Bay Area schools tackle fentanyl crisis head on
NARCAN IS MORE AVAILABLE, BUT CAMPUSES HAVE BEEN SLOW TO ADOPT IT
By Sonia Mankame Mosaic staff writer
Facing a fentanyl overdose crisis among teens, Bay Area high schools and nonprofts are fnding ways to both save them from overdosing and prevent substance abuse by giving out medicine and changing their approach to drug education.
Summer sports
The crisis is ravaging the Bay Area, with San Francisco alone predicting 774 drug overdose deaths by the end of 2024 — roughly three times more than in 2017, according to the Offce of the Chief Medical Examiner of San Francisco.
One group fghting this crisis is the California School-Based Health Alliance, a statewide non-proft
Journalists lament lagging
LEADERS, STUDENTS URGE NEWS OUTLETS TO COMBAT STEREOTYPES
By Jorge Ramirez Gomez Mosaic staff writer
Despite the Latino population making up a quarter of the Bay Area, local Latino journalists have been fghting a lack of representation of their culture in the news industry for decades.
In a 2022 study by the Pew Research Center, 76% of journalists surveyed were white compared to the 8% who were Hispanic or
organization that has partnered with eight high schools in the Bay Area to promote the use of Narcan, a medicine that can temporarily reverse the effects of an overdose and potentially save a life.
But Narcan is still not available at every school. Sierra Lau, school health project director of CSHA, said
Continued on Page 4
Teens lean on AI for mental health support
APPS OFFER AN INEXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVE TO THERAPY, BUT EXPERTS FEEL WARY
By Nanki Kaur Mosaic staff writer
High school student Amrita Venkatesh remembers the night she spent panicking in her room, stressing about college admissions and the fate of her education.
As she frantically looked over her transcript and spiraled into a tunnel of doubt, she turned to ChatGPT, her most convenient source of support. When she typed in her worries and fears, the program responded with just the consolation she was looking for: a reminder to calm down. It offered some college application advice.
For many teenagers, digital tools such as programs that use artifcial intelligence, or AI, have become a go-to option for emotional support. As they learn to navigate and cope in a world where mental health care demands are high, AI is an easy and inexpensive choice.
Venkatesh, who will be a senior at American High School in Fremont in the fall, said she always ends up
Continued on Page 9
Textiles museum in S.J. nears fundraising goal
DONORS ANSWER THE SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF QUILTS & TEXTILES’ EMERGENCY APPEAL
By Amanda Boles Mosaic staff writer
After running a threemonth emergency fundraising appeal, one of the country’s frst museums dedicated to textile arts is nearly at its goal of raising $300,000. As of June 8, the appeal, which ends June 30, had raised just over $240,000 from more than 600 donors, said Melissa Leventon, board chair of the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles.
“It’s been very heartwarming to see the level of response we’ve had,” Leventon said.
The donations will go toward paying off the museum’s mortgage and electricity bills, among other costs needed for maintaining the facilities and art collections, Director Kris Jensen said.
A box full of free Narcan is displayed at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center on June 6.
MOSAIC PHOTO TEAM HEADS TO THE BALL PARK, SOCCER FIELD AND CRICKET PITCH
KARISSA GARZA—MOSAIC
MAXWELL ALEXANDER—MOSAIC
MOSAIC
San Jose Giants outfelder Jonah Cox hits a single into right feld for his second hit of the game against 66ers starting pitcher Barrett Kent on June 12 at Excite Ballpark in San Jose. See pages
Introducing
osaic 2024
For more than three decades, the Mosaic Journalism Program has offered underserved high school students in the San Jose area a chance to attend an intensive workshop on journalism. They leave empowered, with new skills in reporting, writing, photography and multimedia, learned in this year’s threeweek summer program in the Spartan Daily newsroom at San Jose State University. Additional students attended just the multimedia sessions.
Amanda Boles
Amanda Boles, a rising junior at Homestead High School in Cupertino, is a reporter at her high school newspaper, the Epitaph. She loves writing feature stories and sharing her opinions on American media to create an impact in her community. Outside of journalism, Amanda’s interests lie in fencing and art. Amanda has an engaging sense of humor—she says her favorite animal is the panda, which she believes refects her personality when sleep-deprived. She loves trying new foods and visiting new places. Her mantra in life is to fnd inspiring passions that fuel her enthusiasm for adventure.
Karissa Garza
— Malar Raguraman
Maxwell Alexander
A 17-year-old rising senior at Silver Creek High School, Maxwell Alexander has spent his childhood near San Jose’s Rose Garden neighborhood. He doesn’t like to have a fashy appearance and likes to live one day at a time. He embraces his laid-back, down-to-earth personality. But don’t let his calm lifestyle fool you, Max is a devoted athlete, having dedicated years to playing baseball, hockey and running track. He aspires to become a reporter for ESPN and to take over for sports talk show host Scott Van Pelt. But for now he’s working toward attending the University of Washington.
Antara Gangwal
Antara Gangwal is a rising senior at San Jose’s Leland High School. For three years, she has taken yearbook and journalism classes there, rising to the rank of co-editor for both these programs. Antara enjoys listening to various artists and bands, like SZA and Japanese Breakfast. She also likes shopping for clothing, whether it’s thrifty or expensive, in-person or online. She volunteers with Valley Verde, a program that gives lower-income families the resources to start their own garden. She lives in the Almaden neighborhood with her parents and her little sister. Antara joined Mosaic this year to further her journalism journey and write local stories.
Jazmine Heredia
Karissa Garza, a rising sophomore at James Lick High School, enjoys sports, especially soccer, and photography. She found her passion for photography in elementary school after joining her school’s yearbook club, getting the chance to see what it’s like to take “professional” photos. Wanting to stay close to home, she hopes to attend San Jose State University to study creative photography and writing. Her dream is to be able to photograph professionally for all kinds of events.
Jazmine Heredia, a recent graduate of Yerba Buena High School, is the frst person in her family pursuing a career in journalism. She took a journalism class in her sophomore year and was surprised when she took a liking to it. Jazmine said her proudest moment was when she called out her English teacher on how she disliked being the only student being repeatedly called on to share her writing, which she said helped her fnd her voice. She hopes to get professional journalism experience out of the Mosaic program. Her biggest goal is to write for the New York Times.
