Issue 2 10/11

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PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 50 EMBARCADERO RD. PALO ALTO, CA 94301 NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

PAI D PALO ALTO PERMIT #44

The Campanile

Vol. XCVI, No. 2

Palo Alto High School • 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301 • www.palycampanile.org

Friday, October 11, 2013

Attendance policy changes By Alvina Zou Business Manager

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new attendance policy was put into effect on Sept. 25 in an attempt to deter students from cutting class. The new policy reinstates Saturday School as a consequence for those who cut class as well as adds an extra autodialer call to parents and guardians regarding their child’s absence. “Students who have their fourth cut in any one class [will have to attend Saturday School],” assistant principal Victoria Kim said. “If you miss your math class three times and you have a fourth cut, you’ll be fined [with a] Saturday School.” Students will receive Saturday School for four cuts in one class, but the consequence is not limited to only one class; students will receive the consequence for each class they have four or more cuts in. The Palo Alto Education Council approved the attendance policy and will begin with the first Saturday School on Oct. 12. If a student misses Saturday School, he or she will automatically be assigned to attend the next Saturday School. Two absences from Saturday School will result in an in-school suspension. The administration has yet to determine how often Saturday School will occur. “Right now we are trying to align our attendance policy between [Henry M.] Gunn [High school] and Paly,” Kim said. “We’re trying our best to align it so we can create a district attendance policy at least at the high school level.” The attendance policy for the 2012-2013 school year did not involve attending Saturday School nor did it have the ramification of stu-

ASB reveals Homecoming theme By Grace Kim

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dents being dropped from the class as a result of cutting. Because of the laxity of the policy and its lack of consequences, during this period of time, the school endured its highest cut rate in seven years with a total of 21,636 cuts, an average of 10.94 cuts per student. The administration still has yet to determine details including where the funding for Saturday School teachers will come from. “[Saturday School] will probably be based on need, so we’ll determine that,” Kim said. “We haven’t decided which budget it will come out of. There are a number of them that we can take it out of, but we haven’t decided.”

In addition to Saturday School, an autodialer will contact parents and guardians twice a day each time a student cuts.

cut rates and focuses primarily on increasing the consequences for cutting class. However, some students believe that there are alternative solutions Students who have their fourth the administration could consider to solve the problem. cut in any one class [will have to “I think they should concentrate attend Saturday School]. more on giving students an incentive not to miss class rather than ineffecVictoria Kim tive consequences that students fear,” Assistant Principal senior Mary Williams said. “Instead of using fear, they should find alternaUnder the new policy, parents will tive methods.” Through the new implemented have 72 hours to clear an absence whereas the previous policy only gave policy, the administration hopes to parents a 48-hour period to call in. see an improvement from last year’s The new policy aims to lower student meager attendance rates.

Photo students’ work published on New York Times blog ‘Lens’ By Lauren Giurata

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courtesy of Lina awadallah

Lina Awadallah submitted this photo to the New York Times blog Lens to depict what she believes is an accurate representation of her hometown, Palo Alto.

Senior Staff Writer

ecently, photos from several different Palo Alto High School students were published in the New York Times photography blog, Lens. Many of the Paly students featured are from one of Margo Wixsom’s photography classes as they were required to submit some of their work to this contest. Wixsom decided to have students submit photographs, unlike what she has done with similar contests in the past. “I usually only have my Advanced Photo and AP students participate in this type of photo event, but because of how the topic integrated multidisciplinary issues from American history, I thought it was very valuable for all of my students,” Wixsom said. She explained that the New York Times required the photography teachers to create a lesson regarding the Works Progress Administration and Farm Security Administration photographers in order to teach students about that time period with regards to photojournalism history. Students were then sent out to capture their own images with the newly acquired knowledge in mind. The contest’s purpose was for students from a variety of schools and community-based photography programs to upload images of their hometowns, showing how life varies in different towns across America. The end result was a collection of 4,289 photographs displayed on the

