October Issue 2020

The Thunderbolt Volume 61 Issue 2

2

Progression of Local Reopenings

Rita Li & Leanna Yu Staff Writer & Editor-In-Chief

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he reopening of Millbrae has led to new guidelines for local businesses, in which retail, eateries, and markets have changed operations to comply with San Mateo County restrictions and tackle the economic impact of COVID-19.

Following the closure of Orchard Supply Hardware across El Camino in late 2018, Office Depot located in the Millbrae Square Shopping Center is now expected to close in early November. According to Office Depot’s SEC filings, the company announced a restructuring plan that includes the closing of stores and laying off about 13,100 employees by 2023. The Millbrae Office Depot store is contemporarily holding a going-out-of-business sale to rid of its inventory. The business replacement for the Office Depot building is currently unspecified.

On Saturday, October 3rd, the Millbrae City Council put into effect an urgency ordinance for local restaurants. As stated in the Millbrae City Council Agenda Report, “restaurants will pay no more than 15% of purchase orders to third-party food delivery platforms such as UberEats, DoorDash and Grubhub.” Because of the present hardships that local restaurants are facing due to COVID-19 health orders, the City of Millbrae recognized that most businesses are gaining a greater percentage of sales from online food delivery services. The urgency ordinance declares four changes to food delivery services in Millbrae: 1) A third-party food delivery service may not charge a covered establishment a fee per online order for the use of its

services that totals more than 15% of the purchase price of such online order where the order is delivered to the customer.

2) A third-party food delivery service may not charge a covered establishment a fee per online order for the use of its services that totals more than 10% of the purchase price of such online order where the order is not delivered to the customer.

3) A third-party food delivery service may not charge a customer any purchase price for a food or beverage item that is higher than the price set by the covered establishment on the third-party food delivery service or, if no price is set by the covered establishment on the third-party food delivery service, the price listed on the covered establishment’s own menu.

4) A third-party food delivery service may not reduce the compensation rates paid to the delivery service driver or retain any portion of amounts designated as a tip or gratuity as a result of this Ordinance.

The third-party delivery service must pay any tip or gratuity, in its entirety, to the person delivering the food or beverages.

However, this urgency ordinance is temporary and will expire 30 days after the expiration of the COVID-19 emergency.

Through the gradual reopening of local businesses, select Millbrae restaurants, including the Millbrae Pancake House, Ben Tre, Thai Stick, and Millbrae Kebabs & Gyros now offer outdoor dining to customers. The amount of normal seating available is still contained due to limited outdoor space and social distancing protocols.

News The Thunderbolt

Mills High School Publication www.millsthunderbolt.com

Editors-in-Chief: Karine Chan ‘21 Anjuli Niyogi ‘21 Leanna Yu ‘21 Faculty Advisor: Kelly Hensley News Editor: Justin Condevillamar ‘21 Features Editor: Angela Dimaano ‘21 Center Spread Editor: Bianca Reyes ‘21 Opinions Editor: Madison Wong ‘21 Sports Editor: Misael Gomez ‘21 Entertainment Editor: Leanna Yu ‘21 Media Coordinators: Leanna Yu ‘21 Karine Chan ‘21 Staff Writers: Melissa Catpo ‘24 Katelyn Chang ‘23 Joshua Choe ‘24 Jordan Hasty ‘21 Magdalene Ko ‘23 Katelyn Lam ‘23 Rita Li ‘22 Nagham Masarweh ‘24 Flora Oliva ‘21 Maxwell Zaninovich ‘24

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The Thunderbolt

Unity In The Community Town Hall Leanna Yu Editor-In-Chief

S

tudents, parents, and faculty from the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) have been promoting relevant social issues impacting our community today. From the virtual district town halls discussing social justice to student activism on social media, SMUHSD members are participating in the unification of our district.

On Tuesday, October 20th, the Black Parents Association (BPA), a volunteer parent’s association made up of a diverse group of parents, guardians, and teachers of all ethnicities, promoting quality education, partnered with the SMUHSD for a discussion on actions the District can take to better serve African American students and their families. The first Unity in the Community Virtual Town Hall was held over Zoom and streamed on Youtube from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. Panelists, Medina McKiney (Board of Directors President for the BPA), Robert Griffin (Vice President of the SMUHSD Board of Trustees) and other District Board members, Kevin Skelly, Julia Kempkey, Laura Chalkley, Kirk Black, and Brian Simmons joined moderator, Angela Taylor, to discuss the African American Great Migration in San Mateo County, the origins of the BPA, district goals for 2020-2021, and a thoughtexchange and live Q & A with attendees.

The history of the BPA started about 40 years ago to solve for the lack of recognition that African American students received within the District.

In 2014, the BPA became a nonprofit organization that focused on the Baccalaureate Ceremony and Scholarship funding, in which $100,000 was raised in scholarship funds for 57 graduating seniors within

the past 6 years. As mentioned by McKinney, the BPA is using social media as an innovative way to inform about activities and resources that exist outside of the District that support youth, providing additional networking and educational endeavor opportunities, participating in the Equity Advisory Committee, and creating more opportunities to build community “Tribe” within the District for youth and their families.

During the Q & A session, an anonymous attendee asked, “How would the district handle specific instances of racism or racial animus towards black students?” Assistant Superintendent Kempkey replied, “We definitely have specific policies on how we address issues of hate speech and racist actions, and we recognize with the recent release of the Grand Jury report that we have more work to do in this area...”

On September 24th, the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury released a 26 page report, Hate @ Schools— Opportunities Lost, that addressed the question: How are high school district staff and principals in San Mateo County responding to hate incidents or hate crimes occurring on campus? Inside the report, the Grand Jury publicized reported incidents of hate at Burlingame High School between January 2018 and September 2019 that sparked the investigation as to whether high school districts and school administrators in the County are identifying and tracking hate incidents and their responses to such occurrences.

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PPQ Dungeness Island ppqcrab.com

OUTDOOR DINING: Restaurants seat people outside.

Leanna Yu The Thunderbolt

TOWN HALL: Community leaders discuss racial issues.

The Thunderbolt

Breast

Cancer

By Madison Wong, Opinions Editor

D

uring October, you’ve probably noticed that people wear pink or have pink ribbons pinned to their clothes. For example, NFL players often wear pink shoes or socks and referees blow pink whistles to show their support. This is because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness, educate others, and fundraise for breast cancer research and education. Cancer can be a sensitive and somewhat confusing topic to many people, so here are some common questions people have about breast cancer, and more specifically, Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

News

Awareness

FAQs

How did Breast Cancer Awareness Month start?

It started in 1985 as a partnership between the American Cancer Society and the pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries. Betty Ford, former President Gerald Ford’s wife and a breast cancer survivor herself, kicked off the first ever breast cancer awareness event. Fundraisers and awareness efforts soon became an annual activity in October.

What exactly is breast cancer?

Breast cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells starting in the breast. There are different types of breast cancer depending on where in the breast it began; it could spread to different parts of the breast or even to other parts of the body including the lungs or brain. There are five stages of breast cancer, from stage 0 to stage IV. Stage 0 is the presence of abnormal cells, stage I is the presence of a tumor, stage II and III is the spread of a tumor, and stage IV is the presence of tumors in other parts of the body.

Why haven’t people found a cure yet?

Breast cancer statistics:

We are constantly producing new cells in our body. Cells continue to divide until they are told to stop, but cancer cells do not stop dividing when they are told to do so, forming tumors and thus, cancer. It is so hard to treat because there are over 100 types of cancer and not everyone responds to the same treatments, the main three being surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. For example, the side effects from chemotherapy for someone who smokes may be worse than someone who does not smoke, possibly making that form of treatment not ideal. Since researchers have to find multiple solutions to multiple problems, cancer research is very time-consuming and costly.

It is estimated that 1 in 8 women in the US will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. While breast cancer mortality rates have decreased by more than 40% since 1989, it is still one of the most common types of cancer for women in the United States (Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation). A common misunderstanding of breast cancer is that only women can develop it, however, despite the chances being lower, men can still develop breast cancer. It is estimated that in 2020, almost 280,000 people will be diagnosed and more than 42,000 people (42,690 women and 520 men) will die of breast cancer in the United States alone. While this may seem bleak, the 5-year relative survival rates for women in the US with breast cancer is 90%..

How can I support someone who has had or has cancer?

Being there for someone who has breast cancer can be difficult since it is such a sensitive topic, but there are some ways you can support them. The first step is to try to understand what they are going through. Although you will not be able to know exactly what they are experiencing, you still can do some research and understand what their treatment entails. Some cancer treatments have harsh side effects, and knowing what these side effects are can help you figure out the best way you can support them. Depending on their treatment, they may need help doing certain things, such as cleaning around the house, making dinner, or driving to appointments. If you feel uncomfortable or unsure about how to support them emotionally, doing these small actions to show that you care can be extremely helpful to the person undergoing treatment.

Another easy way to help someone going through cancer treatment is to listen to them. Know that they will not be happy all the time, and that’s okay. Sometimes all people need is someone to talk to and be there for them. Finally, look after yourself. Watching a sick loved one can be emotionally taxing and hard to accept, and before you can take care of someone else, remember to take care of yourself first.

Month

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What are the symptoms of breast cancer?

Some of the main symptoms of breast cancer include a breast lump, a change in size, shape, or appearance of a breast, as well as changes to the skin over the breast.

What are the symptoms of breast cancer?

“1 in 8 women in the United States will get brest cancer in their lifetime”

-Suzan G. Koeman Foundation

Susan G. Koman Foundation

STATISTICS: Every race and ethnicity in America is at risk for brest cancer.

A few ways women can lower their risk of breast cancer include maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, and limiting or avoiding alcohol consumption. While these tips do not guarantee that one will not get breast cancer, an easy way to detect breast cancer early is to get tested regularly. Most women do not have any visible symptoms of breast cancer, making regular screening extremely important.

It is recommended that women aged 50-74 who are at average risk for breast cancer have a mammogram (an x-ray picture of the breast) done every 2 years. It is also not a bad idea to get into the habit of doing breast self-examinations once a month.

What does breast cancer awareness month represent and how can I help?

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is more than a month to raise awareness - it’s a time to show solidarity and support for those who have had or have breast cancer. You can help make a difference by donating to non-profit organizations supporting cancer patients or funding cancer research projects, including the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Breast Cancer Coalition. If you are unable to donate, you can help spread awareness by educating others about breast cancer or participate in events such as the Komen Race for a Cure, a fun run organized by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to fundraise. There’s hope that there will be a time without cancer, but until then, we must fight for a future in which everybody is able to get treated and continue to live their lives.

CALIFORNIA P CALIFORNIA P W

2 2 0 0 2 2 0 0

ith the up and coming 2020 election and citizens around the country getting ready to submit their mail-in ballots, the importance of informing yourself on your state’s propositions is more evident than ever. The following sections describe this year’s California propositions, the arguments for them, arguments against, and more.

Proposition 14:

Authorizes Bonds Continuing STEM Cell Research

$5.5 billion state bonds will be allocated for stem cell research, and other medical research, including training, research facility construction, administrative costs. $1.5 billion will be dedicated specifically to brain-related diseases. Prop. 14 will increase state costs to repay bonds estimated at about $260 million per year over the next roughly 30 years.

Those in favor of Prop. 14 believe that further development will be made in treatments and cures chronic, life-threatening diseases like Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Parkinson’s, Kidney Disease. Doctor, Novel Prize Scientists, and many Patient Advocate Organizations support Prop. 14. Those against Prop. 14 believe the billions of dollars spent should not be during this economic and budget crisis. Increasing debt created by Prop. 14 could possibly increase pressure for higher taxes or layoffs of nurses, first responders and other public employees.

