The Union - Milpitas High School - June 2019

SAT ADVERSITY SCORES ARE UNJUSTIFIABLE (3)

UN ON DO STUDENTS RECOGNIZE ADMINISTRATORS? (5)

WHICH COLLEGES ARE SENIORS GOING TO? (6, 7)

HOW MUCH OF MHS HAS DRANK UNDERAGE? (9)

COMICS (15)

THE

June 2019 VOLUME XXX ISSUE VI

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STUDENT VOICE OF MILPITAS HIGH SCHOOL

New Activities Director chosen, plans to promote ‘student voice’

By Loan-Anh Pham

COURTESY OF FRANCIS ROJAS

Pictured above is the preferred of five plans to build new structures and rearrange building purposes at MHS as designed by the architecture firm LPA, Inc. The construction will be paid for with the Measure AA bond.

Bond money to be used to redesign MHS

By Ginnie Lo Paul Chon

MHS will be gaining additional buildings as part of Bond Measure AA, Principal Francis Rojas said. Upgrades include a new performing arts center, band and music classrooms, a second gymnasium, student center, remodeled amphitheater, a drama classroom, and two additional science classrooms, he continued.

The bond money will also be used for a second high school with a special focus, Rojas said.

The new high school will be an extension of MHS and will house about 400 people to alleviate students from the overcrowding [at MHS], he added. “[The bond] was supported by the community at about 71%, which was way over the 66% threshold,” Rojas said. “I think

[the remodelling] will make [MHS] the center of the community.”

The district has set 84 million out of 284 million dollars to go toward MHS, Rojas said. Originally, MHS was going to receive 120 million dollars, but the district decided to reduce the amount, Rojas said.

“For a very long time our athletics and physical education (PE) departments have said that we needed [a] second gym on this campus because we have many sports after school,” Rojas said.

“The PE department’s voices were heard along with our music and theater programs that have also grown large.”

Goals incorporated into the planning of MHS’ modernization includes efficient lighting, net zero energy, green vehicle parking, renewable resources, heat

island reduction, low flow water fixtures, drought tolerant landscape, indoor air quality, natural daylight, bottle fillers, outdoor views, acoustics, and a school garden, according to a presentation provided by LPA, Inc., who will be working on the designs for MHS’ modernization.

“We want our school to be safe and secured, proud of our diversity, fun, colorful, lively, a fresh learning space, and to display our culture,” LPA Inc.’s presentation stated. “[The group activity center is] a place to learn, exert, perform, and share.”

The main influence in deciding where the bond money goes was the community, Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) President Silvia Dias said. The bond money is dedicated mainly to three SEE ON “AA BOND” ON PAGE 16

Summit Learning ‘disbanded for the tenth grade’ because of program’s low enrollment increases

By Neval Mulaomerovic

Summit Learning will not be expanded into tenth or eleventh grade curriculum for the time being due to lack of demand, Principal Francis Rojas said. Summit Learning is a personalized learning system that combines online instruction with teacher assistance to allow students to work at their own pace, he said.

New teachers will be introduced for next year’s class, Rojas said. Chemistry Teacher Kieu Pham, who also has a credential in biology, will serve as the program’s science teacher; new teachers were hired for English and math, he said. The current students of the pilot class will enter mainstream courses; however, another class of freshmen students will enter the Summit program for next year, he said.

“It's just going to be disbanded for the tenth grade because I don't think there was enough of an increase of students,” Rojas

said. “Last year we started out with close to 30, but then people start dropping out then it landed at 17. For the ninth grade, there is one cohort of students from the middle schools that will be doing Summit [next year]. We would try to keep a sustainability plan around them and as more students are interested in the program, we would grow based off of student need.”

Incoming teachers will be attending a Summit training conference over the summer to learn more about the program, Rojas said. The training covers how to use the platform, classroom strategies to engage students, and how to incorporate the technology into lesson plans, he said.

“We're trying to make it more of our own,” Rojas said. “We're transitioning into Milpitas personalized learning because it's not just Summit anymore. It's really what our teachers have been doing with it. There's training on how to use the platform but also

about the instructional strategies that complement the use of that platform as well. There a lot of myths about that, so there is still regular instruction that goes on.

It's just that instead of having a binder with papers, a lot of it is on that platform there.

Summit Learning was originally intended to continue for the next few years in different grade levels, but low enrollment and other conflicts posed an issue, Biology Teacher Jerell Maneja said.

For example, since Summit students are required to take classes with each other, they may end up at a lower math level compared to their peers who take summer school, he said.

“The hope and intention is that we would continue to build a stronger group during the ninth grade and allow that ninth grade cohort to grow,” Maneja said.

“Eventually, we’ll have enough so that they can continue on to tenth SEE ON “SUMMIT” ON PAGE 16

Science Teacher Jerell Maneja was selected to be the new Activities Director by a panel of seven on May 9, Principal Francis Rojas said. Maneja was chosen out of three applicants, and an announcement was made on May 13 to staff members, Rojas added.

The interview was facilitated by a variety of students, teachers, and administrators, including himself, Rojas explained. According to Rojas, the interview focused on the candidate’s approach to MHS’s growing diversity in areas such as socioeconomic status and language as well as the need for students to develop both academically and socially.

“I was looking for qualities of someone who I think knows our school and knows our students.

I was looking for a quality of change,” Rojas said. “It’s about your philosophy around how you

think about planning activities.

In the end, Mr. Maneja rose to the top of all the questions that we asked, and he was selected.”

Maneja was motivated to apply as he saw an opportunity to foster leadership and build school culture at MHS, he said. He filled out a transfer form after an email announced the position’s vacancy in April, Maneja added.

“Ever since I taught here, I’ve always been active in many of the student activities, so I’m probably one of the most experienced in terms of what leadership does and gets involved with,” Maneja said. “And especially after becoming involved as a class advisor, I hold much high regard to what leadership does and what it represents not only for the people in the class but for the school as a whole.”

His experience with leaderSEE “MANEJA” ON PAGE 16

SBAC participation falls

By Theodore Do Paul Chon

SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) testing encountered more student optouts this school year than previous years, Principal Francis Rojas said. The SBAC was administered during the weeks of Apr. 9 and Apr. 23, he added.

The SBAC is a style of standardized testing for schools that was adopted by the state of California, Rojas said. The SBAC is a computer-adapted test that is taken by juniors at MHS each year, he continued.

“Standardized testing done by the state really provides districts, schools, and counties data about how our students and our school are making progress on certain standards,” Rojas said. “It’s almost like this summative test and it really determines how far students reach from kindergarten all the way up.”

In total, 301 students opted out of the SBAC, according to Assistant Principal Amanda Gross.

Out of the 301 students, 111 were juniors and 190 were seniors, Gross reported.

While the specific reason for the drop in SBAC participation remains altogether unknown, it is possible that students became more informed about the ability to opt out through anonymous fliers posted around campus and by word of mouth.

If the school does not collect data that the SBAC and CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress) provides, the state cannot make decisions about how to allocate resources for the district, Rojas said. It is also required by the state of California for schools to use the data as a part of how they assess the allocation of the school’s resources, he continued.

“If you show growth, great; the

money’s being used well,” Rojas said. “If you didn’t show growth, they would actually put you into a program called program improvement, which would eventually lead to the state essentially coming in and running your school.”

California requires a threshold of 95% participation to be an ample sample size for the school, Rojas explained. When the participation drops below 95%, error margins are applied to the overall score of the school, he said.

“In order for the test to be valid, it is always better to have a larger sample size because whenever you have a smaller sample size, any shift in performance will create drastic change,” Rojas said.

Senior Dan Vo opted out of the SBAC because everyone else seemed to be opting out, Vo said.

He found out about opting out of the SBAC through his friends, Vo added.

“I don’t feel like it’s useful if you’re an AP student,” Vo said. “If you took AP Chemistry or AP Biology, why would you take a placement test for that? I feel I made the right choice by not coming in the morning to waste my time on taking a test I could’ve passed by just sending AP scores.”

Students opting out has not been an problem in previous years, but this year it became an issue, Rojas said. To decrease the amount of students opting out in the future, the administrators are planning to provide MHS families with more information about the importance of state testing, Rojas continued.

“I [sent out a message] over ParentSquare the night that we found [that] all these people [were] opting out,” Rojas said.

“Parents emailed me back saying, ‘Oh, thanks for explaining! I’ll encourage my child to do it.’”

2

THE UNION

PRO

Group work prepares students Throughout high school and sake of the project. As this occurs, education at large, group work is one’s ability to discuss and weigh frequently employed as a means of the merits of opposing ideas develcompleting assignments. With this ops. Plus, simply having to discuss comes the lamentations of students different aspects of a task with one’s everywhere, arguing that group team members helps to hone one’s work is inherently unfair and inefcommunication abilities. fective, that it continually rewards

Another benefit to havindolence. While there ing to experience group is some merit to these work in high school is the arguments, there are fact that much of what several benefits to expeone will do in the workriencing group work. place will involve other The old adage that people. Opponents of “two heads are better group work may argue than one,” is true in that a group may have many scenarios, and sevindividuals who hinder eral are even better than the group effort, such as two. Working collaboraslackers that hinder protively to solve a problem ductivity, or overbearing ISHRAK means individuals’ difpeople who tyrannically RAMZAN ferent perspectives and commandeer the entire ideas can be combined.

Ultimately, that can only benefit the group, as they will accordingly Working collabobe more productive and better able to complete the task at hand. ratively means inAt the same time, as good ideas are brought together, working with dividuals’ different others allows subpar ideas to be filtered out of the discussion, as peoperspectives and ple bounce ideas off of each other.

When one person attacks a probideas can be comlem alone, he may fixate on one particular approach that is ill-suitbined. ed for the task at hand. However, receiving feedback from others allows one to see the problem from project. While this is true in some instances, being forced to deal a new angle that lets him address it more successfully. with such circumstances prepares Fostering of important comindividuals for group projects in munication skills is another posthe workplace as well. It is simply itive to experiencing group work. improbable that everyone assigned Conflict is likely to occur at some to a project at work will be perfect, point, stemming from the unique and experiencing similar inconsisopinions or viewpoints of different tency in school prepares oneself for people. Conflict forces people to these circumstances. resolve the issues at hand for the

CON

Group projects not effective Collaborative environments, those who deserve otherwise be like school, often promote group reproached and penalized for the work as a necessary life skill. Unfailure of others? fortunately, the idea of group work There is also the problem of overoften strays from its ideals, and its bearing members. These people effectiveness differs in are stubborn, unwilling operation within various to compromise to a great settings. Many things extent, and not afraid to can factor into making blindly criticize everygroup work a dream, but one else. With this permore often it becomes an son involved, group work utter nightmare. essentially turns into a Group work is widely dictatorship. Eventually, disliked because it often the other group memresults in unequal work bers’ dissatisfaction will distribution, with everymorph into a virus of one ultimately achieving negative emotions that RYANNA the same result. Stucould be transferred to LUI dents are most familiar personal relationships with this concept. Some and be potentially damaging.

Conversely, working inde...working alone pendently comes with a myriad of benefits that make matters conveensures f lexibili- nient and time-saving. Waiting for one person to complete his or her ty and guarantees part for large-scale projects, especially if one component can only be full authority. Be started after a teammate finishes, places the entire team into a vulyour own boss. nerable position. So many things could go wrong. Someone might encounter an emergency that hinteam members make great effort ders him or her from contributing, to invest time and resources into and the whole project would be a group project; however, their halted. For work that requires the teammates might be slackers who presence of all members, conflictare not concerned in the slightest ing schedules could be an issue that with the project outcome, even if would inhibit them from agreeing it means projecting those conse- on a meeting time. Members could quences onto their hardworking have conflicting visions, and each counterparts. This is cruel and one would most likely have to unfair; team members who do care compromise a section to satisfy about the project are burdened the others, resulting in slight diswith immense stress and addi- content among everyone involved. tional work. The situation is wors- However, working alone ensures ened when everyone is punished flexibility and guarantees full auin the same manner. Why should thority. Be your own boss.

