS, tying is not an option. This led to two additional 10 minute periods of overtime in which no more goals were scored, though there were several close saves, including one by senior Paige Eller just inches from the goal. The overtimes would also see senior Sophia Hyver sustain a leg injury, after which she was escorted off the field. The game then moved into a shoot-out. The tension in the air was palpable as each team sent its players to the box. First up for Los Altos was Allie, whose shot was blocked by Mitty’s goalie. Though freshmen Hannah Wendelken and Emily Pye were able to score Los Altos’ second and third kicks, the Monarchs scored every one of their shots. After the Eagles missed their fourth shot, Mitty was able to make the winning penalty kick, granting them victory and a spot in the next round of CCS. The loss, though met with disappointment, was nothing to be ashamed of, according to Head Coach Armando Luna.

By Shiktij Dave

Michael Sam: A Revolutionary

PARMIS TAIDY

Junior Allie Crum and a player from Mitty battle for possession over the ball. The Monarchs were able to win the game and advance to the second round of CCS by scoring more penalty kicks in a shoot-out. “The girls stepped up [and] they played a great game,” Luna said. “We’ve been consistent and that’s something that every coach looks for. Losing on PKs is nothing to be ashamed about, it’s kind of like a toss-up there.” The team’s sentiment echoed Luna’s. “No one was particularly upset about losing in the end, but more upset that we won’t be playing together again,” Katie said. “We had a good season so no one is disappointed with the results.” Despite the loss, Los Altos came close to replicating last season’s unprecedented success by not

only finishing second in league behind Mountain View this year (7-2-3), but also closing out the year with a strong performance against one of the state’s top soccer powerhouses. The team hopes to do the same next year, with future seasons looking bright. “I think next year we’ll be solid,” Luna said. “We have seven sophomores and six freshmen on the team, so we have a lot of strong players that are really young. They didn’t necessarily get a lot of chances to play this year, but they’ll have some experience, especially after a game like this one; it’ll season them up for next year.”

New season brings new coaches

Boys tennis and volleyball teams hire new head coaches BY WILLIAM JOW AND JAMES SUN, Staff Writers

BOYS TENNIS

ne year after one of boys tennis’ best seasons in school history, a lot has changed. Last year’s head coach Bill Wong has been replaced by Thor Holt, senior Braden Holt’s father. The team saw its two top players, Anthony Bello and Spencer Simonides ‘13, backto-back CCS doubles champions, graduate. But amid all the change, the boys tennis team has plans to continue last year’s success. Though two key players have graduated, the team returns with a denser senior lineup. “Obviously, losing someone like Bello is tough, but everybody graduates, on every team,” Holt said. “This year we actually have more seniors than last year, so if you just look at the seniors we’re actually stronger.” The more even distribution of ability will likely be a decisive factor in the team’s performance this season. Los Altos also has several juniors on varsity, such as Sungmin Park and Ovidiu Fritsch. “I think we’ll do just fine in league… it usually comes down to how deep your team is because you’ll win a couple of singles up top and so will the other team so

they kind of nullify each other; it’s how deep you are in the lineup,” Holt said. “And Los Altos is pretty darn deep this year.” The team’s deep stable of players recently played in the California High School Tennis Classic from Friday, March 7 to Sunday, March 9 in Fresno. The tournament hosted 8 divisions with 16 teams each. The Eagles competed in Division I, finishing in sixth place after a 2-2 performance. Los Altos took its next match in stride against Cupertino on Tuesday, March 11, defeating the Pioneers 5-2. Holt’s coaching experience may also very well be another factor throughout the team’s season, especially in consideration of a newly enacted league rule that allows coaches to instruct their players on the court during games. “I’ve been coaching 30 years at a high level so I know when to be quiet and when to talk and some coaches haven’t figured that out yet so I’m ahead when it comes to that,” Holt said. “I also know most of the coaches and everyone from the CCS offices, I’ve done it for so long.”