Proposition 15:

Increases Funding Sources for Public Schools, Community Colleges, and Local Services by Changing Tax Assessment of Commercial and Industrial Property

Instead of certain commercial and industrial properties being taxed for their purchase price, they will be taxed on their current market value in order to increase funding for schools, colleges, and local services. Commercial properties worth more than $3 million will provide anywhere from $6.5 billion to $11.5 billion of new funds for local governments and public schools. Those in favor of Prop. 15 believe it is a fair and balanced reform that will ensure the closure of tax loopholes benefiting wealthy corporations, reduction of taxes on small businesses, and protection of homeowners and renters. Nurses, teachers, small business owners, affordable housing advocates and community organizations support Prop. 15. Those against Prop. 15 believe that this billion dollar property tax increase will raise the cost of living with regards to many of the basic items purchased (food, gas, utilities, day care and health care) and claim that it repeals the taxpayer protections earned in Prop 13.

Proposition 16:

Allows Diversity as a Factor in Public Employment, Education, and Contracting Decisions.

Legislative Constitutional Amendment

Prop. 16 will allow government to make policies with the regards to race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in an effort to address diversity and repeal consitutional provision prohibiting.

The effects of this measure will be clearer in the future decisions of state and local government.

Proponents of Prop 16 believe it will expand equal opportunity to California residents, increase access to fair wages, provide better jobs, and heighten the quality of public schools. Those in favor of Prop. 16 claim it will fight wage discrimination and systemic racism, and increase job opportunities for women and people of color. The League of Women Voters

of California, California Federation of Teachers, Minority Business Consortium, and state higher education leaders support Prop. 16. Those who vote No on Prop. 16 will sustain the current ban on consideration of race, sex, color, ethnicity, and national origin in public education, public employment, and public contracting. They believe that politicians are trying to “play favorites” and take away Constitutional prohibition to discriminatory or preferential treatment.

Proposition 17:

Restores Right to Vote After Completion of Prison Term

Prop 17 will restore voting rights to previously disenfranchised prisoners after they have completed their sentences. Annual county costs will average around hundreds of thousands of dollars statewide, with one-time state costs around the same amount for voter registration cards and systems. Implementation of Prop 17 will align with other states’ laws. Proponents of this proposition claim that a recent parole commission report found that citizens who complete their prison terms and experience voting right restoration are less likely to commit future crimes. Those against Prop 17 believe that it will amend California’s Constitution to grant violent criminals the right to vote before completing their sentence including parole, allow those convicted of murder, rape and child molestation to vote before paying their debt to society, and deny justice to crime victims.

Proposition 18:

Amends California Constitution to Permit 17-Year-Olds to Vote in Primary and Special Elections If They Will Turn 18 by the Next General Election and Be Otherwise Eligible to Vote

Prop 18 will increase state county costs by up to $1 million every two years. One-time costs will increase to hundreds of thousands of dollars for new voters.

Prop 18 will allow first-time voters to participate in an election cycle if they are 18 by the next general election. Proponents of this proposition claim it is needed to boost youth civic engagement in elections and increase lifelong participants in our democratic process. Those against Prop. 18 suggest that science and legal consistency prohibit younger teens from smoking, drinking and even tanning because their logic and reasoning area of their brains is not fully developed. Therefore, youth below the age of 18 do not have the vital abilities to responsibly vote and should not be allowed to according to Prop 18 opponents.

Proposition 19:

Changes Certain Property Tax Rules

Proposition 19 will allow homeowners over the age of 55, disabled, or wildfire/disaster victims to transfer primary residence’s tax base to replacement residence.

Local governments could gain tens of millions of dollars of property tax revenue per year, with this number likely to grow over time. Proponents of Prop. 19 include Disability Rights and Senior/Housing Advocates, Firefighters, and Emergency Medical Responders. They believe limiting taxes on Seniors, and other groups, will simultaneously close unfair tax loopholes

PROPOSITIONS PROPOSITIONS used by wealthy out-of-state investors. Opponents of Prop. 19 claim that it is a billion-dollar tax increase on families that will take away the tools parents have to help their children (ensured

by California Constitution) to pass their property on without any increase in property taxes.

it will prevent companies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash from writing their own exemption to California law and profiting from it. It will deny driver rights and safety protections such as sick leave, healthcare and unemployment.

Proposition 20:

Establishes State Requirements for Kidney Dialysis Clinics. Requires On-Site Medical Professional.

Restricts Parole for Certain Offenses Currently Considered to Be Non-Violent.

Authorizes Felony Sentences for Certain Offenses Currently Treated Only as Misdemeanors

Prop. 20 will increase state and local correctional, court, and law enforcement costs likely in the tens of millions of dollars annually. Non-violent offenders will have limited access to parole programs who have completed the full term of their primary offense. Prop 20 supporters claim that it will close a loophole in the law that allows convicted child molesters, sexual predators and others convicted of violent crimes to be released from prison early. It will also expand DNA collection to help solve rapes, murders and other serious crimes, and strengthens sanctions against habitual thieves who steal repeatedly.

Opponents of this proposition claim that it is a “prison spending scam” and that California already has severe and lengthy sentences for serious and violent crimes; prisons will be spending funds taken away from rehabilitation and mental health services, schools, and homelessness.

Proposition 21:

Expands Local Governments’ Authority to Enact Rent Control on Residential Property

Local governments can establish rent control on residential properties over 15 years old. Local limits on rate increases will differ from the statewide limits. A reduction in state and local revenues can be seen as high as tens of millions of dollars per year over time. Proponents of Prop.

21, including senior, veteran, and homeless advocates, believe it is a necessary change to tackle homelessness and keep families in their homes.

Prop 21 opponents believe it will make California’s Housing crisis worse, undermining the statewide rent control law costing jobs, reducing home values, preventing building of new housing, and eliminating homeowner protections for renters, seniors, veterans, or the disabled.

Proposition 22:

Exempts App-Based Transportation and Delivery Companies From Providing Employee Benefits to Certain Drivers

Prop 22 will classify app-based drivers as “independent contractors” rather than “employees” and prove independent-contractor drivers other compensation. There will be a minor increase in state income taxes paid by rideshare and delivery company drivers and investors.

Proponents of Prop. 22 claim that it will still protect a driver’s choice to be independent contractors, save rideshare services & jobs, provide drivers with new benefits, and strengthen public safety. Opponents of Prop 22 believe that

Proposition 23:

Prop 23 Will require a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant to be present during dialysis treatment. It will prohibit reduction of services and clinics from refusing to treat parents based on payment source. Overall, it will increase state and local government costs likely in the low tens of millions of dollars annually. Proponents believe it will combat poor hygiene, improve staffing, and stop discrimination based on patients’ insurance. Patients, healthcare professionals, veterans, faith leaders are in favor of Prop. 23; American Nurses Association, California Medical Association, and patient advocates are against Prop. 23.

They claim it would lead to community dialysis clinic shut downs, endangering lives of California patients, and increased health care costs by hundreds of millions annually.

Proposition 24:

Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (“Caltrain”) - Measure RR: Will levy a 30 year one-eighth cent sales tax with oversight and audits, providing about $100 million annually for Caltrain that the State cannot take

Those in favor of this measure claim that Measure RR will save the Bay Areas’ Caltrain system, reduce traffic congestion on Highways 101, 280, 92, and El Camino, create local jobs, and preserve this service for essential workers using it as their main means of transportation to their respective workplaces. Many environmental advocates and local labor unions are in support of this measure. Those against this measure claim that Caltrain is no longer an essential part of our transportation network as many workers are continually working from home nowadays due to COVID-19 and even post-pandemic, usage of Caltrain services will not return to the same levels as before. Caltrain is classified by anti-Measure RR supporters as an “obsolete and dying system,” primarily used by “the highest wage owners in the peninsula, making 6 figure salaries” (County of San Mateo’s Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder Elections). Two-thirds voter approval is required to pass this measure.

Amends Consumer Privacy Laws

Prop 24 will allow consumers to prevent businesses from sharing personal information, changing inaccurate information, and limiting businesses’ use of its customers’ geolocation, race, ethnicity, and health information. This will establish the California Privacy Protection Agency and increase annual state costs of at least $10 million, though some costs would be offset by violations of this law. Proponents include parents, Common Sense Media, and the California NAACP, believing it will protect children and hold companies accountable for violations of fundamental privacy rights.

Opponents of Prop 24 believe it will allow for “pay for privacy” schemes, force workers to wait years to learn what confidential information employers collect on them, and make it harder to stop tech giants from selling your information. They claim that it was written with the help of large social media corporations.

Proposition 25:

Referendum on Law That Replaced Money Bail With System Based on Public Safety and Flight Risk.

Prop 25 will replace money bail with a system based on public safety and flight risk, increasing costs for a new process of release prior to trial. It will likely decrease county jail costs in tens of millions of dollars annually. Supporters of Prop 25 believe replacing money bail will introduce a fairer, safer, less costly process.

Critics of this proposition claim it was written to take away Californian’s option to post bail and replace this right with a new discriminatory system of computer-generated profiling administered by government bureaucrats.

By Anjuli Niyogi Editor-in-Chief

A

s the 2020 Presidential Election becomes imminent, taking action is incredibly important granted this is the election of a lifetime. The election will be held between the two parties - the Republicans and the Democrats on Tuesday, November 3rd. The Republicans are the conservative political party, currently represented by President Donald J. Trump, who is hoping to secure another four years in power. Supporters among this party stand for lower taxes, gun rights, and tighter restrictions on immigration in recent years. In regards to the Democrats, they are the liberal political party whose corresponding candidate is Joe R. Biden, previous Vice President for Barack Obama during his two terms. Individuals who politically identify as liberal can be best defined by their stances on issues such as civil rights, immigration, and climate change. Said party believes the government should play a bigger role in the lives of the American people, for instance providing health insurance.

45th and current President, Donald J. Trump serves as the Republican party candidate for the 2020 Presidential Election. He assumed office on January 20, 2017, and filed to run for re-election on the same day. The focal point of Trump’s re-election campaign is “America first” - focusing on the economy, jobs, immigration, and foreign policy. After making promises to those in favor of the pro-life movement in 2016, Trump took executive action to remove taxpayer money flowing towards Planned Parenthood, which is the largest abortion clinic in the country. He reinstated and enlarged the ban on American’s tax funds going towards abortions in foreign countries, also known as the “gag rule,” which says overseas groups recieving U.S. assistance cannot provide abortions or discuss abortion as an option to patients. Essentially, the rule meant that Planned Parenthood had to terminate abortion services and stop referring women to other abortion providers. The Trump administration’s plans and migrant notions have thrusted immigration into the 2020 spotlight. In August, a new rule was announced that lifted the restrictions on how long the government can detain migrant children, immigration advocates, and critics blanched. According to the Trump Administration, “it was a necessary step to curb the number of migrants appearing at the border and to enforce immigration policy. This triggered a nuance in the critic reaction.