OPINIONS

JUNE 2019

Biking an enjoyable way to save the earth Biking is one of the fundamental transportation. methods people use to get around, Global warming is upon us, and but it has taken a sharp drop in if we don’t do anything soon, the popularity due to “more efficient” effects will be unsurmountable. methods such as cars, buses, or According to the National Aeroservices like Uber. The nautics and Space Adproblem is that too many ministration (NASA), people take such options global warming is at a for granted, leading to stage where regardless the extreme problems of what we do, Earth will we know today: environnever be able to recovmental concern from an er completely. A good excess of carbon release, solution to this? Cutting a growing number of down on the amount people with obesity in of carbon emissions part from a lack of exerthrough biking of course. cise, and negative effects Biking is a cheaper and ADARSH on the human psyche. much more eco friendly BURELA The solution to all of method of travel, prothis? Getting off our ducing zero carbon dibutts and pedaling around for a bit! oxide compared to the 4.6 metric According to the most recent Na- tons of carbon dioxide an average tional Health and Nutrition Exam- passenger car will produce each ination Survey, research has shown year. You would also avoid the inthat during the years of 1999 to creasing cost of gas for cars if you 2015, the obesity rate of teenagers were to choose biking over cars and in America has gone from around the such. Sounds like a win win, 14 to nearly 19 percent, increasing just at the cost of moving your legs by 5 whole percent. In adults, it is for a bit. even worse going from 30 to 40 All of that is fine and well; the percent. Biking could help to al- earth is great, and I don’t care leviate the rates of obesity in both too much about how fat I am, adults and teenagers by providing what will biking really do for me a healthy and active method of as an individual, I’m sure you’re

asking. There has been research done by the University of Buffalo that shows that simply pedaling around can bring joy to the rider.

Crazy, right? Traffic is terrible, anyone who has stepped foot into a car knows that, but with biking you can avoid all of that. Exercising is known to be a stress reliever, releasing dopamine in your brain and reducing the anxiety that teenagers occasionally have.

Now the penultimate factor; how does biking affect your safety? People occasionally state that in a car, there is a barrier between the driver and the collision, so it should therefore be safer, not to mention the safety precaution of air bags.

However, 22,351 people had accidents in passenger vehicles in America during 2017 compared to the 783 cyclist accident according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

On the other hand, more than half of bike accidents are due to drivers anyway, so reducing the amount of cars on the road would help decrease the number of injuries.

Biking simply has too many benefits for short distance travelling than other land transport, so give it a shot, and pedal around a bit.

AP test pre-administration wastes time The administration did a fan- ty. This didn’t happen. tastic job of getting AP Statistics The AP Statistics exam began afstudents into the testing area in a ter 1 pm on May 16, over one hour quick and ordered manner. Com- after the official starting time. It is pared to my past experiences with the duty of the proctor to maintain AP exams, students were able to be exam security and not allow the seated and ready for the exam rel- exam to begin after the possible atively quickly. Considering that start time. If the proctor knew bethe AP World History exam went forehand that the statistics exam over time by an hour, the adminis- would not be able to begin before trators did the best they 1 pm, the proctor should could in getting students have contacted the Colin as quickly as possible. lege Board and received There are, however, confirmation before bemany concerns with the ginning the exam. integrity of the test. On What’s concerning is exam day, students are that the proctor told sturequired to sign their dents to mark the start answer sheet, indicating exam time as 12 pm and that they are aware of, begin the exam. What and agree to, all of the also comes as a shock is policies and procedures that no student pointed DEVYN discussed in the 2018-19 out the time and marked NGUYEN Bulletin for AP Students in 12 pm. Of course, I do and Parents. not know what all stuOne of the exam policies listed dents did, but many students I have states the exam may begin only up talked with have told me that they to one hour after the official start marked in 12 pm as their start time. time. If the exam is offered at an Although the students are partly incorrect time, the proctor should at fault, the blunder is mainly the not start the test, and students proctor’s. Students should not have should refuse to take the exam and entered the testing area an hour contact the Educational Testing after the official start time, the Service’s Office of Testing Integri- exam should not have begun after

the listed times, and the proctor should not have told students to mark the the start time as 12 pm.

It seems to be a recurring event that the AP World History exam goes over time and stalls the AP Statistics exam. The big problem is nothing being changed to fix the time management. If the administration knows that the AP World History exam will take too long, the exam should be held in a different room, or more efficient proctoring should be administered.

I must clarify that the proctors do try to act in the favor of the students while maintaining exam security as best as possible. However, if the same problem happens every year and there is no effort to fix it, there is not much leeway to give the administration. Just because it was done in the past multiple times without consequences does not make it acceptable for the administration to tell students to mark in 12 pm and begin the test late.

If exam security is not properly maintained, the College Board is eligible to cancel or postpone exam scores, or have students retest. More information on proctor duties can be found in the 2018-19 AP Coordinator’s Manual.

Romance language classes inadequate Bonjour. Hola. Ni hao. Annyeo- verb tense that had been discussed ng. These four greetings represent was the indicative present. While the different languages that are knowledge of the tense lets one currently available for students to speak about a number of things, it take at MHS. While the diversity also greatly limits one’s ability to in language offerings should be communicate, and after a full year commended, unfortunately, the of class is it that unreasonable to quality of the courses themselves expect students to be more knowltends to be rather poor. With the edgeable? There are also numerous current world that we classes where by the end live in constantly growof the year, only around ing more interconnecthalf of the total content ed, it is truly lamentable of the textbook is covthat our school does such ered, exemplifying the a subpar job of educating department-wide slow its students in foreign pace of curriculum. languages. In this piece, At the same time, the I want to comment on textbook often stricttrends I have witnessed ly defines the materipersonally, in addition al that is discussed in to what I have heard class, which leads to two from peers about their separate issues. First, it ISHRAK RAMZAN respective experiences. meant that a lot of the My first and strongest content or vocabulary gripe with how foreign we learned about was languages are taught at MHS is the frankly, not that practical. Instead sluggish pace at which content and of learning about relevant things, topics are proceeded through. To like what to do in an emergency, name prominent examples, in both or the casual jargon of a region, the Spanish I and French I class- weeks were spent learning how to es, by the end of the year the only talk about largely frivolous things

such as camping. The second problem was that such reliance and fixation on the textbook, combined with the painfully slow progression through said textbook, meant that having a teacher teach the class was rather superfluous.

Learning another language should be based upon interactions with other humans. As such, it would do a great deal of benefit if classes emphasized more casual listening and speaking, as much of what one does with language is communicate with others.

Finally, I would like to point out that a fair bit of blame for the poor foreign language education at MHS lies with the student population.

There is definitely a significant amount of student apathy towards foreign language in general, stemming from a wide variety of sources which need not be delved into here.

However, teachers also constantly capitulate to students, catering to the lowest denominator, proving a major obstacle to moving through content. A class should not spend over a month merely reviewing the same grammar point repeatedly.

JUNE 2019

EDITOR I A L : The Opinion of The Union

SAT adversity score dehumanizing

On May 16, the College Board announced its plans to implement what many refer to as an “adversity score.” The score will take into account factors such as high school quality and the poverty levels and crime rates of the student’s locale.

Adversity is qualifiable, not quantifiable. What is the College Board that it should be able to quantify adversity? A minority student living in a wealthier suburban area going to a top high school can still be beaten and viciously bullied by her peers. A white upper-middle class student can still have an abusive, alcoholic parent.

The College Board must do what it can to stay relevant, and it knows this. Despite the test’s purported goal of predicting college success, high school GPA is proved to be a more accurate predictor than the SAT—a study by the Urban Institute has found that, “The bottom line is that high school grades represent a more useful conceptual frame for college readiness than test scores do.”

Through its College Board

Search program, student data contributed by test-takers may be sold for 45 cents per name.

The College Board charges exorbitant prices for every test, leaving schools and states to foot the bill for underprivileged students. Despite its tax-exempt non-profit status, the College Board reported an annual income of 37 million dollars to the IRS in 2016. If the College Board so believes in equity, the introduction of an adversity score—another piece of data that it could potentially sell—is an odd way of showing it, in the face of the price barrier it introduces to college admission.

The new adversity score system is an admission that the SAT is not equitable, and yet it simultaneously highlights and fails to address the staggering inequity that underlies the college admissions process itself, that wealthier families are predominantly disposed to success on the exam. The unfairness is inherent to the SAT. Ultimately, the initiative addresses a symptom—ineq-

THE UNION

EDITORIAL

uity—but not the cause—the test-taking industry itself.

The question of how one addresses and overcomes adversity is a near-ubiquitous prompt on college admissions applications—“The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?” is a prompt on the Common Application and a similar prompt is present on the UC application. Essays addressing these prompts are more reflective of a given student’s hardship than a mere number would ever be. If there is a prominent, superior system of determining adversity, why should the College Board have the right to further transform students into numbers?

Given the SAT’s inadequacy in both assessment and the inadequacy of its proposed solution for inequity, why should it exist? The test-taking industry must be put to an end.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

U NION The

S T U D E N T V O I C E O F M I L P I TA S H I G H

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S TA F F Loan-Anh Pham Luke Ren

Editor -In -Chief Editor -In -Chief

Kirk Tran

News Editor

Ginnie Lo

A sst. News Editor

Eric de Guzman Alana Penn

Op -Ed Editor

Ashley Chen Alexander Phan

Features Editor A sst. Features Editor

A sst. Op -Ed Editor

Whitney Tran Nathan Thai

Sports Editor A sst. Sports Editor

Andrew Dinh Kelly Nguyen

Lifestyle Editor A sst. Lifestyle Editor

Stop sharing and trusting fake news on social media Over the past two months, we’ve noticed a rise in fake news being spread on Instagram. These posts provide no context and are often false.

A popular example of this are police brutality videos. These videos provide no description on why the police are arresting the suspect, but instead assume the police is in the wrong for assaulting someone without reason.

If you’re put under arrest, you have

no right to resist, and bystanders have no right to interfere. It’s ludicrous when we see a video of a mob of bystanders swarming a cop arresting one person. The cops will undoubtedly push the students away with force, by all means necessary. Bystanders and viewers constantly find any excuse to push their racist, sexist, and/ or any other agenda. This violence is not a result of police selection, but stupidity and ignorance.

A reason why these are so popular are because people are susceptible to what they first read. Instead of re-

lying on the caption of the video for one’s information, one can do a quick Google search to find exactly how the police took appropriate protocol... ...There are countless examples of fake news circulated on social media, and it is up to you to differentiate reality and deception.

Ethan Maruyama Tristan Nguyen Class of 2022 Edited for length. See the whole letter at mhstheunion.com.

Maansi Maskai Neval Mulaomerovic Melissa Nunes

Co -Copy Editor Co -Copy Editor A sst. Copy Editor

Facilities to eat unsatisfactory To the Editor, I would like to address a concern that I have at Milpitas High School. I believe that our school does not have the proper facilities for students to each lunch at. Everyday during lunch, I can see people sitting in unpleasant places such as on the dirty floor or on a dirty platform near trees. In order to solve this issue, I propose that we should have more lunch tables and

keep more rooms open for students to eat in.

People may say that many rooms are already open and that our school does not have enough space for more tables. Although that is true, I still disagree with part of that. Even though many rooms are still open for students, none of them are ever completely full and many times, students are hesitant to walk into an unfamiliar classroom to eat lunch. Therefore,

the school should publicize more that students are welcome to eat in any teacher’s room. This will make the students feel more welcome... ...Having said this, I hope that the school will take action on this issue.

Sincerely, Kush Brahmbhatt Class of 2022

Theodore Do Maira Ramos

Web Editor A sst. Web Editor

Vivian Tsang Paul Chon

P hoto Editor A sst. P hoto Editor

We can combat climate change Dear Editor, Everywhere I turn, I see plastic spoons, plastic forks, plastic cups, and so much more plastic (and styrofoam and paper). Advocating for change within the government and its laws is difficult. As difficult as it is to overturn laws, it is equally as or more difficult to pass progressive laws regarding switching to cleaner energy and putting tighter restric-

tions on pollution. Living in the Bay Area bubble, and even more, living in the bubble of students labeled “AP nerds” and “tryhards” maybe contributes heavily to the privilege (and to my chagrin, snobbiness) I have to be able to speak out and advocate for action against climate change. Many people may be too busy putting food on the table for their families or making ends meet to care about problems that seem intangible in the present

moment. But it’s these families that climate change will disproportionately affect the most! So, even if purchasing reusable items seems expensive in the moment, the long term benefits are so much better. ..

