The Talon | Issue 4 | 02.25.2020

THE TALON

LETTER

Dear Reader, In August, we boarded a train carrying big changes and ideas— a train that would take us far away from some of The Talon’s oldest traditions and practices.

I knew where I hoped this train would take us, but I couldn’t be sure. To this day, I can’t predict what news will be published next week, who will take my place next year, or what’s in store for The Talon beyond that.

And it doesn’t matter.

THE TALON

Newsmagazine 201 Almond Ave., Los Altos, CA Volume XXXV Staff Daphne Ih

Editor-in-Chief

Kristen Fan

Isabella Borkovic

Kylie Akiyama

Janie Dent

Nikhita Boddu

Stella Huang

Daniela Gloster

Navya Singhai

Mayu Alten

Elli Lahdesmaki

Cathy Wang

Marie Godderis

Parisa Larson

Michael Moul

Print Managing Editor Web Managing Editor Media Editor

Opinions Editor Culture Editor

Amidst this uncertainty and ambiguity, we've redefined ourselves. We shrunk our staff but grew our online presence. We assigned reporter “beats” to small areas of the community to discover new angles. We branched out into videos, infographics and podcasts.

We’re evolving as a newsroom with multiple possible destinations in mind, and that’s what makes it exciting.

Although there are many things I don’t know about our future, I do know this news-magazine is our best work to date. I could not be more proud of our staff and the care that they’ve put into this publication.

With that, please enjoy our fifth annual news-magazine.

Copy/Content Editor Copy/Content Editor Business Manager

News Editor Features Editor Sports Editor

Copy/Content Editor Business Manager Adviser

Photography Captain Katrina Arsky

Senior Staff

Lucas Bricca, Greg Corn, Suzanne Guo, Ethan Ruyack, Mia Scher, Julie Vargas, Barrett Wong, Emily Zhu

Staff

Allie Bricca, Kaavya Butaney, Cedric Chan, Tomoki Chien, Cameron Cox, Elana Eisenberg, Meleseini Loto’aniu, Emily McNally, Amid Najmi, Nina Crofts, Rachel Rudyak, Vaishnavi Sirkay, Kate Stadler, Isaac Tesfaye

Daphne Ih Editor-in-Chief The Cover | Photo by Kylie Akiyama, Katrina Arsky, Stella Huang and Amid Najmi

Honorary Pulitzer Supporters

Natalie Arsky, Allie & Lucas Bricca, Chi-Kai Chien, Kristen Fan, Srimedha Rajagopalan, Leon Rudyak, Shali & Vinai Sirkay, Ernest Wong

Silver Supporters

2 // February 2020

Alice & Eric Cox, Edward del Val, Janie Dent, Evette Fan, Amanda Gamble, Braxton Gill, The Godderis Family, Dah Fine, Jeffrey Kraskouskas, Rowena Libang, Manoj Malholtra, Cameron Sagheb, Laura Teksler, Isaac Tesfaye, Catherine Vonnegut, Michael Wong, Lisa Yu

4. news

Staff writer Cedric Chan delves into the on-going housing crisis in Mountain View.

8. opinions Copy/Content Editor Cathy Wang reflects on the significance of her name and culture as a Chinese-American.

11. focus The Talon investigates disparities in the allocation of funds for the art and STEM departments at Los Altos.

17. editorial

In wake of a censorship controversy at Palo Alto High School, we advocate for the preservation of press rights in student publications.

18. features

Who let the dogs out? We did, so you can read about Los Altos’ best boys and girls (and their owners)!

24. culture

Copy/Content Editor Cathy Wang, senior writer Mia Scher and film teacher Robert Barker present their takes on the Oscars.

28. sports

Read about staff writer Tomoki Chien’s experience with homophobia in his letter to his ice hockey team.

The Talon // 3

AMID NAJMI

A CLOSER LOOK: MOUNTAIN VIEW’S HOUSING CRISIS Cedric Chan Staff Writer

THE PROBLEM California is America’s wealthiest state, with a GDP larger than those of many nations. Yet at the same time, it has the highest level of homelessness, at almost 130,000 people, or a quarter of the nation’s homelessness.

Santa Clara County holds almost 10,000 of these people, with a homeless population of over 600 in Mountain View alone.

At the heart of Silicon Valley, Mountain View is a prime location for many high-income earners. The root of the issue in Mountain View lies mainly in the lack of affordable housing as luxury housing continues to increase.

“People are getting evicted for new houses because high-tech workers can afford them,” local housing activist Irene Yoshida said. “They want

to be close to their employer, and they can always outbid on any luxury apartment because they are highwage earners.”

That leaves people with little choices in what to do.

“It's essentially these choices for folks: You either fall deeper into debt, you fall into homelessness or you get the hell out,” executive director of the Community Services Agency Tom Myers said.

Furthermore, requirements to build affordable housing alongside these luxury units have not been very effective, as developers can find loopholes to build housing that still remains outside of low-income residents’ means.

“They can say that it's below-market-rate housing, and that's great,

but they don't talk about for whom because there are different levels of poverty,” Myers said. “What we need is not just affordable housing; we need housing for people who have extremely low incomes.”

Because of this, low and mid-income workers are being outpaced by gentrification, which makes it difficult for them to continue to work in the area.

“The wage you give them is not enough, and they're having to live way far away in San Jose or Morgan Hill,” Yoshida said. “They want to stay, but they can't. Sometimes I wonder if these high-wage earners realize that they need to have restaurant workers, service workers and librarians. We need to have all of us.”

People in the area have resorted

to short-term rentals, mobile homes and even homelessness as a result.

“These kinds of living situations just aren't sustainable,” Myers said.

“It's really, really difficult for a person to advance in life and be able to save money on their own and make their lives more stable if they are putting out huge amounts of money for rent in these more unorthodox ways.”

With all these types of unorthodox housing, there also seems to be a separation from the rest of the community.

“They’re residents of Mountain View, but once they get an RV, they’re not considered members of the community,” Yoshida said. “When I was a renter, too, I never felt like I was part of the community. People in RVs are still citizens—they’re residents.”

SHORT-TERM RENTALS Short-term rentals, or STRs, allow people to rent out portions of their property for short periods of time (30 days in the City of Mountain View). In most cases, this means renting out individual rooms, such as the kitchen or living room, to 4 // February 2020

different individuals.

According to Rosa Mancilla, who works with local nonprofits on the issue, this is a usual scenario: A family rents out a two-bedroom apartment for $3,000 a month. However, because this family cannot afford their own rent, they rent out

one bedroom to another family for $1,000 and their living room to a third family for $600 a month.

More extreme examples exist too. According to Myers, one man took to renting a bathtub to sleep in for $500 a month. In 2015, Mountain View resident

John Potter used Airbnb to rent out a tent in his backyard. The cost was $46 a night, about $900 a month.

Because these conditions are not regulated in the same ways that typical apartments are, there are sometimes safety issues, such as fire hazards. Two

of the families Mancilla has worked with experienced fires as a result of too many people plugging devices into electrical outlets. In one instance, the whole apartment was burned.

Due to the wording of some of the lease agreements for renters, there are sometimes conflicts with landowners. Landlords will threaten and push tenants out,

forcing many to hide what they are doing.

Myers says most tenant protection laws are based on whether people are on the lease.

This means that people giving money under the table, like in these STRs, don’t receive protections.

“It’s reality, but it's invisible,” Yoshida said.

While some STRs, like the aforementioned examples, operate within gray areas of the law, there are currently regulations in place to accommodate these sorts of living conditions.

According to Mountain View Communication Coordinator Shonda Ranson, STRs are legal so long as they don’t receive complaints and have the proper

registration and permits. Mountain View has hired a company called Host Compliance to monitor these complaints and violations.

Ranson said she is not aware of any particular incidents involving safety and legal issues, including fires. Host Compliance did not respond to a request for comment.

MOBILE HOMES Besides STRs, the other common option for low-income residents is to live in mobile homes. Because Mountain View has banned RVs from parking on narrow streets at night, the most viable option for RVs is in mobile home lots. Beyond private mobile home parks, Mountain View is working on implementing

a Safe Parking Program, which will provide spaces for these cars to park at night in volunteered lots; however, there is not enough room, as Yoshida quantifies that there are only about 40 spots for 250 vehicles.

Ranson says that the current plan is to have 60.

Currently, the major legislation that

protects renters is Measure V, passed in 2016, or the Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act (CSFRA). The CSFRA mainly limits rent increases to values determined by the Rental Housing Committee (RHC) and strengthens eviction protections.

In 2018, the RHC decided that mobile homes would not be includ-

ed in protections. Because of this, one of Mountain View City Council’s major goals is to separate mobile home rent control from the CSFRA and create a separate ordinance.

Mountain View City Council has recently begun discussions of the topic, starting with the first study session on Tuesday, January 28.

LEGISLATIVE CHANGES The path to new legislation may not be simple, however, as evidenced by efforts to pass the CSFRA in 2016. Daniel DeBolt, an ex-journalist who covered the Mountain View City Council and an avid activist for Measure V, testified to how difficult the process was.

“It felt like I was fighting a war,” DeBolt said. “It bothers me that it’s so exhausting to simply protect people from becoming homeless. That shouldn’t be a fight that anybody has to do over and over and over for years.”

The next ballot has a new measure regarding rent control called Measure D. The main parts of the measure include increased rent rises to four percent annually (permitting extra increases to pay for house improvements), banning the payment RHC members’ salaries and formally separating mobile homes from Measure V. Many believe that this will weaken rent control restrictions.

One of the contentious sections of Measure D was the separation of mobile homes from Measure V, as many thought this was an effort to decrease regulation and allow park owners to increase rents unfettered. According to City Council member Chris Clark, though, this was to allow for

less oversight from the RHC and more direct involvement of City Council.

At the Mountain View City Council meeting, Doug Johnson from the Western Manufacturing Housing Communities Association brought up long-term negotiations and leases with park owners as an alternative to rent control, which multiple council mem-

bers expressed interest in.

These long-term leases would set rent prices and increases over a period of time (given examples seemed to be around a decade or longer), which would limit excessive price hikes; however, these policies rely on park owner cooperation to be effective, as they are voluntary. Once park owners agree, though, they are con-

tractually bound to comply.