Since taking office, immigration has been Trump’s signature issue. Trump had kicked off his initial campaign taking aim at DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program), and made a vow to “terminate President Obama’s illegal executive order on immigration immediately” during his presidential announcement speech on June 16, 2015. He restated similar claims again during an August 31 rally in Arizona. Trump officially ordered an end to DACA on September 5, 2017, giving Congress six months to pass a bill to salvage the policy. Shortly after, Trump prompted Congress to “get ready to do [their] job - DACA!” via Twitter. Whilst the date of Dreamers losing their protection was nearing, a terrorist attack occured in New York City, inflicted by a suspect reportedly in the country on a green card. On the rise of this occasion, Trump hastily took more drastic immigration measures: on November 1, 2017, he set forth his intention to end the Diversity Visa Lottery (or the green card program). The next day, the President ruled out addressing DACA on a year-end bill which had the potential to extend the Dreamers’ protections. His administration has rolled out a list of policies aimed at both restricting and reforming immigration in the U.S., all of which have been enacted while divisive claims about immigrants themselves have been voiced. As the 2020 Presidential race heats up, Trump shows no signs of backing down from his immigration vision and border wall progression. Climate change has been moved to the forefront of the election as various activists have protested in light of the crisis. From 16 year-old Greta Thunberg to the Green New Deal, to the near two-thirds of American’s who agree that immediate action must be taken to resolve the serious problem, candidates are prompted to share detailed plans concerning the issue. Amongst the increasing attention towards climate change, the Trump administration has continued to try to expand fossil fuel industries and loosen environmental regulations. With health care poised to be yet another significant campaign issue in 2020, Trump signaled an interest in reviving health care reform and repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). While Republicans fell short on tackling health care since the 2017 repeal efforts, Trump has focused on other areas concerning bipartisan appeal, such as decreasing the cost of prescription drugs and ending surprise medical billing. Frequently, the President detests the ACA, likening it to socialism. Following his views, he issued an executive order that expands Medicare Advantage, which is the private version of Medicare for seniors. The purpose of the order is to switch individuals from public to private plans. Relating to Trump’s stance on the foreign policy, his relations differ between countries. In recent history, Trump’s correspondence with China has plateaued over a wide range of issues. Trump began a trade war with China before reaching a partial Phase 1 trade deal in January. Since, he has shut the door on Phase 2 negotiations, showing unhappiness with Beijing’s method of handing the pandemic. Subsequent to Trump’s questioning of how beneficial U.S. military interventions in the Middle East are, he pulled out of a nuclear deal reached with Iran, European nations, and Russia under President Barack Obama. After Iranian proxies and U.S. forces clashed in

Iraq, Trump ordered the January strike, killing powerful Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. After three meetings held between North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jung Un in 2018 and 2019, efforts have stalled to get Kim to abandon the country’s nuclear weapons program. Similar to past presidents, Trump has pledged to secure peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Yet, as before, this goal has been proven elusive. The Trump administration moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem in 2018, a show of support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, angering both the Palestinians and their supporters. In the following year, the administration formally recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967, which reversed a long-standing U.S. policy and irked other countries. The President has also angered NATO members, including other U.S. allies while refusing to criticize Russian leader Vladimir Putin, even when U.S. intelligence officials concluded Russia’s military had interfered in the 2016 Presidential Election. Moving towards social justice issues, the racial unrest within America was put in the limelight as a result of the spur of events following the brutal, unjust police killing of George Floyd. Trump initiated a controversial and militarized response as police officials reacted using rubber bullets, tear gas, and arrests to disperse occasionally violent crowds.

According to a statement from the National Guard Bureau of Public Affairs, on the Sunday morning following Floyd’s death, Trump administered approximately 5,000 Guard Soldiers and Airmen, activated in response to civil disturbances in over 15 states, while another 2,000 waited in preparation if needed.

Many agreed that the President should have instead focused on unifying the nation, rather than making divisive references within the media. The national political debate surrounding gun control and gun rights has taken on a weighted role in the 2020 election. In late August, Trump seemed to contradict his former promise to enact more strict gun laws on gun buyers. Later, he solidified his agreement of closing loopholes in gun laws al-

2020

ready passed, as he worried any new laws could cause a ripple effect, leading to a total ban on handguns. The state of the economy and labor issues has been a significant focus in Trump’s individual campaign. Going into his first Presidential term, Trump inherited an economy that was in the midst of a historically long run of expansion; he managed to latch on to its continued strength, becoming a primary selling point for voters. Trump oversaw a tax cut which put America’s wealthiest in favor and lowered tax burdens, providing a small boost for the economy. Although there are signs the economy may be weakening due to factors such as trade war and others, thus far the economy has remained somewhat adaptable. Though President Trump has not outlined a detailed plan centering his agenda for battling COVID-19, his administration has taken action on battling the virus. Federal social distancing guidelines were issued in March, The White House has pledged to create 300 million doses of a vaccine by January 2021, and there has been talk amongst the Trump administration to expand COVID-19 testing in partnership with the private sector. Decision-making responsibility has been shifted to states, leaving testing plan development, procurement of personal protective materials, and decrees on mask mandates and stay at home orders to the governor.

Despite granting states the authority, Trump still urged states to reopen beginning in May, though the amount of cases of COVID-19 in many areas remained high.Working alongside President Trump is Michael R. Pence, the 48th Vice President of the United States. As previous Governor of Indiana, Pence established his philosophy of limited government and lower taxes. In 2017, Pence became the first Vice President to establish his own political action committee within his first term, named the Great America Committee. Over the course of 2 years, Pence raised $4 million, which likely will be deployed during the 2020

Presidentia

By Jordan Has

election season.

Opposing Presidential candidate and former Vice President, Joseph R. Biden strives to “bring back better” as the Democratic nominee in the 2020 election. Biden has evolved on abortion - withdrawing his former opposition of Roe V. Wade’s legislation to enshrine abortion rights.

Former VP acknowledges his religious beliefs and says he “accepts my (Catholic) church’s position that life begins at conception,” but does not think that religious view should be imposed on others. Following the June outcry, Biden voted no on legislation to define a fetus as a child for the purposes of the health program SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) as Senator. Simultaneously, he voted in favor of a bill which banned late-term abortions.

As an increasingly important issue for voters, immigration has stood tall as a determining voting factor for many. Joe Biden supports the path to citizenship for young adults and/ or children who came to the United States without legal status with their parents. As President, Biden hopes to secure the border, while ensuring the dignity of migrants and their legal right to seek political protection. In enforcing laws, he plans to steer clear from targeting communities, violating due process, or tearing apart families. Biden firmly asserts that bringing our nation together, reclaiming our core values, and reforming the current immigration system will require strong leadership and actual solutions - each Biden believes he can offer confidently as President. At the moment of a profound crisis, the Democratic nominee states that we have the opportunity to build a more resilient, sustainable economy, creating a more sustainable and equitable clean energy future. Like Michael Bennet, Biden wants to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 through the Green New Deal.

The ideal outcome of this plan is to harness our energy, talents, and innovation to create an opportunity to revitalize the U.S. energy sector and boost economic growth nation-

wide. He would invest $1.7 trillion over 10 years in clean energy, covered by funds eliminating certain corporate tax breaks. Biden also pledges to end new oil and gas leasing on federal land, and will not accept contributions from oil, gas, and coal corporations or executives. In terms of health care, Biden wants to expand on the Affordable Care Act, as well as create a public option similar to Medicare. His plan ensures that no family, regardless of income, spends more than 8.5% of their earnings on the individual marketplace, as tax credits would increase. On top of that, Biden’s plan will also help cover the 4.9 million Americans who do not have access to financial aid due to over a dozen states refusing the expansion of the low-income program. The individuals not granted access will be covered automatically under the public plan and will not have to pay premiums. Health care is a vital aspect in Biden’s campaign as his commitment to ACA has become integral to him as his son Beau Biden died from brain cancer in 2015. Biden states that through his presidency, America can focus on supporting health above wealth.

Going forward, international issues will impact every American, providing an appropriate justification to raise focus towards foreign policy opinions when indicating your final vote decision. Biden argues that China finds joy in a chaotic Trump administration, his rejection of U.S. leadership roles in global institutions, and his alienation of American allies.

The democratic candidate says that he will correct this by inviting multilateral pressure on China through rebuilt relations with U.S. allies. Upon Biden’s opinion, the strike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani “put the United States and Iran on a collision course” and proposed a more narrow focus for the U.S. military in working with local allies and specializing in counterterrorism. Unlike Trump, Biden has said he would not meet with Kim without preconditions, including that Trump has given away U.S. leverage over the North Korean regime for little in return.

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Biden would rejoin the Paris climate agreement and strengthen alliances such as NATO, which he claims would undo the damage to American leadership and credibility inflicted by Trump.

Standing at one of the main priorities in the former Vice President’s campaign, rebuilding the middle class, which Biden often refers to as the “backbone of the United States” begins with higher education. Biden intends to eliminate the cost of tuition and fees at community colleges, including erasing student loan debt for people making $30,000 or less. He would also establish an income-contingent repayment plan capped at 5% of an individual’s income. Joe Biden has made himself well-aware that gun violence is a public health epidemic. As President, Biden ensures that he will pursue constitutional, common-sense gun safety policies. Along with universal background checks, Biden favors an assault weapons ban, and “smart guns” - technology that blocks a gun from firing, unless the holder’s finger is on the trigger. Additionally, Biden opposes gun licensing as he believes it is ineffective. Many of Biden’s economic and labor plans feature an education aspect, including a plan floated under Barack Obama, former President of the U.S., to offer two years of debt-free community college or other quality education programs. He has also developed proposals, some containing more details than others, targeted specifically towards supporting rural and older Americans. To combat COVID-19, Biden outlined a plan to mount an effective national emergency response with life-preserving results, protects frontline workers, and minimizes the spread of the coronavirus. Biden plans to take federal measures to offer interest-free loans to businesses who qualify through the duration of the crisis. The proposal will be coordinated with the Treasury Department and the Small Business Association. The plan also calls for a new program that gives states funding, directly increasing lending to small businesses.

In order to provide employer assistance for job maintenance, a State and Local Emergency Fund would be created, which Biden says could help keep workers on the job. Further, the fund would also allow cities and states to create new job initiatives to address declines in employment. Lastly, to tailor to low-income individuals, cost barriers for prevention of and care for COVID-19 will be eliminated. As the first Black and Indian American woman to represent California in the United States Senate, Kamala Harris serves as the current Democratic vice presidential nominee for the 2020 election and Joe Biden;s running mate. Harris prides herself for her dominant belief in the promise of America, and fighting to fulfill that promise for all Americans. Since the candidate was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, Kamala introduced and co-sponsored legislation to increase the minimum wage to $15, support the middle class, reform cash bail, and defend the legal rights of refugees and immigrants. As stated on Harris’ campaign site, “her first priority as vice president will be to give working and middle class families an overdue income boost. Under her plan, she’ll reverse President Trump’s trillion-dollar tax cut for big corporations and the top 1% and use that money to give a tax credit of up to $6,000 to working families each year.” Families earning less than $100,000 annually will be provided a refundable tax credit up to $6,000 under her proposed legislation. Harris plans to utilize her determination to perform successfully as vice president.

Eligibility to vote consists of two factors: you must be a U.S. citizen and be 18 or older. This voting cycle, there are two methods to vote: in person (strongly suggested) or by mail.

If you are a registered voter, you will be sent a ballot in the mail no later than 29 days prior to Election Day. If you are too young to become a registered voter and are of the age 16 or 17, online pre-registration is available at registertovote.ca.gov.

Each applicant must meet the following criteria: must be a U.S. citizen and California resident, not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court, and not currently on parole for the conviction of a felony according to the California Secretary of State, Alex Padilla. Once individuals have gone through the pre-registration process, the registration will become active as they reach the age of 18. The first method of voting is in person.

Depending on voter preference, this can be completed as an early vote, or Election Day vote. If in person is your desired voting approach, it is important to note that although this election season differs due to the current pandemic, most election agencies maintain consistent polling locations to avoid confusion. Competent election administrators will send a postcard a few weeks prior to Election Day as a reminder to registered voters where to cast ballots, pertaining to early voters as well. Polling locations could also be found online by visiting the Secretary of State’s my voter status tool. If you plan to vote early, keep in mind that the voting period runs from Monday, October 5, 2020 to Monday, November 2, 2020. Early voting and vote-by-mail ballot drop off destinations are included on the Secretary of State’s Early Voting website. If you are a first-time voter who registered via mail, and did not include proof of identification such as driver’s license number, the last 4 digits of your SSN (Social Security Number), and California ID number on your registration, it is likely you may be prompted to show ID when you vote. Acceptable forms of ID include: U.S. passport, driver’s license, student ID card (displaying name & photograph), or the sample ballot booklet you received from your county’s election office. Suppose you do not provide a form of self-identification, you will be able to vote a provisional ballot. It is highly encouraged that every individual who has the ability votes properly this election season. Every vote matters and is especially vital in shaping the country. This is your opportunity to champion for a systemic change and make a decision that will draw the change that you want to see.

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Feat Boba Bots (Mills Robotics Team): Led by Michael Huang (12) and Veronica Turner (12), the Boba Bots are Mills’ robotics team that competes in the First Robotics Competition (FRC).