Sincerely, Lisa Yan Class of 2019

On recent abortion legislation Dear Editor, Nearly all of the United States have some form of abortion law dictating when a mother can and cannot have an abortion... ...These laws are frankly harming more than doing good from my perspective. While the argument that all life is precious and should be saved has merit, I believe that saving one life should not be at the expense of another’s. The woman carrying the child should be able to decide if she wants to carry the child to term, by her own choice. Her options should not be limited by the circumstances of the pregnancy, and should certainly not be limited by the people that have little expertise in this particular field... ...Ohio state Rep. John Becker seeks to expand with the “heartbeat bill” by

including ectopic pregnancies in the bill. Ectopic pregnancies occur when the fertilized egg is implanted outside of the uterus. At this point, the fertilized egg can grow and damage nearby organs of the mother. This can cause hemorrhaging and potentially death. Rep. John Becker believes that the egg can be transferred to the uterus from its incorrect positioning, although more than a few gynecologists disagree. They say that the procedure cited in the bill is a work of, “science fiction” and that the technology required for said procedure hasn’t been developed yet. .. ...So why is it that people who might not know the slightest thing about a pregnancy, or contraception, or even conception, get to determine a woman’s right to an abortion. What if, across the board, women were given the right to an abortion at any stage

of the pregnancy? What if she had access to that procedure regardless of the circumstance of the pregnancy? A pregnancy does not determine if the mother is emotionally stable enough to raise a child. A pregnancy does not determine if the mother is financially stable enough to support a child. A pregnancy does not determine if the mother is mature enough to nurture a child. If denied access to an abortion, could it not also be said that it could potentially do more damage than if the mother had had the option of an abortion?

So what would happen if we gave women the right to choose?

Amber Chow Class of 2022

Edited for length. See the whole letter at mhstheunion.com.

Edited for length. See the whole letter at mhstheunion.com.

Edited for length. See the whole letter at mhstheunion.com.

3

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4

THE UNION

JUNE 2019

FEATURES

Students attend out-of-state colleges

By Ashley Chen

Why do so many students hesitate to apply to out-of-state colleges? In answering this question, Seniors Andrew Phung, Malia Lim, Jonathan Gao, and Avani Tamhankar shared their reasons as to why they decided to attend an out-of-state college.

Phung committed to University of Portland, a private university in Oregon, Phung said. During his visit to the school, he got to listen to professors in his field of study talk about how committed they are to their classes and how they help students get internship opportunities, Phung said.

“I applied to this school because one of my friends goes there and she talked about how close-knit the community is, how easy it is to get classes because it’s not as big of a school, and how helpful the professors are,” Phung said.

“They prioritize your needs as opposed to a public school where you’re on your own.”

He is in the pre-physical therapy path with plans to become a physical therapist, Phung said.

He received the President’s Scholarship, a merit scholarship, for $25,000 a year, Phung said.

It will be difficult leaving California since he is going to be in a different environment and cul-

ture, Phung said. This may be a reason why many students hesitate to go to out-of-state, other than cost, he said.

Lim chose to commit to University of Hawaii at Mānoa for similar reasons as Phung. She is excited to learn how to surf and be independent, she added.

“I applied for nursing,” Lim said. “There’s this test you have to take called the NCLEX [or National Council Licensure Examination], and [the university’s] pass rate was really high.”

Gao chose to attend Texas A&M University because they have a good engineering program, Gao said. His admission was the first one he received this year, he commented.

He is considering learning computer science and joining a club to play football for fun, Gao said. In fact, Texas A&M has a really good football team, he continued. “[I am] excited for the college experience and I really like the atmosphere of a large campus,” Gao said. “[In the future,] I think I’ll pick up the Texas accent and hopefully get smarter and more mature.”

Tamhankar committed to Arizona State University because she really likes the atmosphere, Tamhankar said. The programs that she was offered seemed like they

were going to help her through medical school and to become a physician, she continued.

She was accepted to the honors program, Tamhankar said.

The main benefit is smaller class sizes, and they have ties with the Mayo Clinic and companies that are specific to the honors program, she continued. “[As to why some students may not want to apply out of state,] I think it’s the fear of having to go out of state, fly, and then commute,” Tamhankar said. “There’s also tuition problems; if you’re not going to get a scholarship, then it’s not worth the money going outside.”

When asked what advice they would give to students applying to college next year, they shared these thoughts: “Be open to whatever comes your way,” Phung said. “It doesn’t matter where you go as much as the quality of your education and how you utilize the tools that are available to you.”

Start your FAFSA early, Lim advised. “Goodness, I’m still dealing with it right now for loans,” Lim said. “You should listen to your parents on where you’re going, especially if they’re paying for you, but in all reality it’s your choice, your decision, it’s your life. So don’t let other opinions make your decision for you.”

CHARLENE YANG | THE UNION

Seniors share their summer travel plans

By Vivian Tsang

Many seniors have exciting trips planned after their graduation. After four years of high school, who doesn’t deserve to take two to three months off for themselves? Seniors Madison Blume, Vivian Pham, and Brian To are interested in traveling to Japan and Europe this summer.

Senior Madison Blume will be traveling to Japan and Hawaii.

Her family has been looking forward to the trip for many years, she said. Her family makes effort to plan a vacation every year, according to Blume. However, this trip will be more special.

“For the past other summers, we did travel to other places that we wanted to before,” Blume said.

“This is kind of a bigger trip, so it’s a good way for my parents to give back to us after we graduate.”

She will be visiting more popular sites in Japan, including temples and other tourist attractions, Blume said.

After graduation, she is excited to go to college at CSU Long Beach, Blume said. “I am very excited to move on to the next chapter of my life. I will be leaving my hometown to continue my education.”

Senior Vivian Pham will be going to Europe with her friends through a program associated with the school “EF Educational Tours.” The program allows you to plan out your trip across the country with a group of people, according to Pham.

Pham enjoys traveling to new places, she said. She hopes to eat more food and take photos of her adventures. “We’re going to visit The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France and England,” Pham said. “It’s about 15 days and we’re going to stay at one city to the next.”

“I’m going to Europe after graduation, because I thought it would be a nice thing to do before my friend group’s schedule becomes busy,” Pham said. “We’ve always wanted to travel together and relax together.”

After graduation, she is most excited to have more freedom and opportunities to meet new people. “Traveling is important to me, because I get to see different cultures across the world,” Pham said. “I like to explore new things and see how different products are from each country. ” Senior Brian To will be visiting Japan for the second time, he said. This time, he will be touring

Tokyo with a friend.

“I went to Japan with my family last year, and I absolutely loved it,” To said. “I’m going to specifically Tokyo because last year we went to a lot of different places in Japan but I feel like I didn’t get to spend as much time in Tokyo as I wanted.”

He planned the trip through Expedia with the help of his parents, To said. He has talked extensively to his friends and parents about the flights, hotel, and locations they would visit.

“I feel like it is the perfect time to go on a senior trip with friends before people go their separate ways to their respective universities,” To said. “After graduation is also a time when things are relatively calm and there isn’t too much to stress about, so I thought I’d take advantage of the the time before my first fall college semester starts.”

To plans on exploring the city more, going to places like the Tokyo Tower, Nezu Shrine, Akihabara. He also looks forward to tasting Japan’s cuisine.

“I’m most excited to relax after a grueling four years of high school and hang out with all of my friends before we all go off to college,” To said.

MAIRA RAMOS | THE UNION

From left to right (faces seen), Freshman Paige Hutchison, Senior Tori Sykes, and Junior Swetha Nair act out a scene from “Five Stages.”

Thespians to fly to Scotland, set to perform at the Fringe

By Maira Ramos

Theater Director Kaila Schwartz and a company of seven MHS students will fly to Scotland this August to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world, Schwartz said. The month long festival features around 300 different performances each day, and the MHS students will be performing four times, she said.

The students will be performing an original piece titled “Five Stages,” Schwartz said. During their brainstorming sessions last fall when they came up with ideas for their script, everybody was interested in the five stages of grief, she said.

“I know that it sounds really dark, gloomy, and depressing but it really isn’t because each stage of grief doesn’t always manifest through tears,” Schwartz said.

“We’re showing how grief and loss are dealt with differently.

When we think of grief, we immediately think of somebody dying but actually it can be more than that.”

The play will be a devised work, meaning that it doesn’t have a linear plot and will be a collection of shorter pieces that are connected by an overarching theme, Junior Megan Hutchison said. They are still in the writing phase, so they’re not ready to perform yet, though they will be, she said.

“I can tell that we’re all going to be nervous,” Hutchison said. “But more excited than anything.”

Each person going on the trip wrote two to three pieces about his or her own experiences with the five stages of grief, which are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, Senior Erik Hart said. The pieces were all put together to create one uniform work, he said.

“This is like a culmination of all the knowledge I’ve gained from taking theater four years in a row,” Hart said. “[It led] up to this one event to test my skills in a country that’s way different than what I’m used to, in a place where I can show off to the millions of people that show up.”

The writing process involved a

lot of personal time, Senior Tori Sykes said.

“We really got to channel our feelings on paper,” Sykes said.

For those who are planning to go into the acting business, the opportunity to perform in this festival means the world, Hutchison said. It makes them memorable when they audition for different parts, she said.

“Some of us are lucky enough to say that we’re trying to go in the business, and the business is hard,” Hutchison said. “But if you have something like this on your resume, it’s just like a one-up for you.”

MHS’s Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) has donated a total of $1,050 to go toward the trip, Schwartz said. The total cost of the trip is $50,000, she said.

“We have been trying multiple means of raising money,” Schwartz said. “We’ve had a GoFundMe campaign, we have asked people for financial support, we have gone out to solicit donations, restaurant fundraisers, we [had] a dinner auction.

We’ve also had donut sales and all of the concession sales this year from all of my performances went to the Fringe [Festival].”

Representing Milpitas on an international stage will be a memorable experience for everyone, including herself, Schwartz said.

They will also be working with professional technicians and professional equipment.

“We are creating, producing, designing, and performing a show of our very own,” Schwartz said, “Which I think accurately represents who we are as a school and community.”

Junior Swetha Nair didn’t think that her parents would allow her to go on the trip because they tell her to spend her summers doing activities that would help her academically, Nair said.

“They’re giving me validation for how much I care about theater, and they’re saying that theater is a valid thing to love, which wasn’t a message I was getting from them in the past,” Nair said.

“I’m so glad to be able to go on this trip.”

JUNE 2019

THE UNION

FEATURES

5

‘Juniors’ earn credits to graduate early

By Andrew Dinh

Juniors Julia Atayan, Selena Berger, and Esha Sandhu will be assimilated into the graduating class of 2019. This set of students invested extra time outside of MHS to complete credits through community college classes to graduate early.

Sandhu always dreamed of graduating early, but she never thought it would eventually become her reality, Sandhu said.

Taking extra college classes led to credits towards a high school degree accumulating quickly, she said.

“When I tell people, they get really shocked. They think I’m super smart, but it’s actually not that hard,” Sandhu said. “It’s not a lot of stress. I wanted to get out of the house, get some freedom out there, and that really motivated me.”

Graduating early takes careful planning and consideration, Sandhu said. The counselors offered a lot of support throughout the process, she added.

“I remember the day I first talked to [Counselor] Nakamoto.

He looked at all my credits, my classes, my GPA and everything, and we made a college plan,” Sandhu said. “He was really supportive. I knew I could always go to him anytime I needed help.”

Berger had a different experience that ultimately guided her to graduate early. After failing classes in her freshman and sophomore years, her sister offered an alternative, Berger said. This alternative involved online classes and extra time, Berger said.

“High school really just wasn’t my thing. I never really liked high school,” Berger said. “My older sister brought up the idea of graduating early, and I said ‘Yes!’ I had classes to make up, I had junior classes to focus on, and senior classes to do. It was just really time consuming.”

Much like Berger, Atayan did not want to be in high school, Atayan said. After talking with her counselor, she developed a goal to graduate early, Atayan said.

“I took a math class, and I was ahead on credits. My counselor told me to take an elective during my sophomore year fall, also

I took two classes last summer,” Atayan said. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was able to spread the workload so I wasn’t taking a bunch of classes during the semester.”

Graduating early comes with pros and cons, Sandhu said. It can rush everything and create stress, but getting out a year early also comes with new privileges, she added.

“If I were to go back in time and make that decision [again], I would probably not do it again. I would not want to choose to graduate early,” Sandhu said. “I mean, I guess I’m excited, but I feel like if I did another year, I probably would have gotten into a better school.”

Atayan will be studying biological sciences at Mission College with the intention to transfer to a four-year university through the Transfer Admission Guarantee program. Berger will be studying finance at San Jose City College, also with the goal to transfer to a four-year university. Sandhu will be pursuing the pre-nursing track at San Francisco State University in the fall.

Poll: Do students recognize admin?