Multiple sources agreed that building more units would be the only viable solution in the long run.

“I really don’t like how people say it’s a housing crisis,” DeBolt said. “This is a people crisis.

This is a tenant crisis. This is a homeowner crisis. This is a human crisis. It’s everybody’s crisis.”

AMID NAJMI

RVs line El Camino Real. The area’s lack of affordable housing is forcing some residents to live in short-term rentals or mobile homes, or even fall into homelessness.

The Talon // 5

DEPARTMENTS COLLABORATE TO CREATE PROPS FOR MUSICAL Cathy Wang

Copy/Content Editor

This year, the Design and Prototyping class and National Art Honor Society (NAHS) have collaborated to create and paint props for Los Altos’s production of “High School Musical.”

Prior to this school year, robotics and physics teacher Stephen Hine, Design and Prototyping teacher Adam Anderson and drama teacher Nancy Moran all separately held an interest in more skills classes— like the aforementioned Design and Prototyping and upcoming capstone class—being introduced to Los Altos’s curriculum. When the musical was announced, the three decided to collaborate. The idea was later brought to art teacher Christine An who passed it off to NAHS. “I've always wanted this larger program that really shows students how to apply their school learning in a real world context,” Hine said. “So any chance that we can bring all these new classes and all these new ideas and projects together, I'm all for that.”

6 // February 2020

In the Design and Prototyping class, making props for the musical has become an assigned unit.

Anderson was given a list of needed props and general dimensions from Moran and the options were presented to his class. The students then chose what they wanted to work on—rotating walls, lab benches, banners, etc. Before, props were either repurposed from what Moran already had or rented from an outside company.

For engineering students, the process follows a general outline: create a 3D model of the desired object, order needed supplies like wood, measure and cut materials, then assemble the pieces. All of this work is done in Anderson’s fifth period.

As for the background sets, NAHS volunteers painted books and lockers onto large rolling walls after school and over the weekend.

In having students build and paint projects that have real world

KYLIE AKIYAMA

implications, Moran, Hine and Anderson hope to inspire and reignite a passion for their subjects.

“The research is very clear that with a career technical education, students are more interested in being in school when they can see what they're learning is applied to something they might do in their future—bringing in more of an applied focus, showing why subjects like math, physics and chemistry matter,” Anderson said.

Moran, Hine and Anderson hope to have students begin to better appreciate what they’re learning through having students participate in this project with tangible results.

“We'll all be going to see the musical and I think the students are really excited about seeing what they built in use,” Anderson said.

“That's going to be really powerful.”

Students participating in the program echoed similar sentiments.

“It was nice to be able to work on

something for different classes and have an actual purpose for projects,” engineering student junior Natalie Tran said.

NAHS member freshman Rose Shortland expressed similar feelings about the experience.

“I really liked the musical and I wanted to help out somehow, so I thought painting would be a cool way to do so because it's applying something that I enjoy doing to something else that I find interesting,” Rose said. “I'm going to watch High School Musical as well so it'll be cool to sit there and see it in amongst the production.”

In the future, all three teachers hope to repeat this collaboration and hopefully introduce more skills classes like Design and Prototyping to Los Altos.

“I think it's important to bring all of these worlds together and let students see how we can all really connect,” Moran said. “I think for the foreseeable future we'll definitely do this again.”

KYLIE AKIYAMA

DISTRICT SUFFERS RANSOMWARE ATTACK Cedric Chan Staff Writer

Los Altos is reeling from the effects of a district-wide ransomware attack. The malware locked teachers out of computers and Google accounts, corrupted files, enabled fraudulent charges to credit cards and shut down the internet phone systems. The MVLA School District claims that no student data was harmed.

“The attack is the latest in what has been an unfortunate trend of such attacks on school districts across the country,” Superintendent Nellie Meyer wrote in a letter to district families.

Ransomware is any malware that holds a victim’s data and information for a ransom. The district supposedly hasn’t yet engaged with the attackers and is unsure of the value of the ransom that’s being demanded. Regardless, the district remains unsure if it will pay the demanded ransom.

Tomoki Chien Staff Writer

The district’s IT department is now working with a cybersecurity team from Kroll, a corporate investigations and risk consulting firm.

This outside aid comes as a part of an insurance plan that the district has had for the past three years.

The Kroll team won’t remove the ransomware itself; rather, the cybersecurity specialists will analyze the threat for the sake of future preventative measures. The district is unsure of how it’ll remove the ransomware.

“The first thing we learned from Kroll is that we are not to engage with the ransomware notes,” IT Director Bob Fishtrom said. “That is Kroll’s job. If we were to respond or validate the notes we have received, we’re on a timeframe to respond to the attackers.”

The IT department has implemented a tool called “Carbon black” on machines and servers

across the district. Carbon black is a form of endpoint security software, which monitors endpoints on a network. Endpoints are devices like mobile phones or laptops which connect to a network and are possible points of entry for attackers.

“Carbon black protects the machine from any malware and also sends diagnostic and forensic information back to Kroll for further review,” Fishtrom said. “This will help us learn more about this cybersecurity incident—where it came from, what caused it, etc.”

The cybersecurity company CoveWare says that there is no common method of recovering data without a key and decryptor from the hacker, which are generally received after the ransom is paid. Once the decryptor tool is received, however, it is relatively straightforward to use and has a high success rate.

C u r r e n t l y, Fishtrom and the Kroll team think that no personal data from faculty members was compromised, although this has yet to be confirmed.

However, there are reports of teachers finding fraudulent charges to their personal Amazon accounts in late December of last year, some of which were linked to their school emails. These findings are still being investigated by the forensics team at Kroll, and have been neither confirmed nor denied.

The particular strain of ransomware that has infected the district is referred to as “Sodinokibi.”

According to cybersecurity

NEWS

expert Michael Fehl, Sodinokibi usually breaches systems through a phishing email containing a malicious link. The Kroll team is still investigating how the attackers gained access to the network.

On the morning of the attack, the IT department sent out an email advising staff members what to do.

“Please do not click on any email attachments from senders unfamiliar to you,” the email read. “Do not respond to any messages indicating that your files have been encrypted, and do not click on any .txt file associated with a notification of this nature.”

The district appears to be following the typical protocol for responding to a ransomware attack.

According to Fehl, some of the major steps in the process include powering down and disconnecting systems, finding breached systems and data, updating user credentials as necessary, wiping systems and creating a report regarding the nature and extent of the incident. Of these, the district has done all but wipe the systems and create a report.

Fishtrom does not know when Kroll will complete the report, but he and his team continue to have daily check-ins with the investigators.

According to Fishtrom, the MVLA student information system is hosted on the cloud, not in a server at a district location. This may have been part of the reason that MVLA student data was not compromised.

To prevent similar attacks in the future, Fishtrom plans on enforcing multi-factor authentication to secure the network and its use. The IT department also plans on purchasing and installing the best endpoint protection—like Carbon Black—across devices in the district. Additionally, part of the solution is educating people on the best ways to protect data.

“This is an opportune time for users to start understanding ‘best practices,’ such as not storing a password in your browser and having more sophisticated passwords in general,” Fishtrom said.

The Talon // 7

COLUMN

Cathy Wang

Copy/Content Editor

To the rest of the world, I’m Cathy. To my family, I’m a Cathy that sounds more like Kessie.

“Kessie,” we’ll call her, was born, surprisingly, around the time I was—about four years after my family immigrated from China to Canada. My family, still relatively new to English, couldn’t pronounce the “th” sound, so Kessie became their name for me.

But Kessie was quickly pushed to the side when my family moved to a little town in Kansas in 2005. Leawood, Kansas, with a 3.97 percent Asian population, would go on to cause a lot of pain. Each and every day, I was made painfully aware of the things that set me apart from my lighthaired, blue-eyed peers. I was surrounded by kids that asked me if I ate dogs, if I could see, if the Vietnamese girl (whose last name was most definitely not Wang) was my sister, or if

8 // February 2020

the nonsense noises they babbled at me meant something in Mandarin. For 13 years, I was made to feel like I didn’t belong in the place that raised me. For 13 years, I was taught to see my race as nothing more than a hindrance to my life, the thing holding me back from acceptance and happiness.

It’s been years since I moved away from Kansas, but I still struggle to reconcile being Chinese and American, to define what exactly that means for me and accept it. For a long time after coming to California, I told myself I had somehow resolved years and years of confusion and self-hatred simply by being surrounded by more people that looked like me—by finally seeing myself accepted and represented in a positive light. The reality was that I was settling for an easy solution, afraid to truly look

into myself, define who and what exactly I am and be thoroughly proud of my culture.

Solace came, oddly, while I was feverishly working on college applications. I had asked my sister for feedback on what I’d written so far. She obligingly called, told me I needed to start my essays over, and left me so I could start reworking everything I’d written. In the middle of hopelessly drafting essays, she called me again to tell me I should write about my name. I didn’t know what she meant— Wang? Yujing?

Turns out, her boyfriend had asked her why she kept calling me a different name. Kessie.

And it was in that moment, in which I didn’t even notice this name, that something fundamentally changed.

For nearly my whole life, my race was a source of shame and I shied away from thinking about it because,

CEDRIC CHAN

in my head, the pain I experienced was inseparable from the idea itself. But here was Kessie, in her bright and astoundingly unnoticeable glory. Here was a clear personification of my family’s immigration to America, their “Chinese-ness,” and here was something that garnered, from me, no more than a passing thought.

Kessie has been a part of me my whole life, and to feel nothing more than familiarity when I hear it is a simple luxury that’s taken me too long to find. Kessie made me realize being Chinese-American—and understanding what that meant to me—didn’t have to be hard.

This realization and this name have by no means miraculously reconciled years of internalized racism. What it has done is made me realize that acceptance of all the things that make me me can come as easy as Kessie.

I Do...Not Nina Crofts Staff Writer

Beyonce said if you liked it, then you should’ve put a ring on it. But for once in her life, Beyonce is wrong. You shouldn’t have to get married to show someone you love them. The whole concept of marriage is pointless and outdated.

When I was younger, I wanted a big, white wedding. I wanted to find my soulmate, wear a f luffy white dress and have more people in attendance than I could count.

But growing up and realizing the bigger commitments that come from that big white wedding, it’s no longer something I see myself doing.