Iván Valencia Pérez
Iván Valencia Pérez, a rising sophomore at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, is a staff writer for his school’s news publication, the Panther. Iván describes himself as an empath, and he fnds joy from helping others fght through their problems. One day, he hopes to harness these skills and become a fourth-grade teacher. He also loves animals, especially his black cat, Cassie, who he adopted last November. After watching the movie “Rocky” in seventh grade, he was inspired to try boxing. He only boxed during middle school, but it remains the thing that brought him the most joy to this day.
Nanki Kaur
— Maxwell Alexander
Nischal Jasti
Nischal Jasti, a rising sophomore at Silver Creek High School, hiked almost 12,000 feet to the top of Sandakphu Mountain in Nepal with his family when he was 7 years old. Born in Milpitas, he moved to Bangalore, India at the age of 4, living there for three years before returning to San Jose. Nischal enjoys learning about geography and history, as well as playing the piano and volunteering at a local organization, Seva Commons. He joined his school’s journalism class on a whim but grew to enjoy its collaborative and welcoming atmosphere, and he looks forward to continuing his journey as a photographer at Mosaic this summer.
Sonia Mankame
Nanki Kaur is a rising senior at American High School in Fremont. A writer for her school and local newspapers, Nanki hopes to refne her journalistic skills at Mosaic. She believes that every person has their own unique story, and wants to tell them by pursuing journalism and public policy. Nanki is also a stage manager in her school’s theater program and loves taking part in shows. She considers herself to be an “old soul,” having a passion for all things vintage and DIY. In her free time, Nanki can be found visiting coffee shops, watching Broadway shows or reading poetry.
— Areha Shah
Jake Ryan Navarro
Jake Ryan Navarro, a rising sophomore at San Jose’s Silver Creek High School, has dabbled in various forms of media since childhood. After elementary school aspirations of being a YouTuber and joining yearbook in middle school, Jake has fnally been led to the journalism niche. A reporter for Silver Creek’s newspaper, the Raider Review, he enjoys covering a variety of topics. When he is not writing scathing reviews of local pizza restaurants, he reports on student activities within his community. Jake hopes to use his voice to explore social issues concerning younger, queer communities.
Jorge Ramirez Gomez
– Amanda Boles
Jorge Ramirez Gomez is a rising senior at San Jose High School. He is passionate about public speaking and is always looking for opportunities to develop his communication skills. Jorge grew up in a family of Mexican immigrants with his two older brothers becoming his role models and inspiring him to consider a career in law like them. Jorge maintains a confdent attitude despite sometimes struggling to relate to people and believes he can do anything he puts his mind to. Jorge is also an avid fan of video games and working out and has a “work hard, play harder” mentality. — Sonia
A rising junior and passionate writer at Santa Clara High School, Sonia Mankame was intrigued by writing and reading at an early age, and her passion has translated into leadership skills in middle and high school and becoming the focus editor for The Roar newspaper. Sonia also notes the positive effects of journalism on her life: improving her confdence and her ability to form meaningful connections. She came into Mosaic looking to improve her reporting skills, out of love for journalism and writing, and she’s considering becoming a criminal defense attorney.
Malar Raguraman
Gomez
Malar Raguraman, a rising junior at Homestead High School in Cupertino, has taken up journalism because of her affnity for a multitude of media, including Time and Rolling Stone magazines along with the online edition of the New York Times. She joined her school’s paper, the Epitaph, in her sophomore year and is planning to continue through the rest of high school, now as one of the art and culture editors. While her family is from India, she was born and raised in Cupertino. She spends her free time running and watching romantic comedy movies like “She’s the Man” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”
Areha Shah
Areha Shah, a rising sophomore at Santa Clara High School, is slated to serve as an online editor for her school’s newspaper, the Roar. When she is not writing articles, she enjoys drawing and painting, listening to Taylor Swift, and curling up in her room with a good book. Areha is eager to explore a career path that serves as a crossroads between the STEM and journalistic felds and hopes to further her journalistic and reporting abilities through Mosaic. Besides her academic interests, Areha fnds joy in feld hockey and spending time with her mother, whom she considers her inspiration.
— Iván Valencia Pérez
– Nischal Jasti
– Karissa Garza
— Antara Gangwal
— Jorge Ramirez
– Jake Ryan Navarro
— Nanki Kaur
– Jazmine Heredia
Mankame
Members of the 2024 Mosaic Journalism Program worked with professional journalists to produce this issue of Mosaic, which is marking its 31st year this summer.
From left: Iván Valencia Pérez, Jake Ryan Navarro, Antara Gangwal, Karissa Garza, Nischal Jasti, Areha Shah, Maxwell Alexander, Nanki Kaur, Jorge Ramirez Gomez, Malar Raguraman, Jazmine Heredia, Amanda Boles and Sonia Mankame.
JAKE NICOL—MOSAIC STAFF
Pride fag raisings in Santa Clara show solidarity with LGBTQIA+
Elected offcials, community leaders attend June event at City Hall
By
The eighth annual Pride fag raising at Santa Clara City Hall took place June 7, one of several similar events in Santa Clara County to start Pride month, solidifying the city’s solidarity with the LGBTQ community.
“Pride month is a time to celebrate our LGBTQIA+ community and advocacy for diversity, equity, inclusiveness and the acceptance of all,” Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor said.
Over the past couple of decades, Pride fag raisings have become more common around the nation. Speakers at the event expressed how the gesture continues to hold a deep meaning for them.
Ken Yeager, executive director of the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee Community Foundation, who was the frst openly gay elected offcial in Santa Clara County, said the fag-raising shows how the county and city governments welcome everyone. BAYMEC is a four-county political action committee that advocates for the civil rights of LGBTQ people.
“The fag has really transformed from just being about the LGBTQ community,” said Yeager, who served on the San Jose City Council and Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. “It’s about all communities, accepting everyone, no matter how marginalized.”
Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker shared his experience as both a Christian and a gay person and the struggle that comes with being part of two communities that are sometimes in opposition to each other.
“I’m not fully accepted as a Christian because I’m a gay man, and I’m not fully accepted in the gay community because I’m Christian,” Becker said.