FRC is a robotics competition where high school teams from all over the nation gather and compete in different games. Aside from competing in the FRC, the Mills Robotics Team promotes Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) and robotics within the community, often participating in community events and presenting at local middle schools. This year they have transitioned to a digital curriculum format, preparing exciting and unique activities for new and returning members. Despite the pandemic cancelling in-person robotics competitions, the team plans to attend a number of digital competitions and events to digitally display their robot. They are currently attending Calgames 2020, a now digital robotics competition, with the hope of winning the team imagery award. No prior experience is needed to join, as they are always happy to see new members! They can be contacted through their email at mrtteam253@ gmail.com. Their club meeting times are Tuesdays and Fridays every week, from 2:45-4:00pm.

Mills Math Team: Led by Bryce Wang (12), Ethan Robson (12), and Noel Lkhagvatsogt(12), the Mills Math Team teaches algebra, geometry, number theory, and probability in order to prepare its members for math competitions. Every week, there is either a lesson on one of the four main principles of math or a set of practice problems from previous math competitions. Mills Math Team attends many math competitions throughout the year, including the American Mathematics Competition (AMC), MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge (M3C), and the Berkeley Math Tournament (BMT). Their main objective is to strengthen their members’ math skills in order to prepare everyone for competitions.

Anyone is welcome and you do not have to be good at math to join! Meetings are held every Monday afterschool from 3:30 to 4:30. You can contact them through their Remind by texting @millsmaths to 81010 or by emailing Bryce Wang at 21wangb95@stu.smuhsd.org

PC Club: Led by Coleman Yeung (11) and Nathan Choi (11), PC Club educates students on computer hardware and establishes an environment of like-minded students that have an interest in computers. Their club provides tech support, hosts Kahoot competitions, and discusses the latest technological advancements. They want to continually expand student knowledge and build a strong platform for individuals to seek and provide help on computers. PC Club will soon be hosting a workspace setup competition. You can visit their website pcclub.now.sh for club info and updates as well as follow their Instagram @millspc.club. Their meetings are on Fridays from 2:45 - 3:15.

Chemistry Olympiad Team: Led by Alex Lee (12), the Chemistry Olympiad Teamprepares students who love chemistry to compete in the Chemistry Olympiad in March. The team reviews AP Chemistry material and study the Chemistry Olympiad questions from previous years. Their final objective is to successfully prepare and do well on the Chemistry Olympiad in March. Being on the team does not mean that you have to take the Olympiad; you can still come to study Chemistry and have fun. The team is currently reviewing the AP Chemistry materials from last year’s Fall Semester. Meeting times are each Friday from 2:45 to 3:15 at Mr. Paul’s Zoom meeting room, and you can contact the club at this discord server: https://discord.gg/MS6Vwwc.

Girls Who Code: Led by Naomi Zhao (11), Girls Who Code (GWC) is a club that seeks to close the gender gap in technology. GWC learns and teaches members how to make simple programs in Python (a computer programming language) and take advantage of opportunities that arise in computer science and STEM. Their ultimate objective is to increase female member involvement and knowledge in computer science. Their upcoming plans include teaching the basics of Python and offering many panel opportunities relating to STEM, computer science, or females in CS. The club is open to anyone, regardless of gender or coding experience. GWC meets every Thursday from 11:55am-12:15pm, and you can contact them on Instagram @gwcmills.

Physics Tutoring Club: Led by Alex Lee (12), the Physics Tutoring Club provides help to students in all levels of Physics. The club provides peer to peer help to make sure that all Mills students have an additional resource for studying Physics and have the tools to succeed in their respective classes. If you are confident in Physics and want to help your peers, you can join the club. Tutoring sessions happen every Tuesday flex period from 2:00-2:45 in Ms. Cotter’s Zoom room. You can also join the club’s Discord server at https://discord.gg/B22tq43.

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The Filipino American Association: The Filipino American Association is a group of mainly Filipino Americans looking forward to educating and learning about their culture.

Their club focuses around Filipino culture, history, and bringing their community closer together. In the past, they participated in club fairs where they sold various filipino dishes, like lumpia. To show off other parts of their culture like dance, the club participates in the yearly international assembly. They are planning on putting together community building activities, as well as potentially have movie nights where they watch a Filipino movie, or play trivia games about Filipino history and culture. You do not have to be Filipino to join the club. For more information you can follow their Instagram page @millsfaa.

Instagram (@mills.ssj), or their meetings every Friday from 2:45 to 3:15.

Korean Culture Club: Led by Serena Choi (11), the Korean Culture Club (KCC) is a place where people can come together to learn and discuss different aspects in Korean culture such as the language, mannerism, music, food, history, traditions, festivals, and much more. The club hopes to introduce more people to Korean culture, The KCC have a Kpop dance team that covers Kpop choreographies, play interactive games, discuss all aspects of Korean culture, and host club bondings. They are gonna host their first virtual Kpop dance class where members can learn the dance to their favorite Kpop artists and just hang out with other club members. Korean Culture Club meets every other week on Friday in Ms. Soda’s zoom. The club’s Instagram is @mhs.kcc and you can join their Remind by texting @mhskcc to 81010. All new members are welcomed.

Black Student Union: Led by Aaliyah Stewart (11), Mills Black Student Union (BSU) aims to increase social, historical, political, and cultural awareness of the black community at Mills and they strive to achieve Black empowerment through community building, education, and leadership development. This year they are collaborating with other BSU clubs in SMUHSD. Right now they are working on a letter to the district about what BSU students think is needed. They also talk about black issues, black culture, black history, and hear about black experiences. The BSU hopes to help influence change and create a supportive community for black students and staff in their district. The club meets every Friday at 2:45.

Japanese National Honor Society: Led by Ethan Katsuyama (12), the Japanese National Honor Society (JNHS) promotes interest in studying the language of Japanese and promotes increased Japanese-United States relations. JNHS participates in various Japanese cultural events, as well as virtually meeting with native Japanese students. They will be participating in the Onigiri Action project where the JNHS will be making Onigiri Rice Balls for donations to children, as well as the Origami Crane project where they will be folding origami cranes to replace the original paper crane flags that were lost during the 2016 Millbrae Community Center fire. The club meets each Monday during Lunch.

Latina Mentor Program: The Latina Mentor Program is a fun and uplifting club which encourages young girls to pursue a successful future through mentorship. In previous years, they were involved in many school events such as the international assembly and food fair. They also have a ballet folklorico dancing team that helps girls develop confidence and learn about Latin culture. This year they are just trying to stay connected and support each other through these challenging times. They are most likely going to get back to practicing dance and prepare for upcoming events. They meet every Tuesday at 2:45 on Zoom.

Chinese Culture Club: Led by Alyssa Chew (11) and Naomi Zhao (11), the Chinese Culture Club (CCC) is a welcoming and fun place where students can come to meet people with similar interests in Chinese culture. This year, the CCC plans to teach members how to make Chinese arts, crafts, and Chinese food, and watch Chinese dramas/movies, while simultaneously learning about Chinese Culture. All students of every ethnicity are welcome to join. Club meeting times are from 2:45 to 3:00 every other Friday, and you can contact the club at Chew’s email: 22chewa53@stu.smuhsd.org.

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Feat Interact Club: Led by Naran Luvsanravdan (12) and William Handoko (11), Interact is an international organization that serves their local and international communities through service projects, volunteerism, and promoting international peace understanding. As an individual club, they promote positive student relations and leadership skills, as well as an introduction to the various aspects of community/campus/international service, which resulted in the club receiving the Millbrae Club of the Year award.This year the club intends to increase their freshman membership and provide as many community service events for their members despite the pandemic. Interact is currently, knitting scarves with other Interact clubs in their district for people in need, holding Among Us and movie bondings, and other service projects that they can do from their homes. They can be contacted through their email (millshs.interact@gmail. com), their Instagram (@millshs.interact) and their Discord https://discord.gg/MXqSpHm.

Key Club: Led by Serena Choi (11), Key Club is an international student-led organization that provides members with opportunities to serve, build character, and develop leadership.

They provide different volunteer opportunities and raise awareness for different organizations such as UNICEF and Pediatric Trauma Program Week (PTP), and also contribute/help the community in a variety of ways. Key Club is currently raising awareness for an organization called Trick-or -Treat for UNICEF where they have different classes and watch a variety of informational videos. Each video someone watches will count as a donation towards UNICEF and will contribute to getting mothers and children the tetanus shots that they need.

This year they plan to fundraise $500 for this cause and earn over 200 service hours within their club. They meet through Ms. Montani’s zoom link every other Tuesday. The club’s Instagram is @mills.keyclub and you can join their Remind by texting @millskeyc to 81010.

Gender and Sexualitities Alliance: Led by Khloe Lagunte (11), the Gender and Sexualities Alliance (GSA) is a club that educates others about the LGBTQAI+ community, what it means to be an ally, how to be supportive of those who are apart of the community, and what the different genders and sexualities are. To join the club, you do not have to be a part of the LGBTQAI+ community or disclose if you are; you can pose as an ally for others. The GSA is currently planning to put together a virtual Queer Stories (TEDx style event), where they invite speakers from different organizations to speak about their experiences, watch educational videos, and build a better community in doing so. Their meetings are every Friday from 2:50-3:15. For more information visit their bitly link, bit.ly/millsgsa or follow their Instagram @millsgsaclub.

BAYCATS: The Bay Area Youth Climate Activist Team (BAYCATS) are a San Mateo County-wide environmentalist group that centers around activism, and better educating themselves on environmental issues. This year, the club plans on completing extensive work towards environmental education and actions such as advocating for the ban single-use plastics in the county, starting with plastic utensils. BAYCATS also plans to expand and be able to have more influence on the entire county so they can be tackling the same obstacles in different cities simultaneously, as well as educating people so they hopefully start taking climate change more seriously. In an effort to reduce waste,the BAYCATS are currently working on a waste campaign to convince local leaders in Millbrae to ban the use of plastic utensils. BAYCATS meet every Thursday at 4:00 pm and occasionally on Tuesdays as well.

Students For Social Justice: Led by Lillian Chang (12), the Students for Social Justice are a club and extracurricular program that raises awareness and promotes anti-racist behavior among Mills Students. This club is a collaboration with the Millbrae Anti Racist Coalition and is the combined efforts of both students, Mills alumni, parents, and teachers. They participate in various social justice-related projects/initiatives, active discussions on social justice-related issues, collaborate with the Millbrae Anti-Racist Coalition.

This year the Students for Social Justice is planning to complete 3-5 community projects surrounding various issues relating to race and racial inequality. They are also releasing a Mills Culture and Racial Experiences Survey to further the conversation about racial issues within Mills. You can contact them at their email, (millsstudentsforsocialjustice@ gmail.com), Instagram (@mills.ssj), or their meetings every Friday from 2:45 to 3:15.

California Scholarship Federation (CSF): Led by Tina Lam (12), the California Scholarship Federation (CSF) Club is a service based club that accepts students that are high achieving and want to help the community. Students who want to enter are required to have a 3.6 GPA, and members who stay for two or more years are eligible for a graduation sash provided from CSF. They are currently working with a local senior home to provide residents with support and community interaction; they primarily do so by playing games, such as Jeopardy, getting to know them, and listening to their life stories. CSF meets each Tuesday from 2:45-3:45 and can be contacted through their Instagram @mhs_csf_club.

Red Cross Club: Led by Keefer Yip (12), and Tina Lam (12), the Red Cross Club of America is a volunteer organization that is a part of the American Red Cross. They coordinate with the community and the larger Red Cross organization of the West Bay to find volunteer opportunities to present their members with. Before the pandemic, the Red Cross Club hosted blood drives and supported blood drives across the community. Currently, the club is preparing to attend community events on topics such as emergency preparedness.They meet on the first Friday of every month at 2:45, which may change if they have more volunteer opportunities.