Words From Shikspeare

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

oming off a wildly successful inaugural season that culminated in a league title and a CCS quarterfinal appearance, the boys volleyball program, now an underclassmen-driven team, is looking to make a deeper push into CCS. What’s more, Shanelle Cotton, also the school’s student conduct liaison, has taken over the program to coach the boys. Cotton boasts two decades of coaching experience at nearly every level of the sport. “I’ve been coaching 20 years,” Cotton said. “I’ve coached all levels of volleyball…I’ve coached college. I’ve coached girls. I’ve coached boys. I’ve coached national teams, junior high and high school, so I have an extensive background in coaching.” And though the team has lost some height since the graduation of Spencer Simonides and Ian McColl ‘13, it has retained a number of last year’s younger players. Focusing on hard work and developing experience will be the focus of the season, as the team will have to “work a lot harder to reach [its] goal[s],” according to Cotton. “Obviously this year we’ve lost a lot of players, but despite this, I think we are really coalescing into a solid group of guys that

COTTON will be able to compete throughout the season,” co-captain sophomore Nathan Smith said. “We don’t have a huge amount of experience, but we dedicate the practice we have to development and improving as much as we can.” As of press time, the Eagles have pulled off a decisive 3-0 pre-season victory over Castro Valley High School, but also suffered a 0-3 loss to Lynbrook, a game lost due to “several factors” that the team is still working on, according to Nathan. “My expectation from the current group that we have is that they’ll work hard,” Cotton said. “They have their goals set at winning league and going to CCS again… I think that if they work hard at it, its definitely a goal that is doable.”

Jackie Robinson made history as the first African-American MLB player. Like Robinson, former Missouri defensive tackle and prospective NFL draftee Michael Sam is a revolutionary. Never before has a player begun his career as openly gay in the “Big 3” of professional sports leagues—NFL, NBA and MLB. In fact, before forward Jason Collins signed with the Brooklyn Nets on a 10-day contract on February 23, an openly gay athlete had never played a minute in professional American sports. But Sam’s decision to come out publicly prior to the start of his professional career took a different level of courage. He will begin his career under intensive media scrutiny. Every action during his career, be it 5 years or 15, will be under a microscope. So, the hot-button question in the NFL is whether the league is prepared for its first openly gay athlete? In truth, that shouldn’t even be of concern. The time is now. There will always be players and teammates who express their ignorant, irrational and homophobic views on homosexuality. There will be players such as linebacker Jonathan Vilma concerned and hesitant that gay teammates will look at them while naked in the locker room or shower. There will always be fans hidden by the veil of anonymity on Twitter or chat rooms spouting ignorance and hateful slurs in “allcaps” at these athletes. These fans and their opinions, as they remain nameless, however, will never really matter in the long run. There are certainly NFL general managers that have taken Sam off their draft board due to fear of his presence being a distraction. Yet Sam, the First Team All-American, Southeastern Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year, didn’t seem to be a distraction to the fifth ranked, 12-2 Missouri Tigers. He just happened to be gay. Sam’s decision to come out before the NFL draft will likely have a detrimental effect on his draft status. But teams that pass on a talented athlete because of his sexual orientation don’t deserve his tangible and intangible talents. His unique courage and bravery make him special. Most of us grew up in a system that taught us of the value of equality and equal opportunity, but as we grew we learned of the ignorance and intransigent hate present in the world. A total acceptance of homosexuals in sports won’t come easy, as is often the case with great things. Sportscasters and pundits will call Sam “crazy.” The same adjective was used to describe some of the most important difference-makers the world has ever known. Rosa Parks. Martin Luther King Jr. Jackie Robinson. Revolutionaries.

The Talon March 18, 2014

upcoming meets

SATURDAY, MARCH 15 Dublin Distance Festival (Distance Runners) St. Francis Invite

THURSDAY, MARCH 20 League Meet vs. Lynbrook

SATURDAY, MARCH 22 San Leandro Invite

FRIDAY, MARCH 28 Frosh/Soph Classic

SATURDAY, MARCH 29 Avis Kelly Invite League Meet vs. Los Gatos

FRI, APRIL 4 TO SAT, APRIL 5 Stanford Invitational

THURS, APRIL 11 TO SAT, APRIL 12 Arcadia Invitational

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16 League Meet vs. Gunn

FRIDAY, APRIL 18 Top 8 Invitational

THURSDAY, APRIL 24 League Meet vs. PALY

To read more previews of spring sports, visit lahstalon.org/sports

PHOTOS BY IAN MACKEY

MONDAY, MARCH 31

JUNIOR AARON HORNE

SENIOR WILL SCHEETZ

SOPHOMORE KATHERINE XIA

JUNIOR SAMI FAKALOLO

JUNIOR ANDY KANG

Track and field returns with depth, talent JAMES SUN Staff Writer

After adhering to a rigorous preseason regimen, the track and field team is looking forward to a competitive season. Last year, the team was able to come within three points of track and field powerhouse Palo Alto at the two schools’ dual meet and send a number of athletes to CCS. This year, the “senior drain” that often leaves many teams struggling to compensate every season is the least of the team’ worries, with Los Altos having a deep field of ath-