Other attendees included Assemblymember Evan Low, who was Campbell’s frst openly gay mayor and is now running for a seat in Congress; Sera Fernando, manager of the Santa Clara County Offce of LGBTQ Affairs; and Gabrielle Antolovich, president of the board of directors for the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center in San Jose.
Pride Month occurs in June in remembrance of the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969. After police raided the gay bar and harassed its patrons as they were being arrested in public, Stonewall customers and neighborhood residents marched for fve days in protest. The frst Pride parade took place on the frst anniversary of the riots.
LGBTQ rights have come a long way since then, and the Pride fag has evolved with it into the Progress Pride fag, designed by Daniel Quasar in 2018, adding new stripes in support of marginalized people of color and trans individuals.
“When I see the Pride fag, I see hope,” Fernando said. “I see it as a beacon of safety. And to even just have it once a year, I know that when I see this fag raised, it’s just a wonderful sight to see; that I’m safe and I’m affrmed.”
DIRECTORS:
SHARON NOGUCHI
SAL PIZARRO
Editors:
DENNIS AKIZUKI
KATHY MIEDEMA
JOE RODRIGUEZ
ROBERT SALONGA
MAYA SURYARAMAN
Photo and video instructors:
E’jaaz Mason
JAKE NICOL
Lisa Gillmor,
with Ken Yeager, BAYMEC Community Foundation executive director, and Gabrielle Antolovich, president of the board of directors for the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center in San Jose, as they watch a pride fag being raised during a ceremony on Friday, June 7, at Santa Clara City Hall.
MOSAIC 2024 PROFESSIONAL STAFF
Designer: ROB HERNANDEZ
Podcast instructors: TRUC NGUYEN
SARAH LAI STIRLAND
Editorial assistants:
JULIA CHIE
IRIS SANCHEZ
Photo assistant:
ALYSSA PHILLIPS
Web producers: AUTUMN ALVAREZ ASHA KULKARNI
Newsroom manager: MIKE CORPOS
BAY AREA NEWS GROUP
PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER:
SPONSORS:
Jake Ryan Navarro Mosaic staff writer
The Progress Pride fag waves in the breeze along with city, state and the U.S. fag.
The Santa Clara Parks & Recreation Department had a Pride merchandise booth at Santa Clara City Hall during the fag raising.
PHOTOS BY KARISSA GARZA MOSAIC
Santa Clara Mayor
second from left, stands
East Palo Alto program feeds hungry mouths
By Iván Valencia-Pérez Mosaic staff writer
Every month, hundreds of families and individuals in need are welcomed at the Ecumenical Hunger Program in East Palo Alto, a culturally diverse and struggling city at the edge of Silicon Valley, one of the richest regions in America. Ready to help them are employees and volunteers who live in town and once struggled to eat.
James Vakameilalo, 34, started volunteering at EHP when he was 12 years old.
“When I frst started off I was a volunteer because, dude, I come from a big family of nine,” he said. “Just living off of my dad's salary wasn't cutting it. There was days where we went hungry.”
Even when Vakameilalo was in need, he was never alone.
“The kind lady over here, who works in the warehouse, her name is Miss Nevida,” the husky Samoan-Tongan American said. “Every weekend she would make something and send it to my mom.”
Vakameilalo remembers leaving for home with a pot of spaghetti cooked by EHP’s former executive director, Nevida Butler.
After feeing an abusive relationship in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1973 with her three kids, Butler said, she landed in Bakersfeld, homeless.
Butler eventually made the journey to East Palo Alto. With a friend’s help, she was able to get a roof over her head and a job with the American Red Cross.
One day while on the job, Butler was approached by EHP leaders, who offered her a position at EHP.
“They said, ‘We want you to come and run the Ecumenical Hunger Program,’ and I said yes,” Butler said.
Butler was the program's executive director for 27 years, 1981 to 2008.
“We help families that need help no matter their situation,” she said. Butler has stayed on as an outreach coordinator. “Hunger knows no color and it knows no language.”
Today EHP has 30 staff members. Program offcials said it served about 1,850 families in May. It gave out 33,789 food boxes last year to 6,819 families and 1,745 individuals.
Most of EHP’s food comes from Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, a member organization of Feeding America, a national network of food banks and food distribution programs in the United States. Second Harvest provides rice, beans, fruits, nuts, pasta, canned goods and prepared meats.
EHP packs these into food bags for families and individuals who can line up four times a week to receive the food. In addition, they can also receive
NARCAN, from page 1
some parents may worsen the problem by not facing the reality of the issue.
“They don’t really understand or know what it’s for or ‘it couldn’t be my child,’ ” Lau said.
Supporters of Narcan distribution programs are trying to make the medicine more accessible to schools, students, and parents. Narcan is free and can be obtained anonymously.
“I think having them on board and recognizing the value and importance of having it accessible for young folks is one of the key drivers of success,” Lau said.
Santa Clara High partnered with the CSHA to hold a drug prevention conference, at which the school distributed 800 cans of Narcan.
FORMER RECIPIENTS AT ECUMENICAL HUNGER PROGRAM COME BACK AS VOLUNTEERS AND EMPLOYEES
milk, eggs, meat and bakery items.
Second Harvest also has a “food rescue” program that allows EHP to receive goods from grocery outlets like Walmart, Costco and Trader Joe’s. These items include pre-cooked chicken, salmon and pasta.
Veronica Camacho, 34, a mother of three young children, has lived in East Palo Alto for 10 years. She has received free food from EHP for nine years.
“I come here because not only is it nearby, they also give really good food,” said Camacho, a Mexican immigrant. “Every now and then I go to the other side and pick out some clothes and toys for my boys.”
The other side she referred to is the much wealthier city of Palo Alto.
Braulio Robinson, 36, drives a delivery truck for EHP. When he was
9, his home in East Palo Alto caught fre, leaving the family homeless for two months.
”With the help of the Salvation Army and also EHP we were able to get food,” he said. Ten years ago, he quit a management job at a Target store to accept a job at EHP.
“I think deep down that's why I stayed here because I knew one time I needed help,” he said, “and to see how someone can open their arms to provide you things that you need, is a great feeling.”
Lakesha Roberts, granddaughter of Nevida Butler, started volunteering at EHP in middle school but never saw it as a career opportunity at the time.