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Model United Nations: Led by Gabriela Handoko (12) and Carrie Ho (12), the Model United Nations is an educational simulation of the United Nations, an intergovernmental organization intended to maintain peace. Students in the club learn about public speaking, diplomacy, and writing. MUN prepares for 3 big conferences at Stanford, UC Berkeley, and UC Davis in which students are given a topic and a position to debate about and find resolutions as a team. Because of the difficulty of holding conferences, the club is focusing on developing skills around public speaking and diplomacy, and their leaders will help other people achieve that. Rather than competition, this year they’d like to focus on development. They plan on holding online training sessions, collaborating with students from Cal Berkeley’s MUN team to train them on the procedures of MUN and other MUN clubs in the district. Additionally, MUN may participate in online conferences held by Stanford, Cal, and UC Davis. You can contact the club presidents through their emails (21handokog59@stu.smuhsd.org and 21hoc94@stu.smuhsd.org), or their Instagram @mhs_mun.

Handmade Art Club: Led by Kaelyn Fung (11) and Kriste Deng (11), Handmade Art Club is a club that focuses on encouraging aspiring Mills artists to create and learn more about art.

The club focuses on four main topics: community art, art opportunities, community bonding/ service, and artistic exploration. They will be painting murals in public areas, doing group art projects, and creating artwork up around their neighborhood. The club does a lot of art related (and also non-art-related) bonding activities and community service, as well as exposing members to numerous different artistic mediums, techniques, so that they can really learn more about the art world and foster their creativity. They are currently planning to paint a mural on the Mills campus when students are able to return, experiment with different forms of art, and do more art projects in their neighborhoods. Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month from 2:45 to 3:15; you can contact them at their email: mills.hmartclub@gmail.com.

Drawing a Difference: Led by Noah Ku (12), Drawing a Difference is a graphic design club where students learn how to draw digitally using Adobe Illustrator. Each week,club members follow along with the presentation and learn how to create digital posters, logos, or infographics.

Their goal is to help all members become more comfortable in using the online tools used for digital art and help design posters for certain classes like Media Arts. The members of Drawing a Difference will have an opportunity to sign up for future digital art contests that are hosted by third parties. Noah Ku himself will be submitting the artwork and giving suggestions to participants to ensure that everyone has the highest chance at winning a prize or award. The club meets every Monday at 2:00-2:30, and you can contact Ku directly at 21kun98@stu.smuhsd.org

WOW Christian Club: Led by Caleb Woo (11), the WOW Christian Club is a safe environment where students can come learn more about God and make friends. The club plays games, serves the community, listens to speakers, and has small group time where they talk with one another. Their goal this year is to keep people connected and to learn more about showing God’s love together as a community, even though everyone may be physically distant this year. They are currently partnering with other High School Christian Clubs in packaging gifts for Operation Christmas Child. The organization will help them send the gifts over to children all over the world so that they can receive presents this Christmas. The club meets every Friday at 2:45 and you can contact them on their Instagram @wow_christian_club, and get reminders by texting @millswow to 81010.

Bay Tsunami Warriors (Dragon Boat): The Bay Tsunami Warriors are an independent Dragon Boat team founded in 2019. The team competes in a race against other Dragon Boat teams, in a twenty person boat with a drummer and steerer. The club practices weekly in order for their team to be ready in races throughout the year, which can range from the regional level to international. This year, Dragon Boat is working out online during quarantine to stay in shape when water practices can resume, and building teamwork through bondings. Attendance is not mandatory for every meeting, so if you are looking to have some fun and workout with them, feel free to join. Meetings are on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 3:30- 4:30. You can contact them on Instagram @btwdragonboat , or their email baytsunamiwarriors@gmail.com.

FCCLA: The Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), Mills Chapter is a community service and leadership club that is part of a nationwide organization that provides students with technical and leadership experience. The Millbrae chapter focuses on family consumer sciences, and can provide strong leadership experience for students who participate. The chapter encourages members to participate in opportunities for personal development and to take action in their community. They are planning on giving back to their community by helping those who have been impacted by the pandemic.

They are currently looking for new members; you can contact them through their Instagram @fccla.mills and @fccla_reigon5. Meeting times are on Fridays from 2:45 to 3:15.

Chess Club: Led by Wesley Tam (12) and Andrew Yang (12), Chess Club is for people who wish to learn how to play chess, want to improve their chess skills and strategy, or just want to watch others play. The club mostly plays chess as a fun way to destress and take a break from school. They want members to learn and enjoy the game of chess while also learning some important life skills such as patience, planning, and perseverance. Chess club is planning to do a chess tournament near the end of the year, (if there is enough interest in it) with a prize for 1st place. They meet every Tuesday and Friday at 2:45 pm at this link: bit.ly/mhs_colson.

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ata Science is now being offered as a math course at Mills High School in this 2020-21 school year.

Taught by AP Statistics and Algebra II teacher, Lai Bui, this sixth period class currently has twenty-one total students in it, majority being seniors, with two juniors. The class’ prerequisites are Algebra 1 and Geometry, so this class can be taken as early as a student’s freshman year if they have completed these courses beforehand.

Data Science covers similar topics to that of AP Statistics, however, this class requires students to look at larger, more realistic data sets that incorporate multiple variables in them. It also involves analyzing and creating visual data representations using the computer coding language R. Ms. Bui described “people who study data science do tend to use R, but it’s not the main part of this class [....] it is the tool we use to try to create and analyze the things we want.”

One senior, Kailah Pintor described “so far in this class, I learned how to code in R Studio [...] It’s pretty confusing at first, but once you start understanding and connecting ideas together, it’s fun and easy.”

The rigor of this class is similar to that of an AP course, as it is a college level class normally completed in one semester. Senior, Leanna Yu, addressed that “the amount of work is not a lot, but it will require time if you want to fully understand the concepts because as with any computer programming language, it can get confusing and difficult.”

Students are currently learning

Features about data frames and understanding the various factors involved in data collection, as seen through a recent lab experiment conducted on Jupyter Notebooks. This newly introduced open-source web application will be used throughout the year, as many professional data scientists use it to share documents with live code, equations, and visualizations.

Senior, Justin Suboc, included, “I wanted to join the class because I never really knew anything about data science and it’s one of the most rapidly growing careers.”

This class has been taught in previous years within the San Mateo Union High School District by 2 other teachers, one of whom advocated for the addition of this course into San Mateo High School’s course offerings. San Mateo High School teacher, Cera Wong, was a part of a subteam with university professors who worked to create a curriculum for the class, apply for grant funding, and implement it into high school classrooms.

When this class was brought up in the Mills Math Department, Ms. Bui was reminded of a Freakonomics podcast episode she had listened to about the US’s math curriculum no longer matching the skills that students need in the workforce. Ultimately, Ms. Bui decided to take on teaching this new class because of this, and despite the small class this year, she expects it to grow in popularity over time. Ms. Bui noted, “I’ve noticed even other school districts are interested in offering the course so it’s going to be a part of the normal options for math class-

The Thunderbolt

anjuli niyogi The Thunderbolt

EXPERIENCE: In Data Science, students are able to learn skills applicable to rising job industries. es.”

Yu added; “I’m really glad that Mills is now offering this class because it’s the perfect introduction to understanding college data science, despite not being an AP. Surprisingly, I found out that my sister also uses the same [Jupyter Notebook] to code in her UC Berkeley data science courses.”

Ms. Bui recounted why most students can benefit from taking this course; “[data science] is not even just for students interested in STEM, but it’s for [students] to become familiar with data because it’s

so common now and bigger fluency is expected.”

Suboc added, “I can definitely see myself using the elements of this class later on in college and life. I want to explore actuarial science and it requires heavy computer and data science understanding. Hopefully this class introduces me well to the topics and encourages me to better comprehend future college material.”

Data Scientists are one of the most common jobs utilizing Data Science. As a Data Scientist, one must use components of Comput-

er Science, Math + Statistics, and Business. These skills can be used for a wide range of fields such as medical in identifying and predicting disease or even in sports by analyzing data and making predictions on the next rising stars in the sport.

Data Science has been highly in demand starting with the beginning of the 21st century and is rapidly expanding to fit the needs of different job sectors. The skills students will learn will carry them throughout the rest of their time in school and into their career, if they choose to go into a job that uses data science.

New Mills Math Course: Data Science

By Anjuli Niyogi, Editor-In-Chief

Karine Chan The Thunderbolt

SAFETY:

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COVID-19,

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sad result of COVID-19 has been the necessary shut down of many businesses. From department stores to chain restaurants, anyone and everyone has had to take a break from working in order to protect themselves from this fast spreading virus. As a result of closing, revenue has inevitably gone down. Many people suffered from unemployment and some businesses lost so much they were forced to close for good.

As a senior here at Mills as well as an employee at The Little Gym of Millbrae (a gymnastics establishment for young children), I have had first hand experience of the ef-

businessess

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fects COVID has had on businesses. Working through a pandemic as well as school has definitely been strenuous, but being unemployed for nearly five months arguably took a greater toll on me. Still living under my parents roof, I am lucky enough to not have to worry about living expenses, yet I still found myself tight on money. Expenses I take care of myself—as in food, clothing, and personal care—mixed in with no longer having a constant flow of money lead me to mind my spending much more closely. Now being back at work for approximately three months now, my paycheck is still far below my average income,

to

uphold

safety

protocols.

as school is now a factor that takes up a great deal of time.

Alongside money being tight, guidelines and changes to how businesses run have been greatly altered. Some universal changes that businesses have undergone is lowering the maximum capacity, hours shifting (I used to work four to five days a week ranging from four to six hours, now I have been reduced to two days a week for around three hours per day), masks being implemented as a requirement, and of course, cleaning—all the time.

Because my job is extremely high contact, ensuring everything is as sanitary as possible is a major factor

in being able to return back to work.

Pre-covid, yes of course we were sanitary—kids washed their hands before going in for snack, all the tables and windows got wiped down at the end of the day, etc.—but now we are wiping down everything two to three times, and that is only accounting for the few hours I am there.

While cleaning has skyrocketed, the amount of children we are allowed to have in the gym has dropped tremendously. Camps used to be jam packed with around thirty kids, but now we have around seven to eight—which can be credited to government regulations of having a max of twelve children and parents’ active concern for bringing their children to such a high contact place. It’s daunting to these children, as many are too young to fully comprehend the dangers of Corona.

They don’t understand why we tell them not to get too close to each other, or why they cannot hug their friend goodbye.

With all these changes and different safety measures being executed, work has started to feel more tiring and less fun. We used to be able to play giant group games and the kids would love it, but now it’s all “hey keep airplane arms distance from each other” and “I’m sorry you can’t sit that close to them”. I have experienced instances where a child presumed I was being unfair to her because I would not let her sit at the same table as her friend, but what this child did not understand is that they each had an assigned seat at the far ends of each table (one at each end) and we could not risk any more cross contamination between kids.

Now don’t get me wrong, the safety measures are one hundred percent justified—I guess what I am getting at is it sucks how much COVID has taken a toll on previously fun and enjoyable things.

Reopening with all the new protocols at the same time as school has begun has also been a really difficult transition. After spending hours on Zoom calls doing endless assignments while listening to teachers go on for what feels like forever, the last thing I want to do is go to work.

In all honesty I am exhausted. When working last year after school, yes I was tired, but at least I could look forward to giving the kids hello hugs and high fives. Now there is little to look forward to, unless you count a new clorox bottle as exciting. It is kind of a sad case that a lot of the school work teachers are giving out just feels like busy work, so rather than learning, it is just taking up time and energy. Once class is out, I take an hour or so to do homework then it is off to work for the last few hours of camp. Once I get home, it is right back to the computer and I find myself finally being able to relax far too late into the night. Finding a good balance between school and work has definitely been one of my biggest challenges, but I’m making do.

Whether you’re back at school, work or both—please make sure you are staying happy and healthy!

And if you are going out to establishments, please wear a mask and practice proper social distancing.

With all of us working together, we can only hope for blue skies ahead!