RYANNA LUI | THE UNION

112 MHS students were randomly polled, with 28 students from each grade. Students were asked to name the principal and the six assistant principals. Students were also asked whether they recognized those administration members’ faces, but were not required to name them. Misnamed staff were not counted in the poll.

Taiwanese exchange students visit MHS

By Jonathan Tran Devyn Nguyen

Several Taiwanese students came to MHS in an exchange program to experience American schooling and culture for one week. Taiwanese Exchange Students Yu-Wei Chang, known as Vivian, and Alan Lu talked about the differences between Taiwan and America. They also offered their thoughts on MHS and how it compares to the schooling in Taiwan at both the high school and college levels.

Q: How has your time at MHS been so far?

Vivian: I found the schools and the classes to be pretty cool and I thought that they’re better than my Taiwanese classes.

Alan: I think it’s okay, the learning atmosphere is okay. [It is my] second time in America, [and the] experience is about the same.

Q: Are there any major differences in the schools of America and Taiwan?

Vivian: My Taiwanese schooling is pretty good and I’m doing well. In Taiwan, most teachers teach more by the book and what exactly is inside of the textbook, but over here I see teachers do-

ing more diverse things to teach their students. For example, I went to a biology period and the teacher actually showed them a video. I’ve never seen that in Taiwan, teachers showing a video to teach. Also, listening to the class and watching how the students did their basic activities. There’s a lot more freedom in what the students choose and what they do. I thought that was a really big difference compared to my schooling in Taiwan and I really see it.

Alan: You guys don’t have uniforms. You guys participate a lot, more than us. We don’t raise our hands. [Taiwanese teachers] expect a lot of participation.

Different schools have different rules, our school, 40 students to each teacher. We always move as a group, 40 kids. We separate into three groups, science, math and language, and I’m in the language group. [The math is] really different from Taiwan, the teachers here only talk [for] about five minutes. The levels of math are about the same.

Q: What’s your favorite part about America?

Vivian: I like America’s basic atmosphere. The general vibe of the school over here is different

from the vibe I get at my school, and I really like it. One of the main things that I notice is that in Taiwan, there is more pollution and trash on the ground, but I see that your campus is nice and clean. This gives me a really different vibe in the one that Taiwan gives me and the one that America gives me.

Q: Have you had any problems adjusting to the differences?

Vivian: In coming to America, I haven’t had any real problems in adjusting.

Alan: [Adjusting] is not only ok, it’s great!

Q: What’s the college admissions process like in Taiwan?

Alan: We have interviews with the professors, it is not so scary.

Q: Is going to university an expectation of every kid when they turn 18?

Alan: Yes it is like, the degree, you must have the degree if you want a good job.

Q: Is there anything you’re excited to try while here?

Vivian: I want to make a lot of American friends.

Alan: We’re going to go try InN-Out!

CHARLENE YANG | THE UNION

Departing staff members share cherished memories

By Ginnie Lo Neval Mulaomerovic

Four teachers are leaving after the school year ends, Principal Francis Rojas said. Athletics Directors Jeff Lamb, Math Teacher Elena Sherbakov, and Math Teacher Jenn Wang are retiring, whereas English Teacher Ari Cohen is moving, Rojas continued.

Lamb is retiring after 42 years in the school district, Lamb said.

“I’m 65 years old and been working here for a long time,” Lamb said. “I live a mile from MHS, so I’ll still be here.”

His accomplishments include being selected as the California Coaches’ State Volleyball Coach of the year (CSABA) and State Athletic Director of the Year, Lamb said. “My daughter playing volleyball for me was a great time, and my son Steven graduated a year ago, so it has always been a family thing,” Lamb said.

Now is the right time to let someone else take the role of volleyball coach and Athletics Director, Lamb said. “Leaving is bittersweet,” he stated. “I may help out, but it’s somebody else’s turn.”

Sherbakov plans to stay in the Bay Area and take care of her plants and animals at her farm. “[I] became a teacher [at MHS from] volunteering a lot at school as a parent, and so parenting made me become a teacher,” Sherbakov said.

Sherbakov has been teaching math, voluntarily teaching Physics C on Saturdays, and substituting for Spanish for 20 years,

beginning in 2002, she said.

Sherbakov hopes that other teachers will not be overwhelmed with work in her absence. “I will be available to help,” she said.

“That’s my message.”

Wang has been teaching for 14 years. She felt that areas of her life were calling louder and she had to follow her heart, she said.

“I plan to clean up my house, travel, and devote more time to my family,” Wang said. “I want to get involved in current issues like climate change and equality.”

Wang has two masters degrees in math, she said. She decided to teach at MHS because she did not want to teach math and science at a different school, Wang added.

“I like how diverse the school is and how the kids here are nice,” Wang stated. “[I want to tell future students] to own your education, apply yourself, and realize your potential.”

Cohen is leaving after three years teaching at MHS. His departure is due to high housing prices in Silicon Valley and his desire to join his girlfriend in San Diego, he said.

“I am going to continue teaching where I end up going,” Cohen said. “I do sometimes worry if I’ll be able to do it anywhere but Milpitas, but I’m going to try it out and see what happens.”

After being both a student and teacher at MHS, every day carries something special, he said. “The people here made this place my home for so long,” he said. “No matter where I’m at, this place is going to be my home.”

Go out while the sun’s out

By Charlene Yang

With the end of the school year coming up, you might be looking for something to do in the summer. There are plenty of things to do: traveling, hanging out with friends, or just lying around at home. But if any of those don’t interest you, there are always some more productive things you can do. Here are some suggestions: 1. Get a summer job If you are looking for some extra money, have the time this summer, and are at least 14 years old, you can get a job somewhere.

There are a lot of fast food places and milk tea shops around the area that you can apply for a job at. Of course, you’ll have to get a work permit if you’re not 18 yet, so if you want a summer job and aren’t 18 yet, remember to get that permit at the College and Career Center on campus.

2. Apply for an internship If you don’t really care about money and want some experience in the field you’re planning to go into for a career, then take on an

internship. Sure, you likely won’t get any money from it but at least you have the experience to go off of. You can search online for internships and apply to whichever ones you find appealing.

3. Volunteer There’s also the option of simply volunteering for an organization over the summer. You could do that for multiple reasons, whether it’s getting community service hours or just doing it to help out in the community. There are a variety of things you can do as volunteer work as well, from tutoring kids to helping out at the library. Either way, it’s still a worthwhile thing to do.

4. Take a class Another thing you can do over the summer is one that most MHS students do: take a class over the summer. You could take a community college class during summer break, but if you do, it’s better to take a class not offered at the school. This way, you can gain new experiences from a class you would have never taken if you stuck to high school classes.

6

COLLEGE DECISIONS

THE UNION

California

Academy of Art University

Victoria Sykes

Cal State East Bay

Rosemary Bongolan Juanitas Jasmine De Guzman Jennifer Lam Natalie Lata Rahma Lorabi Devyn Nguyen Trinity Paw

Cal State San Luis Obispo

Alexis Academia Salma Ibrahim Harsha Koradia Jaemynne Mendoza Eniya Jordan Newman Darlene Nguyen Reyna Tagle Jonathan Tran

Thu Nguyen Jayaditya Sisodia

Chabot College

Cal State Fullerton

Maic Dalevic Abidog Dorcas Nyantika Jasmine Chi Camila Fazal Allyson Hom Julian Navales Jennifer Nhu Brandon Tu

Chapman University

Arielle Edora Mackenzie Espinosa Austin Espinoza Alex Fang Jerzon Franco Jasie Galicia Lares Alani Garcia Mozes Gurrola Ryan Ho David Hoang Yen Gia Hong Anna Kaenjak Christine Lau Brenda Le Aretha Liev Ryanna Lui Christopher Mirador Jeremy Josh Moncada Edrian Justine Munoz Ziadin Navarro Amy Ngo Annie Nguyen Jason Nguyen Jimmy Nguyen Kathleen Nguyen Nancy Nhat Nguyen Tran Nguyen Tiffany Phan Maricar Ramos Danielle Rodriguez Angeleen Rosario Rhea-Mae Sangalang Ivy Tam Angel Tejeda Ledezma Ferica Ting Duy Tran Ha Truong Vi Truong Albert Van Preston Venenciano Darienne Watson Cassandra Wong

Evergreen Valley College

Cal State Long Beach Allison Feraren Megan Ngo

Cogswell University

Cathy Dang Hira Farooq Mimi Nguyen

Foothill College Mary Jayne Arce Madison Blume Andrew Phan Alexander Tu

Cal State Maritime Academy

Gauresh Hariprabhu Ricky Huynh Denise Joice Janolo Mariza Martinez Alexah Mims Angie Nguyen Johnny Nguyen Kevin Nguyen Tommy Nguyen Kim Panaligan Dayle Parinas Tyler Jaymin Reyes Christian Ruiz Gisselle Santana Arman Singh Prabhjot Singh Dylan Sualua Jimmy Ta Brandon Tran Antonio Umana Lopez Julia Van Navya Virk Angelique Wei Daw Wong Yared Zewdu

Ohlone College

Autumn Alvarez Jacob Boghos Brandon Borjal Sage Caddenhead Angel Cambia Robert Enriquez Melinda Garcia Jason Hoang Cheyanna Jimenez Anne Caitlin Koo Jacklynn Lahann Kenneth Lam Phuong Le Anthony Ngo Dana Nguyen Tien Nguyen Ashley Noory Hana Noory Dain Ramirez Vilchis Maria Salud Kayla Tobias Timothy Vu

Carl Cerezo Jermaine Afoa Noah Rodriguez Jake Sua

Kathy Chen Jazzilynne Clark Irish Rhea Edusada Arianna Garcia Raven Hayes Harpreet Lally Jacob Vargas Alvin Wei

Eli Bryan Mecinas Cruz

Sacramento City College

Las Positas College

College of the Canyons

Anjelyna Souza Gonzales

San Diego State University Jaelenn Bumagat Nathan Lee

Danicarl Zarate

Cal Poly Pomona

Mission College Deonte Taylor

De Anza College

Brendan Chai Kathleen Thanh Nguyen

Cal State Sacramento

Chloe Buntaran Kayla Cabana Joshua Cheadle Richard Dang Kimberly Duong Jomar Echaluse

Juan Alegria Adrian Prince Ancheta Julia Atayan Marie Casupanan Gian Cayabyab Mohamed Cherif Evan Colin Jonathan Dinh Kelly Do Jazmine Espinoza

David Chang Louis Miguel de Leon Gurnoor Gill Jacob Hannigan Samantha Herradura Joyie La Wendy Ly Matthew Josh Militante Nimra Naveed Alana Penn Simonida Popovic Esha Sandhu Mitchell Wettenstein Emily Yap

San Joaquin Delta College

Jazmyne Genevee Molina

San Jose City College

Selena Berger Jose Cabrera Lopez Sophia Cuesta Angie Isidro Lopez Isabella Marinas Frank Valdez

San Jose State University

Pacific Union College

Michelle Omari

College of San Mateo

Cal State Monterey Bay

JUNE 2019

Matthew Kyle Mendoza Aavani Sree Vaishnavi Sridhar Tina Tran Whitney Tran Sherry Virk Jason Zheng

San Francisco State University

Kristine April Alteza Chelsea Andrade Maria Rochelle Bantugon Anton Benting Janine Bugayong Alvin Phi Bui Dillon Bui Selina Chan Grace Chang Paul Chon Giuliana D Amore Eloisa Kaye Difuntorum Trina Dinh Ashante Farmer Nicholas Fong Tiffany Giang Josh Gong Sriram Govindan Melissa Griffin Dylan Ha Jenny Thuy Ha Ekta Halani Thi Han Serena Hutt Christine Huynh Diana Huynh Anthony Le Derek Lee Belinda Li Edison Luu Cindy Ma Shaam Madhvani Ayush Maheshwari David Nguyen Dylan Nguyen Michelle Nguyen Thanh Thao Nguyen Tyler Nguyen Julia Peccin Anson Pham Nina Pham Vivian Pham Christy Phan Keiran Pinili Alvin Quach

COLLEGE DECISIONS

JUNE 2019 Ankitha Rajesh Charlize Jheanna Ronquillo Lynda Elizabeth Sadueste Yuki Saito Christian Emmanuel Santos Jessica Shin Jose Gabriel Solis Paul Junver Soriano Ealan Tagle Raphael Tolentino Monique Tran Vu Elaine Tran Kimberly Tran Vivian Tran Amie Trinh Marel Vazquez Jane Vo Kevin Vuong Charlene Yang Fuquan Yu Ali Zaidi May Zin