“I love being able to come and help meet the needs of families that we’re serving,” said Roberts, now the program’s associate director. After
According to the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, untreated mental health concerns make a person more susceptible to substance abuse. Marcel Reynolds, director of strategic communications and membership at CSHA, similarly emphasized the importance of schools addressing mental health as a way to prevent teen substance abuse.
“Depression, anxiety, these things are a driver for students who might want to use substances or self-medicate,” Reynolds said. “We really advocate for all schools to have behavioral health and primary health services on campus.”
Gregory Shelby, principal at Santa Clara High School, said the campus
community prioritizes mental health.
“We've been doing a lot of work around social emotional learning and doing interventions with students about general drug awareness,” Shelby said.
“Through our wellness center, we've been able to hold quite a few drug awareness events for students who had some degree of exposure to drugs, and ... that’s, so far proved relatively effective in reducing future drug use.”
SCHS has recognized the importance of staying up to date with their methods considering that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has reported a rapid increase in depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation in recent years.
“We're always looking for new
graduating from Eastside College Preparatory School, Roberts went to Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania in 2010, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and education. Programs like EHP exist across the country. In 2021, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helped about 41.5 million low-income Americans, according to a study by the non-proft Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Roberts said the program projects a budget of $4 million for this year. That would be a big drop from $6.4 million in 2023, $7.1 million in 2022 and $8.1 million in 2021, according to the group’s federal tax reports.
She said funders simply gave more generously during the height of the COVID pandemic.
Even amid prosperity, continuing need keeps Butler busy.
“I’m 82 years old and I feel very blessed to have come from where I come from,” she said. “I hope when I leave this world that I leave it a better place than what it was.”
opportunities to help our students as the needs of students are changing over time,” Shelby said.
Santa Clara High is making a major shift in education by moving away from conventional punishment methods to tackle the addiction crisis more effectively.
“There's been a signifcant change in attitude in our school and in our district. It used to be primarily based on punishment: detention, suspensions, expulsions,” Shelby said.
“We are now trying much harder to work on a SEL (social and emotional Learning) perspective with students in order to change their attitudes, and we have so far found that to be more effective than traditional consequences.”
PHOTOS BY NISCHAL JASTI—MOSAIC
Nevida Butler, former executive director of the EHP, at her desk.
Shelves of dry goods line EHP’s storage in East Palo Alto during a food drive on June 6.
James Vakameilalo gives a thumbs-up after handing out food during EHP’s June 6 food drive in East Palo Alto.
BaseBall
summer sports soccer
CRIC KET CULTURE
Story and photos by Nischal
Mosaic staff photographer
As immigrants and people on visas from South Asia move to the United States, they are bringing the sport of cricket with them.
About 5 million Americans are either immigrants from South Asia or their descendants, according to the United States Census Bureau’s 2020 data.
Anvay Gupte, who will be a senior at San Jose’s Silver Creek High School in the fall, was the president of Silver Creek Cricket Club during his freshman and sophomore years at the school. The club met once or twice a month on Fridays after school, and in the beginning they taught members who didn’t know how to play, then later played scrimmage games. Opportunities to practice the game in the Bay Area are growing. The California Cricket Academy, or CCA, is
located in Fremont. According to Hemant Buch, a founder of the academy, CCA is the largest cricket academy in the U.S. He said the academy has coached more than 50 top American players, including Steven Taylor, one of the players on the U.S. national team. Taylor was born in Florida. Buch also said that California Assemblymember Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, recently introduced legislation urging the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body of high school sports in California, to recognize cricket as a high school sport. Last summer, Major League Cricket was founded with six teams, including the San Francisco Unicorns. The league also sponsors under-14 and under-17 games, according to the
Fans cheer on the San Jose Giants during a game against the Inland Empire 66ers at Excite Ballpark in San Jose.
Shortstop Charlie Szykowny
Hunter Pence, a two-time World Series champion with the San Francisco Giants, winds up the siren before the June 15 game between the San Jose Quakes and the FC Cincinnati at PayPal Park in San Jose.
The crowd looks on as a fan from the Bridge Brigade, a Bay FC supporters group, rallies the opposite side of the stadium during a game on June 16 at PayPal Park in San Jose.
A fan stands in support of Pride Night on June 15 at PayPal Park, holding a scarf that reads, “Soccer is Love, Love is Pride.“ The Quakes were playing FC Cincinnati.
Bay FC Defender Alyssa Malonson, right, fghts for control of the ball with the Utah Royals’ Michele Vasconcelos in a women's soccer match on June 16 at PayPal Park in San Jose.
A hard leather and cork cricket ball is on display in front of a mural of famous cricket players at the US Cricket Store in Milpitas.
Jasti
AREHA SHAH—MOSAIC
MAXWELL ALEXANDER—MOSAIC
MAXWELL ALEXANDER—MOSAIC
Graduation rates plunge at some East Side schools
By Karrisa Garza and Jazmine Heredia Mosaic staff writers
Going to school is something a lot of kids dread. Despite knowing how important it is, sometimes life gets in the way and missing school can be a necessity. What happens when kids take that to the extreme?
Lately, California schools have focused more on chronic absenteeism, defned as when a student misses 10% or more of the school year. Almost 25% of California high school students fell into that category in the 2022-23 school year, according to the State Department of Education’s California School Dashboard.
Not attending school may affect whether students graduate or not.
“Attendance is the No. 1 predictor of graduation and dropout rates,” said Sergio Diaz, director of communications for the East Side Union High School District.
Last year, the state’s graduation rate slipped 1 percentage point to 86.4%. East Side Union’s graduation rate dropped 2.6 percentage points to 86.9%, but some schools reported much greater decreases.
The East Side schools whose rate declined the most were:
• Mount Pleasant, dropped 6%
• Overfelt, dropped 10.3%
• James Lick, dropped 16%
In the San Jose Unifed School District, San Jose High experienced a 7.6% decline and Gunderson, a 7.5% drop.
Diaz said East Side Union has an “early warning system,” which alerts them when students need extra support. The early warning system works based on categories. There's the green category which focuses on students who are missing school but not falling behind in classes. When students start getting a D or an F in a class as well as missing school, they move into the yellow category. They make it into red when they have multiple D’s or F’s and are constantly missing school.