See NY TIMES, A3

Staff Writer

he theme of Palo Alto High School’s homecoming dance will be “Dancing in the Moonlight” and will take place in Paly’s Small Gym on Oct. 26 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Even though the theme is “Dancing in the Moonlight,” this does not dictate a specific kind of attire. Paly’s Associated Student Body (ASB) encourages students to dress formally for the occasion. Homecoming has always hat a larger attendance rate at Henry M. Gunn High School than at Paly, but this year ASB is trying to change this. “Homecoming is a bigger deal at Gunn than at Paly,” sophomore Liam Noroian said. “I’ve wished it was more of a thing, so I’m excited they’re trying to make it cooler.” ASB was initially looking into a hotel venue, according to ASB Spirit Commissioner Maya Ben-Efraim, but it decided to keep the traditional venue of the Small Gym. “We were looking into hotels, but one of our goal was to keep ticket prices low,” junior Ben-Efraim said. “Also, it is traditional during homecoming to host everyone at home, so [we decided to hold it] at Paly.” ASB is also excited to be welcoming DJ Dave, who will be entertaining at the homecoming dance. Dave has been Gunn’s DJ for many years and many Gunn students report enjoying his performances, thus raising excitement for Paly’s upcoming homecoming.

See HOMECOMING, A3

College Board creates program for low-income students By Jeffrey Ho

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Staff Writer

he College Board has announced a new program to inform low-income students who perform well on national standardized tests of potential opportunities during the college admissions process. In past years, the majority of lowincome students did not even apply to elite colleges, even if they were qualified, and thus could not benefit from a higher-level education. Oftentimes, instead of applying to four-year colleges, many students who cannot afford to do so will end up attending a local community college or choosing not to attend college at all. In an interview with the New York Times, Columbia University economist Judith Scott-Clayton emphasized the problem of high performing, low-income high school students not being nearly as successful in college compared to their counterparts who come from higher-income families. Scott-Clayton believes this imbalance could potentially shift as a result of lower-income students receiving higher consideration at prestigious schools. “We spend so much time worrying about the kids who are not qualified — that’s actually a pretty hard problem,” Scott-Clayton said. “Lowincome teenagers who excel in high school but fail to graduate from college are ‘an untapped resource.’ ” To attempt to solve this problem, the College Board has established a new system where it sends a packet to high school seniors whose families are in the lowest quartile of income and whose scores are in the top 15

percent of the SAT or PSAT. In doing so, College Board is attempting to encourage talented students who would otherwise enroll in a lower tier school or community college due to financial reasons to explore different educational opportunities. The packet contains information guiding students on how to apply to college, admissions process and rates, financial aid and other advice that is useful during the application process. Each of the 28,000 students eligible for the new program will also receive six fee waivers to send score reports to colleges for free.

Low-income teenagers who excel in high school but fail to graduate from college are an untapped resource. Judith Scott-Clayton Economist

Due to the low family income and high college costs, only 11 percent of students from the lowest quartile of income end up graduating from a four-year college compared to the 79 percent of students from the highest quartile income families who end up receiving a Bachelor’s degree, according to Forbes and Postsecondary Education Opportunity. For low-income Paly students, this program provides them with resources and opportunities to learn more about colleges and college admissions. With the more accessible information, these students are now one step closer to tackling college applications and considering more prestigious colleges that they may not have in the past.

INSIDE N e w s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A 1- A 5 Opinion............................A6-A8 Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1,B3,B8 StudentLife............................B2,B7 Spotlight...............................B4-B5 E n te r t a i n m e n t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B 6 S p o r t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C 1- C 8

OPiniOn Branding Colleges

Students should not apply to colleges solely based on reputation.

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SPOTLiGHT Slut Shaming

What a girl chooses to wear does not make her a slut.

B4-B5

sPORTs Swimmer Profiles

A peak into the lives of nationally ranked swimmers.

C4-C5

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