Santa Clara University

Luke Ren Emily Truong Tejinder Virk Shirley Wu

Clifford Choates

Paul Quinn College

Stephanie Nguyen

Tazhane Watson

New York

Texas A&M University

Calvin La Kelly Nguyen

University of the Pacific Anvi Brahmbhatt Ashley Chen Jonathan Lai Mealaud Mokhtarzad Nisha Porchezhiyan Lisa Yan

UC Merced

Marymount Manhattan College Tamrin Kaur Bains Darren Lee Justin Villanueva

West Valley College

Vinesh Ravuri Andrew Huynh

Patrick Lee Janet Ronquillo Maansi Maskai

UC Berkeley

Heather Gray Jose Perez

UC Riverside

Arizona

Antoine Devictor Nikita Bhagam

Oregon

UC Davis

Sachi Berawala Jocelyn Chan Piyusha Ganju Bhavya Gulati Larry Huang Selina Lima-Guan Maggie Ly Tam Nhu Ngo Jason Vu-Hai Nguyen Mary Kate Taladua Nathan Thai Bao Tran Cindy Trinh

UT Dallas

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Thomas Dvorochkin Kyle Magro Tiffany Peng Anne Vu

Arizona State University

Andrew Dinh Nandini Singh Ronel Solomon Josephine Tai Alan Trinh Vivian Tsang Britney Weng

Kailin Cui

Massachusetts Boston University

UC Los Angeles

7

THE UNION

Utah

Utah State University

University of Oregon Avani Tamhankar Kyle Wu

Colorado

Susanna Rodriguez

Colorado State - Pueblo Alison Nguyen

Washington

University of Portland

Washington State University

Andrew Phung

Fabian Aquino

Tennessee

U.S. Army

UC San Diego Matthew Marciano Clarke Akriti Das Theodore Do Samantha Dvorochkin Chris Ha Joanna Hu Alexander Huey Leon Huynh Kazim Jafri Christina Jung Angela Kim Lan Ngo Anthony Nguyen Edward Nguyen Priyanshi Nigam Smriti Pathania Joel Sajimon Kaiwen Shi Ankita Singh Jimmy Trinh Anthony Vu Claudia Wang Winnie Xian Judy Zhang

UC Irvine

Marissa Gomez

Hawaii

University of Hawaii at Manoa Rohini Gadde Parshva Jain William Kerr Elaine Keung Vincent Le Ishrak Ramzan Christina Tyagi Derek Zhu

UC Santa Barbara

University of Memphis

Katherine Hare Malia Lim

Idaho

BYU- Idaho

Jacquelyn Jones

Texas

U.S. Navy

Austin Community College Junyu Deng Jason Li

UC Santa Cruz

Justine Pia Santiago

Nathan Connor Bettylou Hidalgo

Oishika Barat Eric Gabriel De Guzman Aman Gupta Vincent Ho Sean Patrick Konaka Amy Le Evelyn Le Dan Lee Connor Lingle Sally Nguyen Maira Jennel Ramos

Erin Laguitan

Louisiana

Southern University and A&M College

Shawn Meyer

Baylor University

Greece

AAS College - School of Art & Design

Jerin Sajimon

University of Southern California Mayumi De Guzman

8

THE UNION

JONATHAN TRAN | THE UNION

SPREAD

JUNE 2019

THEODORE DO | THE UNION

LOAN-ANH PHAM | THE UNION

VIVIAN TSANG | THE UNION

LOAN-ANH PHAM | THE UNION

SPREAD

JUNE 2019

VIVIAN TSANG | THE UNION

LOAN-ANH PHAM | THE UNION

JONATHAN TRAN | THE UNION

THE UNION

9

10

THE UNION

LIFESTYLE

JUNE 2019

Clothing rentals a practical option

By Andrew Dinh

Fast fashion and online shopping dominate the modern apparel industry. The younger generation’s environmental awareness and need to have a new outfit for each social media post led to the creation of a new niche within the fashion industry. Much like how Uber and AirBnB offer a rental service for people to share their cars and homes, clothing rental allows people and retailers to share their inventory.

Since 2009, online services like Trunk Club and Rent the Runway have sent boxes of designer clothing home to consumers on a periodic basis. Newfound demand for a rental clothing service, instead of sticking to fast fashion, stems from increasing consumer concerns with sustainability and a desire to present a new outfit in every social media post.

Now, mall retailer Urban Outfitters plans to launch its own clothing rental service, Nuuly.

The service faces competition from other shops like Express, American Eagle, and Ann Taylor, stores which currently offer the service through CaaStle, an online platform for retailers to coordinate rentals.

For $88 a month, Nuuly offers the luxury of picking six new clothing items per month from brands available like Anthropologie and Free People.

These six pieces will be mailed in a reusable bag. Nuuly can eliminate the worry of repeating outfits by ensuring that there are new clothes to rotate through every thirty days. If consumers end up falling in love with a certain clothing article they rented, they have the option to purchase the item and keep it.

For those who may have

concerns about the concept of wearing other people’s clothes, rental services like Nuuly and American Eagle ensure that each garment is thoroughly dry-cleaned before being redistributed. Ironically, however, this leads to greater environmental sustainability concerns because dry-cleaning itself is extremely resource intensive.

Clothing rental is just the latest to emerge in a world progressively moving toward sustainable business models. Fast fashion retailers like H&M and Forever 21 will face competition from these new services. Combining modern youth’s concern with fashion and the environment results in this newfound evolution in the clothing industry.

Information was taken from www.wallstreetjournal.com.

KELLY NGUYEN | THE UNION

Sugar Mama Desserts serves a variety of novelty, unconventional ice cream flavors that give it a unique charm. The Hawaiian Honeymoon (pictured above) swirls caramel, cookie crumbles, and macademia.

Get a sweet fix at Sugar Mama Creamery

By Devyn Nguyen Jonathan Tran

Sugar Mama Desserts, an ice cream shop selling unique and interesting flavors of ice cream, recently opened in Milpitas near the 99 Ranch Market. Sporting flavors such as XXX Bourbon, Saffron Rosewater Pistachio, and Black Sesame Brittle, the shop certainly offers a wide variety of ice cream that you can’t get elsewhere. But weird and different doesn’t always mean better, so are Sugar Mama’s odd flavors even worth the trip?

Yes, yes they are. Sugar Mama has something really special going

on with its store. The flavors, true to their names, are delivered in a delicious, cold scoop of sweetness.

The XXX Bourbon flavor was loaded with alcohol, almost to the point where I could smell it off the ice cream. Also, upon further questioning, apparently the flavor does contain actual bourbon, which is why we were urged to eat it quickly because it melts faster than normal ice cream. I also had a scoop of Hawaiian Honeymoon, a decadent and rich flavor bursting with caramel, cookie crumble, and the earthy taste of macadamia.

This was one of the simplest and safest flavors for me to go with, but it was executed very well. The

variety of textures and swirling flavors made for a very enjoyable eating experience.

The store is very clean, and the workers are all friendly. Upon visiting, we were encouraged to try as many flavors as we liked, and it was certainly nice to be offered these taste tests rather than having to ask for them.

It’s a small difference, but one that I think most customers will appreciate.

To be perfectly honest, the price for the ice cream is a bit high, at six dollars for two small scoops.

Considering the pure novelty to be found in the place, I think the prices are worth it.

High school something to be cherished

By Kelly Nguyen

Enjoy your time in high school.

This may be the most cliché saying ever, but it’s true. Seniors begin to realize this when they only have a month left of school.

Everything you’ve worried about will be trivial and all you can think about is how much you’ll miss the routine of high school. At least that’s how I feel.

One of the most important things I’ve learned is to find your balance. Don’t stay up all night and regret it the next morning.

Don’t neglect your schoolwork, but don’t say no to hanging out with your friends. Don’t shy away from making connections with people, but be careful and choose the right ones. It’s a constant struggle of, “Am I making the right decision?”

The truth is, there is no right or wrong. Everything you do makes you into the person you will become; high school is the best

way to experiment and learn from others.

Carry a positive attitude. I know it can be hard, especially when everything is piling up and you feel as though you have no time. Make time for yourself and take care of yourself. Do things because you want to, and don’t let anyone else influence your decisions. It’s important to realize that everyone goes through their own problems and the spotlight effect, that everyone is judging you, is false.

Don’t look back and regret the opportunities you didn’t take.

This comes in a plethora of forms, whether that be an opportunity in internships or jobs, or simply just exploring a new relationship.

Don’t follow the norm because that’s what your peers are doing; you’ll regret not being the person you want to be. Everyone in high school is trying to figure out who they are and what they want, so you’re not the only one who is

confused and lost.

The only way you can grow is to experience new things. It’s also okay to be alone and shy away from people or opportunities sometimes. It’s just about finding the right balance for you, and what makes you happy.

And with all of that being said, good luck. I’ve had my fair share of bad days in high school, and I would never call it perfect.

However, I’ve also made longlasting friendships and discovered what makes me the best version of myself.

Appreciate the time you have with the people you have and the consistency that high school brings. It’s easier to realize this when you approach senior year, so make it count now. Do something great today. Don’t look back and regret what you should have done.

We’re all scared of what the future holds, but that should never stop us from moving forward.

JUNE 2019

LIFESTYLE

THE UNION

11

Find Huawei alternatives

By Luke Ren

Has your budget Huawei phone just become unusable in the U.S.?

Do you want a quality budget phone in general? Are you looking for a graduation gift that won’t eat out your parents’ bank account?

There are budget phones for every situation, and this is the place to find them.

I want the best budget phone.

Period.

If you want to stay on the cheaper side of phones, the Google Pixel 3a offers midrange performance and an absolute beast of a camera for a magically low price. Being a Google device, the Pixel 3a will also guarantee frequent software updates to maintain the performance of the phone. While storage, memory, and speed are not the phone’s strong points, it offers premium build quality and well-roundedness which earns it the title of king of all budget phones.

I have a little bit more cash to spend.

Samsung opened up their premium market to midrange smartphone consumers with the release of the Samsung Galaxy S10e. The Galaxy S10e offers the most modern processor, operating system, and camera for the price of a midrange smartphone. If you are willing to spend more cash, the Galaxy S10e offers strong value that will persist for the next few years.

I want a fast and smooth experience.

If speed is the game, then OnePlus is the developer.

Nicknamed the “flagship killer,” OnePlus continues to release a

line of high speed and premium quality phones. Whether you step into the midrange market with the OnePlus 7 Pro or settle for the OnePlus 6t, you are almost guaranteed a high quality budget phone.

I just NEED an Apple device now.

Apple released their own budget smartphone to ease the flooding of their markets with wallet-burning premium phones. The iPhone XR offers decent value if you are absolutely craving an Apple device. The iPhone XR provides a strong battery and processor while integrating you into the iOS ecosystem.

I am running low on cash.

If you just need a passable phone to get by each day, the Moto G7 Power offers just that. While you are not getting the same premium look as a lot of other midrange budget phones, the G7 Power provides incredible battery life, decent performance, and upto-date software.

Uh…Someone stole my wallet.

Do you just want a smartphone, preferably one that works in America? The Moto G6 offers more than just functional processing speed and a powerful battery life for under two grand. If you really just want a temporary phone to help you get by until the next flagship device comes out, the G6 is a solid option.

Budget phones come in all shapes and sizes and can provide good value even in the premium smartphone market. The budget phone market will keep growing as long as we continue to demand affordable, high quality smartphones.

MAIRA RAMOS | THE UNION

Cauldron serves unique ice cream flavors, including milk tea flavored ice cream with stars sprinkled on top (left) and s’mores ice cream with crumbled graham cracker pieces and toasted marshmallow fluff (right).

Churn up delicious treats at Cauldron

By Maira Ramos

Cauldron Ice Cream is a new ice cream shop that has recently opened on 1088 East Brokaw Road in San Jose, just outside of Milpitas. This ice cream shop differs from others because of how they make their ice cream— with liquid nitrogen. All the ice cream made at this establishment is made out in the open for all the customers to watch.

Their menu consists of twelve classic and uncommon ice cream flavors, as well as some seasonal flavors, like strawberry shortcake flavored ice cream. They also serve their ice cream in various ways.

You can either keep it traditional with a simple cup or cone or you could also try it with an egg waffle

or in a fluffypuff, which is their take on an ice cream sandwich but with a Japanese fluffy pancake.