Pandemic Experience as a Student Worker

By Karine Chan, Editor-In-Chief

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Edgenuity: An Independent Study Feature

By Melissa Catpo, Staff Writer

hile most students in the San Mateo Union High School district have chosen to attend Zoom classes everyday and virtually interact with their classmates, some students have opted for a different route: independent study. This asynchronous learning option gives students the opportunity to learn the same course material, but at their own pace. At Mills specifically, there are more upperclassmen as opposed to underclassmen taking independent studies. The upperclassmen tend to be more comfortable with maintaining high self motivation and keeping themselves on schedule in comparison to underclassmen who are still adjusting to high school.

The San Mateo Union High School District uses Edgenuity, an online school program, to administer independent studies. Edgenuity has a list of pre-prepared courses that teachers can assign to students to do independently. In independent learning, students watch a semi powerpoint presentation every morning about the daily lesson and complete a certain amount of quizzes and assignments throughout the

course. Students in independent learning can work on their assignments at any time of the day, while students in synchronized learning follow a specific schedule to work on assignments during real time class periods. Because students taking independent studies do not have teachers, school counselors check in on them to make sure they are thriving academically.

I interviewed one of two independent studies advisors, Ms. Battaglini. A student taking independent learning gets assigned an advisor and always checks in with them so that they finish their course on time. Ms. Battaglini explained that her role is to, “track the student’s progress and to meet with them to talk about where they are in the program and help them keep on a steady pace”. Ms. Battaglini thinks the biggest difference between independent studies and synchronous learning is that, “in independent studies, the student must learn all the material without the assistance of a teacher. If a student has questions or does not understand the material, they must go back through the lessons to try and understand it.

There is no one to ask questions to or to ask for help. My role is not to teach the students, but to meet with them, track their progress, and help them move through the program”.

Ms. Battaglini thinks every individual is different and their style of learning varies, with some needing more support and interactive work than others. Ms. Battaglini added, “In a synchronous class, students have a teacher to help them understand the curriculum and they often work with other students in the class. In independent study, each student is moving through the course at their own pace and individually”.

When asked why she chose independent studies, Senior Sophia Baltasar explained, “I didn’t want to spend a long duration of time on my computer, and wanted to find a way to ‘chunk out’ my screen time over the school day”. Sophia spends about 45 minutes a day on each Edgenuity class rather than an hour and 15 minutes. Sophia added, “Edgenuity classes are super efficient and easy to navigate.

I feel that I am learning the necessary amount of material in a steady

manner”. Baltasar likes the daily lectures and says it’s easy to stay attentive. “In my opinion, the assignments and projects are reasonable. However, it is a bit difficult since assignments are graded by a computer, so it’s hard to predict what the course expects from you sometimes”, Sophia commented in regards to the assignments and projects. Although Baltasar isn’t very fond of assignments, she does like the quizzes. She commented, “I like the quizzes; I feel that they sufficiently prepare us for the unit tests. The quizzes and exams pick at the main points we really need to take home rather than the small details we tend to forget over time”.

Sophie was asked which course she currently prefers and she responded, “I like Edgenuity, but I would not take an independent study AP course over a synchronized learning AP course. Taking an AP course requires additional time to prepare yourself for an exam, and it’s difficult to get real, personalized feedback on writing assignments.

Otherwise, I do prefer taking a CP independent study course over a synchronized one”.

After Sophia’s interview on her thoughts and feelings towards independent Studies, Senior Keefer Yip was interviewed as well. Yip spends 30 minutes to an hour daily on Edgenuity. Keefer’s response to why he chose Independent Studies was, “I didn’t enjoy the synchronized class and thought it was unproductive. Also, I am pretty busy because I am taking concurrent enrollment classes along with my normal school schedule, so I felt that having a class that I could have more leniency on would be a great fit, and it

is”. Similar to Baltasar’s response, Yip also thinks Independent Studies is better for time management and productivity. Overall, Keefer thinks Edgenuity classes are, “absolutely great, they’re not too hard and are easy to understand. I feel like I am learning a lot more than I would in person”. Yip doesn’t have strong feelings towards the lectures and assignments; he thinks they are fine and have a good structure, but could be improved. Yip likes the testing system and says, “it is exactly as we learned in the lecture, and we are able to use our notes.

Some might think this takes away from the learning, but I believe this is a better way to learn”. When asked which method he prefers, Yip responded, “... practically all aspects of my Edgenuity course are better than I could imagine for the synchronized course. This is for many reasons, such as the testing, learning atmosphere and environment, freedom, leniency, and much, much more”. Both students agree that their advisors are doing an excellent job keeping in contact and providing help if needed.

Independent Studies can be very beneficial, as students are able to learn and pace themselves depending on their academic abilities. Independent studies can teach students to manage their time, work independently, and stay motivated. Despite this, there is no ¨right¨ method, it all depends on the individual student and what they need in order to be successful in learning. Some students prefer and flourish more independently and are self-driven, while others prefer to work with peers and complete assignments as a class.

John Doe

Lauren Bodenlos

is Mills’ new Instructional assistant. She graduated from Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, GA in May with a BA in Women’s, Gender, Sexuality Studies, and Religious Studies. Bodenlos enjoys meditation, baking, and comedy. Her areas of study focus heavily on ethics and social justice, because of that she has spent a lot of time mulling over her personal values and trying to figure out how she can best live by those values. When Badenlos graduated college she knew that she wanted to work directly with people, engage marginalized communities, and contribute to the creation of energizing and welcoming spaces; however, she wasn’t exactly sure what that would look like. In college Bodenlos found herself teaching and tutoring in shelter settings, teaching gender and racial equity to high school and college students, and supporting student movements on campus. Bodenlos never planned to go into education but ended up happy to have found something that aligns with her values and adds energy to her life.

Bodenlos aims to get to know new students this year and has had a blast working with everyone so far. She is excited to see where the year will take us, be that online or in person.

Justin Cotrell is a new health teacher at Mills.

He grew up in Pacifica and is still living there today.

He has 2 daughters attending San Jose State University and Terra Nova High School, his previous high school. He started teaching because he wanted to give students opportunities that he never got when he was in high school. His alma mater did not have a music program when he went there. When he started teaching there in 1999, he decided to build up their marching band. In 2015 he taught Health full time and never looked back. One of the reasons he enjoys teaching Health is because students are able to make healthy choices for the better, and his hope is that through the experiences students learn in his class, they can develop healthy habits to support their lives and find their best selves. He is working harder than ever because all of the students are showing up and doing their best to tune in and engage even if it’s through screens.

NE

Janeen Malesta is a new English teacher

at Mills. Malesta has two children in high school: a senior and a sophomore. She became a teacher because she is a first-generation college graduate, so it was a career she knew well. Malesta was certified to teach online through San Francisco State University, where she taught last year. She was on a leave of absence from the district to finish her dissertation. Because of her training, and because she has been teaching online since March her aim is to make her students feel comfortable and to have as much fun as possible. Malesta is an animal lover and in her home she has three rescue cats and three rescue dogs. She has been dealing with the pandemic by feeling grateful; Malesta knows that she is very lucky to be able to work from home and that her parents are retired and safe from this pandemic.

Gina Vannini

is the Family Engagement Coordinator at Mills High School and is excited to work closely with families to strengthen their relationship with the school. As a Guatemalan immigrant, Vannini has spent extensive hours at the San Mateo Adult School as a student, volunteer, and then substitute. A position then opened up at Burlingame High School as an English Learner Specialist and Family Engagement Coordinator, which is where she has been working for over five years. Vannini looks forward to helping students be successful and hopes families understand that they can rely on Mills staff like her for support this year.

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As the new school year arrives, an influx of ne their journeycareers at Mills High School. Due able to interact and personally get to know their for that The Thunderbolt has come up with a co you get to know our new members of the Viking their lives away from the hussle bussle of back Below is a list of new faculty bios that gives in

Janeen Malesta is a new English teacher

at Mills. Malesta has two children in high school: a senior and a sophomore. She became a teacher because she is a first-generation college graduate, so it was a career she knew well. Malesta was certified to teach online through San Francisco State University, where she taught last year. She was on a leave of absence from the district to finish her dissertation. Because of her training, and because she has been teaching online since March her aim is to make her students feel comfortable and to have as much fun as possible. Malesta is an animal lover and in her home she has three rescue cats and three rescue dogs. She has been dealing with the pandemic by feeling grateful; Malesta knows that she is very lucky to be able to work from home and that her parents are retired and safe from this pandemic.

John Doe

Staysha Veal is a new Wellness counselor.

She is a licensed marriage and family therapist that has been working with adolescents for over 10 years. She loves working in the school setting because it strives towards supporting children to grow in every aspect of their lives. Married with a new puppy, Veal enjoys painting, doing anything self-care related, and picking up new skills. As a Wellness Counselor she helps students improve their social and emotional strategies, support techniques, and covers psycho-educational topics. Her aim for this year is to make sure that students feel connected and supported socially and emotionally while they are going through this huge transition. Veal is dealing with the pandemic the best she knows how to which includes trying to take breaks when needed, using coping skills when it feels like it’s too much, and making sure she reaches out to her support network to make sure she stays connected with people.

jane eyre

Steven Yan is the new Algebra 1 and Ge-

ometry teacher for sophomores and freshman. He wants his students to feel good about math and know that success is just a matter of time and patiences In highschool Yan was a “total jock” that struggled a lot with academics and did not really understand the importance of education.

He only remembers a handful of teachers that had a positive impact in his life so he wanted to become a teacher to support students who struggled. Steven loves sports, and eating good food at restaurants, as he was previously a professional chef before coming to Mills. The pandemic has been very tough for everyone, especially his kids right now, but Yan reminds himself how lucky he is and appreciates every moment he has.

EW

aff

ew teachers and faculty are beginning or continue to the 2020 pandemic, sStudents this year are not r teachers as much they could in previous years, so ompromise! due to the 2020 pandemic. Read on as g ship, from who they are as a teacher to a bit about k to back zoom calls and endless papers to grade. nsight into who they are at Mills and as a person.

Robin Weston is Mills’ newest Bi-

ology and AP Environmental Science teacher. While she did not enjoy science much as a young student, she was inspired by an amazing teacher of hers that opened her eyes to the relevance of the subject to her life. Weston is excited to show her students how science is relevant to their lives and to make this year a fun, engaging experience despite online learning’s challenges. When she’s not spending time with students, Weston loves hiking, doing yoga, meditating, playing guitar, writing songs, and snuggling with her cats. She highly values mental and physical health and believes that “[being] kind and loving to yourself [enables you to] be kind and loving to others.”

Kiana Reyes

is the newChemistry teacher. Becoming a teacher was not anticipated in her path of life; she studied in college to become a biomedical engineer and thought she would end up working in a biotech company. As a chemistry tutor in college, she was surprised by how fulfilling it was to be able to help other students find success in chemistry. After working at a high school, she decided that she loved working at that level. This experience opened her eyes to the inequities and injustices regarding education, and noticed that she felt very passionate about doing something about it. This year she hopes to survive her first year of teaching and help her students feel supported and accepted in class. In her free time, she loves staying active, working out, and exploring nature. Reyes’s Hobbies include rock climbing (which was unfortunately put on hold because of the pandemic), reading, hiking, and singing. When the pandemic first struck, she was at first excited to get a chance to work from home. While she loves the convenience of being at home, she’s just not used to this much screen time on her eyes. Reyes is however, glad to try out this new form of learning and enjoying her days working from home

Annelise Ito is also a new instruc-

tional assistant at Mills. After a professional basketball career in Portugal, she became an Instructional assistant because she always had wanted a job with purpose and found an opening at Mills.

Her aim for this year is to help her students maintain a healthy mindset and grow throughout the school year. Ito describes herself as hard working, caring, and personable. The pandemic has been very challenging but it has been a great period of personal growth for her learning works for her students and herself.

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TRICK OR...TREAT?