letes in many events. “The team looks great this year,” junior Henry Kwock said. “We’ve got lots of talented seniors and juniors, and also a lot of sophomores and freshman who’re great at what they do.” Los Altos boasts talent in all of its classes, with returning mainstays such as mid and long distance runners sophomores Ben Zaeske and Lauren Jacobs, sprinters sophomores Kalie Oku and Amanda Mell and seniors Will Scheetz and Kelly McConnell and multi-event junior

Brian Yeager, just to name a few. The team’s depth was on display at the K-Bell Invitational, which, as of press time, was the first and only meet the team competed in. At the meet hosted by Bellarmine at Los Gatos, the team competed against 2000 competitors from over twenty schools and managed to place in numerous events. Highlights included Amanda placing fourth in the long jump, Brian finishing third in the 110-meter-hurdles and fourth in the triple jump, Lauren placing second in the 3200-meter- race, Kelly racing to a

fifth place finish in the 400 meter race and freshman Jacob Quevedo finishing second in the frosh/soph 400. With a string of league meets and invitationals looming, the team looks to replicate its last season’s success in a competitive league. “The team has a lot of hard work to put in before the next meet, but I have full confidence that we are going to be able to perform under pressure,” senior Owen Jow said. The Eagles run in their next league meet against Lynbrook on Thursday, March 20.

Addition of frosh/soph lacrosse team beneficial to varsity team DANIEL ROSENBAUM Staff Writer

When the lacrosse team was chartered in 2010, few people suspected that it would come so far in so little time. Lacrosse has gained national popularity over the past few years, and Los Altos has not been an exception. This has led to an influx of athletes into the school’s program in numbers that has been difficult for the school to accommodate, especially since there has only been a joint team in years past. This year, with more than fifty students trying out for the team, administration and athletic director Kim Cave were able to form a frosh/soph team for less experienced players and those new to the game. With this addition, the team expects that the frosh/soph team will help the overall program, as it gives time for players to develop more skills and get more playing time. “With the JV team, not only does it allow less experienced and the younger generation more hands-on game time, but also it allows the varsity to practice at a quicker, higher level each day,” co-captain senior Casey Hanni said. With the more experienced players now practicing together and the frosh/soph team will be focused on gaining a stronger foundation through increased playing time, there has been a noticeable difference in varsity performance. In years past, all players were varsity, meaning

IAN MACKEY

The lacrosse team races across the field during practice. Since the addition of a frosh/soph team to the program, both the experienced and younger players have benefitted from the change. coaches could put little focus on either group, therefore resulting in little player development. This year’s change will catapult both teams and the program as a whole since the “intensity level has gone through the roof” as the team is “going to hit the field running right away” according to co-cap-

tain junior AJ Guralas. Intensity is going to be a big theme around this year as both the offense and defense are returning leading players. AJ led the team in goals last year, while junior Matt Schoner and seniors Casey Hanni and goalie Dave Huffman will round up defense, which will be

“rock solid”, according to AJ. That being said, the team is also looking for new players to emerge and make an impact. “The player who works the hardest is always the most valuable player on the field; many times this hard work creates a player on par or surpassing the contribu-

tions of the captains and experienced players,” Casey said. This hard work mindset, coupled with the benefits of having separate varsity and frosh/soph teams, has gotten the lacrosse team off to a solid start. As of press time, the Eagles are 4-0, with big wins over Burlingame on March 3 and Leland on March 7. Los Altos crushed both teams, in a 14-2 rout and 15-0 shutout, respectively. The varsity team has also competed in a jamboree tournament, which allowed newer players to get more game-time and experience. Though Los Altos went 1-3 in the shortened, non-regulation games, the team’s younger players’ performance showed promise. “It was very promising for us because we played several tough teams including Palo Alto and Saint Francis that we were able to hold even with,” junior defender Matt Schonher said. The Eagles, with solid showings at recent games and no lack of experience and talent, are on par for another dominant season, with both league and playoffs in plain view. “I see our team having a very successful season,” AJ said. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t win league again and do even better in the playoffs. Our program will only continue to grow in the future as it has in the past. When we first started our program we won two games. The following year we would win half our games and lose half. But for the past two years, we have won league and made it to the playoffs.”