I tried the s’mores ice cream with an original flavored egg waffle, which is chocolate ice cream topped with graham crackers and toasted marshmallow fluff.

Though the dessert looked appealing, I was ultimately underwhelmed since it tasted like every other chocolate ice cream.

I also tried the sun, moon, and stars ice cream, which is milk tea flavored with star-shaped sprinkles on top. This light blue ice cream tasted a lot like oolong milk tea and wasn’t too sweet. It was the better of the two. The egg waffles on both ice creams didn’t really add anything special to the dessert, and I wouldn’t order it

again.

I came there on a Sunday night on a rainy day, yet there was still a long line that extended out of the shop. Because the shop is fairly new, a long line should be expected for the next couple of weeks. I waited more than 30 minutes to order, but it was amusing to see the workers make the ice cream. Once ordered, the wait to receive my ice cream was unexpectedly quick, though.

The two desserts that I ordered ended up totaling about 17 dollars, which is pricey for ice cream and not worth it, in my opinion.

However, I would recommend ice cream or dessert lovers to try this place at least once for the unique preparation of the ice cream.

12

THE UNION

JUNE 2019

ENTERTAINMENT

RATING KEY queen in the north drag0ns house lannister the night king littlefinger Music Reviews COURTESY OF MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT

Avengers assemble! Backed by the Wakandan, Sorceror, Ravager, and Asgardian armies, the surviving and revived Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers alike steel themselves for one final effort to save the day.

‘Endgame’ assembles Avengers one last time; film an epic and fulfilling conclusion to an era ing off of the groundwork laid by “Infinity War’s” gut-punching ending, and it definitely delivers on an amazing finale, 3000 times

By Edward Nguyen over. The final battle, featuring the revived heroes and more, is a truly grandiose payoff for all of the Heavy Spoilers Ahead!

“Avengers: Endgame,” the se- heroes’ struggles against the inquel to 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity surmountable odds against them, War” and the 22nd installment in and the presence of almost every the Marvel Cinematic Universe key player throughout the MCU is (MCU), is the culmination of a a sight to behold.

The emotion of this film story arc over 10 years in the is further accentuated by making, surrounding the vilthe remarkable acting. The lain Thanos and the Infinity depth that the main cast Stones. The film focuses on MOVIE displays in their characters the original six Avengers, REVIEW is very necessary, considersupported by Rocket and ing how much development Nebula from the Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as newcom- and history they stand on. Standers Captain Marvel and Ant-Man outs include Jeremy Renner and following a five-year jump from Chris Hemsworth, who expertly “Infinity War” as they vow to do convey the grief of both Hawkeye “whatever it takes” to reverse the and Thor; Paul Rudd, who shows a catastrophic events of “Aveng- serious side to his character Anters: Infinity War,” where Thanos Man; and Robert Downey Jr. as he killed half of all life using the In- brilliantly portrays Tony Stark in Iron Man’s bittersweet ending. finity Stones.

“Endgame” heavily leans on As the sequel to one of the most influential films in popular cul- special effects; however, this is not ture as well as the conclusion to a weakness but rather a strength, an expansive cinematic journey, as this movie goes all out here.

“Endgame” generated the most The audience feels immersed anticipation ever seen for a film, within the balance of fantasy and and it definitely lived up to the realism that the effects maintain. hype. “Endgame” hits every note Fully CGI characters such as Hulk that “Infinity War” got right, such or Thanos are beautifully renas soundtrack, plot, and action, dered, and every portal or repulsor is visually stunning. and rises even further.

“Infinity War” was praised for The plot of “Endgame” provides twists and turns that facilitate a straying from the MCU standard healthy sense of stress and ten- of ordinary scores with its beausion, producing true emotional tifully poignant soundtrack, and investment into the characters’ “Endgame” is no different. Alan stories, especially knowing that as Silvestri composed a wonderful the finale, not all of the heroes will musical backbone for the movie, make it out. Consequently, the en- with just the right music for evtire plot works to build up antici- ery scene, helping to hammer in pation for the conclusion, work- the impact of the emotional moRATING: 5 out of 5

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ments, or get the blood pumping during the action. Small details such as the reappearance of the “Ant-Man” theme during AntMan’s entrance or the consistency of Tony Stark’s theme in both the beginning of the film on the spaceship as well as the end during his funeral are touches that make the film all the more cohesive.

“Endgame” serves as a genuine, heartfelt tribute to the MCU as a whole. It has callbacks to every installment in the franchise, and the fanservice is enjoyably gratuitous, as copious amounts of references are packed in with an intensely emotional plot. The use of time travel in the plot contributes to this, as the Avengers return to former scenes of previous films in their mission, allowing for a nostalgic celebration of the franchise’s history and the story it has built. For fans who have followed along for the entire ride, revisiting the past of these beloved characters that they have all grown so attached to is quite sentimental.

“Avengers: Endgame” is a monumental event in cinema. It is a love letter to every fan of the MCU, an endeavor sculpted from the heart and soul of the cast and the directors. Most of all, it is a celebration of the fantastic tale that started in 2008, as well as the characters in it. It is nostalgic and it is bittersweet, knowing that this is the end of an era. Everybody wants a happy ending, but it doesn’t always roll that way, and this tinge of painful emotion makes it all the more memorable. Part of the journey is the end, and this journey of sacrifice, emotion, and heroes is one that will never be forgotten as the Avengers finally live up to their name.

‘Risk of Rain 2’ hops into three dimensions, preserves the unique charm of the original RATING: 3 out of 5

By Edward Nguyen

“Risk of Rain 2,” a third-person co-op action shooter, was released through an early access launch on March 28. It is a sequel to the original side-scrolling “Risk of Rain” and follows a similar narrative and setting.

“Risk of Rain 2” made a bold yet impressive transition to 3D from the original 2D game. The gameplay is functional, simplistic, and entertaining, and maintains the same atmospheric charm of the original. No unnecessarily complicated new mechanics are added to the gameplay, and it plays as almost an alternate spin on the first installment. “Risk of Rain 2” does not appear to be a direct succes-

sor to the first, but rather another option, which is appreciated given the replayable nature of both.

Part of what makes the “Risk of Rain” franchise unique is the art style. “Risk of Rain 2” continues in “Risk of Rain’s” footsteps as it continues its signature aesthetic of clean, relatively uncomplicated yet detailed character models, as well as immersive backgrounds and a lo-fi soundtrack, all wonderfully translated from the original 2D source.

As it is still in early access and is continuing to be developed, “Risk of Rain 2” is still lacking a number of features that the original had.

There is still no concrete narrative, and it is also missing certain gameplay modifiers from the original, such as artifacts, which were discoverable collectibles that allowed the player to alter the game in various ways.

While the first admittedly also used quite a bit of CPU power in the later levels, the sequel is still in development and lacks a full optimization and the polish that comes with a finished game. People will less capable computers will suffer in the graphics department or may not be able to play at all as this game’s graphics may become quite demanding at times.

While “Risk of Rain 2” is, at this moment, in early access and incomplete, the game shows a lot of promise. It is a wonderful adaptation of the original and does a great job at preserving its unique aesthetic, and the gameplay is crisp and simple. There are a few things that still need to be added but this game is already decent, and it can only get better from here.

APOLLOXXI by Steve Lacy

KILL THIS LOVE by Blackpink

VENTURA by Anderson .Paak

“Dreamy and funky fresh, Lacy’s debut blends retro and indie soundscapes, but ultimately lacks cohesiveness.”

“Blackpink delivers a quintet of dynamic tracks that all convey great emotion while smoothly incorporating influences from other genres.”

-Ishrak Ramzan

“Feel-good, funky beats accompanied with .Paak’s clever lyrics reflect his unique style and personality on ‘Ventura.’”

-Maira Ramos

I AM EASY TO FIND

by The National

KISSES by Anitta

SOCIAL CUES by Cage the Elephant

“‘I Am Easy to Find’ requires its listeners to digest its lyrics for full appreciation, thus it offers a somber, artful, and contemplative album.”

-Kirk Tran

“The trilingual album ‘Kisses’ contains ten tracks of unadulterated fun, all of which are characterized by diverse Latin flair.”

-Ishrak Ramzan

“Cage the Elephant’s attempt to create a series of safe, radio-friendly alt rock hits undermines their exploration of darker themes.

-Eric de Guzman

MAP OF THE SOUL: PERSONA by BTS

FANCY YOU by Twice

DEDICATED by Carly Rae Jepsen

“‘Map of the Soul: Persona’ made me rethink my negative perception of the genre as a whole with energetic and unique beats.”

-Luke Ren

“Twice’s songs on ‘Fancy You’ are all pure pop perfection, highlighted by bright vocals and cheery instrumentals.”

“‘Dedicated,’ in spite of its modernized synth-pop stylings, is overdrawn and bland—only ardent listeners of pop might enjoy cliches.”

-Kirk Tran

FATHER OF ASAHD

by DJ Khaled

FATHER OF THE BRIDE by Vampire Weekend

ARIZONA BABY by Kevin Abstract

“‘Father of Asahd’ integrates distinct cultural feature tracks into one coherent, instrumentally creative album. One can only ask to listen to ‘another one.’”

-Luke Ren

“Vampire Weekend’s ‘Father of the Bride’ pairs heavy lyrics with upbeat tunes in a confusing blend of rock and country.”

“ B r o c k h a m pt o n ’s frontman tells brutally honest tales of love and insecurity while testing limits with modern, eccentric beats and experimental lyricism.”

-Andrew Dinh

-Andrew Dinh

-Ishrak Ramzan

-Alana Penn

JUNE 2019

THE UNION

ENTERTAINMENT

13

‘Game of Thrones’ final season unfortunate; writing in stark contrast to better elements topics such as the merit of honor, the consequences of different ways of raising a family, or how to foster and retain power as a

By Ishrak Ramzan female ruler in a deeply misogynistic world. Recently, however, The cultural phenomenon the show has diverged from this, brought to us by HBO called favoring spectacle over substance.

In spite of subpar writing, the “Game of Thrones” has now come to an end. The series finale “The rest of the show was as stellar as Iron Throne,” aired on May 19, ever, reflecting or exceeding the bringing to a close stories that standard set by the previous seahave been in progress for eight sons. In terms of cinematography, years. While the final season does the season is a masterpiece, with a lot right, ultimately it suffers in beautiful and well-executed shots frequenting the season’s six a number of ways that preepisodes. For example, epvents it from being a perfect isode 3, “The Long Night,” ending to such an acclaimed features both glorious largeseries and the biggest show TV-SERIES scale battle scenes between on television.

REVIEW the army of the living and The most glaring fault with the dead forces of the White the show’s final season is the Walkers around Winterwriting. Multifaceted characters who had been developed fell, and gritty, tight shots within over the course of years seemed the castle and its crypts. Episode as though they had lost the com- 5, “The Bells,” utilizes massive plexity that made them so human, sets to great effect, and the level so compelling. A key strength of of detail that involved in the set many characters was their agen- of King’s Landing is unfathomcy and their commitment to their able. Additionally, while CGI is ideals. This season, however, employed at multiple instances characters act in extremely un- throughout the season, it adds characteristic ways to push the to the show instead of detracted plot along to the ending. Charac- from it. From special effects to ters used to drive the plot along, entirely CGI characters such as Daenerys’ dragons, nothing looks but now the opposite is true.

Storylines and the plot as a out of place. Combined with the whole are another major issue skillful use of prosthetics and with the closing season. “Game of makeup used to create artificial Thrones” used to be an intricate wounds and damage, the show show about political intrigue that looks extremely realistic.

In terms of acting, once again was not afraid to tackle complex RATING: 4 out of 5

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the cast of “Game of Thrones” go above and beyond. In particular, Lena Headey, who plays Cersei Lannister, injects her character with charisma and malice, but also with vulnerability when needed, grounding her villainy in humanity. Emilia Clarke, the actress behind Daenerys Targaryen, was another treat to watch, conveying the myriad emotions Daenerys experiences during her quest for the Iron Throne. The remaining members of the main cast: Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), in addition to the supporting cast, all perform amazingly as well.

Finally, the score also deserves immense acclaim. Ramin Djawadi, who scored the entire series, continues his phenomenal work on the final season. Every track perfectly complements the scene it’s overlaid upon, and characters have fully fleshed out themes that reflect their personalities and storylines aptly.