KATELYN LAM STAFF WRITER

Center

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ith COVID-19 rates rising in California, many people are starting to doubt the safety of their Halloween traditions. Costume parties, get-togethers, even trick or treating are among the activities that will have to be executed differently this year. Although trick or treating may be different, there’s no reason to stop having fun. There are some risks of trick or treating this year as well as safer alternatives, but if you do decide to go out, here are some ways to stay safe!

Many people are concerned about the risks of going outside their house, especially with other children out on the street, but there should be no real cause for concern.

As long as you follow the standard precautions like staying six feet apart, wearing masks, and properly sanitizing, you should be fine! Some things to be wary of are trick or treating with people outside of your household and traveling in groups of more than 2-3 children that don’t live with you. If you do choose to travel in big groups, be sure that everyone is wearing a mask. Masks are essential to any outing and trick or treating is no exception.

It’s important to remember that not every house is okay with people knocking on their door so if their lights are out, you shouldn’t double check they’re really not home this year. Many houses will most likely leave a candy bowl out instead of letting kids come up to their door so be on the lookout for that. For those on the other side of the spectrum who choose to pass out candy at home, you may not want to be so close to so many people especially right outside your house. If you do plan on passing out candy, make sure to wear a mask when opening the door and try to pass out the candy yourself instead of letting the kids pick. If you have a doorbell, you should probably wipe it down every hour or so to be safe. To those who would rather not take the risk, a candy bowl is always a safe option. Leave one out on your front porch and then you won’t have to worry about coming into close contact with anyone. Halloween will be different this year, but as long as you follow the safety rules and stay cautious, trick or treating should be as fun as always!

this halloween:

either stay safe OR STAY home!

Although this year may be unconventional, there are still an abundance of ways to celebrate the spooky season. If you’re worried about your child collecting candy or knocking door to door this year, try a halloween scavenger hunt! This is an activity that the whole family can do, and the only materials you need are a list of halloween decorations. You can even adjust the difficulty by changing how common each item on the list is. For example, jack-o-lanterns may be something almost every block has, but how about a disco light? That’s not something you see at every house!

Halloween may be different from past years, but that doesn’t mean you should stop celebrating or having fun.

As long as everyone stays safe and respectful of other people’s boundaries, the holiday should be just as fun as any other year. Make sure to stay safe, help others stay safe, and try to make the most of the spookiest night of the year.

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Spread

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n October 31st, it’s normal to see countless numbers of fairies covered in glitter, Disney Princesses parading in ball gowns, Batmen seemingly blending into the night, and Zombies rising from the dead.

But among them lie those dressed in Native American cultural dresses, Hawaiian hula dancer outfits, and more. This is where the real problem with Halloween and cultural appropriation lies — regardless of intentions (positive or negative), appropriative costumes still perpetuate harmful stereotypes and contribute to the continuation of the violence and aggression towards marginalized peoples.

Cultural appropriation still exists today because racism remains ingrained in our history and present society. It’s been built up through generations of oppression that has been aimed at marginalized communities by groups who think of themselves as superior. With the prevalence of identities and cultures being used as jokes, injustices like Indigenous people used as mascots, Headdresses being worn at festivals, and black and brown face persist.

But the reason why these costumes are specifically offensive is because they essentially dehumanize already marginalized groups of people.

Specifically, in the case of Native Americans being used as a mere costume, as Henu Josephine Tarrant, a New York-based artist and performer of the Ho-Chunk, Hopi and Rappahannock tribes puts it, “It really is a reflection of how we look to non-Native Americans and what we are to them.”

“Cultural appropriation” is harmful because it perpetuates the constant cycle of stereotyping different groups of people. In order to truly understand the reason why these costumes are harmful in the first place, it’s necessary to highlight others’ struggles. When we do, we can spot the connection between culture, tradition, and identity and to what would seem like a “piece of clothing.” For many, their cultural clothing has been scrutinized and made fun of for years upon years. In fact, it’s common to ignore others’ feelings and excuse what they have historically been ridiculed for, by popularizing and making their cultural

katy perry appropriating Japanese culture by dressing as a geisha at the 2013 AMAs.

my CULTURE is not your costume

selena gomez at the 2013 mtv music awards wearing A BINDI & south asian GARMENTS.

KATELYN CHANG STAFF WRITER clothing suddenly accepted. Especially when this comes from someone who has never experienced the same, it is a stark example of privilege.

While you may be thinking that this entire concept of Halloween costumes being appropriated is outrageous and that it’s just a “joke,” it might be time to take a step back and think about the fact that it’s quite likely that you have never experienced the stereotyping or trivialization of your culture or have had your cultural clothing called “funny” or “disgusting.”

You may view it as a “joke,” but it comes at the expense of others. Consider taking the time to ask yourself why marginalized groups of people continue to have to fight for their rights every single day, while those with privilege find it necessary to parade around in their cultural clothing and contribute to the spread of harmful stereotypes of their group of peoples.

An active way that we can prevent cultural appropriation is highlighted through the Laurier Students’ Public Interest Research Group’s (LSPIRG) #iamnotacostume campaign. Their campaign outlines ways to correct your mistakes that you may or may not have made in the past revolving around cultural appropriation in Halloween costumes. These include remembering not to sit in guilt, moving past your mistakes, starting uncomfortable conversations, sympathizing with the groups that you have hurt or offended by making amends, and most importantly being open to learning and re-educating yourself. When we utilize these ideals, we can start to shift towards a more inclusive society and community for all.

Halloween is meant to be one of the the most fun holidays of the year. There are plenty of other costumes (that aren’t offensive) that you can dress up as. For example, why not dress up as a character from your favorite horror movie, like Chucky from Child’s Play or maybe even Jennifer from Jennifer’s Body! Whatever costume you do end up dressing up as, remember to stay safe and don’t parade around in articles of clothing from others’ culture.

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A SW Y E N D C N H E R S O D NA O Y U S S

Opinions

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The Thunderbolt

ith the switch to online school, many are finding themselves exasperated and full of angst from sitting at the computer all week long. Students, as well as teachers, are being drained by the second and have found themselves searching for an escape. With Mills High School’s current bell schedule, teachers and students are required to hop on Zoom calls five days a week—easily putting us at or over the suggested screen time per day, being one of the main reasons as to why school districts are implementing asynchronous days.

On Wednesday October 13th, Mills had its first trial run of an asynchronous school day.

Compared to the other days of the week, students do not have to attend their Zoom classes at the usual set times. Asynchronous school days have proven to be the most flexible for students, as they are able to complete their work at the time of day that fits best for them.

Simply put, asynchronous Wednesday was amazing. Having that mid week break to take a rest from Zoom calls and sleep in those extra few hours felt like a breath of fresh air. I especially enjoyed being able to work according to my schedule, rather than that of the school’s. As a night owl, I enjoy getting homework done between two and five am. I have found that my brain is the most stimulated and focused during those hours. And yes, I know I should be getting the recommended nine hours of sleep per night through that time frame, but hey, whatever gets the truck load of assignments done, right? By having an asynchronous Wednesday, my mind was able to get a much needed break, which in turn, led me to be able to be very productive once well rested.

Though it is quite transparent that I am pro-asynchronous, the benefits of it unavoidably come with concerns, one being not having the motivation to actually do work, since we are not on Zoom being monitored in live time. Having to be self reliant is a bit risky, as I know if I do not force myself to sit down and do homework, it would simply never get done. Plus, with being online and at home all the time, motivation levels are at an all time low. Falling into a bad sleep schedule is another concern of mine, as not having to attend class leads to staying up late Tuesday night and waking up far into the day on Wednesday.

Nonetheless, asynchronous Wednesdays are a plus in my mind. Our classes on Wednesday are so short anyway—being only thirty minutes—that sitting in Zoom honestly feels pointless. Thirty minutes is not enough time for a full lesson, so most teachers opt to dedicate the period to catching up on work. And if teachers do decide to fit a quick lesson in, no one really retains the information, so we are simply sitting there watching the minutes pass by. Think about it, if the class is mainly spent letting students catch up on assignments, why not let us just do it on our own time? And teachers are always available via email or even through office hours on Zoom for students who may have questions, so there's no reason why everyone should have to sit through an excruciating class period of nothingness. For the mental wellbeing and sanity of every party, asynchronous seems like our best bet.

Karine Chan Editor-in-Chief

Opinions

The Thunderbolt

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Virtual Leaning from the Perspetive of a Freshman Nagham Masarweh, Staff Writer

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his year has proven to be anything but ordinary, and that is especially true for freshmen’s first high school experiences. The repetitive cycle of Zoom call, homework, and sleep has taken away all expectations freshmen had going into Mills. Our parents would traditionally drive us to our first day of high school while giving us last minute advice, but COVID-19 has made it so that we have to steer away from previous habits. It’s strange going to class in your jammies all cozied up in your bed.

Before high school, I had a vision of what freshman year was going to look like: I was prepared to go to school everyday, experience new things, get out of my comfort zone, and make new friends. Freshman year was supposed to be unforgettable, but instead, it ended up repetitive and anti-climactic. Freshmen are now spending their time sitting in bed and

staring at a screen all day. You wake up, open your computer, go to your mandatory Zoom calls, do homework, and sleep. This cycle repeats itself for 5 days a week.

The transition to high school has been especially difficult and unmotivating. Last spring at Taylor, I attended 1 or 2 short Zoom calls (which oftentimes were compulsory) and had a few basic assignments a day. But high school was completely different. One of the most memorable days in life is the first day of school, but mine was not nearly as glamorous as I thought it would be.

On the first day, I got to start off high school in another language: Spanish. I was super nervous and anxious because I did not know how it would go and this class consists of mostly sophomores and juniors. At the same time, I was really excited for the first day of school to finally see my friends and who else was in my classes. I logged into Canvas, clicked on the link, but Zoom malfunctioned and wouldn’t let me into the call. When it finally worked, ten minutes had already gone through the class. I was about to turn my camera on so that the teacher knew what I looked like, but I noticed that only a quarter of the class had it on, so I began overthinking about what others would think if I had my camera on. I ended up not turning it on nor speaking all class because I was too nervous. The rest of the day was similar; I felt anxious about going into each class, turning my camera on, and speaking.

Since I’m more used to the schedule and flow of high school, I started finding certain moments really enjoyable, while others were stressful and overloaded with thoughts. Lana Levison (9) says, “I like how in highschool, everyone is so inclusive, staff and students are alike. It is more exciting than middle school with a lot more opportunities to pursue your interests.” Jeremiah Metry (9) thinks, “it’s very monotonous and you don’t get to see your friends now since COVID-19. But on the other hand, I feel like it is easier to get good grades.” The transition from middle school to highschool was tough due to the amount of homework we are getting this year.

During this tough time, I’ve found good moments, allowing me to focus on myself, concentrate better, get work done, and find new hobbies and talents. Along with assignments, tests, and homework, and the stress of COVID-19, there’s a lot of pressure to have your future riding on your teenage self, and virtual classes elevate that feeling. You could say it was a big change.

At the end of the day this pandemic has affected everything and everybody. Yes it has caused unfortunate events but there is hope that things will go back to normal.

Why We Should Lower the Voting Age to 16 Max Zaninovich, Staff Writer

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he current age to legally vote in America is 18, but it should be lowered to 16. The 26th Amendment of the United States Constitution states that the minimum age to vote in federal elections is 18 as part of the Voting Rights Act of 1970. The 26th amendment that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 was a largely controversial topic, but was institutionalized following the military draft for the Vietnam War. However, the voting age should now be lowered even further to 16 years old—if you can get a job and drive a car at 16, why shouldn’t you be able to vote?

If the voting age was reduced to 16, more people would be able to vote, therefore a higher percentage of the U.S. population would have a say in their elected officials and more people would be satisfied with the candidates elected. Additionally, in high school, all students are required to take history classes, where they learn about voting and the voting system, meaning the information is fresh in their minds. This would make 16 and 17 year olds more inclined to vote, and there is evidence that states that if you vote on your first ballot, it is likely to lead to a lifetime of voting. Karine Chan (12) explained, “We have our parents with us so they can help us register and walk us through the voting process. When you are 18, you are by yourself and have to figure it out on your own.” It is also important to add that most 18 year olds have just started at a new college during election time, and voting is likely not the first thing on their minds. On top of that, a 16 year old can legally work a job and be taxed. If you are old enough to have the government take a percentage of your money, shouldn’t you be old enough to vote?