LATINO JOURNALISTS, from page 1
Latino. A study by the Government Accountability Offce in 2022 showed that from 2010 to 2019, the percentage of Latino workers in all media, not just news, had only increased by 1 point.
But the struggle was felt long before these fgures surfaced. Juan Gonzales said he founded El Tecolote in 1970, the frst Spanish-language newspaper in San Francisco, because he felt that the city’s daily newspapers weren’t accurately representing Latinos.
“You only ever see gangs and shootings instead of reports asking for better social work and actual morals,” Gonzales said.
He added that news directors and reporters have focused too much on white people to hire and use as sources, limiting Latino representation and leaving the community more vulnerable to stereotypes.
Gonzales said he was also inspired to start El Tecolote to improve the diversity of news coverage. He recounts attending a strike where someone told him that they could use more diverse coverage from someone like him in the Mission District.
Alberto Mendoza, a former executive director of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, shared those ideas.
“The more Latino murderers and criminals are given screen time, the
THE NUMBER OF SENIORS WHO DIDN’T GRADUATE IN 2023 DROPPED BY 2.6% IN EAST SIDE UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT, MUCH MORE AT JAMES LICK AND OVERFELT
Some East Side schools have oneon-one talks to handle students who are chronically absent. Other schools create a personalized plan for those students to help them improve their grades as well as their attendance,
sick.
Chronic absenteeism had been stable at a lower rate for many years.
California didn’t start tracking chronic absences until about eight years ago, said Hedy Chang, executive
“ Attendance is the No. 1 predictor of graduation and dropout rates. ’’
Sergio Diaz, director of communications for the East Side Union High School District
virtual learning, absences skyrocketed, rising 30%. A signifcant factor was how attendance was taken in the previous year during virtual learning. It was easy to determine a student as “present,” since most of the time showing up in online classes for just a second was enough.
according to Diaz.
He said 35.1% of chronic absences are by lower-income students. One issue is that some of these students may not have health care coverage, so are unable to get a doctor’s note to excuse their absences when they are
director of Attendance Works, which addresses the issue.
At that time the state’s chronic absence rate hovered between 11% and 12%.
But during the 2021-22 school year, when many came back from
“ We’re stronger together and the challenges are the same. Diverse pools learn from each other and share their experiences. ’’
— Alberto Mendoza, former executive director for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists
more damage is done,” Mendoza said. Mendoza said he was inspired to apply to NAHJ in 2021 after seeing Donald Trump’s statements about Mexico sending their worst people to the United States, and wanted to
champion more accurate and better news coverage of Latinos. He added that the mission is an ongoing fght, pointing to recent layoffs in the news and tech sectors. When the Los Angeles Times laid
“The year after was also a tricky one to consider due to all the variants of COVID,” Chang said. “Students and staff were constantly in and out due to quarantining. Even something as simple as the common cold was enough for people to not send their kids into school, causing chronic absences to double.”
The chronic absentee rate in the state decreased 5.7 percentage points in 2023, but still nearly one in every four high school students missed at least 10% of school, according to the same report.
off 20% of its newsroom in January, a large number were Latino, which he said will hurt efforts to produce faithful portrayals of Latinos in the country.
But the main issue throughout history isn’t just a Latino problem, said Catalina Lopez, a 17-year-old Santa Clara High School newspaper editor. She believes that uninformed stereotypes and misrepresentation in news extends to people of color in general.
“Journalism is a broad thing, there’s so many things one can say, but there’s not enough voices. On the news like CNN and Fox, they’re all white. Maybe there’s one African American, but it’s mostly white. It’s misleading for themselves and the program,” Catalina said.
Mendoza urged multicultural collaboration, like when NAHJ has worked with the National Association of Black Journalists and the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists.
“We’re stronger together and the challenges are the same. Diverse pools learn from each other and share their experiences,” Mendoza said.
Gonzales encourages Latinos to put pressure on news media to portray them accurately. Otherwise, he said, Latinos will avoid reading the news because they don’t see themselves in it.
But he is confdent in the community’s power to inspire change.
“Damn it, we’re conscious about what we have to do and how to do it,” he said.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ALBERTO MENDOZA AND DOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN/STANFORD UNIVERSITY
KARISSA GARZA—MOSAIC
Alberto Mendoza, former executive director for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, poses in an undated photo at Stanford University.
An empty hallway at James Lick High School in San Jose is photographed June 15. The school experienced a 16% decline in the graduation rate in 2023.
Boba cafe brings Viet cuisine to Alum Rock
WORKING CLASS, LATINO NEIGHBORHOOD IN EAST SAN JOSE GETS A TASTE OF POPULAR ASIAN DRINK
By Areha Shah and Karissa Garza Mosaic staff writer
Every afternoon, Long Nguyen opens up his East San Jose boba tea shop, T-Lovers Cafe. Teenagers from James Lick High School across the street come in droves to get their boba fx.
One day as he started sweeping up to close the shop, he talked about what summer will mean for his shop — when most customers will be on break.
“It’s a big difference,” Nguyen said. “To make up for that, we're marketing something different this year.”
Nguyen and his wife, Trang, opened their boba shop in November. Three months earlier, two students from James Lick were stabbed by rival gang members. The incident happened on campus during school hours.
Despite East San Jose being one of the poorer neighborhoods of the Bay Area, Nguyen was still not deterred when opening up the boba cafe across the street from a former crime scene.
Nguyen’s story is much like that of Magic Johnson, the former basketball player turned businessman. In 1998, Johnson convinced Starbucks Corporation to partner up with Magic Johnson Enterprises and start new Starbucks Coffee locations in underserved communities.
Johnson was passionate about bringing Starbucks, which was previously only known as “bougie” coffee, to the poorer areas of South Central Los Angeles.
Nguyen wanted something similar — traditional boba tea drinks for the predominantly workingclass and Latino Alum Rock area. As a local, Nguyen decided to commit to bringing traditional Vietnamese food to the neighborhood.
Until his shop arrived, he said, the Alum Rock village area had no Vietnamese restaurants, Boba tea is a cold-served drink originating in Taiwan. Boba refers to the jelly pearls made from tapioca
TEENS/AI, from page 1
convincing herself she doesn’t need therapy. “I would rather take a different approach than pay that price. The cost of therapy isn’t changing any time soon.”