Ultimately, the final season of “Game of Thrones” on its own easily eclipses many other entire television series. It is quite evident that countless individuals toiled endlessly, and the show is elevated as a result. Tragically, the writing was not at the same level as the rest of the show, and it mars what would otherwise have been a flawless ending to a groundbreaking show.

COURTESY OF HBO

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) flies atop her dragon, Drogon, in her campaign to win the Iron Throne.

The pair are met by the Euron Greyjoy’s (Pilou Asbæk) Iron Fleet, the first line of defense of King’s Landing.

‘Detective Pikachu’ fails to catch them all, only sparks attention of loyal Pokémon fans aspiring reporter that wants to make it big. Tim and Pikachu, along with Lucy and Psyduck, try to solve the cases surrounding

By Devyn Nguyen their city, learning to accept their past during the process.

“Detective Pikachu” takes a Warner Bros. did their absolute best to achieve the impos- slightly different road from the sible task of making “Detective Pokémon games and other films.

Pikachu” appeal beyond the au- Instead of following a traindience of nostalgic adults and er and their battles with their children stuck up in their current Pokémon, the focus is placed on the Pokémon. “Detective obsession. “Detective PikaPikachu” puts the plight of chu” is what every long time the Pokémon first and uses Pokémon fan wanted; a live their interactions with huaction Pokémon film. as a way to convey to The film takes place in a ficMOVIE mans viewers what it’s like to live tional world where Pokémon REVIEW as a Pokémon. and people live together in The plot of “Detective Pikachu” harmony. Tim Goodman, played

by Justice Smith, finds himself in is nothing complicated. There the middle of a mystery case in are no gasp-inducing twists or which his father is assumed dead. turns in the film, and there aren’t In order to get to the bottom of the supposed to be any. Afterall, the situation, Tim partners up with a movie was made for children and talking Pokémon, his lost father’s young teenagers to enjoy. There incredibly cute and amnesic Pi- were moments where I wished kachu, voiced by Ryan Reynolds. that more thought could have Lucy Stevens, played by Kathryn been put into the actions of the Newton, is a young, quirky, and characters. Sometimes, Tim and RATING: 3 out of 5

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Lucy would make completely idiotic decisions and have deadpan expressions on their faces during an emotional moment.

As expected of a live-action movie, the cinematography is amazing. In the first scene where Pikachu shows himself, I couldn’t stop myself from squealing like a young girl meeting her celebrity crush for the first time. Every hair was visible and those huge, adorable eyes made me fall in love instantly. The Pokémon always had a cartoonish vibe, but it doesn’t ruin the atmosphere of the film in any way.

Overall, “Detective Pikachu” is a nice watch, as long as you’re a Pokémon fan. A person without any interest in Pokémon wouldn’t watch the movie in the first place, but those who decide to watch it would most likely not be very impressed. The easily figured out plot and the pulseless characters take much away from what could have been a great movie. While Pokémon fans may rejoice, others will find this movie to be subpar.

COURTESY OF DISNEY

Will Smith’s cobalt Genie points snarkily at Mena Massoud’s Aladdin, just as I would to anyone who willingly bought a ticket to this dreck.

‘Aladdin’ rubs the wrong way; made with wishful thinking raphers in one of their blockbuster movies is baffling.

The actors do all right at their job, but they mostly just look pretBy Eric de Guzman ty, Mena Massoud (Aladdin) and Naomi Scott (Jasmine) being the Lackluster acting, dancing, and most so. Will Smith plays an infesinging performances, mediocre rior yet still energetic and humorCGI effects, and uninteresting ous Genie, although he looks off additions to the plot cement the in a blue paint job. My desire for new “Aladdin” movie as yet an- a convincing antagonist in a Disother pointless live action remake ney remake has yet to be fulfilled; Marwan Kenzari’s Jafar has of a classic Disney animatnowhere near the charisma ed movie. The “Dumbo” and menace of the 1992 origremake, released not two inal. months ago, has already The music in the movie is faded from my memory, and MOVIE I’m sure this flick will follow REVIEW just passable compared to the original. However, Will Smith suit.

Disregarding the complete lack has not the vocal range of Robin of artistic merit in the banal re- Williams, and Williams, rest his production of timeless cartoons, soul, wasn’t all too impressive the main draw of a live-action either. Naomi Scott has the best “Aladdin” movie would be the ex- voice of the cast and is up to par citing, bombastic dance numbers with her predecessor Lea Salona la Bollywood musicals, which ga; her new song, “Speechless,” the film attempts to replicate but is a great display of her talent, alultimately fails. The few Bolly- though the subject matter is dewood dances I’ve seen feature rivative of other female empowhundreds of dancers; in “Alad- erment songs like that one from din” it seems there are only about Frozen.

We are left to wonder what fresh twenty or so onscreen at a time.

Also, most of the dances in “Alad- new additions the Aladdin remake din” are weak, simple, and most- has to offer. A few new characters ly evocative of cliché Egyptian also make an appearance: Jasmovements, which is disappoint- mine’s new handmaid and a Euing, considering the Disney Alad- ropean suitor prince mostly add din’s Arabic influence (though the comedic value, and Hakim is a original story “Aladdin and the head of security who adds a pinch Magic Lamp” is set in a fiction- of drama to Jafar’s usurping of the al city in China, oddly enough). throne.

The movie overall is nothing to However, the main sin of these dance numbers is that the scenes write home about (yet here I am), are sped up ever so slightly, and it and adds a sum total of nothing shows. The fact that a multi-bil- to the ever degenerating library lion-dollar company apparently of Disney works. See the original cannot scrounge up the funds for if you want to be entertained and above average choreography and also have some semblance of taste anything more than fifty choreog- in film.

RATING: 2 out of 5

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Swipe left on ‘The Perfect Date’; storyline rife with imperfections in” for. When with Celia, he meets Shelby, played by Mendes, and dubs her “the perfect girl”. Celia and Brooks form a closer friendBy Maliyah Fick ship. She is a character that people Melissa Nunes don’t like to be around, but she is the one who encourages Brooks “The Perfect Date” was released to be himself since he had been on April 12 on Netflix. The rom- pretending to be someone else for com film starring Noah Centi- a while.

The movie doesn’t have much neo, Laura Marano, and Camila Mendes is based on the novel excitement to it, making it bor“The Stand-In” by Steve Bloom ing to watch. The stereotypical characters have little to no and produced by Ace Encharacter depth. The only tertainment and Awesomegrowth evident is letting go nessFilms. Much like many of shallowness, but it seems of the movies Centineo has like a poor attempt to teach a been starring in lately, “The MOVIE life lesson. Brooks is the amPerfect Date” was extremely REVIEW bitious nice boy who ends up underwhelming. making some poor decisions Centineo’s character Brooks Rattigan is trying to save up mon- when clouded by what he thinks ey for college. To get the money he he wants in life. Celia is angsty and needs, he enlists his best friend to tries to hide her feelings through make an app for him where he of- being mean, and Shelby is the picfers up his services as a “stand-in.” ture-perfect rich girl.

While the acting isn’t bad, nothHe allows for people to choose his outfits and what kind of personal- ing is memorable or emotional ity he would have on these “stand- about the film. There was no relatin” dates. The idea of the app came able points or overall message to from Marano’s character, Celia, take away from it, it is just somethe first girl he had been a “stand- thing to watch.

RATING: 2.5 out of 5

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14

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SPORTS

JUNE 2019

Querubin awarded SCVAL coach of the year

By Loan-Anh Pham Whitney Tran

Softball Varsity Coach Deana Querubin was named the Santa Clara Valley Athletics League Softball Coach of the Year (SCVAL), making her the first MHS Filipino recipient of the award, she said. She was nominated by coaches from seven different schools in the De Anza division, Querubin added.

Querubin was nominated despite the softball team not placing first in the league (they placed fifth out of seven teams), she said. She received an email announcing her win but only read the email after she received a congratulatory text from a fellow coach, Querubin explained.

“I think for me to be nominated as coach of the year and to get that title and not being the first team in league, that speaks something to how I run things,” Querubin said.

“It validates my coaching style and how I have been coaching and the sacrifice and time that I put in with the girls.”

The award is also meaningful to her as one of the few female coaches in the league, Querubin said. There are four female

coaches in SCVAL, including herself, Querubin noted.

“I’m the youngest coach on the league. I’m a woman. Men dominate in the coaching world of softball, ironically, because it’s a girl sport. And I’m a minority.

You don’t see many Filipino girls play softball, let alone coach softball,” Querubin said. “So I just think it was such a big win as a female, as a minority, and as a young person. And that to be able to see other people that respect you and nominate you too, I think that’s so cool.”

Querubin has been coaching since graduating from college and is on her second season as head coach for softball at MHS, she said. Her experience as a softball player includes four years of Varsity Softball at MHS, college level softball at San Francisco State University, and travel ball (competitive level softball at a national level), according to Querubin.

“I love softball. That’s just my thing. But what I really enjoy is seeing girls that I love enjoy it too,” Querubin said. “There’s something about competition that I love because you know how they say competition can

bring the worst in people? But in reality, it brings true character out of people. If you’re facing adversity, how are you going to react in that split moment? Are you going to just fall apart or are you going to rise up?”

Next year’s team shows great promise, Querubin commented.

The current junior players are competitive and have natural leadership ability, she added.

“To be honest with you, regardless of how our season went, I think this was by far the best season that I’ve had just because it was not as stressful, it was fun, and we had solid defense,” Querubin said. “We struggled with our hitting. That’s what brought us some of the losses early in the season, but overall I am very satisfied with how we did this season.”

Querubin is a supportive and impactful coach, Varsity Pitcher Liberty Walker said. Even when the team lost games, Querubin always encouraged the team to not give up, Walker added.

“Through the laughs, sweat, and tears, Coach Deana Querubin has always worked hard making us better players, both physically and mentally,” Walker said.

Leo B. Murphy award winners meritorious; academic and athletic achievements honored

By Maira Ramos

CHRIS HA | THE UNION

The annual Leo B. Murphy Athletic Awards were scheduled for May 30 in the large gym. The Athletes of the Year, Bill Bebout award, Ned McIver Scholar Athlete award, Jim Ferguson award, Team Sportsmanship award, and Leo B. Murphy awards were to be presented.

The following information was provided by Athletic Director Jeff Lamb and is accurate as of press time.

The Athletes of the Year awards are presented to male and female athletes at every grade level who achieve high athletic standards.

The awards may be presented only to athletes who competed in two or more sports for the school year. They also must have been the most valuable player (MVP), an outstanding athlete winner, or a first or second team all league selection. The freshman Athletes of the Year are Xavier Lecours and Naomi Lacuzong. The sophomore Athletes of the Year are John Vogel and Kaelina Harris. The junior Athletes of the Year are Aneterea Lealao, Mannat Gill,

and Naran Nathan. The senior Athletes of the Year are Jacob Gutierrez, Romina Garcia, and Justin Barnachea.

The Bill Bebout award is presented to junior male and female athletes who exhibited hard work and dedication in their sport. The Bill Bebout award winners are Soloman Kang, Brandon Ortiz, and Melissa Nunes.

The Ned McIver Scholar Athlete award is presented to senior athletes who have the highest grade point average during their entire high school career. They also must have participated in athletics for three years at MHS, and have earned at least four varsity blocks. The Ned McIver Scholar Athlete award winners are Jonathan Lai and Claudia Wang.

The Jim Ferguson award is presented to a male and female athlete of any grade level who showed outstanding athletic achievement in a season or single contest for the school year. The Jim Ferguson award winners are Max Gonzales and Kristine Ngo. The Leo B. Murphy award

is presented to a graduating male and female athlete who exemplified good character and high standards of achievement in athletics and in their classes.

The candidates for this award are nominated by an MHS coach, but the winners are chosen based on a point system, Lamb said.

The athletes who have the most points based on their accomplishments and previous awards are given the Leo B. Murphy award. In addition to the award, they will receive Trojan Lifetime passes, which gives them free admission to all MHS home athletic games. The Leo B. Murphy award winners are Justin Scrempos and Skylar Pitre.

Additional awards were also given for volunteers to the athletics program. Two Volunteer of the Year awards were presented to Sandy Scrempos and Larry McDonald. The Volunteer Coach of the Year award was presented to Coach Chad Cerveiro. Coach Jerry Diaz was given a plaque of appreciation for serving as MHS’s volunteer baseball coach for 18 years.