And people in my generation feel the same. Millennials and Generation Z, unlike Baby Boomers and Gen X, are choosing to prioritize having healthy and loving relationships instead of rushing them, even if it means getting married later.

We’re postponing life events that older generations used to do in their 20s—such as getting married and buying a house—to our 30s, or not doing them at all. So with society ever-changing, isn’t it time we move on from something as old-fashioned as marriage as well?

Getting married has religious roots and cultural expectations, and it used to be that people had to get married to start a family. Children of unwed parents would otherwise be considered “bastards” and ostracized from society.

But it’s not the 18th century anymore. Most people don’t wait until marriage to have sex, and, excluding very religious communities, no one cares if your parents are married or not.

Women also don’t have to

fit into the mold we once did. and the commitment that acWomen can have jobs, vote and companies it. Millennial marare practically equal to men, at riages usually happen when least in American society. We the couple is older and more don’t rely upon marriage and financially stable, and the a husband to carry us through marriages usually come with a prenup. life anymore.

So, because of these risks, Essentially, modern marriage has just become an an- people might decide that they don’t have to tie tiquated symbol the knot to be hapof commitment, py together. Why a way to make spend $50,000 on it clear to your Essentially, modone day, all for very significant oth- ern marriage has little impact? Even er that they are just become an if they still want special to you. antiquated symbol to have a wedding, But if your partthey might decide ner needs a ring of commitment, it’s better to elope on their finger a way to make it or wait a couple to stay faithful to clear to your sigyears. you, that’s probBut socieably an issue that nificant other that tal norms presa big, white wed- they are special to sure them to get ding won’t solve. you. hitched because So then why do our society idolizwe keep getting married? Is it for tax benefits es a culture where you fall in love, get engaged, get married or something more?

I think one of the main rea- and have a happy ever after.

Of course, it’s definitely sons is social pressures: When we show up to the dining table okay to want to get married, at Thanksgiving or Christmas, because for many people it’s we’re attacked with inquires of a way to show your loved one our romantic life. In elementa- commitment. If it’s what you ry school, they ask if you have want, and no one else is swaya crush on anyone. In high ing you, it’s great.

Nevertheless, there are a school, they ask if you’re dating anyone. And when you’re multitude of reasons that an adult, they want to know someone wouldn’t want to get married, and their choice when you’re getting engaged.

And it’s not just our fami- shouldn’t be stigmatized in the lies. In relationships, there’s a way it currently is. It’s the 21st looming question between the century, and we should move couple: When are you popping on from this outdated tradithe question? Are you going to tion and not make it an expectation for ourselves or others. do it? Do I have to?

But marriage is scary and Even if you love your partner, full of potential consequences. you might want to stay finanBaby Boomers and Gen X, the cially independent. You might parents of millennials and Gen not want to risk the downfall Z, skyrocketed the divorce rate, of a great relationship. You and now over half of marriages might realize a piece of paper and a shiny ring aren’t necesin the U.S. end in divorce.

Some of the younger gen- sary to show someone you love erations, having seen their them. You might just not want parents get divorced and ex- to conform to an outdated inperienced the ramifications stitution, and I think that’s firsthand, are wary of marriage perfectly fine.

OPINIONS

GET GAINS — GO GRAIN Cameron Cox Staff Writer

The trail flies under my feet as I surge down Fremont Road in Los Altos Hills. I’m on the third set of the interval workout, yet something has changed since the last time I did this workout. Normally, my legs would be aching, and my body would feel heavy with fatigue. But on this particular January day, I find myself able to draw strength from a newfound source of energy: a plant-based diet.

Most people are skeptical when I tell them I’m a vegan athlete. For me, this judgment and social stigma around being vegan has been the hardest part of my journey.

Many people believe that vegans are malnourished hippies trying to save the world. And the worst part? That used to be me.

I want to provide my peers with the same information that has transformed my health for the better. While a vegan diet may not be suitable for each person’s lifestyle and needs, I simply want to spread the benefits of being plant-based and reduce the stigma surrounding it.

I can understand why people have negative reactions to vegans.

Vegans can appear self-righteous, making a non-vegan feel judged for supposedly having inferior morals or health. Veganism can also be seen as an extremist take to being vegetarian, unnecessary in a society that emphasizes the importance of meat and animal products.

Another factor is that all vegans get bad press because of a few “angry Facebook vegans,” who attack people who eat meat. Vegans who simply follow the lifestyle without calling attention to themselves are hardly noticed because they get no press coverage.

However, the Netflix documentary on veganism and athletics, “The Game Changers,” showed me the positive aspects of veganism. It also irreversibly changed my view on vegans and nutrition and inspired me to transi10// February 2020

tion to a plant-based diet. This documentary follows successful vegan athletes such as former top ultramarathon runner, Scott Jurek and bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger, and explains why animal products are an inferior source of protein and nutrients.

One major benefit of a vegan diet is energy improvements during athletic performance.

Plants have a higher concentration of carbohydrates that specialize in heightening the body’s ability to store glycogen, an energy source accessed in the muscular tissue.

Another advantage of veganism, especially for athletes, is increased blood flow. Eating a plant-based diet reduces the thickness of the blood, which enables blood to more efficiently carry oxygen to the muscles.

Eating meat was found to have the opposite effect, as arteries become clogged for several hours after eating just one meal with meat.

Many people eat meat-heavy meals to build their protein, believing that it is impossible to get gains from plants and grains.

There’s also a misconception that vegans are deprived of vital nutrients such as B12, iron and zinc, which are all typically sourced within the meat portion of one’s diet.

Yet, eating a variety of plantbased proteins such as beans, nuts, rice and grains will allow for all of the body’s muscle growth needs to be met. Vegans also receive the bonus of increased antioxidants and lower cholesterol.

Deficiencies only occur when people don’t make up for the source of nutrients they lost from animal products. Therefore, it’s important to eat balanced meals including whole grains, a source of plant protein and fresh produce.

Whether you choose to take a baby step towards the direction of veganism or not, I ADVERTISEMENT

hope I can help people to reevaluate the outdated notions of nutrition and meat so that they can be the healthiest they can be. And as an athlete at Los Altos, I want the best for my fellow athletes who can only benefit from making the change to a plant-based diet.

EMILY ZHU

Art & STEM FUNDING

FOCUS

CATHY WANG, COPY/CONTENT EDITOR MARIE GODDERIS, SENIOR WRITER KYLIE AKIYAMA, MEDIA EDITOR KATRINA ARSKY, PHOTO CAPTAIN EMILY ZHU, GRAPHIC ARTIST

I

t is a widely accepted notion that there is a heavier focus on STEM classes and programs as opposed to art at Los Altos.

But is that true? The Talon investigates the allocation of funds to the STEM and visual and performing art departments.

The Talon // 11

I

n technology-dominated areas like Silicon Valley, many people value STEM-based careers over those in art. Consequently, it seems that more grants and public schools are increasing funding towards STEM-related programs over the arts. Los Altos appears to have become a microcosm for such a shift in society, though for more complicated reasons than the simple undervaluing of art—there are a variety of factors at school, district and state levels, causing a noticeable difference in the culture and resources of the two fields.

Funding Complications According to principal Wynne Satterwhite, the MVLA School District allocates a total sum of money to the school based on enrollment, which she then distributes to individual departments.

This distribution is based on departments’ previous budgets and is adjusted to meet further individual needs.

This 2019-2020 school year, the science department received $19,000 from the school, according to science department coordinator Darren Dressen. On the other hand, the school supplied the

12 // February 2020

visual arts department with $3,055 for materials, according to art teacher Christine An. Because there are 75 sections of science—which includes the traditional classes in biology, chemistry, environmental science, biotechnology, physics and forensics—this amounts to roughly $8 per student, assuming an average class size of 30. With only 18 sections of art, and far fewer students, their funding amounts to $20.36 per student.

The school provides the music program with around $6-8,000 per year using district funds according to instrumental music department coordinator Ted Ferrucci. He says Satterwhite is very generous in her willingness to find a way to get more money if the instrumental department needs it.

However, the school is not the only source of funding for these departments. They also receive money from grants, donations, or directly from the district. The amounts of these outside funds vary significantly, which may contribute to the overall impression that STEM classes are valued more than art at Los Altos. Dressen’s single section of Advanced Science and Investigations (ASI), for example, received $15,000 from the district.

This impression is further complicated by the fact that the Los Altos Academy of Engineering and Design receives funds entirely separate from the science department. AP Physics teacher Stephen Hine and math teacher Adam Anderson received $10,000 four years ago

from the MVLA Foundations Innovative Learning Grant to buy starting equipment like 3D printers for specialized classes like Design and Prototyping and Robotics.

This program gained more traction when former associate superintendent Brigitte Saraff wrote a Career and Technical Education (CTE) Innovation Grant for the academy, which this year alone provided $100,000 to the program for materials, equipment and training. The grant provides funding for the first two years of each course the Academy develops, and the district is expected to pick up that tab after the grant expires.

But grants like these are not as easily available to the art department. Art teachers do not have the CTE credentials required to apply for a CTE grant. Even if they could be appropriately credentialed, they would need to substantially change their curriculum to qualify for an Innovation Grant. According to An, the department has not applied for grants designed for art because the requirements do not align with their current needs; they are either project-specific or pay for unneeded large equipment rather than standard art materials.

As a result, the visual and performing art departments rely on donations from students and families to meet additional needs.

The visual art department requests a $50 donation from each student in introductory art classes and a $100 donation from students in AP art classes. The total amount of student donations this 2019-2020 school year amounted to $11,130.

“Art supplies are so expensive, especially for photography, so we rely heavily on donations to purchase materials and we always have to be very careful with what we are spending,” art department coordinator Jessica Hayes said.

Similarly, the instrumental music department relies on a booster organization to raise roughly $5060,000 per year to support band staff and all instrument repair and instrument purchases according to Ferrucci.

Art Department Frustrations Though funding sources are more complicated than they seem, these differences in budget have created the impression that the school values the STEM departments over the art department.

“I feel that the art department is not a priority and is undervalued,” An said. “In order to have students produce high-quality work, we need the right amount of materials.”

Art students expressed similar sentiments.