Some skeptics may claim that a 16 year old’s brain is not as developed as that of an 18 year old’s. However, according to The New York Times, “[...] the skills necessary to make informed decisions are firmly in place by 16. By that age, adolescents can gather and process information, weigh pros and cons, reason logically with facts and take time before making a decision.” This disproves the notion that a 16 year old’s mind is not as mature as an 18 year old’s and cannot make important decisions regarding our political process. Teenagers may occasionally make poor choices, but statistically speaking, they do not make them any more often than adults do.

If 16 and 17 year olds are able to vote, a larger percentage of the population of the U.S. would be represented and therefore be happier with the officials elected. 16 year olds should be able to have a say in their future.

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Sports

The Thunderbolt

Diving Into Online P.E. Joshua Choe, Staff Writer

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s a result of COVID-19, schools have been left with no other option than to educate young minds from the confinement of Zoom meetings and virtual assignments.

Physical education (PE) is no exception to this change; freshmen and sophomores alike can relate to this newest abomination to physical education in an online setting.

Currently, Mills PE teachers all have different methods of physical instruction, ranging from workout videos on YouTube, to the educational athletic training software app, PLT4M. PLT4M is an educational fitness program used by online schools that contains numerous lessons that involve a trainer displaying different exercises for students to follow along with.

Lessons mostly range from cardio in a form known as the “Dot Drill” (prearranged dots that students hop on in a specific sequence) to anaerobic exercises that utilize backpacks full of weight for students to lift. PLT4M requires that you press a “done” button after each specific workout activity is finished, in order to make sure a student is engaging with the work. After a student completes the aforementioned Dot Drill or some squats, the length of time for completion and number of reps done would be input, and the “done” button pressed.

With around seven of these workouts, it takes around 35 minutes to complete a day’s workout. Another service that is being used is called, “Orange Theory”. Orange Theory is very similar to PLT4M, however, it requires that the whole class do the workouts together, while the PE teacher shares their screen. PLT4M allows the students to work at their own pace.

As a first year student who participates in Zoom PE, a regular day starts off with me logging into Zoom, hearing a short introduction about what activities we’ll be engaging in that day, and starting a workout. I would log into PLT4M and press “start workout” for the corresponding day, watching all of the videos for the numbered activities. After the whole workout is completed and the assignments submitted, a page full of different stretches to do would be assigned. Accordingly, I would sit on the floor and complete them, while I wait for class to end. If I were to miss a class for any reason, I would have to make it up during flex periods on Tuesdays or Fridays . Occasionally, a five sentence journal entry is required for that week as a reflection over different questions assigned from the PE teacher.

Journals topics range anywhere from opinions on classes to levels of effort from each student.

Physical education is an important component to everyone’s life, especially one that students may not spend enough time on. While there is a prevalent need for physical education in school, the work assigned needs improvement. Different workouts require jumping up and down, posing a problem to students who live on the second level of an apartment building or who have parents trying to work and hold meetings. Ultimately, many of the workouts produce too much noise without consideration of a student’s home situation. PE teachers have also been grading students very harshly over variables that students have no control over, such as a bad internet connection or perhaps the inability to complete a workout effectively due to small space.

The San Mateo District High Schools are trying their best to accommodate during these hard times, however, some issues just cannot be overlooked, as there are numerous problems to be found and have yet to be addressed in these workouts.Despite the difficulties that come with online learning, PE has been adjusted to maintain the health of students within their homes.

First Look: New Mills Turf Field

Sports

The Thunderbolt

21

Student Athletes Opinions on Conditioning Melissa Catpo, Staff Writer

D uring October, student athletes typically prepare for their sports season and play in fall games; but a lot has changed for the athletes here at Mills since school switched to remote learning. Many people, including myself, have

been wondering what new rules or customs Mills’ athletes have been following due to these new circumstances.

A day in the life of a Mills athlete generally looks like this: students get ready, attend that day’s respective Zoom classes, finish their homework, and either condition at home or head off to campus to attend practice. Although conditioning at home looks different for each sport, some examples are running around their neighborhood, lifting weights, or, for sports like Basketball, practicing dribbling, passing, and shooting drills. Team practices usually happen around 2-3 times a week. In order to attend practices, athletes are required to wear a mask upon arrival. Every individual then gets their temperature checked and is asked questions regarding their COVID-19 risk exposure. Athletes have the choice to take their mask off or keep it on once practice officially starts, but coaches keep their masks on the entire time. All equipment used, like basketballs or rackets, are sanitized before and after practices. During the entire practice, only designated team members are allowed on t h e c o u r ts.

Student athletes at Mills reflected on their current conditioning experiences, expressing their concerns about the safety and future of practices. When asked about her thoughts on the newly enforced mandates and schedule, junior varsity basketball player Sianna Peel (10) mentioned, “I feel like the [COVID-19] policies are well fitting and helps everyone feel comfortable while still being able to play and work hard.” She also added that her basketball team is uncertain how games will work, as they will not begin until March. Another varsity basketball player, Serena Mezzetta (10) had mixed feelings about the modifications. She explained, “I feel okay about the schedule, I wish we could practice inside the gym rather than outside. I also wish we could scrimmage and play real games, but I am glad that we are able to practice at all.” Additionally, Jeremiah Metry (9), a prospective football player, stated, “I think it’s ridiculous.

There honestly shouldn’t be sports at all, you never know what someone has. If one person gets [the coronavirus], then we all get it.” It is evident that there is a vast range of feelings regarding the new protocols and if it is safe to continue to play sports during the pandemic.

Varsity cheerleader, Leanna Yu (12), attends practice on campus twice a week, sharing, “Although it’s unclear what will happen to sports games next semester, we continue to condition to stay in shape and prepare for the possibility of cheering at future games. Our practices generally consist of practicing cheers, stretching, improving jumps and kicks, and strength/toning or cardio workouts at the end.”

Due to abrupt and uncharted events, Mills athletes now have an abundance of different rules, schedules, and circumstances implemented in order to keep every individual safe and healthy. While some athletes feel safe and are glad sports are still continuing, others are discomforted that sports are still being played during this crisis.. Whether the new mandates are adequate or not seems to be a controversial topic, which is reflected in the attendance numbers of conditioning practices. Regardless, The Mills Thunderbolt hopes these mandates are enough to keep athletes protected from this highly infectious virus. Stay safe Vikings!

Magdeline Ko, Staff Writer

B

asketball is one of the most popular sports in America. Every year, thousands of fans attend games to get a taste of the atmosphere and cheer on their favorite teams. In 2019, the NBA generated a huge $8.76 billion worth of revenue (Statitsa). Despite not being allowed to go to the arena due to COVID, fans have been able to participate in the NBA’s reimagined way of viewing.

For the 2020 season, the NBA incorporated virtual audience members by placing 17-foot screens surrounding the court through Microsoft Teams. There are 320 seats, split into ten sections. To get a ticket, one could either sign up with the team’s website, or enter sweepstakes from Michelob Ultra. Certain teams have also reached out to season ticket holders and players’ family members. Once someone gets their ticket, the NBA would email a long list of detailed instructions on how to join, such as downloading Microsoft teams to your computer. Before attending, fans must sign a form that lists requirements, such as prohibiting swearing and signs. They must log in about 45 minutes before the game and find their virtual seat, while a Microsoft Teams software that recognizes humans sets them against a theater backdrop. By using the Together mode, half the screen would be of fellow fans in the section, while the other would be the actual game. A moderator is in every section, implementing the rules and assisting wherever needed. Like a regular game, they can talk with those

Virtual NBA Fans

around them during breaks, as well as cheer on their team. Players on court can hear their supporters, along with a mix of past cheering and music. It is a very complex, yet rewarding process for the fans and players alike.

Overall, those who got virtual tickets seemed to enjoy the new method of attending games. Season ticket holder for the Grizzlies Bongo Lady, attended a game on August second against the Spurs. Known for playing air bongos for a bongo cam during games, she even took out her personal bongos at the request of those in her section. As the game wore on, Meacham got more hyped, unmuting herself to make fun of the other team as well as cheering on her own. Even though the Grizzlies lost, she said “I’m glad to do this for the players.

If there’s any chance that it gives them some extra oomph, then it’s worth it.” Christian Rivas from SB Nation, a journalist who joined the game as a virtual fan, described the event as “hopping on a video conference with your classmates, except all of your classmates are basketball fans and the call is broadcast on national television.” Rivas explained that the people you are around greatly affect your experience of the game. He felt that “the virtual fan experience was enjoyable, something that few of us will get to say we experienced in our lifetime.” All audience members are encouraged to cheer for their teams, without any profanity, but most stay muted for fear of saying something inappropriate. Adding to the fun, a fan might get lucky and virtually sit next to celebrities. Many stars were seen having fun at games, such as Lil’ Wayne virtually high-fiving the fan next to him. Fortunately, Internet connection held out for most fans, enabling them to watch the game without interruptions. Being a virtual fan has successfully built up a sense of togetherness in sports.

The players have also started getting used to having a virtual audience in attendance. Without an audience, some players like CJ Mcollum, who plays for the Portland Trail Blazers, find that hearing random noises pumped in is strange. (Read the rest of the article at millsthunderbolt.com )

22

Entertainment

ACCEPTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL T MEDIA

By Bianca Reyes Center Spread Editor

The Thunderbolt

forei

he past few months have provided a majority of the population with an abundance of free time. Most chose to occupy this free time with their typical pastimes pre-quarantine, but baking treats and watching TikToks can only keep one’s boredom at bay for so long. Soon, the activities turned mundane and people began the endless search of new ways to occupy themselves, and for some, this meant turning to international media—more specifically, foreign films and K-Pop. Foreign films aren’t a new concept, but the recent move towards appreciating these movies is. Before, there had always been a certain stigma towards films that weren’t in English. Whether it be rooted in laziness or flat-out xenophobia, this stigma prevented people from being exposed to an overflowing amount of movies that are just as good, if not better than films originally made in English. For a while, the stigma persisted, but in October of 2019, a shift was made with the release of the Korean film, Parasite.

Parasite’s initial popularity rose through showings at Indie film festivals like Sundance, where it gained immense acclaim from both critics and audiences alike. From there, the film swept through categories at awards ceremonies, accumulating a total of 43 awards by the time awards season had ended. The most memorable award that the film won was at the 2020 Oscars, where it made history for being the first foreign film to win the category for Best Picture. This win came as a surprise, not because it was undeserving of the win, but because foreign films are rarely ever noticed at American award ceremonies, much less do they win in the category for Best Picture at the Oscars. As Director Bong Joon Ho aptly put it in his acceptance speech, “Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”

And that’s exactly what people did! Although the movie was released in the fall of last year, quarantine allowed people to finally watch the foreign films that were added to their watchlists as a result of Parasite’s success. For example, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, a French period piece that was dubbed “the best romance for our socially-distant time,” began streaming on Hulu in late March and quickly became one of the most streamed movies on the platform.

The acceptance towards international media didn’t end there, though, as quarantine led people to expand their music taste to Korean Pop, or K-Pop for short. Although this, too, was stigmatized before March, many K-Pop groups have found more international success than ever—with the groups BTS and Blackpink coming out on top of the charts. Despite both being widely popular long before quarantine started, it seems that their fame only skyrocketed when quarantine began, whether that be due to BTS’s comeback featuring their first fully English song or Blackpink’s release of their first album, both groups dominated the charts. BTS, for example, made history by becoming the first foreign act to ever top the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the U.S. The change towards the acceptance of international media is a welcomed change. Regardless of what the exact reason for turning towards international forms of entertainment is, it’s nice to see that people are overcoming that “one-inch barrier” and expanding their horizons. There’s a whole world of entertainment outside of English media waiting for you!

PARASITE

BTS