Activities Director transitions to athletics

By Maansi Maskai

LOAN-ANH PHAM | THE UNION

Athletics Director Jeff Lamb will be retiring after a 27-year career at MHS, Lamb stated. He will be replaced by current Activities Director Joanna Butcher, Lamb said. “[The position is] always offered in-house first, which means it’s offered to people in the school,” Lamb stated. “[With] a position like athletics director, it’s important they have some understanding of the culture. [Butcher] applied for the job and was selected by the principal.”

Butcher will be responsible for various tasks, which include overseeing every sports team, making sure all the athletes are cleared, making sure all the coaches are cleared, making sure all officials are ordered, making sure all buses are ordered, having to organize the Leo B. Murphy awards, having to do CIF-CCS (California Interscholastic Federation - Central Coast Section) clearance for

athletes, and having to deal with any potential parent issues, Lamb said. The list is quite extensive, Lamb added.

“I have a strong relationship with [Lamb] which helps and we are planning to spend time this summer training and transitioning,” Activities Director Joanna Butcher stated. “He is planning to be available [for] the first couple months of the fall as a consultant, mentor, [and] helper.”

Butcher constantly took notes as she learned about the job and constructed a step-by-step procedure book, she said. Using these notes, a personal manual was compiled, Butcher added.

Transitioning from activities director, she hopes to incorporate her passion for leadership and her background with student activities within the athletics department, Butcher said. Some of her goals include improving the leadership skills of student athletes and advertising more for athletic events on campus, she continued.

“Mr. Lamb [has] started that process by hosting the Positive Coaching Alliance and inviting the coaches to invite students that would want to be captains or leaders of their teams to attend for free,” Butcher said. “That is one of the things I would like to continue.”

Although Lamb coached while serving as Athletics Director, Butcher does not have any plans to coach a particular season at the moment, Butcher said. It would definitely be easier to learn the new position and be able to support the coaches with some flexibility, she added.

“I’d like to meet with all the captains of the different teams once a month or once every six weeks while they’re in season so we can work on developing the leadership skills of our student-athletes: how to talk to peers, how to talk to your coaches,” Butcher said.

“That’s one of the things that I would like to get off the ground.”

JUNE 2019

COMICS

THE UNION

15

VIVEK CHOTAI & ALLISON CHOE | GRADES 11

MISU | GRADE 9

VIVEK CHOTAI | GRADE 11

ALEX XU | GRADE 11 VIVEK CHOTAI | GRADE 11

SARVESH CHAUDHARI | GRADE 11 CHARLENE YANG | GRADE 12

VIVEK CHOTAI | GRADE 11

LUKE REN | GRADE 12

VIVEK CHOTAI | GRADE 11

VIVEK CHOTAI | GRADE 11

16

THE UNION

NEWS

JUNE 2019

MANEJA: Leadership and ASB transitions FROM PAGE 1

COURTESY OF DANA NGUYEN

Psychologist Tracy Thomas spoke at the TEDx conference, held 25 May, about overcoming one’s inappropriate impulses in favor of more positive outcomes in her lecture, titled “The Emotional Strength Effect.”

MHS hosts first TEDx conference since 2016

By Loan-Anh Pham

TEDxMilpitasHighSchool hosted its first conference since 2016, themed “Bursting Bubbles,” at the MHS theater on May 25, TEDxMilpitasHighSchool Secretary Ayushi Malhotra said. The conference presented seven speakers, including four professionals and three students, and nearly 100 tickets were sold, Malhotra added.

The conference’s goal was to leave an impression and encourage the audience to pursue their goals, no matter how out of the norm their goals are, Malhotra said. The theme, “Bursting Bubbles,” was chosen to represent the barriers that teens, women, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community have broken, as well as acknowledge the bubble of competition within the college admissions system, Malhotra added.

“I’m really happy with how smoothly everything went. Our months of planning and hard work really paid off. I hope that our speakers were as inspiring to our attendees as they were for me,” Malhotra said. “Our future plans are to hopefully have two conferences next year! One in the fall and another in the spring. I’m looking forward to working with the rest of my team to make future events better and better.”

Preparations for the conference began last May and June, Malhotra noted. The club planned the

event, found sponsors, reviewed speaker applications, and helped speakers edit their speeches and presentations, Malhotra said.

Dr. Cindy Huynh, a tenure-track faculty member at San Jose City College (SJCC), learned about the conference via the digital sign in front of the SJCC Milpitas Extension, Huynh said. Huynh decided to draw on her experiences as a community college professor of ethnic and cultural studies to present her speech, “Can community colleges be prestigious?” she added.

Throughout her years as an educator, she noticed many students seeming deflated at attending community college and always feeling a need to prove themselves, Huynh commented. She wanted to affirm her students’ journeys despite their nontraditional route, Huynh said.

“Whether it takes you two years to transfer or fifteen years to transfer, your experience is valid regardless. And beyond writing a love letter to [my students], I wanted to acknowledge to the public too that community colleges are valuable,” Huynh said.

“I definitely think the [stigma about community colleges] is nationwide, but I do think that it is stronger in the Bay Area because we have CSUs here, we have UCs here, we have tons of private schools here. There’s a lot of money here, too, and just a lot of competition. I think community

colleges are valuable just because they are an open door for so many different people.”

Senior Natalie Lata learned about the event through Instagram, she said. According to Lata, she was motivated to present her speech, “Walking Numbers,” to point out socioeconomic diversity and its effects in her community.

“It was about never letting your financial status and your failures define who you are. I chose this topic because it hits close to home,” Lata said. “Growing up in a diverse community where rich and poor people are mixed, it exemplified the uneven playing field. And so for myself being a first gen student, and coming from divorced parents, it took me a while to find my life purpose again. I picked this topic to help my peers see that a bump in the road is not the epic life downfall.”

Freshmen Jenelle Soo attended the conference with her parents since she and her mother enjoy watching TEDx videos, Soo said.

She found it inspirational that a speaker commented on social media’s use as a tool for leaders to develop, Soo added.

Eighth Grader Siya Shah attended the event with her mother and would definitely attend another one, she said.

“I feel that the topics that they’re talking about are definitely ones that need a voice,” Shah said. “They’re very informative.”

SUMMIT: Low enrollment numbers an obstacle to program FROM PAGE 1 grade and implement that. It became complicated to do it because we would have to train three brand new teachers for Math II, Chemistry, and English II. It is also interesting because it would be good to see how do these Summit students handle the traditional Milpitas curriculum after going through one year of Summit in their first year of high school.”

Summit Learning may pose an issue for students who are not used to such a big shift towards individualized learning, Maneja said. The teacher’s job is to facilitate learning for students to form their own experiences, rather than to monitor students constantly, he said. “[Summit Learning] is self-guided, so my hope is that we can continue to build a culture within the students that it is not about waiting to be told what to do, but rather taking that own responsibility,” Maneja said. “Ultimately, I think that the Summit intent is to teach kids that school

is not just about grades and about turning assignments on time, but how you can build in these skills to make authentic products.”

Freshman Gustavo Lucrecio participated in the Summit Program this past year and viewed it as a good opportunity, he said. He is looking forward to the chance to try out new classes outside of the Summit Program next year, he said.

“Doing the Summit Learning class was overall just a good learning experience,” Lucrecio said.

“The fact that you already have your year planned out on the site is really good. If there was something to improve, I would say that there should be more teacher to student interaction when teaching.”

Former English Teacher Michael Triana left during the middle of the school year abruptly, Lucrecio continued. After his resignation, control of his class was handed over to a substitute for the remaining weeks of school, he

also said.

“One day we just came in to the class [Director of Technology] Chin Song said Mr. Triana wasn’t going to come in anymore,” Lucrecio said. “We are still not sure what specifically happened to him. Now we have a sub named Ms. Yang. She is overall a really good teacher and her interaction with the students is on point.”

There is still a possibility of expanding the Summit program into curriculum for tenth and eleventh graders in the future, Rojas said. As long as there is sufficient student interest, the school is willing to grow the number of classes offered, he said.

“Our goal is always to build around 30 students in a period like all of our other classes,” Rojas said. “Some families really like it. It's not for everyone. There are some of our students who learn well this way and we want to make sure that the opportunities are provided for them.”

ship activities includes attending dances, refereeing for intramurals, assisting with Trojan Olympics (TO) and rallies, going to leadership conferences, and advising the class of 2020, according to Maneja. He feels comfortable with his new role, he added.

He plans to encourage more freshmen transition activities, more meaningful student and staff interactions, and more opportunities for individual students to feel connected, Maneja explained. Next year, he will no longer be teaching his biology classes and will instead be teaching two leadership classes, Maneja added.

“My job when I go in is to transition and kind of understand the role and the procedures that take place,” Maneja said. “My emphasis is on promoting student voice and choice and really emphasizing school to be almost a second home.”

The goal of the leadership program has always been to allow students to make memories, be recognized, and feel included, Activities Director Joanna Butcher said. According to Butcher, she was looking for a candidate with vision, passion, experience, and knowledge of what the job entails.

“[Maneja’s] passion came through in the interview,” Butcher said. “He has an understanding of some things that he’s already helped with, so I would say that for him the learning curve might be a little bit easier.”

As Butcher will remain on campus as the new Athletic Director, she will be available for questions, she said. Maneja’s preliminary training will include getting him in contact with vendors and other activities directors as well as working on the calendar, Butcher added.

Incoming ASB President Jessica Uyehara has been both a second period leadership student and junior class secretary, she said. The fifth period ASB class is in charge of planning dances, the Jack Emery Drive, TO, and spirit weeks, as well as managing clubs, Uyehara explained.

“I am very happy that Mr. Maneja was appointed activities director for next year,” Uyehara said. “I got to work with him during Homecoming and Trojan Olympics season since he was my class advisor, and he was definitely a huge help. Next year I really hope that we can increase participation in Spirit Weeks and other activities on campus.”

UPDATE: MHS WATER TESTING

Lead content in MHS water supply deemed within acceptable levels

By Paul Chon

Samples of MHS’s water system, 10 in total, were taken on Apr. 30, 2018, according to the government website waterboards.ca.gov.

All 10 samples have less than 5 micrograms per liter of lead, the website reports.

If an action level of 15 micrograms per liter of lead is exceeded, the school has to take action to reduce the level of lead, the government website waterboards. ca.gov said. Thus, MHS does not need to take further action to reduce lead levels since the action level has not been surpassed, the government website waterboards. ca.gov reports.

“Once a school receives the re-

sults, they are required to notify parents and guardians of any elevated lead levels and take immediate steps to make faucets inoperable where elevated levels are found,” waterboard.ca.gov said.

“Additional sampling may be required to determine if all or some faucets require shut down.”

On Oct. 13, 2017, Assembly Bill No. 746 was passed. It requires California public schools constructed before Jan. 1, 2010 to test community water systems for lead by July 1, 2019.

Data concerning water quality may be found at the following URL: https://www.waterboards. ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/ drinkingwater/leadsamplinginschools.html

AA BOND: Additional facilities in process FROM PAGE 1 projects: MHS modernizations, a second high school at the former Samuel Ayers High School site, and the completion of Mabel Mattos Elementary School, she continued.

“Funds from this bond will go towards district-wide roofing, painting, security fencing, paving, and mechanical or HVAC updates, as well as site modernizations,” Dias said. “Milpitas Unified School District is thinking beyond the traditional 8am3pm schedule, and looking at programs that are flexible and allow students to participate in internships or online learning.”

The main issue about the bond is the cost to taxpayers, Dias said. The district will be closely watched by the public to ensure that the bond funds are spent as promised, she continued.

“Our Milpitas Unified School District is a shining gem in our community and a small investment overall,” Dias stated. “Updated, more effective school campuses would make our city a more desirable place to live, increasing property values, and increasing the prosperity of our citizens.”

Rojas was in charge of making sure the needs of the community were heard during and after the campaign for where the bond

money would go, he said. The campaign was a least a two-year process that is now finalizing the approved money, he also commented.

“We have a group of architects who put together some financial engineers to give us the estimates [for the modernizations],” Rojas said. “We're facing high prices for construction, but the longer you wait, the more expensive things get so it's all about timing. Some of the meetings we’re having now are about prioritizing which [construction] should go first and which ones have an impact on how the school runs.”

The Citizens Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) was a committee mandated by law to ensure funds were spent according to the original campaign promises, Dias said. However, the CBOC does not have any say in where the bond money will be spent, she added.

“Our Milpitas schools are in serious need of attention,” Dias said.

“I am happy with the progress we’ve made so far, and my main goal on applying for the Oversight Committee is to help make sure these funds are being spent in a responsible manner, and in a way that benefits the largest amount of our student populations.”