“Even in AP Studio Art, I have to go out and get my own materials sometimes because we don’t have enough money,” senior Damla Aydin said. “It’s not like that for other classes because they already have all the materials.”

The art department also expressed concerns unrelated to funding. Teachers and students were upset by the cancellation of the latest art show. An said it had been scheduled months ahead of time but canceled a few days before the date because of a conflict with the Holiday Faire run by ASB. “Student artworks should be displayed with respect because our students work hard every day to be professionally presented,” An said.

According to assistant principal Suzanne Woolfolk, the art show could not take place that day for purely logistical reasons.

The custodial staff would have been overwhelmed if both events were occurring simultaneously in two locations. Administrators attempted to reschedule the show, but were unable to find a date that provided sufficient notice.

Furthermore, the limited classroom space and

number of teachers in the visual arts department has required several sections of art (like Drawing 2 and Drawing 3) to combine into one class period with one teacher.

Additionally, in the 2018-2019 school year, students in painting and drawing classes had three different long-term substitutes before a permanent teacher was hired.

This is not to say that the school is at fault for these particular circumstances; according to assistant principal Galen Rosenberg, it is both expensive and difficult to hire a new art teacher in this technology-focused area, and there is currently not enough space to have another art classroom.

Moreover, the high pressure and technology-dominated environment of Los Altos and Silicon Valley could be pulling focus towards a higher investment in STEM. “Students are in a highly academic, high-pressure environment, and it’s pulling kids away from music at the level of commitment that we used to have or just playing in the ensemble that they want to be in,” Ferrucci said.

“It used to be a no-brainer that Wind Ensemble kids were playing in Jazz Band, too. And now it's like, ‘well, I need a free seventh period.’”

ed more,” Hine said. “I'm hoping that we can help because we're trying to partner with art and eventually create engineering art classes. These would be skills classes that teach students how to draw technical sketches, read blueprints or maybe use illustrator or computer modeling software to make a visual representation of something.”

At least in the Silicon Valley, reality might just dictate that art take this “if you can’t beat them, join them” approach. The ease with which STEM classes find grants and investments may come as a result of broader cultural trends in the Silicon Valley.

As Hine said, “engineering and computer science are very sexy.”

Disclaimer: Some of the department budgets listed are estimates because the recent ransomware attack limited access to exact numbers.

if you can’t beat ‘Em, join ‘em There is still room for more collaboration between the departments to thoroughly integrate art into STEM. Recently, the STEM department, specifically the new skills classes, have made efforts to collaborate with the art department, such as Design and Prototyping and National Art Honor Society working together to create props for Los Altos’s production of “High School Musical.”

“I definitely think that art could be support-

The Talon // 13

Visual Arts in the Valley Bryce Li

Guest Writer

M

ost high schoolers pursuing art or design are commonly asked an age-old question: How are you going to make money? I’m no stranger to the precautionary tales of studying non-STEM subjects. But ask anyone who works at a top-five tech company: artists and designers are in demand. Silicon Valley’s traditional roles of creators and programmers are increasingly interdisciplinary, and high schools should match this shift by investing in creative programs for artists and non-artists alike.

In the past two decades, designers like former Apple Chief of Design Jony Ive have shown the tech world that creativity is a valuable and scarce resource that determines how a product will perform. Today, many successful startups like Airbnb are founded by artists and designers who can solve problems with an empathetic, human-centered design process. Companies like Facebook and Google are actively recruiting within the fields of product design, human-computer interaction, and user experience design to work at the intersection of creativity and technology. In the contemporary Silicon Valley workplace, designer-artists create beautiful and functional products in fields like AI while engineers implement functional systems with user-oriented design thinking.

Even cities like New York are

looking for designers to create more than show possibilities— green spaces in the fight against we need to let students explore global warming. ways to bring creativity into any Creative visual arts are critical discipline, and we can’t do that to innovation in Silicon Valley without expanding the art debecause it brings aesthetics and partment to provide more guidhumanity into technologies. ance and resources for students.

Institutional leaders like StanOver the past four years, An ford’s Hasso Plattner Institute has provided invaluable guidof Design see the value of cre- ance in studying design and viative thinking, so they have de- sual arts. Up until freshman year, veloped their design program to I had always kept my computer empower students of any major. science pursuits separate from In the admissions visual arts, but she process, they’ve encouraged me to also allowed applibring them togethcants of any major Creative visual arts er. Since then, I’ve to submit a visu- are critical to inworked on projects al arts portfolio. novation in Silicon ranging from wearStanford has enable special educaabled researchers, Valley because it tion learning tools scientists, and art- brings aesthetics to poetry-writing ists to use creative and humanity into neural networks, processes to make technologies. blurring the line an impact in fields between artistic ranging from spepursuit and comcial education to environmental puter engineering. But not all policy. art students have a background So what can our school do to in STEM, and not all STEM stuempower its students? dents have a background in art.

We can start by enabling our Los Altos’s greatest flaw is that amazing art teachers to teach departments are segregated, creative thinking to more stu- where students have partitioned dents at our school. Art teacher interests that often don’t come Christine An has worked with together.

National Art Honors Society We can move towards inter(NAHS) to bring interdisciplin- disciplinary visual arts for all ary and conceptual art into our students by increasing the art school. Working on her own department’s budget, which time, she has invited Los Altos currently relies on parent doalumni who work as artists and nations to maintain supplies. designers to host workshops and We can also consider additionguest seminars. Last year, Nvid- al visual arts curriculum, and a ia researcher Helen Broering studio supplied with spaces and hosted workshops introducing resources required to innovate students to video production, with fabrication and technology. while Intuit product designer As we lay down foundations for Courtney Sandlin showed stu- new buildings, now is the perfect dents her career in interaction/ time to fulfill a demand for creuser experience design. These ativity from tech companies and sessions open student eyes to educational institutions alike. creative careers, give them confi- Maybe the answer to a truly indence in pursuing art, and show novative curriculum lies in the them the impact that creativi- arts. ty can make. But we need to do .

ARTS: NOT JUST AN EASY A Nina Crofts Staff Writer

I

n fifth grade, I had just passion about music, but my started at a new school. previous experience and the Searching for an outlet choral program overall felt to make friends and express overlooked compared to othmy creative side, I joined er electives. choir. Despite having absoHonestly, I doubt this would lutely no choir experience, it happen in the STEM program soon felt like a community to at Los Altos, because STEM me. courses are generally viewed Choir not only felt like my as difficult classes focused second home, but it also upon career preparation. taught me invaluable skills, Even the introductory STEM not just in music, but in courses are challenging, and teamwork, that I carry with no one would take them exme to this day. When I grad- pecting to just glide through uated, I was so emotional and get an A. Also, introducabout leaving behind such an tory classes are not always open coterie. However, I had necessary to take higher level hope that I could find some- classes in the STEM departthing similar within Los Al- ment. AP Computer Science, tos’s choir program. for example, can be taken Yet, within the first week, without Intro to Computer I could already Science. tell it wouldn’t be Overall, this the same. Even shows that the While STEM teachthough I had choart departments ral experience, I es quantifiable are often seen as was automatical- skills, the arts a crutch for stuly placed in the teach immeasurdents desperate beginner girls’ to obtain credits choir because I able qualifiable through an easy was a freshman, skills like creativity class, sometimes so I was singing and composure, at the expense of songs I’d sung and that shouldn’t the people serious before. The class about the class, was more relax- be discounted. which you rarely ing than chalsee in STEM. lenging, and although it was Instead, people should apnice to sing without pressure, preciate the arts for what I missed the sense of urgen- they can contribute to one’s cy that came from preparing education.

While STEM for concerts. It felt like the teaches quantifiable skills, sole purpose of our concerts the arts teach immeasurable was grading, not putting on a qualifiable skills like creativquality performance for peo- ity and composure, and that ple to watch. shouldn’t be discounted. The I felt disappointed that arts teach transferable skills many of my peers saw the that can be applied to a range class as an easy way to ful- of careers, while elective fill graduation requirements. STEM courses often teach Excluding some, most peo- skills so specific that they ple in my choir were in it for force you down a certain cathe arts credit and an easy A. reer path.

I could sense my teacher’s It’s great that schools have

started to recognize the value of the arts by putting the A into STEAM, through STEAM Foundations classes and STEAM Week. But it doesn’t feel like the student body has caught up. You can’t just add a letter to an acronym—you have to show you’re giving it equal attention. Sometimes it feels like there isn’t even a point in making it STEAM instead of STEM. Instead of district-wide change in funding of the arts department, we should first work on changing the culture around the arts. Arts classes should not just be promoted as a way to relax and slack off, but as a way to explore your creative side and discover alternative career options.

One way we could do this is through an arts introductory class similar to the STEAM Foundations class, focusing

on an introduction to painting, drawing, photography, acting and choir. This would be an option for people without arts experience, giving them a way to fulfill their arts credit and try a variety of arts within one class.

Additionally, the arts department can offer placement classes for higher level arts classes, so people aren’t required to take a class they are overqualified for and can instead learn to their level.

It’s time to show the arts the love they deserve.

They’re the foundation of education, which many of us forget.

Katherine

Accepted at Santa Clara Univeristy

Franklin Accepted at UCLA

Available Now on Tutree! Ace Your Math Classes!

16 // February 2020

Jackson Accepted at University of Illinois Illionois

Editorial: Protect student press rights A local student publication has been censored yet again. This editorial was originally published in March 2013 in response to the censorship of Mountain View High School’s student newspaper, The Oracle, but what we felt then has not changed in the last seven years.

T

hree weeks ago, Palo Alto High School’s broadcast journalism class, InFocus News, was pressured by its school district into removing a parody of “The Bachelor” from their Youtube channel. The district cited community complaints about the sexualization of high school students and promotion of unjust societal norms, yet InFocus believes this was just an overreaction to satirical, platonic entertainment. As outsiders to the Palo Alto High School community, it’s not our place to judge the correctness of InFocus’s decision; however, freedom of journalistic expression is still vital and the Palo Alto Unified School District—as with any other school district—should continue to protect it.

California Education Code 48907 protects the rights of student journalists. Schools cannot censor student publications, except in the cases of libel, slander, obscenity or any content that presents a clear danger of disrupting the school.