Luz Campuzano, senior recreation leader at the Alum Rock Youth Center in San Jose, works with teens daily and said she isn’t surprised by this new coping mechanism. “It’s easier, right? They don’t want to tell their parents that they need help. Their parents, especially in the Latino community, shy away from that. They’re kind of like ‘No, handle it yourself, grow up, suck it up.’”
Downloading free apps for AI mental health support, such as Calm and Fabulous, is becoming more common among Bay Area teens.
However, Jasmeet Rakhra, a certifed substance abuse counselor, said that relying on a robot for responsive communication — especially when you are at your most vulnerable — raises a few concerns.
“AI isn’t a bad tool to use because it can help understand the person’s mental health and be able to give out tips and coping skills,” she said. “But because it’s a robot it has no feelings, so there’s no empathy or compassion. When talking to a person, they can understand when someone is feeling upset or angry, but with a robot, it can’t.” Rakhra works for Prodigy Healthcare Inc. in Fresno.
Dwija Kothari, who will be a senior at Fremont’s American High, uses an AI-based self-care app called Fabulous for mental health support. She said she prefers the app over seeking inperson therapy.
“When you’re depressed, it gets really hard to take care of yourself,”
starch and simmered in a sugar syrup. They are then added to milk tea to complete the drink.
Nguyen immigrated from Vietnam in 1979, when he was 4 years old. His dad, a software engineer, pushed him to go to college. There, Nguyen realized that he would love to start his own business.
“If you work for somebody, they can fre you, they can lay you off,” Nguyen said. “But if you have your own business, then you can set your hours. You have options — more options — when you run your own business versus working for someone.”
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in business and information systems from San Jose State University in 1997, Nguyen started his company, Bay Area Manufacturing, which specializes in making semiconductors using high technology. Last year, he decided to open T-Lovers as a small, side investment.
“We wanted to invest in something different. This is not something we've done before,” Nguyen said. The boba shop location was on the market, so he and his wife bought it. For Nguyen and his wife, who works for Santa Clara County, entering the food industry proved to be a challenge. With careers completely unrelated to food, opening up a cafe meant the Nguyens needed to understand more than just the business portion.
“It was a big learning curve for us because we've never been in this industry.” Nguyen said. “We had
to learn food safety and health and running almost a restaurant.”
The cafe’s initial success was mainly due to the number of high schoolers across the street and the recent boom of boba tea across the country. However, he hasn’t given up this summer even with the drop in student customers.
The Nguyens have partnered with another company to redo the kitchen and will close for renovations until the start of fall. With restaurant space, their shop can feature a full menu of food along with their previous snacks and boba drinks.
she said. “Therapy is not going to be a constant thing. It’s so impractical to have therapy every day, and with therapy I feel like a therapist is not going to tell you to get out of bed or tell you to eat food or go shower or brush your teeth. AI is there for you all the time.”
Like Fabulous, many apps harness AI to create a reminder system that serves as a habit tracker, intended to turn small daily tasks into “profound and lasting change,” according to the website for Fabulous.
Some students, like Brooke Joly, who will be a junior at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward in the fall, say they value the bluntness of AI when seeking advice or mental health tips.
“I’ve asked AI for advice a few times because I just wanted an accurate answer rather than someone I know sugar-coating,” she said by text in an interview.
The privacy and consistency that AI promises its young users does make a compelling case for choosing mental health care delivered via app.
Venkatesh, who said she has struggled with depression, said she appreciates that ChatGPT has no judgmental bias. “I think the symptoms of depression are very stigmatized, and if you were to tell people what the reality of depression is like — skipping meals or skipping showers, for instance — people would judge you for that. I think in those instances, it’s easier to talk to someone who is not human because AI would never judge you for that.”
AI can provide a safe space for teens to be vulnerable at a point when the adults in their lives may not be supportive of mental health care.
“It was just a big thing for my parents to accept, that their child needed help,” Kothari said. “So
Mental health apps
Calm - Basic plan: free; Premium: $14.99 per month
Happify - Basic plan: free; Premium: $14.99 per month
Youper - $69.99 annually and comes with a 7-day free trial
Moodkit - $4.99 one-time payment
Fabulous - Basic plan: free; Premium: $39.99 annually; $250 for lifetime subscription, among other payment plans
downloading an app was defnitely an easier, helpful way.”
Campuzano, the youth center director in San Jose, said she thinks the appeal of using AI for mental health support has a lot to do with control.
“This is their world right now and they can’t do more. The lack of control in their lives is defnitely playing a huge part. They want to be able to go places that they can’t. They want to do things that they can’t, and their parents won’t let them or teachers talk to them in a certain way, so I think just them being the age that they are means not having much control over their lives.”
Being able to receive personalized care is important, Kothari said. “I think a really big positive thing about these apps is that they can be personalized to your own likings and needs,” she said.
Campuzano agrees that AI caters to specifc needs and wants as opposed to a human therapist. “But, more so, the therapist will tell you what you need to hear as opposed to what you want to hear. So, I don’t feel AI is good for mental health.”
PHOTOS BY KARISSA GARZA—MOSAIC
ALYSSA PHILLIPS—MOSAIC STAFF
Long Nguyen, who owns East San Jose’s T-Lovers Cafe, said owning a business allows him to be in control of his cafe and what changes he can make.
Waiting for a bus that doesn’t come
78% OF VTA BUS CANCELLATIONS ARE DUE TO MAINTENANCE ISSUES, CAUSING FRUSTRATION AMONG RIDERS
By Antara Gangwal Mosaic staff writer
On a recent day, early morning passengers of the Valley Transportation Authority’s 64B bus waited for it to arrive at 7a.m., but it didn’t show up. Waiting for the next bus scheduled at 7:30 a.m., they found no bus showed up. By the time a bus did arrive, many passengers were late for work or school.
“I take the 64B bus twice every day to commute to school, as it’s the only one I can rely on,” San Jose State University student Saumi Saurin Shah said. “I’m always a little late to my 9 a.m. class, and last semester, I would miss 15 to 20 minutes every morning. I would prefer to take the 7:30 a.m. line because my classes start at 9 a.m., but it is canceled too often.”