Student journalists who want to cover controversial topics are well within their rights. More importantly, though, is that freedom of expression for high school papers has invaluable benefits.

Student publications like InFocus are important forums for student expression. It’s true that sometimes the controversy over content, like what InFocus published, can take away from generating a

valuable discussion. However, students shouldn’t be forced to avoid covering such issues. Oftentimes, controversial topics are the most important ones to cover because our community hasn’t yet come to an agreement on what to do about them.

Controversial topics are the most important ones to cover because our community hasn’t yet come to an agreement on what to do about them.

In addition, giving students the decision about whether, and how, to cover those issues is one of the most valuable learning experiences high schools offer. That isn’t to say that student journalists should be able to publish anything they want, but student newspapers do have decision-making bodies, like editors and editorial boards. Decisions about content should come from them, not from an outside censor, or even from a journalism adviser. This gives students hands-on experience with making choices that affect the wider community.

With great power comes great responsibility, and taking away

that power deprives students of the chance to learn about responsibility. If student journalists are forced to rely on a district employee to tell them the answers, they won’t have to worry about morals or boundaries. That’s a bad thing. Long after students have graduated, they will need to be capable of responsibility, independent thought and understanding morality—all valuable skills, and all taught by student journalism.

Giving students accountability early on teaches them how to use these skills effectively.

It makes them stronger thinkers, and better people, who are capable of wielding the power they hold. Students do, inevitably, make mistakes. Giving students the ability to make those mistakes and deal with the consequences is another important lesson, regardless of whether students choose to pursue careers in journalism.

The district does and should stress leadership, and other non-academic skills that will help students succeed long after they’ve graduated. What better way to do that than in organizations like InFocus, where students are free to make their own choices, and yes, sometimes, their own mistakes? Although student publications may not seem like a standard, or even an important part of traditional education, few experiences do more to teach students valuable lessons.

Student newspapers should be places where freedom of expression and taking risks are e n co u ra ge d .

Outside censorship has no place in them, legally or morally.

The Talon // 17

ISABELLA BORKOVIC ETHAN RUYACK STELLA HUANG Web Editor Senior Writer Graphic Artist

Junior Margaret Capetz & Australian Shepherd Auggie

Instagram: @auggietheaussie17 How did you get Auggie?

My brother and I have wanted a dog for the longest time. It was a lot of convincing our parents, but since Auggie was so cute, they couldn’t refuse after they saw him. We got him three years ago from a local breeder up in Santa Rosa who has been breeding Aussies since she was 14—she’s around 70-years-old now and breeds show dogs. Actually, one of Auggie’s grandfathers was on a magazine cover, but Auggie’s just a family dog.

How would you describe Auggie?

I would describe him as a shadow—Aussies are known to be shadows. He’ll follow you everywhere. And, he’s very vocal, playful and always has a smile.

KATRINA ARSKY

Senior Katrina Arsky & Australian Labradoodle Kaya

Instagram: @kayameetsworld Why did you make an Instagram account for Kaya?

She’s just a really cute dog, and she does really weird things all the time, like making random noises and sticking her face in random places. We wanted to document her journey as a dog and just bring other people joy with our hilarious posts of Kaya.

What are some things you do with her?

My family likes to travel a lot so we take her with us when we camp or rock climb. When we’re climbing she waits for us at the bottom and gets really nervous. She starts barking, and it’s really cute when she worries about us. She’s gotten really fit from all the hiking, so now she has these huge butt muscles. She also really loves playing in the snow and digging big snow caves. When we get home from our trips, she hibernates for three days to get her energy back.

KYLIE AKIYAMA

History teacher Kelly Coble & Australian Shepherd Rugby

How did you get Rugby?

I got Rugby from a breeder. It’s the same breeder that my parents got their dog from, so he’s actually the nephew of my parents’ dog. His dad was a show dog, but his mom was a working dog, so he’s kind of in between.

What are some things you do with him?

There’s a whole world of agility training where you go to competitions and regionals, and there’s nationals with different levels. Rugby and I train—we go to a two-hour class once a week, and he needs it because it’s mentally challenging for him. When I leave him at home, I’ll leave hidden things to find, and that will burn him out.

EMILY MCNALLY

Junior Charlie Atkins & Golden Retrievers Bentley & Frankie

Instagram: @atkinsboyz How would you describe the boyz?

As the older brother, Bentley is a lot more patient. He cares a lot for Frankie and looks out for him, so he also barks more. Frankie is more energetic and youthful, and he doesn’t bark as much. He’s full of energy, so Bentley and Frankie are very much opposites.

Nicknames?

We call Bentley Ben, Benno, BenBen and Benson. We call Frankie Frank. Together you could call them Benjamin Franklin. That wasn’t intentional, but it is pretty funny.

Naughty habits?

They jump a lot. When my friends come over, they’ll usually walk away with scratches, unfortunately. Occasionally, Frankie sneaks into the house and will eat slippers or something.

18 // February 2020

KATRINA ARSKY

Sophomore Serena Gaylord & German Shepherd Border Collie mix Jenny

Nicknames?

Jenny has a plethora. The list includes anything with the words Jenny, Puppy, Fluffy—Jenny-Puppy-Fluffy can be a nickname all in itself. There’s also Jenny-bo-benny, Jay-bo-bay, Justjay, Jay-boo-boo, Jay-fluffy, Fluffy, Foosy, and Puppicus Jennicus.

How did you get Jenny?

Jenny is a rescue. She got adopted by this family that didn’t really take care of her well, and she was named Scout at that time. She went back to the foster parent who named her Jenny, and eventually, we found hear at the back of a Petco while looking for chicken food during their dog show offs. She was all the way in the back and we were like, “Oh my gosh. Look at this cute dog!” Jenny just sort of gravitated towards us.

F E AT U R E S

KATRINA ARSKY

Sophomore Diya Gupta & Doodle of some kind Leia

MARIE GODDERIS

Instagram: @leiathegoldendoodle Do you hold birthday parties for her?

Of course we hold birthday parties for her. We come to the back field and throw a little birthday party with treats and cupcakes.

Funny stories?

When we were all out for Thanksgiving, she stayed at one of our friend’s houses. They’re all putting their heads down to say grace and pray, so their eyes are closed and their heads are down, and Miss Leia jumps up on their table and eats all of their ribs. They didn’t realize until they heard the sound of her tail wagging. So we get a phone call and they’re like, “Leia just ate all of our family ribs for Thanksgiving!”

School counselor Ariel Rojas & Dalmatian Terrier mix Rico

Funny stories?

Every time we take him to the Walking Wag in Monterey—it’s a fundraiser for animals for the shelter where he came from—he and all the dogs dress up and walk a mile. Every year we take him he poops in front of everyone. And it’s not just one piece.

Does he have any dog friends?

Yeah, he has a girlfriend. Actually, we call her his girlfriend…but she’s not. She’s a golden retriever named Sasha. Her owner is my wife’s physical fitness trainer.

COURTESY ARIEL ROJAS

The Talon // 19

L

os Altos’s “High School Musical” is the first theater production senior Max Silver has ever been a part of. And he played Troy Bolton.

Playing such an iconic role, and the lead for that matter, understandably made Max nervous for Los Altos’s first musical in three years. Nonetheless, he was more excited than anything—music has always been a big part of his life. He started playing the piano around 10 years ago and later learned to play the guitar and ukulele.

It wasn’t until a couple years ago that he started singing along with what he played. Since then, Whe’s performed at family get-togethers like his sister’s bat mitzvah or his mom and step dad's wedding.

The musical, though not the most obvious next step, was something Max knew he wanted to try out.

“I have two cousins who were part of the choir CATHY WANG and musicals at Gunn High School and I always admired them for it,” Max said. “My friends in Broken Box SUZANNE GUO told me about the musical and asked if I might be interested in being a part of it, to which I enthusiastically said yes.”

KYLIE AKIYAMA When auditions rolled around, Max decided to try out for a lead role, not expecting much from it. But it paid off, and he felt both “surprised and immediately nervous.” Although, as he admitted, the extent of his experience took place in Acting I his sophomore year he figures, as he puts it, “It's my senior year and I want to try something new, try out something bigger, take a bigger risk.”

20 // February 2020

S

enior Daniela Gloster has never liked being the center of attention.

In fact, she feels like she’s going to throw up every time she gives a presentation. Yet Daniela has been in over 20 shows and played Gabriella Montez in Los Altos’s production of “High School Musical.”

In reality, she grew up in a musical family: her older sister was also involved in theater and her father was a dedicated cellist. At the age of seven, Daniela decided to try out for “The Chronicles of Narnia” at the Peninsula Youth Theater (PYT), and from there, she went on to spend the next decade of her life committed to theater. Despite her commitment, as her sister snagged leads (getting the lead her senior year in Los Altos’s 2016 musical), Daniela was often cast in ensemble roles. But she kept going.

“There's something about being on stage that’s Senior Writer just exhilarating,” Daniela said. “It's horrible up until the second I go on stage, and then I'm just there and Graphic Artist my mind is clearer than it tends to be in everyday life.”

Now, just like her sister, Daniela played the lead in the school Media Editor musical. And for Daniela, Gabriella has been a dream role.

“I told my mom that Gabriella's kind of the dream,” Daniela said. “She’s high school epitomized and for someone like me who's kind of a dork and not super out there it's really cool to see her having a big voice in the school. Playing her was always in the back of my head as something that I really wanted to do."

The Talon // 21

Alumni Teachers Kate Stadler, Nina Crofts, Meleseini Loto’aniu, Staff Writers Katrina Arsky, Graphic Artist

Mike Messner ‘90

W

hen current US History teacher Mike Messner thinks back to his time spent as a student at Los Altos, he remembers his senior year fondly. It was a year for new beginnings, adventures and best of all, college applications.

“I got to see the payoff for all the things that I worked and hoped for the previous three years,” he said.

Messner was also part of the Main Street Singers, a group of advanced singers from Los Altos. As a Main Street Singer, he got to travel to the Soviet Union before it collapsed.

“We were in Estonia the day they declared independence from the Soviet Union,” Messner said excitedly. It’s clear that his passion for history trans-

lates all the way back to his time in high school.

Messner says that although he knew he would major in history in college, he didn’t know that he would become a teacher. His love for history was encouraged by one of his own teachers, Dave Squellati, who was “willing to throw his head back and shout at the top of his lungs to get his point across.”

“Now when I’m in class, I have a louder, enthusiastic intonation,” Messner said.

“Some of it was simply because of my teacher Dave Squellati, who gave a whole lot of history teachers permission to throw their heads back and teach.”

After getting his Masters degree in history, Messner realized he was sick of school and “didn't want to spend another three years writing a book.”

He began working in Silicon Valley, but was laid off after four and a half years. That was when Squellati came in, agreeing to take on Messner as a TA in his history class at Los Altos.

“What I’m hoping is that one of the kids that I teach comes back to teach US history, and then in 12 or 13 years takes my place,” Messner said. “That would be a nice tradition.”

O

n campus, there’s no other person aside from English teacher Michael Smith who will replace a final exam with a rap battle to the beat of “I Got 5 On It” by LUNIZ. Smith regards his high school days at Los Altos as some of his best. He was actively engaged in extracurricular activities: he was the Activities Commissioner in ASB, toured South America with the Main Street Singers and won Student of the Year.

“I had a great time here,” Smith said. “This was not a horrible place. I felt like I could do what I wanted to.”

His most positive memory from high school was graduation. Smith was a speaker at his graduation ceremony and jokingly remarked in his speech that he’d return if they were willing to pay him.

But his path back to Los Altos was not an easy one. After high school, Smith attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Smith credits Los Altos for giving him a well-rounded education, but wasn’t able to find that in Atlanta. He returned to California after a little over a semester and enrolled at Foothill College, pushing the reset button, as he calls it, on his ed-

Michael Smith ‘96 ucation. He then transferred to UCLA and graduated in 2001.

During that summer, he heard about a job opening at Los Altos.

After a couple interviews with no prior teaching experience, Smith found himself at his old high school, this time getting paid to be there—or in his own words, “getting that cheddar.”

“It was a long shot, because I had no teaching experience, but I had a lot of charisma and knowledge,” Smith said about his hiring process. “I was young and willing to work hard.”

Smith said his high school experience at Los Altos influences the way he teaches now. Since he graduated in 1996, he has noticed that the level of competition and general population of the school has doubled. Los Altos’ academically rigorous atmosphere enables him to push his students to hustle and persevere.

“I’m pushy,” Smith said. “I don’t care. This school sprints, there ain’t no joggers here.

But I’m happy to be back. I wouldn’t be here for 19 years if I didn’t love it and if I wasn’t putting it down in a decent way. I love teaching, it’s challenging, but fun every damn day.”

teaching a career option.

“I didn't know what I wanted to do,” Arias said. ”One of the biggest changes now is that there’s a lot more support when it comes to colleges and careers.”

Right after high school, Arias worked in retail and out of nowhere found a living in professional gaming.

“This was really at the start of professional gaming,” Hector Arias ‘06 Arias said. “I was playing a n math teacher Hector game called Gears of War, Arias’s classroom hangs and I met with some people who were rea jersey from ally good, and his time on we went to a the football I wanted to tournament team at Los and we won Altos. When make changes some money. he graduatto make sure From there it ed in 2006, that students carried on.” neither Arias don’t feel lost Later, during nor his teachand always feel a transition ers expected like they have back to a more he would be somewhere to conventional returning to go. career, Arias teach Algebra —math teacher returned to 2 and AP StaHector Arias school at De tistics.

Anza College “I was kind and started tuof shocked toring, which when he reached out to me last year served as the catalyst that and said he was going to launched him into his teachbe applying to work here,” ing career.

“I wanted to make changes Arias’s former math teacher to make sure Teresa Dunthat students lap said. “I don't feel lost knew him Students need a and always feel as a sophoteacher who is like they have more when not only going somewhere I had him, to go,” Arias so to see the to help them said. “Students growth from find solutions to need a teachhis sophohomework, but er who is not more year in also to life. only going high school —Arias to help them till now was find solutions amazing.” to homework, Back in high but also to school, Arias had not even considered life.”

I

P

hysics teacher Stephen Hine’s hands shook as he frantically attempted to calculate the average velocity of a van full of tomatoes traveling to a small town in New Mexico. Or at least this is how we imagine Hine as a sophomore at Los Altos taking his first Physics course. It’s safe to say that he was struggling.

At the time, passing the Stephen Hine ‘09 class seemed daunting. But although his sophomore self Los Altos. would never have expectWhen he was finishing his ed it, Hine would not only credential program, Hine grow to love physics, but saw an opening at Los Alalso graduate tos. He inwith a bachterviewed elor’s degree with two of I loved physics, in the field his former although it did not from the teachers, University of environcome easy to me California, mental sciin my sophomore Santa Barbaence teacher year. ra. Even latGreg Stoehr —physics teacher er, he would and RanStephen Hine return to dall, and, of Los Altos course, endto teach the ed up getting subject. the job. Lat“I loved physics, although er, he said that the weirdest it did not come easy to me part of working with former in my sophomore year,” teachers was calling them Hine said. “I definitely had by their first names, while a growth moment my junior the best part was reminiscyear, and was doing better ing about the past. by the end of it. I just loved “Coming in, I felt like I the content so much, so I was part of the community decided to take AP Physics already,” Hine said.

C in senior year.”

Hine excelled in physics under teacher Adam Randall. At the end of Hine’s senior year, Randall jokingly suggested that he become a physics teacher, saying that he “was pretty good at explaining things to students.” Five years later, Hine would be back gracing the halls of The Talon // 23

CATHY WANG Senior Writer

OSCARS Rundown

ROBERT BARKER Film Teacher

Every February, the Oscars roll around, always accompanied by formal wear, lavish parties and, more often than not, controversy. Below, Copy/Content Editor Cathy Wang and Film teacher Robert Barker offer their takes on some of this season’s nominees, while senior writer Mia Scher explains why she feels that awards shows are overrated.

BEST DIRECTOR

Should Win: Bong Joon Ho Will Win: Sam Mendes Did Win: Bong Joon Ho

BEST ACTRESS

Should Win: Renee Zellweger Will Win: Renee Zellweger Did Win: Renee Zellweger

BEST ACTOR

Should Win: Joaquin Phoenix Will Win: Joaquin Phoenix Did win: Joaquin Phoenix

BEST PICTURE Should Win: Parasite

Will Win: Marriage Story

Two Takes on Parasite

Under the direction of Bong Joon-Ho, “Parasite” follows the unemployed Kim family as they slowly overtake the house staff of the wealthy Park family. “Parasite” examines class inequality with bite and nuance and made important progress for Asian representation. Every shot and every line feels intentional and necessary and with its success, “Parasite” has demonstrated that Asian films and Asian faces are not financial risks. Hopefully, it can inspire more Asian creators to take a risk and pursue what they love. Asian stories deserve to be told, and people want them to be told.

24// February 2020

Did Win: Parasite

Stylistically, nothing in this year’s slate of nominees deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Bong Joon Ho’s exquisitely crafted Parasite. The cinematography is the star of the film, moving us languidly through scenes of indulgent art collections of the wealthy, homeless men urinating in the streets, and a family of grifters living on the edge of hunger and economic ruin in a filthy “semi-basement” until they stumble into an ill-fated opportunity to f leece an aff luent family. Information about characters is released in a way that makes each revelation both a surprise and satisfyingly predictable in retrospect. Bong Joon Ho manages to create a post-modern painting of a film which is equal parts punk, class struggle commentary, and poetic violence—the last of these in ways filmmakers like Tarantino can only pretend and copy.

Once Upon a Time...

In Hollywood

A.K.A. Tarantino Imitates Tarantino Imitating Other Filmmakers. This describes more than a few of his films, but this might be the worst example.

Uneven, indulgent style pretending at substance.

Tarantino talked for years about wanting to revisit the Manson murders in a film, and I’m down with people reworking history for noble artistic purposes. But if we’re going to give tragically murdered Sharon Tate her voice, why do we cast Margot Robbie and then limit her to being nothing more than a vague ornament in the film? Brad Pitt apes the worst version of his charismatic beefcake persona (with a wink that doesn’t redeem the choice), Al Pacino plays a racist stereotype of a Jewish film producer, and Leonardo DiCaprio (as Rick Dalton, the drunk, talent-starved, all-heat-and-nolight actor—stand-in for Tarantino?) sleepwalks through, not a plot, but a series of stylistic homages to Hollywood’s most misogynistic forays, including some of Tarantino’s own. The comically violent ending feels like the act of a Vegas performer who can still belt out that one famous hit. We’re glad to hear it. But also sad. And wish we hadn’t.

Jojo Rabbit

“Jojo Rabbit” follows Johannes "Jojo" Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis), a Nazi youth who must reevaluate his beliefs after discovering his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their home with the help of his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi). This film was a breath of fresh air, something I never thought I’d never say about a satirical comedy about Hitler. But it’s whip smart, gorgeously shot and impeccably edited. More than that, it perfectly balances comedy (that’s actually hilarious) with authentic human moments—of warmth and heartbreak and fear and always making sure to pay the events of WWII with the space and thought it deserves. In a film landscape that constantly sells comedy short and has seen far too little good ones lately, “Jojo Rabbit” is much needed and deserves every bit of praise.

Little Women

Based off the Louisa May Alcott novel of the same name, “Little Women” follows the lives of the four March sisters over three years. This film felt like a warm blanket. Its smoothness, its intelligence, is presented quietly, without expectation or show. Director Greta Gerwig delivers once again, beautifully balancing four storylines across two timelines and making use of different color filters in both practically differentiating between the two as well as creatively adding to the storytelling. She tells an authentically female story and gives equal praise and understanding to the outspoken advocates as well as the quieter pursuits of personal happiness. She tells a fair narrative, gives voice to every kind of woman without presenting the kind of competition that so often comes up in “feminist” stories like “Little Women.” Gerwig deserved a Best Director nomination, but it seems the Academy has decided men deserve the attention.