These bus cancellations are not attributed to chance but representative of a larger issue plaguing VTA: maintenance backlogs leading to bus shortages, according to bus drivers and union offcials.
According to the VTA, bus cancellations occur due to a lack of bus operators or maintenance issues — and primarily the latter. In 2023, 78% of bus cancellations were due to “buses needing preventative and running repair maintenance,” VTA said. The transit agency could not provide the exact number of bus cancellations.
Created in 1972, VTA provides public transportation — including bus and light rail — across Santa Clara County. The bus system boasts an average ridership of 75,000 each weekday, with more than 3,200 bus stops across 48 bus lines, according to VTA. There are more than 520 buses in the feet, each costing between $600,000 and $1 million.
“This issue is actually very deeprooted. Over the years, we’ve had several different bus models get procured, and it is typical for VTA to run the feet they currently have past its recommended run time,” Raj Singh, president and business agent of Amalgamated Transit Union
(ATU) 265, said. “This is a costeffective measure, but once the buses are past their recommended usage time, signifcant repairs need to be made.” Part of the nationwide ATU union, ATU 265 is the largest union representing VTA workers. Shortages of tools and parts as well
on top of hybrid buses’ roofs. However, these repairs were delayed by months, Bodle said, because VTA did not own the proper harnesses needed to go onto the roof to fx these buses.
Recently, bus lines like 64A and 64B have also been subject to cancellations as buses scheduled for those lines are
“ I take VTA buses every day and my buses have been canceled way too many times.
’’
as a lack of proper infrastructure hinder these repairs to create a maintenance backlog, said Zac Bodle, assistant business agent of maintenance for ATU 265. For example, either basic parts such as light bulbs and nuts and bolts are lacking inventory stock, or mechanics do not have the tools they require to repair these parts. In one instance, Bodle recounted how mechanics needed to fx components
used as bus bridges, or replacements for shut-down VTA light rail segments during the current rail rehabilitation project.
“There’s no accountability on VTA’s part, whereas it is bus mechanics’ job to get each bus up and make sure it is safe to go down the road. Safety is our No. 1 priority as a union, but VTA is not buying the parts that we need to make repairs a safe
process,” Bodle said.
When asked, VTA said that they are looking into solutions, and maintained that buses are always kept in “safe operating conditions” if they must be used past their recommended replacement cycles.
Riders bear the brunt of the VTA maintenance problems.
“I take VTA buses every day and my buses have been canceled way too many times. I’ve also seen buses without functioning screens, outside signs, or air conditioning and heating,” Makoto Abe, Bellarmine College Prepatory student, said. Abe wakes up at 6:20 a.m. every morning to take an early bus in order to account for any cancellations.
Although VTA did not mention plans to expand the existing bus system, they stated that they are working on a plan to make the maintenance process more effcient, including hiring an outside consultant to oversee parts availability and developing new technological solutions for parts inventory.
Breaking ground for Eastridge light rail stop
SAN JOSE COMES TOGETHER TO KICK OFF VTA CONSTRUCTION
by Nischal Jasti Mosaic staff photographer
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, center, two city councilmembers and local business leaders break ground and signal the start of construction for the Valley Transportation Authority’s light rail extension from its current terminus at Alum Rock to San Jose’s Eastridge Transit Center, where the celebration is occurring.
Community groups also attended on June 8. The Vovinam Viet Vo Dao of America, a Vietnamese dance and martial arts group, performs a dragon dance, right.
Members of Folklórico Nacional Mexicano, a youth dance group, take part in a traditional dance.
— Makoto Abe, Bellarmine College Prepatory student
The VTA’s 500 Rapid bus waits for riders at Diridon Station in San Jose on June 6.
AREHA SHAH—MOSAIC
Photos
Why I’m X-ing out Latinx
FORGET LATINX; LET’S TAKE THE GENDER OUT OF SPANISH WORDS
By Jorge Ramirez Gomez Mosaic
Latinx is one of the more recent additions to the Spanish language. Documented online as far back as 2004, it’s been gaining relevance since 2016. Saray Orozco, a rising senior at San Jose High, explains why people use the word.
“Latinx is a very general term, and it's already well known, so it helps a lot of people to understand,” Orozco said. “And to be more inclusive, because a lot of people, when they hear Latina or Latino, they think that they're not included into the conversation.”
Many point out that Spanish is grammatically patriarchal. Catalina Lopez, an editor for the Santa Clara High School student newspaper, explained that the masculine version of words is emphasized.
“Honestly, the Spanish language is kind of sexist,” she said. “Male dominant.”
What she means is that even if there’s only one man in a group of women, the group is called ellos instead of ellas because of the one man.
The fact that Latinx exists highlights a faw in how Spanish is being taught and used.
I have a solution to this problem. Latinx, as a word, doesn’t need to exist.
I’m a Mexican American kid and not the most fuent in Spanish. I’m also cisgendered and straight, so I can’t speak from the perspective of Latinx people. While I like the idea of making minority groups in society feel more comfortable and accepted, the fundamentals of “gendered nouns” like Latino and Mexicano are too easy to misinterpret.
Masculine and feminine nouns, as they’re typically dubbed in the Romance languages like Spanish and Italian, are being accused of assigning genders to inanimate objects and concepts, like buckets and fsh, cubetas y pescados.
lightly that is implied.”
Masculine words are commonly lower-pitched while feminine words are higher-pitched. Consider that when using masculine words like pescado, hombre and ojo, or the feminine rosita, mujer, and belleza. You’ll notice the difference in how your voice elevates or descends when you say them.
And although masculine words in Spanish are intended to be usable in gender-neutral circumstances, in an interview with Spanish-speaking nonbinary femme writer Jack Qu’emi, from Public Radio International, explains why that’s not acceptable.
“In Spanish, the masculinized version of words is considered gender neutral, but that obviously doesn’t work for some of us because I don’t think it’s appropriate to assign masculinity as gender neutral when it isn’t, no matter how
To avoid the idea that Spanish genders words, we should try saying low-pitch and high-pitch instead of masculine and feminine. Tono alto y tono bajo.
By doing this, every Latino person will feel more comfortable accepting Latino as the gender-neutral term it was intended to be due to the removal of implied gender in the language. Native Spanish speakers anywhere also won’t have to struggle to death pronouncing the X in Latinx.