Marriage Story

This film shows 90s/Indie trailblazer Noah Baumbach at the top of his game, having sacrificed none of his outside-the-studio system credibility despite his recent access to A-list actors. At first blush, it’s another wealthy-white-people-withproblems piece (yawn), but under Baumbach’s helm, it works hard to explore the most complicated parts of loving relationships that seldom find their way into a mainstream film. Barely eight minutes in, the audience is jolted by an unexpected twist, signaling surprises to come. Adam Driver (Charlie) and Scarlett Johansson (Nicole) give heavyweight performances as two theater professionals struggling to move from marriage to divorce while competing over their 8-year-old son Henry. A tragicomic bonus is watching Ray Liotta (Ray) and Laura Dern (Nora) steal all their scenes as vicious divorce attorneys. Many other nominated films this year rest on great acting at the expense of shaky plots and flashy direction. But Marriage Story is equally well written, acted, directed, filmed, and edited. A masterpiece.

Joker “Joker” follows Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a failed stand up comedian turned party clown, and his slow descent into madness as the world around him seems determined to beat him down. But “Joker,” with all its dramatic shots and cello-heavy music, isn’t the year definining film it thinks it is. It is the job of art and media to say something about the human condition, to make you think. Stories like this, stories that can touch on class division and mental illness, deserve to be told. It is the way in which they’re told that makes the difference and, in this crucial sense, “Joker” missed the mark. The story too often victimized Fleck, basked in his violent tendencies and had his actions result in positivity. “Joker” isn’t groundbreaking or revolutionary, it’s just a film like any other with its fair share of faults and strengths. But given its ‘gritty’ examination of a twisted man and one of the greatest performances of Phoenix’s career, it is pure Oscar bait coming in at 11 nominations.

And the Oscar goes to... no one cares MIA SCHER Senior Writer

I used to look forward to Oscars every year. The gowns, the speeches, the host—everything about the event infatuated me. I would watch all the nominated movies so I could root for my favorites while watching the event. Now, I couldn’t care less.

This year, I have not seen a single film that was nominated, and I didn’t even know when the Oscars were.

The Oscars and award ceremonies in general exist because American audiences are fueled by sport and competition. The sports fanatics of America get the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Olympics, so the thespians, the writers, and the dancers get their equivalent: the Tony’s, the Emmys and the Oscars. However, these nights in no way celebrate creators and entertainers but rather winners and losers, and no one knows who’s controlling the score board.

“The Academy,” is made up of about 9,000 film professionals— their membership earned via invitation. And while it is claimed that efforts are made to increase diversity, the Academy remains 68 percent male and 84 percent white. And the demographic makeup of the Academy is reflected in the typically majority male and majority white nominations and wins.

This year, Bong Joon-ho’s film Parasite became the first South Korean film nominated for Best Picture and the first foreign film to win in that category. However, despite the best picture win, the Academy seized to acknowledge the ensemble of the movie and the leads were all excluded from the the nomination pool.

Song Kang Ho, Lee Jung Eun and Cho Yeo Jeong were among members of the cast that were overlooked in the best performance categories.

The caliber of art cannot be measured in little golden trophies or envelopes. Years from now, we will not remember nor care what movies won which awards. Instead, we’ll remember the films that transported us to new worlds that possibly made us laugh, cry, and think. So who’s to say what movie impacts the watcher the most?

The Talon // 25

The 80’s are back! In any classroom at Los Altos, there are three things you can easily spot: gum under your desk, hydroflasks, and scrunchies. Whether it’s on their wrist or holding up their hair, scrunchies have once again become a staple accessory.

Between velvet, cheetah print and polka dot, these scrunchies add a pop to every outfit. But, scrunchies are only one example of the countless 80’s trends that have come back in the last few years. Other trends currently stocked at popular stores such as Urban Outfitters and Brandy Melville include bell bottoms, high-waisted jeans, corduroy, velvet and more. With the reemergence of vibrant colors and creative textures, people are stepping out of the status quo and are expressing their styles more freely and comfortably.

Both parents and their kids are fond of the comeback of these styles as parents find amusement in seeing clothes they used to wear as teenagers, hung up in their own kids’ closets. At the same time, the new generation makes a hobby out of taking these “old-fashioned” clothes and re-inventing them in more modern ways to fit their personal style.

Over the past few years, 80’s fashion has made a comeback. The Talon interviewed parents who were teens during the 80’s, as well as students at Los Altos on their views of fashion trends over time.

ss of 2020 Ilsa Askrenare, cla inspired by tv shows, old

“I feel like people closets, but are putphotos or even their parent’s things and I think on sts twi n ting their moder ally love me a good it’s super exciting. I person e pant with a Fredflar sted scrunch and high wai lly just like wearing die Mercury band tee. I rea and comfortable in, nt what I like and feel confide form to the pastcon to s pen hap and that overall ays gets a kick alw m time fashion trends. My mo that I seem to g min clai ays out of what I wear, alw generation.” have been born in the wrong

“My history teachers always say ‘hist ory repeats itself,’ and I agree. It repeats itself in many forms, one of them being fashion. Reminisc ing on what was cool ‘back then’ is super fun, and then bridging that past to our present through fashion is super fun. Overall though, I believe that if a person is taking care of their wellbeing and spreading happiness, no matter what they wea r they will be the prettiest person in the room.”

ss of 1991 Morgan Bricca, cla ss was in. The clothing

“It feels like in the 80’s happine ss, high ponytails and really reflected that, like happine Richard Simmons, and ts dayglow and like parachute pan hit the 90’s and it you n The py. and things were so hap the grunge, and it was so was Alanis Morisette, and all optimistic, it was like benot cool for about 10 years to be And actually right now ble. ing cynical was very fashiona in like being healthy… aga in is ty, what I noticed is positivi waisted pants, and a So it feels like Reebok shoes, high about life, you know,so I high ponytail is like: I feel good right now.” ure think it reflects a bit of our cult 26// February 2020

R

JERRY SCHE

: back in style

Alix Apf

elberg “They’v little bit e updated sty , class of 1 les ove more fl 988 r a of a fla re or so ttering. So ma time to make methin ybe not it a I think gt qu w using s hen you see k hat fits a little ite as big in om b than fro e of the old d of the newe it better. r design trends m in th it ers e 80’s.” just loo ks bett er

MARIE GODDERIS Business Manager Photographer

ELLI LAHDESMAKI Copy/Content Editor Graphic Artist

Aisha Rashid

C U LT U R E

, class of 20

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20

SUSAN STARK

MODEL: SOPHIE GIRARD

Craig R

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MORGAN BRICCA

The Talon // 25

Y

ou guys love to call me “Tomo the Homo.” I don’t know what it is, but the nickname has always been a favorite amongst my friends and teammates. My mother apparently recalls realizing the inevitability of the rhyme shortly after receiving my birth certificate.

I remember the first time one of you called me “Tomo the Homo.” It was in the locker room during one of the first practices of our U12 ice hockey season.

I was by far the worst player on the team, so hey, pick on me. I figured it’d go away once I improved.

Five years later, I was the captain and first line defense of an elite level team. But you still called me “Tomo the Homo.”

It’s not that I found it particularly mean or offensive; it was annoying, at most. A nickname like that is really only meant to be an odd way of showing affection, which I knew all along.

But looking back, the fact that that was an acceptable nickname to us—our coaches too— is appalling.

Look, I get it. It’s easy to sigh and write me off as some crazy “libtard.” Call me a “snowflake” or whatever you want. Prior to realizing my own sexuality, I certainly would’ve responded with the same socket-skidding eye roll.

Heck, “f*ggot” was one of the words I used the most prior to my “awakening.” Of course, we all know that it’s a bad word. We all know that we could get in trouble for using it. We all “know” that it’s hurtful. But none of that stopped any of us from using the word at the ice rink.

In fact, it’s not just crude nicknames and frequent use of the word “f*ggot”

GRAPH IC EMILY S BY ZHU

28 // February 2020

that stand out to me. There are dozens of experiences of blatant homophobia that I can vividly recall at the ice rink, some of them instigated by me.

I’m ashamed of that now.

I’ve realized that my insensitivity, particularly the use of homophobic slurs, was in part because of my own grapples with my sexuality. “In part” being a small part.

No, the real reason that a group of twelve-year-olds can laugh off homophobia is because “everyone else is doing it.” When the hockey coach that you love and respect doles out the word “f*ggot” like free candy, it’s far too easy to fall into that same trap.

I should’ve—we should’ve— known better than that. “What’s the harm? Nobody here’s gay,” we would say. But no, it’s extremely harmful. What about the closeted kid? What about the person struggling with their sexuality? Nothing good can come from casual homophobia.

Unfortunately, it’s hard for a 10-year-old to know any better.

Even more unfortunate is the fact that our coaches believe that homophobia is “just fine if we’re all straight.” But the most unfortunate fact is that the majority of the coaches and mentors and adults in our lives aren’t going to change.

When it comes down to it, they’re adults with near-solidified views of the world. If any of our past coaches were to read this, they’d probably laugh me off (although I would be happy to be proven wrong).

It’s hard to change the behavior of our adult coaches and mentors. So who’s supposed to deal with the problem?

Us, actually. The way we act when we’re adults can still be determined. That time is coming pretty soon.

How are we going to teach our

kids to play sports? What kind of role models will we be for them?

I’d certainly like to hope that we can do better than our predecessors; the alternative is a real downer.

And it’s not just long term effects!

We can make an immediate, meaningful difference.

I mean, how hard is it to not make fun of gay people?

Geez, just stop saying “f*ggot” and you’ll be halfway there. Consider other people, for once.

I’m lucky that I quit ice hockey before realizing my own bisexuality. If I had continued, I don’t know how I would have handled it. It hurts because it feels like you’re being treated like an outsider— even if the person at the other end of the verbal whip doesn’t understand the implications of their words. The idea that “we can make fun of the gays because nobody here’s queer” is stupid, you guys.

I know that only a handful of my teammates will read this, and even then, only one or two of those few will go on to actually change their behavior.

I think writing this is worth it, though. I hope those of you that aren’t my old teammates (or don’t even know me) will learn something from this. It’s hard to explain just how much the words of your teammates— best friends, really—can hurt you. But they can do good, also.

Oh well. Give it some thought; you owe me that much.

Sincerely, Tomo the (Proud) Homo

ALLIE BRICCA, STAFF WRITER | EMILY ZHU, GRAPHIC ARTIST

The 2020 Worlds sailing competition is just around the corner for sophomore Alec Van Kerckhove. In fact, it’s one of his top priorities.

He spends hours practicing control and teamwork with his partner, but overcoming the natural obstacles that come with sailing is no easy task. Alec is battening down the hatches for the journey to qualify and race for team USA. Contrary to popular opinion, sailing isn’t just a rich-people pastime that involves sitting around on a boat and enjoying a serene view. It is a physically and mentally demanding sport that requires hours of Alec’s time.

“Some people say it’s not a sport,” Alec said. “When I first tell people I do sailing, they are confused and they don't really know what it is. I don't think people really understand what sailing is about: teamwork. You have to be in sync with your teammate to push the boat as fast as possible and think about strategy and wind shifts.”

Developing these skills takes hours of focused practice and physical training. During sailing season, he practices for three hours a day at least twice a week and 10 hours on the weekend before a regatta, a sailing race.

The countless hours he put in paid off last December, when Alec attended his biggest race to date: the Orange Bowl Regatta. He is proud to have placed 28th out of 45 teams, most of whom were several years older and more experienced in competitive sailing.

But Alec’s first sailing experience took place many years before, on a family vacation to France. It was

purely recreational, and his seventh grade self was just excited to be on a large catamaran boat. Then in his freshman year, Alec’s dad convinced him to give sailing a more serious shot. Soon, he discovered a true passion for the sport and joined a club team called the Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation (PYSF), starting out in a C420, a two-person, 4.2 meter dinghy boat.

“At first it was my dad pushing me to sailing, but then it became my thing because I liked it so much,” Alec said. “[What keeps me coming back is] the drive to do better. My coach has been a really big inspiration to keep pushing the limits and having me practice the best way: to be efficient and become better as quick as possible.”

As Alec spent more time on the water, he tested out a more advanced boat, the two-person I420 dinghy. It is lighter and more agile compared to the basic C420 and is used in competitive international races.

This next step introduced him to another mental hurdle because it requires stronger teamwork to keep the boat in control on the water. He added additional hours to his weekly schedule on the water to accommodate and get more comfortable on the new boat.

Although his coach, teammate and parents support him in many ways, Alec is a

self-motivated individual. He emphasizes that the coach's effort matches his own, so it really comes down to the time and work that he is willing to put in. Spending extra time experimenting in the boat with his crewmate is crucial.

Alec also talks about the physical aspect of sailing, which tends to be overlooked by people watching from an outside perspective.

“On windy days, it’s five hours of constantly pulling heavy lines and ropes with my arms,” Alec said. “I am basically doing a plank and a leg workout for 45 minutes without a break. With light wind, it isn’t as physical, but more mentally challenging because technique is much more in effect.”

To add yet another mental challenge, sailing practices and races, unlike most other athletics, are completely different waves to tackle each time.

“In other sports you have the same court or field [every time]. While sailing you go through oceans, bays, lakes, rivers, currents, wind shifts, storms and flat water,” Alec said. “The only thing that’s the same is the boat, which also changes if the regatta is on the East Coast.”

If his goal to qualify for Worlds comes true, Alec will return to the origin of his sailing journey: France. But this time, he hopes to be competing in his I420 instead of sailing in the catamaran with his family.

COURTESY ALEC VAN KERCKHOVE

Sophomore Alec Van Kerckhove and his teammate battle against the waves in their I420 boat. This weekend, Alec will race in one of many regattas that could ake him to Worlds and achieve his dream of sailing internationally.

Taking a piece of home to harvey mudd ELANA EISENBERG, STAFF WRITER | CEDRIC CHAN, GRAPHIC ARTIST

How do you feel about the future at Har vey Mudd?

How do you feel about running together for the next four years?

Do you know what the rooming situation is going to be at Harvey Mudd?

30 // February 2020

Sage: It’s pretty great. Obviously we were really hoping to go together. We drove down— Cohan: —twice.

S: We went a long time ago with some other kids to visit Harvey Mudd. Then, earlier this year, his family took a trip down to LA to interview and run with the team, and I went with them. It’s great because it means we both have an awesome safety net going into college, like someone in the community that we already know.

C: It’s pretty exciting. I started as a total newbie who just wanted PE credits, but now I’m running in college for a D3 school. The funny thing, though, is that Adam and I kind of knew each other before I came to LAHS. S: He was my weird stalker for a long time— C: You were my weird stalker.

S: We bumped into each other a bunch of times.

We didn’t actually know each other, but I just ran into him a bunch of times— C: Like in fourth grade at the JCC pool. I ran into you. And then you did Taekwondo, or I did Taekwondo. You had your music lessons right after me.

S: Yeah, I just kept running into him.

S: I am not going to room with you.

That has already been decided.

C: Okay, you’re the one that took all the covers on the overnight trips!

S: We’ve had some trial runs.

C: For cross country, sometimes you have to share a bed. The first time we went down to Harvey Mudd, I took the couch. The most recent time, Adam took all the covers right when we went to sleep, and then I woke up in the middle of the night freezing cold. I took them back thinking that he was asleep, but he was awake and got kind of upset.

S: They warn against rooming with your friend because it never works out well.

C: It’s also an opportunity to branch out and meet new people.

S: Yeah, for sure, it’s good to get to meet other people and also not ruin our friendship.

C: Yeah, that’s probably a good call.

Usually, graduation symbolizes a goodbye of sorts.

For seniors Adam Cohan and Adam Sage, though, this is definitely not the case. The boys, who obviously share a name, will soon share another identity as well: Division 3 cross country runners at Harvey Mudd College.

On Friday, December 13, Cohan and Sage were accepted to the school through its early decision application, confirming their spots on the cross country team. The decisions were not set to release until that Sunday, so the boys were getting ready to have dinner with some friends and were caught by surprise with the news.

“A minute before [my ride] showed up, Adam texted me that the decisions were out. I was planning on opening it with my parents, and we'd maybe film it or something, but it was just me in my bathroom with my dog,” Cohan said. “I got in and I started screaming, and my dog got scared and ran away. We texted each other at the same time, like, ‘Ahh, I got in!’”

All Harvey Mudd students apply undecided, which gives both boys time to figure out which of the school’s six pathways they want to focus on. As of right now, Sage plans to major in computer science, while Cohan is considering a combined computer science and math major.

“My community—my running—has been the best thing at Los Altos, and it's really great to take a little bit of that to Harvey Mudd,” Sage said.

“Aw, I'd second that,” Cohan said. “Knowing someone going in is definitely going to be good, so I'm really excited.”

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san francisco 49ers

super bad team to super bowl team Kate Stadler Staff Writer

Cedric Chan Graphic Artist

After a disappointing 20182019 season as debatably one of the weakest teams in the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers overcame all odds and made it to the Superbowl. This year’s dominant defense and explosive run game were a far cry from the team that fans had to watch last year, when it seemed that new quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was their only hope.

Garoppolo, former Patriots backup quarterback, signed with the team in a late, 137.5 million dollar deal. Fans hoped he would prove to be a franchise quarterback and save the Niners, but that hope was shattered in the third game of 2018 when Garoppolo suffered a torn ACL and was out for the rest of the season.

But things had been different this year. Garoppolo came back to the team and has proven to be a reliable, at times great, quarterback. Tight end George Kittle, a fan-favorite despite his gross and sweaty hair, was still an integral part of the team.

Niners defense was top-ranked after drafting second overall pick Nick Bosa, and players like

running back Raheem Mostert had begun to shine.

Even with a 13-3 record, this season was not easy. The Niners were constantly in competition with the Seattle Seahawks to remain at the top of the NFC West. As the playoffs neared, games got tougher, but the Niners made it through.

In Super Bowl LIV, they faced the Kansas City Chiefs in Miami. Going into the game, I told myself that the Niners would win, just to be optimistic for once. I’d spent the entire season doubting them, assuming they’d lose against any team that was actually good. I was constantly proven wrong.

So maybe it would be okay to be positive for once, in the biggest game of the year.

Nope. As I’m sure you know, the Niners lost the Super Bowl.

And while some analysts may say that it was Garoppolo or Coach Shanahan’s fault, I say it was mine. I jinxed it, and for that, I sincerely apologize to every Niners fan out there, including myself.

It’s not as if the Niners never had a chance at winning— they started the game out well enough, their first drive ending with a field goal. Going into the half, it was 10-10, and the Niners

49ers Stats First downs: 21 Rushing yards: 141 Rushing touchdowns: 1 Net pass yards: 210 Total yards: 351 Fumbles, Lost fumbles: 1, 0 Time of possession: 26:47

had one minute on the clock to change that.

After a 35 yard throw to Kittle, they were in field goal range.

But because of an offensive pass interference call, it was futile.

The score remained 10-10.

Things seemed to pick up for the Niners in the third quarter. By the fourth quarter, they led by a somewhat-healthy 10 points. So when Mahomes threw an early fourth quarter interception, the Niners could have taken advantage, scored a touchdown, and secured their win with a three-score game.

Instead, they got one first down, then ended the drive with a nice, crisp third and 14.

Things went downhill for the Niners from there. On what was considered the game’s most controversial play, Mahomes threw to running back Damien Williams for what looked like a touchdown. After review, the replays showed that Wiliams’s foot was clearly out of bounds when the ball crossed the plane. Still, the ruling on the field stood, and the Chiefs were now up by four points. The Niners had two and a half minutes to fix it.

Obviously, they did not. Their last drive of the game ended with what should have been a delay of

game on their part. Instead, the referee neglected to call it and the play continued, Garoppolo barely managing to get rid of the ball in a last-ditch effort for a first down. The Chiefs got the ball back and the rest is history. They got another touchdown, and the game ended 31-20.

Whether it was my fault for jinxing the game, the referees’s fault for being dumb, Kyle Shanahan’s fault for managing the clock horribly or Garoppolo’s fault for cracking under the pressure, the Niners lost a Super Bowl that they could have won.

Whatever the case, I think the entire country is appreciative that the Patriots weren’t in this one.

chiefs stats First downs: 26 Rushing yards: 129 Rushing touchdowns: 2 Net pass yards: 268 Total yards: 397 Fumbles, Lost fumbles: 3, 0 Time of possession: 33:13 The Talon // 31

Los Altos High School 201 Almond Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

The Talon Volume XXXV Issue IV lahstalon.org 2.25.20 18 // February 2020