I understand if some people feel more comfortable with Latinx than being called Latino (for men) or Latina (for women). It’s just the structure of the language. It doesn’t have anything to do with gender.
Latinx activists are not going to be happy with me. I propose that the Royal Spanish Academy, offcial guardians of the language in Spain, direct teachers to avoid identifying words as masculine or feminine. We would replace that with low-pitch and high-pitch sounds.
Here’s one example: In Spanish, we say la puerta está quebrada (the door is broken). Nobody would think the feminine door is broken. Romance languages were designed to be practical and pleasant to the ear. The purpose of low-pitch and high-pitch is to eliminate the connotation of gendered words by replacing masculine and feminine. And while we’re at it, we should not question the idea of men acting feminine or women acting masculine. We can’t get caught up in pointless debates that only exist to tear us apart, like the argument over Latinx. If people want to be represented in language, they must understand how it is built.
I predict that Latinx will remain because it’s the choice of a growing number of young people. It’s ultimately people who use language, and it will evolve no matter what.
My family calls me unruly. So what if I am?
THE PERCEPTION THAT GIRLS RAISED IN THE U.S. ARE WILD, OUT OF CONTROL CAN HAUNT US … OR NOT
By Nanki Kaur Mosaic
Society tells me I’m unruly. I agree.
I’m a 17-year-old Asian American girl choosing not to be a doctor, lawyer or engineer. I dream of being a journalist. I spend most of my time in my high school's theater, hanging out with my friends until late at night, and my SAT score was so low that I would probably be cast out by my community if they were to ever know how badly I scored.
There’s a certain perception about girls like me who choose to wear makeup to school, to pursue the liberal arts, to openly disagree with my parents, and to right wrongs when I see them. The perception is that we’re wild, out of control, and the bane of our parents’ existence. Because I advocate to live my life my way, I’m labeled defant.
But this negative view goes beyond my Punjabi relatives in India who say that my parents have failed in raising an obedient daughter. It goes beyond the identity of being a person of color, or a frst-generation American, or an artist in the making.
What it really is, is an ongoing conversation about women — and girls
like me — and our place in society. We’ve spent so much time trying to prove that we’re tame and not fussy, trying to prove that we are content with any decisions made for us.
I say, embrace the label. By allowing this perception that we should be docile and disciplined, we let you confne us to a box. The box that forces us to nod and smile and
sit pretty. The box that fxates our lives around our parents’ reputations and what the neighbors next door are going to think. The box that limits a woman’s job to nurturing the young. The box that reserves more important tasks for men because that’s how nature meant for it to be.
Continuing to try to force the label silences the noise we’re making in
the name of change. It doesn’t matter if you’re Punjabi American or Latin American or whatever your cultural heritage might be, you deserve to be heard. Here’s my solution for all who are rejecting what the immigrant daughters of America are growing into: embrace it.
We are no longer in the generation where women are expected to stay at home and stay quiet. The vice president of the United States is a woman. CEOs of big companies are women. We’re going places and we have opinions. We’re creating change in places where change hasn’t been seen. We’re shaking things up and we’re marking our places on untouched surfaces. Sounds not tame and fussy, yes, but I can still honor my family while knowing my own heart and mind.
There isn’t a one-size-fts-all box. This is America. Each of us has the opportunity to forge their own path. We get to decide what being wild or untamed means to us, because there will always be new choices or diffcult decisions to be made. Change is uncomfortable, but it’s also inevitable. So, yes, I am unruly. What about it?
ALYSSA PHILLIPS—MOSAIC STAFF
ALYSSA PHILLIPS—MOSAIC STAFF
San Jose rolls through open streets for Vi Va C alle SJ V
CYCLISTS, SKATERS AND WALKERS EXPLORE DOWNTOWN AND EAST SAN JOSE ON A DAY WITHOUT CARS
The latest edition of Viva CalleSJ took place June 9, closing six miles of San Jose roads for bikers, skateboarders and scooter riders. The route, “El Corazón: Downtown and Eastbound,” featured various live music shows and cultural performances and gave thousands of people a chance to explore Santa Clara Street, Alum Rock Avenue and White Road in a different way and without a car.
The event also had food trucks at every one of the “activity hubs,” which were located at San Jose City Hall, Alum Rock Village and Lake Cunningham Park. Bike Teacher, Good Karma Bikes and Community Cycles of California hosted free bike repair stations at the hubs.
Viva Calle has been a staple for many families since the city of San Jose frst launched it in
September 2018. Since then, it has been hosted multiple times a year with routes spanning the city. The next Viva CalleSJ is Sunday, Sept. 8. The location has not been announced yet.
San Jose resident Gordon Smith, who participated in Viva Calle on June 9, said,
“Events like these help promote cycling culture.” The Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies reported that 12.5% of citizens in Santa Clara County used bicycles as a method of transportation in early 2020.
Smith also voiced his concerns about the cycling infrastructure in Santa Clara County and San Jose.
“The city lacks long-distance bike paths,” he said, which he attributes to San Jose being a low-density city, especially compared to other urban centers such as New York or Los Angeles.
perform
A cyclist gets an elevated viewpoint and plays music from a speaker as he cruises on his art bike on East Santa Clara Street near Eighth Street in Downtown San Jose during Viva CalleSJ.
A group of bikers explore East Santa Clara Street in Downtown San Jose, during Viva CalleSJ, which closed six miles of city streets to vehicle trafc.
Hundreds of bikers travel up and down Alum Rock Avenue in East San Jose during Viva CalleSJ, an open streets event. The street was closed to cars and other motorized vehicles for fve hours.
Calpulli Tonalehqueh Aztec Dancers
a cultural dance at San Jose City Hall, one of three activity hubs during the Viva CalleSJ open streets event on Sunday, June 9.
City employees ride during Viva CalleSJ in front of Five Wounds Portuguese National Parish on East Santa Clara Street.
Artists paint San Jose-themed murals at Alum Rock Village near the intersection of Alum Rock Avenue and White Road during Viva CalleSJ. Alum Rock Village was one of three activity hubs for the event, which included performances, music and food trucks.
Story and photos by Maxwell Alexander Mosaic staff photographer